Research study 02 / Verb morphology
One action, many forms: agreement and time in Mombasa Kutchi
Eight verb paradigms suggest recurring distinctions in person, gender and number. Past forms and negative constructions also reveal unresolved patterns.
This study compares forms of kar (‘do’), kan (‘take’) and six other verbs across recorded subjects. Several forms suggest agreement for person, gender and number, while some past forms show changes beyond a single suffix. The tables retain complete speaker-attested forms because their internal segmentation remains under study.
Section 01
Person, gender and number in the present
The verb kan (‘take’) provides comparable forms across subjects. The elicitation records masculine and feminine singular forms, person differences and plural forms. Similar patterns appear with other verbs, even where the stem itself varies.
| Subject | Attested form of kan | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| I · masculine | kana(n)tho | I am taking |
| I · feminine | kana(n)thi | I am taking |
| You · masculine | kane(n)tho | You are taking |
| You · feminine | kane(n)thi | You are taking |
| He | kanetho | He is taking |
| She | kanethi | She is taking |
| We | kano(n)thaa | We are taking |
| They | kane(n)thaa | They are taking |
Forms such as kara(n)tho and kana(n)tho, or suma(n)thi and kana(n)thi, suggest recurring agreement patterns. Their internal divisions between stem and ending remain unconfirmed, so full recorded words are given in the table.
Section 02
An ongoing action and an everyday habit
The same finite form in two contexts
au(n) suma(n)thoau(n) haroj suma(n)thoau(n) vina(n)thoau(n) haroj vina(n)thoThe same recorded present form can express an ongoing action or a regular habit. Haroj (‘every day’) changes the time interpretation without changing the verb. These endings should not yet be described as exclusively progressive.
Section 03
The past does not look like one simple suffix
The past forms require separate analysis. Vin (‘go’) has vina(n)tho in the present and oosyose in one masculine first-person past context; sum (‘sleep’) has suma(n)tho and suthose. These contrasts cannot be explained by attaching a single suffix without additional evidence.
Section 04
Future meaning and the grammar of not
Several first-person future forms contain -dhose, but ‘she will go home tomorrow’ was translated with vendhee. The first-person pattern cannot yet be generalized to every subject. The negative examples also show distinct natho, nathi, na and nah environments.
Section 05
Before building a general conjugation engine
The verb tables record attested forms rather than providing a productive conjugation engine. Repeated elicitation with other speakers is needed before the patterns can be generalized, particularly where stem changes are irregular.
Questions for further elicitation
- Test feminine and plural future forms for the same three verbs.
- Compare ordinary present negatives against affirmative verbs in every person.
- Elicit habitual, progressive and completed meanings in identical contexts.
- Check the variation dhor/dor and the pronunciation of the (n) notation.
Lexical notes
Words in this study
Word notes record meanings in their sentence contexts. Select a word for its contextual meaning and to search the public dictionary. Some entries remain under review.
Source & method
How this article was prepared
The published material includes native-speaker sentences, translation pairs and grammaticality judgments, including a 48-sentence questionnaire (Study 007), earlier verb and case comparisons, and targeted studies of possession and negation (Studies 008–011). Original forms remain visible, with a working (n)-before-th display spelling where indicated.
These analyses are preliminary, not claims about every Kutchi speaker or variety. Evidence from Mombasa is not automatically treated as confirmation for Ethiopian Kutchi. The research has not been peer reviewed or independently validated across multiple speakers. Issue dates organize the 2026 series and do not indicate earlier online publication; the articles first appeared online in October 2026.