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 . . .
(from Chapter Seven of g:aðdan:. See context.)
2. t:b: m:òø t:Ømhara s:aT:
dað b:Üúd Aaús:Ü eg:rakr Cað_
dÜúg:i . . .
(from Chapter Thirty-three of g:aðdan:. See context.)
1'. l:k_harð n:ð ehrn: kað
ut:ara Aaòr ( ePr ) Ok YÜúY p:r rK: edy:a . . .
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:
3. t:ðra m:rd t:ØJ:ð
p:iXðg:a, t:ðri hRÎRi
t:að_kr rK: dðg:a.
(from Chapter Twenty-one of g:aðdan:. See context.)
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-:
(from Chapter Eighteen of g:aðdan:. See context.)
(from Chapter Fourteen of g:aðdan:. See context.)
(from s:Ø\:m:
b:ðdi's story ec:e_y:a Aaòr
c:il:. See context.)
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. "
( from n:rðndÓ kñ0 es:nha's story
p:røp:ra )
8. y:h b:rs:at: ki g:m:i ý
t:að m:arkñ rK: dðt:i hò Aadm:i kað.
( from Chapter 7 of m:nn:Ü
B:NRari's novel Aap:ka
b:øXi )
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.
(from Chapter Six of g:aðdan:. See context.)
3". . . . t:ðri hRÎRi t:að_
dðg:a.
(from Chapter Three of g:aðdan:. See context.)
The construction in (10") provides an alternative to both (10) and 10'):
(See notes on j:b: t:k . . . t:b:
t:k . . . )
Are there yet other kinds of
"compound-compound" verbs?
11. ... m:òø Ok
J:Xka K:a kr uY K:_a
hØAa.
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 ! )
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.
'The woodcutter lowered the deer and put it
on a stump...'
Each action in such a sequence may have its own direct object:
'Then I'll shed a few tears and leave you...'
In principle, verb sequences like those in (1) and (2) can be rephrased as
conjunctions of independent clauses:
2'. t:b: m:òø dað
b:Üúd Aaús:Ü eg:raUúg:i Aaòr (
ePr ) t:Ømhara
s:aT: Cað_ dÜúg:i . . .
'Your man will beat you. He will break
your bones to bits.'
Sequences like those in (3) cannot be rephrased as conjunctions of two
clauses:
4. s:òk_aðø kað
ull:Ü b:n:akr Cað_ edy:a.
'(X) made complete and utter fools of
hundreds.'
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?'
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...'
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:
'No, Sahab, not the police! They will find
some pretext or other to thoroughly dishonor me instead.'
Compound-compounds are well suited to elaborate or exaggerated modes of
expression:
'This heat that comes during the rains is a
real killer!'
So is reduplication. In (9)
both occur:
'In an instant the whole village
would have come together and beaten the hell out of everyone in
this man's gang.'
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:
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.'
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!'
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!'
(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...'
Vector
Ral: .
Vector
b:òY .
Vector
p:_ .