Udmurt pronouns are inflected much in the same way that their referent nouns are. However, personal pronouns are only inflected in the grammatical cases and cannot be inflected in the locative cases.
Personal pronouns
Somewhat like in English, Udmurt personal pronouns are used to refer to human beings only. However, the third person singular can be referred to it. Udmurt personal pronouns only inflect in the grammatical cases and the allative case. The nominative case of personal pronouns are listed in the following table:
Personal pronouns
Singular
Plural
1st person
мон
/mon/
мон
/mon/
I
ми
/mi/
ми
/mi/
we
2nd person
тон
/ton/
тон
/ton/
you
тӥ
/ti/
тӥ
/ti/
you
3rd person
со
/so/
со
/so/
she or he or it
соос
/soːs/
соос
/soːs/
they
Reflexive pronouns
Udmurt reflexive pronouns only inflect in the grammatical cases and the allative case. The nominative case of reflexive pronouns are listed in the following table:
Reflexive pronouns
Singular
Plural
1st person
аслам
/ɑsɫɑm/
аслам
/ɑsɫɑm/
me myself
асьмеос
/ɑɕmeos/
асьмеос
/ɑɕmeos/
we ourselves
2nd person
аслад
/ɑsɫɑd/
аслад
/ɑsɫɑd/
you yourself
асьтэос
/ɑɕteos/
асьтэос
/ɑɕteos/
you yourselves
3rd person
аслаз
/ɑsɫɑz/
аслаз
/ɑsɫɑz/
she herself/he himself/it itself
асьсэос
/ɑɕseos/
асьсэос
/ɑɕseos/
they themselves
Interrogative pronouns
Udmurt interrogative pronouns inflect in all cases. However, the inanimate interrogative pronouns 'what' in the locative cases have the base form кыт-. The nominative case of interrogative pronouns are listed in the following table:
Interrogative pronouns (nominative case)
Singular
Plural
what
ма/mɑ/
маос/mɑos/
who
кин/kin/
кинъëс/kinjos/
The following table shows Udmurt interrogative pronouns in all the cases :
Interrogative pronouns (all cases)
Case
кин- /kin/
English
ма-/кыт- /mɑ/kɨt/
English
Nominative
кин/kin/
who
ма/mɑ/
what
Accusative
кинэ/kine/
whom
мае/mɑje/
what
Genitive
кинлэн/kinɫen/
whose
малэн/mɑɫen/
of what
Ablative
кинлэсь/kinɫeɕ/
from whom
малэсь/mɑɫeɕ/
from what
Dative
кинлы/kinɫɨ/
to whom
малы/mɑɫɨ/
to what
Instructive
кинэн/kinen/
with whom
маин/mɑin/
with what
Abessive
кинтэк/kintek/
without whom
матэк/mɑtek/
without what
Adverbial
кинъя/kinjɑ
in whose way
мая/mɑjɑ
in what way
Inessive
–
–
кытын/kɨtɨn/
where
Illative
–
–
кытчы/kɨt͡ːʃɨ/
to where
Elative
–
–
кытысь/kɨtɨɕ/
from where
Egressive
–
–
кытысен/kɨtɨɕen/
start from where
Terminative
–
–
кытчыозь/kɨt͡ːʃɨoʑ/
end up where
Prolative
–
–
кытӥ/kɨti/
along where
Allative*
кинлань/kinɫɑɲ/
towards whom
малань/mɑɫɑɲ/
towards where
*The allative case is commonly called "approximative" when talking about Udmurt and Komi.
Noun forms
Udmurt does not distinguish gender in nouns or even in personal pronouns: 'со' = 'he' or 'she' depending on the referent.
Cases
Udmurt has fifteen noun cases: eight grammatical cases and seven locative cases. Notice that the word in a given locative case modifies the verb, not a noun. The locative cases can only be used with inanimate references with the exception of the allative case. Alternative forms containing -ы- can only be used after the plural suffix (i.e. the illative singular гуртэ, but plural гуртъёсы). The less common accusative suffix -ты is used after the plural suffix, in addition to more common -ыз.
*The allative case is commonly called "approximative" when talking about Udmurt and Komi.
Udmurt case endings affix directly to nouns quite regularly with the exception of a few lexemes of Uralic origin. These lexemes have stem changes when declining in the locative cases whose endings begin with a vowel:
Examples of lexemes with varied stems
Lexeme
Stem
Inessive
English
Original stem form
Cognate example
син /ɕin/
синм- /ɕinm/
синмын /ɕinmɨn/
(in an) eye
*-lm- → *-nm-
Finnish: silmä 'eye'
ин /in/
инм-
/inm/
инмын
/inmɨn/
(in the) sky
Finnish: ilma 'air'
кус /kus/
куск- /kusk/
кускын /kuskɨn/
(in the) hips
*-sk-
Erzya: каске 'rump'
нюлэс /ɲuɫes/
нюлэск- /ɲuɫesk/
нюлэскын /ɲuɫeskɨn/
(in the) forest
кык /kɨk/
кыкт- /kɨkt/
кыктэтӥ /kɨkteti/
two; second
*-kt-
Northern Sami: guokte 'two'
The personal pronouns, however, have irregularities in comparison to the declension of other nouns:
There are two types of nominal plurals in Udmurt. One is the plural for nouns -ос (after vowels)/-ëс (after consonants)/-ъёс (after certain consonants to avoid palatalization) and the other is the plural for adjectives -эсь/-есь.
Nominal plural
The noun is always in plural. In attributive plural phrases, the adjective is not required to be in the plural:
Attributive plural
Udmurt
English
чебер(есь) нылъëс
(the) beautiful girls
The plural marker always comes before other endings (i.e. cases and possessive suffixes) in the morphological structure of plural nominal.
