Northian verbs

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Northian verbs are conjugated for person, number, voice, mood, aspect, and tense.

Present

Mobile accent

Most athematic verbs are of the type which has mobile accent, that is the accent falls on the root syllable in the singular forms in the active voice, and on the ending in all other forms; this accent pattern is usually accompanied by ablaut, whereby the accented root is in the full grade and originally had the vowel *e, and the unaccented form had no vowel. Where there is no vowel, an internal resonant (*m, *n, *r, *l) or semivowel (*y, *w) often becomes a vowel in Northian. This type of accent is seen in the following class of verbs:

  1. Root (class 3)
  2. Reduplicated (class 1)
  3. Semivowel
    1. i-suffix
    2. u-suffix
  4. Consonant
    1. k-suffix
    2. s-suffix
  5. Nasal
    1. -ne- infix
    2. naH-suffix
    3. naw-suffix
  6. Vowel suffix -aH-

Each class could further take "long" and "short" variant endings. Long endings arise from a laryngeal that stood at the end of the root, which became a separate syllable if standing before two consonants, coloured the following vowel if following one, and otherwise disappeared. Since the length of the suffix is variable, the shape of the long ending varies from class to class, and their inconsistency surely underlie some of the analogical replacement seen in the Didaskalic Material (though Galic forms are remarkable for their fidelity to etymology). Until laryngeals were theorized and accepted in the 20th century, the aberrant "long endings" were thought of as special endings associated with certain roots and eluded all rules grammarians formulated to predict their presence.

Root

ēmi, šté, "to be". This verb of singular importance has opaque forms that owe to the vagaries of *s in various positions. In principle, *s in initial position (unless bordering a stop) and before any consonantal resonants merges with *h₂; then any bordering *e > /a/. Thus 1sg ēmi < *h₁esmi "am". In the 2sg the form *esi is required. The trisyllabic 1du form huwəni faithfully shows the initial syllable was heavy as it began with two consonants, i.e. *h₁suwéni. 1pl has uuəŋhi, which shows the simplification of a cluster of three initial consonants.

The full stem is disclosed by the 3sg éšti. In the sg.impf a trisyllabic scansion is required of traditional <ēzā>, which would also purport to be an exception to the Cloverdale's law that provides the ending should be short after a long vowel. However, the laryngeal form eHezā < *h₁e-h₁esm̥ has been accepted to account for both the scansion and to resolve the apparent violation of Cloverdale, as now the syllable preceding the vocalized resonant can be shown to be light. In the other persons of the imperfect, the augment shows univerbation with the stem-initial laryngeal, resulting in a long initial vowel that does not occur in the singular.

active
ind impf inj subj opt imp
1 sg ē-mi é-Hez-ā ez-ā áH-ō h-iyā̊
2 sg a-hi é-Hā̊ ā̊ -aHi z-δí
3 sg eš-ti é-Heš-t eš-ṯ -asi -iyāṯ éš-tū
1 du h-uwəni ēzu-wó h-uwó -ōuuō -uwó
2 du š-tā ēš-tõm š-tõm -atā -ītam -tā
3 du -tā̊ -tā̊ -ītā̊ -tāmū
1 pl uuə̄ŋhi ā-mo h-mo -ə̄mō -īmó
2 pl š-te ēš-té š-té -ati -īté éš-te
3 pl h-ənti ā-h-əṇ h-əṇ -ə̄nti -iHarə h-əntū
inf

nu-suffix

xšnammi, xšnute, gzawənti, "to sharpen". Present stems which vary with a *nu- suffix (*new- in strong forms) are treated as a special class as the suffix and ending are liable to become muddled together and undergo disfiguring evolutions. Fundamentally, these verbs are still of the VC type and all have mobile accent. For the zero-grade suffix, syllabification rules generate two alloforms -nu- ~ -auu- < *nuC ~ n̥wV, which precede consonants and vowels, respectively; that is, the alloform -aw- appears before all 3 pl forms active and middle, and 2 du and 3 du forms, as well as all optative forms, in the middle, since all these endings begin with vowel.

Like other suffixed verbs, the injunctive, subjunctive, and imperative active do not display the indicative suffix in Early Galic, though their middle counterpart except the injunctive do.

