Limbu (Yakthuṅ) — Pronouns & Verb-System Overview

Reference extraction from George van Driem, A Grammar of Limbu (Mouton Grammar Library 4; Berlin/New York/Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter, 1987). The dialect described is Phedāppe Limbu (Tamphulā Paṇyaṅgu), a Kiranti (Tibeto-Burman) language of eastern Nepal.

Notation conventions (from the book). Forms are given in van Driem's romanization, which doubles as a broad phonemic transcription. Key symbols: ʔ = glottal stop; · = vowel length (a raised dot after the vowel); ɛ = open-mid front [ɛ]; ɔ = open-mid back [ɔ]; ŋ, ñ = velar/palatal nasals; ṭ ḍ = retroflex stops (in Nepali loans); aspirates written kh ph th ch jh, etc. The book gives forms in this transliteration (which it also applies to the Limbu Kiranti script, p.554); Devanagari is not used for the Limbu data itself, so romanization + the book's phonemic values are reproduced here. Morpheme/allomorph is cited with <…> as in the source. Page numbers in parentheses point to the printed page of the grammar.

Glossing abbreviations used below follow the book: s singular, d dual, p plural, i inclusive, e exclusive, di dual inclusive, de dual exclusive, pi plural inclusive, pe plural exclusive, ns non-singular, A agent, P patient, S subject, AS agent/subject, PS patient/subject, PT preterit, NPT nonpreterit, PF perfective, IPF imperfective, REF reflexive/reciprocal, → direction of a transitive relationship (e.g. 1→2 = first-person agent acting on second-person patient).

PART 1 — PRONOUNS

1.1 Personal pronoun paradigm (§2.2, p.25)

The personal pronouns differentiate three persons, three numbers (singular / dual / plural) and, in the non-singular first person, an inclusive vs. exclusive distinction. Unlike most nominals, personal pronouns take neither ergative nor absolutive case suffixes and occur unchanged as subject, agent or patient (p.26).

Notes (pp.25–26):

• aŋga 'I' has a contracted allegro form ŋga.
• khunɛʔ denotes only animate referents.
• khɛŋ 'that, he' is historically a demonstrative, and khɛŋhaʔ is its synthetic plural; both are now also used as 3rd-person pronouns (the marked, distal member of the demonstrative system). khunchi is a true dual pronoun, khɛŋhaʔ a plural, but both are loosely used for any non-singular 3rd person. A coalesced non-singular is characteristic of the 3rd person generally (esp. in the verb).
• Ambiguity between duality and plurality of referent does not exist in the 1st and 2nd persons (the four-way incl/excl × du/pl split keeps them distinct), only in the 3rd.

Morphemic analysis of the 1st-person pronouns (§2.2.2, p.28)

• First-person morpheme a- = 'inclusive of speaker'; reflected in the verb by 1st-person affixes -a, -ʔɛ, -aŋ.
• The exclusive morpheme is <-ge> (non-singular allomorph; after bilabials <-be>), corresponding to <-ga> seen in singular aŋga. van Driem treats these as contracted reflexes of older -gya / -bya (still heard in conservative Phedāppe / among elderly Phedāppe-area women, e.g. anchigya nisigya for anchige nisige 'we(de) see'). Inclusivity is always formally unmarked.

Inclusive/exclusive arrangement (table, p.29)

                    speaker
              inclusive        exclusive
1d  inclusive  anchi            khɛnchi   (← 2d, on the speaker grid)
1p             ani              khɛni
1s             aŋga             khunɛʔ
1d  exclusive  anchige          khunchi
1p             anige            khɛŋhaʔ

1.2 Possessive prefixes on nouns (§2.2.1, pp.26–27)

The singular personal pronouns have possessive prefixes:

Examples (pp.26–27):

• a-go·co· 'my dog', a-wa? 'my chicken', a-yuma 'my grandmother', a-ba·ŋphe·-ʔo· 'in my village'.
• kɛ-sapla 'your book', kɛ-him-mo· 'at your house', kɛ-gyaŋ 'your pestle', kɛ-ndhɛba 'your grandfather', kɛ-mba-re 'your father-ERG'.
• ku-ho·rik 'his/her/its hide', ku-ba·ni hɛkke· habha 'his habit is just like that'.

