14.1. ‘Not able’ and ‘no good’
Models
| 1) | SQȺ SEN. | ‘I can’t.’ |
| 2) | SQȺ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I am unable to go.’ |
| 3) | SQȺ TŦE NE SḴÁXE¸. | ‘My dog is useless.’ |
| 4) | SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸IȽEN. | ‘I am unable to eat.’ |
| 5) | SQȺ TŦE NE S¸IȽEN. | ‘My food is no good.’ |
| 6) | SQȺ Ȼ NE SȾÁU¸ YÁ¸ | ‘I can’t go yet.’ |
| 7) | SQȺ Ȼ NE SȾÁU¸ QENNEW̱. | ‘I can’t see it yet.’ |
| 8) | SQȺ Ȼ SȾÁU¸ SÁ¸S TŦE SHEM¸. | ‘The fog is not yet lifted.’ |
‣ 1 SQȺ is one negative word that does not use a form of EWE.
‣ 2 Some speakers pronounce this ESQȺ. The root is QȺ /k̕ʷey/, and the S‑ or ES‑ prefix has a different meaning from the S‑ noun prefix (see §12.6, §55). The S‑ here is the ‘stative’ prefix and indicates that the verb refers to a particular state of being. In the verb shown in the models it is the state of being unable.
‣ 3 Note that now we have four S’s in SENĆOŦEN with different functions: -S ‘his/her/its’ (§5.1), the negative S (§12.2), the S- noun prefix (§12.2, §12.6), and now the S- stative prefix.
‣ 4 The meaning of SQȺ includes ideas like ‘unable,’ ‘no good,’ ‘useless,’ ‘cannot.’ Therefore, SQȺ SEN could also mean ‘I’m unable (to do it)’ or ‘I’m useless (for something)’ or ‘I’m no good (at it).’
‣ 5 Generally, if you want to say that something is ‘no good’ or ‘useless,’ use SQȺ as the verb and the thing that is ‘no good’ or ‘useless’ as the subject preceded by any of the articles (see §4.2) such as TŦE. For example, SQȺ TŦE SNEW̱EȽ ‘the canoe is no good.’ Models 3 and 5 show this pattern.
‣ 6 If you want to get across the idea of ‘can’t do’ or ‘not able to do,’ use SQȺ as the main verb, then add a Ȼ clause, which is introduced in §12.6, with the verb indicating what the subject unable to do. Models 2 and 4 show this pattern. Compare this to the Ȼ clause in §12.6 and you will see that this is the same pattern. The Ȼ clause is the subject of the verb SQȺ. So a literal translation of model 2 is ‘My going is impossible.’ See §46 for more on the Ȼ clause.
‣ 7 If the meaning is ‘can’t’ or ‘not able,’ you must use the possessive pronouns (see §5.1) on the verb (made a noun with S-) of the Ȼ clause to indicate who is ‘unable.’ For example, SQȺ Ȼ SYÁ¸ ȽTE ‘We can’t go.’
‣ 8 When EWE is used as the verb of the Ȼ clause and SQȺ is the verb of the main clause, you get a very useful construction expressing obligation: SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE ... ‘I have to…’ This literally means ‘I am unable to not…’ So SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S YÁ¸ means ‘I have to go,’ or literally ‘I am unable to not go.’ This can be generally used if you change the YÁ¸ to some other verb. And, of course, you can change it from ‘I’ to ‘you,’ and so on. So, for example, we can say:
SQȺ Ȼ EN¸ S¸EWE S YÁ¸. ‘You have to go.’ / ‘You are unable to not go.’
SQȺ Ȼ S¸EWE ȽTE S YÁ¸. ‘We have to go.’
SQȺ Ȼ S¸EWES S QENET. ‘He/she/etc. has to look at it.’
‣ 9 In §12.4 we described one way of expressing the idea of ‘not yet.’ Models 6, 7, and 8 show another way to express the idea of ‘not yet.’ This is specifically for expressing the idea of ‘cannot yet.’
‣ 10 Compare models 2 and 6 and you will see that they differ only in that model 6 has SȾÁU¸ before the verb in the Ȼ clause. The S- on SȾÁU¸ is the S- noun-making prefix. The ȾÁU¸ part is a prefix on the verb that means ‘yet.’ This prefix adds the meaning of ‘yet’ to the ‘cannot’ of the SQȺ.
‣ 11 This prefix ȾÁU¸- has been recorded in only a few sentences from two different L1 speakers. Younger L1 speakers do not recognize the prefix, but its ‘yet’ or ‘soon’ meaning was clear to the older speakers.
‣ 12 Model 7 shows that the pattern is the same when the verb is transitive.
‣ 13 Model 8 shows the third person form. Here the ‑S ‘he/she/it’ third person possessive suffix is on the verb SÁ¸ ‘lift,’ and the subject of ‘lift’ is TŦE SHEM¸ ‘the fog.’ The basis for the Ȼ clause here is the sentence SÁ¸ TŦE SHEM¸ ‘The fog lifted.’
‣ 14 This word SQȺ has another useful function in making a polite request. When you make it a yes/no question (§3.2) and have EN¸ ‘you’ as the subject of the Ȼ clause, the result can be interpreted as a polite request. For example, SQȺ E Ȼ EN¸ SQENET means literally ‘Can’t you look at it?,’ but usually would be used to mean ‘Will you please look at it?’
‣ 15 New vocabulary in this section:
SQȺ ‘cannot, unable’
SÁ¸ ‘lift’
SHEM¸ ‘fog’
 | YÁ¸ E ṮETOWEN? | ‘Are you going to town?’ |
 | SQȺ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I can’t go.’ |
| SQȺ E TŦE EN¸ CO? | ‘Is your car broken down?’ |
| EWE. ȻENÁṈET SEN SE¸ TṮE NE TÁN. | ‘No. I’m going to help my mother.’ |
14.1A. 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. SQȺ Ȼ NE SQENET.
2. SQȺ TŦE NE SQENET.
3. SQȺ E Ȼ EN¸ SQENET?
4. SQȺ E TŦE EN¸ SḴÁXE¸?
5. SQȺ Ȼ NE SW̱ITEṈ TŦE ḰO¸.
6. SQȺ Ȼ NE SW̱ITEṈ ¸E TŦE ḰO¸.
7. SQȺ E Ȼ EN¸ SȻENÁṈET?
8. SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S ȻENÁṈET.
9. SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE ȻENÁṈET.
10. SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S ȻENÁṈETEṈ.
14.1B. Make up four more sentences using SQȺ.