Present tense:
To indicate the present tense of a verb in Sairupanese, we add
[-mã-] after the first syllable in the verb. This is called an infix since it goes within the original word. (Go back to "How to Separate Words into Syllables" if you forget!)
For example: [ɟʎi.bua] ‘to smoke’ becomes [ɟʎi.mã.bua] ‘smoke (present tense)' (Dots indicate syllable boundaries). Therefore, if you wanted to say "I am smoking" which is in the present tense, you would say "Miŋ ɟʎimãbua". ([Miŋ] is the word for "I)
Past Tense:
To indicate past tense, the infix [-ɟœ-] is added after the first syllable of a verb.
For example, adding [-ɟœ-] to [ɟʎi.bu.a] ‘to smoke’ makes [ɟʎi.ɟœ.bu.a] ‘smoked (past)’. You can use this version if you wanted to say "I smoked", it would be "Miŋ ɟʎiɟœbua".
Future Tense
To indicate future tense, the first syllable of a verb is repeated.
For example, the [cɑs] in [cɑs.pɾəp] ‘to eat’ should be repeated to make [cɑs.cas.pɾəp] ‘will eat’.
Practice
Write these verbs in present, past, and future tense. Check your answers below!
[ŋõˈRʎi] 'to walk'
[θcεp] 'to sit'
[ɦiˈcɑp] 'to come'
[θasˈtRĩm] 'to sleep'
Answers
1) Present - [ŋõmãRʎi], Past - [ŋõɟœRʎi], and Future - [ŋõŋõRʎi]
2) Present - [θcεpmã], Past - [θcεpɟœ], and Future - [θcεpθcεp]
3) Present - [ɦimãcɑp], Past - [ɦiɟœcɑp], and Future - [ɦiɦicɑp]
4) Present - [θasmãtRĩm], Past - [θasɟœtRĩm], and Future - [θasθastRĩm]
Comments