Dual / plural possessive prefixes are the corresponding non-singular pronouns used as integral noun prefixes (p.27): anchi-, anchige-, ani-, anige-, khɛnchi-, khɛni-, khunchi-, e.g. anige-pa·ŋphe·-ʔo· 'in our(pe) village', khunchi-mɛnda? 'their goat'.

Prothetic nasal on kinship/relational nouns (p.27): after the singular prefixes a-, kɛ-, ku-, certain nouns (predominantly kinship terms and terms like cum / -ndzum 'friend') show a prothetic nasal:

Vowel-dropping kinship/body nouns (p.27): some nouns drop the vowel of their first syllable when prefixed: thɛge·k 'head' → kɛdhge·k 'your head'; nɛʔnɛ? 'older sister' → kunnɛ? 'his elder sister'; mudhuk 'moustache' → amdhuk 'my moustache'; nusa? 'sibling' → kunsa? 'his sibling'.

Body-/kinship-term sample (pp.26–27): kɛmɔra hu?rɛ?! 'shut your mouth!' (-mɔra 'mouth'), a?e·k?in ti·kt-ɛ 'my back is peeling' (-?e·k 'back'), ku-sɛbɛŋba 'his thigh' (p.106, ex.4), a-mma 'my mother', kɛ-mba 'your father', ku-mma 'his mother'.

Third-person singular possessive ku- is sex-ambiguous and may or may not be co-referential with a clause subject; context disambiguates (p.27).

1.3 Demonstratives (§2.2, pp.25–26)

A proximal / distal opposition; demonstratives behave partly like, partly unlike, personal pronouns. Unlike the personal pronouns they do take ergative and absolutive case (and form an independent genitive), and the singular ones can be used adnominally.

• The singular demonstratives replace khunɛʔ in referring to inanimate referents (p.26).
• Demonstrative/indefinite determiners khɛŋ 'that', kɔŋ 'this', wiʔsma 'another kind of', e·ʔyaŋba 'other' invariably precede the noun when used adnominally (p.26).

1.4 Interrogative & indefinite pronouns

Drawn from §2.3 (pp.30, 34, 38), §6.4 (p.142), §8.3–8.4 (pp.193, 198) and the glossing throughout.

• Nominalized interrogatives (nominalizer -pa, §8.4 p.198): hɛmba 'what kind of thing', e·mba 'what kind of person' — the speaker is concerned with the generic identity of the unknown referent, a subtler distinction than hɛn / e·n alone (p.198). Contrast kɔŋ hɛn? 'what is this?' vs. kɔŋ hɛmba? 'what is this?'.
• The absolutive forms of interrogative/indefinite pronouns may take the plural suffix -ha? (p.30): e·n-ha? 'who(p)', na·pmi-ha? 'others'.
• Yes/no interrogative is the suffix -i· (§6.4, p.142); see Part 2 §2.6.

1.5 Reflexives / reciprocals

Limbu marks reflexivity/reciprocity on the verb, not with a free reflexive pronoun. The reflexive/reciprocal morpheme is <-siŋ> (§4.4.5, p.86), detailed in Part 2 §2.2 below. Examples: warum-siŋ-ma? 'to wash oneself, to bathe (oneself)' (from warum-ma? 'to bathe [someone]'); mɛ-n-chɛt-chiŋ- nɛn 'people don't kill each other' (reciprocal); ni·t-chiŋ-aŋ 'I've counted myself too'.

PART 2 — VERB-SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Scope note: this is a categorical overview of tense, aspect, mood, negation, nonfinite forms and stem classes. The full person/number agreement table (the elaborate biactantial conjugation) is not reproduced here — only the morpheme inventory needed to read the system. The affixal-slot template is given so the categories can be located.

