The verb incorporates the direct and indirect pronominal object and inflects for person. In certain conjugational forms the personal affix is a prefix, in others a suffix. The historic tense, a sort of aorist, is formed by the infix -h- and a change of the radical vowel occurs at times, though not so often as in Cha'hta. Intransitive verbs show special forms, according to the number of the subject (singular, dual, plural). Very frequently these latter forms are made from different roots, as will be seen from the instances given below. Many transitive verbs have, when their object stands in the plural, a (distributive) form differing entirely or partially from the one referring to an object in the singular; a few others show this change, when their subject passes from the singular to the plural number. Other transitive verbs are combining the two inflections just described.
Adjectives can be verbified and then appear in the shape of attributive verbs: haúki, pl. hauháki hollow; haúkäs I am hollow, haúkis it is hollow, hauhákis they are hollow. No real substantive verb being extant, its want is supplied by ómäs, mómäs, tóyäs I am so, I am such; these are conjugated regularly, and when connected with the verbals in -t (-at, -it, -ut) of any verb, compose a periphrastic conjugation which displays itself in an almost infinite number of forms.
From all this it becomes evident, that the Creek verb surpasses in its large power of polysynthesis the Algonkin, Dakota and Kalapuya verb, and in the richness of its forms approaches closely to the Iroquois verb, which is poorer in tenses, but has an impersonal conjugation and fourteen persons to each tense of the finite verb. Creek is likely to surpass also the Basque verb, which has become proverbial for the almost infinite number of its intricate verb forms.[133]
I propose to give below the inflection of the Creek verb in its general outlines only, as far as necessary to give an idea of the subject. The Creek conjugation is regular throughout in its standard forms, though the conversational form has introduced modifications.
Inflection of ísita to take, carry, hold (one object) and of tcháwita to take (more than one object). Only three tenses were given here as examples of tcháwita, although it has as many modes, tenses and other forms as ísita.
Active Voice.
Affirmative conjugation.
Declarative mode.
Present: ísä-is, or ísäs I am taking, 2 s. ísitchkis, 3 s. ísis; 1 pl. ísīs, ísis, 2 pl. isā′tchkis, 3 pl. isákis.
tcháwä-is or tcháwäs I am taking (more than one obj.), 2 s. tcháwitchkis, 3 s. tcháwis; 1 pl. tcháwīs, 2 pl. tchawā′tchkis, 3 pl. tchawā′kis.
The preterit tenses: í'hsäs I took, 2 s. í'hsitchkis, 3 s. í'hsis; 1 pl. i'hsis, 2 pl. i'hsā′tchkis, 3 pl. i'hsā′χkis.