Inf lectional morphology

93

the present tense, in all verbs; {-l˛i} (spelled ≤kb≥) is the past-tense plural ending for all verbs. With respect to the shape of the stem, verbs are morphologically more heterogeneous than nouns (§3.2.1).

Each form in the whole set of inflectional forms of any word -- noun, adjective, verb -- has a stress. Stress is not automatically and consistently assigned to one and the same syllable in every word or form of a word, such as the first syllable (as in Czech) or the penultimate syllable (as in Polish). Depending on the word, stress can be fixed on the root or on a suffix or can vary between the ending and other positions, as, for example, in nom sg leiƒ ‘soul’, acc sg léie, gen sg lei∫, nom pl léib, dat pl leiƒv ‘soul’ or 1sg yfgbié ‘I write’, 2sg yfg∫itim, fem pst yfgbcƒkf, psv yfg∫cfy ‘write’. The number of patterns of stress is, however, small.

3.2 Conjugation of verbs

3.2.1 Verbal categories

In contrast to the pleasingly geometric declension of nouns, the conjugation of verbs is more heterogeneous. The morphological techniques used by verbs are not always strictly inflectional, and verbs have more variation in their stems.

In verbs, the inflectional endings are added to a verbal stem that includes the root and, in most verbs, an additional c o n j u g a t i o n a l s u f f i x . The suffix together with the root forms a stem that is phonologically suitable for adding endings. The suffix and the verbal stem can have different shapes in anticipation of the ending. For example, the past-tense feminine form nh†,jdfkf includes a conjugational suffix {-ova-} that ends in a vowel before the following consonantal marker of the past tense (the {-la}), while the present second-person singular form nh†,etim includes a suffix {-uj-} ending in a consonant before the endings of the present tense, which begin with vowels. Because the stem does not always have the same shape, it is necessary to distinguish two stems for verbs, the past-infinitive stem and the present stem. The pairing of stems defines the conjugation class to which a verb belongs. For example, nh†,jdfnm with its two stems belongs to the class {{-ova-}<pst-inf> : {-uj-}<prs>}, or, more simply, if the alternate stems are cited in the same order consistently, {-ova- : -uj-}.1

A prominent, characteristically Slavic category, is the category of aspect. Almost every verb can be classified as perfective or imperfective, with only a limited number of indeterminacies. The distinction of aspect is more a partition of the lexicon than an inflectional operation. There is no single morphological device that marks the opposition of aspect; rather, aspect is expressed by a combination

1 On verbal categories, see Jakobson 1932/1971[b], 1957[a]/1971[b].

94A Reference Grammar of Russian

of strategies. Verbs without prefixes (s i m p l e x verbs) are, as a rule, imperfective: gbcƒnm<if> ‘write’, rhen∫nm<if> ‘spin’. Verbs with prefixes as a rule are perfective -- gthtgbcƒnm<pf> ‘write over’, pfrhen∫nm<pf> ‘twirl around’ -- except when an additional derivational suffix makes them imperfective: gthtg∫csdfnm<if>, pfrhéxbdfnm<if>.

Finite forms distinguish the imperative mood from forms expressing tense.2 The imperative makes use of the present-tense stem. If the stress falls on the verbal stem throughout the present and if the stem ends in a single consonant, no further vowel is added to the stem: vehkßxm ‘purr!’ (1sg vehkßxe is not stressed on the ending). If the first-person singular present is stressed or if the stem ends in a consonant cluster, the stem is expanded by adding a suffix {-i-}: gbi∫ ‘write!’ (1sg gbié is stressed on the ending) or gélhb ‘powder!’ (though 1sg gélh/ is not stressed on the ending, the stem ends in a cluster). In the singular there is no further marker; an extra morph {-te-} ( [t˛ì], spelled ≤nt≥) is added to make a plural imperative or an imperative for formal address to one person. Verbs with the prefix dß, which is necessarily stressed as long as the verb is perfective, rely on the stress in the simplex verb from which the perfective is derived to determine whether to add the suffix {-i-}. Thus, root stress in 1sg

