Verbs
Verbs are special "motion" or "change" concept words that introduce a predicate in a sentence. All Primal verbs are transitive.
This means they "do something to something else". For example, the English verb "create" is transitive, because you can "create something",
but the English verb "sleep" is not transitive, because you can't "sleep something". Words like "sleep" are actually nouns in Primal.
The "generic" verb, ,ly (lee, "do"), means "do" or "be". The verb ,ly (lee, "do") is used when a verb-less sentence requires tense, or to make simple verbs from the verbs suffixes, like "need" and "try". For a list of the twenty most common verbs in Primal, see the (vocabulary) Essential Words builder.
The "generic" verb, ,ly (lee, "do"), means "do" or "be". The verb ,ly (lee, "do") is used when a verb-less sentence requires tense, or to make simple verbs from the verbs suffixes, like "need" and "try". For a list of the twenty most common verbs in Primal, see the (vocabulary) Essential Words builder.
Verb Prefixes
The verb prefix determines the tense and aspect of the verb. A verb may have only one verb prefix. Primal has three general verb prefixes:
Each prefix comes in six forms, as represented by a trailing consonant on the general prefix's syllable:
Thus, there are 18 verb prefixes in total: qu (thuh), quN (thuhng), quT (thuhts) , qux (thuhsh), quz (thuhz), quk (thuhk), pu (puh) , puN (puhng), puT (puhts), pux (puhsh), puz (puhz) , puk (puhk), fu (fuh), fuN (fuhng), fuT (fuhts) , fux (fuhsh), fuz (fuhz), fuk (fuhk).
Note that three of the verb prefixes, qu (thuh, "present"), pu (puh, "past"), and fu (fuh, "future"), each end in ,u (uh) and may slur with the verb.
A verb prefix may be followed by a unary suffix, before the verb appears. This exaggerates the tense of the verb, as described in the lesson on Unary Suffixes.
| Verb Prefix | Pronounced | Meaning | Description |
| qu | (thuh) | present | For actions beginning now, or ongoing actions. |
| pu | (puh) | past | For actions that concluded in the past. |
| fu | (fuh) | future | For actions not yet begun. |
Each prefix comes in six forms, as represented by a trailing consonant on the general prefix's syllable:
| Trailing Letter | Pronounced | Meaning | Description |
| - (none) | ( ) | normal | Standard, unmodified tense, as above. |
| -N | (-ng) | -again | Describes an action repeated once. |
| -T | (-ts) | -repeatedly | Describes an action repeated many times. |
| -x | (-sh) | -continuously | Describes a continuous, lengthy action. |
| -z | (-z) | -beginning | Describes the beginning of the action. |
| -k | (-k) | -ceasing | Describes the ending of the action. |
Thus, there are 18 verb prefixes in total: qu (thuh), quN (thuhng), quT (thuhts) , qux (thuhsh), quz (thuhz), quk (thuhk), pu (puh) , puN (puhng), puT (puhts), pux (puhsh), puz (puhz) , puk (puhk), fu (fuh), fuN (fuhng), fuT (fuhts) , fux (fuhsh), fuz (fuhz), fuk (fuhk).
Note that three of the verb prefixes, qu (thuh, "present"), pu (puh, "past"), and fu (fuh, "future"), each end in ,u (uh) and may slur with the verb.
A verb prefix may be followed by a unary suffix, before the verb appears. This exaggerates the tense of the verb, as described in the lesson on Unary Suffixes.
Verb Tense
Verb prefix determines the tense (and aspect) of a verb. The following chart illustrates how the prefixes set tense, comparable to English. There are 19 possible tenses,
including the one set by having no prefix:
When a verb has no verb prefix, it is considered to be normal present tense. For this reason, most primal stories are written in present tense. The verb prefix qu (thuh, "present") is superfluous, so its inclusion places special emphasis on the present tense (as in, "does now").
Primal's present tenses are similar to English present tense, indicating actions relevant to the moment that the speech is uttered or recorded. The tense created by the verb prefix qux (thuhsh, "present-continously") is similar to English present perfect tense, as in the expressions "has been doing" or "is currently doing". This tense indicates a lengthy action that began in the past and still continues. The verb prefix quT (thuhts, "present-repeatedly") is used for customary, recurrent actions such as, "we meet every Thursday", whether or not a meeting is happening right now.
The historical present and literary present are uses of present tense to reflect upon a recorded work created in the past which continues to be examined in the present. This specific use of present tense for past events is allowed in Primal. Some examples of this in English include: "In his writings, Freud states that the majority of the human mind is below our awareness." and "Alfred Hitchcock frightens us by turning an everyday shower into a scene of terror." These statements can use the present tense because Freud's statements and Hitchcock's terror live on in the present, in the form of their recorded works which are still viewable.
Primal's past tenses are similar to English past tense, indicating the action being referred to both began and concluded in the past. The tense created by the verb prefix pux (puhsh, "past-continuously") is similar to English past perfect tense, as in the expression "had been doing", indicating a lengthy action that was completed before the present time.
