Pseudo-verbal construction

• Basic forms
• Pronoun subjects
• tw (impersonal subject)
• Narrative use of ꜥḥꜥ.n and wn.jn
• Direct quotes
• Negation and questions

The infinitive behaves like a noun, and therefore it can be the object of a preposition. Three prepositions in particular are used with infinitives to create a predicate that acts much like a verbal sentence instead of an adverbial one. This is called the “pseudo-verbal construction.”

Among Coptic’s verb tenses, there are one present and two future tenses which descend from this construction, but in Middle Egyptian these are not limited in time; they can refer to past, present, and future as context demands.

Basic forms

Here are examples of the three prepositions used in the pseudo-verbal construction which will show the basic idea. Note that each example begins with one of the particles that opens adverbial sentences.

• 𓁷𓏤 ḥr “upon” + infinitive: 𓇋𓅱‌𓆑‌𓁷𓏤𓋹‌𓈖𓐍 jw.f ḥr ꜥnḫ “he is living” (lit. “he is upon living”)
• 𓅓 m “in” + infinitive: 𓅓𓂟𓍿𓈖𓏥𓅱‌𓀀𓅓𓈍𓂝𓏏 m.ṯn wj m ḫꜣt “see, I’m going to appear” (lit. “I am in appearing”)
• 𓂋‌ r “toward” + infinitive: 𓈖𓈟‌𓅓𓂡𓈖𓇓𓅱𓂋‌𓆓𓂧 nḥmn sw r ḏd “he really has to speak” (lit. “he really is toward speaking”)

To summarize the differences:

• ḥr often expresses an imperfect (that is, unfinished) or progressive, ongoing action: “is living”, “is walking”. It is not necessarily present progressive; it could mean past or future progressive as well (“he was walking through the town”, “he will be talking to the king”), but it describes an action that is, at some time, in progress and unfinished.
• m can mean an action in progress but usually has a suggestion of futurity, like “is going to” in English. Beginning in the New Kingdom, it can also express the imperfect like ḥr.
• r refers to something that was (at some time) yet to happen, but it implies that the happening is either compulsory or inevitable: the subject is “toward” the action, that is “on a course toward” it.

Pronoun subjects

The subject of the pseudo-verbal construction can be a noun, a demonstrative pronoun, or a personal pronoun.

A personal pronoun is generally a subject pronoun (the series beginning with tw-) or the impersonal 𓏏𓅱 tw (see below). A suffix pronoun can only be used with a particle which takes them like 𓇋𓅱‌ jw, and dependent pronouns require some particle from which they depend (m.k sw, nḥmn sj, etc.)

𓏏𓅱 tw (impersonal subject)

The impersonal subject pronoun 𓏏𓅱 tw can be used to express “one” or “someone” or the generic “they”.

tw requires an introductory particle or infinitive, except when it is used with the r form of the pseudo-verbal construction.

𓏏𓅱𓂋‌𓅠𓅓𓏏𓋞𓈓 tw r gmt nbw
“Gold is to be found”
(lit. “one is towards finding gold”)

In the New Kingdom, the tw prefix of the subject pronouns combines with impersonal tw to form 𓏏𓅱‌𓏏𓅱 tw.tw, which can be used without a sentence particle, and with all three pseudo-verbal forms or any adverbial predicate.

𓏏𓅱‌𓏏𓅱𓁷𓏤𓋴‌𓌳𓄿𓌪𓂡𓈖𓏥 tw.tw ḥr smꜣ.n
“We’re being killed”
(lit. “one is upon our killing”)

Narrative use of 𓊢‌𓂝𓈖 ꜥḥꜥ.n and 𓃹𓈖𓇋𓈖 wn.jn

The words ꜥḥꜥ.n and wn.jn are used with the ḥr variety of pseudo-verbal construction with narrative effect. They can usually be translated as “then”. They can take as subjects a noun or a suffix pronoun as jw would. Note that they are verb forms which literally mean “stood up” and “then existed”, respectively. In Dynasty 18, the variation 𓃹𓈖𓐍𓂋‌ wn.ḫr was also used.

𓊢‌𓂝𓈖𓍛𓏤𓆑‌𓁷𓏤𓎛𓀝𓂡𓏏‌𓐍𓏏𓆑𓏥𓀑𓆑‌ ꜥḥꜥ.n ḥm.f ḥr ḥwt ḫftw.f
“Then his Majesty was smiting his enemies”
(lit. “his Incarnation stood up upon the smiting of his enemies”)

wn.jn can also introduce sentences with adjectival predicates:

𓃹𓈖𓇋𓈖𓊵𓏏𓊪𓇓𓏲 wn.jn ḥtp sw
“then he was content”

Direct quotes

A pseudo-verbal with ḥr can be used without an infinitive if it introduces a direct quote; the infinitive ḏd “saying” is assumed.

𓂋𓍿𓀀𓁐𓏥𓁷𓏤𓈖𓈖𓏥𓇋𓏠𓈖𓀭 rmṯ ḥr nj n jmn
“the people are saying ‘we belong to Amun’”
(lit. “the people are upon ‘we belong to Amun’”)

Negation and questions

Pseudo-verbal constructions in ḥr or r are negated with 𓂜𓈖 nn like other adverbial predicates:

𓂜𓈖𓍿𓈖𓏥𓁷𓏤𓋴‌𓌳𓄿𓌪𓂡 nn ṯn ḥr smꜣ
“you are not killing”
(lit. “you are not upon killing”)

With a pronominal subject, nn is followed by the dependent pronoun for ḥr constructions (as the above one), but with r, it can be followed by jw and a suffix pronoun instead.

𓂜𓈖𓇋𓅱‌𓆑𓂋𓋴‌𓌳𓄿𓌪𓂡 nn jw.f r smꜣ
“he is not to kill”
(lit. “he is not toward killing”)

Pseudo-verbal construction is rare in questions other than yes/no questions introduced by 𓇋𓈖‌ jn:

𓇋𓈖‌𓇋𓅱‌𓆑‌𓁷𓏤𓋹‌𓈖𓐍 jn jw.f ḥr ꜥnḫ
“is he alive?”
(lit. “is he upon living?”)