Dalcurian modal verbs
Modal verbs are auxiliaries that convey a condition for the main verb. There are six modal verbs in Dalcurian and unlike main verbs are quite irregular.
Dalcurian modals in tense:
Present/infinitive:
- voltir want
- mösár must/to have to
- Þöldr should (ought to)
- már may/to be allowed to
- iqur like
- nöacr can/able to
Simple past:
- gä'voltir wanted
- gä'mösár had to
- gä'Þöldr was/were supposed to
- gä'már was/were allowed to
- gä'iqur liked
- gä'nöacr could/was/were able to
Perfect present
- gä'ábravoltir has/have wanted
- gä'ábramösár have had to
- gä'ábraÞöldr has/have been supposed to (rarely used)
- gä'ábramár has/have been be allowed to
- gä'ábra-iqur has/have liked
- gä'ábranöacr could have, has/have been able to
Future
- voltiræ will want
- mösáræ will have to
- Þöldr-
- máræ will be allowed to
- iquræ will like
- nöacræ will able to
Conditional
- voltirquas would want
- mösárquas would have to
- Þöldrquas would be supposed to
- márquas would be allowed to
- iqurquas would like
- nöacrquas would be able to
Perfect conditional (Note the omission of ábra in this perfective tense)
- gä'voltirquas would have wanted
- gä'mösárquas would have had to
- gä'Þöldrquas would have been supposed to
- gä'márquas would have been allowed to
- gä'iqurquas would have liked
- gä'nöacrquas would have been able to
NOTE 1: Although the auxilliary ábra-have/has can take a conditional inflection, we do not use it with conditional modals. Look at the following 2 examples for the phrase, I would have wanted...: the first is grammatically wrong, the second correct:
- Binä gä'ábraquas gä'voltir...
- Binä gä'voltirquas...
NOTE 2: Modals only take past tense inflection if the main verb is in infinitive form, or in the case of like acts as the main verb:
- Binä gä'voltir gör. I wanted to go.
- Öcra tirimiÞ, binä gä'ábraiqur siöra. I have liked her for a while.
Main verbs themselves carry past tense inflections, and the modal must remain in the infinitive:
- Mæ mösár, rödn tiÞ, gä'ábrategöfár. He must have forgotton about it.
- Sia Þöldr gä'ábracenár. She should have known.
The following are grammatically wrong:
- Mæ gä'mösár, rödn tiÞ, gä'tegöfár. He must have forgotton about it.
- Sia gä'Þöldr gä'qenár. She should have known.
A tip here is to consider if the main verb is a past participle, as in the above forgotton and known; two past participles cannot sit together.
Nöacr
This is the only Dalcurian verb that has a subjunctive form, which is näocr. Depending on context, this can mean could, could be, might, might be. However, one must be able to distinguish the difference between the simple past tense could and the subjunctive could.
Simple past
This simply implies that you are no longer able to do something:
- Binä gä’nöacr, vönéri minäla gä'nábr binöra, evédr. I could (was able to) drive before I was banned.
The subjunctive is entirely different. See the Subjunctive section below.
Mösár
This verb, although having a translation of must is not as forceful as its English counterpart when in negation. In fact, it's more akin to the German verb müssen:
- Ména mösár gör. We have to go.
- Ména mösárax gör. We don't have to go. (It's not vital or necessary that we go).
To translate mösár into a true negative, we use the intensifier esti:
- Ména mösár esti gör! We MUST go!
In sentences and clauses where a modal verb is present, word order puts a prepositional phrase AFTER the modal verb and NOT immediately after the pronoun/noun as normal:
- Binä, máriÞ érenöra, gör. I go with them.
- Binä mösár, máriÞ érenöra, gör. I have to go with them.
DON'T FORGET: For negation, add x/ax.
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