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Converb
Converb
Converb
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In theoretical linguistics, a converb (abbreviated cvb) is a nonfinite verb form that serves to express adverbial subordination: notions like 'when', 'because', 'after' and 'while'. Other terms that have been used to refer to converbs include adverbial participle, conjunctive participle, gerund, gerundive and verbal adverb (Ylikoski 2003).

Converbs are differentiated from coverbs, verbs in complex predicates in languages that have the serial verb construction.

Converbs can be observed in most Turkic languages, Mongolic languages, as well as in all language families of Siberia such as Tungusic.[1]

Etymology

[edit]

The term was coined for Khalkha Mongolian by Ramstedt (1902) and until recently, it was used mostly by specialists of Mongolic and Turkic languages to describe non-finite verbs that could be used for both coordination and subordination. Nedjalkov & Nedjalkov (1987) first adopted the term for general typological use, followed by Haspelmath & König (1995).

Description

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A converb depends syntactically on another verb form, but is not its argument. It can be an adjunct, an adverbial, but it cannot be the only predicate of a simple sentence or clausal argument. It cannot depend on predicates such as 'order' (Nedjalkov 1995: 97).

Examples

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  • On being elected president, he moved with his family to the capital.
  • He walks the streets eating cakes.

Khalkha Mongolian

[edit]

хүн

hün

human

инээж

inee-ž

laugh-ž

эхэлмэгц

ehel-megc

begin-megc

зүрх

zürh

heart

анхандаа

anh-and-aa

first-DAT-REFL.POSS

хүчтэй

hüčtej

strong

цохилж

cohil-ž

beat-ž

аажмаар

aažmaar

slowly

цохилтын

cohilt-yn

beat-GEN

хэм

hem

rhythm

нэг

neg

one

хэвэнд

hev-end

form-DAT

ордог

or-dog

enter-HAB.PTCP

байна.

baj-na.

be-NPAST

хүн инээж эхэлмэгц зүрх анхандаа хүчтэй цохилж аажмаар цохилтын хэм нэг хэвэнд ордог байна.

hün inee-ž ehel-megc zürh anh-and-aa hüčtej cohil-ž aažmaar cohilt-yn hem neg hev-end or-dog baj-na.

human laugh-ž begin-megc heart first-DAT-REFL.POSS strong beat-ž slowly beat-GEN rhythm one form-DAT enter-HAB.PTCP be-NPAST

"As soon as a human begins to laugh, at first his heart beats strong, and slowly the rhythm of the beat assumes one (continuous) form."

The converb -megc denotes that as soon as the first action has been begun/completed, the second action begins. Thus, the subordinate sentence can be understood as a temporal adverbial. There is no context in which the argument structure of another verb or construction would require -megc to appear, and there is no way (possibly except for afterthought) in which a -megc-clause could come sentence-final. Thus, -megc qualifies as a converb in the general linguistic sense.

However, from the viewpoint of Mongolian philology (and quite in agreement with Nedjalkov 1995 and Johanson 1995), there is a second converb in this sentence: -ž. At its first occurrence, it is modified by the coverb ehel- ‘to begin’ and this coverb determines that the modified verb has to take the suffix. Yet, the same verbal suffix is used after the verb ‘to beat’ which ends an independent non-finite clause that temporally precedes the following clause but without modifying it in any way that would be fit for an adverbial. It would be possible for -ž to mark an adverbial:

Би

Bi

I

…

…

 

хүмүүсийн

hümüüs-ijn

people-GEN

татгалзахыг

tatgalza-h-yg

hesitate-FUT.PTCP-ACC

тэвчиж

tevči-ž

bear-ž

чадахгүй

čada-h-güj

can-FUT.PTCP-NEG

гэж

gež

that

айж

aj-ž

fear-ž

зарж

zar-ž

sell-ž

эхэлсэн.

ehel-sen.

begin-PAST

Би … хүмүүсийн татгалзахыг тэвчиж чадахгүй гэж айж зарж эхэлсэн.

Bi … hümüüs-ijn tatgalza-h-yg tevči-ž čada-h-güj gež aj-ž zar-ž ehel-sen.

I {} people-GEN hesitate-FUT.PTCP-ACC bear-ž can-FUT.PTCP-NEG that fear-ž sell-ž begin-PAST

"I started my business, at the very beginning fearing that... I wouldn’t be able to bear the hesitating of the people."