active middle
ind impf inj subj opt imp ind impf inj subj opt imp
1 sg xš-námmi xš-nā̊ From xaš- xš-nuiiā̊ xš-nuHā -nuHa From xaš- xš-náuuā xš-auuiHa
2 sg -naōši From xaš- -nutā -nuta -nauuatā -auuīϑa From xaš-
3 sg -naōsi -naōṯ -nuiiāṯ -nutō -nuto -auuīϑo
1 du -nuwəni -nuwo -awūwó -nuwṓδi -nuwóδi -nauuōδi -awūwóδi
2 du -nutā -nutõm -auuīϑõm From xaš- -auuātiϑaHi -āuuātiϑā -nauuātiϑi -auuīϑéδi From xaš-
3 du -nutā̊ -auuīϑā̊ -auuātāHi -āuuātā -nauuāϑā -auuīϑā
1 pl -numəŋhi -numo -auuīmo -numōizi -numeδi -naōmōizi -auuīmeδi
2 pl -nuté -nuté -auuīϑe From xaš- -nūzuwé -nauuāzuwe -auuīzuwe From xaš-
3 pl gz-auuəṇti e-gz-auuən -nuiian -auuātū -auuātrō -auuātro -nauuəntrō -auuīHątró
act inf

Reduplicated

There is a sizeable class of verbs which have present stems made by repeating the root up to and including the root vowel before the root itself; that is, if the root has the abstraction CeC, then the present stem was formed as Ce-CeC. The stems, however, show a fair degree of irregularity because the enlargement of the stem invites phonetically conditioned divergences; there are almost no examples where the stem does not undergo mutation of some kind. While some related languages have thematic reduplicated stems, this is not true of Northian, where the reduplicated stem is always athematic.

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg hihagmi a-hən-um hən-wōḥ za-wiyā̊ xšt-āwái - xš-náwai za-wiá
2 sg hihakši -uš -woyi xš-ϑi xš-nutái -nuta -nawatai -āwīϑa hš-nušvō
3 sg hihakti -ut -woti -wiyāṯ xaš-tū -nutoi -nuto -āwīϑo -nuto
1 du hihagwəni e-za-umβó -wowō -wūmβó -numβṓδa -numβóδa -naṓwōδa -āwūmβóδa
2 du hihaktā -utõm -wotāḫ -wīϑõm xš-tāḫ -āwātiϑayi -āwātiϑa -nawātiϑayi -āwīϑéδa -āwātiϑa
3 du -utā̊ -wīϑā̊ -tāmū -āwātāyi -āwātā -nawāϑāyi -wīϑā -āwātā
1 pl hihagməŋhi -umo -womō -wīmo -numōiδa -numeδa -naṓmōiδa -āwīmeδa
2 pl hihakte -uté -woti -wīϑe -te -nužδwé -užδwe -nawažδwe -āwīžδwe -nužδwé
3 pl haškati -ur -wəṇti -wī -atū xšt-āwātroi -āwātro -nawontroi -āwīyātró -āwātro
act inf

u-suffix

A small class of verbs have invariant -u- suffix. hənumi "roast" is provided as example. The main point of departure from the general pattern is the 3 pl secondary form, which reflects *-r, whose relationship with the rest of the paradigm is disputed. Any comparison with the middle or the perfect, which regularly yield some variety of this sound of uncertain interrelationship, must be troubled by the absence of much semantic connection between them and the u-suffix presents. However, as this class is rather small and evidently in a recessive stage, it is possible that some sort of connection exists but is undetectable. Unlike the more productive suffixes, the u-suffix extends to the modal forms in both the active and the middle, which recommends the view that the suffix was no longer treated as one by Galic times, in which the productive (ablauting) suffixes were clearly detachable elements.

In the optative active, the singular forms attest the Sievers's forms -iyā̊ on account of the stem shape *senH-w-, where the (lost) laryngeal and the suffix count as two consonants and trigger the insertion of an additional syllable before the semivowel. This alternation is preserved into later Northian as zawiyōyəm.

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg hən-umi a-hən-um hən-wōḥ za-wiyā̊ xšt-āwái - xš-náwai za-wiá
2 sg -ušti -uš -woyi xš-ϑi xš-nutái -nuta -nawatai -āwīϑa hš-nušvō
3 sg -uti -ut -woti -wiyāṯ xaš-tū -nutoi -nuto -āwīϑo -nuto
1 du hn-uwəni e-za-umβó -wowō -wūmβó -numβṓδa -numβóδa -naṓwōδa -āwūmβóδa
2 du -utā -utõm -wotāḫ -wīϑõm xš-tāḫ -āwātiϑayi -āwātiϑa -nawātiϑayi -āwīϑéδa -āwātiϑa
3 du -utā̊ -wīϑā̊ -tāmū -āwātāyi -āwātā -nawāϑāyi -wīϑā -āwātā
1 pl -uməŋhi -umo -womō -wīmo -numōiδa -numeδa -naṓmōiδa -āwīmeδa
2 pl -uté -uté -woti -wīϑe -te -nužδwé -užδwe -nawažδwe -āwīžδwe -nužδwé
3 pl hā-wəṇti -ur -wəṇti -wī -atū xšt-āwātroi -āwātro -nawontroi -āwīyātró -āwātro
act inf

i-suffix

With a few exceptions, verbs of this class were built to vowel-final roots. There is thus intersyllabic sandhi in progress in Northian, which will be dissolved in the following chart.