Morphological order
Udmurt
English
нылъëслы
to the girls
гуртъëсазы
to/in their villages
Predicative plural
As in Hungarian, if the subject is plural, the adjective is always plural when it functions as the sentence's predicative:
Attributive plural
Udmurt
English
нылъëс чебересь
the girls are beautiful
толъёс кузесь
the winters are cold
Following numerals
Nouns are ordinarily in the singular when following cardinal numbers. However, a living being as the sentence's subject may be in the plural. In this case, the predicate verb must be in congruency with the subject.
There are ten students sitting in the lecture hall
Possessive suffixes
Nominal possessive suffixes
Udmurt possessive suffixes are added to the end of nouns either before or after a case ending. The possessive suffixes vary in the nominative and accusative cases and with case endings. The consonant of the second and third person plural depends on if the last phoneme of the word is voiced or unvoiced.
Nominative possessive suffix
Suffix ending
Udmurt
English
-е/-э
эше
my friend
-ед/-эд
эшед
your friend
-ез/-эз
эшез
his/her friend
-мы
эшмы
our friend
-ды/-ты
эшты
your (pl) friend
-зы/-сы
эшсы
their friend
Certain lexemes of Finno-Ugric origin (especially those ending with a vowel or meaning an inalienable object) contain the vowel -ы- in the first, second and third person singular nominative possessive suffixes:
Nominative possessive suffix
Suffix ending
Udmurt
Finnish equivalent
English
-ы
киы
käteni
my hand
-ыд
киыд
kätesi
your hand
-ыз
киыз
kätensä
his/her hand
Accusative possessive suffixes
Accusative possessive suffixes are shown in the following table. The consonant of the second and third person singular and plural depends on if the last phoneme of the word is voiced or unvoiced.
Accusative possessive suffix
Suffix ending
Udmurt
English
-ме
эшме
my friend
-тэ/-дэ
эштэ
your friend
-сэ/-зэ
эшсэ
his/her friend
-мес
эшмес
our friend
-дэс/-тэс
эштэс
your (pl) friend
-зэс/-сэс
эшсэс
their friend
Possessive suffixes with case endings, singular
The morphological placement of possessive suffixes with other endings depends on the case. Possessive suffixes are the same as nominative suffixes after which the genitive, ablative, dative, abessive, adverbial and allative cases agglutinates.
Possessive suffixes with case endings
Case
Udmurt (first person singular)
English
nominative
гуртэ
my village
genitive
гуртэлэн
my village's/of my village
ablative
гуртэлэсь
from my village
dative
гуртэлы
for my village
abessive
гуртэтэк
without my village
adverbial
гуртэя
across my village
allative
гуртэлань
towards my village
The possessive suffix follows the instrumental, inessive, illative, elative egressive, terminative and prolative cases and the vowel reduces to ы in the singular persons. An м, an old Uralic first person singular marker, appears in the first person singular. When adding a possessive suffix, the inessive and illative forms change to -а- and the elative form changes to -ысьт-. The ы does not appear in the inessive, illative, terminative and prolative cases where the case ends with a vowel.
Possessive suffixes with case endings
person
instrumental
inessive
illative
elative
egressive
terminative
prolative
Singular
first
гуртэным
гуртам
гуртам
гуртысьтым
гуртысеным
гуртозям
гуртэтӥм
second
гуртэныд
гуртад
гуртад
гуртысьтыд
гуртысеныд
гуртозяд
гуртэтӥд
third
гуртэныз
гуртаз
гуртаз
гуртысьтыз
гуртысеныз
гуртозяз
гуртэтӥз
Plural
first
гуртэнымы
гуртамы
гуртамы
гуртысьтымы
гуртысенымы
гуртозямы
гуртэтӥмы
second
гуртэныды
гуртады
гуртады
гуртысьтыды
гуртысеныды
гуртозяды
гуртэтӥды
third
гуртэнызы
гуртазы
гуртазы
гуртысьтызы
гуртысенызы
гуртозязы
гуртэтӥзы
Possessive suffixes with case endings, plural
As in the singular, possessive suffixes precede the genitive, ablative, dative, abessive, adverbial and allative cases. However, the vowel of the singular persons reduce to ы:
Possessive suffixes with case endings
Case
Udmurt (first person singular)
English
nominative
гуртъëсы
my villages
genitive
гуртъëсылэн
my villages'/of my villages
ablative
гуртъëсылэсь
from my villages
dative
гуртъëсылы
for my villages
abessive
гуртъëсытэк
without my villages
adverbial
гуртъëсыя
across my villages
allative
гуртъëсылань
towards my villages
As in the singular, possessive suffixes follow the instrumental, inessive, illative, elative, egressive, terminative and prolative cases. The suffix forms follow the same structure as in the singular. The same exceptions appear in the plural as in the singular with the added exception of the instrumental э/е reducing to ы and the prolative э/е not used.
Possessive suffixes with case endings
Case
Udmurt (first person singular)
English
instrumental
гуртъëсыным
by means of my villages
inessive
гуртъëсам
in my villages
illative
гуртъëсам
to my villages
elative
гуртъëсысьтым
from my villages
egressive
гуртъëсысеным
starting from my villages
terminative
гуртъëсозям
ending up at my villages
prolative
гуртъëстӥм
along my villages
Some words can be used as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs without a change in form. For example, чылкыт/t͡ʃɨɫkɨt/ means "cleanliness", "clean", and "clearly".
The third person singular possessive suffix also acts as a definite article: удмурт кыл(ыз) чебер/udmurtkɨɫ(ɨz)t͡ʃeber/ ("the Udmurt language is nice" – literally "Udmurt language's nice").
Adjectives
There is no congruency between adjectives and nouns in neutral Udmurt noun phrases, i.e. there is no adjective declension as in the inessive noun phrase бадӟым гуртын, 'in a large/big village' (cf. Finnish inessive phrase isossa kylässä 'in a large/big village', in which iso 'big/large' is inflected according to the head noun). However, as stated earlier, Udmurt adjectives in neutral attributive (non-predicative) noun phrases may have a plural marker when the noun is pluralised.