Such "polyfunctionality" is common. Japanese and Korean could provide similar examples, and the definition of subordination poses further problems. There are linguists who suggest that a reduction of the domain of the term converb to adverbials does not fit language reality (e.g. Slater 2003: 229).

Standard Uzbek

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Mostly, Uzbek converbs can be translated into English as gerunds, but the context is important as the translation has to be changed as per the former. For example, below are the two sentences including the converb turib from the verb stem tur- 'stand':

Buni

turib

yozgan

esangizlar.

Buni turib yozgan esangizlar.

If you wrote it standing.

Alternatively, turib may denote the meaning of “then” i.e. consecutiveness, so the sentence in this case can be translated as “If you stood up (and) then wrote it”. But in the second example below the same converb turib can in no way be translated either with gerunditive or consecutive meaning:

Uydan

chiqmasimizdan

turib

ketib

bo’lishibdi.

Uydan chiqmasimizdan turib ketib bo’lishibdi.

They have gone out before we left (our) home.

References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Converb

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A converb is a non-finite verb form whose primary function is to mark adverbial subordination, connecting a dependent clause to a main clause to express relations such as simultaneity, anteriority, cause, manner, or condition. Unlike finite verbs, converbs lack independent tense, mood, and subject agreement marking, relying on the main clause for temporal and aspectual interpretation, and they often attach via specialized suffixes to verb stems or participles. Converbs form paradigmatic sets in many languages, with specialized forms encoding specific semantic nuances; for example, temporal converbs may distinguish between actions occurring before, during, or after the main event. Morphosyntactically, they exhibit behavior by modifying the main predicate without requiring additional linking words, though some languages allow adsentential uses for broader connective roles. Typologically, converbs are distinguished from infinitives by their subordinating role and from participles by their non-attributive, clause-linking function. These forms are cross-linguistically valid and widespread, occurring in about two-fifths of sampled languages worldwide, with greater prominence in object-verb (OV) languages. They appear in diverse families, including Indo-European (e.g., Russian, Lithuanian), Uralic (e.g., Estonian, Finnish), Turkic (e.g., Turkish, Turkmenian), Caucasian (e.g., Lezgian), Koreanic (e.g., Korean), Japonic (e.g., Japanese), Dravidian, Ethiopian Semitic, and some South American indigenous languages, spanning , South and , the , , and the .

Terminology

Etymology

The term "converb" was coined by Finnish linguist and Altaicist Gustaf John Ramstedt in , in his seminal work Über die Konjugation des Khalkha-Mongolischen, to describe a specific type of non-finite verb form in Mongolian that functions to connect clauses without independent predication. Ramstedt introduced the German "Konverb" to capture this linking role, drawing from the Latin prefix con- ("together" or "with") combined with verbum ("verb" or "word"), thereby emphasizing the form's adverbial and connective properties in chaining multiple actions within a sentence. This marked a deliberate terminological innovation within early 20th-century , where such forms had previously lacked a unified label. In the , scholars studying , including Mongolic and Turkic varieties, referred to analogous verbal constructions using established Indo-European categories like "," "participial forms," or "verbal adverbs," often adapting terms from Latin and Greek to describe their subordinate, non-finite nature. These earlier descriptors reflected the influence of classical but frequently led to ambiguities, as they imposed nominal or adjectival interpretations on forms that primarily served subordination. Throughout the , the adoption of "converb" gained traction beyond Altaic specialists, particularly from the onward, as typologists sought to differentiate these structures from Indo-European non-finites like gerunds (which often nominalize actions) and participles (which modify nouns adjectivally). This shift, accelerated by cross-linguistic comparisons in works such as those by Igor Nedjalkov (1995), underscored the converb's unique role in encoding dependent clauses, avoiding the Eurocentric biases of traditional terminology and facilitating broader typological analysis. By the late , the term had become standard in descriptions of non-finite verb forms across Eurasian languages, reflecting a move toward more precise, function-based categorization.

Definition

A converb is a non-finite verb form whose primary function is to mark adverbial subordination, linking a dependent clause to a main clause by expressing relations such as simultaneity, anteriority, or . This form typically consists of a stem combined with a specific , enabling it to function adverbially without the full inflectional properties of finite verbs. Key criteria for identifying a converb include its role as a marker of subordination, the absence of independent tense, mood, or person-number agreement, and its inability to serve as the sole predicate of an independent sentence. Unlike finite s, which exhibit subject- agreement and can license on subjects while standing alone, converbs are inherently dependent, requiring a finite main to complete the predication and often sharing the subject with the main . These characteristics distinguish the converb as a dedicated for encoding dependency, emphasizing its syntactic subordination over nominal or infinitival functions.

