Βaβar morphology

Main article: Βaβar

This page gives an extensive description of Βaβar morphological features.

Nouns

Nouns in Βaβar language can end either in a vowel or in a consonant in their basic form.

Nouns are grouped into two declension classes: vocalic and consonantal class. As a rule, we can sketch out the following scheme:

• vocalic class: includes every noun ending in a vowel
• consonantal class: includes every noun ending in a consonant

Nouns display no gender distinction. There are two morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular and plural, and a modest case system.

Cases

Βaβar nouns do decline, according to a nominative-accusative system with 5 cases:

Case	Meaning
Nominative	This case marks the subject of a verb. It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used as the vocative form.
Accusative	This case marks the direct object of a verb. It is also used with many postpositions.
Genitive-Dative	This case marks possession and belonging, either intentional, unintentional, or indirect, and the indirect object. These meanings are distinguished by the context of the sentence or by using specific postpositions. It is also used with many postpositions.
Instrumental	This case marks the tool or the instrument which are used to perform an action or to be in a certain state.
Locative	This case marks the place where an action is performed, or a certain state exist (stative location). It can also have a temporal value.

The cases are usually classified in 2 groups:

1. Main cases: nominative, accusative
2. Oblique cases: genitive-dative, instrumental, locative

Other types of clause complements are conveyed using various postpositions, which can select one or more cases.

Noun pluralization

Nouns are declined for number with different models, depending on the class to which they belong:

• Consonantal class: The last vowel is reduplicated and placed at the end of the word. If this vowel is long, its reduplicated form is shortened.
• Vocalic class: If the noun ends in a short vowel, this vowel is lenghtened. If the last vowel is long, this vowel undergoes breaking or diphthongization. The vowel ə does not undergo any change.

Examples:

sing. tɬʼīx → plur. tɬʼīxi

sing. gāβra → plur. gāβrā

sing. βā → plur. βwa

There is, however, a certain amount of irregularities and exceptions to these rules. For example:

sing. βūβ → plur. βujβ

Noun declension

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

	consonantal class	vocalic class
nominative	-	-
accusative	-ɴ / əɴ1	-ɴ
gen.-dat.	-uɟ	-ɟ
instrumental	-iq	-q
locative	-aʈ	-ʈ

¹ This ending display two possible forms. The latter is used after a nasal consonant, the former is used in every other case.

Due to the pluralization process, nouns can shift from a class to the other one. In this case the proper endings to the new last phoneme are used.

Some examples are shown below: a consonantal class (in the singular) noun, tɬūβ, house, and a vocalic class (in the singular) noun, mū, cow.

	tɬūβ		mū
	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	tɬūβ	tɬūβu	mū	muj
accusative	tɬūβɴ	tɬūβuɴ	mūɴ	mujɴ
gen.-dat.	tɬūβuɟ	tɬūβuɟ	mūɟ	mujuɟ
instrumental	tɬūβiq	tɬūβuq	mūq	mujiq
locative	tɬūβaʈ	tɬūβuʈ	mūʈ	mujaʈ

As it can be noticed, some endings in the oblique cases of the consonantal class can display the same vowel of the plural form of the noun. In these cases the nouns do not distinguish any different plural forms.

Adjectives

Attributive adjectives are always placed before the nouns they specify, while predicative adjectives are always placed after them.

muk tɬʼīx
(the) young man

tɬʼīx muk sūɣ
(the) man is young

All adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they specify, being declined with endings, which are only partially similar to the nominal declension endings.

mukət tɬʼīxuɟ žur tɬʼūβəg βəʂðət tɬʼūβuriʈ ʈīɣ
the young man’s new house is located in the nearby village

Declension of qualifying adjectives

Adjectives are declined in case according to a declension system which is only partially similar to the nominal one, display a smaller set of endings in the oblique cases.

Both attributive and predicative adjectives are declined by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	consonantal class	vocalic class
nominative	-	-
accusative	-ɴ / əɴ	-ɴ
gen.-dat.	-t / ət	-t
instrumental	-t / ət	-t
locative	-t / ət	-t

Adjectives are declined in number by following the same rules as the nouns. As it can be noticed, the endings in the oblique case are always the same, displaying the only ending -t. Distinction among oblique case is made by the noun alone.

