Læntixu morphology

Main article: Læntixu

This page gives an extensive description of Læntixu morphological features.

Nouns

Nouns in Læntixu language end mostly in a vowel in their basic form. A certain number of nouns, however, ends in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, mostly -i-, is added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings.

Nouns display neither gender nor class distinction. There are, however, two morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular and plural, and a limited case system. If a noun is deemed as definite, a form of definite article is used and placed before it.

Cases

Læntixu nouns do decline, according to a nominative-accusative system with 3 cases:

Case	Meaning
Basic-Vocative	It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used only as the vocative form.
Direct	This case marks both the subject and the direct object of a verb.
Oblique	It has no specifical meaning and it is generally used only with prepositions. It can be occasionally used without prepositions in earlier texts and in crystallized forms, marking the indirect object.

There are, moreover, some crystallized forms of a locative case, marked by the ending -cær, with the role of locative adverbs:

sowgucær
at home (static location)

Articles

There is only one article, the definite article, æl‘, which is placed before the noun, agreeing with it in case and number. It lacks, however, any form in the basic case.

	singular	plural
basic	-	-
direct	æl‘	æn‘
oblique	æha	æn‘a

In the later spoken language, the numeral šæf, one, is increasingly used as an indefinite article. This usage is, however, not allowed in the formal standard language.

æl‘ vjirul‘ kinusæh
the man sings

formal: vjirul‘ kinusæh 
informal: šæf vjirul‘ kinusæh
a man sings

Noun declension

Nouns are declined in case and number by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	singular	plural
basic	-	-nu
direct	-l‘	-nol‘
oblique	-ha	-noha

Some examples are shown below: paɸu, father, and sowgu, house.

	paɸu		sowgu
	singular	plural	singular	plural
basic	paɸu	paɸunu	sowgu	sowgunu
direct	paɸul‘	paɸunol‘	sowgul‘	sowgunol‘
oblique	paɸuha	paɸunoha	sowguha	sowgunoha

Nouns ending in a consonant in the singular direct case usually add a euphonic vowel before the endings of the other cases. This vowel is generally -i-, but other vowels are also possible.

bas. vær‘ → dir. vær‘il‘, obl. vær‘iha, ...

Some irregular nouns, conversely, change their last vowel in the root before adding other endings. The commonest changes are u → o, or i → e. A lot of these nouns display both irregular and regular forms, especially in earlier texts. In modern texts the amount of irregular forms is extremely limited, with a strong tendency towards regularization by analogy.

bas. sænu → dir. sænol‘, obl. sænoha, ...
bas. voɸi → dir. voɸel‘, obl. voɸeha, ...

Adjectives and pronouns

Adjectives closely resemble the noun form, usually showing the same exceptions of nouns. Pronouns, instead, may exhibit different forms in the root form.

Adjectives

Both attributive and predicative adjectives are always placed after the nouns they specify, with a few exceptions.

æl‘ vjirul‘ jowɸæl‘
the young man

æl‘ vjirul‘ ojh jowɸæl‘
the man is young

All adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they specify, being declined with the nominal endings. However, in modern speech, attributive adjectives tend not to agree in number with their nouns, displaying only the singular declension. This feature is not accepted in the standard formal language.

Declension of qualifying adjectives

Adjectival declension follow the same rules as the nominal declension in the formal language, with the same exceptions.

Example: sur‘il‘, big, with sowgul‘, house

	attributive declension
	singular	plural (formal)	plural (informal)
basic	sowgu sur‘i	sowgunu sur‘inu	sowgunu sur‘
direct	sowgul‘ sur‘il‘	sowgunol‘ sur‘inol‘	sowgunol‘ sur‘il‘
oblique	sowguha sur‘iha	sowgunoha sur‘inoha	sowgunoha sur‘iha

	predicative declension
	singular	plural (formal)	plural (informal)
basic
direct	sowgul‘ ojh sur‘il‘	sowgunol‘ onæh sur‘inol‘
oblique

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns feature a distinction between two forms for the direct case. The first form (named direct₁) is used as the subject of the clauses, for every kind of verbs. The second form (named direct₂) is used as the direct object of the clause, for transitive verbs, and with every preposition requiring the direct case. They do not have any forms for the basic case, the direct forms as subjects are used as vocative forms.