Determinative
Udmurt does have an emphasising determinative suffix. Its function is to place emphasis on the features of the referent, defining and separating it from a group of other similar referents. The third person singular possessive suffix -ез/-эз and -из and plural -ыз acts as the determinative suffix. The determinative adjective conjugates as in the third person singular or plural and the noun conjugates without any other marker.
Determinative suffix
Case
neutral
English
determinative
English
Singular
nominative
бадӟым гурт
(a) big village
бадӟымез гурт
(specifically) a big village
inessive
бадӟым гуртын
in a big village
бадӟымаз гуртын
in the (specifically) big village
illative
бадӟым гуртэ
to a big village
бадӟымаз гуртэ
to the (specifically) big village
elative
бадӟым гуртысь
from a big village
бадӟымысьтыз гуртысь
from the (specifically) big village
Plural
nominative
бадӟым(есь) гуртъëс
(the) big villages
бадӟымъëсыз гуртъëс
the (specifically) big villages
inessive
бадӟым(есь) гуртъëсын
in the big villages
бадӟымъëсаз гуртъëсын
in the (specifically) big villages
illative
бадӟым(есь) гуртъëсы
to the big villages
бадӟымъëсаз гуртъëсы
to the (specifically) big villages
elative
бадӟым(есь) гуртъëсысь
from a big village
адӟымъëсысьтыз гуртъëсысьб
from the (specifically) big village
Comparative
Comparative is used when two referents are compared to each other but the subject of comparison does not necessarily need to be expressed.
The comparative suffix in Udmurt is -гес. The subject of comparison can be expressed either in the ablative case or with the postpositionсярысь structure. If the subject of comparison it is shown the comparative suffix can be left out.
There is no superlative suffix in Udmurt. Superlative is expressed with the Russianparticleсамой or indefinitive expressions ваньмызлэсь, котькинлэсь or котьмалэсь.
Superlative
Udmurt
English
самой ~ ваньмызлэсь ~ котькинлэсь ~ котьмалэсь бадӟым
biggest (of them all)
самой ~ ваньмызлэсь ~ котькинлэсь ~ котьмалэсь выль
newest (of them all)
самой ~ ваньмызлэсь ~ котькинлэсь ~ котьмалэсь дун
cleanest (of them all)
Postpositions
Udmurt makes use of postpositions rather than prepositions. A large percentage of the stems of Udmurt postpositions have a locative meaning and can conjugate in the local cases. For example, выл means 'top' and also 'surface' and can inflect in all the locative cases: (inessive) вылын, (elative) вылысь, (illative) вылэ, (prolative) вылтӥ, (egressive) вылысен, (terminative) вылозь and (allative) выллань.
However less than the seven locative cases are included in paradigm inflection of many of the postpositions. The paradigm usually consists of the inessive, elative and illative cases. Like nominals of foreign Uralic origin, some postpositions have a consonant in their stem. such as вис(к-), 'between'.
Some common postpositions are:
Postpositions
Stem
Example (inessive)
English
азь
азьын
in front of
выл
вылын
on top of
дор
дорын
next to, at
бӧрсьы
бӧрсьыын
in back of/behind
пум
пумын
at the end of
ул
улын
under
The illative case can vary between -э/-е and -ы. The illative form of the postposition пал 'side' is пала 'to the side of'.
Postpositions
Stem
Example (illative)
English
-э/-е
азь
азе
to the front of
выл
вылэ
to the top of
пум
пуме
to the end of
ул
улыэ
under
-ы
дор
доры
next to, at
шор
шоры
to the centre of
сьӧр
сьӧры
to the behind of
вис(к-)
вискы
between
There is also a small group of non-inflecting postpositions in addition to those inflecting in the locative cases (cf. Finnish kanssa "with (a person)" that always takes the genitive case: ystävän kanssa "with a friend"). A few examples of these are:
Postposition
English
артэ
next to
бере
after
быдэ
all, each
валче
together; because of, due to
дыръя
during
кузя
along
сямен
in the way of/ -wise
сярысь
about
ӵоже
within
ӵош
together
Most of the nouns in Udmurt postposition phrases are inflected in the nominative but there are a few postpositions that require the noun to be in the dative, ablative or instrumental cases:
Example
English
Nominative
ӝок вылын
on top of a/the table
писпу сьӧрысь
from behind a/the tree
анай сярысь
about (a) mother
университет бере
after university
тон понна
because of you
Dative
арлы быдэ
every year
тӧллы пумит
against the wind
Ablative
талэсь азьло
before this
Instrumental
анаен ӵош
with mother
соин валче
because of it
монэн артэ
next to me
Verbs
Udmurt verbs are divided into two groups or two conjugations, both having the infinitive marker -ны. The conjugation I type verb is structured with ы as in мыныны, 'to go'. The conjugation II type verb features an -а- in the infinitive as in ужаны, 'to work'. The conjugation I verb can also have two stems, a full stem as in мыны- and a short stem as in мын-.
There are three verbal moods in Udmurt: indicative, conditional and imperative. There is also an optative mood used in certain dialects. The indicative mood has four tenses: present, future, and two past tenses. In addition there are four past tense structures which include auxiliary verbs. Verbs are negated by use of an auxiliary negative verb that conjugates with personal endings. Separate personal pronouns are not required in verb phrases.
The basic verbal personal markers in Udmurt are (with some exceptions):
Personal endings of verbs
Person
Ending
Singular
1st
-Ø
2nd
-д
3rd
-з
Plural
1st
-мы
2nd
-ды
3rd
-зы
Present tense
Present tense in Udmurt, in all but the third person, is marked with -(ӥ)сько-/-(и)сько-. Third person singular is marked with -э/-е (conjugation I) or unmarked (conjugation II) and third person plural is marked with -о (conjugation I) or -ло (conjugation II).
