LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI, IV

LIETUVOS TSR MOKSLŲ AKADEMIJA

ON COMPOUND INCHOATIVE VERB FORMS

N. ŠLIŽIENĖ

Compound inchoative verb forms in Lithuanian are formed from inflected forms of the auxiliary verb būti ‘to be’ and the present active participle of a verb with independent lexical meaning, together with the particle be-, e.g.: buvau beeinąs, būsiu beeinąs, būčiau beeinąs, būk beeinęs¹.

The meaning of compound inchoative forms is not uniform. The term “inchoative forms” suggests that they should denote the beginning of an action, but only the inchoative forms of the past simple tense have this meaning. They denote a past action which, as soon as it began, was interrupted by another action or event, e.g.:

“When the gentleman in summer does not even let people on foot cross his field...” — Smalinis buvo beužmetęs [had just begun to reproach] Puodžiūnas, but Giedraitis nudged him in the side again, and he fell silent without finishing his sentence Vien V 217. They found a bench, and Monika had already buvo beišdedanti [begun laying out] the eggs when the policeman came over and politely said that eating snacks was not allowed there Cv VIII 71. Martynas buvo beištiesęs [had just begun to extend] his hand to her, but, seeing one finger held out, he walked on as if he had not noticed Gaidienė Simon VK II 279.

Besides denoting the beginning of an action, inchoative past simple forms sometimes express the relative duration of a past action. This duration becomes apparent when the context shows that the action denoted by the inchoative forms continued longer than another simultaneous action, event, or moment, even though its objective duration may have been quite short. E.g.:

Mr Tadas Kirla himself was already buvo užstalėje besėdįs [sitting at the table]. Kirla’s sister Marcelė poured tea into glasses, standing by the wall near a second little table, on which food was steaming Pt I 197. He had long buvo būnęs [been] a priest by the time he received a parish Šts. The first thought that came into his stubborn head was to hide the horses as quickly as possible. The Žigas brothers had already buvo bekinką [begun harnessing] the horses from the still-unloaded cart Vencl III 231.

Other inchoative forms also express relative duration. E.g.: You’ll see, I būsiu already bemiegąs [be asleep] when you come to put me to bed Jb I 318. I regretted in my heart that I was not St George; I būčiau bekremtąs [would have been nibbling] cheese from the end Žem II 240. When we come to urge you, būkit jau bedirbą [already be working], so there will be no need to urge you Jb I 314.

¹ Present passive participles do not form compound inchoative forms with the auxiliary verb būti ‘to be’.

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However, the forms of the future inceptive tense most often express an implied, conjectural future action. E.g.:

It will begin to freeze, and there will also, it seems, be frost from the night. Someone is groaning in Dr. Kamine. “Just light the lamp; it looks as if it’s about to come crashing inside,” the children think to themselves, LzP I 367. Tomorrow it will belvjanti, then you’ll be able to wash it out, Žem I 184.

In simple forms we would say: Tomorrow, look, it will rain; then you’ll be able to wash it out, and so on.

Although only the forms of the past simple tense have the meaning of the beginning of an action, by tradition all compound forms with a present active participle containing the particle be- are called inceptive.

The first to call these forms inceptive was K. Jaunius, who introduced into Lithuanian grammar the paradigm of the past simple inceptive tense, calling it the tense of attempting or beginning, the praesens (imperfectum de conatu)². This tradition continued in J. Jablonskis’s 1901 grammar, which, in addition to the paradigm, also gives a description of its meaning: “the past attempted tense (t. praeteritum de conatu) denotes a past action that did not occur, but was just about to occur when another action intervened”³. In the 1919 grammar, J. Jablonskis had already established a complete system, called compound inceptive tenses⁴. From then on, it has been included in all Lithuanian grammars.

