Lêkerên hevedudanî · Two-part verbs
A noun or adjective and a verb work together.
By the end of this lessonRecognize the two parts and conjugate kirin or bûn without losing the first part.
The idea
In the constructions taught here, a non-verbal part carries much of the meaning and the verbal part carries tense and agreement: kar kirin (to work), fêr bûn (to learn), fêr kirin (to teach). Compare ez kar dikim and ez fêr dibim.
See it in a sentence
The choice of kirin or bûn changes meaning and argument structure. Fêr bûn is intransitive; fêr kirin takes a learner as an object. Spelling conventions vary: this lesson spaces the two parts to show their structure.
Build it step by step
- In the constructions taught here, a non-verbal part carries much of the meaning and the verbal part carries tense and agreement: kar kirin (to work), fêr bûn (to learn), fêr kirin (to teach). Compare ez kar dikim and ez fêr dibim.
- First identify what stays fixed: kar or fêr. Then choose the verbal partner by meaning; replacing kirin with bûn is not merely a tense change.
- Compare Ez fêr bûm with Wê ez fêr kirim. The first is intransitive learning; the second is transitive teaching with object agreement in the past.
- The choice of kirin or bûn changes meaning and argument structure. Fêr bûn is intransitive; fêr kirin takes a learner as an object. Spelling conventions vary: this lesson spaces the two parts to show their structure.
| Construction | Non-verbal part | Verbal part | Present example |
|---|---|---|---|
| kar kirin | kar | kirin | Ez kar dikim. |
| fêr bûn | fêr | bûn | Ez fêr dibim. |
| fêr kirin | fêr | kirin | Ez te fêr dikim. |
Take a sentence apart
non-verbal part: work
conjugated kirin: present, first-person singular
Use English and Turkish meanings to understand the situation, but choose Kurdish stems and agreement from the Kurdish construction. A translation does not determine the conjugation.
A common trap
Incorrect: Ez nakar dikim.
Correct: Ez kar nakim.
Negate the verbal part dikim, not the noun kar.
Grammar reference: Thackston, Course grammar reference: Thackston, verb formation and tense chapters; forms selected for this lesson.