Values

0 no 25
1 yes 9
? missing value 0

Is there a special negator that combines with non-finite forms?

Uralic Areal Typology feature UT052

Is there a special negator that combines with non-finite forms?

A language may contain a particle, suffix or some other negative marker that only appears with non-finite forms, i.e. it cannot negate finite verbs. In Beserman Udmurt, the present participle in -š’ and non-past participle in -no are negated by a regular adjectival negative marker -tem (“a derivative suffix with caritive meaning” according to Edygarova 2015: 278), while the past participle in -m is negated with a specialized participial negative marker ‑te. Both of these markers count as special non-finite negators. In Estonian, there is a special negator mitte, which is used to negate non-finite forms (1a), while ei is used in standard negation (cf. 1b).

(1) Estonian
a. Küsimus-t mitte mõistes ta ei vasta-nud
question-PRT not understand.CVB s/he NEG answer-ACT.PST.PTCP
'Having not understood the question, s/he did not answer'

b. Ta ei mõist-nud küsimus-t, seega ta ei vastanud
3SG NEG understand-ACT.PST.PTCP question-PRT so 3SG NEG answer-ACT.PST.PTCP
‘S/he did not understand the question, so s/he did not reply’

Coding. The value is '1' if there is a special negative marker that is compatible with non-finite forms. Markers of non-finite forms that are inherently negative (i.e. cannot be analysed as a combination of two separate markers) were not considered.

References
Edygarova, Svetlana. 2015. Negation in the Udmurt language. In Matti Miestamo, Anne Tamm & Beáta Wagner-Nagy (eds.), Negation in Uralic languages, 265–292. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins. https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/publications/negation-in-the-udmurt-language (19 March, 2020).

Note. This question was provided by Ksenia Shagal & Matti Miestamo.

Language Value Comment Example Id

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