Spanish Grammar: Imperfect Past Tense with Regular [-IR ...
Preterite Tense Ser vs. Ir? - Duolingo
Spanish Past Imperfect: 3.5 Verbs Everyone Ought to Know
Ser and Estar Past Tense: Explained for Real-World Use
ir past tense imperfect
ir past tense imperfect - win
Leŋwaŋda - making a new international aux lang
This is a new project of mine, and my first real conlang attempt. Would love to hear any thoughts, feedback, advice on anything here. EDIT: New changes include simpler vowels, getting rid of /ə/ /ʊ/ /ɪ/ and /e/, and no longer using macrons. Stress rules also added Leŋwaŋda xi leŋo ma fasi kon paldamos an leŋ-niamos no leŋos mejora no dunio... Lengwangda is a language I am making with words and grammar from major languages of the world... The goal is to find/create words that have cognates in multiple languages (especially from distantly related languages). The purpose is to have a language that speakers of many different unrelated languages could all notice at least something familiar to them. So it's kind of like Lidepla (Lingwa de Planeta) but as far as I am aware that has no African language representation and very little Southeast Asian language representation. Also trying to make very easy rules. I have no formal linguistic training and have never attempted a conlang before, but I speak a few languages besides English (French, Mandinka, Wolof) and have studied linguistics on my own and in anthro classes back in college. Nes viri ! ~ Let's go Vowels and special characters
Aa - /ä/
Ee - /ɛ/
Ii - /i/
Oo - /o/
Uu -
Ññ - /ɲ/
Ŋŋ - /ŋ/
Xx - /ʃ/
Cc - /tʃ/
It uses the following 32 languages from 11 different language families. They are not listed here in any order, but they almost all come from the Wikipedia page "List of languages by total number of speakers", only ones not from that list that I am using are Yoruba and Igbo (Volta-Niger branch), just to have more Niger-Congo representation beyond Swahili (Bantu branch), they are also among the largest African languages, both have over 40 million estimated speakers when you include L2 speakers. Family and language names (endonyms) listed here are written with Leŋwaŋda orthography, but afterwards I will use the English spellings when showing the etymologies.
Basic grammar notes. There are no definite/indefinite articles. Verbs end in " i ", Nouns end in “o”, and Adjectives end in “a" Stress is on the penultimate syllable. If the word stem (before the part of speech marker vowel) ends in a vowel, the part of speech marker is not counted towards the syllables. Stress examples Kirapeli = kir ' a ' pel ' i Dunio = dun ' i ' o Lunilao = lu ' ni ' la ' o Word order is SVO. Descriptive adjectives come after nouns, while other kinds of adjectives and adverbs have some flexibility in positioning. A noun modified by a descriptive adjective will sometimes form a compound word, and the noun marker “o” is dropped. The name of the language is an example of this: Leŋo (language) + Waŋda (vast) becomes Leŋwaŋda (vast language).
VOCAB
SUBJECT/OBJECT PRONOUNS
Ma - I, me
Nes - We, us
Ta - You
Ves - You (pl.)
Eta - He/She/It, Him/HeIt
Etes - They, them
VERBS Fasi - To do, to make [Latin : facere] Xi - To be [Chinese : 是 shì - it] (stem form xu since without the i it is one letter, the addition of an ending "u" applies to all difficult to pronounce word stems) Havi - To have [English : have, French : avoir, Romanian : avea] Viri - To go [Spanish/Portuguese : ir] Pali - To speak [French : parler] Kitabi - To write [Semitic : k-t-b] Bactali - To read [Indonesian : baca, Russian : читать chitat', French : lire] Pikai - To cook [Swahili : pika] Xudori - To sleep [Chinese : 睡觉 Shuìjiào, Latin : dormio] Fini - To finish [Latin : finio] Ajoi - To join, to connect [English : join] Apandai - To ascend, to climb [Swahili : panda, English : up, English : ascend] /ɐʔpändaɪ/ Depandai - To set, to descend, to come down Kirapeli - To call, to name [French : appeler, Hausa : kira] Givdoni - To give [Hindi : देना dena, English : give, Latin : dare] Kwajujui - To ask, to question [English : question, Igbo : ajụjụ] NOUNS Leŋo - Language, Tongue [French : langue] Paldamo - Word, Speech [Telugu : padaṁ, Spanish : palabra] Kitabo - Book [Semitic : k-t-b] Niamo - Rule, Law [Hindi : नियम niyam] Leŋ-niamo - Grammar Waktempo - Time [Arabic : وَقْت waqt, Latin : tempus] Leŋ-waktempo - Tense Sasao - The present [Swahili : sasa] Paskako - The past [Japanese : 過去 kako, English : past] Virxio - The future (vir + xi + o - “the going to be”) Kwajujuo - Question [English : question, Igbo : ajụjụ] Ipo - Location, position [Yoruba : ipo, English : position] Domo - Home, house [Russian : дом, Latin : domus] Boko - Mouth, lid, entrance [Latin : bucca] Dom-boko - Gate, entryway, front door [compound word domo+boko] Odao - Room [Turkish : oda] Soltayo - Sun [Latin : solis, Japanese : 太陽 Taiyō] Lunilao - Moon, month [Latin : lunis, Tamil : நிலா Nilā] Starelo - Star [English : star, Hindi : तारा taara, Italian : stella] Skaixo - Sky [English : sky, Hindi; आकाश aakaash] Natiumo - Country, nation [Tamil - நாடு Nāṭu, English : nation] Dunio - World [Arabic : دنيا dunia] Butero - Land, earth, ground [Hindi/Sanskrit : भू bhū, Latin : terra] Narak-ciogo - Hell [Hindi : नरक narak, Korean : 지옥 jiog] Orunswargo - Heaven [Yoruba : ọrun, Hindi : स्वर्ग svarg] Tanro - God [Turkish : tanrı] Godevao - God [English : God, Hindi : देव deva] Evren-ujuo - Universe, cosmos [Turkish : evren, Korean : 우주 uju] Hulu-moduo - All, everything [Amharic : ሁሉም hulumi, Korean : 모두 modu] Waŋdo - Vastness [from the adjective waŋda] Famiyalio - Family [Hausa : iyali, Latin : familia] Namao - Mother, Mom [near-universal n/m sounds for mother] Bapao - Father, Dad [near-universal b/p sounds for father] Toto - Child [Swahili : mtoto] Namo - Name Vivlafio - Life, health [Latin : vita, Hausa : lafiya] Habario - News [Arabic : ḵ-b-r, Swahili : Habari] Eta - He/She/It [Russian : Это - it, Chinese : 它 Tā - he/she/it, English : it] Ete - They [Russian : Это, Marathi : ते Tē] Ki - That, which [French : qui] Kis - These Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Articles, Etc Fasila - Easy [Latin : facilis] Nai-fasila - Difficult Plataga - Flat [Filipino : patag, Latin : planus] Dulsamaita - Sweet [Latin : dulcis, Japanese : 甘い Amai, Hindi : मिठाई mithaee] Gutomgolta - Hungry [Filipino : gutom, Russian : голод golod] Temtama -Full [Thai : เต็ม Tĕm, Turkish : tam] Vivlafia - Well, healthy [Latin : vita, Hausa : lafiya] Nai-vivlafia - Unwell Gonjwajara - Sick [Swahili : gonjwa, Marathi : आजार Ājāra] Sasa - Now [Swahili : sasa] Paskakoa - Before [Japanese : 過去 kako] Virxia - Later [vir + xi + a] Kwajuju-paldamos (Question words) Kwa - What [Romance : que, Hindi : क्या kya] Kwempo / Kwa-tempo -When (what time) Kwaipo / Kwa-ipo - Where [kwa + ipo] (what place) Kim - Who [Turkish : kim, French : qui] Kakese - How [Russian : как kak, Hindi : कैसे? kaise] Por-kwa - Why [por + kwam] (for what) Leŋ-waktempos(Tenses) SASAO - Present (Simple Present, Habitual, and Present Progressive) Verb in infinitive form Ma pikai hasupo - I cook soup / I am cooking soup PASKAKO - Past (Simple Past) Verb ending i becomes e “Nes xe totos” - We were children “Ves vire ala” - You went there VIRXIO - Future (Simple Future) Stem form of Viri - To Go (vir) + infinitive form of 2nd verb “Ma vir-ajoi etes” - I will join them / I am going to join them PASKAKO NAI-FINIA - Unfinished Past (Past Imperfect) Past form of Xi - To Be (xe) + verb stem + iŋ “Eta xe xudoriŋ” - He was sleeping “Ma xe xiŋ nai-fasila - I was being difficult PASKAKO FINIA - Finished Past (Past Perfect) Past form of Have (have) + past form of 2nd verb “Eta have kitabe kitabo” - He had written a book SASA-PASKAKO FINIA - Past-Present Perfect (Present Perfect) Past form of Havi (have) + infinitive (present) form of 2nd verb “Ta have viri ki toto?” - Have you seen that child? SASA-PASKAKO NAI-FINIA - Past-Present Unfinished (Present Perfect Progressive) Stem form of Havi (Hav) + verb stem + iŋ Ta hav-viriŋ habario? - Have you been seeing the news? VIRXIO FINIA - Future Finished (Future Perfect) Virhav (go-have) + past form of verb Ta virhav fine? - Will you have finished? Imperative Stem form of verb at the beginning of the sentence Givdon ama ta namo? - Give me your name? Xu vivlafia - Be well! So that is most of what I have so far! Just some extra vocab I left out here since it's already a pretty long post. Let me know what you think! Any tips on organization or anything else also would be appreciated. Thanks.
Since I couldn't find a list like this yet, I have created an overview of which lesson in the Spanish tree has which tips/teaches which topics*. This way, it's easier to find the right lesson if you want to practice a specific topic or want to read the tips about something again. If there are any errors, please let me know and I'll edit this post. Also, I tried my best with the grammatical terms, but there could very well be errors in it (especially with the direct vs. indirect objects, I always have trouble telling which is which). *These are only the topics that are mentioned in the tips, a lot of these lessons also teach some other things that are not mentioned in the tips section, so if you know some of those, feel free to let me know and I'll add them
Before first checkpoint
Intro
Gender of nouns
Conjugation (present, singular forms) of ser
Phrases
Greetings
Pronunciation of vowels
Travel
Está vs. es
Restaurant
Pronunciation of h, j, and q
Using de to describe what type of food something is
Family
Asking questions
tú vs. tu
Shopping
Pronunciation of r and rr
Placement of adjectives
School
Negative statements with no
Introduction to infinitives
People
Me llamo
Adjectives depend on gender
De dónde eres
Checkpoint 1
Greetings
tú vs. usted
"Cómo te llamas" and "cómo se llama"
ser vs. estar
(el) señor, (la) señora, and (la) señorita
Travel 2
Accent marks/stress
Conjugation (present, singular forms) of "necesitar" and "querer"
Schedule
Days of the week
Pronunciation of b and v
More about that adjectives depend on gender
People 2
Emphasis/stress when there's no accent mark
Pronunciation of n and ñ
People 3
Talking about occupations
Occupation words that change depending on gender
School 2
Plurals (only the +s ones)
Este vs. esta
Family 2
Talking about age
Numbers (1 to 10)
Pronunciation of g
Work
Plural articles
Meanings of su
Emotions
More ser vs. estar
Meanings of mañana
Reflexive verbs (present, singular forms) (with examples llamarse and sentirse)
People 4
Conjugation (present) of hablar and ser
Plurals (of words ending in a consonant)
Fashion
Adjectives and possessive pronouns (mi, tu, etc.) change with plural nouns
Travel 3
Using estar for locations
de el becoming del and a el becoming al
Leisure
Conjugation (present) of e-to-ie verbs (with example querer)
Activities
Conjugation (present) of regular verbs (with examples hablar, comer, and escribir)
Preference
Me gusta and te gusta
Using de to indicate possession
Routines
Conjugation (present) of ir
More reflexive verbs (present, singular forms) (with examples ducharse and levantarse)
Talking about time using a las and ¿A qué hora?
Tener que + inf
Household
Hay
Figuring out the gender of nouns
Ese vs. esa
Rest. 2
Quisiera
Family 3
nos gusta, le gusta, and a ... le gusta
Conjugation (present, 2nd/3rd plural) of llamarse (aka se llaman)
Shopping 2
Numbers (16 to 20)
Cuánto cuesta
Para mí and para ti
Descrip.
ser vs. estar
Recreation*
Les gusta
Emphasizing gustar with a mí, a ti, etc.
Community
The personal a (using a after verbs when talking about people)
Conjugation (present) of conocer
Meanings of conocer
Phrases 2
Conjugation (present) of tener
Using tener where English would use to be
Some expressions using tener
Commun. 2
Placement of works like me and nos (direct object)
Querer vs. amar
Routines 2
Conjugation (present) of hacer and salir
Meanings of tarde
Checkpoint 2
Activ. 2
Conjugation (present) of o-to-ue verbs (with examples almorzar and poder)
Conjugation (present) of e-to-ie verbs (again) (with example entender)
Weather
Talking about the weather
Months of the year
Interest
Conjugation/explanation (present) of interesar
Info.