Example: attributive adjective xrām, big, and the noun tɬūβ, house.

	xrām tɬūβ
	singular	plural
nominative	xrām tɬūβ	xrāma tɬūβu
accusative	xrāmɴ tɬūβɴ	xrāmaɴ tɬūβuɴ
gen.-dat.	xrāmt tɬūβuɟ	xrāmat tɬūβuɟ
instrumental	xrāmt tɬūβiq	xrāmat tɬūβuq
locative	xrāmt tɬūβaʈ	xrāmat tɬūβuʈ

Pronouns

Pronouns in Βaβar language can end either in a vowel or in a consonant in their basic form, and they usually display a monosyllabic base form.

The pronominal declension noticeably diverges from the nominal one, both in case endings and in the number of distinguished cases. Moreover, pronouns alone make a distinction between animate and inanimate referents. However, like nouns, they morphologically convey two grammatical numbers, singular and plural, but displaying entirely different roots in both numbers.

Declension of pronouns

Pronouns are declined by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	consonantal class	vocalic class
nominative	-	-
accusative	-m / əm1 or -	-m or -
gen.-dat.	-iç	-ç
instrumental	-at	-t
locative	-at	-t

¹ This ending display two possible forms. The latter is used after a nasal consonant, the former is used in every other case.

The pronominal declension noticeably diverges from the nominal one. The endings are completely different and display a different allocation. The endings of the instrumental and the locative case are always the same. The accusative case, moreover, displays a syllabic nasal ending ending only when referring to semantically animate entities. If the pronouns refer to inanimate entities, the accusative ending is the same as the nominative case, namely a zero ending.

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns feature a distinction between the roots in the singular number and the roots in the plural number. These pronouns are also regarded as referents to animated entities only, in all persons.

	1st sing.	2nd sing.	3rd sing.	1st plur.	2nd plur.	3rd plur.
nominative	si	ma	ɣu	žī	kā	çi
accusative	sim	mam	ɣum	žīm	kām	çim
gen.-dat.	siç	maç	ɣuç	žīç	kāç	çiç
instrumental	sit	mat	ɣut	žīt	kāt	çit
locative

Since they intrinsically refer to animated entities, third person pronouns cannot be used as referents to inanimated entities. There are no personal pronouns used this way, being used the demonstrative pronouns for this purpose.

In the accusative case, the personal pronouns forms are regarded as marked forms, and they are used only to highlight the accusative pronoun. In an unmarked role special enclitic accusative suffixes are used.

	1st sing.	2nd sing.	3rd sing.	1st plur.	2nd plur.	3rd plur.
accusative	-n / -ən	-x / -əx	-d / -əd	-na / -ān	-ɣa / -āx	-ɖ / -əɖ

These forms are added as enclitic suffixes to a word in the sentence, chiefly to the subject pronouns, when present. If the subject pronouns are absent, these suffixes are added to the verb (thus moving the direct object after the verb and causing the word order to shift to VSO).

Examples:

si mam riʈʂʼiš
As for me, I love you (and no one else)

six riʈʂʼiš 
As for me, I love you

riʈʂʼišəx
I love you

With compound verbal forms, these suffixes are added to the auxiliary verb or to the modal verb. However, they may be also be added to the participles.

Examples:

ɸaqurā sūšəx
I see you

ɸāqurā ðuzəx
I want you

Interrogative pronouns

Basic interrogative pronouns display two different forms: one for animate entities (who?) and one for inanimate entities (what?).

• what: tɬʼū
• who: ɟī

Both pronouns can be declined with the pronominal declension endings.

m-ɟīç ɟn ɴiʈʂʼɴ ðīm?
whom did you give water to?

There are also other interrogative pronouns (and adverbs):

• tɬʼūʈ: where (static location)
• tɬʼušn: why (aim)
• tɬʼīɴraʈ: when

There are also the following interrogative adjectives:

• tɬʼūð: which (inanimate)
• ɟīð: which (animate)

Numerals

The numeral system relies on a mixed system of decimal base and a vigesimal base.

Cardinal numerals

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

digit	full form
1:	īɴ
2:	gaɸ
3:	zgū
4:	dāk
5:	atsʼ
6:	trikxʼ
7:	rməq
8:	dākr
9:	īɴɸə
10:	ɸək

Numerals from 11 to 19 are built with the construction NUM + i + ɸək. If the numeral ends in a vowel, the -i turns into -j:

digit	full form
11:	īɴiɸək
12:	gaɸiɸək
13:	zgūjɸək
14:	dākiɸək
15:	atsʼiɸək
16:	trikxʼiɸək
17:	rməqiɸək
18:	dākriɸək
19:	īɴɸəjɸək

