4.4 Little particles that set the tense/mood
4 · Verbs — how the system works · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
The bare present stem gets prefixes and suffixes that lock in when and how:
| particle | what it does | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ki- (prefix) | habitual / general truth | ki-patekh | he opens (regularly) |
| bet- (prefix) | future | bet-patekh | he will open |
| -va (suffix) | pushes it into the past | patekhva | he used to open |
| kam- (prefix) | past + object | kam-patekhle | he opened it |
| khush- / shuk- | "let / may" (wish) | shuk-ate | let him come |
What each one actually does with the sound
- ki- ("he generally opens") often contracts in fast speech, the k clinging straight onto the next sound: ki-ate → k-ate "he comes," ki-azel → k-azel. Assume you will hear the contracted version.
- bet- ("will") is the one that changes shape most, and all of these are the same word:
- before a consonant it shrinks to b-: b-dare "he will pour";
- before a voiceless consonant it goes voiceless too: p-shalkhenne "I shall flay him," p-parekli "he will finish me off";
- before a verb that starts with a- it fuses into t- or pt-: t-azen ~ pt-azen "I shall go," t-akhlen "I shall eat."
- So bet-patekh, b-patekh and p-patekh are one future, spoken at three speeds.
- -va is a time machine: stick it on the present and you get "used to" (patekhva — habitual past); stick it on the past and you get "had done" (ptekhvale).
The wish particles (deontic)
Deontic is the grammar word for "ought / may / let" — language about what should happen rather than what does. Assyrian builds it out of two imperatives, put in front of an ordinary present verb:
| Assyrian | English |
|---|---|
| khush-patekh | may he open |
| shuk-ate | let him come |
| shuk khush ate | let him come (both together — in that order only) |
| la shuk patekh | may he not open |
khush is "go!" and shuk is "leave it, allow it," both doing duty as helper words. They can stack — shuk before khush, never the other way round — and you negate the whole thing by putting la in front (Making verbs negative).
"used to / was ___ing" (present + -va):
patekhva (he used to open), patkhava (she), patkhiva (they), patkhetva (you m.), … — just the present paradigm with -va tacked on.
"had opened" (past + -va + ending):
ptekhvale (he had opened), ptekhvala (she), ptekhvalun (they), ptekhvali (I had opened), …
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