The special development to note is the application of Pinault's law in the 3 pl forms, which causes the root-final laryngeal to disappear before the suffix, being non-syllabic before that ending. Thus for the example below, the form seen is syənti for *d-y-enti, not *tiyanti for *dH-y-enti. The same is true for the optative forms outside of the sing act, where the laryngeal disappears before the suffixal -i-, which is non-syllabic before the vocalic weak form of the optative sign.

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg ta-imi e-ta-im ta-yōḥ t-iyā̊ xšt-āwái xš-náwai za-wiá
2 sg -išti -iš -yai ta-i xš-nutái -nuta -nawatai -āwīϑa hš-nušvō
3 sg -isi -it -yasi -iyāṯ ta-isū -nutoi -nuto -āwīϑo -nuto
1 du t-uwéñi e-t-uwo -yowō s-yūwo -numβṓδa -numβóδa -naṓwōδa -āwūmβóδa
2 du -isāḫ -isõm -yatāḫ -yīϑõm t-isāḫ -āwātiϑayi -āwātiϑa -nawātiϑayi -āwīϑéδa -āwātiϑa
3 du -isā̊ -yīϑā̊ -isāmū -āwātāyi -āwātā -nawāϑāyi -wīϑā -āwātā
1 pl -iméni -imo -yomō -yīmo -numōiδa -numeδa -naṓmōiδa -āwīmeδa
2 pl -isé -isé -yasi -yīϑe -ise -nužδwé -užδwe -nawažδwe -āwīžδwe -nužδwé
3 pl s-yənti -ir -yonti -yī s-yəntū xšt-āwātroi -āwātro -nawontroi -āwīyātró -āwātro
act inf


Root with long endings

raōdaēmi, ruδité, "to weep". Owing to the effects of an interconsonantal laryngeal, some roots were synchronically analyzed as taking a set of endings augmented with a vowel between the stem and ending proper, though historically the augmentation is part of the stem and not of the ending. These endings are analogous with the ṣet roots in the Tennite language, while those taking the short (normal) endings are analogous to aṇit roots. Since there is an Erani-Eracuran laryngeal on the stem-ending border, any ending which begins with *e (bolded) is liable to be coloured by this laryngeal. This colouring effect was seen as the analogue to the ending augmentation where the laryngeal is not preserved between consonants.

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg rəōd-aēmi é-rəōd-am rəōd-ōḥ ruj-iiā̊ ruδ-ai é-ruδ-a rəōd-oē ruδ-iya
2 sg -išti -iš -ayi rud-iδi -itai -ita -āδo -īta ruδ-ižuuo
3 sg -iti -iṯ -ati -iiāṯ rəōd-itū́ -o -o -átoi -īto -o
1 du ruδ-umβóni é-ruδ-iuuo -auuōḫ -īuuo -umβṓδa -umβóδa -auuāδa -ūmβóδa
2 du -itāḫ -itõm -atāḫ -ītõm ruδ-itāḫ -átiδayi -átiδa -tiδayi -itiδa -átiδa
3 du -itā̊ -atiš -ītā̊ -ités -á -á -tāyi -itā -á
1 pl -amáŋhi -amó -omōḫ -īmo -amṓδa -ameδa -omōδa -īmeδa
2 pl -ité -ité -ati -īte -iti -ižδuuo -ižδuuo -āδuua -īžδuuo -iδuuo
3 pl -ánti -ánṯ -anti -iianṯ -ánθu -árə -árə -óntrai -iyaδro -ir
act inf anitiš, anituš act ptcpl ānaṯ, anatṓḫ; ānatī, ānatīš mid inf aniźiiō mid ptcpl anaminṓḫ fut imp ániδitat, ánatat

Of a similar construction are those verbs whose historic stems terminated in *-h₂ and *-h₃, giving rise to a and o respectively, in all the bolded positions.

Vowel-final stems

These encompass those roots that ended in a vowel plus laryngeal (VH) in the parent language. Praetorianus did not notice that the long vowel was part of the stem and not of the ending—in other words, he thought the root here was merely "št" to which an augmented ending was added—and so classed these stems together with those that have a suffixed long vowel—which he too regarded as normal roots using augmented endings.

tištāmi, tištité, "stand".

