Nominalizations

Nominalizations are nouns that are derived from verbal stems. This is a very productive word class in K’iche’. Various types of nominalizations are derived from both transitive and intransitive verbs. The verbal root provides their meaning and carries their valency over into the newly formed noun; depending on the root from which they originate, these nouns may or may not be linked to a direct object, as we will see later.

Agentives

Agentive forms are a very common group of word and refer to the person executing the verb action, similar to the suffix –er in English: writ-er, sing-er, teach-er. In K’iche’ there are two types: those that end with the suffix -Vl, in which V is a vowel, and those that take the proclitic particle aj at the beginning.

Agentives, other than the ones formed by aj, may be formed from transitive or intransitive stems, but not all possible stems serve as bases for an agentive. There seem to be no agentives from focus antipassive stems; non-CVC verb stems are not used as a base for an agentive (they are made into an antipassive stem first). Agentives from positionals are based on the adjective/stative stem.

Agentives nouns retain valency: the ability of the newly formed noun to bind object (or not) depends on the stem the agentive is based upon. Agentive nouns from a transitive stem are able to occur with a direct object; objects of agentives from intransitive stems have to appear as obliques.

We will now explain the ways to form agentives:

Agentive with “aj” This agentive form is marked with  aj, which attaches mainly to nouns, some verb roots, a few adverbials (waral), and place names. Agentives with aj mostly refer to origin (ajNawalja’ – somebody from Nahuala), occupation (ajchak – worker), and sometimes ownership.

Ajq’e – owner

Ajq’u’ – ghost (pl: ajq’u’ab’) (rajawal b’e)

Intransitive agentives from intransitive verb stems: -el Agentives from intransitive verb stems are formed with the suffix -el. Intransitive verb stems include here: root intransitive verbs, absolutive antipassive stems and passive stems. Often agentives with –el will also include the aj prefix, especially when referring to an activity that a person would do on a regular basis, like a job or occupation.

Agentives from derived transitive verbs (non-CVC) are always formed from the absolutive antipassive stem.

CVC transitive stems have their own –Vl suffix to form (active) agentives (see below), but agentives may also be formed from the antipassive stem of the CVC root.

B’in b’inel – traveler ajb’inel – traveler (for business, with a specific purpose) b’inel ja’ – moving water (rivers, streams) wa’katel – traveler wa’katelawinaq – tourist ka’y ka’yel – watcher, one who sees ajka’yel – observer, spectator xaq ka’yel xulik – he just came to watch q’ab’ar q’aba’rel – drunkard (this agentive does not appear as *ajq’ab’arel)

Agentives from non-CVC verbs (using antipassive stem):

Kamisaj Kamisanel – killer K’ayij K’ayinel – traitor (often refers to Judas Iscariote) Q’ojomaj Q’ojomanel – musician

loq’oj loq’omanel – buyer

 

Agentives from the antipassive stem from CVC transitive verb:

Kol Kolonel – savior, protector (used in a religious context) ajkolonel rech jun tinamit savior of a city Toj Tojonel – payer, one who pays

 

Agentives from passive stems:

Tijoj Tijoxel – student

K’ayij K’ayixe’l ixim – corn designated to be sold

 

Agentives from transitive verbs stems: CVC transitive verbs form the agentive with –Vl. The vowel of the suffix depends on the root vowel.

-ol	if the vowel is /o/
-ul	if the vowel is /u/
-al	elsewhere

The agentive prefix aj– may be used together with the –Vl suffix. B’an B’anal si’ Aj b’anal si’ – firewood gatherer (also, ajsiwil) Yak Yakal ixim Aj yakal ixim – middleman (buying corn wholesale) Aj yakal atz’yaq – clothes buyer (wholesale) Ch’aj Ch’ajal ch’ich’ – car washer (as a job) Aj ch’ajal ch’ich’ – car washer (as a job) Sik’ Sik’il uwa wuj – reader Loq’ Loq’ol ixim – corn buyer, one who buys corn Tzukuj Tzukul masat – deer hunter

