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===Verbs=== | ===Verbs=== | ||
Verbs in Valian are inflected for three tenses (distant past, past, present, although some analyses point to a future tense in the passive voice), three moods (indicative, optative, imperative), two voices (active, passive), polarity, number and person. Furthermore, many verbal stems alternate between several vowel qualities depending on things such as mood, voice and tense. They can also be marked for verb objects, similar to Georgian and Spanish. | Verbs in Valian are inflected for three tenses (distant past, past, present, although some analyses point to a future tense in the passive voice), three moods (indicative, optative, imperative), two voices (active, passive), polarity, number and person. Furthermore, many verbal stems alternate between several vowel qualities depending on things such as mood, voice and tense. They can also be marked for verb objects, similar to Georgian and Spanish. | ||
===Stem alternation=== | |||
A minor but quite important point in Valian is the alternation that certain stems show. One such alternation is the a-alternation encountered in primary verbs with the stem vowel /a/. In the past tense form it changes to /æ/ and when used to form nouns it changes to /e/. | |||
====Tenses==== | ====Tenses==== | ||
=====Present===== | =====Present===== | ||
The present is generally used for denoting actions that are taking place in the now and is also used for forming the future tense in conjunction with specific adverbs. Unlike English which has a distinction between "I'm going" and "I go", Valian uses the same form for both. For thematic verbs, the present tense set of inflexions consists of ''-te, -ke, -na, -teen, -keen, -nän'' For athematic verbs, add the linking vowel ''-i-'' and the thematic endings. Thus ''magate'', ''magake'', ''magana'', ''magateen'', ''magakeen'', ''maganän'' for the verb ''magaan''. | The present is generally used for denoting actions that are taking place in the now and is also used for forming the future tense in conjunction with specific adverbs. Unlike English which has a distinction between "I'm going" and "I go", Valian uses the same form for both. For thematic verbs, the present tense set of inflexions consists of ''-te, -ke, -na, -teen, -keen, -nän'' For athematic verbs, add the linking vowel ''-i-'' and the thematic endings. Thus ''magate'', ''magake'', ''magana'', ''magateen'', ''magakeen'', ''maganän'' for the verb ''magaan''. | ||
=====Past===== | |||
The past tense stem is formed similarly to the present but with a differing set of inflexions: ''-tama, -kama, -nama, -tänna, -känna, -nänna''; these are affixed directly to the past tense version of the stem (if there is such one) even if it's a thematic verb. <br>Thus ''mähtama, mäkkama, männana, mähtänna, mäkkänna, mänänna'' for the verb ''magaan'' in the past tense. | |||
==Syntax== | ==Syntax== | ||