2.0 The affixal template (§4.2, pp.75–77; §5 diagram p.105)

A simplex is an indicative verb without an overt mood/aspect suffix: stem + agreement affixes (3 prefixal slots pf1–pf3, 11 suffixal slots sf1–sf11). A complex form adds an overt mood (sf12) and/or aspect (sf13) suffix. Periphrastic tenses = gerundivized simplex + auxiliary.

pf1  person marker      (1: a-, 2: kɛ-, 3: ø)
pf2  ns agent/subj no.  (mɛ-/m-  ns;  ø  s)
pf3  negation I         (mɛ- / n- / mɛn-)
STEM
sf1  reflexive / 1→2    (REF -siŋ/-nɛ ; 1→2 portemanteau -nɛ)
sf2  TENSE              (PT -ɛ ; NPT ø)
sf3  dual agent         (-s / -tch)
sf4  patient slot       (3P -u ; dPS -si/-tchi ; pPS/pPS -i ;
                          1sPS/NPT -ʔɛ ; 1sPS/PT -aŋ ; 1s→3/PT -paŋ ; sPS ø)
sf5  agent singularity  (1sA -ŋ ; sA ø)
sf6  negation II        (-n)
sf7  ns agent number    (nsA -tchi ; pA -m ; 1peAS/PT -mʔna)
sf8  patient number     (nsP -si ; sP ø)
sf9  agent-marker copy  (1sA -ŋ ; pA -m)
sf10 exclusive          (e -ge ; i ø)
sf11 negation III       (-nɛn, -n)
[sf12 MOOD ; sf13 ASPECT]   (complex forms)

2.1 Verb stems & stem-alternation classes (§4.1, pp.71–73)

A verb may have one, two or three stem forms (listed separately in the glossary):

• Stem 1 — full form; occurs before a vowel-initial suffix (contains a post-syllabic consonant) or as the only form.
• Stem 2 — form before a consonant-initial suffix.
• Stem 3 — allophonic variant of stem 2 ending in [ʔl], used before a glottal-initial suffix or word-finally (only for verbs whose stem 2 ends in /t/).

Examples (p.71): kamma? 'develop an attachment' has a single stem -kam-; midza·ʔma? 'warm oneself' has two stems mi-ca·ʔr- / mi-ca·ʔ-; lɛpma? 'quit, take leave of' has three -lɛ?r- / -lɛt- / -lɛʔl-.

Stem-final classes. Thirty stem types are distinguished by stem-final behaviour (p.72). Twenty-nine are consonant-final (arranged in 10 groups by stem-final alternation); one group is vowel-final and constitutes the small set of irregular / apophonic verbs (Appendix II). The ten consonant-final groups (counts = number of glossary verbs), p.73:

Irregularity = stem apophony (§4.2, pp.74–75). A small minority of verbs are irregular through apophony (vowel ablaut) in the stem; e.g. yuma? 'come down' shows tense-motivated apophony with a regular reversal in 1st-person-plural- exclusive subject forms; pe·kma? 'to go' has irregular apophony. Verbs are transitively, intransitively and/or reflexively conjugated (the reference paradigms are hu?ma? vt. 'teach', nu·ŋma? vi. 'return/void', lɛŋsiŋma? vr. 'change'). Some transitive verbs are impersonal (agree with a non- referential agent, restricted to 3s→ forms), e.g. khɛŋhaʔ mɔyusi 'they are drunk' (p.75).

2.2 Person/number agreement morphemes (inventory only) (§4.4, pp.77–102)

Reflexive/reciprocal examples (§4.4.5): warum-siŋ-ŋ 'I bathed myself', mɛ-bi·-siŋ-ɛ 'they gave each other [gifts]', nik-nɛ-tchi-ge 'we(de) have an illicit relationship (lit. fuck each other)'.

