Impersonal Constructions

Introduction

Impersonal verbs have no subject in the normal sense. Such verbs always appear in the third person singular. They can be further divided in the following categories:

• ‘Quasi-impersonal’ verbs, for which an infinitive or subordinate clause functions as the subject; for details, → @@ below.
• ‘Proper’ impersonal verbs, which have no subject at all. This group is virtually limited to weather terms, expressions of time, and ‘impersonal passive’ constructions; for details, →@@ below.

Some proper impersonal verbs do not have a subject, but do take other obligatory constituents, especially in dative.

Note

English impersonal verbs use the so-called “dummy pronoun” it, e.g. It is raining. With English quasi-impersonal verbs it ‘anticipates’ the subordinate construction, e.g. It is clear that he is coming (cf. That he is coming is clear.)

Quasi-Impersonal Verbs and Constructions

Verbs

The following common quasi-impersonal verbs take an (accusative-and-) infinitive construction as their subject (→@@), and frequently also a complement in the dative:

1.    ecë nin care sa [VT49/20] I can do that
2.   orë nin caritas [VT41/13] I feel an urge to do it

Adjectives; Nouns

The singular of many adjectives is used with a third-person singular form of ná be in quasi-impersonal constructions, taking an (accusative-and-)infinitive construction or i-clause. For example:

1.   ninya ná carita·s I need to do this¹
2.        alasaila ná lá carë tai mo nave mára it is unwise not to do what one judges good

Some nouns are similarly used in quasi-impersonal constructions. For example:

1.      umbe nin i hríve nauva urra I have a feeling that winter will be bad

With such adjectives and nouns ná is very often omitted (→@@):

Proper Impersonal Verbs and Constructions

Weather and Time Expressions

Weather verbs such as the following are used impersonally:

• ule it rains
• nique it is cold
• hrise it snows

Assumption

Some expressions of time use an impersonal form of ná be:

•  (ná) telwa it is late
•   (ná) tensi andúne it is already sunset

Impersonal Passives

Frequently what is translated into English with a passive voice is expressed in Quenya as an impersonal construction:

1. ⸱(a)·mate·s [PE22/107] it is eaten
2.  ⸱  masse akime aldar? [PE22/125] where are the trees (to be found)?
3.     ⸱ vahaia nóre ëa i a-esta Valinor [PE22/124] far away there is a land called Valinor

Impersonal passives are made by omitting the subject from the active sentence: the apersonal form of the verb is used with or without a marker a (used to avoid confusion with the infinitive use of apersonal form), which was usually optional in PQ but became more grammaticalized in TQ.

When the impersonal passive² is used as an object of infinitive, this ⸱a· is however obligatory:

1.    ⸱ man cenuva lumbor a·hosta? [MC/222] Who shall see the clouds get gathered?

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Footnotes

1. Based on the inya karie·te [PE22/123] ↩

2. Whether it is actually passive or not by WALS definition depends on whether a can be considered a “special morphological marking of the verb” ↩