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The verbal cluster

The verbal cluster is placed at the end of the sentence. Its core is the verb itself, which conveys only the meaning of the action or the state and its intrinsic qualities, like transitivity, intransivity, etc.

The verbal cluster is usually considered as composed of these elements:

Negation

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Time

-

Verb

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Aspect

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Mode

-

Evidentiality

The categories negation, time, aspect, mode, and evidentiality are expressed by grammatical particles. None of these particles is absolutely necessary, and none of this is mandatorily present, except for the verb itself.

Negation is usually considered part of the verbal cluster but it will be analysed separately, because of its different behaviour in the sentence.

Use of temporal particles

ta: past, it locates the action in the past
rā: remote past, it locates the action in the remote past, historical past or a past that we feel remote and far
mo: present, it locates the action in the present, it is usually omitted, and when expressed it conveys the meaning of precise present "right now"
fut: future, it locates the action in the future
fu ta: future in the past, it locates the action in the (hypotetic) future of a past action (still in the past)
ta fu: anterior future, it locates the action in the past of a future action (still in the future)

Use of aspectual particles

fa: perfective, it marks a completed action, with no regard for its effects or results
ǵa: perfect, it marks a completed action which results are still affecting the moment we are talking about, (= English perfect tenses)
sty: continous, it marks an uncompleted ongoing action in the moment we are talking about (= English continuous tenses)
rē: repetitive, it marks an action which is repeated many times (= doing again, keep on doing again)
sōl: habitual, it marks an action which is routinely or habitually performed (usually, used to)
pyr: prospective, it marks an action which is about to start in the moment we are talking about (= to be about to)
maj: experiencial, it marks the fact we have have or never have had experience of the action in the moment we are talking about (ever, never)

Use of modal particles

Modal particles express verbal modality, describing a quality about the action or the state expressed by the verb. English has only two modes (or moods) and it relies on modal verbs to express the same meaning of Qihep modal particles.

The absence of any modal particles conveys the basic idea of an action or a state, the reality form, without any added information about wish, obligation, possibility, etc.

Modal particles are placed after the aspectual particles and before the evidential particles. Since it is possible for more that one modal particles to be present in a verbal cluster, they can be added in the following order.

Vol conveys an idea of will, intent, intention or the idea for a planned action

• Tȳn lāoh ta lā vol: He wanted to write a text (the subject had the intention to write the text, and it is almost sure he wrote it)
• Tȳn lāoh fut lā vol: He is going to write a text (he has the intention and has planned to write the text)

Des conveys the idea of wish, desire, crave or hope, but it doesn't give any information about intention or planning

• Tȳn lāoh fut lā des: He would like to write a text (the subject has the wishes to write the text, but we have no information if he has planned to do so)
• Tȳn lāoh ta lā des: He wished to write a text (the subject has the wishes to write the text, but it seemed unlikely that he wrote it)

Without any specific subject or with a subject that cannot feel wish, it can express a general hope for the action to get real (something like the English subjunctive with may):

• Dōb lāoh ā le fut lā fa des: May a good text be written (we hope that it will be this way)

Pos conveys an idea of ability, capability, that the subject knows how to do something, both an innate or a learnt capability.

• Tȳn nat lā pos: He cannot write (for example, because the subject is too young, and still does not know how to write)

Kra conveys an idea of a momentaneous ability, something that the subject can do in this moment, not a forever real capability.

• Tȳn nat lā kra sty: He cannot write (for example, the subject is too excited to write, too cold or too frightened, a momentaneous condition, but he knows how to write)

Ro conveys an idea of possibility, likelihood, potentiality of the action

• Tȳn lāoh fut lā ro: He may write a text (it will be possible for the subject to perform the action and likely will do it)
• Tȳn lāoh ta lā fa ro: He might have written a text (it was possible for the subject to perform the action and very likely has done it)

Da conveys an idea of allowance, permission, consent, approval

• Tȳn lāoh fut lā da: He can write a text (the subject has received permission to do it)
• Tȳn lāoh ta lā fa da: He was allowed write a text (the subject received permission to write, and very likely has done it)

Ōb conveys an idea of obligation, assigned duty or task, requirement

• Tȳn lāoh fut lā fa ōb: He has to write down a text (the subject has the obligation to write, not doing it on his own initiative)
• Tȳn lāoh ta lā ōb: He was compelled to write a text (the subject feto the obligation to write )

Nec conveys an idea of necessity, need, must

• Tȳn lāoh lā nec: He must write a text (the subject feel the need, on his own initiative, to write)
• Tȳn lāoh fut lā fa ōb: He needed to write down a text (the subject had the need to write the text, and likely has done it)

Vā conveys a causative sense, indicating that a subject causes someone or something to perform an action which was non-voluntarily (normally expressed in English by the auxiliary verbs let, make, get or have). Since a new performer of the action is introduced, the syntax of the sentence is reorganized. This will be analysed separately.

• Tȳn wa lāoh rȳs in ta lā fa vā: She made him write a text

Kōm conveys an incohative action, marking a beginning action

• Tȳn lāoh lā fa kōm: He began to write a text (the subject begin to perform the action)

Since the beginning action is inherently imperfective, aspectual particles with this modal particles refer to the aspects of the action of beginning, not the main action itself. Fōr conveys an idea of hypothesis. It usually translate the concept of if, in the case that, maybe

• Tȳn lāoh ta lā fa fōr: In the case he could have written a text (we express the hypothesis the subject would have performed the action)

Use of evidential particles

Evidential particles express the nature of the evidence for a statement, if evidence exists for the action stated or the attitude of the speaker in relation to the reported information.

The absence of any evidential particle does not imply that the speaker has actually witnessed the reported action, but only that this information is not relevant for the speech. There is however no evidential particle to express eye-witness of the action and this must be deduced by the context or lexically expressed.

Evidential particles are placed after the aspectual and modal particles and are always the last element of the verbal cluster.

Nah conveys the idea of reported action, with a stress on the fact that the information is reported by someone else, and that the speaker (and not the subject of the action) has not personally witnessed the action.

• Ńikvran sluh ta krāx fa nah: I was told that someone broke the vase (The subject has not seen the action nor the broken vase, but someone else has told him about what happened)

Box conveys an idea of doubt about the tale. The action is reported by someone else, and the speaker (and not the subject of the action) has not eye-witnessed either the action or any evidence about it and according to him/her the action is doubtful.

• Ńikvran sluh ta krāx fa box: It seems/I was told that someone might have broken the vase (The subject has not seen the action nor the broken vase, someone else has told him about what happened, but he express a serious doubt about the reported action)

kap: deduced action, the speaker does not personally see the action, but he/she deduces the action by seeing traces or evidences

• Ńikvran sluh ta krāx fa kap: I was told that someone broke the vase (The subject has not seen the action nor the broken vase, but someone else has told him about what happened)