4.7 Commands (imperative)

4 · Verbs — how the system works · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar

Drop the endings entirely — the imperative is the bare stem. Add -un when you're telling more than one person: ptukh! "open!" → ptukhun! "open (you all)!"

Commands you'll actually use (singular):

Assyrian	English	verb
khul!	eat!	akhel
khush!	go!	azel
ta!	come!	ate
shkul!	take it!	shakel
khzi!	look!	khazze
tani!	talk! / tell me!	tane
hal!	give it!	yavvel
vud!	do it!	aved

To say "don't," just put la in front: la khul! "don't eat!", la khush! "don't go!"

Making it plural — four small rules

The plural is -un, but what happens in front of it depends on the pattern:

pattern	singular	plural	what changed
I (strong)	ptukh	ptukhun	nothing — just add -un
I (ending in a vowel)	khzi	khzimun	an -m- appears: tani → tanimun, dri → drimun
II	zarez	zarzun	the e drops out
III	madmekh	madmekhkhun	the last letter doubles
quadriliteral	javveb	javvebbun	the last letter doubles

The stress stays on the first syllable throughout, however long the word gets.

Putting an object on a command

Add an L-ending — this is the one place the -l endings mark the object rather than the subject:

Assyrian	English
ktulle!	kill him!
pakhelle!	forgive him!
halle!	give it (to) him!
halle kati!	give it to me!
madmekhle!	put him to sleep!
shaderre!	send it!
zabenle ~ zabenne!	sell it!

The same -r and -n melting from Past tense applies: shader + le → shaderre. And on a plural command the -l is swallowed by the -un: ktulun + le → ktulunne "kill him (you all)!"

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