Present tense
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодӥсько
I know
кырӟасько
I sing/I am singing
2nd
тодӥськод
you know
кырӟаськод
you sing/you are singing
3rd
тодэ
he/she knows
кырӟа
he/she sings / he/she is singing
Plural
1st
тодӥськомы
we know
кырӟаськомы
we sing/we are singing
2nd
тодӥськоды
you know
кырӟаськоды
you sing/you are singing
3rd
тодо
they know
кырӟало
they sing/they are singing
The negative indicative present is formed by the auxiliary у- negative verb and the marker -(ӥ)ськы/-(и)ськы in the first and second person singular or -(ӥ)ське/-(и)ське in the first and second plural of the main verb. The third person singular main verb is either marked by the full stem (conjugation I) or unmarked (conjugation II). The third person plural is marked with -о (conjugation I) or -ло (conjugation II).
The negative verb conjugates with the ending -г in first and third person singular and third person plural. Second person singular and plural both conjugate with the ending -д and first person plural with -м.
Present tense negative
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
уг тодӥськы
I do not know
уг кырӟаськы
I do not sing/I am not singing
2nd
уд тодӥськы
you do not know
уд кырӟаськы
you do not sing/you are not singing
3rd
уг тоды
he/she does not know
уг кырӟа
he/she does not sing / he/she is not singing
Plural
1st
ум тодӥське
we do not know
ум кырӟаське
we do not sing/we are not singing
2nd
уд тодӥське
you do notknow
уд кырӟаське
you do not sing/you are not singing
3rd
уг тодо
they do not know
уг кырӟало
they do not sing/they are not singing
Future tense
The future tense in Udmurt is marked with -о- in conjugation I verbs and -ло- in conjugation II verbs.
Future tense
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодо
I will know
кырӟало
I will sing/I will be singing
2nd
тодод
you will know
кырӟалод
you will sing/you will be singing
3rd
тодоз
he/she will know
кырӟалоз
he/she will sing / he/she will be singing
Plural
1st
тодомы
we will know
кырӟаломы
we will sing/we will be singing
2nd
тододы
you will know
кырӟалоды
you will sing/you will be singing
3rd
тодозы
they will know
кырӟалозы
they will sing/they will be singing
The negative indicative future is formed by the auxiliary у- negative verb and the stem of the main verb in singular persons. The plural persons are marked either with -э/-е (conjugation I) or -лэ (conjugation II)
The negative verb conjugates with the ending -г in first person singular. Third person singular and third person plural have the ending -з and the remaining are as in present negative.
Future tense negative
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
уг тод(ы)
I will not know
уг кырӟа
I will not sing/I will not be singing
2nd
уд тод(ы)
you will not know
уд кырӟа
you will not sing/you will not be singing
3rd
уз тод(ы)
he/she will not know
уз кырӟа
he/she will not sing / he/she will not be singing
Plural
1st
ум тодэ
we will not know
ум кырӟалэ
we will not sing/we will not be singing
2nd
уд тодэ
you will not know
уд кырӟалэ
you will not sing/you will not be singing
3rd
уз тодэ
they will not know
уз кырӟалэ
they will not sing/they will not be singing
Past tense
The conventionally used designations preterite and perfect are used with denotations which are divergent from their usual meanings in the grammar of other languages.
Preterite I
The first preterite can be compared with the simple past in English. Preterite I is marked with ӥ/и in conjugation I. There is no past tense marker in conjugation II verbs with the exception of й in the first person singular.
Preterite I
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодӥ
I knew
кырӟай
I sang
2nd
тодӥд
you knew
кырӟад
you sang
3rd
тодӥз
he/she knew
кырӟаз
he/she sang
Plural
1st
тодӥм(ы)
we knew
кырӟам(ы)
we sang
2nd
тодӥды
you knew
кырӟады
you sang
3rd
тодӥзы
they knew
кырӟазы
they sang
The negative preterite I is formed by the auxiliary ӧ- negative verb and the stem of the main verb in singular persons. The plural persons are marked either with -э/-е (conjugation I) or -лэ (conjugation II)
The negative verb conjugates with the ending -й in first person singular. Third person singular and third person plural have the ending -з and the remaining are as in present negative.
Preterite I negative
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
ӧй тоды
I did not know
ӧй кырӟа
I did not sing
2nd
ӧд тоды
you did not know
ӧд кырӟа
you did not sing
3rd
ӧз тоды
he/she did not know
ӧз кырӟа
he/she did not sing
Plural
1st
ӧм тодэ
we did not know
ӧм кырӟалэ
we did not sing
2nd
ӧд тодэ
you did not know
ӧд кырӟалэ
you did not sing
3rd
ӧз тодэ
they did not know
ӧз кырӟалэ
they did not sing
Preterite II
The second preterite is a past tense with an evidentiality distinction. It can be compared to the English perfect in which the speaker did not personally observe the past event. The preterite II is marked with (э)м/(е)м, which is historically related to the third infinitive in Finnish.
In addition to the normal personal endings, the present indicative marker -(ӥ)ськ-/-(и)ськ- is featured in first persons and a frequentive verbal marker -лля- is present in the second and third person plural. There is no personal ending in the third person singular and sometimes featured in the third person plural.
Preterite II
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодӥськем
I have evidently known
кырӟаськем
I have evidently sung
2nd
тодэмед
you have evidently known
кырӟамед
you have evidently sung
3rd
тодэм
he/she has evidently known
кырӟам
he/she has evidently sung
Plural
1st
тодӥськеммы
we have evidently known
кырӟаськемм(ы)
we have evidently sung
2nd
тодӥллямды
you have evidently known
кырӟаллямды
you have evidently sung
3rd
тодӥллям(зы)
they have evidently known
кырӟаллям(зы)
they evidently sung
The negative preterite II is formed either by including the auxiliary copular negative verb ӧвӧл 'is not' or with the negation marker -мтэ-.
