Erish grammar

Erish is a Germanic language with grammatical properties that reflect extensive contact with Nordic relatives. Similar to many other Germanic languages, it has undergone a transition away from more complex grammars of older Indo-European languages, in part driven by the historic strong accent on first syllables by Germanic languages, but it still retains a fairly robust inflectional system and flexible word order.

Erish is a fusional language which inflects multiple parts of speech to indicate their grammatical roles. Nominals decline for two cases (nominative, oblique), three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and two numbers (singular, plural); nouns and adjectives further inflect for definiteness, and several core pronouns have possessive forms descended from the old genitive case. Although the traditional Germanic distinction between "strong" and "weak" nouns is present, the changes in Erish inflection, especially in the spoken language, mean this distinction is not particularly descriptive of modern Erish; instead, Erish is usually presented as having five regular declensions, two somewhat irregular declensions, and assorted irregular nouns that usually have inflections that involve umlaut. Verbs conjugate for two moods (indicative, imperative), two numbers (singular, plural), and three persons (first, second, third). Similar to nouns, the traditional distinction between "strong" and "weak" verbs is not as descriptive of Erish as it once was - the loss of the past tense in most Erish verbs, combined with regularization of several strong verbs, has made many strong verbs indistinguishable from weak verbs.

Erish shares an extremely similar syntax to the Nordic languages, having a default subject-verb-object word order which, in main clauses, is subject to the V2 restriction that the first constituent of the clause, which is the topic, must be immediately followed by the finite verb, which acts as topic marker. Due to the preservation of some degree of inflection in both nominals and verbs which marks grammatical roles, Erish word order is fairly flexible, especially in poetic or lyrical contexts.

The grammar of this standard language does not necessarily reflect the grammar of spoken Erish. Whilst speech according to its grammar can generally be understood, most dialects deviate in at least a few respects from the norms. Consequently, this section describes the grammar of written Erish, and points out notable exceptions to the rules in common speech.

Word order

Erish has a basic word order similar to Nordic languages. The basic subject-verb-object word order is subject in main clauses to the V2 restriction that the first constituent, the topic, most often the subject (the person/thing doing the verb's action), must be immediately followed by the finite verb, which acts as the topic marker. In the basic unmarked word order, the direct object (the person/thing the verb's action is done to) immediately follows the verb. In simple interrogative or imperative clauses, it may appear to be verb-subject-object, as the finite verb occurs first; simple imperative clauses use the same basic word order, though the subject is often omitted.

Fuglis	etar	fiskin
The bird	eats	the fish
"The bird eats the fish."

Etar	fuglis	fiskin?
Eats	the bird	the fish?
"Does the bird eat the fish?"

Et	(dú)	fiskin!
Eat	(you)	the fish!
"Eat the fish!"

Unmarked indirect objects (the beneficiaries of the verb's action) immediately precede direct objects. As in English, they can also follow the direct object, though they must be marked by the preposition til ("to"). The latter word order is considered less neutral than the former, often emphasizing the indirect object:

Faðris	lesar	sonin sínun	bókin.
The father	reads	his son	the book.
"The father reads his son the book."

Faðris	lesar	bókin	til sonin sínun.
The father	reads	the book	to his son.
"The father reads the book to his son (the son is emphasized)."

Whenever two or more verbs are used in an interrogative, imperative, or non-subject topic clause, the subject is followed by the verb cluster. If a non-subject is topicalized, the subject usually appears after the finite verb.

Hundis	kundi	høyra	barnið.
The dog	could	hear	the child
"The dog could hear the child."

Barnið	kundi	hundis	høyra.
The child	could	the dog	hear

Similar to Anglish or Norsk, adpositional phrases have an unmarked word order of place-manner-time. The negating adverb ikki ("not") precedes any infinite verbs in the main verb cluster.

Läkis	mátti	ikki	skríva	pasientin	ein bodskap	í bókhúsið	mið dein nýi reknarin	í dag
The doctor	could	not	write	the patient	a message	in the library	with the new computer	today
"The doctor couldn't write the patient a message in the library with the new computer today."

Infinitive clauses follow the non-finite verbs at the end of a clause:

Leirlingis	bir	lesa	bókin	fur að leira nátúraløyr.
The student	will	read	the book	to study physics.
"The student will read the book to study physics."

Subordinate clauses formally use the same syntax as main clauses, with the V2 restriction applying to them as well as main clauses. In practice, however, topicalizing any subordinate constituent other than the subordinate subject is confined to lyrical contexts.

Kona	hopar	dað	sjú	ser	mannin sínun
The wife	hopes	that	she	sees	her husband
"The wife hopes that she sees her husband."

Kona	hopar	dað	mannin sínun	ser	sjú
The wife	hopes	that	her husband	sees	she

Because the basic grammatical roles of nouns are generally marked by the nominative and oblique cases, word order is less important for conveying basic meaning in Erish. Consequently, the following translations of "The Queen writes the Prime Minister a letter" are all perfectly valid in Erish:

Kynga	skrívar	Ríkileirdin	eit brev
The Queen	writes	the Prime Minister	a letter

Kynga	skrívar	eit brev	til Ríkileirdin
The Queen	writes	a letter	to the Prime Minister

Til Ríkileirdin	skrívar	Kynga	eit brev
To the Prime Minister	writes	the Queen	a letter

Eit brev	skrívar	Kynga	til Ríkileirdin
A letter	writes	the Queen	to the Prime Minister

Skríva	gjerar	Kynga	eit brev	til Ríkileirdin
Write	does	the Queen	a letter	to the Prime Minister

Generally speaking, these variations would be the ones most commonly found in speech. Others may occur in poetic or lyrical contexts, where word order is most flexible. A speaker generally uses a non-default word order for topicalization and focus, with the emphasis of a sentence often occurring at the end of a sentence. When a verb is topicalized and there is no auxiliary verb already present in a sentence, the verb gjera (“to do”) is used.

Nominals

Erish nominals, which include nouns, adjectives, determiners, and pronouns, decline for two cases (nominative, oblique), three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). Adjectives and nouns further decline for definiteness, and several of the personal pronouns preserve distinct nominative and accusative cases (though the accusative merges with the dative). Nouns generally fall into one of seven declensions, though there are several commonly used irregular nouns.

Case

Modern Erish retains two distinct grammatical cases: the nominative case (hvasfallið), and the oblique case (hveinfallið). These two cases are used depending upon the roles of nouns in a given sentence:

• The nominative case is normally used for the subject (the noun performing the verb's action) of the sentence, as well as the complement of a copular verb (the "object" of verbs like vera "to be", blíva "to become", heita "to be named", and furblíva "to remain"):
  • Subject: Dú hjelpart him ("You help him.")
  • Complement: Vis eru männ ("We are men.")
• The oblique case is normally used for the direct object (the noun the verb's action is done to), the indirect object (the noun that receives or benefits from the verb's action), and prepositional objects:
  • Direct object: Mannis havir ein hund ("The man has a dog")
  • Indirect object: Barnið gjørdi singa faðrin sínun ein sang ("The child sang their father a song.")
  • Prepositional object: Ig skrívi mið deira rettra håndjan ("I write with my right hand.")

