CHAPTER XI.

THE VERB WITH A PREFIX.

141. The verb ágh, to come, is slightly defective, having no gerunds in í and igh and no present participle ending in ána. In the imperative it takes the prefix bi, with the infix y; in the two futures the prefix kh or the prefix bi; and usually in the two imperfects the prefix man or the prefix phedh, both of which denote hither, in this direction, towards me.

Obs. The prefix man is the dative case of the 1st personal pronoun, ma-na, to me (cf. rá in Pakkhto). Phedh, hither, is from pha, on, etc., and edh, edha, hither.

(1)

The contingent future.

Kh-á-án, I may come.

Singular.

1. Kh-á-án, I may come.

2. Kh-á-en, thou mayest come.

3. Kh-á-íth, he may come.

Plural.

1. Kh-á-ún, we may come.

2. Kh-á-en, you may come.

3. Kh-á-y-ant, they may come.

Obs. 1. The form kh-á-án is generally shortened to khán; the root or stem of the verb is entirely lost. But whether we write the word kh-á-án or kh-án, the enunciation remains the same, viz. that of khán. In the 2nd person singular the nasal ǹ is hardly heard.

Obs. 2. Bi-y-e, he will come, is heard used in the 3rd person singular of the absolute future.

(2)

The absolute future.

Kh-á-án, I shall come.

Singular.

1. Kh-á-án, I shall come.
2. Kh-á-en, thou wilt come.
3. Kh-á-í, he will come.

Plural.

1. Kh-á-ún, we shall come.
2. Kh-á-en, you will come.

3. Kh-á-y-ant, they will come.

142. These two tenses may be conjugated throughout with the help of the prefix be, that is bi: e.g., be-y-an, be-y-á-en, be-y-á-íth and be-y-á-í; be-y-á-ún, be-y-á-en or be-y-á-eth, be-y-á-y-ant; and negatively with ne, that is na: e.g., ne-y-án, may not come, etc. With the contingent future the prefix kh is preferred, in other words, is heard oftenest.

I

(3)

The present imperfect.
Man-ágh-án, I am coming.

Singular.

1. Man-ágh-án, I am coming.
2. Man-ágh-en, thou art coming.
3. Man-ágh-e, he is coming.

Plural.

1. Man-ágh-ún, we are coming.
2. Man-ágh-en, you are coming.

3. Man-ágh-ant, they are coming.

143. With the prefix phedh the conjugation is equally simple : phedh-ágh-án, phedh-ágh-en, phedh-ágh-e; phedh-ágh-ún, phedhágh-en, phedh-ágh-ant, or, phedh-ágh-án.

(4)

The past imperfect.

Man-ágh-ethán, I was coming.

Singular.

1. Man-ágh-ethán, I was coming.

2. Man-ágh-ethen, thou wert coming.
3. Man-ágh-etha, he was coming.

Plural.

1. Man-ágh-ethún, we were coming.
2. Man-ágh-ethen, you were coming.

3. Man-ágh-ethant, mana-ágh-ethán, they were coming.

144. If the prefix phedh be used, the verb will become: phedh-ágh-ethan, phedh-ágh-ethen, phedh-ágh-etha; phedh-ághethún, phedh-ágh-ethen, phedh-ágh-ethant, or phedh-ágh-ethán.

Obs. As the second form of the 3rd person plural of the present and past imperfect tenses is the same as the 1st persons singular, care must be exercised when making a written translation against any chance of ambiguity: ant is always a safe indication of the 3rd person plural.

(5)

The present perfect.
Akhtagh-án, I have come.

Singular.

1. Ákhtagh-án, I have come.
2. Akhtagh-en, thou hast come.
3. Ákhta, he has come.

Plural.

1 Akhtagh-ún, we have come.

2. Akhtagh-en, you have come.

3. Akhtagh-ant, ákhtagh-án, they have come.

145. There is an alternative form of the past participle of this verb, viz. átka. It is conjugated in exactly the same way as the more commonly used ákhta: e.g., átkagh-án, átkagh-en,

átka; átkagh-ún, átkagh-en, átkagh-ant, or, átkagh-án. In the 3rd person plural there is still another form: ákht-ánt, they came, they have come.

(6)

The past perfect.

Akhtagh-ethán, I had come.

Singular.

1. Ákhtagh-ethán, I had come.

2. Akhtagh-ethen, thou hadst come.

3. Akhtagh-etha, he had come.

Plural.

1. Akhtagh-ethún, we had come.

2. Akhtagh-ethen, you had come.

3. Akhtagh-ethant, ákhtagh-ethán, they had come.

146. Or, when conjugated with the second form of the past participle: átkagh-ethán, átkagh-ethen, átkagh-etha; átkaghethún, átkagh-ethen, átkagh-ethant, or átkagh-ethán.

(7)

The contingent perfect.
Ákhtath-án, had I come, etc.
Singular.

1. Akhtath-án, had I come, etc.

2. Akhtath-en, hadst thou come, etc.
3. Ákhtath, had he come, etc.

Plural.

1. Ákhtath-ún, had we come, etc.
2. Ákhtath-en, had you come, etc.
3. Ákhtath-ant, had they come, etc.

147. Of this tense the forms in most general use are: ákht-en, be-y-ákht-en, and ákht-enán, had I come, would that I had come, in all the persons singular and plural; and kh-ákhath or kh-átht, I used to come, thou usedst to come, etc.

148. Or, when used negatively: me-y-á, me-y-á-íth; me-y-áeth, me-y-á-y-ant.

Obs. 1. These forms should not be drawn out and sounded syllable by syllable, but quickly: meyá, meyáíth, meyáeth, meyáyant. The negative itself is ma, but when used as a prefix its sound becomes nearly that of the English word "may".

Obs. 2. There is a familiar homely form which is often heard, be-yá-the, come here. It is from be-y-á-edha.

149. Besides ákhta, átka, came, the only other participles in use are ákhtigha, coming, and ákhto or átko, having come. The of agency is áokh, the comer, one who comes.

noun

CAUSAL VERBS.

150. From most intransitive verbs, and from a few intransitives also, a causal or second transitive verb can be formed. The broad meaning of the causals is: action by another. These are generally formed by inserting the infix ain immediately after the root of the original verb: e.g., infinitive, gardagh, to return; root, gard; root for causal, gard-ain; infinitive for causal, gardainagh, to cause to return; khushagh, to kill; root, khush; root for causal, khush-ain; infinitive for causal, khushainagh, to cause to kill, to have killed.