Grammar of Silindion

Historical Silindion Grammar.

 This will eventually contain a grammar of the Silindion language according to the following plan:

    A) Letters and Orthography
    B) Phonology
        1) Vowels and Consonants of Silindion
          a) Vowels
          b) Stops
          c) Fricatives
          d) Other
        2) Historical Development 
          a) Vowels
          b) Consonants
          c) Lenition 
          d) Stress
             i. Syncope
             ii. Metathesis
        3) Vowel Harmony 
    C) Morphology
        1) Case Usages in Silindion
        2) Nouns 
            a) Vowel Stems 
            b) Consonant Stems
            c) Rare or Irregular Stems
        3) Demonstratives
        4) Personal Pronouns
            a) Nominative 
            b) Oblique Stem
            c) Enclitic 
            d) Possessive 
            e) Possessive Enclitics
        5) Non-personal Pronouns
            a) Interogative
            b) Other
        6) Relative Particles and Prefixes
        7) Adjectives
            a) Base form
               i. derivation from nouns
               ii. non-derivative
            b) Comparative
            c) Superlative
            d) Equative Constructions
            e) Prefixes with Adjectives
        8) Tense Usages 
        9) Verbs
             a) Stem Classes
             b) Infinite Forms
                 i. Infinitives
                 ii. Participles
                      1) Present
                      2) Past
                 iii. Gerunds
                      1) Nominal 
                      2) Conjunctive
                      3) Anterior
                      4) Abessive
                      5) Adjectival
             c) Active Finite Forms
                i. Present Classes
                ii. Imperfect
                iii. Past Classes
                iv. Optative/Future
                v. Subjunctive
                    1) Present
                    2) Past
             d) Passive Finite Forms
                i. Present 
                    1) Impersonal 3s
                ii. Imperfect
                iii. Past
                iv. Optative/Future
                v.  Subjunctive
                    1. Present
                    2. Past
          10) Prepositions
          11) Adverbs 
              i. non-derived
              ii. derived from nouns
              iii. derived from adjectives
          12) Numerals
              i. basic forms
              ii. composition forms
              iii. ordinals
          13) Conjunctions 
        D) Syntax That Is Not In Morphology

Case Usage

Silindion nouns can be inflected in 14 cases. The cases are nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, locative, allative, comitative, instrumental, copulative, essive, topical, adjectival. The last case, the benefactive, is an extension of the dative, and is not in use in the modern language, except for in some grammatical tracts. In older forms of the language, it is widespread in the usage given below. The topical is also called relative, since it relates one noun to another, as explained below.

• Nominative indicates the subject of a verb. It is also used adpositionally, as in <Nanthalonis, i nista> "Nanthalonis, the king".

• Accusative indicates the object of a verb. It also indicates motion through a place or time, and is used with prepositions such as ‹ono› "through", ‹pero› "across" or ‹erë› "during".

• Genitive indicates the possessor. It is also used with various prepositions, such as ‹ess› "inside of" or ‹omë› "because of". It is also used as the object of a few verbs, namely <anëallo> "to promise", which is intransitive in High Silindion.

• Dative indicates the indirect object and the person or thing for which an action is done. The last usage is called the benefactive use, and in Old, Middle and some High Silindion texts, is indicated by an extra ‹-r› to the dative ending. An example of this is, <nistanu> "to the king" (dative) => <nistanur> "for the king" (benefactive).

• Ablative indicates separation, and is mostly used to translate 'from'. It is used with prepositions such as ‹ka› "away from" or ‹eis› "from out, out of". It is also used as the object of a few verbs, namely <moniello> "to hear", which is intransitive in High Silindion. In comparative constructions it introduces the standard. An example of this usage is the following, <ëan i nari më pantio nattolim> "this bird is smaller than the other". The word <nattolim>, indicating meaning "than the other".

• Locative indicates place. It is used with prepositions such as ‹o› "in", ‹a› "at", ‹emë› "on", ‹eiva[n]› "within", ‹ina› "near" and many others. Metaphorically it also indicates time, and thus is used with prepositions like ‹nor› "before". It is also used, with the preposition <ompo> "over", to indicate the object of the verb <línyello> "to play an instrument". An example of this usage is, <lir empindo ompo i yalmavi> "the cantor plays upon a harp".

• Allative indicates motion towards a place. It is used with prepositions like ‹noro› 'towards' or ‹noss› "into". It is also used as the animate agent in passive sentences.