,hj´ie ‘I throw’, imv ,hj´cm and cnƒdk/ ‘I place’, imv cnƒdm implies imv dß,hjcm, dßcnfdm, while, in contrast, stress on the ending in 1sg dtlé, imv dtl∫ and nzyé, nzy∫ implies dßdtlb, dßnzyb. However, analogical forms with {-i-} -- dß,hjcb, dßcnfdb -- have become frequent (as much as a third of the tokens on the web).3 Another idiosyncrasy concerns the small number of verbs whose monosyllabic present stem ends in [ j]: rktdƒnm ‘peck’, cvtz´nmcz ‘laugh’, cnjz´nm ‘stand’ (§3.2.6).

With the appropriate intonation, first-person plural forms can be used hortatively, to encourage the participation of the addressee (--- Bltv r yfv, --- crfpfk ?hf ‘--- Let’s go to our place, --- said Iura’). Expanded with -nt, the first-person plural is used as a plural or formal B-form (--- Bltvnt cnfhbxrf gjntibnm ‘--- Let’s [all] go comfort the old man’).

The expression of tense intersects with aspect. Imperfective verbs distinguish three tenses: past, present, and future. The morphological means used to express these three tenses differ. The present tense inflects for three persons and two numbers, 1sg rhexé ‘I turn’, 2sg rhénbim, etc. The future of imperfectives is a combination of the unique future of ,ßnm (1sg ,éle, etc.: §3.2.8) plus the infinitive. The past tense is marked by a transparent and generally stable formant {-l-}. (It is, however, lost in the masculine singular of those verbs whose stem ends in a consonant other than a dental stop: y=c ‘he carried’, g=r ‘he baked’,

2 Trubetzkoy 1975:223 stated clearly that the imperative and infinitive were tense-less forms.

3Dß,hjcb(nt): 6,310 xx / 17,090 xx total = 37 percent, dßcnfdb(nt) 2,838 xx / 18,948 xx total = 15 percent <15.IX.02>.

Inf lectional morphology 95

uh=, ‘he rowed’, d=p ‘he conveyed’). Since it developed from a participle, the past expresses the three singular genders and one plural that does not distinguish gender rather than person and number: msc g†k ‘he sang’, fem g†kf, nt g†kj, pl g†kb.

Perfective verbs distinguish two tenses. One, marked by {-l-} and gender-- number markers, is unambiguously a past tense. The other tense has the same morphological shape as the present tense of imperfectives: perfective pfrhen∫nm ‘to wind around’ forms 1sg pfrhexé, 2sg pfrhénbim, parallel to imperfective 1sg rhexé, 2sg rhénbim, etc. These present-tense forms of perfective verbs, however, do not report present events -- events that are actual at the here and now of speech, but events that are anticipated to occur at some future or hypothetical time (§6.5.8, 6.5.7): rj´yxbncz ‘will come to an end’, cjxby∫n ‘she will compose’. Thus, in these perfective forms there is something of a discrepancy between the form, which is parallel to the present-tense forms of imperfectives, and the function, which is not that of a present tense. It is an old problem what to call these forms -- whether “present,” in honor of their form but not their function, or “non-past,” in honor of their function but not their form. Here these forms are termed p r e s e n t - t e n s e f o r m s , but with the understanding that they do not report actual, present-time events.4

The particle ,s expresses irrealis modality -- a situation that is not unambiguously real. The resulting combination is less of an inflectional category than, for example, the opposition of present vs. past tense. The verb, if finite, must at the same time inflect for past tense; the tense marking is the real inflection. Morever, the particle does not always occur immediately after the verb (§6.2.1).