The numeral for tens is built with the construction NUM + ī:

tens:

ɸəkī

The numerals for 20 is a noun-like form on their own:

digit	full form
20:	gāɸī

Numerals for 30, 50, 70 and 90 are built with the construction NUM + ɸəkī:

digit	full form
30:	zgūɸəkī
50:	atsʼɸəkī
70:	rməqɸəkī
90:	īɴɸəɸəkī

Numerals for 40, 60 and 80 are built with the construction 2 / 3 / 4 + gāɸī:

digit	full form
40:	gaɸgāɸī
60:	zgūgāɸī
80:	dākgāɸī

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

digit	full form
100:	žaβ
1000:	kx‘ruç

The numerals for the multiples of hundreds and thousands are built with the construction NUM + (i) + žaβī / kx‘ruçī:

	hundreds	thousands
2x:	gaɸžaβī	gaɸkx‘ruçī
3x:	zgūžaβī	zgūkx‘ruçī
4x:	dākžaβī	dākikx‘ruçī
5x:	atsʼižaβī	atsʼkx‘ruçī
6x:	trikxiʼžaβī	trikxʼikx‘ruçī
7x:	rməqižaβī	rməqikx‘ruçī
8x:	dākrižaβī	dākrikx‘ruçī
9x:	īɴɸəžaβī	īɴɸəkx‘ruçī

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

• 1985: kx‘ruç īɴɸəžaβī dākgāɸī atsʼ

All cardinal numerals up to these forms are treated as adjective-like forms. They decline according to their adjoining nouns in case, but they do not agree in number. Numerals do decline only in singular number.

The numerals for “million” and “billion” are nominal forms on their own (the latter is an adapted loanword from modern Figo language):

digit	noun form
1,000,000:	ʈʂʼamʈʂʼam (reduplicated from ʈʂʼam, great amount)
1,000,000,000:	mišurintu (from m. F. mešurentur)

These forms are treated as regularly declinable nouns. If these numerals are used as simple count forms, they are declined in the nominative case. Inside of a structured sentence, they are declined according the case required by their syntactical role. Nouns adjoining such numerals are declined in the genitive-dative case and are followed by the postposition ɣm:

βaraɟ ɣm īɴ ʈʂʼamʈʂʼam
one million people

βaraɟ ɣm gaɸ mišurintūɟ ɟn
to two billions people

In the latest texts, however, nouns adjoining these numerals arenot followed by any postposition:

βaraɟ gaɸ mišurintūɟ ɟn
to two billions people

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

digit	full form
0:	xisū (from I. xesú)

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed by adding the ordinal ending -ð, sometimes preceded by -i-, to the cardinal numeral form, with an irregular suppletive form:

digit	adjective form
1st:	rārm
2nd:	gaɸið
3rd:	zgūð
4th:	dākið
5th:	atsʼið
6th:	trikxʼið
7th:	rməqið
8th:	dākrið
9th:	īɴɸəð
10th:	ɸəkið
11th:	īɴiɸəkið
12th:	gaɸiɸəkið
20th:	gāɸīð
60th:	zgūgāɸīð

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:	ʈʂʼamʈʂʼamð
1,000,000,000th:	mišurintuð
3,000,000,000th:	zgūmišurintuð

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

• 25^th: gāɸī atsʼið

Verbs

The verbal system of Βaβar language is based on the fundamental dichotomy between imperfective aspect and perfective aspect. This distinction is conveyed by two different verbal roots for every verbal meaning, the imperfective root (R_imp) and the perfective root (R_prf). The perfective root is usually derived from the imperfective one through an introflexive process of vowel change:

CCV1CC → CCV2CC

The root vowel change follows well-defined patterns:

Rimp = short vowel → Rprf = long vowel

Rimp = long vowel → Rprf = diphthong

Rimp = semivowel → Rprf = [ə] + semivowel

Examples:

Rimp = ɸaq- → Rprf = ɸāq-

Rimp = çīr- → Rprf = çwir-

Rimp = qmš- → Rprf = qəmš-

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 change process. The vowel involved is that belonging to the original verbal root:

Examples:

Rimp = çāɸaq- → Rprf = çāɸāq-

Rimp = ɣārɸi- → Rprf = ɣārɸī-

Irregular perfective roots can be found, however rarely. Some verbs may entirely lack their perfective root.

No distinction is made on a temporal level. Time is conveyed exclusively through temporal adverbs and particles.

