by Eckart Frahm
Obl. ‐ ‐/ī ‐ātim ‐āti
Gender
Akkadian has two genders: masculine and feminine. Most feminine nouns are marked with the allomorph ‐(a)t (e.g., bltu(m) “lady,” šarrutu(m) “queen”), while most unmarked nouns are masculine (e.g., blu(m) “lord,” šarru(m) “king”). However, there are some common exceptions to this rule, such as the unmarked feminine word ummu “mother.”
Number
There are three numbers in Akkadian: singular, dual, and plural. The dual is still active in OA but is mainly limited to nouns signifying body parts in MA/NA, such as MA nāšu “his eyes (acc.)” and NA emūqāya “my strength (obl.),” while plural forms otherwise replace the dual.
The plural forms of abu(m) “father” and au(m) “brother” are formed with consonant reduplication: abbāʾū/ (OA/MA), abb (NA) and aū/. In NA, the nominal plural formation changes and the older masculine plurals in ‐ are often replaced with plurals ending in ‐āni, ‐āti and ‐ūti. The plural forms of many common nouns remain difficult to determine since these nouns are regularly written with logograms.
There is no definite or indefinite article in Akkadian.
Cases
Akkadian has three cases: nominative, accusative, and genitive. Generally, the nominative identifies the subject of a verb or nominal clause, the accusative marks the direct object of a verb, and the genitive is used after a preposition or in relation to another noun in order to indicate possession, agent, or object of action. In plural and dual forms, the accusative and genitive are combined into a single case, called the oblique case.
Over time, the Assyrian cases underwent changes: mimation (final ‐m) and nunation (dual final ‐n) of most case endings disappeared after OA. Moreover, in NA, the nominative and accusative singular merged into one case, which may have been due to Aramaic influence. For stress or clarity, the preposition ana is sometimes used as a nota accusativi and some verbs regularly mark their object with ana, e.g., ana PN šaʾālu “to ask PN.” The oblique plural is also used for the nominative. The genitive is rarely used to denote possession in the late period; it is mainly employed after prepositions and in compounds.
States
Akkadian has three states, often referred to by their Latin names: the status rectus, status absolutus, and status constructus. The status rectus, or, “governed state,” refers to the basic forms of nouns that are not followed by a genitive or a relative clause. The status absolutus, or, “absolute state,” is the nominal form without any case endings; it is used for cardinal numbers, in expressions of measurements, and in fixed adverbial expressions. The status constructus, the “construct state” or “bound form,” is the shortest phonetically possible form of the noun; it is widely used when a noun is followed by a genitive (e.g., kalab šarri(m) “king’s dog”) or by a pronominal suffix (e.g., miharšu “his equal”). Alternatively, the status constructus can be replaced by the status rectus and the relative pronoun ša followed by a genitive (e.g., kalbu(m) ša šarri(m)) or a relative clause (e.g., dibbī ša šarru išpuranni “the words that the king wrote me”). In NA, the latter constructions were preferred and the use of the status constructus became more restricted.
Adjectives
Most Akkadian adjectives are derived from verbs (see verbal adjectives). They normally follow the nouns they modify, agreeing with them in case, gender, and number. Their declension is similar to that of nouns with the exception of the masculine plural endings, as seen in Table 17.5.
Table 17.5 Adjectival declension
Masculine plural OA MA NA
nom. ‐uttum ‐uttu, ‐ūtu ‐ūti
Obl. ‐uttim ‐utte, ‐ūte
Verbs
As noted above, most Akkadian verbs have three‐consonantal roots, such as šapāru(m) “to send” with its root š‐p‐r, although some quadriliteral verbal roots exist (e.g., nabalkutu(m) “to rebel” and šukaʾʾunum (OA), *šukaʾʾunu (MA), šukênu (NA) “to prostrate oneself”). Verbs are further classified as “strong” or “weak” depending on the absence or presence of one or more weak radicals (ʾ, j (y), n, and w), whose presence induces phonetic modifications. For reasons of brevity, we will discuss here only strong, three‐consonantal verbs, notwithstanding the fact that some very common verbs are weak or irregular (e.g., alāku(m) “to go,” tadānu(m) “to give,” and wabālum (OA), ubālu (MA/NA) “to bring”), as an introduction to the verbal stems.