Conjugation (present) of saber
Meaning of saber
Cómo se dice and cómo se escribe
Descrip. 2
Más/menos ... que and tan ... como
Mejor and peor
El/la más ...
El mejopeor
Travel 4
Creating future tense with ir a
Pronunciation of x and z
Talking about time (cuarto and menos)
Interest 2
Conjugation (present, plural forms) of verbs like gustar, interesar, and encantar
General statements
Groceries
Conjugation (present) of poner
Requests
Imperative (tú and usted forms) of regular verbs
Routines 3
Conjugation (present, plural forms) of reflexive verbs
Using articles instead of possessive before body parts
Mío, tuyo, etc.
School 3
Present participle (Eng: be + -ing; Esp: estar + -ando/-iendo) of regular verbs (with examples hablar, comer, and abrir)
Present participle of verbs that have a vowel before the ending (with example leer)
Shopping 3
Lo, la, los, and las (direct object) and their placement
Plans
Placement of me, te, se, etc. (indirect object and reflexive pronouns) with an infinite verb
Using por to talk about durations
Que viene vs. próximo
Activ. 3
Verbs that require a when followed by an infinitive (with examples aprender, ayudar, and empezar)
Using para + inf to talk about why you're doing something
Me gustaría vs. quiero
House 2
Not using words like will or can in Spanish for requests and offers
Acá vs. allá
Placement of me, te, etc. (reflexive pronouns) in a command
Commun. 3
Le and les (indirect object), their use, and combining them with a ...
Placement of nunca and nada and adding no
Directions
Derecho vs. derecha
Imperative (tú and usted forms) of regular verbs (again)
Imperative when the usted form would end in -gue
Memories
Introduction to preterite
Conjugation (preterite, yo and tú forms) of regular verbs (with examples viajar, comer, and vivir), estar and ir
Using hace to mean ago
Farm
Conjugation (preterite, all forms) of regular verbs (with examples viajar, comer, and vivir), estar and *ir
Plurals of nouns ending in -z
Rec. 2
Conjugation (preterite, nosotros) of regular verbs (again)
querido/a;
Vacation
Placement of words like con and a in questions
A dónde becoming adónde
Conjugation (preterite) of regular verbs (again)
Conjugation (preterite) of hacer
Shopping 4
Placement of nadie and ninguno/a/os/as and adding no
Placement of bueno and malo and them dropping the o when placed before the noun
Descrip. 3
Placing el or la before an adjective to say the … one
El mío/la mía, el tuyo/la tuya, etc.
Conjugation (present) of verbs that end in -gir or -ger (with example elegir (which is also stem-changing verb))
Nature
Va a haber
Fue and fueron (preterite) can mean both went (from ir) and was/were (from ser)
Travel 5
Nos vemos
Meaning of algún, algo, and alguien
Algún becoming alguna if the noun is feminine
Conjugation (preterite) of venir
School 4
Conjugation (preterite) of verbs ending in -zar (with examples empezar and almorzar)
Conjugation (preterite) of ver
Encontrar vs. encontrarse
History
Conjugation (present and preterite) of ser and ir (to show they’re the same in preterite)
Numbers (300-999)
Conjugation (preterite) of verbs ending in -car (with examples practicar and buscar)
Home
Conjugation (present) of oír
Conjugation (preterite, singular) of gustar
Checkpoint 3
Pref. 2
Conjugation (preterite, plural) of gustar
-ísimo/a
Conjugation (preterite) of encantar
Work 2
Imperative (tu and usted forms) of hacer, poner, and ir
Childhood
Introduction to imperfect (using it to talk about to talk about what you used to do/always did)
Conjugation (imperfect, yo and tu forms) of regular verbs (with examples jugar, comer, and vivir) and of ser
Conjugation (imperfect, all forms) of regular verbs (with examples jugar, comer, and vivir) and of ser
Social
Cómo te/le va
Oye and mira
Using para to talk about a deadline
Memories 2
Conjugation (preterite, singular forms) of traer, tener, and decir
Meanings of nota
House 3
Past participle (when used as adjective) (Eng: -ed; Esp: -ado/a/os/as) of regular verbs (with examples pintar, perder, and dormir)
creo que deberías
Health
General statements that would use an -ing verb in English
Conjugation (present) of doler
Hay que
Info. 2
Conjugation (preterite) of traer, tener, and decir
Que is not optional in Spanish like it is in English
Descrip. 4
General statements (again)
Activ. 4
Conjugation (preterite) of verbs with a vowel before ending (with example leer)
Child. 2
Conjugation (imperfect) of regular verbs (again), gustar, and ir
Story
había una vez…
Using imperfect to say what you were doing
Vacation 2
Using para to talk about destinations
Using por to talk about modes of transportation
Narrative
Conjugation (imperfect) of estar
Enojado vs. enfadado
Anecdotes
Combining imperfect and preterite to talk about actions that were interrupted
Work 3
Present participle of decir, pedir, dormir, morir, ir, oír, and traer
Meanings of pedir
Story 2
Using imperfect for descriptions in the past or to refer to something that has never changed
History 2
Conjugation (preterite, singular forms) of saber, poder, and poner
Meanings of más
Daily life
Conjugation (preterite) of dormir
Grocery 2
Placement of lo, la, los, and las (direct objects) when there’s an infinitive
School 5
Placement of me, te, le, nos, les (indirect objects) when there’s an infinitive
Hobbies
Placement of direct and indirect objects when both are present
Checkpoint 4
Experience
Conjugation (present) of haber
Present perfect (Eng: have + verb; Esp: haber + past participle) of regular verbs
Work 4
Saying what you were doing (Eng: was/were + -ed; Esp: imperfect + present participle) (I think it’s called the imperfect continuous tense, but not sure)
Shopping 5
Imperative (ustedes form) for regular verbs
Imperative (ustedes form) of hacer and ir
Me lo llevo
Health 2
Muy vs. mucho/a/os/as
Verse
Child. 3
Conjugation (imperfect) of ver
Había
Vacation 3
Irse
Me encantaría
Activity 5
Acabar de vs. recién
Info. 3
Le and les turning into se when in front of lo, la, los or las
Conjugation (preterite) of dar
Exper. 2
Past participle of hacer, decir, poner, escribir, and ver
Meanings of vaya
Family 4
-ito/a/os/as
Meanings of llevar
Travel 6
Impersonal se
Perderse
Future
Conjugation (future) of regular verbs (with examples hablar, comer, and vivir)
Volverse
School 6
si vs. sí
Anecdote 2
Combining imperfect and preterite to talk about actions that were interrupted (again)
Travel 7
Meaning of tener prisa (and maybe more expressions with tener?)
Requests 2
Placement of lo, la, los, and las (direct objects) in a command
Placement of direct and indirect objects when both are present in a command
Nature 2
Using por to say what the cause of something was
Conjugation (preterite) of conducir
Social 2
Amarse
Caer bien/mal
El uno al otro
House 4
Conjugation (future) of tener, poner, salir, venir, hacer, decir, saber, poder, and haber
Shopping 6
(No) se puede
Ser seguro vs. estar seguro
Work 5
Conjugation (future) of querer
Pero vs. sino
Travel 8
Imperative (tu form) of venir, salir, tener, and irse
Conjugation (preterite) of querer, andar, and poder
Requests 3
Conjugation (preterite) of saber and poner
Le and les turning into se when in front of lo, la, los or las in commands
Imperative (usted form) of venir and salir
Fiction
Conjugation (present) of verbs ending in -uir (with examples construir, incluir, and destruir)
Meanings of mantener (and also tip about conjugation (present) of mantener)
Descrip. 5
Adding a mí, a ti, etc. to sentences with me, te, etc.
Adjectives changing meaning depending on whether they’re used with ser or estar (with examples seguro (again), listo and verde)
Requests 4
Imperative (ustedes form) of venir, tener, salir, traer, poner, and oír
Travel 9
Al + inf
Checkpoint 5
No tips
Checkpoint 6
I'm guessin no tips either, but haven't unlocked it yet, so I could be wrong.
French regular -RE verbs are a small group of French verbs which share a conjugation pattern. Here are the most common regular -RE verbs: attendre to wait (for) défendre to defend descendre to descend entendre to to hear étendre to stretch fondre to melt pendre to hang, suspend perdre to lose prétendre to claim rendre to give back, return répandre to spread, scatter répondre to answer vendre to sell Irregular verbs are so named because they do not follow any of the regular conjugation patterns. But that doesn't mean that every irregular French verb is unique; many of them share a conjugation pattern with at least one other verb. By learning how to conjugate one verb in a group and memorizing the list of similar verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all the verbs in that group. French has five irregular -RE verb patterns - see examples at the bottom of the page: 1.The first group includes prendre and all of its derivations (comprendre, etc). These verbsdrop the din all three plural forms and alsodouble the nin the third person plural. 2.The second group includes battre and all of its derivations (débattre, etc). These verbsdrop the stem's final tin the singular forms. 3.The third group includes mettre and all of its derivations (promettre, etc). These verbs are conjugated just like battre verbs in the present tense, but I consider them a separate group because they are conjugated differently in the passé simple, imperfect subjunctive, and past participle. (As you can see in the table below, the first three groups take the same present tense verb endings.) 4.The fourth group of irregular -RE verbs includes rompre and its derivations (corrompre, etc). These verbs are conjugated exactly like regular -RE verbs with the single exception of the third person singular present tense, which adds atafter the stem. 5.The fifth group of irregular -RE verbs includes all verbs that end in -aindre (e.g., craindre), -eindre(like peindre), and -oindre (such as joindre). These verbsdrop the din the root in all forms, andadd a g in front of the nin the plural forms. The rest of the irregular -RE verbs have unique or unwieldy conjugations, so you have to memorize each one separately. Try working on one verb a day until you've mastered them all: absoudre, boire, clore, conclure, conduire, confire, connaître, coudre, croire, dire, écrire, faire,inscrire, lire, moudre, naître, plaire, rire, suivre, vivre. 📷 French imperfect conjugations are very easy, as the imperfect of virtually all verbs—regular and irregular—is formed the same way: drop the -ons ending from the present indicative nous form of the verb and adding the imperfect endings. Être is the only irregular verb in the imperfect, because the present tense nous sommeshas no -ons to drop. So it has the irregular stem ét- and uses the same endings as all other verbs. As in many other tenses, spelling change verbs, that is, verb which end in -cer and -ger, have minor spelling changes in the imperfect. Verbs that end in -ier have an imperfect root that ends in i, so end with double i in thenous and vous form of the imperfect. This isn't irregular, but it looks kind of weird. 📷 There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs - see the next page for a list of some common -ER verbs. The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word "to"), and -ER is the infinitive ending. The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below. 📷 French regular -ER verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -ER verbs: aimer to like, to love arriver to arrive, to happen chanter to sing chercher to look for commencer* to begin danser to dance demander to ask for dépenser to spend (money) détester to hate donner to give écouter to listen to étudier** to study fermer to close goûter to taste jouer to play laver to wash manger* to eat nager* to swim parler to talk, to speak passer to pass, spend (time) penser to think porter to wear, to carry regarder to watch, to look at rêver to dream sembler to seem skier* to ski travailler to work trouver to find visiter to visit (a place) voler to fly, to steal There are a lot of French verbs that end in -ER and there are a lot of irregular French verbs, but there is only one irregular -ER verb. However, there are three groups of -ER verbs that have some irregularities. AllerAller (to go) is the only truly irregular -er verb in French - its conjugations are unique and, according to some, very odd. Spelling change verbs Spelling change verbs are verbs that end in -cer or -ger. Their stem formation and verb endings are the same as for regular -er verbs, but there is a slight spelling change for pronunciation purposes in certain conjugations. Stem-changing verbs Stem-changing verbs are -er verbs that take the regular endings but have two different radicals. There are five categories of French stem-changing verbs: -yer, -eler, -eter, -e_er, and -é_er. -IER verbs There is nothing actually irregular about the conjugation of -ier verbs - they are conjugated like regular -er verbs, but some of their forms look strange. 📷 French regular -IR verbs, the second largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern. Here are just a few of the most common regular -IR verbs: abolir to abolish agir to act avertir to warn bâtir to build bénir to bless choisir to choose établir to establish étourdir to stun, deafen, make dizzy finir to finish grossir to gain weight, get fat guérir to cure, heal, recover maigrir to lose weight, get thin nourrir to feed, nourish obéir to obey punir to punish réfléchir to reflect, think remplir to to fill réussir to succeed rougir to blush, turn red vieillir to grow old Irregular verbs are the bane of every French student's existence, but there is some good news. There are some patterns in the irregularities - once you learn the conjugations for one verb in a group, you shouldn't have any trouble with the other verbs in that group. There are two groups of irregular -IR verbs: 1.The first group of irregular verbs includes dormir, mentir, partir, sentir, servir, sortir, and all of their derivatives (repartir, etc). These verbs drop the last letter of the radical in the singular conjugations - see example in table below. 2.The second group of verbs includes couvrir, cueillir, découvrir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrir, and their derivatives (recouvrir, etc). These verbs are conjugated like regular -ER verbs - see example in table below. The rest of the irregular -IR verbs don't follow a pattern - you have to memorize the conjugations for each one separately: asseoir, courir, devoir, falloir, mourir, pleuvoir, pouvoir, recevoir, savoir,tenir, valoir, venir, voir, vouloir 📷 Thepassé composéis the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the imperfect. The passé composé can express any of the following: I. An action completed in the past As-tu étudié ce weekend ? Did you study this weekend? Ils ont déjà mangé. They have already eaten. II. An action repeated a number of times in the past Oui, j'ai mangé cinq fois hier. Yes, I did eat five times yesterday. Nous avons visité Paris plusieurs fois. We've visited Paris several times. III. A series of actions completed in the past Quand je suis arrivé, j'ai vu les fleurs. When I arrived, I saw the flowers. Samedi, il a vu sa mère, a parlé au médicin et a trouvé un chat. Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat. The passé composé is a compound conjugation, which means it has two parts:
📷 Imperfect Quand j'avais 15 ans, je voulais être psychiatre. Je m'intéressais à la psychologie parce que je connaissais beaucoup de gens très bizarres. Le week-end, j'allais à la bibliothèque et j'étudiais pendant toute la journée. When I was 15, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. I was interested in psychology because I knew a lot of really weird people. On the weekends, I used to go to the library and study all day. Passé composé Un jour, je suis tombé malade et j'ai découvert les miracles de la médecine. J'ai fait la connaissance d'un médecin et j'ai commencé à étudier avec lui. Quand la faculté de médecine m'a accepté, je n'ai plus pensé à la psychologie. One day, I got sick and discovered the wonders of medicine. I met a doctor and started studying with him. After the medical school accepted me, I didn't think about psychology any more. Indicators The following key words and phrases tend to be used with either the imperfect or the passé composé, so when you see any of them, you know which tense you need: The imperative, called l'impératif in French, is a verb mood which is used to · give an order · express a desire · make a request · offer advice · recommend something Unlike all other French verb tenses and personal moods, the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative: Fermez la porte. Close the door. Mangeons maintenant. Let's eat now. Ayez la bonté de m'attendre. Please wait for me. Veuillez m'excuser. Please excuse me. The above are called "affirmative commands," because they are telling someone to do something. "Negative commands," which tell someonenotto do something, are made by placing ne in front of the verb and the appropriate negative adverb after the verb: Ne parle pas ! Don't speak! N'oublions pas les livres. Let's not forget the books. N'ayez jamais peur. Never be afraid. -ER verbs (regular, stem-changing, spelling change, and irregular) The imperative conjugations for nous and vous are the same as the present indicative, and the tu form of the imperative is the indicative minus the final s (but see item 4 on this page): parler (tu) parle (nous) parlons (vous) parlez lever (tu) lève (nous) levons (vous) levez aller (tu) va (nous) allons (vous) allez Verbs which are conjugated like -ER verbs (meaning that in the indicative the tu form ends in -es), such as ouvrir and souffrir, follow the same rules as -ER verbs. ouvrir (tu) ouvre (nous) ouvrons (vous) ouvrez -IR verbsand-RE verbs The imperative conjugations for all regular and most* irregular -IR and -RE verbs are the same as the present indicative conjugations. finir (tu) finis (nous) finissons (vous) finissez attendre (tu) attends (nous) attendons (vous) attendez faire (tu) fais (nous) faisons (vous) faites *Except for verbs conjugated like -ER verbs and the following four irregular imperative verbs: avoir (tu) aie (nous) ayons (vous) ayez être (tu) sois (nous) soyons (vous) soyez savoir (tu) sache (nous) sachons (vous) sachez vouloir (tu) veuille (nous) n/a (vous) veuillez The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing due to affirmative and negative imperative constructions and object and adverbial pronouns. This lesson will teach you exactly how to order your sentences when using the imperative. Remember that there are two kinds of imperatives, affirmative and negative, and the word order is different for each of them. Negative imperatives are easier, because their word order is the same as that of all other simple verb conjugations: any object, reflexive, and/or adverbial pronouns precede the verb and the negative structure surrounds the pronoun(s) + verb: Finis ! - Finish! Ne finis pas ! - Don't finish! Ne le finis pas ! - Don't finish it! Lisez ! - Read! Ne lisez pas ! - Don't read! Ne le lisez pas ! - Don't read it! Ne me le lisez pas ! - Don't read it to me! Affirmative commands are more complicated, for several reasons. 1.The word order is for affirmative commands is different from that of all other verb tenses/moods: any pronouns follow the verb and are connected to it and to each other with hyphens. Finis-le ! - Finish it! Allons-y ! - Let's go! Mangez-les ! - Eat them! Donne-lui-en ! - Give him some! 2.The order of the pronouns in affirmative commands is slightly different from all other verb tenses/moods (see table at the bottom of the page): Envoie-le-nous ! - Send it to us! Expliquons-la-leur ! - Let's explain it to them! Donnez-nous-en ! - Give us some! Donne-le-moi ! - Give it to me! 3.The pronouns me and te change to the stressed pronounsmoi and toi... Lève-toi ! - Get up! Parlez-moi ! - Talk to me! Dis-moi ! - Tell me! ...unless they are followed by y or en, in which case they contract to m' and t' Va-t'en ! - Go away! Faites-m'y penser. - Remind me about it. 4.When a tu command is followed by the pronouns y or en, the final s is not dropped from the verb conjugation: Vas-y ! - Go away! Parles-en. - Talk about it. 📷
Understanding “soler” as a verb for “to used to” (Solía / Solías ... etc.)
When practicing speaking conversational Spanish, I often find that I want to speak about my past using the English phrase “I used to.”
We used to go to the city.
I used to love going to the rodeo.
I used to play in a band.
They used to tease me.
He used to sing a lot.
I discovered the verb “soler” but am confused about when to use it and how. I am pretty sure the only way to really use it is in the imperfect tense: something that happened regularly, with no specific end date.
Solíamos ir al ciudad.
Solía encantar yendo al rodeo.
Solía jugar en una banda.
Solían me molestar.
Solía cantar mucho.
Am I getting these right? Would it make sense to speak like this conversationally?
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Relax your body, and here we go: Once upon a time... Many, if not all, languages have a very special expression with which traditional tales begin, and for anyone interested, this Wikipedia article lists some of them. The Evra equivalent of this stock phrase is:
I esìv un est
IPA j‿eˈsiv(u)‿un‿ˈ(n)ɛst (mostly like [jeˈsivu ˈnɛst])
Though, I don't want to reveal its meaning yet. In fact, let's take a step back and start from the beginning. Yesterday morning, I was organizing some entries in my Evra dictionary, when I came to the verb esìr. Now, when it comes to Evra, I really love to mix things up a bit, and words of Romance and Germanic origins merge with other words with similar meanings or similar sounds, so to make Evra kind of familiar and exotic at the same time. The verb esìr makes no exceptions. It is a mix of:
Latin exeō, exīre (depart; avoid, evade; from which Italian uscire, Romanian a ieși, and English exit, as well as issue)
Latin existō, existere (exist; appear, emerge; become; from which Italian esistere, Romanian a exista, and English exist)
So here's what the entry esìr looks like in my Evra dictionary:
(intr., formal) go out (gen., bi + gen.; in + dir.) (ex. La esìt (bi) kas. – lit., “She exited from house”, “She went out from home”; La esìt in gearte – lit., “She exited in garden.”, “She went out to the garden.”)
(intr., impersonal) exist (ex. Di onvren ge i esim pa. – lit., “The ghosts here exit not.”, “Ghosts do not exist.”)
(trans., generic, also impersonal) issue, release (for public use), put on sale, make available (ex. En i esìnt la kemil de mi-l logò sil. – lit., “It here exited the T-shirt with the logo theirs.”, “They issued the T-shirt with their logo.”)
(trans., hyperbolic use, colloquial) say (an offence), call (offensively), give (a kick, a slap, etc…); react suddenly and angrily (ex., Un el esìt ir en orko! – lit., “And he exited to-him a moron!”, “And he called him a moron!; La esìt ir e bel pamèt! – lit., “She exited to-him a very smack!”, “She gave him a good smack!”)
(trans., generic, catenative) turn out (to be), result (to be); become apparent or known (as) (ex. La esìt a sèr la rovan. – lit., “She exited to be the robber.”, “It turned out she was the robber.”)
(trans., generic, copulative, idiomatic, familiar) be, look, seem, appear, result (in), act (as); give an impression (ex., Mi se verti-la, la esìt e dima. - lit., "With these words-there, she exited an idiot.", "She was an idiot with (by saying) those words")
(trans., generic, idiomatic, rifl., also + is) get or come out, conclude, result, cope, deal with (bi + gen.) (ex. La pita dus s-esìnt a bel gut. – lit., “The pressed sweet exited very well.”, “The cake came out very well.”; El ni s-esìnt tan gut bi tuides el pàes. – lit., “He not exited much good from death the father.”, “He didn’t deal very well with his father’s death”)
(Publishing industry) issue, come out, publish (ex. Si esim di lihvis. – lit., “They exit books.”, “They publish books.”)
(Math) equal (ex. Ek mos ek esi vìe. – lit., “One more one exits two”, “One plus one equals two.”)
(Information technology, impersonal, dative construct) say, give, return (a value, an error, etc…) (ex: È i esi e fal. – lit., “To-me here exits an error.”, “It’s giving me an error.”)
(Journalism, formal) issue, make (statements), do (interviews), talk (to the press) (ex., El Vesehre esìt nìe. – lit., “The President exited nothing.”, “The president had no comment.”)
(Economy, Finance, formal) issue, release; put in circulation
(Law, formal) issue, enact, enter into force (ex., E ne sat-rik s-esìnt. - lit., "A new law self exited.", "A new law has been enacted.")
And yeah, without any doubt, esìr has many meanings, but we can just reduce all of them to a lowest common denominator, that is roughly 'give out, put out, or stand out'. Now that we know everything about esìr, let's take a look at the phrase I esìv un est. The first word, i, is a weird clitic that can take a lot of roles in Evra. Here, in its preverbal position, it generally works as a dummy pronoun (just like it in "It rains"), and I call it impersonali, in this case. Being an impersona pronoun, its presence obviously forces us to interpret the following verb as an impersonal one, and thus triggering the sense 2 of esìr (i.e., 'exist', and not 'exit'). The second word, esìv, is the 3rd person singular of esìr in its Narrative tense form, which is roughly equivalent to the Imperfect tense of Romance languages. We can translate it with the English expressions "It was existing" or "It used to exist". The third word, un, is simply the conjugation 'and', but here comes the trick. Now, this little word is a bit special, because it can share 'some features' between the two phrases it links, just as in English. Let me explain better with some example. In English, we can say "a smart girl and a handsome boy". Here we have two 'entities': a "smart girl" together with a "handsome boy". But we can also say "a smart and handsome boy". Here, we have only one 'entity', the 'boy', which is a "smart boy" as well as a "handsome boy". Basically, what can 'and' do here is that of sharing the word 'boy' between the two phrases: "a smart boy" + "a handsome boy" = "a smart boy and a handsome boy". This is a key step in understanding the desired ambiguity of the whole "I esìv un est" expression, more in a moment. The fourth and last word, est, is the 3rd person singular of esìr in its Past Attributive form, which is a weird past tense used in Evra, but which I'll not explain here in detail now. Just think to it as the -ed form of verbs in English. Now, the interpretation of this verb depends on the reading of un. If un tells us to see i esìv and est as two entities, we'll translate I esìv un est as "It was existed and it turned out / became known". This gives us a simple, literal translation of the whole Evra expression. However, if un tells us to see i esìv and est as one entity, we'll translate I esìv un est as "It was existing and existed", because the impersonali gets shared between the two verbs, i.e. i esìv (= it was existing) + un + i est (= it existed). Obviously we have a contradiction here. On the one hand, we have the Narrative Tense (Imperfect) that tells us the facts in the tale continue and progress over time. On the other, the Past Attributive tells us the facts happened once only. We entered indeed the realm of Fantasy, where the scientific definition of Time succumbs to the emotional perception of it. I esìv un est... It was existing and existed, or became known,...