Moreover, the 1^st person has two different roots, exhibiting thus a mixed declension. On the other hand, the 2^nd and the 3^rd persons have only one root, displaying, however, a similar irregular declension.

	1st sing.	2nd sing.	3rd sing.	1st plur.	2nd plur.	3rd plur.
direct1	owtu	æpjixu	æstu	owtun	æpjixun	æstun
direct2	ju	æpji	æs	jun	æpjin	æn
oblique	juha	æpjiha	æsa	juna	æpjina	æna

There are, however, two possible forms for the second persons:

	2nd sing.		2nd plur.
	standard	obsolete	standard	obsolete
direct1	æpjixu	ercu	æpjixun	ercun
direct2	æpji	næ	æpjin	næn
oblique	æpjiha	næha	æpjina	næna

The alternative forms are regarded as obsolete and they are used in modern texts only in religious texts, in intentionally archaizing texts and in some set expressions. They may be also found in colloquial language, with a sense of solemnity or irony. It can be noticed that every speaker is well aware of these alternative forms, but their usage is steadily declining (except in some peripheral dialect, where their usage can be prevailing over the standard forms).

The forms for the oblique case can be used alone, without any prepositions, conveying the meaning of the indirect object. When used alone, the forms for the direct and indirect object tend to be placed before the conjugated verb in the sentence. Their positioning after the verb is regarded as a marked position.

Examples:

owtu he æs owf loʎiɸjiθu
I didn't see him

owtu he owf loʎiɸjiθu æs
As for him, I didn't see him

Anyway, these pronouns are placed after the negative adverb he.

Interrogative pronouns

The basic interrogative pronoun is:

• what / who: šæ

It displays a complete declension, with the nominal declension endings. Unlike other pronouns, the basic case form is used when referring to inanimate entities (what?), while the direct case form is used when referring to animate entities (who?). Plural forms are scarcely used.

šæ æpjixu ojh ʎiloɸjiθu?
what do you see?

šæl‘ æpjixu ojh ʎiloɸjiθu?
whom do you see?

The oblique case form is normally used unregarding any animacy. However, when this form is used without prepositions, it takes the meaning of the indirect object, referring to an animate entity (to whom?):

šæha æpjixu ojh kobæciθu æl‘ pičɛl‘?
whom did you give water to?

There are also other interrogative pronouns (and adverbs):

• šæθucær: where (static location)
• šæθuxa: where (motion toward)
• šæθusu: where... from (motion form)
• šæhu: why (cause)
• šæju: when
• šæminɛ: how much
• šæmæc: how

There are also the following interrogative adjectives:

• šæxul‘: which
• šæminɛxul‘: how much / many

Such adjectives, like the demonstrative adjectives, tend to be placed before their nouns and they are never used with the article. Moreover, they lack any form in the basic case.

šæminɛxunol‘ jažɛnol‘ æpjixu toθiræh?
how many sheep do you have?

Within an interrogative clause, pronouns usually are usually moved at the beginning of the sentence. Their syntactical position is regarded as extremely marked. In addition, like other parts of the sentences, they can be introduced by prepositions:

gu šæha ojh cæžɛbugjiθu?
whom is he talking about?

Numerals

The numeral system relies on a decimal base.

Cardinal numerals

The first ten cardinal numbers are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
1:	šæf
2:	æx‘
3:	mixow
4:	gowbɛ
5:	pæžɛ
6:	uba
7:	haša
8:	ko
9:	coju
10:	few

Numerals from 11 to 19 are built with the construction NUM + fewna, with some irregularities:

digit	noun form
11:	šæfewna
12:	æxifewna
13:	mixowfewna
14:	gowbɛfewna
15:	pæžɛfewna
16:	ubafewna
17:	hašafewna
18:	kofewna
19:	cojufewna

The numerals for (one) hundred and (one) thousand are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
100:	ñæθu
1000:	vjæ

