Note: The initial consonants of all affixes (as well as roots) undergo lenition when preceded by vowels (excluding word-final consonants). Some tables show non-lenited forms while others show already lenited forms; it will be indicated when non-lenited forms are shown.
Note: This is the new version using bases instead of phases.
Verbs are classified according to whether they're static or dynamic and whether their roots have an odd or even number of moras. Historically, roots have the following forms:
There are only a few verbs of the first form. In the present-day language, this scheme is obscured, but still relevent to stem formation.
There are 3 principle parts (one for each stem); all of them are passive or univalent forms. They are:
The 2nd and 3rd principal parts are almost completely regular for odd static verbs, so they might not be listed.
The bases are the forms the root can take in constructing the stems. There are 3, extracted from the corresponding principle part. Which base appears in a particular form depends on:
The bases can be extracted from the principle parts as follows:
To remove -IS from a dynamic form, remove the final -i. To remove it from a static form, replace the final long vowel or diphthong and replace it with the final short vowel from the 3rd principal part. In this case, final -ee becomes -e while final -ii becomes -i (always after c, j, and y) or -o (always after k, g, q, and w).
Note: Certain long-vowel (anomalous) verbs haven't been dealt with yet, such as odd static midaa and odd dynamic sebaa.
Which stems are built on which bases is summarised by the following table. A split entry such as 3/1 means that the 3rd base appears if there's a vowel-final prefix and that otherwise the 1st base appears. For the 3/2/1 entry, if the ending isn't AS or TP, the 1st base appears; else if there's no vowel-final prefix, the 2nd base appears; else the 3rd base appears. For convenience, the non-lenited forms of the suffixes are also shown.
| 1st Suffix | Even | Odd | Anomalous | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic | Static | Dynamic | Static | Dynamic | Static | ||
| -Sup | -ve | - | 3/2/1 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| -Pot | -pa | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -Prg | -o | 3/2 | - | 2 | - | 1 | - |
| -Hab | -a | 3/2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| -Ret | -te | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -Pro | -lo | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -Neg | -naa | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -Aff | -too | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -T | -ka | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| -I | -Y | 3/2 | 3/2 | 2 | 1 | 3/2 | 3/2 |
| -P | -so | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 |
| none | 1 | 1 | 3/1 | 1 | 3/1 | 3/1 | |
| Even Dynamic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| kat | kadi | dakti | |
| Even Static | |||
| tas | tahii | dassi | |
| qom | qomee | daqme | |
| xik | xigai | daxka | |
| bee | beyii | dauyi | |
| lak | lagii | dalko | |
| Odd Dynamic | |||
| sobek | sopci | daspek | |
| jinat | jinti | dainat | |
| taloo | talvi | datloo | |
| mowes | moohi | danges | |
| lehin | lefni | dalfin | |
| perol | perli | daprol | |
| sebaa | sebai | daspaa | anomalous |
| Odd Static | |||
| moske | moskee | damoske | |
| midaa | midayii | dantaa | anomalous |
The characteristics of an argument as marked on the verb are person, gender, topicality, and number. They are marked using combinations of prefixes and suffixes.
The 1st and 2nd persons are referred to here as local persons (abbreviated L).
The agent of bivalent forms distinguishes only person and number and is marked by the first prefix, except for direct participles. The characteristics of the patient of bivalent verbs and the subject of univalent verbs use both prefixes and suffixes.
The following table shows the agent prefixes and the non-lenited forms of the patient prefixes:
| Person | Agent | Patient | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | ||
| 1 | se- | sen- | bi- | bis- | 1S and 1XP |
| N | ma- | man- | me- | mes- | 1ND and 1NP |
| Hor | mi- | min- | - | - | 1ND and 1NP, imperative mood |
| 2 | ka- | kan- | go- | gos- | 2S and 2P |
| Imp | ci- | cin- | - | - | 2S and 2P, imperative mood |
| 3 | 'e- | 'en- | da- | das- | 3S and 3P |
Singular and dual agent prefixes can coalesce with patient person prefixes, as shown in the following table (all these are initial).
| 1 | N | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1S | - | - | saa- | ser- |
| ND | - | - | - | mar- |
| HorD | - | - | - | mir- |
| 2S | kau- | - | - | kar- |
| ImpS | cuu- | - | - | cir- |
| 3S | 'oo- | 'em- | 'aa- | 'er- |
These additions decrease the valence of bivalent verbs. The antipassive and reflexive voices are marked by prefixes (ne- and ta-, respectively) and make the verbs act like agentive univalent verbs; the passive voice is unmarked and makes the verbs act like patientive univalent verbs.
