Northian verbs: Difference between revisions

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'''Northian verbs''' are conjugated for person, number, voice, mood, aspect, and tense.
'''Northian verbs''' are conjugated for person, number, voice, mood, aspect, and tense.
==Primary stems==
====Present stems====
The present stems, with imperfective or durative aspect, appears to have largely continued the system of reconstructed Proto-Erani-Eracuran.  With regard to the history of Northian, the imperfective stem was the most productive, buttressed by many derivational strategies that specified this aspect.  Each strategy designates either athematic or thematic endings be used, which are synchronically arbitrary. 
After the influential grammarian Praetorianius (fl. 1200s), the present stems in Northian are classified by the length of their endings, with unenlarged ones listed first (-mi, -ō) and most enlarged ones last (-nawmi); amongst the stems taking the plain ending, the most complex stems appear first (fully-reduplicated intensives), to the simplest stems (root stems).  For the convenience of perusal, a more etymological classification that fully distinguishes between suffix and ending is also presented.
At the heart of Praetorianius's understanding of the verbal system is his analysis of all finite verb into a combination of a ''xaput'' "head" (giving meaning) and a ''ϑənū'' "body" (giving function).  On the one hand, this gave him the insight that some roots, superficially different, are really varieties of each other, differing only by a vowel; this insight peers into the same phenomenon as that termed the ''guṇa'' and ''vṛddhi'' by Kankrit grammarians.  On the other hand, Praetorianius did not segment his "bodies" into suffixes and simpler personal endings, resulting in many co-equal sets of "bodies" that not only blended the suffix and ending but sometimes even part of the etymological root itself; that is, to Praetorianius, the {{smallcaps|1 sg}} endings -āmi and -mi were equivalents, as much as -mi and -ō were. 
Phonetic opaqueness and the loss of semantic difference in suffixes are responsible for his inability to analyze his "bodies" further.  As an example of this mis-segmentation, Praetorianius analyzed the word ''nawāsi'' "renews" as naw-āsi but also ''hānāsi'' "swims" as hān-āsi.  In the former case, the suffix (now known to be descended from the factitive suffix *-eh₂-) along with the ending is understood to constitute the "body"; yet in the latter case, the ā is actually part of the etymological root *sneh₂-, via its reduplicated stem *sesneh₂- > *haznā- > hānā-.  The pattern of singular -āsi and plural -ité is strengthened by other "bodies" that have similar shapes.  There is circumstantial evidence that Praetorianius may have been aware of the etymological issues with his analysis, but he may have been constrained by previous tradition in his description.
Many athematic stems display ablaut, and in Northian it is customary to give the first person singular active to show the form of the strong stem and the second person plural, the weak stem.  Where a stem does not display ablaut, only the first person singular active is given.  These forms, that is {{smallcaps|1 sg}} and {{smallcaps|2 pl}}, are chosen with the view they might exemplify the more frequent superficial forms in the received texts.  Aside from them, the {{smallcaps|3 pl}} is regularly irregular owing to the vowel-initial shape of the ending, and the {{smallcaps|1 du}} triggers some (at least) orthographic variations that are, for the most part, well-described by simple rules.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:2em"| P# ||style="width:7em"| Class !! Description !!style="width:15em"| Examples
|-
| I || Intensives || These are now classified as derivatives and are discussed in the following section. ||
|-
| II ||rowspan="2"| Reduplicated ||'''hišāmi, hiškte, házgati''' "hold" <br> Reduplication made present stems from aorist roots.  They always show root ablaut, varying between *e ~ Ø. The {{smallcaps|'''3 pl'''}} form is recessively accented on the reduplication syllable, regardless of the other forms.  The accent presents unpredictable variations, evidently attributable to the intrusion of aorist ablaut patterns to the present system.  The reduplicated vowel is /é/ or /i/. ||
|-
| III || '''hugawšmi, hugušte, hágužati''' "taste"<br>Like the athematic verbs in class III, these are present stems formed from aorist roots, but with thematic endings.  The root syllable is in zero-grade.  The accent is consistently on the reduplication syllable. Some athematic verbs were transferred into this class during the historical period. || 
|-
| IV || Nasal infix || '''ϑunekmi, ϑunkte, ϑunkənti''' "cause" <br> Associated with root aorists, the infix *-né ~ n- is inserted between the vowel and final consonant of the root.  The root itself is always in the zero-grade, while the infix undergoes ablaut, which likewise has a full-grade vowel in the singular active and zero-grade elsewhere.  Roots which take this infix obligatorily have a resonant before the infix, and the resonant vocalizes but never the infix itself in zero grade.  Praetorianius classified roots ending in laryngeals with this formation with the -nā́mi class, as to him the long vowel generated was part of the ending and not the root.  ||
