Poswa irregular verbs

Irregular verbs

Poswa has many irregular verbs. Many are commonly used verbs such as pys "to find", but some are merely the result of peculiar sound changes or lexical suppletion.

B

bana

The verb bana "to create pleasure" is a syncopating verb usually found as the second or third element of a compound. It is often used to describe sexual pleasure, but is not limited to this sense.

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—	bvi	bvo	bvub
	2nd person	—	bve	bvae	bvi
	3rd person	—	bvel	bva	bvob
Transitive	1st person	2nd person	bvebi	bvabo	bvybub
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person	bvebe	bvabae	bvybi
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person	bvebel	bvaba	bvybob
		2nd person

Since this verb mostly occurs in contexts in which one would expect the sound rule bv ---> b to kick in, it seems unusual that the forms of the verb begin with bv- rather than b-. This is because the hypothetical b- forms would be identical with the verb endings themselves, and thus the entire stem of the verb would have been syncopated away. Thus, the -v- is retained.

M

mi

The verb mi "to see" is an irregular verb with a stem change to the oblique variant v-:

mi		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	vi	vo	vub
	2nd person	ve	vae	vi
	3rd person	vel	va	vob
Transitive	1st person	vebi	vabo	vwub
	2nd person	vebe	vabae	vwi
	3rd person	vebel	vaba	vwob

The forms of this verb carry over to compound verbs with mi as the last element, such as the emphatic blomi "to see with one's eyes" and tomi "to imagine, to visually hallucinate or see a mirage". Indeed, mi was a regular verb until it was analogized towards the compound forms that underwent the sound change, since the sound change /mi/ ---> /v/ only happened in unstressed syllables. Thus one can say

Vebi!

I saw you!

Wapom! Tovebi!

Whoops! I thought I saw you!

Likewise,

Vub!

Let me see!

Blovub!

Really! Let me see!

The change of /mi/ > /v/ is irregular even in unstressed syllables because Poswa usually protects verbs ending in -e or -i from this particular change, as they would otherwise coalesce with verbs ending in -a. This protection was due to analogy with another series of verbs that did not undergo that sound change because they originally ended with final consonants that disappeared. However, certain "valuable" verbs such as mi underwent the change after all because they were very commonly used.

N

niapa

Below is the conjugation for niapa "to shield, protect from harm". For most of the table, niapa is a "hyper-regular" verb, meaning that it disobeys even the consonant mutation rules that the regular nouns follow. But in the transitive imperative, it becomes irregular in the sense that it is one of the very few verbs in which the normally reliable -b- that appears in transitive verbs has changed to -p-. This is under the influence of a previously existing -š-:

niapa		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	niapi	niapo	niapub
	2nd person	niape	niapae	niapi
	3rd person	niapel	niapa	niapob
Transitive	1st person	niapebi	niapabo	niappub
	2nd person	niapebe	niapabae	niappi
	3rd person	niapebel	niapaba	niappob

Niappi!

Protect me!

P

pa

Pa is an alternate stem of tiša. It means "to transform, become something else." Its full form is dži pa, but the dži prefix shows only that it governs the locative case rather than the accusative and is never pronounced or even written down outside of a dictionary.

pa

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—	pi	po	pub
	2nd person	—	pe	pae	pi
	3rd person	—	pel	pa	pob
Transitive	1st person	2nd person	pebi	pabo	pypub
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person	pebe	pabae	pypi
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person	pebel	paba	pypob
		2nd person

This is an unusual verb because it governs the locative case rather than the accusative. This also means that it is used intransitively for senses that could be considered syntactically transitive. It is only used directly after the noun it modifies. For example, one can say

Pupembulam pi.

I turned into a pumpkin.

However, the verb can still be used transitively, as in

Plažallam pypi!

Make me into a supermodel!

pampap

The verb pampap is the reflexive form of pampa "to comb". Because it is reflexive, it is generally understood to mean to comb one's hair. It is a hyper-regular syncopating verb:

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—	pampi	pampo	pampub
	2nd person	—	pampe	pampae	pampi
	3rd person	—	pampel	pampa	pampob
Transitive	1st person	2nd person	pampebi	pampabo	pampypub
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person	pampebe	pampabae	pampypi
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person	pampebel	pampaba	pampypob
		2nd person

Pampo.

I'm combing my hair.

The transitive forms of this verb are rarely used, and when they are, the understood meaning is not "I comb your hair" and so on (which would use the simple verb pampa) but rather

Pampebi.

I made you comb your hair.

pappo

The verb pappo "to bite" is a suppletive verb that is otherwise regular:

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—	pappwi	pappwo	pappwub
	2nd person	—	pappwe	pappwae	pappwi
	3rd person	—	pappwel	pappwa	pappwob
Transitive	1st person	2nd person	pappwebi	pappwabo	pappwubub
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person	pappwebe	pappwabae	pappwubi
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person	pappwebel	pappwaba	pappwubob
		2nd person

This verb was formed from the merger of the two stems pappo "to bite, as with fangs; to hold with the teeth" and the rare verb pappop "to chew", a derivative of pappop "cheeks". Even though pappop was longer, its conjugated forms were shorter than those of pappo. The new verb thus shares the meaning of both original verbs:

Pappwebi beffap.

I bit on the stick.

Pappwebi popfop.

I carried my pen (in my teeth).

The iterative form of the verb, which takes the infix -at-, is most often used when the sense of a repeated action is intended:

Tašepi pappwatwebi.

I was chewing on an apple.