2.3 Tense (§4.4.7, pp.89–92)

Two tenses, filling slot sf2:

• The PT morpheme does not appear when preterit meaning is carried by the portemanteaux 1peAS/PT -mʔna, 1sPS/PT -aŋ or 1s→3/PT -paŋ.
• Tense semantics interact with lexical aktionsart: nonstative verbs are telic; stative verbs are either telic or atelic. For telic statives (incl. verbs of perception) the preterit may translate as an English present (e.g. limdɛ 'it tastes/tasted sweet', so·sɛ 'it itches/itched'); the nonpreterit (lim 'it'll taste sweet') is future-leaning but not restricted to future time. For atelic statives, tense is a plain past/non-past distinction (ni-s-u 'they(d) see it' / nis-ɛ-tch-u 'they(d) saw it').
• There is no separate future tense; futurity falls out of the nonpreterit (plus the imperious future, §2.4 below).

2.4 Aspect (§5.1, pp.106–110) and the imperious future (§5.2, p.117)

Aspect fills slot sf13.

• Stative verbs have only imperfective meaning and take no marker; lɛ·ma? 'to know' never takes IPF (lɛ·suŋ 'I know'). Certain statives (imma? 'sleep', yo·ʔma? 'attain') take IPF only in the preterit.
• The four-way contrast (verb khamakma? 'get dark', p.110):
  • PF/NPT khamak 'it will get dark / it's getting dark'
  • IPF/NPT khamakpa 'it's getting dark'
  • PF/PT khamaktɛ 'it has gotten dark, it got dark'
  • IPF/PT khamaktɛba 'it has become dark, it was getting dark'

Imperious future (DEF, §5.2, p.117)

An emphatic / guaranteed future. The imperious aspectivizer is a glottal stop -ʔ added to a nonpreterit simplex; distinctive only on a simplex ending in a vowel or nasal (final plosives are already glottalized). Preterit simplicia cannot take it (*adze·suʔ).

• ando· caŋ 'I'll eat later' → ando· caŋʔ 'I will eat later (certain)'.
• adzasu 'we(di) eat/shall eat' → adzasuʔ 'we(di) will eat (certain)'.
• sɔpmaŋ he·-ʔ 'it'll be dry in a second' (certain).

Aspectivizers (§5.3, pp.118–132) — summary only

Beyond grammatical aspect, Limbu has ~15 aspectivizers: simplicia that occur as postpositive augments to a perfective verb (or, for sɛ?ma? and he·kma?, to an infinitive), each adding a semantic dimension. Inventory: terminative cuʔma? (intr.) / suʔma? (tr.) 'finish'; dimittive te·ma?; cadent/dejective thamaʔ / tha·ma?; relinquitive thama?; resultative khɛpma?; impendent nɛtma?; sustained-action ca·ma?; dative pi·ma?; ponent yuŋma? / phɔpma?; "mechrithanatous" sima? / sɛ?ma?; probative sa·ma?; totalizing wapma?; inceptive he·kma?; perseverative nɛ·ma?; plus miscellaneous. (These are lexical/derivational and peripheral to the core TAM overview.)

2.5 Mood / mode (§6, pp.133–147)

Mood suffixes fill slot sf12 (the optative is always last in its suffixal string). The conditional and irrealis may be followed by the IPF aspect suffix.

2.5.1 Optative (§6.1, pp.133–135)

Suffix <-lɔ / -rɔ> added to any simplex. Paradigm of pa·tma? 'speak/say' (p.133):

The optative co-exists with the imperative (2nd person) and with the adhortative (1st-person inclusive); it is a milder, indirect command than the imperative, and as an indirect command must be couched in some authority (p.134). Even the passive can be made optative: kho·-he·ʔ-mɛ-dɛt-nɛn-lɔ! 'may it not occur that beef be eaten!' (p.134).

2.5.2 Conditional (§6.2, pp.135–139)

Suffix <-mɛn>, expressing hypothetical possibility, normally on preterit simplicia. With IPF the conditional final nasal regressively assimilates and the IPF voices: -mɛn + -pa → -mɛm-ba.

