User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Verbs

Verbs in Pı̇ħ usually have a monosyllabic form, or a multisyllabic form, if morphologically derived. Each verbal form carries only the semantical information, while othere feature are conveyed by other grammatic particles.

On the morphological level the verb display no person, or number, exhibiting always the same unaltered form:

rjos
(I, you, he, she, it, we, they) hear

The verbal person is conveyed by nouns and personal pronouns, which can convey also the number, unlike nouns:

ŋọ rjos
I hear

sȧ ʔẹ rjos
you (pl.) hear

The verb, however, can be adjoined by particles, which convey either the aspectual or the temporal value of an action or a state. The set of the verb form, carrying the meaning, together with the temporal and the aspectual particles is called verb cluster.

hı̣wŋ rjos xȯ
past - hear - perfective

Personal pronouns are not considered to be part of the verb cluster, as they can be freely placed in other parts of the clause. Verbal particles, conversely, are strictly tied to the same verbal form.

The aspectual particles are:

aspect	particle
progressive	ɴjạ
perfective	xȯ
resultative	cjɛ̣
repetitive	ɬjuj
experiential	ɸɔ̇
prospective	pwọ

The absence of an aspectual particle is understood as an habitual aspect, namely pointing to a usual or customary in time action or state. The aspectual particle are always place after the verb, and are not usually left out. Examples:

ŋọ rjos
I hear (always)

ŋọ rjos ɴjạ
I am hearing

ŋọ rjos xȯ
I heard

The temporal particles are:

time	particle
now	rɔj
past	hı̣wŋ
future	ku̇x
distant past	rjɛ̇w