итам

Ket

Inherited from Proto-Ketic *it-λ-am (“know, be able to”, verb configuration), derived from Proto-Ketic *itej (“to know”).^[1]^[2]

итам (it⁷-[l²]-am⁰) (conjugation class II)

This term is only recorded for the Central Ket varieties, hence the improper documentation of this verb.
The conjugation of this term is irregular. The present tense conjugations show significant departure from conjugation class II verbs, while the preterite forms also append the preterite pseudo-copula овыльда (see авря) alongside marking the prefix position P2 for except the first and second singular persons.
- The person prefix position P8 is not occupied in any of the conjugations due to Truncation rule 6.^[3]
- The following irregular conjugations, which are given due to the improper documentation of this verb, are all in present tense and can be analyzed following the transcribed schema:
  - Итпедам. (Itbádam. «it⁷-ba⁶-am⁰» “I know.”)
  - Итдаӈлям. (Itdáŋlam. «it⁷-daŋ⁶-am⁰» “We know.”)
  - Иткум. (Ítkum. «it⁷-ku⁶-am⁰» “Thou knowest.”)
  - Иткаӈлям. (Itkáŋlam. «it⁷-kaŋ⁶-am⁰» “You know.”)
  - Италям. (Itálam. «it⁷-a⁶-am⁰» “He knows.”)
  - Итлям. (Ítlam. «it⁷-i⁶-am⁰» “She knows.”)
  - Итаӈлям. (Itáŋlam. «it⁷-aŋ⁶-am⁰» “They know.”)
    - (Editor's note: It can be seen that the epenthetic -ль-, which otherwise mark the past tense, surfaces in third person and/or plural subject person conjugations.)

^ https://starlingdb.org/cgi-bin/response.cgi?single=1&basename=%2fDATA%2fYENISEY%2fYENET&text_number=184&root=config
^ Vajda, Edward; Werner, Heinrich (2022), Comparative-Historical Yeniseian Dictionary (Languages of the World/Dictionaries; 79, 80), Muenchen: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 370
^ Georg, Stefan (2007), A Descriptive Grammar of Ket (Yenisei-Ostyak) Part 1: Introduction, Phonology, Morphology, Cromwell: Global Oriental, →ISBN, page 206