Compound Verbs

 

Read the following verbs:

 

ceebíseenoo	I am walking
niihi'kóóhunoo	I am running
cee3íseet	He is walking away
heneeckóóhun	You are going home
heniin(i)séé3i'	They are wandering around
cee3koohunee	You two are running away

 

Notice that the final parts of these verbs are all made up of either -isee or -koohu, even though the beginning parts are all different. The above verbs are examples of the many verbs in Arapaho which have two separate roots. While a verb like niihooneihinoo or niihooyoo' has only one root - niihoo 'yellow' - and various endings, ceebíseenoo is made up of ceeb- meaning "by" and -isee meaning "go on foot." Ceebisee- is therefore a combined verb meaning "walk by" or simply "walk." Likewise, neec- means "away" or homeward" and koohu- means "run" or "go by car."

Many different verbs can be formed with -isee and -koohu, but these roots can never be used by themselves - they must always be preceded by another root. Likewise, forms like ceeb- and cee3- also cannot be used alone, but must be followed by another root. Many, many Arapaho verbs are formed in this way.

Among the common initial, or first roots, are:

 

ceeb-	by, past
heniin-	aimless, wandering
cee3-	away from the present spot
niihi'-	quickly
heec-	away, homewords
kooxo'-	slowly
nooh'(oh)-	upwards
honoow-	downwards

 

Verbs that can be made by combining these roots with -isee or -koohu include:

 

honoowusee-	walk downwards, downhill
honoowkóóhu-	run downwards
nooh'ohkoohu-	run upwards
niih'inéésee-	walk quickly

 

Notice that small changes sometimes occur when the two roots come together, as in run upwards (-oh- added) or walk quickly (hi'- becomes h'i-, an -n- is added, and -í- becomes -éé-). While these small changes can be confusing, the basic two roots remain recognizable, and will help you understand new words as you hear them.

 

 

Go on to Part Two of this Lesson