Participles are adjectival -- the usual sense of participles -- or adverbial (that is, lttghbxfcnbz). Adjectival participles can be active or passive. Participles are created by adding a formant that forms the participial stem. In adjectival participles, the stem is then followed by the inflectional endings of adjectives. The formation of active adjectival and adverbial participles intersects with aspect. Not all of the eight conceivable forms are used freely.5 The possibilities are schematized in Table 3.1.

P A S T A C T I V E A D J E C T I V A L P A R T I C I P L E S , P E R F E C T I V E A N D I M P E R F E C T I V E ,

are formed by adding {-vs-} to the past-infinitive stem when it ends in

‹

a vowel, and to this stem are added adjectival endings expressing gender, case, and number: hfpuhjv∫dibq ‘having routed’, yfgbcƒdibq ‘having written’, ljcn∫uyedibq ‘having reached’, dßhdfdibq ‘having ripped out’, gjlévfdibq ‘having thought’. Verbs whose past-tense stem ends in a consonant use the formant {-ˇs-}: ghby=cibq ‘having brought in’ (msc nom sg), ghbd†lie/ ‘having led

4 Rathmayr 1976. Gvozdanovi´c 1994 calls them “present/future.”

5 Brecht 1976.

96 A Reference Grammar of Russian

Table 3.1 Aspect, tense, and participles

	imperfective	imperfective	perfective	perfective
	adjectival	adverbial	adjectival	adverbial
	participle	participle	participle	participle
present	g∫ieobq	g∫if	---	ghbytcz´
past	gbcƒdibq	[? gbcƒd(ib)]	yfgbcƒdibq	yfgbcƒd
			cnjkryédibqcz	cnjkryédibcm
			ghby=cibq

gbcƒnm<if> ‘write’, yfgbcƒnm<pf> ‘write’, ghbytcn∫<pf> ‘deliver’, cnjkryénmcz<pf>

‘conflict with’

= {CVT- : CVT-|e|} stems ending in dental consonant

in’ (fem acc). Past imperfective participles are still used:

[1]<. . .> [elj;ybr, gbcfdibq<if pst pcl> gjhnhtns b hfcgbcsdfdibq<if pst pcl> wthrdb

<. . .> an artist, who used to do portraits and decorate churches

The P R E S E N T A C T I V E A D J E C T I V A L P A R T I C I P L E ( I M P E R F E C T I V E ) can be gen-

erated by subtracting the {-t} from the third plural present and adding the

formant {-s˛-}: vjkΩn > vjkΩobq ‘beseech’, g∫ien > g∫ieobq ‘write’. Present

‹

active adjectival participles of imperfectives are used freely ([2]); perfectives are not used.

[2]<. . .> ,evfujq, ghtlgbcsdf/otq<if prs pcl> d 24 xfcf jxbcnbnm dtcm dnjhjq эnf; ljvf

<. . .> a document dictating the evacuation of the whole second story within 24 hours

Adverbial participles developed from adjectival participles as they stopped de-

clining. The P R E S E N T A D V E R B I A L P A R T I C I P L E ( I M P E R F E C T I V E ) is {-a} added to

the stem of the present tense: ∫of ‘searching’, lévfz ‘thinking’ (present stem {dum-aj-}), jhufybpéz ‘organizing’ (present stem {or an˛iz-uj-}). A mutable consonant is palatalized (Ci grade): ytcz´ ‘carrying’, ghbdjlz´ ‘adducing’, ukzlz´ ‘seeing’, gj´vyz ‘remembering’. The present adverbial participles formed from verbs with phonologically minimal stems are awkward (but possible: gthbjlbxtcrb gjdbpubdfz, cdbcnz, b hdz<dee> yf ct,t jlt;le jn bp,snrf xedcnd ‘periodically squealing, whistling, and tearing their clothes from an excess of feelings’); they are not standard with stems that require a velar to be palatalized (?gtrz´ [‘baking’], ?,thtuz´ [‘protecting’]). The P A S T A D V E R B I A L P A R T I C I P L E is a truncated version

of the adjectival participle in {-vs-}, usually just {-v}: jcnƒd ‘having left behind’,

‹

dß,hfd ‘having chosen’, gjcnƒdbd ‘having placed’, ed∫ltd ‘having seen’, ghb†[fd

‘having arrived’; the fuller form in {-vsi} is used occasionally: jcnƒdib (§6.3.5).

