Verbs and auxiliaries
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to be or to do, that's the real question here
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 25 Jul 2023, 20:26.
[comments] lgngrammarverbs
?FYI...
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Just as Langian declines its classifiers rather than its nouns, the majority of its conjugation is on its auxiliaries rather than its verbs. Because of this, while an auxiliary can carry a sentence on its own, a verb cannot; it must be accompanied by some sort of auxiliary. With the exception of certain politeness or formal markers, auxiliaries are the last element of a sentence, following the verb (Langian’s basic word order being SOV). Adverbs are usually placed between the two (temporal expressions, including relative terms like ‘today’ and ‘now’, are not treated as adverbial phrases).
In dependent clauses, especially in casual speech, auxiliaries are often dropped if they are not important to the meaning of the sentence (This most frequently happens with ŕu /ɻu/ (to be), ĺa /ɭä/ (to do), and ba /ba/ (to have, to exist). Otherwise (and consistently in formal language and writing) they are moved to the beginning of the relative clause, leaving the verb (in a relativized or connecting form) at the end of the clause. Adverbs are rarely used in relative clauses but if present directly precede the verb.
Auxiliaries are required to inflect for number (agreeing with the subject) and tense (past, present, and several future tenses due to the speakers having a form of precognition). Polarity is also reflected in the auxiliary. If multiple auxiliaries are used, they take the same form.
While not conjugating extensively, there are a few different verbal forms, mostly used to form relative clauses or otherwise link verbs or clauses together. Verbal stems are the same as their dictionary forms.
basic form
The usual form that the verb takes when acting as the main verb of a sentence. Identical to the stem form for intransitive verbs and agrees with the object of transitive verbs (1: -(o)s; 2: -(a)h; 3: no change; 4: -(i)g).
-en form/conjunctive form
Acts as a conjunction between clauses and is used to form compound verbal arguments. For example:
lo lühjamen dennosen ĺoa
/lɤ lyʁjämɛn dɛnːɤzɛn ɭoa/
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I run-CONJConjunction
links two arguments or clauses together jump-CONJConjunction
links two arguments or clauses together do.1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
I ran and jumped.
When used to join clauses, the auxiliary (if retained) is moved to the beginning of the clause and the verb appears in the -en form at the end of it. When forming compound verbal arguements, as shown in the example, both verbs appear in the usual place in the sentence. If both verbs are in the -en form, they should be interpreted as being sequential. The final verb is left in the basic form if the actions occurred simultaneously (and the order of them does not matter). Retains object agreement, with intransitive verbs agreeing with the subject (1: -en; 2: -hen; 3: -ten; 4: -gen).
-da form/contrasting form
Structurally the same as as the -en form but acts as a disjunction and so is used for contrasting statements. Can also be used to form compound verbs with reverse polarity. As an example:
lo nü ia müde loahda tossan ĺoañ
/lɤ ny ʔia mydɛ lɤaʁda ɖozsan ɭoaɴ/
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I that CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns letter burn-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee. read do.1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-NEGNegative (polarity)
not
I burned the letter without reading it.
Verb phrases formed in this manner put the first verb in the -da form and have the auxiliary reflect the polarity of the second verb. Retains object agreement, with intransitive verbs agreeing with the subject (1: -das; 2: dah; 3: -da; 4: -dam).
-u form/relative form
Used to form dependent clauses that describe nouns (in which case the whole clause is treated as an adjective, appearing between the classifier and the main noun) and with verbs that can take another verb phrase as one of its arguments (e.g. know, hope, various speech tags). If it is retained, the auxiliary is dislocated to the beginning of the phrase as in other relative clauses but even in writing they are commonly dropped, especially when modifying nouns.
All auxiliaries have single syllable stems with a CV syllable structure. They are split into two categories depending on what vowel is present with /i/ and /u/ forming one category and /a/ and /e/ the other. They agree with the subject of the sentence and are required to conjugate for tense as follows. Throughout this section, "C" and "V" are used where a form uses the same constonant or vowel as the stem, respectively.
i, u auxiliaries
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee* | 4Fourth person (person) obviative, not present* |
| past | -a | VCü | -d | -ta |
| present | - | V -> ü | -o- | a- |
| general future | -e | -o | -g | o- |
| predictive future | le- | i- | u- |
| semi-predictive future | üCü | mü- | tü- | gVCV |
a, e auxiliaries:
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee* | 4Fourth person (person) obviative, not present* |
| past | -o- | VCo | -s | -u- |
| present | - | V ->o | V->oz | ei- |
| general future | -i | -i- | -h | o- |
| predictive future | jü- | -o | a- |
| semi-predictive future | CVCV | mVCV | tVCV | gVCV |
*third person is applied to the sapient species, entities such as countries that are composed of people, and animals; fourth person applies to other nouns in what would generally be considered third person or with the 4th person pronoun (i.e. a hypothetical, non-specific person)
The negative form is suffixed after the tense and also agrees with the subject. (1: -ñ; 2: -ŕ: 3: -(a)m; 4: -n)
Due to the precognative abilities of the species that speaks this language, they make several distinctions when speaking about the future that would otherwise be be unnecessary. For most purposes, the general future form may be used. The other two future forms are used to indicate that one is making a prediction. However, their predictions can vary in both scope and clarity, with less clear predictions generally considered to be events that are probably but not inevitable, spoken of in the semi-predictive form, while the predictive form is for predictions the speaker believes cannot be changed.
