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![[A picture of Shm Revouse. He is wearing a süpa.]](illo/cadhrev.gif "Shm Revouse")
Rather than post the chapter on Caďinor from Languages of Almea-- one more tediously balanced and linguistically informed overview-- I've decided to post a translation of Pere aluatas i Caďinor, by the Verdurian scholar Šm Fatandor Revouse, published in 3417, and intended for avisar (secondary school) students. It should not be taken as the best Verdurians can do; that would be the scholarly, three-volume Aluatas Šriftanáei Caďinei (University Grammar of Caďinor). I've chosen Revouse because it's popular and typical of Verdurian attitudes toward languages-- it's like a Verdurian Teach Yourself.
I've added the major part of each of Revouse's chapters, minus exercises and readings. I've added commentary in paragraphs like this one-- mostly to present additional material; I assume the reader is capable of discounting Revouse's linguistic naïveté and chauvinism.
I've modified the presentation to make it easy for modern tastes: added paragraph breaks, boldfaced definitions, turned lists into bullet points, used color for emphasis in place of Revouse's bracketing. I also supply Revouse's actual grammatical terms, which are the standard Verdurian terms, though most of them are direct borrowings from Caďinor.
Another page contains some items neglected by Revouse: extended examples; Caďinor-to-Verdurian sound changes; and derivational morphology. A Caďinor lexicon, with comparisons to the daughter languages, is also available.
Introduction to Caďinor Orthography Diacritics Punctuation The sentence The chain of being
Adjectives, or expressions of quality Gender Number Case First, second, third declension Memorizing the forms Adjectives and nouns Comparatives Superlatives Adjectives from verbs
Nouns, or names of things Types of nouns Gender The word-circles of nouns Case usage Trustee nouns [Pronouns] Pointers Question words Quantity words
Relativizers, or expressions of relation Numbers Conjunctions Prepositions
Static verbs, or expressions of state Infinitive Present tense Past tense Past anterior Remote present Remote past Imperative Negative Exceptional verbs
Dynamic verbs, or descriptions of actions Dynamic definite tenses Dynamic remote tenses
Adverbs, or expressions of manner
Sentences, or ensembles of objects acted upon
![[A map of the Caďinorian empire at its height - Z.E. 1683. It reaches from west of the Eärdur to east of Sarnáe.]](empire.gif "The Caďinorian empire")
Caďinor is the language of our great ancestors the Caďinorians, who defeated the demons to form the greatest empire ever seen on Almea. The language we write, though the most sensitive and mellifluous of all the languages of men, is only a debased remnant of great Caďinor; and the language we speak is only a faint echo of what we write. To learn Caďinor is to learn correct speech, persuasive writing, clear thinking, and virtuous living. It is also the pathway to knowledge both ancient and modern, and is understood by educated men wherever Ervëa's legions trod. Because the very structure of Caďinor is that of the world, the language is a perfect reflection of the world, and thoughts expressed in Caďinor, of all languages, are the truest to reality and the freest of corruption.
It goes without saying that no student will advance in religion, in philosophy, in law, in alchemy, in medicine, or in diplomacy, without a thorough knowledge of Caďinor; nor should the education of a noble or a scholar be considered complete without it. To lack this language is to lack a world.
The best Caďinor is that of the mature Empire, from the reign of Benoras (1392) to the murder of Ďalir (2107), the greatest models being from the golden age from Ervëa's victory in Ctésifon (1624) till the civil war (1894). Excellent Caďinor was still written after this point, including of course the Aďivro (completed 2350), but in this period we find increasingly lax standards, jarring vocabulary, and sylistic excesses.
The letters 
(š č ž ř) are not used in Caďinor.
The sound of 
(ť), called ten, is that of ď, but without voicing. Note that the letters b g z ď v have the same forms as p c s ť f, but without the voicing mark ~ [vuáë]. The vuáë indicates that a letter is pronounced with a buzzing in the throat; its absence indicates the letter is pronounced whispered, without this buzzing.
The sound of 
(h), called oď, is the sound of a heavy sigh; it is very similar to how the people of Ctésifon pronounce the letter 
(Verdurian h). If you simply expel your breath, you will pronounce an h.
The sound of (ȟ) is not pronounced as in Ctésifon, nor is it silent as in our language, but has a heavy gargling sound. The people of Barakhún still pronounce this letter in this way. Once you can pronounce h, you can learn to pronounce ȟ by moving the tongue forward until the breath sounds loud and turbulent.
Every letter in a Caďinor word is pronounced, including difficult combinations as in PTOCOS 'block', CTOVOS 'roof'. There are no silent letters like our (h), and no letters which can be used ambiguously, such as i and y, or ye and ë.
The following chart may supplement Revouse's (generally accurate) descriptions. IPA equivalents are in red, transliterations in black.
See the Verdurian grammar for the distinction between C and K. R is an approximant, as in British English; L is always clear, not dark; Ť is the initial sound in 'thin', Ď that in 'this'.
Revouse, focussing on letters, does not describe allophonic contrasts, such as between open and closed E and O. In classical Caďinor, these vowels are open (ɛ, ɔ as in 'pet, caught') in medial CV syllables and before final N and L, and closed (as in 'late, boat') elsewhere. Thus LEBES, SCOSOS, CTANEN, CALO = [lɛ bes, scɔ sos, kta nɛn, ka lo].
Also note that I and U represent semivowels before another vowel: thus IONIES = [jɔ njes], ȞUPUA = [xu pwa].
The order of the alphabet was established by the Emperor Antavon, along with the names of the letters:
IU IA O
IE I EK
PE CES BE GES DAȞ
SAS ŤEN ZAS TEN ĎAȞ
RA ȞOŤ LA
ME FAS NE VAS HEK
The only true Caďinorian letters are the majuscules, the ancient and correct forms of the letters. The minuscules are approximations of the Caďinorian letters used for speed of writing during the Dark Years.
(transliterated as an umlaut), originally a supercripted Y 
, so that GURIE 'lion' was written 
GURË, ATRABION 'emperor' as ATRABÖN, DIA 'that' as DÄ.
(transliterated as a circumflex), originally a superscripted U 
, so that GUENTOS 'metal' was written 
GÊNTOS, UIL 'old' as ÎL, CUOMOS 'wonder' as CÔMOS.
(normally transliterated as a macron, but here as an underline) to represent a doubled vowel, so that MIDRAA 'mother (acc.)' was written 
MIDRA, and GIIT 'boys' as GIT.
These alterations were soon joined by many others, and confused by bad pronunciation, chaotic standards, and the laziness of scribes. They therefore belong more to the darkness of medievalism than to the classical era, and the student should be prepared to recognize them, but not to employ them.
, which as its name implies, marks a stop or pause. It was originally used to mark any sort of a hiatus; later the end of a sentence was marked by doubling it 
, the bolyáše kešaš.
Our exclamation and interrogation marks 
, and similarly the apposition marks < > belong strictly to the Dark Years and were never used in classical Caďinor. Nonetheless the interrogation mark (cues) is used in modern editions of Caďinor works, because of the clarity it affords.
MEĎOS PIDOR SNUCET.
Meď imure piram zië.
A son obeys his father.
What can we see about this sentence? First, some of the words resemble our own. MEĎOS is the original form of the word which in our language has worn down to meď. The same is true of PIDOR and piro. Many Verdurian words are similar to the Caďinor, and some are identical. No other language is as close to Caďinor as the speech of Verduria province.
We have the word SNUCAN, but it means only to serve in the way of a snugá ['servant']. In Caďinor SNUCAN meant the same as imuran ['obey']. Very often the meaning of a Verdurian word has been debased from its Caďinor original. Your teacher will point these instances out to you; or you can consult a lexicon of Caďinor, which will define every word in terms of its Verdurian equivalent.
