Pure verbs

Last updated

Pure verbs, or vocalic verbs, are those verbs of the Greek language that have their word stem ending in a vowel (monophthong of diphthong).

Contents

Origins

The Greek pure verbs can be assigned to several derivational types in the preceding Proto-Indo-European language:

Most of the verbs in -αω are derived from nominal ā-stems by forming the present tense with the suffix -i̯e-/-i̯o-: νικάω < *νῑκᾱ-i̯o- ‘to win, prevail’, from νίκα ‘victory’; τιμάω < *τῑμᾱ-i̯o- ‘to honor, revere’, from τιμά ‘honor’. A few verbs of this class underived verbs, e. g. δράω ‘to do’, σπάω ‘to draw, pull’.

Verbs in -εω are derived from a range of nominal stems: φιλέω < *φιλε-i̯o- ‘to love’, from φίλος ‘dear, beloved’; τελέω < *τελεσ-i̯o- ‘to finish’, from τέλος ‘target, destination’; φωνέω < *φωνε-i̯o- ‘to make a sound’, from φονή ‘sound’; μαρτυρέω < *μαρτυρε-i̯o- ‘to testify’, from μάρτυς ‘witness’. Examples for underived verbs in this class are: ῥέω < *ῥεϝω ‘to flow’, ζέω < *ζεσω ‘to boil’.

The verbs in -οω are mainly factitives derived from nominal o-stems: δηλόω ‘to clarify, reveal’, from δῆλος ‘clear, obvious’, δουλόω ‘to enslave, conquer’, from δοῦλος ‘servant, slave’.

The verbs in -ιω are derived from nominal i-stems: μηνίω ‘to be angry’, from μῆνις ‘anger, wrath’.

Among the verbs in -υω, there are underived ones, e. g. φύω ‘to produce, issue’, as well as some denominal verbs derived from u-stems, e. g. μεθύω ‘to be drunk’, from μέθυ ‘wine’.

The verbs in -ευω are derived from nominal consonant stems: παιδεύω ‘to educate’, from παῖς ‘child’, δουλεύω ‘to serve, to be a slave’, from δοῦλος ‘servant, slave’.

The verbs in -αιω are derived with the -i̯e-/-i̯o-suffix from roots ending in u̯: καίω < *καϝ-i̯o- ‘to burn’; κλαίω < *κλαϝ-i̯o- ‘to weep, wail’.

Conjugation

The following tables show the conjugated forms of the pure verb λῡ́ειν ‘to solve; to free; to destroy’ in classical Attic Greek.

