Lesson 29: Sumerian Directive Case

Master the Sumerian Directive Case Marker and Infix

Jan 27, 2025

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian directive case, which is sometimes referred to as the locative-terminative (loc.-term.) case. It’s very similar to the ergative case, which you learned about in the last lesson, and it’s pretty easy to learn! So, 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.
dative (dat.): a grammatical case which indicates motion toward someone, as in ‘to/for [a person]’, marked by -ra 𒊏.
directive (dir.): a grammatical case which indicates an impersonal direct or indirect object, and is marked by -e 𒂊. Because the directive indicates motion toward something, as in ‘to/for [a thing]’, it is sometimes referred to as the locative-terminative case.
ergative (erg.): a grammatical case which indicates the agent; the noun doing the action, as in ‘[performed] by’, marked by -e 𒂊.

Vocabulary

a-dab₆ 𒀀𒍏 n., linen; item of clothing.
árad 𒀵 n., slave, servant.
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.)).
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-gal 𒂍𒃲 n., palace.
en 𒂗 adv., conj., so (OB x1). part., inf., ergative infix when preceded by /e/.
ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone first-person 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.).
la 𒆷 n., abundance, plenty; luxury, wealth; joy, bliss; youthfulness; wish, desire; lust. part., spelling bridge between /l/ and /a/.
lú 𒇽 n., man, male; human, person.
mu𒈬 n., name; word; oath; year; entry (line on a tablet). v., to name; speak. part., inf., 1^st person directive infix ‘to me (impers.)’.
munus 𒊩 n., female, woman.
ne 𒉈 pron., dem., this/that (here) (NS x1, OB x14). part., inf., 3^rd person plural directive infix ‘to them (impers.)’.
ni 𒉌 part., inf., locative infix indicating ‘where’. part., inf., 3^rd person singular directive infix ‘to him/her (impers.)’.
ri 𒊑 v., to be distant (OB x35); to cry out (OB x2). pron., dem., that, those (remoteness in space/time) (OB x34). part., inf., 2^nd person directive infix ‘to you (impers.)’.
šúm 𒋧 n., garlic, onion. v., to give; lend.
ù 𒅇 adv., conj., and; also; but (OS x16, OA x119, NS x9,400, OB x1,965). part., suff., mutation of ergative/directive infix in some periods when preceded by /u/.
ub 𒌒 part., inf., directive infix when preceded by /u/.

The Sumerian Directive Case

Like the ergative case, the Sumerian directive case is marked by -e 𒂊. However, unlike the ergative postposition which marks the agent, the directive postposition marks an impersonal direct or indirect object, as in:

munus-e a-dab₆ árad-e bi-in-šúm 𒊩𒂊𒀀𒍏𒀵𒂊𒁉𒅔𒋧 The woman gave linen to the slave.

In this example:

munus 𒊩 is the agent—marked by ergative -e 𒂊
a-dab₆ 𒀀𒍏 is the direct object—“marked” by absolutive -ø
árad 𒀵 is the indirect object—marked by directive -e 𒂊
bi 𒁉 is the directive infix
in 𒅔 is the ergative infix
šúm 𒋧 is the root verb

The Sumerian directive case marker behaves almost identically to the ergative case marker. In short:

It never appears after a vowel in the OS period.
When it appears after a vowel in later periods, if often morphs to reflect vowel harmony with the preceding vowel—ex. lú-ù 𒇽𒅇 to the man
It may appear with a preceding auslaut—ex. é-gal-la 𒂍𒃲𒆷 to the palace

Additionally:

Directive -e 𒂊 never appears after a noun ending in /z/.

The Sumerian Directive Infix

The Sumerian directive infix appears immediately before the ergative infix as follows:

1^st Person (sg.): mu 𒈬
- /ø/ in earlier periods
- often assimilated with the preceding vowel in the NS
- /e/ in OB
2^nd Person (sg.): ri 𒊑
- /ø/ in earlier periods
- /n/ in OB
- often appears as the preceding vowel in NS
3^rd Person Personal (sg.): ni 𒉌
- (unwritten/assimilated before OB)
3^rd Person Personal (pl.): ne 𒉈
3^rd Person Impersonal (sg./pl.): bi 𒁉

HINT: If you look closely, the directive pronominal elements are almost identical to the ergative, with the only real differences being the use of /m/ in place of the glottal stop for the 1^st Person, and /r/ added to the 2^nd Person.

As you’ll recall from the previous lesson, the verb chain CAN begin with the ergative infix, as in:

ì-šúm 𒉌𒋧 I gave it.

However, only the directive infixes mu 𒈬 and bi 𒁉 can start a verb chain. The other infixes ri 𒊑, ni 𒉌, and ne 𒉈 must be preceded by another element. If no other infixes/prefixes are present, the prefix ì 𒉌 will be the preferred choice.

The Sumerian Directive Case in Use

Now, let’s see more of the Sumerian directive case in action!

REMEMBER: The directive case is reserved for inanimate objects, which means the receivers in the examples below are likely slaves, enemies, prisoners, or other people who might be spoken of disparagingly.

ì-ri-(ø)-šúm 𒉌𒊑𒋧 I gave it to you.
ì-ni-e-šúm 𒉌𒉌𒂊𒋧 You gave it to him/her.
bi-in-šúm 𒁉𒅔𒋧 He/she gave it to it.
ì-ne-en-šúm-uš 𒉌𒉈𒂗𒋧 They (pers.) gave it to them.
mu-ub-šúm 𒈬𒌒𒋧 They (impers.) gave it to me.

Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!

In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian locative case, so be sure subscribe to my Substack to get all of my articles as soon as they post!