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg ti-št-aēmi e-ti-št-ā̊ ti-št-ōḥ ti-ś-iiā̊ ti-št-aē e-ti-št-á ti-št-oē ti-št-iyá
2 sg -ā́hi -ayi ti-št-iϑí -itaē -itá -átaē -ītá ti-št-ižuuó
3 sg -ā́ti e-ti-št-āt -ati -iiāṯ -ā́tū -ə̄ -átə̄ -ītó
1 du -umβéiñi -umβó -ouuōḫ ti-št-ūmβó -umβōδa -umβóδa -óuuōδa -ūmβóδa
2 du -itāḫ -itõm -átāḫ -ītõm -itāḫ -ātiϑayi -ātiϑa -ātiϑayi -ītiϑa -ātiϑa
3 du -itā̊ -ītā̊ -itāmū́ -āyi -āyi -iyā
1 pl -əmáŋhi -əmó -omōḫ -īmó -əmōiδa -améδa -omōiδa -īméδa
2 pl -ité -ité -áti -īté -iti -ižδuuó -ižδuuó -āδuuó -īžδuuó -ižuuó
3 pl -ənti -āṯ -ónδi -iyaṯ -əṇtū́ -árə -árə -iro
inf fut imp

Persistent accent

There is a variety of roots that take an accent that persists on the root syllable in (some forms of) the present stem. While the accent is persistent, contrast between the singular active and other forms comparable to that exhibited by verbs with mobile accent is conserved: the singular active have a lengthened vowel *ē, and others the full-grade vowel *e. The lengthened vowel grade is associated with the indicative, imperfect, and optative and disappears in the subjunctive, injunctive, and imperative, as well as any non-finite forms.

The main difference from the mobile accent is that any other ablauting elements after the root will take the zero-grade form. Thus, optative active forms are 1-2sg yámī and 3sg yámīṯ.

yāmi, yamai, "to take".

active middle
pres impf inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg iyā-mi a-iiā̊ yā̊ yā́m-ō yám-ī yám-ā a-iiám-a yám-ōe yám-ia
2 sg -p-si -ai -īš yám-δi -tay -ta -itaē -īϑa -žuua
3 sg -ti a-iiām-t yam-t -iti -īṯ -tū -ta
1 du yám-βuuaēñi a-yám-uua -uua -auuōḫ -ūmβa -uuōδa -uuoδa -auuōδa -īvaδa
2 du -tāḫ -tõm -tõm -itāḫ -īϑõm -tāḫ -tiϑaēyi -taϑa -taϑaēyi -ītaϑa -ātaϑa
3 du -tā̊ -tā̊ -īϑā̊ -tāmū -iϑāyi -iϑā -iϑāyi -īϑā -ātā
1 pl -mahi -ma -ma -amōḫ -īma -mōiδa -miδa -amōiδa -īmiδa
2 pl -ti -ti -ti -iti -īϑi -ti -δuwa -δuwa -iδwa -īϑwa -δuwa
3 pl -āṯ -āṯ -āṯ -ənti -iaṯ -ātū -ātraē -ātra -óntraē -iatra -āta
inf hšnutiš, hšnéu̯tuš, ptcpl hšnéu̯å, hšnnonθō; hšnéu̯āṯ; hšnunθī, hšnnonθi̯ās

Vowel-final stems with persistent accent

These are very similar to the vowel-stems with mobile accent, only that the union vowel in the weak forms represents the e-grade root vowel, with any laryngeal colouring, that bears the accent. Thus the root vowel was long by nature in the active singular and lengthened by the following laryngeal in pre-consonantal forms. The short root vowel is only visible prevocalically. The endings are in the zero grade. There are very few roots which behave like this, and only wōimi "breathe" is well-known.

The a-vocalism of the augment is on account of initial *h₂-. The 3 du mid ending has, like the 3 pl mid, an ablauting element with the full grade pre-form of *-eh₂-, with appended -i in the present. Transitive verbs often have the additional element *-dʰH-. In the zero-grade, the ending was evidently merely *-h₂, which dropped without a trace after a laryngeal already in the parent language. This results in the 3 du impf mid form that synchronically had no visible ending. Interestingly, the 2 du mid ending -tiϑayi must reflect *-h₂-tH-dʰH, whose the middle element seems to appear in the 2 pl act primary ending -tha in Kankrit.

wōimi, woti, "stand".  

active middle
ind impf-inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg wōi-mi ā-uuā̊ wō-ōḥ wo-ī wo-aē ā-uuā̊-o wō-oē wo-iyá
2 sg wō-hi -ayi -īs wō-ϑí -taē ā-uuō-ta -átaē -ītá žuuó
3 sg -ti ā-uuō-t -iti -īṯ -ā́tū -ə̄ -a -átə̄ -ītó
1 du -uuiñi -uuo -ouuōḫ -ūmβó -umβōδa -umβóδa -óuuōδa -ūmβóδa
2 du -tāḫ -tõm -átāḫ -ītõm -tāḫ -tiϑayi -tiϑa -ātiϑayi -ītiϑa -tiϑa
3 du -tā̊ -ītā̊ -tāmū́ -i -āyi
1 pl -mahi -mó -omōḫ -īmó -mōiδa -méδa -omōiδa -īméδa
2 pl -ti -ti -áti -īté -ti -ižδuuó -ižδuuó -āδuuó -īžδuuó -ižuuó
3 pl wo-aṯi wo-aṯ -ónδi -iyaṯ -atū́ -árə -árə -ro
inf fut imp

