12.6. ‘Not let’ and a subordinate clause
Models
| 1) | EWETW̱ SEN. | ‘I didn’t let him/her.’ |
| 2) | EWETW̱ SEN TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I didn’t let my friend.’ |
| 3) | EWETW̱ SEN Ȼ EN¸ SYÁ¸. | ‘I didn’t let you go.’ |
| 4) | EWETEṈ SEN. | ‘I was not allowed to.’ |
| 5) | EWETEṈ SEN ¸E TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸. | ‘I was not allowed to by my friend.’ |
| 6) | EWETEṈ SEN Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I was not allowed to go.’ |
‣ 1 The main verb in these models is also based on EWE ‘not.’ Here, EWE has the causative suffix ‑TW̱ attached to it. The basic meaning of the causative suffix is ‘let’ or ‘allow.’ When added to EWE, the result means ‘not let’ or ‘not allow.’ The causative suffixes are discussed in detail in §40.
‣ 2 The translation ‘not let’ or ‘not allow’ could be replaced in each of the models by some version of ‘deny,’ or ‘refuse’ and the general meaning would be close to the same (‘I denied him/her,’ ‘I refused him/her,’ ‘I was denied by my friend,’ and so on).
‣ 3 The causative suffix ‑TW̱ creates a transitive verb. You can see that EWETW̱ is transitive by looking at the second model. In model 2, TŦE NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸ is the direct object of the verb. Review the Preposition Rule in §8.1.
‣ 4 The third model introduces our first subordinate clause. Up to this point in the book, all the model sentences have been simple sentences. The third model is a complex sentence because it has, in a way, another sentence embedded within it. Such embedded sentences are called subordinate clauses.
‣ 5 The third model is repeated below with the subordinate clause bracketed:
EWETW̱ SEN Ȼ [EN¸ S-YÁ¸]
not let I sub [you S-go]
The verb of the main clause (main sentence) is EWETW̱. The verb of the subordinate clause (embedded sentence) is QENET. The subject of the main clause is SEN, ‘I,’ and the subject of the subordinate clause is ‘you.’
‣ 6 This type of subordinate clause is always preceded by Ȼ, which is labeled sub here. The sub stands for ‘subordinator’ or ‘subordinate clause introducer’. There are several different kinds of subordinate clauses in SENĆOŦEN. We will call the kind of subordinate clause shown here a Ȼ clause. This is the most common type of subordinate clause in SENĆOŦEN.
‣ 7 The subject of a Ȼ clause is always marked by a possessive prefix or suffix. Review §5.1. A possessive prefix or suffix must attach only to a noun, so the verb of the subordinate clause must be turned into a noun by the addition of the S‑ noun prefix. Now we can state the SENĆOŦEN Ȼ Clause Patterns:
- Ȼ NE S-verb
- Ȼ EN¸ S-verb
- Ȼ S-verb-S
- Ȼ S-verb ȽTE
- EWETW̱ SW̱ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. ‘You didn’t let me go.’
- EWETW̱ SEN Ȼ EN¸ SYÁ¸. ‘I didn’t let you go.’
- EWETW̱ SEN Ȼ SYÁ¸S. ‘I didn’t let him/her go.’
- EWETW̱ SW̱ Ȼ SYÁ¸ ȽTE. ‘You didn’t let us go.’
‣ 10 The last three models show the passive form of EWETW̱, EWETEṈ. When the passive (‑EṈ) ending is added to EWETW̱, the W̱ at the end drops off.
 | EWETW̱ E SW̱ Ȼ SYÁ¸S TŦE NE SḴÁXE¸? | ‘Did you let my dog go?’ |
 | EWE. QEN¸IT SEN. | ‘No. I’m watching it.’ |
| EN, SṮI¸ E SW̱ TŦE SḴÁXE¸ | ‘Do you want the dog?’ |
| EWETEṈ SEN Ȼ NE SȻENET ¸E TŦE NE TÁN. | ‘My mother won’t allow me to take it.’ |
12.6A. Explain how each of the last three models in terms of the grammar.
12.6B. 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. EWETW̱ NE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸.
2. EWETW̱ SEN TŦE TÁLE.
3. EWETW̱ E SW̱ TŦE NE MÁN?
4. EWETW̱ SEN SE¸ Ȼ SQENET.
5. EWETW̱ Ȼ NE STÁLE.
6. EWETEṈ SQENNEW̱S.
7. EWETEṈ E SW̱ EN¸ TÁLE.
8. EWETEṈ LE¸ Ȼ SȻENNEW̱S.
9. EWETEṈ NE SYÁ¸ TŦE NE TÁN.
10. EWETEṈ LE¸ ¸E ȻSE SḴÁXE¸.
12.6C. Make up four more sentences using EWETW̱ and EWETEṈ.