Chelsian

Chelsian (Native: čelsa linga /ˈtɕɛɫsa ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/, čelsōrų linga /tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/) is a highly conservative Romance language with Baltic influence.

Chelsian
čelsōrų linga
Pronunciation	[tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ]
Created by	Shariifka
Language family	Indo-European Romance Chelsian
Early forms	Classical Latin Middle Chelsian

Introduction

Etymology

From Latin celsus.

Features

Phonological

• Preserves original vowel length and quality.
• Preserved long nasal vowels into its recent history, then merged them with plain long vowels (but they are kept distinct in writing).
• Original velars became alveolar/dental fricatives/affricates before /i/ and postalveolar fricatives/affricates before /e/.
  • This is because palatalization before /i/ and before /e/ occurred separately at different times.
• Original /t/ and /d/ before /j/ became affricates.
• Original /s/ before /j/ became /ʃ/.
• Original labiovelars became plain velars in all positions.
• Innovated hard/soft consonant distinction.
• Original glide w- (modern h-) inserted before word-initial o- and u- (long or short).
• Glide j- inserted before word-initial e- and i- (long or short).
• Original au preserved as a diphthong.
• Original ae merged with long e in most cases, but was kept distinct in 1st declension noun inflectional endings (later merged in pronunciation but without palatalization).
  • This may have actually been through an intermediate phase -āī rather than descending directly from Classical Latin -ae.
• Original oe was preserved longer, but eventually merged with e but without palatalization. Initially, it is preceded with h-.
• Cluster simplification:
  • /ps/ to /s(ː)/
  • /kt/ and /pt/ to /t(ː)/
  • /ks/ to /ʃ(ː)/

Grammatical

• Preserves case inflection.
• No articles.
• Modifier precedes noun.

Phonology

Orthography

Vowels

Grapheme	Sound (IPA)	Remarks
a	[ɐ]
ā	[äː]
ą
e	[ɛ ~ e̞]	[ɛ] before hard consonants. [e̞] before soft consonants and word-finally.
ē	[æː ~ ɛː ~ eː]	[æː] before hard consonants. [ɛː] before soft consonants. [eː] word-finally.
ę
æ
i	[ɪ]
ī	[iː]
į
o	[ɔ]
ō	[oː]
ǫ
u	[ʊ]
ū	[uː]
ų
y	[ɪ]	Used to represent non-palatalizing /ɪ/ and /iː/ in loanwords.
ȳ	[iː]

Diphthongs

Grapheme	Sound (IPA)	Remarks
ai	[äɪ̯]
au	[ɐʊ̯]
ei	[ɛɪ̯]
eu	[e̞ʊ̯]
oi	[ɔɪ̯]
ou	[ɔʊ̯]
ui	[ʊɪ̯]

Consonants

Grapheme	Sound (IPA)
	Hard	Soft
b	b	bʲ
c	t̪͡s̪	t͡sʲ
č	t͡ʃ	t͡ɕ
ch	x	xʲ
d	d̪	dʲ
dz	d̪͡z̪	d͡zʲ
dž	d͡ʒ	d͡ʑ
f	f	fʲ
g	ɡ	ɡʲ
h	ɦ; ɣ¹	ɣʲ
j	—	j
k	k	kʲ
l	ɫ	lʲ
m	m	mʲ
n	n̪	nʲ
p	p	pʲ
r	r	rʲ
s	s̪	sʲ
š	ʃ	ɕ
t	t̪	tʲ
v	ʋ	vʲ
z	z̪	zʲ
ž	ʒ	ʑ

¹ Adjacent to consonants.

Consonants are always palatalized (soft) before ⟨e, ē, ę, i, ī, į⟩. Before ⟨a, ā, ą, æ, o, ō, ǫ, u, ū, ų⟩, palatalization is denoted by inserting an ⟨i⟩ between the consonant and the vowel.

Uniquely, ⟨j⟩ is always palatalized regardless of position.