For the past week or so, I've been tinkering with the beginnings of a new Romance conlang. It may replace a much older one that I designed as part of the concept for an epic fantasy that I haven't done much with in years, or I may make it its own thing and find a new purpose for it. For now, I'm calling it "Atlanteo-Romance," because in the mythology surrounding the original version, it arose among the descendants of Atlantean survivors who escaped to Europe. This is my attempt at a comprehensive (and hopefully intriguing) introduction. I have more, mostly notes on morphophonology that explain why certain word forms are as they are, but given how long this post already is, I figured that it would be better to save those for a "focus" thread. In some ways, this conlang is rather vanilla as Romance languages go. Those who are at all familiar with Spanish and/or Italian in particular (as well as Latin, of course) will find much that is familiar here. Still, I hope to have given it a few unique touches as well, and above all, realism and plausibility were two of my main design goals. This may or may not be the final version, but it's at least at a point where I think it's worth gathering feedback. Phonology Consonants https://preview.redd.it/y2fssafbxh341.png?width=658&format=png&auto=webp&s=6220bf56b058411ed9d3f8e664c06277c199c0ff Vowels (Monophthongs) https://preview.redd.it/03085zldxh341.png?width=334&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f75ab9d4ee54f267229a8d455f7e0b27b9a55d7 Diphthongs https://preview.redd.it/w85xnbkgxh341.png?width=334&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ec65c4fdc1a05137449bf740eca8bc3f73bd70c Word-final oral stops are phonotactically prohibited. Orthography c = /t͡ʃ/ before 'e' or 'i,' /k/ elsewhere ĉ = /k/ before 'e' or 'i,' /t͡ʃ/ elsewhere g = /d͡ʒ/ before 'e' or 'i,' /g/ elsewhere ĝ = /g/ before 'e' or 'i,' /d͡ʒ/ elsewhere ç = /ʃ/ j = /ʒ/ All other letters have their standard IPA values. Regular stress is assigned…
…to the penultimate syllable if the word ends in a vowel, 'n,' or 's.'
…to the final syllable if the word ends in any consonant besides 'n' or 's.'
Irregular stress is marked…
…with a grave accent mark if the relevant syllable is word-final.
…with an acute accent mark if the relevant syllable is not word-final.
Morphology Verbs There are four inflectional classes (or conjugations) of verbs. Conjugated below are the words for "speak," "hold," "write," and "hear," respectively. The conditional is grouped under the subjunctive mainly for ease of tabulation. https://preview.redd.it/k5gyvpv9s0m51.png?width=777&format=png&auto=webp&s=06c923e2137ac04b5d68bf8c26575d8b044083ee NOTES: The third-person singular present indicative suffix -i in the fourth conjugation arose by analogy with the other conjugations. The older form produced by regular sound changes was -e. The -o ending in the first-person singular imperfect indicative of all conjugations arose by analogy with the present tense. The older form produced by regular sound changes was -a. The conditional was formed by the fusion of the infinitive with imperfect indicative forms of aber prior to the aforementioned change by analogy, hence the surviving –a in the first-person singular conditonal. Nouns and Adjectives There are two grammatical genders, masculine and feminine, as well as two main declensions for number. The plural marker is an -s suffix after a vowel and an -es suffix after a consonant. Adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. Declined below are the words for "ear," "eye," "song," and "month," respectively. https://preview.redd.it/9z561jzk0a741.png?width=296&format=png&auto=webp&s=18d748c97beed1e03c54daa06ae8b9cb22a13586 Declined below are the words for "good," "merry," and "Chinese," respectively. https://preview.redd.it/3p4eh0lkpm341.png?width=296&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e917228fef4aaa4089abad4c4cb19fec17f46a1 Adverbs Most adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -mèn to the singular feminine form of the corresponding adjective. Regular Superlatives Superlatives are formed by taking the stem of the corresponding adjective, minus the final vowel if it ends in one, and adding the suffix -ésemo. Syntax Periphrastic Verb Tenses In addition to the synthetic verb forms given above, there are also three periphrastic aspects in which verbs can occur.
Perfect aspect is formed by the appropriate form of aber followed by the past participle.
Progressive aspect is formed by the appropriate form of star followed by the present participle.
An alternative, more colloquial future may be formed with the appropriate form of ir followed first by the preposition a(z) and then by the infinitive.
Passive voice forms are constructed with the appropriate form of éser followed by the past participle, inflected to agree in number and gender with the subject. Negative commands are formed by no followed by the present subjunctive. Pronoun Placement An accusative or dative pronoun must…
…precede the finite verb of which it is an argument if that verb is in the indicative or subjunctive mood.
…follow the finite verb of which it is in argument if that verb is in the imperative mood.
Dative pronouns precede accusative pronouns. Article Elision A vowel at the end of a definite or indefinite article may be omitted in speech and replaced with an apostrophe in writing if the following word begins with a vowel. Functional Vocabulary Articles and Demonstratives Declined here are the words for "a(n)/some," "the," "this," and "that," respectively. https://preview.redd.it/afnuuniw2a741.png?width=193&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0793c5f1215cf69315b7ac3f32435cb2e5a0834 Auxiliary Verbs Conjugated here are the words for "be/exist," "be/stand," "have," and "go," respectively. https://preview.redd.it/ybk0jk56q0m51.png?width=777&format=png&auto=webp&s=21c9f98682baf766ac5c2c91cdc8a34004ab0c6c The form o for the first-person singular present indicative of aber arose by analogy with the corresponding form of all other verbs. The older form produced by regular sound changes was e. Pronouns https://preview.redd.it/a8l9krlcoj341.png?width=432&format=png&auto=webp&s=9db131094024e73c3e445f45fa0135ccfb34bf59 Subject pronouns are often omitted due to verb inflections rendering them redundant. The second-person plural possessive was formed by analogy with nostro. The older form produced by regular sound changes was vestro. The third-person plural reflexive pronouns ses and sis arose by applying the plural marker by analogy with nouns. The plural third-person possessive arose by analogy with the correlation between accusative nos and possessive nostro as well as between accusative vos and possessive vostro. Prepositions and Conjunctions Final consonants in parentheses are only included if the following word begins with a vowel. Some of these prepositions double as adverbs. a(z) = to; at ante = before; earlier co = with cuo = that de = of; from; than despòs = after; later e(z) = and mes = but o(z) = or per = through; by means of pro = for si = if sóper = over; above sov = under; below Interrogatives/Relatives: cuando = when cuanto = how much/many cue = whom/which/that (accusative/dative) cui = who/which/that (nominative) cuo = what cuomo = how ov = where A Few More Very Basic Words: si = yes no = no, not i = here ev = there Example Sentences Ti scribròuna letra. "I'll write you a letter." Meposesveder? "Can you see me?" Astrovatoloconiclo? "Have you found the rabbit?" Cuostamosfacendo? "What are we doing?" Ves desidero,"FeliçNatiftaz!" "I wish you, 'Merry Christmas!'"
65:4 explained - does the Quran allow child marriage?
You may have noticed that both critics of Islam and a handful of Muslims eager to paint themselves as the antitheses of the West have often attempted to demonstrate that child marriage is sanctioned in the Quran, directly or indirectly, by referring to verse 65:4 to support their claim. In this post, I will present my understanding of the verse (the understanding taken by most Muslims, and those defending Islam), as well as analysing some common apologetics used against this understanding - in this case, through the lens of my discussions with a user of this subreddit, u/justrollinyaknow (hereafter referred to as "JR"), and his posts and comments on the topic. There will be a focus on his post "What is the meaning of نساء in verse 65:5 of the Quran?", which is based around many of the common arguments used here by critics of Islam. Please note that when referencing the Holy Quran, I have used non-Ahmadi verse numbering throughout, since that is what most people are familiar with and search for. JR has used the Ahmadi numbering system (which includes bismillah, adding one to the verse number), so if you don't find a verse where it's meant to be, check the ones immediately before and after. I have also added transliterations in addition to Arabic text where possible to accommodate those who may not be able to read Arabic. These transliterations can be easily verified by referring to a word-by-word Quran, or by listening to a recitation of the relevant verse online. When quoting other people, I have left the quote untouched - any errors are from the original material.
Quite a while back, u/justrollinyaknow and I had a discussion on verse 65:4 here on the islam_ahmadiyya subreddit. This initial conversation was relatively short; he chose to break off the discussion, and we parted ways amicably. A short time later, JR decided to write up a more detailed post on the topic, and I in turn left a brief response in the comments section (if you follow the link, you can see the full conversation - parts of which are quoted below - underneath that comment). However, he was unhappy with my reply:
You are grasping at straws, just so as to win by the skin of your teeth.
Somewhat surprised at his statement, I requested that he write a reply to my critique instead of insulting me. In response, he said:
I have nothing to critique. You have not critiqued anything...aside for being partial and believing your Jama'at's position is the correct one and speaking with confidence.
(Of course, I would receive a rather large amount of criticism if I used these tropes in response to criticisms of Islam :) but I digress.) Eventually, JR stated that he would not engage with responses of the type I had provided, and requested that I write up a more detailed post explaining my viewpoint on the verse if I wanted him to engage. I agreed to write a more expanded response. JR replied:
Take your time; take as much time as you need. Give me your best work. I'll be waiting at the finish line with a red marker. Oh shiz, better buy me pack of 12. This is gonna be bloody.
After requesting one last time that he reply to my original comment on his post - a request that he refused - we parted ways again, agreeing to pick up the discussion again when my more detailed post was complete. This, of course, is that post. It is obviously intended as a follow-up to the specific points raised by JR, but its main purpose is as a general informational article about this issue.
2. 65:4 explained
The verse itself is as follows:
وَ الّٰٓیِٴۡ یَئِسۡنَ مِنَ الۡمَحِیۡضِ مِنۡ نِّسَآئِکُمۡ اِنِ ارۡتَبۡتُمۡ فَعِدَّتُہُنَّ ثَلٰثَۃُ اَشۡہُرٍ ۙ وَّ الّٰٓیِٴۡ لَمۡ یَحِضۡنَ ؕ وَ اُولَاتُ الۡاَحۡمَالِ اَجَلُہُنَّ اَنۡ یَّضَعۡنَ حَمۡلَہُنَّ ؕ و مَنۡ یَّتَّقِ اللّٰہَ یَجۡعَلۡ لَّہٗ مِنۡ اَمۡرِہٖ یُسۡرًا - Wa-allāi ya-is'na minal-maḥīḍimin nisāikum ini ir'tabtum fa'iddatuhunnathalāthatuashhurinwa-allāī lamyaḥiḍ'na. Wa-ulātu l-aḥmāli ajaluhunna an yaḍaʿna ḥamlahunna. Waman yattaqi l-laha yajʿal lahu min amrihi yus'ran. "And if you are in doubt as to such of your women as despair of monthly courses, then know that the prescribed period for them is three months, and the same is for such as have not had their monthly courses yet. And as for those who are with child, their period shall be until they are delivered of their burden. And whoso fears Allah, He will provide facilities for him in his affair." (65:5)
[N.B - I have used exactly the same translation JR does in his post.] The meaning of this verse is relatively straightforward. It is describing how to deal with divorced women - specifically, it sets out their waiting periods after divorce (a procedure with two main purposes: to give the two a chance to consider their decision and re-initiate the marriage if desired, and to ensure that if a child is born after the divorce, the parents can be identified). The verse describes three special cases:
Those women who "despair of monthly courses"
This part of the verse refers to those women who, for whatever reason, have ceased to menstruate after having done so normally previously. It refers to women who have reached menopause, but also refers to women who have stopped menstruating for other reasons, like secondary amenorrhea - that is, women who have ceased to menstruate but should still be doing so. This may be due to various reasons, including illness, medical/hormonal disorders, stress, irregular eating, low body weight, low body fat percentage, or heavy exercise and athletic activity (something that can happen even through recreational practice).
Those women who are pregnant.
No detailed exegesis required here. Pregnant women are instructed that their waiting period will be as long as they remain pregnant; it will last until they have given birth.
Those who "have not menstruated".