• Comitative means 'together with'. If two or more nouns are animate, they may be connected by adding the comitative suffix to the last noun. An example of this usage is, <pëa mëamma> "a father and a mother". Occasionally this usage is seen with inanimate nouns as well.

• Instrumental indicates the instrument with which something is done, or how something is done. Thus it means both 'using X' and 'by doing X'. It also indicates what something is made out of. It is not often used with animate nouns.

• Copulative is attached to a noun or interrogative pronoun to form sentences meaning 'X = Y'. An example of this is, <i nar lavando> "the man is a hunter". It is only used to link two [pro]nouns together, not a [pro]noun with an adjective.

• Essive is attached to a predicate nominative or interrogative pronoun to form sentences meaning 'It = Y'. That is, when the predicate nominative is the only element present. It is mostly used with a definite predicate, although indefinite predicates may occur as well. An example of this is, <kirmeihya> "it is my ship" (<- <kirma> "ship"). The essive also means 'as' or 'when', such as in the following sentence, <nópië, asui Eril nëa némpian niva> "as a poet, Eril created many beautiful poems" (<- <nopio> "poet"). Finally, in Poetic High Silindion only, the essive may be used to derive an adjective from a noun. However, in Low Silindion this is done with the adjectival. In some poems, the essive seems to have the same meaning as the topical, depending on translation.

• Relative/Topical indicates the topic of the sentence. In this sense, it can be translated as 'as for X' or 'about X'. Most of the time however, the relative is used to derive an adjective meaning 'X-like', such as the word ‹rilitma› "jewel-like". The topical is also used to mean 'as X', after an equative adjective. Another use of the relative is to mean 'but' after the conjunction ‹në› "and". However, this use is restricted to sentences of the form 'X, but as for Y'. An example of this is, <ihyotma, ë niva, në tahyotma, ië nukil> "today, (it) is beautiful, but (as for) yesterday, (it) was cloudy" (<- <tahyón> "yesterday").

• Adjectival derives an adjective from a noun. Mostly the meaning is transparent, such as in the following examples, <vierya émëa> "forest paths, paths of the forest" (<- <ema> "forest"), <nerendo núkëa> "wilderness dweller, dweller in the wilderness" (<- <nuko> "wilderness"). However, sometimes the meaning is not that obvious, such as in the following examples, <sílnëa> "silver" (<- <silni> "star"), <ílië> "holy" (<- <ilë> "god").

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns have multiple stem forms, for differing usages. The first stem form is the nominative, a bare stem form which is not used in derivation. The second is the oblique stem, to which unique pronominal case endings can be added to create a paradigm. Then there are the two enclitic stems; one oblique and one possessive. These are non-derivational and are suffixed at the end of a fully inflected verb, noun or prepositional form. Lastly, there are free possessives, which are also non derivational, they tend to precede an associated noun. INSERT OTHER PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Nominative Pronouns

The following are the nominative pronouns:

Singular	Plural
	nominal, conjunctive, abessive, adjectival, necessitive gerund	passive, passive participle	present	past	imperfect, subjunctives, anterior-gerund, imperative-sg., present participle	imperative-pl.

• 1st Person: si "I"; hyan "we"
• 2nd Person: lë "you"; nassa "you"
• 3rd Person epicene ein "he/she/it"; anto "people/they"
• 3rd Peron masculine eino "he"; ento "they"
• 3rd Person feminine éinië "she"; éntië "they"
• 3rd Person neuter ess; enta[ssë] "they"

The epicene pronouns are used when a specific gender is not needed or when the speaker wishes to conceal the gender. <enta> seems to be a more common variant of <entassë>, which is a High Silindion form.

When referring to a limited number of words, such as <larë> "moon", use gendered pronouns in poetic situations. The appropriate pronoun for <larë> is <éinië>.

Verbs

A) Finite Verbs are conjugated for (present, imperfect, past, future), mood (indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative), voice (passive, active, impersonal) and number (singular, plural). Present and past tenses can be either thematic or athematic. Thematic tenses have suffixes beginning in a vowel, athematic tenses have suffixes beginning in a consonant.

B) Infinite verbs are conjugated into infinitives, gerunds and participles, as well as various verbal adjectives and sometimes a verbal noun. The last two categories are not normally grammaticalised, but depend on the lexical root itself, that is, they are not part of the verbal paradigm.

C) The verb is arranged into stem classes and principle parts. Both of these categories help in classifying and conjugating the verb correctly.