Aorist

Root aorists

βayza, βayšte

active middle fut imp
ind impf inj subj opt imp ind impf inj subj opt imp
1 sg βayz-a esed-am áh-am ā́h-ō áh-i̯ą̄m áh-ūm ā́h-ūm áh-ūm ā́h-ą̄m és-īma
2 sg βāyš ā̊s es ḗs-ei̯i -i̯āu̯ ez-θī́ és-šθoi̯ ḗs-šθo és-šθo ḗs-ésθoi̯ -īšθo és-švō és-θitoṯ
3 sg βayšt ā̊s-ṯ es-ṯ -ei̯ -i̯āṯ es-tū́ -θoi̯ -θo -θo -étoi̯ -īto -θo -θoṯ
1 du βayz-wo est-vo áh-vó ā́h-ou̯iñi és-īvo áh-vozθa ā́h-voθa áh-voθa áh-ou̯ozθa -īvoθa
2 du βayš-tõm ēs-tõm és-tõm ḗs-etāḫ -ītõm -tāḫ -ātiθai̯i -ātiθa -ātaθa ḗs-ētaθai -ītaθa -ātaθa -θoṯ
3 du βayš-tā̊ -tą̄m -tą̄m -etiš -ītąm -tiš -ātāi̯i -ātā -ātā -ētāi̯i -ītā -ātā -θoṯ
1 pl βayz-mo est-mo áh-mo ā́h-omiñi -īmō -mózθa -meθa -meθa ā́h-omozθa -īmeθa
2 pl βayš-te ēs-ti és-te ḗs-eti -īte ḗs-ti és-šθve ḗs-šθve és-šθve ḗs-ésθve -īšθve -θve -θoṯ
3 pl βid-ən ēs-eṯ háṯ ā́h-onθi -ii̯āṯ és-enθu áh-unθroi̯ ā́h-unθro áh-unθro -ónθroi̯ -īi̯unθro -unθo -unθoṯ
inf hšnutiš, hšnéu̯tuš, ptcpl hšnéu̯å, hšnnonθō; hšnéu̯āṯ; hšnunθī, hšnnonθi̯ās inf hšnuθi̯ō, hšnuθi̯ōi̯o, ptcpl hšnūmnō, hšnūmnōi̯o; hšnūmnõ; hšnūmnā, hšnūmnās

xaŋzat-aorists

This class is named for the verb xəŋxa < *kenk- "hang up", which frequently appears in the phrase "who hang up apples in the trees" (i.e. make food grow). Though classified as a type of root aorist, in historical terms they greatly differ from the normal kind in the following:

  • 3 pl form has full grade in the root and zero grade in the ending; injunctive and optative of this form have the ending -r rather than the more usual -nt;
  • 2 sing imperative has full grade of the root and the enigmatic ending -i (Praetorianius commented that this must be a modified optative);
  • 2 pl injunctive and imperative have an extra *-s- preceding the customary ending *-te; this *-s- also appears in a few perfect imperatives;
  • active subjunctive predominantly has the o-grade of the root, as some other root aorists do.

xaŋzat-aorists are often activa tantum in Galic even if their meanings are amenable to middle endings, but there do exist a handful of middle forms here and there; where they do appear, they receive the "transitive" 3 pl ending -ā̆tro < *-n̥tro regardless of meaning, suggesting the middle forms are late. Sometimes -əntro appears, which is considered even later than -ā̆tro. Nevertheless, middle participles in -min- are regularly formed even in the absence of finite forms. The sum of these clues is usually interpreted as a pointer towards an archaic h₂e-aorist conjugation that was parallel to the normal m-conjugation, at best only marginally reflected in the other daughters except Hittite. A well-known commonality with Hittite is that xaŋzat-aorists are associated with the i- and u-presents in Northian, but the reverse is not (as) true. As a result, the i- and u-presents also show the xaŋzat injunctive ending -r.

active middle
ind inj subj opt imp ind impf-inj subj opt imp
1 sg xaŋz-a xəŋh-ōˀ xaŋh-ī xaŋk-ay xaŋk-a
2 sg xə̄nh -aˀi xaŋz-i -táy -ta - -
3 sg xaŋh-t -asi -īṯ xaŋk-tū -toy -to - -
1 du xaŋz-wo -owō xaŋh-ūwo xaŋz-wōδi xaŋz-wóδi - -
2 du xaŋk-tõm -atāḫ -īhõm -tāḫ xaŋk-itiha -āŋhiha - -
3 du xaŋk-tā̊ -īhā̊ -tāmū -itā - - -
1 pl xaŋz-mo pay-mōy -omō -īmo -mōyδi -meδi - -
2 pl xaŋk-te xaŋk-šte -ase -īhe -šte -duwoy xaŋz-duwo - - -
3 pl xaŋz-at xaŋz-r̥ -ənti -iˀr̥ xaŋz-atū -ā̆troy -ā̆tro -əntroy -iˀātro -
act inf

