Verbs

Morphological Categories

Verbs are inflected with the following morphological categories:

• STATES: finite, non-finite
• TENSES: present, past, future, tenseless¹
• ASPECTS: simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential
• VOICES: active, passive, reflexive, reciprocal
• MOODS: indicative, hypothetical

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

In effect, the PERSON/NUMBER category is not listed above, because this caterory 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 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.) The following chart shows how the English pattern differs from the corresponding single Mirad verb form se for all persons and numbers:

Verbs Forms Unchanged for Person

PERSON	NUMBER	ENGLISH to be	MIRAD ser
1st	SINGULAR	I am	at se
2nd	SINGULAR	you are	et se
3rd	SINGULAR	he/she/it is	it se
1st	PLURAL	we are	yat se
2nd	PLURAL	you are	yet se
3rd	PLURAL	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

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 ending 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	xw-	-er

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 respective stems are underlined:

Active and Passive Infinitive Stems

INFINITIVE	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
SIMPLE ASPECT	igxer....to quicken	igxwer....to be quickened
PERFECT ASPECT	igxayer....to have quickened	igxawer....to have been quickened

: In the above chart, the verb stem is igx- and

• the infinitive marker is -er, and
• the simple aspect active voice marker is zero, and
• the simple aspect passive voice marker is w, and
• the perfect aspect active voice marker is -ay-, and
• the past aspect passive voice marker is -aw-.

Intransitive verbs like per to go do not have a passive voice. Also, the passive voice form 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 mating in mating rituals. It is formed by suffixing en to the verb stem for the active voice and wen for the passive voice (The consonant w is used in Mirad for indicating the passive voice).

Gerunds

INFINITIVE	STEM	ACTIVE GERUND	PASSIVE GERUND
agaxer....to magnify	agax-	agaxen....magnifying, magnification	agaxwen....being magnified
ayser....to possess	ays-	aysen....possessing, possession	ayswen....being possessed
saxer....to create, make, form	sax-	saxen....forming, creation	saxwen....being created

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

Some examples:

• Ha sanxen bi hia mar efxa amroni bi jabi.....The forming (or: formation) of this star took millions of years.
• Iyta deuzen sa gla via.....Her singing was very beautiful.
• Popen se jesta yex.....Traveling is hard work.
• Teetwen fiay se glatesa av dezuti.....Being heard well is important for actors.
• Teaten se vyatexen......Seeing is believing.

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 (progressive, perfect, imminent, potential) and voice (active, passive). The template for a participle is "STEM+[e(a)ou]+(w)+a". The first letter of the participial ending is the aspect marker: e for progressive, a for perfect (see note ¹ below), o for imminent, or u for potential ². This is followed by a w if the participle is in the passive voice. The last letter of the ending is the adjectival marker -a.

Here is a table of participles:

Participles

ASPECT	VOICE	INFINITIVE	PARTICIPLE	EXAMPLE
PROGRESSIVE	ACTIVE	deuzer....to sing	deuzea....singing	ha deuzea pat....the singing bird3
PERFECT	ACTIVE	pier....to depart	pi(a)a....departed	ha pia topi....the departed souls
IMMINENT	ACTIVE	tajber....to give birth	tajboa....about to give birth	ha tajboa toyb....the woman about to give birth
POTENTIAL	ACTIVE	tojber....to kill	tojbua....with potential to kill	tojbua til....a lethal potion
PROGRESSIVE	ACTIVE	ebdalwer....to be discussed	ebdalewa....being discussed	ha ebdalewa dyen....the book being discussed
PERFECT	PASSIVE	yujbwer....to be closed	yujb(a)wa....closed	ha yujbwa mes....the closed door
IMMINENT	PASSIVE	osexwer....to be destroyed	osexowa....about to be destroyed	ha osexowa tam....the house about to be destroyed
POTENTIAL	PASSIVE	tilwer....to be drunk	tiluwa....drinkable	tiluwa mil....potable water

Note 1: In passive participles, the perfect aspect vowel a is usually omitted for brevity's sake, unless the verb stem ends in one of the liquid sounds l or r, which would make the pronunciation difficult. For example, the perfect passive participle of xer is xwa but the pefect passive participle of xler is xlawa. In active perfect participles, the double aa is usually reduced to a, as in ha pia topi....the departed souls (rather than ha piaa topi. In poetry, the perfect aspect vowel a can be omitted or retained optionally in the perfect active or passive participle.