I save this for last because this, of course, is the main area of contention. This section of the verse refers to those females who have not menstruated yet, but are otherwise mature. The most common explanation for this is a condition called primary amenorrhea. This is when menstruation is delayed, or does not occur, despite being otherwise physically mature (but it may still occur). Primary amenorrhea can occur for similar reasons to secondary amenorrhea - it is often due to genetic conditions and medical problems, but obviously can occur as a result of disordered eating, exercise, or a low body fat percentage (physical activity and low body fat percentages are a common cause of amenorrhea) at the time when menstruation is expected to begin. It appears to me that given the environment and lifestyle of seventh century Arabia, this "athletic amenorrhea" may well have not been unusual. It can also be pointed out that historically, menstruation used to occur later, often after a female was otherwise mature (perhaps due to this very reason), but, in any case, I will stick to the amenorrhea explanation for now. Expanding on these points is currently beyond the scope of this post. It is also possible to make the case for this being a scientific miracle of the Quran, as it can be argued that prophet Muhammad (saw) could not have known about a condition only identified by medical practitioners centuries later - a valid argument. However, that is an entirely different discussion, and I will leave this open for the reader to ponder over. I personally think that there are better verses to use for this purpose, but those wanting to investigate further are welcome to do so. Returning to the understanding I have presented, there are three main points to consider here which support this point of view. 2.1. Evidence - the meaning of nisaa Marriage in Islam is fundamentally an institution to both physically and emotionally fulfill the natural desires and needs of an individual which develop as he/she matures, as well as an institution to produce children. Because of this, marriage is intended to be a contract between two mature people. The Quran, when referring to marriage and conjugal relationships, always uses the word nisaa, meaning "women". This can be verified in any dictionary, but you can refer here) to the Quranic Arabic Corpus for now. (Note that they have translated nisaa in 4:127 as "girls". JR has used this as an argument as well. Be sure to remember this - we will be returning to this point in section 3 to demonstrate why this understanding is erroneous). Some verses demonstrating this use of nisaa:
"It is not allowed to thee to marry women (nisaa) after that..." (33:52) "And marry not those women (nisaa) whom your fathers had married..." (4:22) "And the divorced women (nisaa) shall wait concerning themselves for three courses; and it is not lawful for them that they conceal what Allah has created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day..." (2:228)
The word unthaa (females in general) is not used here. If the Quran sanctioned marriage with prepubescent girls, one would expect unthaa (females in general) to have been used, so as not to limit marriage to nisaa as the Quran does. Expanding further, nisaa means females who are physically mature - i.e, women who have developed secondary sexual characteristics - and, furthermore, females who are mentally mature, in that they are capable of managing their own affairs and the responsibilities of a marriage (see section 2.3). What is key to note, though, is that the word certainly does not refer to prepubescent girls. Interestingly, if you look at words for "girl" in Arabic, nisaa is conspicuously absent. Food for thought? Perhaps. Some objections to this definition will be covered in my analysis of JR's post in Section 3. 2.2. Evidence - the grammar of the Arabic verbs Now we need to go back to the Arabic and take a closer look at the words of the verse. The exact words are وَّ الّٰٓیِٴۡ لَمۡ یَحِضۡنَ, or wa-allāī lamyaḥiḍ'na ("and those [women] who have not menstruated"). The bit we are interested in is lamyaḥiḍ'na ("have not menstruated") - this is basically the central argument of this allegation, after all. There are three components to this phrase:
Lam - the negative participle ("not").
Ya and na - these conjugate the verb to the feminine plural third person imperfect.
Yaḥiḍ'na - the actual imperfect verb ("menstruate").
The actual imperfect verb itself, though, does not refer to a specific tense. The tense is determined by the negative participle lam (used for the past tense). This verb is also in the jussive mood, denoting hope or expectation. What does all this mean, though? If you don't have experience with languages, you might be wondering what the point of all this analysis is. Some, though, will have already realised what I'm getting at. Simply put, lam denotes negation explicitly in the past tense - something that did not happen. The jussive mood implies expectation. A more accurate translation, then, would be "those who did not menstruate as expected, but still hope to do so". (Of course, this translation is somewhat cumbersome, but I personally think that conveying the full meaning is important enough to warrant some sacrifice of flow). What does that sound like to you? Negation in the past tense, but still with an aspect of expectation or hope... it seems to fit quite well into point 3 of section 2, doesn't it - primary amenorrhea and all that? Now, if you want to edit your copy of the Quran to make this verse refer to prepubescent girls who haven't menstruated yet - easy. Just change the lam to lan to show negation in the future tense ("those who have not yet menstruated at all and are hoping to do so"). Note the difference. Now, there's no aspect of past negation - it's been replaced with a purely future-centred negation. 2.3. Evidence - age of marriage in the Quran To supplement the case for this understanding of the verse, we can also go elsewhere in the Quran to see if there is any reference to the age of marriage. One verse often used for this purpose is 4:6 -
"And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them..." (4:6)
Marriageable age here is associated with sound judgement, and fully developed abilities (both mental and physical). This would seem to imply at least some standard of maturity - a standard of maturity high enough to warrant entrusting property to them. Since this is only a supplementary point, and JR previously objected at my referencing verses other than 65:4 to make my point (despite his post relying heavily on other verses of the Quran) -
Stick to verse 65:5. Period.
- I will not go into too much detail on this particular line of argument. Such discussions are beyond the scope of this particular article anyway, which will focus on exploring 65:4. This article provides a good explanation of 4:6 and other verses referring to marriageable age in the Quran. I highly recommend you have a read and then return to this post, as I will be referring to 4:6 in the next section, where we will be analysing other pertinent verses of the Quran. It will, of course, be of benefit to you if you familiarise yourself with this particular verse beforehand.
Now we'll take a look at the objections raised by JR in his post. Before you read my thoughts, be sure to follow this link to read his original post in full (as well as our exchange in the comments below). https://www.reddit.com/islam_ahmadiyya/comments/cphrgb/what_is_the_meaning_of_%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1_in_verse_655_of_the/ (This section was originally based loosely off my original comment in response to his post, but I have had to make quite a few additions and expansions.) The main area of contention, as JR points out, is the meaning of nisaa. If we want to establish who the part of the verse in question (females who have not menstruated) refers to, we need to establish what it means. (This is, of course, ignoring the fact that the very tense of the verbs in the verse does not allow for JR's interpretation, whether nisaa refers to newborn babies, pensioners, Daleks, or anything else. For the sake of argument, I will overlook this inconvenient point for now). Words, after all, can take different meanings based on context, but if you want to translate a word in a different way to its standard meaning, you need to provide evidence for the alternative understanding. Thus, he suggests two possible alternative translations for the word nisaa, which he says are taken from the Quran itself: "wife" and "girl". We begin with the first meaning, "wife". JR correctly points to 2:187 of the Quran, where "women" is used as a stand-in for "wife" - and at first, it appears to be a valid point. A similar feature of using the word for “women” as a word for “wife” exists in other languages too (e.g. Spanish). However, that fact made me realise that the word still carries the connotations of maturity evident when it means “woman”. That is, as far as I know, it would be odd to call a married eight-year-old a nisaa. The specific word “wife” could be used, yes, but “nisaa” would carry the wrong connotations. The word nisaa refers to physical maturity. Of course, one could also point out that the word still means "woman" - it is just understood to mean "wife", as that's the easiest way to translate it into English. While we’re on the topic, though, I’ll point out why I think JR's wider point here is illogical anyway. A large part of his argument is centred around the idea that
even if a child, a prepubescent girl, who is married, she would be considered a woman. A girl who is not a virgin is considered a woman, she is not referred to as a girl anymore.
But consider whether you would call an eight-year old girl who has had sex a “woman”. Does an eight-year old girl become a woman if she loses her virginity? If marriage/virginity is a deciding factor in this definition, would the argument hold true for a girl even younger than that? What about if a baby has a marriage arrangement signed? Obviously not. We are not concerned here with who is married and who is a virgin. We are concerned with maturity. A second, supplementary point can be raised here in light of the actual topic of the chapter - divorce. We've gotten so caught up in the possible meanings of nisaa that we've overlooked the obvious: there are no "wives" anywhere in this verse. After all, it deals with women who have actually been divorced, rather than dealing with married couples. 2:231 of the Quran appears to support this (And when you divorce women and they have [nearly] fulfilled their term), putting "divorce" before the completion of the waiting period, but it is obviously a rather obvious connection to make anyway. The meaning of "wife", then, cannot really apply. These are, in essence, "ex-wives". We now turn our attention to the second meaning, which is the crux of JR's argument. Here, JR uses 4:127 to try and show that nisaa means "girl". Unfortunately, this is simply incorrect. This is, in fact, a classic case of making the Arabic fit the English. Since this is a more significant point than the previous one - and it also led me down an interesting rabbit hole of translations - we will spend a little more time trying to understand why it is misleading. Here is the passage we are concerned with:
وَ یَسۡتَفۡتُوۡنَکَ فِی النِّسَآءِ ؕ قُلِ اللّٰہُ یُفۡتِیۡکُمۡ فِیۡہِنَّ ۙ وَ مَا یُتۡلٰی عَلَیۡکُمۡ فِی الۡکِتٰبِ فِیۡ یَتٰمَی النِّسَآءِ الّٰتِیۡ لَاتُؤۡ تُوۡنَہُنَّ مَا کُتِبَ لَہُنَّ وَ تَرۡغَبُوۡنَ اَنۡ تَنۡکِحُوۡہُنَّ وَ الۡمُسۡتَضۡعَفِیۡنَ مِنَ الۡوِلۡدَانِ ۙ وَ اَنۡ تَقُوۡمُوۡا لِلۡیَتٰمٰی بِالۡقِسۡطِ ؕ وَ مَا تَفۡعَلُوۡا مِنۡ خَیۡرٍ فَاِنَّ اللّٰہَ کَانَ بِہٖ عَلِیۡمًا (۴:۱۲۸) "And they seek of thee the decision of the Law with regard to women. Say, Allah gives you His decision regarding them. And so does that which is recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls whom you give not what is prescribed for them and whom you desire to marry, and concerning the weak among children. And He enjoins you to observe equity towards the orphans. And whatever good you do, surely Allah knows it well." (4:127)
This verse, interestingly enough, has been translated in quite a few different ways. I will address this point a little later, as it has a very significant implication - but first off, let's take a look at JR's point as he has presented it, on his terms, using this translation only. Right off the bat, it’s obvious that nisaa is actually used both in the start of the verse as "women", and next to “orphans” as "girls" (see the bolded words in the Arabic, and their corresponding bolded word in the translation. Note how the first nisaa is made to correspond to "women", and the second nisaa to "girls".) What does this mean for us? Well, JR's logic would probably work if the Arabic for “girl” was specifically used with “orphans”, because that would prove that immature girls also fall under the category of “nisaa” - but that’s not what the text says. What does the text do? It uses "women" (nisaa) twice. No girls anywhere in the verse. In that case, why are we having this discussion in the first place? Where does this allegation come from? This is where my above comment about this verse having multiple translations comes in. I decided to cross-examine the verse's translation using a detailed word-by-word approach, because I had noticed a small inconsistency with the declension of nisaa and the subsequent translation of "orphan girls". Upon investigating a little further, it became apparent that the situation was rather more complicated than merely a small translation slip. Before we go on, let's see the translations listed for this verse:
Sahih International: And they request from you, [O Muhammad], a [legal] ruling concerning women. Say, "Allah gives you a ruling about them and [about] what has been recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls to whom you do not give what is decreed for them - and [yet] you desire to marry them - and concerning the oppressed among children and that you maintain for orphans [their rights] in justice." And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allah is ever Knowing of it. Pickthall: They consult thee concerning women. Say: Allah giveth you decree concerning them, and the Scripture which hath been recited unto you (giveth decree), concerning female orphans and those unto whom ye give not that which is ordained for them though ye desire to marry them, and (concerning) the weak among children, and that ye should deal justly with orphans. Whatever good ye do, lo! Allah is ever Aware of it. Yusuf Ali: They ask thy instruction concerning the women. Say: Allah doth instruct you about them: And (remember) what hath been rehearsed unto you in the Book, concerning the orphans of women to whom ye give not the portions prescribed, and yet whom ye desire to marry, as also concerning the children who are weak and oppressed: that ye stand firm for justice to orphans. There is not a good deed which ye do, but Allah is well-acquainted therewith. Shakir: And they ask you a decision about women say: Allah makes known to you His decision concerning them, and that which is recited to you in the Book concerning female orphans whom you do not give what is appointed for them while you desire to marry them, and concerning the weak among children, and that you should deal towards orphans with equity; and whatever good you do, Allah surely knows it. Muhammad Sarwar: (Muhammad), they ask you concerning women. Tell them, "God will instruct you about them, besides that which can be read in the Book, about widows with children, whom you wanted to marry without giving them their due rights and He will instruct you about the rights of the weak and oppressed children. God commands you to maintain justice with the orphans. God knows all about whatever good you do. Mohsin Khan: They ask your legal instruction concerning women, say: Allah instructs you about them, and about what is recited unto you in the Book concerning the orphan girls whom you give not the prescribed portions (as regards Mahr and inheritance) and yet whom you desire to marry, and (concerning) the children who are weak and oppressed, and that you stand firm for justice to orphans. And whatever good you do, Allah is Ever All Aware of it. Arberry: They will ask thee for a pronouncement concerning women. Say: 'God pronounces to you concerning them, and what is recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan women to whom you give not what is prescribed for them, and yet desire to marry them, and the oppressed children, and that you secure justice for orphans. Whatever good you do, God knows of it.'
