CHAPTER X—PARADIGM OF A REGULAR VERB

The following is a complete paradigm of a regular verb, showing the various forms. Most tenses have at least two forms, the simple verb, whether in the inflected or impersonal conjugation, and the compound, or verb with auxiliaries. In late Cornish the compound is by far the more usual in almost every tense. The general principal on which the different forms are used is:—

_Affirmative Sentences_. Simple Impersonal or Auxiliary Impersonal, generally the latter.

_Negative_, _Interrogative_, _or Dependent Sentences_. Inflected Simple or Inflected Auxiliary, generally the latter, but the Simple Inflected is more common in these than the Simple Impersonal is in affirmative sentences.

ROOT. _Car_, love.

VERBAL NOUN OR INFINITIVE. _Cara_, the act of loving, to love.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE. _Ow cara_, loving.

Past or Passive Participle. _Keres_, loved.

I. PRESENT, originally used also as future.

(a). Inflected form.

Singular. Plural.

1. _carav_ (_vî_), {135} I love. 1. _caron_ (_nŷ_), older _keryn_, we love.

2. _keres_, or _kereth_ (_dî_), 2. _carough_ (_whŷ_), you love. thou lovest.

3. _car_ (_ev_), he loves. 3. _carons_ (_ŷ_), or _carans_, they love.

As this form, except occasionally in verse, is only used in negative, interrogative, or dependent sentences, the initial is generally changed to the second state by some preceding particle, such as _a_, _ni_, _pan_, etc.

(b). Impersonal form.

_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _nŷ_, _whŷ_, _ŷ_ (late form often _anjŷ_ or _jŷ_) _a gar_.

(c). Inflected Auxiliary.

_Gwrav vî cara_.

For the rest of the tense see the present of _gwîl_, to do.

(d). Impersonal Auxiliary.

_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _nŷ_, _whŷ_, _ŷ_ (or _anjŷ_ or _jŷ_) _a wra cara_.

The forms _wrama_, _wresta_ are generally used for the inflected auxiliary first and second persons singular in interrogative and dependent sentences, _a wrama cara_, do I love? _pan wresta cara_, when thou dost love. The particle _a_ of the impersonal form is not infrequently omitted, especially when the pronouns ending in vowels immediately precede it. {136}

I.A. THE CONTINUOUS OR HABITUAL PRESENT.

_Thov vi ow cara_, I am loving.

The rest as in the present tense of _bos_, to be, followed by the present participle. The negative form of this is:—

_Nynsoma_ or _nynsov ow cara_, etc.

I.B. THE PASSIVE PRESENT.

_Dhov vî keres_, I am loved.

The rest as the present of _bos_, followed by the past participle.

Or the older passive:—

_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _nŷ_, _whŷ_, _ŷ_ (or _anjŷ_ or _jŷ_) _a gerer_.

Or the auxiliary form of the older passive:—

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a wrer cara_.

In this case _wrer_ is for _gwrer_, the passive of _gwîl_, to do.

II. THE IMPERFECT, used also more or less as a Subjunctive.

(a). Inflected form.

Singular. Plural.

1. _caren_, I was loving. 1. _caren_, we were loving.

2. _cares_, thou wert loving. 2. _careugh_, you were loving.

3. _cara_, he was loving. 3. _carens_, they were loving.

(b). Impersonal form.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a gara_.

(c). Auxiliary form.

_Therav vî ow cara_.

The rest as the imperfect of _bos_, to be, with the present participle.

The negative form of this tense is either:—

_nî garen_, etc., or

_nynseram ow cara_, etc.

The interrogative is either:—

_a garen_? etc., or

_’erama_, etc., _ow cara_?

III. THE PRETERITE OR PAST TENSE.

(a). Inflected.

Singular. Plural.

1. _kerŷs_, I loved. 1. _carson_, or _kersen_, we loved.

2. _kerses_, thou lovedst. 2. _carsough_, you loved.

3. _caras_, he loved. 3. _carsons_, or _carsans_, they loved.

(b). Impersonal.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a garas_.

(c). Inflected auxiliary.

_Gwrîgav vî cara_.

The rest as the past tense of _gwîl_, to do, followed by the infinitive.

(d). Impersonal auxiliary.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a wrîg cara_.

Sometimes _re_ is prefixed to this tense, as:—

_mî re garas_, _mî re wrîg cara_.

This turns it into a preterperfect, “I have loved,” but in late Cornish there is usually no distinction between preterite and perfect, except that the latter is seldom expressed by anything except the auxiliary form, while either may be used for the former.

