imm-
Completed -um- Actions
umay → immay, “come → came”; gumatang → gimmatang, “buy → bought.”
How It Works
Learn umay → immay and gumatang → gimmatang. Completed material occurs initially in immay and after the first consonant in gimmatang. The dictionary also witnesses immabak, “defeated someone.”
These verbs retain actor-subject marking: immayda, “they came.” Compare actor-focus gimmatangak, “I bought,” with patient-focus ginatangko, “I bought it.” Changing the selected participant changes the actor-pronoun series.
The dictionary records internal -im- as a variant of -imm- before a consonant. Initial patient-focus im-, a variant of in- before p or b, is separate.
The manual genuinely prints iminum and gimatang as well as doubled-m gimmatang. Their distribution remains unexplained; the dictionary's before-consonant condition does not explain those before-vowel spellings. Learn the independently witnessed forms below without declaring every single-m form wrong. Time phrases locate events without changing voice.
Examples (3)
- Immayda ditoy idi kalman.
They came here yesterday.
Immay presents completed coming; attached da identifies the actors.
- Gimmatangak ti libro idiay ili.
I bought a book in town.
Internal -imm- appears in the witnessed completed buying form; ak marks the actor.
- Immabak ni Elena ken ni Dario.
Elena defeated Dario.
Immabak has the attested defeat meaning; ken ni introduces the affected person.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Learn completed pairs such as umay → immay and gumatang → gimmatang.
Related Patterns
- Patient-Focus Verbs With -in-Completed Patient-Focus Actions
Contrasts patient-focus completion with actor-focus imm-.
Level 2 - Actor Forms -ko / -mo / -naNaming the Actor of a Patient-Focus Verb
Explains actor marking when the actor is not the selected participant.
Level 2 - One Surface, Several Analyses
Helps distinguish the actor-focus and patient-focus affixes written im.
Level 3 - Reading Ilocano Words
Explains why attested doubled consonants must be preserved in ordinary spelling.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice imm- in Bubblegum
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