The prefixes may coalesce with the initial of a contracted phase stem. This takes precedence over any contraction of prefixes.
Imperative mood is indicated solely by the use of the imperative and hortative prefixes. There's no jussive forms. The imperative mood lacks patientive and passive verb forms.
The genders are animate and inanimate (I), with animate marking divided into topical (T) and other (A). Gender and topicality always refer to the patient or the univalent subject of the verb, never the agent. (However, if the patient is topical, a 3rd person agent must be non-topical.)
Number is singular (S) or plural (P). When suffixed, it specifies the number of the agent in active or direct forms and the patient in passive or inverse forms.
The following table shows the combinations of gender, topicality, and number. The Stem Type specifies which type of sound the stem ends with. Long Vowel includes stems ending in diphthongs. Short Even stems end in short vowels and have roots with an even number of moras. Short Odd stems end in short vowels and have roots with an odd number of moras.
| Stem Type | LS | LP | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consonant | -0 | -so | -0 | -so | -ka | -kas | -i | -is |
| Long Vowel | -0 | -ho | -0 | -ho | -ga | -gas | -0 | -ho |
| Short Even | -0 | -ho | -0 | -ho | -ga | -gas | -Y | -Yho |
| Short Odd | -0 | -s | -0 | -s | -g | -gas | -Y | -Yho |
The agreement paradigms show where each agreement affix can be used. The Role and Notes columns give semantic information. There are 3 kinds of verb roots: agentive univalent (V1A), patientive univalent (V1P), and bivalent (V2). The other agreement columns show the tags for each affix that may appear (if there are no parentheses, one of them must appear). The unmarked G/T is A and the unmarked # is S.
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V1A | (P) | Agt | |||||||
| V1P | (I) | (P) | Pat |
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/R | V2 | (P) | Agt | ||||||
| V2 | (I) | (P) | Pat | passive |
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2/N | (P) | V2 | (P) | Agt | direct | ||||
| 3 | (P) | V2 | (I/T) | (P) | Agt | direct; G/T is for patient | |||
| 1/2/N | (P) | V2 | (I) | (P) | Pat | inverse | |||
| 3 | (P) | V2 | (I) | (P) | Pat | inverse |
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2/N | V1A | (P) | Agt | ||||||
| 1/2/N | V1P | (P) | Pat | ||||||
| 3 | V1A | (T) | (P) | Agt | |||||
| 3 | V1P | (T/I) | (P) | Pat | |||||
| Imp/Hor | V1A | (P) | Agt | imperative |
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2/N | A/R | V2 | (P) | Agt | |||||
| 1/2/N | V2 | (P) | Pat | passive | |||||
| 3 | A/R | V2 | (T) | (P) | Agt | ||||
| 3 | V2 | (T/I) | (P) | Pat | passive | ||||
| Imp/Hor | A/R | V2 | (P) | Agt | imperative |
| Agt% | Agt# | Pat% | Pat# | Voice | Root | G/T | Sub# | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (P) | 2 | V2 | (P) | Pat | ||||
| 2 | (P) | 1 | V2 | (P) | Pat | ||||
| 1/2/N | (P) | 3 | V2 | (T/I) | (P) | Pat | |||
| 3 | (P) | 1/2/N | V2 | (P) | Pat | ||||
| 3 | (P) | 3 | V2 | (T/I) | (P) | Pat | |||
| Imp | (P) | 1 | V2 | (P) | Pat | imperative | |||
| Imp/Hor | (P) | 3 | V2 | (T/I) | (P) | Pat | imperative |
Besides the distinction in valence, verbs are divided into dynamic and static classes. Historically, dynamic verbs ended in consonants and static verbs ended in vowels. This is somewhat confused in the present-day language in that both can end in long vowels or diphthongs and the final vowels of static roots are deleted in most forms.