The passive of this tense is either:—

_mî_, _tî_, etc., _a gares_, or

_mî_, _tî_, etc., _a vê keres_.

The latter is the more usual.

IV. THE PLUPERFECT, SECONDARY PERFECT, OR CONDITIONAL.

(a). Inflected.

Singular. Plural.

1. _carsen_, I had loved, or I 1. _carsen_, we had loved. would love.

2. _carses_, thou hadst loved. 2. _carseugh_, you had loved.

3. _carsa_, he had loved. 3. _carsens_, they had loved.

Pronounced and sometimes written _carjen_ (or _cargen_ with soft _g_ in MSS.), etc.

(b). Impersonal.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a garsa_.

(c). Inflected auxiliary.

_Gwressen cara_, etc., or _menjam cara_, etc.

The rest as the pluperfect of _gwîl_, or of _menny_, to will, with the infinitive.

(d). Impersonal auxiliary.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a wressa cara_, or _a venja cara_.

The passive of this tense is formed by the pluperfect of _bos_, to be, followed by the past participle.

V. THE SUBJUNCTIVE.

(a). Inflected.

Singular. Plural.

1. _kerev_, or _carev_, I may 1. _keren_, or _caren_, we may love. love.

2. _kery_, or _cary_, thou 2. _kereugh_, or _careugh_, you may mayest love. love.

3. _caro_, he may love. 3. _carens_, or _carons_, they may love.

(b). Impersonal form.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a garo_.

(c). Inflected auxiliary.

_Gwrellev vî_ (or _gwrellen_) _cara_.

And the rest as the subjunctive or imperfect of _gwîl_ with the infinitive.

(d). Impersonal auxiliary.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a wrello_ (or _wreffa_) _cara_.

The passive of this tense is formed by the present tense of _gally_, to be able, followed by the infinitive _bos_, to be, and the past participle of the main verb:—

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a el bos keres_, I, thou, etc., may be loved.

This tense is not necessarily used after conjunctions which in other languages (Latin, for example) govern a subjunctive, but rather when uncertainty, expectation, or contingency is signified, in fact, when in English one would use _may_ as an auxiliary. There is a good deal of confusion between this tense and the imperfect.

_Re_ prefixed to the inflected or inflected auxiliary form of this tense makes it an optative:—

_Re wrellen cara_, would that I might love, etc.

VI. THE FUTURE.

In older Cornish the present, whether in its inflected, impersonal, or auxiliary form, was commonly used to express a future, and sometimes the subjunctive was used as a future. Some verbs have an extra tense which is a specially inflected future, resembling one form of the Breton conditional, as follows:—

Singular. Plural.

1. _carvym_, _carvyv_. 1. _carvon_.

2. _carvyth_. 2. _carvough_.

3. _carvyth_, _carvo_. 3. _carvons_.

This is more commonly found in the impersonal form, _mî_, _tî_, etc., _a garvyth_. It is formed, as may be clearly seen, by suffixing the future or subjunctive of _bos_, to be (perhaps in its sense of “to have” {140}), to the root of the verb. (Cf. the suffixing of the present of _avoir_ to an infinitive to form a future in French, _je parler-ai_, and its unamalgamated prototype, the future form, _resurgere habent_, in the very low Latin of the antepenultimate verse of the Athanasian Creed.) But in late Cornish the regular future was formed by the auxiliary verb _menny_, to will:—

_Mednav vî cara_, etc.

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a vedn cara_, etc.

The forms _mednama_, _menta_, usually in the second state of the initial, are used for interrogative and dependent sentences:—

_A vednama cara_? shall I love?

_Mar menta cara_, if thou wilt love.

The negative is either _nî vednav vî cara _or _mî ni vednav cara_.

The latter form, with the _v_ of the termination omitted as being nearly inaudible, is used in Carew’s phrase, _meea navidua cowzasawzneck_, I will speak no English, for _mî na vednav cowsa Sowsnak_.

The passive is formed by the present of _menny_, the infinitive of _bos_, and the past participle:—

_Mî_, _tî_, etc., _a vedn bos keres_.

VII. THE IMPERATIVE.

(a). Inflected.

Singular. Plural.

1. wanting. 1. _caren_, let us love.

2. _car_, love thou. 2. _careugh_, love ye.

3. _cares_ (or _carens_), let him 3. _carens_, let them love. love.

(b). The auxiliary.

Singular. Plural.

1. wanting. 1. _gwren cara_.

2. _gwra cara_. 2. _gwreugh cara_.

3. _gwrens cara_ or _gwrens e cara_. 3. _gwrens ŷ cara_.