Preterite II negative
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодӥськымтэе ~ ӧвӧл тодӥськем
I have evidently not known
кырӟаськымтэе ~ ӧвӧл кырӟаськем
I have evidently not sung
2nd
тодымтэед ~ ӧвӧл тодэмед
you have evidently not known
кырӟамтэед ~ ӧвӧл кырӟамед
you have evidently not sung
3rd
тодымтэ ~ ӧвӧл тодэм
he/she has evidently not known
кырӟамтэ ~ ӧвӧл кырӟам
he/she has evidently not sung
Plural
1st
тодӥськымтэмы ~ ӧвӧл тодӥськеммы
we have evidently not known
кырӟаськымтэмы ~ ӧвӧл кырӟаськемм(ы)
we have evidently not sung
2nd
тодӥллямтэды ~ ӧвӧл тодӥллямды
you have evidently not known
кырӟаллямтэды ~ ӧвӧл кырӟаллямды
you have evidently not sung
3rd
тодӥллямтэ ~ ӧвӧл тодӥллям(зы)
they have evidently not known
кырӟаллямтэ ~ ӧвӧл кырӟаллям(зы)
they have evidently not sung
Auxiliary past tenses
There are four past tenses in Udmurt which use a preterite form of the main verb and a preterite form of the auxiliary verb 'to be'.
Pluperfect I
The Udmurt pluperfect makes use of the preterite I main verb and the auxiliary вал, 'was' in third person singular, also in simple past. The pluperfect I tense expresses a process of action that has happened in the (distant) past.
Pluperfect I
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
тодӥ вал
I had known
кырӟай вал
I had sung
2nd
тодӥд вал
you had known
кырӟад вал
you had sung
3rd
тодӥз вал
he/she had known
кырӟаз вал
he/she had sung
Plural
1st
тодӥм(ы) вал
we had known
кырӟам(ы) вал
we had sung
2nd
тодӥды вал
you had known
кырӟады вал
you had sung
3rd
тодӥзы вал
they had known
кырӟазы вал
they had sung
The negative Pluperfect I is formed by the negative preterite I negative plus the auxiliary вал.
Pluperfect I negative
Person
тодыны (conjugation I)
English
кырӟаны (conjugation II)
English
Singular
1st
ӧй тоды вал
I had not known
ӧй кырӟа вал
I had not sung
2nd
ӧд тоды вал
you had not known
ӧд кырӟа вал
you had not sung
3rd
ӧз тоды вал
he/she had not known
ӧз кырӟа вал
he/she had not sung
Plural
1st
ӧм тодэ вал
we had not known
ӧм кырӟалэ вал
we had not sung
2nd
ӧд тодэ вал
you had not known
ӧд кырӟалэ вал
you had not sung
3rd
ӧз тодэ вал
they had not known
ӧз кырӟалэ вал
they had not sung
Pluperfect II
There are two structures of the pluperfect II tense. One uses the preterite II third person singular form of the main verb inflected with a personal possessive suffix and the auxiliary вал. The other is the preterite II of the main verb (with normal personal inflection) and the preterite I form of the 'to' be verb вылэм. The pluperfect II tense expresses the result of an action that has been completed, but no one had seen.
Pluperfect II (тодыны)
Person
Pluperfect II a
Pluperfect II b
English
Singular
1st
тодэме вал
тодӥськем вылэм
I had evidently known
2nd
тодэмед вал
тодэмед вылэм
you had evidently known
3rd
тодэм вал
тодэм вылэм
he/she had evidently known
Plural
1st
тодэммы вал
тодӥськеммы вылэм
we had evidently known
2nd
тодэмды вал
тодӥллямды вылэм
you had evidently known
3rd
тодэмзы вал
тодӥллям(зы) вылэм
they had evidently known
The negative pluperfect II is formed either by with the preterite II third person singular of the main verb in the negative (marked with -мтэ-) with a personal possessive suffix and the auxiliary verb вал (pluperfect II a) or with the negative preterite II of the main verb marked with -мтэ- with the preterite II auxiliary verb вылэм.
Preterite II negative (тодыны)
Person
Pluperfect II a
Pluperfect II b
English
Singular
1st
тодымтэе вал
тодӥськымтэе вылэм
I had evidently not known
2nd
тодымтэед вал
тодымтэед вылэм
you had evidently known
3rd
тодымтэ вал
тодымтэ вылэм
he/she had evidently known
Plural
1st
тодымтэмы вал
тодӥськымтэмы вылэм
we had evidently not known
2nd
тодымтэды вал
тодӥллямтэды вылэм
you had evidently not known
3rd
тодымтэзы вал
тодӥллямтэ вылэм
they had evidently not known
Durative preterite
The durative preterite in Udmurt can be compared to the past progressive in English "was doing". Its function can be described as expressing a process in the past. The structure is the present tense of the main verb with either preterite of the auxiliary verb. The structure of the negative durative preterite is the negative present tense of the main verb with either preterite of the auxiliary verb.
Durative preterite (кырӟаны)
Person
Affirmative
English
Negative
English
Singular
1st
кырӟасько вал/вылэм
I was singing
уг кырӟаськы вал/вылэм
I was not singing
2nd
кырӟаськод вал/вылэм
you were singing
уд кырӟаськы вал/вылэм
you were not singing
3rd
кырӟа вал/вылэм
he/she was singing
уг кырӟа вал/вылэм
he/she was not singing
Plural
1st
кырӟаськомы вал/вылэм
we were singing
ум кырӟаське вал/вылэм
we were not singing
2nd
кырӟаськоды вал/вылэм
you were singing
уд кырӟаське вал/вылэм
you were not singing
3rd
кырӟало вал/вылэм
they were singing
уг кырӟало вал/вылэм
they were not singing
Frequentative preterite
The frequentative preterite in Udmurt expresses a repeated action in the past. The structure is the future tense of the main verb with either preterite of the auxiliary verb. The structure of the negative frequentative preterite is the negative future tense of the main verb with either preterite of the auxiliary verb.