Present Indicative Subjunctive Optative Imperative Imperfect (Ind.)
1. sg. act. λῡ́ωλῡ́ωλῡ́οιμιἔλῡον
2. sg. act.λῡ́ειςλῡ́ηιςλῡ́οιςλῡ́εἔλῡες
3. sg. act.λῡ́ειλῡ́ηιλῡ́οιλῡέτωἔλῡε(ν)
1. pl. act.λῡ́ομενλῡ́ωμενλῡ́οιμενἐλῡ́ομεν
2. pl. act.λῡ́ετελῡ́ητελῡ́οιτελῡ́ετεέλῡ́ετε
3. pl. act.λῡ́ουσι(ν)λῡ́ωσι(ν)λῡ́οιενλῡόντωνἔλῡον
2. du. act.λῡ́ετονλῡ́ητονλῡ́οιτονλῡ́ετονἐλῡ́ετον
3. du. act.λῡ́ετονλῡ́ητονλῡοίτηνλῡέτωνἐλῡέτην
1. sg. mp. λῡ́ομαιλῡ́ωμαιλῡοίμηνἐλῡόμην
2. sg. mp.λῡ́ηι [A 1] λῡ́ηιλῡ́οιολῡ́ουἐλῡ́ου
3. sg. mp.λῡ́εταιλῡ́ηταιλῡ́οιτολῡέσθωἐλῡ́ετο
1. pl. mp.λῡόμεθαλῡώμεθαλῡοίμεθαἐλῡόμεθα
2. pl. mp.λῡ́εσθελῡ́ησθελῡ́οισθελῡ́εσθεέλῡ́εσθε
3. pl. mp.λῡ́ονταιλῡ́ωνταιλῡ́οιντολῡέσθων [A 2] ἐλῡόμεθον
1. du. mp.λῡόμεθονλῡώμεθονλῡοίμεθονἐλῡόμεθον
2. du. mp.λῡ́εσθονλῡ́ησθονλῡ́οισθονλῡ́εσθονἐλῡ́εσθον
3. du. mp.λῡ́εσθονλῡ́ησθονλῡοίσθηνλῡέσθωνἐλῡέσθην
  1. Byform: λῡ́ει.
  2. Postclassic byform: λῡέσθωσαν.
Aorist IndicativeSubjunctiveOptativeImperativeInd. Fut. Opt. Fut.
1. sg. act.ἔλῡσαλῡ́σωλῡ́σαιμιλῡ́σωλῡ́σοιμι
2. sg. act.ἔλῡσαςλῡ́σηιςλῡ́σειας [A 1] λῡ́σονλῡ́σειςλῡ́σοις
3. sg. act.ἔλῡσε(ν)λῡ́σηιλῡ́σειε(ν) [A 2] λῡσάτωλῡ́σειλῡ́σοι
1. pl. act.ἐλῡ́σαμενλῡ́σωμενλῡ́σαιμενλῡ́σομενλῡ́σοιμεν
2. pl. act.ἐλῡ́σατελῡ́σητελῡ́σαιτελῡ́σατελῡ́σετελῡ́σοιτε
3. pl. act.ἔλῡσανλῡ́σωσι(ν)λῡ́σειαν [A 3] λῡσάντων [A 4] λῡ́σουσι(ν)λῡ́σοιεν
2. du. act.ἐλῡ́σατονλῡ́σητονλῡ́σαιτονλῡ́σατονλῡ́σετονλῡ́σοιτον
3. du. act.ἐλῡσάτηνλῡ́σητονλῡσαίτηνλῡσάτωνλῡ́σετονλῡσοίτην
1. sg. med. ἐλῡσάμηνλῡ́σωμαιλῡσαίμηνλῡ́σομαιλῡσοίμην
2. sg. med.ἔλῡσωλῡ́σηιλῡ́σαιολῡ́σαιλῡ́σηιλῡ́σοιο
3. sg. med.λῡ́σατολῡ́σηταιλῡ́σαιτολῡσάσθωλῡ́σεταιλῡ́σοιτο
1. pl. med.ἐλῡσάμεθαλῡσώμεθαλῡσαίμεθαλῡσόμεθαλῡσοίμεθα
2. pl. med.ἐλῡ́σασθελῡ́σησθελῡ́σαισθελῡ́σασθελῡ́σεσθελῡ́σοισθε
3. pl. med.ἐλῡ́σαντολῡ́σωνταιλῡ́σαιντολῡσάσθων [A 5] λῡ́σονταιλῡ́σοιντο
1. du. med.ἐλῡσάμεθονλῡσώμεθονλῡσαίμεθονλῡσόμεθονλῡσοίμεθον
2. du. med.ἐλῡ́σαθονλῡ́σησθονλῡ́σαισθονλῡ́σασθονλῡ́σεσθονλῡ́σοισθον
3. du. med.ἐλῡσάσθηνλῡ́σησθονλῡσαίσθηνλῡσάσθωνλῡ́σεσθονλῡσοίσθην
1. sg. pass. ελύθηνλυθῶλυθείηνλυθήσομαιλυθησοίμην
2. sg. pass.ἐλύθηςλυθῆιςλυθείηςλύθητιλυθήσηιλυθήσοιο
3. sg. pass.ἐλύθηλυθῆιλυθείηλυθήτωλυθήσεταιλυθήσοιτο
1. pl. pass.ἐλύθημενλυθῶμενλυθεῖμεν [A 6] λυθησόμεθαλυθησοίμεθα
2. pl. pass.ἐλύθητελυθῆτελυθεῖτε [A 7] λύθητελυθήσεσθελυθήσοισθε
3. pl. pass.ἐλύθησανλυθῶσι(ν)λυθεῖεν [A 8] λυθέντων [A 9] λυθήσονταιλυθήσοιντο
1. du. pass.λυθησόμεθονλυθησοίμεθον
2. du. pass.ἐλύθητονλυθῆτονλυθεῖτον [A 10] λύθητονλυθήσεσθονλυθήσοισθον
3. du. pass.ἐλυθήτηνλυθῆτονλυθείτην [A 11] λυθήτωνλυθήσεσθονλυθησοίσθην
  1. Byform: λῡ́σαις.
  2. Byform: λῡ́σαι.
  3. Byform: λῡ́σαιεν.