Generally speaking, the primary exception to these uses of the cases involve verbs which historically took a dative subject. With these verbs, the oblique case is used for the subject of the verb, and sometimes the nominative for the object. One of the most common of these verbs is líka ("to like"); in the sentence Mig líkar bøkir ("I like books"), for example, mig ("me") is used instead of ig ("I") (a literal translation of the sentence would be "Books please me"). Additionally, the neuter gender never distinguishes the nominative and oblique cases.

The modern case system arose through several different factors, though it was heavily driven by the development of the definite article. As the table below summarizes, the unstressed -n of the definite article disappeared unless it was geminated or followed by -um; this essentially led to all oblique cases ending in -n (the genitive was lost as early as late Old Erish), but remaining generally distinct from the nominative. Similar to what happened in the pronouns of more analytic Germanic languages, the final step in the collapse of the system was the merging of the accusative and dative forms with the form of the dative into the modern oblique case.

Evolution of hund ("dog") (preposed definite article in parentheses) number case Late Old Erish (c. 1250) Early Middle Erish (c. 1350) Middle Erish (c. 1500) Late Middle Erish (c. 1600) Early Modern Erish (c. 1700) SG NOM (þis) hundins (ðis) hundis (deis) hundis ACC (þann) hundinn (ðann) hundinn (ðan) hundin (dein) hundin DAT (þeim) hundinum (þeim) hundinm̩ (ðein) hundinn (ðein) hundin PL NOM (þeis) hundarnis (þeis) hundans (ðeis) hundas (deis) hundas ACC (þás) hundanas (þás) hundans (ðás) hundas (dein) hundun DAT (þeim) hundunum (þeim) hundunm̩ (ðein) hundunn (ðein) hundun

Western dialects have lost grammatical case in adjectives, and are in the process of losing them in the definite article. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Western Erish speakers generally make less use of Erish's flexible word order, often making greater use of the passive voice for the topicalization of objects.

Gender

All Erish nouns retain the classical Indo-European tripartite gender system of masculine, feminine, and neuter, for which adjectives, determiners, and pronouns inflect; in the standard language, this distinction is completely made in the singular, and partially made in the plural, as neuter nouns have a distinct plural. Nouns referring to people normally have a grammatical gender matching their natural gender: deis mannis ("man"), dei kvinna ("woman"). Exceptions, however, do occur, particularly when a suffix is applied to such nouns, such as deis kvinnaheidis ("womanness"). Inanimate nouns, however, have highly semantically unpredictable genders as seen in how deis steinis ("stone"), and dei jårði ("earth"), and dað landið ("land") masculine, feminine, and neuter respectively. Consequently, students are taught to memorize nouns with their double definite construction, since it clearly delineates the gender of the noun.

Though standard written Erish preserves the three-way gender distinction, the dialectal situation is more complicated. Several dialects across Erishland, such as southerly Bayland dialects, tend to completely merge all three genders in the plural. Western dialects generally do so as well, whilst additionally merging the masculine and feminine into a common gender.

Articles and case

Erish has an article system similar to the Nordic languages, wherein the primary definite article is suffixed to the noun, with a preposed definite article appearing if a definite noun is preceded by an adjective or numeral. Instead of an indefinite article, Erish has a "specific" article eis, which, alongside the preposed definite article, has a single inflection pattern that is described in the following table; the suffixed definite article is essentially part of a noun's declension paradigm, and so cannot be as succinctly described.

number case eis "a; one" deis "the; that" M F N M F N SG NOM eis ei eit deis dei dað OBL ein eina dein deira PL NOM sus su deis dei OBL sun dein

Erish has an article system which indicates both their definiteness and specificity, resulting in three states of nouns:

• The indefinite (ubistimmat) state has a noun without a preceding article. It is used to indicate that the noun is an indefinite noun or group of nouns which the audience does not know about and the speaker does not intend to talk about. In the sentence Ig vill häbba hund ("I want a dog"), for example, the speaker just wants any dog, without regard to breed or other factors.
• The specific (halvbistimmat) state has a noun preceded by the article einn. It is used to indicate that the noun is a specific noun or group of nouns which the audience does not know about, but which the speaker intends to talk about. In the sentence Ig vill häbba ein hund ("I want a dog"), for example, the speaker wants a specific dog or kind of dog, which they may go on to describe.
• The definite (bistimmat) state has a noun suffixed by the definite article. It is used to indicate that the noun or group of nouns is already known by the audience; it translates directly to "the" in Anglish. In the sentence Ig vill häbba hundin ("I want the dog"), for example, the speaker may want a dog that the audience has or knows about.

The definite article tends to be used for proper names and nouns, but it is not necessarily required. A proper name or noun can be indefinite, specific, or definite. Ig søkkji Áleivin, for example, most often corresponds to its Anglish equivalent, "I'm looking for Aleiv". However, Ig søkkji Áleiv means "I'm looking for an Aleiv (any person named Aleiv)", whilst Ig søkkji ein Áleiv means "I'm looking for an Aleiv (a specific person named Aleiv)".

In common speech, the vowels of these words are generally reduced in their article uses, resulting in (d)eis [(d)ɪs], dað [da], and so on. The ending -a of eina and deira is generally only pronounced when they are being used as a numeral and demonstrative respectively.

Declensions

Modern Erish nouns have generally simpler declension patterns than their Old Erish counterparts, although they still inflect for case, definiteness, and number. Most Erish nouns essentially fall into six regular declensions and one fairly irregular declension, but there are still Erish nouns which are not cleanly a part of any of them. All Erish nouns do not distinguish cases in the indefinite, only distinctly marking them when they are specific or definite.

