Infinitives and Voice

Verbs express actions, events, processes, and states.

In Maþal, the basic dictionary form of a verb is the infinitive. The infinitive corresponds to English forms like “to go,” “to see,” “to rain,” or “to be.”

This article covers two things:

Topic	Meaning
infinitives	the basic “to …” form of a verb
voice	how the subject relates to the root meaning

Tense, agreement, aspect, negation, and imperatives are explained in separate sections.

Infinitives

The infinitive is built with the particle ym and the verbal ending -a.

Structure
ym + root + -a

Part	Function
ym	infinitive particle
root	lexical meaning
-a	verbal ending

The infinitive does not show tense, person, number, gender, mood, or agreement.

Infinitive examples

Root	Infinitive	Meaning
gar	ym gara	to go; to move forward
nekt	ym nekta	to see; to have sight
fjún	ym fjúna	to rain
ben	ym bena	to exist; to be there
bún	ym búna	to be magical
gun	ym guna	to eat
gomb	ym gomba	to dine; to have a meal
drer	ym drera	to kill

The infinitive particle ym is written as a separate word.

The verbal ending -a attaches directly to the root.

Voice

Voice shows how the subject relates to the meaning of the root.

A subject can actively do something, undergo something, or be in a state that results from something.

Maþal has one unmarked default voice and three marked voices.

Voice	Marker	Meaning
default voice	—	the normal meaning of the root
agentive / action voice	ska-	the subject actively does or causes something
patientive / eventive voice	sma-	the subject undergoes something or enters an event
resultant-state voice	sva-	the subject is in the state resulting from the root

The voice prefix stands between ym and the root.

Structure
ym + voice prefix + root + -a

Default voice

The default voice has no prefix.

This does not always mean that the verb is active. The default meaning depends on the root and its semantic domain.

Some roots are naturally action-like. Other roots are naturally event-like or state-like.

Infinitive	Meaning
ym gara	to go; to move forward
ym guna	to eat
ym fjúna	to rain
ym bena	to exist; to be there
ym bana	to be in danger

The default form is used when the ordinary root meaning is enough.

Agentive / action voice

The prefix ska- marks an active or causing subject.

The subject does the action, causes the event, or brings about the state.

Structure
ym ska- + root + -a

Default form	Agentive form	Meaning of agentive form
ym bena	ym ska-bena	to create; to bring into existence
ym bana	ym ska-bana	to endanger; to put in danger
ym búna	ym ska-búna	to do magic; to cast a spell
ym gomba	ym ska-gomba	to dine actively; to have a meal

The agentive voice is used when the subject is the active cause or doer of the root meaning.

Patientive / eventive voice

The prefix sma- marks a subject that undergoes the root meaning.

The subject is affected by the action or enters the event.

Structure
ym sma- + root + -a

Default form	Patientive / eventive form	Meaning of patientive / eventive form
ym bena	ym sma-bena	to be brought into existence; to come into being
ym bana	ym sma-bana	to be endangered; to be put in danger
ym guna	ym sma-guna	to be eaten
ym gomba	ym sma-gomba	to be eaten as a meal
ym drera	ym sma-drera	to be killed

The patientive or eventive voice is used when the subject is not the active doer, but the one affected by the root meaning.

Resultant-state voice

The prefix sva- marks a resulting state.

The focus is not on the action happening, but on the state after it has happened.

Structure
ym sva- + root + -a

Default form	Resultant-state form	Meaning of resultant-state form
ym bana	ym sva-bana	to remain endangered; to be left in danger
ym guna	ym sva-guna	to be consumed; to be eaten up
ym drera	ym sva-drera	to lie slain; to remain killed

The resultant-state voice is used when the subject is already in the state caused by the event.

Voice contrast

The difference between the voices can be seen clearly with the root ban, meaning danger.

Voice	Maþal	Meaning
default	ym bana	to be in danger
agentive	ym ska-bana	to endanger; to put in danger
patientive / eventive	ym sma-bana	to be endangered; to be put in danger
resultant state	ym sva-bana	to remain endangered; to be left in danger

Another example is gun, meaning eating or consuming.

Voice	Maþal	Meaning
default	ym guna	to eat
patientive / eventive	ym sma-guna	to be eaten
resultant state	ym sva-guna	to be consumed; to be eaten up

Not every root needs every voice form in ordinary use. A voice form is used when the meaning is useful and natural for that root.