The aspect suffixes combine with the gender, topicality, and number suffixes unless a polarity suffix intervenes.
The aspects for dynamic verbs are aoristic (Aor, unmarked), progressive (Prg, -o), habitual (Hab, -a), retrospective (Ret, -te), and prospective (Pro, -lo).
| Aspect | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aor | -0 | -so | -ka | -kas | -i | -is |
| Prg | -o | -os | -ok | -ogas | -ii | -iiho |
| Hab | -a | -as | -ak | -agas | -ai | -aiho |
| Ret | -te | -tes | -tek | -tegas | -tee | -teeho |
| Pro | -lo | -los | -lok | -logas | -lii | -liiho |
The aspects for static verbs are stative (Sta, unmarked), habitual (Hab, -ma), retrospective (Ret, -te), and prospective (Pro, -lo). The final vowel is usually dropped, except for the stative IS, IP, and AP. There may also be de-lenition of the suffixes starting with d and g.
| Aspect | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sta | -0 | -s | -ga | -gas | -Y | -Yho |
| Hab | -ma | -mas | -mak | -magas | -mai | -maiho |
| Ret | -de | -des | -dek | -degas | -dee | -deeho |
| Pro | -lo | -los | -lok | -logas | -lii | -liiho |
Derivational suffixes precede any aspect suffix.
Static verbs can take the inceptive derivational suffix -Inc (-t), creating dynamic verbs. The following table show the combinations of inceptive suffix, aspect, and endings. The final root vowel is usually deleted before the endings starting with d or z.
| Aspect | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aor | -t | -sso | -tka | -tkas | -di | -dis |
| Prg | -do | -dos | -dok | -dogas | -zii | -ziiho |
| Hab | -da | -das | -dak | -dagas | -dai | -daiho |
| Ret | -tte | -ttes | -ttek | -ttegas | -ttee | -tteeho |
| Pro | -tlo | -tlos | -tlok | -tlogas | -tlii | -tliiho |
The superlative suffix as added to adjectives, a subclass of static verbs. The following table shows the combinations of gender, topicality, and number as fused with the superlative suffix.
| Stem Type | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Vowel | -ve | -ves | -vek | -vegas | -vee | -veeho |
| Short Even | -V | -ves | -vek | -Vgas | -vee | -veeho |
| Short Odd | -V | -Vho | -Vga | -Vgas | -vee | -veeho |
The unmarked polarity is positive, with negative polarity marked by a suffix (Neg). There's also an affirmative polarity suffix (Aff) used for contrast or emphasis. These combine with gender, topicality, and number, as shown in the following table. The suffixes shown are non-lenited; lenition of the animate affirmative forms occurs after stems ending in vowels.
| Polarity | 3AS | 3AP | 3TS | 3TP | 3IS | 3IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative | -naa | -naaho | -naaga | -naagas | -nee | -neeho |
| Affirmative | -too | -tooho | -tooga | -toogas | -sii | -siiho |
The copula is inflected as a patientive univalent verb (V1P) lacking aspect. The following table shows the forms of the copula; where different, the informal variants are given. To construct the formal variants, prefix dai- to the 3rd person negative and affirmative forms, with t leniting, and prefix da- to the other 3I forms, with j leniting.
| Person + G/T | Positive | Negative | Affirmative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | Sing. | Plur. | |
| 1 | bii | biiho | biinaa | biinaaho | biidoo | biidooho |
| N | mee | meeho | meenaa | meenaaho | meedoo | meedooho |
| 2 | gor | gorho | gornaa | gornaaho | gortoo | gortooho |
| 3A | dai | daiho | naa | naaho | too | tooho |
| 3T | daiga | daigas | naaga | naagas | tooga | toogas |
| 3I | jii | jiiho | nee | neeho | sii | siiho |
page started: 2013.Mar.30 Sat
current date: 2013.Apr.04 Thu
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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