• Perfective conditional = single-point counterfactual: mɛtt-aŋ-mɛn 'he would have told me', kɛ-dzɔ·g-u-mɛn 'you would have done it'.
• Imperfective conditional = open-ended potentiality: kɛ-dhuŋ-u-mɛm-ba 'might you drink it…?', kɛ-dzɔ·g-u-mɛm-ba 'you might do it…'.
• Contrast: a-se·-mɛn! 'we(pi) would have died!' vs. a-se·-mɛm-ba 'we(pi) might have died'.
• A conditional on a nonpreterit simplex = hypothetical possibility in the real future (pe·k-ʔɛ-mɛm-ba 'I might have gone [now] if…').

2.5.3 Irrealis & the "nevertheless­ive" (§6.3, pp.140–141)

Suffix <-gɔ·ni> (analyzable as gɔ· 'then' + ni(ʔ) 'contrary to expectation'), on preterit simplicia; intonation invariably rises on /ni/.

• Imperfective irrealis = independent lament, often derisive: kɛ-lɛ·s-u- gɔ·ni-ba 'if only you knew how!', kɛ-be·g-ɛ-gɔ·ni-ba! 'if only you had gone!'.
• Perfective irrealis is restricted to suppositional subordinate clauses, the main clause being preterit imperfective: kɛ-be·g-ɛ-gɔ·ni, kɛ-nis-u-ba 'if only you had gone, you would have seen it'.
• Nevertheless­ive: a chain -aŋ 'too' + ni(ʔ) 'contrary to expectation' + IPF, meaning the event will/did (not) happen "nonetheless, anyway" (e.g. …-naŋ-ni-ba, p.141).

2.6 Interrogative (§6.4, pp.142–147)

The yes/no question suffix <-i·> attaches to any utterance. Morphophonology:

• After a vowel (except /i/) it forms a diphthong, shortening a preceding long vowel: a· + -i· → ai·, o· + -i· → oi·, e· + -i· → ei·. /u/ → glide [w], /ɛ/ → near-glide [ĕ].
• After final /k p t ʔ/ and like-vowel /i/, the form is <-ʔi·>: /-iʔi·/, /-kʔi·/, /-pʔi·/, /-tʔi·/ [ʔli·], /-ʔʔi·/ [-ʔi·].
• Nasals are doubled before the suffix: kɛ-gho·s-u-m-mi·? 'did you(p) find it?'.

Scope/position: the interrogative is normally utterance-final but in an imperfective verb may stand either before or after the aspect suffix — in penultimate position it falls within the scope of the IPF (yielding a hypothetical/suppositional question); verb-final <-i·> gives a straightforward yes/no question (three-way contrast, p.144): mɛʔlɛi·? 'will he tell me?' / mɛʔlɛi·ba? 'do you think he'll tell me?' / mɛʔlɛbai·? 'is he going to tell me?'.

2.7 Negation (non-nexal) (§4.5, pp.103–104; morphophonology §4.3, pp.76–77)

A simplex may undergo nexal negation (the negative-suffixal "to be", §3.1.1) or non-nexal negation (the affixal negative described here). A negated simplex carries at least two and no more than three negative morphemes — i.e. negation is realized as a discontinuous circumfix spread across slots pf3, sf6 and sf11.

• In forms containing 1s→3/PT -paŋ or 1peAS/PT -mʔna, NEG₂ shifts to prefixal position (pf3), giving a double prefix mɛ-n-… (e.g. mɛ-n-niŋ-baŋ 'I didn't see him', mɛ-n-hu?-baŋ-si-ŋ 'I did not bring and give it to them').

