Ye Merrye Conlangre: Converbs
Everything here is stolen from Converbs by ... in
Concise Encyclopedia of Grammatical Categories (pp.110--).
I have just collected useful bits and pieces (and added some mistakes, probably).
I. Introduction
A converb is an "inflectional non-finite form of the verb whose main
function is to mark adverbial subordination.
(They are also called adverbial participles, gerunds/gerundives, conjunctive participles,
absolutives, etc.)
They contrast with three other main kinds of non-finite verb forms:
- Participles: adjectival verb forms used in relative clauses
- Verbal nouns: nominal verb forms used in complement clauses or
noun clauses
- Infinitives: typically intermediate between converbs and verbal nouns
in that both occur in complement clauses and adverbial clauses of purpose
Converbs are particularly characteristic of SOV languages.
There are two basic kinds of converbs:
- Contextual converbs: highly general and with contextually variable meaning
- Specialized converbs: very specific meaning such as posteriority ("until")
(There are also "narrative converbs", but they may not really fit into the category of
converbs.)
II. Contextual Converbs
Examples of the range of meanings of contextual converbs:
- manner
- attendant circumstance
- interpretative
- instrumental
- conditional
- concessive
- temporal - simultaneous
Contextual converbs are of two sorts:
- Adverbal: modify verbal predicate; e.g. manner or instrument
- Adsentential: modify clause; e.g. temporal or causal
III. Specialized Converbs
Examples of the range of meanings of specialized converbs from Lezgian:
- temporal
- posterior
- purpose
- causal
IV. Misc.
Specifying subject:
- In some cases, with no (overt) subject expression, the subject is
controlled by the main clause subject.
- In other cases, there is a switch-reference system (indicating same or different subject
as main clause), often allowing overt specification of subject.
Note that the same-subject requirement can often have expections. (For example,
"si searching for a theme, several crossed
hisi mind.", or even,
"si entering the room,
"(hei saw that) nobody was there.")