Grammar:Word classes

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◀ Word formation Grammar of Tovasala:
Word classes
Special classes ▶

({{{s}}}) All words in Tovasala are categorised into nine classes: articles, pronouns, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, adpositions, conjunctions, and interjections. All classes except adverbs are granted default status.

Default word classes in Tovasala by attribute
Class Animacy Transitivity Wordhood

Article A N
Pronoun A I N
Noun A/I I N
Adjective A I N
Verb I T/I N
Adposition A T/I Y
Conjunction A I Y
Interjection I I Y/N

Articles

Both of Tovasala's articles, l (the) and un (a/an/some), are always attached to native host roots à la Romanian.

Definite

English has one definite article, the, which translates into -lo (masculine), -la (feminine) and -le (neuter) in Tovasala.

With consonant-initial roots

-Le becomes -ile when placed after standalone ch, d, h, j, m, n, t, w, x, y, or z:

riāntlo (the father), riāntla (the mother), rīantile (the parent).

For roots ending in a consonant clusters bl, fl, gl, kl, pl, and sl, -il* is used instead while the cluster's l turns into ŕ:

sibŕilo (the brother), sibŕila (the sister), sibŕile (the sibling).

-Il* also follows br, dr, fr, gr, kr, pr, tr, or vr:

aumbrilo (the man), aumbrila (the woman), aumbrile (the human).

and is also placed after gn in one notable instance:

signilo (the swan cob), signila (the swan pen), signile (the swan).

In all other cases, neuter nouns use -lé:

boavlo (the bull), boavla (the cow), bouv (the cattle).

When a plural noun is used, -s is likewise added to the end:

riāntlos (the fathers), riāntlas (the mothers), riāntiles (the parents);
boavlos (the bulls), boavlas (the cows), boavlés (the cattle herd).

With vowel-initial roots

-Lo/-la/-le exhibits elision similar to French when it becomes l' before a vowel:

l'aumbro (the man), l'aumbra (the woman), l'aumbré (the person).

It is retained after the plural -s is added:

l'aumbros (the men), l'aumbras (the women), l'aumbrés (the persons/people).

When an adjective and noun both begin with vowels, the adjective goes first:

l'aulxaum'aumbro (or in compound form, l'aulxaumgaumbro) (the tall man; the -g- interfix buffers the two aum tokens); l'aulxaum'aumbrouso (the two tall men), l'aulxaum'aumbros (the tall men).

If the adjective is consonant-initial, then the l goes on the right of the nominalised target:

magnello ńaumbri (the important man; the movable ń prevents hiatus in vowels around spaces).

Consonant-initial nouns take the -l, as in aulxaumi lofardiles (the tall mountains).

When both noun and adjective begin with consonants, the adjective precedes the normal noun, as in foarti boamiles (the strong walls). Subject descriptions also act as adjectives and occasionally follow the noun, especially when case markers come into play:

Jefroń, Aulmaderiji (Jeff, Who Lives at Home), maunstrile hoavarduloadi (the monster at the bottom of the lake).

Special cases

As a standalone word, le(s) precedes Nonsentient nouns with underdotted termisons (mainly internationally recognised terms):

le kasinọ (the casino), le guãrbạ (the guava), les toamâtọ (the tomatoes).

Les/los/las also precedes imported surnames, especially when discussing families and duos:

les DuPont, les Rockefeller, les Mandela, los Hardy (The Hardy Boys), las Pelekai (Lilo and Nani).

At least one word treats the particle differently on account of its Japanese origin:

l'animé, but les animé.

Several country names retain their traditional plural form when converted into Tovasala:

L'Ulemuzèmes (Netherlands),[1] Mauldivlés (Maldives), Filipiniles (Philippines), Bahamlas (Bahamas).

Indefinite

English's indefinite article, a(n), corresponds to -uno (masculine), -una (feminine), and -une (neuter) in Tovasala:

nekuno (a tomcat), nekuna (a queen cat), nekune (a cat);
mosheluno (a male meerkat), mosheluna (a female meerkat), moshelune (a meerkat).

Before vowels, it turns into un':

un'aumbra (a woman), un'edo (a boy), un'elemente (an element).

Pluralised, it becomes the word for some while adhering to the same elision rule as l':

un'edos (some boys), un'aumbras (some women), un'aumbrèdes (some children), kualdunes (some monarchs); gomaidunes (some secrets), unes spafạ (some swords).

When a case mesoclitic is involved, the host root is assumed to be definite unless un- is placed between both:

obenginti (in the house); eskoltugu (outside school); nekulemu (below the cat's paws); mobilunabuamu (furnished with a car).

Tovasala also makes use of the partitive case in forms such as bauterunète (some butter), faloavunète (some bread), and mubrolunète (some milk). (-Unet, formed from -un + diminutive suffix -et, literally means "a small version of something".)

Pronouns

Personal

Tovasala's pronoun system is modelled after those of Spanish and Quechua, and honours the T–V distinction found in various Romance languages.[2] All pronouns decline for case, number, and gender, as do nouns. This table covers the basic neuter forms; for a complete rundown, see Grammar:Pronoun chart.

Person Type
Subject Object Indirect Reflexive Reflexive Emphatic
1st Singular mié madé sebmé seblimé
Plural més miés madés sebmés seblimés
2nd (Familiar) Singular tié tadé sebté seblité
Plural tés tiés tadés sebtés seblités
2nd (Formal) Singular usté ustié ustadé sebusté seblusté
Plural ustés ustiés ustadés sebustes seblustés
3rd Singular lumé lumié lumadé seblumé sebŕilumé
Plural lumés lumiés lumadés seblumés sebŕilumés
4th Subject selbé selbie selbade sësselbe sebŕiselbe
Object selbème selbemie selbemade sësselbème sebŕiselbème

Possessive

The language employs 168 possessive suffixoids based on the pronoun stems; they inflect for gender, number, and alienability.

Person Gender Number
Singular Dual Plural
Inalienable Alienable Inalienable Alienable Inalienable Alienable
1st (Inclusive) Masculine oanim oangim oanbim oanobim oansim oanosim
Feminine aunim aungim aunbim aunobim aunsim aunosim
Neuter inim ingim inbim inobim insim inosim
1st (Exclusive) Masculine oanbeum oanobeum oanseum oanoseum
Feminine aunbeum aunobeum aunseum aunoseum
Neuter inbeum inobeum inseum inoseum
2nd (Familiar) Masculine oanit oangit oanbit oanobit oansit oanosit
Feminine aunit aungit aunbit aunobit aunsit aunosit
Neuter init ingit inbit inobit insit inosit
2nd (Honorable) Masculine oanut oangut oanbut oanobut oansut oanosut
Feminine aunut aungut aunbut aunobut aunsut aunosut
Neuter inut ingut inbut inobut insut inosut
3rd Masculine oanil oangil oanbil oanobil oansil oanosil
Feminine aunil aungil aunbil aunobil aunsil aunosil
Neuter inil ingil inbil inobil insil inosil
4th (Subject) Masculine oanealb oangealb oanbealb oanobealb oansealb oanosealb
Feminine aunealb aungealb aunbealb aunobealb aunsealb aunosealb
Neuter inealb ingealb inbealb inobealb insealb inosealb
4th (Object) Masculine oanealbem oangealbem oanbealbem oanobealbem oansealbem oanosealbem
Feminine aunealbem aungealbem aunbealbem aunobealbem aunsealbem aunosealbem
Neuter inealbem ingealbem inbealbem inobealbem insealbem inosealbem
Interrogative (?) Masculine oaneak oangeak oanbeak oanobeak oanseak oanoseak
Feminine auneak aungeak aunbeak aunobeak aunseak aunoseak
Neuter (Inanimate) ineak ingeak inbeak inobeak inseak inoseak
Neuter (Animate) inreak ingreak inbreak inobreak insreak inosreak
Relative Masculine oaneaj oangeaj oanbeaj oanobeaj oanseaj oanoseaj
Feminine auneaj aungeaj aunbeaj aunobeaj aunseaj aunoseaj
Neuter (Inanimate) ineaj ingeaj inbeaj inobeaj inseaj inoseaj
Neuter (Animate) inreaj ingreaj inbreaj inobreaj insreaj inosreaj

Referential

Tovasala employs a special pronoun, selbé/selbo/selba, to denote the subject last referred to. Derived from German, it acts the same way as its Lojban influence, ri.

Jauradu vato, prendealb pueteandiles. (When he goes, he takes the keys.) (The -ealb is the -o the sentence refers to, and no one else.)

When the subject is also the object, selbié/selbio/selbia is used:

Jauradu vata, toute veyisat selbia. (When she goes, everyone sees her.)

If another sentence refers to the object, then selbème/selbemo/selbema is used:

Jauno veyat l'aibũre; dolshaumeriemealbem. (John sees the tree. It is very tall.)

When two or more items are stated, a reference number follows selb*/selbem*, as demonstrated in this translation from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (Chapter 135, "The Chase — Third Day"):

«Plovarda! Moarttenière!—touƒtème moarttenière!» krivlurat Âhabo sëlssuodadi; «inealbtrigi drève seuŕVespuŕesilaik!»
"The ship! The hearse!—the second hearse!" cried Ahab from the boat; "its wood could only be American!"

Here, sëlssuodadi refers to the ship Captain Ahab himself is on, and inealbtrigi refers to "the second hearse".

Relative

In addition, the language possesses several relative pronouns, all of which are counterparts to the interrogatives and begin with j.

Pronoun Interrogative Parent morpheme English meaning
jiène kiène -iēn who
jiēnie kiēnie -iēn whom
jesène kesène -esen which, that
jesenie kesenie -esen which, that (obj.)