The numerals for the multiples of tens, hundreds and thousands are built with the construction NUM + rɛ + few / ñæθu / vjæ, with some irregularities:

	tens	hundreds	thousands
2x:	æxirɛfew	æxirɛñæθu	æxirɛvjæ
3x:	mixowrɛfew	mixowrɛñæθu	mixowrɛvjæ
4x:	gowbɛrɛfew	gowbɛrɛñæθu	gowbɛrɛvjæ
5x:	pæžɛrɛfew	pæžɛrɛñæθu	pæžɛrɛvjæ
6x:	ubarɛfew	ubarɛñæθu	ubarɛvjæ
7x:	hašarɛfew	hašarɛñæθu	hašarɛvjæ
8x:	korɛfew	korɛñæθu	korɛvjæ
9x:	cojurɛfew	cojurɛñæθu	cojurɛvjæ

Composite numbers are built by just putting them beside, without any conjunction, in descending order:

• 1985: vjæ cojureñæθu pæžɛñukorefew

Numerals from 21 to 99 are however built with the construction NUM + ñu + TEN. The -ñu- infix blends with the -æxi- numeral infix, resulting in -ñowxi-, blends with the -uba- numeral infix, resulting in -ñuba-:

digit	noun form
25:	pæžɛñowxirɛfew
33:	mixowñumixowrɛfew
67:	hašañubarɛfew

All cardinal numerals up to these forms are meant as invariable. They can however be used without an adjoining noun by putting the articles before them:

æn‘ vjæ 
the one thousand

Numerals for “million” and “billion” are loanwords from Iðâɣ language:

digit	noun form
1,000,000:	šurentu (from I. šúrěntu )
1,000,000,000:	mešurentu (from I. mêšúrěntu )

These forms are treated as regularly declinable nouns:

digit	noun form
3,000,000:	mixow šurentunu
6,000,000,000:	uba mešurentunu

If these numerals are used as simple count forms, they are declined in the basic case. Within a structured sentence, they are declined according the case required by their syntactical role. Nouns adjoining such numerals are introduced by the preposition jæl and are declined in the oblique case:

kowf æx‘ šurentunoha jæl fuxanoha
to two millions people

In the earlier modern period the idea of “zero” is introduced from Iðâɣ language. This numeral is however usually limited to mathematics:

digit	noun form
0:	xesu (from I. xesú)

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed by adding the adjectival ending -xu- to the cardinal numeral form, with some irregularities:

digit	adjective form
1st:	šæwxul‘
2nd:	æxixul‘
3rd:	mixowxul‘
4th:	gowbɛxul‘
5th:	pæžɛxul‘
6th:	ubaxul‘
7th:	hašaxul‘
8th:	koxul‘
9th:	cojuxul‘
10th:	fewxul‘

Ordinal numerals for “millionth” and “billionth” are regularly formed from their corresponding cardinal forms, while their multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:

digit	adjective form
1,000,000th:	šurentuxul‘
1,000,000,000th:	mešurentuxul‘
3,000,000,000th:	mixowmešurentuxul‘

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 125^th: ñæθu pæžɛñowxirefewxul‘

Verbs

The verbal system of Læntixu language displays the following features:

• tense:
  • simple tenses: present
  • compound tenses: present continuous, past, past continuous, pluperfect, future, anterior future
• mood:
  • definite moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional
  • indefinite moods: infinitive, active participle, passive participle
• diathesis: active, passive

Only in the indicative mood verbs can express all tenses. In other moods only a part of the tenses are expressed.

The citation form of verbs is the present infinitive, marked by the ending -æm‘. From such form the present verbal root can be inferred and can be changed in every other verbal form.

Each verb has two roots, the present root (R_pres) and the past root (R_past). The base form is the present root, while the past root is usually derived fromt he present one. Based on the different derivation processes, verbs are divided in two classes: strong verbs and weak verbs:

• Strong verbs, mostly with a CVCVC- structure, derive their past root from the present one through an introflexive process of vowel switching:

CV1CV2C → CV2CV1C

Example:

Rpres = toθir- → Rpast = tiθor-

This process usually gives rise to irregular root forms.

Rpres = ʎiloɸ- → Rpast = loʎiɸ-

In disyllabic verbal root, all vowels are involved in the switching process.

However, multisyllabic verbal roots can be formed through morphological derivation by adding prefixes or suffixes or both of them. These morphological affixes are usually not involved in the switching process. The vowel involved are those belonging to the original disyllabic root:

Rpres = roʎiloɸ- → Rpast = roloʎiɸ-

Rpres = menosɛx- → Rpast = monesɛx-

Rpres = hæcæžɛbowr- → Rpast = hæcɛgæbowr-

• Weak verbs, displaying any possible syllabic structure, derive their past root from the present one by adding the suffix -ix:

CV1CV2C → CV1CV2Cix

Example:

Rpres = ulixox- → Rpast = ulixoxix-

This process usually does not give rise to irregular root forms.