‹

Inf lectional morphology

97

Reflexive verbs require {-vsi} to support the reflexive affix: cjckƒdibcm ‘having

‹

referred to’, jcnƒdibcm ‘having remained’, cnjkryédibcm ‘having collided’. Perfective verbs whose past-infinitive stems end in a dental consonant now use the original present-tense formant {-a} for the past adverbial participle: ghbytcz´ ‘upon bringing, having brought’, ddtlz´ ‘having led in’, j,htnz´ ‘upon discovering, having discovered’.6

The distribution and use of adverbial participles is especially sensitive to aspect (§6.3.6). Present adverbial participles of imperfectives are used widely, but past adverbial participles of imperfectives, such as lévfd ‘having thought’, ,∫d ‘having been beating’, though they are listed in grammars, are rarely used. There is basically only one type of adverbial participle of perfective verbs.7

The past passive participle is formed from transitive perfective verbs, those governing accusative objects in their active form. (It is formed residually from a small number of simplex imperfectives: g∫cfy ‘written’.) There are three formants. Verbs whose past-infinitive stem ends in {a} take a suffix {-n-}: yfg∫cfy ‘written’, cajhvbhj´dfy ‘formed’, jnj´hdfy ‘ripped off’. Another, related suffix is used with verbs whose past-infinitive stem ends in a consonant (y=c implies ghbytc=y ‘brought’) or verbs whose past-infinitive stem should end in a vowel other than {-a-}, when the vowel is truncated specifically in this form: {CVC-i-} >

{CVCj-} edj´kty ‘released’, {CVC-e-} > {CVCj-} ghtjljk=y (ghtjljktyƒ, ghtjljktyj´, ghtjljk=yysq) ‘overcome’. This suffix, spelled ≤ty≥ (explicit ≤=y≥), is pronounced

[on] under stress (ghbytc=y, ghtjljk=y) and [ìn] not under stress (edj´kty) ([ïn] after

⁄

hard palatals: evyj´;ty ‘multiplied’). And third, {-t-} is used with specific verb classes, notably verbs suffixed with {-nu-}: ljcn∫uyen ‘achieved’, also with pastinfinitive stems that end in a vowel that is not part of a conjugational suffix: pfrhßn ‘closed’, jni∫n ‘sewn off’, erj´kjn ‘pierced’.

Present passive participles, limited to written Russian, are formed by adding {-m-} to the present-tense stem of imperfectives: herjdjl∫vsq ‘led’, from imperfective herjdjl∫im; jgbcsdƒtvsq ‘being described’, from imperfective jgbcsdƒtim.

Infinitives, like participles, lack a subject. If participles present an event as a quality (adjectival) or circumstance (adverbial), infinitives present events as possibilities. And indeed, in older grammatical traditions, the infinitive was considered a mood. The infinitive is marked by {-t˛} added to the past-infinitive stem; that stem ends in a vowel for most verbs. With those verbs whose stem

6 Rarely, ghbytcib (4%), ghbdtlib (1.9%) <04.XI.02>.

7 SRIa 2.165 cites an innovative use of present-tense perfective participles with an exemplary meaning: Z vju ghbdtcnb cjnyb jnhsdrjd bp rybu Uhbyf, dpdjkye/ob[<pf prs prc> rf;ljuj, yt gjnthzdituj cgjcj,yjcnb djkyjdfnmcz gthtl phtkbotv ghtrhfcyjuj ‘I could cite hundreds of examples of fragments from Greene’s books that would excite anyone who has not lost the capacity to experience excitement in the face of the spectacle of the beautiful.’