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• ENCYCLOPEDIC SECTION
  • Mongolic languages
  • Khalkha
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• LINGUISTIC SECTION
  • Adverbial Corpus
  • Concordance
  • Transliteration
  • Grammar Notes
  • Noun
  • Verb
  • Negation
  • Particles
  • Differential object and subject marking
  • Mirativity
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Converbs in Khalkha-Mongolian

The inventories, as well as the denotations of the Khalkha converbs are inconsistent between the grammars, varying between 8 to 18 converbial suffixes. All converbs are characterized by exclusively relative tense and relative mood, i.e., depending on the tense and mood of the main verb.

There are three coordinating converbs that are commonly mentioned upon all grammars and one negative converb:

• imperfective -ž/-č,
• perfective -AAd
• modal -n
• negative converb -lgüi

The subordinating converbs mentioned in the Khalkha grammars are listed below. The denotations of these converbs are partly not comprehensible and sometimes even slightly misleading.

I. Specialized temporal:

• -mAgc immediately succeeding (after Kullmann & Tserenpil 2001).
• -xlAAr logically succeeding (after Kullmann & Tserenpil 2001)
• -xAAr1 intending (after Kullmann & Tserenpil 2001)
• -tAl terminal (after Svantesson 2003:166)
• -ngUUt contemporale (after Bittigau 2003:179)
• -sAAr abtemporal (after Janhunen 2003:26), (Russ. продолжительное after Kas’janenko 2002:149)
• -ngAA no English denotation (Russ. zamennoe ‘replacing’ after Kas’janenko 2002:150)
• -xnAA no English denotation (Kh-Mong. zavdax ‘attempting’ after Bazarragchaa 1999: 136) ‘reflexive-possesive’ after Kas’janenko 2002:149) (Kh-Mong. dalimdax 'to seize the opportunity' after Bazarragchaa 1999: 138)

II. Non-temporal converbs expressing different logical relations:

• -bAl/-vAl conditional (after Janhunen 2003:26)
• -bAAs /-vAAs conditional (archaic) (after Janhunen 2003:26)
• -xUl conditional (archaic) (after Janhunen 2003:26)
• -xAAr2 final / intentional (after Janhunen 2003:26)
• -vč concessive (after Janhunen 2003:26).

Two more subordinating converbs, -xnAA and -snAA, are mentioned only in some grammars. The formal and functional characteristics of Khalkha converbs are summarized in the following table.

Table: Formal and functional characteristics of Khalkha-Mongolian converbs

Personal marking		VS	only DS	only SS
no possessive markers at all		-ž/-č * -AAd * -n * -lgüi * -vč	−	-sAAr -xAAr2
only one type: refl. or pers. poss	only refl. poss.			-ngAA -snAA
	only pers. poss.		−
three types depending on DS or SS	∅ in SS **, pers. poss. in DS	-bAAs/-vAAs -bAl/-vAl -xUl
	refl. poss. in SS, pers. poss. in DS	-tAl -ngUUt -magc -xlAAr -xAAr1
	fixed form both SS and DS	-xnAA -sAn n’/čin’

* mostly SS
** The converbs -bAl/-vAl, -bAAs/-vAAs and -xUl take no reflexive possessive suffixes probably due to phonetic reasons.