If we used the word snucan in this context, we would say snuce. The Caďinor form is SNUCET, with an additional -t. In the Dark Years, people through laziness began to simplify the forms of words; but in learning Caďinor we must restore them to their original purity. Verdurian has not simplified words as much as its neighboring languages, Barakhinei and Ismaîn; and Sarroc to the east has worn them down even further.
The order of the words is different: the verb, SNUCET, comes at the end. Good stylists in Verdurian still often place the verb at the end, because it is the most logical arrangement of the sentence. First we discuss the actors in the sentence, and then we discuss the action; moreover, the most important element of a sentence, its king as it were, is the verb, and in Caďinor this is put in the place of honor where it will remain strongest in the listener's mind: at the end.
Finally we remark that the Verdurian word zië is absent. This is not because Caďinor does not possess the word, for it does (ZEHIE). But it is not strictly speaking necessary-- naturally we are speaking of the boy's own father-- and so Caďinor omits it. In this case we see a keynote of good Caďinor style, which is brevity.
Rather, philosophy teaches us that the world consists of six levels of being:
In the same way, a child coming into the world first perceives qualities (such as bright or yellow or painful or hungry); then it recognizes persons and other objects; then it begins to understand the relations between them; then it understands their states and actions; and finally, as it matures, it learns to make judgments on the manner of their acting.
The structure of Caďinor is that of the world:
An adjective does not stand on its own, but refers to a noun, either by direct modification (VIRNIS BELOR, a loyal friend) or by predication (BELOR VIRNIS ES, a friend is loyal).
Thus, we say:
PONOS ZOL ES. The warrior is strong. (cer, masculine)
CALO ZOLO ES. The heat is strong. (suy, neuter)
SAEA ZOLA ES. The woman is strong. (ionile, feminine)
PONIT ZOLIT SONT. The warriors are strong. (masculine)
CALOI ZOLOI SONT. The heats are strong. (neuter)
SAEET ZOLET SONT. The women are strong. (feminine)
ZOL ZOL ZOLEI ZOLOŤ ZOLAN
The top side (cot) of the circle is of course its most perfect location, and here we place the nominative case (etamizë cot), which is the form of a thing in its highest state: either independent, or actively dominating other things.
The right side of the circle is powerful, representing an object's strengths: the genitive (tenec) represents ownership or lordship, while the dative (prenec) is used when an object receives goods, or is the target of motion.
The left side of the circle is weak; here we place the accusative (opfëe), which is used when the object suffers action at the hand of another, and the ablative (sadas) is used when an object loses goods, or is the source of motion.
The more perfect a being, the more it resides on the right side of the circle. Thus the gods may see us or kill us, but we do not see them or kill them. When we do interact with them, we use the dative: we make sacrifices to them, we speak to them, we make entreaties to them.
The bottom side of the circle, like the bottom of a wheel, implies movement. Movement away from the object requires the ablative; movement toward the object requires the dative.
In Verdurian we have all of these cases except the ablative. Ismaîn has just three cases, while Barakhinei has four cases in the singular, but only three in the plural.
| Singular | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ZOL | ZOLO | ZOLA | ||||
| ZOL | ZOLEI | ZOLOM | ZOLOI | ZOLAA | ZOLAE | |
| ZOLOŤ | ZOLAN | ZOLOŤ | ZOLON | ZOLAD | ZOLAN | |
| Plural | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ZOLIT | ZOLOI | ZOLET | ||||
| ZOLI | ZOLIE | ZOLOIM | ZOLOIE | ZOLEIM | ZOLEIE | |
| ZOLIŤ | ZOLIN | ZOLOIŤ | ZOLOIN | ZOLEID | ZOLEIN | |
If you compare these forms to the Verdurian zol, you will see many similarities, but also differences. We do not have the neuter or ablative forms at all. The singular forms have not greatly changed, except that we write zolán instead of ZOLAN for the masculine dative; zola for ZOLAA and zole for ZOLAE in the feminine. You may find the neuter forms easier to learn if you think of Verdurian nouns ending in -o.
Not all adjectives decline like ZOL; this is only the first of three adjectival declensions [lit., circles]. It is generally used for very basic qualities, such as UIL (old), AER (south), KAR (happy), SUL (alone), SAR (east), ZOL (strong), TEL (west), TIL (each), MAL (bad), NAN (north). Verdurian consonantal adjectives derive from this declension.
Here are the circles for ALETES:
| Singular | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ALETES | ALETE | ALETIES | ||||
| ALETE | ALETEI | ALETEM | ALETEI | ALETEA | ALETIAE | |
| ALETEŤ | ALETEN | ALETEŤ | ALETEN | ALETED | ALETEN | |
| Plural | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ALETEIT | ALETEI | ALETET | ||||
| ALETEI | ALETEIE | ALETEIM | ALETEIE | ALETEIM | ALETEIE | |
| ALETEIŤ | ALETEIN | ALETEIŤ | ALETEIN | ALETEID | ALETEIN | |
For ease of memorization, note:
Here are the circles for ILIS:
| Singular | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ILIS | ILIS | ILIS | ||||
| ILI | ILII | ILIM | ILII | ILIA | ILIE | |
| ILIŤ | ILIN | ILIŤ | ILIN | ILID | ILIN | |
| Plural | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
| ILUIT | ILUI | ILIAT | ||||
| ILUI | ILUIE | ILUIM | ILUIE | ILIAM | ILIAE | |
| ILUIŤ | ILUIN | ILUIŤ | ILUIN | ILIAD | ILIAN | |
The basic pattern of the oblique (non-nominative) forms is ROOT + STEM + FINAL.
1st declension 2nd declension 3rd declension m n f m n f m n f sing. - O A E E E I I I pl. I OI EI EI EI EI UI UI IA
The 2nd and 3rd declensions have the same stem in all three genders in the singular, and this holds for the 2nd declension in the plural as well.
The plural stem is, for each declension and gender, longer than the singular stem: one vowel where the singular stem is null, and two vowels where the singular has one. It is rational for greater sound to represent greater number. The plural stem always contains an I.
Note that the masculine accusative is usually shorter than the nominative; this is because to be acted upon diminishes a male, while to act enhances him.
Here are the endings for all three declensions repeated, with exceptions highlighted.
The eight highlighted endings are the only exceptional forms. The 2nd declension neuter singular nominative has the right vowel, but lacks the expected -S final. The other irregularities all have the correct final, but an unexpected stem:
1st declension 2nd declension 3rd declension m n f m n f m n f s. - o a es e ies is is is - ei om oi aa ae e ei em ei ea iae i ii im ii ia ie oť an oť on ad an eť en eť en ed en iť in iť in id in m n f m n f m n f pl. it oi et eit ei et uis ui iat i ie oim oie eim eie ei eie eim eie eim eie ui uie uim uie iam iae iť in oiť oin eid ein eiť ein eiť ein eid ein uiť uin uiť uin iad ian
1st declension 2nd declension 3rd declension m f m f m f s. - a e e y y - ei a e em ei a ei im ii ya ye án an en en ín yan m f m f m f pl. î î î î î î i ië em ië em eë em ië om uë yem yië in en ein en uin yen
The forms in black are the same as in Caďinor, with some spelling changes (e.g. eë is the same as EIE, since we do not use ë in Caďinor).
Unexpected vowels or consonants are shown in red. In several instances, -m has been generalized into accusatives which did not have it in Caďinor; in others, vowels have been simplified, or borrowed from another gender.