Split aorists

dēkšam, esdté

active middle fut imp
ind impf inj subj opt imp ind impf inj subj opt imp
1 sg ā́h-mi esed-am áh-am ā́h-ō áh-i̯ą̄m áh-ūm ā́h-ūm áh-ūm ā́h-ą̄m és-īma
2 sg ḗ-si ā̊s es ḗs-ei̯i -i̯āu̯ ez-θī́ és-šθoi̯ ḗs-šθo és-šθo ḗs-ésθoi̯ -īšθo és-švō és-θitoṯ
3 sg ḗs-ti ā̊s-ṯ es-ṯ -ei̯ -i̯āṯ es-tū́ -θoi̯ -θo -θo -étoi̯ -īto -θo -θoṯ
1 du áh-víñi est-vo áh-vó ā́h-ou̯iñi és-īvo áh-vozθa ā́h-voθa áh-voθa áh-ou̯ozθa -īvoθa
2 du és-tāḫ ēs-tõm és-tõm ḗs-etāḫ -ītõm -tāḫ -ātiθai̯i -ātiθa -ātaθa ḗs-ētaθai -ītaθa -ātaθa -θoṯ
3 du -tés -tą̄m -tą̄m -etiš -ītąm -tiš -ātāi̯i -ātā -ātā -ētāi̯i -ītā -ātā -θoṯ
1 pl áh-míñi est-mo áh-mo ā́h-omiñi -īmō -mózθa -meθa -meθa ā́h-omozθa -īmeθa
2 pl és-ti ēs-ti és-te ḗs-eti -īte ḗs-ti és-šθve ḗs-šθve és-šθve ḗs-ésθve -īšθve -θve -θoṯ
3 pl áh-āṯ ēs-eṯ háṯ ā́h-onθi -ii̯āṯ és-enθu áh-unθroi̯ ā́h-unθro áh-unθro -ónθroi̯ -īi̯unθro -unθo -unθoṯ
inf hšnutiš, hšnéu̯tuš, ptcpl hšnéu̯å, hšnnonθō; hšnéu̯āṯ; hšnunθī, hšnnonθi̯ās inf hšnuθi̯ō, hšnuθi̯ōi̯o, ptcpl hšnūmnō, hšnūmnōi̯o; hšnūmnõ; hšnūmnā, hšnūmnās

Thematic endings

luϑõ, esdté

active middle
ind-inj subj opt imp ind impf inj subj opt imp
1 sg luϑ-õ luϑ-ō luϑ-yā̊ áh-ūm ā́h-ūm áh-ūm ā́h-ą̄m és-īma
2 sg luϑ-ā luϑ-aˀi lut és-šθoi̯ ḗs-šθo és-šθo ḗs-ésθoi̯ -īšθo és-švō
3 sg luϑ-et luϑ-ay luϑ-yāt luϑ-etū́ -θoi̯ -θo -θo -étoi̯ -īto -θo
1 du luϑ-owə luϑ-owoy luϑ-uwə áh-vozθa ā́h-voθa áh-voθa áh-ou̯ozθa -īvoθa
2 du luϑ-etõ luϑ-etā luϑ-īhõ luϑ-etā -ātiθai̯i -ātiθa -ātaθa ḗs-ētaθai -ītaθa -ātaθa
3 du luϑ-tā̊ luϑ-īhəm luϑ-etāmū -ātāi̯i -ātā -ātā -ētāi̯i -ītā -ātā
1 pl luϑ-əmə luϑ-əmoy luϑ-īmə -mózθa -meθa -meθa ā́h-omozθa -īmeθa
2 pl luϑ-etə luϑ-etə luϑ-īha luϑ-etə és-šθve ḗs-šθve és-šθve ḗs-ésθve -īšθve -θve
3 pl luϑ-ən luϑ-ənti luϑ-iyāṯ luϑ-əntū áh-unθroi̯ ā́h-unθro áh-unθro -ónθroi̯ -īi̯unθro -unθo

Perfect

Reduplicated

tetóna, tetónōy "to be growing, to increase". Perfect stems in Northian are regularly formed by reduplication of the first consonant with the vowel *e, attached to the root in o-grade in the active singular and in zero grade in the active dual and plural and the entire middle. The endings are a special set of perfect endings.

