Grammatical Situation

3.0. The division between morphology and syntax can not be made clearly in the analysis of the language. The affixes i.e. the prefixes and suffixes play the most important role in the analysis of the structure of the language both at the morphological and syntactic level. This is a common phenomenon in most of the Tibeto-Burman Languages because of their agglutinative structure type. Therefore, instead of having a clear-cut demarcation between morphology and syntax, it is preferred that the term grammar be used to cover both morphology and syntax and there may be sub-divisions. Thus Grammar includes mainly, i) Morphology and ii) Syntax over and above morphophonemics. There are several misconceptions, inconsistent, inconsiderate, inconceivable, incomprehensible and incongruous conclusions and statements of the grammar of the language. To add to this whenever there is any kind of complication, which has not been able to clarify, then, some other category or class will be brought in for making confusion.

As mentioned above, this Chapter has been divided into two sections. They are:  i) Morphological, and ii) Syntactical.

3.1. Morphological

3.1.1. ROOTS:

There are free and bound roots in the language. The free roots are pure nouns, pronouns, time adverbials and some numerals, because some numerals can be divided clearly. The bound roots are mostly verb roots although there are a few noun and other roots.

3.1.1.1. Free roots:

Pure nouns:  /mi/ ‘man’; /sA/ ‘animal’; /hi/ ‘boat’; /khoy/ ‘bee’; /s«m/ ‘hair’; /khoN/ ‘leg’, /u/ ‘tree’, /wA/ ‘bamboo’, /l«y/ ‘flower’, /nApi/’grass’, etc.

Pronouns: /«y/ ‘I’, /n«N/ ‘you’,/mA/ ‘he’.

Numerals: /m«ri/ ‘four’, /m«NA/ ‘five’ /t«ruk/ ‘six’, /t«ret/ ‘seven’, /nipAn/ ‘eight’, /mAp«n/ ‘nine’, /t«rA/ ‘ten’, /kun/ ‘twenty’, /yANkh«y/ ‘fifty’.

Time Adverbials: /h«yeN/ ‘tomorrow’, /horen/ ‘after sometime’,  /n«hAn/ ‘day-before-yesterday’, /hAkum/ ‘last year’, /noNm«y/ ‘next year’, etc. The following examples will illustrate that these roots are free. Examples:

mi     «m«  l«y ‘There is a man’

man one  live/is

hi     t«ruk  uy ‘Six boats are seen’

boat  six        see.

«y N«rAN        mi   t«rA kAkhib« theNn«y     ‘Yesterday I met ten person climbing’

I    yesterday  man ten   climb   meet/come across

In the above examples it is shown that /mi/, /«m«/, /hi/, /t«ruk/, /«y/, /t«rA/, have occurred independently without the help of any affix or root. So, they are the free roots in Manipuri.

3.1.2.     Bound Roots:

As mentioned above all the verb roots are bound roots. There are also a few bound noun roots, the interrogative and demonstrative pronoun roots, the roots of the numerals one, two and three. They cannot occur without some particle prefixed or suffixed to it or it has been made a compound by the addition of another root. The verb roots are:

/cA-/‘eat’, /in-/‘push’, /ph«N-/ ‘get/receive’,

/tum-/ ‘sleep’, /khok-/ ‘peel’, etc. 

Examples:

m«hAk cAk  cA+y ‘He eats rice/He lives on rice’

he       rice eat+infinitive/habitual

    tomb« gAriin+khi ‘Tomba push vehicle

    definite.’

Tomba vehicle push+definite

mA tum+mi ‘He is sleeping’

    he sleep+continue

n«N u+h«w+re hAy  ‘Reported that you see it’

you see+begin+realization/complete  say/reporting

From the above it can be observed that the verb roots require some affix or some other root to become an independent form.. There are also a number of verb roots, which have been considered free roots by many. This is not correct. This is a case of elision and is a case of merger of the two similar sounds. In other words it may be termed merged into one. They are: /i/ ‘write’, /l«y/ ‘have/live’, /pi/ ‘give’, /hAy/ ‘say’ etc. These roots are in fact i-+i>i; l«i-+y/i or l«i-+i/y or l«y-+i/y>l«y; pi+i>pi; hAi-+i/y or hAy-+i/y. Considering the meaning they convey whenever they occur independently this analogy seems more appropriate. A large number of such examples are available. Many scholars have certain reservations in this analysis although they are not able to provide another alternative. Therefore, we shall be content with what has been stated here.

The bound noun roots are: /-pA/ ‘father’, /-mA/ ‘mother’, /-pu/ ‘grandfather’, /-ben/ ‘grandmother’, etc. These forms cannot occur without the prefix /«-/, /n«-/, /m«-/. Examples: 

/ipA/ ‘my father’, /n«pA/ ‘your father’, /imA/ ‘my mother’, /m«mA/ ‘his mother’, /«bok/ ‘my grandfather’, /ipu/ ‘my grandfather’, /n«pu/ ‘your grandfather’, /m«pubok/ ‘his grandfather’. Etc.

The interrogative pronoun (Noun Substitute) roots :

/k«-/ ‘which’ in  /k«+nA/ ‘which person’ /k«+ri/ ‘which thing’ /k«+yA/ ‘which quantity, etc.

The demonstrative pronoun roots are -  /-chi/ and /-du/. They occur with a prefix /«-/ or /m«-/ in the constructions. They are considered as determiners if they are attached to nominal forms/roots. This also requires careful examination.

The Numeral roots for one, two and three, that is, /-