Indo-European copula

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A feature common to all Indo-European languages is the presence of a verb corresponding to the English verb to be.

Contents

[edit] General features

This verb has two basic meanings. In a less marked context it is a simple copula (I'm tired; That's a shame!), a function which in non-Indo-European languages can be expressed quite differently. In a more heavily marked context it expresses existence (I think therefore I am); the dividing line between these is not always easy to draw. In addition, many Indo-European languages use this verb as an auxiliary for the formation of compound (periphrastic) tenses (I'm working; I was bitten). Other functions vary from language to language. For example, although in its basic meanings, to be is a stative verb, English puts it to work as a dynamic verb in fixed collocations (You are being very annoying).

The copula is the most irregular verb in many Indo-European languages. This is partly because it is more frequently used than any other, and partly because Proto-Indo-European offered more than one verb suitable for use in these functions, with the result that the daughter languages, in different ways, have tended to form suppletive verb paradigms. This article describes the way in which the irregular forms have developed from a series of roots.

[edit] The Proto-Indo-European roots

[edit] *h1es-

Look up Appendix:Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The root *h1es- was certainly already a copula in Proto-Indo-European. The e-grade (see Indo-European ablaut) is found in such forms as English is, German ist, Latin est, while the zero grade produces forms beginning with /s/, like German sind, Latin sumus, Vedic Sanskrit smas, etc. In PIE, *h1es- was an athematic verb in -mi, that is, the first person singular was *h1esmi; this inflection survives in English am, Sanskrit asmi, Old Church Slavonic есмь (jesm'), etc.

The present indicative of this verb is generally reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European thus:

Person Singular Plural
1 *h1és-mi *h1s-més
2 *h1és-si (already in PIE reduced to *h1ési) *h1s-th1é
3 *h1és-ti *h1s-énti

[edit] *bhuH-

The root *bhuH- (where H stands for a laryngeal of unknown quality) probably meant "to grow", but also "to become". This is the source of the English infinitive be and participle been (Germanic participles have the suffix in -an), as well as, for example, the Scottish Gaelic future tense bithidh, and the Slavic infinitive, etc. for example Russian быть [byt']. PIE /bh/ becomes Latin /f/, hence the Latin future participle futūrus and perfect tense fuī; Latin fiō 'I become' is also from this root, as is the Greek verb φύω, from which physics and physical are derived. Jasanoff (2003: 112) reconstructs the present indicative of this verb as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1 *bhúH-i-h2e(i) *bhuH-i-mé-
2 *bhúH-i-th2e(i) *bhuH-i-(t)é-
3 *bhúH-y-e *bhuH-y-énti

[edit] *wes-

The root *wes- may originally have meant "to live". The e-grade is present in the German participle gewesen, the o-grade (*wos-) survives in English and Old High German was, while the lengthened e-grade (*wēs-) gives us English were. (The Germanic forms with /r/ result from grammatischer Wechsel.) See Germanic strong verb: Class 4.

[edit] *h1er-

The root *h1er- meant "to move". This is probably the origin of the Old Norse and later Scandinavian languages' present stem: Old Norse em, ert, er, erum, eruð, eru; the second person forms of which were borrowed into English as art and are.[1] Other authorities link these forms with *h1es- and assume grammatischer Wechsel (/s/→/r/), although this is, to a degree, difficult to explain in the present stem.

[edit] *steh2-

The root *(s)teh2- survives in English with its original meaning: "to stand". From this root comes the present stem of the so-called "substantive verb" in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and tha respectively. In Latin, stō, stare retained the meaning "to stand", until local forms of Vulgar Latin began to use it as a copula in certain circumstances. Today, this survives in that several Romance languages use it as one of their two copulae, and there is also a Romance tendency for a past participle derived from *steh2- to replace that of the main copula. On the absence of the initial s- in Celtic, see Indo-European s-mobile.

[edit] The resulting paradigms

[edit] Hittite

The Hittite verb "to be" is derived from the Indo-European root *h1es-.

