Verbs
Verb types
There are two verb types:
i-verbs (type 1) and other verbs (type 2).
i-verbs are the verbs that end in consonant+i, e. g.:
vidi — to see
audi — to hear
fini — to finish
sidi — to sit
dumi — to think
fobisi — to frighten
pri — to like
chi — to eat
pi — to drink.
Monosyllabic i-verbs like pri, chi, pi constitute a specific subtype characterized by that in derivation their -i is always preserved, e. g.:
chi — chier, chiing
pi — pier, piing
(cf.: swimi — swimer, swiming).
Examples of type 2 verbs:
jan — to know
gun — to work
zun — to be occupied with, devote oneself to
shwo — to say, to speak
go — to go
yao — to want
lwo — to fall
flai — to fly
krai — to cry
prei — to pray
joi — to rejoice, be happy
jui — to enjoy, revel in
emploi — to employ
kontinu — to continue.
Verbs with prefixes fa- and mah-, which contain adjectives, are type 2 verbs too:
fa-syao — to diminish, become smaller (syao small)
fa-muhim — to become more important (muhim important)
mah-hao — make better, improve (hao good).
The main verb form
This is the only verb form that one has to memorize. It is used in all cases, with particles or adverbs added for clarity when needed.
Examples:
treba dumi — one should think
me (yu, ta, nu, yu, li) dumi — I (you, he/she, we, you, they) think
Dumi! — Think!
Me yao ke yu dumi hao om to. — I'd like you to think well about it (“I want that you think well about it”).
Tu samaji es tu pardoni. — To understand is to forgive.
Es taim fo samaji ke... — It's time to understand that...
Nu samaji se. — We understand this.
Samaji! — Understand!
Wud bi muy hao, si yu samaji ke... — It would be very good if you understand that…
Tu go a kino es hao. — It is good to go to the cinema.
Lu sal go a kino. — He is going to go to the cinema.
Lu go a kino. — He goes (or is going) to the cinema.
Go ahir! — Go here!
Me nadi ke yu go a kino. — I hope that you go to the cinema.
Negation is formed by means of the particle bu placed before a verb or tense particle:
Me bu samaji. — I don't understand.
Lu bu yao. — He doesn't want.
Bu go dar! — Don't go there!
Bu shwo ke yu bu jan-te! — Don't say that you didn't know!
Verb forms
Verb forms are basically the main verb form plus a particle before or after the verb. If a particle comes after the verb, it is written with a hyphen. Thus, the main verb form is always evident, and its stress is preserved.
Particles before the verb:
ve — future tense marker;
he — past tense marker
zai — marker of continuous aspect
wud — conditional marker
gwo — remote past tense marker (some time ago, earlier in life, have been to somewhere or used to do something)
sal — immediate future marker (to be about to do something.)
yus — immediate past marker (have just done something; the word yus means just)
gei — marks the passive of becoming.
Particles after the verb:
-te — past tense marker
-she — present active participle marker
-yen — verbal adverb marker, "while -ing"
-ney — passive participle marker, or (for intransitive verbs) past active participle marker.
Examples:
chi — to eat
ve chi — will eat
chi-te, he chi — ate or have eaten
zai chi — is eating
ve zai chi — will be eating
zai chi-te — was eating
ve he chi — will have eaten
he chi-te — had eaten
wud chi — would eat
wud chi-te — would have eaten
gei chi — is being eaten
ve gei chi — will be being eaten
gei-te chi — was being eaten
es chi-ney — is eaten
bin chi-ney — was eaten
ve bi chi-ney — will be eaten
chi-she — eating (active part.):
chi-she kota — the eating cat
chi-yen — (while) eating (verbal adverb)
afte chi — having eaten
gwo chi — used to eat, has experience of eating
sal chi — about to eat
yus chi-te — have just eaten.
Future tense
Examples:
me ve shwo — I shall say (speak)
nu ve go — we shall go
ela ve lekti — she will read
yu ve gun — you will work
ve pluvi — it will rain
me bu ve go — I won't go.
Past tense
There are 2 particles for the past tense: he (before verb) means the completed action, -te (after verb) means the past tense for any action, completed or not:
He pluvi. — It has rained (and stopped).
