Hwuihir Verbs

Rihan verbs have two simple tenses, present and past, and three voices, active, passive and mediopassive (i.e., reflexive). Future tense is expressed with "[present] + a time indicator". The two simple tenses are found in three aspects, namely indicative (a simple, non-continuous action in the present, or a simple non-continuous action in the past), continuative (an action taking place in the present, and continuing to take place, or, an action that took place in the past and continued to take place) and perfect (an action begun and completed in the present, or, an action begun and completed in the past). They are identical for all persons and numbers.

Further, Rihan verbs exist in four moods, namely indicative (statement of fact - I go), negative (I don't go), subjunctive (if I would go), and imperative (you, go!). In dictionaries, the present indicative indicative form of the verb is given, as that is identical to the root form.

Fortunately for the learner, Rihan verbs are very consistent in their conjugation. The following table illustrates:

	Present			Past
Mood	Indicative	Continuative	Perfect	Indicative	Continuative	Perfect
Indicative	---	-(u)ri	-(i)r	-n	-ari	-ar
Negative	-(u)khe	-(u)khi	-(u)kh	-akhe	-akhi	-akh
Subjunctive	-(u)te	-(u)ti	-(u)t	-ate	-ati	-at

This above table holds true for just about every commonly used verb. The passive voice is formed by adding the suffix -(a)hr- to the root of the verb, ahead of one of the above-listed suffixes(e.g. agollhahruri "(it) is being eaten" from agollh, "eat"). The mediopassive is formed similarly, but using the affix -(a)hu (e.g. agollhnahu "it ate itself"). In all cases, the vowel in brackets is used only when the verb root ends in a consonant.

Participles exist in four forms (suffix is indicated in brackets), namely: present active/reflexive (-enh), present passive (-anh), past active/reflexive (-eri), and past passive (-ari). An irregularity occurs here, in that in common usage, the first vowel of the suffix is generally dropped, if the root form of the verb ends in a vowel. However, in writing it must always be present, even if it is becoming slowly acceptable in formal speech as well.

Imperatives exist in three forms: nonmodal - used between equals, or when rank distinction is not known, or on the rare occasions when it is not necessary, and between close or intimate acquaintaces - is formed with the suffix -u; inferior-to-superior is formed with the suffix -n, while superior-to-inferior has three forms, depending on the final letter of the root: -'e is used if the final letter is a consonant, a or e, -i is used with a final i or -o, and -o is used with final u.

Infinitives, however, are quite complex in Rihan, as they are conjugated for aspect, as per the following table:

Indicative -er (e.g., to go)
Continuative -eri (to be going/to have been going)
Perfect -eir (to be gone/to have gone)

There are a few other common affixes found in use with Rihan verbs. These are:

thei'- is a desiderative or permitative prefix, giving the verb a meaning represented in English by the auxiliary verb "may";
-'hnah is a suffix meaning "engage, activate", and is often appended to nouns to form a verblike construct;
-nen is the agentive suffix, indicating the person who performs the action, e.g. "painter";
-'rau is a suffix indicating acquiescence to a request, or a polite request. This is the most polite form of imperative, merely suggesting the command, instead of outright stating it.
-'dhohh is a suffix often used to express the future tense ("will", "shall"), if no time-indicator adverb is present or possible.

I'hhaemn'iut'hilledh Hwuihen Derivation of Verbs

Verbs can be formed in several ways in Rihan from other words, the most common way is the use of a noun form as a verb relating to that noun. Other methods are with various prefixes:

From a verb, adding the prefix lli- will create a negative form of the verb;
From a verb, using the suffix -ri forms a frequentative form of the verb. Often, this changes the meaning of the root slightly;
From a verb, the suffix -we gives a meaning of 'doing the action willingly';
From a verb, the suffix -det gives a meaning of 'doing the action unwillingly';
From an adjective, using the verb s'tivh followed by the adjective will provide a verb referring to the adjective. The verbal conjugations are applied only to s'tivh and not to the adjective. This is, however, quite rare, and more commonly the mos- prefix is used;

From nouns, adjectives and adverbs, several prefixes can be used to create new verbs. ihrr- creates a meaning of keeping or maintaining the root; ihir- creates a verb indicating a state of being as the root, for example, ihirkiitha means "to be a diplomat"; mos- creates a verb indicating a force making something to be as the root, e.g. moskiitha, which means "to make (someone) a diplomat"; kla- creates a verb indicating a state of behaving, but not actually being, as the root, for example klakiitha means "to behave as a diplomat," or "to engage in diplomatic duties without actually being a member of the Diplomatic Corps"; in this latter sense, it could be applied, for example, to a member of the Galae serving as a military attache to a Rihan Embassy to another political entity. Finally, there is the prefix nhrai-, which creates a verb indicating becoming as the root. For example, nhraikiitha means "to become a diplomat". This differs from moskiitha in that the latter specifically denotes that a second party is involved in training or otherwise making the party referred to by the verb into a diplomat; nhraikiitha, conversely, is non-specific, thus it could mean either that the party referred to by the verb is training himself to be a diplomat, or that he is applying to join the Diplomatic Corps, and could even mean the same thing as moskiitha, depending on the context in which it is used.

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