First declension: The first declension consists of both masculine and feminine nouns, and derives from the Old Erish strong declension of masculine and feminine nouns that ended in consonants. Masculine first declension nouns have the plural indefinite/specific suffix -ar; their definite articles are -is (sg. nom.), -in (sg. obl.), -as (pl. nom.), and -un (pl. obl.). Feminine first declension nouns mostly use the same suffixes as their masculine counterparts, but have the singular definite articles -i (nom.) and -an (obl.). The first declension is the most productive for masculine and feminine nouns that end in consonants.

number case hund "dog" jårð "earth" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM hund eis hund hundis jårð ei jårð jårði OBL ein hund hundin eina jårð jårðan PL NOM hundar sus hundar hundas jårðar sus jårðar jårðas OBL sun hundar hundun sun jårðar jårðun

Some masculine first declension nouns which have two syllables and rising tone drop the vowel of the second syllable upon inflection:

number case morgin "morning" vintur "winter" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM morgin eis morgin morgnis vintur eis vintur vintris OBL ein morgin morgnin ein vintur vintrin PL NOM morgnar sus morgnar morgnas vintrar sus vintrar vintras OBL sun morgnar morgnun sun vintrar vintrun

Second declension: The second declension descends from the Old Erish strong declension of masculine and feminine nouns that ended in vowels. In contrast to all other regular declensions, these nouns generally preserve the original second syllables of the definite article. Masculine nouns use the indefinite/specific plural suffix -r; their definite articles are -s (sg. nom.), -n (sg. obl.), -nis (pl. nom.), and -nu (pl. obl.). Feminine nouns use the same suffixes except in the singular definite, where their suffixes are -i (sg. nom.) and -na. The second declension is the productive declension for masculine or feminine nouns which end in a stressed vowel.

number case jó "horse" kló "claw" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM jó eis jó jós kló ei kló klói OBL ein jó jón eina kló klóna PL NOM jór sus jór jónis klór sus klór klónis OBL sun jór jónu sun klór klónu

Third declension: The third declension consists of neuter nouns, and is derived from the Old Erish strong neuter declension. Third declension nouns can end in a consonant or vowel. their declension nouns do not inflect for case, as the neuter gender never does so, and they generally do not inflect for number except in the written language. They have distinct definite singular and plural suffixes, which are -ið and -i, but these are homophones in most Erish dialects. A few third declension nouns have an irregular vowel change in the plural, resulting in distinct forms; these nouns always have a root vowel of a which changes to å. The third declension is generally the productive declension for neuter nouns, though some loans like klima ("climate") are fourth declension nouns.

number case ting "thing" te "tea" blad "leaf" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM ting eit ting tingið te eit te teïð blad eit blad bladið OBL PL NOM ting su ting tingi te su te teï blåd su blåd blådi OBL

Fourth declension: The fourth declension consists of feminine and neuter nouns, and is derived from the Old Erish weak declension of those genders. Along with the fifth declension, these nouns always have a rising tone. Fourth declension nouns always have an ending indefinite/specific singular suffix -a, which changes to -ur in the feminine plural and -u in the neuter plural. Feminine fourth declension nouns lack a singular nominative definite article, but otherwise have the definite articles -an (sg. obl.), -us (pl. nom.) and -un (pl. obl.); neuter nouns do not have definite articles at all, though they use an orthographic -ð for the singular definite. The fourth declension is fairly productive, with loans ending in -a usually joining the declension. There is a fourth declension noun, hjarta ("heart"), which has an irregular vowel change in the plural.

number case kvinna "woman" klima "climate" hjarta "heart" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM kvinna ei kvinna kvinna klima eit klima klimað hjarta eit hjarta hjartað OBL eina kvinna kvinnan PL NOM kvinnur sus kvinnur kvinnus klimu su klimu klimu hjårtu su hjårtu hjårtu OBL sun kvinnur kvinnun

Fifth declension: The fifth declension consists of masculine nouns, and derives from the Old Erish weak masculine declension. Along with the fourth declension, these nouns always have a rising tone. Fifth declension nouns have indefinite/specific singular endings of -i, which change to -ar in the plural; the definite articles of the fifth declension are -is (sg. nom.), -in (sg. obl.), -as (pl. nom.), and -un (pl. obl.). Similar to the fourth declension, loans ending in -i tend to join this declension, though these are somewhat less common. There is a fifth declension noun, nami ("name"), which has an irregular definite oblique plural.

number case máni "moon" teóri "theory" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM máni eis máni mánis teóri eis teóri teóris OBL ein máni mánin ein teóri teórin PL NOM mánar sus mánar mánas teórar sus teórar teóras OBL sun mánar mánun sun teórar teórun

Sixth declension: The sixth declension consists of masculine and feminine nouns derived from the Old Erish -ja/-jō stems; during Old Erish, several -i and -u stem nouns had been remodelled into that declension, and this trend continued during the Middle Erish, leaving only a few now irregular nouns. The sixth declension itself is fairly regular in its declension, although it often causes consonants to palatalize. Masculine sixth declension nouns have indefinite/specific plurals of -jar; their definite articles are -is (sg. nom.), -jin (sg. obl.), -jas (pl. nom.), and -jun (pl. obl.). Feminine fifth declension nouns have the same suffixes in the plural, though their definite singulars are -i (nom.) and -jan (obl.).

number case røyk "smoke" húd "hide" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM røyk eis røyk røykis húd ei húd húdi OBL ein røyk røykjin eina húd húdjan PL NOM røykjar sus røykjar røykjas húdjar sus húdjar húdjas OBL sun røykjar røykjun sun húdjar húdjun

Seventh declension: The seventh declension is more irregular than the five regular declensions, as the root vowels of nouns often change, but still generally follows regular suffixation. It consists of a mix of mostly masculine and feminine nouns that were directly inherited from the Old Erish consonant stem declensions, as well as some old -i and -u stems. Virtually all of these nouns involve an irregular umlaut in the plural. Apart from the masculine having a definite nominative article -is and the feminine the definite nominative article -i, masculine and feminine nouns use the same declension patterns: the plural indefinite/specific suffix is -ur; in the definite, the singular oblique is -in, and the plural definite suffixes are -us (nom.) and -un (obl.).

number case faðr "father" móðr "mother" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM faðr eis faðr faðris móðr ei móðr móðri OBL ein faðr faðrin eina móðr móðrin PL NOM fäðrur sus fäðrur fäðrus møðrur sus møðrur møðrus OBL sun fäðrur fäðrun sun møðrur møðrun

Irregular nouns: These seven declensions describe the majority of all Erish nouns, but there are nonetheless still nouns which cannot be described as falling into any of them. The following table presents a sample from each gender of these nouns:

number case mann "man" gás "goose" lamm "calf" SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SPCF INDF DEF SG NOM mann eis mann mannis gás ei gás gási lamm eit lamm lammið OBL ein mann mannin eina gás gásin PL NOM männ sus männ männis gäss sus gäss gässis lämmur su lämmur lämmun OBL sun männ männun sun gäss gässun

Adjectives

Erish adjectives decline for the case, definiteness, gender, and number of the nouns they modify, and have three degrees of comparison, positive, comparative, and superlative, which are normally formed with the root, the suffix -ari, and the suffix -ast respectively.