  Present indicative Preterite indicative Imperative
1st sg. ēšmi ešun ēšlit
ēšlut
ašallu
2nd sg. ēšši ēšta ēš
3rd sg. ēšzi ēšta ēšdu
1st pl. (ašweni) ēšwen ——
2nd pl. ēšteni ēšten ēšten
3rd pl. ašanzi ešer ašandu

[edit] Vedic Sanskrit

The Vedic Sanskrit verb as (to be) is derived from the Indo-European root *h1es-.

Person Present, Indicative, Active
Singular Dual Plural
1. asmi asvas asmas
2. asi asthas astha
3. asti astas asanti
bhū - 'to be'
Person Present, Indicative, Active
Singular Dual Plural
1. bhavāmi bhavāvas(i) bhavāmas(i)
2. bhavasi bhavathas bhavatha
3. bhavati bhavatas bhavanti

[edit] Ancient Greek

The Ancient Greek verb eimi (I am) is derived from the Indo-European root *h1es-.

  Present indicative
1st sg. εἰμί (eimi)
2nd sg. εἶ, εἶς, ἐσσί (ei ,eis, essi)
3rd sg. ἐστί(ν) (esti(n))
1st pl. ἐσμέν, εἰμέν (esmen, eimen)
2nd pl. ἐστέ (este)
3rd pl. ἐντί, εἰσί(ν), enti, eisi(n)

[edit] Slavic languages

Old Church Slavonic Ukrainian Russian Polish Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian Bulgarian
Infinitive byti buty быть, byt' być biti да бъда, da bədə
Present esmĭ
esi
estĭ
esmŭ
este
sǫtŭ
є, есьм je, jes'm
є, єси je, jesy
є, єсть je, jest'
є, єсмо je, jesmo
є, єсте je, jeste
є, суть je, sut'
есмь, esm' (rare)
еси, esi (rare)
есть, est'
есмы, esmy (arch.)
есте, este (arch.)
суть, sut'
jestem
jesteś
jest
jesteśmy
jesteście
jesam, sam
jesi, si
jest, je
jesmo, smo
jeste, ste
jesu, su
съм, səm
си, si
е, e
сме, sme
сте, ste
са, sə
Imperfect

běaše


běaxǫ
bijah, b(j)eh
bijaše, b(j)eše
bijaše, b(j)eše
bijasmo, b(j)esmo
bijaste, b(j)este
bijahu, b(j)ehu
бях, byah
беше, beshe
беше, beshe
бяхме, byahme
бяхте, byachte
бяха, byahə
Imperfective aorist běxŭ


běxomŭ
*běste
běšę
бях, byah
бе, be
беше, be
бяхме, byahme
бяхте, byachte
бяха, byahə
Future bǫdǫ
bǫdeši
bǫdetŭ
bǫdemŭ
bǫdete
bǫdǫtŭ
буду, budu
будеш, budeš
буде, bude
будемо, budemo
будете, budete
будуть, budut′
буду, budu
будешь, budeš'
будет, budet
будем, budem
будете, budete
будут, budut
będę
będziesz
będzie
będziemy
będziecie
będą
budem
budeš
bude
budemo
budete
budu
ще бъда, shte bədə
ще бъдеш, shte bədesh
ще бъде, shte bəde
ще бъдем, shte bədem
ще бъдете, shte bədete
ще бъдат, shte bədət
Imperative
bǫdi
bǫdi
bǫděmŭ
bǫděte
bǫdǫ

бувай/будь, buvaj/bud′
(нехай буде, nexaj bude)
буваймо/будьмо, buvajmo/bud′mo
бувайте/будьте, buvajte/bud′te
(нехай будуть, nexaj budut')

будь, bud’

