Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction

A1 — Lêker

The simple past and split ergativity: direct subjects with intransitive verbs, oblique subjects and object agreement with transitive ones.

Can form basic past tense sentences understanding ergative alignment

Examples

Min nan xwar. — I ate bread.
Te çi got? — What did you say?
Wê nameyek nivîsand. — She wrote a letter.

VerbsA1

Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction

The simple past and split ergativity: direct subjects with intransitive verbs, oblique subjects and object agreement with transitive ones.

Learning Goal

Can form basic past tense sentences understanding ergative alignment

Exam Skills:ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Min nan xwar.

I ate bread.

Te çi got?

What did you say?

Wê nameyek nivîsand.

She wrote a letter.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The Kurmanji past tense has a feature English does not: split ergativity. Which form of the pronoun you use for the subject depends on whether the verb takes an object.

Intransitive verbs: business as usual

Verbs without an object (come, go, sleep, sit) behave as in English. The subject is in the direct form and the verb agrees with it:

Kurmanji	English
Ez hatim.	I came.
Tu çûyî.	You went.
Ew razan.	They slept.

Transitive verbs: the subject goes oblique

With verbs that take an object (read, eat, see, write), the person who acts appears in the oblique form, and the verb agrees with the object, not with the subject:

Present	Past	English (past)
Ez dixwînim.	Min xwend.	I read.
Tu dixwînî.	Te xwend.	You read.
Ew dixwîne.	Wî / Wê xwend.	He / She read.
Ez nan dixwim.	Min nan xwar.	I ate bread.

To feel the logic, read Min nan xwar as "by me, bread was eaten". Agreement shows when the object is a person: Min tu dîtî - I saw you (the verb ends in -î to agree with tu); Te ez dîtim - You saw me.

How to tell the two kinds apart

Ask "can it take a direct object?" Hatin (come) takes no object, so Ez hatim. Dîtin (see) can, so Min dît. English speakers carry over the present-tense habit and say *Ez xwend; every Kurdish teacher's red pen goes there first.

A Newroz memory in the past: Em çûn çiyê, me agir pêxist û me govend girt - We went to the mountain, lit the fire and danced the govend. Em çûn (intransitive, direct em), but me pêxist, me girt (transitive, oblique me).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

English speakers keep the present pattern in the past (*Ez xwend). With a transitive verb the subject goes oblique and the verb agrees with the object: Min xwend, Min tu dîtî. Intransitive verbs keep the direct form: Ez hatim.

Common Error Patterns

Error with Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction

Review the rules for Dema Borî ya Sade

Min nan xwar.

I ate bread.

Min (oblique, not ez!) = I. Nan = bread. Xwar = ate. Ergative: agent in oblique case.

Te çi got?

What did you say?

Te (oblique, not tu!) = you. Çi = what. Got = said.

Wê nameyek nivîsand.

She wrote a letter.

Wê (oblique feminine) = she. Name = letter. Nivîsand = wrote.

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?: The Kurmanji past tense has a feature English does not: split ergativity . Which form of the pronoun you use for the subject depends on whether the verb takes an object.
How do you form Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?: Verbs without an object (come, go, sleep, sit) behave as in English. The subject is in the direct form and the verb agrees with it: With verbs that take an object (read, eat, see, write), the person who acts appears in the oblique form, and the verb agrees with the object , not with the subject: To feel the logic, read Min nan xwar as "by me, bread was eaten". Agreement shows when the object is a person: Min tu dîtî - I saw you (the verb ends in -î to agree with tu ); Te ez dîtim - You saw me. Ask "can it take a direct object?" Hatin (come) takes no object, so Ez hatim . Dîtin (see) can, so Min dît .
What are common mistakes with Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?: English speakers keep the present pattern in the past (*Ez xwend). With a transitive verb the subject goes oblique and the verb agrees with the object: Min xwend, Min tu dîtî. Intransitive verbs keep the direct form: Ez hatim.

Kurmanji

English

Ez hatim.

I came.

Tu çûyî.

You went.

Ew razan.

They slept.

Present

Past

English (past)

Ez dixwînim.

Min xwend.

I read.

Tu dixwînî.

Te xwend.

You read.

Ew dixwîne.

Wî / Wê xwend.

He / She read.

Ez nan dixwim.

Min nan xwar.

I ate bread.

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?

The Kurmanji past tense has a feature English does not: split ergativity . Which form of the pronoun you use for the subject depends on whether the verb takes an object.

How do you form Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?

Verbs without an object (come, go, sleep, sit) behave as in English. The subject is in the direct form and the verb agrees with it: With verbs that take an object (read, eat, see, write), the person who acts appears in the oblique form, and the verb agrees with the object , not with the subject: To feel the logic, read Min nan xwar as "by me, bread was eaten". Agreement shows when the object is a person: Min tu dîtî - I saw you (the verb ends in -î to agree with tu ); Te ez dîtim - You saw me. Ask "can it take a direct object?" Hatin (come) takes no object, so Ez hatim . Dîtin (see) can, so Min dît .

What are common mistakes with Simple past tense with split ergativity introduction?