נאָך פּרטים

Consecutive Word Order

We have already learned that the conjugated verb in a Yiddish declarative sentence is the second sentence unit (see ‏2.4 נאָך פּרטים). However, in consecutive word order, the conjugated verb is the first unit in a declarative sentence. Consecutive word order indicates a connection with the current context, usually with the previous sentence or clause.

One common connection created by consecutive word order is often equivalent to the English words so or therefore. In the compound sentences above, the second clause is the result of the first. They could be formulated in Yiddish with the word דערפֿאַר, for example

but this is not necessary: the word order – placing the verb at the beginning of the second clause – is enough.

There follow several more examples where consecutive word order indicates a result. Note that consecutive word order can appear at beginning of the second clause in a sentence (as in the examples above) or can start a new sentence (see in the following examples):

Another common connection created by consecutive word order is narrative flow: it helps to tie the narrative together and propel it forward. As well as implying “so, therefore”, consecutive word order in a narrative can imply “then, at that time” or “further, after that”.

The story that Nomi reads in lesson 3.5 can be retold as follows. As you read it through, think about when the consecutive order implies “so”, when “then”, and when “further”.

Expletive עס and Consecutive Word Order

Expletive עס (see ‏4.1 נאָך פּרטים) never appears in consecutive word order because the verb is in the first position (the only position where expletive עס can appear). Compare, for example:

The Impersonal Pronoun מע(ן)‏

Form

The form of the impersonal pronoun is מע before the verb and מען after the verb. For example:

Compare the well-known proverbs:

Before a verb beginning with a vowel or before האָט the form מ׳ can be found instead of מע (compare the contractions of other pronouns, see ‏5.5 ‏נאָך פּרטים). For example:

The form מען can also be found before the verb; however, the most common form before the verb in the spoken language is מע. After the verb the form is always מען.

As can be seen in the example sentences above, מע/מען comes with the third person singular form of the verb (the same as with ער/זי/עס).

Usage

The impersonal pronoun מע(ן)‏ is used as the subject of a verb when the agent (“doer”) of the verb is a person or people but, for whatever reason, it is not important or desirable to specify who. Note that מע/מען can be translated into English in a number of ways including “one”, “you”, “we”, “people” and with a passive construction.

Here are several cases where מע/מען is used:

• When talking about a general case, for example:

• It is not known who is doing something and it is not important to know. What is important is what is being done, for example:

• It is known or can be surmised who is doing something, but more important is what is being done. For example:

• To avoid giving a specific subject. For example, a teacher has seen that a few students forgot to put their pens away. However, he does not want to name them in front of the class and he wants to tell the whole class that pens must be put away properly, so he can say:

װיל + זאָל

As we already know, when the verb װעלן/װיל comes with the infinitive (see ‏3.2 נאָך פּרטים) it indicates that someone (the subject) wants to do something (the action, expressed as an infinitive). In this case, the subject of the wanting and the subject of the action are the same. However, when the subject of the wanting and the subject of the action are different, the subject of the action comes with the helping verb זאָל plus infinitive.

The helping verb זאָל is conjugated like a verb in the present tense, except for the third person singular where the ט– is omitted. It is followed by the infinitive.

In sentences with װיל plus זאָל, the conjunction אַז is optional.

The following examples show the verb װעלן in the future tense and in the past tense together with the infinitive and the helping verb זאָל:

מעגן / נישט טאָרן

In previous lessons we learned the modal verbs קענען (lesson 3.1), װעלן/װיל‎ and דאַרפֿן (lesson 3.2), and מוזן (lesson 4.5). מעגן and נישט טאָרן, new vocabulary words in this lesson, are also modal verbs.

מעגן and נישט טאָרן have the same characteristics as other modal verbs:

In each of the above sentences, Nomi is on her way to a different kind of destination. Each category of destination and the preposition associated with it are given in the table below:

*“Into” does not necessarily mean “inside”; it includes clearly delineated areas like a park or a wood.

Note in the above examples which prepositions are used when talking about location (the place where one is at that moment). אין and אױף are used both with destinations (“going to”) and locations (“being at”). However, צו can only be used with a destination; בײַ is used to indicate location.

In YiddishPOP we have not learned any geographical names, but we include the prepositions used with them in this overview:

*The verb פֿאָרן is taught in lesson 6.3.

When a geographic name is a destination, the preposition is קײן. When it is a location, the preposition is אין.

Summary:

Note:

• When the preposition אין comes with a noun indicating a specific place, the definite article often does not appear (see ‏5.1 נאָך פּרטים). However, with the prepositions אױף, צו, בײַ, the definite article must be included. For example:

• The definite article is never used with קײן and a geographical name. If the name comes with the definite article, אין is used:

• In lesson 5.3 we learned the phrase אין דער הײם that indicates location:

• Of course, these prepositions are used not only with the verbs גײן and זײַן but also with many other verbs when talking about a destination or a location. For example:

• There are idiomatic phrases that do not exactly fit into the general pattern. For example:

More About the Converb צו

Here we expand on the brief explanation of the converb צו in ‏6.1 נאָך פּרטים.

In order to understand the converb צו in these two sentences from the last two lessons, let us recall the division of converbs into two main categories, as noted in ‏4.1 נאָך פּרטים:

The converb צו belongs to both categories:

צושמײכלען means: to accompany speech, a thought, or an action with a smile, for example:

צוּװאַרטן means: to wait for a short time. Compare these sentences from the movie:

Prepositions with װאַרטן and צוּװאַרטן

װאַרטן and צוּװאַרטן come with the preposition אױף to indicate the goal of the waiting:

The preposition/conjunction ביז conveys the length of the waiting by indicating its end point:

The preposition אום, meaning “on, during”, is used with periods of time in the Jewish calendar (for example, a day or a holiday) when talking about something connected with that specific time. It is optional – the following sentences are also correct without any preposition:

אום is seldom used with other time expressions.

Remember that usually, no preposition is used with days of the week and clock expressions in Yiddish, for example: