Table of Contents
Verbs with a Converb
A converb changes the meaning of a verb. It is sometimes known as an adverbial complement or a separable prefix.
We have learned five converbs:
אַרײַן, אַרויס, צוריק, אָן, אויס.
Meaning of Converbs
Sometimes the meaning of the converb is very concrete and it is easy to see how it changes the meaning of the verb. This is the case with converbs that indicate direction. We have learned three such converbs: אַרײַן, אַרויס, צוריק. For example, once you understand the meaning of אַרײַן, the meaning of verbs with this converb is immediately clear:
- אַרײַן – into
- אַרײַנגיין – go into
- אַרײַנלויפֿן – run into
- אַרײַנשפּרינגען – jump into
- אַרײַנוואַרפֿן – throw into
Other converbs, however, such as אָן and אויס, give the verb various nuances or even an entirely different meaning that cannot always be predicted. In a Yiddish dictionary such verbs are listed separately; in YiddishPOP we will teach them as new vocabulary words.
Note that the converb אָן (as in אָנטאָן) has no connection with the preposition אָן (without).
There are many more converbs; we will learn some of them in future lessons. A list of all the converbs taught in YiddishPOP can be found in 6.5 נאָך פּרטים.
Word Order
Position of the Converb
- פּינטל וויל אַרײַנגיין.
- מאָבי, גיי אַרײַן אין שטוב!
- נעמי, מאָבי און פּינטל גייען אַרײַן.
Infinitive: the converb comes before the verb and the two are written as one word.
Imperative, Present Tense: The converb comes after the verb and the two are written separately.
The converb is always stressed, whether it comes before or after the verb.
More examples:
Position of the Subject / an Adverb / נישט
- מאָבי, טו אויך אָן אַ שאַל!
- טו נישט אויס די שאַל!
- מיר גייען איצט אַרויס.
- איצט גייען מיר אַרויס.
- מיר גייען נישט אַרײַן.
- איצט גייען מיר נישט אַרײַן.
The subject or an adverb may (but does not have to) be placed between the conjugated verb and the converb in the imperative or the present tense. The negative נישט must be placed between the conjugated verb and the converb and is usually right before the converb.
Note:
- Look at the position of the converbs in the sentences below (אָן, אַרײַן) in comparison with the infinitives (עסן, לױפֿן). Note that they occupy the same position relative to the conjugated verb, subject, an adverb, and נישט.
On word order with modal verbs and in the future tense see 3.2 נאָך פּרטים and 3.4 נאָך פּריטם. The place of the converb/infinitive in these sentences is “position 7” of the general pattern for word order described in 5.3 נאָך פּרטים.
For more on ליב האָבן see 3.4 נאָך פּרטים.
Grammatical Gender
In lesson 1.2 we learned that every singular noun is associated with an article: די, דער or דאָס. In grammatical terminology, each noun is said to have a gender:
Pronouns and Grammatical Gender
A pronoun that replaces a singular noun retains its grammatical gender:
- דער ← ער
- די ← זי
- דאָס ← עס
Exception: if you are talking about a person or animal you can use the pronoun that corresponds to the biological gender of the person or animal, even if the pronoun does not correspond to the grammatical gender of the noun. E.g.
- איך זע דאָס מיידל. זי הייסט פּערל.
- איך זע דאָס ייִנגל. ער הייסט מאירקע.
- דאָס הינטל הייסט פּינטל. ער האָט ליב צו שלאָפֿן.
The Expletive עס
Why do the sentences above begin with the word עס? Because the conjugated verb must be the second sentence unit (see 2.4 נאָך פּרטים). Sometimes — for reasons of idiom or style — the subject is not in the first place and no other sentence unit takes this position. In such a case, the word עס is placed in the first position so that the conjugated verb will be in the second. When עס has this function, it is known as expletive עס.*
If a different sentence unit, such as an adverb or prepositional phrase, takes the first place, the word עס is not required:
- הײַנט שײַנט די זון.
- אין דרויסן גייט אַ רעגן.
- איצט איז דאָ אַ קו.
- אין פּאַרק זײַנען דאָ אַ סך ביימער.
If the subject takes the first place, the word עס is, of course, also not required:
- די זון שײַנט.
- קו איז דאָ.
- אַ סך בייאַמער זײַנען דאָ.
*Note about the term “expletive עס”
Certain previous Yiddish grammars, written in Yiddish, use the term פֿיקטיװער סוביעקט [“fictitious subject”] as an equivalent of the English term “expletive עס”. However, most sentences with the expletive עס already have a subject (e.g. “רעגן” in עס גייט אַ רעגן) and to think of the word עס in such sentences as a second, “fictitious” subject may lead to confusion. Thus, like other recent expositions of the subject in English, we use the term “expletive”. Moreover, since “expletive” is an international term used by linguists in a number of languages, we use a verbatim translation of it (דער עקספּלעטיווער עס) in the Yiddish version of נאָך פּרטים.
The Plural Forms ווינטן, רעגנס, שנייען
In the vocabulary section of this lesson’s movie a weather map illustrates the plural forms ווינטן/ רעגנס/ שנייען that shows the location of wind/rain/snow all over the world. In actual usage, however, these plural forms do not indicate geographic distribution, but rather the intensity and frequency of the type of weather in one particular place. For example:
