Lesson 19: Intransitive Verbs & Irregular Stems
Sindarin intransitive verbs, class 3 i-verbs, irregular stems with suppletive roots, and half-strong verb formation.
What Is an Intransitive Verb?
An intransitive verb is a verb that does not take a direct object. It describes an action or state that is complete in itself. In Sindarin, this has direct consequences for word order:
- Transitive (verb + subject + object): Tiron i varad — "I watch the tower" (VSO)
- Intransitive (verb + subject only): Linna i edhel — "The elf sings" (VS)
With an intransitive verb, there is no object to trigger soft mutation. The sentence ends with the subject (or an adverb), and no lenition of a following object noun occurs.
Common intransitive verbs:
- Verbs of motion: tol- (come), men- (go), cab- (leap), noro- (ride, run)
- Verbs of state: gal- (shine), lin- (sound/sing, the root form), tir- (watch — can be intransitive "keep watch")
- Verbs of natural phenomena: pedo! (speak! — as imperative, intransitive sense)
Intransitive vs. Transitive: The Same Verb
Many Sindarin verbs can function as either transitive or intransitive depending on context:
| Verb | Intransitive Use | Transitive Use |
|---|---|---|
| tir- | Tîra i edhel (the elf is keeping watch) | Tiron i varad (I watch the tower) |
| linna- | Linna i edhel (the elf sings) | Linnon i lain (I sing the song) |
| cen- | rarely intransitive | Cenin i varad (I see the tower) |
| men- | Men i aran (the king goes) | — typically intransitive |
| gal- | Gala i galadh (the tree shines/grows) | — typically intransitive |
When tir- is used intransitively (keeping watch in general), the continuative tîra ("is watching, is on guard") is common. When transitive, the aorist tir + object is standard.
Class 3: I-Verbs (Half-Strong Verbs)
A small but notable class of Sindarin primary verbs forms its past tense differently from the standard nasal infix pattern. These are sometimes called i-verbs or half-strong verbs. They are characterized by a root vowel i and a past tense formed with vowel change (i-affection reversal or ablaut) rather than (or in addition to) nasal infixion.
The class is not large in attested Sindarin, and the details are partially reconstructed from comparative Elvish linguistics and Tolkien's notes. The most-cited example is:
| Verb | Aorist (3sg) | Past (3sg) | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| cab- | cab | camp | to leap |
| dab- | dab | damp | to permit, yield |
| gar- | gar | gamp | to hold, have |
In cab- → camp: the nasal m is infixed before the final b (labial), and the b is then devoiced or the cluster becomes mp: cab → camb → camp (final devoicing). This is the standard strong past formation for labial-final roots, not a special class. The term "i-verb" or "half-strong" is better reserved for verbs showing a distinct vowel change.
For full scholarly detail on Sindarin verb classes, consult Ryszard Derdzinski's Sindarin grammar reference (Gwaith-i-Phethdain) and David Salo's A Gateway to Sindarin.
Key Intransitive Verbs with Full Paradigms
Verb: tol- (to come)
Tol- is one of the most frequently used intransitive verbs. Its inflection has some peculiarities in the past.
Aorist (simple present):
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | tolon | I come |
| 2sg fam. | tolog | thou comest |
| 3sg | tol | he/she comes |
| 1pl incl. | tolom | we come |
| 3pl | tolir | they come |
Continuative Present: stem tôla- (o → ô):
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | tôlon | I am coming |
| 3sg | tôla | he/she is coming |
| 3pl | tôlir | they are coming |
Past Tense: tol- + nasal infix → toll- (the n assimilates to l: toln- → toll-):
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | tollon | I came |
| 3sg | tollant | he/she came |
| 3pl | tollir | they came |
Verb: men- (to go, to proceed)
Aorist:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | menon | I go |
| 2sg fam. | menog | thou goest |
| 3sg | men | he/she goes |
| 1pl incl. | menom | we go |
| 3pl | menir | they go |
Continuative Present: mêna-:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | mênon | I am going |
| 3sg | mêna | he/she is going |
Past: men- + nasal → menn-:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | mennon | I went |
| 3sg | mennant | he/she went |
| 3pl | mennir | they went |
Verb: gal- (to shine, to grow)
Gal- captures both shining (light) and growing (plants), reflecting the Elvish root GAL (shine, grow).