Now let's break down what the issues are here. Firstly, it's worth returning briefly to our previous discussion of the use of nisaa in this verse to mean "girls". Only two of these seven translations have actually used this meaning, and in fact, Arberry has specifically used "women". These other translations have actually avoided using “girls”; indeed, it would appear that “nisaa” is used here specifically in the Arabic in order to emphasise that the females being discussed are physically mature. (N.B - someone may ask why "orphan" would be needed to describe a mature female. I would reply that it is to do with the lack of a guardian.) To top it all off, not far from this verse, we actually see an instruction regarding the age of marriage - ironically, with reference to orphans. 4:6 reads:
And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them.
(See Section 2.3, and go here for a more detailed analysis.) In light of this, it is very difficult to argue that marriage to prepubescent girls - and orphan girls, at that - is permissible. What's happened here is that JR has seen a translation that uses “girls”, ignored the other translations, and tried to fit nisaa to that particular translation rather than actually translating the Arabic word itself. It’s worth pointing out that if you look for Arabic words that mean “girls”, nisaa is nowhere to be seen... food for thought. My actual stance, though, is that the entire above discussion was a waste of time. Why? Well, what's more interesting is how two other translations here have dispensed with the idea of marrying orphan girls/women/females completely, and have instead used "widows with children" (Muhammad Sarwar) and "orphans of women" (Yusuf Ali). Now, I mentioned earlier that the reason I started to dig a little deeper on this verse was because of an inconsistency I spotted in the declension of nisaa, and I will now elaborate on this point. You see, in the Arabic, nisaa is in the genitive case, as l-nisāi, and the genitive case denotes posession (e.g, "the man's car", or "the car of the man"). When I looked at the translation in JR's post, though, no such idea was present. It had only been translated as "orphan girls". Upon referring to the word-by-word translation, it became clear that such an idea was indeed present in the Arabic text. The feminine plural \"nisaa\", seen here declined to give the genitive case. Nisaa, then, is not an a noun being qualified by "orphan" here. It is in the genitive case, and thus we have to translate this part of the verse as "the orphans of the nisaa [to whom you do not give their dues, and yet desire to marry]". However, we still need to determine who this "whom" is talking about. If it refers to the orphans, there is still room to salvage our critics' argument. However, it cannot refer to the orphans, because the relative pronoun allātī is feminine plural, agreeing with and thus referring to the feminine plural nisaa. "Orphans" (yataama) is masculine. Now that we know this, we can very easily determine which of JR's proposed meanings of nisaa is applicable here: "girls" is rather implausible, since we're talking about females with children; "wives" is also unlikely, since we are talking about females that we can marry. "Women", then, is the only logical translation that works here. Why this verse is mistranslated is beyond me. It is possible that it arises because of a desire to intentionally misrepresent the verse in order to support radical interpretations of Islam, or perhaps out of a desire to reconcile the verse and references to Aisha (ra)'s young age in the Hadith (which is another topic altogether). I prefer to be optimistic and say that it is just a consequence of mild carelessness, and simply "going with the flow" after seeing other (incorrect) translations - which seems to be a more plausible explanation than the aforementioned theories. In any case, regardless of which of these two translations you want to use, the point still stands: nisaa in 4:127 does not refer to prepubescent females.
4. Conclusion
Now that we've analysed the verse in more detail, I hope that my position has become a little clearer. 65:4 does not allow marriage with prepubescent girls, because "women" - physically mature females - are the ones addressed in the verse. Attempts to prove otherwise fail because the alternative translations proposed are not suitable given the context, and/or are fundamentally incorrect. Furthermore, if we look closer at the grammar of the verse, it becomes clear that the females addressed are those who did not menstruate normally as they expected, but still may do so in the future (i.e those suffering from primary amenorrhea) - not those who have not menstruated at all and have never previously expected menstruation. Indeed, marriage in Islam is a serious contract designed to accommodate the needs of human beings that arise when they mature, and thus is a contract between two mature people; sound judgement, mental maturity, and physical maturity are required for two people to live together as husband and wife.
Now you may have saw my post from a few months ago about Ar-Ghabku Kezud, at the time called Ghabak, but in those few months, my obsession with Hebrew and Arabic have increased and their influence on the conlang has heavily changed the phonology and how the tri-consonant system works.
Phonology
Old Consonants
labio/labio-dental
alveolapost alveolar
palatal
velar
glottal
nasal
m
n
plosive
p, b, pʷ (pw) , bʷ (bw)
t, d, tʷ (tw), dʷ (dw)
k (k~c), g, kʷ (q), gʷ (gw)
fricative
f, v
s, z, ʃ (Sh~Š)
x (h)
h
approximant
l
j
rhotic
r~ɾ (r)
affricate
t͡s, t͡ʃ (Č)
New Consonants
labio/labio-denta
alveolapost alveolar
palatal
velar
uvular
glottal
nasal
m
n
plosive
p, b, pʲ (py), bʲ (by)
t, d, dʷ (dw), tʲ (ty), dʲ (dy)
k (k~c), g, kʷ (kw)
fricative
f, v
s, z, ʃ (Š), sʲ (sy) ʃʲ (šy)
ç (Sj) ʝ (Zj)
x (h)
χ (x)
h
approximant
l, lʲ (ly)
j
rhotic
r
affricate
t͡s (Tz), t͡ʃ (Č)
A really big difference here is the loss of labialized plosives, except dʷ and kʷ, and the addition of palatilization for most plosives, along with s, ʃ and l. Along with additions of the sounds ç, ʝ, and χ. Theres some minor orthographic changes, like q becoming kw, and the loss of sh entirely. Sj and zj exist because of the Human scholars who were figuring out how to put phonetic transcriptions of Ar-Ghabku Kezud, they heard ç and ʝ nad were like "oh those sound a lot like Elvish's sj and zj" even though in reality they are ʂ and ʐ.
Vowels
Front
Central
Back
Close
i
u~ɯ
Close_Mid
e~ɛ~ø
o
Mid
ə (ha)
Open-Mid
ʌ (ha), ɔ (o)
Open
a
Note: vowels with ~, the farther to the left they are, the more speakers pronounce that sound over the others. The only change is the addition of varying pronunciation.
Tri-consonantal System
The Old System
CaCaC - loan word, ex Kazad - Stone
CaCuC - loan word of, ex Kazud - Stone of
ChaCaC - Pluralized, ex Khazad - Stones
ChaCCu - Loan words of, ex Khazdu - Stones of
CoCCi - Place where the word is, ex Kozdi - Quarry
CiCeC - Action Verbized, ex Kized - Mine
CeCuC - Person who does the verb, ex Kezud - Minedwarf
CeCCa - Abstract, ex Kezda - Something not known to the Dwarves
-da - perfect/undeniable fact, ex Ar-Khazad wekra - The stones are hard
-on - imperfect/false fact, ex Ar-Khazad wekon - The stones aren't hard
-un - past, ex Ar-Khazad wekun - The stones were once hard
-ah - present, ex Ar-Khazad wekah - The stones are currently hard
-ir - future, ex Ar-Khazad wekir - The stones will be hard
qazo- near future, ex Ar-Qazokhazad - The stones are about to be hard
do- Near past, ex Ar Dokhazad - The stones were just hard
The New system Nouns
CaCaC - loan word, ex Kazad - Stone
CaCuC - loan word of, ex Kazud - Stone of
ChaCaC - Pluralized, ex Khazad - Stones
ChaCCu - Loan words of, ex Khazdu - Stones of
aCoCCil - Place where the word is, ex Akozdil - Quarry
uCaCCha - one who does the verb i.e. miner, ex Ukazdha - Miner
CeCuC - Race i.e. dwarf, ex Kezud - Dwarf
uCeCCar - Abstract, ex Ukezdar - Something not known to the Dwarves
idCaCiC - Adjective, ex Idkazid - Stone-y
Verbs
CaCeC - Action present tense, ex Kazed - Mine
oCoCCu - Action future tense, ex Okozdu - Going to mine
CaCoC - Action past tense, ex Kazod - Mined
NulCoCCu - Action near future tense, ex Nulkozdu - Going to mine soon
NulCaCoC - Action near past tense, ex Nulkazod - Just mined
Grammar changed slightly, with post positions replacing prepositions, adjectives after the noun, adverbs placed differently etc. Now a quick breakdown of how this affects the language Old System Kezudvu kized pac ar-kozdi dun khazad /'kezudvu.'kized.pak.aɾ.'kozdi.dun.kə'zad/ "Stonepeople stoneaction in the-stoneplace for stoneplural" Miners mine in the quarry for stones. New system Ukazdha ar-akozdil pyac kazed khazad dun. /u'kazdəpʲak.ar.akoz'dil.pʲak.kazed.kə'zad.dun/ "Stonepeople the-stoneplace in stoneactionpresenttense stoneplural for" Miners mine in the quarry for stones Heres a translation of a verse from a Dwarvish poem in the beginning of the Hobbit novel The dwarves of yore made mighty spells! Ar-Kezudvu ol ar-ulyemkar verod shabas iddaric! While hammers fell like ringing bells! Phataš čexoz ibrod dhayar iddayir byon! In places deep, where dark things sleep! Nhagal id'yakir uz, khabaf idlalig ord yaxel! In the hallow halls beneath the fells! Ar-Khazun idgarit uz ar-hhadar dwon! Literal translation The dwarves of the-abstracttunnel create(past) magics draconic! Hammers fell while bells bell(past) similar to Places deep in, things drow(adjective) where sleep(present) The halls hollow in the logs beneath IPA transcription /ar.ke'zudvu.ol.ar.u'lʲem.kar've.rod.sə'bas.id.darik/ /pə'taʃ.t͡ʃe'χoz.i'brod.də'yar.id'da.yir.bʲon/ /nə'gal.idja'ki.ruz.kə'baf'id.la'lig.ord.ja'χel/ /ar.kə'zun.id.ga'rit.uz.ar.hə'dar dʷon/
The Tekaš language is designed to be optimised for philosophic discussion, maximising succintness and minimising ambiguity.
Phonology
Consonants
Labial
Alveolar
Postalveolar
Velar
Glottal
Nasals
m
n
Stops
p
t, d, t͡s
k, g
Fricatives
β
s, z
ʂ
h
Liquids
r, l
j
Vowels
Front
Back
High
i
u
Low
ɛ
ɐ
Orthography
β > v; t͡s > tz; ʂ > š; j > y; ɐ > a; ɛ > e. All other letters are the same as IPA.
Phonotactics
No words may begin with more than one consonant, and no cluster of more than two consonants is allowed; in the case where grammar causes this to happen, an epenthentic (-)e- in inserted before the cluster, or where the two consonants are from different morphemes, in between them. Stress is placed on the root syllable of a word, or on the syllable which the root begins. Therefore dazkik /'daz.kik/, even though the root is just d-.
Nouns
They are extremely simple. They only inflect for number (plural suffix is -(a)š) and are placed after the verb in the clause in the order subject-object-cause-beneficiary. 'Nouns' are one word only, and noun phrases in English will become compounded so that 'big house' will be translated as našuger, not *našu ger. Verbs are turned into nouns via the suffix -aš, which is extremely productive.
Filler words
Words such as 'of course' ves and 'also' neraz are placed at the beginning of clauses and demarcated by commas.
Verbs
They are extremely complicated and agglutinative, inflecting for (in the following order): object
first t-
second r-
cause
first -a-
second -u-
third -i-
beneficiary
first -d-
second -l-
third -m-
fourth -k-
deixis
first -ya-
second -ye-
third -yi-
fourth -yu-
over there -d(a)-
stem negation of stem
negative -(e)n-
tense
past -a-
present -i-
future -u-
aspect
prospective -h-
inchoative -š-
terminative -v-
retrospective -z-
imperfective -tz-
perfective -
perfect -l-
voice
active -
passive -k-
willingness
willing -ik-
not willing -uy-
ability
able -ag-
unable -ed-
duty
ought to -em-
ought not to -el-
evidentiality
factually true -
factually untrue -rat
opinion -ruk
This can lead to some impressively long and succinct words: -d- = give da = gave da et = I gave daz et = I have already given dazk et = I have already been given dazkiket = I have already willingly been given dazkiked et = It was not possible that I had already been given [it] even though I wanted to be given it dazkikedel et = It was not possible that I had already been given [it], and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t dazkikedelrat et = It is untrue that it was not possible that I had already been given [it], and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. denazkikedelrat et = It is untrue that it was not possible that I had not already been given [it], and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. erdenazkikedelrat et = It is untrue that it was not possible that I had not already been given it, and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. erdenazkikedelrat et našu = It is untrue that it was not possible that I had not already been given the house, and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. erdenazkikedelrat našu et = It is untrue that it was not possible that the house had not already been given me, and, even though it wanted me to be given to it, it was right that I wasn’t. ridenazkikedelrat et našu tzak = It is untrue that it was not possible that the man had caused me to not have already been given the house, and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. rimdenazkikedelrat et našu tzak = It is untrue that it was not possible that the man had caused me to not have already been given the house, which was to his gain, and, even though I wanted it to be given to me, it was right that it wasn’t. Gloss of this last: OBJ.2-CAUS.3-BEN.3-give-NEG-PAST-RESP-PASS-VOL-NABIL-NDEB-OBJV.UNTRUE me house man. Most verb roots are very short compared to nominal roots, and some do not contain any vowels, e.g. -d- = give, -m- = think, -t- = say, -rg- = decide. Augmentatives are formed by reduplication with the addition of the epenthentic -e- if necessary, and adverbs are formed by adding -ir Thus 'to deliberate' is memtir, literally meaning to 'think and think verbally' The prefix categories refer to which noun in the order of the sentence takes what role, so that if I do something to you for my own good, the resulting sentence will be something like r-e-d... et ar. The 'over there' deixis can also point to a fifth noun; if one is not present, it just has a distal meaning.