Aside from the perfect indicative or "perfect tense" in paedagogical works, various other forms are made from the perfect stem. With the exception of the perfect imperative, which is attested firmly but infrequently, other formations are considerably rarer for the reason that they may be Northian innovations rather than inherited features of the parent language, even though the Northian forms are formed under like principles also found in the other daughters. The pluperfect, which is always identical to an augmented perfect injunctive, are formed from with secondary endings. The subjunctive is formed from the reduplicated stem with root in invariant e-grade, and the optative from the same stem with root in invariant zero grade.

Note that the pluperfect has accent on the reduplication syllable for the singular persons and ending elsewhere. On the one hand, provided the pluperfect is as old as the parent language, it could indicate the accent of the perfect was persistent on the initial syllable unless shifted rightwards under the kʷetwóres rule; on the other hand, it could have been imported from the reduplicated stems of the present or aorist. The perfect injunctive has exactly the same accent as the pluperfect and is not affected by the accent shift of the perfect proper: this is in agreement with the generally agreed chronology of a late origin of the perfect injunctive, which first appeared in the later Gales.

Not all perfect stems are capable of displaying all these formations. Especially, perfect verbs with stative meaning usually do not form pluperfects or any middle forms, but they do form subjunctives and optatives. When a pluperfect meaning is required, they have a periphrastic formation of the perfect active participle with the imperfect forms of the verb es "to be". Yet it is difficult to formulate absolute rules about this matter, since the Galic corpus is of limited size, and there may have existed unattested formations in the language of its composition.

active middle
perf plpf / inj subj opt imp ind plpf / inj subj opt imp
1 sg te-tón-a e-té-ton-ąm te-tén-ō te-δā-yā̊ p-ā́m ep-ā́m p-ā́m p-ą̄m
2 sg -ta -h -ai āwā̊ žδí -išθoi̯ -išθo -ásθoi̯ -īšθo
3 sg -e -ṯ -asi -yāṯ té-δā-tū -itoi̯ -ito -átoi̯ -īto -ito
1 du té-δā-wōy e-te-δā-wó -awōʰ te-sn-ūwo -ivózθa -ivóθa -ou̯ozθa -īvóθa
2 du me-món-ō -tõm -etāḫ -ītõm -tāḫ -ātiθai̯i -ātaθa -ātaθai -ii̯itaθa -ātaθa
3 du ə̄-ər-iϑō -tā̊ -ītā̊ -tāmū -ātāi̯i -ā -ātāi̯i -ii̯itā -ā
1 pl té-δā-mōy -mo -omōʰ -īmo -amózθa -ameθa -omozθa -īmeθa
2 pl te-tón-ōy -té   -ete -īté té-δā -išθvé -išθvé -ásθve -īšθve -iθve
3 pl mon-ṓ e-té-sn-r̥š té-sn-ātū -ánθroi̯ -ónθro -ónθroi̯ -ii̯unθro -ii̯unθo
inf

Root

woida, widé "to know" is the only member of the perfect conjugation that, as a condition with good history, does not have reduplication. There are other perfect stems which do not have reduplication in Northian but do in other branch of the language; these are usually regarded as Northian innovations on the pattern of woyda. It has the peculiarity of forming a full-grade root in the 3 pl, which also puts the ending in zero grade -ūš. It is as yet not known whether this feature is inherited, as it has been argued to be introduced from the root aorist injunctive, which in this form also shows full grade in the root.

active
ind plpf / inj subj opt imp
1 sg wóyd-a woyd-ā wayd-ō wiz-yā̊
2 sg wóyš-ta woyš-t -aHi wóyš-ϑi
3 sg wóyd-e -eti -yāṯ -tū́
1 du wiz-wé wiž-wé -owō -īwé
2 du wiš-itṓ wiš-tõm -etā -ītõm wiš-tā
3 du wid-Hṓ -tā̊ -ītā̊ -tāmū
1 pl wiz-mōi wiž-mé -omō -īmé
2 pl wid-ōi wiš-té -ete -īté wiš
3 pl wóyd-r̥ wid-ən -ənti -iyāṯ wóyd-arū
pf act inf wižuuéni, pf act ptcpl wáiduš, widuštōḫ; wáidū; wáiduštī, widuśiiā̊

The other perfect verbs that fail to show reduplication are:

  • u̯ṓi̯a, vii̯á "to fear"
  • mṓna, mné "to recall"

It has been noted that most verbs which fail to reduplicate are verbs of internal states or emotions.

