31 Should, Must, Ought to, Want to
Models
| 1) | ÍY¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I should go.’ |
| 2) | SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S YÁ¸. | ‘I must go.’ |
| 3) | NE SṮI¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I want to go.’ |
| 4) | YÁ¸ YEḴLE¸ SEN. | ‘I ought to go.’ |
| 5) | EWENE OL¸ ŚW̱LÁ¸ES Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I don’t have to go.’ |
‣ 1 These are four very common constructions in SENĆOŦEN narratives and conversation. So they are very useful patterns to memorize.
‣ 2 Model 1 could also be translated ‘I better go.’ The first key word here is ÍY¸ ‘good.’ The sentence could be literally translated ‘It’s good that I go.’
‣ 3 The second key element in model 1 is the Ȼ clause. This important, subordinate clause pattern has appeared in twelve sections so far in this grammar. See §46 for a detailed summary.
‣ 4 Any verb, in fact, any sentence can be put into this Ȼ clause. For example, ÍY¸ Ȼ NE SDOQ ‘I should go home,’ ÍY¸ Ȼ SQENET ȽTE ȻSE SNEW̱EȽ ‘We should look at the canoe,’ and so on.
‣ 5 Emphasis can be added to sentences like model 1 in several ways. The most common way is to use an intensifier auxiliary as in ÁN¸ U¸ ÍY¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸ ‘I really should go.’
‣ 6 The pattern shown in model 2 expresses a situation that is a requirement. Model 2 could also be translated ‘I have to go.’ This is a very frequently used construction.
‣ 7 The first key word in model 2 is SQȺ ‘unable, cannot, impossible.’ Model 2 is literally ‘It’s impossible that I not go’ or ‘I can’t not go.’ To say ‘We have to go’ just change the possessive on EWE: SQȺ Ȼ S¸EWE ȽTE S YÁ¸.
‣ 8 Model 2 means ‘I have to go.’ To say ‘I don’t have to go,’ simply use the negation pattern covered in §12.2: EWE S SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S YÁ¸ ‘I don’t have to go.’ Literally this is ‘It is not impossible that I not go.’ Another way to say ‘not have to’ is shown in model 5. See point 14, below.
‣ 9 A Ȼ clause is again the second key to the pattern of model 2. Just as noted for model 1 in point 4, any verb or sentence can be put into this Ȼ clause: SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S DOQ ‘I have to go home,’ SQȺ Ȼ S¸EWE S QENET ȽTE ȻSE SNEW̱EȽ ‘We must look at the canoe,’ and so on.
‣ 10 The pattern shown in model 3 expresses a situation that is desired. The first key word in model 3 is SṮI¸ ‘want, like, need.’ This is one of a small class of verbs that require the S‑ noun prefix and always have a subject marked by the possessive. A very rough literal translation of model 3 is ‘My going is my wanting.’ See §49 for more on this class of verbs.
‣ 11 Again the second key to the pattern here in model 3 is a Ȼ clause. Just as for model 1 and model 2, any verb or sentence can substitute for YÁ¸ here: NE SṮI¸ Ȼ NE SDOQ ‘I want to go home,’ SṮI¸ ȽTE Ȼ SQENET ȽTE ȻSE SNEW̱EȽ ‘We want to look at the canoe,’ and so on.
‣ 12 Model 4 is a completely different pattern from models 1, 2, and 3. In model 4 the key is the speech act modifier YEḴLE¸. Speech act modifiers are introduced in §3 and covered in detail in §48. This one is mentioned here because of its meaning similarity to model 1.
‣ 13 The difference in meaning between model 1 and model 4 is that model 1 represents good advice. For example, you see the weather changing and you think ÍY¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸ ‘I better go’ before it gets worse. Model 4, on the other hand, represents a duty or obligation that might not be fulfilled. For example, your mother told you to go to the store, but you haven’t yet, and you think YÁ¸ YEḴLE¸ SEN ‘I ought to go’ because my mother asked me to.
‣ 14 Model 5 is the reverse of model 2 and alternative way to say ‘not have to’ (see point 8). This could also be translated ‘It doesn’t matter if I go.’ The key here is the beginning, EWENE OL¸ ŚW̱LÁ¸ES. This is literally ‘its reason for being there just does not exist.’ EWENE ‘not exist’ is covered in §12.5. The particle OL¸ occurs in several constructions and is covered in §48.3. ŚW̱LÁ¸ES can be translated ‘where it is’ or ‘its reason for being there.’ The whole phrase makes a special idiom meaning ‘not have to.’
 | EWE S NE SṮI¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸. | ‘I don’t want to go.’ |
 | SQȺ Ȼ EN¸ S¸EWE S YÁ¸. | ‘You have to go.’ |
| YÁ¸ YEḴLE¸ SEN. | ‘I ought to go.’ |
| ÁN¸ U¸ ÍY¸ Ȼ EN¸ SYÁ¸. | ‘You really should go.’ |
| 1A. Translate each into English. 1. EWE S NE SṮI¸ Ȼ NE SYÁ¸ ṮE METULIYE. 2. SQȺ Ȼ NE S¸EWE S IȽEN. 3. DILEM YEḴLE¸ SW̱. 4. ÍY¸ Ȼ EN¸ SŚTEṈ DOQ. | 31B. Translate each into SENĆOŦEN. 1. I should sleep. 2. You should get up if you want to go. 3. We have to go home soon. 4. I want to eat salmon. |