Voicing / nasal sandhi tied to negation (§4.3 rules, pp.76–77):

• Rule 4: the ns agent/subject prefix <mɛ-> → after a 1st/2nd-person actant prefix (kɛ-/a-) — except when a negative morpheme follows.
• Rule 5: <mɛ-> (NEG₁) → after kɛ-/mɛ-/a-; and <-nɛn> (NEG₂) → <-n> after a vowel-final affix (NEG₂ keeps its full form after a consonant or stem).
• The negative often surfaces with a voiced stop alternant of the stem-initial (e.g. mɛm-bi··-nɛ-n 'I won't give it to you', from pi·ma? 'give'); these are the regular stop-voicing alternations of the negative prefix shown throughout the imperative/negative paradigms (§8.2).

Worked example (p.92): ø-mɛ-uks-ɛ-tch-u-n-chi-n-ø = 3-NEG-pick-PT-dA-3P-NEG- nsP-NEG-PF 'they(d) did not pick them' — illustrating NEG₁ (mɛ-), NEG₃ (-n-), NEG₂ (-n).

2.8 Nonfinite forms

2.8.1 Infinitive -ma? (§8.6, pp.209–211)

The infinitival ending is -ma? (allegro -ma, -mʔ, -m·). Sandhi:

• → -mɛ before the subordinating instr./erg. -ille (giving -mɛlle);
• → -my before -aŋ 'and/also' (giving -myaŋ).

Functions: complement of a finite form (co·k-mʔ a-m-bha·k-ʔi· 'will they let us do it?'), instructional imperative/blessing, or an action "as such" without explicit actants (there is no Limbu noun 'end'; the infinitive cuʔma? 'come to an end' is used instead). Negated by the prefix <mɛn->: co·kma?, mɛndzo·kma? 'do', cama?, mɛndzama? 'eat'. The transitive infinitive agrees with a non-singular patient via -si: saŋ-ma?-si 'to convoke them', na·k-ma?-si 'to ask for them'.

2.8.2 Supine -se (§8.7, pp.212–214)

Supine ending -se 'in order to' (regular allophone -che after -t or -n). Possessive prefixes attach to transitive supines to mark patient agreement: a-hoŋ-se pe·gɛ 'he went off to look for me', kɛ-hoŋ-se pe·gɛ '…for you', ku-hoŋ-se pe·gɛ '…for him/her/it', khunchi-hoŋse pe·gɛ '…for them'. The supine expresses intent/purpose ("infinitive of purpose", Konow), esp. as complement of pe·kma? 'go' and verbs of locomotion: pi?l kɔm-se pe·k-ʔɛ 'I'm going to graze the cows'. (Finite verbs of exigency/desirability take an infinitive complement, not a supine.)

2.8.3 Active participle (AP) — circumfix kɛ-…-pa (§8.4, pp.199–207)

Simultaneous prefix <kɛ-> + suffix <-pa>. For a transitive verb the AP pertains to its agent ('the one who Vs'); for an intransitive verb to its subject. Examples: kɛsɛppa 'he who kills', kɛghuppa 'thief (he who steals)', kɛniba 'he who sees', kɛdho·kpa 'he who cooks', kɛdiʔpa 'that which burns', kɛsiba 'he who is dying', kɛbɛ·ba 'that which flies'. Agrees in gender with female animate referents where the nominalizer allows; adverbs have no AP. (The negative AP, like the nominalizer, is negated with <mɛn->.)

2.8.4 Passive participle (PP) — -mna / -mʔna (§8.5, pp.207–209)

Suffix <-mna, -mʔna> to the verb stem; nominalizable with -pa for adnominal/independent use, yielding patientive nouns: sapmnaba 'something written', camnaba 'something to eat', wa·pmnaba 'something to wear', thuŋŋnaba 'a drink/beverage', khɛŋ-ŋna-ba sa 'dried meat, jerky'. Homophonous with 1peAS/PT but disambiguated by context. Negated by <mɛn->: mɛn-chu-mna(-ba) 'untouchable / in menstruation (lit. untouchable)'. The PP has no particular agent (for an overt agent, active voice is used).

