In Chapter 8, we noted that there were two main types of verbs,
Descriptive Verbs and Active Verbs.  In this chapter, we'll be looking
at the Active Verbs.  Recall that unlike Descriptive Verbs which occur
with only one Aspect Suffix, Active Verbs occur with three different
Aspect Suffixes.  We already know one of these three, the Stative Aspect
Suffix.  The other two are the Punctual Aspect Suffix, and the Habitual
Aspect Suffix.

Active Verbs also differ from Descriptive Verbs in that they typically
refer to actions and events, rather than to conditions and states-of-
affairs.  As such, they express many of the same meanings that verbs do
in English.  The role of the three Aspect Suffixes is to provide three
different viewpoints on the action or event that the Verb Base refers to.

The Punctual Aspect Suffix is used when the action is being described as
a single unitary event.  The Habitual Aspect Suffix is used when the
action is being described as an event that occurs on a regular basis, or
that is currently on-going.  The Stative Aspect Suffix can be used to
describe an action which is finished, but the effects of which are still
on-going, or, like the Habitual, to refer to an action which is itself
still on-going.

The exact meanings and uses of the different Aspect Suffixes are
difficult to pin down, and a lot depends both on the inherent meaning of
the Verb Base to which they are attached, as well as on the context in
which it is used.  With practice, however, it is possible to learn how
the system works, and to use it to describe a full range of situations.
 

9.1. Base Suffixes

Each of the three Aspect Suffixes occurs in a number of different forms.
Part of what is required when learning a new Active Verb is learning
which forms of the three Aspect Suffixes it takes.  We call this the
Verb's Conjugation.  For some Active Verbs, this must simply be
memorized.  However, for many, if not most Active Verbs, it is possible
to know what forms of the Aspect Suffixes they will take simply by
looking at the end of the Verb Base.

The reason for this is that many (though not all) Active Verb Bases are
actually composed of several smaller parts.  Many Active Verb Bases
contain one or more Base Suffixes, which serve to modify and extend the
core meaning of the Verb Base.  Each of these Base Suffixes takes
particular forms of the three Aspect Suffixes  --  thus, if you can
learn to recognize the Base Suffixes, you can tell how the Verb Base as
a whole will be conjugated.

Below, we will look at seven of the most common Base Suffixes, and see
how they combine with the three Aspect Suffixes.  For now, we won't
worry too much about what these Base Suffixes mean and how they're used;
we just want to learn to recognize them and see how they affect the
conjugation of the Verb Base.
 

9.2. Stem Endings

At this point, it will be useful to introduce the notion of a Verb Stem.
We can define the Verb Stem as the Verb Base plus the Aspect Suffix.
This is a handy concept to have, since it is often hard to find exactly
where the boundary is between the Verb Base and the Aspect Suffix, as
they tend to fuse together in many of the forms.  Thus, we can say that
Active Verbs have three different Stem Forms: a Punctual Stem, a
Habitual Stem and a Stative Stem.

Now that we have the concept of a Verb Stem, we turn to the Base Suffixes.
 

9.2.1. Base Suffix -ht-

Perhaps the most common of the various Base Suffixes is the suffix -ht-.
Since it is so common, it is difficult to pin down a simple meaning for
this suffix.  In any case, Verb Bases that end with the suffix -ht- have
the following characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -ht-

   Punctual Aspect   -t
   Habitual Aspect   -tha'
   Stative Aspect    -htö

As the table shows, the -h- disappears in both the Punctual and Habitual
Stem Endings, and only actually appears in the Stative.

For example, the Active Verb Base -kwaht- "shorten something", has the
following three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -kwat
   Habitual Stem   -kwatha'
   Stative Stem    -kwahtö
 

9.2.2. Base Suffix -st-

Another very common, though likewise difficult to define, Base Suffix is
-st-.  It has the following characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -st-

   Punctual Aspect   -s
   Habitual Aspect   -stha'
   Stative Aspect    -stö

Note that the -t- drops out in the Punctual.

For example, the Active Verb Base -ateyëst- "read, attend school", has
the following three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -atéyës
   Habitual Stem   -ateyëstha'
   Stative Stem    -ateyëstö

Note how the -e- becomes long when it's in the next-to-last syllable.
 

9.2.3. Base Suffix -'t-

The Base Suffix -'t- is somewhat less common that the first two, but
still occurs with a large number of Verb Bases.  It has the following
characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -'t-

   Punctual Aspect   -'t
   Habitual Aspect   -'tha'
   Stative Aspect    -'tö

For example, the Active Verb Base -nyaa't- "boil something", has the
following three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -nyaa't
   Habitual Stem   -nyaa'tha'
   Stative Stem    -nyaa'tö
 

9.2.4. Base Suffix -hkw-

The Base Suffix -hkw- is also quite common, occurring on the end of many
Verb Bases.  It has the following characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -hkw-

   Punctual Aspect   -k
   Habitual Aspect   -hkwa'
   Stative Aspect    -hkö

In the Punctual, both the -h- and the -w- are lost.  In the Stative,
just the -w- is lost.

For example, the Active Verb Base -atkötahkw- "go somewhere", has the
following three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -atkôtak
   Habitual Stem   -atkötahkwa'
   Stative Stem    -atkötahkö

Note how the -ö- becomes long when it's in the next-to-last syllable.
 

9.2.5. Inchoative Base Suffix

The Inchoative Base Suffix occurs with a wide range of Verb Bases.  It
typically adds the meaning of "become".  This suffix occurs in a number
of different forms, but it always ends in -'-.  It has the following
characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -'-

   Punctual Aspect   -'t
   Habitual Aspect   -'s
   Stative Aspect    -'ö

For example, the Active Verb Base -nyusyuta'- "sit down" (i.e. "become
seated"), has the following three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -nyusyúta't
   Habitual Stem   -nyusyúta's
   Stative Stem    -nyusyuta'ö

Note how the -u- becomes long when it is in the next-to-last syllable.
 

9.2.6. Base Suffix -kw-

The Base Suffix -kw- typically serves to reverse the action described by
the Verb Base.  It is similar to the English prefix un- in verbs like
'unzip', 'unfold' and 'untie'.  It has the following characteristic Stem
Endings.

   Base Suffix -kw-

   Punctual Aspect   -ku'
   Habitual Aspect   -kwas
   Stative Aspect    -kwë

Note that the -w- drops out in the Punctual.  Note also this Base Suffix
-kw- has quite different Stem Endings from the Base Suffix -hkw-
discussed above, so it is important not to confuse the two.

For example, the Active Verb Base -nya'kw- "vomit", has the following
three Stem Forms.

   Punctual Stem   -nya'ku'
   Habitual Stem   -nya'kwas
   Stative Stem    -nya'kwë
 

9.2.7. Distributive Base Suffix

The last Base Suffix we'll look at is the Distributive Base Suffix.  The
Distributive adds the meaning that the action was done at several
different times, or in several different places, or done to several
different people or things.  The Distributive Base Suffix itself has a
large number of different forms, but all the forms of the suffix end in
-ö-.  They have the following characteristic Stem Endings.

   Base Suffix -ö-

   Punctual Aspect   -ô'
   Habitual Aspect   -ö
   Stative Aspect    -ö'

For example, the Active Verb Base -hsa'kwathwahsö- "fold or bend several
things, fold or bend something in several places", has the following
three Stem Forms.  (Here, the full Distributive Suffix is actually
-hsö-).

   Punctual Stem   -hsa'kwathwahsô'
   Habitual Stem   -hsa'kwathwahsö
   Stative Stem    -hsa'kwathwahsö'