There are three verbal moods and three non-finite forms:

• Moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative
• Non-finite: active participle, passive participle

The citation form of verbs is the imperfective imperative, which coincides exactly with the imperfective root. From such form the imperfective root can be inferred and can be changed in its perfective equivalent.

All verbs are divided in three groups, called conjugations. Each conjugation is distinguished by a different conjugating pattern in aspect, person and mood, and a different thematic vowel, which is added to the root before the personal endings. The 1^st conjugation has a null ending, with the personal endings being directly added to the root. The 2^nd conjugation and the 3^rd conjugation add -i- and -u-, respectively, as thematic vowels. The general scheme is:

1st conjugation	-
2nd conjugation	-i-
3rd conjugation	-u-

The following personal endings are then added to the various aspectual forms. In this way, verbs show their agreement with the clause subject in person and number:

1st sing.	-š
2nd sing.	-m
3rd sing.	-ɣ
1st plur.	-ža
2nd plur.	-ku
3rd plur.	-ç

The subjunctive mood is usually derived from the indicative forms, with different patterns according to the conjugation. 1^st conjugation verbs add a suffix, while 2^nd and 3^rd conjugation verbs change the thematic vowel. The imperative mood has an only form, not varying in person and number, which coincides with the pure verbal roots, both imperfective and perfective.

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 non-finite endings are:

• active participle: -rā
• passive participle: -žu

These forms are used, with the verb sū, to be as an auxiliary verb, to construct further aspectual forms, a progressive form and a resultative form. Thus the distinct aspectual forms amount to four:

• Aspects: imperfective, perfective, progressive, resultative

A distinction between an active diathesis and a passive diathesis is made. However, the passive diathesis distinguishes a reduced amount of aspectual forms.

Conjugation of regular verbs

Sample verbs:

• 1^st conjugation: ði, to give
• 2^nd conjugation: ɟux, to bring
• 3^rd conjugation: ɸaq, to see

Active diathesis

Indicative mood

Imperfective aspect

The imperfective is a simple form. In the 1^st conjugation the personal endings are added directly to the imperfective verbal root. In the 2^nd and in the 2^rd conjugation the thematic vowels (which are lenghtened in their plural forms) and the personal endings are added to the imperfective verbal root:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðiš	ɟuxiš	ɸaquš
2nd sing.	ðim	ɟuxim	ɸaqum
3rd sing.	ðiɣ	ɟuxiɣ	ɸaquɣ
1st plur.	ðiža	ɟuxīža	ɸaqūža
2nd plur.	ðiku	ɟuxīku	ɸaqūku
3rd plur.	ðiç	ɟuxīç	ɸaqūç

Perfective aspect

The perfective is a simple form. In the 1^st conjugation the personal endings are added directly to the perfective verbal root. In the 2^nd and in the 2^rd conjugation the thematic vowels (which are lenghtened in their plural forms) and the personal endings are added to the perfective verbal root:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðīš	ɟūxiš	ɸāquš
2nd sing.	ðīm	ɟūxim	ɸāqum
3rd sing.	ðīɣ	ɟūxiɣ	ɸāquɣ
1st plur.	ðīža	ɟūxīža	ɸāqūža
2nd plur.	ðīku	ɟūxīku	ɸāqūku
3rd plur.	ðīç	ɟūxīç	ɸāqūç

Progressive aspect

The progressive is a compound form. In all conjugations it is built with the undeclined active imperfective participle of the conjugated verb, and the indicative imperfective forms of the verb sū, to be, as an auxiliary verb:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðirā sūš	ɟuxirā sūš	ɸaqurā sūš
2nd sing.	ðirā sūm	ɟuxirā sūm	ɸaqurā sūm
3rd sing.	ðirā sūɣ	ɟuxirā sūɣ	ɸaqurā sūɣ
1st plur.	ðirā sūža	ɟuxirā sūža	ɸaqurā sūža
2nd plur.	ðirā sūku	ɟuxirā sūku	ɸaqurā sūku
3rd plur.	ðirā sūç	ɟuxirā sūç	ɸaqurā sūç

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

Resultative aspect

The resultative is a compound form. In all conjugations it is built with the undeclined active perfective participle of the conjugated verb, and the indicative imperfective forms of the verb sū, to be, as an auxiliary verb:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðīrā sūš	ɟūxirā sūš	ɸāqurā sūš
2nd sing.	ðīrā sūm	ɟūxirā sūm	ɸāqurā sūm
3rd sing.	ðīrā sūɣ	ɟūxirā sūɣ	ɸāqurā sūɣ
1st plur.	ðīrā sūža	ɟūxirā sūža	ɸāqurā sūža
2nd plur.	ðīrā sūku	ɟūxirā sūku	ɸāqurā sūku
3rd plur.	ðīrā sūç	ɟūxirā sūç	ɸāqurā sūç

