Auxiliary Verbs
There are only 38 verbs in Xunumi Wudu, 12 of which can be used both as a main verb and as an auxiliary verb. Another 7 are used exclusively as auxiliary verbs.
Main verbs appear first in a verb phrase, followed by optional auxiliaries or compound verbs. The final verb in the verb phrase is suffixed with a tense/evidentiality marker. After that, pronominal clitics or deictic tags for subject and/or object appear.
Dape is an auxiliary only verb ‘V again, V back’, denoting iteration. Dape is derived from da plus the particle pe ‘from’. Dape-seppe ‘stumble, trip’ is the only time dape appears as a primary verb. The obstacle stumbled upon or tripped over is marked with su.
Dape as an auxiliary can also mean ‘back, behind, after’ as in da-dape=A=O ‘A follow, go after O’ and se-dape=A(=O) ‘A say back, reply to O’.
Deme is an auxiliary only verb ‘expect to V’, denoting expectation, intention, and prediction. Derivation unknown.
Kanne is an auxiliary only verb creating a passive construction. Kanne creates the valency-decreasing passive construction by either removing the A argument or relegating it to a peripheral phrase marked by pe. It is not used with intransitive or copular verbs. Derivation unknown.
Seppe is an auxiliary only verb ‘fail to V’. Some less transparent constructions are da-seppe=S ‘S avoid, shun, fail to go’ (AVOIDED=du) and se-seppe=S ‘S misspeak’.
Seppe is derived from sede plus the particle pe ‘from’.
Tello is an auxiliary only verb ‘must V’ expressing strong obligation. Tello is used for polite imperatives, as in: Kuno-tello=di=nu! ‘You must get the thing!’ or ‘Get the thing!’.
Tello is derived from tene and the obsolete particle lo ‘up’.
Tetta is an auxiliary only verb ‘stop Ving’, denoting cessation. tetta is derived from tene plus the obsolete particle ta ‘down’.
V-tetta is the most common way to stop V-ing, and can be used with most every verb. It is not, however, used with data. Instead seje is used in place of an auxiliary as it implies coming to a natural end. Aside from this and a few other verbs, seje is not used as an auxiliary.
Wo is an auxiliary only verb negating the main verb, ‘not V’. It can also form the negative imperative interjection ‘don’t’.