Lesson 27: Sumerian Absolutive Case

Plus Sumerian Pronoun Review!

Dec 29, 2024

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian absolutive case. Because it’s so easy, we’ll also be taking the opportunity to review more Sumerian pronouns! Let’s jump in!

Helpful Terms

absolutive (abs.): the standard unaltered grammatical case of a noun, held by the direct object, or the noun experiencing the action.
patient: the noun in the sentence that experiences the action.

Vocabulary

a 𒀀 n., water; semen; progeny; canal; flood. part., suff., in, at, when (loc.); nominalizing suffix.
ab 𒀊 n., sea; opening; nook. part., inf., ergative infix -b- ‘by it/them’ when preceded by /a/; indirect object infix -b- when preceded by /a/.
a-ba 𒀀𒁀 pron., inter., who? (OS x2, OA x3, NS x20, OB x308)
àm 𒀀𒀭 cop., he/she/it is.
an 𒀭 n., heaven; high. adv., above (OA x1). det., indicates the name of a deity. part., inf., 3^rd person (pers.) infix when preceded by /a/.
a-na 𒀀𒈾 pron., inter., what? (OS x2, OA x1, NS x73, OB x394), why? (OB x10); poss. his/her (gen., loc.) (earlier periods) (a)na (𒀀)𒈾.
a-na-aš 𒀀𒈾𒀸 pron., inter., why? (OA x1, NS x8, OB x68).
a-na-gin₇ 𒀀𒈾𒁶 pron., inter., how? (OB x76).
ba 𒁀 n., allotment, portion; wages. v., to give; pay; divide; distribute; allot. pron., dem., of this/that (gen.). part., pref., conjugational prefix; suff., poss., its (impers.) (gen., loc.); their (impers.) (gen., loc.).
bi (bé) 𒁉 pron., dem., this, that (similar to ‘the’) (x261) (ba 𒁀 gen.). part., part., suff., poss., its/their (impers.) (with ra/ir 𒊏/𒅕 (dat.)) (with šè/iš 𒂠/𒅖 (term.)).
dab₅ 𒆪 v., to seize, take, hold; bind; envelop, overwhelm; accept; choose.
dù 𒆕 v., to beget; bear (a child); be born; build, create, fashion, make; transform, change; replace.
dúr 𒂉 n., anus, buttocks; dwelling. v., to sit (intrans. m. sg.); be seated; set down; break wind; occupy, dwell (transitive durun 𒂉𒂉 (h./m. pl.).
e 𒂊 v., to speak, say; do; water. part., suff., [performed] by (the agent); in, at, beside (directive); plural hamṭu (perfective) suffix; marû (imperfective) singular/plural suffix.
é 𒂍n., house; temple.
é-gal 𒂍𒃲 n., palace.
ga 𒂵 n., milk. v., to bring, carry. part., pref., cohortative prefix meaning ‘let me/I shall’. part., suff., nominalizing suffix when preceded by /g/.
ga-ab-šúm 𒂵𒀊𒋧 n., seller.
gin₇ (gim, gen₇) 𒁶 part., suff., like, as, just as; instead of; during (equat.).
ĝá 𒂷 v., to come/go. pron., ind., I (especially before a case marker ending in /a/—alternative reading of ĝe₂₆ 𒂷). part., suff., poss., my (gen., loc.); nominalizing suffix when preceded by /ĝ/.
ĝu₁₀ 𒈬 pron., poss., my (abs., erg., dir.) (with ra/úr 𒊏/𒌫 (dat.)) (with šè/uš 𒂠/𒍑 (term.)) (with da/ta/gin₇ 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.)) (with um 𒌝 before the enclitic copula).
ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone agentive prefix ‘I’; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone agentive prefix ‘I’; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
in 𒅔 n., abuse; insult, offense. adv., conj., until, up to; as many (OB x2). part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix ‘he/she/it’ (pers.).
iri 𒌷 n., city, town, village, district. prep., mathematical function ‘times’ (OB x1). det., indicates the name of a city.
ka 𒅗 n., mouth; opening; beginning, origin; body part. part., suff., ‘of’ (gen.) (mutation of ak 𒀝 when anlaut /a/ assimilates to the proceeding vowel {ĝu₁₀ + ak = ĝá-ka}.
kug 𒆬 n., (precious) metal; silver; money. v., to be pure, holy, sacred; to purify, sanctify. adj., bright, white; pure, sacred, holy.
lú 𒇽 n., man, male; human, person.
lugal 𒈗 n., king; owner, master, lord.
me 𒈨 n., function, office, responsibility; divine power/decree. part., suff., poss., our (abs., erg., dir., gen.,) (with a 𒀀 (loc.)) ra/da/ta/šè/gin₇ (dat., com., abl., equ.,)) cop., I am (OS), you are (OS, NS), they are (NS). v., to say, tell. adv., where?
me-a 𒈨𒀀 pron., inter., where? (NS x13, OB x117).
me-na 𒈨𒈾 pron., inter., when? (OB x68).
munus 𒊩 n., female, woman.
na 𒈾 n., man; incense; rock, stone; token. part., inf., ‘to/for him/her’ (dat.).
ne 𒉈 pron., dem., this/that (here) (NS x1, OB x14).
ni 𒉌 part., inf., locative infix indicating ‘where’.
ní 𒉎 n./pron. refl., self; used before all pronouns except 3^rd person personal possessive (a/e)ni (𒀀/𒂊)𒉌, in which case ní-te 𒉎𒋼 is used.
(OS x3, OA x1, NS x300, OB x383)
nin 𒎏 n., lady, mistress, owner, queen; lord (sometimes found in male names).
ní-te 𒉎𒋼 n./pron. refl., self, used before the 3^rd person personal possessive pronoun (sg./pl.) (a/e)ni (𒀀/𒂊)𒉌(NS x8, OB x45).
ra 𒊏 v., to accompany; bear; drive; go; lead; multiply; mix, stir. part., suff., to/for (dat.).
šeš 𒋀 n., brother; colleague; assistant.
úš 𒍗 n., blood, gore; death. v., to block; die; be dead; kill. adj., dead.

The Sumerian Absolutive Case

The Sumerian absolutive case “marks” the patient in the sentence; that is, the noun experiencing the action—often the direct object. However, the absolutive case is said to have a “zero morph”, or be “marked” by -Ø. In other words: it has no case marker, as in:

lugal-e é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.

In this example, é the house is experiencing the action of being built. It’s unmarked because it’s in the absolutive case.

Test Your Knowledge—Absolutive Case

See if you can identify the nouns in the absolutive case in the following sentences. The answers can be found at the end of the lesson.

munus ba-dúr 𒊩𒁀𒂉 The woman sat.
šeš-e lú ba-an-úš 𒋀𒂊𒇽𒁉𒁀𒀭𒍗 The brother killed the man.
lugal-e nin-ra iri-a é ì-na-ni-in-dù 𒈗𒂊𒎏𒊏𒌷𒀀𒂍𒉌𒈾𒉌𒅔𒆕 The king built a house in the city for the queen.

Sumerian Absolutive Case Examples—With Sumerian Reflexive, Interrogative, and Demonstrative Pronouns

With Reflexive Pronouns

ĝá-e ní-ĝu₁₀é-gal ì-dù 𒂷𒂊𒉎𒈬𒂍𒃲𒉌𒆕 It was I who built myself a palace.
lugal-e lú é ní-ĝá-ka ba-an-úš 𒈗𒂊𒇽𒂍𒉎𒂷𒅗𒁀𒀭𒍗 The king killed the man in my own house.
ga-ab-šúm-me ga ní-te-né in-dab₅ 𒂵𒀊𒋧 𒈨𒂵𒉎𒋼𒉌𒅔𒆪 The seller took the milk for himself.

With Interrogative Pronouns

a-na-àm 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 What is it?
a-ba šeš-ĝu₁₀-gin₇ 𒀀𒁀𒋀𒈬𒁶 Who is like my brother?
a-na-aš kug ga-ab-dù 𒀀𒈾𒀸𒆬𒂵𒀊𒆕 Why shall I replace the silver?
me-a lugal ba-dúr 𒈨𒀀𒈗𒁀𒂉 Where did the king sit (himself down)?
me-na lugal-e é ba-an-dù 𒈨𒈾𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 When did the king build the temple?
a-na-gin₇ munus-e lú ba-an-úš 𒀀𒈾𒁶𒊩𒂊𒇽𒁀𒀭𒍗 How did the woman kill the man?

With Demonstrative Pronouns

lugal-e lú-bi ba-an-úš 𒈗𒂊𒇽𒁉𒁀𒀭𒍗 The king killed this/that man.

ANSWERS

The words in the absolutive case are in ALL CAPS

MUNUS ba-dúr 𒊩𒁀𒂉 The woman sat.
šeš-e LÚ ba-an-úš 𒋀𒂊𒇽𒁉𒁀𒀭𒍗 The brother killed the man.
lugal-e nin-ra iri-a É ì-na-ni-in-dù 𒈗𒂊𒎏𒊏𒌷𒀀𒂍𒉌𒈾𒉌𒅔𒆕 The king built a house in the city for the queen.

With Reflexive Pronouns

ĝá-e ní-ĝu₁₀É-GAL ì-dù 𒂷𒂊𒉎𒈬𒂍𒃲𒉌𒆕 It was I who built myself a palace.
lugal-e LÚ é ní-ĝá-ka ba-an-úš 𒈗𒂊𒇽𒂍𒉎𒂷𒅗𒁀𒀭𒍗 The king killed the man in my own house.
ga-ab-šúm-me GA ní-te-né in-dab₅ 𒂵𒀊𒋧 𒈨𒂵𒉎𒋼𒉌𒅔𒆪 The seller took the milk for himself.

With Interrogative Pronouns

A-NA-àm 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 What is it?
A-BA šeš-ĝu₁₀-gin₇ 𒀀𒁀𒋀𒈬𒁶 Who is like my brother?
a-na-aš KUG ga-ab-dù 𒀀𒈾𒀸𒆬𒂵𒀊𒆕 Why shall I replace the silver?
me-a LUGAL ba-dúr 𒈨𒀀𒈗𒁀𒂉 Where did the king sit (himself down)?
me-na lugal-e É ba-an-dù 𒈨𒈾𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 When did the king build the temple?
a-na-gin₇ munus-e ŁÚ ba-an-úš 𒀀𒈾𒁶𒊩𒂊𒇽𒁀𒀭𒍗 How did the woman kill the man?

With Demonstrative Pronouns

lugal-e LÚ-BI ba-an-úš 𒈗𒂊𒇽𒁉𒁀𒀭𒍗 The king killed this/that man.

Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues

In the next lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian ergative case, as we begin our journey into the Sumerian verbal chain, so be sure to subscribe to my Substack to get all of my articles as soon as they post!