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 become 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....known → xwas....what is known, a fact
• xwa....known → xwasi....facts, information
• oxwa....unknown → oxwas....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 participles 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.

Moods

There are two moods in Mirad: indicative and 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, and tenseless, indicated by the suffixes -e, -a, -o, and -u, respectively.

• Hypothetical Mood

Wheras the indicative verb forms expresses actuality in time, the hypothetical mood expresses one of the non-actuality situations below:

• 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.
• the PERFECT aspect, i.e. an action or state anterior or already completed.
• the IMMINENT aspect, i.e. an action or state about to happen.
• the POTENTIAL aspect, i.e. an action potentially happening.

• The Simple Aspect (default)

Unless specifically marked, the default aspect is simple, i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional. Five tenses can be expressed in the simple aspect, PRESENT, PAST, FUTURE, and what's called TENSELESS, that is, irrespective of time, i.e. unmarked for tense.

Here is a chart showing the simple, active voice instantiations of two Mirad verbs (per....to go and ser....to be) with the endings underlined:

Active Voice Conjugation of Per and Ser

MOOD	TENSE	ASPECT	VOICE	VERB #1 per	VERB #2 ser
INDICATIVE	PRESENT	SIMPLE	ACTIVE	At pe. I go	At se. I am
INDICATIVE	PAST	SIMPLE	ACTIVE	At pa. I went	At sa. I was
INDICATIVE	FUTURE	SIMPLE	ACTIVE	At po. I will go	At so. I will be
HYPOTHETICAL	TENSELESS	SIMPLE	ACTIVE	At pu. I would go [CONDITIONAL] Van yat pu!....Let's go! [HORTATIVE] Pu tam!....Go home! [IMPERATIVE] Van hyat pu!....May everyone go! [JUSSIVE] Se fia van et pu.....It is well that you go. [SUBJUNCTIVE]	At su.....I would be Van has su.....Let it be. Su fia!....Be good! Van hyat su iva!....May everyone be happy! Se glatesa van et su jwaa.....It's important that you be early.

• The Simple Indicative Present 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 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 taja be yibmem. ....She was born abroad.
• 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 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 Tenseless 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, jussive, 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 eyt ujaku be eytia yexnadi. ....May all you women succeed in your careers. (HORTATIVE)
• Van yat ijbu bay fyadil. ....Let's begin with a prayer. (JUSSIVE)
• Se glatesa van et puu jwa. ....It's important that you arrive early. (SUBJUNCTIVE)
• Se glatesa 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 tilu his!....Don't drink this!.
• If the sentence consists merely of a SUBJECT + VERB ending in -u, the meaning is CONDITIONAL, eg.: At voy xu hus.....I would not do that.

Voices

Mirad has four voices: ACTIVE, PASSIVE, REFLEXIVE and RECIPROCAL.

• Active Voice

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

• 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 awa can be reduced to wa (done is xawa or xwa) if the resultant combination of consonants is not to hard to pronounce.

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

"Contrasting Active and Passive Voice"

TENSE-MOOD	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,...	x(a)wa done	Hyas se xwa. Everything is done.
PAST	tojba killed	Hot tojba hwut? Who killed that guy?	tojbwa was killed	Hoj it tojbwa? When was he killed?
HYPOTHETICAL	bakxu heal	Bakxu at! Heal me!	bakxwu be healed	Van it bakxwu. May he be healed.

