26.1. ‘Go to,’ ‘come from’
Models
| 1) | ṮE TOWEN SEN. | ‘I went to town.’ |
| 2) | YÁ¸ SEN ṮE TOWEN. | ‘I went to town.’ |
| 3) | YÁ¸ SEN ¸E TŦE TOWEN. | ‘I went to the town.’ |
| 4) | OX̱ SEN ¸E ȻSE ŚW̱IMÁLE. | ‘I went to the store.’ |
| 5) | YÁ¸ SEN OX̱ ¸E ȻSE ŚW̱IMÁLE. | ‘I went to the store.’ |
| 6) | ĆLÁ¸E SEN ¸E ȻSE ŚW̱IMÁLE. | ‘I came from the store.’ |
| 7) | EN¸Á SEN ĆLÁ¸E ¸E ȻSE ŚW̱IMÁLE. | ‘I came from the store.’ |
‣ 1 Models 1 and 2 show the prefix ṮE, which is usually written with a space after it as if it were a separate word. This prefix means ‘go to.’ The prefix ṮE can be put on any place name to create a verb that means ‘go to’ that place. So ṮE METULIYE is a verb meaning ‘go to Victoria.’
‣ 2 It is possible to put the causative suffix, ‑TW̱, on ṮE METULIYE to create the verb ṮE METULIYETW̱ ‘take to town (cause to go to town),’ as in ṮE METULIYETW̱ SEN ‘I took him/her to town.’ This shows that the ṮE is a prefix, and not a separate word. The causative modifies not to the word meaning ‘Victoria,’ but the prefixed word meaning ‘go to Victoria.’
‣ 3 The ṮE prefix attaches only to a particular place. In models 1 and 2 the speaker is referring to a particular town. In W̱SÁNEĆ territory, this refers to Victoria.
‣ 4 The ṮE prefix is often pronounced just Ṯ, without the E. Model 1, for example, could also be Ṯ TOWEN SEN.
‣ 5 In model 3, we are not using TOWEN as a proper name. In this sentence TOWEN could refer to any town, so the ‘go to’ prefix is not used here.
‣ 6 Because verbs with the ṮE prefix refer to particular places, they are typically used with proper noun place names. ṮE can also be used on a person’s name giving the meaning ‘go to’ that person’s house. So, for example, ṮE Terry LE¸ SEN means ‘I went to Terry’s house.’
‣ 7 Two words that are translated ‘go/went’ in SENĆOŦEN are YÁ¸ and OX̱. These are illustrated in models 2, 3, 4, and 5. Remember from §9.1 that these two very common verbs have slightly different meanings: YÁ¸ ‘go away’ and OX̱ ‘go to.’ It is important to note that OX̱ is almost always followed by a prepositional phrase as shown in models 4 and 5. That prepositional phrase will always specify the destination.
‣ 8 Models 6 and 7 illustrate the use of the word ĆLÁ¸E. This can mean ether ‘come from,’ as shown in the models, or ‘go from.’ Model 6, for example, could also be translated ‘I went from the store.’
‣ 9 Note that ĆLÁ¸E is an intransitive verb. Compare models 4 and 6. OX̱ contains the meaning ‘to’ in model 4 while ĆLÁ¸E contains the meaning ‘from’ in model 6. In the English, this meaning difference is contained in the prepositions, but in SENĆOŦEN, the meaning difference is contained in the verbs—the preposition is the same in models 4 and 6.
 | YÁ¸ SEN SE¸ TÁȻEL ṮE W̱LEMI. | ‘I’m going across to Lummi.’ |
 | W̱₭E¸ȻILES SEN SE¸. | ‘I’ll go along with you.’ |
| ÍY¸. ṮE W̱LEMI ȽTE SE¸ ¸E TŦE ȻEĆIL¸. | ‘Good. We’ll go to Lummi in the morning.’ |
| QIN¸ OĆE I¸ YÁ¸ SE¸ ȽTE? | ‘What time will we leave?’ |
| 26.1A. Translate each into English. 1. Ṯ SȾÁ¸EU¸TW̱ E SW̱? 2. ĆLÁ¸E SEN ¸E ȻSE TOWEN. 3. YÁ¸ SEN SE¸ ṮE W̱LEMI. 4. YÁ¸ SEN OX̱ ¸E ȻSE NE TÁN. | 26.2B. Translate each into SENĆOŦEN. 1. My mother went to Victoria. 2. I came from town. 3. We came from Lummi yesterday. 4. Did you come from the store? |