Goal: Explore options for negating verbs
Note: Brainstorm potential lexical sources for a negator in your language.
Tip: The negator can be an affix, particle, or auxiliary.
Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try
Today’s focus is on exploring options for negating verbs. You have a variety of options for negation strategies, such as creating an affix that attaches to the verb, creating a particle that co-occurs with the verb, or creating a negating auxiliary form (where the auxiliary could then occur with inflections like index-marking or tense/aspect). As you consider your options for grammatical behaviors of any potential negators, also brainstorm potential lexical sources—the lexical sources themselves can suggest what type of grammatical pattern would fit best. If you decided to have verb classes in your language, then you might also consider negating verb classes differently.