Sometimes, the passive voice is used to represent a medio-passive. For example, ujwer....to open is used medio-passively in the expression Ha mes ujwa.....The door opened., because there is no overt subject, as if the door opened itself. 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 verb tajber....to bear, give birth can be passive, as in Ha tobot tajbwa zajub.....The child was delivered yesterday (as opposed to Ha tobot taja zajub.....The child was born yesterday.)

• 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!
• treer....to know → utter....to know oneself → Uttyeu!....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 uti.....They (f.) washed up. (= washed selves).
• Ha twobeti dizeuda hyuit.....The boys laughed at one another.

The word hyuit is a portemanteau 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.

Making Predicates Interrogative

To make a declarative predicate or sentence into a question, simply begin it with the Yes/No Question Introducer Duven....Say whether.../Is it true that...? or any other interrogative pronoun or adverb such as Hos?....What?, Hot?....Who(m)?, or Hom?....where?. Note that the Du in Duven means Say.../ Tell me..., so Duven...? really is a command meaning Say whether.... The word ven without the du is a conditional complementizer and just means if or whether. The part of the sentence after Duven is a simple declarative statement in the normal word order. The same is true for the words following other interrogative words, such as Hos?....What? and Hom?....Where?. In other words, there is no inversion of word order in questions as there often is in English, Spanish, and many other languages.

Making Predicates Interrogative

DECLARATIVE	INTERROGATIVE
Et se tadxwa.....You are married.	Duven et se tadxwa?....Are you married? (= Say whether you are married.)
Ha mari se manika.....The stars are bright.	Duven ha mari se manika?....Are the stars bright? (= Say whether the stars are bright.)
Hut aka.....That guy won.	Hot aka?....Who won?
Iyt aka glas.....She won a lot.	Hoglas iyt aka?....How much did she win?
It paye.....He has gone.	Hom it paye?....Where has he gone?

Note that the question words introduce the sentence and do not alter the word order as seen in the declarative. Also, a declarative sentence can be made interrogative simply by adding a question mark at the end in writing or raising the voice inflection at the end in speaking, eg:

• Et tambese ha yubem?....You live in the neighborhood?

The yes-no tag vao can be placed at the end of a declaration to make it a question, eg.:

• Et tambese ha yubem, vao?....You live in the neighborhood, right?

Yes/no questions such as the above and those introduced with Duven usually are answered with va....yes, ve....maybe, or vo....no or their equivalents.

"Yes-or-no Questions"

YES-NO QUESTION	ANSWER
Duven eta dyun se John?....Is your name John?	Vo, se Bill.....No, it's Bill.
Duven eta apet aka?....Did you horse win?	Va. Atas vay aka.....Yes. Mine won indeed.
Duven et texe van ha maalyen gafiso hijub?....Do you think the weather will improve today?	Ve.....Maybe.
Fe per bay at?....Wanna go with me?	Vey zajub.....Maybe tomorrow.
Et tadso, vao?....You're going to get married, right?	Vey va, vey vo.....Maybe yes, maybe no.

Affirming/ Doubting / Negating Declarations

The following set of interjections and adverbs can be used to affirm, cast doubt on, or negate declarations:

Affirming, Doubting, Negative Declarations

	INTERJECTION	ADVERB	PROPOSITION
AFFIRMATIVE	va....yes	vay....indeed, really	Va. At vay yantexe....Yes, I indeed/do/really agree.
DUBITATIVE	ve....maybe, perhaps	vey....possibly, may...	Ve. At vey po.....Maybe. I may/possibly will go.
NEGATIVE	vo....no	voy....not	Vo. At voy su iva.....No. I would not be happy.

Mixing Them Up

The above interrogative words and the words of affirmation / doubt / negation can be used in various combinations, for example:

• Duven et voy se tadxwa?....Aren't you married?
• Hosav iyt se voy tadxwa?....Why isn't she married?
• Vey voy mamilo.....It may not rain.
• At vay voy tadso iyt.....I will certainly not marry her.
• Et peyo, vao?....You will go, right?
• Vo. Hus vey vay se vyoa.....No. That may indeed be wrong.
• Et te ha dud, vao?....You know the answer, don't you? (=right?)