• Monosyllabic verbal roots are usually regarded as weak verbs. There are, however, an extremely few monosyllabic strong verbs, which lack a distinct past root.

In simple tenses the following personal endings are added to the verbal root. In this way, verbs show their agreement with the clause subject in person and number:

1st sing.	-of
2nd sing.	-æh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	-onof
2nd plur.	-onæh
3rd plur.

The second and the third person share the same ending in both numbers. Thus the subject pronouns is usually expressed in the second person, to avoid ambiguity. The third person pronoun is, conversely, usually not expressed and left implied:

æpjixu kinusæh
you sing

(æstu) kinusæh
he/she sings

Compound tenses are usually formed through an auxiliary verb (ojæm‘, to be, gjixæm‘, to want, or jimæm‘, to go) with the forms of the participles or the infinitive. The different moods are formed by adding the following infixes to the verbal root, before the personal endings:

• indicative: Ø
• subjunctive: -iñ-
• conditional: -æc-

The non-finite verbal forms are meant as nominal/adjectival forms of the same verbs. They do not add the personal endings, but they are declined as nouns or adjectives with the nominal declension endings.

As verbal forms can, however, be formed on both roots. The infinitive can also add the modal infixes before its typical ending.

The non-finite endings are:

• infinitive: -æm‘
• active participle: -jiθu
• passive participle: -ux‘

All the endings may merge with some verbal roots and create irregular forms.

Conjugation of regular verbs

Sample verbs: as a strong verb, toθiræm‘, to have, to own, as a weak verb, howcæm‘, to throw

Active diathesis

Indicative mood

Present tense

The present is a simple tense. The personal endings are directly added to the present verbal root:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	toθirof	howcof
2nd sing.	toθiræh	howcæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	toθironof	howconof
2nd plur.	toθironæh	howconæh
3rd plur.

There are, however, a sizeable amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be, is shown:

	ojæm‘
1st sing.	owf
2nd sing.	ojh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	onof
2nd plur.	onæh
3rd plur.

The present tense conveys habitual or gnomic actions or states, but it can also convey ongoing action or states of those verbs lacking continuous tenses.

Present continuous tense

The present continuous is a compound tense. It is built with the indicative present forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active present participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	owf toθirjiθu	owf howcjiθu
2nd sing.	ojh toθirjiθu	ojh howcjiθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	onof toθirjiθu	onof howcjiθu
2nd plur.	onæh toθirjiθu	onæh howcjiθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

The present continuous tense conveys ongoing actions or states in the present. Not every verb has continuous forms, like ojæm‘, to be and the modal verbs.

Past tense

The past is a compound tense. It is built with the indicative present forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	owf tiθorjiθu	owf howciciθu
2nd sing.	ojh tiθorjiθu	ojh howciciθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	onof tiθorjiθu	onof howciciθu
2nd plur.	onæh tiθorjiθu	onæh howciciθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

There are, however, a limited amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the verbs ojæm‘, to be, and jimæm‘, to go, is shown:

	ojæm‘	jimæm‘
1st sing.	iwf	emof
2nd sing.	joh	emæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	inof	emonof
2nd plur.	inæh	emonæh
3rd plur.

The past tense conveys complete, habitual, or gnomic actions or states in the past, but it can also convey ongoing action or states in the past of those verbs lacking continuous tenses.

Past continuous tense

The past continuous is a compound tense. It is built with the indicative past forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active present participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	iwf toθirjiθu	iwf howcjiθu
2nd sing.	joh toθirjiθu	joh howcjiθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	inof toθirjiθu	inof howcjiθu
2nd plur.	inæh toθirjiθu	inæh howcjiθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

The present continuous tense conveys ongoing actions or states in the past. Not every verb has continuous forms, like ojæm‘, to be and the modal verbs.

Pluperfect tense

The pluperfect is a compound tense. It is built with the indicative past forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	iwf tiθorjiθu	iwf howciciθu
2nd sing.	joh tiθorjiθu	joh howciciθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	inof tiθorjiθu	inof howciciθu
2nd plur.	inæh tiθorjiθu	inæh howciciθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

The pluperfect tense conveys completed actions or states before another past action or state.

