Comparative Verb Tables and Common Irregular Roots

12.1 Comparative Verb Tables

The following tables show the regular forms of each scale side-by-side using the root *ktāb “write” (although in reality not all of these forms exist for this particular root). This is provided for easy reference.

12.1.1 The Present Tense

12.1.2 The Preterite Tense

12.1.3 The Imperfect Tense

12.1.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

12.1.5 The Imperative

12.1.6 Deverbatives

12.2 Common Irregular Roots

While the vast majority of Alashian verbs are either regular or have predictable irregularities, a small set of roots may truly be considered irregular. These roots' conjugation cannot be predicted solely on the structure of the root itself, but must be in whole or in part learned separately. The charts below describe the conjugation of some of the most frequent irregular verbs.

12.2.1 *hwāy “be”

The root *hwāy “be” is the most irregular in the Alashian language; this should come as no surprise, given that all three of its radicals are weak consonants. The present tense forms have an emphatic function; under normal circumstances they are not typically used.

This root may only appear in active Scale I.

The preterite and imperfect have two forms listed in each of their third person forms. The first is the common form of the verb, while the form in parentheses is limited to existencial constructions (i.e., 'there was/were').

12.2.2 *řyāw “live”

The root *řyāw “live” similarly suffers from having three problematic consonants and has undergone considerable analogical restructuring. Although this root may appear in a number of different scales, as listed below, only the katab forms are shown here.

• katab: ρ̄άια řaya “live”
• kəthēb: ρ̄άιιή řəyyē “preserve, keep alive”
• kəthāb: ρ̄άιιώ řəyyā “be preserved, be kept alive”
• 'aktēb: αρ̄αιή 'ařayē “give life, revive”
• 'ennuktāb: εννυρ̄αιώ 'ennuřayā “be given life, be revived”
• taktēb: ταρ̄αιή tařayē “come to life”
• nistuktāb: νιστυρ̄αιώ nistuřayā “spare, let live, leave alone”

12.2.3 *hšāy “make, do”

The root *hšāy “make, do” consists of two weak consonants around a stable base -š-. This root is not exceptionally irregular except for the behavior of the initial *H, which disappears in places not typical for root-initial *H. It appears in a number of different scales, but only katab is shown below.

• katab: ηασ̄ή hašē “make, do”
• nuktāb: νυασ̄ή nu'ašē “be made, be done”
• 'aktēb: αηασ̄ή 'ahašē “force, compel”
• 'ennuktāb: εννυηασ̄ώ 'ennuhašā “be forced, be compelled”
• nistuktāb: νιστυηασ̄ώ nistuhašā “be forced on, be mandatory”

12.2.4 *ydāh “know”

The root *ydāh “know” similarly has two weak consonants around a stable base of *-d-. It appears in many different scales, though the most common is the base katab form ιαδώ yadā; most of these forms aren't especially irregular in a way that can't be predicted from the C₁ = *Y and C₃ = *H paradigms other than the imperative.

• katab: ιαδώ yadā “know”
• nuktāb: νυιώδ nuyād “be known”
• 'aktēb: αιήδ 'ayēd “inform, make aware”
• 'ennuktāb: εννυιώδ 'ennuyād “be informed, be aware”
• taktēb: ταιώδ tayād “have intercourse (formal/archaic)”
• staktab: σταιώδ stayād “determine, confirm”
• nistuktāb: νιστυιώδ nistuyād “become manifest, spread (of knowledge, ideas, news, etc.)”

12.2.5 *bū' “come”

The root *bū' “come” both is biconsonantal and has a root-final glottal stop, resulting in a rather exceptional biconsonantal paradigm that includes some unusual vowel alterations.

• katab: βού bū “come”
• staktab: σταβού stabū “come back, return (after a short trip or outing, no more than a few hours)”
• nistuktāb: νιστυβώ nistubā “originate, come (stative)”

12.2.6 *wčā' “go out, leave”

The root *wčā' “go out, leave” has two weak consonants as well, but what is most surprising about its conjugation in katab is the loss of the *w in the preterite (non-third person) as well as the imperative. Note also the contraction of *č + *' into *čh in the third person singular feminine and third person plural of the imperfect.

• katab: в̄άτζα vača “go out, leave”
• 'aktēb: ουτζήτζ 'ūčēč “remove, take out”
• 'ennuktāb: εννουτζώτζ 'ennučāč “be removed, be taken out” ¹
• nistuktāb: νιστουτζώ nistūčā “quit, resign; head away from, leave (stative)”

12.2.7 *whāb “give”

The root *whāb “give” is only truly irregular in katab, where most forms lose either the C₁ *w or the C₂ *h. In other scales its irregularities are predictable using the normal rules of weak roots.

• katab: ηάβ hab “give”
• nuktāb: νουηώβ nūhāb “be given [something]”
• taktēb: τουηήβ tūhēb “give one another”
• staktab: στούηαβ stūhab “accept a gift”
• nistuktāb: νιστουηώβ nistūhāb “be given [to]”

12.2.8 *'mār “say”

With the root *'mār “say”, the initial radical *' is optional in the preterite and imperfect tenses, mandatory in the deverbatives, and absent (quasi-biconsonantal) elsewhere. This means that there are two past tense paradigms, άμαρ 'amar and μώρ mār, both of which are in free variation; the choice of one over the other in a given context seems to be dependent more on prosody than anything else. In other scales, *'mār behaves as a regular triconsonantal root.

• katab: άμαρ 'amar / μώρ mār “say”
• nuktāb: νυαμώρ nu'amār “be said”
• taktēb: ταηαμήρ tahamēr “say together, say in unison”
• nitkatab: νάτταμαρ nəthamar “misspeak, have a slip of the tongue”