Note that the particles of affirmation/doubt/negation usually precede the verb, but can just as easily follow it.

• At voy te. ....I don't know.
• At te voy. ....I don't know. [Lit: I know not.]

Note that vao? is a particle meaning yes or no?, right?, n'est-ce pas?

Complementizers

Van, ven, and von are part of a whole system of complementizers:

Complementizers

TYPE	COMPLEMENTIZERS	MEANING	MIRAD EXAMPLE	ENGLISH EQUIVALENT
INTERROGATIVE	duven...?	Is it true that...? Tell (me) whether... (yes/no question introducer)	Duven eta dyun se John?	Is (it true that) your name is John?
CONDITIONAL	ven	if, whether	Ven et te, du has. At utdide ven it upo.	If you know, say so. I wonder whether he'll come.
ANTI-CONDITIONAL	ohev	unless	Ohev et yexe, et voy ako.	Unless you work, you will not win.
POSITIVE/HORTATIVE	van	that, so that, let, may	At ta van it upo. Van yat dilo. Van et su iva. At xa has van et fitexu at.	I knew (that) he would come. Let's pray. Let you be happy. I did it so you'd think well of me.
NEGATIVE/PROHIBITIVE	von	Don't, let...not, lest	Von teaxu at. Von yat su uva. At pio von et futipsu.	Don't look at me. Let's not be sad. I will leave lest you get angry.
RELATIVE	hu	who, whom, that, which	Ha toybi hu ifaye et... Ha toyb hu et ife. Koxon hu at yofe onyafxer.	The women who have loved you. The woman (whom) you love. A problem (that/which) I cannot solve.

Bound Relative Clauses

The invariable relative complementizer hu is used to introduce a bound relative clause and refer back to an element in the main clause. Here are some examples:

• Ha tob, hu tadsa ja ewa jabi, ayse awa tobot.....The man, who got married two years ago, has one child.
• Ha toyb hu ake ibe aga nazun.....The woman who wins receives a big prize.
• Hia pati hu at pexa magilwo himaj.....These birds (that/which) I caught will be cooked this evening.
• Biu hyea jotul hu et fu.....Take any dessert (that) you'd like.
• Ha apet hu at bua it ha afyab apeda bay if.....The horse I gave the apple to neighed with pleasure. (= ...that I gave him the apple...)
• Iyt ijtyexa at bu ha yexeb hu iyt yexaya oyb it ji gla jabi.....She introduced me to the boss under whom she had worked for many years. (Lit: ...that she had worked under him...)

Note that in cases where the relative clause ends in a preposition governing the man clause antecedent, a pronoun is added agreeing in gender, number, and animacy with the main clause antecedent. This type of construction occurs in the last two example sentences above. So, the English relative clause for whom I sang would be expressed in Mirad as that I sang for her/him/it/them depending on the gender, number, and animacy of the antecedent in the main clause.

• Ha toybi hu at deuza av yit fida ata yafi.....The ladies for whom I sang (= that I sang for them) praised my abilities.

Bound relative clauses beginning with whose are expressed in Mirad as hu ita/yita (= that his/her/their/their), depending on the gender and number of the explicit antecedent in the main clause.

• Ha ekuyt hu iyta tyoyab yonpyexwa yofa eker hijeb.....The female player whose foot (= that her foot) was broken was unable to play this season.
• Ata yubati, hu yita tam sa jay ga aga vyel yatas, agaxa yita puram gajod.....Our neighbors, whose (= that their) house is already bigger than ours, enlarged their garage again.

If no preposition governing the antecedent is involved, but the relative clause takes the place of an objective case element, supplying a pronoun referring back to the antecedent noun, is optional:

• Ha dyesi hu at dyea (hasi) zamaj sa hyasi fia.....The books I read (= them) last evening were all good.

