OUTLINE OF SAHIDIC COPTIC MORPHOLOGY

Lance Eccles

PRONOUN PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Pronoun prefixes The 1 sing., 1 plur. and 3 plur. forms vary in the two columns. person 1 sing 2 sing masc 3 sing masc 3 sing fem 1 plur 2 plur 3 plur If conjugation prefix precedes i k f s n tetn ou or u If no conjugation prefix precedes T k f s tn tetn se

Pronoun suffixes The preceding verb or preposition takes its pronominal form, except before the long 2pl. form. 1 sing 2 sing masc 3 sing masc 3 sing fem 1 plur 2 plur (short) i t k f s n tN tyutN ou or u after single vowel elsewhere (but zero after t)

2 plur

(long)

3 plur

after a (which becomes y) after w after o (which becomes w) elsewhere (verb in construct) occasionally sou

Second person singular The second person singular feminine prefixes and suffixes are rarer and less regular in form. They are given later.

Sahidic 1

VERB CONJUGATIONS
Prefixes placed before conjugation prefixes, personal prefixes or noun subject. Converter Form Function preterite Shifts tense back one degree ne into past. nere before noun circumstantial Subordinates verb (or verbless e clause) to another verb. ere before noun focalisation Focuses on some element in e the clause. ere before noun e (ere) can be used to convert Nt before perfect present, future, and aorist. relative Which, who, that. Relates et, ete clause to antecedent. etere before noun Nt or ent before perfect

The converters

Durative Conjugations (present and future)

Present I am seeing Tnau knau fnau snau prwme nau Future na I shall see Tnanau tnanau knanau tetnanau fnanau senanau snanau prwme nanau Focalised future ena** It is that I will see einanau ennanau eknanau etetnanau efnanau eunanau esnanau ere prwme nanau

tNnau tetNnau senau

Focalised present e* It is that I am seeing einau ennau eknau etetNnau efnau eunau esnau ere prwme nau

*Same forms as circumstantial present me seeing. **Same forms as circumstantial future me being about to see.

Present with preterite conversion ne I was seeing neinau nennau neknau netetNnau nefnau neunau nesnau nere prwme nau

Future with preterite conversion nena I would have seen neinanau nennanau neknanau netetnanau nefnanau neunanau nesnanau nere prwme nanau

Non-durative Conjugations
Perfect a* I saw ainau aknau afnau asnau a prwme nau Negative perfect m=pe** I did not see m+pinau m=pennau m=peknau m=petNnau m=pefnau m=peunau m=pesnau m=pe prwme nau

annau atetNnau aunau

* Preterite conversion (I had seen): neainau, nea prwme nau etc. ** Preterite conversion (I had not seen): nem=pinau etc.

Focalised perfect Nta* It was that I saw Ntainau Ntannau Ntaknau NtatetNnau Ntafnau Ntaunau Ntasnau Nta prwme nau

Circumstantial perfect ea me having seen eainau eannau eaknau eatetNnau eafnau eaunau easnau ea prwme nau

* The relative perfect which I saw is Ntainau or entainau.

Aorist qa I am accustomed to see qainau qannau qaknau qatetNnau qafnau qaunau qasnau qare prwme nau Optative ee I will see, thou shalt see eienau enenau ekenau etetnenau efenau euenau esenau ere prwme nau Conditional eqan If/ when I see eiqannau enqannau etetNqannau ekqannau efqannau euqannau esqannau erqan prwme nau

Negative aorist me I am not accustomed to see meinau mennau meknau metetNnau mefnau meunau mesnau mere prwme nau Negative optative Nne I will not see, thou shalt not see Nnanau Nnennau Nneknau NnetetNnau Nnefnau Nneunau Nnesnau Nne prwme nau Negative conditional etm=* If I do not see eitm=nau entm=nau ektm=nau etetNtm=nau eftm=nau eutm=nau estm=nau ere prwme tm=nau

* qan of the positive form may be retained: efqantm=nau.

