10.1. U¸-class auxiliaries
Models
| 1) | ÁN¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am very tired.’ |
| 2) | EN¸ÁN¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am really very tired.’ |
| 3) | JÁN¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am too tired.’ |
| 4) | SJÁN¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am completely tired.’ |
| 5) | YOŦ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am always tired.’ |
| 6) | ṮÁ¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I am also tired.’ |
| 7) | JÁN¸ SEN U¸ IȽEN. | ‘I really ate.’ / ‘I ate too much.’ |
| 8) | JÁN¸ LE¸ SEN U¸ QENNEW̱ TŦE SMÍYEŦ. | ‘I really saw the deer.’ |
‣ 1 The first word in each of the models is a U¸-class auxiliary. They are called that because the small word U¸ is required to link the auxiliary to the main verb. New words in the models show the stressed vowel underlined.
‣ 2 The first six models illustrate all six of the U¸-class auxiliaries.
‣ 3 Usually the main verb occurring with one of these auxiliaries is a quality word functioning as an intransitive verb. Review §6 on adjectives as intransitive verbs.
‣ 4 Although the main verb is usually a quality word, it does not necessarily have to be. The last two models (7 and 8) show that an intransitive verb, IȽEN ‘eat,’ as in model 7, can take an auxiliary, and even a transitive verb with its direct object, as in model 8, QENNEW̱ TŦE SMÍYEŦ ‘see the deer,’ can take an auxiliary.
‣ 5 The auxiliaries in models 1 and 2, ÁN¸ and EN¸ÁN¸, are obviously related, and both are typically translated ‘very’ or ‘really.’ The difference in meaning between them is a matter of degree. The second one, EN¸ÁN¸, is stronger than the first, ÁN¸.
‣ 6 The auxiliaries in the third and fourth models, JÁN¸ and SJÁN¸, are also obviously related. These are both also often translated ‘very’ or ‘really.’ The difference between JÁN¸ and SJÁN¸ is subtle. SJÁN¸ has the ‘stative’ prefix (§43), which indicates that it refers to a particular state of being. This auxiliary has been recorded only with words expressing qualities—not with any other intransitive or transitive verbs.
‣ 7 Note that the subject follows the intensifier—not the main verb. This illustrates the general fact of the SENĆOŦEN language that we have seen with serial verb constructions (§9): the ‘I’ or ‘you’ subject and other speech act modifiers (§3) always follow the first word of the sentence.
‣ 8 It is possible to have more than one of these auxiliaries in a simple sentence. If you have more than one, both have the U¸ linker, and the subject and other speech act modifiers still follow only the first one: YOŦ SEN U¸ ÁN¸ U¸ ȽĆIȻES ‘I am always very tired.’
‣ 9 The auxiliary in the second model, EN¸ÁN¸, has several alternate pronunciations. Depending on the speaker, this could be NÁN¸ or EN¸ON¸ or NON¸.
‣ 10 The auxiliary ṮÁ¸ means ‘also, too’. The word ṮÁ¸ means something different when it is not followed by the U¸ linker. Remove the U¸ from the model ṮÁ¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES ‘I am tired, too’ and you get ṮÁ¸ SEN ȽĆIȻES ‘I am tired again.’ The little U¸ makes a big meaning difference.
‣ 11 The models all have ȽĆIȻES ‘tired.’ This does not have to be an adjective. Any kind of word can fill this position. For example, ÁN¸ U¸ SNÁT ‘It’s very late’ has the noun SNÁT ‘night.’ And ÁN¸ U¸ JISEṈ ‘It really grows’ has the verb JISEṈ ‘grow.’
 | U¸ ÍY¸ E SW̱? | ‘Are you okay?’ |
 | ÁN¸ SEN U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I’m very tired.’ |
| ṮÁ¸ SEN U¸ ÁN¸ U¸ ȽĆIȻES. | ‘I’m very tired, too.’ |
| U¸ YÁŦ SW̱ U¸ ȽĆÍȻES. | ‘You are always tired.’ |
10.1A. Which of these sentences is ungrammatical? If it is ungrammatical, explain why it is. If it is grammatical, translate the sentence. If you see a word you do not know, look it up in the SENĆOŦEN dictionary.
1. ÁN¸ U¸ ĆEḴ.
2. YOŦ SEN ȻENÁṈET.
3. YOŦ U¸ ȻENÁṈET SEN.
4. ṮÁ¸ SEN U¸ IȽEN ¸E TŦE SEPLIL.
5. ṮÁ¸ E SW̱ U¸ IȽEN TŦE SEPLIL?
6. JÁN¸ E U¸ IȽEN TŦE SḴAXE¸?
7. JÁN¸ E U¸ IȽEN TŦE SḴAXE¸
8. NON¸ U¸ ȽĆIȻES ŦE NE TÁN.
9. SJÁN¸ ȽĆIȻES TŦE NE SḴAXE¸.
10. ṮÁ¸ U¸ ȽĆIȻES E SW̱?
10.1B. Make four new SENĆOŦEN sentences using U¸‑class auxiliaries.