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.
A
B
F
I
K
L
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!
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.
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.[1]
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:
pu | 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.
R
S
Below is the conjugation of sopa "to answer, respond appropriately":[2]
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.
Š
T
TŠ
U
V
W
Ž
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.
Notes
- ↑ This could be an error. What seems to be the case is that the intransitive forms of the reflexive and the plain verb merged, and the transitive ones didn't. Thus, either the two verbs merged completely due to analogy, or they are separate after all and this verb is irregular only in its intransitive form.
- ↑ This was actually an error ... sopo, etc should be soffo, unless it was regularized during the change of pf>ff and then later underwent pf>p.