Chapter 36Verb Classes, Arguments, and Person Marking

36.1 Argument structure and person marking

Ainu verbs are classified both by the arguments they license and by their person marking. The usual person-based division distinguishes zero-argument verbs, intransitives, transitives, and the copula Satō (2008: 20–21); Bugaeva (2012: 470–471). Refsing's Shizunai account uses the corresponding groups of closed, intransitive, transitive, and copular verbs Refsing (1986: 140–143).

Nakagawa additionally organizes verbs by the number of arguments, ranging from zero to four when derived forms are included Nakagawa (2024: 128–136). An argument may be expressed by a noun phrase, indexed on the verb, or understood from context. The number of visible words or person markers therefore need not equal the verb's argument count Nakagawa (2024: 125–127).

The forms mean “be good weather,” “walk,” “see,” “be,” “give,” and “cause someone to put something into something,” respectively Nakagawa (2024: 129–135). Four-place examples are rare in Nakagawa's account; they arise through further derivation of a three-place verb.

36.2 What person marking distinguishes

Intransitives use the S series, while transitives use A and O series. Some forms coincide: first-person singular ku= belongs to both S and A. First-person plural and fourth-person forms provide clearer contrasts in the Southern Hokkaido paradigms Bugaeva (2012: 471, Table 15.2). Refsing likewise uses the prefix-versus-suffix position of particular subject markers in classifying Shizunai verbs Refsing (1986: 140–142).

Third person has zero marking. Other person combinations can involve fused or otherwise special forms, so A and O roles do not always produce two separately visible prefixes. The combinations are described in Chapter 62 (Person Marking and Argument Roles) and Chapter 69 (Person-Marker Order and Stem Boundaries).

36.3 Intransitives and the role of the subject

An intransitive licenses one argument, its subject. That argument can be an actor, an experiencer, the bearer of a property, or an entity undergoing change. Nakagawa gives action verbs such as apkas “walk” and ipe “eat a meal,” alongside pirka “good” and pewre “young” Nakagawa (2024: 129).

In his Chitose example, rittursere=an means “I was rolled by the waves.” The person undergoing the event receives S marking because the resulting verb is intransitive Nakagawa (2024: 129–130, example 14). A subject's semantic role thus need not be that of a deliberate actor. Property predicates are discussed in Chapter 37 (Property Predicates and the Adjective Analysis).

36.4 Transitives and object selection

A transitive licenses a subject and at least one object. Similar English translations can conceal a difference in Ainu argument structure. Nakagawa contrasts intransitive inkar “look” with transitive nukar “see something,” and ikka “steal” with eikka “steal something” Nakagawa (2024: 131–132). The choice determines whether a particular entity is an object of the predicate.

Refsing calls some transitives pseudo-intransitives because an object can remain unexpressed, as in her examples with “forget” and “understand” Refsing (1986: 142–143). These remain in her transitive class. Contextual omission is distinct from the derivational processes described in Chapter 73 (Valency and Voice Constructions).

36.5 Three-place verbs and further derivation

Kore “give” licenses a giver, a recipient, and a theme. Both objects can appear as bare noun phrases:

Nakagawa also gives versions with either object omitted when its reference is understood: topenpe ku=kore and hekattar ku=kore Nakagawa (2024: 127, examples 11b–c). The lexical three-place relation persists across these different overt expressions.

Applicative and causative morphology creates many three-place verbs. Nakagawa includes ko-e “eat something together with something” and e-re “make someone eat something” Nakagawa (2024: 133–134). A further causative can produce a four-place predicate, illustrated by a=omarere in a Saru narrative Nakagawa (2024: 135, example 34).

Descriptions differ over the basic three-place inventory. Bugaeva treats all three-place verbs as derived, whereas Nakagawa identifies o “put something into a location” as a basic three-place stem Bugaeva (2012: 471); Nakagawa (2024: 134, 136) ‹contested›.

36.6 The copula and existential verbs

The copula ne combines with a nominal complement and takes A-series subject marking. The complement takes no corresponding O-series index Bugaeva (2012: 471); Nakagawa (2024: 132).

The first-person singular form in this example coincides with S marking; its classification follows the wider copular paradigm. Existential an and oka belong to the intransitive class in Refsing's account Refsing (1986: 140–141). Their constructional differences are described in Chapter 96 (Copular ne and Nominal Predication) and Chapter 97 (Existential and Locational Predicates).

36.7 Zero-argument predicates and word boundaries

Zero-argument, or avalent, predicates take no external subject or object. Examples include sirpirka “be good weather” and mean “be cold,” describing the weather Nakagawa (2024: 129–130). Personal coldness instead uses the one-place merayke, which takes a person marker for the experiencer Nakagawa (2024: 130, Table 12).

Some proposed members involve a disputed word boundary. Refsing lists aptoas “rain” among closed verbs Refsing (1986: 140–141). Nakagawa notes the alternative analysis of apto as as a noun subject followed by a verb, and discusses similar difficulties for expressions of sound or report Nakagawa (2024: 129, 493–494) ‹contested›. The analyses depend on whether the noun-like element remains an independent constituent.

36.8 Locative objects and separable formations

Some transitives select a grammatical location as an object. Nakagawa contrasts cise or ta ahun “enter the house,” with a locative particle, and cise or osma “jump into the house,” where the location directly fills an object position Nakagawa (2024: 128, examples 12–13). The wider pattern is described in Chapter 53 (Place Particles and Motion Expressions).

Nakagawa's phrasal verbs involve a noun and a verb that can function as one word or as two; Satō discusses related formations under the traditional label third-group verbs Nakagawa (2024: 495–496); Satō (2022: §4). Their classification involves the interaction between person marking, incorporation, and the position of the nominal element; see Chapter 88 (Object Noun Incorporation) and Chapter 89 (Subject Incorporation and External Possessors).