Mirad Grammar/Verbs

The Verb Stem

Verbs in Mirad are listed in the dictionary under the present active infinitive (see Mirad Grammar/Verbs#Non-finite Forms), such as yexer....to work. The infinitive minus the er ending is the stem. The stem is used as the base for all other verbal instantiations. The infinitive as listed in the dictionary is usually active in voice, but occasionally a passive infinitive ending in -wer will be lexicalized because it is somehow special, so then, the stem is the infinitive minus the -wer ending. All Mirad verbs are conjugated in the same way and there are no exceptions.

This shows how to determine the stem of a verb listed in the dictionary:

Verb Stems
SIMPLE INFINITIVE	STEM+INFINITIVE ENDING
yexer....to work	yex+er
poser....to (come to a) stop	pos+er
xer....to do	x+er
xwer....to happen, be done (PASSIVE)	x+wer

Verb Formants

The active stem of verbs most often end in one of the following verb formants:

Verb Formats
Verb Formant	Function	Examples
-xer	action or causation	xer....to do, saxer....to create, agaxer....to magnify, yixer....to use
-xler	forceful action	yixler....to employ
-xrer	more forceful action	yixrer....to wear out
-ber	gesture	ber....to put, aber....to apply, yujber....to close
-bler	forceful gesture	yujbler....to lock
-brer	more foreful gesture	yobrer....to knock down
-ser	state or becoming	ser....to be, eser....to exist, aser....to become, zyaser....to widen, become wider
-per	motion or going	per....to go, yaper....to ascend, paper....to fly
-ier	action toward subject	bier....to take, nier....to consume, ifier.'..to enjoy, dier....to ask
-uer	action toward object	buer....to give, nuer....to supply, ifuer....to please, duer....to suggest
-ner	various verbs	uxner....to motivate, axner....to behave
-der	communication	der....to say, vader....to affirm, yevder....to judge
-drer	writing	drer....to write, teedrer....to report, taxdrer....to record
-ter	knowing	ter....to know, tester....to understand, teater....to see
-fer	volition	fer....to want, ifer....to love, ufer....to hate
-ver	some modal verbs	yiver....to have a right to, yuver....to have a duty to
-ker	various verbs	aker....to win, oker....to lose, eker....to play
-jer	opening/closing	ijer....to begin, ujer....to end, tajer....to be born, tojer....to die, yijer....to open
-ler	various verbs	baler....to press, boler....to support, beler....to carry, daler....to speak
-[aiu]rer	tool use	ukarer....to shovel, purer....to drive, myekirer....to mill
-zer	perform an art	dazer....to dance, dezer....to act, deuzer...to sing

Verb Categories

Verbs have morphological categories, which involve changes to the verb not always found in the dictionary, but developed through rule-bound affixation (such as live, lives, lived, living). They also have lexical categories, which involve derived forms usually listed in dictionaries (enjoy, enjoyable, enjoyment)

Morphological Categories

Verbs are inflected with the following morphological categories:

2 STATES: finite, non-finite
4 TENSES: present, past, future, atemporal¹
5 ASPECTS: simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential
2 VOICES: active, passive
2 MOODS: indicative, hypothetical

Note 1: The term "atemporal" means that tense is not marked. For example, in Mirad, Pu! is the imperative of the verb per....to go. It means Go! and is atemporal. The -u ending is an atemporal hypothetical mood marker.

In effect, the PERSON/NUMBER category is not listed above, because this category does not affect the morphology of the Mirad verb form itself. The Mirad verb form stays the same for all persons and numbers. That information is contained in the external subject pronouns governing the verb. In English, for example, the verb "be" has several different forms in the present tense verb form depending on the person and number (I am, you are, he is, we are, etc.), but not so in Mirad. The following chart shows how the English pattern differs from the corresponding single Mirad verb form se for all persons and numbers:

Verb **ser** (*to be*) Unchanged for person/number
PERSON	NUMBER	ENGLISH	MIRAD
1st	Singular	I am	at se
2nd		you are	et se
3rd		he/she/it is	it se
1st	Plural	we are	yat se
2nd		you are	yet se
3rd		they are	yit se

This invariability of person/number exists for all tenses.

Lexical Categories

In addition, verbs can be described in terms of the following opposing lexical categories. By lexical, is meant that verbs having different lexical properties are listed in the dictionary and have nothing to do with conjugation.

Verb Lexical Categories
STATIVE	DYNAMIC
ser....to be	xer....to do
INTRANSITIVE	TRANSITIVE
agaser....to grow large	agaxer....to magnify
SUBJECT-DIRECTED	PATIENT-DIRECTED
bier....to take	buer....to give
REFLEXIVE	NON-REFLEXIVE
utvyixer....to wash up (wash oneself)	vyixer....to wash
INCHOATIVE	CAUSATIVE
tujper....fall asleep	tujber....put to sleep
AUTONOMOUS	DYNAMIC
yijer....to open (by itself)	yijber....to (make it) open
RECIPROCAL	NON-RECIPROCAL
hyuittujber....to kill one another	tujber....to kill
GESTURAL	LOCOMOTIVE
baser....to stir, budge	paser....to move
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	OBJECT-ORIENTED
teetyiker....to be hard of hearing	teetyikwer....to be hard to hear

Non-finite Forms

Non-finite verb forms are

not conjugated for person or number
cannot form a predicate
and do not have a subject.

There are three kinds of non-finite verb forms in Mirad:

infinitives: the dictionary lookup form of a verb, ending in -er
gerunds: verbal nouns, ending in -en
participles: verbal adjectives, ending in -a

Infinitives

Verbs are listed in the dictionary under the active voice simple aspect infinitive form, which always ends in er and means to X, or rarely the passive voice simple aspect infinitive form, which ends in wer and means to be Xed. The part of the verb form minus the -er or -wer is the verb stem.

Infinitive Stems
INFINITIVE	STEM	ENDING
agser....to grow	ags-	-er
igxer....to quicken	igx-	-er
per....to go	p-	-er
xwer....to happen, be done	x-	-wer

The infinitive in Mirad is used very much as its counterpart in English. The infinitive can be marked for two aspects (simple, perfect) and two voices (active, passive), as shown in the chart below, where the verb stems are underlined:

Active and Passive Infinitive Stems
ASPECT	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Simple	igxer....to quicken	igxwer....to be quickened
Perfect	igxayer....to have quickened	igxawer....to have been quickened

In the above chart,

the verb stem is igx- and
the infinitive marker is -er;
the simple aspect active voice marker is zero;
the simple aspect passive voice marker is w;
the perfect aspect active voice marker is -ay-;
the past aspect passive voice marker is -aw-.

The passive voice infinitive of a verb will not appear in the dictionary unless it has a special meaning, such as xwer to happen. The perfect infinitives are never listed in the dictionary.

Gerunds

The gerund is a verbal noun like English playing in playing ball.

The gerund has two possible aspects (simple and perfect) and two possible voices (active and passive):

Gerund Formation
ASPECT	VOICE	ENDING	EXAMPLE
Simple	Active	-en	agaxen....magnifiying, magnification
Simple	Passive	-wen	agaxwen....being magnified
Perfect	Active	-ayen	byekayen....having cured
Perfect	Passive	-awen	byekawen....having been cured

Note: Intransitive verbs like per to go do not have a passive gerund form.

Lexicalized gerunds, such as sanxen formation, forming generally appear in the dictionary in the active voice.

Some examples of gerund usage:

(sanxer....to form) Ha sanxen bi hia mar efxa amroni bi jabi.....The forming (or: formation) of this star took millions of years.
(deuzer....to sing) Iyta deuzen sa gla via.....Her singing was very beautiful.
(poper....to travel) Popen se yika yex.....Traveling is hard work.
(teeter....to hear) Teetwen fiay se glatesa av dezuti.....Being heard well is important for actors.
(teater....to see) Teaten se vyatexen......Seeing is believing.
(uper....to come) His se ha jeb bi Upen.....This is the season of Advent (coming).
(tadier....to get married) Ata tadiayen ewa jodi bixa tepzex.....My having married twice drew attention.
(aker....to win) At voy ta ita akawen hua nuz.....I did not know about his having won that prize.

Gerunds, being verb forms, can take direct and indirect objects:

At ifxwe bey eta buayen at hua nas.....I am pleased by your having given me that money.
Tojben eut voy se kebiyaf.....Killing yourself is not an option.

The special gerundive ending -eyn gives a nuance emphasizing the action as a single act, much like the English endings -ment or -tion. Here are a few examples showing the difference between -en and -eyn.

yanlaxen....combining ≠< yanlaxeyn....combination
xen....doing ≠< xeyn....action, deed
zayben....advancing ≠< zaybeyn....advancement

Another special gerundive (but lexical) ending is -un, which expresses the result of an action, eg.:

zyegxer....to puncture ≠< zyegxun....a puncture
zyeuber....to transmit ≠< zyeubun....a broadcast
deuzer....to sing ≠< deuzun....a song

Participles

Participles are verbal adjectives and can modify nouns and pronouns. Since they act as adjectives, they have the adjectival ending -a. Participles are marked by aspect (simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential) and voice (active, passive).

The aspect markers per voice are:

Aspect Markers
ASPECT	VOICE	FORM	EXAMPLE
Progressive	Active	-ea-	tejea....living
Progressive	Passive	wea	xwea....happening
Perfect	Active ²	-ya	pya....gone (< pyaa¹)
Perfect	Passive	-wa	xwa....done (< xwaa¹), drawa²....written
Imminent	Active	-oa	tojoa....about to die
Imminent	Passive	-woa	dodelwoa....about to be announced
Potential	Active	-ua	tojbua....lethal
Potential	Passive	-wua	opoxwua....unstoppable

¹: The double aa in the perfect endings is reduced to a.

²: The wa ending is changed to awa after stems ending in a double consonant, the second being l or r. Example: dr- (to write) becomes drawa (written).

Note 1: The perfect active particple ending in -ya is used only for intransitive verbs like per (to go). He is gone. is expressed by Wit se pya.

Note 2: The potential aspect, represented by the vowel u is much like the conditional in English, but is not considered a tense in Mirad. For example, tojbu means would kill and the participle tojbua means lethal (referring to something that would/has the potential to kill). More about this in a later section.

