Verb Conjugation
1 min read · 185 words
Verbs come in one of two/three types.
Type 1 verbs mainly differ with vowel harmony. They follow the same pattern, just with a/o swapped, and with u/ɵ swapped. This is different to most other instances of vowel harmony sub-pairing.
Type 2 is mostly the same, just switching e for the main vowel and i for the minor vowel, with the exceptions of 3rd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural.
-Vi is an infinitive form used in dictionaries mainly.
Verbs do not conjugate for tense. This is mainly inferred either via context or time phrases.
There are two irregular verbs that fall under a potential Type 3 verb pattern.
The first is Olei - to be.
The second is the negative verb Nei.
The negative verb takes conjugation over the main verb. The second verb uses the root form.#
For example, Nimai - to be hungry
I am hungry. - Nima.
I am not hungry. - Ne nim.
The suffix -ki can turn verbs into question versions. For example, from Pennai, to leave, we can get Pennat, you are leaving, and then Pennatki, Are you leaving?