Free Relative Clauses

Free relative clauses are introduced by a deictic pronoun or adverb followed by the relative complementizer hu as shown in the charts below.

Free Relative Clauses

RELATIVE PRONOUNS	MIRAD....ENGLISH	EXAMPLE
THING(S)	has hu....what/that which/the thing that hasi hu....what/those which/the things that hyes hu....whatever/anything that hyesi hu....whatever/anything that/any things that hyas hu....everything that/all that hyasi hu....all (things) that hyos hu....nothing (that) hyosi hu....none of the things (that) haas hu....which one haasi hu....which ones	Has hu at da se vyaa.....What I said is true. Hasi hu it xa futipxa at.....What/the things he did angered me. At xo hyes hu et do.....I will do whatever/anything you say. Et voy teeta hyesi hu at deuza.....You didn't hear any of the things I sang. Hyas hu at fe se poos.....All I want is peace. At akxa hyusi hu at fa.....I achieved all the things I wanted. At testa hyos hu et da.....I understood nothing you said. Hyosi hu et iyfe ifue at.....None of the things you like appeal to me. At te voy haas hu at gwafe.....I don't know which one I like best. At te haasi hu at gwofe.....I know which ones I like least.
PERSON(S)	hat hu....who//the person (who) hati hu....the ones who hyet hu....whoever/anybody who/that hyeti hu....whoever/any people that/who hyat hu....everyone that/everybody who hyati hu....all those who hyot hu....nobody (that/who) hyoti hu....no ones (that/who) hata hu....whose haat hu....which one haati hu....which ones	Hat hu et teata pia.....The one you saw left. Hati hu at tye yantexe.....Those (people) I know agree. At teapo hyet hu at fe.....I will visit whomever I wish. Et voy teata hyeti hu at teata.....You didn't see any of the ones I saw. Hyat hu at ijtyea sa fiyena.....Everyone I met was nice. At fida hyati hu at yeyfa.....I praised all the people I was supposed to. At testa hyot hu at teeta.....I understood nobody I heard. Hati hu et ijtyaxa sa fuyena.....The ones you introduced were ill-mannered. At te voy hata hu ifpot his se.....I don't know whose pet this is. At te voy haat hu at gwafe.....I don't know which one (person) I like best. At te haati hu at gwofe.....I know which ones (people) I like least.
RELATIVE ADVERBS	MIRAD ADVERB....ENGLISH ADVERB	EXAMPLE
PLACE	ham hu....where hyem hu....wherever hyam hu....everywhere hu....bi ham....from where, whence hu....bu ham....to where, whither	Yat tambese ham hu ha maalyen se yugra.....We live where the weather is mild. At fu per hyem hu et po.....I'd like to go wherever you go. Hyam hu et pe, su bikaya.....Everywhere you go, be careful. Ha dom hu at upe bi ham se gla oga.....The town from where I come (Lit: that I come from it) is very small. Ha memi hu at popeyo hami se gle jiba.....The countries where I am going to be traveling are quite distant.
TIME	haj hu....when hyej hu....whenever hyaj hu....everywhere	Du at haj hu et puo.....Tell me when you arrive. Hyej hu iyt se iva, iyt deuze.....Whenever/anytime she is happy, she sings. Hyaj hu at yabteaxe, et yobteaxe.....Every time I look up, you look down.
MANNER/KIND	hayen hu....how, in what way, as hyeyen hu....however, in any way, in whatever manner hyiyen hu....just as, the same way as	At utdide hayen hu it xa hus.....I wonder how he did it. Hyeyen hu xwa se kos.....However it happened is a mystery. Xu has hyiyen hu at xe has.....Do it the same way as I do it.
DEGREE	hagla hu....how, to what extent hyigla hu....as, to the same degree as	Et hyoj to hagla hu iva at se.....You'll never know how happy I am. At yofe poper hyigla (~ge) yib hu et yafe.....I cannot travel as far as you can.
QUANTITY	hagla hu....how much, how many hyegla hu....however much, however many hyigla hu....as much/many as	Duven et te hagla nas hu it ayse?....Do you know how much money he has? Yet dida yat hyegla tami hu yat sexa.....You guys asked us however many houses we built. Et nixo hyigla (~ ge) nas hu at xe.....You will earn as much money as I do.
REASON	hasav hu....why, for what reason hyesav hu....why ever, for whatever reason	Duven et te hasav hu it xa hus.....Do you know why he did that? Yat voy teste hyesav hu et xu hus.....We don't understand why ever you'd do that.