Note 3: There is another form of the progressive participle that falls in the lexical, rather than morphological category, in that such forms are listed in the dictionary as adjectives. For example, in the phrase The animals bothering our bird feeder..., the participle bothering would be oboxea in Mirad. By inserting the letter y between the verb stem and the participial ending, the participle becomes an adjective denoting a propensity or habit, as in bothersome (oboxyea). Such participles are invariably in the active voice. Most such adjectives in English end in -ive as in repulsive or -ly as in wiggly or -ous as in circuitous. Such adjectives in Mirad are listed in the dictionary and end in -yea.

Adverbial participles can be made from the above adjectival participles, by suffixing the letter y. Examples:

Iyt yepa ha tim deuzeay.....She entered the room singing.
Ujbaway ha dodal, it pia.....The speech having been finished, he left.

Also, the above participles can be converted into abstract nouns by suffixing n. Examples:

tiluwa....drinkable → tiluwan....potability
tojbua....lethal → tojbuan....lethality
mansea....shining → he mansean bi iyta deuzen....the brilliance of her singing
aakaxyea....inventive → aakaxyean....inventiveness

Furthermore, these participles can sometimes be pronominalized with s for things and t for people or living things. These forms can, in turn, be pluralized:

xwa....done → xwas....what is done, a happening
xwa....done → xwasi....happenings, deeds
otwa....unknown → otwas....what is not known, a mystery
osexea....destroying → osexeas....a destroyer
tojbua....lethal → tojbuas....something lethal, a lethal thing
tojboa....moribund → tojboati....people about to die, fatal cases
tejea....living → tejeat....a living person
tejea....living → tejeasi....living things

There is a special tenseless, nominalized, animate participle used for agent nouns (English one who does something, Xer, Xant, Xist), which refers to a person who habitually does some action, perhaps as a profession or trade. These agent nouns end in -ut.

sexut....builder
nuut....supplier
tojbut....killer
ifut....lover
akuti....winners

Note: There is a slight difference of meaning between the tensed participial pronoun ha akeat....the one winning and the non-tensed agent noun ha akut....the winner.

Similarly, there is a special tenseless, nominalized, inanimate participle used for a thing that performs the action denoted by the verb stem. These agent nouns end in -us.

yuxus....aid (a thing that helps)
byuxwus....button (a thing that gets touched on the keyboard)
paxus....motive (a thing that moves one)
jaupus....precedent (a thing that comes before)

The above -us ending contrasts with the endings -ar (instrument), -ir (machine), -ur (motor, engine), which are physical objects and not always suffixed to a verbal root.

Finite Forms

In Mirad, finite verb forms are those that can take a person subject, serve as a predicate, and be conjugated. Finite verb forms are conjugated by using suffixes indicating, through their presence or absence, the following categories:

TENSES

present
past
future
atemporal

MOODS

indicative
hypothetical

ASPECTS

simple
progressive
perfect
imminent
potential

VOICES

active
passive
reflexive
reciprocal

Person and number are not marked on the verb form itself. For example, am, is, are, which change according to the person subject in English, are all expressed with the same verb form in Mirad: se. Thus, at se....I am, et se....you are, it se....he/she/it is, etc.

Moods

There are two moods in Mirad:

indicative
hypothetical.

Indicative Mood

The indicative form of the verb indicates an action or state that occurs in actual time, such as he went, he is going, he will go.

The indicative mood has three tenses, present, past, future, indicated by the suffixes -e, -a, and -o, respectively.

Hypothetical Mood

Wheras the indicative verb forms expresses actuality in time, the hypothetical mood expresses one of the non-actuality situations below and uses the vowel u.

a command , i.e. the IMPERATIVE (Go!)
a wish or suggestion, i.e. the HORTATIVE or JUSSIVE (May the king live long!, Let's celebrate!)
an unrealized situation, i.e. the SUBJUNCTIVE (It is important that you be early.)
an imagined if-then-situation, i.e. the CONDITIONAL (If I were rich, I would be happy.)

Aspects

There are five aspects in the Mirad verb system.

the SIMPLE aspect (default), i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional.
the PROGRESSIVE aspect, i.e. an action or state on-going in the particular tense, using ey
the PERFECT aspect, i.e. an action or state anterior or already completed, using ay
the IMMINENT aspect, i.e. an action or state about to happen, using oy
the POTENTIAL aspect, i.e. an action potentially happening, using uy

The Simple Aspect

Unless specifically marked, the default aspect is simple, i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional. Three indicative tenses can be expressed in the simple aspect:

Present with e
Past with a
Future with o.

An atemporal verb ending in u in the simple aspect is considered hypothetical and expresses three things, depending on how it is used in the sentence:

a conditional like I would go (if...)
an imperative like Go!
a hortative like Let's go!
a subjunctive like (It is important that) we go.

Here is a chart showing the simple, active voice instantiations of the Mirad verb per (to go) with the endings underlined:

Simple Active Conjugation of **Per**
MOOD	TENSE	ASPECT	VOICE	INSTANTIATION	VERB per
Indicative	Present	Simple	Active		At pe....I go
Indicative	Past	Simple	Active		At pa....I went
Indicative	Future	Simple	Active		At po....I will go
Hypothetical	Atemporal	Simple	Active	Conditional	At pu....I would go
				Hortative/Optative/Jussive	Van yat pu!....Let's go!
				Imperative	Pu tam!....Go home!
				Subjunctive	Se efwa van et pu.....It is necessary that you go.

Note that the last four instantiations are the same tense, but differ in syntax. For example, if the verb form is hypothetical, atemporal, simple, active and has no subject, it operates as an imperative.

The Simple Indicative Present Active Tense

The simple indicative present instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix e and has a non-progressive (habitual) aspect as in English I work or I live. Progressive aspect forms like I am studying are explained later.

Examples:

At yexe be tam. ....I work at home.
Hia tom se nam. ....This building is a store.

The Simple Indicative Past Active Tense

The simple indicative past tense instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix a and has a non-progressive (punctual) meaning as in English I did something at some particular point in time. The simple past contrasts in aspect with the past progressive (I was doing something) or the present perfect (I have done something), or past potential (I would have done something). The simple past is punctual, that is, it describes an event that occurred at a particular point in time.

Examples:

Iyt iba ha nyuf zojub. ....She received the package yesterday.
At ujba ha dyes ji iwa jwobi. ....I finished the book three hours ago.
His kyesa exag hijub.....This happened twice today.

The Simple Indicative Future Active Tense

The simple indicative future tense is marked with the vowel suffix o and has the same meaning as in English I will do something at some particular point in the future.

Examples:

Yit tadso zajab.....They are going to get married next year.
Hua kaxon ujako. ....That solution will work.

The Simple Hypothetical Atemporal Active Tense

A verb form ending in u like pu has no time value and is used to express unreal actions or states, such as the imperative, hortative, conditional, or subjunctive.

Examples:

Upu him!....Come here! (IMPERATIVE)
Von upu! ....Don't come! (NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE)
Ha edeb fu teater et. ....The king would like to see you. (CONDITIONAL)
Ven at su et, at dolu. ....If I were you, I would be quiet. (CONDITIONAL)
Van yeyt ujaku be yeytia yexnadi. ....May all you (women) succeed in your careers. (HORTATIVE)
Van yat ijbu bay fyadil. ....Let's begin with a prayer. (JUSSIVE)
Se kyitesa van et puu jwa. ....It's important that you arrive early. (SUBJUNCTIVE)
Se kyitesa von et puu jwo.....It's important that you not arrive late. (NEGATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE)

Hypothetical verb forms ending in -u can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the following syntactical patterns in the sentence:

Generally, if a verb form ending in -u begins a sentence and has no subject, then it is an IMPERATIVE (a command). For example, Ipu!, Go away!.
If the verb form has a subject not preceded by the complementizers van, ven, or von, then it is probably a CONDITIONAL predicate like At fu per.....I would like to go..
If the subject of the verb is preceded by ven....if, then it is a CONDITIONAL clause as in Ven at su nasikat.......If I were a rich man..
If the subject is preceded by Van....that/let/may or von....don't, then it is a HORTATIVE wish like Van et yagteju.....May you live long. or a JUSSIVE suggestion like Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. or a prohibition like Von tiliu his!....Don't drink this!.

Voices

Mirad has four voices:

Active
Passive
Reflexive
Reciprocal.

Active Voice

The default voice is active, i.e. the subject of the verb is doing the action.

At teata ha kyes.....I saw the event.

Passive Voice

A verb form is converted from active to passive by inserting a w just before the last vowel of the verb form. The past passive particle ending -waa is usually abbreviated to -wa (done is xwa). However, if the verb stem ends in a consonant plus l or r, then -wa is changed to -awa for ease of pronunciation, eg. drawa....written.

The following chart shows the distinction between active and passive voice of various verbs:

Contrasting Active and Passive Voice
VERB FORM	ACTIVE	ACTIVE EXAMPLE	PASSIVE	PASSIVE EXAMPLE
Infinitive	xer to do	At fe xer fi. I want to do well.	xwer to be done	Ese hyos xwer. There is nothing to be done.
Present Participle	sexea constructing	Ha yansyem sexea hia tom... The firm constructing this building...	sexewa being constructed	His se sexewa. This is under construction.
Present	xe do/does	At xe fi be tistam. I do well in school.	xwe is done	Huyenasi hoj xwe. Such things are never done.
Past Participle	xaa having done	Iyt, xaa hya iyta yex,... She, having done all her work,...	xwa done	Hyas se xwa. Everything is done.
Past	tojba killed	Duhat tojba hwut? Who killed that guy?	tojbwa was killed	Duhaj it tojbwa? When was he killed?
Hypothetical	bakxu heal	Bakxu at! Heal me!	bakxwu be healed	Van it bakxwu. May he be healed.

Many intransitive verbs cannot be made passive. For example, tajer....to be born is intransitive (takes no object) and has no passive voice form. However, the transitive verb tajber....to bear, give birth can be passive, as in Ha tudet tajbwa zajub.....The child was delivered yesterday (as opposed to Ha tudet taja zajub.....The child was born yesterday.) Notice the following verb:

Ha mes uja.....The door opened (by itself). (medio-passive)
Ha mes ujpa.....The door came open. (dynamic medio-passive)
Ujbu ha mes.....Open the door. (transitive active)
Ha mes ujbwa.....The door was opened (by someone). (passive)

Reflexive Voice

A verb is made reflexive by prefixing the reflexive pronoun ut (self), for example:

tojber....to kill → uttojber....to kill oneself
vyilxer....to wash → utvyilxer....to wash up
teater....to see → utteater....to see oneself
yalber....to lift → utyalber....to lift oneself → Utyalbu!....Lift yourself up!
trer....to know → uttrer....to know oneself → Uttru!....Know thyself!

Reciprocal Voice

A verb is made reciprocal by prefixing the reciprocal pronoun hyuit....one another, for example:

tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
vyilxer....to wash → hyuitvyilxer....to wash one another
teater....to see → hyuitteater....to see one another

Both the reflexive pronoun and reciprocal pronoun can be used as standalone objects. However, the plural form yut is used if the subject is plural, for example:

Yit vyilxa yut.....They (f.) washed up. (= washed selves).
Ha twobeti dizeuda hyuit.....The boys laughed at one another.

The word hyuit is a hybrid of hyit....the same one combined with hyut....the other one.

Aspects Revisited

Mirad verbs have the following aspects:

SIMPLE -- this is the default aspect, shown above, i.e. NON-PROGRESSIVE, NON-PERFECT, NON-IMMINENT, and NON-POTENTIAL.
PROGRESSIVE -- this is an aspect where the verb describes an on-going action or state spread over time.
PERFECT -- this presents the action or state as anterior, or completed prior to another action or state.
IMMINENT -- this describes an action or state about to happen.
POTENTIAL -- this refers to an action or state where something is possible.

The Simple Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Simple aspect. In the active voice, the tense vowels a, e, o, and u are affixed to the stem. In the passive voice, the passive marker consonant w is inserted between the stem and the final tense vowels. The simple present tense refers to actions or states that are habitual (I regularly go to school.), regular (The earth revolves around the sun.), or permanent (Blue is a color.). The simple past refers to actions or states that occurred at a fixed point in time (I did my homework last night.). The simple future refers to actions or states that will occur at some particular point in the future (The sun will rise tomorrow at dawn.). The simple atemporal hypothetical ( = conditional) refers to an imagined action or state that has not be realized (You would make a good president.).

Simple Aspect
ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Simple	Present	Indicative	At xe....I do	Has xwe....It is done
Simple	Past	Indicative	At xa....I did	Has xwa....It was done
Simple	Future	Indicative	At xo....I will do	Has xwo....It will be done
Simple	Atemporal	Hypothetical	At xu....I would do	Has xwu....It would be done

Note: Absence of tense (Atemporal) + Hypothetical mood = CONDITIONAL

The Progressive Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Progressive aspect. The present tense vowel e followed by a buffer consonant, are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.

Progressive Aspect
ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Progressive	Present	Indicative	at xeye....I am doing	Has xewe....it is being done
Progressive	Past	Indicative	at xeya....I was doing	Has xewa....it was being done
Progressive	Future	Indicative	at xeyo....I am going to be doing	Has xewo....it will be happening
Progressive	Atemporal	Hypothetical	at xeyu....I would be doing	Has xewu....it would be happening

The Perfect Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Perfect aspect. The past tense vowel a following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.

Perfect Aspect
ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Perfect	Present	Indicative	At xaye....I have done	Has xawe....It has been done
Perfect	Past	Indicative	At xaya....I had done	Has xawa....It had been done
Perfect	Future	Indicative	At xayo....I will have done	Has xawo....It will have been done
Perfect	Atemporal	Hypothetical	At xayu....I would have done	Has xawu....It would have been done

The Imminent Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Imminent aspect (sometimes referred to as the Prospective aspect). The future tense vowel o following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. Not that only indicative mood imminent tenses are ever used.

Imminent Aspect
ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Imminent	Present	Indicative	At xoye....I am about to do	Has xowe....It is about to be done
Imminent	Past	Indicative	At xoya....I was about to do	Has xowa....It was about to be done

The Potential Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Potential aspect. The hypothetical vowel u followed by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. The future potential and hypothetical potential aspects are never used.

Potential Aspect
ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Potential	Present	Indicative	At xuye....I am to do	Has xuwe....It is to be done, it is doable
Potential	Past	Indicative	At xuya....I was to do	Has xuwa....It was to be done, it was doable

Verb Conjugation Chart

The following chart presents the totality of the Mirad affirmative verb conjugation system using the verb xer....to do and its passive xwer....to be done, happen. The rows beginning with a light blue background are finite forms, while those beginning with light green are non-finite forms.

Verb Conjugation Chart
STATE	MOOD	ASPECT	TENSE	VOICE
STATE	MOOD	ASPECT	TENSE	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Finite	Indicative	Simple	Present	xe does	xwe is done, happens
			Past	xa did	xwa was done, happened
			Future	xo will do	xwo will be done, will happen
	Hypothetical			xu would do, do!	xwu would be done, would happen, be done!
	Indicative	Progressive	Present	xeye is doing	xewe is being done, is happening
			Past	xeya was doing	xewa was doing, was happening
			Future	xeyo will be doing	xewo will be happening
	Hypothetical			xeyu would be doing be doing!	xewu would be happening
	Indicative	Perfect	Present	xaye has done	xawe has been done, has happened
			Past	xaya had done	xawa had been done, had happened
			Future	xayo will have done	xawo will have been done, will have happened
	Hypothetical			xayu would have done	xawu would have been done, would have happened
	Indicative	Imminent	Present	xoye is about to do	xowe is about to be done, is about to happen
		Imminent	Past	xoya was to be done	xowa was to be done, was to happen
		Potential	Present	xuye is supposed to do	xuwe is supposed to happen
		Potential	Past	xuya was supposed to do	xuwa was supposed to be done, was supposed to happen

Infinitive		Simple		xer to do	xwer to be done, to happen
Infinitive		Perfect		xayer to have done	xawer to have been done, to have happend

Participle		Progressive		xea doing	xewa being done, happening
		Perfect		x(a)ya² having done	x(a)wa¹ done, happened
		Imminent		xoa about to do	xowa about to happen
		Potential		xua bound to do	xuwa doable

Gerund		Simple			xen doing	xwen being done, happening, event
Gerund		Perfect			xayen having done	xawen having happened

Note 1: The perfective passive participle usually ends in -wa, but occasionally the longer form -awa is used, especially if the verb stem ends in a consonant followed by l or r that make the shorter form harder to pronounce, eg. pyuxrwa becomes pyuxrawa (shocked).

Note 2: Intransitive verbs such as per to go have no passive forms. An expression such as They are gone. would be translated as Yit se pya.

Negative Forms

All of the above verb forms are affirmative. The indicative and conditional forms can be made negative by preceding the negative adverb voy (not, 'nt, doesn't, don't). Those forms that are subjunctive, jussive, or imperative ending in -u use the negative subordinate conjunction von (don't, let not, lest).

Voy mamilo.....It will not rain. (indicative)
Von mamilu.....Let it not rain. (subjunctive)
Von yat fuyaku.....Let us not despair. (jussive)
At voy te.....I don't know.
Von pu!....Don't go. (imperative)
At voy xu hus.....I would not do that.

How to Express Certain English Tenses

English speakers have some tenses that do not fit into the above schema:

The English tense I have been studying French for four years. is translated in Mirad by At tixeye Ferad ji uwa jabi.....I am studying French since four years. (Mirad present progressive tense).
The English tense I had been studying is translated in Mirad by At tixeya. (Mirad past progressive tense).
The English tense I am going to be starring in that role. is translated in Mirad by At dezdebeyo be hua dezgon. (Mirad future progressive).
The modern Black English tense Don't you be doing that. is handled in Mirad by Von et xeyu hus. (Mirad imperative progressive).

Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs, which can take a direct object, oppose themselves to intransitive verbs, which do not take a direct object. Some verbs are marked overtly for transitivity.

Verbs that end in xer (to do, -ify, -ize) are by nature transitive, and often have intransitive counterparts in ser (to be, become, -ify, -ize). Likewise, verbs ending in ber (to put, take) are transitive and have intransitive counterparts in per (to go). Here are some examples:

Transitive vs. Intransitive
TRANSITIVE	INTRANSITIVE
xer....do	ser....be
agxer....grow (something)	agser....grow (up)
amxer....heat, make hot	amser....become hot, heat up
puxer....throw	puser....jump
per....go	ber....put
aber....put on	aper....get on
yaber....raise	yaper....rise
poxer....stop (something)	poser....(come to a) stop
yuber....bring	yuper....approach
yeber....insert	yeper....enter

At agxe vobi.....I grow [TRANSITIVE] plants.
Ha vobi agseye ig.....The plants are growing [INTRANSITIVE] fast.

Poxu ha pur!....Stop [TRANSITIVE] the car!
Ha pur posa.....The car stopped [INTRANSITIVE].

At yaba ha mis.....I raised [TRANSITIVE] the window.
Ha maar yapaye.....The sun has risen [INTRANSITIVE].

Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity

Note the following verbs, whose stems end in j are hard to pronounce with intransitive s and transitive x, so these two endings are placed with p and b, respectively, although the presence of the p is optional, i.e. it's presence or absence can slightly change the meaning from static to dynamic, eg. tujer....to sleep vs. tujper....to fall asleep. The transitive forms can be either active or passive.

Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity
INTRANSITIVE		TRANSITIVE
STATIC	DYNAMIC	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Ha mes yija The door opened.	Ha nasyef yijpa The purse came open.	At yijba ha mes. I opened the door.	Ha mes yijbwa bey yelput. The door was opened by an intruder
Ha mes yuja. The door closed.	Ha yanup yujpa. The meeting adjourned.	At yujba ha mes. I closed the door.	Ha mes yeyfe yujbwer ja sumjob. The door should be closed by bedtime.
Ha dezun ijaye. The play has started.	Ha par ijpa boy poys. The car started up immediately.	At ijba ata tyal. I started my meal.	Ha tyal ijbwa jwa. The meal was started early.
Ha dezun ujaye. The play has ended.	Ata yex ujpaye. My work has come to an end.	A ujba ha dyes. I finished the book.	Ha dyes hyoj ujbwa. The book never got finished.
Ha tob toja zomoj. The man died yesterday evening.	Ha tob tojpa. The man dropped dead.	Hot tojba ha twob? Who killed the man?	Ha twob tojbwa bey ita tayd. The man was killed by his wife.
Teju. Live!.	Tejpu!. Come alive!.	Yat efe tejber ha twob. We need to revive the man.	Ha twob yofwa tejbwer. The man could not be revived.
Ha tobot taja zojub. The baby was born yesterday.	Hoj ha tobot tajpo? When will the baby pop out?	Iyt tajba awa twobot zojub. She gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.	Ha twobot tajbwa jo eymoj. The baby boy was birthed after midnight.
At tija jwe. I woke up on time.	It voy tijpa. He did not come to..	At tijbo et jwa. I will wake (you) up early.	At voy fe tijbwo gra jwa. I don't want to be woken too early.
At tujeya. I was sleeping.	At tujpeya. I was falling sleep.	At tujbo it. I will put (him) to sleep..	Ha tobot tujbwo glojo. The baby will be put to sleep soon.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs, where the object refers back to the subject, work just as in English, where the object is a reflexive pronoun, eg.:

At tujboye aut.....I am going to kill myself.
Tru eut!....Know thyself!
It gobla iut bey goblar.....He cut himself with a knife.
Ot yefe yuxer out.....One must help oneself.