Linguistic Features

Syntactic Roles

Converbs primarily function as subordinates within sentence structures, modifying the main or by expressing relations such as manner, time, condition, or cause. This role enables the integration of dependent s that provide circumstantial information to the primary action, often without explicit conjunctions, thereby enhancing cohesion in complex sentences. For instance, a converb might indicate the temporal sequence or causal basis for the event in the matrix , distinguishing converbs from finite verbs that carry independent illocutionary force. A key syntactic application of converbs is in clause chaining, particularly prevalent in agglutinative and beyond, where they link a series of dependent clauses depicting sequential or concomitant actions culminating in a final . This chaining mechanism supports narrative progression by allowing multiple predications to share subjects and tense-aspect-mood features, facilitating efficient expression of event sequences without repeated marking. Such constructions are especially adaptive for chains of events in . Syntactically, converbs exhibit significant restrictions that underscore their dependent status: as non-finite forms, they cannot serve as the head of an or bear full predicative force on their own. Additionally, converbs typically do not govern direct objects independently, instead sharing arguments with the matrix clause or limiting nominal dependencies to suit their role, which prevents them from functioning as full verbal predicates. These constraints ensure converbs remain tightly integrated into larger clausal structures rather than standing alone.

Morphological Characteristics

Converbs constitute a category of non-finite verb forms characterized by their inability to serve as the primary predicate in an and their lack of for or number agreement with a subject. Unlike finite s, they do not independently express tense, mood, or illocutionary force, though they may incorporate limited tense-aspect marking dependent on the main . This non-finite status positions converbs on a morphological cline between fully finite and nominal forms, emphasizing their verbal yet subordinate nature. Morphologically, are typically derived from the stem through suffixation, a process that applies productively across many languages employing this category. These suffixes result in fixed stem modifications without altering the core lexical meaning of the , distinguishing from more flexible finite inflections. The non-finite morphology ensures that function adverbially, often linking clauses without requiring additional case or agreement markers on associated arguments. Languages with converbs frequently distinguish multiple types through dedicated suffixes that convey semantic nuances related to temporal or aspectual relations, such as simultaneous converbs (indicating actions occurring concurrently with the main event) versus anterior converbs (denoting actions completed prior to the main event). Other common variants include terminative forms (marking actions up to a point of completion) and conditional forms (expressing hypothetical or cause-effect relations). These specialized markers allow for precise subordination while maintaining the overall non-finite profile of the form.

Distribution and Typology

Languages Employing Converbs

Converbs are attested in Turkic, Mongolic, and , spoken across and . In these s, converbs serve as key non-finite verb forms for linking dependent clauses, with examples such as the gerunds in Turkish (a Turkic language) and adverbial participles in Evenki (a Tungusic language). This distribution aligns with the historical and geographical spread of these languages from the steppes of to the forests of eastern , where converbs facilitate complex sentence structures in oral traditions and narratives. Beyond these, converbs extend to languages in other families, including Uralic (e.g., in Finnish and Hungarian for adverbial subordination), Dravidian (e.g., in for clause conjoining), Caucasian (e.g., Lezgian), Koreanic (e.g., Korean), Japonic (e.g., Japanese), some (e.g., in verb-final structures of languages), Ethiopian Semitic (e.g., ), and some . Converbs are less prominent in than in Asian families, but they are attested in some, such as Russian and Lithuanian, where analogous functions are often handled by participles or infinitives. Typologically, converbs are widespread, occurring in about two-fifths of sampled languages worldwide, with greater prominence in object-verb (OV) languages. They predominate in agglutinative languages, such as those in the Turkic and Dravidian families, where suffixation allows precise marking of subordination without fusion of morphemes. They are also prevalent in head-marking languages, which encode on verbs rather than nouns, enabling efficient poly-clausal constructions in discourse-heavy genres. This pattern correlates with object-verb (OV) , common in Asian and Siberian languages, where converbs precede the main verb to build chained clauses expressing temporal, causal, or conditional relations.

