Grammar of Nepali - The verb "to have" in Nepal

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Grammar of Nepali Language

The verb "to have" in Nepal:

In english, the verb "to have" has three different functions depending on where it is found in a sentence.

One of them is to act as an auxiliary verb for the expression of past "ex: I had worked a lot ". In Nepal, it is rather the verb "to be - thiyo" who owns this function.

The second function of "having" is to be a copula. The copula a word used to link the subject with the attribute. In these cases, "to have" is not a full verb. In french expressions like "J'ai faim, J'ai soif, J'ai peur" acted as a copula. Some languages like Russian or Mongolian word ruling that removes the link between the subject and is clearly established by attirube of promiscuity.

Finally, the third function, and that we are interested in this aspect is that the semantics of the verb in many cases evoking the idea of''having'',''be fitted.'' In Nepal, no word has this meaning direct and possession is issued by another process. It must include the predicate of existence "chha" already seen in the book. "Introduction to Nepali Language"

Expressing the «I have ...»: A good command of possessive adjectives is extremely important in order to express this concept.

There is no “to have” verb in Nepalese. In order to express this concept, the Nepalese use two models, considering if the concept represent an object which can be physically moved « kalam, phul, jholaa...etc » or not « kam, ghar, srimati...etc ». For the concrete things which can be moved, the Nepalese people use the postposition « sângâ - with ». They will say, « mâ-sângâ kalam chhâ – with me pencil is » For the things that cannot be moved, the possessive adjective or particle « ko » will serve to mark the possession.

In order to better understand the difference, listen to the following recorded examples:

Abstract concepts

a) mero kaam chhâ                         I have a pen (literary: my pen is)
b) mero srimâti chhâ                        I have a wife
c) tâpaïko ghâr chhâ             You have a house
d) hâjurko jaagir chhâ                   You have a job
e) hâmro saaThi chhâ         We have a friend
f) tâpaïhâruko chhoraa chhâ         You have a son.
g) wâhâhâruko gaaDi chhâ            He/she has a car

Physical concepts

a) mâ-sângâ kâlâm chhâ             I have a pen (that means it’s portable)
b) tâpaï-sângâ châsmaa chhâ?    You have glasses
c) hâjur-sângâ kitaab chhâ    You have a book
d) haami-sângâ paisâ chhâ    We have money
e) tâpaïharu-sângâ phul chhâ    You have flowers
f) wâhâaharu-sângâ jholaa chhâ    They have a backpack.
g) timi-sângâ kaapi chhâ        You have a notebook.

Please note the expression « mâlaï phursad chhâ – I have some time » which is differently constructed. It’s an idiomatic expression which uses the indirect object complement « -laï ».