Talk:dooleeł

Modal and non-modal will be senses

It seems like both of the current sense lines could be collapsed into one, with a usage note explaining that this will be can be either stand-alone (I will be here, as the future tense of to be), or modal (I will be [VERB]-ing, as a future tense in general).

If my understanding is incorrect, then the senses and/or usage notes should be expanded to clarify.

For that matter, is dooleeł used as a general future tense (will do)? Or does it more specifically convey the future progressive (will be doing)? ‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │^{Tala við mig} 19:45, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

Definition 2 has been incorrectly changed to include definition 1. Definition 1 = will be (future tense of nilį́, it is); Definition 2 = will become (future tense of yileeh, it becomes).

I don’t understand the rest of what you said in the first paragraph.

With regard to progressive tense, it depends on the aspect/tense of the main verb. Ashą́ (I’m eating), ashą́ą dooleeł (I’ll be eating); ashhoosh (I’m asleep), ashhoosh dooleeł (I’ll be asleep); nisdaaz (I’m heavy), nisdaaz dooleeł (I’ll be heavy). But if the main verb is a perfective, then ííyą́ą́ʼ (I ate), ííyą́ąʼ dooleeł (I will have eaten); nánéshdá (I sat back down), nánéshdáa dooleeł (I will have sat back down). With the particle ńtʼééʼ, it makes a conditional: ashhoosh dooleeł ńtʼééʼ (I would be asleep). —Stephen ^(Talk) 21:35, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

• English makes a distinction between present forms I eat and I am eating, future forms I will eat and I will be eating, and past forms I ate and I was eating. Your explanation makes it sound like Navajo does not make this distinction. Is that correct? What then of the progressive verb form? ‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │^{Tala við mig} 22:47, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

It depends on the mode, aspect, and subaspect of the main verb. Not every verb has every mode, aspect, and subaspect. The stem -yą́ą́ʼ has the primary meaning of ingesting food, eating. The list of stems for the different modes and aspects is rather long for this verb, so I’ll just mention a few. Ignoring the usitative/iterative, perfective (-yą́ą́ʼ), future, and optative, here are the imperfectives:

MOMENTANE: -yį́į́h;

Transitional: -dį́į́h, -sį́į́h, -zį́į́h

DURATIVE: -yą́, -dą́, -są́, -zą́

CONTINUATIVE-DIVERSATIVE: -yą́, dą́ʼ

Some aspects and subaspects can be marked by prefixes, such as the seriative (ha-, hi-). For the English progressive, usually the Navajo progressive mode is used. If there is no progressive stem, sometimes you can use the durative mode. For the stem -yą́ą́ʼ (eat), the duratives are (besides the imperfectives that I listed above): usitative -yį́į́h/-dį́į́h (and 6 more); perfective -yą́ą́ʼ (and 3 more); future -yį́į́ł (and 3 more); optative -yą́ą́ʼ (and 3 more). So you get the form ashą́ (imperfective durative = I am eating). As Navajo has so many forms with meanings and uses much finer than English is capable of, one should consider each individual case (as opposed to a "one size fits all" I eat). For a simple "I eat", I might use adeeshį́į́ł, but in actuality, a different verb would likely be preferred for that: náʼáshdį́į́h (I eat). —Stephen ^(Talk) 01:51, 3 December 2015 (UTC)