The word khad is prefixed for forming the numerals from 11 to 19, e.g. khad-wei, khad-ar, eleven, twelve, &c.
The verbal root (which never varies) may be simple or compound. The compound roots are (1) Causals, formed by prefixing pyn to the simple root; as iap, die; pyniap, kill. (2) Frequentatives, formed by prefixing iai; as iam, weep; iai iam, weep continually. (3) Inceptives, by prefixing man; as stad, be wise; manstad, grow wise. (4) Reciprocals, by prefixing ia; as ieit, love; ia-ieit, love one another. (5) Intensives, by prefixing tim particle kyn, lyn, syn, tyn. Any noun or adjective may be treated as a verbal root by means of a prefix of these five classes. Thus kajia, a quarrel (Hindustani loan word, qazía;) ia kajio, to quarrel with one another; bynta, share; pyn-ia-bynta (reciprocal catmal), to divide between several persons. It should be mentioned with reference to the second class or frequentative verbs, that they sometimes take the prefixes, or particles as Roberts prefers to call them, dem, dup, nang, shait, ksaw in place of iai, e.g. dem-wan, to come after; dup-teh, to practise; nang-wad, to go on searching; shait pang, to be always ill; ksaw-bam, to be in the habit of devouring. There are two verbs for "to be," long, implying existence absolutely, and don, implying limited existence, and also meaning "to have." There is only one form of conjugation for all verbs. Tense and mood are indicated by prefixes, number and person by the subject. When the subject is a noun the pronoun is inserted before the verb. The following is the conjugation of the verb "to be" in the present, past, and future tenses:—
Present. Past. Future.
Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Nga long Ngi long Nga la long Ngi la long Ngan long Ngin long I am We are I was We were I shall be We shall be
Me (mas.) or Phi long Me or _pha Phi la long Men or _phan Phin long pha (fem.) la long_ long_ long Thou art Ye are Thou wast Ye were Thou shalt be You shall be
U (mas.) or Ki long _U _or _ka Ki la long U'n or _ka'n Kin long ka (fem.) la long_ long_ long He or she is They are He or she was They were He or she will They will be be
The above simple tenses are made definite or emphatic by various means. La, sign of the past, when added to lah, sign of the potential, has the sense of the pluperfect, e.g. nga la lah long, I had been. Yn abbreviated into 'n emphasizes the future, the particle sa also indicates the future; da is the usual sign of the subjunctive mood, lada, la, lymda, tad, ynda, ban, da are other signs of this mood. The sign of the infinitive is ba'n. The imperative is either (1) the simple root, or (2) the root compounded with some word such as to.
Participles.—The present participle is formed by prefixing ba to the root, e.g. ba long, being. The imperfect participle is formed by prefixing such words as ba u, ka da, da kaba, &c. The perfect participle is formed by putting such particles as ba la, haba la, da kaba la before the verb. Verbal nouns of agency are formed by prefixing nong to the root, e.g. u nong knia (the sacrificer). The Passive Voice is formed by using the verb impersonally, and putting the subject into the Accusative case with ia.
Potentiality is indicated by the verb lah, necessity by the verb dei; dang and da show the indefinite present.
The negative is indicated by the particles ym, contracted into 'm, shym, and pat. Ym is put before the verb, e.g. 'ym don briew = there is no one; with a pronoun it is contracted, e.g. u'm wan, he does not come. It follows the sign of the future, e.g. phi'n y'm man, you will not come. Shym and pat are neptive particles, and are used with negative verbs in the past tense, e.g. u'm shymla man, he did not come.