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Description

Greenlandic verb stems normally express either a state of being or a single event. However, this affix is used to denote that an action is recurring/habitual, as opposed to occurring only once. It is often used to express a trait of the subject, such as e.g. 'a smoker' (one who habitually smokes), or 'a coffee-drinker' (one who habitually drinks coffee).

To illustrate the meaning of this affix, consider the question: 'Do you drink coffee?' If you are holding a cup of something in your hand, then I might just be inquiring about what you are presently drinking. In that case, I could pose the question as kaffisorpit? (without the use of V{ðaq}V). However, if I instead want to know whether you habitually drink coffee - i.e. if you are a coffee-drinker - rather than whether you are drinking it now specifically, then I would have to use this affix and instead ask kaffisortarpit? To which you can then reply (in the affirmative) aap, kaffisortarpunga, 'yes, I (habitually) drink coffee', or 'yes, I'm a coffee-drinker'.

However, note that the negation of V{ðaq}V is not done with V{ŋŋit}V, but instead is done by replacing V{ðaq}V with the special construction V{nəq ajuq}V. Negating this affix with V{ŋŋit}V will just mean that the verbal action is not habitual, but the subject might still Vb e.g. once, or maybe just occasionally. Thus, if you simply added V{ŋŋit}V and replied kaffisortanngilanga, then you might still be drinking coffee, but it is just not something you do habitually. To express that the subject never Vb, the 'pseudo'-affix V{nəq ajuq}V (never Vb) is used instead. Thus, if you want to express that you never drink coffee, you must replace V{ðaq}V with V{nəq ajuq}V, i.e.

• kaffisortarpunga ⇒ kaffisorneq ajorpunga

The affix is also always used on the main clause, whenever there is a subordinate clause in the iterative mood (i.e. to express 'whenever'). Consider the example

• ullaakkorsioraangama kaffisortarpunga, 'whenever I eat breakfast I drink coffee'

with the 1.sg iterative mood ending V{gaaŋama}. Here, the action in the main verb (kaffisortarpunga) must necessarily be habitual, because the meaning in the subordinate clause is 'whenever'. Alternatively, it can be recurring as in this example:

• iluliarsuit aseroraangata assut mallilersarpoq, 'whenever the huge icebergs broke, there came huge waves'

with the 3.pl iterative mood ending V{gaaŋata}. This example illustrates the recurring, rather than the habitual sense of this affix. It is not that the icebergs habitually break, but just that it is an even that occurs more than once, and therefore the main verb is marked with V{ðaq}V (mallilersarpoq). Note: The the form is -sar- here, rather than -tar-, because of the preceding 'true' /i/, which assibilates /t/ to /s/ (the t-to-s rule).

The affix also has a special meaning when used with the contemporative mood, when contemporative is used in an imperative sense, i.e. +tarluni, +tarlugu etc. Then this affix can be added to turn the command into a kind of reminder. It can also be used before ordinary imperative endings in the same sense, possibly followed by one of the other imperative modifiers like V{niaq}V in the same sense.

Finally, note that if this affix takes the form -sar- (as it regularly does on a vowel stem), and if it is followed by passive participle V{-ðaq}N, then it is usually duplicated, such that we get the form -sartagaq.

Verb stem

Meaning(s)