Sometimes, verbs are reflexive lexically and incorporate the reflexivity in the actual verb form using ut as the prefix:

uttujber....commit suicide (= self-kill)
utboler....support oneself (= self-support)
utdider....wonder (= self-ask)

Sometimes, verbs are used reflexively in Mirad even though they are used simply intransitively in English, eg.:

Et efe vyilxer eut.....You need to wash up [= wash yourself]. (or)
Et efe utvyilxer.....You need to wash up [= self-wash].

Omission of Prepositions After Certain Verbs

Some verbs inherently incorporate a preposition and so it is not necessary to use that assumed preposition before what would normally be an indirect object.

Inherent Propositions
PREPOSITION-INCORPORATING VERB	EXAMPLE
per....go (to)	Pu tam! (Not: Pu bu tam!) Go home. It pa Paris.....He went to Paris.
der....say (to), tell	Du at eta dyun.....Tell me your name. Du at has.....Tell it to me.
peser....wait (for)	Pesu at.....Wait for me.
buer....give (to)	Buu at hua dyes.....Give me that book.

As in English, in omitting the inherent preposition in a sentence with both a direct object and an indirect object, place the indirect object before the direct object. If the direct object comes first, then the preposition must be overtly specified before the indirect object, eg. Buu at hus.....Give me that. or Buu hus bu at.....Give that to me. See more about this in the chapter on Syntax.

Causative vs. Inchoative Verbs

A causative verb has the sense to make something have some quality, whereas an inchoative verbs means to become of take on the quality of something.

Derived from Adjectives

Adjectives can be converted into transitive/causative and intransitive/inchoative verbs. Causative verbs are always transitive (taking an object), while inchoative verbs are intransitive (not taking an object). English causative / inchoative verbs often end in -ify like magnify, or -ate, liberate, or ize, like sensitize.

To derive a causative verb from an adjective, add the suffix xer....to do to either the stem or the whole adjective (with the a ending). Whether you do the former or the latter depends on several factors, but the end result is slightly different in nuance. A verb with adjective stem + xer is slightly more idiomatic or less literal than the adjective stem + axer.

-axer vs -xer in Transitive Verbs
ADJECTIVE	CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE	CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE
-xer	LITERAL	IDIOMATIC
aga big	agaxer to magnify	agxer to grow
ana one	anaxer to unify	anxer to unite
yona apart	yonaxer to separate	yonxer to cut
yaga long	yagaxer to lengthen	yagxer to stretch
yuga slow	yugaxer to retard	yugxer to brake
sana formal	sanaxer to formalize	sanxer to form
gea equal	geaxer to equalize	gexer to copy, equate
jaa prior	jaaxer to prioritize	jaxer to prepare

To derive an inchoative verb from an adjective, add the suffix ser....to be to either the stem or the whole adjective.

Creating Inchoative Verbs
ADJECTIVE	INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE	INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE
-ser	LITERAL	IDIOMATIC
aga big	agaser to get bigger	agser to grow
ana one	anaser to unify	anser to unite, become united
yona apart	yonaser to become separate	yonser to break

Be careful to use the transitive, causative verb form when you have a direct object, and the intransitive, inchoative verb form when no direct objects are present or possible, eg.:

Ansu ey yet golxwo.....Unite or you will be divided. [INTRANSITIVE]
At yontadsa hoj at sa eta jag.....I got divorced when I was your age. [INTRANSITIVE]
Hisi agaxo hos et teate.....These will magnify what you see. [TRANSITIVE]
Hia tud agseye ig.....This child is growing up fast. [INTRANSITIVE]
Ata tayd agxe vosi be oyebzom.....My wife grows flowers out back. [TRANSITIVE]

Derived from Nouns

Transitive/causative/active and intransitive/inchoative/passive verbs can also be formed from nouns. The sense of the former is to make be X and of the latter, to become X.

Verbs Derived from Nouns
NOUN	TRANSITIVE/CAUSATIVE/ACTIVE	INTRANSITIVE/INCHOATIVE/PASSIVE
mog....ash	mogxer to incinerate	mogser to become ashes
yan....collection	yanxer to collect	yanser to get together
tad....spouse	tadxer to marry	tadser to get married
yom....ice	yomxer to freeze/make ice	yomser to freeze/become ice
mag....fire	magxer to burn, set fire to	magser to burn, get burned
uk....void	ukxer to empty	ukser become empty, empty out

Intermediary Causative Verbs

Intermediary verbal causatives like have/get my car washed, make/force him go, get one's hair cut are formed by suffixing the causative verb infix -ux- (active) or uxw (passive) to the stem of the verb signifying the action to be arranged or caused by someone other than the subject, eg.:

At gorbuxo ata tayeb zamaj.....I will get my hair cut tomorrow.
Et voy yafe puxer at.....You cannot make me go.
It tojbuxa yit.....He had them killed.
At efe vyilxuxer ata par.....I need to have my car washed.
Et upuxwa him hesav.....You were made to come here for some reason.
At bakambuxo et.....I will have you hospitalized.
Et voy yafe deuzuxer at.....You cannot make me sing.
At hihiduxwa.....I was tickled (= made to laugh).
Eta deuz hihiduxa yat.....Your song tickled us. (= Made us laugh.)
Van het ivasuxu weti.....May someone get you guys to be happy.
Hua enzyukpur uzpuxa ha pur.....That motorcycle caused the car to veer.

Subject-directed vs. Patient-directed Verbs

The directionality of some verbs can be distinguished by the verbal formant infix -i- for an action or motion toward the speaker and -u- for an action or motion away from the speaker toward some patient, eg.:

Directional Verbs
SUBJECT-DIRECTED	PATIENT-DIRECTED
bier....to take	buer....to give
nier....to consume	nuer....to supply
nyier....to order	nyuer....to deliver
nunier....to buy	nunuer....to sell
nazunier....win a prize	nazunuer....award a prize
noysier....pay off	noysuer....charge
ojbier....borrow	ojbuer....lend
tadier....get married	taduer....marry off
papier....take flight	papuer....send off flying
pipier....set sail	pipuer....dock
simbier....take a seat	simbuer....offer a seat
tampier....leave home	tampuer....arrive home
tamier....settle in	tamuer....shelter
nuxbier....to buy	nixbuer....to sell
telier....to eat	teluer....to feed
gonbier....to participate	gonbuer....to share
tilier....to drink	tiluer....to ply with drink
teubier....to swallow	teubuer....to spit out
teatier....to observe, watch	teatuer....to show
taxier....to memorize	taxuer....to remind
alier....to breathe in	aluer....to breathe out, expire
ilier....to absorb	iluer....to pour
ifier....to enjoy	ifuer....to please
dier....to ask	duer....to suggest
tier....to learn	tuer....to inform
pier....to depart	puer....to arrive
kebier....to choose	kebuer....to distribute
byier....to originate	byuer....to target
mempier....to take off	mempuer....to land
sinier....visualize	sinuer....display
xier....to result	xuer....to cause
yifier....to get up the courage	yifuer....to encourage, challenge
yafonier....to gain power	yafonuer....to empower
trier....to become acquainted with	truer....to acquaint with, introduce to
tepizier....to pay attention to	tepizuer....to draw attention to

In some cases, the directionality can be both ways in a verb, in which case the verb formant infix -ui- (a hybrid form) is used, eg.:

nunier ....to purchase (subject-directed)
nunuer....to sell (patient-directed)
nunuier....to trade (subject & patient-directed)

tier....to learn, realize (subject-directed)
tuer....to inform, tip off (patient-directed)
tuier....to communicate (subject & patient-directed)

alier....to breathe in, inhale (subject-directed)
aluer....to breathe out, exhale (patient-directed)
aluier....to breathe, respire (subject & patient-directed)

bier ....to take (subject-directed)
buer....to give (patient-directed)
buier....to give and take, exchange (subject & patient-directed)

Verbs with Vectorial Prefixes

Prepositions and directional adverbs can be prefixed to verbs in order to change their vectorial semantics. A preposition ending in b will assimilate to p before the verb per....to go and a preposition ending in b will lose the b before a verb beginning with b. Here are some examples:

Verb Prepositional Prefixes
PREPOSITION/ADVERB	TRANSITIVE VERB	INTRANSITIVE VERB
ab....on	aber....apply	aper....get on, mount
ob....off	ober....remove	oper....get of, dismount
eb....between	eber....block	eper....intervene
yab....up	yaber....raise	yaper....rise
yob....down	yober....take down	yoper....descend
yub....near	yuber....bring near	yuper....approach
yib....far	yiber....take away	yiper....go far away
yeb....in	yeber....insert	yeper....enter
yeb....in	yepuxer....throw in	yepuser....jump in
oyeb....out	oyeber....expose	oyeper....exit
oyeb....out	oyepuxer....eject	oyepuser....jump out
zyu....round	zyuber....rotate	zyuper....revolve
zya....throughout	zyaber....spread	zyaper....tour
av....for	avdaler....plead	avper....pursue
ov....against	ovber....oppose	ovper....countervene
yan....together	yanber....compose	yanper....meet
yon....apart	yonber....separate	yonper....separate
iz....direct	izber....lead	izper....head
uz....curved	uzber....divert	uzper....diverge
yuz....around	yuzbexer....surround	yuzper....circulate
yiz....beyond	yizber....transfer	yizper....surpass
zoy....back, re-	zoyber....return	zoyper....go back

Verbs with Other Semantics-altering Prefixes

As in English and many other languages, prefixes can be used on verbs to reverse, mitigate, or otherwise alter the semantics:

Expressing re- with zoy- or gaw-

The prefix zoy-....back or gaw-¹....again are used like the English prefix re-, eg.:

ember....to position → zoyember....to reposition, replace
buer....to give → zoybuer....to return (an object), give back
sanxer....to shape, form → zoysanxer....to reshape, reform, transform
zyauber....to broadcast → gawzyauber....to re-broadcast
taja....born → gawtaja....reborn
aber....to apply → gawaber....to reapply
uper....to come → zoyuper....to return (come back)
teaper....to visit → gawteaper....to revisit
uper....to come → zoyuper....to return, come back
buxer....to push → zoybuxer....to repel, push back
puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to reject, throw back, jettison

Note 1: The prefix gaw- before a consonant is pronounced like the gaw in the English word gawk. It is short for ga awa jod or gawa meaning one more time, again. If the "re-" word means to do something again, then gaw- is used, eg. To reconvene ( = meet again)....gawyanuper If the sense of back is intended, than the prefix zoy- is used, eg. To return ( = come back)....zoyuper. Both prefixes are used in the expression Come back again!....Gawzoyupu!.

Until we meet again. is expressed by Ju van yat gawyanupo.

Expressing de-, dis-, un- with lo-

The prefix lo- reverses the semantics of a verb and is like English dis-, de-, or un-, eg.:

saxer....to build, construct → losaxer....to destroy, deconstruct
anxer....to unite → loanxer....to disunite
xer....to do → loxer....to undo

Note the difference between o- and lo-.

odoparuwa....unarmed (= not armed)
lodoparuwa....disarmed (= from the verb lodoparuer....to disarm)

Expressing co- with yan-

The prefix yan-....together is used as the English co-, eg.:

exer....to operate → yanexer....to cooperate
tamer....to dwell → yantamer....to cohabit
napber....to put in order → yannapber....to coordinate

Making Verbs Completive with ik-

Verbs can be made completive by prefixing them with ik- (fully). Such verbs are comparable to phrasal verbs in English with up and other prepositions as in to eat up. Here are some examples in Mirad:

tojber....to kill → iktojber....to kill off, exterminate
telier....to eat → iktelier....to eat up
ujber....to finish → ikujber....to finish off/up
gofler....to rip → ikgofler....to rip up
drer....to write → ikdrer....to write down
byexer....to beat → ikbyexer....to beat up

Making Verbs Continuative with je-

Verbs can be given a continuative nuance with the addition of the prefix je-:

daler....to talk → jedalar....to go on talking, to blabber
tejer....to live → jetejer....to go on living, to survive
yexer....to work → jeyexer....to go on working, to keep working
teaxer....to look → jeteaxer....to watch
teexer....to listen → jeteexer....to keep listening, to pay attention
duler....to insist → jeduler....to nag

Making Verbs Inchoative with ij-

Verbs can be given an inchoative nuance with the addition of the prefix ij-:

texer....to think → ijtexer....to start to think
ifier....to enjoy → ijifier....to start liking
tyer....to know → ijtyer....to get to know

Making Verbs Terminative with uj-

Verbs can be given a terminative nuance with the addition of the prefix uj-:

telier....to eat → ujtelier....to finish eating
dyeer....to read → ujdyeer....to finish reading
ufteuder....to complain → ujufteuder....to quit carping

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Pleasure with if-

tyoper....to walk → iftyoper....to stroll
tuyuxer....to finger → iftuyuxer....to tickle
teaxer....to look → ifteaxer....to ogle (voyeuristically)
piper....to sail → ifpiper....to go cruising
teuder....to shout → ifteuder....to laugh

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Displeasure with uf-

tosier....to feel → uftosier....to get angry
eker....to play → ufeker....to fight
der....to say → ufder....to express displeasure
aluer....to exhale → ufaluer....to huff
daler....to talk → ufdaler....to rant

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Prohibition with of-

bier....to take → ofbier....to steal
deler....to declare → ofdeler....to ban
yeper....to enter → ofyeper....to intrude, break in
zeyper....to cross → ofzeyper....to transgress, poach
gelxer....to copy → ofgelxer....to pirate, plagiarize
bekuluer....to administer medicine → ofbekuluer....to dope
nuxuer....to pay → ofnuxuer....to bribe, pay off, suborn

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Holiness with fya-

bexler....to keep → fyabexler....to enshrine
buer....to give → fyabuer....to sacrifice
der....to say → fyader....to bless
daler....to speak → fyadaler....to preach, sermonize
diler....to request → fyadiler....to pray
deuzer....to sing → fyadeuzer....to chant
ifrer....to love dearly → fyaifrer....to worship, adore
jader....to predict → fyajader....to prophesy
miluer....to sprinkle → fyamiluer....to sprinkle with holy water
ojvader....to promise → fyaojvader....to swear
xeler....to practice → fyaxeler....to celebrate
koser....to hide → fyakoser....to go on a retreat, go into hermitage
teazer....perform a show → fyateazer....to perform a miracle

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Profanity with fyo-

der....to say → fyoder....to curse
diler....to request → fyodiler....to conjure
tyezer....to perform magic → fyotezer....to engage in black magic
xer....to do → fyoxer....to sin

Expressing Good Actions with fi-

der....to say → fider....to praise
fer....to want → fifer....to mean well
xer....to do → fixer....to do well
yaker....to expect → fiyaker....to hope
yuxer....to help → fiyuxer....to benefit

Expressing Bad Actions with fu-

yevder....to judge → fuyevder....to critique negatively
fer....to want → fufer....to will ill
der....to say → fuder....to badmouth
napxer....to arrange → funapxer....to mess up
yuxer....to help → fuyuxer....to abuse

Expressing More Intense Actions with az-

yujber....to close → azyujber....to lock
der....to say → azder....to emphasize
duer....to suggest → azduer....to urge
dizeuder....to laugh → azdizeuder....to guffaw

Expressing Less Intense Actions with oz-

der....to utter → ozder....to whisper
duer....to suggest → ozduer....to hint
dizeuder....to laugh → ozdizeuder....to chuckle
uvteuder....to moan → ozuvteuder....to whimper
tyoper....to walk → oztyoper....to limp

Expressing pre-, fore- with ja-

der....to tell → jader....to foretell, predict
teater....to see → jateater....to foresee, preview
ter....to know → jater....to presage, have foreknowledge of
yever....to judge → jayever....to prejudge
juder....to date → jajuder....to antedate

Expressing post-, after- with jo-

juder....to date → jojuder....to postdate
texer....to think → jotexer....to reflect on, review
uvder....to express sadness → jouvder....to mourn, regret
ibler....to obtain → joibler....to inherit

Expressing excessively with gra-

telier....to eat → gratelier....to overeat
fer....to want → grafer....to covet
der....to say → grader....to exaggerate
daler....to talk → gradaler....to yammer

Expressing inadequately with gro-

fyinder....to value → grofyinder....to underestimate
mageler....to cook → gromageler....to undercook
xaer....to perform → groxaer....to underperform

Expressing counter-, contra- with ov- or oyv-

axler....to act → ovaxler....to counteract
apyexer....to attack → ovapyexer....to counterattack
daler....to speak → ovdaler....to oppose
der....to say → oyvder....to contradict
ber....to put → oyvber....to reverse, overturn
texer....to think → oyvtexer....to contest, disagree
per....to go → oyvper....to contravene

Expressing on behalf, for with av-

axler....to act → avaxler....to act on behalf of
daler....to speak → avdaler....to advocate, speak on behalf of

Making Verbs Reflexive with ut- (self-, auto-)

tojber....to kill → uttojber....to commit suicide
vyovider....to flatter → utvyovider....to flatter oneself
zaypuxwer....to be propelled → utzaypuxwer....to be self-propelled
fider....to praise → utfider....to brag
gober....to decrement → utgober....to autodecrement

Making Verbs Reciprocal with hyuit- (one another)

tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
ifer....to love → hyuitifer....to love one another

Expressing inter-, intra- with eb- (between)

tadier....to marry → ebtadier....to intermarry
zyaber....to spread → ebzyaber....to intersperse
vyexer....to relate → ebvyexer....to interrelate

Expressing the Opposite of an Action with o- (un-)

bexler....to keep → obexler....to release, let go of
aynser....to integrate → oaynser....to disintegrate, to decay
beler....to carry → obeler....to drop
bier....to take → obier....to leave, relinquish
boser....to be quiet → oboser....to be upset
drer....to write → odrer....to erase

Note: If the base verb already begins with the negative prefix o-, then the prefix is changed to ol-, eg. obexler....to release → olobexwa....to unreleased

Expressing a Public or Official Action with do-

Do- is a stub for dot (society).

afder....to allow → doafder....to authorize
bier....to take → dobier....to conquer, take over, take control of
tojber....to kill → dotojber....to execute
buer....to give → dobuer....to dedicate
daler....to speak → dodaler....to orate, speak in public
deler....to declare → dodeler....to announce
drer....to write → dodrer....to publicize, report

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Truth with vya-

der....to say → vyader....to avow, be frank
ber....to set, put → vyaber....to control
napxer...to arrange, order → vyanapxer....to adjust
kexer....to seek → vyakexer....to investiage
tuer....to inform → vyatuer....to advise

Giving Verbs of Nuance of Falseness with vyo-

der....to say → vyoder....to lie, to misstate
tester....to understand → vyotester....to misunderstand
tuer....to inform → vyotuer....to misinform, to deceive
xer....to do → vyoxer....to do wrong, fail, misdo
yuxler....to serve → vyoyuxler....to betray, to serve unfaithfully

Making Verbs Positive with va-

der....to say → vader....to affirm
texer....to think → vatexer....to believe
yeker....to expect → vayeker....to presume
bier.....to take → vabier....to accept

Making Verbs Negative with vo-

der....to say → voder....to deny
texer....to think → votexer....to doubt
yeker....to expect → voyeker....to rule out
bier.....to take → vobier....to reject

Making Verbs Suppositional with ve-

der....to say → veder....to conjecture
texer....to think → vetexer....to suppose, hypothesize
yovder....to blame → veyovder....to indict, accuse

Speeding up Verbs with ig-

pier....to leave → igpier....to flee
pyoser....to drop → igpyoser....to plummet
tyoper....to walk → igtyoper....to run
yeper....to enter → igyeper....to rush in

Slowing up Verbs with ug-

paser....to move → ugpaser....to amble
teaxer....to look → ugteaxer....to gaze
ilper....to flow → ugilper....to trickle
tilier....to drink → ugtilier....to sip

Expressing the Nuance of Suddenness with yok-

baxer....to stir → yokbaxer....to startle
hihider....to laugh → yokhihider....to burst out laughing
teaser....to appear → yokteaser....to suddenly appear
yoktojer....to die → yoktojer....to drop dead