Primal's future tense covers all actions that have not yet begun. English often allows the use of present tense to indicate future actions in context, such as, "Services begin tomorrow." This is an error in Primal; always use future tense to indicate future actions, as in English, "Services will begin tomorrow."
| Trailing Letter | (no prefix) | qu | pu | fu |
| - (none) | "does" | "does now" | "did, had done" | "will do, will have done" |
| -N | n/a | "does again" | "did again" | "will do again" |
| -T | n/a | "does over and over" | "did over and over" | "will do over and over" |
| -x | n/a | "is / has been doing" | "had been doing" | "will be doing" |
| -z | n/a | "starts doing" | "started doing" | "will start doing" |
| -k | n/a | "stops doing" | "stopped doing"" | "will stop doing" |
When a verb has no verb prefix, it is considered to be normal present tense. For this reason, most primal stories are written in present tense. The verb prefix qu (thuh, "present") is superfluous, so its inclusion places special emphasis on the present tense (as in, "does now").
Primal's present tenses are similar to English present tense, indicating actions relevant to the moment that the speech is uttered or recorded. The tense created by the verb prefix qux (thuhsh, "present-continously") is similar to English present perfect tense, as in the expressions "has been doing" or "is currently doing". This tense indicates a lengthy action that began in the past and still continues. The verb prefix quT (thuhts, "present-repeatedly") is used for customary, recurrent actions such as, "we meet every Thursday", whether or not a meeting is happening right now.
The historical present and literary present are uses of present tense to reflect upon a recorded work created in the past which continues to be examined in the present. This specific use of present tense for past events is allowed in Primal. Some examples of this in English include: "In his writings, Freud states that the majority of the human mind is below our awareness." and "Alfred Hitchcock frightens us by turning an everyday shower into a scene of terror." These statements can use the present tense because Freud's statements and Hitchcock's terror live on in the present, in the form of their recorded works which are still viewable.
Primal's past tenses are similar to English past tense, indicating the action being referred to both began and concluded in the past. The tense created by the verb prefix pux (puhsh, "past-continuously") is similar to English past perfect tense, as in the expression "had been doing", indicating a lengthy action that was completed before the present time.
Primal's future tense covers all actions that have not yet begun. English often allows the use of present tense to indicate future actions in context, such as, "Services begin tomorrow." This is an error in Primal; always use future tense to indicate future actions, as in English, "Services will begin tomorrow."
Verb Suffixes
Verb suffixes define the mood, or hypothetical nature, of a verb. Verb suffixes may only appear after verbs.
There are eight verb suffixes:
With the possible exception of RU (rul, "attempting"), any use of a verb suffix makes the verb hypothetical: the action the verb indicates isn't actually happening. Instead, the possibility of the action is being described.
Beware! Many hypothetical verbs in English assume future tense. In Primal, this is not the case. Notice this mistranslation:
The general verbs that correspond to verb suffixes, such as the verb meaning "desire", are composed by using the generic verb ,ly (lee, "do") with a verb suffix. The verb meaning "desire" is then ,lydy (lee-dzee, "do desire").
A verb may take multiple verb suffixes. Each verb suffix modifies the suffix that preceds it:
There are eight verb suffixes:
| Verb Suffix | Pronounced | Meaning | Description |
| xc | (shuo) | should | Should do. Would be logical to do. |
| nr | (nur) | might | Might do. Probable that it could do. |
| my | (mee) | able | Able to do. Can do. Possible to do. |
| dy | (dzee) | desiring | Wants to do. Is motivated to do. |
| dU | (dzul) | needing | Needs to do; to meet a condition. Must do. |
| ,lU | (lul) | allowed | Allowed or permitted to do. |
| RC | (rauw) | prepared | Prepared, or ready and waiting to do. |
| RU | (rul) | attempting | Trying or attempting to do. |
With the possible exception of RU (rul, "attempting"), any use of a verb suffix makes the verb hypothetical: the action the verb indicates isn't actually happening. Instead, the possibility of the action is being described.
Beware! Many hypothetical verbs in English assume future tense. In Primal, this is not the case. Notice this mistranslation:
- I should working now tomorrow (bad grammar!): Wy JZnxc Wi kOm. (wee jiin-shou wih kallm, "me work-for should verb-with tomorrow")
- I should work tomorrow (correct grammar): Wy fuJZnxc Wi kOm. (wee f'jiin-shou wih kallm, "me future work-for should verb-with tomorrow")
The general verbs that correspond to verb suffixes, such as the verb meaning "desire", are composed by using the generic verb ,ly (lee, "do") with a verb suffix. The verb meaning "desire" is then ,lydy (lee-dzee, "do desire").
A verb may take multiple verb suffixes. Each verb suffix modifies the suffix that preceds it:
- want to be able: ,lymydy (lee-mee-dzee, "do able desiring")
- able to want: ,lydymy (lee-dzee-mee, "do desiring able")