J. Jablonskis broadened the concept of the term inceptive tenses, incorporating into the system forms of the same formation but different meanings and naming them “tenses of an action begun and become established”⁵. In the 1922 grammar, when discussing individual inceptive tenses, he correctly attributed the meaning of the beginning of an action only to the past simple inceptive tense⁶. Thus, the term inceptive tenses came to denote forms expressing not only the beginning of an action but also an action in progress, in contrast to the term perfect tenses, used for forms expressing an action that has been performed and completed.

The system of inceptive tenses and moods is not as complete as J. Jablonskis presented it. The forms of the past frequentative tense and the desiderative mood appear to be unused in speech. J. Jablonskis himself gave no forms of the desiderative mood, while the examples of the past frequentative tense he provided are repeated in all later Lithuanian grammars. So far, these forms have not been found either in colloquial speech or in written language. The forms of the imperative mood are also almost unused. The most widespread are the forms of the past simple inceptive tense; it should also be noted that they are used by both Samogitians and Highlanders, whereas the forms of the future tense and the conditional mood, although established in literary language, are rarely used and are characteristic almost exclusively of speakers of Samogitian dialect. That is why it was precisely the forms of the past simple inceptive tense that first found their way into the grammar.

² Žr. K. Явнисъ, Грамматика литовскаго языка, литовский оригиналъ, 201, Петроградъ, 1908—1916.

³ Žr. J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai raštai, 1, 103. Vilnius, 1957.

⁴ Žr. P. Kriaušaitis ir Rygiškių Jonas, Lietuvių kalbos gramatika,131, Vilnius, 1919.

⁵ Žr. ten pat, 131.

⁶ Žr. J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai raštai, 1, 426.

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The system of compound tenses does not include the present tense. In its place, J. Jablonskis included the present active participle with the particle be-, which is never used with present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb būti, and which J. Jablonskis himself, like K. Jaunius, had earlier interpreted differently.

K. Jaunius regarded this participle as a participial predicate used to express indirect speech, e.g.: sūnus beskaitąs, tėvas berašąs, dukte besiuvanti (vidi filium legere, patrem scribere, filiam suere)⁷. J. Jablonskis likewise held this view in his 1901 grammar and 1911 syntax⁸. In the syntax he wrote: “We often use participial speech for unexpected, sometimes seemingly belated observations, experiences, and other such remarks. E.g.: 1. You hear (Saulytė) — someone beklabenąs at the door. Ps. 2. I see — a barefoot boy bestovis, belaukiąs something, who knows what. Als. 3. After three days the parents look — a whole swarm of snakes bešliaužiąs into their yard. Ps.” and so on.⁹

J. Jablonskis correctly observed that in such cases the present active participle with the particle be- is characteristic of the Samogitian dialect. Eastern Aukštaitians prefer to use impersonal sentences with the neuter present passive participle, by means of which a person “seems to wish to report that the news he is now telling us is something that has come to him only through some incidental trifle he himself has just noticed, or through another person”¹⁰. The Samogitian expression “Kyburienė’s tongue is well known, but Rimšienė, too, Rimšienė dantinga beesanti” (Žem) is also suitable in some places for Aukštaitians, but they can express it this way as well: “Kyburienė’s tongue is well known, but there is said to be a sharp-toothed Rimšienė, too Rimšienės dantingos besama¹¹.”

J. Jablonskis described this phenomenon as one of the many peculiarities of our “narrative speech.”

Only in the 1919 grammar, apparently wishing to establish a complete system of compound forms, did J. Jablonskis call the present active participle with the particle be- the compound present tense, noting that it is always used without an auxiliary verb. From then on, paradigms of the compound present tense were given in all Lithuanian grammars, sometimes even with the auxiliary verb būti¹².

Since the participle with the particle be- is never used with present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb būti, there is no reason to assume that they are omitted here. This is also confirmed by the corresponding neuter passive participle forms of Eastern Aukštaitian mentioned above, which likewise are never used with present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb and serve as a means of expressing indirect speech through a participle¹³.

