The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo), Volume 2

9.1 Aspect, Modals, Auxiliaries, Start, Finish

dak-a vt. do, make, behave, act as; be like, look like.

dong-a vi. there is, there are; have, belong; be at, reside, dwell; be married to.

dong-ba-a vi. stay for a while, stop while passing.

man˙-a vi. be able, can, find, get, accomplish, achieve; blow, of wind: bal-wa man˙-ing-a the wind is blowing; sol-di man˙-ing-a have a cold.

ong˙-a vi. be, exist, be equivalent to.

a˙-ba-cheng-a vt. begin.

ta-ri-a vt. prepare. vi. get ready.

bon˙-a vi. done, come to an end, finished, used up.

bon˙-chot-a vi. finished, of a job, etc; used up.

chon˙-a vt. finish, complete, use up.

9.2 Inanimate States and Actions

chip-a vi. closed, of doors, boxes, eyes, etc. -chip- aa. without seeing, hidden, shut off: su˙-chip-a pierce into blindly, without seeing; git-tam-chip-a went one's pants, wet one's bed; rim˙-chip-a grab something not seen; sin˙-chip-a cool off when the clouds cover the sun.

o-a, u-a vi. open, of doors, boxes, etc.

ram-a vt. dry something, such as by putting it out to dry in the sun.

ran˙-a vi. dry out, become dry, of objects, hair, etc.; git-ok ran˙-a vi. thirsty, (lit. throat dry).

so-si-a vi. wet.

tip-a vi. dry up, stop raining, stop flowing, of puddles, pools, streams, rain, breast, well, etc.

ru-a vt. pour liquid, slower and more carefully than pak-a; take down, take apart, of thatch, a fence, a basket; take down a house.

ko˙-a, ku˙-a vt. draw water up from an open well, dip out water.

ku˙-a, ko˙-a vt. draw water up from an open well, dip out water.

dit-a vi. filled with liquid, water behind a barrier, breasts with milk; filter through ashes to obtain soda.

jro-a, jru-a vt. swim, of people, fish, etc.

be˙-a, bi˙-a vi. break, of solid things such as walls, pots; not used for linear things like string, etc.

be˙-tong-a, bi˙-tong-a vi. break into two pieces, broken off.

bret-a vi. burst, burst open, split, crack.

chot-a vi. break, come apart, tear apart, disconnect, of linear things such as string.

chot-tong-a vi. broken off, broken in two, torn clear through, of linear things such as string.

cham˙-a vi. worn down; become dull, of tools; worn smooth, of shoes, stools, roads, pots, etc.

chit-a vt. tear, of cloth or paper; split bamboo when making strips.

9.3 Body Use

-ang- aa. shows movement away from speaker, in that direction; bil-ang-a fly away.

-ba- aa. shows movement toward speaker, in this direction: re˙-ba-a come; bil-ba-a fly in this direction, fly here.

i˙-a vi. go, come, (same as re˙-a).

i˙-ang-a vi. go.

i˙-ang-pil˙-a vi. go back, return.

i˙-ba-a vi. come.

i˙-ba-pil˙-a vi. come back, return to here.

re˙-a, ri˙-a vi. go, come.

re˙-ang-a vi. go, move away.

jok-a vi. escape, get loose, get out, by people, animals, water, things. ma-rang jok-a vt. be rid of ma-rang (taboo, pollution).

nap-a vi. enter, go in, come in; set, of the sun, moon.

ong˙-kat-a, hong˙-kat-a vi. come out, appear, emerge; come out, of skin diseases.

sok-a vi. arrive, reach. -sok- aa. arrive, reach: rang˙-sok-a get one's breath; am-sok-a confident, able to manage; chu˙-sok-a enough, enough to reach; mik-sok-a hope, suspect.

pil˙-a vi. return, go back, come back; transform, as from human to a tiger and back again. -pil˙- aa. return, reverse, again: i˙-ba-pil˙-a come back, return; pang-pil-a reversed, upside down; am˙-pil-a turn away, turn around.

wal-pil-a vi. come back, return. vt. return, as a loan, give back.

