Lesson 31: Sumerian Comitative Case

Expressing Togetherness in Sumerian

Sumerian Astrology

May 16, 2025

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian Comitative Case which is quite easy! Let’s jump in!

Helpful Terms

comitative: a grammatical case which indicates union or joint activity, as in “with” or “and”; marked by -da 𒁕.
dimensional case (dim.): In Sumerian, the dimensional cases include the ablative (from), comitative (with), and terminative (to(ward)) grammatical cases.

Vocabulary

a 𒀀 n., water; semen; progeny; canal; flood. part., suff., in, at, when (loc.); nominalizing suffix.
a-a 𒀀𒀀 n., father.
ab 𒀊 n., sea; opening; nook. part., inf., third person (impersonal) ergative infix -b- “by it/them” when preceded by /a/; indirect object infix -b- when preceded by /a/.
àm 𒀀𒀭 pron., he/she/it is.
ama 𒂼 n., mother.
amar 𒀫 n., calf; young (animal), youngster, chick.
an 𒀭 n., heaven; high. adv., above (OA x1). det., indicates the name of a deity. part., inf., 3^rd person (pers.) ergative infix when preceded by /a/; 3^rd person (pers.) locative infix when appearing immediately before the root verb.
a-ne 𒀀𒉈 pron., ind., he/she (OS x7, NS x9, OB x20).
(a)ni (𒀀)𒉌 pron., poss. his/her (abs.) (with da/ta/gin₇ 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.)) (with ra/ir 𒊏/𒅕 (dat.)) (with šè/iš 𒂠/𒅖 (term.)) (earlier periods).
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.)).
bi-da 𒁉𒁕 conj., and (may appear as only bi 𒁉)
da 𒁕 n., arm; edge, line; near, close. v., to be near, hold, protect. part., suff., together with, beside, alongside, both, and. (com.).
dam 𒁮 n., spouse, husband, wife.
de 𒁲 v., to carry. part., suff., mutation of comitative -da 𒁕.
di 𒁲 v., to speak (marû); to do, perform. part., suff., mutation of comitative -da 𒁕.
dì 𒋾 v., to speak (marû) (NS x1). part., suff., mutation of comitative -da 𒁕.
dumu 𒌉 n., child, son, daughter.
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 𒂍 n., house; temple.
e-ne (𒂊)𒉈 pron., ind., he/she, him/her (variation: èn 𒇷 (OB)); to whom (OB); to you (pl.) (OB); dem., that one (pers.), inter., what? (OB x11). part., suff., plural marker (e)ne (𒂊)𒉈 (pers.).
gal 𒃲 v., to be big, great, large, mighty. adj., big, great, large, mighty.
gaz 𒄤 v., to kill, slaughter; break; grind; crush, smash.
gub 𒁺 v., to stand; set; set down in writing; erect, install; serve (with -da 𒁕); stand aside (with -ta 𒋫); to service (with -ši).
ĝen 𒁺 v., intrans., to go/come; flow, set out, turn into (transform).
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 first-person agentive prefix “I”; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
íb 𒌈 n., hips; middle. v., to be angry; to curse. part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (impers.).
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.); inf. 3^rd person (pers.) ergative infix when preceded by /i/.
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}.
lú 𒇽 n., man, male; human, person.
lugal 𒈗 n., king; owner, master, lord.
me-eš 𒈨𒌍 cop., they are (OB).
mu 𒈬 n., name; word; oath; year; entry (line on a tablet). v., to name; speak. part., pref., 1^st person pronominal element preceding the dimensional infixes da 𒁕, ta 𒋫, and ší 𒂠. inf., 1^st person directive infix ‘to me (impers.)’.
munus 𒊩 n., female, woman.
naĝ 𒅘 n., drink. v., to drink; to irrigate, water (m. na₈-na₈ 𒅘𒅘).
^dnanna 𒀭𒋀𒆠 n., prop., Sumerian god of the Moon, called the Celestial Shepherd, associated with time and bliss.
ne 𒉈 pron., dem., this/that (here) (NS x1, OB x14). part., inf., 3^rd person plural directive infix ‘to them (impers.)’.
ne-da (neda) 𒉿 part., inf., 3^rd person personal comitative infix.
ni 𒉌 part., inf., locative infix indicating ‘where’. part., inf., 3^rd person singular directive infix ‘to him/her (impers.)’.
nin₉ 𒎐 n., sister.
paḫ 𒈜 n., leg.
šeš 𒋀 n., brother; colleague; assistant.
ši 𒅆 part., inf., terminative infix.
šúm 𒋧 n., garlic, onion. v., to give; lend.
ta 𒋫 part., suff., away from, out of; by means of; after, since (abl.)
tìl (ti) 𒋾 v., to live; keep alive, sustain; dwell; be magnetic.
tuš 𒂉 n., home. v., to sit, lie down (trans. h. sg.) (h./m. pl. durun 𒂉𒂉; m. sg. dùr 𒂉); to sing; to dwell, reside, be at home, settle; set up, establish.
tur 𒌉 n., child; young; second [in rank]. v., to be/make small; to be insufficient; to reduce. adj., young, small, little. ur 𒌨 n., dog; lion (NS x1).
uš 𒍑 n., foundation; distance; dimension; edge; man; penis. v., to support, lift; transport; join; be adjacent to. num., 60. part., suff., personal suffix ‘they/them’ when the root verb ends in /u/ {erg + √u + š}.
zu 𒍪 n., knowledge, wisdom. v., to know; learn, discover; teach (m. zu-zu 𒍪𒍪); be experienced. part., suff., poss., your (sg.) (abs., erg., dir.) (with da/ta/gin₇ 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.).