Comparison to Other Verb Forms

Converbs differ fundamentally from infinitives in their syntactic roles and morphological properties. While infinitives typically function as arguments, serving as subjects, objects, or obligatory complements in clausal structures, converbs operate strictly as adjuncts, marking optional subordination without nominalizing the verb action. This distinction arises because infinitives often derive from purposive action nominals and retain some verbal-noun characteristics, allowing them to integrate into noun phrases, whereas converbs lack such nominal properties and emphasize dependency in chaining. For instance, the obligatoriness of infinitives in complement positions contrasts with the free, non-argumental positioning of converbs, which do not govern or complement but modify the main adverbially. In comparison to participles and gerunds, converbs exhibit a more specialized function rather than adjectival modification or . Participles, as verbal adjectives, primarily attribute qualities to s in attributive or predicative roles, agreeing in features like tense, aspect, or case with the head they modify. Gerunds, akin to action nominals, function as verbal s capable of taking nominal inflections such as case or determiners, enabling them to appear in argument positions or as heads of phrases. Converbs, by contrast, do not modify s adjectivally nor exhibit nominal morphology; instead, they chain clauses sequentially through subordination, focusing on interclausal relations like simultaneity or anteriority without altering the nominal status of surrounding elements. This sequential chaining role underscores their unique position among non-finites, prioritizing connectivity over descriptive or substantive functions. Supines represent another point of contrast, particularly in their emphasis on purpose or result over the aspectual and relational aspects central to converbs. Supines, a rare non-finite form preserved in languages like Latin and some Slavic varieties, often serve as complements to verbs of motion or , expressing purpose in a manner akin to infinitives but with distinct morphological markers, such as the accusative -um in Latin for directional purpose. Unlike converbs, which highlight aspectual relations like precedence or simultaneity in adverbial chains, supines focus on teleological complementation and lack the broad subordinating capacity of converbs. This functional divergence positions supines closer to infinitival complements, reinforcing the adverbial exclusivity of converbs in facilitating linkage without purposive intent.

Case Studies

Khalkha Mongolian

exemplifies a prototypical converb system within the , where non-finite forms facilitate adverbial subordination and clause chaining without finite marking for tense or mood. The system includes four primary converbs that encode aspectual and temporal nuances: the imperfective converb marked by the suffix -aa, the perfective converb with -san, the terminative converb using -tal, and the conditional converb formed by -ge. These forms derive from the stem through suffixation, adhering to rules inherent to Khalkha phonology, and they cannot inflect for person, number, or case on their own. The imperfective converb -aa typically conveys ongoing or simultaneous actions relative to the main , often serving as a or manner modifier, while the perfective -san indicates completed actions preceding the verb, emphasizing anteriority. The terminative -tal denotes actions extending up to a specific endpoint or limit, and the conditional -ge expresses hypothetical conditions or concessions leading into the main . Unlike participles, which can nominalize s, these converbs remain strictly verbal and , integrating seamlessly into complex sentences to avoid full subordination via conjunctions. A key function of these converbs lies in their role for action chaining in sequential narratives, where multiple converbial forms precede a single to depict a series of linked events, such as yav-aa, xar-aa, buu-san ("going, seeing, returning") to narrate a journey's progression. This chaining mechanism supports compact expression of temporal sequences without repeated subjects or connectives, enhancing flow in spoken and written Khalkha. In syntactic structure, converbs govern dependent clauses where the subject remains in the nominative case, identical to the main clause subject for same-subject constructions, thereby permitting efficient coreference without accusative or genitive marking that would signal switch-reference. This nominative retention underscores the dependent yet coordinated nature of converbial clauses in Khalkha syntax.

Standard Uzbek

In Standard Uzbek, converbs are non-finite verb forms that primarily function to connect clauses in adverbial subordination, expressing relationships such as simultaneity, conditionality, and duration. The key converb suffixes include -ib, which marks simultaneous actions; -ganda, which indicates conditional or temporal relations; and -guncha, which denotes durative aspects with an endpoint. Converbs in Standard Uzbek facilitate clause subordination, particularly for temporal and causal links, allowing complex sentences without repetition. The -ib , for example, links simultaneous or sequential actions in daily speech, as in U kitob o'qib, choy ichdi ("He drank tea while reading a "), creating a temporal overlap. Similarly, -ganda expresses conditional or temporal causation, such as Men seni ko'rganimda, xursand bo'ldim ("When I saw you, I was happy"), subordinating the to imply a causal trigger. The -guncha extends this to durative subordination, marking ongoing actions up to a point, as in Ishlab tur-guncha, dam olmadi ("He didn't rest until he finished working"), highlighting persistence in proverbs like those emphasizing diligence in Uzbek . These forms are prevalent in both spoken narratives and literary expressions, enabling concise chaining of events.