Thematic conjugation

Present

βaiδō "I trust". Cognate to Shalumite "to bide". Points of interest are:

  1. In the Galic material, the effects of the stem-final laryngeal are reflected quite regularly, such that the 2 and 3 sg., 2 and 3 du., and 2 pl. endings, which commence with the colouring-susceptible vowel *e, may be coloured to *a and *o, and the latter in unaccented positions becomes a. This is seen in the comparatively common verb apúpitō "fly away", whose 2 du. form is apúpitatāḫ and not *apúpititāḫ. In later materials, the laryngeal-less endings (which would be identical to those for stems ending in *h₁-) became standard.
  2. In the active subjunctive, the subjunctive modal suffix prehistorically merges with the thematic endings and result in long vowels; in unaccented positions these evolved differently than short vowels, to wit *ē > ā, while *ō remains unchanged.
  3. In the active optative, the diphthong scans short in the 1 du. and 3 pl., the cause of which is still uncertain.
  4. Due to phonetic change, the middle forms of the 2 and 3 sg. are not distinct, as both 2 sg. *eth₂ei and 3 sg. *etoi > -itai.
  5. In the middle subjunctive, the 2 and 3 du. endings lack the final -i of the primary endings and are thus identical to secondary endings; this phenomenon is widespread enough to be ruled out as a scribal error and is usually thought to reflect original variation in the conjugation system as the subjunctive is already specified by a modal morpheme and cannot be mistaken by a different set of endings. The optative, however, is always found with secondary endings.
act mid
ind impf / inj subj opt imp ind impf / inj subj opt imp
1 sg βaiδ-ō e-baiδ-õm βaiδ-ō βaiδ-ā̊ βaiδ-aā̊i e-baiδ-aā̊ βaiδ-ōai βaiδ-aiia
2 sg -iyi -iš   -āyi -aīš βaiδi -itai -ita -ātai -aita
3 sg -ai -i -āi -aīṯ βaiδitū -itai -ita -ātai -aita
1 du -auuiñi -auua -ə̄uuiñi -aiuua -auuazδa -auuida -ə̄uuazδa -aiuuida
2 du -itāḫ -itõm -ātāḫ -aītõm βaiδitāḫ -itāδāi -itāδā -ātāδā -aitāδā
3 du -itiš -itā̊   -ātiš -aītā̊ βaiδitiš -itāyi -i -ā -aitā
1 pl -amiñi -ama -ōmiñi -aīma -amazδa -amida -ōmazδa -aimida
2 pl -iti -iti -āti -aīti βaiδiti -idūvi -idūvi -ādūvi -aidūvi
3 pl -anṯ -ōnδi -aiiāṯ βaiδanδū -aṇtrai -aṇtra -ōṇtrai -aiiāθra
fut imp βaiδitaṯ, βaiδanδaṯ act inf βaiδitiš, βaiδituš, act ptcpl βaiδā̊s, βaiδanδōḫ; βaiδaṯ; βaiδanδī, βaiδanδiiā̊, mid inf βaiδōi, mid ptcpl βaiδominōḫ (I/II)

Aorist

Indicative Injunctive Subjunctive Optative Imperative Future imp.
1 sg. ekorum korum korō kāri̯ām
2 sg. ekōr kōr korei kāri̯ās kor kortoṯ
3 sg. ekord kord korei̯ kāri̯āt kārto kārtoṯ
1 du. ekurōs kārōs korou̯ō korīu̯ō
2 du. ekurtõ kārtõ koretas korītõ kārtas kārtoṯ
3 du. ekurtąm kārtą̄m koretíš krītąm kārtíš kārtoṯ
1 pl. ekurmō kārmō koromõ korīmō
2 pl. ekurte kārte korete korīte kārte kārtoṯ
3 pl. ekurenṯ kārenṯ koronθi koriānṯ kārenθo kārunθoṯ
inf kāršiš, kāršuš, ptcpl korå, kronθō; korāṯ, kronθō; korunθī, krāŋθi̯ās
Indicative Imperfect Injunctive Subjunctive Optative Imperative Future imp.
1 sg. ekurma kārma korōm krīma
2 sg. ekursθo kārsθo koresθoi̯ krīšθo kārhvō kārtoṯ
3 sg. ekurto kārto koretoi̯ krīto kārto kārtoṯ
1 du. ekurreθa kārreθa korou̯osθa krīu̯eθa
2 du. ekurātaθa kārātaθa korātaθai krītaθa kārātaθa kārtoṯ
3 du. ekurātā kārātā korātāi̯i krītā kārātā kārtoṯ
1 pl. ekurmeθa kārmeθa koromosθa krīmeθa
2 pl. ekuršθve kāršθve koresθve krīšθve kārθve kārtoṯ
3 pl. ekurenθro kārenθro koronθroi̯ krīnθro kārunθo kārunθoṯ
inf kārθi̯ō, kārθi̯ōi̯o, mid ptcpl kārūmnō, kārūmnōi̯o; kārūmnõ, kārūmnōi̯o; kārūmnā, kārūmnās

See also