- Part 1: Phonology and orthography · Part 2: Verb morphology · Part 3: Declension and conjunctions
Overview[]
Gohon verbs are highly versatile sentence components. Their usage is considerably complex and needs a separate page to explain.
Verbs are conjugated to person and tense-aspect-mood. There are, however, only four (4) distinct forms for each person-number, with the present being most prevalent. The conjugation differentiates:
- Future and non-future tenses.
- Perfective and imperfective aspects.
- Indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods.
Tense-aspect-mood markers
- PRES “present”, non-future, perfective, indicative: the state of the event is finished or about to be finished at the referenced time frame.
- Also used when the tense is considered unimportant, such as in history or storytelling.
- Corresponds to present simple, past simple and historical present in English.
- The present continuous is indicated with the clitic u’ “in” attached before a verb in present form.
- IPRF (preterite?), non-future, normally indicative but subjunctive in some clauses: the event is entirely in the past of the referenced time frame.
- May or may not be finished.
- Implies the event is unrelated to the current context.
- Used as the non-future subjunctive.
- Another use as subjunctive is to indicate something has been undone.
- FUT “future”, future, imperfective, subjunctive: the event may or may not have started, and will end in the future of the referenced time frame.
- Corresponds to future simple, future past, and sometimes present continuous as well.
- Used as the future subjunctive.
- PRF “perfect”, perfective, indicative: the event has finished.
- Does not provide information relative to the time frame.
- Replaces the present form in some constructs.
- Verbs have a special second-person imperative form. Third-person imperative forms are constructed with xalz “should”.
Conjugations
The common conjugation (or -z verbs) is signaled by the imperative ending -za and infinitive ending -z. Most verbs are -z verbs.
The agentic conjugation (or -my verbs) contains my “to do”, doz “to cause to be”, semy “to create”, and their derivative words, mostly with the imperative ending -ii. These verbs are always transitive, though the object may be omitted in certain constructs. Their infinitive endings vary.
Reflexive verbs (or tel verbs - “self”) form their own class. They are a cross between the -z and the -my verbs: while they also have the imperative ending -ii, they are intransitive, and conjugated slightly differently from regular -my verbs, with the infinitive always ending in te.
The defective conjugation (or ctoz verbs - “to happen”) contains a small number of defective verbs. These verbs also have the imperative ending -za, but lacks a row or more conjugated forms. Their conjugation follows a different paradigm compared to -z verbs, making use of vowel gradation.
These forms are both singular and plural, similar to the nouns. Forms for singular only and plural only exist but are seldom used.
Conjugation tables
Verbs in the common conjugation drops the -z and takes the appropriate ending. For monosyllabic -z verbs, certain endings cause the root vowel to be duplicated before inflection, namely those consisting of a single consonant or starts with a vowel. For example moz “to move” has mozos “you move”, mozabo “you have moved” but mopu “I will move”. Syllabic endings that start with a consonant cause the root vowel to be dropped.
| -z | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRES | -∅/-qoje | -s | -r | -q |
| IPRF | -ete | -ct | -q | -q |
| FUT | -pu | -ys | -su | -su |
| PER | -f | -abo | -itn | -ce |
Verbs in the agentic conjugation drops the -y and takes the appropriate ending.
| -my | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRES | -∅/-ine | -yby | -ipe | -ⁿ |
| IPRF | -im | -yb | -inq | -ⁿ |
| FUT | -ypu | -inu | -yc | -yc |
| PER | -yf | -ins | -inr | -ycy |
Verbs in the defective conjugation drops the -z, and the root vowel is also modified.
| ctoz | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRES | -o | -os | -or | -ⁿcy |
| IPRF | -af | -as | -ar | -ⁿco |
| FUT | -e | -ec | -esu | -ⁿro |
| PER | -e | -ens | -ⁿ | -ⁿro |
Verb clusters[]
The rest of this page is dedicated to explicating the phenomenon of multiple verbs coexisting in one sentence.
Verb clusters have a convoluted history. The original plan of Gohon relied upon extensive conjugation to express mood and voice. That system was rarely used, but it did preclude modal verbs or periphasic forms, since all the nuances were supposedly already in one verb. Nevertheless, verb clusters developed from another source, starting from phrases with omitted conjunctions, which formed new constructs by analogy, derived new meanings from the original literal meanings, and went on to create “dependent” verbs that must appear with other verbs.
I have to pause, go through the specifics and disentangle this phenomenon. You see, verb clusters can get a whole lot complicated: each verb is partially independent, so they may be conjugated for different persons and tense/aspect. In addition, word order is significant in Gohon, so “search.1SG.PRES read.1SG.PRES”, “read.1SG.PRES search.1SG.PRES” and “search.4SG.PER read.2SG.IPRF” all have different meanings. Now the difficult part is to explain everything.
Definitions[]
- The central verb of a verb cluster refers to the final verb in a parallel structure, or the verb in the main clause in a conditional.