Nouns

Gendered nouns

In Tovasala, nouns given to members of the taxonomic kingdom Animalia are assigned masculine (male) and feminine (female) forms, ending in -o and -a respectively. This is the case for human beings, as shown below:

aumbro (man; male human) corresponds to aumbra (woman; female human). Similarly, edo (young male) corresponds to eda (young female).

Plurals are formed by adding an -s at the end:

aumbros (men)/aumbras (women); edos (young males)/edas (young females).

The above rules also apply to non-human animals:

neko(s)/neka(s) (cat[s]); nâyo(s)/nâya(s) (dog[s]); tofualo(s)/tofuala(s) (whale[s]).

Neuter nouns

When the subject's gender is unknown, undetermined, unspecified, or irrelevant, the neuter form (-e) is assumed; this also applies to groups and crowds with members in both genders:

aumbré(s) (person[s]); riānte(s) (parents); biviēnède(s) (young person[s]); sibande(s) (raccoon[s]); nâye(s) (dog[s]); tofuale(s) (whale[s]).

Although they are living organisms, plants and trees are considered neuter:

plievlé (plant), l'aibũre (tree), floarvlé (flower), yemplievlé (garden/swamp weed).

All other nouns are considered inanimate, and also end with -e in most cases:

chairlé (chair; concrete object), voasenile (summer; abstract concept), l'astranule (astronomy; study/field).

If a neuter word's last three letters are e + C + e, then the penultimate e receives a grave accent (è):

moshelo (male meerkat), moshela (female meerkat), moshèle (meerkat).

Several dozen Sentient nouns retain the original -o or -a of their original etymons, marking them with an underdot. This is one of only two cases where le(s) and une(s) can be used as real words.

une kasinọ (a casino), plũrịme mangạ (several manga volumes), le piezạ (the pizza), les toamâtọ (the tomatoes).

Masculine nouns

Tovasala boasts a small set of inherently masculine words rooted in Christianity: Paipo (the Pope),[3] Domeno (the Lord), Jesuyo (Jesus), Kristo (Christ).

Feminine nouns

While inanimate in nature, Tovasala nonetheless follows English tradition with the feminine plova (boat)/plovarda (ship), and all other words for water transportation. Vênauza, the language's name for the planet Venus, is also feminine; so is Bahama, referring to one of the islands in the Bahamian archipelago.[4]

Occupations

For words in this category, the same rules for gender apply:

  • polieziēno (policeman)/polieziēna (policewoman) — formed from polieze (the police [force])
  • pîloto/pîlota (pilot)
  • flâmiviēno/flâmiviēna (firefighter)
  • livrusontiēno/livrusontiēna (librarian)
  • lampriēno/lampriēna (leader [of a country])
  • kuendiēno/kuendiēna (driver [of a car]))
  • kualdo (king)/kualda (queen)
  • kualtaudro (prince)/kualtaudra (princess)
  • duko (duke)/duka (duchess)
  • Senoro (Sro., Mister/Mr.)/Senora (Sra., Missis/Mrs.); Eusenora (Eusa., Miss/Ms.)
  • Aultado/Aultada (Highness)
  • Paip(l)o (the Pope)

Proper nouns

Proper nouns are converted per Tovasala's spelling conventions. All first names of people are given -o/-a endings, depending on the subject's gender. Names of languages are treated as neuter, ending with -e. In similar fashion to Ido, place names can either end with -e or inherit the -o or -a from the original word, but remain neuter.

Examples include Jauno (John; male name), Samanfa (Samantha; female given name), Karibine (Caribbean; place name), Tokýo (place name with -o), Somalida (Somalia; place name with -a), and Mandạrine (Mandarin; language). For more, please see Grammar:Words and phrases.

Imported words

Certain first names and surnames, terms such as QWERTY, and names of species (such as Homo sapiens) are mainly borrowed from English, and neither change their spellings nor inflect in Tovasala. This is the only instance where the language permits the use of c and q.

Verbs

All verbs in Tovasala end with -ar in their infinitive forms, and possess regular conjugation throughout (with occasional spelling alterations). As in the Romance languages, they are marked for person, tense, aspect, mood, number, and sometimes gender; additionally, they conjugate for clusivity in the first person.

Affixes

Suffixes

Infinitive verbs end with -ar, as many do in Spanish. Conjugation involves

  • a series of 32 termisons for indicative forms, mostly based on pronoun stems;
  • -aik for the conditional and subjunctive moods;
  • -ait for the imperative;
  • -aij-ind for the prospective aspect;
  • -ant for the progressive aspect (present participle);
  • -asant for the continuative aspect;
  • -aid for past participles.

The -av- affix is also used for perfect forms, resulting in:

  • -avar, perfect infinitive;
  • -av-ind, perfect indicative;
  • -avaik, perfect conditional;
  • -anv-ind, progressive perfect;
  • -asanv-ind, continuative perfect;
  • -aijav-ind, prospective perfect.
Tenses

There are six tense markers which are added between verbal stems and indicatives/other termisons; the present tense has none.

Indicatives

Tovasala's indicative termison system operates similarly to those in Latin and the Turkic languages. The pronoun stems provide the basis of its indicative clitics in all persons except the third, which uses -at/-isivat/-isat.

Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) -im -isivim -isim
1st (Exclusive) -isiveum -iseum
2nd (Familiar) -it/-ot -isivit -isit
2nd (Honorable) -ut/-ump/-ulb -isivut -isut
3rd -at -isivat -isat
4th (Subject) -ealb -isivealb -isealb
4th (Object) -ealbem -isivealbem -isealbem
Interrogative -eak -isiveak -iseak
Interrogative (Personal) -eank -isiveank -iseank
Relative -eaj -isiveaj -iseaj
Relative (Personal) -eanj -isiveanj -iseanj

Verbal nouns, meaning "an act of...", can be formed by adding at the end, or the standard -e if the root ends in eC. Resultative nouns, meaning "the result of doing...", are formed with -ain followed by an e.[5]

Sometimes, verbs can inflect for gender by simply adding -o/-a after the tense/mood suffix, akin to the past tense in Russian. Unless necessary, this information is left out in spoken/written speech.

Chuzato (He cooks), Troavata (She works), Aunitturelat (Used to be yours [addressing a female listener]).

These forms can also inflect in the dual and plural:

Flegisimo (We are nurses; male speakers), Virisiveum (We'll both go; to listener), Bengiesmabilisita (You can sing well; to females), Nẽrliēnisat (They are teachers; of males and females).

Prefix

Negation is expressed with the nal- prefix, which always precedes the tense slot (and is the leftmost possible morpheme in a Tovasala word). Due to morphological processes, nal- always turns into naŕ- unless before a beginning vowel, b, h, or l.

Inflection types

Finite

Tovasala's finite markers are the 32 indicative (inf) termisons, plus -ait (imperative/imp).

duerim (I love), duerit (you love), duerat (he/she/it loves), duerisim (we love), duerisit (you guys love), duerisat (they love); duerait (love!).

Nonfinite

The nonfinite markers are -ar (infinitive/inf), -ant (present participle/pr.ptcp), -aid (past participle/pst.ptcp), and -aik (conditional/subjunctive / cond/sbj).

duerar (to love), duerant (loving), dueraidi (loved [by an entity]), dueraik (could/would/should love; that sbj love).

TAM system

Tense

As mentioned earlier, Tovasala expresses tense with -lurip (recent past/pst.rec), -lur (simple past/pst), -lurel (discontinuous past/pst.disc), -lureng (distant past/pst.dst), -lir (future/fut), and -luvir (future in the past/pst-fut); the present is unmarked (Ø).

duerat (loves), duerluripat (just loved), duerlurat (loved), duerlurelat (used to love), duerlurengat (loved long ago), duerlirat (will love), duerluvirat (would love).

Aspect

Aspect is expressed with -ant (progressive/prog), -asant (continuative/cont), -avat (perfect/perf), and -aijat (prospective/prsp).

duerant (is loving), duerasant (is still loving), dueravat (has loved), dueraijat (is about to love).

Mood

Mood is expressed with the realis -at (indicative/ind), and the irrealis -ait (infinitive/inf) and -aik (conditional/subjunctive / cond/sjv).

duerat (loves), duerait (love!), dueraik (could/would/should love; that sbj love).

-ait is also used for optative statements, formed with VSO:

Aubogait-suertiles fuindondu tio. (May the odds ever be in your favour.)
Tüvvait-lumo, Diēvomistu! (Let him go for Heaven's sake!)

Aktionsart

Aktionsart, German for lexical aspect, concerns the structure of verbs in relation to time.

Active

Active verbs in Tovasala are always transitive in SVO/OVS sentences, and intransitive in their passive forms.

Brîanto duerat Ashlêya. (Brian loves Ashley.)
Brîanto duerat Ashlêyieba. (Brian is loved by Ashley. = Ashley loves Brian.) (-ieb is the ergative case marker.)
Brîanto dueraidat. (Brian is loved. = Someone loves Brian.)

Stative

Intransitive verbs are stative, along with forms stemming from nominal, adjectival, and adpositional roots.

Esine toutwobu hodiēltisat. (These things always happen.) (Intransitive Verb)
Jauno pîlautturelat. (John was once a pilot.) (Noun)
Esan'aumbro ńaulshaumat. (That man is tall.) (Adjective)
Wilmintaune proximat kortileń Ătlăntiki. (Wilmington is near the Atlantic shore.) (Adposition)
Tristavisit wob touti maurve! (You guys have been sad the whole time!)

Passive verbs are also intransitive/stative:

Joalmaurvune guodaiddirisat ad filmtayène nouchemwobu. (A good time will be enjoyed at the movies tonight.)

Valency

As in English, Tovasala contains five levels of verbal valency: impersonal, intransitive, transitive, ditransitive, and tritransitive. Valency determines the number of arguments that a verbal predicate takes.