When an adjective is precedes a noun suffixed by the definite article, preceded by a noun phrase using the possessive -s clitic, or preceded by a demonstrative determiner, possessive determiner, or the determiners älls ("all, each"), beid ("both"), hvilk ("which"), or slík ("such"), it uses the "weak" declension, which only distinguishes case in the plural. When the definite article is used with a noun described by an adjective, and there is no preceding determiner, the adjective must be preceded by deis ("the; that").

number	case	M	F	N
SG	NOM	deis stóri mannis	dei stóra kvinna	dað stóra tingið
	OBL	dein stóri mannin	deira stóra kvinnan
PL	NOM	deis stóru männis	deis stóru kvinnus	dei stóru tingi
	OBL	dein stóru männun	dein stóru kvinnun

In any other scenario, adjectives decline using the "strong" declension:

number	case	M	F	N
SG	NOM	stórs mann	stór kvinna	stórt tingið
	OBL	stórun mann	stórra kvinna
PL	NOM	stóris männ	stóris kvinnur	stór tingi
	OBL	stórun männ	stórun kvinnur

The -s ending of the strong masculine singular nominative is only usually used after vowels, or the consonants l, m, n, ng, or r (or their geminated variants). When an adjective's root ends in t, the t strong neuter ending is generally not used.

Whenever an adjective is used predicatively after copular verbs such as vesa ("to be"), blíva ("to become"), heita ("to be named"), or furblíva ("to remain"), declines for the gender and number of the subject using the strong declension.

• Faðrin bir gammals. ("The father will be old")
• Kvinna varð sjúk. ("The woman became sick")
• Húsi blíva hvít. ("The houses are still white.")

The comparative and superlative are mostly formed through the suffixes -ari the suffix -ast respectively, both of which inflect (though -ari only uses the weak declension). Several adjectives and determiners, however, have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

• gammals-äldri-älst ("old-older-oldest")
• mangs-fleiri-fleist ("many-more-most")
• fjarrs-fordri-forst ("far-further-furthest")
• fás-mindri-minst ("few-fewer-fewest")
• furs-fyrdri-fyrst ("early/fore-earlier/former-earliest/first/foremost")
• gód-bättri-bäst ("good-better-best")
• houg-høygri-høyst ("high-higher-highest")
• ungs-yngri-yngst ("young-younger-youngest")
• lat-lätri-läst ("late-later/latter-latest/last")
• lág-lägri-läst ("low-lower-lowest")
• lýttils-leisi-leist ("little-less-least")
• mikkils-meiri-meist ("much-more-most")
• nás-nära-nästa ("near-nearer-nearest")
• yvils-versi-verst ("bad-worse-worst")

Adverbs

There is minimal distinction in Erish between adverbs and adjectives, especially in the written language. Adverbs can simply be derived from adjectives simply by inflecting the adjective in its strong neuter form.

• Hin sov yvilt ("He slept badly")
• Dú singart gódt! ("You sing well!")
• Vis atu kvikkt gódun mät. ("We quickly ate good food.")

Western dialects often attach the suffix -lig ("-ly") to an adjective, and then inflect it as a strong neuter form. Certain Eastern dialects similarly use the strong neuter form of the suffix -vis.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

The Erish personal pronouns, similar to English, are the only class of words to retain case. The reflexive forms, used for when the subject and object are the same, are the oblique cases for the first and second person, whilst third-person subjects use the reflexive pronoun sig. Personal pronouns have possessive determiner forms used to indicate possession of a given noun; normally, they follow the noun they describe, but they may be preposed to emphasize the owner of a possessed noun.

number	case	1	2	3
				PERS			REFL
				M	F	N
SG	NOM	ig	dú	hin	sjú	hið	―
	OBL	mig	dig	him	hira		sig
PL	NOM	vis	jis	sjeis		sjú	―
	OBL	oss	júg	hjun			sig

The English "you" corresponds to both dú and jis. Dú is used when the speaker is addressing a single person (Ig älskar dig "I love you"), and jis when they are addressing two or more people (Ig älskar júg "I love you/y'all"). Unlike many European languages, there is no T-V distinction of formality, and these two pronouns are used purely with reference to number.

Like other languages with grammatical gender, the third-person personal pronouns (as well as the relative pronoun) are used with reference to grammatical and not natural gender. The proper pronoun for dei lúsi ("louse") is not hið ("it") but sjú ("she"), because even though the English natural gender of a louse is neuter, the proper Erish grammatical gender is feminine. Erish also partially has this gender distinction in the plural. The pronoun sjú is used in the plural for groups composed of exclusively neuter nouns, whilst sjeis (and hjun) are used in other cases.

Interrogative and relative pronouns

The two most important Erish pronouns after the personal pronouns are the interrogative pronoun hvas ("who; what") and the relative pronoun deis ("that; who"). The interrogative pronoun’s functions correspond to those of English who, what, and so on, though they generally cannot be used as relative pronouns. Instead, the relative pronoun is almost always deis ("that; whom"), as seen in Hin er mannis dein ig sá ("He is the man whom I saw").

number	case	REL			INT
		M	F	N	M	F	N
SG	NOM	deis	dei	dað	hvas		hvað
	OBL	dein	deira		hvein
PL	NOM	deis		dei	hvas		hvað
	OBL	dein			hvein

Similar to the personal pronouns, the neuter plurals of the interrogative and relative pronouns are only used for groups of exclusively neuter nouns.

Determiners

Determiners are a class of Erish pronouns which can be used either substantively (Vis villa häbba dei "I want those") or attributively (Vis villa häbba dei treï "I want those trees."). The most important classes of determiners are the demonstrative, possessive, and relative determiners. Many determiners use the strong adjectival declension to decline for the case, gender, and number of the noun they modify or replace, but a few use an irregular declension which reduces the strong adjective endings, and some possessive determiners do not necessarily decline for gender and number.

Erish has two demonstrative determiners, dänna ("this, these"), and deis ("that, those"). Whenever a demonstrative is used attributively, the noun(s) it describes use the definite article. Dänna is mostly absent from common speech in Bayland dialects, as well as some Eastern dialects, often replaced by a construction of deis her ("this here") and deis dár ("that there").

number	case	dänna "this, these"			deis "that, those"
		M	F	N	M	F	N
SG	NOM	dänna	dässi	dätta	deis	dei	dað
	OBL	dässun	dässa		dein	deira
PL	NOM	dässis		dässi	deis		dei
	OBL	dässun			dein

Erish has several possessive determiners used to indicate ownership of a given noun. In contrast to English, these possessive determiners normally follow the nouns they describe, though they may be preposed to emphasize the owner, similar to the possessive -s. Possessive determiners use a variety of different declensions, sometimes not even necessarily declining at all. The following table lists the Erish possessive determiners:

	1	2	3
			PERS			INT			REFL
			M	F	N	M	F	N
SG	mís	dís	his	hiras	his	hveiras		hveis	sís
PL	várs	júrs	hiras			hveiras		hveis	sís

