39.2. That’s why: níɬ kʷaʔčaʔ sxʷ-
| níɬ kʷaʔčaʔ nəsxʷhiyáʔ. | ‘That’s why I went.’ |
| ɬčíkʷs cn; níɬ kʷaʔčaʔ nəsxʷhiyáʔ. | ‘I’m tired is why I went' |
► 1 Review the models in §38.1. The first model there was ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ nəsxʷhiyáʔ. Compare this with the first model in this section and you will see striking similarities.
► 2 Where the first model in §38.1 has ʔaʔstúʔŋət, the first model here has níɬ. That is the only difference between the two patterns.
► 3 The second model here is really two sentences and could be translated ‘I’m tired. That’s why I went.’
► 4 It is possible to use the ʔaw̓‑ prefix in combination with this pattern, as in ʔaw̓ɬčíkʷs cn; níɬ kʷaʔčaʔ nəsxʷhiyáʔ ‘It’s because I’m tired; that’s why I went.’
► 5 Review the basic meanings of kʷaʔčaʔ and sxʷ‑ in §38.1. You can see the same functions here.
► 6 Remember that sxʷ‑ basically means something like ‘reason (for),’ so the first model could also be translated ‘That’s the reason for my going’ or ‘That’s the reason I went.’
► 7 Speech act particles and subject pronouns follow the níɬ.
► 8 New vocabulary: x̣ə́ɬ ‘sick’
 | sáy̓siʔ cn. níɬ kʷaʔčə nəsxʷkʷánəŋət. | ‘I’m scared. That’s why I ran.’ |
 | ʔaʔstúʔŋət kʷaʔčaʔ ʔən̓sxʷsáy̓siʔ. | ‘Why are you scared?’ |
| k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ cn cə snúʔnəkʷ! | ‘I saw a ghost!’ |
| ʔáčənaʔ! pə́q̓ cxʷ x̣ʷnáŋ ʔaʔ či ŋáqaʔ! | ‘My goodness! ‘You’re white as snow!’ |