Frequentative preterite (кырӟаны)
Person
Affirmative
English
Negative
English
Singular
1st
кырӟало вал/вылэм
I sang (always)
уг кырӟа вал/вылэм
I did not sing (always)
2nd
кырӟалод вал/вылэм
you sang (always)
уд кырӟа вал/вылэм
you did not sing (always)
3rd
кырӟлоз вал/вылэм
he/she sang (always)
уз кырӟа вал/вылэм
he/she did not sing (always)
Plural
1st
кырӟаломы вал/вылэм
we sang (always)
ум кырӟалэ вал/вылэм
we did not sing (always)
2nd
кырӟалоды вал/вылэм
you sang (always)
уд кырӟалэ вал/вылэм
you did not sing (always)
3rd
кырӟалозы вал/вылэм
they sang (always)
уз кырӟалэ вал/вылэм
they did not sing (always)
Passive voice
Udmurt does not have a separate affix to express a passive voice. The plural third person of the verb is used as a personal form to express an unknown, non-determinative actor.
Passive voice
3rd pers. pl
English
Passive voice
English
Соос ужало
They are working
Татын ужало
(People) are working here
Соос удмурт сямен верасько
They speak Udmurt
Татын удмурт сямен верасько
Udmurt is spoken here
Соос ӟуч сямен уг верасько
They do not speak Russian
Татын ӟуч сямен уг верасько
Russian is not spoken here
Moods
Conditional
The conditional mood expresses an unrealistic action which the speaker considers to be supposed, possible or hopeful. The conditional marker is -сал and is attached to the stem of the verb (i.e. full stem of conjugation I verbs) along with personal endings. The third person singular, however, can function without a personal ending. The first person singular preterite I negative verb ӧй is used in the negative conditional.
Conditional (карыны)
Person
Affirmative
English
Negative
English
Singular
1st
карысал
I would do
ӧй карысал
I would not do
2nd
карысалыд
you would do
ӧй карысалыд
you would not do
3rd
карысал(ыз)
he/she would do
ӧй карысал(ыз)
he/she would not do
Plural
1st
карысалмы
we would do
ӧй карысалмы
we would not do
2nd
карысалды
you would do
ӧй карысалды
you would not do
3rd
карысалзы
they would do
ӧй карысалзы
they would not do
Imperative
The stem of the verb is used for the second person singular imperative in Udmurt. If the stem of a conjugation I verb ends in one consonant or is one syllable and ends in a vowel, the short stem is the imperative. If the stem of a conjugation I verb ends in two consonants, the full stem is used.
The second person plural infinitive is marked with -е(лэ)/-э(лэ) in conjugation I verbs and -лэ in conjugation I verbs.
The imperative negative auxiliary is эн which precedes the infinitive form.
Udmurt makes use of the morphosyntactic structure of inflected nominals and verbs with an auxiliary for modal expressions.
To express ability, the verb луыны, 'to be' is inflected in the third person singular (in all tenses) with the subject in the genitive case. The verb to which the subject directs ability is inflected with the past participle(э)м/(е)м (preterite II, third person singular) with a personal possessive suffix.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
Тынад лыктемед луиз
You could come
"yours your came was"
Кышномуртлэн магазинэ мынемез ӧз луы
The woman could not go to the store
"woman's to the store her went was not"
Desiderative
The desiderative modal expresses desire. The verb потынын, 'to want' is inflected in the third person singular (in all tenses) with the subject in the genitive case. The verb to which the subject directs the desire is inflected with the past participle(э)м/(е)м (preterite II, third person singular) with a personal possessive suffix.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
Мынам иземе потэ
I want to sleep
"mine my slept wants"
Кышномуртлэн магазинэ мынемез уг поты
The woman does not want to go to the store
"woman's to the store her went not want"
Necessive
To express necessity, the word кулэ, 'necessary' is used with the copula verb inflected in the third person singular (in all tenses) with the subject in the dative case. The infinitive of the verb to which the subject directs necessity or an object is used.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
Солы трос лыдӟиськыны кулэ
He/she needs to read a lot
"to him/her much to read necessity is"
Мыным книга кулэ ӧвӧл
I did not need a book
"to me book necessity is not"
Permissive
To express permissiveness, the verb яраны, 'to suit/to be valid' is inflected in the third person singular (in all tenses) with the subject in the dative case. The infinitive of the verb to which the subject directs permissiveness is used.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
Мыным кошкыны яра-а?
May I leave?
"to me to leave suits?"
Тӥледлы пырыны уг яра
You (pl) may not come in
"to you (pl) to come in does not suit"
Participles
Udmurt verbs have past, present and future participles. Participles can be used in different ways than ordinary adjectives. In addition to affirmative participles, Udmurt also has caritive participles.
Present
The present participle is -(ӥ)сь/-(и)сь. It is a participle which expresses continuous action. It is affixed to short stems in conjugation I verbs. The present participle caritive is -(ӥ)сьтэм/-(и)сьтэм
Affirmative
English
Caritive
English
лыдӟись ныл
a girl that reads
лыдӟисьтэм ныл
a girl that does not read
кырӟась пи
a boy that sings
кырӟасьтэм пи
a boy that does not sing
In addition to functioning as regular attributive participles, the present participle also functions as a nominalising derivational suffix.
as a participle
English
as a noun
English
дышетскись ныл
a girl that studies
дышетскись
student
висись ныл
a girl that gets sick
висись
patient
кырӟась ныл
a girl that sings
кырӟась
singer
Past
The past participle is -(э)м/-(е)м. It is an attributive participle which expresses completed action. It is affixed to short stems in conjugation I verbs. The past participle caritive is -(э)мтэ/-(е)мтэ.
Affirmative
English
Caritive
English
лыктэм куно
a guest that arrived
лыктэмтэ куно
a guest who did not arrive
пограм писпу
a tree that fell
пограмтэ писпу
a tree that did not fall
лыӟем книга
a book that has been read
лыӟемтэ книга
a book that has not been read
The past participle can also be inflected with the inessive ending -(э)мын/-(е)мын. This is a predicative participle which expresses completed action.
Udmurt
English
Куно лыктэмын.
The guest has arrived.
Писпу пограмын.
The tree had fallen.
Книга лыӟемын.
The book has been read.
Future
The modal-future participle is -(о)но. It is affixed to short stems in conjugation I verbs. The future participle caritive is -(о)нтэм and expresses that which is unable to be done.