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

Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood displays the same aspectual forms of the indicative mood, being usually derived from the same indicative forms in different ways, according to the verbal conjugation:

• 1^st conjugation: the infixes -ja (singular form) and -jā (plural form) are added between the root and the personal ending.
• 2^nd conjugation: the thematic vowel is lenghtened in the singular forms and diphthongized in the plural forms.
• 3^rd conjugation: the thematic vowel is lenghtened in the singular forms and diphthongized in the plural forms.

Some verbs have irregular subjunctive forms.

Example:

mām, to eat (3rd conjug.) → subj. māmja-/māmjā-

Imperfective aspect

The imperfective is a simple form. In the 1^st conjugation the infix -ja/-jā and the personal endings are added to the imperfective verbal root. In the 2^nd and in the 2^rd conjugation the subjunctive thematic vowels (which are diphthongized in their plural forms) and the personal endings are added to the imperfective verbal root:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðijaš	ɟuxīš	ɸaqūš
2nd sing.	ðijam	ɟuxīm	ɸaqūm
3rd sing.	ðijaɣ	ɟuxīɣ	ɸaqūɣ
1st plur.	ðijāža	ɟuxiwža	ɸaqujža
2nd plur.	ðijāku	ɟuxiwku	ɸaqujku
3rd plur.	ðijāç	ɟuxiwç	ɸaqujç

Some verbs may have irregular subjunctive forms. These forms can either be completely irregular, with an entirely different subjunctive root, or display only partial irregularities, like using the 1^st conjugation infix, despite belonging to the 2^nd or the 3^rd conjugation.

Examples:

sū, to be (1st conjug.) → subj. sjaš, sjam, sjaɣ, sjāža, sjāku, sjāç
mām, to eat (3rd conjug.) → subj. māmjaš, māmjam, māmjaɣ, māmjāža, māmjāku, māmjāç

Perfective aspect

The perfective is a simple form. In the 1^st conjugation the infix -ja/-jā and the personal endings are added to the perfective verbal root. In the 2^nd and in the 2^rd conjugation the subjunctive thematic vowels (which are diphthongized in their plural forms) and the personal endings are added to the perfective verbal root:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðījaš	ɟūxīš	ɸāqūš
2nd sing.	ðījam	ɟūxīm	ɸāqūm
3rd sing.	ðījaɣ	ɟūxīɣ	ɸāqūɣ
1st plur.	ðījāža	ɟūxiwža	ɸāqujža
2nd plur.	ðījāku	ɟūxiwku	ɸāqujku
3rd plur.	ðījāç	ɟūxiwç	ɸāqujç

Some verbs may have irregular subjunctive forms. These forms can either be completely irregular, with an entirely different subjunctive root, or display only partial irregularities, like using the 1^st conjugation infix, despite belonging to the 2^nd or the 3^rd conjugation.

Examples:

mām, to eat (3rd conjug.) → subj. mwamjaš, mwamjam, mwamjaɣ, mwamjāža, mwamjāku, mwamjāç

Progressive aspect

The progressive is a compound form. In all conjugations it is built with the undeclined active imperfective participle of the conjugated verb, and the subjunctive imperfective forms of the verb sū, to be, as an auxiliary verb:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðirā sjaš	ɟuxirā sjaš	ɸaqurā sjaš
2nd sing.	ðirā sjam	ɟuxirā sjam	ɸaqurā sjam
3rd sing.	ðirā sjaɣ	ɟuxirā sjaɣ	ɸaqurā sjaɣ
1st plur.	ðirā sjāža	ɟuxirā sjāža	ɸaqurā sjāža
2nd plur.	ðirā sjāku	ɟuxirā sjāku	ɸaqurā sjāku
3rd plur.	ðirā sjāç	ɟuxirā sjāç	ɸaqurā sjāç

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

Resultative aspect

The resultative is a compound form. In all conjugations it is built with the undeclined active perfective participle of the conjugated verb, and the subjunctive imperfective forms of the verb sū, to be, as an auxiliary verb:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
1st sing.	ðīrā sjaš	ɟūxirā sjaš	ɸāqurā sjaš
2nd sing.	ðīrā sjam	ɟūxirā sjam	ɸāqurā sjam
3rd sing.	ðīrā sjaɣ	ɟūxirā sjaɣ	ɸāqurā sjaɣ
1st plur.	ðīrā sjāža	ɟūxirā sjāža	ɸāqurā sjāža
2nd plur.	ðīrā sjāku	ɟūxirā sjāku	ɸāqurā sjāku
3rd plur.	ðīrā sjāç	ɟūxirā sjāç	ɸāqurā sjāç

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

Imperative mood

The imperative mood features only a single form, which conveys both singular and plural number, and coincides with the pure verbal root. This mood, conversely, displays an imperfective and a perfective form, built on both verbal roots.