If the relative clause is restrictive (i.e. it cannot be omitted without violating the meaning of the sentence), then no commas are used, but if it is non-restrictive (i.e. it provides new information that can be omitted), then it is surrounded by commas, just as in English.

• RESTRICTIVE: Ha mar hu yata mer yuzpe dyunwe ha maar.....The star that our planet goes around is called the sun.
• NON-RESTRICTIVE: Ha maar, hu yata mer yuzpe, se vay haway hea mar.....The sun, which our planet goes around, is really only a (= some) star.

Indirect Discourse

Sentences that have a main clause of communication or knowledge, followed by a subordinate clause with an indirect indication of what was said or known, use the positive complementizer van (that, the fact that) to introduce the subordinate clause. The tense in the subordinate clause is a true tense, not a relative tense. Unlike in English, where the that can often be omitted, the Mirad van complementizer can never be omitted.

• At ta van et upo.....I knew that you would (= will) come.
• Ata ted da van it yexe hya ita tej gel fufut.....My father said that he had worked (= he worked) all his life as a plumber.
• Se vyaa van at gra tele.....It is true that I eat too much.
• At jada van et puo jwa.....I predicted that you would (= you will) arrive early.

The conditional complementizer ven....if, whether and the negative complementizer von....lest, don't, that...not are discussed in later sections.

Direct Discourse

Direct discourse works as in English, except that a colon (:) is used instead of a comma. Double quotes are used to surround the directly quoted part of the sentence.

• Iyt da: "At voy fe per."....She said, "I don't want to go."
• At dida it: "Hot so eta aadezut?".....I asked him, "Who will be your lead actor?"

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs can take a direct object and 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].

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.
• Treu eut!....Know thyself!
• It gobla iut bay goblar.....He cut himself with a knife.
• Ot yefe yuxer out.....One must help oneself.

Sometimes, verbs 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.

Derived from Adjectives

Adjectives can be converted into transitive/causative and intransitive/inchoative verbs. A causative verb has the sense to make something have some quality, while an inchoative verb means to become or take on the quality of something. 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 yonxwo.....Unite or you will be divided. [INTRANSITIVE]
• At otadsa haj hu at sa eta jag.....I got divorced when I was your age. [INTRANSITIVE]
• Hisi agaxo has hu et teate.....These will magnify what you see. [TRANSITIVE]
• Hia tobot agseye ig.....This child is growing up fast. [INTRANSITIVE]
• Ata tayd agxe vosi be oyebzom.....My wife grows flowers out back. [TRANSITIVE]

Verbs 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

Causative Verbs

Verbal causatives like have/get my car washed, make/force him go, get one's hair cut are formed by suffixing the causative verb stem ux (active) or uxw (passive) to the stem of the verb signifying the action to be arranged or caused, 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 avhes.....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 ivteuduxwa.....I was tickled (= made to laugh).
• Eta deuz ivteuduxa yat.....Your song tickled us. (= Made us laugh.)
• Van het ivasuxu weti.....May someone get you guys to be happy.

Principal Modal Auxiliary Verbs

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

Principle Modal Auxiliary Verbs

POSITIVE		NEGATIVE
afer....may ayfer....might	efer....need	ofer....may not oyfer....might not
ifer....love iyfer....like	fer....want	ufer....hate uyfer....dislike
yafer....can, be able yayfer....might, could	yefer....must, have to yeyfer....ought, should	yofer....cannot yoyfer....could not, might not
yifer....dare		yufer....be afraid
yiver....have a right, be free		yuver....be bound

If the modal verb is in the hypothetic 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.