Expressing the Notion of Fixedness with kyo-

byaser....to stand → kyobyaser....to stand still
kexer....to seek → kyokexer....to hound, stalk
teaxer....to look → kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
texer....to think → kyotexer....to obsess with, fixate on

Expression the Notion of Randomness with kye-

der....to say → kyeder....to guess, divine
per....to per → kyeper....to fluctuate
poper....to travel → kyepoper....to wander
napxer....to order → kyenapxer....to scramble
bier....to take → kyebier....to select

Expressing the Notion of Change with kya-

baser....to make a move → kyabaser....to shift
sanxer....to form → kyasanxer....to transform
xer....to do/make → kyaxer....to change
napxer....to order → kyanapxer....to shuffle
dyanxer....to phrase → kyadyanxer....to paraphrase

Expressing Covert Actions with ko-

ber....to put → kober....to hide
beler....to carry → kobeler....to smuggle
bier....to take → kobier....to steal
ebkyaxer....to exchange → koebkyaxer....to traffic
exer....to operate → koexer....to spy, operate under cover
fler....to wish for → kofler....to covet, be jealous of
apyexer....to attack → koapyexer....to ambush, to sneak-attack
loexer....to destroy → koloexer....to sabotage

Expressing Actions with Intentionality with ke-

teaxer....to look → keteaxer....to scan
vyaxer....to prove → kevyaxer....to experiment
tier....to learn → ketier....to be interested in

Expressing Lateral Actions with ku-

buxer....to push → kubuxer....to rebuff, shun
der....to say → kuder....to comment, remark
tyoper....to step → kutyoper....to step aside

Expressing Near Actions with yub-

der....to say → yubder....to intimate, hint
gexer....to equate → yubgexer....to approximate
bixer....to pull → yu(b)bixer....to attract, draw near
teaxer....to look → yubteaxer....to scrutinize, examine

Expressing Distance Actions with yib- (far, tele-)

drer....to write → yibdrer....to wire, telegraph
bixer....to pull → yi(b)bixer....to distract
tuier....to communicate → yibtuier....to telecommunicate
nyuxer....to deliver → yibnyuxer....to mail, post

Expressing up-, super- with yab-

ber....to put → ya(b)ber....to raise, to put up
bixler....to drag → ya(b)bixler....to dredge up
uper....to come → yabuper....to come up
nogyanxer....to scale → yabnogyanxer....to scale up, escalate

Expressing down-, sub- with yob-

ber....to put → yo(b)ber....to lower, put down
kyaber....to shift → yobkyaxer....to downshift
musper....to climb → yobmusper....to climb down
nogyanxer....to scale → yobnogyanxer....to downscale

Expressing in- with yeb-

ber....to put → ye(b)ber....to insert, put in
beler....to carry → ye(b)beler....to import
uzber....to bend → yebuzber....to inflect
yujber....to close → yebyujber....to enclose, include

Expressing out-, ex-, extra- with oyeb-

ber....to put → oye(b)ber....to put out, expose
beler....to carry → oye(b)beler....to export
uber....to send → oyebuber....to emit, send out
yujber....to close → oyebyujber....to exclude

Expressing pro-, forward with zay-

ber....to put → zayber....to advance, put forward
kexer....to seek → zaykexer....to scout out
puxer....to throw → zaypuxer....to propel, thrust
tyoper....to walk → zaytyoper....to progress, to walk forward

Expressing back-, retro-, re- with zoy-

uber....to send → zoyber....to send back
kixer....to bend → zoykixer....to reflect
puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to repel
neadper....to track → zoyneadper....to backtrack

Expressing across, trans-, over-, cross- with zey-

per....to go → zeyper....to cross, transit
beler....to carry → zeybeler....to transport, convey
drer....to write → zeydrer....to transcribe
kyober....to fix → zeykyober....to transfix, transplant
vyayeker....to check → zeyvyayeker....to crosscheck

Expressing through, per- with zye-

per....to go → zyeper....to permeate, get through
kexer....to seek → zyekexer....to rummage, sift through
drer....to write → zyedrer....to cross out, draw a line through
iluer....to pour → zyeiluer....to soak
koper....to sneak → zyekoper....to sneak through

Expressing all over, widely, all about with zya-

ber....to put → zyaber....to spread
buer....to give → zyabuer....to distribute
ijber....to open → zyaijber....to open wide
nuxer....to pay → zyanuxer....to disburse
puxer....to throw → zyapuxer....to scatter, cast about

Expressing mid-, center with ze-

ber....to put → zeber....to balance
byaser....to stand → zebyaser....to straddle
der....to say → zeder....to interject
pyoser....to fall → zepyoser....to sag
poxer....to stop → zepoxer....to interrupt

Expressing futurity with oj-

ber....to put → ojber....to put off, postpone
bier....to take → ojbier....to borrow
fer....to want → ojfer....to wish, aspire
texer....to think → ojtexer....to plan
teater....to see → ojteater....to envision
vader....to affirm → ojvader....to promise

Expressing past with aj-

ber....to put → ajber....to pass, relegate to the past
der....to say → ajder....to evoke, hearken, recount
embier....to occupy → ajembier....to haunt
texer....to think → ajtexer....to reminisce, to reflect
uvtosder....to express sadness → ajuvtosder....to apologize
nexer....to store → ajnexer....to archive

Expressing present with ej-

buer....to give → ejbuer....to present
eser....to exist → ejeser....to attend, to be present
nuxer....to pay → ejnuxer....to pay cash
tuer....to inform → ejtuer....to update
uvtosder....to express sadness → ejuvtosder....to apologize

Expressing a stretched out action with yag- (long)

beser....to stay → yagbeser....to linger
bexer....to hold → yagbexer....to conserve, preserve
daler....to talk → yagdaler....to ramble
dodaler....to orate → yagdodaler....to harangue
fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine
teaxer....to look → yagteaxer....to stare
fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine

Expressing a brief action with yog- (short)

drer....to write → yogdrer....to abbreviate
teaxer....to look → yogteaxer....to glance at
tujer....to sleep → yogtujer....to snooze, nap
gobler....to cut → yoggobler....to cut short, truncate

Some Hybrid Prefixes

The prefix kui- is a hybrid of ku- (lateral) and ki- (diagonal)

per....to go → kuiper....to wobble
tyoper....to walk → kuityoper....to limp

The prefix zao- is a truncated hybrid of zay- (forward) and zoy- (backwards), eg:

baser....to move → zaobaser....to rock
per....to go → zaoper....to alternate
beler....to carry → kuibeler....to shuttle, ferry
pyoser....to fall → kuipyoser....to pendulate

The prefix yaob- is a hybrid of yab- (up) and yob- (down). The final b- is assimilated or dropped before a b or p.

baser....to move → yaobaser....to bob
per....to go → yaoper....to heave
beler....to carry → yaobeler....to shuttle, ferry
peper....to ride → yaopeper....to jounce
puser....to jump → yaopuser....to hop, bounce

The prefix bui- is a hybrid of bu- (to) and bi- (from), eg:

drer....to write → buidrer....to correspond
-er....to x → buier....to trade
beler....to carry → buibeler....to shuttle, ferry
xer....to do → buixer....to push and pull, spring
poper....to travel → buipoper....to travel to and fro, travel round trip

The prefix uiz- is a hybrid of uz- (crooked) and iz- (straight), eg:

drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
der....to say → uizder....to equivocate
baser....to move → uizbaser....to wiggle, to squirm
per....to go → uizper....to careen, reel
paser....to move → uizpaser....to swerve, yaw

The prefix zui- is a hybrid of zu- (left) and zi- (right), eg:

drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
buxer....to push → zuibuxer....to push around
baser....to move → zuibaser....to sway, totter
per....to go → zuiper....to zigzag
pasler....to shake → zuipasler....to wobble

The prefix aoyeb- is a hybrid of (a)yeb- (in) and oyeb- (out), eg:

ber....to put → aoyeber....to insert and extract
tiexer....to breathe → aoyetiexer....to breath in and out
paper....to fly → aoyepaper....to fly in and out

The prefix aob- is a hybrid of ab- (on) and ob- (off), eg:

ber....to put → aober....to put on and off
per....to go → aoper....to get on and off, embark and disembark

The prefix vao- is a hybrid of va- (yes) and vo- (no), eg:

der....to say → vaoder....to decide
daler....to talk → vaodaler....to waffle
duder....to answer → vaoduder....to answer yes or no
kyaxer....to change → vaokyaxer....to redact
texer....to think → vaotexer....to deliberate, vacillate

The prefix uij is a hybrid of uj- (end) and ij- (begin)

ber....to put → uijber....to switch off and on
daler....to talk → uijdaler....to stutter

The prefix yuij is a hybrid of yuj- (close) and yij- (open)

ber....to put → yuijber....to open and close, blink

The prefix huim is a hybrid of hum (there) and him (there)

paper....to fly → huimpaper....to fly here and yon
per....to go → huimper....to wander
kexer....to seek → huimkexer....to search high and low

Different Nuances of teaxer with Prefixes

teaxer....to look, behold, regard
aybteaxer....to supervise, look over
ajteaxer....to look back on (retrospect)
eynteaxer....to squint
fizteaxer....to respect
fuzteaxer....to disrespect
gawteaxer....to review, re-look
hyuitteaxer....to look at one another
ibteaxer....to ignore
igteaxer....to glance, glimpse
ifteaxer....to marvel at
izteaxer....to view directly, confront, aim
jateaxer....to preview
jeteaxer....to watch, observe
joteaxer....to review
kateaxer....to look for
keteaxer....to scan
kiteaxer....to look askance
koteaxer....to peek, spy
kozyeteaxer....to peep
kozyoteaxer....to peer
kuteaxer....to observe
kyeteaxer....to browse
kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
oteaxer....to ignore, overlook
ufteaxer....to glare, leer
ugteaxer....to gaze
yagteaxer....to gape, gawk
yebteaxer....to inspect
yibteaxer....to view from afar
yogteaxer....to glance at
yokteaxer....to get a glimpse of
yubteaxer....to examine
yuibteaxer....to look near and far
yuzteaxer....to look around, circumspect
yanteaxer....to view together
yizteaxer....to look beyond, overlook
vyateaxer....to investigate, check out
vyoteaxer....to view wrongly
zateaxer....to face, confront
zayteaxer....to look ahead, expect
zoyteaxer....to look back
zeyteaxer....to look across
ziteaxer....to look to the right
zuteaxer....to look to the left
zuiteaxer....to look right and left
zyateaxer....to look all over, survey
zyeteaxer....to look through, peruse
zyoteaxer....to squint
yobteaxer....to look down
yaobteaxer....to look up and down
zaoteaxer....to look back and forth
yabteaxer....to look up
yubketeaxer....to pry
uzteaxer....to look indirectly at
oyebteaxer....to look out
ojteaxer....to peer into the future
marteaxer....to star-gaze
tabteaxer....to autopsy

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are usually followed by the main verb in the infinitive or a subjunctive dependent clause and have to do with wanting, permitting, prohibiting, being able, being unable, needing, being obliged to do something, etc.