Forms in green have lost the nominative -S. Most of these have the correct vowel, however.
As in Verdurian, an adjective matches its noun in number, gender, and case:
NECET MUDRAIAT PIDOR MELI AMARIT.
Mesî mudraî ontu lon dobren piron.
Wise daughters esteem a good father.
NECET and MUDRAIAT are both feminine plural nominatives; PIDOR and MELI are both masculine singular accusatives.
The comparative (valtec) is formed as follows:
Declension m. nom. sing. Comparative 1 ZOL ZOLOR 2 ALETES ALETEĎES 3 ILIS ILIOR Exceptional forms 'good' MELIS MELIOR 'bad' DURENGES AVECOR
The comparatives in -OR decline as 1st declension adjectives; those in -EĎES, as 2nd declension.
Here are some sample comparative expressions:
ATRABIONOŤ BOLGEĎES ES ATRABANTOS.
The Empire is larger than the Emperor.SCUSTILE VIRNIS MELIOR ZONNIŤ GLINUIŤ DISCLAETECIE ES.
A loyal death is better than the long years of a traitor.ZONNIT GLINUIT DISCLAETECIE AVECORIT SCUSTILED VIRNID SONT.
The long years of a traitor are worse than a loyal death.KRASEID LUREĎEN KIRAN MARETEIS.
You will marry a wife more beautiful than roses.
In each of these we see that the comparative agrees in number, case, and gender with the object which is superior in that quality, and that the inferior object is expressed in the ablative (one of the inferior left-hand-side cases). The two objects may be listed in any order.
The superlative is formed as follows. It declines as a 2nd declension adjective.
Declension m. nom. sing. Superlative 1 ZOL ZOLASTES 2 ALETES ALETASCES 3 ILIS ILISCES Exceptional forms 'good' MELIS MELASTES 'bad' DURENGES AVESTES
Here are some sample sentences featuring superlatives:
ELORION BERACRASCES URESTUIE ES.
The king is the most glorious of men.GINET ESTALDEI LURASCET ALAMEIAD SONT.
The women of the Plain are the most beautiful on Almea.TISISCEM GLABROM TENI.
I will have the sharpest sword.
The superlative agrees with the object deemed most superior in number, case, and gender. The class from which the comparison is drawn (e.g. 'of men' in the first example) is placed in the genitive plural (not the ablative, because it is no vice for something simply not to hold the very first rank).
Weak writers give in to the temptation to claim first rank for what is merely superior. Do not call a man MUDRAISCES ('most wise') if he is merely very wise, but only if he is truly the wisest of those he is compared to.
For verbs in -EC add -ILES; for verbs in -IR add -IC; otherwise -EC.
For verbs in -EC or -ER, add -EL; otherwise -UL.
For verbs in -EC or -ER, add -IM; otherwise -AUM.
![[Fresco of girls playing, ZE 1705]](illo/cadhgirls.jpg "Fresco of girls playing, ZE 1705")
In Verdurian, there are masculine (cer) and feminine (ionile) nouns, and this seems to us an obvious division of the world. Can something be male and female? We know that it cannot.
Yet here Caďinor shows its greater perfection and logic, for of course something can be neither male nor female-- it can be neither (suy). This is why we call gender dinë, or one-third, because each of the three genders of Caďinor covers one third of the possible gender states.
When it comes to human beings or to the higher animals, the Caďinor word of course matches the object in gender. Many inhuman objects are also, as one would expect, neuter.
Masculine Feminine Neuter PONOS strong man, warrior
ELORION king
AIĎOS godSAEA woman
ELOREIS queen
AIĎA goddessURESTU human being
DASCO animalPIDOR father
MEĎOS sonMIDRA mother
NECA daugherFORIDEC stallion
BOUNOS bull
VERAŤOS boar
KRESOS male dogIUMENTA mare
BOUNA cow
TROIA sow
BAETERA female dog
Many words have a gender one might not expect. However, on reflection, the Caďinor gender will always be seen to reflect the inner nature of the object.
Where the gender seems 'wrong', there is often a secret of nature which the language wishes to teach us. Why is the lion, that fierce predator, female (GURIE)? In fact it is the female lion, not the male, that hunts!
Note that the special body parts of animals are tools to them, and therefore female (IUBA mane, CENNA beak, UNGE claw, PINNA fin, TUESCA shell). An exception is the horn (ROGOS) and tail (KUEȞOS), whose shape makes them unavoidably male.
The noxious small animals are male (CUTIL tick, IENEVOS worm, LISMOS slug, RAIȞ crab); those known for their hard labor or for their beauty are female (FORMICA ant, MELIE bee, ARACNIS spider, MOLGA moth).
Singular First Second Third OȞ AIĎOS AESTAS OȞ OȞEI AIĎ AIĎEI AESTA AESTAI OȞOŤ OȞAN AIĎOŤ AIĎAN AESTAŤ AESTAN Plural First Second Third OȞIT AIĎIT AESTAIT OȞI OȞIE AIĎI AIĎIE AESTAI AESTAIE OȞIŤ OȞIN AIĎIŤ AIĎIN AESTAIŤ AESTAIN
Singular First Second Third Fourth CITRO URESTU FUELIS MANUS CITROM CITROI URESTUM URESTUI FUELIM FUELII MANO MANOI CITROŤ CITRON URESTUŤ URESTUN FUELIŤ FUELIN MANUŤ MANUN Plural First Second Third Fourth CITROI URESTUI FUELUI MANUIT CITROIM CITROIE URESTUIM URESTUIE FUELUIM FUELUIE MANUI MANUIE CITROIŤ CITROIN URESTUIŤ URESTUIN FUELUIŤ FUELUIN MANUIŤ MANUIN
Accordingly they decline according to masculine models, with stems U and UI (except that -U- changes to -O- in the middle slice of the circle).
There are three declensions of feminine nouns:
Singular First Second Third AIĎA UNGE SURIS AIĎAA AIĎAE UNGEA UNGEI SURIA SURIE AIĎAD AIĎAN UNGED UNGEN SURID SURIN Plural First Second Third AIĎET UNGET SURIAT AIĎEIM AIĎEIE UNGEIM UNGEIE SURIAM SURIAE AIĎEID AIĎEIN UNGEID UNGEIN SURIAD SURIAN
The ablative is used for the one who gives away (PONOS BELACAA TENES VIRAȞOŤ, the warrior has the sword from an enemy), for the source of action (TIPELILED CTANAE, it came from the stable), or for a person's status, role, or origin (PONOS MASCIONOŤ, the warrior as master; TIPEL PARENEID, a horse from the mountains).
The last usage is of course unfamiliar to us; the following examples should then be studied. The last two examples use the remote tense, to be discussed below. This implies futurity or potentiality, and it will be seen that constructions of this sort replace our own expressions using the word 'if'.
SUMERIC PROBRECOŤ, CAĎINOR SCRIFIM.
With the teacher as our guide, we learn Caďinor.AERIVILEAS ATRABIONOŤ, CRETEIT ESAM.
With Ervëa as our emperor, we are happy.AERIVILEAS ATRABIONOŤ, VIOCTEIM VENCETUM.
With Ervëa as our emperor, we will defeat the demons.KIRA MASCEID, AIĎOTAUBREL SUBREMET.
If the wife is master, ruin will follow.
We are used to express geographic origin using the genitive (uestu erei, a man of the south); but this is the proper role of the ablative, which represents origins; in Caďinor we write URESTU AEROŤ.
We are also used to expressions of time using the dative alone: nochín 'at night'. The proper expression, even in Verdurian, is de nochín, and this is the only correct expression in Caďinor: DE NOCTUN. In all time expressions, the preposition must be explicitly expressed.
