A Handbook of the Cornish Language

Chapter IX — The Auxiliary Verbs

§ 1 Bos, to Be

The verb to be in Cornish, as in other Aryan languages, is made up of more than one verb. In Cornish it may be divided in two parts. The first of these consists of two tenses, a present and an imperfect, the second of the usual five tenses, the imperative and the infinitive.

The first division, by means of reduplications and additions, takes a variety of forms in the early literature, and there is a considerable uncertainty about the exact force of these forms. Some of them evidently mean little more than elongations and contractions for the sake of metre. The second division is formed with greater regularity on a root b, changing under certain conditions to v (often written f) and p.

I. First Division. Present Tense, I am.

Sing.	1. ov (old form of), âthov, thov, oma, ăthoma, thoma.
	2. os, ăthos, thos, osta, ăthosta, thosta.
	3. yu, ăthyu, thyu, yua, ăthyua, thyua.
Plur.	1. on, ăthon, thon.
	2. ough, ăthough, though.
	3. ens, ăthens, thens.

There is little or no difference of meaning in these forms. The lengthened form ăthov, or its apocopated thov, is generally found at the beginning of an assertion. Oma, osta, yua and their lengthened forms are used interrogatively or after certain conjunctions. In the early literature the lengthened forms were written ythof, assof, ossof, esof, and even, with double lengthening, ythesaf, ythesef, ythesof. The first vowel is probably the obscure vowel (as u in until), and the stress accent is on the syllable that follows the verbal prefix, so that even the consonant of the prefix is a little uncertain. Williams makes it dh, but th seems more probable. In late Cornish the vowel of the prefix was usually dropped. The personal pronouns are generally added after this tense, so that it practically becomes:—

Thov vî, thos dî, yu ev (or ev yu), thon ny, though why, thens y (pronounced thenŷ).

Occasionally the impersonal form of this verb is used, mî yu, tî yu, ev yu, nŷ yu, whŷ yu, ŷ yu. The negative is formed by adding nyns to the short form, nynsov or nynsoma, nynsos or nynsosta, nynsyu, etc. Similarly this tense may be compounded with mar, if, ken, though, may, that, into marsov, kensov, maythov. The s, which is sometimes altered to th, is probably the th of the verbal prefix.

There are two other forms of the third person present, ema (or ma), plural emons (or mons), and es (older us), or esy or ejy (older usy, ugy).

(a). ema, ma, emons, mons must, according to Lhuyd, always be used narratively, never negatively, interrogatively (except after ple, where), or with relatives. They must always precede their subject. Thus:—

Ema ’n levar en ow chŷ, the book is in my house.

Ema levar en ow chŷ, there is a book in my house.

Nynsyw levar en ow chŷ, there is not a book in my house.

Ple yu ’n levar? / Ple ma ’n levar? } where is the book?

’Yu ’n levar ŭbma? is the book here?

(b). emons is only used when the pronoun they is the subject. When a noun is the subject, whether singular or plural, a singular verb is used.

Emons ŷ en ow chŷ, they are in my house.

Ema ’n levrow en ow chŷ, the books are in my house.

(c). es, esy, ejy, are chiefly used with relatives or interrogatively in the sense of “is there,” “is there not.”

An levar es en ow chŷ, the book which is in my house (in this case es=a es, which is).

’Es levar en ow chŷ? Is there a book in my house?

Nag es levar en ow chŷ? Is there not a book in my house?

In the first of these two interrogations the interrogative particle a coalesces with es, in the second nag=ni ag, ag being the same interrogative particle, with a g added before a vowel.

The ordinary interrogative of this tense is merely the form ’oma, ’osta, ’yua, ’on nŷ, ’ough whŷ, ’ens ŷ (pron. enjŷ), which should be preceded by an apostrophe to show that the interrogative particle a is elided. The negative interrogative is the same preceded by nag.

The difference between the use of ema, yu, and es is not quite so distinct in Cornish as between the corresponding y mae, yw, and oes in Welsh, but if there is any difference in meaning between ema and yu, it is that ema has more often the sense of there is, it is, and yu more commonly that of is only; also yu can be used interrogatively and negatively, while ema, except after ple, where, should not be used interrogatively, and is never used negatively at all. Its negative and interrogative equivalent is es.

II. First Division. Imperfect Tense, I was.

Old form.

Singular.	Plural.
1. esen, ythesen, en.	1. esen, ythesen.
2. eses, ytheses, es.	2. eseugh, ytheseugh.
3. esa, ytheses.	3. esens, ythesens.

Late form.

Singular.	Plural.
1. erav, eram, erama, therav, theram.	1. eron, theron.
2. eras, erasta, theras.	2. erough, therough.
3. era, thera.	3. erons, therons.

The change from s to r in this tense, and the assimilation of the inflections to the present, does not occur in the written language until the middle of the seventeenth century. The personal pronouns were always used with this tense in its late form, and the final consonants of the personal inflections generally coalesced with the pronouns, and so were omitted in writing, thus therav vî, theron nŷ, therough whŷ, were written, though incorrectly, thera vî, thera nŷ, thero whŷ.

An alternative third person singular is o. It is used with relatives as an equivalent of a o, who was, and with negatives as nynso=there was not. It is in fact the past equivalent of es, but it is often used in a simple assertion also. The simple interrogative is ’erama, was I? the negative interrogative is nag erama, was I not? and the simple negative nynseram, I was not.

Second Division. Infinitive, bos, to be, older form, used chiefly when an extra syllable was required for a verse, bones.

I. Future Tense, I shall be.

Singular.	Plural.
1. bedhav (older bydhaf).	1. bedhon.
2. bedheth (bydhith).	2. bedhough.
3. bedh (bydh).	3. bedhons (bedhens).

This tense is used more commonly in the impersonal form, mî a vedh, tî a vedh, etc. Another common future is mî a vedn bos, formed with menny, to will.

II. Imperfect or Secondary Present, I was being.

Singular.	Plural.
1. bedhen, ben.	1. bedhen, ben.
2. bedhes, bes, besta.	2. bedheugh, beugh.
3. bedha, be, beva.	3. bedhens, bens.

This tense is used rather as a conditional, I should be, or a subjunctive after pan, when, mar, if, etc.

II. Preterite, I was, I have been.

Singular.	Plural.
1. bêv (older buf, buef).	1. bên (older buen).
2. bês (older bus, bues) besta.	2. beugh.
3. bê (older bue).	3. bons.

This tense is more frequently used in the impersonal, mî a vê, tî a vê, etc.

IV. Pluperfect, I had been.

Singular.	Plural.
1. bîen (older written byen).	1. bîen (byen).
2. bîes (byes).	2. bîeugh (byeugh).
3. bîa (bye).	3. bîens (byens).

Lhuyd gives a pluperfect beazen, beazes, etc. corresponding with the Welsh buaswn, but it does not appear to be used.

V. Subjunctive, I may be.

Singular.	Plural.
1. bev (older byf, beyf).	1. ben.
2. by.	2. beugh.
3. bo.	3. bons.

This and the second tense are not very clearly distinguished.

Imperative.

Singular.	Plural.
1. wanting.	1. bedhon, let us be.
2. bedh, be thou.	2. bedhough, be ye.
3. bedhens (bedhes, boes, bes), let him be.	3. bedhens, let them be.

A common variant of the imperative is formed with the auxiliary gwîl, to do.

Singular.	Plural.
1. wanting.	1. gwren ny bos.
2. gwra bos.	2. gwreugh bos.
3. gwrens e bos.	3. gwrens y bos.