The negating element refers to, and usually precedes, the verb:
(58) mà'd jü's ka nêd'i nei va'ggi je'nne iZ uo, oralist
o u r a t a l s o th e y + P T so v e r y much NG P BE, r a r e + P L vo'l't't'e
w e re
'We didn't have so very many of them, they were rare.'
As in the other Baltic-Finnic languages, there is a special form of the verb, often identical with the stem, which is used with the negative particle. In the case of the verb 'to be', as above, the form is irregular; up. The negative particle itself has two
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the negative element and not the verb stem (which remains unchanged) that shows the tense of the verb. In this respect Livonian differs markedly from other Baltic-Finnic languages. Both particles lose their voicing before unvoiced consonants:
(59) meittizi ta'lkkidi sel'l'izi ap tieda
o t h e r - k l n d s - o f + P T w o r k in g - b e e s + P T such+P T PL NG PR know
randas c o a s t + I N
'(I) don't know any other sorts of working-bee on the coast.' (Note the deletion of the subject pronoun in the above example.) Semi-passive constructions, as distinct from impersonal ones, are also capable of negation, using the stem of the verb sode 'get' and a past passive participle:
(60) kor'a-pain't't'en pàlkka is ^so malcstet c a t t l e h e r d s + D T wage+PT NG P g e t p a id ( P P P ) 'The cow-herds did not get paid a wage.'
(This semi-passive construction is not characteristically Baltic- Finnic; it is probably formed by analogy with the Latvian semi passive construction with tikt 'become'; the Latvian for is so makstet would be netika maksata 'did not get/become paid'.) The 'infinitive of obligation' (see 2.1.3.1.2), in which the verb ending -mest carries the sense of 'must' when used in conjunction with a copula, can also be negated:
(61) be€ ka sie kor'a-pain't't'en siZ iZ uo le'mest jega
b u t a l s o t h a t+ G N c a t t l e - h e r d s + D T t h e n NG P be go+OG e a c h pava kar'r'el
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'But then, the cow-herd didn't have to go to the cattle every day. '
Since the negative element ^ carries the sense of 'present aspect', it is used in negative perfect tense constructions:
(62) vana bregkkou I'Z àb uo vonD nei va'ggi ka'D
o l d B re n k k o u s e l f NG PR be been so v e r y e n v io u s
'Old Brenkkou himself has not been (=wasn't) so very envious.' (This use of the perfect tense occurs in a narrative context.) A variant of iZ, ist, which is actually the 2SG, 2PL and 3PL form
of iZ. is found in impersonal past-tense constructions:
(63) nêd'i mus ist kêlbat ku set siZ léba-ôis
th e y + P T e l s e w h e r e NG P used(P P P ) t h a n o n l y t h e n b r e a d - o v e n + IN
'So they were not used anywhere other than in a bread-oven. ' Agent forms nominalised from verbs may even take negating elements marked for tense:
(64) ja mi'n àma se vo'l' se isjtô'ji
and my m o t h e r i t was i t n o t - w i s h e r
'And my mother was the one who didn't want (it/any).' 1.4.2 Constituent negation
Other constituents than the verb can be negated, but only where required for focusing purposes, and even here the tense-marked negating elements are often used. In speech the negator-element is sometimes repeated, first as the focus and secondly in its usual position before the verb. In this example the negation is in the past, using past (active and passive) participles:
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vanast vonD ka piva kala
old+ A B b e e n a l s o s a c r e d f i s h
'It wasn't regarded as a sacred fish, but it had formerly been a sacred fish.'
It is possible to negate a nominal phrase using the word m itte, thus corresponding to Estonian usage:
(66) vanast àtte ka üdenD ja ti'eneD nèd'i
old+ A B a r e a l s o f r i e d (P AC P) and m ade(P AC P) t h o s e (PT)
raza-kakkidi iîge, mitte ilge razast bet sil'k-razast
g r e a s e - c a k e s + P T s e a l ' s , n o t s e a l ' s gre a se + A B b u t h e r r i n g - g re a se + A B
'In olden days one fried and made fat-cakes from seals' - not seals', but herrings' fat.'
The present-tense negator ^ can be used to negate adjectives and participles (like ei- in Finnish and non- in English):
(67) ne vo'l't't'e jelamizeks ieneD sel'l'ist ap-
t h e y w e re l i v i n g + C T become (P AC P) such n o n - kelbattabeks
u s a b le + C T
'They had become sort of uninhabitable.'
(68) kal'l'e ma'dden ap tundenD
s m a l l - b e e r + P T we+DT NG PR known 'Small beer (Fi. kalia) is unknown to us.'