⁷ See K. Jaunius, cited work, 19.

⁸ See J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai raštai, 1, 169, 465, 466, 527, 528.

⁹ See ibid., 527, 528.

¹⁰ See ibid., 465.

¹¹ See ibid., 466 (cf. 528).

¹² See J. Otrębski, Gramatyka języka litewskiego, 3, 278, Warszawa, 1956; J. Žiugžda, Lietuvių kalbos gramatika, 1, 186, Kaunas, 1960 (the auxiliary verb is written in parentheses).

¹³ J. Jablonskis also already regarded these forms as compound in the 1919 and 1922 grammars.

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The present active participle with the particle be-¹⁴ is linked to compound infinitival forms by the meaning of relative duration: the action continues for a long time in relation to another simultaneous action or moment.

The present-tense participle with the particle be- highlights the relative duration of an action or phenomenon that suddenly becomes visible, is heard, becomes known, or otherwise comes to light, and arouses astonishment or other emotions. The speaker voices thoughts as if they had been prompted by some external circumstances.

When expressing the expressive nuances indicated here, the participle in question denotes specific or generalized present-day actions or phenomena. For example:

You’ll get a widow of a man with a hard fist beturinti Škn. Oh! Those rascals bepūriją the herring... Žem II 401. A tasty pie, godmother, bemokanti how to bake... Žem II 448. Aha! So it’s Barbė, and she beturinti a groom too Simon VK II 173. Oh, look, you already besuprantąs Lithuanian... Simon VK II 67. I thought you were already asleep, but you begalvojąs about Ilžė Simon VK II 213.

You pay one person’s debt, and another is already beprašąs Vvr. As soon as there’s a warmer evening, look, the cockchafers are already belakstančios Slnt. Sometimes he doesn’t get up or falls ill, and at once she is besiunčianti a girl to offer him something to eat Žem I 345. How endlessly you watch those geese! Mama herself is like belekianti, just belekianti to look after the geese... Žem II 459.

In a past-tense context, the present-tense participle with the particle be- denotes specific or generalized past actions or phenomena. In this case, it is used much more frequently than in the first. For example:

I heard only creak creak the cart [wheel]; I look—and already dozing, Užv. And I thought it was the garden cuckoo, but there being my young maiden JD 1173. She turned to her husband, and he really was dozing! Žem I 73. Vilius turned back angrily and was about to snap something, but behind him stood Trumpjonis Simon VK II 307. I had barely begun properly when along the riverbank came the young Zuika’s son, an officer, with a towel over his shoulder, combing his hair Cv III 116. We had filled every corner, and here at daybreak, after the dawn had broken, in popped mother, coming in with a bundle, carrying hot buckets LzP I 370.

By the time I had sewn for that pest [one who gives no peace], I had nearly lost patience—he beateinąs, then beateinąs Brs. Rožikė was cheerful by nature: as soon as it was evening, you’d look, and there she was already besišukinėja in the “restaurant” LzP I 405. So that Cinokas man, once he took to pestering me—morning and evening he beateinąs, then beateinąs to ask Žem II 108.

Only in very rare cases does the present-tense participle with the particle be- denote an action without any expressive nuance. For example:

And dawn broke, the sun rose; now mother, now the fair one, beilsinti in the little white room JD 1502. They asked the mother: “And where is the daughter?” —

¹⁴ Here, only the use of this participle in which the particle be- attached to it conveys the meaning of action duration is intended.

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“Sitting in the little room, knitting a little glove” JD 1530. The day raining, at night snowing, at the far end of the field my lass waiting for me Grk. It must be more than forty years now, my dear lad, that I have been here, from foreign corners, wiping the dust and marking the pages of books with figures of other people’s wealth LzP II 60. They are mowing the meadows—the sheep are grazing. The gray-haired father stands at the gate Nėr. Poez 456.

In all cases, the present active participle with the particle be- is used only without present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb.

