Evidentiality in Uzbek and Kazakh

4.1.2 Morphosyntactic Properties of Ekan/Eken in Declarative Clauses 
In declarative clauses, ekan/eken behaves generally similarly to other copular forms.
Like these other copular forms (past edi/edi, conditional esa/ese, and negative emas/emes), 
ekan/ekan is generally restricted in distribution to non-verbal predicates (nouns, adjectives, 
existentials, and deontics) and non-finite paradigms of the verb. 
(116) Aytishicha u juda boy ekan. (Uz)
Adjective 
 
Reportedly he very rich 
EVID
‘He’s reportedly very rich.’ 
 
(117) Ülken ul-ïŋïz däriger eken (Kaz) 
Noun 
Eldest son-2
PL
doctor evid 
‘Your eldest son is (reportedly) a doctor.’
7
 
 
(118) Qil-moq lozim ekan, hadis-ga ko’ra. (Uz)
Deontic 
Do-
INF
necessary 
EVID
, hadith-
DAT
according.to 
‘It’s necessary to do that, according to the hadith.’
8
 
(119) Olar soğïs-tï kör-gen eken, biz soğïs-tï kör-me-di-k. (Kaz) 
Participle 
They war-
ACC
see-
PRF
EVID
, we war-
ACC
see-
NEG
-
PST
-1
PL
‘They (apparently) saw the war, we didn’t see the war.’
9
 
 
Person markers, when present, are placed on ekan/eken, and not on any other part of the 
predicate; this is in line with the general principle that person marking occurs on the final piece 
of verbal morphology. 
(120) kel-gan e-mas ekan-siz (Uz) 
 
come-
PRF COP
-
NEG EVID
-2
PL
‘(It looks like) you haven’t come.’ 
 
(121) Qateles-ken eken-min (Kaz) 
Err-
PRF
EVID
-1
SG
‘Apparently I’ve made a mistake.’ 
7
Omarqulova, Madina. 2010. “Ömirdi Bağalay Biletin Žandar.” Žärdem, 22 Apr. Accessed 24 
Jan 2011. http://www.zhardem.kz/print/news/1271953771.html 
8
Uzfiles. Accessed 24 Jan 2011. http://uzfiles.com/list.php?read=95288 
9
Ergöbek, Qulbek. 2010. “Kešir meni, äke!” Egemen Qazaqstan, 29 Sep. Accessed 24 Jan 2011. 
http://www.egemen.kz/17232.html 

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97 
 
There are, however, some morphosyntactic differences between ekan/eken and other 
copular forms. The first of these is the ability of ekan/eken to occur after the present tense in 
a/A. Recall from Chapter 2 that the unmarked present in Uzbek and Kazakh is derived from the 
imperfective converb in -a-/A (y after vowels) and that the third person is marked with -di/-DI.
Neither the inflected nor uninflected present is normally allowed to co-occur with the copular 
past, negative, or conditional:  
(122) *qïl-a-dï e-di/e-mes/e-se (Kaz) 
do-
PRES
-3
COP
-
PST
/
COP
-
NEG
/
COP
-
COND
 
 
Yet the combination of the inflected present and eken is robustly attested in Kazakh: 
 
(123) Awïl-da 1350 adam tur-a-dï eken. (Kaz) 
Village-
LOC
1350 person live-
PRES
-3
EVID
‘1350 people (reportedly) live in the village.’
10
 
 
In Uzbek, the combination of the present and the copular past, negative, and condition is also not 
allowed (124), but ekan may (125), although this is not as common as in Kazakh. 
(124) *qil-a-di e-di/e-mas/e-sa (Uz) 
do-
PRES
-3
COP
-
PST
/
COP
-
NEG
/
COP
-
COND
 
 
(125) qil-a-di ekan (Uz) 
do-
PRES
-3
EVID
‘He apparently does.’ 
 