Pluvi-te. — It rained or It has rained or It has been raining.
When -te and he are used together, they are equal to the English past perfect tense:
Wen lu lai-te a dom, ela he kuki-te akshamfan — When he came home, she had cooked supper.
The combination of ve with he is equal to the English future perfect tense:
Wen lu ve lai a dom, ela ve he kuki akshamfan. — When he comes home, she will have cooked supper.
• The verb "bi" to be is special, and it has the past form bin:
Wo yu bin? — Where were you? Where have you been?
Imperative mode
To stress the imperative meaning, or to make it clearer, the particle ‘ba’ may be used after verb:
Go ba dar! — Go there!
Kan ba hir! — Look here!
Nu go ba! — Let's go!
Nu begin ba! — Let's begin!
Ta lai ba! — Let him come!
There is also the particle ‘hay’ (‘may, let’) expressing a wish or permission:
Hay olo bi hao! — May everything be good!
Hay forsa bi kun yu! — May the force be with you!
Hay oni shwo to ke oni yao. — Let them say what they like.
The negative imperative is formed with 'bu' or with a special particle 'bye':
Bu go! Bu go ba! — Don't go!
Boh bye lasi! — God forbid!
Continuous aspect
It is marked by ‘zai’ before the verb:
Me zai go fon shop. — I am going from the shop.
Nau lu zai gun om se. — Now he is working on this.
Me zai go-te fon shop, wen me miti-te lu. — I was going from the shop when I met him.
Ob yu es libre manya klok dwa? Manya klok dwa me ve zai lekti kitabas in kitabaguan. — Are you free tomorrow at 2? Tomorrow at 2 I shall be reading books in the library.
The use of ‘zai’ is not obligatory. It is used only if the continuous aspect of action should be stressed.
Present active participle
Formed with -she:
Tuza sidi-she in bush ek-salti aus e lopi kway-kway nich kolina. — A hare sitting in the bush jumped out and ran very quickly down the hill.
• Basically the same meaning is conveyed through the suffix -anta, which some nouns in LdP have:
komersi — to trade
komersanta — trader
kolori — to color
koloranta — colorant
konsulti — to consult
konsultanta — consultant
But these words are not active participles, they are nouns with their own meaning.
• Instead of active participles, constructions with kel may be used:
Tuza kel sidi in bush. — The hare that is sitting in the bush.
Constructions with kel are preferable when a direct object is involved:
Kota kel chi fish. — The cat that eats fish.
Verbal adverb
This is formed with -yen:
vidi-yen — seeing
jan-yen — knowing.
• It should be noted that simultaneity of actions may be also expressed through the preposition al (at, in the process of):
Al pasi bus-stopika me he vidi ke ela stan dar. (=Pasi-yen bus-stopika…) — Passing by the bus- stop I saw her standing there.
Al vidi lu me krai-te: Namastee! (=Vidi-yen lu…) — Seeing him I cried: ‘Hello!’
• Constructions “afte + verb”, “al he + verb” mean “having done something”:
afte vidi — having seen
afte smaili — having smiled
afte audi — having heard
Afte audi om se, me he desidi miti lu. — Having heard about this, I decided to meet with him.
Al he zin shamba, me depon shapa. — Having entered the room, I took off my hat.
Conditional tense
This is formed with the help of particle wud in both main and subordinate clauses:
Me wud yao audi farke opinas. — I'd like to hear different opinions.
Yu wud mog zwo to si yu wud yao. — You could do that if you'd like to.
Me wud go adar si me wud hev taim. — I would go there if I had time.
Yeri me wud go-te adar si me wud hev-te taim. — Yesterday I would have gone there if I had time.
Me bu wud go adar. — I wouldn't go there.
The particle wud may be shortened to 'd:
Me'd go. = Me wud go.
The immediate future and past
These are the constructions “to be about to do something” and “to have just done something”. The first one is “sal + verb”, the second is “yus + verb in past tense”:
Me sal chifan. — I am going to have a meal.
Me yus he chifan. — I have just had a meal.
Ta sal go a skola. — he (she) is about to go to school.
Ta yus he lai. — He (she) has just come.