  4. Postclassic byform: λῡσάτωσαν.
  5. Postclassic byform: λῡσάσθωσαν.
  6. Byform: λυθείημεν.
  7. Byform: λυθείητε.
  8. Byform: λυθείησαν.
  9. Postclassic byform: λυθήτωσαν.
  10. Byform: λυθείητον.
  11. Byform: λυθειήτην.
Perfect IndicativeSubjunctiveOptativeImperative Plusquamperfect (Ind.)Ind. Fut. exact. Opt. Fut. exact.
1. sg. act.λέλυκα(λελύκω) [A 1] (λελύκοιμι) [A 2] ἐλελύκειν [A 3]
2. sg. act.λέλυκας(λελύκηις)(λελύκοις)(λέλυκε)ἐλελύκεις [A 4]
3. sg. act.λέλυκε(ν)(λελύκηι)(λελύκοι)(λελυκέτω)ἐλελύκει(ν)
1. pl. act.λελύκαμεν(λελύκωμεν)(λελύκοιμεν)ἐλελύκεμεν [A 5]
2. pl. act.λελύκατε(λελύκητε)(λελύκοιτε)(λελύκετε)ἐλελύκετε [A 6]
3. pl. act.λελύκασι(ν)(λελύκωσι)(λελύκοιεν)(λελυκέτωσαν)ἐλελύκεσαν [A 7]
2. du. act.λελύκατον(λελύκητον)(λελύκοιτον)(λελύκετον)ἐλελύκετον
3. du. act.λελύκατον(λελύκητον)(λελυκοίτην)(λελυκέτων)ἐλελυκέτην
1. sg. mp.λέλυμαιλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α ὦλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α εἴηνἐλελύμηνλελύσομαιλελυσοίμην
2. sg. mp.λέλυσαιλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α ἦιςλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α εἴης(λέλυσο)ἐλέλυσολελύσηιλελύσοιο
3. sg. mp.λέλυταιλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α ἦιλελυμένος/-η/-ον/-α εἴηλελύσθωἐλέλυτολελύσεταιλελύσοιτο
1. pl. mp.λελύμεθαλελυμένοι/-αι ὦμενλελυμένοι/-αι εἶμενἐλελύμεθαλελυσόμεθαλελυσοίμεθα
2. pl. mp.λέλυσθελελυμένοι/-αι ἦτελελυμένοι/-αι εἶτε(λέλυσθε)έλέλυσθελελύσεσθελελύσοισθε
3. pl. mp.λέλυνταιλελυμένοι/-αι ὦσι(ν)λελυμένοι/-αι εἶεν(λελύσθωσαν)ἐλέλυντολελύσονταιλελύσοιντο
1. du. mp.λελύμεθονλελυμένω ὦμενλελυμένω εἶμενἐλελύμεθονλελυσόμεθονλελυσοίμεθον
2. du. mp.λέλύσθονλελυμένω ἦτονλελυμένω εἶτον(λέλυσθον)ἐλέλυσθονλελύσεσθονλελύσοισθον
3. du. mp.λέλύσθονλελυμένω ἦτονλελυμένω εἶτον(λελύσθων)ἐλελύσθηνλελύσεσθονλελυσοίσθην
  1. The subjunctive forms of the mediopassive are consistently formed by the auxiliary verb εἰμί and the perfect passive participle, those of the active voice usually with εἰμί and the perfect active participle: λελυκὼς/-κυῖα/-κὸς/-κότα ὦ, ἦις, ἦ, λελυκότες/-κυίας ὦμεν, ἦτε, ὦσι(ν).
  2. The optative forms of the mediopassive are consistently formed by the auxiliary verb εἰμί and the perfect passive participle, those of the active voice usually with εἰμί and the perfect active participle: λελυκὼς/-κυῖα/-κὸς/-κότα εἴην, εἴἦς, εἴη, λελυκότες/-κυίας εἶμεν, εἶτε, εἶεν.
  3. Older form: ἐλελύκη.
  4. Older form: ἐλελύκης.
  5. Postclassic form: ἐλελύκειμεν.
  6. Postclassic form: ἐλελύκειτε.
  7. Postclassic form: ἐλελύκεισαν.

Contract verbs

In the present and imperfect tenses, the sounds represented by α and ο, in Attic Greek also ε, are usually merged with the following thematic vowel: τιμάω > τιμῶ ‘I revere’, καλέω > καλῶ ‘I call’. In the Aeolic and Arcadocypriot dialects these verbs join the athematic class: κάλημμι ‘I call’.

Pres. Ind. Act.Early Ionic Greek [A 1] Attic Greek Doric Greek Lesbian Greek Imperfect Act.
Infinitiveνῑκάειννῑκᾶννῑκῆν νῑ́κᾱνAttic
1. sg.νῑκάωνῑκῶνῑκῶνῑ́καιμι*ἐνῑ́καον > ἐνῑ́κων
2. sg.νῑκάειςνῑκᾶιςνῑκῆιςνῑ́καις*ἐνῑ́καες > ἐνῑ́κᾱς
3. sg.νῑκάεινῑκᾶινῑκῆινῑ́και*ἐνῑ́καε > ἐνῑ́κᾱ
1. pl.νῑκάομεννῑκῶμεννῑκᾶμες [A 2] νῑ́κᾱμεν*ἐνῑκάομεν > ἐνῑκῶμεν
2. pl.νῑκάετενῑκᾶτενῑκῆτενῑ́κᾱτε*ἐνῑκάετε > ἐνῑκᾶτε
3. pl.νῑκάουσινῑκῶσι(ν)νῑκᾶντι [A 3] νῑ́καισι*ἐνῑ́καον > ἐνῑ́κων
  1. Even in early Ionic the contracted forms are actually more common than the uncontracted ones.
  2. Byform: νῑκῶμες.
  3. Byform: νῑκῶντι.
Pres. Ind. Act.Early Ionic Greek [A 1] Attic Greek Doric Greek Lesbian Greek Imperfect Act.
Infinitivφιλέεινφιλεῖνφιλῆν [A 2] φίληνAttic
1. sg.φιλέωφιλῶφιλίω [A 3] φίλημι*ἐφίλεον > ἐφίλουν
2. sg.φιλέειςφιλεῖςφιλῆς [A 4] φίλης [A 5] *ἐφιλεες > ἐφίλεις
3. sg.φιλέειφιλεῖφιλεῖφίλη*ἐφίλεε > ἐφίλει
1. pl.φιλέομενφιλοῦμενφιλίομες [A 6] φίλημεν*ἐφιλέομεν > ἐφιλοῦμεν
2. pl.φιλέετεφιλεῖτεφιλῆτε [A 7] φίλητε*ἐφιλέετε > ἐφιλεῖτε
3. pl.φιλέουσιφιλοῦσι(ν)φιλίοντι [A 8] φίλεισι*ἐφίλεον > ἐφίλουν
  1. Even in early Ionic the contracted forms are actually more common than the uncontracted ones.
  2. Byforms: φιλεῖν, φιλέν.
  3. Byforms: φιλῶ, φιλέω.
  4. Byforms: φιλεῖς, φιλέης, φιλές.
  5. Byform: φιλησθα.
  6. Byforms: φιλίωμες, φιλῶμες, φιλοῦμες, φιλέομες.
  7. Byform: φιλεῖτε.
  8. Byforms: φιλόντι, φιλοῦντι, φιλεῦντι, φιλέοντι.
Pres. Ind. Act.Early Ionic Greek [A 1] Attic Greek Doric Greek Lesbian Greek Imperfect Act.
InfinitivδηλόεινδηλοῦνδηλῶνδήλωνAttic
1. sg.δηλόωδηλῶδηλῶδήλωμι*ἐδήλοον > ἐδήλουν
2. sg.δηλόειςδηλοῖςδηλωῖςδήλως*ἐδήλοες > ἐδήλους
3. sg.δηλόειδηλοῖδηλωῖδήλω*ἐδήλοε > ἐδήλου
1. pl.δηλόομενδηλοῦμενδηλῶμες [A 2] δήλωμεν*ἐδηλόομεν > ἐδηλοῦμεν
2. pl.δηλόετεδηλοῦτεδηλῶτε [A 3] δήλωτε*ἐδηλόετε > ἐδηλοῦτε
3. pl.δηλόουσιδηλοῦσι(ν)δηλῶντι [A 4] δήλοισι*ἐδήλοον > ἐδήλουν
  1. Even in early Ionic the contracted forms are actually more common than the uncontracted ones.
  2. Byform: δηλοῦμες.
  3. Byform: δηλοῦτε.
  4. Byform: δηλοῦντι, φιλέοντι.