Ajchapal tz’i’ – dog catcher (as a job)

As mentioned above, the agentive noun retains valency; if you want to employ an agentive from a transitive root, you have to decide, whether the new noun needs to control an object or not, and according to this, agentive nouns is formed from the active transitive stem (-Vl) or from the antipassive stem (with –el). In the first case, the verbal object is juxtaposed, being incorporated into the agentive. In the second, the nominalization with an antipassive root, the agentive cannot be incorporated into the direct object, but can only be introduced with an oblique phrase:

Exceptions:

Xojow Aj xojolob’ – dancer Elaq’aj elaq’om – thief elaq’anel – thief

There are a small number of agentive forms that do not refer to the agent, but to a referent capable of undergoing the action expressed by the verb. The following examples come from the genre of ceremonial speech (pach’um tzij) and are not used in daily speech.

Kam Kamel – mortal, one who dies Oj kamel, xaq kojok’owik – we are mortal, we are just passing by k’is k’isel – something that is finite (from the passive stem) xaq oj k’isel pa we uwach ulew – we are finite (passengers) here on this earth q’ax q’axel – something lasting a short time, passenger (from passive stem)

Nominalizations of Verbs

There are verbal nominalizations in K’iche’ that express the action or experience expressed by the verb or its consequences. These are often expressed as gerunds in English. For example: b’inem (the action of walking, the walk), mayowem (the experience of worrying, the worry). These nouns are derived from both transitive and intransitive verb stems and can be glossed in English as “the act of X-ing.”

For intransitive verb stems the suffix is –em. For positionals, add the –em to the adjective/stative stem:

Exceptions

waram – sleep, sleeping xpe nuwaram – I am sleepy (lit: my sleepiness came)

 

The gerund from transitive verb stems is formed by the suffix –oj for CVC transitive verbs. For non-CVC verbs the ‘unconjugated’ verb stem forms the gerund

k’aqoj ib’ – shooting (throwing at each other)

 

Nominalizations with –ik Most K’iche’ verbs derive nominalizations attaching the suffix –ik to intransitive verb stems, passive or antipassive stems. These verbal nouns can be glossed as “the X-ing”, or “the being X-ed.” Note the semantice difference between these verbal nouns with –ik “the X-ing” and the verbal nouns with –em/-Vj “the act of X-ing”. They are usually part of object clauses and are best translated using non-finite constructions.

When the main verb is intransitive, the dependent verbal noun must be introduced as an oblique, usually with che or pa. If the main verb transitive the verbal noun may directly follow as the object.

With an intransitive main verbs:

With a Transitive Main Verb:

The nominalizations also retain a certain sense of transitivity and voice in their new status as nouns. This means that close attention has to be paid to the stem of the verbal noun to determine the role of the other participants in the phrase.

If the concept expressed (in the complement clause) is semantically transitive, but the focus is on the object of the concept, K’iche’ prefers a construction that involves a possessed passive verbal noun (passive I and II). The possessor corresponds to the patient (object) of the event.

La amajim reta’maxik le lejenik?

Le q’ab’arel ojer chi umajim ub’anik k’ax chech urajil

utz rilik

Utz una’ik le rikil.

Utz una’ik le jab’.

Na utz ta utayik le b’ix.

Nim ub’antajik le tinamit Nawalja’.

Na xil ta la le utikitajik le anim.

If the emphasis is on an agent of a transitive verb, the transitive active nominalization is used:

If the concept expressed (in the complement clause) is semantically intransitive, the verbal noun is formed from root intransitive stems or, antipassives, but not from passives. The verbal noun does not refer to an object/patient, but to the subject of the event indicated. When the verbal noun is possessed, the possessor is the subject of the event indicated.

Xqamajij paqalem chuwa le juyub’.

Xb’e pa jun b’inem.

Kaqamajij chomanik pa q’atb’al tzij chwe’q.

Kaqamajij uchomaxik le juk’ulaj – we began to counsel the couple.