Remote past tense
The remote past tense is formed with “gwo + verb” and expresses some action as a fact of the indefinitely remote past, which is connected with the present moment only in terms of having the corresponding experience. This is something that was taking place or used to take place some time ago:
Me gwo bi in Paris. — I have been to Paris.
Me gwo jivi in Paris. — I used to live in Paris.
Me gwo flai kelkem kadalok in munda. — I have flown everywhere in the world.
Me gwo audi musika de Prokofiev. — I have heard music by Prokofiev (I have had such an experience).
Ta gwo zun sporta. — He used to go in for sports.
Me bu gwo vidi ta. — I have never seen him before.
Tense marking
There are 2 variants of tense marking in LdP: the full and the simple one.
The full variant is when you mark verb tense according to sense and without tense concordance (independent from whether it is a main or subordinate clause). Basically it means that the tense in an indirect quotation (he said that he was leaving) should be the same as in a direct quotation (he said, "I am leaving").
Examples:
Me jan-te kwo lu ve yao. — I knew what he would like.
May amiga ve skribi a me wo ta bin in saif. — My friend will write me about where he was last summer.
May amiga he skribi a me ke ta bin morbe bat nau ta sta hao snova. — My friend wrote to me that he had been ill but now he was well again.
Gela diki-te a nu suy nove kukla kel mog ofni e klosi okos. — The girl showed us her new doll which could open and close its eyes.
Me vidi-te ke lu zai lai e go-te versu lu. — I saw that he was coming (to me), and (I) went to meet him.
The simple variant is when you don't mark verb tense at all but use words like ‘today’, ‘yesterday’ etc. and the context to convey the information about time of action. This variant is appropriate in speech.
Examples:
Preyeri me zai chu shop e miti may amiga. — The day before yesterday I was leaving the shop and met my friend.
Aftemanya me go fishi. — The day after tomorrow I'll go fishing.
Yeri pluvi e sedey bu pluvi. — Yesterday it rained, and today it isn't raining.
Laste mes me kan filma om polisyuan e lai-she mes me kan otre filma. — Last month I watched the film about a policeman, and next month I'll watch another film.
However, even in texts repeated past-tense marking is quite often superfluous, e. g., in narrating a series of past events.
Example (with a literal translation):
Se eventi mucho yar bak. Dwa jen zai go
This happens many years ago. Two men walk
along kamina e miti un jen kel porti un
along the road and meet a man who carries a
nangwa.
pumpkin.
Li lai a ta, shwo:
They come to him and say:
— Hey! Kwo es sub yur bracha?
— Hey! What is it under your arm?
Transitivity
The prefix “fa” (“to get, to become”) may serve as an intransitivity marker:
astoni — “to astonish”
fa-astoni — “to be (become) astonished”
The causative prefix “mah” may serve as a transitivity marker:
lwo — “ to fall”
mah-lwo — “to drop, let fall”
Many verbs in LdP may be intransitive and transitive in the same form, the same as the English verbs, for example ‘begin’ (‘to begin something’ vs ‘the film begins’) and ‘develop’ (‘to develop a theory’ vs ‘to develop into a nice personality’). Usually, if the verb is followed by an object, the verb is transitive, otherwise it is not:
me begin gun — I begin to work
kino begin — the cinema begins
If ambiguity may arise, one can use the prefixes “fa” and “mah”.
Participles with -ney
Passive participle is marked with "-ney":
pi-ney akwa — the drunk water.
If you want to say that the water is being drunk, add "zai":
zai-pi-ney akwa — the water that is being drunk.
With intransitive verbs -ney is a past active participle marker:
apari-ney jen — the person that has appeared
morti-ney jen — the dead person
With some verbs both meanings are possible:
adapti-ney — adapted (either “that has become adapted” or “that has been adapted”).
To specify the exact meaning, if needed, use transitivity markers:
fa-adapti-ney — that has become adapted
adaptisi-ney — that has been adapted.
The passive of state
The passive of state is formed by "bi" and "verb+ney"; it indicates a state as a result of a finished process:
Olo es yo shwo-ney, ye nixa fo shwo pyu. — Everything has already been said; there's nothing more to say.
Toy auto bin kupi-ney char yar bak. — That car was bought 4 years ago.