kat-a vi. run, run away.

grong-a vt. meet.

chrok-a vi. jump, of frogs, children, etc.

ga-do-a, ga-du-a vi. climb, climb up, as a tree; get on, as a bus.

jit-a vi. move, shift one's location, as to give someone room to sit; change residence.

mal-a vi. crawl, of children, lizards, bugs, etc.; want to be with, come to lovingly, as a child comes to his grandfather, or an animal pet to its owner.

ga˙-a vi. step; wear, put on, of shoes, socks.

ga˙-ak-a vi. fall, fall down, of people or things; fall into, be a part of; count as kin, as belong in a kinship relation. -gak- aa. fall: gong˙-gak-a fall off, fall apart, of tools, posts; gak-gak-a flop, droop, like the head of a small baby.

am˙-pil-a, ham˙-pil-a vi. turn, turn away, turn around; turn over, as in bed; reverse; vt. turn over, turn around, stir, sweep rice into a teng-ki hole.

ja˙-rik-a vt. follow behind another person.

at-chong-a, a-song-a vi. sit, sit down.

cha-deng-a vi. stand, stand up.

cha-kat-a vi. stand up, get to standing position; get up from sleeping, be standing.

dim-breng-a vi. stand erect; straight, direct, of roads, a house wall; in line, like areca palms; having a direct and clear manner of speaking. dim-breng-dim-breng adv.

bam-a vi. bow, less deeply than bam-gok-a, lean forward, lean over from the waist.

9.4 Gestures

at-ching-a vi. sneeze.

bu-su-a vi. cough.

jak-si-ot-a vi. point, point to, show.

git-tam-a vi. urinate. n. urine.

ke˙-em-a vi. defecate. n. feces, dung.

9.5 Manipulations

ra˙-ron-a vt. take down, put down, unload; separate; reject, as to reject someone who is not of the right kin group.

ja-ri-a vt. sift by shaking vigorously, what is done to rice in a gen-chi (round rice tray).

ra˙-a vt. bring, get, take, receive objects: gro ra˙-a receive a fine, get compensation; jin-ang ra˙-a take a loan, receive a loan, borrow; po-ri-ka ra˙-a give an examination, what teachers do, receive the exam paper.

ra˙-ang-a vt. take, take away.

ra˙-ba-a vt. bring, bring in this direction.

ra˙-sek-a vt. take by force, remove a thing or a person by force, as when a family takes back a member from an unsuitable marriage.

man˙-rik-a vt. get back something given away or lost, recover; obtain, receive, keep; inherit.

rim˙-a vt. catch, capture, grab, hold, touch, handle; work; lead a legal case; follow the law.

sik-a vt. grab, hold, capture, seize, get, obtain; make a legal case; catch thieves.

ba˙-tom-a vt. carry a child in the arms or on the back without a carrying cloth.

chil-a vt. lift or carry on the shoulder or head, generally of heavy objects such as a log or a shoulder pole, lift with the shoulder.

ke-a, ki-a vt. hold or carry by hanging, as by a strap from the waist or shoulder, of things wrapped in a hanging cloth; carry a large pot on the hip.

ol-a, hol-a vt. carry or hold from tump line; wear na-rik-i (bunch of large earrings) as protection against head hunting.

rip-e-a, rip-i-a vt. carry on the shoulder, as a log.

brin-a vt. mix, mix together, as rice and curry, cement and sand.

chim-ong-a vt. gather things, collect; gather people together.

tom˙-a vt. gather, bunch up, collect, call together, pile up, rake into a pile, as rice; wind up thread; pull up, gather up, gather into a bunch, of a sleeve, pant leg, lunggi, etc.; bend together, of legs, waist or, esp., arms.

brang-a vi. loose one's way, get lost.

jok-a vi. escape, get loose, get out, by people, animals, water, things. ma-rang jok-a vt. be rid of ma-rang (taboo).

gal-a vt. throw away, dispose of; divorce; pour rice beer as an offering at a sacrifice. -gal- aa. take off, get rid of, throw away: sal-gal-a put away, as sleeping mat; king-gal-a uncover; su˙-gal-a wash clothes, dishes, etc.; wak-gal-a vomit.