|-
| V || rowspan="3"| Root || '''ēbmi, epše, ebāti''' "drink" <br> These roots show a lengthened root vowel in the singular active and the full grade in all other forms.  The accent persists over the root syllable in all forms, at least in the indicative.  || ēs- "to sit, stay"
|-
| VI || '''hanmi, zāte, znənti''' "strike" <br> These roots, the commonest, show a full-grade vowel in the root in the singular active and a zero-grade root in the other forms; the accent is over the root where it is in full grade, and over the ending when the root is in zero grade.  || es- "to be"
|-
| VII || '''ikoay, ikeduwe, ikəntro''' "possess" <br> This marginally-attested class binds the thematic endings to the zero-grade root, which have aorist origin.  Praetorianius called them "like-subjunctives" after subjunctive forms of other verbs, which could also take the zero-grade root. ||
|-
|rowspan="4"| VIII || i-stem ||'''taHimi, tité, syanti''' "distribute" <br> A number of present stems have a non-ablauting -i- or -u- added between root and ending, of no discernable function.  In the {{smallcaps|3 pl act}} the endings are -ánti and -ónti respectively. All verbs of this class that have active forms have mobile accent, but some deponents in this class have persistent accent on the root instead.  Before endings that begin with vowels, the suffixes become consonants.  Moreover, for the formation of subjunctive, the suffixal -i and -u, as non-ablauting suffixes, do not drop in Galic, e.g. ''tāyate'' "you (pl.) may distribute".  || taH-i- "distribute"
|-
|u-stem || '''tərumi, taruté, taruwənti''' "fend off" || štaH-u- "stand up"
|-
| rowspan="2"| -yō || '''házyō, házyati, házyənti''' "sit down" <br> Under {{wp|Sievers's law}}, this suffix has the allomorph -iy- after heavy syllables.  In the example provided, the second consonant, *h₃, was lost after the operation of the sound law, though the extra syllable generated remains.  || ház-y-o "sit down"
|-
| '''CØC-y-ṓ''' <br> Similar to the above, but this type had a zero-grade root and consistently accented endings.  Together with this fact is observed that the root aorists from which these stems derive most often lack an active voice, even though their meanings may be active; the zero-grade root characterizing root aorists middle voice is held to explain the presence of the zero-grade root in the derived present stem, even if it acquires an active voice there.  ||
|-
|IX || s-stem || '''fāmi, pište, pšənti''' "protect" <br> Only a few examples are known from this class, with suffix -s- of unclear function.  The suffix accompanies the same long-short vowel ablaut contrast that is also known in the aorist. ||
|-
| X || k-stem || '''fərahmi, fəršte, fərzati''' <br> ||
|-
| XI || -ā́mi || ''' CVC-<font color="red">é</font>H- / CVC-<font color="red">Ø</font>H-'''<br> This class is a combination of multiple types of verbs that ended in an ablauting vowel and laryngeal.  They descend from suffixed factitives in *-h₂-, statives in *-eh₁-, and any non-suffixed roots that merely happened to end in the same sequence of sounds.  Praetorianius wistfully notes the same vowel of the singular active "haunts" the {{smallcaps|3 pl}} and subjunctive.  *-h₂- attached to e-, u-, and i-stems created stems in -ā́mi, -ūmi, and -īmi.  *-h₂- also caused a following -t to become aspirated (thus {{smallcaps|2 du act}} -āhā), but -h₁ did not.<br> '''[C<font color="red">é</font>H- / C<font color="red">Ø</font>H-]''' For purely phonological reasons, Praetorianius considered root vowel-stems to be in this class, though etymologically they are not.||
|-
| XII || -nā́mi || '''xr̥βnā́ʸmi, xr̥βnite, xr̥βnanti''' <br> These behave in exactly the same way as XI, except with an extra -n-. || xr̥β-naH- "seize" nanti
|-
|rowspan="2"| XIII || -nammi || '''xr̥nammi, xr̥nute, xrawənti''' "make"<br> ||
|}
====Aorist stems====
The aorist stems are a relic class in Epic Northian, and there they generally expressed a simple past tense; their modal forms were rarely used except as part of fixed constructions.  Aorists were more copious and flexible in the Galic language and commensurately showed more formations.  The present system opposes the singular active to the other persons and the middle, generally with e-grade in the former and zero in the latter.  Aorists showed a greater degree of productive variation in their ablaut dispositions, with 1) all full grade except the {{smallcaps|3 pl}}, 2) long grade in the singular active and short elsewhere, and 3) the same as the present.  While most indicative stems in the present also underlie the modal forms, this is unusual in the aorist, whose modal forms are more often than not made from the root, i.e. much as the present stems with ablauting suffixes.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="width:2em"| # ||style="width:10em"| Class !! Function !!style="width:15em"| Examples
|-
| 1a ||rowspan="2"| Root || '''hazā, hašte, zən''' "sit down" <br> Contains native aorist roots.  Most aorists in the parent language appear to have been of this type, and the Gales also attest hundreds.  The root syllable regularly shows ablaut between *e ~ Ø, but with the {{smallcaps|3 pl}} being the sole member of the paradigm that showed the zero grade.  This type had strong correspondences with present stems with ablauting suffixes. ||
