9B.5 Before, after, until
9B · Linking sentences — how one thing leads to the next · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
| meaning | word | how it goes |
|---|---|---|
| before | m-kam, men-kamet | "before" + a plain verb |
| after | bar, m-bar | "after" + a past verb, usually first in the sentence |
| until / by the time | hal, halet | "until" + a plain verb |
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| ku, yarmakh, azakh m-kamet ka-diyyan-da kapshi gu dussak | come on, let's go, before they throw us in prison too | A 1:39 |
| jalde m-akhkha-khush men-kamet ana khiyali shakhleppenna | go from here quickly before I change my mind | A 7:19 |
| bar Akhikar myatele, furun bektavele kha-ktava | after Akhikar dies, Pharaoh writes a letter | A 3:39 |
| la yavvat hech mendi kato akhla hal ana aten | don't give her anything to eat until I come back | A 35:6 |
| o khabusha nturre halt-mate | guard that apple until it ripens | A 39:2 |
hal has two English translations, and it is the same word. If the main action comes first and hal marks where it stops, it means "until". If the hal event is a known fact, it means "before" or "by the time":
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| bashlattun hal-ana aten | cook them before I come back | A 36:14 |
| ana hal kemli mankal tapyanvala, ayya katu kheltula kulle busra | before I could light the grill, that cat ate all the meat | A 11:2 |
| hal t-azet beta… | by the time you get home… | A 54:7 |
Go deeper
hal + "not": a trap for English speakers. "Until" is often said with a la that English leaves out. It means "as long as … hasn't happened yet":
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| halet la palkhat, hech-mendi la-amsat akhlat at gu-da-beta | until you work, you can't eat anything in this house | A 35:7 |
| le-akhlakh hech-mendi hal bautan katokhun la tanakhla | we won't eat anything until we tell you our request | B 8:3 |
| ka-diyyi gvara let hal at la metat, tamrennakh | marriage is not for me until you die and I bury you | A 44:12 |
The la is not a real negative. Don't read hal at la metat as "until you don't die".
"Until" with a noun. hal also works as a plain preposition, like Chapter 8's hal- "until":
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| mattunlun gu-dussak ka-hal mote, ka-halet meti | put them in jail until their death, until they die | A 1:49 |
Before, in a habit:
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| morisha-jalde-da ki-kemiva, m-kam nashe napliva al-shula | early in the morning they used to get up, before people went to work | A 1:2 |
After, with a "had":
| Assyrian | English | from |
|---|---|---|
| m-bar av brezvale, kha jura khina tina taresva | after it had dried, another kind of mud was made | B 2:21 |
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