Can anyone please proof. My grade is really banking on this one!
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate forms of the verbs in parentheses. Pay attention to the specified tenses.
Mis hermanos pueden terminar el proyecto anoche. (poder, preterite)
Anoche, tu hermano pidió café en el restaurante. (pedir, preterite)
Yo estoy haciendo mi tarea. (hacer, present progressive)
Nosotros estábamos sirviendo la comida cuando entraron más invitados. (servir, imperfect progressive)
Por y para: Complete the following sentences with either por or para.
¿Cuánto pagaste por esos zapatos?
La tarea es paramañana.
El presente perfecto: Complete the following sentences with the appropriate present perfect forms of the verbs in parentheses.
Bill Gates ha ganado (ganar) mucho dinero recientemente.
Yo he visto(ver) esa película tres veces.
Past Participles as Adjectives: Complete the following sentences with the appropriate past participles.
Margarita acaba de abrir la ventana. Ahora la ventana está .
Juanito rompió esos tres vasos. Ahora esos vasos están .
Answer the following question with a complete sentence using the words given in parentheses.
¿Qué estabas haciendo ayer a las 8? (leer un libro)
Translate the following English sentences into Spanish.
The library is close to the restaurant.
la biblioteca está cerca del restaurante
San Diego is far from Boston.
San Diego está lejos de Boston
Now the poem is finished.
ahora el poema está terminado
The pharmacy is behind the school.
la farmacia está detrás de la escuela Write a short essay in Spanish on the following topic. Your composition should be 5 sentences long when you've finished. Be sure to double-check for errors before you turn your test in to your teacher (20 points). Write about a day that you spent at the museum (real or imaginary). Talk about the location of the museum and what you saw in the museum. Make sure to include descriptions of various types of art. Make sure to include grammar and vocabulary from this lesson, such as the present tense, the preterite, the imperfect progressive, present perfect, etc . . . Tuve un gran día en el museo de Boston. Tenían muchos maestros. También tenían la fuente de información, así que aprendí mucho. Hubo un gran énfasis en el arte abstracto. Me gustaba el arte. Quiero ir de nuevo.
The grammar of Crollian is simple, but its simplicity is simple as much as it's complexity is complex. In Crollian, we have the verb ending of "-ερ (-er)" meaning "to do something." In the creation of this language, I tried out different grammar rules from other languages that I liked, this one seemed to fit my style. Take "to play" for example, that would be "πʎατιγερ (platiger)" in Crollian. There are also pronouns which are demonstrated in the table below. This grammar rule was inspired by Spanish's -ar -er -ir verb conjunction.
I play (ειo)
πʎατιγo
You play (ετή)
πʎατιγα
They play (τოμo)
πʎατιγί
We play (αφτოς)
πʎατιγενει
He plays (εʎo)
πʎατιγως
She plays (εʎα)
πʎατιγες
It plays (ετo)
πʎατιγε
This is just the regular present tense verbs. Now we go to the regular past and the regular future. Past (Regular)
I played
πʎατιγoέμ
You played
πʎατιγαέμ
They played
πʎατιγίμ
We played
πʎατιγενειέμ
He played
πʎατιγωσέμ
She played
πʎατιγεσέμ
It played
πʎατιγωμ
Future (Regular)
I will play
πʎατιγoζოμε
You will play
πʎατιγαζოμε
They will play
πʎατιγίζოμε
We will play
πʎατιγενειζოμε
He will play
πʎατιγωσζოμε
She will play
πʎατιγεσζოμε
It will play
πʎατιγαωζოμε
Now, there is these tenses called the imperfect and the perfect tenses. An example of imperfect would be "I will be playing" and perfect being "I will have played." The Crollian imperfect tense is represented with either "-ις" or "-νις." The Crollian perfect tense is represented with "-θε." These endings go AFTER the time of action which would be "solo pronoun" for present "-έμ or -μ" for past, and "-ζოμε" for future. I told you it was simple but complex!!!!!!!!!! Have fun! :)
Anyone looking for a learning/accountability partner?
Edit: I've received a number of responses from people and would like to try and focus on cultivating connections from these (meaning I most likely won't respond to future responses). Thank you to everyone that has responded so far! Seeking beginner to low-intermediate Spanish learners! (I’m open to more Advanced language learners, but I’m worried that I don’t have much to offer you right now lol however, if you’re looking to do something Jolly style, I’m down!). I'm EST but I work from home a lot so my schedule is flexible enough to work around different time zones. My ultimate goal is to become fluent in the language, but my short term goal is to reach B1-B2 level fluency within one year. I actually plan on taking the DELE so that I have something tangible to work towards. I’ve been studying for about 3 months now, but the first 1-2 months were kind of stagnant/limited in progress because I wasn’t utilizing the right resources for my particular learning style. I am the kind of person that needs some sort of structure to follow, and I am definitely a social and kinesthetic learner. I'm seeking collaborative study sessions with a learning partner 1-2 days a week. We could do stuff like work through a chapter of a textbook togethedo workbook exercises together, watch and discuss a Spanish YouTube videos like Easy Spanish or Web Spanish (or anything similar), quiz each other on vocabulary or make up sentences in English that the other person has to try and translate to Spanish, practice having basic conversations with each other etc. I'm currently making my way through the Easy Spanish Step-By-Step textbook just so I have some sort of structure to follow. I like it well enough because the topics and corresponding explanations are very simple and straightforward. I’d be curious to learn what textbook/other resources you’re using! Below, I detail my self-study schedule. This is the bare minimum I aspire to do each week, and if I have the time/motivation to do more, then I do. I don’t expect my study buddy to follow exactly what I’m doing. This is moreso just to give some insights on the type of study that I’m doing and the resources that I’m using. Mon- Fri (Daily) 1) Learn 5 new vocabulary (I use TofuLearn’s Spanish Frequency list) 2) Verb conjugation drills
1 -ir verb
1 -ar verb
1 -er verb
1 irregular
The type of conjugation depends on what tenses I currently have knowledge of. As of right now that would be present, preterite, and imperfect. 3) Add 2-5 new sentences to Anki
I do this so that I can remember new vocabulary or certain conjugations in context
Web Spanish or Easy Spanish video (1)
For the most part my focus is just to listen to the video so I can get accustomed to hearing Spanish being spoken. This is actually really challenging for me because whenever I heard a word that I don’t know, my first instinct is to pause the video and go look it up, but this happens so frequently that it is actually disruptive to the listening process.
Journal entry (minimum of three sentences).
I just started doing this within the past few days and it is just as challenging as I thought it would be. I’m hoping that as I learn more tenses and their conjugations I’ll be able to express myself better in my journal, little by little. As of right now though I feel like a potato.
Sat-Sun
Review 50 TofuLearn vocabulary
Review Anki sentences
Attempt a long journal entry (minimum of 7-10 sentences)
Weekly
2-3 chapters of Easy Spanish
Tutoring session on italki
Reading practice (minimum of 2 readings)
Please note that I am not looking for a language exchange partner. I think it is wonderful, and at some point I will engage in that as an additional resource, but for now it serves a purpose other than what I am currently searching for.
Tevrés is a naturalistic artlang, descended from my previous conlang; Coeñar Aerānir. It takes its main inspiration from Old Spanish and Ladino, German, and Japanese. I still have a lot to do, but this should serve as a basic primer. Hopefully you can all enjoy taking a look at it, despite all the tables, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Criticism is welcome!
Phonology
Phonemic Inventory
Consonants
Labial
Dental
Alveolar
Palatal
Velar
Nasal
m
n
ɲ ⟨ñ⟩
Stop
p
t
k ⟨c, qu⟩
Fricative
f v
ð ⟨d⟩
s ⟨s, ss⟩ z ⟨s⟩
ʃ ⟨x⟩ ʒ ⟨j, g⟩
ɣ ⟨g, gu⟩
Affricate
t͡s ⟨ç, c, z⟩ d͡z ⟨z⟩
t͡ʃ ⟨ch⟩
Tap
ɾ ⟨r⟩
Trill
r ⟨rr⟩
Approximate
l
j ⟨y⟩ ʎ ⟨ll⟩
/k/ is spelled ⟨c⟩ before /a/ /o/ and ⟨qu⟩ before /i/ /e/.
/s/ is spelled ⟨s⟩ initially, finally, and before voiceless consonants, and ⟨ss⟩ elsewhere.
/ʒ/ is spelled ⟨j⟩ before /a/ /o/ and ⟨g⟩ before /i/ /e/.
/ɣ/ is spelled ⟨g⟩ before /a/ /o/ and ⟨gu⟩ before /i/ /e/.
/t͡s/ is spelled ⟨ç⟩ before /a/ /o/, ⟨c⟩ before /i/ /e/, and ⟨z⟩ finally.
Vowels
Front
Central
Back
Close
i
u
Mid
e
o
Open
a
Diphthongs
Front
Back
Close
uj ⟨ui⟩
iw ⟨iu⟩
Mid
ej ⟨ei⟩ oj ⟨oi⟩
ew ⟨eu⟩
Open
aj ⟨ai⟩
King’s Court Dialect
Front
Central
Back
Close
i y ⟨ui⟩
ɯ ⟨iu⟩ u
Mid
e ø ⟨oi⟩
ɤ ⟨eu⟩ o
Open
ɛ ⟨ai⟩
a
Nouns
Gender & Number
Tevrés nouns fall into one of three gender categories; temporary, reproductive, and eternal. Although it is difficult to discern gender based off the shape of the word, nouns with singular endings in -a are generally reproductive, and nouns with plurals endings in -os are generally eternal.
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
Class 1-2
durve
durves
cuaña
cuañes
man
manos
Class 3
pued
puedes
llengod
llengodes
Masculine and neuter nouns in Class 1-2 may end in either e or a consonant. The same is true of Class 3 feminine and neuter nouns. There are no Class 3 masculine nouns. Without articles or adjectives, Tevrés nouns also decline for the following four cases:
Class 1-2
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
Ergative
durvos
durves
cuaña
cuañes
man
manos
Absolutive
durve
durves
cuaña
cuañe
man
manos
Dative
durve
durvon
cuañe
cuañan
mane
manon
Genitive
durve
durves
cuañe
cuañes
mane
manes
Class 3
Reproductive
Eternal
singular
plural
singular
plural
Ergative
pued
puedes
llengod
llengodes
Absolutive
pued
puedes
llengod
llengodes
Dative
puede
pueden
llengode
llengoden
Genitive
puede
puedes
llengode
llengodes
Case & Articles
There are four grammatical genres in Tevrés, which are encoded via articles before the noun in question. There are two types of articles, definite and indefinite, and on top of that each both have an extra topical form, although the indefinite topical article is identical in pronunciation to its plain form in all put the plural, and is only distinguished in writing. All three genders receive identical articles in the plural.
Definite Article
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
Plural
Ergative
llos
lla
ul
llues
Absolutive
ul
lla
ul
llos
Dative
llo
llo
llo
llana
Genitive
lle
lle
lle
lles
Definite Topical Article
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
Plural
Ergative
allos
alla
al
allues
Absolutive
al
alla
al
allos
Dative
allo
allo
allo
allana
Genitive
alle
alle
alle
alles
Indefinite Article
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
Plural
Ergative
ames
ama
am
osses
Absolutive
am
ama
am
os
Dative
amo
amo
amo
ossa
Genitive
ame
ame
ame
osses
Indefinite Topical Article
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
Plural
Ergative
ámes
áma
ám
asses
Absolutive
ám
áma
ám
as
Dative
ámo
ámo
ámo
assa
Genitive
áme
áme
áme
asses
Pronouns
The definite article doubles as the third person pronoun in Tevrés, and is marked with an acute accent in writing (ul “the” vs. úl “them/it”). In addition, there are first, second, and reflexive pronouns. The first and second pronouns decline for a dual number, as well as singular and plural. The first person dual can be wither inclusive (In.) or exclusive (Ex.). Dual nouns cause verbs to decline in the plural. Furthermore, pronouns also have topical forms.