Affirmative
English
Caritive
English
пияно кышномурт
a woman who will give birth soon
пиянтэм кышномурт
a woman who will not be able to give birth
лыӟоно книга
a book that will be read
лыӟонтэм книга
a book that is not able to be read
There is also a modal participle similar to gerunds in function. It expresses the ability to do some action or that it is possible to do the action. The marker is -мон and it is affixed to short stems in conjugation I verbs.
Udmurt
English
лэсьтымон уж
a job (work) which is possible to do
улымон корка
a house in which one can live
Gerunds
There are four gerunds in Udmurt, one being a caritive. that are affixed to the verb's full stem. One gerund, which also has a caritive, is formed by the past participle (э)м/(е)м (preterite II, third person singular) with the instrumental or elative case.
The "basic" -са gerund (and its caritive -тэк) can be compared to the English present active participle-ing and Finnish second or third infinitives, however having more functions. They can express a way of doing something, a reason for the action or a certain condition.
The temporal -ку gerund (-кы in southern dialects) expresses action or state of being which happens simultaneously with the action of the main verb of the clause.
The fourth gerund is -тозь which can express an action or an event that lasts to the starting or ending limit of the action expressed by the predicate verb of the sentence. The gerund also expresses the structure "instead of". In addition, possessive suffixes can be affixed after the -тозь gerund.
Gerunds
Udmurt
English
-са
Адями дыртыса мынэ
A person is going in a hurry (lit. rushing)
Адями дыртытэк мынэ
A person is going without rushing
дышетскись малпаськыса пуке
The student sits (there) thinking
Атае, корка пырыса, ӝӧк сьӧры пукиз
My father sat at the table when he came into the house (lit. when coming in)
-ку
Лымыяку куазь шуныгес кариське
It (lit. the weather) gets warmer when it snows
-тозь
Туннэ шунды пукськытозь ты дурын улӥмы
We were at the river bank today until sun set (lit. until the setting of the sun)
Ми вуытозь, та ужез быдэсты
Finish this work by the time we get there (lit. until the time when we arrive)
Тэк пукытозь, книга коть лыӟы
Instead of idly sitting, why do not you read a book
Вуытозям та ужез быдэсты ~ Mон вуытозь, та ужез быдэсты
Finish this work by the time I get there (lit. until the time when I arrive)
The past participle gerund is inflected with either the instrumental -(э)мен/-(е)мен (caritive -мтэен) or elative -(э)мысь/-(е)мысь (caritive -мтэысь) case, both having the basic same meaning of "because". In literary Udmurt, the gerund in the instrumental case is preferred. However, the gerund in the elative case is used with some verbs such as дугдыны 'to cease/stop'.
Gerunds
Udmurt
English
-(э)мен/-(е)мен
куазь зоремен
because it (lit. the weather) stops raining
-(э)мысь/-(е)мысь
куазь зоремысь
because it (lit. the weather) stops raining
висись ӝуштемысь дугдӥз
The patient stopped moaning (lit. from moaning)
Caritive
куазь зормтэен ~ куазь зормтэысь
because it (lit. the weather) did not stop raining
Personal possessive suffixes can also be affixed to -(э)м-/-(е)ме- gerunds:
Udmurt
English
Affirmative
Висеменым (~ висемысьтым) та ужез ас дыраз лэсьтыны ӧй быгаты
I could not complete this work on time because I was sick
Other important things got delayed because I did not to this job on time
Interrogative suffix
If there are no interrogative (question) words (who, what, when etc.), an interrogative phrase is formed by the suffix -а. The interrogative suffix is affixed to the constituent to which the question is concerned. The suffix's placement can also vary according to dialect. Both southern and northern dialect forms are used in literary Udmurt.
Interrogative suffix
Udmurt
English
Мынӥськод-а?
Are you going?
Уд-а мынӥськы? ~ Уд мынӥськы-а?
Aren't you going?
Чай юиськод-а?
Are you drinking tea?/Do you drink tea?
Чай уд-аюиськы? ~ Чай уд юиськы-а?
Don't you drink tea?
Чай-а юиськод?
Is it tea which you drink? (not e.g. coffee)
Чай-а уд юиськы?
Is it tea which you do not drink? (not e.g. coffee)
Нюлэс пичи-а?
Is the forest small?
Пичи-а нюлэс ?
Is the forest small? (but not big)
Коля студент ӧвӧл-а? ~ Ӧвӧл-а Коля студент?
Isn't Kolja a student?
Отын шур вал-а? ~ Отын вал-а шур ?
Was there a river there?
Шур мтын-а вал?
Was the river close by?
Ммтын-а шур вал?
Was the river close by? (not far away)
Шур ӧй вал-а мтын?
Wasn't the river close by?
Word formation
There are a few main derivational suffixes in Udmurt word formation.
Nouns
Udmurt has the productive deverbalising nominal suffix -(о)н/-(ë)н. -(о)н/-(ë)н is affixed to the short stem of conjugation I verbs and -н affixes directly to the stem of conjugation II verbs The function of this suffix is quite diverse. With this deverbalising affix, the nominal usually:
1. expresses the action (deverbalised noun) set out by the base verb:
Verb
English
Noun
English
сылыны
to stand
сылон
(a) standing
ӝуаны
to burn
ӝуан
(a) burning
куасьмыны
to dry
куасьмон
(a) drying
2. expresses the result of action:
Verb
English
Noun
English
вормыны
to win
вормон
a victory
кырӟаны
to sing
кырӟан
a song
3. expresses an instrument or tool denoted by an action:
Verb
English
Noun
English
портыны
to drill
портон
a drill
4. expresses the focus of action:
Verb
English
Noun
English
сиыны
to eat
сиëн
food
юыны
to drink
юон
drink
Most of these derivations have both abstract and concrete meanings. The derivation can expresses both the action set out by the base verb or result or instrument:
Verb
English
Noun
English
пукыны
to sit
пуконы
(a) sitting, a seat, a chair
висьыны
to become ill
висëн
getting ill, a disease, an illness
шудыны
to play
шудон
playing, play, a toy, a plaything
Deverbalised nominal derivations can function as qualifiers of collocations, such as лыдӟон книга 'reader, digest' or юон ву 'drinking water'.