Impersonal

With impersonal verbs, a dummy subject such as "it" precedes the predicate. In Tovasala, they do not conjugate in the passive voice at all; words dealing with weather conditions are the most common examples, among them pleuvar (to rain) and nivindar (to snow). Whereas English uses "It rains", Tovasala drops the subject entirely and simply uses Pleuvat.

Intransitive

In sentences with intransitive verbs, the subject (S) is the only argument involved. In Tovasala, intransitives also lack passive conjugation; examples include sujar (be identified as), hodiezar (happen/occur/take place), and adjective-/noun-/adposition-based constructs.

EsineS hodiezzurelat. (This used to happen.)
TuortileS shoulat. (The cake is white.)
Mạriya SkautiS kualddurat. (Mary of Scotland was a queen.)

Transitive

Transitive verbs normally take a subject (agent; A) and an object (O) (patient; P) in sentences; Tovasala examples include dezar (say), fuostar (hear), giesmar (sing), toakar (play music/perform), skribar (write), veyar (see), mandar (send), tenar (have/hold), and kuendar (drive).

VeyatoS/A l'ourème.O/P (He sees the city.)
GiesmisataS/A giesmaidune.O/P (They [the women] sing a song.)

Transitives also behave like intransitives when no object is present, as in:

BobinoS troavat bromu. (Bobby works hard.)

Verbs of motion, such as var (go) and hendar (walk), are only transitive when referring to distance covered:

Nend hendaikimS/A kuinsente hengardiO/P—nend hendaikim selbème shobreli... (And I would walk 500 miles—and I would walk 500 more...)

In all other cases, they are nominally intransitive:

MobilinsimeS tezịmmurelat. (Our car was once a slowpoke.)

At least one verb, vũrdar (consider), uses a non-core argument (oblique; Ob) that governs the essive case:

VũrddurisatS/A lumiaO/P fahịmnandu.Ob (They took her for a fool.)

Ditransitive

Ditransitive verbs take a subject and two objects, one direct and the other indirect (I). Tovasala marks the indirect object with the ad adposition, as shown in this example involving obrar (give):

MafeuloS/A obrulddirat l'aumbredadaI livriles.O/P (Matthew will give the books to the girl.)

Verbs whose stems end in -obr govern the dative case:

RiāntoS/A sidobrardat fraulizadile.I (Daddy strongly approves of the union.) (Sidobrar literally means "give a yes [sid] to".)

Tritransitive

Some sources classify English bet as tritransitive (taking three objects). The Tovasala equivalent, gealar, requires an indirect object, a direct object, and a relative or prepositional clause at most:

GealimaS/A tadoI zanaurtuorttriemouseO/P jiēr Bellwether rëvvolbaiddirata.RCl (I bet you two slices of carrot cake that Bellwether gets re-elected.)
ShĩrlêyaS/A gealavat tiōŕaunealbadeI deykiloge daulẽriO/P ńaup suikolpuozi bouŕalistesèle.PCl (Shirley's bet her friend $10,000 on the traitor's deserved possible abdication.)

Conjugation models

Depending on the last one or two root letters, all verbs in Tovasala fall into one of several conjugation models. In the following paradigms, verbal affixes are marked in green; deviations from those or the parent roots are bolded.

Type 1

This type is the most resistant to mutations, occurring after b, f, g, k, p, Vr, or v (except if uniliteral v- is involved). This is Tovasala's standard regular conjugation, as demonstrated by this example involving skribar (to write).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) skribim skribisivim skribisim I write we both write we write
1st (Exclusive) skribisiveum skribiseum
2nd (Familiar) skribit skribisivit skribisit you write you both write you all write
2nd (Honorable) skribut skribisivut skribisut
3rd skribat skribisivat skribisat he/she/it writes they both write they write
4th (Subject) skribealb skribisivealb skribisealb sbj write(s)
4th (Object) skribealbem skribisivealbem skribisealbem
Interrogative skribeak skribisiveak skribiseak what writes? which two write? which ones write?
Interrogative (Personal) skribeank skribisiveank skribiseank who writes? which two people write? which people write?
Relative skribeaj skribisiveaj skribiseaj who writes both of which write which write
Relative (Personal) skribeanj skribisiveanj skribiseanj who writes both of whom write who write
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past skriblurip- sbj just wrote
Simple Past skriblur- sbj wrote
Discontinuous Past skriblurel- sbj used to write / once/formerly wrote
Distant Past skriblureng- sbj wrote long ago
Future skriblir- sbj will write
Future in the Past skribluvir- sbj would write

Type 2a

Nearly all verbal roots ending with l are found in Type 2a, such as tanular (to study). L mutates into ŕ before the fourth-person indicatives.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) tanulim tanulisivim tanulisim I study we both study we study
1st (Exclusive) tanulisiveum tanuliseum
2nd (Familiar) tanulit tanulisivit tanulisit you study you both study you all study
2nd (Honorable) tanulut tanulisivut tanulisut
3rd tanulat tanulisivat tanulisat he/she/it studies they both study they study
4th (Subject) tanuŕealb tanuŕisivealb tanuŕisealb sbj study/studies
4th (Object) tanuŕealbem tanuŕisivealbem tanuŕisealbem
Interrogative tanuleak tanulisiveak tanuliseak what studies? which two study? which ones study?
Interrogative (Personal) tanuleank tanulisiveank tanuliseank who studies? which two people study? which people study?
Relative tanuleaj tanulisiveaj tanuliseaj who studies both of which study which study
Relative (Personal) tanuleanj tanulisiveanj tanuliseanj who studies both of whom study who study
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past tanullurip- sbj just studied
Simple Past tanullur- sbj studied
Discontinuous Past tanullurel- sbj used to study / once/formerly studied
Distant Past tanullureng- sbj studied long ago
Future tanullir- sbj will study
Future in the Past tanulluvir- sbj would study

Below is the paradigm for äpparlar (to speak to/talk to/call on the phone).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) äpparlim äpparlisivim äpparlisim I speak to someone we both speak to someone we speak to someone
1st (Exclusive) äpparlisiveum äpparliseum
2nd (Familiar) äpparlit äpparlisivit äpparlisit you speak to someone you both speak to someone you all speak to someone
2nd (Honorable) äpparlut äpparlisivut äpparlisut
3rd äpparlat äpparlisivat äpparlisat he/she/it speaks to someone they both speak to someone they speak to someone
4th (Subject) äpparŕealb äpparŕisivealb äpparŕisealb sbj speak(s) to someone
4th (Object) äpparŕealbem äpparŕisivealbem äpparŕisealbem
Interrogative äpparleak äpparlisiveak äpparliseak what speaks to someone? which two speak to someone? which ones speak to someone?
Interrogative (Personal) äpparleank äpparlisiveank äpparliseank who speaks to someone? which two people speak to someone? which people speak to someone?
Relative äpparleaj äpparlisiveaj äpparliseaj who speaks to someone both of which speak to someone which speak to someone
Relative (Personal) äpparleanj äpparlisiveanj äpparliseanj who speaks to someone both of whom speak to someone who speak to someone
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past äpparllurip- sbj just spoke to someone
Simple Past äpparllur- sbj spoke to someone
Discontinuous Past äpparllurel- sbj used to spoke to someone / once/formerly spoke to someone
Distant Past äpparllureng- sbj spoke to someone long ago
Future äpparllir- sbj will speak to someone
Future in the Past äpparlluvir- sbj would speak to someone

Type 2b

Type 2b, which conjugates the same way as 2a, changes the final rVl to rVnn in the fourth person (as seen with spral-, "to wash").

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) spralim spralisivim spralisim I wash we both wash we wash
1st (Exclusive) spralisiveum spraliseum
2nd (Familiar) spralit spralisivit spralisit you wash you both wash you all wash
2nd (Honorable) spralut spralisivut spralisut
3rd spralat spralisivat spralisat he/she/it washes they both wash they wash
4th (Subject) sprannealb sprannisivealb sprannisealb sbj wash(es)
4th (Object) sprannealbem sprannisivealbem sprannisealbem
Interrogative spraleak spralisiveak spraliseak what washes? which two wash? which ones wash?
Interrogative (Personal) spraleank spralisiveank spraliseank who washes? which two people wash? which people wash?
Relative spraleaj spralisiveaj spraliseaj who washes both of which wash which wash
Relative (Personal) spraleanj spralisiveanj spraliseanj who washes both of whom wash who wash
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past sprallurip- sbj just washed
Simple Past sprallur- sbj washed
Discontinuous Past sprallurel- sbj used to wash / once/formerly washed
Distant Past sprallureng- sbj washed long ago
Future sprallir- sbj will wash
Future in the Past spralluvir- sbj would wash

Type 2c

Type 2c handles almost all verb roots ending in Cl. Indicatives conjugate like 2a, while the l in tense suffixes is dropped. Below is an example involving taglar (to prepare).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) taglim taglisivim taglisim I prepare we both prepare we prepare
1st (Exclusive) taglisiveum tagliseum
2nd (Familiar) taglit taglisivit taglisit you prepare you both prepare you all prepare
2nd (Honorable) taglut taglisivut taglisut
3rd taglat taglisivat taglisat he/she/it prepares they both prepare they prepare
4th (Subject) tagŕealb tagŕisivealb tagŕisealb sbj prepare(s)
4th (Object) tagŕealbem tagŕisivealbem tagŕisealbem
Interrogative tagleak taglisiveak tagliseak what prepares? which two prepare? which ones prepare?
Interrogative (Personal) tagleank taglisiveank tagliseank who prepares? which two people prepare? which people prepare?
Relative tagleaj taglisiveaj tagliseaj who prepares both of which prepare which prepare
Relative (Personal) tagleanj taglisiveanj tagliseanj who prepares both of whom prepare who prepare
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past taglurip- sbj just prepared
Simple Past taglur- sbj prepared
Discontinuous Past taglurel- sbj used to prepare / once/formerly prepared
Distant Past taglureng- sbj prepared long ago
Future taglir- sbj will prepare
Future in the Past tagluvir- sbj would prepare

