12 Adjectives in Semelai 299(45) daf fief csy jstek
NEC be.long at.all sleep
'(It) wasn't long at all (that she) slept.'
(46) daf ki=pakay cdy
NEC 3A=use at.all
'He doesn't pay attention at all.'
Both adjectives as in (47) and verbs as in (48) also employ the same the metalin-
guistic negator beh 'NO':
(47) bubuh tskoh, csreh beh
fish.trap be.wet fish NO
"The fish trap is wet, the fish (are) not (wet).'
(48) beh, daf ji=khom
NO NEC iA=sit
'No, you didn't sit (on it).'
Nominals are negated by the metalinguistic negator befen 'NEGAT':
(49) befen mvcvm naf-haf
NEGAT like NR-AT
'Not like this (stuff) here.'4.2.6. Adverbial modification
A. Intensification
fiof post-modifies adjectives and verbs. As an adjectival modifier it means 'very':
(50) CariiS fs/l J3l31) fiof
claw ifam be.long very
'My claws are very long.'
With stative verbs it means 'really':
(51) ki=khef fiof ma=pdnon
3A=know really iRR=taboo
'She really knows the ritual prohibitions'
With activity verbs fiof means 'repeatedly' or 'always':(52) boy ma=jon bafluffiof!
NEG:IMP iRR=give friend always
'Don't repeatedly give (it) to (your) friends (to use)!'B. Adverbs of degree
Adjectives may be pre-modified by grading adverbs expressing degree. These are
not available as verbal modifiers: