4B.0 The map — one verb, several jobs each
4B · Verbs in use — which form when · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
The forms you already know do more than their names suggest. Here is the whole chapter in one table.
| form | the job you'd expect | the jobs you wouldn't | in |
|---|---|---|---|
| patekh | he opens | let me / should I? — wishes and deliberating | Bare patekh |
| ki-patekh | he opens (habitually) | "I want", "I can" — right now, for a few verbs | ki-patekh |
| bet-patekh | he will open | I intend to; let's; a soft command; a blessing | bet-patekh |
| ptekhle | he opened | English's "he has opened"; and I'm off — the immediate future | ptekhle |
| beptakhele | he is opening | the whole of storytelling; "I beg you"; about to | beptakhele |
| ptikhele | he has opened | what you did not see yourself — the hearsay form | ptikhele |
| payesh + participle | — | the passive: "it was painted" | The passive |
| infinitive / verbal noun | to open / an opening | "without opening", "for sleeping", "nothing to eat" | "Without ___ing" |
Each row below gets its own section, in that order. If you read nothing else, read the two that will change how you hear people: ptekhle, the past that reaches into the present, and ptikhele, the form for what you did not see yourself. The chapter closes with a one-page cheat sheet.
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