Type 2d

In verb roots of Type 2d, -ut morphs into -ump after sl to avoid misinterpretation of a certain undesirable word by English learners, and the tense markers follow 2b's pattern. A demonstration is shown below with vinjaslar (to impeach).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) vinjaslim vinjaslisivim vinjaslisim I impeach we both impeach we impeach
1st (Exclusive) vinjaslisiveum vinjasliseum
2nd (Familiar) vinjaslit vinjaslisivit vinjaslisit you impeach you both impeach you all impeach
2nd (Honorable) vinjaslump vinjaslisivut vinjaslisut
3rd vinjaslat vinjaslisivat vinjaslisat he/she/it impeaches they both impeach they impeach
4th (Subject) vinjasŕealb vinjasŕisivealb vinjasŕisealb sbj impeach(es)
4th (Object) vinjasŕealbem vinjasŕisivealbem vinjasŕisealbem
Interrogative vinjasleak vinjaslisiveak vinjasliseak what impeaches? which two impeach? which ones impeach?
Interrogative (Personal) vinjasleank vinjaslisiveank vinjasliseank who impeaches? which two people impeach? which people impeach?
Relative vinjasleaj vinjaslisiveaj vinjasliseaj who impeaches both of which impeach which impeach
Relative (Personal) vinjasleanj vinjaslisiveanj vinjasliseanj who impeaches both of whom impeach who impeach
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past vinjaslurip- sbj just impeached
Simple Past vinjaslur- sbj impeached
Discontinuous Past vinjaslurel- sbj used to impeach / once/formerly impeached
Distant Past vinjaslureng- sbj impeached long ago
Future vinjaslir- sbj will impeach
Future in the Past vinjasluvir- sbj would impeach

Type 3

After verb roots ending in Cr (such as oudr-, "to become"), the l in tenses is dropped while the remainder transforms into uld for the past forms and ild for the future.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) oudrim oudrisivim oudrisim I become we both become we become
1st (Exclusive) oudrisiveum oudriseum
2nd (Familiar) oudrit oudrisivit oudrisit you become you both become you all become
2nd (Honorable) oudrut oudrisivut oudrisut
3rd oudrat oudrisivat oudrisat he/she/it becomes they both become they become
4th (Subject) oudrealb oudrisivealb oudrisealb sbj become(s)
4th (Object) oudrealbem oudrisivealbem oudrisealbem
Interrogative oudreak oudrisiveak oudriseak what becomes? which two become? which ones become?
Interrogative (Personal) oudreank oudrisiveank oudriseank who becomes? which two people become? which people become?
Relative oudreaj oudrisiveaj oudriseaj who becomes both of which become which become
Relative (Personal) oudreanj oudrisiveanj oudriseanj who becomes both of whom become who become
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past oudruldip- sbj just became
Simple Past oudruld- sbj became
Discontinuous Past oudruldel- sbj used to become / once/formerly became
Distant Past oudruldeng- sbj became long ago
Future oudrild- sbj will become
Future in the Past oudrulddir- sbj would become

Type 4

The lone root of this type is the uniliteral v- (to go), whose tense stems behave like 2b and 2c. Conjugation of this verb is far more regular than its counterparts in various other languages.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) vim visivim visim I go we both go we go
1st (Exclusive) visiveum viseum
2nd (Familiar) vit visivit visit you go you both go you all go
2nd (Honorable) vut visivut visut
3rd vat visivat visat he/she/it goes they both go they go
4th (Subject) vealb visivealb visealb sbj go(es)
4th (Object) vealbem visivealbem visealbem
Interrogative veak visiveak viseak what goes? which two go? which ones go?
Interrogative (Personal) veank visiveank viseank who goes? which two people go? which people go?
Relative veaj visiveaj viseaj who goes both of which go which go
Relative (Personal) veanj visiveanj viseanj who goes both of whom go who go
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past vurip- sbj just went
Simple Past vur- sbj went
Discontinuous Past vurel- sbj used to go / once/formerly went
Distant Past vureng- sbj went long ago
Future vir- sbj will go
Future in the Past vuvir- sbj would go

Type 5a

The exemplar of Type 5a is premar, "to begin/start". Here, the l in all tense suffixes morphs into m, the root's last letter, via a special form of "rendaku". 5a is the most prominent, with its verb stems ending in d, j, lm, Vm, rm, w, x, or y.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) premim premisivim premisim I begin we both begin we begin
1st (Exclusive) premisiveum premiseum
2nd (Familiar) premit premisivit premisit you begin you both begin you all begin
2nd (Honorable) premut premisivut premisut
3rd premat premisivat premisat he/she/it begins they both begin they begin
4th (Subject) premealb premisivealb premisealb sbj begin(s)
4th (Object) premealbem premisivealbem premisealbem
Interrogative premeak premisiveak premiseak what begins? which two begin? which ones begin?
Interrogative (Personal) premeank premisiveank premiseank who begins? which two people begin? which people begin?
Relative premeaj premisiveaj premiseaj who begins both of which begin which begin
Relative (Personal) premeanj premisiveanj premiseanj who begins both of whom begin who begin
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past premmurip- sbj just began
Simple Past premmur- sbj began
Discontinuous Past premmurel- sbj used to begin / once/formerly began
Distant Past premmureng- sbj began long ago
Future premmir- sbj will begin
Future in the Past premmuvir- sbj would begin

Type 5b

Verb stems of type 5b (such as venar, to come) end with ln, Vn, or rn; an epenthetic g is placed before the personal interrogative/relative termisons.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) venim venisivim venisim I come we both come we come
1st (Exclusive) venisiveum veniseum
2nd (Familiar) venit venisivit venisit you come you both come you all come
2nd (Honorable) venut venisivut venisut
3rd venat venisivat venisat he/she/it comes they both come they come
4th (Subject) venealb venisivealb venisealb sbj come(s)
4th (Object) venealbem venisivealbem venisealbem
Interrogative veneak venisiveak veniseak what comes? which two come? which ones come?
Interrogative (Personal) vengeank venisiveank veniseank who comes? which two people come? which people come?
Relative veneaj venisiveaj veniseaj who comes both of which come which come
Relative (Personal) vengeanj venisiveanj veniseanj who comes both of whom come who come
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past vennurip- sbj just came
Simple Past vennur- sbj came
Discontinuous Past vennurel- sbj used to come / once/formerly came
Distant Past vennureng- sbj came long ago
Future vennir- sbj will come
Future in the Past vennuvir- sbj would come

Type 6a

Roots ending with gm/gn belong in Type 6a, the sentient sign- (swan) among them, and conjugate like Type 4.

Type 6b

6b features roots ending with sm/sn, and also conjugates like Type 4; here, -ut morphs into -ulb to avoid conflicts with English profanities, as well as the type's variation of -lur. The following example, giesmar (to sing), comes from Latvian.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) giesmim giesmisivim giesmisim I sing we both sing we sing
1st (Exclusive) giesmisiveum giesmiseum
2nd (Familiar) giesmit giesmisivit giesmisit you sing you both sing you all sing
2nd (Honorable) giesmulb giesmisivut giesmisut
3rd giesmat giesmisivat giesmisat he/she/it sings they both sing they sing
4th (Subject) giesmealb giesmisivealb giesmisealb sbj sing(s)
4th (Object) giesmealbem giesmisivealbem giesmisealbem
Interrogative giesmeak giesmisiveak giesmiseak what sings? which two sing? which ones sing?
Interrogative (Personal) giesmeank giesmisiveank giesmiseank who sings? which two people sing? which people sing?
Relative giesmeaj giesmisiveaj giesmiseaj who sings both of which sing which sing
Relative (Personal) giesmeanj giesmisiveanj giesmiseanj who sings both of whom sing who sing
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past giesmurip- sbj just sang
Simple Past giesmur- sbj sang
Discontinuous Past giesmurel- sbj used to sing / once/formerly sang
Distant Past giesmureng- sbj sang long ago
Future giesmir- sbj will sing
Future in the Past giesmuvir- sbj would sing

Type 7

Type 7 handles all roots ending in z, and follows the same tense-mutation pattern as the second; below is an example involving lanzar (to throw). (Z-final roots mutate before any adjacent ones with s; this verb assumes the resulting form of lanny-.)

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) lanzim lannbisivim lannbisim I throw we both throw we throw
1st (Exclusive) lannbisiveum lannbiseum
2nd (Familiar) lanzit lannbisivit lannbisit you throw you both throw you all throw
2nd (Honorable) lanzut lannbisivut lannbisut
3rd lanzat lannbisivat lannbisat he/she/it throws they both throw they throw
4th (Subject) lanzealb lannbisivealb lannbisealb sbj throw(s)
4th (Object) lanzealbem lannbisivealbem lannbisealbem
Interrogative lanzeak lannbisiveak lannbiseak what throws? which two throw? which ones throw?
Interrogative (Personal) lanzeank lannbisiveank lannbiseank who throws? which two people throw? which people throw?
Relative lanzeaj lannbisiveaj lannbiseaj who throws both of which throw which throw
Relative (Personal) lanzeanj lannbisiveanj lannbiseanj who throws both of whom throw who throw
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past lanzzurip- sbj just threw
Simple Past lanzzur- sbj threw
Discontinuous Past lanzzurel- sbj used to throw / once/formerly threw
Distant Past lanzzureng- sbj threw long ago
Future lanzzir- sbj will throw
Future in the Past lanzzuvir- sbj would throw

The root of addezar (to tell/say to someone) mutates into addeit- before morphemes with s.

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) addezim addeitisivim addeitisim I tell someone we both tell someone we tell someone
1st (Exclusive) addeitisiveum addeitiseum
2nd (Familiar) addezit addeitisivit addeitisit you tell someone you both tell someone you all tell someone
2nd (Honorable) addezut addeitisivut addeitisut
3rd addezat addeitisivat addeitisat he/she/it tells someone they both tell someone they tell someone
4th (Subject) addezealb addeitisivealb addeitisealb sbj tell(s) someone
4th (Object) addezealbem addeitisivealbem addeitisealbem
Interrogative addezeak addeitisiveak addeitiseak what tells someone? which two tell someone? which ones tell someone?
Interrogative (Personal) addezeank addeitisiveank addeitiseank who tells someone? which two people tell someone? which people tell someone?
Relative addezeaj addeitisiveaj addeitiseaj who tells someone both of which tell someone which tell someone
Relative (Personal) addezeanj addeitisiveanj addeitiseanj who tells someone both of whom tell someone who tell someone
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past addezzurip- sbj just told someone
Simple Past addezzur- sbj told someone
Discontinuous Past addezzurel- sbj used to told someone / once/formerly told someone
Distant Past addezzureng- sbj told someone long ago
Future addezzir- sbj will tell someone
Future in the Past addezzuvir- sbj would tell someone

Type 8

Type 8 handles roots ending in ch and t; it allows a marker to mutate for the same reasons as 2c (-it-ot). Below is a demonstration involving poartar (to carry) and aistar (to make/produce).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) poartim poartisivim poartisim I carry we both carry we carry
1st (Exclusive) poartisiveum poartiseum
2nd (Familiar) poartot poartisivit poartisit you carry you both carry you all carry
2nd (Honorable) poartut poartisivut poartisut
3rd poartat poartisivat poartisat he/she/it carries they both carry they carry
4th (Subject) poartealb poartisivealb poartisealb sbj carry/carries
4th (Object) poartealbem poartisivealbem poartisealbem
Interrogative poarteak poartisiveak poartiseak what carries? which two carry? which ones carry?
Interrogative (Personal) poarteank poartisiveank poartiseank who carries? which two people carry? which people carry?
Relative poarteaj poartisiveaj poartiseaj who carries both of which carry which carry
Relative (Personal) poarteanj poartisiveanj poartiseanj who carries both of whom carry who carry
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past poartturip- sbj just carried
Simple Past poarttur- sbj carried
Discontinuous Past poartturel- sbj used to carry / once/formerly carried
Distant Past poarttureng- sbj carried long ago
Future poarttir- sbj will carry
Future in the Past poarttuvir- sbj would carry
Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) aistim aistisivim aistisim I make we both make we make
1st (Exclusive) aistisiveum aistiseum
2nd (Familiar) aistot aistisivit aistisit you make you both make you all make
2nd (Honorable) aistut aistisivut aistisut
3rd aistat aistisivat aistisat he/she/it makes they both make they make
4th (Subject) aistealb aistisivealb aistisealb sbj make(s)
4th (Object) aistealbem aistisivealbem aistisealbem
Interrogative aisteak aistisiveak aistiseak what makes? which two make? which ones make?
Interrogative (Personal) aisteank aistisiveank aistiseank who makes? which two people make? which people make?
Relative aisteaj aistisiveaj aistiseaj who makes both of which make which make
Relative (Personal) aisteanj aistisiveanj aistiseanj who makes both of whom make who make
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past aistturip- sbj just made
Simple Past aisttur- sbj made
Discontinuous Past aistturel- sbj used to make / once/formerly made
Distant Past aisttureng- sbj made long ago
Future aisttir- sbj will make
Future in the Past aisttuvir- sbj would make

Another example in Type 8 is zurechar (to incur).

Tovasala English
Person Number
Singular Dual Plural
1st (Inclusive) zurechim zurechisivim zurechisim I incur we both incur we incur
1st (Exclusive) zurechisiveum zurechiseum
2nd (Familiar) zurechot zurechisivit zurechisit you incur you both incur you all incur
2nd (Honorable) zurechut zurechisivut zurechisut
3rd zurechat zurechisivat zurechisat he/she/it incurs they both incur they incur
4th (Subject) zurechealb zurechisivealb zurechisealb sbj incur(s)
4th (Object) zurechealbem zurechisivealbem zurechisealbem
Interrogative zurecheak zurechisiveak zurechiseak what incurs? which two incur? which ones incur?
Interrogative (Personal) zurecheank zurechisiveank zurechiseank who incurs? which two people incur? which people incur?
Relative zurecheaj zurechisiveaj zurechiseaj who incurs both of which incur which incur
Relative (Personal) zurecheanj zurechisiveanj zurechiseanj who incurs both of whom incur who incur
Tovasala English
Tense Stem
Recent Past zurechhurip- sbj just incurred
Simple Past zurechhur- sbj incurred
Discontinuous Past zurechhurel- sbj used to incur / once/formerly incurred
Distant Past zurechhureng- sbj incurred long ago
Future zurechhir- sbj will incur
Future in the Past zurechhuvir- sbj would incur

Conjugation overview

The names of Tovasala's aspect and mood classes are named after the order in which the affixes are placed, and differ from standard terms used in other resources and publications.

Aspect/Mood Tense
Present Recent Past Simple Past Discontinuous Past Distant Past Future Future in the Past
Simple R-
does
R-lurip
just did
R-lur
did
R-lurel
used to do
R-lureng
did long ago
R-lir
will do
R-luvir
would do
Progressive R-ant
is doing
R-antturip
was just doing
R-anttur
was doing
R-antturel
used to be doing
R-anttureng
was doing long ago
R-anttir
will be doing
R-anttuvir
would be doing
Continuative R-asant
is still doing
R-asantturip
was still recently doing
R-asanttur
was still doing
R-asantturel
used to be still doing
R-asanttureng
was still doing long ago
R-asanttir
will be still doing
R-asanttuvir
would be still doing
Progressive Perfect R-anv
has been doing
R-anvlurip
has/had just been doing
R-anvlur
had been doing
R-anvlurel
used to have been doing
R-anvlureng
had been doing long ago
R-anvlir
will have been doing
R-anvluvir
would have been doing
Progressive Perfect R-asanv
has been still doing
R-asanvlurip
has/had still recently been doing
R-asanvlur
had been still doing
R-asanvlurel
used to have been still doing
R-asanvlureng
had been still doing long ago
R-asanvlir
will have been still doing
R-asanvluvir
would have been still doing
Progressive Prospective R-antaij
is about to be doing
R-antaijjurip
was just about to be doing
R-antaijjur
was about to be doing
R-antaijjurel
used to be about to be doing
R-antaijjureng
was about to be doing long ago
R-antaijjir
will be about to be doing
R-antaijjuvir
would be about to be doing
Progressive Conditional/Subjunctive R-antaik
ought to be doing;
...that sbj be doing
R-antaiklurip
recently ought to be doing
R-antaiklur
ought to be doing some time ago
R-antaiklurel
should have used to be doing
R-antaiklureng
ought to be doing long ago
R-antaiklir
shall be doing
R-antaikluvir
should be doing
Continuative Conditional/Subjunctive R-asantaik
ought to be still doing;
...that sbj be still doing
R-asantaiklurip
recently ought to be still doing
R-asantaiklur
ought to be still doing some time ago
R-asantaiklurel
should have used to be still doing
R-asantaiklureng
ought to be still doing long ago
R-asantaiklir
shall be still doing
R-asantaikluvir
should be still doing
Perfect R-av
has done
R-avlurip
has/had just done
R-avlur
had done
R-avlurel
used to have done
R-avlureng
had done long ago
R-avlir
will have done
R-avluvir
would have done
Perfect Prospective R-avaij
is about to have done
R-avaijjurip
is just about to have done
R-avaijjur
was about to have done
R-avaijjurel
used to be about to have done
R-avaijjureng
was about to have done long ago
R-avaijjir
will be about to have done
R-avaijjuvir
would be about to have done
Perfect Conditional/Subjunctive R-avaik
ought to have done;
...that sbj have done
R-avaiklurip
just ought to have done
R-avaiklur
ought to have done some time ago
R-avaiklurel
should have used to have done
R-avaiklureng
ought to have done long ago
R-avaiklir
shall have done
R-avaikluvir
should have done
Passive Simple R-aid
is done
R-aiddurip
is just done
R-aiddur
was/were done
R-aiddurel
used to be done
R-aiddureng
was/were done long ago
R-aiddir
will be done
R-aidduvir
would be done
Passive Progressive R-aidant
is being done
R-aidantturip
is just being done
R-aidanttur
was/were being done
R-aidantturel
used to be being done
R-aidanttureng
was/were being done long ago
R-aidanttir
will be being done
R-aidanttuvir
would be being done
Passive Continuative R-aidasant
is still being done
R-aidasantturip
is just still being done
R-aidasanttur
was/were still being done
R-aidasantturel
used to be still being done
R-aidasanttureng
was/were still being done long ago
R-aidasanttir
will be still being done
R-aidasanttuvir
would be still being done
Passive Perfect R-aidav
has been done
R-aidavlurip
had just been done
R-aidavlur
had been done
R-aidavlurel
used to have been done
R-aidavlureng
had been done long ago
R-aidavlir
will have been done
R-aidavluvir
would have been done
Passive Progressive R-aidaij
is about to be done
R-aidaijjurip
was just about to be done
R-aidaijjur
was/were about to be done
R-aidaijjurel
used to be about to be done
R-aidaijjureng
was/were about to be done long ago
R-aidaijjir
will be about to be done
R-aidaijjuvir
would be about to be done
Passive Conditional/Subjunctive R-aidaik
ought to be done;
...that sbj be done
R-aidaiklurip
recently ought to be done
R-aidaiklur
ought to be done some time ago
R-aidaiklurel
should have used to be done
R-aidaiklureng
ought to be done long ago
R-aidaiklir
shall be done
R-aidaikluvir
should be done
Prospective Simple R-aij
is about to do
R-aijjurip
was just about to do
R-aijjur
was about to do
R-aijjurel
used to be about to do
R-aijjureng
was about to do long ago
R-aijjir
will be about to do
R-aijuvir
would be about to do
Prospective Perfect R-aijav
has been about to do
R-aijavlurip
has just been about to do
R-aijavlur
had been about to do
R-aijavlurel
used to have been about to do
R-aijavlureng
had been about to do long ago
R-aijavlir
will have been about to do
R-aijavluvir
would have been about to do
Prospective Conditional/Subjunctive R-aijaik
ought to be about to do;
...that sbj be about to do
R-aijaiklurip
recently ought to be about to do
R-aijaiklur
ought to be about to do some time ago
R-aijaiklurel
should have used to be about to do
R-aijaiklureng
ought to be about to do long ago
R-aijaiklir
shall be about to do
R-aijaikluvir
should be about to do
Conditional/Subjunctive R-aik
ought to do; could/would/should do; ...that sbj do
R-aiklurip
recently ought to do
R-aiklur
ought to do some time ago
R-aiklurel
should have used to do
R-aiklureng
ought to do long ago
R-aiklir
shall do
R-aikluvir
should do
Imperative/Cohortative R-ait!
do!
R-lirait!
let's do!