|-
| 1b || '''xəŋka, xəŋkte, xəŋzaṯ''' "hang up" <br> A particular subtype of root aorists that otherwise are the same as the 1a type are the ''xəŋzāt''-verbs ("they hang [something] up"), which take an anomalous e-grade in the root and therefore a zero-grade ending in the {{smallcaps|3 pl}}.  ||
|-
| 2 || Thematic || '''ruδõm, ruδete, ruδən''' "arrive, leave" <br> This non-ablauting type took thematic secondary endings, combined with a zero-grade root. The type was very rare in Northian. ||
|-
| 3 || Reduplicated || '''wawtõm, wawtete, wawtən''' "say" <br> This pattern is known from only one root, though it is widely-attested in other Erani-Eracuran languages. || və̄d- "say"
|-
| 4a ||rowspan="2"| s- || '''ϑāygža, ϑaykšte, ϑaykən''' "show"  <br> The s-suffix creates aorist stems from roots of present origin.  The singular has the long grade of the root, and elsewhere the short grade appears.  ||
|-
| 4b || '''hwə̄niža, hwənište, hwənžat''' "sound" <br> This has the same prehistoric structure as the above, but a root-final laryngeal in interconsonantal position would always vocalize before the s-suffix plus consonant-initial ending, creating distinct endings. || 
|}
====Perfect stems====
The features of the perfect stem in the parent language were reduplication and the o-vocalism in the perfect indicative.  This is generally true of Northian as well.  In general, the classes of perfect stems are not numbered, as there is only a normal and a root type.
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:13em"| Class !! Function !!style="width:15em"| Examples
|-
| root || '''woyda, widōy, widō''' <br> This type is known from only eleven verbs, but amongst which the only to be traced back to the parent language with certainty is woyd- "know".  The ten other perfect stems that show no reduplication are ''all'' of aorist origin, and seven are ''xaŋzat''-aorists.  Accent is on the root syllable for strong forms, and endings for weak forms.  The participle of this formation is amphikinetic rather than the hysterokinetic formation that is common to all other perfect stems. ||
|-
| reduplicated || '''hahóga, hazgōy, házzr̥''' <br>  Creates stative stems from perfective and imperfective roots.  An extra syllable is prefixed, consisting of the consonant immediately preceding the next vowel and the vowel *e.  Due to phonetic change, this vowel can appear as ''o'' following a labialized consonant or become more obscure if a lost consonant such as a laryngeal is reduplicated, cf. ''aˀōha'' "am desiccated" < PEE *h₂e-h₂oh₂s-h₂e.  The strong forms have characteristic accented o-grade in the root syllable and zero-grade there in the weak forms with accented endings.  ||
|}
==Derivative stems==
The Northian verb knows many standard derivations, called "adjunct verbs" by Praetorianius.  Derivative stems could be divided into several groups: some are formed from the verbal root directly, others to already-derived stems (deverbal), and still others to nouns and adjectives (denominal).  Other than the future and inchoative, most of these derivatives had a -y- element in them.
While many of these derivatives did not exist or were very rare in Galic text, their number greatly increased after the Didaskalic period and come to flower in the Epics of the 7th through 4th centuries BCE.  After Epic times, derivative verbs completely ecclipsed and replaced athematic primary verbs.  Thus, while athematic verbs were some 70% of all verbs stems and 92% of verb instances in the Gales, in medieval literature only a few athematic remained in use, amongst which the verb ''ešti'' "is" has the lion's share.  In fact, the ''yod'' or -y- verbs are the dominant group in modern Northian, to be traced to secondary verbs in the parent language.
The present and aorist passive forms, which took middle endings, often back-formed a thematic active that replaced the original athematic active.  Doubtlessly such forms were invented in the wake of the flourishing of denominative and causative verbs based on a -y- element, formally similar to the passive, but which had active forms.
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:10em"| Class !! Function !!style="width:15em"| Examples
|-
| -išō future || Consists of the root in full grade and the suffix -s, to which is added thematic endings. ||
|-
| -išyō desiderative || Stems of this class have root syllables in the o-grade.  ||
|-
| -šyō inchoative || This formed a secondary inchoative stem to verb stems.  ||
|-
| -áyō causative || This derivative stem required the root syllable in o-grade.  ||
|-
| -yṓi passive || The -y- element was used here to create a specialized passive voice that is separate from the middle.  The suffix embraces any stem, even if it has an existing primary or secondary suffix.  Thus, causatives, inchoatives, desideratives, and future stems could appear before this suffix derivation, all with a very standard passive meaning.  ||
|-
| -yṓ denominative ||rowspan="3"| These three classes originate with a simple -y- suffix, added to athematic, o-stem, and ā-stem nouns respectively.  Their characteristic was an accented thematic vowel. ||
|-
| -ayṓ denominative ||
|-
| -āyṓ denominative ||
|}


