Poswa verbs

Poswa verbs have 8 conjugation classes corresponding to the final letter of the stem of the verb. The commonest final vowel is /a/, so -a is considered the first conjugation class. Each verb also conjugates for three persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and three tenses: past, present, and imperative. The "plain" future tense is derived from the imperative. Verbal moods are handled by inflecting the conjugated verb (which always ends in a vowel) with consonants that resemble noun inflections. It could thus be said that verbs in Poswa are merely a subset of nouns. Lastly, each verb can be inflected for transitivity, so from each verb stem can be formed 54 forms.

Conjugation tables

-a

The verb luba "to change color, repaint" is used here as an example of an -a verb.

VERB		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	lubi	lubo	lubub
	2nd person	lube	lubae	lubi
	3rd person	lubel	luba	lubob
Transitive	1st person	lubabi	lubabo	lubabub
	2nd person	lubabe	lubabae	lubabi
	3rd person	lubabel	lubaba	lubabob

Thus one can say Blebbloblop lippipa lubabi, "I painted the wall green", but Lusafampi lubi žužum "I turned pink from embarrassment" after discovering you've painted over the windows as well.

-e/-i

As Poswa inherited the "a e i o u" vowel order from Pabappa, and places its vowels before its consonants, the second conjugation is the one representing verb stems ending in -e or -i. The verb wape "to help, provide for" is used here as an example of an -e verb. The endings would be the same if the verb ended in -i instead. Unlike the -a conjugation, the -e/-i conjugation always adds a syllable to the intransitive form and two syllables to the transitive form. This is because the final vowel of the verb stem does not collapse the way it does in the -a words.

wape		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	wapebi	wapebo	wapebub
	2nd person	wapebe	wapebae	wapebi
	3rd person	wapebel	wapeba	wapebob
Transitive	1st person	wapebabi	wapebabo	wapebabub
	2nd person	wapebabe	wapebabae	wapebabi
	3rd person	wapebabel	wapebaba	wapebabob

-o/-u/-y

A more complicated setup is the third conjugation, that which reflects words ending in the rounded vowels /o/, /u/, and /y/ (a rounded schwa-like sound).

The verb subu "to conquer, take over" is used here as an example of an -u verb. The endings would be the same if the verb ended in -o or -y instead, but note that most verb stems ending in -o do not belong to this conjugation.

subu		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	subwi	subwo	subwub
	2nd person	subwe	subwae	subwi
	3rd person	subwel	subwa	subwob
Transitive	1st person	subwabi	subwabo	subwabub
	2nd person	subwabe	subwabae	subwabi
	3rd person	subwabel	subwaba	subwabob

-p

The first consonant-stem conjugation is the -p conjugation, because /p/ is the first consonant in the Poswa alphabet. Since all reflexive verbs end in /p/, this conjugation is more common than the other consonant conujgations. However, many verb stems that end in /p/ are normal verbs, not reflexives. The verb blop "to see, focus" is used below as an example of a non-reflexive /p/ verb. Note that, unlike the vowel conjugations above, the transitive form is not merely derived by inserting the infix "-ab-" into the intransitive form.

blop		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	blofi	blofo	blofub
	2nd person	blofe	blofae	blofi
	3rd person	blofel	blofa	blofob
Transitive	1st person	blobbi	blobbo	blobbub
	2nd person	blobbe	blobbae	blobbi
	3rd person	blobbel	blobba	blobbob