35.2. Using níɬ suʔ- and suʔ-
| níɬ nəsuʔhiyáʔ. | ‘So then, I went.’ |
| níɬ ʔən̓suʔhiyáʔ. | ‘So then, you went.’ |
| níɬ suʔhiyáʔɬ. | ‘So then, we went.’ |
| níɬ suʔhiyáʔs. | ‘So then, he/she/it/they went.’ |
| níɬ suʔhiyáʔs cə nəŋə́naʔ. | ‘So then, my son/daughter went.’ |
| níɬ suʔhiyáʔ ʔaʔ Terry. | ‘So then, Terry went.’ |
► 1 The níɬ suʔ‑ … pattern is used to connect sentences in a story and provides the same sort of smooth flow from one sentence to another as the English phrase ‘so then ...’ However, the Klallam níɬ suʔ‑ ... does not literally mean the same as the English ‘so then ...’ The English ‘then’ implies a particular time; the Klallam níɬ suʔ- ... has no such ‘time’ meaning. In other contexts níɬ usually translates as ‘it is’ or ‘that is’ or ‘that’s.’
► 2 Sentences with níɬ suʔ‑... could also be translated ‘so ...’ or ‘and then ...’
► 3 The níɬ of níɬ suʔ-... can be omitted with no change of meaning.
► 4 Often when a completely fluent Klallam speaker is talking fast, the vowel of níɬ drops out so that it sounds like nɬ suʔ‑...
► 5 The níɬ suʔ‑... is always and only attached to the first word (verb or intensifier) in a sentence.
► 6 The verb that níɬ suʔ‑... is attached to is—with one exception—always possessed (see §34). That is, it always has a possessive pronoun that marks the subject. Look at the first five models and see how the possessive pronoun marks the subject in each.
► 7 The possessive -s suffix is necessary even if the third person subject is expressed as a noun phrase, as in the fifth model.
► 8 The one exception to the rule given in point 6 is shown in the final model sentence. If the noun phrase subject is a proper name, the possessive -s suffix is absent.
► 9 The English translations given in the models are all in the past tense, but, as usual, these could be translated with present or future.
► 10 If you want to mention the tense explicitly, or to use any other speech act particles (given in §3, §41, and elsewhere), these must follow the níɬ, if it is there. If only suʔ‑ is used, without the níɬ, then the speech act particles follow the word with suʔ‑. For example, níɬ caʔ nəsuʔhiyáʔ, with the caʔ ‘future’ speech act particle, means ‘so then, I’ll go.’ Without níɬ it would be nəsuʔhiyáʔ caʔ.
► 11 The prefix suʔ‑ is a contraction of two prefixes. s-, which forms an important component in several constructions (§10.3, §18.1, §20.3, §22.1, §24.3, §28.1, §34, §38.2, and §51), and ʔuʔ‑, which occurs in several constructions (§19.3 and §20.3) and is discussed more in §52.1.
► 12 New vocabulary: ʔúyɬ ‘go aboard’; t̓əŋúʔəŋ ‘swim’
 | ʔúyɬ yaʔ cn ʔaʔ cə nəsnə́xʷɬ. níɬ nəsuʔhiyáʔ ƛ̓ácu. | ‘I boarded my canoe. Then I went fishing. |
 | ŋə́n̓ u ʔən̓sqə́čaʔ? | ‘Did you catch a lot?’ |
| ʔuʔhúy ʔuʔ nə́c̓uʔ. | ‘Only one.’ |
| nə́c̓uʔ sčánnəxʷ u. | ‘One salmon?’ |