Conditional clauses are embedded clauses denoting an event or state which is a prerequisite for the event or state of the main clause, or from which the event/state of the main clause follows as a logical consequence. Conditional clauses may be introduced by aun "if", or by aunim "when, whenever, if and when":
Kima iaslò emuktampa sikespat aun melanna Sakial we:Erg today finish-can harvest-Dep if help-Dep-the:NA Sakial "We can finish harvesting today if Sakial helps" Nai muelhoksoina ie klotat aunim sukankat tsuohante he:Abs tired-become with quick-Dep when do-try-Dep too:much "He tires quickly whenever (he) tries to do too much"
As in English, conditional clauses may be fronted in Tokana, to what is known as the 'left-dislocation position' (section 5.1.5):
Aun melanna Sakial, kima iaslò emuktampa sikespat if help-Dep-the:NA Sakial we:Erg today finish-can harvest-Dep "If Sakial helps, we can finish harvesting today" Aunim sukankat tsuohante, nai muelhoksoina ie klotat when do-try-Dep too:much he:Abs tired-become with quick-Dep "Whenever (he) tries to do too much, he tires quickly"
Conditionals formed with aun tend to denote potential or counterfactual events, while those formed with aunim denote actual (periodic) events or eventualities. For example, compare the following:
Aun etanne Han tahat, kima sepa ante uehon if go-Dep-the:Abs Han visit-Dep we:Erg drink much wine "If Han comes to visit, we will drink a lot of wine" Aun etanon Han tahat, kima tule sepa ante uehon if go-Subj-the:Abs Han visit-Dep we:Erg would drink much wine "If Han came to visit, we would drink a lot of wine" Aunim etanne Han tahat, kima sepa ante uehon whenever go-Dep-the:Abs Han visit-Dep we:Erg drink much wine "Whenever Han comes to visit, we drink a lot of wine"
In the first two sentences, drinking wine is presented as a possible or hypothetical event, which is contingent on the (as yet unrealised) possibility of Han's coming to visit. In the third sentence, it is understood that Han comes to visit periodically, and that whenever he does, we drink a lot of wine.
As discussed in 2.5.2 and 2.5.3, aun- may be prefixed to various temporal expressions to form adverbs which quantify over cases or possible situations. For example:
inante "often, many times" auninante "often, in many cases" intsama "usually, most of the time" aunintsama "usually, in most cases" itsepe "sometimes, now and then" aunitsepe "in some cases" ifekes "once, one time" aunifekes "once, in one case"
These quantifying adverbs may take a clausal complement which specifies the type of case or situation being quantified over:
aunintsama iokmelat in:most:cases Arb-help-Dep "usually if people help" aunitsepe etanne Han tahat in:some:cases go-Dep-the:Abs Han visit-Dep "sometimes if/when Han comes to visit"
Expressions of this kind have the same distribution as conditional clauses headed by aun or aunim:
Kima ie klotat iemukta sikespat aunintsama iokmelat we:Erg with quick-Dep Foc-finish harvest-Dep in:most:cases Arb-help-Dep "We can usually finish the harvest quickly if people help" Aunintsama iokmelat, kima ie klotat iemukta sikespat in:most:cases Arb-help-Dep we:Erg with quick-Dep Foc-finish harvest-Dep "Usually if people help, we can finish the harvest quickly" or "If people help, we can usually finish the harvest quickly"
Note finally that, unlike English if, aun may not be used to form embedded yes/no questions. Instead the question particle ni is used (cf. section 5.4.2):
Ami nesepe ni melahmanna Sakiale I:Erg ask-Pst Qu help-intend-Dep-the:NA Sakial-Dat "I asked if Sakial intended to help"
Temporal adverbials are adjuncts which indicate the time at which the event denoted by the verb occurs. With a small number of exceptions (e.g. kas "now, as of now, already"), temporal adverbials in Tokana are formed using the prefix i(n)-. A number of examples of such expressions were given in the section on quantifiers (2.5.2). Some additional examples are given below:
iaslò "today" innalhkate "this morning" inlotka "yesterday" innalhkatka "yesterday morning" ilohfoi "tomorrow" innalhkafoi "tomorrow morning" ihune "tonight" itsakate "this evening" ihutka "last night" itsakatka "yesterday evening" ihufoi "tomorrow night" itsakafoi "tomorrow evening"
