Verbs
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# Verbs
## Vocabulary (infinitive form)
The full verb vocabulary is in the companion *NLS Dictionary** volume (Verbs section).*
## Tenses and moods
Simple tenses are formed by applying a suffix (or a detached prefix) to the verb root. Compound tenses are formed with an auxiliary (see Compound tenses section). NLS has no subjunctive mood: as in modern English, the indicative is used with context clarifying the meaning.
| Tense/Mood | Marker | Note |
|------------|--------|------|
| Present | suffix -a | root + -a in all cases, e.g. beda (to go) |
| Imperfect | suffix -at | habitual/ongoing action in the past |
| Remote past | suffix -ate | completed, punctual action in the past |
| Past participle | suffix -ur | used in compound tenses and in adjectival/passive function |
| Gerund | suffix -mu | |
| Conditional | suffix -ke | |
| Imperative | detached prefix bolo | e.g. bolo bed = go! (subject omitted) |
| Future | auxiliary particle skul | before the verb |
Confirmed example: mut beda = "I go" (root bed + present suffix -a). The example sentence Lat beda ut krek = "she goes to school" follows the same rule.
## Statement of an ongoing action (present progressive)
> Rule: subject + el (to be, auxiliary, present) + infinitive verb + gerund
Example: Mut ela garmu = "I am eating".
## General present statement
> Rule: subject + verb (root + present suffix)
Example: Lat beda ut krek = "She goes to school".
## Question without an adverb (present)
> Rule: verb (root + present suffix) + subject
Example: Gara til fuk muti? = "Are you eating with me?"
> Note on Subject Pronoun Obligatoriness: Unlike pro-drop languages (such as Italian or Spanish), NLS strictly requires the subject pronoun to be explicitly expressed in all sentences. The subject can only be omitted in the imperative mood, where it is naturally dropped after the particle bolo.
## Question with an adverb (present)
> Rule: adverb + verb (root + present suffix) + subject
Example: Grau ela til? = "Where are you?"
## Question with future tense
> Rule: skul + subject + infinitive verb
Example: Skul nus bed ut argu tida? = "Will we go to work on Tuesday?"
## Questions with "who" and "what"
Vic (who) and wolo (what) are not adverbs but interrogative pronouns: they replace the subject or object and always go at the start of the sentence, followed by the verb:
> Rule: who/what (in place of the element) + verb (+ subject, if "who/what" is the object)
Examples: Vic gara? = "who is eating?" (*vic* is the subject, no other subject appears); Wolo gara til? = "what are you eating?" (*wolo* is the object, the subject til stays after the verb).
## Sentence with a direct object (SVO)
> Rule: subject + verb(root+suffix) + object + -ne (definite)
> subject + verb(root+suffix) + en- + object (indefinite)
The direct object takes the definiteness suffix -ne only when it is indeed definite. When it is indefinite, it takes the indefinite article prefix en- and receives no suffix at the end. Examples: Mut gara pom-ne = "I eat the apple" vs Mut gara en-pom = "I eat an apple".
## Negative sentence
> Rule: subject + nep + verb(root+present suffix)
Example: Mut nep gara = "I don't eat".
## Imperative
> Rule: bolo + verb root (subject normally omitted)
Example: Bolo bed! = "go!". If the addressee needs to be specified, the pronoun is added after: Bolo bed vor! = "go! (pl.)"
## Compound tenses
The imperfect (*-at*) and the remote past (*-ate*) are used on their own, with no auxiliary, to express a simple action. Compound tenses are instead formed with an auxiliary + participle (*-ur*), on the Italian model, but with an important simplification: the choice of auxiliary depends on the grammatical function (active/passive), never on the specific verb.
- Active form: ar (to have), in any tense, + verb*-ur* — for any verb, transitive or not (just as English always uses have).
- Passive form: el (to be), in any tense, + verb*-ur*.
The tense of the auxiliary determines the tense of the resulting compound:
| Compound tense | Construction | Example |
|----------------|--------------|---------|
| Present perfect | ar(present) + verb*-ur* | Mut ara bedur = I have gone |
| Past perfect | ar(imperfect) + verb*-ur* | Mut arat bedur = I had gone |
| Preterite perfect | ar(remote past) + verb*-ur* | Mut arate bedur = I had gone (literary) |
| Conditional perfect | ar(conditional) + verb*-ur* | Mut arke bedur = I would have gone |
| Future perfect | skul + subj. + ar(infinitive) + verb*-ur* | Skul mut ar bedur = I will have gone |
The passive form follows the same pattern with el instead of ar: el dotur = "it is done" (present passive), elat dotur = "it was done" (imperfect passive), and so on for every tense.
> Note on Motion and Intransitive Verbs: In NLS, all active compound tenses are formed strictly using the auxiliary ar (to have). This rule applies universally to all verbs, including intransitive or motion verbs that in other languages might require the auxiliary "to be" (e.g., "I have gone" → Mut ara bedur).
## Mapping and absence of the subjunctive mood
In line with the philosophy of maximum structural simplification, NLS completely eliminates the subjunctive mood. All subordinate clauses that in languages like Italian would require the subjunctive are expressed in NLS using exclusively the indicative mood, introduced by the declarative conjunction ke (that).
The semantic nuance (opinion, volition, purpose) is already entirely conveyed by the verb of the main clause, making the morphological complexity of the subjunctive completely superfluous.
Practical translation examples:
- Opinion or Doubt:
"I think that it is beautiful" → Mut tena ke ela belu
(literally: "I think that it is beautiful" — using ten = to think and el = to be).
- Volition or Desire:
"I want you to come" → Mut tava ke til orga
(literally: "I want that you come" — using tav = to want and org = to come).
- Purpose Clause:
"I do it so that you are happy" → Mut dota ke til ela fertu
(literally: "I do [this] that you are happy" — using dot = to do and fertu = happy).