Prosody

Stress

Stress generally follows Classical Latin rules. However, contracted forms retain stress on the same syllable that is stressed in the corresponding uncontracted form, or on the syllable it is absorbed into.

Morphology

Nouns

Citation form: nom. sg., gen. sg.

First declension

1st declension endings

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	-(i)a	-(i)æ
genitive	-(i)æ	-(i)ārų
dative	-(i)æ	-(i)āvīs, -(i)ais
accusative	-(i)ą	-(i)ās
ablative	-(i)ā	-(i)āvīs, -(i)ais
vocative	-(i)a	-(i)æ

Second declension

2nd declension endings

Case	Singular		Plural
	m.	n.	m.	n.
nominative	-(i)us	-(i)ų	-ī	-(i)a
genitive	-ī		-(i)ōrų
dative	-(i)ō		-īs
accusative	-(i)ų		-(i)ōs	-(i)a
ablative	-(i)ō		-īs
vocative	-e	-(i)ų	-ī	-(i)a

Third declension

3rd declension endings

Case	Singular		Plural
	m./f.	n.	m./f.	n.
nominative	(various)		-ēs	-ia
genitive	-is		-ių
dative	-ī		-ivīs, -īs
accusative	-ę	(same as nom.)	-ēs	-ia
ablative	-e		-ivīs, -īs
vocative	(same as nom.)		-ēs	-ia

Fourth declension

4th declension endings

Case	Singular		Plural
	m./f.	n.	m./f.	n.
nominative	-(i)us	-(i)u	-(i)ūs	-(i)uva
genitive	-(i)uvis, -(i)ūs		-(i)uvų, -(i)ų
dative	-(i)uvī, -(i)ui		-(i)uvīs, -(i)uis
accusative	-(i)ų	-(i)u	-(i)ūs	-(i)uva
ablative	-(i)ū		-(i)uvīs, -(i)uis
vocative	-(i)us	-(i)u	-(i)ūs	-(i)uva

Fifth declension

4th declension endings

Case	Singular	Plural
	m./f.	m./f.
nominative	-ēs	-ēs
genitive	-ei	-ērų
dative	-ei	-ēvīs, -eis
accusative	-ę	-ēs
ablative	-ē	-ēvīs, -eis
vocative	-ēs	-ēs

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Notes:

¹ The cases have been reordered for convenience, since nominative & accusative forms are often identical as are dative & ablative. The vocative has been excluded since it is always identical to the nominative except in the 3SM, where it is jisse.

² In addition to undeclined genitives, personal pronouns have declined possessive forms.

Personal pronouns

Person	Number	Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Possessive	Dative	Ablative
1	sg.	all	jehō	mē	mejī, mei	mejus, -a, -ų	mivī, mī
	pl.	all	nōs		nostrī	nostrus, -a, -ų	nōvīs, nois
2	sg.	all	tū	tē	tuvī, tui	tuvus, -a, -ų	tivī, tī
	pl.	all	vōs		vostrī	vostrus, -a, -ų	vōvīs, vois
3	sg.	m.	jissus	jissų	jissījus	jissījus, -a, -ų	jissī	jissō
		f.	jissa	jissą	jissījus	jissījus, -a, -ų	jissī	jissā
		n.	jissud		jissījus	jissījus, -a, -ų	jissī	jissō
	pl.	m.	jissī	jissōs	jissōrų	jissōrus, -a, -ų	jissīs
		f.	jissæ	jissās	jissārų	jissārus, -a, -ų	jissīs
		n.	jissa		jissījus	jissōrų, -a, -ų	jissīs
Reflexive		all	–	sē	suvī, sui	suvus, -a, -ų	sivī, sī

Demonstrative pronouns

Near demonstrative

Case	Singular			Plural
	m.	f.	n.	m.	f.	n.
Nominative	jistus	jista	jistud	jistī	jistæ	jista
Genitive	jistījus			jistōrų	jistārų	jistōrų
Dative	jistī			jistīs
Accusative	jistų	jistą	jistud	jistōs	jistās	jista
Ablative	jistō	jistā	jistō	jistīs
Vocative	jiste	jista	jistud	jistī	jistæ	jista

Far demonstrative

Case	Singular			Plural
	m.	f.	n.	m.	f.	n.
Nominative	jillus	jilla	jillud	jillī	jillæ	jilla
Genitive	jillījus			jillōrų	jillārų	jillōrų
Dative	jillī			jillīs
Accusative	jillų	jillą	jillud	jillōs	jillās	jilla
Ablative	jillō	jillā	jillō	jillīs
Vocative	jille	jilla	jillud	jillī	jillæ	jilla

Adjectives

First/second declension adjectives

Declined as first/second declension pronouns except in neuter nominative singular.

Citation form: m. nom. sg., f. nom. sg., n. nom. sg. (if plural, use the plural equivalents)

1st/2nd declension adjective endings

Case	Singular			Plural
	m.	f.	n.	m.	f.	n.
nominative	-(i)us	-(i)a	-(i)ų	-ī	-(i)æ	-(i)a
genitive	-ījus			-(i)ōrų	-(i)ārų	-(i)ōrų
dative	-ī			-īs
accusative	-(i)ų	-(i)ą	-(i)ų	-(i)ōs	-(i)ās	-(i)a
ablative	-(i)ō	-(i)ā	-(i)ō	-īs
vocative	-e	-(i)a	-(i)ų	-ī	-(i)æ	-(i)a

Third declension adjectives

Declined as 3rd declension nouns.

Citation form: m./f. nom. sg., n. nom. sg., gen. sg. (if plural, use the plural equivalents)

• The neuter nominative singular can be omitted if it is identical to the masculine/feminine nominative singular.

3rd declension adjective endings

Case	Singular		Plural
	m./f.	n.	m./f.	n.
nominative	(various)	(various)	-ēs	-ia
genitive	-is		-ių
dative	-ī		-ivīs, -īs
accusative	-ę	(same as nom.)	-ēs	-ia
ablative	-e		-ivīs, -īs
vocative	(same as nom.)		-ēs	-ia

Numerals

Numerals

	Cardinal	Ordinal
0	nūllus, -a, -ų	nūllēsmus, -a, -ų
1	hūnus, -a, -ų	prīmus, -a, -ų
2	duvō, -æ, -ō¹	sekundus, -a, -ų
3	trēs, tria, trių	tercus, -a, -ų
4	kattūr	kārtus, -a, -ų
5	cīnke	kīntus, -a, -ų
6	šeš	šeštus, -a, -ų
7	settę	settimus, -a, -ų
8	hottō	hottāvus, -a, -ų
9	novę	nōnus, -a, -ų
10	dečę	dečēsmus, -a, -ų
11	hūndcį	hūndcimus, -a, -ų
12	dōdcį	dōdcimus, -a, -ų
13	tredcį	tredcimus, -a, -ų
14	kattūrdcį	kattūrdcimus, -a, -ų
15	kīndcį	kīndcimus, -a, -ų
16	sēdcį	sēdcimus, -a, -ų
17	settendcį	settendcimus, -a, -ų
18	hottōdcį	hottōdcimus, -a, -ų
19	novendcį	novendcimus, -a, -ų
20	vīzintī	vīčēsmus, -a, -ų
21	vīzintī hūnus, -a, -ų	vīzintī prīmus, -a, -ų
30	trīzintā	trīčēsmus, -a, -ų
40	kadrāzintā	kadrāčēsmus, -a, -ų
50	cīnkāzintā	cīnkāčēsmus, -a, -ų
60	šeššāzintā	šeššāčēsmus, -a, -ų
70	settāzintā	settāčēsmus, -a, -ų
80	hottōzintā	hottōčēsmus, -a, -ų
90	nōnāzintā	nōnāčēsmus, -a, -ų
100	čentų, -ī	čentēsmus, -a, -ų
200	duvō čenta, duvōrų čentōrų	duvō čentēsmus, -a, -ų
1000	mīlle	mīllēsmus, -a, -ų
2000	duvō mīllia, duvōrų mīllių	duvō mīllēsmus, -a, -ų
10⁶	mīllijō, -ōnis	mīllijōnēsmus, -a, -ų
2×10⁶	duvō mīllijōnēs, duvōrų mīllijōnių	duvō mīllijōnēsmus, -a, -ų
10⁹	mīllijardus, -ī	mīllijardēsmus, -a, -ų
2×10⁹	duvō millijardī, duvōrų millijardōrų	duvō mīllijardēsmus, -a, -ų

Notes:

¹ Declined as follows:

Declension of duvō, -æ, -ō "two"

	Plural
	m.	f.	pl.
Nominative	duvō	duvæ	duvō
Genitive	duvōrų	duvārų	duvōrų
Dative	duvōvīs, duvois	duvāvīs, duvais	duvōvīs, duvois
Accusative	duvōs	duvās	duvō
Ablative	duvōvīs, duvois	duvāvīs, duvais	duvōvīs, duvois

This declension is shared by ambō, -æ, -ō "both".

Verbs

Verbs are split into four conjugations that can be identified by their present active infinitive endings:

• 1st conjugation: -(i)āre
• 2nd conjugation: -ēre
• 3rd conjugation: -ere
• 4th conjugation: -īre

Principal parts

The full conjugation of all verbs (except the verb jessere "to be") can be derived from their principal parts.

The principle parts are:

• 1st person singular present indicative - from which the secondary present stem is derived
• Present active infinitive - from which the primary present stem is derived
• 1st person singular perfect indicative - from which the perfect stem is derived
• Supine - from which the supine stem is derived

Forms based on the present stem

The present stem is obtained by removing the infinitive ending (-(i)āre, -ēre, -ere, or -īre) from the second principal part and (in the case of the first conjugation) maintaining its hardness/softness.

Many verbs in the second to fourth conjugations (and a few verbs in the first conjugation) have a secondary present stem distinct from the primary present stem. This is obtained by removing -(i)ō from the first principal part and maintaining its hardness/softness.

Non-finite forms based on the present stem

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Present active infinitive	-(i)āre	-ēre	-ere	-īre
Present active participle	-(i)ąs, -(i)antis	-ęs, -entis		-ęs, -entis¹
Present passive participle	-(i)andus, -a, -ų	-endus, -a, -ų		-endus, -a, -ų¹
Obligative active participle	-(i)antūrus, -a, -ų	-entūrus, -a, -ų		-entūrus, -a, -ų¹

Notes:

¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable).

Finite tenses based on the present stem

Person/ number	Present indicative				Present subjunctive				Imperfect indicative				Imperfect subjunctive				Imperative
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1S	-(i)ō¹				-ę; -(i)ą¹	-(i)ą¹			-(i)āvą	-ēvą		-ēvą¹	-(i)ārę	-ērę	-erę	-īrę
2S	-(i)ās	-ēs	-is	-īs	-ēs; -(i)ās¹	-(i)ās¹			-(i)āvās	-evās		-ēvās¹	-(i)ārēs	-ērēs	-erēs	-īrēs	-(i)ā	-ē	-e	-ī
3S	-(i)at	-et	-it	-it	-et; -(i)at¹	-(i)at¹			-(i)āvat	-ēvat		-ēvat¹	-(i)āret	-ēret	-eret	-īret
1P	-(i)āmus	-ēmus	-imus	-īmus	-ēmus; -(i)āmus¹	-(i)āmus¹			-(i)āvāmus	-ēvāmus		-ēvāmus¹	-(i)ārēmus	-ērēmus	-erēmus	-īrēmus
2P	-(i)ātis	-ētis	-itis	-ītis	-ētis; -(i)ātis¹	-(i)ātis¹			-(i)āvātis	-ēvātis		-ēvātis¹	-(i)ārētis	-ērētis	-erētis	-īrētis	-(i)āte	-ēte	-ite	-īte
3P	-(i)ant	-ent	-(i)unt¹	-(i)unt¹	-ent; -(i)ant¹	-(i)ant¹			-(i)āvant	-ēvant		-ēvant¹	-(i)ārent	-ērent	-erent	-īrent

Notes:

¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable). First conjugation verbs with an irregular secondary present stem use alternative present subjunctive endings identical to those of the remaining conjugations.

As indicated in the above tables, the secondary present stem is used in the following cases:

• All conjugations:
  1. 1S present indicative
  2. Present subjunctive
• Additional for 3rd and 4th conjugations:
  1. 3P present indicative
• Additional for 4th conjugation only:
  1. Imperfect tense
  2. Present active participle
  3. Present passive participle
  4. Obligative active participle

Otherwise, the primary present stem is used.

Forms based on the perfect stem

The perfect stem is obtained by removing -ī from the third principle part.

Non-finite forms based on the perfect stem

Form	Formation
Perfect active infinitive	-isse

Finite forms based on the perfect stem

	Perfect indicative	Pluperfect indicative	Perfect subjunctive	Pluperfect subjunctive
1S	-ī	-erą	-erį	-issę
2S	-istī	-erās	-erīs	-issēs
3S	-it	-erat	-erit	-isset
1P	-imus	-erāmus	-erīmus	-issēmus
2P	-istis	-erātis	-erītis	-issētis
3P	-ērunt	-erant	-erint	-issent

Perfect stems ending in monophthong + -v- can optionally be contracted in certain environments. Note that the stress is always maintained as in the uncontracted form.

Optional contractions of perfect-stem forms

Monophthong preceding -v-	Sequence following -v-	Contraction	Remarks
ā	ī; stressed i, ē	ai	Can become ā before a consonant cluster.
	e; unstressed i, ē	ā or au
	o, ō, u, ū	au
ē	ī; stressed i, ē	ei
	e; unstressed i, ē	ē or eu
	o, ō, u, ū	eu
ī	ē	ē
	e, i, o, u	ī
	ō	iō
	ū	iū
ō	ī; stressed i, ē	oi	Can become ō before a consonant cluster.
	e, o; unstressed i, ē	ō or ou
	u, ū	ou
u, ū	ī; stressed i, ē	ui	Can become ū before a consonant cluster.
	e; unstressed i, ē	ū
	o, u, ū	ū
	ō	ō

These contractions also occur optionally in other environments.

In regular verbs, the perfect stem can be derived from the present stem in predictable ways:

• 1st conjugation: -āv-
• 2nd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
• 3rd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
• 4th conjugation: -īv-

The majority of 1st and 4th conjugation verbs are regular, while 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs (particularly 3rd conjugation) have a higher tendency to have irregular perfect stems.

Irregular perfect stems formations include:

• -ēv-, -ōv- (for some 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs).
• Adding -s- after the stem-final consonant (which may cause assimilation).
• Replacing -šč- with -v- and lengthening the preceding vowel if short (for 3rd declension verbs with infinitives ending in -ščere and 1S present indicative in -skō).
• Reduplication.
• Vowel lengthening with or without vowel change.
• Dropping nasal infix from present stem.
• No change from present stem.

Forms based on the supine stem

The supine stem is derived from the fourth principle part by removing the ending -ų.

Non-finite forms based on the supine stem

Form	Formation
Supine	-ų (acc.), -ū (dat./abl.)
Perfect active participle	-ęs, -entis
Perfect passive participle	-us, -a, -ų
Obligative passive participle	-ūrus, -a, -ų

Additionally, habitual tenses, participles, and infinitives are formed from the supine stem (see below).

For regular verbs, the supine stem is formed from the present stem as follows:

• 1st conjugation: -āt-
• 2nd conjugation: -ūt-
• 3rd conjugation: -ūt-
• 4th conjugation: -īt-

Verbs with an irregular perfect stem generally also have an irregular supine stem.

• If the perfect stem ends in a monophthong followed by -v-, the supine stem generally ends in the monophthong (lengthened if short) + -t-.
• Otherwise, the supine stem cannot be predictably derived based on the perfect stem. Possible endings (besides the already mentioned ones) include:
  • -t- (possibly with assimilation)
  • -s- (possibly with assimilation)
  • -it-

Note that some verbs with a regular perfect stem may have an irregular supine stem and vice versa.

Habitual forms

The habitual is formed by adding -ō, -āre, -āvī, -ātų to the supine stem of a verb. All tenses, participles, and infinitives have a habitual counterpart formed by conjugating the habitual as a first conjugation verb.

The habitual may have an iterative or frequentative meaning in addition to its ordinary habitual meaning.

Compound tenses

Compound tenses are formed with auxiliary verbs.

Compound tenses

Tense	Formation	Remarks
Future	present tense of jīre "to go" + supine (acc.)	This can be made into a future-in-past form by instead using the appropriate past tense form of jīre.
Future perfect	present tense of jīre "to go" + perfect active infinitive
Compound perfect	appropriately conjugated form of avēre "to have" + past participle (acc. neuter, or same gender as direct object)	A compound perfect can be formed from any tense.

Compound non-finite forms

Form	Formation
Future active infinitive	jīre + supine (acc.)
Future perfect active infinitive	jīre + perfect active infinitive
Future active participle	jęs, -entis + supine (acc.)

Passive

The imperfect passive of any active verb form (finite or non-finite) is formed by replacing that verb form with the equivalent form of the verb jessere "to be" followed by the verb's present passive participle. The perfect passive is formed similarly but using the perfect passive participle.

In compound forms, the above applies only to the main verbs and not the auxiliary verb.

It does not apply to the obligative active participle, which instead becomes the obligative passive participle.

Obligative

An obligative counterpart can be made from any tense. It is formed from its declarative counterpart by replacing the main verb with the appropriately conjugated form of jessere "to be" followed by the active or passive obligative participle.

The verb jessere "to be"

The verb sų, jessere, fuvī, fūtų "to be" is one of the most important verbs, and one of the most irregular. In fact, it is the only verb whose full conjugation cannot be determined based on its principle parts.

The forms based on the perfect and supine stems are formed regularly. However, the forms based on the present stem are formed irregularly.

Non-finite forms based on the present stem

	Form
Present active infinitive	jessere
Present active participle	jessęs, -entis
Present passive participle	jessendus, -a, -ų¹
Obligative active participle	jessentūrus, -a, -ų

Finite tenses based on the present stem

	Present indicative	Present subjunctive	Imperfect indicative	Imperfect subjunctive	Imperative
1S	sų	sį	jerą	jesserę
2S	jes	sīs	jerās	jesserēs	fī¹
3S	jest	sit	jerat	jesseret
1P	sumus	sīmus	jerāmu	jesserēmus
2P	sutis	sītis	jerātis	jesserētis	fīte¹
3P	sunt	sint	jerant	jesserent

Notes:

¹ These are actually the imperative forms of fīre "to become" (principal parts: fiō, fīre, fīvī, fītų); jessere does not have its own imperative.

Examples of irregular verbs

Irregular forms are underlined.

Note that class 3 has the most irregular verbs.

Some irregular verbs

Principal parts	Meaning	Remarks
First conjugation
dō, dāre, dedī, dātų	to give
stō, stāre, stetī, stātų	to be standing, to stay
Second conjugation
aviō, avēre, auvī, avūtų	to have	While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present and supine stems. The perfect stem cannot contract due to the diphthong.
dēvio, dēvēre, deuvī, dēvūtų	to owe, have to	While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present and supine stems. The perfect stem cannot contract due to the diphthong.
dēliō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētų	to destroy, erase, delete
possō, potēre, potuvī, potūtų	to be able to
moviō, movēre, mōvī, mōtų	to start (something)	While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present stem.
sediō, sedēre, sēdī, sessų	to be seated
Third conjugation
nāskō, nāščere, nāvī, nātų	to be born
jedō, jedere, jēdī, jēsų	to eat
facō, facere, fēcī, fattų	to do, make	This verb has an abbreviated 1st conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: fāre) and corresponding supine fātų.
ahō, ažere, jēzī, attų	to act, behave
skrīvō, skrīvere, skrīssī, skrīttų	to write	This verb has an abbreviated 4th conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: skrīre) and corresponding supine skrītų.
jungō, jundžere, jūnšī, jūntų	to join
dīkō, dīcere, dīššī, dīttų	to say	This verb has an abbreviated 4th conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: dīre) and corresponding supine dītų.
vadō, vadere, vāsī, vāsų	to go	This verb has an abbreviated 1st conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: vāre).
minuvō, minuvere, minūvī, minūtų	to reduce, make smaller	This verb (and other verbs ending in -uvere) are often contracted in present-stem forms in addition to perfect-stem forms.
struvō, struvere, strūššī, strūttų	to build, create	This verb and similar can be contracted only in present-stem forms since the perfect stem does not contain -v-.
pōnō, pōnere, posuvī, postų	to put
Fourth conjugation
audzō, audīre, audīvī, audītų	to hear
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventų	to come

Lexical aspect

While aspect is primarily expressed through verb conjugation (like Romance languages and unlike Balto-Slavic languages), there is a tendency towards certain verbs having inherent aspect. These verbs generally also have causative counterparts.

"Imperfective" and "perfective" can alternatively be referred to as "stative" and "inchoative" respectively.

Some examples of imperfective-perfective-causative counterparts are given below. Note that the counterparts are not necessarily fully synonymous besides aspect, and they may have alternative meanings that are not shared.

Imperfective/perfective/causative sets

Imperfective		Perfective		Causative		Remarks
Principal parts	Meaning	Principal parts	Meaning	Principal parts	Meaning
sų, jessere, fuvī, fūtų	to be	fiō, fīre, fīvī, fītų	to become	facō, facere, fēcī, fattų	to make
stō, stāre, stetī, stātų	to be standing	surhō, suržere, sūršī, sūrtų	to stand up, to stop (intr.), to go into a standing position	sistō, sistere, sistuvī, sistūtų	to make stand, to stop (tr.), to put into a standing position
sedzō, sedēre, sēdī, sessų	to be sitting	sīdō, sīdere, sēdī, sessų	to sit down, to sit up, to go into a sitting position	lokō, lokāre, lokāvī, lokātų	to set, to put down
jačo, jačēre, jakuvī, jakūtų	to be lying	dēkumbō, dēkumbere, dēkūvī, dēkūtų	to lie down	deicō, deicere, dēcī, dēttų	to lay down
scō, scīre, scīvī, scītų	to know	diskō, diščere, didcī, distų; scīskō, scīščere, scīvī, scītų	to learn, come to know	dočō, dočēre, dokuvī, dottų	to teach
aviō, avēre, auvī, avūtų	to have, hold	teniō, tenēre, tenuvī, tentų	to take hold, acquire	perviō, pervēre, perūvī, pervūtų	to grant
dormiō, dormīre, dormīvī, dormītų	to be asleep	dormīskō, dormīščere, dormīvī, dormītų	to fall asleep	—	—	Many verbs have inchoatives formed with the suffix -skō, -ščere. Such inchoative verbs often share their third and fourth principal parts with the verb they are derived from.