Note also the following:
inlhai "now, at this time" inlhon "then, at that time"E.g.: sikà inlhai "until now" tsuaha inlhai "from now on" sikà inlhon "until then" tsuaha inlhon "from that time on"itka "then, before, earlier, in the past" ifoi "then, after(wards), later, in the future"
These last two may be used with quantifier phrases in the dative case to indicate a point in time prior to or following the present moment:
itka antè ume then many-Dat year "many years ago" ifoi keloi ilme t hen seven-Dat moon "seven months from now"
The placement of temporal adverbials in the sentence is quite free: They may occur within the verb phrase (i.e. after the verb), in the focus position (i.e. immediately before a verb to which the focus marker i- has been prefixed; section 3.6.4), in the topic field (between the topic and the focus position), or in the left dislocated position (i.e. at the beginning of the sentence, separated from the rest of the clause by a pause). These four possibilities are illustrated below using itka hentai ume "twenty years ago".
Temporal adverbial inside the verb phrase:
Te katia tiespema itka hentai ume the:Abs house build-Pst-I:NA then twenty-Dat year "I built that house twenty years ago"
Temporal adverbial in the focus position (section 5.1.2):
Te katia itka hentai ume itiespema the:Abs house then twenty-Dat year Foc-build-Pst-I:NA "It was twenty years ago that I built that house"
Temporal adverbial in the topic field (section 5.1.4):
Te katia itka hentai ume tiespema the:Abs house then twenty-Dat year build-Pst-I:NA "Twenty years ago, that house was built by me"
Temporal adverbial in the left dislocated position (section 5.1.5):
Itka hentai ume, ami tiespè katia then twenty-Dat year I:Erg build-Pst-the:Abs house "Twenty years ago, I built that house"
In this section I discuss the formation of complex phrases and clauses from simpler ones through coordination. In section 4.4.1 I list the coordinators used in Tokana, and present examples of coordinate constructions. Then in 4.4.2 I briefly discuss ellipsis - that is, the deletion of a coreferential element from the second of two conjuncts.
Coordination involves the linking together of two phrases (or conjuncts) to form a larger phrase. In Tokana, as in English, coordination is marked by a set of elements called coordinators (sometimes also called conjunctions), which occur between the first and second conjunct:
ki "and" elh "and, as well as" lat "and then, and now" ha "and, and so, then" su "or, and/or" fe "or, or else" le "but" usna "but, rather" tsa "and not, nor"
(1) Ki and elh mark the simple conjunction of two phrases; they are both equivalent to English and:
Kima iase maka kauen ki sepe uehon we:Erg eat-Pst meat chicken and drink-Pst wine "We ate chicken and drank wine" Ne Sakial elh ne Elim ukuima the:Abs Sakial and the:Abs Elim Refl-love "Sakial and Elim love each other"
Ki and elh differ from each other in the following ways: First of all, ki can conjoin any kind of phrase, whereas elh must be used to conjoin two noun phrases, or two nouns within a single (plural) noun phrase:
se kal elh se iha "the men and the women" se kal elh iha "the men and women" ne Sakial elh ne Elim "Sakial and Elim" se Sakial elh Elim "Sakial and Elim (together)" [note the plural determiner]
Secondly, use of elh implies an 'exhaustive' listing, while ki may be used non-exhaustively. Compare:
ne Sakial elh ne Elim "Sakial and Elim (and nobody else)" ne Sakial ki ne Elim "Sakial and Elim (and possibly others)"
Note that elh contracts to 'lh when the preceding word ends in a vowel:
ne Mafe'lh ne Mothe "Mafe and Mothe"
(2) Lat "and then, and now" is generally used to conjoin clauses. It indicates that two events occur in temporal succession rather than simultaneously:
Na Han iase yspami, lat kim ete muelhat the:Erg Han eat-Pst supper and:then we:Abs go-Pst sleep-Dep "Han ate supper, and then we went to sleep"
Note the following expressions containing lat:
lat pehkaiu "first, but first, first of all..." lat pehisu "next, and next, and then..." lat pekamu "but first, but before that..." lat pekunthu "and finally, last of all..."
