9B.7 "As", "as if", and "however much"

9B · Linking sentences — how one thing leads to the next · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar

As (I said), like (they do). akh "like" (Chapter 8) and dakh "how" also link clauses, with or without the linker -et:

Assyrian	English	from
dakhet merri katukh	as I told you	A 1:44
ita sabza ki-lablivala, akh merri, al-mdita ki-zabniva	now, as I said, they used to take the vegetables to town and sell them	B 2:8
akh danne vaduna	as they do it	B 9:5

As if. akh + the linker + en "if" melts into akh-t-en:

Assyrian	English	from
yane akh-t-en anna miyya men tata tiyyena	as if this water had come from sweat	A 37:21

However much, as many as. kma "how much?" (usually kmat before a clause) puts a size on a whole clause:

Assyrian	English	from
kmat byayena, lena bashure	however much they want to, they can't	A 3:74
kma erbe etlukh, palget dani ana erbe b-yavvannukh	however many sheep you have, I'll give you half that many	A 39:34

"The more…, the more…" kmat in the first half, bush "more" in the second:

Assyrian	English	from
arra kmat oya makekhta, bush-miyya k-azi gavo	the softer the ground is, the more water sinks into it	A 3:11

"As … as possible":

Assyrian	English	from
jalde nusle, kma-t-ila jalde	bite him, as fast as you can	A 47:13

"So long as":

Assyrian	English	from
sab-kma peshiva gu-melkha, le kharviva biyye	because as long as they stayed in salt, the eggs wouldn't go off	B 7:4

"As far as I remember":

Assyrian	English	from
ojakhta b-shenne kamaye, akh betkharen, kese ki-mattiva allo	in the early years, as I remember, they used to put wood on the hearth	B 12:4

"However it may be": kul "every" in front makes it general:

Assyrian	English	from
a-kul dakh-t-oya, ana khachcha bush-zoda mennukh khiyyen	however it may be, I have lived a little longer than you	A 2:16

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