Verbs in Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian verbs are called narīban (singular narība). Because Vrkhazhian is a triconsonantal root language, the fundamental part of the verb form is the transfix, a discontinuous affix inserted between a root, though they primarily only convey the grammatical voices (active and passive). There are only two tenses (future and non-future) and these are indicated by prefixes attached to the base form. Additionally, there are also two moods (indicative and subjunctive) although the indicative is unmarked. Lastly, verbs are also conjugated for number, singular and plural, with the plural indicated by the suffix -am.

When referring to a particular verb pattern, they are referred to by a derivation of the canonical (exemplary) verb ṣ-r-s (to throw, to say). For example, when referring to the verb pattern of the citation form of a verb, which is the active present singular indicative, it is called ṣaras because that is the active present singular form of the verb.

Verb Patterns

Most verbs are typically conjugated in their full phonetic forms, known as "full verbs". However, many roots contain the radicals ⟨y⟩ and ⟨w⟩ which lead to conjugations that are phonetically shortened or irregular. Such verbs are known as the "fused verbs", the "short verbs", or the "cut verbs", depending on the position of the radical within the root.

(Triliteral Verbs)

(Full Verbs)

ṣ-r-s (to throw, to say)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-ṣras	nu-ṣras-am	threw, said	ni-ṣris	ni-ṣris-am	was thrown, was said
Future	ṣaras	ṣars-am	will throw, will say	ṣaris	ṣars-am	will be thrown, will be said

(Fused Verbs)

The initial radical is either a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ and ???

y-b-l (to smell, to taste)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nū-bal	nū-bal-am	smelled, tasted	nī-bil	nī-bil-am	was smelled, was tasted
Future	yabal	yabl-am	will smell, will taste	yabil	yabl-am	will be smelled, will be tasted

(Short Verbs)

The middle radical is either a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ and ???.

d-w-l (to dig out, to remove, to reveal, to uncover)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-dūl	nu-dūl-am	dug out, revealed	ni-dīl	ni-dīl-am	was dug out, was revealed
Future	dūl	dūl-am	will dig out, will reveal	dīl	dīl-am	will be dug out, will be revealed

(Cut Verbs)

The final radical is either ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ and becomes elided while lengthening the preceding vowel.

n-š-y (to want, to desire)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-nšu	nu-nš-âm	wanted, desired	ni-nši	ni-nš-âm	was wanted, was desired
Future	našu	naš-âm	will want, will desire	naši	naš-âm	will be wanted, will be desired

(Biliteral Verbs)

There are a lot of verbal roots consisting of only two radicals, the forms they take when conjugated are very similar to middle weak verbs, except in the past tense.

d-n (to be heavy, to press down)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-dān	nu-dān-am	was heavy, pressed down	ni-dīn	ni-dīn-am	was pressed down
Future	dān	dān-am	will be heavy, will press down	dīn	dīn-am	will be pressed down

Extensions To the Verb

The Instrumental-Causative Applicative

ṣ-r-s (to throw, to say)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-ṣraś-śa	nu-ṣraś-ś-âm	made throw, made say	ni-ṣriś-śa	ni-ṣriś-ś-âm	was made to throw, was made to say
Future	ṣaraś-śa	ṣars-a-ś-âm	will make throw, will make say	ṣariś-śa	ṣars-a-ś-âm	will be made to throw, will be made to say

The Dative-Locative Applicative

ṣ-r-s (to throw, to say)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-ṣras-ku	nu-ṣras-k-ûm	threw to, spoke to	ni-ṣris-ku	ni-ṣris-k-ûm	was thrown to, was spoken to
Future	ṣaras-ku	ṣars-a-k-ûm	will throw to, will speak to	ṣaris-ku	ṣars-a-k-ûm	will be thrown to, will be spoken to

Vrkhazhian as a secundative language

Unlike most languages, Vrkhazhian has a secundative alignment with regards to ditransitive verbs. This means that the recipient of a verb is treated like the patient of a transitive verb rather than the theme.

Below is an example, in the active voice:

Ḳāya rebi bēdu nuplalku.

Ḳāya	reb-i	bēd-u	nu-plal-ku-∅
3fs.NOM	man-OBL.MASC.SG	book-OBL.FEM.SG	NFUT-give\ACT-APL-SG

"She gives the man a book."

In the passive voice, the recipient is promoted to subject, rather than the theme:

Rebe bēdu niplilku.

Reb-e	bēd-u	ni-plil-ku-∅
man-NOM.MASC.SG	book-OBL.FEM.SG	NFUT-give\PASS-APL-SG

"The man is given a book."