Ilven Taelur

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All verbs in Tellic are derived from a root that conveys the basic meaning. This basic meaning is first refined by the verb stem belonging to one of the three verbal classes in Tellic:

• Volitional verbs: they express actions controlled by the subject (e.g. √PAL → paelat, to look at)
• Non-Volitional verbs: they express qualities, properties or actions not controlled by the subject (e.g. √PAL → paelit, to see)
• Stative verbs: they express a state (e.g. √PAL → paelut, to be visible, to be present)

This first meaning restriction can be further restricted by applying different aspects, moods or secondary forms to the verbal stem. All in all, a Tellic verb can be morphologically marked for the following categories:

• Verbal class: volitive, non-volitive, stative.
• Person: first person, second person, third person, impersonal.
• Number: singular, plural.
• Tense: present, past, future.
• Aspect: progressive/imperfective, aorist/punctual, perfective.
• Mood: indicative, reportative, subjunctive, desiderative, obligational, potential, imperative.
• Secondary verval forms: inchoative, reflexive, causative, intensive.

Verbal classes indicate whether the verb refers to a volitional action - where the subject has the control over it -, a property or quality of the subject or an non-volitional action - over which the subject has no control -, or a stative verb - indicating a temporary state or quality referring to the subject -. Morphologically, these classes are marked as follows:

The volitional class mark is an -a following the verbal root: √PAL → pael-a-t(*), to look at; √MEL → miel-a-t, to fix, to make sth good.

(*) It is very important to always hold in mind the universal phonological rule in Tellic by which any stressed syllable followed by a single consonant and a single vowel gets its vowel lengthened and diphthongized (cf. phonology section). Thus, paelat < /'pa:.lat/.

The non-volitional class mark is an -i following the verbal root: √PAL → pael-i-t, to see; √MEL → miel-i-t, to be (inherently) good.

The stative class mark is an -u following the verbal root: √PAL → pael-u-t, to be visible, to be present; √MEL → miel-u-t, to be good (at/during a particular point of time, but not as an inherent property).

The following endings are used to mark finite verbal forms for person and number:

PERSON	SINGULAR			PLURAL
First	-m	paela-m	I look at	-mi	paela-mi	we look at
Second	-k	paela-k	you (sg) look at	-ki	paela-ki	you (pl) look at
Third	-Ø	paela-	he/she looks at (*)	-n	paela-n	they look at
Impersonal	-r		paela-r		Somebody looks at, it is being looked at

(*) - Gender is not morphologically marked in Tellic

Tellic has three tenses, morphologically marked as follows:

It is morphologically unmarked: pieta petias = the bird is flying

It is morphologically marked by the prefix i- before the root: ipieta petias = the bird was flying

It is morphologically marked by the prefix u- before the root: upieta petias = the bird will be flying

Tellic has three aspects, morphologically marked as follows:

It refers to an ongoing activity, property or state. Progressive stems have no specific morphological mark: paelam kieva = I am looking at the horse.

It refers to a punctual activity, property or state. Aorist stems are morphological marked by an -s immediatelly following the root (whose vowel therefore remains short!): palsam kieva = I looked at the horse.

It refers to an activity, property or state that is viewed as already finished. Perfective stems are morphological marked by the reduplication of the first consonant and the vowel of the root; in the second part, the root loses the vowel. This morphological device may give rise to consonantal assimilations, but in any case, the radical vowel always remains short: paplam kieva = I have looked at the horse (and I do not look at it any more now), tallam (< tatlam, from √TAL→taelat, to speak) = I have spoken; compare with imperfective taelam = I am speaking.

Tellic has seven moods:

It refers to an event which the speaker knows or believes to be certain. It has no specific morphological mark: ueusa kaunas kerton = the woman has (certainly) bought a book

It refers to an event which the speaker has heard about or thinks may be true but is not certain about. It is morphologically marked by the prefix me-: meueusa kaunas kerton = (I heard that, it seems to me that) the woman has bought a book

It refers to an event which the speaker considers as hypothetic, often in the future. It is morphologically marked by the prefix ha-: haupaelala kaunas kerton = Perhaps the woman would read a/the book

It refers to an event which the subject wants to happen. It is morphologically marked by the prefix is-: isuessa kaunas kerton = the woman wants to buy a book

It refers to an action which the subject is obliged to perform. Normally, it only applies to volitional verbs. It is morphologically marked by the prefix mu-: muuessa kaunas kerton = the woman has to buy a book

It refers to an action which the subject is able to perform. Normally, it only applies to volitional verbs. It is morphologically marked by the prefix ve-: veuessa kaunas kerton = the woman can buy a book

It refers to an event which the speaker wants the subject to perform or experience. It is morphologically marked by the prefix na-: nauessa kaunas kerton! = let the woman buy a book!

Tellic has four secondary verbal forms, each of which adds a certain semantic nuance to the basic verbal meaning:

It indicates that the action or event is starting or about to happen. It is marked by the prefix ia-: iasaupiuem = I am falling asleep

It indicates that the action or event reverts in some way on the subject. It often has a benefactive meaning or even conveys empathy towards the subject. It is marked by the infix -ue- before the personal or deverbal ending: iasaupiuem = I am falling asleep (myself)

It emphasizes the action or event. It is marked by reduplicating the vowel and last consonant of the root: paelalam kerton = I am looking at "strongly" the book = I am reading the book, mieli vietit; mieleli niamit = to know is good, to learn is better

It indicates that the subject forces an event to take place on the direct object or on itself (combined with the reflexive). It is marked by the infix -i- immediately following the root. It always gives rise to volitional verbs: niamit (< √NIM, to learn) &rarr nimiat, to make sbdy learn == to teach; nimiauet = to make oneself learn == to study, mieleliat (/'mje.le.ljat/) = to make something be better == to improve something.