The possessive determiners have three different declension patterns: strong, none, or irregular. Várs ("our, ours") and júrs ("your, yours") use the strong adjective endings to decline, whilst the third-person possessive determiners other than sís ("his/her/its/their own") do not decline at all. The possessive determiners mís, dís, and sís use an irregular declension demonstrated by mís:

number	case	M	F	N
SG	NOM	mís	mí	mítt
	OBL	mínun	mína
PL	NOM	mínis		mí
	OBL	mínun

Possessive determiners have several features unlike their English counterparts:

• Possessive determiners normally follow the nouns they describe. The regular translation for "I saw her cat", for example, is Ig sá kåttjin hiras (lit. "I saw cat-the her"). Possessive determiners can be preposed to emphasize ownership (the interrogative uses of those three pronouns almost always have them preposed, however). Returning to the previous example, Ig sá hiras kåttjin emphasizes that "I saw her cat". Whenever a possessive determiner precedes the noun it describes, the noun uses the definite article. The postposition of possessive determiners is a feature of Bayland and many Eastern dialects, but some always prepose possessive determiners.
• It is important to note that the possessive determiners his and hiras cannot be interchanged with sís, even though they can all be translated as English "his", "her", etc. Sís is used as the possessive determiner for the third-person subject or subjects of a sentence, whilst those three determiners are used for other third-person nouns. In the sentence Mikelis sá Áleivin and dóttrin sínun ("Mikel saw Aleiv and his daughter"), the "his" of sís refers specifically to Mikel, because he is the subject of the sentence. By contrast, the "his" of his in the sentence Mikelis sá Áleivin and dóttrin his refers to Aleiv, because his cannot refer to the subject of the sentence.
• Regular nouns can use the third-person personal possessive determiners to a similar effect as the regular use of the possessive determiners. Normally, possession is indicated through the construction possessed plus av ("of") plus possessor, as in kúi av mannin ("the cow of the man"). However, to emphasize the possessor, the possessor may be preposed and followed by a third-person personal pronoun which agrees with the gender and number of the possessed, as in mannin hiras kúi ("the man's cow").

Erish has a number of other determiners, but the most important are alls ("all"), beiðs ("both"), hvilk ("which"), ingis ("no, none"), sums ("some"), and slík ("such"). Hvilk commonly replaces deis as a relative pronoun in Bayland dialects.

Numerals

Erish has a number system similar to English, though there are some differences:

• Instead of a comma seperating every three spaces, Erish uses a space. Along these lines, numbers which are in a set of three digits, like elftig-túsund tveis-hundrad-syftig-seks (110 276), are written with dashes between them.
• Erish has remnants of the old Germanic hybrid of base-ten and base-twelve numbers.
  • Instead of having a number like *(eit-)hundrad-einn ("one hundred one") or *(eit-)hundrad-syftin ("one hundred seventeen"), Erish has títtig-eis ("tenty-one") and elftig-syv ("eleventy-seven").
  • After one hundred and twenty, however, Erish turns into the full base-ten (ett-)hundrad-tveitig-eis ("one hundred twenty one") or tre-hundrad-fýrtig-tre ("three hundred forty three").
  • Any time the numbering system "restarts" after a túsund ("thousand"), miljon ("million"), etc., the títtig and elftig are used for 100-109 and 110-119 respectively, meaning títtig-túsund or elftig-miljon.
• For numbers between 120-199, 1 000-1 999, 120 000-199 999, etc., where English could have "a hundred", "a thousand", etc., eis is used according to the indefinite-specific distinction.
• The number eis "one", which is identical to the specific article, inflects for the gender of numbers like hundrad ("hundred"), túsund ("thousand"), miljon ("million"), and so on. Hundrad and túsund are neuter and feminine, whilst miljon and higher are all masculine.
  • The numbers tveis ("two") and tres ("three") also inflect for gender. Tveis is used for masculine and feminine plurals, whilst tú is used for neuter plurals. Tres is used for masculine and feminine plurals, whilst tre is used for neuter plurals.
• For the numbers miljon and higher, any time they are not able to be preceded by eis, such as 2 100 000 or 323 000 000, the number receives an -ar plural.
• The ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) inflect for gender and number. Like eis, these inflections occur whenever a number ends in them (tveitig-annar "twenty-second (f.)"):
  • fyrst ("first") and annars ("second") use both the strong and weak adjective endings (according to the rules for their use). In the oblique cases and weak declension, annars, which has a stem of annar-, changes to the stem andr-.
  • núlldi ("zeroth"), treddi ("third") and higher only inflect using the weak adjective endings.

Number	Cardinal numbers	Ordinal numbers
0	núll	núlldi
1	eis	fyrst
2	tveis	annars
3	tres	treddi
4	fýr	fjórði
5	fimm	fimmti
6	seks	seksti
7	syv	syvundi
8	átt	átti
9	ní	níundi
10	tí	tíundi
11	elf	elfti
12	tolv	tolfti
13	trettin	trettindi
14	fjórtin	fjórtindi
15	fimmtin	fimmtindi
16	sekstin	sekstindi
17	syftin	syftindi
18	attin	attindi
19	nittin	nittindi
20	tveitig	tveitig
21	tveitig-eis	tveitig-fyrst
22	tveitig-tveis	tveitig-annars
23	tveitig-tres	tveitig-treddi
30	trettig	trettigundi
40	fýrtig	fýrtigundi
50	fimmtig	fimmtigundi
60	sekstig	sekstigundi
70	syftij	syftigundi
80	áttig	áttigundi
90	níttig	níttigundi
100	títtig	títtigundi
110	elftig	elftigundi
120	(eit-)hundrad-tveitig	(eit-)hundrad-tveitigundi
200	tvei-hundrad	tvei-hundradi
300	tre-hundrad	tre-hundradi
1,000	(ei-)túsund	(ei-)túsundi
1,101	(ei-)túsund títtig-eis	(ei-)túsund títtig-fyrst
2,222	tveis-túsund tvei-hundrad-tveitig-tveis	tveis-túsund tvei-hundrad-tveitig-annars
3,333	tres-túsund tre-hundrad-trettig-tres	tre-túsund tre-hundrad-trettig-treddi
100,000	títtig-túsund	títtig-túsundi
120,000	(eit-)hundrad-tveitig-túsund	(eit-)hundrad-tveitig-túsundi
1,000,000	(eis-)miljon	(eis-)miljondi
100,000,000	títtig-miljonar	títtig-miljondi
1,000,000,000	(eis-)miljard	(eis-)miljardi

Though the títtig and elftig system is mandatory in the written language, most non-Eastern dialects freely interchange it with a completely decimal system like English, i.e., (eit-)hundrad ("(one) hundred"). The partially duodecimal system is perceived as more formal than pure decimal. Despite the relatively complex system of inflection involved with numerals, the inflection for gender and number is essentially linked to what genders are distinct in a particular number in a dialect. The only meaningful exception is that ordinal numbers other than fyrst and annars are mostly uninflected in common speech, using the -i ending regardless of the noun.