D) The are five main stem classes: vowel stems, regular consonant stems, changeable consonant stems, semi-vowel stems, and compound stems. There is also an irregular group, which consist of verbs which add _l_ or _n_ to a vowel.

E) From the seven principle parts, one can make the entire verbal paradigm, according to this schema:

1st Principle Part	2nd Principle Part	3rd Principle Part	4th Principle Part	5th Principle Part	6th Principle Part	7th Principle Part
infinitive	nominal, conjunctive, abessive, adjectival, necessitive gerund	passive, passive participle	present	past	imperfect, subjunctives, anterior-gerund, imperative-sg., present participle	imperative-pl.

Certain verbs deviate from this pattern and will be mentioned in the appropriate section below. Furthermore, some verbs have "irregular" principle parts, that is, deviations that do not fall into the normal range of variant patterns. The following shall serve as examples:

• The verbs <askello> "to shake hands" and <terskello> "to hammer" have i-stems, <aski-> and <terski->, despite the lack of _i_ in the infinitive (1st principle part. The verb <niniello> "to desire", has an irregular past participle (3rd principle part): nirë. The verbs <surollo> "to rustle", <piello> "to touch", <tiello> "to take", have irregular past tenses (5th principle part): asulti, aphiksi, istë, respectively. The verbs antandiello> "dedicate", <falyallo> "awaken" have an irregular gerunds (2nd principle part): antana, falina, respectively.

Verbal Stem Classes

Verbs are classified according the last phonological element in the word, be it semi-vowel, consonant, or vowel. This is termed the stem-sound. Usually, despite other changes in the word morphologically, the stem-sound stays constant. In only a few cases does this not happen:

• The verbs <rallë> "to hold", <yallë> "to go", <nellë> "to give", <ullë> "to gleam", <sellë> "to seem", <sellë> "to clasp", <nillë> "to negate", <sillë> "to shine", <onëallë> "to leave completely, disappear", <këallë> "to leave", <fayallë> "to extinguish", <hyallë> "to age". These verbs have alterations which either delete or add elements to the end of the verb. These alterations will be dealt with in the appropriate sections below.

• A certain class of consonant stems have at most four different stem sounds. These are termed the changeable stems.

• Finally, regular morphophonemic changes may affect the stem, such as in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 7th principle part of some verbs as well as in athematic verbs (of various tenses). These are completely predictable, and involve such things as vowel contraction, assimilation and metathesis. They are not like changeable consonant stems which are fairly irregular.

Vowel Stems

A) Verbs with stems ending in a vowel may end in the following vowels or vowel/consonant combinations: a,ya,o,ëo,u,i,ē,e.

B) Those stems ending in <a> and <ya> are not formally distinct from each other except in the first principel part.

C) Those ending in <ē> are distinct as a class from those ending in <e> throughout their conjugation, except in some derivatives of the 6th principle part, i.e., the imperative singular, the present participle, the present and past subjunctive and the anterior gerund.

D) Those stems in <o> differ from those in <ëo> only due to the presence of an _e_ in ëo-verbs, which becomes _i_ in the subjunctives, optative/future and past (where the past tense is an ë-past).

Consonant Stems

A) There are four types of consonant stems: regular, changeable, semi-vowel, and compound stems.

B) The regular stems are: t,p,k,l,r,n,m,ng-stems.

C) The changeable stems are: T,D/L,P,B,K,G,Gw,s. Note that they are written with a capital letter (save for s-stems). Examples of Changeable Consonant stems are the following:

• <peT-> "to eat": pet, pess, pes
• <laD-> "to steal": lad, lar, lan, las
• <roL-> "to defend": rod, rol, ros
• <neP-> "to sing": nep, neph
• <reB-> "to row": reb, rev, rem, rep
• <reK-> "to reach": rek, re
• <faG-> "to spit": fag, fa
• <ruGw-> "to follow": rug, ruv, ru
• <pos-> "to heal": por, pos, poh

D) The semi-vowel stems are: (y),(w),y,w.

E) The compound stems are: st,nt,nd,ld,nn,rn,mp,mm,sk.

Gerunds

In Silindion, there are six different gerunds, which are mostly used to indicate the relation of one action to the action of the main verb. The types of gerunds are the following: nominal, anterior, abessive, conjunctive, necessitive, adjectival. Except for the anterior gerund, these forms are made from the second principle part.

