Mode
The mode of a Navajo verb conveys information about the timing of an action or condition. There are seven modes: Imperfective, Perfective, Future, Iterative, Usitative, Optative, and Progressive. This website provides descriptions of each mode and provides example sentences that illustrate the modes. Certain adverbial expressions are compatible with only some of the modes. Examples of these are included also.
Here is one example with a verb in the optative mode:
Each sentence is displayed with the Navajo text on the first line, an English translation on the third, and a gloss of words and word parts on the second. The verb stem is in italics and indicates the mode. There is also a red button which, when clicked, will allow you to hear a recording of a speaker saying the sentence. For more information on the gloss of words and word parts visit this link. For this project we draw on previous work by Fernald & Perkins (manuscript), Young & Morgan (1987), Young, Morgan & Midgette (1992), and others cited in References [link].
In the box below you can search for sentences by verb, mode, or adverb.
An example search has returned 50 entries
Jáan biʼdizhchínéejįʼ ʼanááyííłką́. Bá daʼdiidį́į́ł.
John 3-birth.past-up-to again-day.P 3-for 1pl-eat.F’Áłahji’ tó dilchxoshí síníł’ą́ą dooleeł.
always water popping-Í 3-2-keep.SPN will.be.F-doondó’ --- da, doo ndi ---da, doondó’ ndi --- da
-yaaghah
around the corner from, disappearing behind, around the point from, on the other side
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