How does Yukaghir use different verb forms to emphasize parts of a sentence?

Yukaghir employs distinct verbal conjugations to emphasize specific roles within a sentence, such as the subject, the object, or the presence of negation. This grammatical feature is shared with some Uralic languages.1

The language uses these conjugations to shift focus, as illustrated by the following examples:

• Focus on the action: tet mer-ai-mek (“you shot”)1
• Focus on negation: tet el-ai-yek (“you did not shoot”)1
• Focus on the subject: tet ai (“you shot”)1
• Focus on the object: tet ileleŋ ai-me-ŋ (“you shot at the deer”)1

By selecting specific verb forms, speakers can highlight which element of the sentence is most significant to the statement.1