---

Nominal Gerund

A) The nominal gerund is a nominalisation of the verbal root, expression either a noun ending in _-ing_, in English or a vrebal noun ending in _-tion_, for the most part.

B) The nominal gerund is formed by adding the ending <-na> to the stem of the verb, this forms the 2nd principle part. For vowel stems, the nominal gerund is a d-stem. An example of this type of verb is:

• <mi-> "to fall" -> <mina> "falling"

C) For consonant stem verbs, various assimilations occur when the gerund ending is added. Also, note, that the gerund is an a-stem in consonant verbs.

Stem Type	Assimilation	Example
T/t	-t+na -> -nta	<peT-> "to eat" -> <penta> "eating"
D/L	-d+na -> -nda	<siD-> "to sit" -> <sinda> "sitting"
P/p	-p+na -> -mpa	<neP-> "to sing" -> <nempa> "singing"
B	-b+na -> -mba	<reB-> "to row" -> <remba> "rowing"
K/k	-k+na -> -nka	<reK-> "to reach" -> <renka> "reaching"
G(w)	-g+na -> -nga	<faG-> "to spit" -> <fanga> "spitting"
s	-s+na -> -rna	<pos-> "to heal" -> <porna> "healing"
l	-l+na -> -lda	<thel-> "to create" -> <thelda> "creating"
r	-r+na -> -rna	<ker-> "to halve" -> <kerna> "halving"
n	-n+na -> -nna	<lin-> "to play" -> <linna> "playing"
m	-m+na -> -mma	<nam-> "to name" -> <namma> "naming"
ng	-ng+na -> -nga	<ling-> "to ring" -> <linga> "ringing"

D) For the semi-vowel verbs, the ending is <-na>, just like the vowel stems. For these verbs the nominal gerund is a d-stem. Examples of this type of verb are:

• <persa(y)-> "to include" -> <perseina> "including"
• <pay-> "to keep vigil" -> <paina> "keeping vigil"
• <ko(w)-> "to bark" -> <kona> "barking"
• <mew-> "to glitter" -> <meuna> "glittering"

E) For compound verbs, the ending is <-a>, save for st-stems, which have the ending <-na> and a stem ending in _s_. The gerund is an a-stem for this type of verb.

• <mald-> "to move X" -> <malda> "moving"
• <kest-> "to divide" -> <kesna> "dividing"

F) The nominal gerund is normally used as a noun, and may take case endings. It can also be used as a substitute to full complement clauses, which are usually formed with the conjunction <ta> and the indicative or subjunctive.

• 1) Nominal:

ahwáteisi	liu	pentán
aug.-DO-past-1st.sing.	perfect particle	EAT-gerund-accusative

I have just finished eating.

• 2) Indicative Future Complement:

avavissi	i	lio	ninmanye
aug.-RUMOR-past.3rd.sing.	the	woman	MARRY-gerund-topical-3rd.sing.possessive

The woman rumored that she would get married.

• 3) Subjunctive Purpose Complement:

sunu	sinti	tandán	i	nistari
WANT-impersonal.passive	ME-dative	RULE-gerund-accusative	the	KING-genitive

I want the king to rule.

Conjunctive Gerund

A) This gerund is used to express events that occur simultaneously with the main verb, that is, it can translate clauses beginning with "while". It can also have the circumstantial connotations, likes "since" or "because". As the examples will show, it is essentially timeless. In its simultaneous function, it is often accompanied by the conjunction <ve> "as".

B) It is formed by adding the prefix <i-> to the 2nd principle part. With verbs beginning in a vowel, the prefix becomes the on-glide <y->. Examples of the formation are:

• <til-> "to see" -> <issilda> "while seeing"
• <empi-> "to chant" -> <yempina> "while chanting".

C) In some texts (especially poetry) the prefix <i-> is written as a detached word and may be found before other material, instead of the verb. It also may be omitted completely.

• 1) Circumstantial

isompa,	en	filiello	iss
conjunctive-SLEEP-gerund	NOT-3rd.sg.	COME-inf.	here

Because he's sleeping, he can't come here.

• 2) Simultaneous

vë	yempina,	roponë	i	nimán
as	conjunctive-SING-gerund	WATCH-impf.	the	CROW-acc.

As he was singing, he was watching the crowd.

Anterior Gerund

A) This Gerund is used to express events that have already occured and have been thoroughly completed. It is usually translated as "after having X-ed".