However, when the sense of a single pointed thrust is meant, as in the case of a sharp-toothed animal that bites into someone but does not intend to bite anything off, the simple aspect is used after all:

Bibubbum pypiop pappwaba.

Spiders are biting my hands.

plomip

The verb plomip "to pray, to request for" is a syncopating verb:

plomip		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	plompwi	plompwo	plompwub
	2nd person	plompwe	plompwae	plompwi
	3rd person	plompwel	plompwa	plompwob
Transitive	1st person	plompwebi	plompwabo	plompwubub
	2nd person	plompwebe	plompwabae	plompwubi
	3rd person	plompwebel	plompwaba	plompwubob

Note that this verb is a doublet of plommip, which has no significant difference in meaning. Plommip is regular because there are no sound changes which could have created an -mmp- cluster in the middle of a word. Thus

Pawiapop plompwabo.

and

Pawiapop plommipwabo.

both mean

"I'm praying for a boat."

pobbia

Below is the conjugation for pobbia "to lactate":

pobbia		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	pobbwi	pobbwo	pobbwub
	2nd person	pobbwe	pobbwae	pobbwi
	3rd person	pobbwel	pobbwa	pobbwob
Transitive	1st person	pobbwebi	pobbwabo	pobbwubub
	2nd person	pobbwebe	pobbwabae	pobbwubi
	3rd person	pobbwebel	pobbwaba	pobbwubob

The rarely used transitive form of this verb was analogized from an earlier form producing *pobbwiwebi and so on:

Be₁, piabo₂ pobbwo.₃ Wavam?₄

Yes₁, I'm still₂ lactating.₃ Why?₄

Note that this is not a reflexive verb, but that it can be used with a reflexive marker, in which case it becomes regular:

Pobbiafi₁ burmanub.₂

I milked myself₁ with the breast pump.₂

pys

The verb pys "to find" is an irregular stem-changing verb:

pys		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	pwi	pwo	pwub
	2nd person	pwe	pwae	pwi
	3rd person	pwel	pwa	pwob
Transitive	1st person	pwebi	pwabo	pwubub
	2nd person	pwebe	pwabae	pwubi
	3rd person	pwebel	pwaba	pwubob

Pwebi bwafwap temwašem.

I found a worm on the ground.

Pwupi* pammiap!

Seek out a bottle of wine!

⁎Note, this uses an experimental "third conjugation" which is used for transitive verbs that have a "distal" object instead of the more common proximal one. Normally, since the bottle is mentioned in the sentence, I would think the proximal conjugation would be appropriate, but I may change my mind.

Oblique

This verb has an oblique form used when inserting infixes into the stem of the verb: pip. This is not actually irregular, but because verbs ending in -ys can belong to any of several different conjugations, it must be learned with the verb.

S

Below is the conjugation of sopa "to answer, respond appropriately":

sopa		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	soffi	soffo	soffub
	2nd person	soffe	soffae	soffi
	3rd person	soffel	soffa	soffob
Transitive	1st person	soffebi	soffabo	soffypub
	2nd person	soffebe	soffabae	soffypi
	3rd person	soffebel	soffaba	soffypob

sys

The verb sys "to sleep" is an irregular stem-changing verb. All of its forms rhyme perfectly with those of pys "to find", and thus, to know one is to know the other:

sys		Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	swi	swo	swub
	2nd person	swe	swae	swi
	3rd person	swel	swa	swob
Transitive	1st person	swebi	swabo	swubub
	2nd person	swebe	swabae	swubi
	3rd person	swebel	swaba	swubob

Tus, swebi?

Did I put you to sleep?

For the most part, the multitude of verbs ending in -sis such as besis "to sleep like a baby (fitfully)" and pipsis "to sleep in a tree" behave regularly and thus do not rhyme with the simple standalone verb for sleep. However, ad hoc coinages do exist, particularly for words in which the first morpheme in the compound has not been affected by sound changes. Poswobs thus can choose between

Beswi!

I slept like a baby!

Using the normal verb for sleep, or

Besiši!

I slept like a baby!

Treating it like a normal -s verb.

W

wol

Below is the conjugation for the verb wol "to have something on; to be ridden on". Despite its meaning, it is not necessary to make the verb grammatically passive, and indeed, it is almost always used intransitively:

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—	wewi	wewo	wewub
	2nd person	—	wewe	wewae	wewi
	3rd person	—	wewel	wewa	wewob
Transitive	1st person	2nd person
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person
		2nd person

The reason for the existence of this verb is that Poswa nearly always avoids the use of pronouns, and the pronouns it does have are merely verbs with person endings on, and thus are inconvenient. The possessive markers work well for concepts like "my book", "her shoes", and so on, but it is sometimes necessary to use pronouns in a way that does not imply formal possession. This is accomplished in several ways, giving the speaker the choice of which wording to use. This verb is the commonest choice. Thus, one hears sentences like

Polaputa wewo pypornusaba.

The cat on me is annoying me.

Pufaepa wewo blilfiba.

The shorts I'm wearing are tight.

Notes

Deixis

Note to self: consider replacing the patient "1st/2nd/3rd person" with "proximal" and "distal" instead, as that's really what they are. This could be called a deictic person system.

bottom

	Agent	Patient	Past	Present	Imperative
Intransitive	1st person	—
	2nd person	—
	3rd person	—
Transitive	1st person	2nd person
		3rd person
	2nd person	1st person
		3rd person
	3rd person	1st person
		2nd person

Deixis

Note to self: consider replacing the patient "1st/2nd/3rd person" with "proximal" and "distal" instead, as that's really what they are. This could be called a deictic person system.