Principal Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Mirad has a set of modal auxiliary verbs that can be followed by a main verb in the infinitive mode. This is very much like Enlish modal auxiliary verbs in the following examples:

I want to go.
You must wait.
You may stay.
I dare say.

Here is a chart showing the main modal auxiliary verbs in Mirad:

Principle Modal Auxiliary Verbs
TYPE	POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
Permission	afer....may ayfer....might	ofer....may not oyfer....might not
Ability	yafer....can	yofer....cannot
Need	efer....need to
Obligation	yefer....must yeyfer....should	oyefer....must not oyeyfer....should not
Desire	fer....want to
Enjoyment	ifer....love to, enjoy iyfer....like to	ufer....hate to uyfer....dislike to
Courage	yifer....dare to	yufer....be afraid to, fear
Liberty	yiver....have a right to, be free to	yuver....be bound to, be supposed to
Expectation	yaker....expect to	yoker....be surprised to
Conation	yeker....try to

These modal auxiliary verbs are often followed by a verbal infinitive, as in the following examples:

At fe ter.....I want to know.
Wit yifa yeper.....He dared to enter.
Yat yafe teater yet.....We can see you.
Duven et yaka aker?....Did you expect to win?
Diwe yeku xer ga fi.....Please try to do better.

If the modal verb is in the hypothetical aspect (conditional), then the sense is somewhat mitigated, as in these examples:

At fe per.....I want to go.
At fu per.....I would like to go.

Et yafe aker.....You can win.
Et yafu aker.....You could win.

Yet yefe iper.....You must leave.
Yet yefu iper.....You ought to leave.

Post-y-gliding the stem vowel of the modal verb also reduces the strength, for example:

At ife et. ....I love you.
At iyfe et. ....I like you.

Et yefe iper.....You must leave.
Et yeyfe iper.....You should leave.

Iyt yafe aker.....She can win.
Iyt yayfe aker.....She might win.

At ufa uda tuz.....I hated that art.
At uyfa uda tuz.....I disliked that art.

The use of l and r intensify the meaning of the auxiliary verbs, eg:

Et yuve puer jwe.....You are supposed to arrive on time.
Et yuvle tepzexer.....You have to pay attention.
Et yuvre buer nas.....You absolutely must give money.

At yeka ser yeva.....I tried to be fair.
At yekla ujber jwa.....I strove to finish early.
At yekra nixer ga nas.....I struggled (= worked hard)) to earn more money.

Iyt ife eker zyun.....She loves to play ball.
Iyt ifla teater et.....She was delighted to see you.
Iyt ifre teaper him.....She adores visiting here.

Here are some examples showing how these modal verbs are used as auxiliaries:

Et afe oyeper ay ifeker.....You may go out and play.
Yat efa tujer.....We needed to sleep.
Ot ofe mavier him.....One is prohibited to smoke here.
Mavier him ofwe.....Smoking here is prohibited.
At ife dyeer.....I love to read.
Duven et fe yeper?....Do you want to come in?
At fu teaper et edjub.....I would like to visit you some day.
It ufaye hyaj teaxwer.....He has always hated being looked at.
Duven et iyfe per tilami?....Do you like going to bars?
At uyfe tijer gra jwa.....I dislike waking up too early.
Et yafe xer hyehos et fu.....You can do whatever you like.
Et yefer xer ad vyaas.....You must do the right thing.
Et yeyfe voy daler huuyen azay.....You should not talk so loud.
At yeyfa ter ga fi.....I should have known better.
At voy yifu der hyea fuas.....I would not dare say anything bad.
Von yufu der hos et tesde.....Don't be afraid to say what you mean.
Et yive dier yevanavdut.....You have a right to ask for a lawyer.
Yat voy yuvle kyoejer.....We are not bound to stick around.

Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms

All of these modal verbs can be passive, in which case they are "patient-oriented" rather than "subject-oriented." The participial adjective yafa....able is subject-oriented and refers to a person, whereas the passived adjective yafwa....possible is patient-oriented and refers to a thing or event. Here is a chart of the principal modal verbs and corresponding participial adjectives with this subject/object-orientation distinction shown:

Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms
MODAL TYPE	SUBJECT-ORIENTED	SUBJECT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED
	VERB	ADJECTIVE	VERB	ADJECTIVE
Permission	afer may	afa allowed	afwer be permitted	afwa permissable
Necessity	efer need	efa needful	efwer be necessary	efwa necessary, required
Prohibition	ofer be unallowed	ofa prohibited	ofwer be prohibited	ofwa banned
Possibility	yafer be able	yafa able	yafwer be possible	yafwa possible
Obligation	yefer must	yefa obliged	yefwer be obligatory	yefwa obligatory
Duty	yeyfer should	yeyfa supposed, duty-bound	yeyfwer be supposed	yeyfwa due
Impossibility	yofer be unable	yofa unable	yofwer be impossible	yofwa impossible
Volition	fer want	fa desirous	fwer be desirable	fwa desirable, wanted
Love	ifer love iyfer like	ifa enamored iyfa fond	ifwer be loved iyfwer be liked	ifwa lovable iyfwa likeable
Hate	ufer hate uyfer dislike	ufa averse uyfa displeased	ufwer be hated uyfwer be disliked	ufwa odious unliked
Courage	yifer dare	yifa daring, brave	yifwer be safe	yifwa safe
Fear	yufer be afraid	yufa afraid	yufwer be a danger	yufwa frightening
Joy	iver enjoy	iva glad	ivwer be a joy	ivwa enjoyable
Sorrow	uver be sorry	uva sorry, sad	uvwer be a shame	uvwa regrettable

Examples of subject-oriented forms:

At se yafa xer hes.....I am capable of doing anything.
Et ofe teater hia dyezun.....You are not allowed/are prohibited to see this film.
Duven at afe per hum?....Am I allowed to go there?
Yat fu ter eta dyun.....We would like to know your name.
Piti ufe beser be mel.....Fish hate to remain on dry land.
At ajay ifa dazer.....I once loved to dance.
Et se iva, at yife der.....You are beautiful, I dare say.
At yeyfa xer has ga ig.....I should have done it sooner.
Von yufu; At yupeye.....Fear not; I am coming.
Et yefe puer ja eymaj.....You must arrive before noon.
Yet yofe daler je ha dezun.....You people must not talk during the performance.
Yat yeyfe (= se yeyfa) aker.....We should (= are bound/supposed/due) to win.
At ive teater et bakser.....I'm glad to see you get better.
Su iva.....Be happy.
At uvu (= su uva) teater et iper.....I would be sad to see you leave.

Examples of patient-oriented forms:

Afwe (= se afwa) mavier him.....It is permissible to smoke here.
Ofwe (= se ofwa*) puxer fyumul him.....It is prohibited to throw litter here.
Fwe (= se fwa) van yet dolu.....It is desired that you stop talking.
Voy yafwe beser him gajob.....It is not possible to remain here any longer.
Yofwa av at ivteuder.....It was not possible for me to laugh.
Yefwe van et piu ig.....It is essential that you leave quickly.
He yeyfwe ober ata tyoyafi?....Is it obligatory to remove my shoes?
Ga yux efwo.....More help will be needed.
Yuxren se ufwa xetyen.....Slavery is an odious practice.
Uvwe van wit oka.....It's a shame that he lost.

*lofwa is used for unwanted for disambiguation purposes.

Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems

Various causative verbs can be formed from modal stems, as shown in the chart below:

Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED
afxer....allow (someone to do sthg.)	afwaxer....permit (something to be done)
efxer....require	efwaxer....necessitate
ofxer....prohibit	ofwaxer....prohibit
yafxer....enable	yafwaxer....make possible
yefxer....oblige	yefwaxer....make obligatory
yofxer....cripple	yofwaxer....disable
yifxer....embolden	yifwaxer....make safe
yufxer....intimidate	yufwaxer....make frightening
ifxer....please	ifwaxer....make pleasant

Creating Modal Verbs and Adjectives with Modal Stem Suffixes

Verb stems can be suffixed with modal participles to produce related modal verbs and adjectives. The first chart shows the modal participles themselves that can be suffixed to verb stems. Subject-oriented forms refer only to people, while patient-oriented forms (ending in -wa) refer only to things.