The basic verbal stem is the G‐stem (from the German Grundstamm “basic stem”). By means of prefixes and modifications to the verbal root, other stems can be formed whose meanings may be derived from the basic meaning of the G‐stem. These derived stems are the D‐, Š‐, and N‐stems. As with the G‐stem, the conjugated forms in these stems are built around a base, which is particular for each tense, with the addition of prefixes and suffixes to mark the person, gender, and number. For present, preterite, and perfect forms, these prefixes and suffixes are (Table 17.6):
Table 17.6 Verbal prefixes and suffixes (long final vowels are used in OA/MA; in NA, however, these are shortened)
G and N stem D and Š stem
Singular
3m. i‐ BASE u‐ BASE
3f./2m. ta‐ BASE tu‐ BASE
2f. ta‐ BASE‐ī/i tu‐ BASE‐ī/i
1c. a‐ BASE u‐ BASE
Plural
3m. i‐ BASE‐ū/u u‐ BASE‐ū/u
3f. i‐ BASE‐ ā/a u‐ BASE‐ ā/a
2c. ta‐ BASE‐ ā/a tu‐ BASE‐ ā/a
1c. ni‐ BASE nu‐ BASE
Finite tenses
The Akkadian verbal system distinguishes five finite tenses (alternatively, aspects): the present, preterite, perfect, imperative, and stative (cf. Kouwenberg 2000). The present, or durative, describes concurrent or future actions and processes, and is often translated with the English present or future. It is characterized by the doubling of the middle radical (e.g., i‐šappar “he sends/will send”). The preterite is used to express punctual, completed actions and mostly corresponds to the English simple past (e.g., i‐špur “he sent”). In MA/NA the preterite was replaced by the perfect in the main clause and was only regularly used in negative main clauses, subordinate sentences, and questions with an interrogative word. In late NA legal documents, however, the archaizing preterite reappears for the positive past tense (Postgate 1997: 162–3). The perfect denotes past actions in positive main clauses and in questions without an interrogative word, and corresponds roughly to the English present perfect. It has an infixed ‐t(a)‐ after the first root radical (e.g., i‐štapar “he has sent”). Lastly, the imperative is used for positive commands (e.g., šupur “send!”) and the stative expresses a state or situation in the past, present, or future.
The vowels in the verbal bases depend on the class to which the verb belongs. Five verbal classes can be distinguished, namely the a/u, a/a, a/i, u/u, and i/i classes – the first vowel is the vowel before the third radical in the G present and the second vowel is the vowel before the third radical in the G preterite (Table 17.7).
Table 17.7 Verbal classes
Class Examples G present G preterite
a/u šapāru(m) “send” išappar išpur
a/a abātu(m) “seize” iabbat ibat
a/i alāku(m) “to go” illak illik
u/u dabābu(m) “to speak” idabbub idbub
i/i paqādu(m) “to appoint” ipaqqid ipqid
The paradigm for finite tenses in the G‐stem (a/u class) is shown in Table 17.8.
Table 17.8 Finite forms in the basic or G‐stem
šapāru(m) Present Perfect Preterite Imperative
Singular
3m. išappar OA: ištapar
MA: iltapar
NA: issapar išpur ‐
3f./2m. tašappar OA: taštapar
MA: taltapar
NA: tassapar tašpur ‐/šupur
2f. OA/MA: tašappirī
NA: tašappiri OA: taštaprī
MA: taltaprī
NA: tassa
pri OA/MA: tašpurī
NA: tašpuri OA/MA: šuprī
NA: šupri
1c. ašappar OA: aštapar
MA: altapar
NA: assapar ašpur ‐
Plural
3m. OA/MA: išappurū
NA: išappuru OA: ištaprū
MA: iltaprū
NA: issapru OA/MA: išpurū
NA: išpuru ‐
3f. OA/MA: išapparā
NA: išappara OA: ištaprā
MA: iltaprā
NA: issapra OA/MA: išpurā
NA: išpura ‐
2c. OA/MA: tašapparā
NA: tašappara OA: taštaprā
MA: taltaprā
NA: tassapra OA/MA: tašpurā
NA: tašpura OA/MA: šuprā
NA: šupra
1c. nišappar OA: ništapar
MA: niltapar
NA: nissapar nišpur ‐
Three things stand out when examining Table 17.8 with regards to phonetic changes. First, the consonant cluster št underwent different phonetic changes in the three stages of Assyrian: in OA, both consonants remain unchanged; in MA, št assimilates to lt, and, by the Neo‐Assyrian period, št assimilates through lt to ss. Second, Assyrian vowel assimilation can be observed in the present second feminine singular and third masculine plural where the short a of the penultimate open, unaccented syllable is assimilated to the vowel of the following syllable. Third, the long plural endings of the second feminine singular and the second and third person plural are shortened in NA (Hämeen‐Anttila 2000: 29, 32–3).
