12 Adjectives in Semelai 297(31) S3ma? psr
people fly
'flying people'
(32) resfies, rih dshq khsbss
twig branch tree die
'twigs (are) dead tree branches'
Transitive verbs require modification of the verb before they can function attrib-
utively. The verb must be in the imperfective if the noun being modified is in A
(transitive subject) function:
(33) gsres da? kaf-khef
liver NEC iMPERF-know
(lit. an unknowing liver) 'to be unaware (of what one is doing)'
If the modified noun is in O function, the verb must be in the Middle voice (bsr-
'MID') (34), or host the irrealis proclitic ma= 'IRR' (35):
(34) dshy bsr-grf
tree MiD-fell
'a felled tree'
(35) p^le ma=ca
fruit iRR=eat
'edible fruit'
The behaviour of quasi-adjectives is summarized in Table 7.
4.2.3. Adjectives as adverbsAn adjective may modify a noun, or another verb as a manner adverb, without any
additional marking, as in (36)-(38), in the same manner as an intransitive verb.
(36) dak J3T3S
water be.swift
'swift water'
(37) SUWak J3Y3S
walk be.swift
'walk swiftly'
(38) The folk definition for the expressive bksken:
suwak fayon, suwakfalus, mvcvm S3
walk be.slow walk be.delicate like walk
'(It means) to walk slowly, walk delicately, like the manner of walking (of)
lice.'