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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-

Questo processo porta spesso a irregolarità radicali:

Rpres = ʎiloɸ- → Rpass = loʎiɸ-

Nel caso di radici verbali di forma bisillabica, le vocali sottoposte al processo di scambio sono quelle presenti nella radice.

Possono essere presenti, tuttavia, radici verbali trisillabiche o plurisillabiche. In questo caso le vocali sottoposte al processo di scambio vocalico sono quelle appartenenti alla radice bisillabica originale. Queste radici plurisillabiche sono in generale derivate morfologicamente tramite l’aggiunta di prefissi o di suffissi, i quali non vanno a partecipare allo scambio vocalico

Rpres = roʎiloɸ- → Rpass = roloʎiɸ- Rpres = menosɛx- → Rpass = monesɛx- Rpres = hæcæžɛbowr- → Rpass = hæcɛgæbowr-

• Strong verbs, mostly with a CVCVC- 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.

• Particolare è il trattamente delle radici verbali monosillabiche, che vengono generalmente trattate come verbi deboli, ma non mancano esempi di forme forti, che difettano quindi di una radice passata distinta.

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.

Compound tenses are usually formed through an auxiliary verb (tòram, to have, or kiɣam, to come) 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: -in-
• conditional: -as-

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, take the augment. They can also add the modal infixes before their typical endings.

The non-finite endings are:

• infinitive: -am
• agentive participle: -íðə
• passive participle: -uɣi

The infinitival form is meant as a 2^nd class noun.