Tovasala also makes use of the perfect participle, -avaisom: Troaƒfuindavaisomu, tüvvlurealbo l'oavuime. (Having finished his work, he left the office).

Conjugation examples

1: sujar

Equivalents of this verb are extremely irregular in various natural languages. Its conjugation in Tovasala is an exception, along with the Esperanto equivalent esti and Ido esar.

It is ungrammatical in English to precede be's past participle, been, with any other form of that verb. The same applies in Tovasala, where sujar lacks passive conjugation. The participle is retained in the perfect form, sujavat (have/has been).

Sujar is only used to introduce subjects in encyclopedia/news articles and biographies.

Infinitive: sujar (to be [identified as])
Tovasala English
Present
sujim sujisivim sujisim I am we both are we are
sujisiveum sujiseum
sujit sujisivit sujisit you are you both are you all are
sujut sujisivut sujisut
sujat sujisivat sujisat he/she/it is they both are they are
sujealb sujisivealb sujisealb sbj is/are
sujealbem sujisivealbem sujisealbem
Negative Present
naŕsujim naŕsujisivim naŕsujisim I am not we both are not we are not
naŕsujisiveum naŕsujiseum
naŕsujit naŕsujisivit naŕsujisit you are not you both are not you all are not
naŕsujut naŕsujisivut naŕsujisut
naŕsujat naŕsujisivat naŕsujisat he/she/it is not they both are not they are not
naŕsujealb naŕsujisivealb naŕsujisealb sbj is/are not
naŕsujealbem naŕsujisivealbem naŕsujisealbem
Recent Past
sujjuripim sujjuripisivim sujjuripisim I was recently we both recently were we recently were
sujjuripisiveum sujjuripiseum
sujjuripit sujjuripisivit sujjuripisit you were recently you both recently were you were all recently
sujjuriput sujjuripisivut sujjuripisut
sujjuripat sujjuripisivat sujjuripisat he/she/it was recently they were both recently they were recently
sujjuripealb sujjuripisivealb sujjuripisealb sbj was/were recently
sujjuripealbem sujjuripisivealbem sujjuripisealbem
Simple Past
sujjurim sujjurisivim sujjurisim I was we both were we were
sujjurisiveum sujjuriseum
sujjurit sujjurisivit sujjurisit you were you both were you all were
sujjurut sujjurisivut sujjurisut
sujjurat sujjurisivat sujjurisat he/she/it was they both were they were
sujjurealb sujjurisivealb sujjurisealb sbj was/were
sujjurealbem sujjurisivealbem sujjurisealbem
Discontinuous Past
sujjurelim sujjurelisivim sujjurelisim I was once we both once were we were once
sujjurelisiveum sujjureliseum
sujjurelit sujjurelisivit sujjurelisit you were once you both once were you all were once
sujjurelut sujjurelisivut sujjurelisut
sujjurelat sujjurelisivat sujjurelisat he/she/it was once they both once were they were once
sujjurelealb sujjurelisivealb sujjurelisealb sbj was/were once
sujjurelealbem sujjurelisivealbem sujjurelisealbem
Future
sujjirim sujjirisivim sujjirisim I will be we will both be we will be
sujjirisiveum sujjiriseum
sujjirit sujjirisivit sujjirisit you will be you will both be you will all be
sujjirut sujjirisivut sujjirisut
sujjirat sujjirisivat sujjirisat he/she/it will be they will both be they will be
sujjirealb sujjirisivealb sujjirisealb sbj will be
sujjirealbem sujjirisivealbem sujjirisealbem
Future in the Past
sujjuvirim sujjuvirisivim sujjuvirisim I would be we would both be we would be
sujjuvirisiveum sujjuviriseum
sujjuvirit sujjuvirisivit sujjuvirisit you would be you would both be you all would be
sujjuvirut sujjuvirisivut sujjuvirisut
sujjuvirat sujjuvirisivat sujjuvirisat he/she/it would be they would both be they would be
sujjuvirealb sujjuvirisivealb sujjuvirisealb sbj would be
sujjuvirealbem sujjuvirisivealbem sujjuvirisealbem
Conditional/Subjunctive
sujaikim sujisivaikim sujisaikim ...that sbj be; sbj ought to/could/would/should be
sujisivaikeum sujisaikeum
sujaikit sujisivaikit sujisaikit
sujaikut sujisivaikut sujisaikut
sujaik sujisivaik sujisaik
sujaikealb sujisivaikealb sujisaikealb
sujaikealbem sujisivaikealbem sujisaikealbem
Imperative
sujait! be!
Cohortative
sujjirait! let's (= let us) be!
Present Participle (Progressive Active)
sujant be being
Continuative Active
sujasant still be being
Past Participle
[6] been
Prospective
sujaijim sujaijisivim sujaijisim I am about to be we are both about to be we are about to be
sujaijisiveum sujaijiseum
sujaijit sujaijisivit sujaijisit you are about to be you are both about to be you all are about to be
sujaijut sujaijisivut sujaijisut
sujaijat sujaijisivat sujaijisat he/she/it is about to be they are both about to be they are about to be
sujaijealb sujaijisivealb sujaijisealb sbj is/are about to be
sujaijealbem sujaijisivealbem sujaijisealbem
Passive Infinitive
[6]
Progressive Passive Infinitive
[7]
Past Participle Infinitive (Perfect Active)
sujavar to have been
Perfect Passive Infinitive
[8]
Verbal Noun
sujé (the) being/existing

2: mankar

This root conjugates in both the active and passive voices. The French counterpart, manger, possesses regular conjugation (albeit with a few spelling adjustments where applicable). The English past tense form (ate) and past participle (eaten) deviate from the regular eat(s)/eating.

Infinitive: mankar (to eat)
Tovasala English
Present
mankim mankisivim mankisim I eat we both eat we eat
mankisiveum mankiseum
mankit mankisivit mankisit you eat you both eat you all eat
mankut mankisivut mankisut
mankat mankisivat mankisat he/she/it eats they both eat they eat
mankealb mankisivealb mankisealb sbj eat(s)
mankealbem mankisivealbem mankisealbem
Negative Present
naŕmankim naŕmankisivim naŕmankisim I do not eat we both do not eat we do not eat
naŕmankisiveum naŕmankiseum
naŕmankit naŕmankisivit naŕmankisit you do not eat you both do not eat you all do not eat
naŕmankut naŕmankisivut naŕmankisut
naŕmankat naŕmankisivat naŕmankisat he/she/it does not eat they both do not eat they do not eat
naŕmankealb naŕmankisivealb naŕmankisealb sbj do(es) not eat
naŕmankealbem naŕmankisivealbem naŕmankisealbem
Recent Past
mankluripim mankluripisivim mankluripisim I recently ate we both recently ate we recently ate
mankluripisiveum mankluripiseum
mankluripit mankluripisivit mankluripisit you recently ate you both recently ate you all recently ate
mankluriput mankluripisivut mankluripisut
mankluripat mankluripisivat mankluripisat he/she/it recently ate they both recently ate they recently ate
mankluripealb mankluripisivealb mankluripisealb sbj recently ate
mankluripealbem mankluripisivealbem mankluripisealbem
Simple Past
manklurim manklurisivim manklurisim I ate we both ate we ate
manklurisiveum mankluriseum
manklurit manklurisivit manklurisit you ate you both ate you all ate
manklurut manklurisivut manklurisut
manklurat manklurisivat manklurisat he/she/it ate they both ate they ate
manklurealb manklurisivealb manklurisealb sbj was/were
manklurealbem manklurisivealbem manklurisealbem
Discontinuous Past
manklurelim manklurelisivim manklurelisim I once ate we both once ate we once ate
manklurelisiveum manklureliseum
manklurelit manklurelisivit manklurelisit you once ate you both once ate you all once ate
manklurelut manklurelisivut manklurelisut
manklurelat manklurelisivat manklurelisat he/she/it once ate they both once ate they once ate
manklurelealb manklurelisivealb manklurelisealb sbj once ate
manklurelealbem manklurelisivealbem manklurelisealbem
Future
manklirim manklirisivim manklirisim I will eat we will both eat we will eat
manklirisiveum mankliriseum
manklirit manklirisivit manklirisit you will eat you will both eat you will all eat
manklirut manklirisivut manklirisut
manklirat manklirisivat manklirisat he/she/it will eat they will both eat they will eat
manklirealb manklirisivealb manklirisealb sbj will eat
manklirealbem manklirisivealbem manklirisealbem
Future in the Past
mankluvirim mankluvirisivim mankluvirisim I would eat we would both eat we would eat
mankluvirisiveum mankluviriseum
mankluvirit mankluvirisivit mankluvirisit you would eat you would both eat you all would eat
mankluvirut mankluvirisivut mankluvirisut
mankluvirat mankluvirisivat mankluvirisat he/she/it would eat they would both eat they would eat
mankluvirealb mankluvirisivealb mankluvirisealb sbj would eat
mankluvirealbem mankluvirisivealbem mankluvirisealbem
Conditional/Subjunctive
mankaikim mankisivaikim mankisaikim ...that sbj eat; sbj ought to/could/would/should eat
mankisivaikeum mankisaikeum
mankaikit mankisivaikit mankisaikit
mankaikut mankisivaikut mankisaikut
mankaik mankisivaik mankisaik
mankaikealb mankisivaikealb mankisaikealb
mankaikealbem mankisivaikealbem mankisaikealbem
Imperative
mankait! eat!
Cohortative
manklirait! let's (= let us) eat!
Present Participle (Progressive Active)
mankant be eating
Continuative Active
mankasant still be eating
Past Participle
mankaid eaten
Prospective
mankaijim mankaijisivim mankaijisim I am about to eat we are both about to eat we are about to eat
mankaijisiveum mankaijiseum
mankaijit mankaijisivit mankaijisit you are about to eat you are both about to eat you all are about to eat
mankaijut mankaijisivut mankaijisut
mankaijat mankaijisivat mankaijisat he/she/it is about to eat they are both about to eat they are about to eat
mankaijealb mankaijisivealb mankaijisealb sbj is/are about to eat
mankaijealbem mankaijisivealbem mankaijisealbem
Passive Infinitive
mankaidar to be eaten
Progressive Passive Infinitive
mankaidantar to be being eaten
Past Participle Infinitive (Perfect Active)
mankavar to have eaten
Perfect Passive Infinitive
mankaidavar to have been eaten
Verbal Noun
manké (the) eating

