A special construction involving both the preterite and the present-future non-finite verbal form is used as a subordinate temporal clause. This construction was referred to as pronominal conjugation in earlier literature.
Table 7.1
1st and 2nd person plural forms are not attested. The morphological analyis of these forms is controversial. Being verbal nouns these forms too should be case-marked with a case. The table above assumes that the 1st and 2nd ps. forms are case-marked with an enclitic =/ne/, which might be an archaic marker of the locative, the nominal equivalence of the locative1 verbal prefix /ni/, surviving only in marginal, non-productive contexts. The 3rd ps. forms are analysed as being case-marked with the non-human locative3 =/e/.
The use of the subordinator suffix /(ʾ)a/with the present-future forms is unexpected. It may represent a secondary development on the analogy of the preterite forms starting with a reanalysis of the most frequent 3rd ps. sg.
present-future forms like ku₄-ku₄-da-ne(= ku~ku-ed=ane=e) “at his entering”
as ku~ku-ed-ʾa=ane=e. The preterite forms express anteriority, see ex. (127)
PRETERITE FORMS PRESENT-FUTURE FORMS
1.SG PTSTEM-ƺa=ĉu10=ne 3.SG HUMAN PTSTEM-ƺa=ane=e
(stem-PT=3.SG.H.POSS=L3.NH)
below, while the present-future forms express simultaneity, see ex. (128) below, with the verbal event of the main clause.
(127) Lugalbanda in the mountain cave 241 (ETCSL 1.8.2.1)
nu₂-a-zu-ne uŋ₃ ši-mu-e-da-nu₂
nu-ʾa=zu=ne uŋ=ø S2ša-S4mu-S6e-S7da-S12nu-S14ed-S16ø lie-PT=2.SG.POSS=L4 people=ABS MOD-VEN-2.SG-COM-lie-PF-3.SG.S
“When you have lain down, the people lie down with you.”
(128) Nam-mahne 6 2:2–5 (RIME 3/1.1.12.6) (Lagash, 21st c.) (P234696)
dlamma tar-sir₂-sir₂-ra, kisal dba-u₂-ka ku₄(REC56)-ku₄(REC56)-da-ne₂, lamma tarsirsir=ak=ø kisal bau=ak=ʾa ku~ku-ed-ʾa=ane=e
spirit GN=GEN=ABS courtyard DN=GEN=L1 enter~PF-PF-SUB-3.SG.H.POSS=L3.NH
alan-e nin-ŋu₁₀, ŋeštug₂-ga-ni-a
alan=e=e nin=ŋu=ø ŋeštug=ane=ʾa
alan=DEM=ERG lady=1.SG.POSS=ABS ear-3.SG.H.POSS=L1 mu-na-ni-ru-gu₂
S4mu-S6nn-S7a-S10ni-S11n-S12rugu-S14e
VEN-3.SG.H-DAT-L1-3.SG.H.P-whitstand-3.SG.A
“Whenever the protective spirit of Tarsirsir enters the courtyard of Bau, this statue will attract my lady’s attention towards him.”
The verbal stem /du/, the present-future stem of the verb ŋen“to go”, forms the 3rd ps. forms of the construction without an -/ed/and -/ʾa/suffix:
(129) ABTR 13 rev. 5 (Lagash, 21st c.) (P100201) [a]-dam-šaḫki-še₃ du-ne-ne
adamšaḫ=še du=anenē=e GN=TERM go.PF=3.PL.POSS=L3.NH
“When they were going to Adamshah”.
(130) MVN 22, 71 obv. 8 (Lagash, 21st c.) (P206204) a-dam-šaḫki-ta du-ne₂
adamšaḫ=ta du=ane=e
GN=ABL go.PF=3.SG.H.POSS=L3.NH
“When they were coming from Adamshah”.
In texts from the first part of the 2nd millennium BCE and in later texts the 3rd ps. sg. forms are sometimes case-marked with the locative1 or the ablative instead of the locative3, what may be an interference from Akkadian which translates these forms with the construction ina+ infinitive + genitive pronoun.
Non-finite verbal forms and relative clauses
A correspondence between the Akkadian preposition inaand the Sumerian locative1 and ablative was well established.
The construction is also attested with the word dili“single”: dili-ŋu₁₀-ne
“on my own, I alone”, dili-zu-ne“on your own, you alone”, see ex. (131) below, dili-ne2“on his own, he alone”.
(131) Ibbi-Suen B Segment A 37 (ETCSL 2.4.5.2) dili-zu-ne₂ maḫ-me-en
dili=zu=ne maḫ-ø=ø-me-en single=2.SG.POSS=L4 august-TL=ABS=COP-2.SG.S
“You alone are august!
Further readings
The word class of adjectives is controversial in Sumerian. A general survey of the word classes of Sumerian is provided by Black 2002. His arguments for a separate word class of adjectives in Sumerian are detailed in Black 2000. He, and also Jagersma (2010: 267–284), assume that Sumerian has a closed word class of adjectives.
On the function of the possessor of the head of a relative clause, see Peust 2009. On the archaic locative enclitic, called here locative4, see Krecher 1993:
96–98.
Exercises
7.1 Look up the new words used in the examples of this lesson in Foxvog’s (2016b) or Volk’s (2012) glossary, and learn them.
7.2 Study the examples of this lesson carefully and make yourself familiar with their grammatical analysis.
7.3 Add morphological segmentation and glossing to the excerpt from a votive inscription of Lugal-zagesi below. Translate the text with the help of Foxvog’s (2016b) glossary. Pay special attention to the genitive constructions used in this text, and find the constructions where the text uses suspended cliticization. Then LESSON7
104
go to the ETCSRI edition of the text (http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/
etcsri/Q001379), click on the “proofing” link on the left side of the page, and compare your glosses with ETCSRI’s glossing.
Lugal-zagesi 1 1:3–35 (RIME 1.14.20.1) (Uruk, 24th c.) (Q001379)
7.4 Transliterate the text Shu-Suen 12 (RIME 3/2.1.4.12, ex. 2) (Ur, 21st c.) (P226510) (a copy and a photo of the text can be found at http://cdli.ucla. edu/P226510) with the help of Volk’s sign list (2012). Add morphological segmentation and glossing to the text. Translate the text with the help of Foxvog’s (2016b) glossary. Then go to the ETCSRI edition of the text (http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q000996), click on the “proofing” link on the left side of the page, and compare your glosses with ETCSRI’s glossing. Identify and list the non-finite verbal forms. Can you notice something about the orthography of the text?
i 3 lugal-zag-ge-si i 14 an lugal kur-kur-ka i 15 ensi₂-gal
Non-finite verbal forms and relative clauses
L ESSON 8
N ON - VERBAL PREDICATION AND OTHER USES OF THE COPULA
In Sumerian there exist two kinds of non-verbal predicates. The more common type is the one in which the predicate contains a verbal copula. If the S of the non-verbal predicate is in the 3rd ps. sg. then the non-verbal predicate may occur without a copula in certain contexts. This lesson describes both kinds of non-verbal predicates, and the various other uses of the copula.