будем, budem
будьте, bud’te

bywaj/bądź

bywajmy/bądźmy
bywajcie/bądźcie

budi
(neka bude)
budimo
budite
(neka budu)
-
бъди, bədi
-
-
бъдете, bədete
-
Perfective aorist byxŭ
by(stŭ)
by(stŭ)
byxomŭ
byste
byšę
bih
bi
bi
bismo
biste
biše
бих, bih
би, bi
би, bi
бихме, bihme
бихте, bihte
биха, bihə
Present participle sy m.
sǫšti f.
sy n.
буваючий, buvajučyj m.
буваюча, buvajuča f.
буваюче, buvajuče n.
будущий, budušči m.
будущая, buduščaja f.
будущее, buduščeje n.
będący m.
będąca f.
będące n.
budući m.
buduća f.
buduće n.
Resultative participle bylŭ m.
byla f.
bylo n.
бил, bil
била, bila
било, bilo
Past active participle byvŭ m.
byvŭši f.
byvŭ n.
бывший, byvšij m. (‘former’ adj.)
бывшая, byvšaja f.
бывшее, byvšee n.

[edit] Italic languages

Further information: Romance copula

Except for Latin, the older Italic languages are very scarcely attested, but we have in Oscan set (they are), fiiet (they become), fufans (they have been) and fust (he will be), and in Umbrian sent (they are). This section will explain Latin, and the Romance languages that have evolved from it.

In Spanish, Catalan, Galician-Portuguese and to a lesser extent, Italian there are two parallel paradigms, ser/èsser/essere from Latin esse "to be" on one hand, and estar/stare from Latin stare, "to stand" on the other.

For simplicity, the table below has only the full conjugation of the present tense, and the first-person singular forms of some other tenses.

Latin (Old) French Spanish Italian Portuguese Catalan
Infinitive esse stāre être ester ser estar essere stare ser estar ser, ésser estar
Present indicative sum
es
est
sumus
estis
sunt
stō
stās
stat
stāmus
stātis
stant
suis
es
est
sommes
êtes
sont
este
estes
este
estons
estez
estent
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
estoy
estás
está
estamos
estáis
están
sono
sei
è
siamo
siete
sono
sto
stai
sta
stiamo
state
stanno
sou
és
é
somos
sois
são
estou
estás
está
estamos
estais
estão
sóc
ets
és
som
sou
són
estic
estàs
està
estem
esteu
estan
Present subjunctive (first-person sg.) sim stem sois este sea esté sia stia seja esteja sigui estigui
Preterite fuī steti fus estai fui estuve fui stetti fui estive fui
(unused)
estiguí
(unused)
Imperfect eram stābam étais estais era estaba ero stavo era estava era estava
Future erō stābō serai esterai seré estaré sarò starò serei estarei seré estaré
Past participle
/ Supine
n/a stātum été
(borrowed)
esté sido estado stato
(borrowed)
stato sido estado sigut
(dialectal)
estat

In several modern Romance languages, the perfect is a compound tense formed with the participle as in English, but the old Latin perfect survives as a commonly-used preterite in Spanish and Portuguese, and as a literary "past historical" in French, Italian and Catalan.

There is a tendency for a past participle derived from stare (or more specifically its supine, statum) to replace that of the main copula derived from esse. For example, the French participle été comes from statum.

For further information, see the main article.

[edit] Germanic languages

Main article: Germanic verb
Old Norse Icelandic Danish Old Swedish Swedish Old English English Old High German German Dutch Gothic
Infinitive vera vera være vara vara wesan bēon be wesan sein zijn / wezen wisan
Present indicative em
ert (est)
er (es)
erum
eruð
eru
er
ert
er
erum
eruð
eru


er



æm
æst
ær
ærum
ærin
æro


är

äro(arch. plur)

eom
eart
is
sint
sint
sint
bēo
bist
biþ
bēoþ
bēoþ
bēoþ
am
(art)
is
are
are
are
bim
bis(t)
ist
birum
birut
sint
bin
bist
ist
sind
seid
sind
ben
bent
is
zijn
zijn / gij zijt
zijn
im
is
ist
sijum
sijuþ
sind
Present subjunctive siá
sér