Future tense

The future has two possible construction, both as a compound tense:

• It is built with the indicative present forms of the verb gjixæm‘, to want, with the subjunctive present infinitive form of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	gjixof toθiriñæm‘	gjixof howciñæm‘
2nd sing.	gjixæh toθiriñæm‘	gjixæh howciñæm‘
3rd sing.
1st plur.	gjixonof toθiriñæm‘	gjixonof howciñæm‘
2nd plur.	gjixonæh toθiriñæm‘	gjixonæh howciñæm‘
3rd plur.

• It is built with the indicative present forms of the verb jimæm‘, to go, with the subjunctive present infinitive form of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	jimof toθiriñæm‘	jimof howciñæm‘
2nd sing.	jimæh toθiriñæm‘	jimæh howciñæm‘
3rd sing.
1st plur.	jimonof toθiriñæm‘	jimonof howciñæm‘
2nd plur.	jimonæh toθiriñæm‘	jimonæh howciñæm‘
3rd plur.

Both constructions convey complete, habitual, or ongoing actions or states in the future, with slightly different meamings:

1. The construction with the auxiliary verb gjixæm‘ conveys a meaning of intention and will.
2. The construction with the auxiliary verb jimæm‘ conveys a meaning of unpredictability, casuality or sudden decision.

In both constructions, this tense is regarded as essentially regular, without continuous forms.

Anterior future tense

The anterior future is a compound tense. It is built with the indicative present forms of the verb jimæm‘, to go, with the subjunctive present infinitive form of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	emof toθiriñæm‘	emof howciñæm‘
2nd sing.	emæh toθiriñæm‘	emæh howciñæm‘
3rd sing.
1st plur.	emonof toθiriñæm‘	emonof howciñæm‘
2nd plur.	emonæh toθiriñæm‘	emonæh howciñæm‘
3rd plur.

In the construction of the anterior future tense only the past forms of the auxiliary verb jimæm‘ are used. The differences in meaning in the future are not taken into consideration.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular.

The anterior future tense conveys completed conveys actions or states which will be completed before another future action or state.

Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood has overall limited usages, mostly in dependent clauses, in the so-called personal constructional. It usage in main clauses is extremely limited, except for its role as an imperative form. It can also convey exhortation or wish.

It distinguishes far fewer tenses than the indicative mood, only present, past and pluperfect tenses, In the present tense, the subjunctive features the infix -iñ-, which is placed between the root and the personal endings.

Present tense

The present is a simple tense. The infix -iñ- and the personal endings are added to the present verbal root:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	toθiriñof	howciñof
2nd sing.	toθiriñæh	howciñæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	toθiriñonof	howciñonof
2nd plur.	toθiriñonæh	howciñonæh
3rd plur.

There are, however, a sizeable amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be, is shown:

	ojæm‘
1st sing.	ojñof
2nd sing.	ojñæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ojñonof
2nd plur.	ojñonæh
3rd plur.

Past tense

The past is a compound tense. It is built with the subjunctive present forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	ojñof tiθorjiθu	ojñof howciciθu
2nd sing.	ojñæh tiθorjiθu	ojñæh howciciθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ojñonof tiθorjiθu	ojñonof howciciθu
2nd plur.	ojñonæh tiθorjiθu	ojñonæh howciciθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

There are, however, a limited amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the verbs ojæm‘, to be, and jimæm‘, to go, is shown:

	ojæm‘	jimæm‘
1st sing.	ijñof	emiñof
2nd sing.	ijñæh	emiñæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ijñonof	emiñonof
2nd plur.	ijñonæh	emiñonæh
3rd plur.

Pluperfect tense

The pluperfect is a compound tense. It is built with the subjunctive past forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	ijñof tiθorjiθu	ijñof howciciθu
2nd sing.	ijñæh tiθorjiθu	ijñæh howciciθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ijñonof tiθorjiθu	ijñonof howciciθu
2nd plur.	ijñonæh tiθorjiθu	ijñonæh howciciθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

Conditional mood

The conditional mood is used to convey wish and probability. It is regularly used both in main and dependent clauses.