Temporal Ntere When I saw Nterinau Nterennau NteretetNnau Ntereknau Nterefnau Ntereunau Nteresnau Ntere prwme nau Not yet m=pat I have not yet seen m=paTnau m=patNnau m=patknau m=patetNnau m=patfnau m=patounau m=patsnau m=pate prwme nau
* tre can take various prefixes: ftrefnau he causes him to see aftrefnau he caused him to see mNNsatrefnau after he saw hm=ptrefnau while he sees/saw

Until qant Until I see qanTnau qantNnau qantknau qantetNnau qantfnau qantounau qantsnau qante prwme nau Causative tre* cause me to see tranau trennau treknau tretetNnau trefnau treunau tresnau tre prwme nau

Conjunctive N and I see Ntanau NtNnau Ngnau NtetNnau Nfnau Nsenau Nsnau Nte prwme nau

Future Conjunctive tare* and I will see tarinau tarNnau tareknau taretNnau tarefnau tarounau taresnau tare prwme nau

* N may be prefixed to all these forms (Ntare).

Jussive mare Let me see marinau marNnau mareknau* maretNnau* marefnau marounau maresnau mare prwme nau

Negative jussive m=pr=tre Let me not see m=pr=tranau m=pr=trennau m=pr=treknau m=pr=tretetNnau m=pr=trefnau m=pr=treunau m=pr=tresnau m=pr=tre prwme nau

*The 2nd person forms may not actually occur.

FORMS OF THE VERB

A Coptic verb can have as many as four forms, each with a different function.

1. Absolute

The default form found in dictionaries. Some common patterns (C = consonant). (i) CwC hwp hide If the first consonant is m or n, w becomes ou: mour bind. (ii) CwCC cwlp reveal If the first consonant is m or n, w becomes ou: noutf loosen. (iii) to Verbs that begin with t and end with o usually have a causative meaning: tb=bo cleanse i (iv) C oC 2C 1C 2 Two-syllable reduplicated verbs stressed on the first syllable: hotht examine (v) C1C 2oC 3C 2C 3 Same pattern as (iv), but with an extra consonant at the beginning: qtortr= disturb (vi) CCoC These verbs have an adjectival meaning: hloc become sweet Besides these, there are various other patterns.

2. Construct

This is the unstressed form used when a noun object follows immediately. The stress shift from the verb to the noun, and the vowel of the verb is reduced in quality. Only transitive verbs have a construct form. Patterns corresponding to the absolute patterns above. (i) CeC hep hide (ii) CeCC celp reveal (iii) te tb=be cleanse (iv) C1eC 2C 1C 2 hetht examine (v) C1C 2C 3C 2C 3 qtr=tr= disturb (vi) Verbs following this pattern are intransitive.

3. Pronominal

This is the form taken when a pronoun object suffix is attached. Only transitive verbs have a pronominal form. Patterns corresponding to the absolute patterns above. (i) CoC hop hide If the second consonant is h (or sometimes q), o changes to a: kah make level (from kwh) (ii) CoCC colp reveal If the second consonant is h (or sometimes q), o changes to a: jahm defile (from jwhm=) (iii) to tb=bo cleanse 1 (iv) C eC 2C 1wC 2 hethwt examine The stress moves to the second syllable. 1 2 3 2 (v) C C C C wC 3 qtr=twr disturb The stress moves to the second syllable. vi) Verbs following this pattern are intransitive.