The passive of becoming
The passive of becoming, formed by the auxiliary verb ‘gei’ and verb, indicates an unfinished process:
Dwar gei ofni lentem. — The door is being opened slowly (=gets opened)
(compare: dwar es ofni-ney — the door is opened).
To gei zwo. — That is being done (compare: to es zwo-ney — that is done).
Autos gei kupi kada dey. — Cars are bought every day.
The past tense is formed with ‘gei-te’; the future with ‘ve gei’:
Se gei-te zwo tak e to ve gei zwo otrem. — This was (being) done so, and that will be (being) done otherwise.
Verb doubling
This expresses that an action takes some time or is repeated many times. There may also be a connotation of certain ease and lack of constraint :
Nu shwo-shwo ba idyen. — Let's talk (chat) a little.
Nau treba kan-kan atenta-nem. — Now you should look carefully (keep an eye on something).
Treba dumi-dumi idyen. — One should think a little.
Kwo yu zwo-zwo? — What are you doing now?
The verb "bi" (to be)
This is an exceptional verb. It has the main form "bi", the present tense form "es", and the past tense form "bin".
• "Es" does not need a subject in clauses like
Es hao. — This (it) is good.
Bu es posible. — This (it) is not possible.
• In aphoristic sayings the link-verb ‘es’ might be dropped:
Tu shwo fasile, tu zwo mushkile. — To say is easy, to do is difficult.
Char gamba hao, dwa gamba buhao. — Four legs good, two legs bad.
The infinitive and the infinitive particle "tu"
The infinitive particle tu is used when the infinitive has a meaning close to that of a noun (substantivization):
Tu shwo veritaa es hao. — To tell the truth is good.
Tu begin es lo zuy mushkile. — To begin is the most difficult thing.
Tu chi fish es hao fo sanitaa. — To eat fish is good for health.
Tu pluvi es muhim fo rekola. — Raining is important for the crop.
• If the infinitive is placed after another verb, "tu" is not used:
Ta pri chi masu. — He likes to eat beef.
Me wud yao lagi sub surya nau. — I would like to lie under the sun now.
Me nadi vidi yu sun. — I hope to see you soon.
Oli jen mus gun. — All people must work.
Sempre gai samaji lo shefe. — One should always understand the most important thing.
Lu pregi-te pi. — He asked to drink.
Ela fogeti-te klefi dwar. — She forgot to lock the door.
Stopi shwo! — Stop talking!
• In cases where the infinitive completes the meaning of a noun or adjective, it uses the same preposition as a noun would — though that preposition may differ from its English equivalent:
mogsa de lopi longtaim — the ability to run for a long time (=mogsa de longtaim-ney loping)
Lu es tro fatigi-ney fo go. — He is too tired to go. (=Lu es tro fatigi-ney fo going.)
Lu es fatigi-ney por go. — He is tired of walking. (=Lu es fatigi-ney por going.)
kitaba fo lekti — a book to read (=kitaba fo lekting)
Ob yu es tayar fo go? — Are you ready to go? (=Ob yu es tayar fo going?)
Es taim fo samaji to. — It is time to understand this. (=Es taim fo samaja)
Sembli ke problema fo diskusi yok. — It seems that there are no problems to discuss. (=Sembli ke problema fo diskusa yok.)
Ela go-te a basar fo kupi yabla. — She went to the market to buy apples.
Ela afsosi por kupi grin yabla. — She is sorry to have bought green apples.
Me joi al vidi yu. — I am glad to see you.
Me he lai por vidi luma in yur winda. — I came because of seeing light in your windows.
• In subordinate clauses after the relative words "ob", "wo", "komo", etc., the infinitive is used without "tu":
Ela he findi plasa wo kupi hwan yabla. — She found a place (where) to buy yellow apples.
Me bu es serte ob go adar o bu go. — I am not sure whether to go there or not.
Lu jan komo zwo to. — He knows how to do it.
• The particle "tu" may be used to mark the infinitive group:
Lu he wadi a me tu bringi un interes-ney jurnal. — He promised me to bring an interesting magazine.
(But: Lu he wadi bringi un interes-ney jurnal a me).
Bu es fasile, tu begin rasmi in may yash. — It is not easy to take up drawing at my age.
