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. [1]
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.
| VERB | 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 |
Notes
- ↑ This seems low?