4. Qualitative

The qualitative expresses a state resulting from the verbal process. Semantically it resembles a participle in a European language. Patterns corresponding to the absolute patterns above. (i) CyC hyp hidden (ii) CoCC colp revealed If the second consonant is h, o changes to a: jahm= defiled, polluted. (iii) tyu, tyut tb=byu cleansed, pure takyut destroyed (from tako) 1 (iv) C eC 2C 1wC 2 hethwt examined The stress moves to the second syllable. 1 2 3 2 (v) C C C C wC 3 qtr=twr disturbed The stress moves to the second syllable. vi) CoC C holc sweet

SOME SUFFIX VERBS

pejai pejak pejaf pejas pejan pejytN pejau peje prwme ouNtai ouNtak ouNtaf ouNtas ouNtan ouNtytN ouNtau ouNte prwme
OTHER EXAMPLES

I said etc.

the man said I have etc. mNtai mNtak mNtaf mNtas mNtan mNtytN mNtau mNte prwme I dont have etc.

the man has

the man doesnt have

nesws nese teshime teshime etnesws

she is beautiful the woman is beautiful the woman who is beautiful (= the beautiful woman)

nanouf nanous nanou prwme

he is good she is good The man is good

prwme etnanouf pmyyqe etnaqwf naqe nennobe the crowd that is numerous (= the big crowd) our sins are numerous

the man who is good (= the good man)

NEGATION OF VERBS
In most conjugations, the verb is negated by placing an not after the verb. Optionally N may be placed before the verb: fnanau erof (N) fnanau erof an He will see him. He will not see him.

However, certain verbal prefixes have special negative forms: Optative ee efeouomf He shall eat it. Perfect a afouomf He ate it. Aorist qa qafbwk He is accustomed to go. Imperative swtm= Listen! Jussive mare marefswtm= Let him hear. (May he hear.) Conditional eqan efqanbwk If/when he goes Conjunctive N fnahe Nftwoun He will fall and rise. Infinitive e enau To see. Nne Nnefouom.f He shall not eat it. m=pe m=pefouomf He didnt eat it. me mefbwk He doesnt go. m=pr= m=pr=swtm= Dont listen! m=pr=tre m=pr=trefswtm= Let him not hear. (May he not hear.)
tre = cause, let

eqantm= or etm= efqantm=bwk or eftm=bwk If he doesnt go Ntm= fnahe Nftm=twoun He will fall and not rise. etm= etm=nau Not to see.

PRONOUNS
anok, ang=Ntok, Ntk=Ntof, Ntf=Ntos pa ta na pek tek nek pef tef nef pes tes nes
*See note at bottom of page.

I thou he she my* thy his her mine thine his hers Emphatic myself thyself himself herself

anon, anNNtwtN, NtetNNtoou pen ten nen petN tetN netN peu teu neu

we ye they

our your their

pwi twi noui pwk twk nouk pwf twf nouf pws tws nous hw (hww, hwwt) hwwk hwwf hwws neneryu netNeryu neueryu pe te ne

pwn twn noun pwtN twtN noutN pwou twou nouou pronouns hwwn hwt tyutN hwou

ours yours theirs

ourselves yourselves themselves

Reciprocal pronouns (-eryu) one another [of ourselves] one another [of yourselves] one another [of themselves] Nexus pronoun [equivalent of copula: is/are/was/were]

DEMONSTRATIVES
p-, pepipai, paei pei, peei, pi py p-etm=mau pat-, teTtai, taei tei, teei, ti ty t-etm=mau taN-, neninai, naei nei, neei, ni ny n-etm=mau nathe + NOUN the (emphatic rare) this/these one/s this/these + NOUN that/those one/s that/those + NOUN the one/s belonging to + NOUN*

*Demonstrative pa ta na are distinguishable from the my possessives in that the noun, if it is not a proper noun, will usually be preceded by the definite article. The my possessives are never attached to an article: patqeleet the one belonging to the bride; taqeleet my bride. Occasionally, demonstrative pa ta na can also mean "the one possessing".

SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS

Before a noun Before a pronoun suffix (3 sing masc illustrated) m=mof naf erof qarof nm=maf Nhytf ejwf hijwf etbyytf oubyf ajNtf harof Nswf Meaning

N N e qa mN hN ejN hijN etbe oube ajN ha Nsa

(object marker) to, for (dative marker) to towards, as far as with in upon upon, over because of against without under after

Dont confuse these prepositions with the genitive marker N (of).