Commands and requests
Additional moods are formed with either the preterite or the present tense. The so‐called precative is used to express polite requests or indirect commands in the first and third person, and complements the second person imperatives. The precative is formed by the proclitic particle lū and the preterite, with lū being contracted in case the preterite forms begin with a vowel. In NA, exhortation in the first person plural (i.e., the cohortative) is expressed by a morphological preterite instead of the precative (Table 17.9).
Table 17.9 Commands and requests
Positive commands and requests Negative commands and requests
Imperative Precative Prohibitive Vetitive
Singular
3m. lišpur OA: lā išappar
MA/NA: (lū) lā išappar OA: išpur
3f. lū tašpur OA: lā tašappar
MA/NA: (lū) lā tašappar OA: tašpur
2m. šupur OA: lā tašappar
MA/NA: (lū) lā tašappar OA: tašpur
2f. OA/MA: šuprī
NA: šupri OA: lā tašappirī
MA/NA: (lū) lā tašappirī/i OA: tašpurī
1c. lašpur OA: lā ašappar
MA/NA: (lū) lā ašappar OA: ašpur
Plural
3m. OA/MA: lišpurū
NA: lišpuru OA: lā išappurū
MA/NA: (lū) lā išappurū/u OA: išpurū
3f. OA/MA: lišpurā
NA: lišpura OA: lā išapparā
MA/NA: (lū) lā išapparā/a OA: išpurā
2c. OA/MA: šuprā
NA: šupra OA: lā tašapparā
MA/NA: (lū) lā tašapparā/a OA: tašpurā
1c. OA: lū nišpur
NA: nišpur OA: lā nišappar
MA/NA: (lū) lā nišappar OA: nišpur
Both the imperative and precative occur only in positive clauses. The prohibitive conveys a negative command and is formed by the negative particle lā and the present. In MA/NA the command may be emphasized with lū. To express a negative wish, the vetitive is used. In OA, the vetitive is expressed by the particle and the preterite but, in later Assyrian, the vetitive is replaced by the prohibitive: (lū) lā + present (see Kouwenberg 2010: 212–20).
Stative
The stative has a nominal base, normally an adjective, and a pronominal ending to mark the subject. Following Kouwenberg (2000), we understand the stative as a finite verbal form; it expresses a state or situation in the past, present, or future. The stative of transitive verbs can be active or passive in sense. An example is shown in Table 17.10.
Table 17.10 Stative
marāu (a/a) “to be ill” Singular Plural
3m. OA: maru “he is/was/will be ill”
MA/NA: mari OA/MA: marū
NA: maru
3f. marat OA/MA: marā
NA: mara
2m. OA: marāt(i)
MA: marāta
NA: marāka OA/MA: marātunu
NA: marākunu
2f. OA/MA: marāti
NA: marāki OA: marātini
MA: *marātini
NA: *marākina
1c. marāk(u) marāni
Indirect commands or desired actions can be expressed by a precative, using the particle lū with a stative (e.g., lū dannat “let her be strong”).
Ventive and subjunctive
Originally, finite verbal forms with the first singular dative suffix expressed the motion “to me.” From early on, however, this verbal expression indicated action, mostly motion, in the direction of the speaker/writer or the addressee (e.g., illik “he went,” illika(m) “he came”, allika(m) “I came”). The first singular dative suffix is thus used as a ventive morpheme. The ventive mainly appears with verbs of motion and is often used together with pronominal suffixes.
The subjunctive morpheme marks the verb in subordinate clauses and in solemn oath‐bound statements (see Parpola and Watanabe 1988: xxxviii–xl). In MA/NA, the subjunctive is mostly a combined morpheme ‐(ū) … ni, where the ū is added to finite forms without an ending and the ‐ni follows at the end of the verbal form, i.e., after possible suffixes. In OA, however, the morpheme ‐ni is obligatory when the ending ‐ū is not possible, elsewhere it is optional.