Verbs

Erish verbs are similar to those found in Nordic languages, mainly differing in the general absence of the past tense, and the retention of conjugation for number and, to a lesser extent, person. Regular verbs conjugate for two numbers (singular, plural), three moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), and two voices (active, mediopassive). There are two major conjugation classes of Erish verbs, the -u and -a classes. Additional verbal grammar, such as further tenses or voices, is formed through analytic constructions which most often involve the verbs vera ("to be"), häbba ("to have"), or blíva ("to become").

Conjugation

Erish conjugation is most similar to the analytic Nordic languages, essentially only differing in the general absence of a conjugated past tense and mediopassive, and the presence of conjugation for number and, to a lesser extent, person. Most verbs are fairly regular, having a simple infinitive root to which regular suffixes are attached. Generally speaking, the distinction between strong and weak verbs is not as present in Erish due to most verbs lacking a past tense, but there are several remnants of both classes which do preserve one, including irregular verbs like vera ("to be"), bliva ("to become"), and gjera ("to do").

Regular verbs

Most Erish verbs fall into a regular conjugation paradigm, formed through the merger of weak verbs and several classes of strong verbs. These regular verbs merely conjugate through suffixation, and lack a conjugated past tense. The verb fiska ("to fish") demonstrates how most Erish verbs work:

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"to write"
INF			fiska
PTCP	PRS		fiskandi
	PST		fiskas
AUX			häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	fiski
		2SG	fiskart
		3SG	fiskar
		PL	fiska
IMP		SG	fisk
		PL	fiskið

The past participle inflects as a strong adjective, with the supine being identical to the neuter singular. The present participle of any Erish verb inflects as a weak adjective in all contexts.

Number	Case	-andi "-ing"			-as "-ed"
		M	F	N	M	F	N
SG	NOM	fiskandi mann	fiskanda kvinna	fiskanda ting	fiskas mann	fiska kvinna	fiskat barn
	OBL				fiskan mann	fiskan kvinna
PL	NOM	fiskandu männ	fiskandu kvinnur	fiskandu ting	fiskas männ	fiskas kvinnur	fiska bårn
	OBL				fiskan männ	fiskan kvinnur

Students of Erish are generally taught to memorize three principle parts of a verb, which provide all needed information about conjugation:

• The infinitive, which usually provides the stem for the first-person singular, the plural, the imperative singular, and the present participle.
• The third-person singular, which provides the stem for the second-person singular and the imperative plural.
• The auxiliary verb plus supine (neuter past participle), which provides the information for both.

For fiska, these three parts are all identical, but this is not necessarily the case for all verbs.

Strong verbs

Strong verbs are verbs which conjugate through a combination of suffixation and vowel change, such as seen in English sing-sang-sung. Because most of these verbs have lost the past tense, and the third-person singular and past participle of several strong verb conjugations uses the same stem as the infinitive, many have a regular conjugation paradigm. Nonetheless, there are still some examples of strong verbs left in Erish which lack a past tense, but still have some conjugation involving vowel changes. The following table provides examples of the sorts of conjugation which can occur:

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"cleave"	"find"	"help"	"shear"	"shave"	"wash"	"sacrifice"
INF			klýva	finna	hjelpa	skjera	skava	vaska	blóta
PTCP	PRS		klývandi	finnandi	hjelpandi	skjerandi	skavandi	vaskandi	blótandi
	PST		klovas	fundas	holpas	skoras	skavas	vaskas	blótas
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	klývi	finni	hjelpi	skjeri	skavi	vaski	blóti
		2SG	klývart	finnart	hjelpart	skjerart	skjävart	väskart	bløtart
		3SG	klývar	finnar	hjelpar	skjerar	skjävar	väskar	bløtar
		PL	klýva	finna	hjelpa	skjera	skava	vaska	blóta
IMP		SG	klýv	finn	hjelp	skjer	skav	vask	blót
		PL	klývið	finnið	hjelpið	skjerið	skjävið	vaskið	bløtið

In terms of diachronics, the loss of the past tense has essentially meant that the Germanic class I, class V, and some class VII verbs are mostly absent in modern Erish. The only instances where they can still be found are in strong verbs which still have a past tense.

Strong verbs with a past tense

Several commonly used strong verbs retain a conjugated past tense, albeit with the syncretism of the past singular and plural stems, generally following that of the past singular. The following list provides examples of strong verbs with it in the standard language, though further examples can be found in dialects.

There is only a single remaining class I strong verb with a past tense.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"bite"
INF			bíta
PTCP	PRS		bítandi
	PST		bítas
AUX			häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	bíti
		2SG	bítart
		3SG	bítar
		PL	bíta
	PST	1SG	beit
		2SG	beitirt
		3SG	beit
		PL	beitu
IMP		SG	bít
		PL	bítið

There are two class II strong verbs with past tenses.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"fly"	"suck"
INF			flýga	súga
PTCP	PRS		flýgandi	súgandi
	PST		flogas	sogas
AUX			vera	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	flýgi	súgi
		2SG	flýgart	sýgart
		3SG	flýgar	sýgar
		PL	flýga	súga
	PST	1SG	floug	soug
		2SG	flougirt	sougirt
		3SG	floug	soug
		PL	flougu	sougu
IMP		SG	flýg	súg
		PL	flýgið	sýgið

There are six 'class III strong verbs with past tenses.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"bind"	"burn"	"drink"	"flow"	"spring"	"swim"
INF			binda	brinna	drikka	rinna	springa	svimma
PTCP	PRS		bindandi	brinnandi	drikkandi	rinnandi	springandi	svimmandi
	PST		bundas	brunnas	drukkas	rinnas	sprungas	svummas
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	vera	vera	vera
IND	PRS	1SG	bindi	brinni	drikki	rinni	springi	svimmi
		2SG	bindart	brinnart	drikkart	rinnart	springart	svimmart
		3SG	bindar	brinnar	drikkar	rinnar	springar	svimmar
		PL	binda	brinna	drikka	rinna	springa	svimma
	PST	1SG	band	brann	drakk	rann	sprakk	svamm
		2SG	bandirt	brannirt	drakkirt	rannirt	sprakkirt	svammirt
		3SG	band	brann	drakk	rann	sprakk	svamm
		PL	bandu	brannu	drakku	rannu	sprakku	svammu
IMP		SG	bind	brinn	drikk	rinn	spring	svimm
		PL	bindið	brinnið	drikkið	rinnið	springið	svimmið

There are three class IV strong verbs with past tenses. The verb sova ("to sleep"), was originally a class V verb, but has been partially analogized with koma ("to come").