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NUMERALS
units (19) masc. fem. construct (before hundreds, thousands) after tens (1198) -oue (m), -ouei (f) 2 snau sNte -sNoous (m), -sNoouse (f) 3 4 5 6 7 qomNt f=toou Tou soou saqf= qomte f=toe, f=to Te soe, so saqfe seuqm+t-, qmNtf=tou-, f=teu -qomte -afte -ty -ase -saqf, -saqfe 8 qmoun qmoune -qmyn, -qmyne 9 Pis, Pit Pite

oua

ouei

tens (1090) masc. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 myt jouwt maab hme taiou se qfe, sqfe hmene ps=taiou hmnePaitfem. myte jouwte maabe construct (unit following) mNtjoutmab-

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hundreds (100900) 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 thousands (100010 000) 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10 000 tba or qo qo snau qmNt qo f=tou qo cistba seu qo soou N qo saqf= N qo qmoun N qo Pit N qo qomNt N qo f=toou N qo seu qe or qe qyt qmNt qe f=tou qe qomNt N qe f=toou N qe Tou N qe soou N qe saqf= N qe qmoun N qe Pit N qe

Ordinals: prefix meh-

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COPTIC/GREEK LETTERS AS NUMERALS

a= b= g= d= e= S= z= y= v= i= k= l= m= n= K= o= p= f= aV bV gV dV eV "V zV hV qV iV kV lV mV nV xV oV pV V 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 oua snau qomNt ftoou Tou soou saqf qmoun Pit myt jouwt maab hme taeiou se qfe hmene pstaiou r= s= t= u= F+ x= P+ w= R= rV sV tV uV fV cV yV wV V 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 qe qyt qmNtqe ftoou N qe Tou N qe soou N qe saqf N qe qmoun N qe Pit N qe

f=v+ amyn amyn 1 + 40 + 8 + 50 99 f=v+

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THE CONDITIONAL (IF)

The sentence contains two halves: the protasis (the if clause), and the apodosis (the then clause). The Real Conditional (it could happen) eqan or erqan PROTASIS erqan oua bwk ehoun hitoot If one goes in by me etetNqan gar kw ebol N Nrwme N neunobe For if you forgive to men their sins APODOSIS fnaoujai. he will be saved. fnakw hwwf nytN ebol Nci petNeiwt ethN m=pyue. your father who is in the heavens will himself forgive to you.

The protasis may be preceded by eqwpe or eqje (if), or by kan (even if).

The Unreal Conditional (it wont/didnt happen)

Protasis: Apodosis:

ene (circumstantial + preterite converter)

enere with noun subject

nena (preterite converter + future)

nere na with noun subject

enefsooun Nci pjoeis m= pyi If the master of the house knew [or had known]

nefnakaau an e cwth= e pefyi. he would not allow [or would not have allowed] them to break in to his house.

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RELATIVES et, ete, etere, enta Durative conjugations

Relative present conjugation Antecedent is doing the action in the relative clause. No pronoun prefix after et. The man who is eating it prwme etouwm m=mof
Nrwme etouwm m=mof

The men who are eating it

Antecedent is having the action done to it in the relative clause. The loaf that I eat poeik eTouwm m=mof
poeik etk=ouwm m=mof poeik etf=ouwm m=mof poeik ets=ouwm m=mof poeik etNouwm m=mof poeik etetNouwm m=mof poeik etououwm m=mof

The loaf that you eat The loaf that he eats The loaf that she eats The loaf that we eat The loaf that you eat The loaf that they eat The loaf that the man eats

poeik etere prwme ouwm m=mof

Relative future conjugation Antecedent is doing the action in the relative clause. No pronoun prefix after et. The man who will eat it prwme etnaouwm m=mof
Nrwme etnaouwm m=mof