Non‐finite forms
The non‐finite forms of the verb are the infinitive, active participle, and verbal adjective. The infinitive is a masculine singular verbal noun, such as abātu(m) “to seize.” The active participle can only be derived from action‐verbs and is often lexicalized. It is translated in English with a gerund (i.e., a verbal noun ending in “‐ing,” e.g., ābitu(m) “seizing”) or a relative clause of the type “who/that does/did X,” e.g., ābitu(m) “one who seizes”). The verbal adjective, or gerundive, denotes a state or situation in the past, present, or future (e.g., abtu “seized;” cf. stative). Most adjectives in Akkadian are verbal adjectives.
Stems
The tables above give the forms of the basic Akkadian G‐stem but, as already mentioned, there are also derived stems that are marked differently, with the doubling of the middle radical (D‐stem), with the affix š (Š‐stem), or with the affix n (N‐stem). Each of these four stems can have substems formed by the infixes ‐ta‐ (Gt, Dt, and Št) or ‐tan‐ (Gtn, Dtn, Štn, and Ntn). The substems with ‐ta‐ exist in OA, but become rare in MA and disappear entirely in NA, where the Dtt, a new substem, is employed instead of the Dt. The personal prefixes for the present, preterite, and perfect of the G‐ and N‐stem have i or a, whereas the D‐ and Š‐stem have u (see Table 17.6).
In addition to distinctive phonological markers, each of these stems has its own semantic range. The main function of the D‐stem, for example, is factitive (e.g., damāqu(m) “to be good; (D) to do (something) well”). The basic sense of the Š‐stem is causative to the G‐stem (e.g., akāmu “to understand; (Š) to explain”). The N‐stem normally adds a passive or reciprocal meaning to the G‐stem in OA (e.g., abātum “to seize; (N) to be captured, to grasp one another”). In NA the N‐stem is mostly suppressed by third person plural forms of other stems to convey a passive sense.
Syntax
Every clause consists of a subject and a predicate. The predicate determines whether a clause is nominal or verbal: verbal clauses have a finite verb (including the stative) as a predicate (Kouwenberg 2000: 68). The temporal interpretation of a verbal clause can usually be derived from the tense of its verb; the tense of a nominal cla
use can only be determined from its context. Whatever the nature of a clause is, subject and predicate usually agree in number and gender. Nouns may be followed by adjectival attributes which agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they qualify. Unlike its Semitic cognates, the verb normally stands at the end of a verbal clause in Akkadian. In fact, the basic word order of a positive clause is: subject – (object) – verb/copula, although exceptions occur, e.g., the object – subject – verb word order is frequently used for emphasis. The subject – object – verb word order is generally thought to be due to Sumerian influence. The subject is normally in the nominative and the object in the accusative; however, with the merging of both cases in the singular in NA, the distinguishing case marker disappears and subject and object are mainly determined by word order or context unless the preposition ana is used as nota accusativi. In all phases of Assyrian, adverbs and prepositional phrases can occur in any position of the clause, but most often they are found at the beginning of a clause, or immediately before the predicate.
Aside from positive and negative main clauses, there are interrogative clauses, conditional clauses, direct and indirect quotations, and (short) exclamations. These different clauses have their own rules for verb tenses: in NA the present (present and future), perfect (past), and stative (past and present) are employed in positive main clauses while the present, preterite (past), and stative are used in negative main clauses. The development leading to the complementary distribution of the two past tenses, perfect (positive) and preterite (negative), took place in MA. Interrogative clauses may include a question word at the beginning or end of the clause, but questions can also be expressed with interrogative intonation which is usually indicated in writing. Conditional clauses are mostly introduced by the particle šumma, and secondarily by kīma “if” in NA. Direct quotations that are main clauses are preceded by umma SPEAKER‐ma (OA), mā (all persons in MA; second and third person in NA) or muk/nuk (first person in NA); indirect quotations are subordinated, marked with the subjunctive ending ‐(ū) … ni, to their preceding main clauses. Finally, while MA and NA have only the negative particle lā, OA had three negations: lā, ula, and . The last one only appeared in the vetitive or together with lā (Hecker 1968 § 105a).