The Sumerian Comitative Case

Nouns in the Sumerian comitative case are marked by -da 𒁕. As a noun, the word da 𒁕 means arm, side, near, and close. As a verb, it means to be near, or to hold. Thus noun phrases such as lú dam-da 𒇽𒁮𒁕 man with wife evoke the image of a gentleman strolling arm-in-arm with his spouse.

Using the comitative -da 𒁕 is simple enough. Simply suffix -da 𒁕 to the noun someone or something is with. Keep in mind, the comitative -da 𒁕 can mean with, and, together with, beside, and along side.

lugal-da 𒈗𒁕 with the king
ama dumu-da 𒂼𒌉𒁕 mother and child
a-a dumu-ĝá-ka-da 𒀀𒀀𒌉𒂷𒅗𒁕 with the father of my child
-bi-da 𒁉𒁕 acts as the conjunction and.
ur tur-bi-da 𒌨𒌉𒁉𒁕 dog with its pup

NOTE: Sometimes the -da 𒁕 of -bi-da, 𒁉𒁕 does not appear, so you’ll have to determine whether -bi 𒁉 means ‘and’ or ‘it’ via the surrounding context.

The Sumerian Comitative Infix

The Sumerian comitative is what we call a dimensional case; that is, it describes where something is at in time and space. All of the dimensional infixes hold a slot in the verbal chain between the locative and dative infixes.

It’s important to note that only one dimensional infix can appear in the verbal chain—either da 𒁕, ta 𒋫, or ši 𒅆.

The comitative infix is the same as the case marker -da 𒁕. However, all of the dimensional infixes require a preceding pronominal element which indicates who or what the noun is with.

Below are the pronominal elements for the comitative -da 𒁕, (as well as the ablative and terminative cases which you’ll learn about in the coming lessons).

Pronominal Elements for Dimensional Case Markers da 𒁕, ta 𒋫, and ši

You’ll be learning about the dimensional case markers ta 𒋫 and ši 𒅆 in the coming lessons. The pronominal elements for these are the same as they are for da 𒁕.

1^st Person: mu 𒈬/m
2^nd Person: ø/e/r
3^rd Person (personal): n
3^rd Person (impersonal): b
3^rd Person Plural: ne 𒉈

Examples of the comitative infix:

mu-da-tuš 𒈬𒁕𒂉 X sat with me
e-da-naĝ 𒂊𒁕𒅘 X drank with you
in-da-gub 𒅔𒁕𒁺 X stood with him/her
íb-da-ĝen 𒌈𒁕𒁺 X came with it
ì-ne-da-tìl 𒉌𒉈𒁕𒋾 X lived with them

NOTES: 1) In OS, the 3^rd Person Personal -ne-da 𒉈𒁕 is often written with a single sign neda 𒉿 (PI). 2) Assimilated forms of da 𒁕 as di 𒁲, dì 𒋾, and de 𒁲, do appear. 3) There are no attestations of the case marker -da 𒁕 appearing after a word ending in /ḫ/ or /z/. 4) The case marker -da 𒁕 may be unwritten after a vowel (it never appears in OS texts from Lagaš).

The Comitative Infix in Use

šeš-e-ne-zu-da-àm 𒋀𒂊𒉈𒍪𒁕𒀀𒀭 He/she is with your brothers.
lú munus-da mu-da-an-šúm-uš 𒇽𒊩𒁕𒈬𒁕𒀭𒋧𒍑 The man and woman gave it to me.
ur paḫ gaz-a-bi-da in-da-ab-ĝen 𒌨𒈜𒄤𒀀𒁉𒁕𒅔𒁕𒀊𒁺 the dog, with a/its broken leg, came with him/her.
ama-ni dumu-gal-zu-ne-da-àm 𒂼𒉌𒌉𒃲𒍪𒉈𒁕𒀀𒀭 his/her mother is with your eldest children
nin₉-ĝu₁₀dam-a-ni-da é ^dnanna-ka-me-éš 𒎐𒈬𒁮𒀀𒉌𒁕𒂍𒀭𒋀𒆠𒅗𒈨𒂠 My sister and her husband are in the Temple of Nanna.

Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!

In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian ablative case, so be sure to subscribe to my Substack to get the next lesson delivered directly to your inbox!