The verb "ye" (there is)
The verb ye means "there is":
In shamba ye mucho stula. — In the room there are many chairs.
Stula dar ye. — There are chairs there.
The negative meaning (absence of something) is expressed through "bu ye" or yok (not available). The latter is placed after the object under discussion:
Bu ye stula in shamba. — There are no chairs in the room.
Stula in shamba yok. — There are no chairs in the room.
Mani ye-bu-ye? — Is there any money (to use)?
Mani yok. — No money available.
The helping verb "fai"
It has the general meaning ‘to do, to perform an action’ and is used in combination with nouns and adverbs:
fai kwesta — to make (ask) a question
fai kasam — to make (take) a vow
fai fiasko — to not succeed
fai interes om koysa — to take an interest in something
fai bak! — may mean "set back" or "throw back!" etc.
fai avan! — may mean "throw forward!" etc.
As distinct from ‘zwo’ (to do, to make) ‘fai’ is a helping verb and may be used only in combinations, so “Do it!” is “Zwo to!”
In speech the combination ‘fai+noun’ may sometimes replace verbs that you cannot remember. In such a case ‘fai’ means ‘to use the object in some usual way, to act in usual way in connection with the object’:
fai kitaba — to read a book
fai kama — to sleep or lie on a bed
fai kaval — to ride a horse
fai gitara — to play guitar
fai kino — to watch a cinema or to go to the cinema
fai (defai) butas — to lace (unlace) shoes.
Modal verbs
Mog — can, may:
Me bu mog lekti: kitaba yok. — I cannot read: there is no book.
Yu mog zwo to kom yu yao. — You may do it as you like.
Bu mog — one can't, it is impossible.
Bu mog jivi sin chi. — One can't live without eating.
Darfi — to have permission, be allowed, (one) may:
Lu darfi gun kom leker. — He is allowed to work as a doctor.
Me darfi zin ku? — May I come in?
Yao — want:
Kwo yu yao? — What do you want?
Me yao aiskrem. — I want ice-cream.
Me wud yao safari kun yu. — I would like to go on the trip with you.
Mus — must; have to:
Oli jen mus chi fo jivi. — All people must eat in order to live.
Manya me mus go a ofis. — Tomorrow I must go to the office.
Treba — it is necessary; require:
Treba zwo se olo til aksham. — It is necessary to do it all till the evening.
Treba kaulu to. — One should consider this.
Sey kwesta treba kaulusa. — This question requires consideration.
Treba pyu jen. — More people are needed/required.
("Treba" has a wider meaning than "nidi" and "gai").
Nidi — need:
Lu nidi yur helpa. — He needs your help.
Durtitaa sempre nidi ahfi swa. — Craftiness always needs to hide.
Gai — (one) should, (one) ought, supposed to:
Me gai lekti mucho. — I should read a lot.
Yu bu gai lanfai. — You should not be lazy.
Sempre gai zwo olo tak kom gai. — One should always do everything as needed.
Majbur — be compelled to, have to, there is no other way but:
En-pluvi, nu majbur go a dom. — It begins to rain, we have to go home.
Meteo es bade, majbur deri avion-ney departa. — The weather is bad, the plane's departure has to be delayed.
Si me bu findi kitaba, majbur kupi nove-la. — If I don't find the book, I'll have to buy a new one.
Pri — to like:
Me pri flor. — I like flowers.
Me pri sey flor. — I like this flower.
May kinda pri rasmi. — My child likes to draw.
"Intensive" verbs
Some verbs are used to add specific meanings to the action description.
Pai — (the basic meaning "to get, receive") imparts the meaning "to succeed, achieve, obtain":
nulwan pai kapti ta — nobody managed to catch it
pai kreki nuta — to (succesfully) crack the nut
pai ofni ken — to open can (at last)
nu pai zwo to — we did it.
Lwo — (the basic meaning "to fall") conveys the depth of transition into another state/condition:
lwo in plaki — burst into tears
lwo in ridi — burst out laughing; start roaring with laughter
lwo in pyani — take to hard drinking
lwo in lekti nove kitaba — to become thoroughly engrossed in reading a new book.