When noun usurps a verb's role in representing action, the subject is expressed by the genitive and the object acted upon by the dative. Thus ELORION MACTANAA VENCAE, the king conquered the city, but VENCEIO ELORIONEI MACTANAN, the king's conquest of the city.
The treatment of possession will be clear to the Verdurian reader but not, perhaps, to us. To the (imperial) Caďinorians the genitive implied possession, and thus superiority. Thus you can write TIPEL SANNOI 'the lord's horse', but it would be insulting to write SANNO GIEI 'the boy's lord', as if the lord belonged to the boy. You must write SANNO GION, 'lord to the boy'.
The simplest of these are those that refer to the speaker (SEO); to a group including the speaker (TAS), to the listener (LET), to a group including the listener (MUȞ), or to another party (singular TU, plural CAI).
The similarity to our own trustee nouns will be evident, except for tu, which for us refers only to an indefinite person, a definite person being referenced with il 'he' or ila 'she'. Caďinor is more logical in this area, for if we do not distinguish between the genders in the plural (ca), why should we do so in the singular?
'I' 'thou' 'he/she' SEO LET TU EŤ EAE EK LEAE TUA TUAE ED SEON LEŤ LUN TOŤ TUN 'we' 'you' 'they' TAS MUȞ CAI TAIM TAIE MUIM MUIE CAIM CAIE TAD TAUN MUOŤ MUIN CAIŤ CAIN
The genitive forms are not used for direct possession; rather, we use the possessive adjectives ERIS my, TANDES our, LERIS thy, MUNDES your, TURIS his or her, CAIRIS their. These adjectives offer more clarity, since they are declined to match the noun they refer to: for example, in BELACA LERIA VULU 'I want your sword', LERIS is accusative and feminine.
Like Verdurian, Caďinor has a reflexive pronoun, used when the subject of the action is also its object. This pronoun has no nominative form.
As in Verdurian, it is not necessary to supply a pronoun when the person is clearly indicated by the verb, unless emphasis is desired: SEO ANELLOM PRENEMAI, I myself will take the ring.
singular plural ZEŤ ZEHIE ZAHAM ZAHIE ZEHOŤ ZEHUN ZAHAŤ ZAHAN
Again, Verdurian readers need little explanation of the reflexive. The sticking point for English speakers is likely to be the genitive: we can say "The king praised his name," where the king may be praising his own name or that of another. In Caďinor we distinguish ELORION NOM ZEHIE EGLERAE 'the king praised his own name' from ELORION NOM TUAE EGLERAE 'the king praised his (someone else's) name.'
The following pointers are used in conjunction with a noun, and thus behave like adjectives, as in AELU LOGOS 'this word', ILLAE SAEAE 'of that woman', AELON SANNON 'to that lord'. Our equivalents are invariable prefixes, ci- ['this'] and ce- ['that'], so you must remember to decline the Caďinor words.
Near ('this') Masculine Neuter Feminine AELU AELO AELA AELEŤ AELUI AELOR AELOI AELEA AELAE AELOŤ AELUN AELOŤ AELON AELAD AELAN Far ('that') Masculine Neuter Feminine ILLU ILLO ILLA ILLEŤ ILLUI ILLO ILLOI ILLEA ILLAE ILLOŤ ILLUN ILLOŤ ILLON ILLAD ILLAN
The words AETTOS and TOTOS are used in place of a more specific noun: AETTOT VULU 'I want this one'; TOT LEILINES 'Did you see that one?' They are regular masculine nouns, since they refer to SCOSOS 'thing', which is masculine.
Near ('this one') Far ('that one') AETTOS TOTOS AETTOT AETTEI TOT TOTEI AETTOŤ AETTAN TOTOŤ TOTAN
In late Caďinor, ILLU / ILLO / ILLA are used alone, referring to a previously mentioned person or object. The classical grammarians rightly condemn this practice as a barbarism, pointing out that if no noun is present, only AETTOS or TOTOS is correct. However, when learning was lost or ignored, during the Dark Years, this barbarism spread, and it is the reason we say ilu and ila today. The Barakhinei are more correct in this one regard, since they use continue to use derivatives of AETTOS and TOTOS. Sometimes we find that the classical virtues persist in backward lands when they have been lost in more sophisticated realms.
Another late Caďinor practice we must deprecate is the use of SOH 'aforementioned' in the sense of our so, as a definite article. We are so used to our article that, reading such late, corrupted authors, many a student is aware of nothing wrong and imitates the bad usage. It does take some time to get used to the correct classical usage, where ELORION may mean 'king', 'a king', or 'the king'. In most cases there is no need for the distinction we make. Where there is, Caďinor expresses it by sentence order (previous referents come first in the sentence) or through the remote mood (used among other purposes to make a description indefinite).
The words AECTA and CESTA refer to locations. They are regular feminine nouns, since they refer to NAURE 'place', which is feminine.
Near ('here') Far ('there) AECTA CESTA AECTAA AECTAE CESTAA CESTAE AECTAD AECTAN CESTAD CESTAN
Finally we will mention the pointers relating to time, NUNC 'now' and ANCE 'then'.
'who' (sing.) 'what' 'where' KAE KETTOS KEDIE KAEŤ KAIE KETTOT KETTEI KEDIA KEDIEI KAEŤ KAEN KETTOŤ KETTAN KEDID KEDIEN 'who' (pl.) KAHE KAHAM KAHIE KAHAŤ KAHAN
We use KAE when we are asking about the involvement of a person; KETTOS about the involvement of a thing. Only KAE has plural forms. These declensions follow neuter patterns, since they can refer to persons or things of any gender.
KEDIE asks about location; like AECTA/CESTA, its declension is essentially feminine.
The other question words are KET 'which' (used with a following noun), KEDA 'when', KENSA 'how', and SCOLI 'how much'.
The question words are normally placed first in the sentence:
KAEŤ ELORION EGLERU?
Whom did the king praise?KETTOT IM MISCUN NACITEIS?
What are you carrying in the bag?KEDIEN KIRA ERIS LAUDAE?
Where did my wife go?SCOLI SONT MORUŤIT?
How much are the carrots?
Question words are also used to form descriptive phrases: ELORION KAE AIĎI CALPIT, a king who reveres the gods; MACTANA KEDIE BELOR ERIS LACET, the city where my friend lives.
Such phrases may occur without a main verb; this is rare in Verdurian.
KAHAM MONNINSONT AIĎIT BENGIT.
(Those) who work hard, the gods bless.KEDIEN AȞGAETILE SUBRAN BUEPES LAUDAI.
I am going where revenge cannot follow.
Words relating to time: NIKEDA 'never', ŤIKEDA 'sometimes', PSIEKEDA 'always'.
'no one' 'someone' 'everyone' NIKTOS NIES PSIAT NIKTOT NIKTEI NIET NIEI PSIAT PSIE NIKTOŤ NIKTAN NIEŤ NIEN PSIAD PSIAN 'nothing' 'something' 'everything' NISIOS ŤISIOS PSIES NISIOT NISIEI ŤISIOT ŤISIEI PSIET PSIEI NISIOŤ NISIAN ŤISIOŤ ŤISIAN PSIEŤ PSIEN 'nowhere' 'somewhere' 'everywhere' NIKUDA ŤIKEDIE PSUDA NIKUDAA NIKUDAE ŤIKEDIA ŤIKEDIEI PSUDAA PSUDAE NIKUDAD NIKUDAN ŤIKEDID ŤIKEDIEN PSUDAD PSUDAN
The word-circles of NIKTOS, NISIOS, ŤISIOS follow the same pattern as AETTOS. NIKUDA and PSUDA are regular feminine nouns. ŤIKEDIE follows KEDIE. NIES and PSIES are like masculine adjectives in -ES, except that the accusative ends in -ET. Only PSIAT has a distinctive circle of its own.