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"bear"	"come"	"sleep"
INF			bera	koma	sova
PTCP	PRS		berandi	komandi	sovandi
	PST		boras	komas	sovas
AUX			häbba	vera	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	beri	komi	sovi
		2SG	berart	kjemart	søvart
		3SG	berar	kjemar	søvar
		PL	bera	koma	sova
	PST	1SG	bar	kom	sov
		2SG	barirt	komirt	sovirt
		3SG	bar	kom	sov
		PL	baru	komu	sovu
IMP		SG	ber	kom	sov
		PL	berið	kjemið	søvið

There are six class V strong verbs with past tenses. The verbs ligga ("to lie (upon)") and sitta ("to sit") are amongst the evidence of Erish's West Germanic origins, as they display the effects of West Germanic gemination.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"kill"	"eat"	"give"	"lie"	"sit"	"see"
INF			drepa	eta	gjeva	ligga	sitta	sjá
PTCP	PRS		drepandi	etandi	gjevandi	liggandi	sittandi	sjándi
	PST		drepas	etas	gjevas	legas	setas	ses
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	vera	vera	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	drepi	eti	gjevi	liggi	sitti	sjá
		2SG	drepart	etart	gjevart	ligart	sitart	sert
		3SG	drepar	etar	gjevar	ligar	sitar	ser
		PL	drepa	eta	gjeva	ligga	sitta	sjá
	PST	1SG	drap	át	gav	lág	sat	ság
		2SG	drapirt	átirt	gavirt	lágirt	satirt	ságirt
		3SG	drap	át	gav	lág	sat	ság
		PL	drapu	átu	gavu	lágu	satu	ságu
IMP		SG	drep	et	gjev	lig	sit	se
		PL	drepið	etið	gjevið	ligið	sitið	seð

There are six class VI strong verbs with past tenses. Døy was originally a class VII verb, but was remodelled in Old Erish as a class VI verb. Läkkja ("to laugh") displays the effects of West Germanic gemination.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"pull"	"die"	"laugh"	"crush"	"slay"	"take"
INF			draga	døy	läkkja	mala	slá	taka
PTCP	PRS		dragandi	døyndi	läkkjandi	malandi	slándi	takandi
	PST		dragas	dás	lagas	malas	slagas	takas
AUX			häbba	vera	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	dragi	døy	läkkji	mali	slá	taki
		2SG	drägart	døyrt	lärt	mälart	slärt	täkart
		3SG	drägar	døyr	lär	mälar	slär	täkar
		PL	draga	døy	läkkja	mala	slá	taka
	PST	1SG	dróg	dó	lóg	mól	slóg	tók
		2SG	drógirt	dórt	lógirt	mólirt	slógirt	tókirt
		3SG	dróg	dó	lóg	mól	slóg	tók
		PL	drógu	dó	lógu	mólu	slógu	tóku
IMP		SG	drag	døy	lä	mal	slá	tak
		PL	drägið	døyð	läð	mälið	släð	täkið

There are five class VII strong verbs with past tenses.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"blow"	"get"	"weep"	"run"	"let"
INF			blása	fá	gráta	loupa	láta
PTCP	PRS		blásandi	fándi	grátandi	loupandi	látandi
	PST		blásas	fangas	grátas	loupas	látas
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	vera	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	blási	fá	gráti	loupi	láti
		2SG	bläsart	färt	grätart	løypart	lätart
		3SG	bläsar	fär	grätar	løypar	lätar
		PL	blása	fá	gráta	loupa	láta
	PST	1SG	bles	fekk	gret	lóp	let
		2SG	blesirt	fekkirt	gretirt	lópirt	letirt
		3SG	bles	fekk	gret	lóp	let
		PL	blesu	fekku	gretu	lópu	letu
IMP		SG	blás	fá	grát	loup	lát
		PL	bläsið	fäð	grätið	løypið	lätið

kjänna verbs

The kjänna ("to know") verbs are a class of verbs which retain a conjugated past tense that is formed through suffixation, similar to how weak verbs work in other Germanic languages. However, these are considered irregular in Erish grammar because of the past tense, though there are a few irregular kjänna verbs.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"kill"	"hear"	"buy"	"know (a person)"	"lay"	"let"	"name"	"run"	"set"	"pull"	"strive"
INF			døyda	høyra	kjøypa	kjänna	lägga	løyva	nävna	ränna	sätta	träkka	yrkja
PTCP	PRS		døydandi	høyrandi	kjøypandi	kjännandi	läggandi	løyvandi	nävnandi	rännandi	sättandi	träkkandi	yrkjandi
	PST		døydd	høyrd	kjøypt	kjänd	lägd	løyvd	nävnd	ränd	sätt	träkt	yrkt
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	døydi	høyri	kjøypi	kjänni	läggi	løyvi	nävni	ränni	sätti	träkki	yrkji
		2SG	døydirt	høyrirt	kjøypirt	kjännirt	lägirt	løyvirt	nävnirt	rännirt	sätirt	träkirt	yrkirt
		3SG	døydir	høyrir	kjøypir	kjännir	lägir	løyvir	nävnir	rännir	sätir	träkir	yrkir
		PL	døyda	høyra	kjøypa	kjänna	lägga	løyva	nävna	ränna	sätta	träkka	yrkja
	PST	1SG	døyddi	høyrdi	kjøypti	kjändi	lägdi	løyvdi	nävndi	rändi	sätti	träkti	yrkti
		2SG	døyddirt	høyrdirt	kjøyptirt	kjändirt	lägdirt	løyvdirt	nävndirt	rändirt	sättirt	träktirt	yrktirt
		3SG	døyddi	høyrdi	kjøypti	kjändi	lägdi	løyvdi	nävndi	rändi	sätti	träkti	yrkti
		PL	døyddu	høyrdu	kjøyptu	kjändu	lägdu	løyvdu	nävndu	rändu	sättu	träktu	yrktu
IMP		SG	døyd	høyr	kjøyp	kjänn	läg	løyv	nävn	ränn	sät	träk	yrk
		PL	døydið	høyrið	kjøypið	kjännið	lägið	løyvið	nävnið	rännið	sätið	träkið	yrkið

täkkja verbs

The täkkja ("to think") verbs are another class of irregular verbs which correspond to the weak verbs of other Germanic languages. Unlike the kjänna verbs, however, the täkkja verbs have past tenses which involve stem change.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"seek"	"think"	"seem"
INF			søkkja	täkkja	tykkja
PTCP	PRS		søkkjandi	täkkjandi	tykkjandi
	PST		sótt	tátt	tútt
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	søkkji	täkkji	tykkji
		2SG	søkirt	täkkirt	tykkirt
		3SG	søkir	täkkir	tykkir
		PL	søkkja	täkkja	tykkja
	PST	1SG	sótti	tátti	tútti
		2SG	sóttirt	táttirt	túttirt
		3SG	sótti	tátti	tútti
		PL	sóttu	táttu	túttu
IMP		SG	søk	täkk	tykk
		PL	søkið	täkkið	tykkið

häbba verbs

The häbba verbs are a group of four irregular verbs which share similar conjugation patterns.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"have"	"live"	"say"	"be silent"
INF			häbba	libba	sägga	tägga
PTCP	PRS		häbbandi	libbandi	säggandi	täggandi
	PST		havd	livd	sagd	tagd
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	häbbi	libbi	säggi	täggi
		2SG	havirt	livirt	sagirt	tagirt
		3SG	havir	livir	sagir	tagir
		PL	häbba	libba	sägga	tägga
	PST	1SG	havdi	livdi	sagdi	tagdi
		2SG	havdirt	livdirt	sagdirt	tagdirt
		3SG	havdi	livdi	sagdi	tagdi
		PL	havdu	livdu	sagdu	tagdu
IMP		SG	hav	liv	sag	tag
		PL	havið	livið	sagið	tagið

