zè (Tense Prefix)
zè
Grammatical function
- Type: Tense Prefix
- Function: Simple Past / Perfective Past
- Meaning: Indicates an action that occurred before the present.
Usage Notes (Registers)
1. Standard (zè-)
- IPA: /zə/
- Usage: Default, objective reporting of past events. “It happened.”
- Structure:
zè-[Verb]
2. Subjective / Memoric (sỏ-)
- IPA: /sou̯/
- Usage: Used for memories, nostalgia, or events that exist primarily in the speaker’s mind (“It felt like…”, “I remember…”). It softens the factual edge of the past tense.
- Structure:
sỏ-[Verb] - Example: To wo sỏshěsonů. (“I remember reading / I was reading [in my memory].“)
Alternate Forms
- sỏ- - Subjective Past (Memoric/Nostalgic).