In Vandilic, Verbs change based on number, person, mood, and voice.
There are two numbers: singular and plural. It lost the dual that Old Vandilic had, due to influence from changes from Latin to Italian.
There are three persons: first (I, we), second (you), and third (he, she, it, they).
There are three moods: indicative (he writes), subjunctive (It is essential that he write), and imperative (write!).
There are two voices: active (he writes the paper) and passive (the paper was written by him).
Numbers[]
- Singular. The singular form of verbs is for when the verb is referring to one person. If someone is using a verb attached to "I", “you”, “he”, “she”, or “it”, or anything where one person is the subject of the verb (or, in passive, agent).
- Plural. The plural form of verbs is used when the subject or agent is more than one person, “we”, “you (all)”, or “they”.
Persons[]
This just refers to first, second, and third person.
- First person is "I", "we", or when the speaker or writer is or is part of the subject (part that's doing the action).
- Second person is "you".
- Third person is "he", "she", "it", and "they".
Voices[]
- Active voice is the voice used when the part doing the action is first, as in "I eat cookies".
- Passive voice is the voice used when what the action is being done to is first in the sentence, as in "The cookies are eaten by me". It is often times more redundant than the active voice.
Moods[]
- Indicative is the form that is used when an action exists or certainly will exist.
- Subjunctive is the form that is used when an action does not exist. For example: in the phrase, "if I were...", were is subjunctive because the action is not or cannot exist. It is used with "if" or "that" most often.
- Imperative is the form used when the verb is a command, as in "buy this!" or "go away!"
Conjugating Verbs[]
Regular verbs[]
In Vandilic, verbs conjugate with the things above. This table will feature the endings that should be attached to a verb after the infinitive ending is removed (usually either -an or -ja-in -ja verbs, only the -a is removed for conjugation in the present) in bold. The verb used will be matsja, to eat. The infinitive ending is -ja, although only -a is removed for conjugation in the present tense. The distinction of -ja and -an is from Old Vandilic, when verbs ending in -an were strong verbs and -ja verbs weak, but that distinction has been lost. The pronouns are on the left side. Note: "thou" is second person singular, and ye is second person plural.
| active indicative | active subjunctive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| ik I | matsju | matsda | matsjo | matsdi |
| þō thou | matsjis | matsdis | matsjeis | matsþis |
| es he | matsjiþ | matsdi | matsjei | matsþi |
| gwēs we | matsjams | matsþum | matsjeim | matsþēm |
| jōs ye | matsjiþ | matsþuþ | matsjeid | matsþiþ |
| ēs they | matsjand | matsþun | matsjein | matsþin |
The passive voice is formed by putting the object (patient) first, then the correct form of the irregular verb "to be" (gwesan), then the passive form of the verb, then the word af (literally "of"), then the subject (agent). Here are the passive forms:
| Indicative | Subjunctive | |
|---|---|---|
| ik I | matsjei | mats (no ending) |
| þō thou | matsjazei | matseiz |
| es he | matsjadei | matseid |
| gwēs we | matsjand | matsend |
| jōs ye | matsjand | matsend |
| ēs they | matsjand | matsend |
The present participle for matsja is matsjand, and the past is matsjads.
For example: Ik matsju bonas (I eat beans) vs. Ik im bonas matsjand (I am eating beans). To form a phrase with the present participle, conjugate gwesan (see below) and then use the -and forme of the verb.
For past, it is the same, with the -ads forme of the verb: Ik matsda bonas (I ate beans) vs. Ik gwas bonas matsjads (I was eating beans).
Irregular verbs[]
There are a few irregular verbs; the most common is gwesan (to be). Irregular verbs have no passive.
| active indicative | active subjunctive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| ik I | im | gwas | sia | gwis |
| þō thou | iz | gwast | sis | gwizes |
| es he | ist | gwas | si | gwize |
| gwēs we | izum | gwizum | sēm | gwezem |
| jōs ye | izuþ | gwizuþ | sēþ | gwizeþ |
| ēs they | sind | gwizun | sēn | gwizen |
The only other irregular verb is dun (to do). If you need to use "to do" in passive, you must use the regular verb fahan (to do, make).
| active indicative | active subjunctive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| ik I | dum | deda | da | did |
| þō thou | dus | dedes | dus | didis |
| es he | duþ | dedi | du | didi |
| gwēs we | dums | didum | dum | didem |
| jōs ye | duþ | diduþ | duþ | diþ |
| ēs they | dunþ | didun | dun | didin |
Negating verbs[]
To negate verbs, simply stick the particle ni before the verb: Ik ni matsju bonas (I don't eat beans).
If the object is indefinite, replace the indefinite article (ein) with nein. For example: Ik matsju ein apla (I eat an apple) becomes Ik ni matsju nein apla (I don't eat an apple).
With verbs that start with a vowel, instead of adding, ni, just put an n- on the beginning of the verb: Ik eisku þik (I ask you) vs. Ik neisku þik (I don't ask you).