Contract future tense forms

Some verbs in Attic Greek, among them all Verbs in -ίζω, have contracted future tense forms, that look the same as the present forms of verbs in -εω:

Ind. Fut.ἀγγέλλειν ‘to report’ἐλᾶν ‘to drive, chase’βιάζειν ‘to force, coerce’καλεῖν ‘to call’κτερίζειν ‘to bury’
1. sg. act.ἀγγελῶἐλῶβιῶκαλῶκτεριῶ
2. sg. act.ἀγγελεῖςἐλᾶιςβιᾶιςκαλεῖςκτεριεῖς
3. sg. act.ἀγγελεῖἐλᾶιβιᾶικαλεῖκτεριεῖ
1. pl. act.ἀγγελοῦμενἐλῶμενβιῶμενκαλοῦμενκτεριοῦμεν
2. pl. act.ἀγγελεῖτεἐλᾶτεβιᾶτεκαλεῖτεκτεριεῖτε
3. pl. act.ἀγγελοῦσι(ν)ἐλῶσι(ν)βιῶσι(ν)καλοῦσι(ν)κτεριοῦσι(ν)
2. du. act.ἀγγελεῖτονἐλᾶτονβιᾶτονκαλεῖτονκτεριεῖτον
3. du. act.ἀγγελεῖτονἐλᾶτονβιᾶτονκαλεῖτονκτεριεῖτον
1. sg. med.ἀγγελοῦμαιἐλῶμαιβιῶμαικαλοῦμαικτεριοῦμαι
2. sg. med.ἀγγελῆι [A 1] ἐλᾶιβιᾶικαλῆι [A 2] κτεριῆι [A 3]
3. sg. med.ἀγγελεῖταιἐλᾶταιβιᾶταικαλεῖταικτεριεῖται
1. pl. med.ἀγγελοῦμεθαἐλώμεθαβιώμεθακαλοῦμεθακτεριοῦμεθα
2. pl. med.ἀγγελεῖσθεἐλᾶσθεβιᾶσθεκαλεῖσθεκτεριεῖσθε
3. pl. med.ἀγγελοῦνταιἐλῶνταιβιῶνταικαλοῦνταικτεριοῦνται
1. du. med.ἀγγελοῦμεθονἐλώμεθονβιώμεθονκαλοῦμεθονκτεριοῦμεθον
2. du. med.ἀγγελεῖσθονἐλᾶσθονβιᾶσθονκαλεῖσθονκτεριεῖσθον
3. du. med.ἀγγελεῖσθονἐλᾶσθονβιᾶσθονκαλεῖσθονκτεριεῖσθον
  1. Byform: ἀγγελεῖ.
  2. Byform: καλεῖ.
  3. Byform: κτεριεῖ.

Literature

Related Research Articles

In linguistics and grammar, conjugation has two basic meanings. One meaning is the creation of derived forms of a verb from basic forms, or principal parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tocharian languages</span> Extinct Indo-European languages in Asia

The Tocharianlanguages, also known as Arśi-Kuči, Agnean-Kuchean or Kuchean-Agnean, are an extinct branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, the Tocharians. The languages are known from manuscripts dating from the 5th to the 8th century AD, which were found in oasis cities on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin and the Lop Desert. The discovery of these languages in the early 20th century contradicted the formerly prevalent idea of an east–west division of the Indo-European language family as centum and satem languages, and prompted reinvigorated study of the Indo-European family. Scholars studying these manuscripts in the early 20th century identified their authors with the Tokharoi, a name used in ancient sources for people of Bactria (Tokharistan). Although this identification is now believed to be mistaken, "Tocharian" remains the usual term for these languages.

The Finnish language is spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns elsewhere. Unlike the languages spoken in neighbouring countries, such as Swedish and Norwegian, which are North Germanic languages, or Russian, which is a Slavic language, Finnish is a Uralic language of the Finnic languages group. Typologically, Finnish is agglutinative. As in some other Uralic languages, Finnish has vowel harmony, and like other Finnic languages, it has consonant gradation.