Note also that in main clauses, verb phrases denoting successive events may be concatenated without lat, provided they take the same topic noun phrase (cf. sections 4.4.2 and 5.1.4). This is shown in the following example, which translates literally as "Mothe ate supper went to sleep":
Na Mothe iase yspami ete muelhat the:Erg Mothe eat-Pst supper go-Pst sleep-Dep "Mothe ate supper and went to sleep"
(3) Ha "and so" is used to indicate an implicational (or 'cause and effect') relation between two conjuncts. It often co-occurs with the particle temai "then" or teuk "therefore" in the second conjunct:
Ne suhpama mouta, ha afanamot the:Abs brother-my:NA sick and:so come:along-cannot "My brother is sick, so [he] can't come along" Ne Han mouta, ha na Elim temai sukulhka kamana the:Abs Han sick and:so the:Erg Elim then work-must for-him:NA "Han is sick, so Elim must then work in his place"
(4) Su and fe both indicate the disjunction of two phrases. Su is equivalent to non-exclusive or in English ("and/or"), while fe is equivalent to exclusive or ("either/or"). In addition, su is usually non-exhaustive (like ki), while fe is exhaustive (like elh):
ne Sakial su ne Elim "Sakial or Elim" (or both, or perhaps someone else) ne Sakial fe ne Elim "Sakial or Elim" (but not both, and nobody else either)
Su is used when listing various possiblities, while fe is used when offering two or more mutually exclusive alternatives:
Ne Han tia mouta, su las teusu muelhoksa the:Abs Han Evid sick or just very tired "Han could be sick, or just very tired (or perhaps both)" Ku kysatine ni tule iasuha mas fe ohui? for breakfast-Inst Qu would eat-want soup or fruit "Would (you) like soup or fruit for breakfast?"
(5) Le and usna correspond to but in English; usna is used to contrast two possibilities ("not X but Y"), while le conjoins two propositions ("X, but on the other hand Y"):
Tun na Sakial itsitspotiè kopo, usna na Elim not the:Erg Sakial Foc-smash-Neg-Pst-the:Abs pot but the:Erg Elim "It wasn't Sakial who smashed the pot, but Elim" Inai Hane henka uhnat, le tuiaku uonioti the:Dat Han-Dat enjoy sing-Dep but not:so be:good:at-Neg "Han likes to sing, but (he) is not very good at (it)"
When used to connect sentences, usna (or ha usna) corresponds to rather or instead:
Ikime tahuhotun moke, ha usna otupe afanano we:Dat stay-want-Neg-Cpl home-Dat so but decide-Pst accompany-Subj "We did not want to stay at home, so instead [we] decided to come along"
Note also the expressions usna las "except (for), but (for)", usna ynale im "except before, not since", and usna ysame im "except after, not until", used after a negated verb:
Lhianotie iakmon usna las mai come:here-Neg-Pst anyone except me:Abs "No-one came except for me" Nai nioktotima kuolat usna ysame im tuhsai him:Abs return-Neg-I:NA meet-Dep except after winter-Dat "I won't meet him again until winter" Nai kuoponotima usna ynale imi inlotka him:Abs talk:with-Neg-I:NA except before-the:NA yesterday "I haven't talked to him since yesterday"
In addition to being used as a conjunction, le may introduce an embedded clause, in which case it corresponds to English though or although. (Note that in poetry and formal writing, the archaic forms lekò and ylekò are sometimes used in place of le to mean although.)