Preterite-present verbs

The preterite-present verbs use an irregular conjugation that mixes both suffixation and stem change in order to conjugate. They all retain a distinct past tense.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"own"	"can, be able to"	"may, be possible to"	"must, have to"	"should, ought to"	"may, be allowed to"	"want to, wish to"	"know"
INF			eiga	kunna	maga	móta	skola	torva	villa	vita
PTCP	PRS		eigandi	kunnandi	magandi	mótandi	skolandi	torvandi	villandi	vitandi
	PST		áttas	kundas	máttas	móstas	skoldas	torftas	vildas	vistas
AUX			häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba	häbba
IND	PRS	1SG	á	kann	má	mót	skal	torv	vill	veit
		2SG	átt	kant	mátt	móst	skalt	torft	vilt	veist
		3SG	á	kann	má	mót	skal	torv	vill	veit
		PL	eiga	kunna	maga	móta	skola	torva	villa	vita
	PST	1SG	átti	kundi	mátti	mósti	skoldi	torfti	vildi	visti
		2SG	áttirt	kundirt	máttirt	móstirt	skoldirt	torftirt	vildirt	vistirt
		3SG	átti	kundi	mátti	mósti	skoldi	torfti	vildi	visti
		PL	áttu	kundu	máttu	móstu	skoldu	torftu	vildu	vistu
IMP		SG	eig	―	―	―	―	―	―	vit
		PL	eigið	―	―	―	―	―	―	vitið

Irregular verbs

There are five verbs which are classified as completely irregular in Erish, but they are nonetheless "regular" Erish verbs by virtue of lacking the future tense of vera ("to be").

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"become"	"bring"	"go"	"do"	"stand"
INF			blíva	bringa	gá	gjera	stá
PTCP	PRS		blívandi	bringandi	gándi	gjerandi	stándi
	PST		voras	brátt	gás	gjørd	stá
AUX			vera	häbba	vera	häbba	vera
IND	PRS	1SG	blívi	bringi	gá	gjeri	stá
		2SG	blívart	bringart	geirt	gjerart	steirt
		3SG	blívar	bringar	geir	gjerar	steir
		PL	blíva	bringa	gá	gjera	stá
	PST	1SG	varð	brátti	gekk	gjørdi	stód
		2SG	varðirt	bráttirt	gekkirt	gjørdirt	stódirt
		3SG	varð	brátti	gekk	gjørdi	stód
		PL	varðu	bráttu	gekku	gjørdu	stódu
IMP		SG	blív	bring	gá	gjer	stá
		PL	blívið	bringið	geið	gjerið	steið

vera "to be"

Similar to many other languages, the verb vera ("to be") is the most irregular verb in the Erish language. It is a highly suppletive verb with three different (and irregular) roots, and is the only Erish verb with a conjugated future tense.

Mood	Tense	Person, Number	"be"
INF			vera
PTCP	PRS		verandi
	PST		veras
AUX			vera
IND	PRS	1SG	em
		2SG	ert
		3SG	er
		PL	eru
	PST	1SG	vas
		2SG	várt
		3SG	vas
		PL	váru
	FUT	1SG	bin
		2SG	birt
		3SG	bir
		PL	bi
IMP		SG	ver
		PL	verið

Verbal constructions

Due to the relatively minimal verbal morphology of Erish, the language relies on a number of analytic constructions to form additional tenses, voices, and so on. The most important of these are the future tense, the perfect tense, and the passive voice.

The future tense can be formed with the present tense, oftentimes with an accompanying adverb. In the sentence Ig gá dár í morgin ("I go there tomorrow"), the adverbial phrase í morgin ("tomorrow") indicates that the action takes place in the future. Another strategy Erish uses is to use the future tense of vera followed by an infinitive, such as Ig bin gá dár ("I will go there"). The future tense in Erish is also used to indicate gnomic aspect, or a general truth; oftentimes, when the gnomic aspect is used, the subject will be in the indefinite state. An example of the gnomic is found in Barn bi leika ("Children play"), which is a generic statement about something children do. The vera future is less commonly used in Bayland dialects, typically being more reserved for the gnomic aspect.

The past tense is formed analytically for most Erish verbs, through the use of the past tense of gjera ("to do") and the infinitive, as seen in the sentence Úlvas gjørdu jaga fär ("The wolves hunted sheep"). The specific use of do-support in this context is thought to have arisen through Celtic influence, Anglic influence, or some mixture of the two, as Germanic languages which have lost a conjugated past tense typically merge it with the perfect. That past-perfect merger is the case in the regular spoken language of non-Western dialects.

The perfect tense ("to have done") is generally formed with the verb häbba plus strong neuter past participle, as in the sentence Ig häbbi holpat him ("I have helped him"). However, verbs of change or motion may instead form the perfect through the construction vera plus strong neuter past participle, such as in the sentence Dú ert gátt her ("You have gone here"). The pluperfect ("had done") is formed through using the past tense of häbba or vera, whilst the future perfect is formed either with the present tense or the future tense of vera plus the infinitive of häbba or vera plus strong neuter past participle.

The passive ("is done") can be formed through several different strategies. The vera plus past participle construction, seen in Mätis vas kokas ("The food was cooked"), corresponds to the typical Anglish passive in its construction, but is only used when the action being described has been completed. When an action was ongoing, though not necessarily at the moment being described, the construction blíva plus past participle is used, resulting in Mätis varð kokas ("The food was being cooked"). Both of these constructions require the past participle to be properly inflected for the gender and number of the subject. When an action was ongoing at the moment being described, the construction blíva plus present participle is used, resulting in Mätis varð kokandi ("The food was being cooked (then)"). Finally, if one wants to use a different subject than the typical passive subject, the construction fá ("to get") plus past participle is used, making Hin fekk mätis kokas ("He got the food cooked").