go-a, gu-a vt. throw, scatter; broadcast seeds, plant; cast fishnet; play out cards; shoot gun.

jak-wat-a vt. let drop from hand; let go of: ang-a ko-lom-ko jak-wat-a I let the pen slip and fall.

nang-a, nang-ting-a, nang-ting-dat-a vt. touch, bump into something, as a tree; hit a mark, hit with something, as with something thrown.

dok-a vt. beat, knock, hit, tap, beat drum; make, forge iron tools; create, as a god creates people.

brik-a vt. scratch one's self to soothe.

ku˙-ak-a vt. scratch to hurt, with claws or nails, by animals or people; claw like a cat; scrape off the excess wet mud of a wall during house construction.

nong-a vt. rub, kneed, as muscles; smear on; mix, as rice and curry when eating; grind finely.

rim˙-rok-a vt. rub, rub along, rub with the palm, massage, kneed sore muscles, soothe by stroking; rub in order to clean; rub someone's arm in requesting, beseeching; pet an animal; brush off dirt from body.

rip-ak-a vt. rub or smear on, of powder, nail polish, medicine on skin; rub oil on gongs to make them look fine.

not-a vt. scour, scrub, scrape, of skin, pots, etc.; clean by scrubbing, clean teeth.

bu-a vt. pierce, prick; penetrate by a bu-su (thorn); cut through the dirt, by a plow.

dat-a vt. pound into, as a nail, as dried fish into a bamboo container, as a stake into the ground; insert a tool blade into a handle.

sik-a vt. insert, put in, stick in, poke, jab; sew; plant, esp. for rice in mud; put on, wear, of things requiring insertion such as a hat or bracelet; give life, provide the jang-gi (life, soul) by the creator; mik-gil sik-a close eyes, (lit. put into the eyelids).

song-a vt. set up, as post.

su˙-a vt. pierce, stab, spear; inject medicine; cut open; pound rice, husk; pound into a tube; bite, of snakes.

go˙-ok-a vi. come apart, come loose, come out of, as a tool handle, cork; fall out, be pulled out, plucked, of hair, of feathers; fall down, of a lunggi; -gok- aa. separated, broken apart.

ok-a vt. pull out, of plugs, corks, plants when weeding, etc.; unbutton; take off clothes that require insertion, of shoes, hat, shirt, lunggi; disconnect. -ok- aa. come apart, take apart, separate: sal-ok-a pull out; go˙-ok-a come apart, come loose; po˙-ok-a take off, take out, of hats, corks; sol˙-ok-a carve, as a memorial post.

bik-a vt. carve, cut into shape, cut hair, carve a tooth on the top of a memorial post.

chit-a vt. split, cut into thin pieces, esp. for bamboo; tear, of paper, cloth.

den˙-a vt. cut, chop, cut by striking blows.

pit-a vt. split, chop firewood; split bamboo; cut into small pieces.

rat-a vt. cut by slicing; cut with sickle as one harvests rice; cut off mud from a house wall to smooth it.

sol˙-a vt. carve, cut off pieces, esp. from the surface, to reduce the size of a wooden piece; scrape off mud from the walls of a new house to make them smooth; remove bark, trim, whittle; skin an animal.

sot-a vt. chop, cut firewood.

bak-a, ha˙-bak-a vt. dig, chop out dirt in order to use it for something, often with a large ko-dal (digging hoe).

bik-kot-a vt. extract, excavate, dig up, as root crops; show, reveal, as showing hands from the sleeve; take apart; discover, find out.

bil-a vt. dig out in order to get such things as tubers, bamboo roots.

cho˙-a vt. dig a hole, as for a post or to harvest root crops.

dap-a vt. bury, fill a hole; cover; close eyes. -dap- aa. cover, cover over, pile on, wrap: ha˙-dap-a bury; grip-dap-a pile up, set on top; ru-dap-a pour over; on-dap-a put on top of crossing pieces when basket weaving; at-chong-dap-a sit on, cover something by sitting on it; pin-dap-a cover, as with a blindfold; smooth over furrows of a plowed field; sal-ko ga-dil-a pin-dap-ing-a the clouds cover the sun; mit-dap-a close, as a bottle; gan-dap-a tuck in; wil-wil-dap-a wrap around; on-jet-dap-a put something heavy on top of something else.

bin-ek-a vi. crushed, of crops knocked down by cattle, etc.; squashed, of bananas, etc; ground up, broken up, as dry earth; softened, as cooked meat.

jak-kal-a vt. use.

