7.3 - Strong verbs
Classes 1 to 4 of strong verbs employ ablaut. They all feature disyllabic stems with rising tone scheme. In the past stem (which is assumed as the basic form), the stress falls on the first syllable; the seat of the stress is subject to change in class 2 and 3 stems.
This table shows how ablaut and stress shift work:
| Past | Non-past | Virtual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | áá--aa íí--aa |
áá--a íí--a |
áá--u íí--u |
| Class 2 | úú--i í--i |
úú--a í--a |
uu--úú i--úú |
| Class 3 | íí--i | ii--íí | ii-úú |
| Class 4 | ú-* | í-* | úú-* |
In class 4 stems, the second vowel is any lax vowel, and stay unchanged throughout the paradigm.
Example: a past stem like *mááddaam- (class 1) yields: (non-past) *mááddam-; (virtual) *mááddum-. A past stem like *míddim- (class 2) yields: (non-past) *míddam-; (virtual) *middúúm-.
class 5 and 6 include monosyllabic roots which are reduplicated to form the past stem. In both cases, the non-past stem is given by the simple root and the virtual stem is formed by appending a copy of the stem vowel after the stem itself.
The classes are distinct because reduplication is done differently. In class 5, the leading consonant and the stem vowel are prefixed, then the stem vowel is deleted. The resulting cluster is always devoiced. In class 6, the leading consonant and the lax omologue of the stem vowel are prefixed, and the stem vowel is not deleted. Example: Class 5: (past) báápt-, (non-past) báát-, (virtual) báátaa-; Class 6: (past) titíír-, (non-past) tíír-, (virtual) tíírii-.
Also note the position of stress.
The virtual forms of class 5 and 6 verbs take the weak suffixes instead of the strong ones. Class 6 also includes vowel final stems which insert an n in the virtual stem and take the weak suffixes throughout their paradigm. Example: Class 6 vocalic: dadáá-, dáá-, dáánaa-.
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