23.6. Now and later
Models
| 1) | ȻȽNIȽ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I’ll go right now.’ |
| 2) | ȻȽNIȽ SYÁ¸S I¸ YÁ¸ SEN. | ‘As soon as he went, I went.’ |
| 3) | ĆENIȽ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I went just now.’ |
| 4) | ĆÁȽ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I just now went.’ |
| 5) | TEW̱ SE¸ OL¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I’ll go later.’ |
| 6) | ÁȽE SEN U, ÍY¸ OL¸. | ‘I’m well now.’ |
| 7) | ÁȽE U, ÁȽE ¸E TI,Á TEṈEW̱. | ‘It’s now on this land.’ |
| 8) | TU¸O¸E OL¸ YÁ¸ I¸ YÁ¸ SEN. | ‘As soon as he went, I went.’ |
‣ 1 The word ȻȽNIȽ, shown in model 1, is a very common word. It is translated as ‘right now’ in the model, but it could also be translated, ‘right away’ or ‘soon’ or ‘right then.’
‣ 2 When ȻȽNIȽ is followed by the event with the possessive subject, it is translated as in model 1. In a conjoined adverbial construction (§21.2, §29.2) as shown in model 2, it provides the meaning ‘as soon as.’ Another way of expressing this idea is in model 8. See point 9, below.
‣ 3 ȻȽU¸NIȽ is also often used with basically the same meaning as ȻȽNIȽ. ȻȽU¸NIȽ has the U¸- contrast prefix (§56.1). Model 1 with ȻȽU¸NIȽ instead of ȻȽNIȽ is ȻȽU¸NIȽ NE SYÁ¸ ‘I’ll go right now (rather than some other time).’
‣ 4 The word ȻȽNIȽ, shown in model 3, is similar in form and meaning to ĆENIȽ. The difference in meaning between the two is that ȻȽNIȽ indicates a time in the immediate past—it just right now happened.
‣ 5 The word ĆÁȽ, shown in model 4, in this context is just another way of saying ĆENIȽ. There is a subtle difference between the two words. In this context ĆÁȽ is much more commonly used. In §24, you can see that ĆÁȽ also can be translated ‘just then.’ So a broader translation for ĆAȽ would be ‘just at a particular time.’
‣ 6 Model 5 shows the use of TEW̱ ‘later.’ In this construction, the event specified as happening later is expressed in a following Ȼ clause, which was introduced in §12.6 and covered in more detail in §46.
‣ 7 Models 6 and 7 show how ÁȽE is used as a U¸-class auxiliary (§10.1) to mean something like ‘now.’ The English ‘now’ does not exactly cover the meaning here. Model 6 could also be translated ‘At this time, I’m well.’ Model 7 could be translated ‘At this time, it’s on this land.’
‣ 8 Model 6 is a good answer to the very common greeting question, ÁȽE E SW̱ U¸ ÍY¸ OL¸? ‘How are you?’ This question is literally ‘At this time, are you well?’
‣ 9 Model 8 shows another way of expressing the idea ‘as soon as,’ though its meaning is somewhat different. Here the key word is TU¸O¸E ‘being first.’ Model 8 can be literally translated ‘He’s going first, and I’ll go.’
 | QIN¸ OĆE I¸ IȽEN SW̱? | ‘What time do you eat?’ |
 | ȻȽNIȽ NE S¸IȽEN. IȽEN E SE¸ SW̱? | ‘I’ll eat right now. Will you eat?’ |
| ĆÁȽ NE S¸IȽEN ¸E Ȼ NE STÁĆEL. | ‘I just ate when I arrived.’ |
| ÁN¸ U¸ ÍY¸ TI¸Á S¸IȽEN. | ‘This food is very good.’ |
| 23.6A. Translate each into English. 1. ȻȽNIȽ NE S¸IȾEṈ. 2. ȻȽNIȽ EN¸ SYÁ¸ I¸ YÁ¸ SEN. 3. TEW̱ SE¸ OL¸ Ȼ NE S¸IȽEN. 4. ĆAȽ Ȼ ȽÁU¸ ȻSE NE SḴÁXE¸. | 23.6B. Translate each into SENĆOŦEN. 1. I’ll look at it right now. 2. I’ll go as soon as they sleep. 3. As soon as he eats, I’ll go. 4. I’ll sleep later. |