Editing Sumerian language (section)

=== Syntax ===

==== General features ====
The basic word order is [[subject–object–verb]]; verb finality is only violated in rare instances, in poetry. The moving of a constituent towards the beginning of the phrase may be a way to highlight it,<ref name="Zólyomi 1993">Zólyomi 1993</ref> as may the addition of the copula to it. [[Grammatical modifier|Modifiers]] (adjectives, genitive phrases etc.) are normally placed after the noun: 𒂍𒉋 ''e<sub>2</sub> gibil'' "a new house" 𒂍𒈗𒆷 ''e<sub>2</sub> lugal-la'' "the house of the owner". However, the so-called anticipatory genitive (𒂍𒀀𒈗𒉈 ''e<sub>2</sub>-a lugal-bi'' "the owner of the house", lit. "of the house, its owner") is common and may signal the possessor's [[topic (linguistics)|topicality]].<ref name="Zólyomi 1993"/> There are no adpositions, but noun phrases in a certain case may resemble prepositions and have a similar function:<ref name=thomsen89>Thomsen (2001: 89)</ref>

* 𒊮...𒀀𒅗 ''šag<sub>4</sub> X-a-ka'', lit. "in the heart of X" = "inside/among X".
* 𒅆 ... 𒀀𒂠 ''igi X-a-še<sub>3</sub>'', lit. "for the eyes of X" = "in front of X".
* 𒂕...𒀀𒅗 ''egir X-a-ka'', lit. "at the back of X" = "behind/after X".
* 𒀀𒅗...𒀀𒅗 X ''ugu<sub>2</sub> X-a-ka'', lit. "on the skull of X" = "on top of X", "concerning X"
* 𒁇...𒀀𒅗 ''bar X-a-ka'', lit. "outside of X" = "because of X" (in Old Sumerian).
* 𒈬/𒉆 ... 𒀀𒂠 ''mu''/''nam X-a-še<sub>3</sub>'', lit. "for the name/fate of X" = "because of X" (in Neo-Sumerian).<ref>Jagersma (2010: 614-615)</ref><ref name=thomsen89/>

==== Subordinate clauses ====
There are various ways to express [[subordinate clause|subordination]]. Many of them include the nominalization of a finite verb with the suffix -/a/, which is also used to form participles, as shown above. Like the participles, this nominalized clause can either modify a noun, as adjectives do, or refer to the event itself, as nouns do. It usually functions as a [[relative clause]], corresponding to an English clause with "which ..." or "who ...", as in the following example:

{{interlinear|lu e i-n-řu-a|man house FIN-3.A-build-NMLZ|"the man who built the house"
| top = 𒇽𒂍𒅔𒆕𒀀<br />
<small>lu<sub>2</sub> e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a</small>
| indent = 4
| glossing = link
}}

Like the participles, the relative clauses can describe any participant involved in the action or state expressed by the verb, and the specific participant is determined by context: e.g. 𒈬𒌦𒈾𒀭𒋧𒈠 {mu-nna-n-šum-a} can be "which he gave to him", "who gave (something) to him", etc. The nominalized clause can also be a complement clause, corresponding to an English clause with "that ...", e.g. ''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-'''a''''' (''in-zu'') "(he knows) that he built the house". Like a noun, it can be followed by case morphemes:

* In the locative case (with added 𒀀 ''-a''), it means "when": ''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''a''''' "when he built the house" (more literally "''in'' his building of the house"), although this is more common in Old Sumerian. 
* In the ablative case (with added 𒋫 ''-ta''), it means "after" or "since": ''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''ta''''' "after he built the house"; the particle 𒊑 ''-ri'' may express the same meaning as 𒋫 ''-ta''.<ref>Edzard (2003: 160)</ref> 
* In the terminative case (with added 𒂠 -''še<sub>3</sub>''), it has a meaning close to "before" or "as to the fact that": ''e<sub>2</sub> nu-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''še<sub>3</sub>''''' "while he had not yet built the house".
* In the equative case (with added 𒁶 -''gen<sub>7</sub>''), it can mean "as (if)", "as (when)", "when" or "because": ''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-gen<sub>7</sub>'' "as he built the house".  
* It can also host the enclitics -/akanam/ and -/akeš/ "because": ''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''ka-nam''''' "because he built the house".
* More surprisingly, it can add both the genitive and the locative morpheme with a meaning close to "when", possibly "as soon as": (''e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a''-('''''a-''')'''ka''''') "as soon as he built the house".<ref name=":19">Jagersma (2010: 594-626)</ref>

The nominalized clause can directly modify a noun expressing time such as 𒌓 ''ud'' "day, time", 𒈬 ''mu'' "year" and 𒌗 ''itid'' "month", and this in turn can then stand in the locative and ablative in the same meanings as the clauses themselves: ''ud e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''a/ta''''' "when/after he built the house".<ref>Edzard (2003: 152)</ref> In this case, the particle ''-bi'' sometimes precedes the case morpheme: ''ud e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-'''b'''a''; the basic meaning is still of "when".<ref>Edzard (2003: 154)</ref>

The nominalized clause can also be included in the various "prepositional constructions" mentioned above:

* '''''bar''' e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-k'''a''''' "because he built the house" (in Old Sumerian)
* '''''mu''' X-a-'''še<sub>3</sub>'''''  "because he built the house" (in Neo-Sumerian), 
* '''''egir''' e<sub>2</sub> in-řu<sub>2</sub>-a-k'''a''''' "after he built the house".<ref name=":19" />

The structure is shown more clearly in the following example:

{{interlinear|egir amaru ba-ur-a-ak-ta|back flood MID-sweep.over-NMLZ-GEN-ABL|"after the [[Great Flood|Flood]] had swept over"
| top = 𒂕𒀀𒈠𒊒𒁀𒃡𒊏𒋫<br /> 
<small>egir a-ma-ru ba-ur<sub>3</sub>-ra-ta</small>
| indent = 4
| glossing = link
}}

Several clauses can be nominalized by a single {-a} enclitic: {kaʾa ba-zaḫ engar-e nu-i-b-dab-'''a''' b-i-n-dug} "he said '''that''' the fox had escaped and the farmer had not caught it".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 590-591)</ref>

Participles can function in a very similar way to the nominalized clauses and be combined with the same kinds of adjuncts. One peculiarity is that, unlike nominalized clauses, they may also express the agent as a possessor, in the genitive case: 𒂍𒆕𒀀𒈗𒆷 ''e<sub>2</sub> řu<sub>2</sub>-a lugal-la'' "the house built by the king". However, when the head noun (''e<sub>2</sub>'') is specified as here, a more common construction uses the ergative: 𒂍𒈗𒂊𒆕𒀀 ''e<sub>2</sub> lugal-e řu<sub>2</sub>-a.''<ref>Jagersma (2010: 644-649)</ref>

A special subordinating construction with the temporal meaning of an English ''when''-clause is the so-called ''pronominal conjugation'', which contains a verb nominalized with -/a/ and following possessive pronominal markers referring to the subject (transitive or intransitive). In the 3rd person, the form appears to end in the possessive pronominal marker alone: 𒆭𒊏𒉌 ''kur<sub>9</sub>-r'''a'''-'''ni''''' "when he entered", lit. "his entering", etc. It has been suggested that these forms actually also contain a final directive marker ''-e''; in this example, the analysis would be {kur-a-ni-'''e'''}, "'''at''' his entering".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 672-674), Zólyomi (2017: 102), Foxvog (2016: 151-152)</ref> Similarly, in Old Babylonian Sumerian, one sometimes finds the locative or ablative markers after the possessive (''kur<sub>9</sub>-ra-n'''a''', kur<sub>9</sub>-ra-ni-'''ta''''').<ref>Zólyomi (2017: 102)</ref> In contrast, in the 1st and 2nd persons, the 1st and 2nd person pronouns are followed by the syllable 𒉈 ''-ne'':{{Efn|Especially in earlier scholarship, the sign 𒉈 was read in this context as ''de<sub>3</sub>''.<ref>Thomsen (2001: 264-265)</ref> The ''-ne'' has been variously interpreted as an obsolete locative ending, producing the interpretation of {zig-a-g̃u-ne} as 'at my rising'<ref>Jagersma (2010: 672-674), Zólyomi (2017: 102)</ref> or as identical to the demonstrative enclitic ''-ne'' "this".<ref>Sallaberger (2023: 85)</ref>}} 𒍣𒂵𒈬𒉈 ''zig<sub>3</sub>-ga-g̃u<sub>10</sub>-'''ne''''' "as I rose"). The verb itself may be in ''ḫamṭu'', as in the above examples, or in ''marû'' followed by the modal/imperfective suffix -/ed/-: 𒍣𒍣𒁕𒈬𒉈 ''zi-zi-'''d'''a''-''g̃u<sub>10</sub>-ne'' "when I rise".<ref>Jagersma (2009: 672–674)</ref> The same construction is used with the word 𒀸 ''dili'' "alone": 𒀸𒈬𒉈 ''dili-g̃u<sub>10</sub>-ne'' "I alone", etc.<ref>Zólyomi (2017: 104)</ref>

[[Subordinating conjunction]]s such as 𒌓𒁕 ''ud-da'' "when, if", 𒋗𒃻𒌉𒇲𒁉 ''tukum-bi'' "if" and 𒂗𒈾 ''en-na'' "until" also exist.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 301)</ref>