With present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb, the present active participle is used without the particle be-, but it does not form compound verb forms. This participle expresses an action or state characteristic of an object or person as one of its properties, and is almost equivalent to an adjective functioning as a predicative complement. For example:

I am able to drive the devil out of the manor Šts. He has spread many rumors, all false Šts. This lake has run dry (a river flows out of it) Brs. That hen is a layer — a hen that lays eggs Prk. A lively child, only having just felt his way around, he is Pl. A girl or some young lad — having hidden away, their clothes dripping from above — wading through mud up to their knees alongside the wagon, impatiently whipping the tired mares again and again Žem II 159. Grėtė’s gaze is so pleading, so full of sorrow, so humble Simon VK II 123.

From all that has been said, it is evident that: 1) the term compound inchoative forms denotes forms that indicate not only the beginning of an action but also its duration; 2) compound inchoative forms do not constitute a complete system of tenses and moods: there are no forms of the present or past frequentative tense or of the optative mood, and imperative forms are almost never used; 3) the present active participle with the particle be-, which since J. Jablonskis’s 1919 grammar was considered the present inchoative tense, is never used with present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb and is not a compound inchoative form, but rather a particular means of expressing indirect speech through participial constructions.

Abbreviations

Brs — Barstyčiai, Sedos district.

Cv — P. Cvirka, Raštai, III, VIII, Vilnius, 1949.

Dr — Darbėnai, Kretinga district.

Grk — Girkalnis, Raseiniai district.

Jb — J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai raštai, I, Vilnius, 1957.

JD — Lithuanian songs recorded by Antanas Juškevičius. 3 volumes. Kazan, 1880, 1881, 1882. (The numbers following the abbreviation indicate song numbers).

LzP — Lazdynų Pelėda, Writings, I, II, Vilnius, 1954.

Nėr. Poez — Salomėja Nėris, Poezija, Vilnius, 1954.

Pl — Palėvenė, Kupiškis district.

Prk — Priekulė.

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Pt — G. Petkevičaitė-Bitė, Raštai, I, Kaunas, 1947.

Simon VK — I. Simonaitytė, Vilius Karalius, II, Vilnius, 1956.

Slnt — Salantai.

Skn — Šakyna, Žagarė district.

Šts — Šatės, Skuodas district.

Užv — Užventis.

Vencl — A. Venclova, Raštai, III, Vilnius, 1955.

Vien — A. Vienuolis, Raštai, V, Vilnius, 1954.

Vvr — Veiviržėnai, Priekulė district.

Žem — Žemaitė, Writings, I, II, Vilnius, 1956.

ON COMPOUND INCHOATIVE TENSE FORMS

N. K. SLIŽIENĖ

Summary

Complex inceptive tense forms in Lithuanian are formed from conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb būti ‘to be’ and the present active participle with independent lexical meaning and the particle be-, e.g.: buvau bedirbąs, būsiu bedirbąs, būčiau bedirbąs, būk bedirbąs. There are no corresponding verb forms in Russian.

Only the forms of the past single-action tense express the meaning of an action just beginning. They denote a past action which, just as it began, was interrupted by another action or event. This meaning gave rise to the name of all inceptive forms, even though the future tense, subjunctive and imperative forms, and sometimes the past single-action forms, express the relative duration of an action in comparison with the shorter duration of another simultaneous action, event, or moment; future-tense forms also denote a prospective future action.

Complex inceptive forms do not constitute a complete system of tenses and moods. The language has no present or past multiple-action forms and no forms of the desiderative mood. Imperative forms are hardly used.

Beginning with the grammar by J. Jablonskis, published in 1919, only the present active participle with the particle be- was regarded as the complex inceptive present-tense form. However, this participle is never used with present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb būti, and therefore there is no reason to consider it a complex form. It is simply one instance of the expression of indirect speech by means of a participle in Lithuanian.

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