Dai — (the basic meaning "to give") conveys unexpectedness of action for observers or its unexpected intensity:
dai shwo — blurt out, plump out
ta lai e dai darbi ta in nos — he came and all of a sudden hit him in the nose
ta dai kwiti molya — he took and abandoned his wife.
Verb prefixes
be — when added to intransitive verbs, makes action apply to an object:
dumi — to think
bedumi koysa — to think something over
kresi — to grow
pelin bekresi korta — wormwood overgrows the yard
when added to transitive verbs, changes the object of action:
chori koysa — to steal something
bechori koywan — to rob somebody
planti koysa — to plant something
beplanti agra bay repa — to plant the field with turnips
pendi koysa — to hang something
bependi mur bay piktura — to cover the wall with pictures
de(s) — opposite action ("des" if before a vowel):
desharji — discharge
delodi — unload
desorganisi — disorganize
ek- — denotes that something is done only one time or rather suddenly (from Hindi "ek" one):
tuki — to knock
ek-tuki — to give a knock
krai — to cry
ek-krai — to cry out
salti — to jump
ek-salti — to jump up
en- — denotes the beginning of action:
en-somni — to fall asleep
en-lubi — to fall in love
en-krai — to start crying
en-tuki — to begin knocking
en-jan — to come to know, find out
fa — conveys the meaning "to get, to become":
akwa fa-warme — the water is getting warm
fa-tume — it is getting dark
fa-gran — to get bigger, enlarge
fa-syao — to diminish, get smaller
fa-dey — it dawns
luy wangas fa-rude — his cheeks redden
Fa-garme-te. — It became hot.
Jiva fa-hao oltaim pyu. — Life is always getting better.
When used with verbs, makes them intransitive:
astoni — “to astonish”
fa-astoni — “to be (become) astonished”.
mah — causative prefix meaning "to make, render, transform into, bring into a condition" (synonymous with the suffix -isi). It is practical to use it with adjectives like ‘hao, gao’. E. g.:
treba mah-hao situasion — one should improve the situation.
This prefix also modifies verbs:
jal — to burn, be burning
mah-jal — to burn (something).
Lu zai mah-jal papir. — He is burning the papers.
• It should be noted that there is also a link-verb ‘mah’ meaning the same as the English “make”:
mah li zwo to — make them do it
mah kaval lopi — make the horse run
se ve mah yu fogeti to — this will make you forget it
se bu ve mah yu triste — this will not make you sad
mah koywan felise — to make someone happy
mah butas repari-ney — to have the boots repaired
mah gunsa zwo-ney — to get the work done.
mis — equal to the English mis-:
misyusi — to misuse
miskalkuli — to miscalculate.
ras — separation, division, or dispersion:
muvi — to move
rasmuvi — to move apart
dai — to give
rasdai — to distribute, give out to many
sendi — to send
rassendi — to send out/round
lwo — to fall
raslwo — to fall to pieces
ri — again, anew:
riapari — to reappear
rizwo — to redo.
tra — through(out):
tralekti — to read through (from begining to end);
tranochi — to spend the night.
Verb suffixes
isi — makes transitive verbs, means "to make, render, transform into, bring into a condition" (same as mah-):
agni — fire
agnisi — fire up, burn up
detal — detail (noun)
detalisi — detail (verb)
iri — be angry
irisi — anger, enrage
aktive — active
aktivisi — activate
klare — clear
klarisi — clarify
elektre — electric
elektrisi — electrify
If added to a noun ending in -ia, "-ia" is dropped:
mifologia mythology — mifologisi mythologise.
ifi — makes intransitive verbs, means "to get, to become" (same as fa-):
agni — fire
agnifi — flame up, burst into flame
iri — be angry
irifi — get angry
aktive — active
aktivifi — become more active
klare — clear
klarifi — become clear(er)
elektre — electric
elektrifi — electrify, become electric
vati — used for deriving verbs in cases where the use of –i is undesirable:
chay — tea
chayvati koywan — to take smb to tea
dandi — dandy, fop
dandivati — behave foppishly
kao — handcuffs
kaovati — to handcuff
pao — bubble
paovati — to bubble, form bubbles
surya — sun
suryavati koysa— to sun smth