B) It is formed by adding the suffix <-isë> to the root of the 6th principle part. This is for the most part straightforward. However, in two cases this becomes a problem.

C) In the case of verbs ending in a vowel certain morphophonemic changes occur. For a-stem verbs, the combination yields _ei_. For e-stem and ē-stem verbs, the combination yields _i_. For o-stem verbs, the combination yield _ei_, for ëo-stem verbs, the combination yields _iei_. For u-stem verbs, the combination yields _i_.

D) In the case of verbs ending in a changeable K-stem and a y-stem, the one adds the ending to a reduced form of the root. Hence for the verb <reK-> 'to reach', one adds the ending to <r->, instead of <re-> and for the verb <noy-> 'to consecrate, one adds the ending to <no-> instead of <noy->.

• <lissu-> "to live" -> <lissisë> "having lived"
• <saT-> "to raise up" -> <sassisë> "having raised up"
• <noy-> "to consecrate" -> <noisë> "having consecrated"
• <fat-> "to do" -> <fatisë> "having done"
• <reK-> "to reach" -> <risë> "having reached"

C) The Anterior Gerund can be used in three main functions. The first as a non-grammaticalised perfective aspect with certain auxiliary verbs. It is usually used as such in High Silindion, other varieties having other ways of expressing this aspect. For a more thorough look at aspect, see the appropriate section. Another usage is similar to the conjunctive gerund, that is, as a sentential adjunct. However, it is used exclusively to show previous time. The last is as a non-passive nominal modifier. In this usage it is usually found before the noun being modified.

• 1) Pefective Aspect

aniksisi	liu	pessisë
aug.-ARRIVE-past-1st.sing.	perfect particle	EAT-anterior.gerund

I have just eaten.

• 2) Sentential Adjunct

Purisë,	myentán	onuyanë)	i	nuno
SAY-anterior.gerund	THIS-accusative	LEAVE-past	the	young man

Having said this, the young man left.

• 3) Nominal Modifier

eillini	i	rutalo	misisë	limmo	osso	rulín
aug.-PLANT-past	the	since	FALL-anterior.gerund	by means of	WIND-pl-instrumental	SAPLING-accusative

He planted the sapling, which has since fallen because of the wind.

Abessive Gerund

A) This Gerund is used to express events that have not occured. It is used as the negative of both the anterior gerund and the conjunctive gerund. It can also be used as a negative of the nominal gerund, if needed. It is usually translated by "without".

B) It is formed by adding the prefix <en-> to the 2nd principle part. This prefix assimilates to verbs beginning in l, s, p, f, v, m, and r. A further change occurs in verbs beginning with hw and th. In these verbs, the prefix becomes <e->, and the initial combinations become sw and st respectively. In verbs beginning with h, the the initial changes to k. Verbs beginning with other consonants undergo no change.

• <lissu-> "to live" -> <ellissuna> "without living"
• <saT-> "to raise up" -> <essanta> "without raising up"
• <pay-> "to be vigilant" -> <empaina> "without being vigilant"
• <fat-> "to do" -> <efanta> "without doing"
• <vuk-> "to weave" -> <evunka> "without weaving"
• <mew->> "to glitter" -> <emmeuna> "without glittering"
• <runi-> "to soar" -> <errunina> "without soaring"
• <hyeK-> "to fight" -> <esyenka> "without fighting"
• <thR-> "to cover" -> <estarna> "without covering"
• <hum-> "to soothe, calm" -> <enkumma> "without calming"
• <til-> "to see" -> <entilda> "without seeing"
• <del-> "to bundle" -> <endelda> "without bundling"
• <yaT-> "to happen" -> <enyanta> "without happening"
• <nalpin-> "to play piano" -> <ennalpinna> "without playing piano"

C) The translation of this form varies according to use. If it negates a nominal gerund it is usually translated "not X-ing". If it negates a conjunctive gerund it is usually translated as "without X-ing". If it negates an anterior gerund it is usually translated as "having not X-ed".

• 1) Nominal Gerund Negation

empurnonya,	varilië	i	laro	sammanna
abessive-SPEAK-gerund-instrumental-3s.poss.	CONDEMN-passive-past	the	thief	DEATH-allative

By not speaking, the thief was condemned to death.

• 2) Anterior Gerund Negation

empenta	erë	nani	urón,	eimpetyassi
abessive-EAT-gerund	during	whole	DAY-accusative	aug.-BECOME.HUNGRY-past

Having not eaten for a whole day, he became hungry.

