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Verbs: present tense, 3rd person endings. Simple sentences
It's time to start forming a simple sentences! But it's not possible without proper use of verbs. Verbs are the most complex topic in Nûrlâm, but in simple sentences they are quite simple too.
Third person suffixes
In the lesson about nouns it was said that nouns do not have grammatical number in Nûrlâm. However the verbs do! In English only the 3rd person singular verbs in present tense receive additional ending -(e)s. In Nûrlâm plural verbs also get their own suffix:
| Grammatical number of subject | Verb ending |
|---|---|
| singular | -â |
| plural | -û |
Moreover, these exact suffixes are used with past and future tenses, too.
Present tense
Nûrlâm has only three tenses: present, past and future. It makes no distinction between Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous tenses. However, the distinction may be made with grammatical category of aspect, which we leave for future lessons. Also, English Present Perfect tense is translated with past tense of Nûrlâm, which we also will study later.
Present tense doesn't require any suffix marker in Nûrlâm, just like commands, but verbs in present (or any other) tense may receive many other grammatical suffixes (like 3rd person suffixes we learned just now).
Present tense in Nûrlâm is used to express:
- actions going at the moment of speaking (e.g. “orc is eating”);
- regular actions that didn't stop to happen;
- general truths (like “orcs eat”)
Making simple sentences
So, let's make our first basic statements using the rules we just learned. Let's start with words “orc” (uruk) and “eat” (throkh-). When you combine verb roots with suffices, you shouldn't write hyphens.
| English | Nûrlâm | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| orc eats | uruk throkhâ | actually, no clarification of quantity is needed for subject |
| orcs eat | uruk throkhû | in lesson about nouns we've learned that nouns do not take plural suffix, however the verbs do instead! |
Adding articles, numerals, adjectives or quantifier words doesn't change the verb's suffix:
| English | Nûrlâm |
|---|---|
| the orc eats | urukum throkhâ |
| an orc eats | ash uruk throkhâ |
| one orc eats | |
| two orcs eat | krul uruk throkhû |
| scary orc eats | uf uruk throkhâ |
| urukuf throkhâ | |
| big orcs eat | urukdau throkhû |
| some orcs eat | mûd uruk throkhû |
| all orcs eat | urukûk throkhû |
Adding objects
Like with commands, when using the noun as object of the sentence, it's grammatical form isn't changed. For example: “orcs eat meat” ⇒ “uruk throkhû âps”.
As you can see from examples above, there is no need in clarifying the grammatical number of subject, as it's verb takes it instead. However articles, exact numbers or quantifier words are necessary for objects.
New words
- âps (cooked meat, flesh)1)
- durb (to rule, force, control)
- gazat (dwarf)
- khlâr (to hear)
- mazg (bread)2)
- pushd (to stink)
- rog (demon)
- shog (to drink)
- skoir (to fly)
- ugl (to frighten, scare)
Exercise 1
Translate into Nûrlâm:
- an orc is coming
- demon flies
- dwarves stink
- elves eat bread
- orcs drink blood
- nine wraiths are scaring these humans
- scary trolls hear the filthy dwarves
- the dragon rules this mountain
- the slaves escape
- the warrior kills a troll
Exercise 2
Translate into English:
- dog durbâ
- golug shogâ mûd saub
- ink hûr uruk maukû krâk gazat
- mauh krimpâ za snaga
- noi nakhû
- rod binâ
- skri shra throgû za nazg
- tark grishû ûzûl taum
- tarkum throkhâ âps
- za shra gashnâ
See also