9.6 Manipulations: Focus on the Object

an-a vt. spread under, spread out, of things that go under something else, as mats, mattresses, banana leaves as plates.

gat-a vt. place on, load, put on top of; cover, as one's head; put or carry on the shoulder or head; pile up, as cloth; build a mud house; set trap; hang clothes, jawbones; attach; give a second or replacement spouse; put into a cradle; give a name to someone, as at baptism: ja˙-chok gat-a sit with ankles or lower legs crossed: man-di pi˙-sa jo-loi gat-e mo-jim-a the baby having been put in the cloth cradle, rocks. -gat- aa. add, cover, put on top: so˙-gat-a push into fire; de˙-gat-a lift, load; ra˙-gat-a adopt a child.

pin-a vt. cover with, spread over, as with a blanket, thatch on a roof: bi-a lep-ko pin-e chu-a he sleeps with a blanket spread over (him).

bil˙-a vt. roll up, as a mat; wrap. bi-gro bai-bai bil˙-a vt. roll up, starting from the long dimension. gip-eng-pang bil˙-a vt. roll up starting from the short dimension. gro-gro bil˙-a vt. roll up starting from the long dimension.

chap-a vt. place in layers, pile up, as leaves, cloth, paper; attach, join; put beside, put together; give a second wife to a man. -chap- aa. join, attach, pile up: ka-chap-a tie together; nang-chap-a touching; nang-chap-grik-a touching each other; dong-chap-a give a second wife to a man; ra˙-chap-a take together; take something with something else; sik-chap-a sew together.

eng-a vt. untie, untied.

ka-a vt. tie, tie with string, rope, or by twisting with flexible bamboo strips; put on, wear, of a turban; build by tying, of a fence, a barrier in a stream; make friends.

to-a, tu-a vt. measure the length, weight, etc.

don-a vt. put, place, put aside, omit.

9.7 Human Relations

on˙-a, hon˙-a, ron˙-a vt. give; put; apply, as paint; pay a fine, compensation; give a loan; officiate at a marriage; take an examination (what students do), hand in an examination, (see ron˙- for compounds).

ra˙-chak-a vt. accept, receive, as objects; catch a thrown object; obey, follow instructions, orders or advice.

ron˙-a, on˙-a, hon˙-a vt. give, put; apply, as paint; pay a fine, compensation; give a loan; po-ri-ka ron˙-a take an examination (what students do), hand or give in the exam; bi-a ron˙-a perform a marriage, officiate at a marriage.

wat-a, wat-et-a vt. let go, release; settle, finalize; fire from a job; quit smoking; send a letter, etc.; let animals run loose; abandon, throw away.

dak-chak-a vt. help.

dil-a vt. guide, lead, show how. -dil- aa. lead, guide, show the way, cause: cha˙-dil-a feed; ken-dil-a frighten; ha-bu-dil-a give someone a bath; dong-dil-a care for a baby or small child.

dong-tim-a vt. wait, stay and watch; guard, look after.

jil-a vt. care for, support, have responsibility for children, old people, animals.

ma-ni-a vt. follow instructions, obey, do as another suggests; worship.

bang-kang-a vt. prohibit, prevent, deny passage, obstruct.

peng˙-a vt. block off, hinder, prevent, stop, protect, block from view. -peng- aa. obstruct: chang-peng-a blocked off; dong-peng-a obstruct; chu-peng-a prevent, obstruct.

mang-kal-a vt. play games, tease, fuss with, fool around, do mischief; annoy, disturb, as children do: di˙-sa-ko mang-kal-a joke, fool around with the child.