• 3) Conjunctive Gerund Negation

enostona,	ahwingi	pero	i	nirnë
abessive-BREATHE-gerund	aug.-SWIM-past	across	RIVER-accusative

Without breathing, he swam across the river.

Necessitive Gerund

A) The necessitive gerund is used to express the same ideas as the Latin Gerundive. That is, it can be translated as "should/must X" or "fit to be X-ed". It occasionally is used in a purposive sense, that is "in order that". The theme or patient is usually in the nominative case (or is expressed as a personal ending on the verb). The agent is usually placed in the allative case. However, these can be contravened in certain constructions.

B) It is formed from the 2nd principle part by adding the dative case ending, according to either the nominal a-stem or d-stem rules.

1) Should

Vávëa	ëan	pentanu	sinta
how	BE-present-3s	EAT-necessitive	ME-allative

How should I eat it?

2) Must

ëalë	nenkanu	neketyari
BE-present-2s	ENDURE-necessitive	HARDSHIP-pl-genitive

You must endure hardships.

3) In order to

Kesema	nekéssëa	fantanu
participle	passive	MAKE-necessitive

In order to form the past participle.

Active Finite Forms

Imperfect

The Imperfect has one formation for all types of stem. For vowel stem verbs, the imperfect is athematic, except for ē-stems. For consonant stems and ē-stems, itis a thematic formation, consisting of a variable theme vowel _V_ followed by the tense suffix, <-në>. The theme vowel is usually the same as the present theme vowel. In those cases where the present tense of the verb is athematic, the theme vowel is the same as the root vowel. Some verbs with _u_ as the root vowel use _o_ as the theme vowel.

Examples:

• <tad> "to rule" -> <taranë->
• <fat> "to do" -> <fatanë->
• <yaT> "to become" -> <yassanë->
• <rev> "to row" -> <revenë->
• <til> "to see" -> <tilinë->
• <rop> "to watch" -> <roponë->
• <muK> "to sail" -> <muonë->
• <pur> "to speak" -> <puronë->

Subjunctive

The Subjunctive has one formation for all types of stem. In the present, it is formed by suffixing <-i> to the stem of the verb. In the case of a-stems, o-stems, e-stems and ē-stems, the vowels coalesce into _ei_. For ëo-stems, the vowels coalesce to become _iei_. In the case of i-stems and u-stems, the vowels coalesce to become _i_.

Examples:

• <yalma-> "to play the harp" -> <yalmei->
• <ilno-> "to make bloom" -> <ilnei->
• <lē-> "to show" -> <lei->
• <de-> "to gather" -> <dei->
• <dorëo-> "to finish" -> <doriei->
• <moni-> "to hear" -> <moni->
• <lissu-> "to live" -> <lissi->

Consonant verbs take the suffix <-i>, the final consonant of their stem undergoing modification according to the discussion found in the historical phonology section.

Some Examples:

• <muK-> "to sail" -> <mui->
• <tad-> "to rule" -> <tari->

The past subjunctive is formed by augmenting the stem and suffixing <-u>. In the case of a-stems, this combination becomes _o_. In the case of o-stems, this combinations becomes _u_. In the case of e-stems and ē-stems, this combination becomes _ëu_. In the case of all stems ending with _o_ and _u_, the suffix itself disappears in combination.

• <yalma-> "to play the harp" -> <ayalmo->
• <ilno-> "to make bloom" -> <eilno->
• <lē-> "to show" -> <alëu->
• <de-> "to gather" -> <adëu->
• <dorëo-> "to finish" -> <adorëo->
• <moni-> "to hear" -> <amoniu->
• <lissu-> "to live" -> <alissu->

The final consonant of consonant verbs undergoes the same modification as in the subjunctive present, if any modication at all can occurs.

• <eT-> "to lack" -> <eissu->
• <neP-> "to roar" -> <anephu->

Some verbs ending in the consonant _w_, have two alternative forms for this tense, one reflecting a more recent analogical change, the other being the historically developed form.

• <daw-> "to roar" -> <adau-> or <adavu->
• <diw-> "to be powerful" -> <adiu-> or <adivu->

Preterite

The preterite has eight different formations which are relatively unpredictable. In order of decreasing frequency, they are the <ë-preterite>, <i-preterite>, <si-preterite>, <ti-preterite>, <root-preterite>, <ssi-preterite>, <na-preterite>, and <në-preterite>.