==Present==
==Present==
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====Root====
====Root====
'''ēmi, šté''', "to be".  This verb of singular importance has opaque forms that owe their opaqueness 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 {{smallcaps|1sg}} ''āmi'' < *h₁esmi "am".  In the {{smallcaps|2sg}} the form *esi is required.  The trisyllabic {{smallcaps|1du}} form ''huweni'' faithfully shows the initial syllable was heavy as it began with two consonants, i.e. *h₁suwéni.  {{smallcaps|1pl}} has ''uuəŋhi'', which shows the simplification of a cluster of three initial consonants.
'''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 {{smallcaps|1sg}} ''ēmi'' < *h₁esmi "am".  In the {{smallcaps|2sg}} the form *esi is required.  The trisyllabic {{smallcaps|1du}} form ''huwəni'' faithfully shows the initial syllable was heavy as it began with two consonants, i.e. *h₁suwéni.  {{smallcaps|1pl}} has ''uuəŋhi'', which shows the simplification of a cluster of three initial consonants.


The full stem is disclosed by the {{smallcaps|3sg}} ''éšti''.  In the {{smallcaps|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.   
The full stem is disclosed by the {{smallcaps|3sg}} ''éšti''.  In the {{smallcaps|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.   
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|-
|-
! {{smallcaps|1 sg}}
! {{smallcaps|1 sg}}
| ā-mi || é-Hez-ā || ez-ā || áh-ō ||rowspan="2"| h-iyā̊  
| ē-mi || é-Hez-ā || ez-ā || áH-ō ||rowspan="2"| h-iyā̊  
!   
!   
|-
|-
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|-
|-
! {{smallcaps|2 du}}
! {{smallcaps|2 du}}
|rowspan="2"| š-tā || ēš-tõm || š-tõm || rowspan="2"| -atā || -ītõm || -tā
|rowspan="2"| š-tā || ēš-tõm || š-tõm || rowspan="2"| -atā || -ītam || -tā
|-
|-
! {{smallcaps|3 du}}
! {{smallcaps|3 du}}

Latest revision as of 14:52, 2 March 2024

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

Primary stems

Present stems

The present stems, with imperfective or durative aspect, appears to have largely continued the system of reconstructed Proto-Erani-Eracuran. With regard to the history of Northian, the imperfective stem was the most productive, buttressed by many derivational strategies that specified this aspect. Each strategy designates either athematic or thematic endings be used, which are synchronically arbitrary.

After the influential grammarian Praetorianius (fl. 1200s), the present stems in Northian are classified by the length of their endings, with unenlarged ones listed first (-mi, -ō) and most enlarged ones last (-nawmi); amongst the stems taking the plain ending, the most complex stems appear first (fully-reduplicated intensives), to the simplest stems (root stems). For the convenience of perusal, a more etymological classification that fully distinguishes between suffix and ending is also presented.

At the heart of Praetorianius's understanding of the verbal system is his analysis of all finite verb into a combination of a xaput "head" (giving meaning) and a ϑənū "body" (giving function). On the one hand, this gave him the insight that some roots, superficially different, are really varieties of each other, differing only by a vowel; this insight peers into the same phenomenon as that termed the guṇa and vṛddhi by Kankrit grammarians. On the other hand, Praetorianius did not segment his "bodies" into suffixes and simpler personal endings, resulting in many co-equal sets of "bodies" that not only blended the suffix and ending but sometimes even part of the etymological root itself; that is, to Praetorianius, the 1 sg endings -āmi and -mi were equivalents, as much as -mi and -ō were.

Phonetic opaqueness and the loss of semantic difference in suffixes are responsible for his inability to analyze his "bodies" further. As an example of this mis-segmentation, Praetorianius analyzed the word nawāsi "renews" as naw-āsi but also hānāsi "swims" as hān-āsi. In the former case, the suffix (now known to be descended from the factitive suffix *-eh₂-) along with the ending is understood to constitute the "body"; yet in the latter case, the ā is actually part of the etymological root *sneh₂-, via its reduplicated stem *sesneh₂- > *haznā- > hānā-. The pattern of singular -āsi and plural -ité is strengthened by other "bodies" that have similar shapes. There is circumstantial evidence that Praetorianius may have been aware of the etymological issues with his analysis, but he may have been constrained by previous tradition in his description.

Many athematic stems display ablaut, and in Northian it is customary to give the first person singular active to show the form of the strong stem and the second person plural, the weak stem. Where a stem does not display ablaut, only the first person singular active is given. These forms, that is 1 sg and 2 pl, are chosen with the view they might exemplify the more frequent superficial forms in the received texts. Aside from them, the 3 pl is regularly irregular owing to the vowel-initial shape of the ending, and the 1 du triggers some (at least) orthographic variations that are, for the most part, well-described by simple rules.

