Lesson 8

The Verb

Some forms of the verb, infinitive and tenses, are presented here. The infinitive. All Blin infinitive verbs end in -na.

Example 8.1

genjna                  to sleep
Qna (qwna)           	to eat
ferna                   to go
enkelna                 to love, to like
Qalna (qwalna)   	to see
Awtitna                 to succeed
sabna                   to praise
kntna                   to train, to learn

The infinitive is formed adding "na" to the verb stem. genjna (to sleep), for e xample, is formed by genj + na.

The Simple present Tense. The simple present tense expresses everyday action or a habitual action.

Example 8.2

an Qakun                 I eat
enti genjrekw            You sleep  (sing.)
gaim mihrotl ferekw      Gaim goes to school
gena enkeleti            A mother loves
ent`n Qaldenekw          You (plural) see
yn Awtitnekun            We succeed
naw sabenekw             They praise (or admire)
yn blin kntnekun         We learn Blin

For the present simple tense, general suffixes that correspond to the Person, Nu mber and Gender are:

1st Person Singular:                -ekun or akun
2nd Person Singular (m, f):         -dekw or rekw;
3rd Person Singular (m):            -ekw or akw
3rd Person Singular (f):            -eti or ati
1st Person Plural:                  -nekun
2nd Person Plural (m, f):           -denekw
3rd Person Plural (m,f):            -nekw

To illustrate the above suffixes, we use the simple present tense of the verb e nkelna (to love). For the personal pronouns, see Lesson 1.

Exempel 8.3

1st Person Singular                an  enkelekun.           	I love
2nd Person Singular (m, f)         enti  enkeldekw.        	You love
3rd Person Singular (m)            ni enkelekw.               	He loves
3rd Person Singular (f)            nri enkeleti.                She loves
1st Person Plural                  yn enkelnekun.           	We love
2nd Person Plural (m, f            ent`n   enkeldenekw.  	You love
3rd Person Plural (m,f)            naw  enkelenekw.      	They love

Observe the alternative suffixes: -ekun or -akun (1st person singular): verbs. Qakun ( I eat) has -akun; enkeleku n has the sufix -ekun. -dekw or -rekw (second person singular): enti Qurek (you eat) has the suffix - rekw while enti enkeldekw, (you love) ends with -dekw. -ekw or -akw (third person singular): Gaim ferekw ends with ekw while ni Qakw (t hird persons singular) ends with -akw.

Which verbs have which suffix forms for the singular persons as in the above wi ll only be mentioned here not be discussed further.

Write Your Comments to Kifle Hamde

Back to Blin Home Page Go to Next Lesson Go to Previous Lesson