- A dependent verb has a form identical to a regular verb, but its meaning is incomplete and it can only be used with another verb in a verb cluster.
- A verb cluster is a construct with two or more verbs. For this purpose, except for the specialized dependent verbs, each of the verbs in a cluster must be able to form a valid sentence without another (explicit or implicit) verb, and gerunds and verbal nouns do not count as verbs.
Abbreviations used[]
- CNG: To change into a specific state or condition, similar to English “-ize” or “-ify”.
- INVRS: The inversion particle i.
- PRES, PRE: Present, see above.
- IPRF: Imperfect or preterite.
- FUT: Future.
- PER, PERF: Perfect.
Verb cluster attributes[]
- [yes/no] chain: whether the construct allows more than two (2) verbs in one simple sentence.
- [yes/no] agree: whether the verbs belonging to the cluster show agreement of person and tense-aspect-mood.
- [yes/no] order: ordered, whether sequence of the verbs is significant.
- [yes/no] reduc: reducible, whether the verb cluster can be paraphrased into multiple simple sentences.
A rough classification[]
Type 1a: Successive (chain, agree, order, reduc)[]
The earliest verb clusters appeared when conjunction(s) between two or more successive verbs were dropped. Initially, only verbs denoting successive events were allowed to pack together. This enabled omission of -mi suffixes and reduced repetition, which proved desirable and use of this construct has since greatly expanded. (It’s almost like I’m allergic to repetitions.) In Type 1a clusters, all verbs have a perfective meaning, and are conjugated to the same person and tense/aspect.
ci qonu m’lsel stafq lebulteq aru;
the pig over~fence jump.3SG.IPRF escape-make.3SG.IPRF TELIC
“The pig jumped over the fence and escaped.”
Type 1b: Simultaneous (chain, agree, reduc)[]
Usage of verb clusters to describe successive events naturally widened to incorporate simultaneous events as well. Like Type 1a clusters, Type 1b clusters verbs have a perfective meaning. To emphasize the simultaneity, the adverb de “together” may be used. The adverb is not needed when it is difficult to tell if events are successive or simultaneous.
deln dlter kcarli sapuir;
thunder make_a_sudden_noise.3SG.PRES lightning strike.3SG.PRES
“Thunder boomed and lightning struck [at the same time].”
Type 1c: Habitual (chain, agree, order, reduc)[]
A plain cluster can also refer to habitual, streamlined, or ritualistic behaviors. Usually, Type 1c clusters feature the second or fourth person, and context usually resolves any potential ambiguities; if not, sobei can be added.
bizis preir moqos mino sobei;
say.2SG.PRES prayer eat.2SG.PRES dinner SEQUENTIAL
“Say a prayer and then have dinner.”
Type 1d: When-clause (agree, order)[]
When-clauses in Gohon put the main clause before the subordinate clause, separated by the inversion particle i. The inversion particle doesn’t otherwise appear in verb clusters. It is plausible these clauses used to have an alternative construct with the subordinate clause before the main clause, most likely with another adverb, but through pure chance the inverse construct prevailed and the adverb was dropped.
fqocfos lapuir i wema fuir;
wind-hot rise.3SG.PRES INVRS sun appear.3SG.PRES
“[When] the sun comes out, the hot wind rises.”
Type 1e: Suddenness (agree, reduc)[]
A variant of Type 1d deals with events that happen suddenly (momentane). The suffix -(l)i is added to render an imperfective form perfective. The two verbs are separated with a small pause in speech and a comma in writing.
ci qadof lowari e’dlus, pabir;
the chicken fly.3SG.PRES.MOMENTANE to~tree flap.3SG.PRES
“The chicken takes off into the tree [while] flapping [its wings].”
-(l)i is a variant of the diminutive suffix -i. This is an example of polysemy in an affix, where the same affix can be applied to more than one parts of speech, where it takes on different meanings. (The diminutive is not the best example, however, because its meaning is too diffuse.)
Type 2a: Cause and effect, colloquial (order)[]
The most common construct of because-clauses takes the form of an adverb separating the two verbs of main and subordinate clauses.
lisiq zlnno taete f’ons f’sanlazu;
rain.4SG.PRES nonstop sit.1SG.IPRF at~home in~day-all
“[Because] it kept raining, I stayed at home the entire day.”
rect xzagar saxqs aru;
run.2SG.IPRF fast-overly burn.2SG.PRES TELIC
“[Because] you ran too fast, you are on fire.”
Type 2b: Cause and effect, or successive (order)[]
Sometimes, it is not needed to emphasize the causal link between the two verbs. The two verbs could be logically related as represented by because, or they could be in a parallel structure as represented by and. In this case, the form has no extraneous markers other than person and TAM markers.
raebo e’wema saxqs aru;
run.2SG.PER to~sun burn.2SG.PRES TELIC
“[Because] you ran into the sun, you are on fire.”
Type 2c: Cause and effect, formal (order)[]
To stress the causal link in the previous sentence, the adverb modo, roughly “with a consequence”, can be inserted after the first verb, before the adverb bearing the actual meaning. This will make the sentence sound rather serious and formal, since there is quite a bit of history behind modo.
Type 3a: Zeroth conditional (agree, order)[]
Traditionally, the zeroth conditional is identical in form to Type 1d, when-clause, with the special usage of the inversion particle. However, due to English influence, sometimes qdo is inserted at the beginning of the sentence.
Type 3b: First/Second conditional, probable (agree, order)[]
qdo “if” is the generic conditional particle. In Gohon, the first conditional doesn’t have to be a future scenario. Any reasonably likely sequence of events takes this form when put in the conditional. In addition, the main clause is in the present tense, unless talking about a scheduled future event where it is in the future tense.
qdo ulils ats’pazta portar;
if cry.2SG.PRES your~enemy laugh.3SG.PRES
“If you cry, your enemy will laugh.”
Type 3c: Second conditional, improbable (agree, order)[]
The form of the sentence is similar with Type 3b, except with the subjunctive particle na applied to the central verb. If wishing to emphasize the improbable nature of the condition, qdes “assuming that” may be used in place of the generic conditional particle.
qdo qn’pimut lowas esabuilax izis na;
if without~meaning proceed.2SG.PRES DAT.void go.2SG.PRES SUBJ
“Should you live without a cause, you would be an empty person.”
The third conditional is not expressed with a verb cluster, but rather taps into the potential subjunctive meaning of the preterite tense.
Type 4a. Specialized usage (attributes vary)[]
Many Gohon idioms are highly compressed verb clusters, usually of types 1a, 1d and 2a denoting simultaneity and cause-and-effect. Often, the idiomatic meaning must be separately memorized. Some verb clusters have even taken up other parts of speech such as interjection or conjunction.
- xuez tbasz “expect and prevent a risk”. The literal meaning is “dig and away-lead”, especially digging channels to divert excess rainwater before the wet season to prevent flooding, later widened to the idiomatic meaning of risk prevention.
- efuiz curiz “live an uneventful life”. The literal meaning is “be absent and survive”, probably in the sense of “excitement being absent”.
- mita liton; “Look what youve done!” The literal meaning is “I check and I get annoyed”. This cluster is always in the first person present as an interjection of annoyance.
Type 4b. Politeness (agree, order)[]
The politeness words are verbs that can be inserted before a verb or in the beginning of a verb cluster.
- morln “it is probably true; it can be said that” weakens the tone of absolution in a statement and makes the sentence less stiff.
- razmy “to do in a preferred way” may be used literally or figuratively. The latter usage lightens the tone of an imperative verb.
- ossez “it is good; it is appropriate” also lightens the tone of an imperative verb and is often used to translate “please”.
razmy tanxz ci biquo lauz t';
do.INF solve.INF the bottle drink.INF ABL.
“Open the bottle and drink from it.”
Type 4c: Implicit verb clusters (attributes do not apply)[]
Gohon has two telicity markers: aru and aril. aru is considered affirmative and indicates an event has ended. aril is the opposite and indicates an event has not ended yet, or that the event was interrupted and did not achieve its intended goal. Due to grammar rules, aru can not be applied to state verbs, while aril can not be applied to momentary verbs. Therefore, when a verb cluster is of the form [momentary verb] [verb] aril, the latter verb may be dropped for certain expressions, usually indicating Type 1a or successive events.
More broadly, for commonly co-occurring verbs, when adverb markers are present, the latter verb may occasionally be omitted, such as lowar enbe na “in case of wandering [and entering] a dangerous place”. (You may wonder why it is not lowar esenbe na, or with the dative. The reason is lowaz has a number of possible meanings and the implicit cluster construct narrows it down to one meaning.)
In certain contexts, only the first verb in a common idiom is given, and the reader is expected to deduce the idiom based on the context. In these cases only one verb and no telicity markers can make a cluster, but that is classified as a variant of Type 4a.
Type 4d. Dependent verbs (agree, order)[]
Should a verb become ingrained in verb cluster expressions, even if it falls out of favor later, it sometimes persists in verb cluster constructs but can no longer be used by itself. Such a verb has become a dependent verb.
Dependent verbs are like modal verbs in that they often take up meanings related to aspect and mood. They also take up the role of some adverbs as in English. The sentence containing dependent verbs takes the form of a plain cluster without any indicators, so it’s up to the reader to spot the dependent verb and correctly decipher the meaning.
- muiz “passive voice marker; to be antecedent, older”
- assaz “to repeat; to be incessant, evasive, mischievous”
- utabaz “to continue; to be active, teeming, bubbling”
- boxaz “to be qualified, precise”
Type 5: Periphasic constructs (attributes vary)[]
Periphasic forms are numerous, mostly with the infinitive, the copula, and the most generic verb my. They are placed last since they seldom appear in daily speech, being more common in translation of foreign treatises.