One of the distinctive features of Hindi-Urdu and other South Asian languages is the use of conjunctive participles to express sequenced or linked actions:
1. l:k_harð n:ð ehrn: kað Ok
YÜúY p:r ut:arkr rK: edy:a . . .
'The woodcutter lowered the deer and put it
on a stump...'
(from Chapter Seven of g:aðdan:. See context.)
Each action in such a sequence may have its own direct object:
(from Chapter Thirty-three of g:aðdan:. See context.)
In principle, verb sequences like those in (1) and (2) can be rephrased as
conjunctions of independent clauses:
1'. l:k_harð n:ð ehrn: kað
ut:ara Aaòr ( ePr ) Ok YÜúY p:r rK: edy:a . . .
2'. t:b: m:òø dað
b:Üúd Aaús:Ü eg:raUúg:i Aaòr (
ePr ) t:Ømhara
s:aT: Cað_ dÜúg:i . . .
However, there also exist verb sequences in rK: dð, Cað_ dð, and D:r dð which resemble those in (1) and (2) but which refer to only one action. For instance in (3) the verb rK: dð- does not refer to some sort of putting, placing, or keeping that is conceptually distinct from the action expressed by t:að_ 'break'. Rather, the presence of rK: dð- expresses the fullness and completeness of the imagined act of breaking bones:
(from Chapter Twenty-one of g:aðdan:. See context.)
Sequences like those in (3) cannot be rephrased as conjunctions of two
clauses:
3'. t:ðra m:rd . . . t:ðri hRÎRi t:að_ðg:a Aaòr rK: dðg:a (!!!)
Use of the compound vector Cað_ dð- has much the same effect as
use of rK: dð-:
4. s:òk_aðø kað
ull:Ü b:n:akr Cað_ edy:a.
'(X) made complete and utter fools of
hundreds.'
(from Chapter Eighteen of g:aðdan:. See context.)
5. B:aðl:a Vy:a us:ð eB:K:ari
b:n:akr Cað_ dðn:a c:aht:ð hòø?
'Does Bhola want to make him into an absolute
beggar?'
(from Chapter Fourteen of g:aðdan:. See context.)
The somewhat rustic verb D:r 'put;
keep' also provides a compound vector D:r
dð whose use is parallel to that of rK: dð and Cað_ dð :
6. m:ðri b:ðXi Es: t:rh krð
t:að us:ki Xaúg:ðø t:að_kr n: D:r
dÜú&&&
'If my daughter behaves like this and I don't
break her legs...'
(from s:Ø\:m:
b:ðdi's story ec:e_y:a Aaòr
c:il:. See context.)
The use of doubly compound verbs like those in
(3), (4), (5), and (6) is one way of rendering speech more categorical,
vivid, and impressive:
7. " n:hiø s:hb:j:i,
p:Øel:s: kñ p:as:
n:hiø ! eks:i-n:-eks:i b:han:ð
v:ð m:ØJ:ð hi b:ðEzz:t: krkñ rK:
dðøg:ð. "
'No, Sahab, not the police! They will find
some pretext or other to thoroughly dishonor me instead.'
( from n:rðndÓ kñ0 es:nha's story
p:røp:ra )
Compound-compounds are well suited to elaborate or exaggerated modes of
expression:
8. y:h b:rs:at: ki g:m:i ý
t:að m:arkñ rK: dðt:i hò Aadm:i kað.
'This heat that comes during the rains is a
real killer!'
( from Chapter 7 of m:nn:Ü
B:NRari's novel Aap:ka
b:øXi )
So is reduplication. In (9)
both occur:
9. dm:-kñ-dm: m:ðø s:ara
g:aúv: j:m:a hað j:at:a Aaòr Es:kñ p:Ürð
j:tT:ð kað p:iX-p:aXkr rK: dðt:a.
'In an instant the whole village
would have come together and beaten the hell out of everyone in
this man's gang.'
(from Chapter Six of g:aðdan:. See context.)
Using the compound vectors rK: dð-, D:r
dð-, or Cað_
dð- to form "compound-compound" verbs is limited to
transitive main verbs.
Where the meaning of the main verb is one of hasty, violent, or
undesired action, the compound vectors ( kr ) rK: dð,
( kr ) D:r
dð and ( kr )
Cað_ dð can be replaced by
Ral:. ( See notes on vector Ral: )
:
3'. . . . t:ðri hRÎRi
t:að_ Ral:ðg:a.
4'. . . . s:òk_aðø
kað ull:Ü b:n:a Ral:a.
6'. . . . Xaúg:ðø
t:að_ n: Ral:Üú&&&
8'. . . . m:ar Ral:t:i hò Aadm:i
kað.
Vector dð provides a more
general (but correspondingly less vivid) replacement of rK: dð, Cað_
dð, and D:r
dð:
3". . . . t:ðri hRÎRi t:að_
dðg:a.
4". . . . s:òk_aðø
kað ull:Ü b:n:a edy:a.
6". . . . Xaúg:ðø
t:að_ n: dÜú&&&
8". . . . m:ar dðt:i hò Aadm:i
kað.
Unlike double compound verbs in rK: dð- and D:r
dð those in Cað_
dð- have a close relation to idiomatic serial verbs in
Cað_- :
10. t:Øm: s:b: j:n:ð Ok
Aaðr hað g:y:ð, n:hiø ,ep:y:a kað ,l:akr Cað_t:i.
( = ,l:akr Cað_ dðt:i
)
'You all sided (against me). If not, I
would have had Rupiya in tears.'
(from Chapter Three of g:aðdan:. See context.)
These in turn are closely parallel in meaning to expressions using
V-O eb:n:a. (See notes):
10'. t:Øm: s:b: j:n:ð Ok Aaðr
hað g:y:ð, n:hiø ,ep:y:a
kað ,l:aO eb:n:a n: Cað_t:i.
'You all ganged up (on me). If
you hadn't, I would have made Rupiya cry for sure!'
The construction in (10") provides an alternative to both (10) and 10'):
(See notes on j:b: t:k . . . t:b:
t:k . . . )
10". ... j:b: t:k ,ep:y:a kað ,l:a n:
dðt:i, ( t:b: t:k ) (
m:òø ) n:
Cað_t:i.
'. . . I wouldn't have left Rupiya until I
had her in tears!'
Are there yet other kinds of "compound-compound" verbs?
11. ... m:òø Ok
J:Xka K:a kr uY K:_a
hØAa.
(from SaiSaa
G:aX by n:yy:r
m:as:Üd; thanks to Griff Chaussée)
In its context (11) seems to mean something like 'I was taken completely
aback...' rather than 'I was shocked and quickly stood up...'
For more on compound-compound verbs see Hook 1974:104-8. (Not all of what is written there is correct...)
To exercise on double compound verbs.
Other sections dealing with compound verbs:
Marked
compound verbs ( khð dðt:a
hÜú ! )
Vector
Ral: .
Vector
b:òY .
Vector
p:_ .
To index of grammatical notes.
To index of m:lhar.
Drafted and posted 17-20 Nov 2002. Augmented 26 Nov and 2 and 9 Dec 2002 and 9 March 2003. Checked by Aan:nd e¾v:ðdi 4 Dec 2002 and by t:hs:in: es:¸iqi 9 Mar 2003. Augmented 2 & 7 July 2004.