Additional forms:
propositional/HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form: -sV
negative propositional: -nV
imperative: -t
negative imperative: -ń
polarity(y/n) question: -b
The three most commonly used auxiliaries are /ɻu/ (be), /ɭä/ (do), and /ba/ (have, exist). One of these three is used if the sentence lacks a proper verb (with a few exceptions) or if the sentence has no other auxiliary. Conversely, they are often dropped if there is some other auxiliary present.
The main uses of ŕu are:
generally accompanies static verbs
acts as the copula for sentences with adjectives (although many adjectives have separate verbal forms; ŕu is often still used with them)
marks intransitive constructions for verbs that can be used transitively or intransitively
Conjugation Table:
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee* | 4Fourth person (person) obviative, not present/3.INInanimate (gender/class) for non-living things* |
| past | ŕua | uŕü | ŕud | ŕuta |
| present | ŕu | ŕü | ŕou | aŕu |
| general future | ŕue | ŕuo | ŕug | oŕu |
| predictive future | leŕu | iŕu | uŕu |
| semi-predictive future | üŕü | müŕu | tüŕu | guŕu |
The main uses of ĺa are:
generally accompanies active verbs
used as a verbalizer for activities that usually function as nouns (similar to Japanese suru)
marks transitive constructions for verbs that can be used transitively or intransitively
Conjugation Table:
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee* | 4Fourth person (person) obviative, not present/3.INInanimate (gender/class) for non-living things* |
| past | ĺoa | aĺo | ĺas | ĺua |
| present | ĺa | ĺo | ĺoz | eĺa |
| general future | ĺai | ĺia | ĺah | oĺa |
| predictive future | jüĺa | ĺao | aĺa |
| semi-predictive future | ĺaĺa | maĺa | taĺa | gaĺa |
The main uses of ba are:
acts as the copula with nouns (e.g. sentences of the form A=B)
used in passive constructions
(Side note: Some speakers use ba as the copula for both nouns and adjectives. On its own this is simply a way to soften one’s speech but it is also a feature of certain stereotypical speech patterns, such as antiquated characters or certain regional dialects.)
Yes/no questions are usually answered by repeating one of the auxiliaries. This will either be the last auxiliary used or one of these three, even another auxiliary verb is used in the question (generally, the first is used if there is more than one). Obviously, "no" is formed by negating the auxiliary. However, there are exceptions, such as answering questions of existence (do you have a brother? Is there any pie left?), which are generally answered with ĺo (zero) for "no" and ni (one) for a general "yes"; other numbers or quantifiers (like many, few, etc.) can also be used for a more informative affirmative answer (and in order to say "yes, one" some sort of emphatic term like "just one" or "only one" would be used).
Most of the remaining auxiliaries are some form of modal verb, although they can be divided into some general types. The first set informs us whether a verb has just started (/ɻä/), is ongoing (/zɛ/), or coming to an end (/wɛ/).
The main uses of ŕa are:
to indicate a change to a new state (because of this, some dialects use ŕa rather than ĺa with verbs that permanently change something, such as dye, paint, break, or make)
indicate the beginning of an ongoing action (such as calling out the beginning of a race)
The HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form implies that something is being done or tried for the first time and is often used in instructions and teaching
The main uses of we are:
to indicate the end of a previous state (often used in euphemisms)
indicate the end of a previously ongoing action or completion of a process (such as calling a halt to something or saying that something has finished drying)
The main uses of se are:
to indicate an ongoing action, state, or process
to express the idea that something is still happening after the speaker expected it to have ended
the HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form is often used to cheer people on, the sense being something like “keep at it!”
This set of auxiliaries are those most often retained in relative clauses and are especially used to form compound sentences. They are used to discuss reasons (/jɯ/), conditions (/ʐu/), actions one must take (/ɢɑ/), or ought to take (/ɭi/).
The main uses of ju are:
When used with a verb in the -en form, provides a reason for the following clause (i.e. because...)
When used with a verb in the -da form, provides a reason that the following clause happens in spite of (i.e. although...)
Used to form causative sentences or to convey that someone was forced to do something
The main uses of źu are:
When used with a verb in the -en form, provides the conditions under which something will take place (i.e. if...)
When used with a verb in the -da form, provides the conditions under which something will not take place (i.e. unless...)
In the HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form, is used to indicate something is a hypothetical
The main uses of ga are:
To indicate that the subject must do something
To indicate that something is the logical or inevitable result of another action
The main uses of ĺi are:
To indicate that the subject has an obligation to do something
In the HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form, to advise someone else on what actions to take
To indicate that something is a reaction to another action or situation
mu: think, believe; expresses that a statement is an inference on the speaker's part or otherwise based on previous experience
ji: may, might; expresses doubt on the part of the speaker
ne: expresses the information is second hand (but not a direct quote)
The remaining auxiliaries are /da/ (can), /ɖi/ (used for direct quotes), and /ʁɜ/ (like to)
The main uses of da are:
To indicate someone is able to do something
can (able to) (propositive -> let's attempt...)
The main use of ti is:
Conveying direct and indirect speech; because of this, this auxiliary almost always occurs in dependent clauses
The main uses of he are:
To indicate someone likes to do something
In the HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' form, indicates someone wants to do something ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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