SCEHIS 'every' and SUIS 'not any' are regular adjectives, unlike our invariant prefixes shi- and rho. Thus they must be declined by case, number, and gender: SCEHIN URESTUN to every man; MALNEICA SUIAE LENKEIE a sickness of no remedies.
AN ĎUN ĎIN PAHOR PANŤ SUEST ȞAEP IOCI NEBRI DECT
![[Enäron (Caď. Endauron) vanquishing a ktuvok. 6C bas-relief, Enocur]](enaron.jpg)
AN is one or unity, the individual. A thing which is one is sovereign, whole; and yet it may be considered defective, alone, because the things of the universe belong together in groups. A man who is one, without wife or lord, is a pitiable thing. As a quantity, one is the minutest; yet in order or hierarchy, one is the highest, and the first of any series, PERUES, is the noblest. There is one chief god, Enäron, who is the equal of all the rest.
ĎUN is two or a pair. Two is the minimum number to form a community-- or a division. There are two forms of virtue, individual holiness (seorát) and social harmony (elut). The day is divided in two, day and night; the earth is divided into land and sea. A man and a woman together make two, and our own bodies are divided into twos: eyes, ears, arms, breasts, buttocks, testicles, legs, and feet. The next in order after the first is PTORES, the second. A division into two forms METUIS, one half.
ĎIN is three or a trinity. There are three Fates (gaieî) which determine our lives; in the Cuzeian religion, three gods. There are three moons, and three Ages of Almea. There are three genders of nouns (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Its order is TMERES, the third. A division into three forms DIMAGAU, one third.
PAHOR is four. Four is a divine number, the number of the seasons, the directions, the ages of the body , and the parts of the soul. Because of this, it and the smaller numbers are declined as adjectives; the higher numbers are invariable. Students must remember to write PAHORET GINET 'four maidens', although in Verdurian we write par zhinî. Animals have four legs, while we have four toes on each foot, and four fingers on each hand excluding the thumb. There were four peoples in ancient times: the Caďinorians to the south; the Cuzeians to the west; the Monkhayu to the north; and the demon worshippers to the east. The order of four is TIETNES, the fourth. A division into four forms BARGAU, a quarter.
PANŤ is five. It is the number of digits on our hands, the number of cases in the noun, and the number of years in a kasten (leap year) cycle. Its order is PANTES.
SUEST is six. There are six levels of being, six senses, six parts of speech, six forms for each circle of a verb, Six Sentences of commandment, six colors in the spectrum, and six hours in each of the day's quarters. The Cuzeian week was six days long. Its order is SUESTES.
ȞAEP is seven. It is another sacred number: there are seven elements (ftaconî) in the physical world, seven temperaments in the spiritual world, seven Thinking Kinds, seven planets, seven days in a week. Its order is ȞAEPES.
IOCI is eight. There are eight forms of verbal art: pomäe (chronicle), racont (story), šant (song), cevai (chant), ralinë (play), kallogi (speech), onemu (treatise), and curayora (argument). In Caďinorian society there were eight ranks of men (emperor, prince, governor, prefect, count, headman, citizen, and slave). There are similarly eight ranks in the old religion (patriarch, primate, high curate, curate, vicar, priest, acolyte, and layman). Its order is IOCRIS.
NEBRI is nine. It is a sinister number, since it is one less than ten, a full number; it is the number of defect and of deception. There were nine conspirators in the Red Cabal. Its order is NEBRIS.
DECT is ten. It is the basis of numeration and arithmetic, and the number of digits on both hands, making a full man. There are ten meguî in an hour. Its order is DECTIS.
[11 - 19] The next numbers are formed by adding DECT to the number minus ten. The most important of these are DECT ER ĎUN 'twelve', as there are twelve gods, twelve months in the year, and twelve forms of a noun; and DECT ER IOCI 'eighteen', the number of digits on a man's hands and feet together. The ancient Monkhayu counted by eighteens (ORANDET), and this is still a custom in Ismahi. DECT ER ȞAEP 'seventeen' is another sinister number.
[20 - 90] The multiples of ten are formed with shortened forms of the numbers:
PTEDECT TMEDECT TIEDECT PANDECT SUESDECT IEDECT IODECT NERDECT
Between these numbers one simply adds the remainder: PTEDECT AN, PTEDECT ĎUN, etc.
SECAŤ is ten tens or one hundred. This is a noun and is declined as such, the object counted being placed in the genitive: one says SECAŤ URESTUIE KEKEVUT 'he had one hundred men put to death'.
The multiples of one hundred are formed with the abbreviated numbers:
PTESECAŤ TMESECAŤ TIESECAŤ PANSECAŤ SUESSECAŤ IESECAŤ IOSECAŤ NERSECAŤ
Intermediate numbers are formed by addition: TMESECAŤ ER IODECT PANŤ, 385. (An added AN through PAHOR is not declined.)
MIL is ten hundreds or one thousand. It is a noun, on the model of SECAŤ.
Up to ten tens of thousands are indicated using the ordinal numbers: FTORE MIL is the second thousand, that is 2000; ȞAEPES MIL is 7000. Beyond this, the multiple is expressed as a number in itself, preceding MIL: TMEDECT ĎIN MIL, 33000.
LEȞOS is one hundred thousand [Verdurian leh]; it is also a noun, on the model of SECAŤ, and can be increased using the ordinal numbers: FTORE LEȞOS 200,000, up to DECTIS LEȞOS 1,000,000.
If a higher number need be expressed, the multiple is expressed as a number in itself, preceding LEȞOS. This takes us as far as:
NERDECT NEBRI MIL ER NERSECAŤ ER NERDECT NEBRI LEȞOS ER NERDECT NEBRI MIL ER NERSECAŤ ER NERDECT NEBRI = (99 mil + 900 + 99) leȟos + 99 mil + 900 + 99 = 9,999,999,999This number plus one, a leh of lehî or 10,000,000,000, is called LEȞONDOS or the great leh.
They are not limited to conjoining nouns, but can join verbs (LAPRAE ER SALTAE 'he ran and lept') or entire sentences: CO CELEREN MACTANA ES AC COREIM BUTENONT, 'the city is on the river, but they have no boats'.
Some verbs take as their object not a noun but an entire idea, that is, a sentence. The special conjunction DIA is used before a sentential object:
DIA ANELLOM BUVELAE CLAETE.
He swore that he did not steal the ring.PSIAŤ DIA SANNO GARESMES SEIS GADIT.
Everyone perceives that you are a wise lord.
Even if an entire sentence is an object, it occupies the normal position of an object, between subject and verb, as in the last example. However, it is common to move such a heavy constituent to the end or the beginning of the sentence:
PSIAŤ GADIT DIA SANNO GARESMES SEIS.
DIA DOMORION VIRNIS ES OREISTA EPES.
That the steward is loyal may be true.
A wish is introduced by the conjunction UT, followed by a remote tense:
UT BAN TELNEMAI ER CUM CASSIA RENLODAI!
May I find the way and return with the helmet!
and those which indicate more abstract relationships:
IM in, inside, into, among IS out of IR above, over ȞUPE under, below SUHER on DE from, off, of AD to, toward AIUS away from RAS against, touching CO near, by, alongside ON among, at the house of, in the place of CAEL between SAS through PRED before, in front of TRAS across, over, beyond, behind
AND for the benefit of PRO in return for ICTE before (time) SACTE after (time) AȞ against, opposed to AB through, via, using CUM with BUSAN without ETA about HARAD despite, although
If the location to be expressed is static, the noun which follows the preposition appears in the dative: IM MACTANAN 'in the city', IR MEIN 'above the water', AȞ ELORIONAN 'against the king'. Note that ETA is used with the dative (ETA MACTANAN 'about the city'), not with the nominative as in Verdurian.
