Lesson №2. Verb conjugation
Lekanta №2. Aseksta

The verb, I think, is the most important topic in any language. In Novial, all verbs are conjugated very simply, each pronoun has an ending. When conjugating a verb in the present tense, the pronoun can be omitted.

Present tense Léirè - to love Åm léirem - I love Si léirets - You love Ev léiri - He loves Ìja léirì - She loves Nerr léiren - We love Ser léires - You (all) love Eļst léirek - They love

Past tense Léirè - to love Åm léir - I loved Si léir - You loved Ev léir - He loved Ìja léir - She loved Nerr léir - We loved Ser léir - You (all) loved Eļst léir - They loved

Future tense Léirè - to love Åm léirej - I will love Si léirej - You will love Ev léirej - He will love Ìja léirej - She will love Nerr léirej - We will love Ser léirej - You (all) will love Eļst léirej - They will love

As you might have noticed, in the present tense everything is quite concise. I will explain the past and future tense. So, in order to form the past tense of a verb, it is enough just to remove the ending "-è" from the verb. In order to form the future tense, we add the ending and thus get the future tense, but we also use the personal pronoun, because the form of the future tense is identical for all persons, such as in the past tense.

One more thing. There is a category of verbs when there is only one vowel "è" at the end of a word. This category of verbs is referred to as "incomplete verbs" or "short". In the present tense, they are conjugated in the same way as all "complete" verbs (verbs with 2 or more vowels), but in the past tense, the endings are slightly different - the prefix "gé" appears. We also cut off the ending "è", and add the prefix. Consider:

Present tense Prè - to pray Åm prem - I pray Si prets - You pray Ev pri - He prays Ìja pri - She prays Nerr pren - We pray Ser pres - You (all) pray Eļst prek - They pray

Past tense Prè - to pray Åm gépr - I prayed Si gépr - You prayed Ev gépr - He prayed Ìja gépr - She prayed Nerr gépr - We prayed Ser gépr - You (all) prayed Eļst gépr - They prayed

Future tense Prè - to pray Åm prej - I will pray Si prej - You will pray Ev prej - He will pray Ìja prej - She will pray Nerr prej - We will pray Ser prej - You (all) will pray Eļst prej - They will pray

In Novial, there is one particular verb that does not obey these rules and is conjugated by all pronouns no matter what tense it is. This is the verb "rese" (to be). Let me conjugate it.

Present tense Resè - to be Åm es - I am Si et - You are Ev ít - He is Ìja ít - She is Nerr same - We are Ser erse - You (all) are Eļst åļt - They are

Past tense Resè - to be Åm agér - I was Si agér - You were Ev agér - He was Ìja agér - She was Nerr agérå - We were Ser agérå - You (all) were Eļst agérå - They were

Future tense Resè - to be Åm ajm - I will be Si ajc - You will be Ev ìta - He will be Ìja ìta - She will be Nerr ajn - We will be Ser ajs - You (all) will be Eļst ajk - They will be

By the way, the future tense of the verb “to be” will allow to form another alternative form of the future tense for any verb. The scheme is simple. You put in the correct form the verb "to be" depending on who you are talking about and the verb in the infinitive. Compare the standard form of the future tense and the one in question now:
Åm gervej - Åm ajm gervè (I will come)
Si fasej - Si ajc fasè (You will do)
De vartej - De ìta vartè (It will happen)

Both forms of the future tense are equal and grammatically correct. You can use any of them you like.

Let me give you perhaps another irregular verb. This is the modal verb "can" - lè

Present tense Lè - мочь Åm lem - I can Si lejets - You can Ev leji - He can Ìja lejì - She can Nerr len - We can Ser lejes - You (all) can Eļst lek - They can

Past tense Lè - can Åm gél - I could Si gél - You could Ev gél - He could Ìja gél - She could Nerr gél - We could Ser gél - You (all) could Eļst gél -They could

Future tense Lè - can Åm lej - I will be abe Si lej - You will be abe Ev lej - He will be abe Ìja lej - She will be abe Nerr lej - We will be abe Ser lej - You (all) will be abe Eļst lej - They will be abe