Clause linking

There are several types of clause-linking devices and one of them makes use of a particle that carries a minimal ‘amount of meaning’, such as reason, purpose, cause, and the like. One verbal suffix that fulfils the function of clause linker is –(y)Ip, without any indication of tense, number, or person. A subtype of this construction consists of two adjacent verb stems. To mention only two of its applications, two different stems express an ordinary sequence of actions, but two identical stems stand for a repetitive action. Other connective devices are abundantly present. Conditional sentences are formed by the realis and irrealis constructions: “If A then B.” The remainder of the chapter presents an extensive account of so-called converbs, verbal connectors that signal all sorts of temporal relations.