Note that in perfect tenses and the imperative, imperfective verbs can become almost synonymous with their perfective counterparts - e.g. stetī ≈ sūršī "I stood". However, in certain contexts, their meanings are distinct - e.g. Sūršī jet stetī duvās ōrās. "I stood up and remained standing for two hours."

For some pairs, the imperfective and perfective counterparts have the same perfect and supine forms. In such cases, they are distinguished by context - e.g. Sēdī jet sēdī duvās ōrās. "I sat down and remained sitting for two hours."

In imperfect tenses (i.e. the present indicative, the imperfect indicative and subjunctive), perfective verbs tend to become inchoative in meaning - e.g. suržēvą "I was standing up/stopping" vs. stāvą "I was standing".

If needed, for verbs without lexical aspect, imperfective can be explicitly marked using jessere + present participle, while perfective can be marked with fīre + present participle (if not already marked via compound perfect or other means).

Facere + infinitive is used to form analytical causatives.

Syntax

Constituent order

SVO

Chelsian is pro-drop.

Noun phrase

Modifiers precede the noun they modify.

Vocabulary

Time - Tempus

Seasons - Tempestātēs

English	Chelsian
spring	vēr, -is (n.)
summer	jēstās, -tis (f.)
fall	autumnus, -ī (m.)
winter	jemps, jemis (f.)

Gregorian months - Grēgorī męsēs

English	Chelsian
January	januvārius, -ī (m.)
February	fevruvārius, -ī (m.)
March	marcus, -ī (m.)
April	aprīlis, -is (m.)
May	majjus, -ī (m.)
June	jūnius, -ī (m.)
July	jūlius, -ī (m.)
August	auhustus, -ī (m.)
September	settember, -bris (m.)
October	hottōver, -vris (m.)
November	november, -bris (m.)
December	dečember, -bris (m.)

Days of the week - Settimānæ dzēs

English	Chelsian
Sunday	prīndzēs (m.)
Monday	sekundzēs (m.)
Tuesday	terdzēs (m.)
Wednesday	kārdzēs (m.)
Thursday	kīndzēs (m.)
Friday	šeddzēs (m.)
Saturday	settindzēs (m.)

Parts of the day - Dzei partēs

English	Chelsian
day	dzēs, dzei (m.)
dawn	aurōra, -æ (f.)
morning	māne, -is (n.)
noon	merīdzēs, -ei (m.)
afternoon	sēra, -æ (f.)
evening	vesperus, -ī (m.)
dusk	krepuslų, -ī (n.)
night	nōš, nottis (f.)
midnight	medzanōš, -nottis (f.)

Units of time - Temporis ūnitātēs

English	Chelsian
second	sekundus, -ī (m.)
minute	minūtus, -ī (m.)
hour	hōra, -æ (f.)
day	dzēs, dzei (m.)
week	settimāna, -æ (f.)
month	męsis, -is (m.)
season	tempestās, -tis (f.)
year	annus, -ī (m.)

Example Texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)

Tōtī homnēs nāskunt līverī jet jekālēs jin dinnitāte jet jūrivīs. Sunt dōtātī dē rācōne jet kǫscencæ, jet dēvent ažere jinter sē jin frāternitātis spīritī.

[ˈtoːtʲiː ˈɦɔmʲnʲæːs ˈnäːskʊnt ˈlʲiːvʲɛrʲiː jɛt jɛˈkaːlʲæːs jɪn dʲɪnʲːɪˈtaːtʲe̞ jɛt ˈjuːrʲɪvʲiːs ‖ sʊnt doːˈtaːtʲiː dʲeː raːˈtsoːnʲɛ jɛt koːˈstsʲɛnʲtseː | jɛt ˈdʲɛːvʲe̞nt ˈɐʑe̞rʲe̞ ˈjɪnʲtʲɛr sʲeː jɪn fraːtʲɛrʲnʲɪˈtaːtʲɪs ˈsʲpʲiːrʲɪtʲiː]

Other resources

Swadesh list