COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND BURA AUXILIARY VERBS

Abstract

The Bura language like other languages has different word classes (verb inclusive), this paper studied the auxiliary verbs. Considering the fact that auxiliary verbs are as essential as the main verbs in any case of grammatical construction, it is paramount for its speakers and those interested in learning the language to have pedagogic data which will guide them to generate intelligible structures of Bura auxiliaries. The data for the study was obtained from a structured questionnaire which captured all the English auxiliary verb forms and was responded to by fifty (50) educated Bura native speakers. The respondents translated the English sentences which demonstrate the English auxiliary structures into Bura and the auxiliary structures of Bura were determined from the interpretations and glossing of the English sentences. The study revealed that the Bura language has two primary auxiliaries: nzi and hara; and five modal auxiliaries: tsokta/mzhi, a, adiya, kalkalka and akwa. The Bura auxiliary is also embodied with forms which behave as functional modals, they are six: ku, an, akwa, ata/a, ma and ata/ku. Again, the following forms behave as contracted modals: tu and adiyata.