The men who will eat it

Antecedent is having the action done to it in the relative clause. The loaf that I shall eat poeik eTnaouwm m=mof
poeik etk=naouwm m=mof poeik etf=naouwm m=mof poeik ets=naouwm m=mof poeik etNnaouwm m=mof poeik etetNnaouwm m=mof poeik etounaouwm m=mof

The loaf that you will eat The loaf that he will eat The loaf that she will eat The loaf that we shall eat The loaf that you will eat The loaf that they will eat The loaf that the man will eat

poeik etere prwme naouwm m=mof

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Non-durative
Relative perfect conjugation Antecedent is doing the action in the relative clause. Pronoun prefix required
after enta.

prwme entafouomf Nrwme entauouomf

The man who ate it The men who ate it

Antecedent is having the action done to it in the relative clause. The loaf that I ate poeik entaiouomf
poeik entak=ouomf poeik entaf=ouomf poeik entas=ouomf poeik entaNouomf poeik entatetNouomf poeik entauouomf poeik enta prwme ouomf

The loaf that you ate The loaf that he ate The loaf that she ate The loaf that we ate The loaf that you ate The loaf that they ate The loaf that the man ate

More examples of relatives

pmouei etouwm m+ prwme.
The lion that is eating the man. The lion that will eat the man. The lion that ate the man.

pmouei etnaouwm m+ prwme. pmouei entafouem prwme. pai pe prwme etere pmouei naouwm m=mof.
This is the man whom the lion will eat (him). This is the man whom the lion ate (him). This is the worm that ate the seed. This is the worm that ate it.

pai pe prwme enta pmouei ouomf. pai pe pfNt entafouem pecroc. pai pe pfNt entafouomf. pai pe prwme entafouem poeik.
This is the man who ate the bread.

pai pe prwme ete m+pefouem poeik.

This is the man who did not eat the bread.

pai pe prwme etnanouje m+ pecroc.

This is the man who who will cast the seed.

pai pe prwme ete fnanouje an m+ pecroc.

This is the man who who will not cast the seed. Mary is the woman who sees the Lord. Mary is the woman who sees him.

mariham te tshime etnau epjoeis. mariham te tshime etnau erof. mariham te tshime ete N snau epjoeis an.
Mary is the woman who does not see the Lord. Mary is the woman who does not see him.

mariham te tshime ete N snau erof an.

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ADJECTIVES
Coptic has only a couple of dozen native adjectives, but a very large number of adjectives borrowed from Greek. They usually follow the noun they qualify and are linked to it with N. The most common native adjectives are: koui merit noc sabe qorp hyke hl=lo jwwre qym small beloved big wise first poor old strong small my beloved son a poor man a big fish

paqyre m= merit ourwme N hyke ounoc N tb=t

qym is attached without the linking particle N: ouqyre qym a child, a youth Adjectives borrowed from Greek take their Greek masculine form (usually ending in os) when qualifying a person, and the Greek neuter form (usually ending in on) when qualifying a thing.

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(Forms other than those given here may be encountered) PRONOUNS Nto, Ntepou, tou, nou pw, tw, nou hwwte thou thy thine thyself

SECOND SINGULAR FEMININE FORMS

OBJECT OF VERB/PREPOSITION thee e after consonant [zero] after vowel IN VERB PARADIGMS (nau as example) Present Aorist tenau Preterite + pres. nerenau Neg. aorist Focalised pres. erenau Conditional Future Neg. conditional tenanau Preterite + fut. Temporal nerenanau Focalised fut. Until erenanau Optative Not yet erenau Neg. Optative Causative Nnenau Perfect Jussive arenau Neg. perfect Neg. jussive m=penau Focalised perf. Conjunctive Ntarenau Fut. conjunctive
* This form may not actually occur.

qarenau merenau ereqannau eretm=nau Nterenau qantenau m=patenau trenau marenau* m=pr=trenau Ntenau tarenau

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