Adjectives
Udmurt has the denominalising adjectival suffixes -о/-ë and carritive -тэм. The adjectives formed by the suffix -о/-ë express the condition of a quality, feature or phenomenon of the base word or possession of the referent. The adjectives formed by the suffix -тэм express the lack of quality, feature, phenomenon or referent. This suffix can be compared to the prefixun- or suffix -less in English.
Adjectival derivational suffixes
Nominal
English
Example
English
-о/-ë
визь
sense
визьмо адями
a wise person
кужым
strength
кужымо ки
a strong hand
шуд
luck
шудо нылпи
a lucky child
куар
leaf
куаро писпу
a leafy tree (a tree with leaves)
туш
beard
тушо пиосмурт
a bearded man (a man with a beard)
-тэм
шуд
luck
шудтэм нылпчагыр
an unlucky child
туш
beard
туштэм пиосмурт
a beardless man (a man with no beard)
нылпи
child
нылпитэм семъя
a childless family (a family with no children)
Adjectives formed by the -ӧ suffix can also have a qualifier:
Nominal
English
Example
English
чагыр син
blue eye
чагыр сино ныл
a blue-eyed girl
кузь ки
long arm
кузь киë адями
a long-armed person (a person with long arms)
Udmurt also has moderative adjectival suffixes (-алэс, -мыт and -пыр(ъем)) which express a somewhat large, but not complete, amount of quality of an adjective base, usually a colour or flavour. They can be compared to the English suffix -ish. The suffix -мыт does not normally associate with flavour, but Southern dialect variant -пыр(ъем) does.
Moderative adjectival derivational suffixes
Nominal
English
Example
English
вож
green
вожалэс ~ вожмыт ~ вожпыръем дэрем
a greenish shirt
лыз
blue
лызалэс ~ лызмыт ~ лызпыръем кышет
a blueish scarf
сьӧд
black
сьӧдалэс ~ сьӧдмыт ~ сьӧдпыръем йырси
blackish hair
курыт
bitter
курыталэс ~ курытпыръем кияр
a rather bitter cucumber
Verbs
In Udmurt grammar, the lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs is called verbal aspect. Udmurt verbs can be divided into two categories: momentane verbs and frequentative verbs. The transitivity or of a verb mainly relies on if the verb is frequentative or not.
In Udmurt word formation, verbs can be derived by frequentative or causative deverbalising suffixes.
Momentane
The momentane aspect of Udmurt verbs expresses action (state of being or process) that happens only once. There is no transparent base momentane marker (cf. Finnish momentane verbs). For example, лыӟыны 'to read (once)'. However a causative -т- denotes momentanity and those verbs can be derived into frequentative verbs.
Frequentative
The frequentative aspect expresses that the action (state of being or process) does not happen just one time. The action is continuous or frequent. There are various frequentative markers, usually containing an л, for example лыӟылыны 'to read (frequently/often)'. The frequentative aspect, however, does not denote continuous repetitiveness as in e.g.some Finnish frequentative derivations.
The frequentative deverbalising affixes in Udmurt are -лы- (conjugation I), -лля- (conjugation II) (both historically related to the Finnish frequentative derivational suffix -ele-) and -а-/-я- (conjugation I) which precede the infinitive marker ны.
Frequentative derivation
Base
English
Derivation
English
-л-
лыдӟыны
to read
→
лыдӟылыны
to read (often)
лыктыны
to come
→
лыктылыны
to come (often)
юыны
to drink
→
юылыны
to drink (often)
-лля-
ужаны
to work
→
ужалляны
to work (often)
кораны
to chop
→
коралляны
to chop (often)
-а-/-я-
пырыны
to step inside
→
пыраны
to step inside (often)
потыны
to step outside
→
потаны
to step outside (often)
гожтыны
to write
→
гожтъяыны
to write (often)
Some verbal derivations, that follow the pattern потыны → потаны, have parallel frequentative derivations, and -лля- can be affixed to an already frequentative derivation:
Another frequentative verb affix is -иськы-/-ӥськы-, which is historically related to the Finnish frequentative derivational suffix -skele-. -иськы-/-ӥськы- frequentative verbs can be considered different from the above-mentioned derivations. -иськы-/-ӥськы- verbs do not semantically denote frequency in the same way; their "oftenness" is related to objective or non-objective relation. For example, the verb лыдӟыны ('to read') requires an object and the verb лыдӟиськыны does not.
The copular verb (ваньvań, – "to be") is omitted if the sentence is in the present tense: туннэ кыӵе нунал?tunne kiče nunal? ("What day is it today?"). If the sentence expresses possession, the vań can be part of the predicate: тӥ палан нюлэсъёс вань-а?ti palan ńulesjos vań-a? ("At you (plur.), are there forests?")
Existential sentences
These are sentences which introduce a new subject – they often begin with 'there is' or 'there are' in English.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
Финляндиын трос нюлэсъëс
there are many forests in Finland
"in Finland many forests (is/are)"
Possessive sentences
As in most Uralic languages, ownership in Udmurt is expressed by inflection and sentence structure, rather than with a separate verb 'have'. The owner of the object and the possessed object are both inflected with a possessive suffix and used with the copula verb to express ownership.
Udmurt
English
Literal translation
мынам книгае вань
I have a book
"mine my book is"
мынам книгае ӧвӧл
I do not have a book
"mine my book is not"
мынам книгае вал
I had a book
"mine my book was"
мынам книгае ӧй вал
I did not have a book
"mine my book was not"
Sources
Kel'makov, Valentin; Sara Hännikäinen (2008). Udmurtin kielioppia ja harjoituksia (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. ISBN978-952-5150-34-6.
Winkler, Eberhard (2011). Udmurtische Grammatik (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Winkler, Eberhard (2001). Udmurt. Languages of the World. Vol. Materials 212. München: Lincom Europa.