The present and ekan/eken may combine regardless of person. In Uzbek, person marking occurs 
immediately after the present tense marker: 
(126) qil-a-man/miz/san/siz ekan (Uz) 
do-
PRES
-1
SG
/1
PL
/2
SG
/2
PL EVID
‘I/you/we (apparently) are doing.’ 
 
10
Tasbolatova, Kämšat. 2004. “«Bolašaq»-Qazaq-Özbek Šekarasïnda” Türkistan. Accessed 24 
Jan 2011. http://www.turkystan.kz/page.php?page_id=4&id=596 

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98 
In Kazakh, however, person marking is attached to eken, while the third person marker -dI 
remains attached to the present tense marker: 
(127) Etistik-ter-di žaqsï kör-e-di eken-siŋ. (Kaz) 
Verb-
PL
-
ACC
good see-
PRES
-3
EVID
-2
SG
‘You must really like verbs.’
11
 
 
The second morphological difference between ekan/eken and other copular forms is the 
variable positioning of the plural marker. For most paradigms of the verb (aside from those 
derived from converbs), the third person marker is null. Optionally, third person plural forms 
may be marked with the same marker that is employed to indicate plurality on nouns (Uz: -lar, 
Kaz: -LAr). The location of this marker varies, particularly when a copular form is present. When 
the copular past edi is used, the plural marker always follows that edi and is never placed on the 
main part of the predicate: 
(128) xursand e-di-lar 
(Uz) 
baqïttï e-di-ler 
(Kaz) 
happy
COP
-
PST
-
PL
‘They were happy.’ 
 
In Uzbek, when the copular conditional esa is used, the plural marker is always placed on the 
main part of the predicate, unless it is non-verbal, in which case the plural marker is not allowed.
In Kazakh, the plural marker and the conditional may not co-occur: 
(129) kel-gan-lar esa (Uz) 
come-
PRF COP
-
COND
‘If they have come.’ 
 
In Kazakh, the copular negative emes and eken behave much like the Uzbek copular conditional, 
in as much as the plural marker must be attached to the main part of the predicate (130-131), 
11
2009. “Ulï Žeŋiske-64 Žïl!” Aqtöbe Oblïstïq Qoğamdïq-Sayasïy Gazet, 15 May. Accessed 25 
Jan 2011. http://www.aktobegazeti.kz/?p=1661 

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99 
unless that part of the predicate is a noun or an adjective (132), or if the main part of the 
predicate is in the present tense (133): 
(130) kel-gen-der e-mes (Kaz) 
come-
PRF
-
PL COP
-
NEG 
'They have not come.' 
 
(131) kel-gen-der eken (Kaz) 
come-
PRF
-
PL EVID
'They have (apparently) come.' 
 
(132) Qazaq eken-der (Kaz) 
Kazakh 
EVID
-
PL
'They are (apparently) Kazakhs.' 
 
(133) kel-e-di eken-der (Kaz) 
come-
PRES
-3
EVID
-
PL
'They are (apparently) coming.' 
 
In Uzbek, the distribution of the plural marker is freer than in Kazakh. The plural marker may be 
attached to either the main part of the predicate (unless, as in Kazakh, that part of the predicate is 
a noun or an adjective, as in [136]) or to either emas (134) or ekan (135). 
(134) kel-gan e-mas-lar (Uz) 
 
kel-gan-lar e-mas 
 
'They have not come.' 
 
(135) kel-gan ekan-lar (Uz) 
 
kel-gan-lar ekan 
'They have (apparently) come.' 
 
(136) O'zbek ekan-lar (Uz) 
 
Uzbek 
EVID
-
PL
'They are (apparently) Uzbeks.' 
 
The unusual behavior of ekan/eken is indicative of its movement away from the past 
tense paradigm. The ability of ekan/eken to co-occur with present tenses of the verb, and the 
variable placement of the plural marker put this form at odds with the copular past edi, a copular 
form we might expect it to most closely resemble. In the next section, which examines the 

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100 
evidential use of ekan/eken in questions, we find that, the past tense and ekan/eken are not 
mutually exclusive, which further supports the claim that ekan/eken is no longer a truly past 
denoting form.