Verbs

Pre-Kaddesol verbs have two conjugations: a-stem and i-stem. These are classified according to the forms the terminal suffix takes in the infinitive and indicative. The a-stem conjugation ends in -ha /ʔɑ/ while the i-stem ends in -li /li/.

The language syntax prefers verbs for the terminal position of a clause. Verbs are often the longest word in a clause, since they begin as two to three syllable roots to which a string of affixes attach to indicate the person and animacy of the subject and object with tense, aspect, and mood, as well as further qualifiers. This allows and to some extent requires a Pre-Kaddesol speaker to be very precise in the semantic meaning of their utterances.

Affix Order

Verbs are not required to use all affixes to express meaning and in the later stages of Pre-Kaddesol several affixes begin to contract and grow less common. However, there is a very strict order to the position of affixes within a verbal construct.

  1. Person Affix
  2. Tense Affix
  3. Aspect Qualifier
  4. Verb Root
  5. Relative Affix
  6. Modal Suffix

Person

Every verb has a subjective personal affix, which indicates the person, number, and animacy of the subject of the clause. Some verbs follow this affix with an objective personal affix, which must agree in person, number, and animacy with the direct object of the clause. In modern usage, Pre-Kaddesol treats the objective affix as a form of emphasis, which is very common when used in combination with the mediopassive voice.

For more information, see the Subjective and Objective affixes.

Tense

Verbs have two grammatical tenses: present and past. Through a periphrastic that has agglutinated to form an auxiliary compound verb, Pre-Kaddesol can also construct a future tense in the perfective and imperfective.

For more information, see the Tense affixes.

Aspect

Verbs have two grammatical aspects (imperfective and perfective) and several lexical affixes constructed by the combination of imperfective or perfective with an aspect qualifier.

Verb Root

The root form of a verb is the infinitive without the modal suffix. When the verb is used with an auxiliary construction, the root of the auxiliary prefixes the lexical verb to form the root. This can involve more than one auxiliary, especially in the case of the mediopassive voice.

Relatives

Verbs support several further grades of qualifiers which affix between the verb root and the modal suffix. This approach is useful in cases where a more nuanced expression is required.

The modal suffix is the last syllable of a verb. It is used to indicate the mood of the verb. It also provides a clear indicator of the conjugation.

For more information, see Mood.