![[Plan of the Temple of Enäron and Ishira in Ctésifon, Z.E. 1800. The temple of Enäron is round and is connected by a walkway with the temple of Ishira, which is rectangular with a semi-circle at one end. The temple complex also includes the Patriarch's residence, servants' quarters, a library, stables, a seminary, a kitchen and dining room, and a chapel. Outside the temple, there is a pool.]](illo/cadhplan.gif "Plan of the Temple of Enäron and Ishira in Ctésifon, Z.E. 1800")
A dynamic relationship is expressed with the other cases. As in Verdurian, if the object suffers a change ending up in the specified relationship, the accusative is used: IM AIĎNAUREN PROSAN 'walk into the temple', SUHER DORS TIPELEI SCADRAN 'mount onto the horse's back'.
If the change is that the relationship no longer applies, the ablative is used: IM MACTANAD LAUDAN 'go out of the city', CAEL ARBIŤ TIMEN 'step out from between the trees'.
We do not have this expression in Verdurian, because we have lost the ablative. When informed of it, some students wonder why motion toward is not expressed using the dative. The answer is that, when indicating the higher, dynamic relation, we must use a nobler case-- the accusative, which is higher on the case circle. The static relationship is indicated using the lower case, the dative.
The preposition AD always indicates motion toward, and therefore is used only with the dative: AD NIERIMAN SCADRAN 'ride to the shrine'. When the dative is used without a preposition to indicate a destination, AD is understood. Similarly IS, which always indicates motion away, is used only with the ablative (IS ALADEIAN LAPREN 'run out of the village'); and an ablative of motion contains an understood IS.
If the verb by its own nature rules out motion, simple location may be expressed by the ablative: ATONNOŤ TEKER 'stand in the room'; ASUENEID LESTAN 'talk (sitting in their) chairs.'
In this chapter we will speak of the static (nuncre) verbs, which describe actions, states, and relations; in the next we will consider the category of dynamic (olocec) verbs, which allow us to refer to change and the exercise of power. This distinction is known as aspect (nuncreisa).
The verb is normally inflected to show tense [diďa], person [ifke-cot], and number [dimo]. The infinitive is exempt from these requirements because it relates to another verb in the sentence which fulfills them. Thus we say LAUDAN VULU, I want to go. To refer the action to the past we write LAUDAN VULIE, I wanted to go, inflecting only the main verb of the sentence. Because the infinitive is not inflected, it is called islaunë-- outside the circle.
The infinitive is also used to refer abstractly to any action: ZOBREC MELIES ES KEŤULIN, to play is good for children.
For the verbs in --EC, the circle looks like this:
DUMEC 'to think' DUMAO DUMES DUMEOS DUMONT DUMOUS DUMOM
The sides of the circle are named by the trustee nouns. The superior position is SEO 'I', since the surest and most meritorious course of action is to act by oneself. The right hand side, the next place of honor, belongs to the listener: LET 'thou' on the top, MUȞ 'you' on the bottom. The left hand side, the least place of honor, is given to whoever is neither speaker nor listener, TU 'he/she' for the top, CAI 'them' for the bottom. The bottom side is TAS 'we'.
Thus
KEKAN 'to kill' NOMEN 'to name' KEKAI NOMAI KEKET KEKEIS NOMET NOMEIS KEKONT KEKUS NOMENT NOMES KEKAM NOMEM CLAGER 'to flog' PARIR 'to bet' CLAGU PARU CLAGET CLAGEUS PARIT PAREUS CLAGUNT CLAGUS PARINT PARUS CLAGUM PARUM
In case Revouse's explanation is unclear, I add this explanatory diagram, relating the Cadinorian circle to our own traditional grammatical categories. I should note that a minority, troubled by the implication that TAS is getting the short end of the stick, places it directly under SEO; the effect however is more triangular than circular.
1sg 3sg 2sg 3pl 2pl 1pl
As an aid to memory, it can be noted:
The Verdurian forms can help the student master the Cadinor forms:
DUMEC 'to think' DUMI DUMU DUMIUS DUMIUNT DUMUS DUMUM KEKAN 'to kill' NOMEN 'to name' KEKIO NOMIO KEKAE KEKIOS NOMAE NOMIOS KEKIONT KEKUOS NOMIONT NOMUES KEKUOM NOMUOM CLAGER 'to flog' PARIR 'to bet' CLAGIE PARIE CLAGE CLAGIES PARAE PARIES CLAGIENT CLAGES PARIENT PARES CLAGEM PAREM
Students often find this tense difficult, since it has been lost in Verdurian. It will be simple to learn once it is realized that it differs from the present almost entirely in the vowels.
The characteristic vowels are:
They are used:
It is formed by inserting -ER- or -IR- before the normal past tense endings. This is different from Verdurian, which uses the present tense endings, but adds them to the past root of the verb. -IR- is used for the -R verbs only. It should suffice to show a single verb circle:
The inserted --U- in the TAS and MUȞ forms belonging to the --N circles disappears in the past anterior; so that we write KEKEROS, not KEKERUOS.
DUMEC 'to think' DUMERI DUMERU DUMERIUS DUMERIUNT DUMERUS DUMERUM
If the verb stem ends in a consonant followed by R, then before adding -ER- or -IR-, this final R is deleted and the consonant is doubled. Thus the SEO form of SUDRIR 'decide' in this tense is not SUDRERI, which would be difficult to pronounce, but SUDDERI.
The remote present is formed by inserting --ET- or --EM- before the normal present tense endings. --EM- is used for the --N verbs only.
Doubled vowels are generally simplified in the remote tense; and in place of the difficult--ETIT in the --R TU forms we find --ETIS. These differences from the definite present are highlighted in red below.
Various are the uses of the remote mood, including:
DUMEC 'to think' DUMETAO DUMETES DUMETEIS DUMETONT DUMETOS DUMETOM KEKAN 'to kill' NOMEN 'to see' KEKEMAI NOMEMAI KEKEMET KEKEMES NOMEMET NOMEMES KEKEMONT KEKEMUS NOMEMENT NOMEMES KEKEMAM NOMEMEM CLAGER 'to flog' PARIR 'to bet' CLAGETU PARETU CLAGETIS CLAGETOS PARETIS PARETOS CLAGETUNT CLAGETUS PARETINT PARETUS CLAGETUM PARETUM
DUMEC 'to think' DUMECAO DUMECES DUMECEIS DUMECONT DUMECOS DUMECOM
The clever student will be reminded of the ordinary Verdurian past tense, and this is for a reason. During the Dark Years it seems that people's recollections of the very past became clouded, perhaps because the greatness of the Cadinorian years seemed mythical in comparison with the brutal, squalid present. It became conventional to refer to past events using the remote tenses. Thus the Cadinor remote past became our simple past. There is no longer any reason to express doubt about the past, but lost tenses cannot be revived.
As with the definite past anterior, verbs ending in a consonant plus R are modified before adding -IR: SUDRIR 'judge' has the remote past SEO form SUDDIRU.
The Verdurian imperative can be applied to the top and bottom of the circle (SEO and TAS), but this is a dubious practice and not permitted in Cadinor. Instead of suggesting an order to oneself, one should simply act. In this way we see that Cadinor discourages procrastination and rumination, which are fatal to the will.