Modal Suffixes
Subject-oriented	Patient-oriented
-yafa....able to X, -able	-yafwa....possible to X
-yofa....unable to X	-yofwa....impossible to X
-ifa....fond of Xing, Xophile	-ifwa....enjoyable to X
-ufa....averse to Xing, Xophobic	-ufwa....unenjoyable to X
-yika....hard of Xing	-yikwa....hard to X
-yuka....comfortable/easy Xing	-yukwa....easy to X
-yaka....expecting to X	yakwa....expected/likely to X
-efa....in need of Xing	-efwa....necessary to X
-yefa....obliged to X	-yefwa....obligatory/due to X
-yufa....afraid of Xing	-yufwa....frightening to X

This table shows some of these modal suffixes applied to actual verb and noun stems:

Modals and Orientation
ORIENTATION	POSITIVE ADJECTIVE	POSITIVE VERB	NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE	NEGATIVE VERB
Subject	teatyafa able to see, sighted	teatyafer be able to see	teatyofa blind	teatyofer be blind
Patient	teatyafwa visible	teatyafwer be visible	teatyofwa invisible	teatyofwer be invisible
Subject	teetyafa able to hear, hearing	teetyafer be able to hear	teetyofa deaf	teatyofer be deaf
Patient	teetyafwa audible	teetyafwer be audible	teeyofwa inaudible	teeyofwer be inaudiable
Subject	dalyafa able to speak	dalyafer be able to speak	dalyofa mute, dumb	dalyofer be mute, dumb
Subject	doabifa patriotic	doabifer be patriotic	doabufa rebellious	doabufer rebel
Subject	tosyafa sensitive	tosyafer be able to feel	tosyofa insensitive	tosyofer be numbed
Patient	tayotyafwa palpable	tayotyafwer be palpable	tayotyofwa numb	tayotyofwer be impalbable, numb
Patient	testyukwa easy to understand	testyukwaxer make easily understood	testyikwa hard to understand	testyikwaxer make hard to understand
Subject	tudyaka pregnant, expecting	tudyaker be expecting
Patient	mamilyakwa likely to rain	mamilyakwer to be expected to rain	mamilyokwa unlikely to rain	mamilyokwer to be unlikely to rain
Subject	tilefa thirsty	tilefer be thirsty
Subject	telefa hungry	telefer be hungry
Patient	tejefwa vital	tejefwer be vital
Subject	tujefa sleepy	tujefer be sleepy
Subject	nasefa poor, needy	nasefer be needy
Subject	dudyefa accountable, responsible	dudyefer be responsible
Patient	texiyefwa noteworthy	texiyefwer be noteworthy

Sensing Verbs

Verbs involving the senses, such as sight or hearing, follow a similar pattern, as the following chart shows:

Sensing Verbs
TYPE	teab....eye teata....visual	teeb....ear teeta....audial	teib....nose teita....olfactory	teub....mouth teuta....gustatory	tayob....skin tayota....tactile
Receptive Active	teater see	teeter hear	teiter smell	teuter taste	tayoter feel
Receptive Passive	teatwer be seen	teetwer be heard	teitwer be smelled	teutwer be tasted	tayotwer be felt
Stative	teaser seem	teeser sound	teiser smell	teuser taste	tayoser feel
Dynamic Active	teaxer look at	teexer listen	teixer sniff	teuxer taste	tayoxer touch
Dynamic Passive	teaxwer be looked at	teexwer be listened to	teixwer be sniffed	teuxwer be tasted	tayoxwer be touched
Causative Active	teatuer show	teetuer make hear	teixuer make smell	teuxuer offer a taste	tayoxuer make feel
Causative Passive	teatuwer be shown	teetuwer be made to hear	teituwer be made to smell	teutuwer be given a taste	tayotuwer be made to feel
Inchoative Active	teatier perceive, catch sight of	teetier catch the sound of	teitier get a whiff of	teutuer get a taste of	tayotier get the sensation of
Inchoative Passive	teatiwer be perceived	teetiwer be heard	teitiwer be whiffed	teutiwer be tasted	tayotiwer be felt
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative	teatyofer be blind	teetyofer be deaf	teityofer be unable to smell	teityofer be unable to taste	tayotyofer be insensitive
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative	teatyofwer be invisible	teetyofwer be inaudible	teityofwer be undetectable odorwise	teityofwer be insipid	tayotyofwer be undetectable by touch
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative	teatyofxer blind	teetyofxer deafen	teityofxer desensitize to smell	teutyofxer desensitize to taste	tayotyofxer desensitize
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative	teatyofwaxer make invisible	teetyofwaxer make inaudible	teityofwaxer make odorless	teutyofwaxer render tasteless	tayotyofwaxer numb

Examples of usage:

At teatyofxwa bey ha mani.....I was blinded by the lights.
Ha xeus sa teetyofxyea.....The noise was deafening.
Hia tit se gla teatiyafa.....This pupil is very perceptive.
Hua bekil se teityofwa.....That medicine is odorless (impossible to smell).
Teatyofwaxu ha vyuni.....Make the spots invisible.
Ha magmeb yonprex tayotyafwa zya ha mir.....The volcano eruption could be felt throughout the world.

Frequentative Verbs

Frequentative verbs or repetitive action verbs can be formed with the infix -eg- placed between the verb stem and verb ending, eg.:

Frequentative Verbs
NORMAL	FREQUENTATIVE
pyaser....jump	pyaseger....bounce
paper....fly	papeger....flitter
kobirer....steal	kobireger....pilfer
braser....shake	braseger....vibrate
brasea....shaking	brasegea....vibrating

Hybridized Verbs

Verbs that involve motion directions that change back and forth can be formed by hybridizing the stem vowel or the vowel of the vectorial prefix. Here are some examples:

Frequentative Verbs
FIRST DIRECTION	SECOND DIRECTION	HYBRIDIZED DIRECTION
pyaser....jump	pyoser....fall	pyaoser....bounce, undulate
buer....give	bier....take	buier....exchange
nuer....furnish	nier....consume	nuier....trade
tuer....inform	tier....learn	tuier....communicate
yaper....ascend	yoper....descend	yaoper....go up and down
zayper....go forward	zoyper....go back	zaoper....vacillate
vader....affirm	voder....deny	vaoder....decide
yijber....open	yujber....close	uijber....valve
baser....stir	boser....be still	baoser....vibrate

Biradical Verbs

There are a few verbs in Mirad which are composed of two verb roots, called biradical verbs. Sometimes the last letter of the first verb root gets dropped. Here are a few:

Biradical Verbs
Root 1	Root 2	Biradical Verb
kex-....to seek	bi-....to take	kebier....to choose
kox-....to hide	bi-....to take	kobier....to steal
kox-....to hide	p-....to go	koper....to sneak
kox-....to hide	geldr-....to copy	kogeldrer....to plagiarize
kox-....to hide	f-....to want	kofer....to covet
kax-....to reveal	d-....to say	kader....to disclose
kax-....to reveal	teax-....to look	kateaxer....to locate
teat-....to see	p-....to go	teaper....to visit
teat-....to see	d-....to tell	teader....to testify
tax-....to remember	dr-....to write	taxdrer....to record
teat-....to see	yof-....to be unable	teatyofer....to be blind
teet-....to hear	dr-....to write	teedrer....to report
teet-....to hear	p-....to go	teeper....to attend
teet-....to hear	tu-....to inform	teetuer....to notify
teet-....to hear	yik-....have a hard time	teetyiker....to strain to hear
teet-....to hear	yof-....to be unable	teetyofer....to be deaf
tes-....to mean	d-....to say	tesder....to explain
tes-....to mean	t-....to know	tester....to understand

Expressing Habitual Actions and States

Mirad uses the term gel jubyen (as a habit) to express a verb reflecting habitual action, eg:

At tijeya be yiwa jwobi gel jubyen.....I used to wake up at 9 o'clock. (Lit. I was waking up at 9 o'clock as a habit.).

The term hyujod....one another occasion (or be aj....in the past) is use to express once (upon a time), eg:

At sa tuxut hyujod (~ be aj) sa tuxut. ....I once was a teacher.

The term vyabxelay (routinely) can also be used, eg:

Yat eke duz yuz bi ha doym vyabxelay.....We play music around town routinely.

Expressing an Immediate Past

To express an immediate past, such as in the sentence "We have just gotten married.", Mirad uses the adverb ejnay (newly) much like the word just in English:

Yat tadsaye ejnay.....We have just gotten married.
Ejnay tadxwa.....Just married.
Wit dokebiwa ejnay.....He was just elected.
At ujbaya yex ejnay hoj iyt yebupa.....I had just finished work when she came in.

Verb Predicate Types

Mirad verb predicates can be classified as follows:

Voice

Active (The subject is the doer of the action)
Passive (The subject is the receiver of the action)
Middle (The subject is both the agent and patient)
Reflexive (The subject is also the patient.)
Reciprocal (Plural subjects interact.)

Stativity

Stative (Does not involve action)
Dynamic (Action is involved)

Valency

Impersonal (There is no subject)
Transitive (There is an object)
Intransitive (There is no object)
Auto-transitive (The subject is a patient and there is no agent)
Anti-transitive (There is the patient but an agent is assumed)
Causative (Subject causes an action to be performed)
Copula (X is Y)

Other

Modal (can, must, should, wants to...)
Auxiliary (help to, hope to, prepare to + verb)
Motion (run, go, ride...)
Communication (say, answer, claim that...)
Gesture (put, shake, hit...)
State/Stative (be, become, live, be born...)
Action/Dynamic (do, act, make)

Verb Predicate Types
VOICE	STATIVITY	VALENCY	EXAMPLE
active	stative	impersonal, -agent, -object	Mamilo zajub.....It will rain tomorrow.
active	stative	impersonal, -agent, +complement	Sa gla oma.....It was very cold.
active	stative	impersonal, +subject	Ese het be ha mes.....There is someone at the door.
active	stative	copula, subject + noun/adjective complement	Et se ata twud.....You are my son. At aseye epyextipa.....I am becoming angry.
middle	stative	auto-transitive, +subject=patient -agent -object	Iyt toja.....She died
middle	stative	auto-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object	Ha mes yija.....The door opened.
active	stative	intransitive, +subject -object	Et bokso.....You will get sick.
active	stative	transitive, sense, +subject +object	At teate et.....I see you.
active	stative	transitive, modal, +subject +verb complement	At fe per.....I want to go.
active	stative	intransitive, subject-oriented modal, -subject +verb complement	Yofwe teater.....It is impossible to see.
passive	stative	patient-oriented modal, +subject	Mamil yakwe.....Rain is expected.
middle	dynamic	anti-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object	Ha mes yijpa.....The door came open.
active	dynamic	intransitive, +subject -object	Ha fab pyosa.....The tree fell.
active	dynamic	transitive, +subject +-object	Yit pyoxa ha fab.....They felled the tree.
passive	dynamic	intransitive, +subject, -object	Ha fabi pyoxwa.....The trees were felled.
active	dynamic	transitive, +subject, +object	Obu eta tef.....Take your hat off.
active	dynamic	ditransitive, +subject, +object +object	Von et buu iyt ha nas.....Don't give her the money.
active	dynamic	transitive, motion, +subject, +destination/origin	Yupu ha mees.....Approach the bench. Pu tam!....Go home! (you implied)
active	dynamic	causative, +subject +object, +agent	At tayegobluxo Jon.....I will get my hair cut by John.
passive	dynamic	causative, +subject +object, +agent	At tayegobluxwo.....I will get my hair cut.
active	dynamic	auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object	Yuxu at xer his.....Help me do this.
passive	dynamic	auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object	At tuxwa eker duz.....I was taught to play music.
middle	dynamic	reflexive, +subject = patient, -object	Iyt uttojba.....She killed herself.
active	dynamic	reciprocal, +subjects = patients	Yit voy hyuitdale gaj.....They don't talk to one another anymore.

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