Verbs in Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian verbs are called ʾāṣṣarēsan (singular ʾāṣṣarēsa). Because Vrkhazhian is a triconsonantal root language, the fundamental part of the verb form is the transfix, a discontinuous affix inserted between a root. The verb only conjugates for three tenses (past, present, and future), two voices (active and passive), and two numbers (singular and plural).

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, 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-ṣars-em	threw, said	ni-ṣres	ni-ṣers-em	was thrown, was said
Present	ṣaras	ṣars-em	throws, says	ṣares	ṣers-em	is thrown, is said
Future	ṣarus	ṣurs-em	will throw, will say	ṣaris	ṣirs-em	will be thrown, will be said

(Fused Verbs)

The initial radical is either a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ and the past tense prefix nu- simply becomes n- while the radical is vocalized.

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

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	n-îbal	n-îbal-em	smelled, tasted	n-îbel	n-îbel-em	was smelled, was tasted
Present	yabal	yabl-em	smell,taste	yabel	yebl-em	is smelled, is tasted
Future	yabul	yubl-em	will smell, will taste	yabil	yibl-em	will be smelled, will be tasted

(Short Verbs)

The middle radical is either a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ and becomes the corresponding /i/ or /u/, respectively, when conjugated in the future tense.

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

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-ddal	nu-dawl-em	dug out, revealed	ni-ddel	ni-dewl-em	was dug out, was revealed
Present	dâl	dawl-em	dig out, reveal	dêl	dewl-em	is dug out, is revealed
Future	dûl	dûl-em	will dig out, will reveal	dîl	dîl-em	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-ś-y (to want, to desire)

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-nśa	nu-nśâ-m	wanted, desired	ni-nśe	ni-nśê-m	was wanted, was desired
Present	naśa	naśâ-m	want, desire	naśe	naśê-m	is wanted, is desired
Future	naśu	naśû-m	will want, will desire	naśi	naśî-m	will be wanted, will be desired

(Biliteral Verbs)

There are a lot of verbal roots consisting of only two radicals.

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

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Past	nu-dān	nu-dān-em	was heavy, pressed down	ni-dēn	ni-dēn-em	was pressed down
Present	dān	dān-em	is heavy, presses down	dēn	dēn-em	is pressed down
Future	dūn	dūn-em	will be heavy, will press down	dīn	dīn-em	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-ṣras-śa	nu-ṣars-a-śa-m	made throw, made say	ni-ṣres-śa	ni-ṣers-a-śa-m	was made to throw, was made to say
Present	ṣaras-śa	ṣars-a-śa-m	makes throw, makes say	ṣares-śa	ṣers-a-śa-m	is made to throw, is made to say
Future	ṣarus-śa	ṣurs-a-śa-m	will make throw, will make say	ṣaris-śa	ṣirs-a-śa-m	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-ṣars-a-ku-m	threw to, spoke to	ni-ṣres-ku	ni-ṣers-a-ku-m	was thrown to, was spoken to
Present	ṣaras-ku	ṣars-a-ku-m	throws to, speaks to	ṣares-ku	ṣers-a-ku-m	is thrown to, is spoken to
Future	ṣarus-ku	ṣurs-a-ku-m	will throw to, will speak to	ṣaris-ku	ṣirs-a-ku-m	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:

Ḳūya ʾāwi bēdu pālku.

Ḳūya	ʾāw-i	bēd-u	pāl-ku-∅
3fs.NOM	man-OBL.MASC.SG	book-OBL.FEM.SG	give\ACT.PRES-APL-SG

"She gives the man a book."

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

ʾĀwe bēdu pēlku.

ʾĀw-e	bēd-u	pēl-ku-∅
man-NOM.MASC.SG	book-OBL.FEM.SG	give\PASS.PRES-APL-SG

"The man is given a book."