P# Class Description Examples
I Intensives These are now classified as derivatives and are discussed in the following section.
II Reduplicated hišāmi, hiškte, házgati "hold"
Reduplication made present stems from aorist roots. They always show root ablaut, varying between *e ~ Ø. The 3 pl form is recessively accented on the reduplication syllable, regardless of the other forms. The accent presents unpredictable variations, evidently attributable to the intrusion of aorist ablaut patterns to the present system. The reduplicated vowel is /é/ or /i/.
III hugawšmi, hugušte, hágužati "taste"
Like the athematic verbs in class III, these are present stems formed from aorist roots, but with thematic endings. The root syllable is in zero-grade. The accent is consistently on the reduplication syllable. Some athematic verbs were transferred into this class during the historical period.
IV Nasal infix ϑunekmi, ϑunkte, ϑunkənti "cause"
Associated with root aorists, the infix *-né ~ n- is inserted between the vowel and final consonant of the root. The root itself is always in the zero-grade, while the infix undergoes ablaut, which likewise has a full-grade vowel in the singular active and zero-grade elsewhere. Roots which take this infix obligatorily have a resonant before the infix, and the resonant vocalizes but never the infix itself in zero grade. Praetorianius classified roots ending in laryngeals with this formation with the -nā́mi class, as to him the long vowel generated was part of the ending and not the root.
V Root ēbmi, epše, ebāti "drink"
These roots show a lengthened root vowel in the singular active and the full grade in all other forms. The accent persists over the root syllable in all forms, at least in the indicative.
ēs- "to sit, stay"
VI hanmi, zāte, znənti "strike"
These roots, the commonest, show a full-grade vowel in the root in the singular active and a zero-grade root in the other forms; the accent is over the root where it is in full grade, and over the ending when the root is in zero grade.
es- "to be"
VII ikoay, ikeduwe, ikəntro "possess"
This marginally-attested class binds the thematic endings to the zero-grade root, which have aorist origin. Praetorianius called them "like-subjunctives" after subjunctive forms of other verbs, which could also take the zero-grade root.
VIII i-stem taHimi, tité, syanti "distribute"
A number of present stems have a non-ablauting -i- or -u- added between root and ending, of no discernable function. In the 3 pl act the endings are -ánti and -ónti respectively. All verbs of this class that have active forms have mobile accent, but some deponents in this class have persistent accent on the root instead. Before endings that begin with vowels, the suffixes become consonants. Moreover, for the formation of subjunctive, the suffixal -i and -u, as non-ablauting suffixes, do not drop in Galic, e.g. tāyate "you (pl.) may distribute".
taH-i- "distribute"
u-stem tərumi, taruté, taruwənti "fend off" štaH-u- "stand up"
-yō házyō, házyati, házyənti "sit down"
Under Sievers's law, this suffix has the allomorph -iy- after heavy syllables. In the example provided, the second consonant, *h₃, was lost after the operation of the sound law, though the extra syllable generated remains.
ház-y-o "sit down"
CØC-y-ṓ
Similar to the above, but this type had a zero-grade root and consistently accented endings. Together with this fact is observed that the root aorists from which these stems derive most often lack an active voice, even though their meanings may be active; the zero-grade root characterizing root aorists middle voice is held to explain the presence of the zero-grade root in the derived present stem, even if it acquires an active voice there.
IX s-stem fāmi, pište, pšənti "protect"
Only a few examples are known from this class, with suffix -s- of unclear function. The suffix accompanies the same long-short vowel ablaut contrast that is also known in the aorist.
X k-stem fərahmi, fəršte, fərzati
XI -ā́mi CVC-éH- / CVC-ØH-
This class is a combination of multiple types of verbs that ended in an ablauting vowel and laryngeal. They descend from suffixed factitives in *-h₂-, statives in *-eh₁-, and any non-suffixed roots that merely happened to end in the same sequence of sounds. Praetorianius wistfully notes the same vowel of the singular active "haunts" the 3 pl and subjunctive. *-h₂- attached to e-, u-, and i-stems created stems in -ā́mi, -ūmi, and -īmi. *-h₂- also caused a following -t to become aspirated (thus 2 du act -āhā), but -h₁ did not.
[CéH- / CØH-] For purely phonological reasons, Praetorianius considered root vowel-stems to be in this class, though etymologically they are not.
XII -nā́mi xr̥βnā́ʸmi, xr̥βnite, xr̥βnanti
These behave in exactly the same way as XI, except with an extra -n-.
xr̥β-naH- "seize" nanti
XIII -nammi xr̥nammi, xr̥nute, xrawənti "make"

Aorist stems

The aorist stems are a relic class in Epic Northian, and there they generally expressed a simple past tense; their modal forms were rarely used except as part of fixed constructions. Aorists were more copious and flexible in the Galic language and commensurately showed more formations. The present system opposes the singular active to the other persons and the middle, generally with e-grade in the former and zero in the latter. Aorists showed a greater degree of productive variation in their ablaut dispositions, with 1) all full grade except the 3 pl, 2) long grade in the singular active and short elsewhere, and 3) the same as the present.  While most indicative stems in the present also underlie the modal forms, this is unusual in the aorist, whose modal forms are more often than not made from the root, i.e. much as the present stems with ablauting suffixes.

