The infinitive: ku-

A verb is ku- plus a stem

The infinitive is the form that means to look, to sleep or to come. It is the prefix ku- followed by the stem, and kw- when the stem starts with a vowel. For most verbs the stem is the same word you say when you give a command to one person, so the dictionary form and the command differ only by ku- or kw-. Go and come are the exceptions. This is how Chatelain describes the infinitive on page 26 of his grammar.

How to find a verb

1. Start from the verb as you hear or read it in a command. That form is the stem.
2. Put ku- in front of the stem.
3. If the stem begins with a vowel, write kw- instead of ku-.
4. Search for that form in the dictionary. If two entries have the same spelling, choose the one with the meaning you want. Search the dictionary

You should now be able to go from a dictionary verb to its stem, and from a stem back to the dictionary. To go the other way, take away ku- or kw-.

Stems that start with a consonant

Add ku-. Chatelain lists these five verbs by their stems alone, with the ku- left out.

Stems that start with a vowel

Write kw- in front of the stem. Chatelain wrote ku- before the vowel, as in kuenda, and modern spelling writes kw-.

Back to the commands

These are the seven verbs of the commands unit. Take away ku- or kw- and you have the command to one person. Commands

The same ku- in a noun

The ku- of the infinitive is also the prefix of class 15, which Chatelain says is made almost entirely of infinitives. He calls them verbal nouns. The class 15 unit shows the prefix on nouns. The smaller classes: 11, 14 and 15

Points to watch

• Some verbs share a spelling and differ in meaning. The dictionary tells them apart by tone, which the standard spelling does not write. For example, kuzeka means to sleep in one entry and to tuck up in another. Read the meanings and choose.
• The dictionary lists verbs by their infinitive. Look up kwixana, not ixana.

Earlier in the course

• The smaller classes: 11, 14 and 15
• Commands