Xuchap paqalem rajil le ixim pa k’ayb’al.

Pa taq waqib ramaj rech aq’ab’il (6:00), xumajij uqajem nimaq taq jab’, xumajij relik taq ul pa ronojel taq le k’olb’al.

Exceptions:

Some intransitive and transitive verbs have irregular nominalizations:

elaq’aj (stealing) elaq’ik

Translate the following sentences from K’iche’ to English:

1. Kujb’e pa wa’im.
2. Xeb’e le winaq pa ka’yem.
3. La kixb’e kuk’ pa etz’anem?
4. Xb’e le ali pa k’ulanem.
5. Xinq’i’taj che le b’inem.
6. Xekos le achijab’ che le tak’alem.
7. Xpe nuwaram.
8. Le paqalem kub’an k’ax chqech.
9. Petem kub’an le ala chanim.
10. Xumajij le Wel kitijoxik le qatijoxelab’
11. Xuchap utijonik le Wel
12. Xuchap utijik q’or le ne’.
13. Xqamajij paqalem chuwa le juyub’.
14. K’ax le b’inem chaq’ab’.
15. Na utz ta le ka’yem pa taq nima q’ij.
16. Utz rilik le ali.
17. Rajawaxik utayik le uwa le meb’a’ ali ruk’ le rati’t.
18. K’ax kito’ik le winaq le xaq ch’a’oj kakaj.
19. La utz kil la le k’aqanik?
20. Kimb’e pa kunaxik chwe’q pa tinamit.
21. Le tz’i’ xa kuya rib’ pa kamisaxik.
22. Kujb’e chuloq’ik qawa. (che uloq’ik)
23. T’uyul le achi chila’ chi riye’xik ri rixoqil.
24. Xepe le qachalal chi qach’ab’exik.
25. La kixb’e pa k’ayb’al chi kik’ayixik le ikarne’l?
26. Xepaqi’ le achijab’ chuwi’ le juyub’ chi keqaxik le yawab’ib’.
27. Rajawaxik kaqab’an utzalaj kiloq’oxik la qatat qanan.
28. Le achi xuchap uya’ik le pwaq chke le ajchakib’.
29. K’ax ub’anik le chak pa taq juyub’.
30. Na k’ax ta kichajixik le ak’alab’.
31. Xq’i’taj le ala che ri tob’anik
32. Wa’ we achijab’ kakib’an k’ayinik pa taq tinamit.
33. Le ali maja kareta’maj ri uchapanik.
34. Kaqamajij chomanik pa q’atb’al tzij chwe’q.
35. Na utz ta le kamisanik.

Answers

1. We are going to eat.
2. The people went to watch (e.g., the party).
3. Are you going with them to the game?
4. The young woman went to the wedding (can also mean: she got married).
5. I got tired of walking.
6. The men got tired of standing.
7. I am sleepy (lit. sleep came to me).
8. The climb harms us / The uphill is hard on us.
9. The boy is about to come right now.
10. Manuel started teaching our students.
11. Manuel started his class.
12. The baby started drinking atol.
13. We started climbing the steep part of the mountain.
14. It is hard to walk at night.
15. It’s not good to go to parties (lit. to go watch at parties).
16. The young woman looks good / pretty.
17. The the poor girl’s food needs to be requested from her grandmother.
18. It is hard to help people who only want to fight.
19. Do you like to hunt?
20. I’m going to the town tomorrow to be healed.
21. The dog just lets itself die.
22. We are going to buy our food.
23. The man is sitting over there waiting for his wife.
24. Our relatives came to visit us.
25. Are you going to the market to sell your lamb?
26. The men climbed to the top of the mountain to carry the sick.
27. We need to give a lot of love to our parents.
28. The man started giving money to the workers.
29. The work in the mountains is hard.
30. It’s not hard to take care of children.
31. The young man got tired of helping.
32. These men sell things in several towns.
33. The young woman still hasn’t learned to work.
34. We start serving at the town hall tomorrow.
35. It is not good to kill.