Turkish

In Turkish, converbs function as non-finite verbal forms that primarily serve roles in subordinate , enabling the expression of temporal, aspectual, and modal relations relative to the main without requiring agreement. These forms are morphologically distinct from finite verbs and participles, typically attaching directly to the verb stem and exhibiting , a hallmark of Turkic agglutinative morphology. Unlike full , converbs in Turkish are obligatorily controlled in certain types, meaning their subjects must corefer with the main clause subject, though others allow independent subjects. Key converb forms include the simultaneous converb -erek/-arak, which denotes actions occurring concurrently with or in the manner of the main , often used to describe accompanying circumstances. For instance, in the sentence Okula giderken Cem bizi aradı ("Cem called us while going to "), -erken (a variant of -erek) indicates simultaneity. This form is morphologically simple, suffixing to the stem with or aspect markers like -Ir or -mIş, and it frequently appears in chaining to advance sequences without temporal gaps. Another prominent form is the posterior converb -ince, which signals that the subordinate action precedes the main clause event, akin to "after" or "when" in English, as in Çocuk eve gelince yemek yedi ("When the child came home, s/he ate"). This suffix attaches directly to the stem and permits non-coreferential subjects, making it versatile for sequential events in complex sentences. The iterative converb -dikçe expresses repetition or , often conveying "as" or "each time" in ongoing processes, exemplified by Kitabı okudukça merakım artar ("Whenever I read the book, my increases"). Morphologically, it combines the marker -dI with -çe for durative emphasis, and it is tense-independent, allowing integration into various aspectual frames. These converbs commonly function as manner adverbials in modern Turkish, embedding descriptive actions within main clauses, such as Koşarak geldi ("Running, he arrived"), where the converb provides circumstantial detail without conjunctions. Historically, Turkish converbs evolved from prototypes, where a richer inventory of B-type converbs (e.g., -ip for chaining) dominated for narrative and modal purposes, but Modern Turkish saw the loss of some forms in favor of participles and new aspectual markers like -Iyor-. This simplification arose through paths in postverb constructions (converb + auxiliary), where lexical verbs like "sit" or "stand" bleached into tense-aspect operators, reducing reliance on older converbal types. For example, sequences like sub-ïn ïd-ïp tabγač-γaru bar-dï ("having done so, went to ") evolved into streamlined modern forms using -erek/-arak for similar sequentiality. In contemporary usage, these developments have streamlined Turkish subordination, prioritizing efficiency in spoken and written while retaining core functions.

References

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238336969_The_converb_as_a_cross-linguistically_valid_category
  2. https://linguistics.cz/pdfs/Ross-Daniel_abstract.pdf
  3. https://zenodo.org/records/227108/files/Haspelmath1995.pdf?download=1
  4. https://www.academia.edu/616075/Converbs
  5. https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/conference/2010_summerschool/pdf/course_materials/Dimmendaal_4_Converbs.pdf
  6. https://users.utu.fi/jumyli/wp-content/uploads/sites/1378/2022/09/defining.pdf
  7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288236834_Converbs
  8. https://www.academia.edu/1227191/The_converb_as_a_cross_linguistically_valid_category
  9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229003497_Defining_non-finites_Action_nominals_converbs_and_infinitives
  10. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ568795
  11. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110884463/html
  12. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110194265/html
  13. https://universaldependencies.org/u/feat/VerbForm.html
  14. https://escholarship.org/content/qt3x7738sf/qt3x7738sf.pdf
  15. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/28cd/c9de8bd5f57d2d484e7c93165a485af88501.pdf
  16. https://cla-acl.ca/pdfs/resumes-2019-abstracts/Peters.pdf
  17. https://tufs.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/1569/files/aall013006.pdf
  18. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111335551-011/html
  19. https://backoffice.biblio.ugent.be/download/6841908/8125486
  20. https://inlibrary.uz/index.php/ijai/article/view/116029
  21. https://glossologia.phil.uoa.gr/documents/270/5.Kotzoglou20et20al..pdf
  22. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4654753
  23. https://ciplnet.com/archive/2003/contributions/S3_SevgiAgcagul_OnGrammaticalizationPaths.pdf
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