3: foartar

Adjectives can also be used to form verbs (meaning "to be adj"), but do not conjugate in the passive voice (as explained in Example 1). The noun form describes something that possesses the attribute in question.

Infinitive: foartar (to be strong)
Tovasala English
Present
foartim foartisivim foartisim I am strong we are both strong we are strong
foartisiveum foartiseum
foartot foartisivit foartisit you are strong you are both strong you all are strong
foartut foartisivut foartisut
foartat foartisivat foartisat he/she/it is strong they are both strong they are strong
foartealb foartisivealb foartisealb sbj is/are strong
foartealbem foartisivealbem foartisealbem
Negative Present
naŕfoartim naŕfoartisivim naŕfoartisim I am not strong we two are not strong we are not strong
naŕfoartisiveum naŕfoartiseum
naŕfoartot naŕfoartisivit naŕfoartisit you are not strong you two are not strong you all are not strong
naŕfoartut naŕfoartisivut naŕfoartisut
naŕfoartat naŕfoartisivat naŕfoartisat he/she/it is not strong the two are not strong they are not strong
naŕfoartealb naŕfoartisivealb naŕfoartisealb sbj is/are not strong
naŕfoartealbem naŕfoartisivealbem naŕfoartisealbem
Recent Past
foartturipim foartturipisivim foartturipisim I was recently strong we were both recently strong we were recently strong
foartturipisiveum foartturipiseum
foartturipit foartturipisivit foartturipisit you were recently strong you were both recently strong you were all recently strong
foartturiput foartturipisivut foartturipisut
foartturipat foartturipisivat foartturipisat he/she/it was recently strong they were both recently strong they were recently strong
foartturipealb foartturipisivealb foartturipisealb sbj was/were recently strong
foartturipealbem foartturipisivealbem foartturipisealbem
Simple Past
foartturim foartturisivim foartturisim I was strong we were both strong we were strong
foartturisiveum foartturiseum
foartturit foartturisivit foartturisit you were strong you were both strong you were all strong
foartturut foartturisivut foartturisut
foartturat foartturisivat foartturisat he/she/it was strong they were both strong they were strong
foartturealb foartturisivealb foartturisealb sbj was/were strong
foartturealbem foartturisivealbem foartturisealbem
Discontinuous Past
foartturelim foartturelisivim foartturelisim I was once strong we were both once strong we were once strong
foartturelisiveum foarttureliseum
foartturelit foartturelisivit foartturelisit you were once strong you two were once strong you were all once strong
foartturelut foartturelisivut foartturelisut
foartturelat foartturelisivat foartturelisat he/she/it was once strong they were both once strong they were once strong
foartturelealb foartturelisivealb foartturelisealb sbj was/were once strong
foartturelealbem foartturelisivealbem foartturelisealbem
Future
foarttirim foarttirisivim foarttirisim I will be strong we will both be strong we will be strong
foarttirisiveum foarttiriseum
foarttirit foarttirisivit foarttirisit you will be strong you will both be strong you will all be strong
foarttirut foarttirisivut foarttirisut
foarttirat foarttirisivat foarttirisat he/she/it will be strong they will both be strong they will be strong
foarttirealb foarttirisivealb foarttirisealb sbj will be strong
foarttirealbem foarttirisivealbem foarttirisealbem
Future in the Past
foarttuvirim foarttuvirisivim foarttuvirisim I would be strong we would both be strong we would be strong
foarttuvirisiveum foarttuviriseum
foarttuvirit foarttuvirisivit foarttuvirisit you would be strong you would both be strong you all would be strong
foarttuvirut foarttuvirisivut foarttuvirisut
foarttuvirat foarttuvirisivat foarttuvirisat he/she/it would be strong they would both be strong they would be strong
foarttuvirealb foarttuvirisivealb foarttuvirisealb sbj would be strong
foarttuvirealbem foarttuvirisivealbem foarttuvirisealbem
Conditional/Subjunctive
foartaikim foartisivaikim foartisaikim ...that sbj be strong; sbj ought to/could/would/should be strong
foartisivaikeum foartisaikeum
foartaikit foartisivaikit foartisaikit
foartaikut foartisivaikut foartisaikut
foartaik foartisivaik foartisaik
foartaikealb foartisivaikealb foartisaikealb
foartaikealbem foartisivaikealbem foartisaikealbem
Imperative
foartait! be strong!
Cohortative
foarttirait! let's (= let us) be strong!
Present Participle (Progressive Active)
foartant be being strong
Continuative Active
foartasant still being strong
Past Participle
been strong
Prospective
foartaijim foartaijisivim foartaijisim I am about to be strong we are both about to be strong we are about to be strong
foartaijisiveum foartaijiseum
foartaijit foartaijisivit foartaijisit you are about to be strong you are both about to be strong you all are about to be strong
foartaijut foartaijisivut foartaijisut
foartaijat foartaijisivat foartaijisat he/she/it is about to be strong they are both about to be strong they are about to be strong
foartaijealb foartaijisivealb foartaijisealb sbj is/are about to be strong
foartaijealbem foartaijisivealbem foartaijisealbem
Passive Infinitive
Progressive Passive Infinitive
Past Participle Infinitive (Perfect Active)
foartavar to have been strong
Perfect Passive Infinitive
Adjectival Noun
foarté a strong thing; a fort

4: intar

Verbs can also be formed from adpositions; again, these forms do not conjugate in the passive voice. In the Kosinde dialect, the recent/simple/discontinuous past and future markers respectively become nuper-, per-, pler-, and fer- before this vowel-initial root.