Ne Kinaka tieliakma, le tunme pyiotia ikime the:Abs Kinaka care:for-we:NA but not:Dep child-Pred-Neg-Dep us:Dat "We take care of Kinaka, though (she) is not our child"
The expression eima'n le (or eima le in some dialects) corresponds to even though or in spite of (the fact that):
Eima'n le kuoluna ne inante, imai suehonotì esianna even though meet-Dep:Cpl him:Abs many:times I:Dat remember-Neg-the:Abs name-his:NA "Even though I've met him many times, I don't remember his name" or "In spite of having met him many times, I don't remember his name"
(6) Tsa "and not, nor" is used in place of ki or elh to conjoin two negated phrases:
Inai Mothè kestoti tsa ohiynoti the:Dat Mothe-Dat happy-Neg nor sad-Neg "Mothe is neither happy nor sad" Itskanotien Sakial tsa ne Elim arrive-Neg-Pst-the:Abs Sakial nor the:Abs Elim "Neither Sakial nor Elim has arrived (yet)"
Note that, in addition to occurring between two conjoined phrases, elh, ki, su, fe, and tsa can also be repeated before each conjunct:
elh ne Sakial elh ne Elim "both Sakial and Elim" ki ne Sakial ki ne Elim "both Sakial and Elim" su ne Sakial su ne Elim "Sakial and/or Elim" fe ne Sakial fe ne Elim "either Sakial or Elim" tsa (tun) ne Sakial tsa (tun) ne Elim "neither Sakial nor Elim"
In Tokana, it is extremely common to omit a noun phrase if its reference can be inferred from context, and especially if it refers back to (is coreferential with) another noun phrase elsewhere in the same sentence. Some common examples of this are illustrated in this section. To begin with, consider the following coordinate structures, in which the same noun phrase (kima and te homa, respectively) occurs as the topic of both conjuncts:
Kima inlotka tielie yli, lat kima iaslò temiohè satha we:Erg yesterday tend-Pst grain and we:Erg today fix-Pst-the:Abs roof "We tended the crops yesterday, and we fixed the roof today" Te homa pusukena Han, lat te homa iasekma the:Abs bread make-Pst-the:NA Han and the:Abs bread eat-Pst-we:NA "Han made the bread, and then we ate the bread"
In such constructions, the repeated topic noun phrase is generally deleted (or elided) from the second conjunct, leaving a gap:
Kima inlotka tielie yli, lat iaslò temiohè satha we:Erg yesterday tend-Pst grain and today fix-Pst-the:Abs roof "We tended the crops yesterday, and fixed the roof today" Te homa pusukena Han, lat iasekma the:Abs bread make-Pst-the:NA Han and eat-Pst-we:NA "Han made the bread, and then we ate (it)" or "The bread, Han made (it) and then we ate (it)"
A similar phenomenon involves ellipsis in embedded clauses: When an argument (subject, object, etc.) of an embedded clause is coreferential with the topic of the sentence that contains it, then the embedded argument is obligatorily deleted. Consider the following pair of sentences:
Inai Hane iona moutanne the:Dat Han-Dat know sick-Dep-he:NA "Han knows that he (i.e. some person other than Han) is sick" Inai Hane iona moutat the:Dat Han-Dat know sick-Dep "Han knows that he (i.e. Han) is sick"
In the first sentence, the embedded subject clitic -ne must refer tosomeone other than the topic of the sentence (i.e. Han). In the second sentence, the embedded subject, which is phonetically null, must refer to the same person as the topic. (Notice that the English sentence Han knows that he is sick is ambiguous between these two meanings.) Additional examples of this are discussed below in section 5.3.
As I remarked in section 3.8.7, it is quite often possible to drop noun phrases if their reference is understood from context. Ellipsis across clauses can perhaps be viewed as a regular subcase of this general process. Many other instances of ellipsis could be cited, but the examples above represent the most common patterns.