2.8.5 Passivizer -tɛtma? (§8.8, pp.215–217)

The bound verb -tɛtma? is the passive converter, attaching directly to a verb stem; passives take intransitive agreement with the subject and allow no overt agent. ni-dɛ?l 'it is/will be visible (seen-PAS)'; cirik pha·k-tɛ?l 'the cloth lends itself to being folded'. May stack on a stem chain whose second member is he·ma? 'be able': ni-he·ʔ-dɛ?l 'it can be seen', kho·-he·ʔ-mɛ-dɛt-nɛn 'it cannot be found / is not available'.

2.8.6 Gerunds (§7.1, p.148; §7.5.1, p.169)

Three gerunds, used adverbially and to build periphrastic tenses:

Present gerunds also build periphrastic causatives (§10.2). Examples: khikwa ca·-rɔ yu-waŋ pɔ?l 'he's coming down the hill whistling' (prG + pfG + 'be'); pa·tt-u-ŋ-aŋ pe·k-ʔɛ 'having spoken, I'll go' (pfG).

2.8.7 Nominalizer -pa (§8.3, pp.193–199)

-pa nominalizes a verb stem, simplex, adverb or interrogative pronoun, usable adnominally (adjective) or independently (noun taking case). Underlies many adjectives: ke·mba (kɛn- + -pa) 'long/tall', yamba (yaŋ- + -pa) 'big', nuba (nu- + -pa) 'good'. Nominalized simplicia = a nominalized clause (subordinatable). Negated with <mɛn-> (mɛnnuba 'bad'). Agrees in gender with female animates (khɛŋ numa co·k 'she is good').

2.9 Other clause-level verb constructions

• Adhortative ('let's …', §8.1, pp.184–187): transitive — drop the 1st- person prefix from the nonpreterit simplex (adzo·ksu 'we(di) do it' → co·ksu 'let's(d) do it!'); intransitive plural adds <-i>; negated by the nexal negator me·n (suffixed) — co·ksu-me·n 'let's(d) not do it!'.
• Imperative (§8.2, pp.187–192): sign <-ɛʔ> (always final). Number of the 2nd-person addressee: 2s X-ɛʔ, 2d X-ɛtch-ɛʔ, 2p X-amm-ɛʔ (e.g. thund-ɛʔ! 'mend it!', yuŋ-ɛtch-ɛʔ! 'sit(2d)!', tadzɛks-amm-ɛʔ! 'you(p) all go on and talk!'). Transitive imperatives also agree with a 3rd-person patient (sP ø, nsP -ɛs). Negated by prefix <mɛn-> (with regular stop-voicing sandhi), and the imperative morpheme has neg. allomorph -ʔɛʔ: mɛn-dza-ʔɛʔ! 'don't eat it!', mɛn-yuŋ-ʔɛʔ? 'don't sit!'. Special 2s→1s form takes 1sP -aŋ (co·gaŋɛʔ! 'do me!', pi·raŋɛ! 'give it to me!'). A pre-emptive imperative changes <-ɛʔ> → <-ɔ·> (mɛnye·ʔlɔ· "don't laugh!" — said when the addressee looks about to laugh).
• Periphrastic perfect / pluperfect (§7.5, pp.163–169): preterit perfect gerund (-aŋ) + auxiliary wa·ma? 'to be'. Nonpreterit wa·ma? → perfect (present relevance of a past action); preterit wa·ma? → pluperfect. Intransitive: both gerund and auxiliary agree with the subject (pe·gaŋ wa·ʔɛ 'I have gone'). Transitive: the gerund agrees with agent & patient but the auxiliary conjugates impersonally (3rd singular) (ni·ruwaŋ wa· 'he has read it', saptuŋaŋ wayɛ 'I had written it'). Limbu has no systematic future perfect.
• Continuous tenses (§7.2–7.4, pp.152–162): focused, spatially-defocused and temporally-defocused continuous, all built periphrastically on the present gerund (-lɔ/-rɔ) + an auxiliary (e.g. po?l 'be', thaŋ- / phɛn-) — the productive progressive constructions of the language.

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