Imperfective aspect

The imperfective is a simple form. It is the same as the pure imperfective verbal root, without any personal ending:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
2nd sing.	ði	ɟux	ɸaq
2nd plur.

It is regarded as the citation form of the verb, as it represent the base underived form of every verb.

Perfective aspect

The perfective is a simple form. It is the same as the pure perfective verbal root, without any personal ending:

	1st conjugation	2nd conjugation	3rd conjugation
2nd sing.	ðī	ɟūx	ɸāq
2nd plur.

Non-finite forms

The non-finite verbal forms are:

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 -rā, while the passive participle through the ending -žu. They both have an imperfective and a perfective form, respectively built on the imperfective root and on the perfective root.

Examples from the verb ɸaq, to see:

	imperfective	perfective
active	ɸaqurā	ɸāqurā
passive	ɸaqužu	ɸāqužu

The active participle is an adjectival form of a verb. It is linked to nouns which actively perform an action. The passive participle is an adjectival form of a verb. It is linked to nouns which undergo an action, or inactively are in a certain state.

When used in the verbal conjugation, both participles are deemed as indeclinable forms. In their adjectival role, both participles display a complete adjectival declension. They are also used with the modal verbs.

Passive diathesis

The passive diathesis displays only compound forms, in a lesser amount than the active diathesis. These forms are always built through the undeclined forms of the passive participle, with the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb sū, to be which always agrees with the clause subject in number.

The usage of the different moods is exactly the same as the active diathesis, while the usage of the different aspect is essentially different. The passive diathesis displays only the imperfective and the perfective forms, which also play the role respectively of the progressive and resultative aspect.

Indicative mood

Tense	Construction
imperfective	imperfective passive participle + indicative imperfective forms of sū
perfective	perfective passive participle + indicative imperfective forms of sū

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

Tense	Construction
imperfective	ɟuxižu sūš, ...
perfective	ɟūxižu sūš, ...

Subjunctive mood

Tense	Construction
imperfective	imperfective passive participle + subjunctive imperfective forms of sū
perfective	perfective passive participle + subjunctive imperfective forms of sū

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

Tense	Construction
imperfective	ɟuxižu sjaš, ...
perfective	ɟūxižu sjaš, ...

Imperative mood

Tense	Construction
imperfective	imperfective passive participle + imperative imperfective forms of sū
perfective	perfective passive participle + imperative imperfective forms of sū

Examples (for each tense only the 2^nd person form is shown):

Tense	Construction
imperfective	ɟuxižu sū, ...
perfective	ɟūxižu sū, ...

Negation

The verbal negation is conveyed by a distinct negative particle:

• n

This particle, being an only semivocalic consonant, cannot be clearly classified either as an adverb or as a prefix. Phonologically it blends with the following word, becoming a new unstressed syllable of the word.

If the following word already begins with a nasal consonant, an euphonic vowel [ə] is added to the negative particle, which gains a full syllabic value:

• nə

Given its relevant syntactical and phonological value, the negative particle is usually written with a dash (-), to be clearly distinguished from the followin word.

The verbal form is thus negated by placing the negative particle before it.

tɬīx xūɸɴ ɸāquɣ → tɬīx xūɸɴ n-ɸāquɣ
the man saw the dog → the man didn't see the dog

With a compound verbal form, the particle is usually added to the auxiliary verb.

tɬīx xūɸɴ ɸaqurā sūɣ → tɬīx xūɸɴ ɸaqurā n-sūɣ
the man is watching the dog → the man isn't watching the dog

The negative particle, however, can be added to any other element in the sentence, to specifically negate such element.

xūɸ tɬīxɴ xərɟuɣ → n-xūɸ tɬīxɴ xərɟuɣ
the dog bit the man → it wasn't the dog the one who bit the man

Double negatives are generally not allowed; the presence of another negative element in the sentence inhibits the negative adverb.