# Class Function Examples
1a Root hazā, hašte, zən "sit down"
Contains native aorist roots. Most aorists in the parent language appear to have been of this type, and the Gales also attest hundreds. The root syllable regularly shows ablaut between *e ~ Ø, but with the 3 pl being the sole member of the paradigm that showed the zero grade. This type had strong correspondences with present stems with ablauting suffixes.
1b xəŋka, xəŋkte, xəŋzaṯ "hang up"
A particular subtype of root aorists that otherwise are the same as the 1a type are the xəŋzāt-verbs ("they hang [something] up"), which take an anomalous e-grade in the root and therefore a zero-grade ending in the 3 pl.
2 Thematic ruδõm, ruδete, ruδən "arrive, leave"
This non-ablauting type took thematic secondary endings, combined with a zero-grade root. The type was very rare in Northian.
3 Reduplicated wawtõm, wawtete, wawtən "say"
This pattern is known from only one root, though it is widely-attested in other Erani-Eracuran languages.
və̄d- "say"
4a s- ϑāygža, ϑaykšte, ϑaykən "show"
The s-suffix creates aorist stems from roots of present origin. The singular has the long grade of the root, and elsewhere the short grade appears.
4b hwə̄niža, hwənište, hwənžat "sound"
This has the same prehistoric structure as the above, but a root-final laryngeal in interconsonantal position would always vocalize before the s-suffix plus consonant-initial ending, creating distinct endings.

Perfect stems

The features of the perfect stem in the parent language were reduplication and the o-vocalism in the perfect indicative. This is generally true of Northian as well. In general, the classes of perfect stems are not numbered, as there is only a normal and a root type.

Class Function Examples
root woyda, widōy, widō
This type is known from only eleven verbs, but amongst which the only to be traced back to the parent language with certainty is woyd- "know". The ten other perfect stems that show no reduplication are all of aorist origin, and seven are xaŋzat-aorists. Accent is on the root syllable for strong forms, and endings for weak forms. The participle of this formation is amphikinetic rather than the hysterokinetic formation that is common to all other perfect stems.
reduplicated hahóga, hazgōy, házzr̥
Creates stative stems from perfective and imperfective roots. An extra syllable is prefixed, consisting of the consonant immediately preceding the next vowel and the vowel *e. Due to phonetic change, this vowel can appear as o following a labialized consonant or become more obscure if a lost consonant such as a laryngeal is reduplicated, cf. aˀōha "am desiccated" < PEE *h₂e-h₂oh₂s-h₂e. The strong forms have characteristic accented o-grade in the root syllable and zero-grade there in the weak forms with accented endings.

Derivative stems

The Northian verb knows many standard derivations, called "adjunct verbs" by Praetorianius. Derivative stems could be divided into several groups: some are formed from the verbal root directly, others to already-derived stems (deverbal), and still others to nouns and adjectives (denominal). Other than the future and inchoative, most of these derivatives had a -y- element in them.

While many of these derivatives did not exist or were very rare in Galic text, their number greatly increased after the Didaskalic period and come to flower in the Epics of the 7th through 4th centuries BCE. After Epic times, derivative verbs completely ecclipsed and replaced athematic primary verbs. Thus, while athematic verbs were some 70% of all verbs stems and 92% of verb instances in the Gales, in medieval literature only a few athematic remained in use, amongst which the verb ešti "is" has the lion's share. In fact, the yod or -y- verbs are the dominant group in modern Northian, to be traced to secondary verbs in the parent language.

The present and aorist passive forms, which took middle endings, often back-formed a thematic active that replaced the original athematic active. Doubtlessly such forms were invented in the wake of the flourishing of denominative and causative verbs based on a -y- element, formally similar to the passive, but which had active forms.

Class Function Examples
-išō future Consists of the root in full grade and the suffix -s, to which is added thematic endings.
-išyō desiderative Stems of this class have root syllables in the o-grade.
-šyō inchoative This formed a secondary inchoative stem to verb stems.
-áyō causative This derivative stem required the root syllable in o-grade.
-yṓi passive The -y- element was used here to create a specialized passive voice that is separate from the middle. The suffix embraces any stem, even if it has an existing primary or secondary suffix. Thus, causatives, inchoatives, desideratives, and future stems could appear before this suffix derivation, all with a very standard passive meaning.
-yṓ denominative These three classes originate with a simple -y- suffix, added to athematic, o-stem, and ā-stem nouns respectively. Their characteristic was an accented thematic vowel.
-ayṓ denominative
-āyṓ denominative

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