By the same token, adding the intensifying consonants l and r add strength to the model verb sense:

• Hua toyb yufxa at.....That woman scared me.
• Hua toyb yulfxa at.....That woman intimidated me.
• Hua toyb yurfxa at.....That woman terrorized me.

• Hia yex efwo.....This work will be necessary.
• Hia yex elfwo.....This work will be critical.
• Hia yex erfwo.....This work will be indispensable.

• Su yifa.....Be brave.
• Su yilfa.....Be bold.
• Su yirfa.....Be heroic.

• Et yuve buer nas.....You are supposed to give money.
• Et yulve buer nas.....You are bound to give money.
• Et yurve buer nas.....You are absolutely compelled to give money.

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.
• He et fe yebuper?....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 hyes hu et fu.....You can do whatever you like.
• Et yefer xer ad vyaas.....You must do the right thing.
• Et yeyfe voy daler huyen 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 has hu 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 yuve 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....willing	fwer....be desirable	fwa....desirable, wanted
LOVE	ifer....love	ifa....enamored	ifwer....be loved	ifwa....lovable
HATE	ufer....hate	ufa....averse	ufwer....be hated	ufwa....odious
RISK	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.
• Yurx se ufwa xetyen.....Slavery is an odious practice.
• Uvwe van wit oka.....It's a shame that he lost.

*Ofawa 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
Xyafa....able to X, -able	Xyafwa....posssible to X
Xyofa....unable to X	Xyofwa....impossible to X
Xifa....fond of Xing, Xophile
Xufa....averse to Xing, Xophobic
Xyika....hard of Xing	Xyikwa....hard to X
Xyuka....comfortable/easy Xing	Xyukwa....easy to X
-Xefa....in need of Xing	Xefwa....necessary to X
Xyufa....afraid of Xing	Xyufwa....frightening to X

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

Modals

	POSITIVE ADJECTIVE	POSITIVE VERB	NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE	NEGATIVE VERB
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	teatyafa....able to see, sighted	teatyafer....be able to see	teatyofa....blind	teatyofer....be blind
PATIENT-ORIENTED	teatyafwa....visible	teatyafwer....be visible	teatyofwa....invisible	teatyofwer....be invisible
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	teetyafa....able to hear, hearing	teetyafer....be able to hear	teetyofa....deaf	teatyofer....be deaf
PATIENT-ORIENTED	teetyafwa....audible	teetyafwer....be audible	teeyofwa....inaudible	teeyofwer....be inaudiable
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	dalyafa....able to speak	dalyafer....be able to speak	dalyofa....mute, dumb	dalyofer....be mute, dumb
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	doabifa....patriotic	doabifer....be patriotic	doabufa....rebellious	doabufer....rebel
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	tosyafa....sensitive	tosyafer....be able to feel	tosyofa....insensitive	tosyofer....be numbed
PATIENT-ORIENTED	tayotyafwa....palpable	tayotyafwer....be palpable	tayotyofwa....numb	tayotyofwer....be impalbable, numb
PATIENT-ORIENTED	testyukwa....easy to understand	testyukwaxer....make easily understood	testyikwa....hard to understand	testyikwaxer....make hard to understand
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	tilefa....thirsty	tilefer....be thirsty
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	telefa....hungry	telefer....be hungry
PATIENT-ORIENTED	tejefwa....vital	tejefwer....be vital

Sensing Verbs

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

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 medecine 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.

The Frequentative Infix

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

pyaser....jump  ⇒  pyaseger....bounce

paper....fly  ⇒  papeger....flitter

kobirer....steal  ⇒  kobireger....pilfer

braser....shake  ⇒  braseger....vibrate

brases....shaking  ⇒  brasegea....vibrating