ʔyow, iyow : "past, former"

This element indicates that something happened, or was true, in the past. It is a clitic that occurs after the word or phrase that it modifies. When it occurs after a noun, it can usually be translated as "former", or sometimes "which was mentioned previously".

Pronunciation

After a vowel, it has the shape /ʔyow/.

• hiʔdá ʔyow
  the former road (which is not there anymore)
• naṭá yya ʔyow
  the former children (who have now grown up)

Following a consonant, this clitic takes the form /iyow/. More precisely, an epenthetic vowel /i/ is inserted, and the /ʔ/ combines with the preceding consonant. If that consonant is a plain stop, then it becomes an ejective stop. (In addition, /soh/ "just" becomes /sokʼ/ in this environment.) Otherwise, the /ʔ/ disappears.

• qʰaʔbeqʰácʼ iyow
  the former sharp-skinned hawk (that has been transformed)
• sokʼ íyow
  it was nothing
• duwení ṭʼo ʔama· cʼíškan iyow
  the old days were wonderful

This alternation in pronunciation occurs in all the different contexts of use described below, where more examples are provided.

Occurrence with a suffix

This clitic usually occurs with another suffix. It is followed by /-am/, or less often /-amu/, if the word or phrase is the subject of a sentence or serves an agent role.

• ʔima·tá ʔyowam cʰoyiʔ miṭiw
  the former woman was lying dead (on the ground)
• bihše ʔyowam ʔacaʔ cícʼbina
  the former deer had turned into a person
• kumíʔdaʔ ʔa ma·dal iyowam qʰamací·duwa·duce·du
  I used to accompany her all the time

It is followed by /-al/ if the word or phrase is the object of a verb or postposition, or serves a patient role, or is possessed by someone.

• qaʔdí ʔyowal ṭʼi cʰitʼošcíhqaqʰ
  (someone) must have cut down all the grass that was previously there
• kuhnú ʔyowal pʰala mihyáʔ mul
  (he) won back those already-mentioned beads
• ʔima·ta náṭa ʔyowal ʔihyumciw
  the former girl became cold
• pʰiʔtʼan ʔacacʼ íyowal cʰoyiʔ
  that former man suddenly died
• heʔé ʔyowal pʰalá ʔbaʔ mu·kito
  his former hair grew back

The /ʔ/ element that starts this clitic is the assertive, a special type of verb. As a result, the clitic is often marked with the Non-Final Verb suffix /-e·/ when other words follow in the same sentence.

• mací ʔyowe· mu
  it was daylight
• mi·li qán iyowe· ʔa wa·du
  this is where I came through
• muʔnati ʔyowe· ʔa yów hcedu
  but I said "all right"
• ku·yí ʔyowe· ya ʔahqʰa mála· ṭʰahqawem
  once while we were playing by the water...

It might be the case that these instances are actually from a more complex sequence including the copula, /ʔyow ʔe·/, but the pronunciation is the same because the second /ʔ/ is deleted.

Usage after a verb

The clitic can occur after an absolutive verb, where it emphasizes that something happened in the past; it can sometimes be translated "previously" or "used to (be or do something)". The form of the clitic follows the usual rules, so it is /ʔyow/ after /-u/, for /d/-final stems.

• men tʼá·du ʔyowe· to pʰala
  I felt the same way too
• mu·kinʔ ʔamatol miṭicí·du ʔyowam
  he used to lie on the ground

Otherwise the clitic is /iyow/ after consonants, including the /-w/ form of the absolutive.

• ʔacaʔ nohpʰow íyowal i ṭʼi·
  where all the Indians had been living
• to naʔbacá·law iyow
  he used to lie on the ground
• cʰow íyow em ṭʼo mu·kinʔ bé·li ʔa wa·du meʔ
  he wasn't here when I came

With other consonants, the absolutive is /-ʔ/, but this glottal stop is deleted. If the remaining verb-final consonant is a stop, it will become an ejective.

• qʼoʔdi šocam íyowe· ma
  you used to listen well
• qom íyowe· mu·kinʔ
  he took a bath
• bahnatʼ íyow
  asked previously

• ʔama báʔtʼa ʔyowam ʔa qawi ʔin
  I used to be slow, when I was young
• ʔama tol maʔyul iyowam mu kʰe ʔa·tʰénʔ šokonʔwadu·cedu
  my mother always used to sit around on the floor