7.21 Class a verbs

7.2 Passive verb classes

Verbs of class a occur with direct passive affixes (see the entry for -un1), and the direct passive verb refers to a FOCUS which is the recipient of the action (see -un1, meaning 1). Verbs of class a normally also occur with the local passive affixes (see -an1) referring to a focus which is the place or beneficiary of the action (-an1, meaning 1). They also occur with the instrumental passive affixes (see i-1) in the instrumental, beneficial, and temporal meanings (i-1, meanings 2, 3, and 4). Palit ‘buy’ illustrates a verb of class a. Hapit ‘drop in’ and dalágan ‘run’ illustrate verbs of class a that refer to motion. Ábut (under ábut) ‘meet with each other’ illustrates a verb of class a conjugation referring to mutual action. Dakù illustrates an adjective with class a conjugation. Bisiklíta and duktur illustrate two different kinds of nouns with class a conjugation.

7.211 Subclasses of the class a conjugation

Verbs in class a1 lack a local passive; verbs in class a2 lack an instrumental passive (except in the benefactive and temporal meanings [-i1, meanings 3 and 4], to which all verbs in the language are subject). Verbs in class a12 lack both the local and the instrumental passive. The verb daug, 1 ‘overcome’ exemplifies this conjugation. Verbs in class a3 have only potential passive affixes, e.g. dungug, 1 ‘hear’. Verbs in class a4 refer to a focus which is the thing suffering from or affected by the thing referred to by the verb (-un1, meaning 2), e.g. malarya ‘get malaria’.