Sindarin Verbs

Complete Sindarin verb system: primary and A-stem verb classes, aorist/present/past/future tenses, person suffixes, and worked conjugation tables.

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Sindarin's verb system is the second most challenging aspect of the grammar (after mutations). Much of it must be reconstructed from limited attested forms, and different scholars sometimes reach different conclusions. This page follows the most widely accepted Neo-Sindarin reconstruction.

Two Verb Classes

Class Also Called Description Examples
Primary verbs (I-class) Consonant-stem verbs Stem ends in consonant; one syllable; ancient tol- (come), men- (go), car- (do/make), cab- (leap), ped- (speak)
A-stem verbs (II-class) Derived verbs Stem ends in -a; often derived from nouns/adjectives; often multi-syllable aphad-a- (follow), northa- (ride fast), tiria- (watch/gaze)

The Aorist / Simple Present

The Sindarin simple present (often called the "aorist" because of its relationship to Quenya's aorist) is the basic tense for stating facts, habitual actions, and current states.

Primary Verb: Present/Aorist

Formation: bare stem (often with lengthened vowel) + person suffixes

Person Suffix Example (tol- "come") Translation
1st sg. (I) -on tolon I come
2nd sg. (thou) -og tolog you come (familiar)
3rd sg. (bare stem or -a) tôl he/she/it comes
1st pl. (we) -om tolom we come
2nd pl. -odh tolodh you come (plural)
3rd pl. -ir tolir they come

Third person singular often shows vowel lengthening: tol- → tôl (comes). This is the form most commonly attested in Tolkien's texts: tôl achar (vengeance comes).

A-stem Verb: Present/Aorist

Formation: stem in -a + person suffixes (the -a may absorb into the ending)

Person Suffix Example (tiria- "watch") Translation
1st sg. -n tirian I watch
3rd sg. - (base) tiria he/she watches
3rd pl. -r tiriar they watch

Present Continuous

Expresses ongoing action ("I am watching"). Formed with lengthened stem vowel + -a suffix for primary verbs.

Person Primary verb tol- Translation
1st sg. tôlan I am coming
3rd sg. tôla he/she is coming
3rd pl. tôlar they are coming

Note: The 3rd singular aorist tôl vs. present continuous tôla — the distinction exists in theory but is not always maintained in practice.

Past Tense

The past tense is the most complex part of Sindarin verb grammar. There are two past tense paradigms: strong (the older, irregular-looking type) and weak (the regular, suffixed type).

Strong Past Tense (Primary Verbs)

Many primary verbs form the past tense by:

  1. Vowel change (internal vowel shift) and/or nasal infixion (adding -n- before final consonant)
  2. Adding an augment (reduplication of initial consonant+vowel) before the stem
Verb Strong Past Notes
car- (do/make) agor augmented: a- + cor→gor
cab- (leap) camm nasal infixion: cab → camb
men- (go) mant nasal: me + nt
tol- (come) túl- (stem) vowel change o→ú
nor- (run) norn nasal infixion
ped- (speak) pent nasal infixion: pe+nt
gal- (shine) aglar augment

Strong past tense with person suffixes (tol- → túl-):

Person Form Translation
1st sg. túlen I came
2nd sg. túlel you came
3rd sg. túle he/she/it came
1st pl. túlem we came
2nd pl. túledh you (pl.) came
3rd pl. túlent they came

Weak Past Tense (A-stem Verbs and Some Primary)

A-stem verbs and some primary verbs form the past tense with the suffix -nt (singular) / -nner (plural):

Verb Weak Past Translation
tiria- (watch) tiriant he/she watched
aphad- (follow) aphant he/she followed
northa- (ride) northant he/she rode

Person endings added to the weak past stem (e.g., tiriant-):

Person Form Translation
1st sg. tirianten I watched
3rd sg. tiriant he/she watched
3rd pl. tirinnet they watched

Future Tense

The future tense is formed with the suffix -tha (or -atha for A-stems):

Verb Future Translation
tol- (come) toltha will come
men- (go) mentha will go
tiria- (watch) tiriatha will watch

With person suffixes (tol- future):

Person Form Translation
1st sg. tolthan I will come
3rd sg. toltha he/she will come
3rd pl. tolthar they will come

Passive / Past Participle

The past participle is adjectival — it describes the state of a noun:

  • aderthannen (reunited) — from adertha- (reunite) + -nnen suffix
  • Plural: aderthennin (reunited ones, pl.)

Formation: stem + -nnen (singular), -nnin (plural)

Example:

  • i galadh aderthannen — "the reunited tree"
  • i gelaidh aderthennin — "the reunited trees"

Impersonal Verb: Boe

Boe (it is necessary, must) is a special impersonal verb taking a dative (indirect object) object:

  • Boe ammen tirno — "We must guard" (lit. "it is necessary to us to guard")
  • Boe le togo i·vlinn — "You must bring the song"

Most Common Sindarin Verbs

Verb Translation Class 3rd sg. present
tol- to come Primary tôl
men- to go Primary mîn (?)
car- to do, make Primary câr
cen- to see Primary cên
ann- to give Primary aun (?)
lin- to sing Primary lîn
ped- to speak Primary bêd (lenited)
cab- to leap Primary câb
nor- to run Primary nôr
gal- to shine Primary gâl
tiria- to watch, gaze A-stem tiria
aphad- to follow A-stem aphada
northa- to ride fast A-stem northa
edra- to open A-stem edra

Verb Usage Notes

  • Sindarin verbs partially agree with their subject — person suffixes exist but their use is not always required when the subject is named
  • The direct object undergoes soft mutation after a transitive verb
  • The infinitive form (used after modal-like words) ends in -o: tolo (to come), pedo (speak! — imperative = same as infinitive root sometimes)
  • The imperative (command) for primary verbs is often the bare stem or stem + -o: pedo mellon (speak, friend!)

Interacting with Mutations

Verbs themselves can trigger mutations on their objects, and verbs can appear mutated:

  • After the preposition ab (after), a verb undergoes soft mutation: ab dortha (after dwelling)
  • The second element of a compound verb may mutate

Use the Sindarin Crash Course verb conjugator to practice verb forms interactively.