is

Doing Something to Oneself

Level 3

With multiple participants, context distinguishes “themselves” from “each other.”

How It Works

Place is in the preverbal object position. It has no separate forms for “myself,” “herself,” or “ourselves.” The subject pronoun and verb carry person, gender, and number distinctions. With multiple participants, is can mean that they act on themselves or on one another; the predicate and situation determine the reading.

Following prepositions fuse with is: isu, isku, iska, and isla. Fusion does not necessarily mean that the preposition refers to the reflexive object. In waan isku qallajiyay shukumaan, is refers to the speaker, while instrumental ku links drying to the towel.

Compare waan ku arkay “I saw you” with waan isku arkay muraayadda “I saw myself in the mirror.” Reflexive is differs from emphatic “I myself” expressions and from autobenefactive derivation, which generally describes an action benefiting its subject rather than requiring a reflexive object.

Examples (3)

  1. Waan isku arkay muraayadda.

    I saw myself in the mirror.

    Is refers to the speaker; ku marks the mirror as the location of the image.

  2. Cali iyo Hodan way is salaameen.

    Cali and Hodan greeted each other.

    Is has a reciprocal reading with these two participants.

  3. Waan isku qallajiyay shukumaan.

    I dried myself with a towel.

    Instrumental ku refers to the towel, while is refers to the subject.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

isLevel 3Doing Something to Oneself

Learn This First

Recognize object reference before using reflexive is when the object refers back to the subject.

Words in This Pattern

iska