Aorist verb forms usually express perfective aspect and refer to past events, similar to a preterite. Ancient Greek grammar had the aorist form, and the grammars of other Indo-European languages and languages influenced by the Indo-European grammatical tradition, such as Middle Persian, Sanskrit, Armenian, the South Slavic languages, Georgian, and Pashto also have forms referred to as aorist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengali grammar</span> Grammar of the Bengali language

Bengali grammar is the study of the morphology and syntax of Bengali, an Indo-European language spoken in the Indian subcontinent. Given that Bengali has two forms, চলিত ভাষা and সাধু ভাষা, it is important to note that the grammar discussed below applies fully only to the চলিত (cholito) form. Shadhu bhasha is generally considered outdated and no longer used either in writing or in normal conversation. Although Bengali is typically written in the Bengali script, a romanization scheme is also used here to suggest the pronunciation.

Proto-Indo-European verbs reflect a complex system of morphology, more complicated than the substantive, with verbs categorized according to their aspect, using multiple grammatical moods and voices, and being conjugated according to person, number and tense. In addition to finite forms thus formed, non-finite forms such as participles are also extensively used.

A feature common to all Indo-European languages is the presence of a verb corresponding to the English verb to be.

Quantitative metathesis is a specific form of metathesis or transposition involving quantity or vowel length. By this process, two vowels near each other – one long, one short – switch their lengths, so that the long one becomes short, and the short one becomes long.

Ancient Greek grammar is morphologically complex and preserves several features of Proto-Indo-European morphology. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, articles, numerals and especially verbs are all highly inflected.

The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before a time of reference in the future, such as will have finished in the English sentence "I will have finished by tomorrow." It is a grammatical combination of the future tense, or other marking of future time, and the perfect, a grammatical aspect that views an event as prior and completed.

The grammar of Modern Greek, as spoken in present-day Greece and Cyprus, is essentially that of Demotic Greek, but it has also assimilated certain elements of Katharevousa, the archaic, learned variety of Greek imitating Classical Greek forms, which used to be the official language of Greece through much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern Greek grammar has preserved many features of Ancient Greek, but has also undergone changes in a similar direction as many other modern Indo-European languages, from more synthetic to more analytic structures.

The grammar of Ukrainian describes its phonological, morphological, and syntactic rules. Ukrainian has seven cases and two numbers for its nominal declension and two aspects, three tenses, three moods, and two voices for its verbal conjugation. Adjectives agree in number, gender, and case with their nouns.

Romance verbs are the most inflected part of speech in the language family. In the transition from Latin to the Romance languages, verbs went through many phonological, syntactic, and semantic changes. Most of the distinctions present in classical Latin continued to be made, but synthetic forms were often replaced with more analytic ones. Other verb forms changed meaning, and new forms also appeared.

Verbs in Middle High German are divided into strong or weak verbs. Strong verbs indicate tense by a change in the quality of a vowel, while weak verbs indicate tense by the addition of an ending.

Ancient Greek verbs have four moods, three voices, as well as three persons and three numbers.

In the grammar of Ancient Greek, including Koine, the aorist is a class of verb forms that generally portray a situation as simple or undefined, that is, as having aorist aspect. In the grammatical terminology of classical Greek, it is a tense, one of the seven divisions of the conjugation of a verb, found in all moods and voices.

This article deals with the grammar of the Komi language of the northeastern European part of Russia

Historical linguistics has made tentative postulations about and multiple varyingly different reconstructions of Proto-Germanic grammar, as inherited from Proto-Indo-European grammar. All reconstructed forms are marked with an asterisk (*).

Arabic verbs, like the verbs in other Semitic languages, and the entire vocabulary in those languages, are based on a set of two to five consonants called a root. The root communicates the basic meaning of the verb, e.g. ك-ت-ب k-t-b 'write', ق-ر-ء q-r-ʾ 'read', ء-ك-ل ʾ-k-l 'eat'. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as person, gender, number, tense, mood, and voice.

The Ancient Greek infinitive is a non-finite verb form, sometimes called a verb mood, with no endings for person or number, but it is inflected for tense and voice.