L6.1: Stative#

It is still a matter of discussion if the stative is a verbal or a nominal form. It seems to have developped from a nominal sentence but at the same time it possesses personal endings and can have objects like a verb. Thus in this coursebook it will be treated as a category on its own between verbs and nouns.

  • The stative is used to describe timeless states in constrast to the tenses, that reproduce dynamic actions, events, processes, etc.

Example

  • Stative: ṭāb “it is good”

  • Preterite: iṭīb “he became good”

Endings of the Stative#

Independent Pronouns

Stative without e-Coloration

Stative without e-Coloration

3m

šū

-ø

-ø

3f

šī

-at

-et

2m

attā

-āta

-ēta

2f

atti

-āti

-ēti

1c

anāku

-āku

-ēku

3m

šunu

-ū

-ū

3f

šina

-ā

-ā

2m

attunu

-ātunu

-ētunu

2f

attina

-ātina

-ētina

1c

nīnu

-ānu

-ēnu

Stative forms#

The stative can be build from a verbal adjective and nouns:

Stative from a Verb#

The ending of the stative are added to the verbal adjective:

Verbaladjective

Ending

Stative

Translation

3m.s.

paris

-ø

damiq

He is good

3f.s.

paris

-at

damqat

She is good

2m.s.

paris

-āta

damqāta

You (masc.) are good

2f.s

paris

-āti

damqāti

You (fem.) are good

1c.s

paris

-āku

damqāku

I am good

3m.pl

paris

-ū

damqū

They (masc.) are good

3f.pl.

paris

-ā

damqā

They (fem.) are good

2m.pl.

paris

-ātunu

damqātunu

You (masc.) are good

2f.pl.

paris

-ātina

damqātina

You (fem.) are good

1c.pl.

paris

-ānu

damqānu

We are good

Warning

Geminated verbs can have a special conjugation pattern, because the reduplicated radical desappears and the vowel becomes long:

  • danānu “to be strong” > dān “he is strong”, but dannāta “you are strong”

Meaning#

The meaning is

  • with active-transitive verbs: passiv.

    Example

    • paris “it is divided”

  • with intransitive verbs: resultative.

    Example

    • wašib “he seats” (lit. “he is in the state of seating”)

    • ina ālim wašbānu “We live in the city”

    • šalmāku “I am well”

  • with adjectival verbs: descriptive.

    Example

    • damiq “he is goodseats”

  • With some verbs it can have active as well as passive meaning.

    Example

    • ṣabtāku “he is taken/he has taken”

    • mahiṣ “hi is beaten/he has beaten”

  • The stative can have a direct object

    Example

    • murṣam dannam marṣāku “I am ill with a serious illness”

    • zumram damiq “He is beautiful in body”

  • The stative is tenseless. It can be used in the present, past or future.

Stative from a Noun#

Although seldom the stative can also be built from a noun.

  • The status absolutus without endings is used and the personal stative endings are added:

    Example

    • ward-āku “I am a slave” (lit. I am in the state of being a slave)

    • šarr-āku “I am king”

    • išpar-at “She is a weaver”

    Note

    • The stative seems to be developped from a nominal sentence like: wardum anāku → ward+āku

    • The feminive forms like išparat are build using the masculine.

  • Stative from nouns are used for personal status

    Example

    • išparat “She is a weaver”.

    • ul iššat “She is not ‘wife’”.

    • šarrāq “He is a thief”

  • Stative from nouns are used for personal names

    Example

    • Addu-Malik “The god Adad is the king”.

    • Kibrī-Dagan “My shore is Dagan”.

    • Tukultī-Ninurta “My trust is Ninurta “