Participle: Luo active

GrammarParticiple – Luo active masculine, neuter

Participles (abbreviated ptcp) are words formed from verbal stems that may be used as verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Since they can be used as adjectives and nouns as well as verbs, they need case, gender, and number endings to combine with the verbal stem. The verbal stem covered here is the Luo form, which we also sometimes term imperfective participles. Traditionally, they have been called present participles, but as we have said, this is a confusing label for the Luo stem (see 15.1.3). Luo participles do not have a certain tense, but they do have an aspect, namely imperfective.

fromLesson 18.2

MorphologyParticiple – Luo active masculine, neuter

• 3rd declension endings are used beginning with οντ-, except in the nom sg, which lacks the final τ (see similarly 9.3.3.1).
• In the nom masc sg, the normal ‘-ς’ drops out, so the ο lengthens to ω (ον-ς > ων)
• In the dat pl, the ντ drops out and the ο lengthens to ‘ου’ (οντ-σι > ου-σι)
• NOTE: This form is identical to the 3p form ἐσθίουσιν ‘they are eating’

fromLesson 18.2

MorphologyParticiple – Luo active feminine

• The fem Luo ptcp has 1st rather than 3rd declension endings and follows the τράπεζα pattern (see 8.3.4.1)

fromLesson 19.2

SyntaxParticiple (Nominal, verbal, and adjectival)

Participles have syntactic characteristics of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Like verbs, they take subjects who perform the eventuality. On the other hand, participles are also marked for case and can serve as an argument to verbs, a hallmark feature of nouns. Finally, participles can modify nouns in attributive position, like adjectives. These features suggest that the participle itself does not have a grammatical category. The syntactic context determines its function.

When it is used as an argument of a verb and with a definite article, it is being used as a nominal (a word that functions like a noun):

fromLesson 18.2

SyntaxParticiple – Genitive absolute

In 18.2.3.2, we introduced the genitive absolute as an example of the participle functioning as a verb. The genitive absolute is a subordinate clause that is related in some way to the main clause of the sentence. Our original example was Ἐσθίοντος τοῦ προφήτου, ὁ διδάσκαλος ἐπορεύθη πρὸς αὐτόν ‘while the prophet was eating, the teacher went to him’ where the initial subordinate clause Ἐσθίοντος τοῦ προφήτου describes what the prophet was doing while the teacher went to him. There are five noteworthy syntactic characteristics of the genitive absolute:

1. The genitive participle never has the article (e.g. *τοῦ ἐσθίοντος τοῦ προφήτου)

2. The subject of the genitive absolute always agrees with the participle in gender, case, and number (e.g. Ἐσθίοντος τοῦ προφήτου)

3. The genitive absolute clause normally (but not always) precedes the main clause

fromLesson 19.2

SemanticsParticiple (1 – Nominal; habitual vs. event-in-progress)

At its most basic level, the participle refers to an eventuality that describes someone or something, such as someone eating. It may refer directly to the entity who is in the middle of the event. This is the nominal use. It may also refer to the event itself. This is the verbal use. And finally, it may be used to describe an entity that is engaging in the event. This is the adjectival use. In each case, syntax determines the kind of meaningful contribution the participle makes.

Which part of the eventuality that is referred to is determined by its aspect. Because the Luo participle is built off the imperfective stem, it has the aspectual characteristics we have already explored with the Luo verb. Sometimes this manifests itself as a habitual interpretation:

fromLesson 18.2

SemanticsParticiple (2 – Genitive absolute)

The relationship between the subordinate clause given by the genitive absolute and the main clause is underspecified. In other words, there are many different kinds of relationships that can hold. There are two main factors for determining the relationship. First, the aspect of the participle tells us whether the eventuality is still happening when the main clause eventuality occurs or whether it has finished. The Luo participle, for example, suggests that the eventuality being referred to by the participle is still occurring during the eventuality referred to in the main clause. In contrast, the Aorist participle normally describes an eventuality that occurs before the eventuality of the main verb. Second, our world-knowledge about eventualities helps to clarify the relationship between the genitive absolute and the main clause. Temporal relationships between the two clauses are common, as we saw in our example with the prophet and teacher:

fromLesson 19.2