Seuna verbs

In finite form, the verb has always three slots after the main word. These slots are for subject, mood and tense. A fourth slot, which gives evidential information is also often tagged on.

Subject suffix

The subject slot is filled as follows ;-

I	-a-	we(exc.)	-au-
		we(inc.)	-ai-
you	-i-	you(pl.)	-e-
he/she	-o-	they	-u-

There are also forms used when the human agent is indefinite. These forms roughly correspond to indefinite pronouns such as Swedish and German man, French on and English one. These forms are -oi- for the singular and -eu- for the plural. (need examples here)

Mood suffix

The mood slot is filled as follows ;-

indicative	-r-	negative indicative	-rt-
subjunctive	-s-	negative subjuctive	-st-
imperitive	-ya

When the imperative is used there is no tense suffix. Also it is used only with the two second person subject suffixes. So for example;-

to hit	-timpa-
Hit him/her.	-timpiya na-
Hit him/her(spoken to more than one person).	-timpeya na-

To negate the imperative we use the particle kya. For example ;-

Don't hit him/her.

-kya timpa na-

Notice that in the negative form, the single/plural distinction is lost.

Tense suffix

The tense slot is filled as follows ;-

past	-i
future	-u
perfect	-a
past perfect	-ua
future perfect	-ia
general/habitual	-o
present	-e
simultaneous	-ai
consequential	-au

Evidential suffix

reported	-n
inferred	-s
seen	-o

Evidentials are only used in main(independent clauses), with the indicative mood. The "seen" evidential is only used with the past tense suffix. None of the evidentials are obligatory. The reported and inferred seem to bring into doubt the reliability of the information somewhat.

-n means inferred from evidence and is used in the situations in which we prefix or tag on "I guess" or "I think" to a clause in English.

-s means and information asserted is got from some third party and is used where we might prefix "they say" to a clause in English.

Negation

The way to negate an infinitive, is to put the particle ka in front of the verb.

ka solbe = to not drink ka timpa = to not hit

Now usually as already seen, verbs in the indicative and subjunctive are negated by the infix t. However ka can also be used in these cases as well. When this happens it adds emphasis to the negation. For example ;-

ka solborti = He/she definitely didn't drink.

The copula

The subject slot is filled as follows ;-

I am	miro	we(exc.)are	muro
		we(inc.) are	guro
you are	yuro	you(lot) are	luro
he/she is	naro	they are	waro

ore and ure are contracted to 're when the subject to which it refers comes immediately before ????

When translating from English to Seuna one must be aware that the present tense of the copula corresponds to two copula tenses in Seuna. It addition to the present tense given above, we have the habitual/general tense also.

aro = I am auro = we are(exc.) airo = we(inc.) are iro = you are ero = you are, you lot are, you'll is oro = he, she, it is uro = they are

The difference in meaning between the two forms, is the same as the difference between the two Spanish copulas “estar” and "ser". The "e" form being used for a less permanent state of affairs (similar to the use of "estar")and the "o" form being used for a more permanent state of affairs (similar to the use of "ser"). For example;-

are buke = I am sick aro buke = I am an invalid

Mostly for equating nouns, they are just placed together with no copula. For example;-

mi "doctor" = I am a doctor

Of course a copula must be used if any tense information has to be given. For example;-

aru "doctor" = I will be a doctor

To relate an adjective to a noun, the copula must be used. For example;-

uro jutu = They are big

However adjectives are often presented as nouns in this situation. For example;-

wa jutula = They're big'uns

Expressing the idea as two juxtaposed nouns makes the statement more emphatic.

Nouns from verbs

solbe	to drink	humpa	to eat
solbela	the drinker	humpala	the eater
solbo	beverage	humpo	food

If it was some device doing the action then the suffix would be ma instead of la.

Index

1. Introduction to Seuna
2. Seuna : Chapter 1
3. Seuna word shape
4. The script of Seuna
5. Seuna sentence structure
6. Seuna pronouns
7. Seuna nouns
8. Seuna verbs (1)
9. Seuna adjectives
10. Seuna demonstratives
11. Seuna verbs (2)
12. Asking a question in Seuna
13. Seuna relative clauses
14. Seuna verbs (3)
15. Methods for deriving words in Seuna
16. List of all Seuna derivational affixes
17. Numbers in Seuna
18. Naming people in Seuna
19. The Seuna calendar
20. Seuna units