First Person Pronoun
Singular
Dual In.
Dual Ex.
Plural
Ergative
ei
iguén
ígues
mos
Absolutive
te
ten
teun
mi
Dative
tío
ton
tió
mena
Genitive
tes
tines
teres
mis
First Person Topical Pronoun
Singular
Dual In.
Dual Ex.
Plural
Ergative
ai
aiguén
aígues
amos
Absolutive
ate
aten
ateun
ami
Dative
atío
aton
atió
amena
Genitive
ates
atines
ateres
amis
Second Person Pronoun
Singular
Dual
Plural
Ergative
en
nes
jos
Absolutive
ne
nos
i
Dative
nío
nien
ena
Genitive
ni
nieste
eis
Second Person Topical Pronoun
Singular
Dual
Plural
Ergative
an
anes
ajos
Absolutive
ane
anos
aí
Dative
anío
anien
ana
Genitive
ani
anieste
ais
Reflexive Pronoun
Singular
Ergative
ce
Absolutive
ce
Dative
cío
Genitive
ci
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns function most similarly to articles, coming before the noun and declining for case, with the same endings.
Singular
Plural
1st Person
tir
mir
2nd Person
nir
ir
3rd Person
llir
llir
Adjectives
Adjectives must match the noun that they modify in number and gender. If there is no article, then they also decline for case. They are sorted into the same classes as the nouns; however in this case Class 3 adjectives can be masculine, although all genders in that group are identical. It should be noted that nouns are not declined when the adjective is declined.
Class 1-2
Temporary
Reproductive
Eternal
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
Ergative
llustos
llustes
llusta
llustes
lluste
llustos
Absolutive
lluste
llustes
llusta
lluste
lluste
llustos
Dative
lluste
lluston
lluste
llustan
lluste
lluston
Genitive
lluste
llustes
lluste
llustes
lluste
llustes
Class 3
Singular
Plural
Ergative
raz
razes
Absolutive
raz
razes
Dative
raze
razen
Genitive
raze
razes
Verbs
Tense
There are too main tenses in Tevrés; the non-past and the past. All aspects, moods, and voices can be conjugated into either of these tenses.
Non-past
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
deve
dive
hueze
hoze
çame
ceme
2nd Person
diva
deven
hoza
huezen
çama
çaman
3rd Person
deves
divos
huezes
hozos
çamas
çamos
Past
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
deví
devío
hozéi
hozío
çamái
çamó
2nd Person
devía
devíon
hozía
hozíon
çamá
çamón
3rd Person
devís
devíos
hozéis
hozíos
çamáis
çamós
Aspect
Verbs can be put in the perfective aspect via the prefix -o. An -h- is inserted if the verb begins with a vowel. Non-past perfective forms are also called Stative, and past perfective are called Perfect.
ex: alla ciente llegres “The sky darkens.” / alla cienteollegres “The sky is dark.”
ex: ai lla salva hozéi “I read the book.” / ai lla salvaohozéi “I have read the book.”
When the perfective prefix is applied to non-past transitive verbs, they often shift to the anti-passive voice (see more in a later section). However, unlike the passive, this construction highlights that the action was done deliberately by some agent.
ex: ai lla herra vehe “I eat rice.” / alla herraovehes “The rice is eaten.”
Mood
Subjunctive
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
to dive
to deve
to hoze
to hoze
to ceme
to ceme
2nd Person
to diva
to diven
to hueza
to hozan
to cema
to ceman
3rd Person
to dives
to divos
to hozas
to huezos
to cemas
to cemos
Note: the perfective -o is added to to, forming oto, in the subjunctive. Another note: to can be added before any form of a verb to form the weak subjunctive, which carries the meaning of “perhaps, maybe, I think, I wonder, etc…,” ie. úl to vexa? “You can eat it, right?”
The Honorific
The honorific is formed by removing to from the subjunctive and adding the perfective -o. It is used when the agent, topic, or subject of a clause is of superior status to the speaker.
ex: ates cir llos salves juevas “My friend writes books.” / al arrién llos salvesojovas “The king writes books.”
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
odive
odeve
ohoze
ohoze
oceme
0ceme
2nd Person
odiva
odiven
ohueza
ohozan
ocema
oceman
3rd Person
odives
odivos
ohozas
ohuezos
ocemas
ocemos
Potential
It should be noted that the potential mood is characterized by a high degree of stem mutation, and although there are some basic patterns, the only way to know the correct potential stem is to memorize it for each verb.
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
duxe
duxe
hoxe
hoxe
çaxe
çaxe
2nd Person
duxa
duxen
hoxa
hoxan
çaxa
çaxan
3rd Person
duxes
duxos
hoxas
hoxos
çaxas
çaxos
Optative
Similar to the potential, the optative stem is highly irregular. The optative shows want or desire, ie. “I want to x.”
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
dude
dude
hoche
hoche
çante
çante
2nd Person
duda
dudan
hocha
hochan
çanta
çantan
3rd Person
dudas
dudos
hochas
hochos
çantas
çantos
Causative
The causative can be either volitional or non-volitional, depending on context. In other words, there is no difference between “they made me do x” and “they let me do x.”
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
devissoz
devissez
hozessoz
hozessez
çamassoz
çamassez
2nd Person
devásseza
devíssozen
hozésseza
hozéssozen
çamásseza
çamássozen
3rd Person
devíssozes
devíssezos
hozéssozes
hozéssezos
çamássozes
çamássezos
Jussive
The jussive usually is used for commands or suggestions, but may also serve as a future tense, especially in the 1st person, ie. ai lla salva eulle arrién hozér “I will read the king’s book.”
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
devír
devír
hozér
hozéir
çamár
çamáir
2nd Person
devíon
deviren
hozíon
hozeren
çamón
çamaren
3rd Person
devives
deviros
hozeves
hozeros
çamaves
çamaros
Voice
Antipassive
The antipassive is used for transitive verbs when there is no object in the sentence. Notice that if the object is simply dropped because it is known between both speakers, then the regular active form is used.
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
diuves
deviste
heuzes
hozeste
çomes
çamaste
2nd Person
deviudes
devisse
hozeudes
hozesse
çamodes
çamasse
3rd Person
deviures
deviras
hozeures
hozeras
çamores
çamaras
Passive
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
singular
plural
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st Person
dudor
duder
hochor
hocher
çamador
çamader
2nd Person
dudon
dúdoren
hochon
hóchoren
çamadon
çamádoren
3rd Person
dudes
dúdoros
hoches
hóchoros
çamodes
çamádoros
Non-finite Forms
Infinitive
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
imperfect
perfect
imperfect
perfect
imperfect
perfect
Antipassive
devinor
devínozer
hozenor
hozénozer
çamanor
çamánozer
Passive
devís
dúdorre
hozés
hóchorre
çamás
çamádorre
Active
devíz
devirre
hozéz
hoerre
çamáz
çamarre
Participle
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
imperfect
perfect
imperfect
perfect
imperfect
perfect
Antipassive
devín
hozén
çamán
Passive
dud
hoch
çamád
Active
devís
hozés
çamás
Gerund
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
Antipassive
deujón
hochón
çamajón
Passive
deum
hoim
çam
Active
devinte
hozente
çamante
Stem-forms & Converbs
The stem from of a verb can be derived from the active infinitive minus -z:
íz-Verbs
éz-Verbs
áz-Verbs
deví
hozé
çamá
Stem forms serve three purposes. Firstly, in sentences with multiple verbs that agree in all conjugation factors, the stem form can replace all but the final verb.
ex: allos herra vehéis, am salva hozéis, lle vuyón jováis / allos herravehé, am salvahozé, lle vuyón jováis “He ate rice, read a book, and wrote his journal.”
Secondly, stem-forms can be used as converbs; used in conjunction with other verbs to express a variety of different meaning.
ex: lla salvahozé-centís “They finished reading the book.”
Lastly, stem-forms can be used to modify nouns. Generally, this expresses that the noun is for the purpose of the verb. For example jová-ceye “words for writing,” versus tevá-ceye “words for speaking.”
Grammar
Word Order
Tevrés has free word order for nouns, so long as the verb comes last, however SOV is the most common and seen as the norm. The topic, if there is one, is usually placed first in a sentence.
ate tiro cuem travá-ui TOP-1P.ABS.SG mine-T.DAT.SG house-SG walk-CON-go.1P.SG “I walk to my home.”
Adjectives come after the nouns they modify, and adverbs come before their verbs, or at the beginning of a clause, but after the topic.
Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are marked with the particle dos, which is conjugated in accordance to its place in the relative sentence.
Singular
Plural
Ergative
dos
des
Absolutive
don
de
Dative
do
dona
Genitive
des
des
ai ceu tiroma do ul suenque çái teuves TOP-1P.ERG.SG with my.mom REL-DAT.SG DEF.ABS.SG ring-SG give-P.1P.SG speak.ANTIP.NP.1P.SG “I will speak with my mother to whom I gave the ring.”
Wordlist
arrién, arrienes [aˈrjẽn, aˈrjẽ.nes] noun temp. class 3 king; queen
ceya, ceyes [ˈt͡se.ja, ˈt͡se.jes] noun retro. class 1 word
Fui. This is like “were”, instead of “used to”. For one-time things.. Note: this is also the past conjugation of IR, meaning fui can also mean “I went” (also for one-time actions).. Examples. Yo fui estupido. (I was stupid.) TIP: If we said “yo era estupido”, it would also mean I used to be stupid (longer term), whereas fui here means it was a one-time thing (riiiiiight). Additionally, the first-person plural, the "we" form of nosotros and nosotras, has the same conjugation for both the present indicative tense and the preterite past tense for -ar and -ir verbs. The word hablamos can mean either "we speak" or "we spoke," and escribimos can mean either "we write" or "we wrote." In most cases, the context of the sentence makes clear which tense is intended. the verb ser (to be) and ir (to go) appear to conjugate in the past preterite the exact same way, and I just wanted to clarify that this is correct? Also any additional information on the conjugations of these two words in other tenses would be helpful in my learning. Gracias por adelantado! A clean and easy to read chart to help you learn how to conjugate the Spanish verb ir in Imperfect tense. Learn this and more for free with Live Lingua. Imperative (Command) Conjugation of ir – Imperativo de ir. Spanish Verb Conjugation: (tú) ve, (él / Ud) vaya,… Study: When speaking about the past in English, you choose which past tense to use depending on the context and the meaning you wish to convey.In Spanish sentences, you chose which past tense you use depending only on the meaning. you wish to convey.. Here is how you conjugate [-IR] verbs in the imperfect (past) tense! Conjugate Ir in every Spanish verb tense including preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, and subjunctive. If you remember from our past simple lesson, the -ER and -IR verbs used the same endings; in the Spanish imperfect tense, it’s the same!You only have to memorize two forms , which makes this tense a cinch. Pay Attention! Pay attention to the accent marks on certain verbs! Imperfect Tense Conjugation of ir – Imperfecto (de indicativo) de ir. Spanish Verb Conjugation: yo iba, tú ibas, él / Ud.… In Spanish, there are 3 irregular verbs in the past imperfect tense and one verb that is like one of these 3 but with a prefix. The main 3 irregular verbs in the Spanish past imperfect tense are ser (to be), ir (to go) and ver (to see). The other irregular verb that is like one of the main three but with a prefix is prever (to foresee).
SUBSCRIBE for more Spanish videos: http://bit.ly/XGe7weFollow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/srjordanspanishTweet me: https://twitter.com/senorjord... Dr. Danny Evans teaches "ER" and "IR" verbs in the past tense.Episode 35 Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/ws796w4Subscribe for More Videos Here: https://www.yout... Spanish Imperfect Tense Music Video Ar, Er, Ir, Irregulars as well as the uses for the imperfect Tense **note: some accent marks are missing in the lyrics show below. We've learned one way to use the past tense in Italian, and that's passato prossimo. But another important tense is the imperfect tense. What is that exactly... https://goo.gl/BWTVcY Click here to download TONS of FREE PDF lessons to learn Spanish twice as fast!! ↓ Check How Below ↓Step 1: Go to https://goo.gl/BWTVcY... Learn to conjugate the Spanish verb -ir- in the past perfect tense. Get the Free Practice Resources mentioned in this video: https://spanishdude.com/quickies/regular-imperfect-er-ir-conjugation/ This is the last video for a w... This is the second video lesson on the imperfect. In the previous video we talked about how -AR verbs change. In this video we'll see how all but 3 -ER / -I... One of the most important and common of the tenses in Latin, the Imperfect Tense is more or less easy to recognize and form. This video covers its translati... Complete the following sentences in the IMPERFECT TENSE.1. Johnny _____ en Martinica cuando era niño. (vivir)2. Ellos _____ al cine. (salir)3. N...