It distinguishes far fewer tenses than the indicative mood, only present, continuous present and past tenses, In the present tense, the conditional features the infix -æc-, which is placed between the root and the personal endings.

Present tense

The present is a simple tense. The infix -æc- and the personal endings are added to the present verbal root:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	toθiræcof	howcæcof
2nd sing.	toθiræcæh	howcæcæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	toθiræconof	howcæconof
2nd plur.	toθiræconæh	howcæconæh
3rd plur.

There are, however, a sizeable amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be, is shown:

	ojæm‘
1st sing.	ojcof
2nd sing.	ojcæh
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ojconof
2nd plur.	ojconæh
3rd plur.

Present continuous tense

The present continuous is a compound tense. It is built with the conditional present forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active present participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	ojcof toθirjiθu	ojcof howcjiθu
2nd sing.	ojcæh toθirjiθu	ojcæh howcjiθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ojconof toθirjiθu	ojconof howcjiθu
2nd plur.	ojconæh toθirjiθu	ojconæh howcjiθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

The present continuous tense conveys ongoing actions or states in the present. Not every verb has continuous forms, like ojæm‘, to be and the modal verbs.

Past tense

The past is a compound tense. It is built with the conditional present forms of the verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
1st sing.	ojcof tiθorjiθu	ojcof howciciθu
2nd sing.	ojcæh tiθorjiθu	ojcæh howciciθu
3rd sing.
1st plur.	ojconof tiθorjiθu	ojconof howciciθu
2nd plur.	ojconæh tiθorjiθu	ojconæh howciciθu
3rd plur.

This tense is regarded as essentially regular, being the only irregularities in the participial formation.

The usages of the conditional preterite tense are essentially limited to dependent clauses.

Non-finite forms

The non-finite verbal forms are:

Infinitive

It is regarded as the citation form of the verb, and it is not conjugated in person or number. It has, however, a present and a past form, this last a compound form. It can take the subjunctive infix -iñ-.

It is marked by the ending -æm‘, added to the present root. The bast form is built with the infinitival form of the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be, with the undeclined active past participle of the conjugated verb:

	indicative		subjunctive
	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
present	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘	toθiriñæm‘	howiñcæm‘
past	ojæm‘ tiθorjiθu	ojæm‘ howciciθu	ojñæm‘ tiθorjiθu	ojñæm‘ howciciθu

There are, however, a limited amount of irregular verbs. Among these verbs the conjugation of the verbs ojæm‘, to be, and the modal verbs. These verbs have irregular subjunctive infinitive forms:

ojæm‘ → ojñæm‘

The infinitive is mostly used with modal verbs:

• When the indicative infinitive is used with a modal verb, this keeps its original meaning:

jimof howcæm‘
I am going (somewhere) to throw

• When the subjunctive infinitive is used with a modal verb, this becomes an auxiliary verb and loses its original meaning:

jimof howciñæm‘
I am going to throw, I will throw

Moreover, both indicative and subjunctive infinitive can be used in dependent clauses.

The infinitive is a nominal form of a verb and it can be declined only in the singular number. It can also be introduced by a preposition. Its basic form is regarded as the direct case, although it does not display its typical ending. It is not adjoined by the article when it has a verbal function, while the article can be used when the function of the infinitive is strictly nominal.

Participle

The participles are adjectival forms of a verb. They are used primarily in verbal conjugation, but they can also have an adjectival role, adjoining a noun and pointing to an active or passive role of such noun in the action. There are two participial forms, the active participle, and the passive participle.

The active participle is formed through the ending -jiθu, while the passive participle through the ending -ux‘. They have a present and a past form, respectively built on the present root and on the past root.

	active participle		passive participle
	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘	toθiræm‘	howcæm‘
present	toθirjiθu	howcjiθu	toθirux‘	howcux‘
past	tiθorjiθu	howciciθu	tiθorux‘	howcixux‘

The active particle is the most irregular form in the entire verbal system. The suffix –jiθu tends to merge with last root consonant, with a palatalizing effect:

ñamjixæm‘ → ñamjiciθu

In the present forms, the suffix is added to the present root, while the past form are built through the past root. This may cause further irregularities.