sém
séð

sért

séum
séuð
séu


være


(extremely rare)
væri
væri
væri
sēin
sēn


vare


(rare)
sīe
sīe
sīe
sīen
sīen
sīen
bēo
bēo
bēo
bēon
bēon
bēon


be



sîs(t)

sîm
sî(n)t
sîn
sei
sei(e)st
sei
seien
sei(e)t
seien


zij


sijau
sijais
sijai
sijaima
sijaiþ
sijaina
Preterite
var

várum

var
varst
var
vorum
voruð
voru


var



var
vart
var
vārom
vārin
vāro


var



wæs
wǽre
wæs
wǽron
wǽron
wǽron
was
(wast)
was
were
were
were
was
wâri
was
wârum
wârut
wârun
war
warst
war
waren
wart
waren
was
was
was
waren
waren/waart
waren
was
wast
was
wesum
wesuþ
wesun
Past participle verit verið været varin varit (supine) —— been —— gewesen geweest ——

Old English kept the verbs wesan and bēon separate throughout the present stem, though it is not clear that they made the kind of consistent distinction in usage that we find, for example in Spanish. In the preterite, however, the paradigms fell together. Old English has no participle for this verb.

[edit] Celtic languages

In the earliest Celtic languages there was a distinction between the so-called substantive verb, used when the predicate was an adjective phrase or prepositional phrase, and the so-called copula, used when the predicate was a noun. This contrast is maintained today in the Goidelic languages but has been lost[citation needed] in the Brythonic languages.

The conjugation of the Old Irish and Middle Welsh verbs is as follows:

Old Irish substantive verb Old Irish copula Middle Welsh
Present (at)·tó
(at)·taí
(at)·tá
(at)·taam
(at)·taïd
(at)·taat
am
at
is
ammi
adib
it
wyf
wyt
yw, mae, taw, oes
ym
ywch
ynt, maen(t)
Preterite ·bá
·bá
·boí
·bámmar
·baid
·bátar
basa
basa
ba
bommar
unattested
batar
buum
buost
bu
buam
buawch
buant
Future bia
bie
bieid, ·bia
beimmi, ·biam
bethe, ·bieid
bieit, ·biat
be
be
bid
bimmi
unattested
bit
bydaf
bydy
byd
bydwn
bydwch
bydant

The forms of the Old Irish present tense of the substantive verb, as well as Welsh taw, come from the PIE root *stā-. The other forms are from the roots *es- and *bhū-. Welsh mae originally meant "here is" (cf. yma 'here').

In modern Gaelic, person inflections have almost disappeared, but the negative and interrogative are marked by distinctive forms. While some grammar books still distinguish the substantive verb from the copula, some treat the substantive forms as assertive forms of the copula;[2] since the verb is in any case suppletive, this is a matter of perspective.

Scottish Gaelic Irish
Present
affirmative
interrogative
negative
negative interrogative

tha
a bheil
chan eil
nach eil


an bhfuil
níl (ní fhuil)
nach bhfuil
Assertive present is is
Past
affirmative
interrogative
negative
negative interogative

bha
an robh
cha robh
nach robh

bhí
an raibh
ní raibh
nach raibh
Assertive past bu ba
Future
affirmative
interogative
negative
negative interogative

bithidh
am bi
cha bhi
nach bi

beidh
an mbeidh
ní bheidh
nach mbeidh

Gaelic (bh)eil and Irish (bh)fuil are from Old Irish fil, originally an imperative meaning "see!" (PIE root *wel-, also in Welsh gweled, Germanic wlitu- "appearance", and Latin voltus "face"), then coming to mean "here is" (cf. French voici < vois ci and voilà < vois là), later becoming a suppletive dependent form of at-tá. Gaelic robh and Modern Irish raibh are from the perfective particle ro (ry in Welsh) plus ba (lenited after ro).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Calvert Watkins, American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
  2. ^ Colin Mark, Gaelic Verbs systemised and simplified, Savage (London & Edinburgh) 1986, p21ff.

[edit] See also