272 Chapter 9 VPs and verbal marking
If mare is substituted, it implies a special situation in which the apparent death
of a person has passed. It can be used in the case of a victim awakening from a
coma.
(93) Paman mare mate.
uncle finish die
‘Uncle finished being dead.’ = ‘Uncle has come out of his coma.’
- masthe/pasthe ‘must’
The fact that some state of affairs is likely to be true can be expressed by the
modal masthe/pasthe ‘must’.
(94) Tang ana' pasthe buru. Otaba e-sambi oreng.
my child must run.away or OV-bring person
‘My children must have run away. Or they were kidnaped.’
(95) Oreng reya masthe badha apes-sa.
person this must exist misfortune-DEF
‘This person must have a weakness.’
- osa ‘need’
Lack of necessity can be indicated by the verb osa ‘need’ in combination with
the verbal negator ta' or lo'; osa functions solely as an auxiliary, as in (96) and
(97).
(96) Lo' osa nyambi kerres koca'-eng.
not need AV.bring kris say-DEF
‘It is not necessary to bring a kris, they say.’
(97) Badha keya geddhangg jiya e-kakan lo' osa e-massa' gallu.
exist also banana this OV-eat not need OV-cook before
‘There are also bananas that do not need to be cooked before they are
eaten.’
- parlo ‘need’
The presence of necessity is indicated by the verb parlo, which can act as a
main predicate or in an auxiliary function, as in (98) and (99).