In the conjugation of weak verbs, the suffix -ix- always undergoes palatalization:

-ix- → -iciθu

In the conjugation of strong verbs, besides the possible palatalization of the last root consonant, the same root can display internal irregularities, due to the introflexive process of vowel switching:

ʎiloɸæm‘ → loʎiɸjiθu
ñamjixæm‘ → ñjimaciθu

The passive particle can also display some irregularities, although in a lesser amount than its active counterpart. The strong verbs may display the same irregularities in the root, but the suffix -ux‘ rarely has an altering effect on the root.

ʎiloɸæm‘ → loʎiɸux‘
ñamjixæm‘ → ñjimaxux‘

When used in the verbal conjugation, the active participle is deemed as an indeclinable form, while the past participle agrees with the clause subject in number even in the verbal conjugatiuon. In their adjectival role, both participles display a complete declension.

Passive diathesis

The passive diathesis displays only compound forms, in every mood and tense. These forms are always built through the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be with the various forms of the passive participle.

The usage of the different moods and tenses is exactly the same as the active diathesis. However, the passive diathesis completely lacks any continuous tense. The passive particles always agrees with the clause subject in number.

Indicative mood

Tense	Construction
present	indicative present forms of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
past	indicative present forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle
plusperfect	indicative past forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle
future	indicative future forms of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
anterior future	indicative future forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle

Examples (for each tense only the 1^st person singular form of the verb howcæm‘ is shown):

Tense	Example
present	owf howcux‘, ...
past	owf howcixux‘, ...
plusperfect	iwf howcixux‘, ...
future	gjixof ojñæm‘ howcux‘, ...
anterior future	gjixof ojñæm‘ howcixux‘, ...

Subjunctive mood

Tense	Construction
present	subjunctive present forms of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
past	subjunctive present forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle
plusperfect	subjunctive past forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle

Examples (for each tense only the 1^st person singular form of the verb howcæm‘ is shown):

Tense	Example
present	ojñof howcux‘, ...
past	ojñof howcixux‘, ...
plusperfect	ijñof howcixux‘, ...

Conditional mood

Tense	Construction
present	conditional present forms of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
past	conditional present forms of ojæm‘ + past passive participle

Examples (for each tense only the 1^st person singular form of the verb howcæm‘ is shown):

Tense	Example
present	ojcof howcux‘, ...
past	ojcof howcixux‘, ...

Infinitive mood

Tense	Construction
indicative present	indicative infinitive form of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
indicative past	indicative infinitive form of ojæm‘ + past passive participle
subjunctive present	subjunctive infinitive form of ojæm‘ + present passive participle
subjunctive past	subjunctive infinitive form of ojæm‘ + past passive participle

Examples (only the infinitival forms of the verb howcæm‘ are shown):

Tense	Example
indicative present	ojæm‘ howcux‘
indicative past	ojæm‘ howcixux‘
subjunctive present	ojñæm‘ howcux‘
subjunctive past	ojñæm‘ howcixux‘

Negation

The verbal negation is conveyed by two negative adverbs:

• jis
• he

These two adverbs have different usages and placements.

1. jis is used with the simple present tense, being placed after it, and with all future tenses, being placed between the auxiliary verbs and the infinitival forms.

æl‘ soɸal‘ ñamjixæh → æl‘ soɸal‘ ñamjixæh jis
the dog bites → the dog doesn't bite

æl‘ soɸal‘ jimof ñamjixæm‘ æl‘ vjirul‘ → æl‘ soɸal‘ jimof jis ñamjixæm‘ æl‘ vjirul‘
the dog will bite the man → the dog won't bite the man

2. he is used with all compound tenses formed with the auxiliary verb ojæm‘, to be, being placed before it.

æl‘ soɸal‘ ojh ñjimaciθu æl‘ vjirul‘ → æl‘ soɸal‘ he ojh ñjimaciθu æl‘ vjirul‘
the dog will bit the man → the dog didn't bite the man

However, both negative adverbs can be found inside the same sentence, with every verbal tense, in their regular position (in these cases jis is placed between the auxiliary verb and the participial form). This construction may be used to strengthen or highlight the negation:

æl‘ soɸal‘ he ojh ñjimaciθu æl‘ vjirul‘ → æl‘ soɸal‘ he ojh jis ñjimaciθu æl‘ vjirul‘
the dog didn't bite the man → the dog didn't bite the man at all

Double negatives are generally allowed, but this usage is unstable and unclear.