Ditransitive voice

Sense permitting, any Qohenje verbal may be ditransitivized with the addition of the Ditransitive voice prefix [DITR]. Ditransitive verbals take two LM arguments, the first of which is construed as less central than the second (so, Indirect Object - Direct Object, in traditional terminology).

Qohenje has a set of lexemes (two main members) which, in their verbal manifestation, are commonly ditransitivized. These are the verbs of "transfer": giving and taking .

The two most important such lexemes, and those that will serve as models for the others, are the two irregulars,

Giving

The Qohenje verbals given above are prototypically transitive. takes the giver as its TR, and the thing given as its LM. The precise translation depends on the case marking of the main arguments:

For its full ditransitive reaing, including the recipient, the verbal must occur in the DITR voice, and the recipient appears as the first LM argument:

The second example above has the distinct implication that Dehan stole or otherwise managed to take possession of the book against the will of the speaker, who considers the transfer a loss (he expresses himself in the PT case). Such a declaration would be a polite, veiled accusation towards Dehan.

The third example indicates that the speaker will willingly pass the book along, but that Dehan is/will be unaware of the fact.

Taking / getting

The patterning of is entirely analogous to that of . takes as its TR the taker, and as its LM the object taken:

Once again, the distinction between "taking" (active) and "receiving" (passive) is captured in the Qohenje use of case marks on the TR argument. The difference between the last two predications is the amount of relative affectedness accorded to the TR as against the LM. In the last example, the speaker implies that the fact of receiving the book was far more significant for him, than it was a change for the book itself. While the second example is a neutral expression of transfer, the last example would be said by a collector who had just received a priceless antique, for instance.

The source (the person or thing that is bereft of the object) can be expressed as an initial LM with a DITR verbal:

The first example in this set could be modified to show that Dehan was more "affected" (be it positively or negatively) by my act by rendering the book in the AX case:

Although it is not uncommon to hear the following formations in spoken Qohenje (with the order of the LMs reversed), they are considered incorrect or bad style by educated speakers,

Having

The Qohenje lexeme is mainly used for permanent or inalienable possession of attributes, body parts or objects considered inalienable (family heirlooms, long-standing possessions, land, houses, etc.).

For more fleeting possession, the most common way of expressing it is with the COM aspect of the above verbal , e.g.

Naming

Qohenje uses the same construction type to express the notionof naming or calling (e.g. They call him saviour). In such constructions, the namer is the TR, the thing named is the primary LM, and the name or denomination is expressed as the secondary LM (in initial position), invariably in the AX case, e.g.

When used with personal names, these will either occur with ABAX case marks, or else as bare nominals: