Seuna verbs

In finite form, the verb can have upto five slots after the main word. These slots are for subject, mood, voice and tense. A fifth 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-

Mood suffix

The mood slot is filled as follows ;-

indicative	-r-
subjunctive	-s-
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.

Voice suffix

active	-ɸ-
passive	-t-

The active is indicated by the absence of "t", that is - the active is assumed. ɸ is meant to be the 'null character'.

dwolo bundortin = they say a house was built (immaterial whether still standing or not)

dwolo bundortan = they say a house has been built (it is still standing)

caito kludortus = (I guess) the book will be written

??? need subjunctive examples ??

Tense suffix

The tense slot is filled as follows ;-

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

She walked and walked = walkori walkorau

She walked and walked and walked = walkori walkorau walkorau

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 and ???

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

ka solboru = he/she will not drink

The infinitive is also negated in the same way.

ka timpa = to not hit

The particle ka also turns up sentence finally as one way to ask a question.

Only the negative imperative differs a little as already mentioned, using the particle kya.

Used in a similar manner to ka are the two particles meu and loi. meu means "may" and loi means probably.

?? How to do 'reciprocals' onetotheother alka ??

Antonyms

Some verbs that end with a have antonyms. For example;-

tata = to tangle tatua = to untangle

The copula

The forms of the copula are almost identical to the TAM markings. Only the 3sng form is different, its vowel being dropped.

I was	ari	we(exc.)were	auri
		we(inc.) were	airi
you were	iri	you(lot) were	eri
he/she was	ri	they are	uri

Notice that the third person singular copula drops the o that occurs in the verb paradigm. The u of the third person singular can also be dropped if the subject has already been stated.

?? give example ??

You will notice that in the above table we demonstrated the copula system using the past tense. The reason that the past tense was used is that the present tense in English corresponds to two forms and two meanings in Seuna. 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").

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

To negate the copula, you must always use the particle ka after the copula. Notice that this is the opposite from normal verbs where ka precedes the verb.

re ka buke = He is not sick

As in Russian, if tense information is unimportant, two words can just stand together with no copula.

mi "doctor" = I am a doctor

Gerund constructions

In English we have what is called the 'gerund'. For example;- "Me hitting him is not on". In this example "Me hitting him" is sort of a noun. In Seuna there is only one verbal-noun. It is the 'base form' or 'recitation form' of the verb. It is also the infinitive.

timpa mige nafi ro ka boi = "Me hitting him is not on"

Nouns from verbs

solbe	to drink	humpa	to eat
solbela	the drinker	humpala	the eater
solbo	beverage	humpo	food
solbenda	a bar	humpanda	a restaurant

If it was some device doing the action then the suffix would be ma instead of la. da is a particle meaning "at" and also a noun meaning "place".

Adjectives from verbs

There are two participles. The passed passive is the infinite with oi replacing the original vowel. The present active is the infinite with eu replacing the original vowel.

It could be said that there is a third participle. The infinitive can be used to mean "that must be". For example "shirt" "to wash" means the shirt that must be washed.

The single syllable verbs

Usually a verb is recognizable by its midword consonant cluster. These verbs are of course multi-syllable. However the most common verbs are single-syllable. They are given below.

to leave	yi
to arrive	wu
to give	loi
to be	bia
to have	kua
to get/obtain	kwa
to become	bwa
to loose	kya
to stop being	bya
to go	go
to come	me
to know	sai
to realize/notice	swai
to return	gwia
to tell	slai
to send	glo
to rise	teu
to go down	joi
to raise	twe
to lower	jwo
to enter	pai
to exit	fau
to insert	pli
to extract	flu
to go through	mya
to see	bai
to show	bla
to say	plo
to think	kle
to want	nyo
to wish	fyu
to take	oi
to put	heu
to understand	nai
to follow	dwe
to cross	cwo

Other

You ought to hit him = you should hit him = timpohire na

You must hit him = timpuhire na

You can hit him = timpawire na

Index

Seuna verbs

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