In singular, verbs conjugate in the usual persons (1, 2, 3) and in gender (masculine or feminine - remember the distinction is purely grammatical). In plural, however, there are four persons (inclusive we, exclusive we, you-pl. and they) and three-way gender distinctions (all masculine, all feminine, mixed masculine and feminine).
There are two conjugation classes differentiated in the infinitive with the ending:
-é
-i'é
Except for the verbs elé (to be), síé (to have), oli'é (to go) and li'elé (question verb) all verbs are regular.
The only simple tense is the present indicative, all other tenses are compound.
The regular endings for -é verbs are:
| masculine | feminine | mixed |
|---|---|---|---|
1sg | -í | -e | |
2sg | -en | -eu | |
3sg | -em | -engq | |
1pl.ex | -a | -qa | -tha |
1pl.in | -i | -qi | -thi |
2pl | -ít | -et | -á |
3pl | -u | -qu | -thu |
If the "q" endings are attached to a stem which ends in "-n", the "n" turns "-ng".
If a verb stem ends with the same consonant or vowel as the ending or the vowels only differ in length, the last phoneme of the stem is dropped. "th" and "d" is dropped before the "-th" endings and "g" (not "ng") is dropped before the "q" endings.
qíwaqté - exagerate, qíwaqthu - they exagerate
emidé - speak, emithu - they speak
eqlaé - learn, eqla - we learn, eqlá - you.pl learn
Example conjugation of the verb ainé - to enjoy, be happy with:
| m | f | mx |
|---|---|---|---|
1sg | ainí | aine | |
2sg | ainen | aineu | |
3sg | ainem | ainengq | |
1pl.ex | aina | aingqa | aintha |
1pl.in | aini | aingqi | ainthi |
2pl | ainít | ainet | ainá |
3pl | ainu | aingqu | ainthu |
Andér ainthu te alda'im is te aldi'en lai in reiw. The man and the woman are happy with their little child.
The -i'é verbs take the following endings:
| masculine | feminine | mx |
|---|---|---|---|
1sg | -i'í | -i'e | |
2sg | -irn | -eu | |
3sg | -irm | -engq | |
1pl.ex | -ira | -irqa | -irtha |
1pl.in | -i | -irqi | -irthi |
2pl | -irt | -iret | -rá |
3pl | -iru | -irqu | -rthu |
An example conjugation of the verb dwirli'é (must):
| m | f | mx |
|---|---|---|---|
1sg | dwirli'í | dwirli'e | |
2sg | dwirlirn | dwirleu | |
3sg | dwirlirm | dwirlengq | |
1pl.ex | dwirlira | dwirlirqa | dwirlirtha |
1pl.in | dwirli | dwirlirqi | dwirlirthi |
2pl | dwirlirt | dwirtliret | dwirlirá |
3pl | dwirliru | dwirlirqu | dwirlirthu |
Inthéra dwirli'í. I must work. (Please note inthéra is a dependent infinitive.)
If a verb stem ends with the same consonant or vowel as the ending or the vowels only differ in length, the last phoneme of the stem is dropped. "th" and "d" is dropped before the "-th" endings and "g" (not "ng") is dropped before the "q" endings.
Past tense
The past tense is formed using the verb síé as auxiliary and a past participle of the main verb. The past participle is formed by replacing the infinitive ending with -eiu.
Qrongeiu sem oi sit ai aldaim. A man read a book.
Future tense
The future tense is formed using the verb olié as auxiliary and the past participle.
Qrongeiu olem oi sit ai aldaim. A man will read a book.
Passive voice
Passive voice is formed by using the verb elé as auxiliary and the past participle of the main verb. The agent of the active sentence is used in the genitive.
Qrongeiu em te sit mé aldaim. The book is read by the man.
In the past tense, the full sentence would look like this:
Eleiu sem qrongeiza te sit mé aldaim. The book was read by the man.
Usually, however, the eleiu participle is ommited. The participle of the main verb remains dependent, so that the -za turns actually a marker for the passive voice:
Qrongeiza sem te sit mé aldaim.
The same happens in the future tense:
Qrongeiza olem te sit mé aldaim. The book will be read by the man.
(Please note the passive voice can be used in any tense by using the infinitive of síé or oli'é for the past and the future.)
The passive infinitive has the form elé + dependent participle, i.e. elé qrongeiza (to be read).
Conditional
The conditional can be formed in the past or future tense (which also can be used for present meanings) or the passive voice by replacing the past participle with a conditional participle, which end is -aio.
Qrongaio olem oi sit te aldaim, sali o'ileiu. The man will read a book if he can.
Sali o'ileiu, qrongaio sem oi sit te aldaim. The man would read a book if he could.
Qrongaio em te sit mé aldaim. The book would be read by the man.
Please note that in conditional sentences, the condition is in indicativ (with the sali conjunction) and the consequence in conditional. If the auxiliary in the two clauses is the same, it can be deleted from the one of them by filling the second position with the participle.
Dependent infinitive
The dependent infinitive is used for actions depending from other verbs. It is formed by adding -ra at the end of the infinitive (after the infinitive ending). The subject of the infinitive doesn't need to be the same as of the main verb - it can be expressed by putting it in the accusative. The direct object of the infinitive takes on the genitive article.
Andé qrongem oi sit ai aldaim. - A man reads a book.
Qrongéra lémiasí oi aldaim é sit. - I see a man reading a book.
The dependent infinitive can be in the past or the future, expressing that the two actions were not simultaneous:
Síéra ilni'í qronqeiu o aldaim é sit. - I think the man was reading a book.
If the main verb itself should be put into a dependent infinitive, the other dependent infinitive is transformed by adding an -n after the -ra.
Lémiaséra ilni'í qrongéran o aldaim é sit. - I think I saw the man reading a book.
Dependent participle
If there are more participles in a clause (for example in passive past tense), the participle which depends on the other participle or an infinitive is marked with -za (ev. -zan). The -u- or -o- at the end of the participle are deleted.
Eleiu sem qrongeira te sit mé aldaim. The book was read by the man.
Eleiu sem lémiaseiza qrongéra o aldaim é sit. The man was seen reading a book.
Li'eleiu ola eléra qethu'eiza. I will be prepared. (qethu'eiu depends on the eléra infinitive, forming a passive infinitive).
Negative form
Negative form is formed with the prefix pa-, which is added always to the main verb (i.e., not the auxiliary). If the following word begins with a vowel (including a), a hiatus is formed.
Amdéw pasathwem te elwi'ér. This player doesn't win.
Amdéw ol te elwiér pasathweiu. This player won't win.
Amdéw ol te elwiér sathwéra o'ileiu. This player won't be able to win.