DUMEC 'to think' DUMUAS DUME DUMUANT DUMEL KEKAN 'to kill' NOMEN 'to name' KEKUAT KEKI NOMUAT NOMI KEKUANT KEKIL NOMUANT NOMIL CLAGER 'to flog' PARIR 'to bet' CLAGAS CLAGU PARUAT PARU CLAGANT CLAGUL PARUANT PARUL
Some aids to memory:
BULEILAI, I do not see.
BUCTANAE, He did not come.
AIĎI BULIUBETEIS? Do you not love the gods?
It is not good writing to use the negative forms when a negative pronoun already exists in the sentence:
NIKTOS SCRIT. No one knows.
NIKUDAA LAUDAI. I went nowhere.
This rule does not however apply to the negative particle NIS, which is used to single out an item in the sentence, besides the verb, for denial.
NIS TIPEL BUHESCEVUI. It wasn't the horse that I lost.
BUVIRNIS NIS ESARȞ BUES. It isn't the prefect that is disloyal.
ELORION NIS RURA NIS MACTANA VULT. Neither city nor country desires this king.
Caďinor does not have words for yes or no; simple questions are answered by using the verb alone, in the definite mood, with or without the negative prefix as necessary.
--SURIA KEKINES? Did you kill the mouse?
--KEKIO. Yes, I killed it. Or:
--BUKEKIO. No, I didn't kill it.
The forms for EPESAN are those of ESAN, with a preceding EP- before a vowel, EU- before a consonant.
ESAN 'be' EPESAN 'be able to' CTANEN 'come' FAR 'do' SAI EUSAI CTAI FAEU ES SEIS EPES EUSEIS CTET CTES FAET FAES SONT ESOS EUSONT EPESOS CTANONT CTANUS FASCONT FASCOUS ESAM EPESAM CTANAM FASCOM IUSIR 'provide' LIUBEC 'love' KEŤEN 'bear' CULLIR 'gather' IUSU LIUO KEŤUI CULLU IUT IUS LIUS LIUOS KEŤUT KEŤUS CULT CULS IUINT IUSUS LIUBONT LIUBOUS KENT KEŤES CULLINT CULLUS IUSUM LIUBOM KEŤEM CULLUM OHIR 'hear' SCRIFEC 'know' NEN 'be born' KES 'to do what thing' OHU SCRIFAO NEI KEAI UIT UIS SCRIT SCRIS NIT NIS KIET KIES OHINT OHUS SCRIFONT SCRIFOUS NENT NESES KEHONT KEHUS OHUM SCRIFOM NESEM KEHAM VOLIR 'want' FAUCIR 'leave' FAILIR 'run out' VULU FAU FAILU VULT VULS FEUT FEUS FELT FELS VOLINT VOLUS FAUCINT FAUCUS FAILINT FAILUS VOLUM FAUCUM FAILUM CLAETER 'vow' CADIR 'order' CLAEŤU CAĎU CLAETET CLAETEUS CADIT CADEUS CLAEŤUNT CLAEŤUS CADINT CAĎUS CLAEŤUM CAĎUM
The forms for CTANEN are typical of many exceptional verbs. The top half of the circle is affected.
Verbs ending in -TER or -TIR normally, for euphony, change the T to Ť before the U- of an ending, while those ending in -DER or -DIR change the D to Ď. Note that the CAI form is affected only for the -ER conjugation.
In metaphorical uses KEŤIO is used in place of KIO: IELAA KEŤIO 'I gave birth to an idea'.
ESAN 'be' EPESAN 'be able to' KEŤEN 'bear' NEN 'be born' FUIO EUSIO KIO NIO FUAE FUIOS EPAE EUSIOS KIAE KEŤIOS NAE NIOS FUNT FUOS EUSIONT EUSUOS KEŤIONT KEŤUES NIONT NESUES FUOM EUSUOM KEŤUOM NESUOM KREDEC 'believe' SUTEC 'adorn' KREDI SUTI KREĎU KREDIUS SUŤU SUTIUS KREDIUNT KREĎUS SUTIUNT SUŤUS KREĎUM SUŤUM
Many verbs ending in -DEC change the D to Ď, and those in -TEC change the T to Ť, before the U- of an ending (in the TU, MUȞ, and TAS forms).
ESAN 'be' EPESAN 'be able to' FURIO EUSERIO FURAE FURIOS EPERAE EUSERIOS FURIONT FUROS EUSERIONT EUSEROS FUROM EUSEROM
ESAN 'be' remote present remote past ESTAO ESCAO ESTES ESTEIS ESCES ESCEIS ESTONT ESTOS ESCONT ESCOS ESTOM ESCOM
In addition, there are a number of verbs which form the remote stem not with the usual suffixes (present -ET, -EM; past -EC, -IN, -IR), but with a modified stem, plus the definite endings. For instance, the remote present of CURREC 'hold' is not curretao but CORSAO, and the remote past is CORSI. Here is a list of these exceptional forms.
Forms changing SC to SS: KESCEN --> KESS- 'stop';
TOSCEN --> TOSS- 'suffice';
FAR (root FASC-) --> FASS- 'do';
LESCEN --> LESS- 'sell'Forms changing T to S: SALTER --> SELS- 'jump';
VALTER --> VELS- 'be worth';
METTAN --> MESS- 'put'Forms inserting S: CURREC --> CORS- 'hold';
DESIEN --> DESS- 'stop';
STERER --> STERS- 'watch over';
MERIR --> MERS- 'measure';
FERIEN --> FERS- 'bear (things)';
LEILEN --> LELS- 'see'
NURIR --> NORS- 'nurture'
AMARIR --> AMERS- 'appreciate'Forms inserting a consonant: DAN --> DON- 'give';
NOER --> NOS- 'rain'Verbs changing the vowel to O: PUGAN --> POG- 'finish';
PUHAN --> POH- 'push';
BRIGAN --> BROG- 'fight';
SUBRAN --> SOBR- 'follow';
DUCIR --> DOC- 'lead' ;
LEGAN --> LOG- 'lie';
LAUDAN --> LOD- 'go';
KUSAN --> KOSS- 'chew';
KEŤEN --> KOŤ- 'bear (young)';
IUSIR --> IOSS- 'provide'
IBRO MEDETAD TOMBAE. The book fell from the table.
GIOS IBROM TOMBEVUT. The boy dropped the book.HOSOL MISCUM NACITET. The donkey is carrying the sack.
DOMORION HOSOL NACITUT. The steward loads up the donkey.ȞMATULIT PENTEMONT. The slaves may sing.
SANNO ȞMATULIN PENTUAT. The lord may have the slaves sing.
If the static verb reports a state, the dynamic verb reports a change in that state-- it starts, or comes to be, or is caused to be. Because we have lost the dynamic verbs in Verdurian, students often have trouble grasping their meaning. Below are listed a number of verbs, with their static and dynamic meanings. From this list it is possible to understand the subtle power of the dynamic aspect, and to admire the economy of our ancestors, who achieved with one verb what we can only express with two.
The static verb is not restricted to states; it can also report simple actions-- for instance LAUDIO 'I went'. In such cases the dynamic verb is causative: TUA LAUDEVUI 'I caused him to go.'
verb static meaning dynamic meaning ADVEITEN answer make to answer AIUBREN rest retire AMARIR appreciate come to appreciate ASIR be seated sit down BAEȞDAN portray make a portrait of BRIGAN fight begin fighting BURUȞAN use (a tool) pick up (the tool) CEPAN abstain give up CERNAN sift, separate put to the test CINTURAN surround go around CLAETER vow administer an oath CREGEN eat feed; come to eat CTANEN come bring CULPIR be guilty accuse DEMERIR exist create DESIEN stop (doing something) stop (someone acting) DITAVAN enjoy come or cause to enjoy DORMIR sleep fall asleep DUCIR head for steer ĎIAN extend propel FAILIR be necessary run out FERIEN bear lift GUEBREC fear terrify HABER wear put on HASCIR maintain argue ȞIRAN flutter shake vigorously IDURAN desire fall for KEŤEN bear beget LACEN dwell move in LEILEN see become aware of LIHALAN rise raise MALTREN be sick make sick MONNAN work hire NACITAN carry load up NOER rain start raining NURIR grow raise, rear OBRENIR sit in judgement make a judgment PILLATIR blink shock PLESTEN be spun (cloth, stories) spin PRECUREC beg impoverish PRENAN take grab PSORER serve enter the service of PUGAN end finish RABRIR be delightful delight RIDRIR laugh burst out laughing SCADRAN ride mount SCRIFEC know learn SKADEC pay punish SNUCAN obey give orders SPURIR be subject to surrender SUMERIR study teach TEKER be standing stand up TENEC have obtain TROMIR go astray trick TUORAN flow pour ŤIBEC hurry urge on VALTER be worth evaluate VEŤURAN travel depart ZENDAN indicate signal
The closest we have to the dynamic verbs in Verdurian is the inceptive prefix za-, as in zashantan 'start singing'. Writers who know their Caďinor may use za- as an equivalent of the dynamic aspect: Belgom zashadne shual, "The warrior mounted [began to ride] the horse."
Dynamic verbs do not have a separate imperative, but share that of the static form: SUMERU! teach! AĎI SKADUANT! may the gods punish!
DUMUI DUMUT DUMUIS DUMINT DUMIS DUMIM
The endings may be divided into stem and final; the final matches those of the static definite present; the stem is U for the top half of the circle, I for the bottom half.
Before the U stem, a final D in the root changes to Ď, T to Ť, P to F; thus KREDEC 'believe' forms (TU) KREĎUT, CLAETER 'vow' forms CLAEŤUT, CEPAN 'abstain' forms CEFUT.
The past tense is formed by the infix -EV-, followed by the present tense endings:
DUMEVUI DUMEVUT DUMEVUIS DUMEVINT DUMEVIS DUMEVIM
The past anterior is formed using the infix -ER-; thus, DUMERUI, etc.
DUMI DUMUAT DUMIS DUMUANT DUMUAS DUMUAM
The same euphonic changes before U are seen as in the definite present; eg. KREDEC forms (TU) KREĎUAT.
The remote past is formed by infixing -IS- before the remote present endings, with -UA- simplified to -A- (and note the exceptional LET form):
DUMISI DUMISAT DUMISUS DUMISANT DUMISAS DUMISAM
An adverb is normally derived from an adjective, according to these rules:
GINA PON ĎORINDA LIUS.
ĎORINDA GINA PON LIUS.
The maiden passionately loves the warrior.
The simplest complete sentence consists of a single verb, such as an imperative, or a description of the action of a character already known, or an action without proper subject.
LAUDI. Go!Next in order of complexity are sentences consisting of a subject, and the action which is predicated of it.
CTANAI. I am coming.
NOET. It is raining.
VENCAE. He conquered.
FALAȞ FAUCAE. The soldier left.
MACTANA LAINET. The city is suffering.
ARBOS KESTERAE. The tree had fallen over.
Next come sentences having only an object, which are more complex because they imply also an unstated or known actor.
DOM CURRI. I bought the house.
MACTANAA VENCAE. He conquered the city.
AIĎOCLIŤON DIO. I gave (it) to the priest.
PARENEID CTET. It comes from the mountains.
Next come sentences with both subject and object stated, or multiple objects.
URESTU SAEAA LIUS. A man loves a woman.
IBROM AIĎOCLIŤON DEM. We gave the book to the priest.
BELACAA VIRAȞOŤ CARPEVUI. I seized this sword from the enemy.
ELORION CTESIFONAN ARAUNICOROŤ LAUDET. The king is going from Aránicer to Ctésifon.
Every sentence except the simplest has two places of honor (asuenî lonei)-- the beginning and the end. The last of these is the nobler, for it is the last word heard, and thus stays in the mind like the last chord of a song ringing in the air. The end of the sentence is therefore the normal place for the verb, which encompasses all the objects of the sentence and explains their relations.
The order of the nouns is determined by their position in the word circle. A higher position takes precedence over a lower; the stronger right side takes precedence over the left. Thus the nominative precedes the accusative, and that, the dative or ablative; while a dative precedes an ablative.
We see decadence in our own language, where the verb confusedly takes up a position between the subject and the objects of the sentence. How much more proper and logical is the Caďinor order, for the actors are named first, and then the action! The nouns are all together, laid out in order of nobility, and the verb then comes to give them meaning, or movement, or judgment.
Nobility is not, however, the only concern of the writer; there are also familiarity, suspense, emphasis, and grace. If an actor has been previously referred to, for instance, it is normally stated first in the sentence, so that the reader may be reminded of what is already known, and move to what is unknown.
ZOLBAREȞ BOUNAA TELNEVUT. BOUNAA IM AETANIA PUHAE BANSES.
Zolbareȟ found the cow. The cow was pushed into the lake by a foreigner.
In the example, BOUNAA 'the cow' takes the initial place of honor because she is the subject of discussion, already referred to, while the nominative BANSES 'a stranger' is a new actor.
The last example is also an example of suspense (forheo), in which a key element is withheld from the reader till the end of the sentence. A sense of surprise or tension is conveyed when the final position is used for anything but the verb.
Because nouns and adjectives fully indicate their case in Caďinor, the writer has a wide range of possibilities, which cannot be exhausted by mere lists of rules, but involve grace (sheli), taste and mellifluity. All of the following sentences, for instance, are proper grammatically.
The wise lord his estate to his wife entrusts.
AEFAR MUDRAIS KESUILEA KIRAN PELEGUT. lord wise estate-acc wife-dat trust-dynamic KIRAN AEFAR MUDRAIS KESUILEA PELEGUT.
To his wife the wise lord his estate entrusts.MUDRAIS KIRAN KESUILEA AEFAR PELEGUT.
Wise, to his wife his estate the lord entrusts.KESUILEA MUDRAIS AEFAR PELEGUT KIRAN.
His estate the lord (who is) wise entrusts to his wife.PELEGUT MUDRAIS KIRAN KESUILEA AEFAR.
Entrusts, wise, to his wife, his estate, the lord.AEFAR KESUILEA PELEGUT KIRAN MUDRAIS.
The lord his estate entrusts to his wife, (if) wise.KIRAN AEFAR MUDRAIS PELEGUT KESUILEA.
To his wife the wise lord entrusts his estate.
The student, bearing in mind the logical order, the principles of suspense and familiarity, and even the sound of the words, should consider the effect intended by the writer in each of these sentences.
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![CONSONANTS Labial stops: p b [p b]; dental stops: t d [t d]; velar stops: c g [k g]; uvular stops: k [q]; labial fricatives: f v [f v]; dental fricatives: th ď [θ ð]; alveolar fricatives: s z [s z]; velar fricatives: ȟ [x]; glottal fricatives: h [h]; labial nasals: m [m]; alveolar nasals: n [n]; dental liquids: l [l]; alveolar liquids: r [ɹ]; VOWELS i [i] (close front), u [u] (close back), e [e, ɛ] (open-mid/close-mid front), o [o, ɔ] (open-mid/close-mid back); a [a] (open front)](illo/cadhsounds.gif)