Infinitive: intar (to be in)
Tovasala English
Present
intim intisivim intisim I am in we are both in we are in
intisiveum intiseum
intot intisivit intisit you are in you are both in you are all in
intut intisivut intisut
intat intisivat intisat he/she/it is in they are both in they are in
intealb intisivealb intisealb sbj is/are in
intealbem intisivealbem intisealbem
Negative Present
nalintim nalintisivim nalintisim I am not in we two are not in we are not in
nalintisiveum nalintiseum
nalintot nalintisivit nalintisit you are not in you two are not in you all are not in
nalintut nalintisivut nalintisut
nalintat nalintisivat nalintisat he/she/it is not in the two are not in they are not in
nalintealb nalintisivealb nalintisealb sbj is/are not in
nalintealbem nalintisivealbem nalintisealbem
Recent Past
intturipim intturipisivim intturipisim I was recently in we were both recently in we were recently in
intturipisiveum intturipiseum
intturipit intturipisivit intturipisit you were recently in you two were recently in you were all recently in
intturiput intturipisivut intturipisut
intturipat intturipisivat intturipisat he/she/it was recently in they were both recently in they were recently in
intturipealb intturipisivealb intturipisealb sbj was/were recently in
intturipealbem intturipisivealbem intturipisealbem
Simple Past
intturim intturisivim intturisim I was in we were both in we were in
intturisiveum intturiseum
intturit intturisivit intturisit you were in you were both in you were all in
intturut intturisivut intturisut
intturat intturisivat intturisat he/she/it was in they were both in they were in
intturealb intturisivealb intturisealb sbj was/were in
intturealbem intturisivealbem intturisealbem
Discontinuous Past
intturelim intturelisivim intturelisim I was once in we were both once in we were once in
intturelisiveum inttureliseum
intturelit intturelisivit intturelisit you were once in you two were once in you were all once in
intturelut intturelisivut intturelisut
intturelat intturelisivat intturelisat he/she/it was once in they were both once in they were once in
intturelealb intturelisivealb intturelisealb sbj was/were once in
intturelealbem intturelisivealbem intturelisealbem
Future
inttirim inttirisivim inttirisim I will be in we will both be in we will be in
inttirisiveum inttiriseum
inttirit inttirisivit inttirisit you will be in you will both be in you will all be in
inttirut inttirisivut inttirisut
inttirat inttirisivat inttirisat he/she/it will be in they will both be in they will be in
inttirealb inttirisivealb inttirisealb sbj will be in
inttirealbem inttirisivealbem inttirisealbem
Future in the Past
inttuvirim inttuvirisivim inttuvirisim I would be in we would both be in we would be in
inttuvirisiveum inttuviriseum
inttuvirit inttuvirisivit inttuvirisit you would be in you would both be in you all would be in
inttuvirut inttuvirisivut inttuvirisut
inttuvirat inttuvirisivat inttuvirisat he/she/it would be in they would both be in they would be in
inttuvirealb inttuvirisivealb inttuvirisealb sbj would be in
inttuvirealbem inttuvirisivealbem inttuvirisealbem
Conditional/Subjunctive
intaikim intisivaikim intisaikim ...that sbj be in; sbj ought to/could/would/should be in
intisivaikeum intisaikeum
intaikit intisivaikit intisaikit
intaikut intisivaikut intisaikut
intaik intisivaik intisaik
intaikealb intisivaikealb intisaikealb
intaikealbem intisivaikealbem intisaikealbem
Imperative
intait! be in!
Cohortative
inttirait! let's (= let us) be in!
Present Participle (Progressive Active)
intant be being in
Continuative Active
intasant still being in
Past Participle
been in
Prospective
intaijim intaijisivim intaijisim I am about to be in we are both about to be in we are about to be in
intaijisiveum intaijiseum
intaijit intaijisivit intaijisit you are about to be in you are both about to be in you all are about to be in
intaijut intaijisivut intaijisut
intaijat intaijisivat intaijisat he/she/it is about to be in they are both about to be in they are about to be in
intaijealb intaijisivealb intaijisealb sbj is/are about to be in
intaijealbem intaijisivealbem intaijisealbem
Passive Infinitive
Progressive Passive Infinitive
Past Participle Infinitive (Perfect Active)
intavar to have been in
Perfect Passive Infinitive
Adpositional Noun
inté something that is indoors

5: skribar

This is based on the rundown found in a late 19th-century book detailing the grammar of Manchu, an almost-extinct language of China.[9]

Paradigm of skribar (to write)
(Original verb: arambi)
Category Form Meaning
Manchu Tovasala
Imperative ara skribait! write!
Present Tense arambi skribim I write
Infinitive arame skribar to write
Preterite araha skriblurim I wrote
Future arara skriblirim I shall write
Conditional araci skribaik-mé should I write
Subjunctive Present araki skribaik-lumo may [that] he write
Past Gerund arafi skribavaisomu having written
Imperfect arambihe skribantturim I was writing
Indefinite Past arahabi skribavim I have written
Pluperfect arahabihe skribavlurim I had written
Past Conditional arahabici sif skribavlurim if I had written
Adversative aracibe molenbuit skribaiko although he may write
Concessive aracina skribait-lumo may he write
Optative arakini seulsif skribaiko would that he write
Gerund I arambime skribwobu while writing
Gerund II arambifi skribavaisomu having written
Gerund III aranggala skribprevu before writing
Passive arambumbi skribaidat it is written
Causative or Passive arambubumbi skribaidinzim I cause to be written
Verbal Noun arahangge, ararangge skribé, skribiène the writing, the writer
Indefinite arahale, ararale jiēnbuite skribat whoever writes
Adverbial araralame skribu in the manner of writing

Adjectives

Nominal

Adjectives and adjectival phrases in Tovasala end in -i, and come either before nouns (as in English) or after (as in French):

beli neklo (the beautiful tomcat), beli nekla (the beautiful queen cat), beli suollé (the beautiful road), veyaidune frolausomi (a sight most delightful), friedifi laprenlas (the gentle rabbit does), foarti boamiles (the strong walls), nekedlos ouramadi (the kittens in the countryside).

Elision is also observed, as in bel'aumbredla (the beautiful girl).

In a sentence of analytic SVD (subject–verb–description) syntax, the adjective is converted into a verb and eliminates zero copula:

droiti suollé(s) (the straight road[s]) — BUT suollé droit(is)at (the road is/the roads are straight).
l'obenaubré(s) (the new house[s]) — BUT l'obène ńaubr(is)at (the house is/the houses are new).

Comparatives and superlatives

Comparative forms of adjectives are made by adding -ausm at the end of a root; superlatives are formed with -ausom. Suppletion is thereby avoided in those forms.

joali/joalausmi/joalausomi (good/better/best);
beni/benausmi/benausomi (well/better/best);
mali/malausmi/malausomi (bad/worse/worst);
osivi/osivausmi/osivausomi (ill/worse/worst);
aulti/aultausmi/aultausomi (high/higher/highest).

To express "less"/"least", -eusm and -eusom are used:

bouldostaidi/bouldostaideusmi/bouldostaideusomi (important/less important/least important).

Adverbs

Nominal

Adverbs, and adverbial phrases, end with -u. This is equivalent to the English -ly, French -ment and Spanish -mente in most given cases. Examples include:

belu (beautifully), fasilu (easily), obrantu (generously), kuimeku (at all/somewhat), fuiwobetu (in a short while; adverbial phrase).

Comparatives and superlatives

Comparative and superlative adverbs are formed in the same manner as adjectives:

veyu/veyausmu/veyausomu (visually/more visually/most visually);
fuaistaibilu/fuaistaibileusmu/fuaistaibileusomu (audibly/less audibly/least audibly).

Relative

Several relative adverbs are also used:

Pronoun Interrogative Parent morpheme English meaning
jadu kadu ad where
jauradu kauradu maurad when
jovaurdu kovaurdu povaurd why
jemeku kemeku emek how

Adpositions

In Tovasala, adpositions are the same as the root forms they derive from, and also serve as standalone prepositions. Many of them are root affixes which double as postpositions after the nouns they modify.

Adposition Case English meaning
Possessive
der gen of — belonging to
den gen.al of — associated with
zol prop with — owning
ten prop.al with — having
Sociative
aseb com with — accompanied by
auvek cnj with an associated group
emek instr with the help of, aided by, via; on — supported by
aurd util for, per
opoam opp/anti against, versus (in opinion)
odiem opp/anti against, versus (in preference)
uslen tsp on behalf of, serving
nimel in charge of
Locative
ad loc/dat at, to;
on – by means of (medium)
obenad chez (French loan) – at the house of
int ine in
intad ine-loc within, inside
intaup lat/ill into
inttug ine-abl without – outside
tug exe out(side)
tugad abl out of, away from
tüvv ela leaving
weg del off (surface), out of
iāk supe on the surface of
iākad supe-loc onto, upon, atop
rovinad aboard
ault alt above, up, over
ulem sube below, under(neath), beneath, down
proxim apud near, next to, near, (near)by
tudelad beside, at the side of, next to
otrudel opposite
aup all towards
tranz trans through, across
touttranz throughout
korttranz along
multint intrs among a group of, amid
mẽrkint amidst, in the middle of
nult beyond, past
vernult behind, beneath
Quantitative
ond abe without
nend incl plus
moin exc minus
prolad intr between
trusil quant among those in a set, # of
suod...trusil sel among, one of
Temporal
wob temp during
prev ante before, by (a given time)
aprev pcv after, following, since, past a time
uskem term till
uskuit term.intf until
Qualitative
prin ref on – about; concerning
nand ess as – in the role of
ausik form like
nalausik neg.form unlike
kuem comp as...as/than

Conjunctions

As with adpositions, conjunctions also assume their root forms.

Conjunction English meaning
nend and/plus
sed but – rather
moin but – except; minus
jemek how
aurd so (that), in order to/that
ẽrgim so – therefore
sif if
hodir or – inclusive; either...or...or both; and/or
hoder or – exclusive; either...or; one or the other
nal...hoder neither...nor
daisen whether
daisen...(nal)hoder whether...or (not)
ausik as – in the same way
kuem as...as/than
nal not
povaurd because, since, for (obs./formal)
jiēr that
molen though
molbuit although
jad where
sedwob whereas
voard whereas — being the fact that... (legal/formal)
sifmoin unless
jaurad when
prev before
aprev after
wob while
depuid since – from the time that...; afterward(s)
ineak whereof – of what/which
inreak whereof – of whom

Interjections

Depending on the word, interjections either remain unchanged from their root forms, or add an -(a)t to them. Examples include:

  • veyat (look!)
  • dez (say)
  • hinveyat (now see here!)
  • hin (here), han (there)
  • juet (cool!; all right!)
  • reshan (an expression of surprise)
  • suiban (whatever)
  • yag (profanity catch-all)
  • kal/bueb (s[...]t/c[...]p)
  • veid (h[...]l)
  • bouf (an expression of annoyance or dismay)
  • blek (signifying disgust; equivalent to English yuck)
  • bouch (this stinks; P.U.)

Notes and references

  1. ^ Also referred to as Haulandile (Holland).
  2. ^ As Mark Rosenfelder notes in this Quechua primer, "'You' and 'they' are regular plurals, formed by adding the plural suffix to the singular pronouns. That's a regularity that didn't occur to the inventor of Esperanto!"
  3. ^ In spite of medieval European legend, no female Pope has ever headed the Catholic Church.
  4. ^ The Nonsentient toponym is Bahamosaire.
  5. ^ Cf. English -ion.
  6. ^ a b *Sujaidar is ungrammatical in Tovasala.
  7. ^ *Sujaidantar is ungrammatical in Tovasala.
  8. ^ *Sujaidavar is ungrammatical in Tovasala.
  9. ^ von Möllendorff (1892):10.
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