==== Coordination ====
[[Coordinating conjunction]]s are rarely used. The most common way to express the sense of "and" is by simple juxtaposition. Nominal phrases may be conjoined, perhaps emphatically, by adding 𒁉 -''bi'' to the second one: 𒀭𒂗𒆤𒀭𒎏𒆤𒉌 ''en-lil<sub>2</sub> nin-lil<sub>2</sub>-bi'' "both [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]]"; sometimes the enclitic is further reinforced by 𒁕 ''-da'' "with". More surprisingly, 𒋫 ''-ta'' "from" is also sometimes used in the sense of "and".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 97-99)</ref> The word 𒅇 ''u<sub>3</sub>'' "and" was borrowed from Akkadian in the Old Akkadian period and occurs mostly in relatively colloquial texts;<ref>Jagersma (2010: 99-100)</ref> Old Babylonian Sumerian also borrowed from Akkadian the enclitic 𒈠 ''-ma'' "and".<ref>Edzard (2003: 162)</ref> There is no conjunction "or" and its sense can also be expressed by simple juxtaposition; a more explicit and emphatic alternative is the repetition of 𒃶𒅎 ''ḫe<sub>2</sub>-em'', "let it be": 𒇻𒃶𒅎𒈧𒃶𒅎 ''udu ḫe<sub>2</sub>-em maš ḫe<sub>2</sub>-em''  "(be it) a sheep or a goat"''.''<ref>Jagersma (2010: 100)</ref>

==== Other issues ====
A quotative particle -/(e)še/ or -/ši/ "saying", variously spelt 𒂠 -''eše<sub>2</sub>'', 𒅆 -''ši'' or 𒀪𒊺 -''e-še'', has been identified.<ref>Edzard (2003: 157-158)</ref> Its use is not obligatory and it is attested only or almost only in texts from the Old Babylonian period or later.<ref>Thomsen (2001: 279)</ref> Another, rarely attested, particle, 𒄑(𒊺)𒂗 -''g̃eš(-še)-en'', apparently expresses irrealis modality: "were it that ...".<ref>Edzard (2003: 158), Thomsen (2001: 280)</ref>

Highlighting uses of the copula somewhat similar to English [[Cleft sentence|cleft constructions]] are present: 𒈗𒀀𒀭𒉌𒁺 ''lugal-am<sub>3</sub> i<sub>3</sub>-g̃en'' "It is the king who came", 𒀀𒈾𒀸𒀀𒀭𒉌𒁺 ''a-na-aš''-''am<sub>3</sub> i<sub>3</sub>-g̃en'' "Why is it that he came?", 𒉌𒁺𒈾𒀀𒀭 ''i<sub>3</sub>-g̃en'' "It is the case that he came".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 712-713)</ref>

Sumerian generally links a nominal predicate to the subject using the copula verb, like English. However, it does use [[Zero copula|zero-copula]] constructions in some contexts. In interrogative sentences, the 3rd person copula is omitted: 𒀀𒈾𒈬𒍪 ''a-na mu-zu'' "What is your name?", 𒉈𒂗𒈬𒍪 ''ne-en mu-zu'' "Is this your name?". Sumerian proper names that consist of entire sentences normally lack a copula as well, e.g.  𒀀𒁀𒀭𒌓𒁶 ''a-ba <sup>d</sup>utu-gen<sub>7</sub>'' "Who is like [[Shamash|Utu]]?" As explained [[#Copula verb|above]], negative sentences also omit the copula in *''nu-am<sub>3</sub>''/''nu-um "''isn't" and use simply 𒉡 ''nu'' instead.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 715-718)</ref>

''Yes/no''-interrogative sentences appear to have been marked only by intonation and possibly by resulting lengthening of final vowels.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 230-231)</ref> There is no [[wh-movement]] to the beginning of the clause, but the interrogative words are placed immediately before the verb: e.g. 𒈗𒂊𒀀𒈾𒈬𒌦𒀝 ''lugal-e '''a-na''' mu-un-ak'' "'''What''' did the king do?", 𒂍𒀀𒁀𒀀𒅔𒆕 ''e<sub>2</sub> '''a-ba-a''' in-řu<sub>3</sub>'' "'''Who''' built the temple?" Two exceptions from this are that the constituent noun of a [[#Phrasal verbs|phrasal verb]] is normally closer to the verb,<ref name=Jagersma228>Jagersma (2010: 228)</ref><ref>Attinger (2009: 26)</ref> and that an interrogative word emphasized with a copula such as 𒀀𒈾𒀸𒀀𒀭 ''a-na-aš-am<sub>3</sub>'' "why is it that ...?" is placed at the beginning of the clause.<ref name=Jagersma228/> In addition, as already mentioned, interrogative sentences omit the copula where a declarative would have used it.