Inferentsial v nenetskom jazyke
The Inferential in Nenets

Summary/Abstract: The point of the article is to give a systematic description of the Inferential Mood in Nenets — one of the Northern Samoyed languages. In the plane of expression this mood is represented by a regular paradigm based upon the opposition of 3 tenses (Present, Past, Future), 3 persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd), 3 numbers (singular, dual, plural), and 3 types of conjugation (subjective, objective, reflexive). The affix of the Inferential is placed between the temporal affixes (adjusted to the verb-stem) and finite verbal markers common for all Nenets moods. The paradigmatic meaning of the Inferential is inference based either on the result of some situation (Inferentive) or on the logical consideration of a general character (Presumptive). The Inferential functions in declarative sentences. The Inferential may also be used to render the meanings of the other moods (Interrogative, Optative, Imperative, Conjunctive, Debitive, Indicative).

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