Lombard/Moods and tenses

The reference orthography for this page of Lombard course is New Lombard orthography

The following tables list the moods and the tenses of Lombard language, the names of the moods and the tenses written in the Lombard language are indicated in brackets, the names in Lombard will be useful for consulting the appendices of the Lombard language Wiktionary (since it is written in Lombard) to which reference will be made for the consultation of the desinences for the construction of the tenses across the various dialects of the Lombard language.

Infinite moods (Moeud infinid)

Infinitive mood (Moeud infinid)

Simple tenses (Temp sempliz)1	Compound tenses (Temp compost)2
Present (Present)	Past (Passad)

Participle mood (Moeud participi)

Attention: The present participle exists only in some dialects of Southern Lombardy

Simple tenses1
Present (Present)
Past (Passad)

Gerund mood (Moeud gerondi)

Attention: The gerund, as said in the module about gerund and gerundial complements, exists only in some dialects of southern Lombardy, imported from the Italian language ( MI , PV , Lo , Olp )

Simple tenses (Temp compost)1	Compound tenses (Temp compost)2
Present (Present)	Past (Passad)

Usage: The gerund is used only after another verb to indicate a second action that cannot be separated from the one indicated by the first verb. (dialect: MI )

Finite moods (Moeud finid)

Indicative mood (Moeud indicativ)

Simple tenses (Temp sempliz)1	Compound tenses (Temp compost)2
Present (Present)	Past (or perfect) (Passad)
Imperfect (Imperfet)	Past perfect (Pussee che perfet)
Simple future (Futur simpliz)	Compound future (Futur compost)

Usage: The indicative is used to indicate certain actions. To find out more see "Lombard/Moods and tenses/Use of tenses".

Subjunctive mood (Moeud consgiuntiv)

Simple tenses (Temp sempliz)1	Compound tenses (Temp compost)2
Present (Present)	Past (or perfect) (Passad)
Imperfect (Imperfet)	Past perfect (Pussee che perfet)

Usage: The subjunctive is used to indicate possible actions.

Conditional mood (Moeud condizzional)

Simple tenses (Temp sempliz)1	Compound tenses (Temp compost)2
Present (Present)	Past (Passad)

Use: The subjunctive is used to indicate conditional actions

Imperative mood (Moeud imperativ)

Simple tenses (Temp sempliz)1
Present (Present)
Future (Futur) *

Usage: The imperative is used to indicate commands.

1 The simple tenses are constructed as described in the pages to which the links below lead (see → How to conjugate regular verbs)

2 The compound tenses are constructed by placing before the past participle the auxiliary verb conjugated in the corresponding simple tense. The auxiliary verb is vesser (►conjugation) for the majority of intransitive verbs or in reflexive, passive or impersonal forms, havé in western Lombard or havégh in eastern Lombard (►conjugation) for transitive verbs in the active form (non impersonal) and some of the intransitive verbs. The auxiliary verb to be used according to the verb is indicated on the Lombard-language Wiktionary.

* The future imperative is conjugated in the same way as the future indicative, with the difference that the strong subject (when there is given that it is not obligatory) is placed at the end of the sentence, as is done always for imperative sentences)

Example:

Indicative: Ti te studiet

Imperative: Te studiet ti!

How to conjugate regular verbs

All regular verbs follow these rules:

In western Lombard

►First conjugation (verbs ending with -à)

►Second conjugation (verbs ending with -é)

►Third conjugation (verbs ending with -er, but with "er" which is not pronounced in western Lombard)

►Forth conjugation (verbs ending with -ì)

In eastern Lombard

►First conjugation (verbs ending with -à)

►There is no second conjugation (second-conjugation verbs in Western Lombard are fourth-conjugation verbs in Eastern Lombard)

►Third conjugation (verbs that ends with er with er that can be pronounced or not depending on the dialect)

►Forth conjugation (verbs ending with -ì)

In Alpine Lombard

►First conjugation (verbs ending with -à)

►Second conjugation (verbs ending with -é)

►Third conjugation (verbs ending with -er)

►Forth conjugation (verbs ending with -ì)

For irregular verbs refer to the module about irregular verbs.

Warning: Especially in the presence of demonstrative pronouns the most authentic form of Lombard requires that the verb be used in the third person singular even when the pronoun demonstrative is in the plural (of course it goes without saying this for Eastern Lombard where the two forms are the same).

Example:

Those who speak Lombard = "Quei che (i) parla lombard" (more authentic than "those who speak Lombard")

Also

Continuous construction

The progressive form or continuous construction is used to indicate an action that takes place over a continuous time which can be either present, past or future.
It is constructed as follows:

vesser adree a * + Infinitive ^a

* The verb "vesser" in the locution "vesser 'dree a" is conjugated in the mood and tense typical of the action or event.

^a Infinitive of the verb that indicates the action.

Examples:

…

Actions about to start

Similarly:

vesser adree per * + Infinitive^a

* The verb "vesser" in the locution "vesser adree per" is conjugated in the verb tense and mood typical of the action or event.

^a Infinitive of the verb that indicates the action

Examples:

…

or:

vesser lì (lì) per * + infinitive ^a

* The verb "vesser" in the locution "vesser lì (lì) per" is conjugated in the typical verb tense and mood of the action or event.

^a + Infinitive of the verb indicating the action

Examples:

But for meteorological precipitation the construction is used instead:

(3^ sing. or universal weak subject) + andà* + a + infinite ^a

* The verb "andà" is conjugated in the verb tense and mood typical of the action or event.

^a + Infinitive of the verb that indicates precipitation

Examples:

El va a pioeuver (dialect: MI )

or

(3rd singular or universal weak subject) + volé + infinitive

Examples:

(A/El) voeul pioeuver (dialect: MI )

(A/El) voeul minga fà bell (dialect: MI )

Usual actions (habits)

Similarly:

vesser solit a * + infinitive ^a

* The verb "vesser" in the locution "vesser solit a" is conjugated in the mood and tense typical of the action or event.

^a Infinite of the verb that indicates the action.

Examples: …

or (in Eastern Lombard)

vesser usad a * + infinitive ^a

* The verb "vesser usad a" is conjugated in thetense and mood typical of the action or event.

^a Infinite of the verb that indicates the action.

Action done again

When the verb indicates that the action is done once again, i.e. that it has already been done a first time, there are these possibilities to highlight this fact:

• verb + de noeuv

Put the adverbial locution "de noeuv" after the verb

Examples:

fà → fà de noeuv

(correspondence in English: make ٚ→ make again; do ٚ→ do again)

• verb + an'mò

Put the adverb "an'mò" (or its local variants a'mò, ancamò...) after the verb

Examples:

fà → fà an'mò

(correspondence in English: make ٚ→ make again; do ٚ→ do again)

• tornà a + verb

put the verb with a modal function "tornà a fà" before the verb

Examples:

fà → tornà a fà

(correspondence in English: do ٚ→ get back to doing)

• ri- + verb

Put the prefix "ri-" (or re- depending on the variant)

Examples:

fa → rifa

(correspondence in English: make ٚ→ remake; do ٚ→ redo)

Modal verbs

►►►►See Modal verbs