Aorist:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | galon | I shine/grow |
| 3sg | gal | it shines/grows |
| 3pl | galir | they shine/grow |
Past: gal- + nasal → galant or galln-:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 3sg | galant | it shone/grew |
| 1sg | galannon | I shone/grew |
Verb: cab- (to leap, to jump)
Aorist:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | cabon | I leap |
| 3sg | cab | he/she leaps |
| 3pl | cabir | they leap |
Past: labial nasal infix: cam(b)-:
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | cambon | I leaped |
| 3sg | cambant | he/she leaped |
| 3pl | cambir | they leaped |
Irregular Verb: anna- (to give)
The verb anna- (to give, to present) is an A-stem verb but has an irregular past tense.
Aorist (regular A-stem):
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | annon | I give |
| 3sg | anna | he/she gives |
| 3pl | annir | they give |
Past (irregular): instead of the expected weak annant, the attested past uses vowel change:
- 1sg past: onen (I gave) — attested in onen i Estel Edain = "I gave hope to the Dúnedain"
- 3sg past: aun or onnen — reconstructed
The onen form shows the root ON- in ablaut with the present-tense ANN-. This is true strong/irregular past formation.
| Person | Past Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | onen | I gave |
| 3sg | aun | he/she gave |
| 3pl | onnir | they gave |
Irregular Verb: car- (to do, to make)
Already introduced in Lesson 18, car- is the primary irregular verb in Sindarin's basic vocabulary.
Present (aorist):
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| 1sg | caron |
| 3sg | car |
| 3pl | carir |
Past (irregular — vowel ablaut):
| Person | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | agron | reconstructed |
| 3sg | agor | attested in Tolkien |
| 3pl | agrir | reconstructed |
The shift car → agor involves: c→g (voicing) and a zero-grade of the root vowel producing the o of agor. This parallels car- working as a truly strong verb with full ablaut.
Imperative: caro! (do it! make it!)
Suppletive Roots
In some languages, a verb uses completely different roots for different tenses (English "go / went" — "went" comes from a different Old English verb). Sindarin has limited evidence of suppletion:
The pair tol- (to come) and hel- or similar is sometimes suggested as suppletive in older analyses, but this is not firmly established. The most honest statement is that Sindarin's attested vocabulary is too limited to confidently identify many suppletive pairs.
What is clear is that some verbs have stem alternation between the present and past — car- (present) / agor (past) being the clearest attested case. Whether this counts as suppletion or as strong ablaut depends on the analytical framework.
Common Intransitive Verb Reference
| Verb | Aorist 3sg | Past 3sg | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| tol- | tol | tollant | come |
| men- | men | mennant | go, proceed |
| gal- | gal | galant | shine, grow |
| cab- | cab | cambant | leap, jump |
| lin- | lin | linn | sound, sing (root) |
| gir- | gir | girnant | shudder |
| nor- | nor | nornant | run |
| pад- | pad | pannant | walk, step |
| hel- | hel | hellant | freeze (intr.) |
| blab- | blab | blambant | flap, beat |
| gwing- | gwing | gwingant | foam, fly |
| eria- | eria | eriant | rise, arise |
| edra- | edra | edrant | open (intr.) |
| dar- | dar | darnant | stop, stay |
| garo- | garo | garant | have, hold |
Practice
- Write the full aorist paradigm (all 6 persons) for tol- (to come)
- Write the 3sg past for each: men-, gal-, cab-, dar-
- What is unusual about the past of anna-?
- Translate: "The elves come" (use tol-)
- Translate: "I gave hope" (use onen + estel "hope")
Answers:
-
tol- aorist: tolon (1sg), tolog (2sg), tol (3sg), tolom (1pl incl.), tolonc (1pl excl.), tolir (3pl)
-
Past 3sg: men- → mennant; gal- → galant; cab- → cambant; dar- → darnant
-
anna- has an irregular (strong-type) past: expected annant but attested onen (1sg), showing root vowel ablaut rather than the weak -ant suffix.
-
Tolir i edhil — tolir (3pl aorist of tol-) + i edhil (the elves: i + edhil — e initial, no consonant mutation, but wait: edhil starts with e, no consonant change needed; the article i triggers soft mutation but there is no initial consonant to mutate here — vowel initial nouns show no surface mutation)
-
Onen estel — onen (I gave, 1sg past) + estel (hope, direct object — e initial, no mutation surface change)