Ubykh grammar explained

Ubykh was a polysynthetic language with a high degree of agglutination that had an ergative-absolutive alignment.

Nouns

Plurality

Ubykh nouns do not mark plurality and the only case that displays plurality is the relational suffix -pronounced as //nɜ//. Otherwise plurality is shown either by suppletive verb roots (e.g. pronounced as //ɐkʷɨn blɜs// 'he is in the car' vs. pronounced as //ɐkʷɨn blɜʒʷɜ// 'they are in the car') or by verb suffixes: pronounced as //ɐkʲʼɜn// ('he goes'), pronounced as //ɐkʲʼɐn// ('they go').

Definiteness

The definite article is pronounced as //ɐ// (e.g. pronounced as //ɐtɨt// 'the man'). There is no indefinite article directly equivalent to the English a or an, but pronounced as //zɜ//-(root)-pronounced as //ɡʷɜrɜ// (literally 'one'-(root)-'certain') translates French un : e.g. pronounced as //zɜnɜjnʃʷɡʷɜrɜ// ('a certain young man').

Cases

There are two core cases and four non-core cases in Ubykh. The core cases are: relational, absolutive; the non-core cases are: adverbial, locative, instrumental, and instrumental-comitative.

Ubykh cases!!singular!plural
relational	-pronounced as //n//	-pronounced as //nɜ//
absolutive	-pronounced as //Ø//
adverbial	-pronounced as //n(ɨ)//
locative	-pronounced as //ʁɜ//
instrumental	-pronounced as //ɜwn(ɨ)//
instrumental-comitative	-pronounced as //ɐlɜ//

Relational case

This case displays ergative, genitive, and dative functions. It is marked with -pronounced as //n// in the singular and -pronounced as //nɨ// in the plural and is the only case that has a distinction in plurality.

Absolutive case

Marked with the bare root; this indicates the subject of an intransitive sentence and the direct object of a transitive sentence (e.g. pronounced as //tɨt// 'a man').

Adverbial case

This is marked with -pronounced as //n(ɨ)// and has the primary function of marking essive and translative functions of nouns.

Locative case

Marked in -pronounced as //ʁɜ//, which is the equivalent of English in, on or at.

Instrumental case

Marked with -pronounced as //ɜwn(ɨ)// and was also treated as a case in Dumézil (1975). This is similar to "by means of" in English.

Instrumental-Comitative case

Marked with -pronounced as //ɐlɜ// and broadly means "with".

Other suffixes

There is also a pair of suffixes that have been noted to be synthetic datives but are not cases in their own right: -pronounced as //lɐq// ('to[wards]') and -pronounced as //ʁɐfɜ// ('for') e.g. pronounced as //ɜχʲɨlɐq ɐstʷɜdɜw// 'I will send it to the prince'.

Adjectives

In Ubykh, adjectives do not decline in any way and are suffixed to the noun that they modify: pronounced as //tʃɨbʒɨjɜ// ('pepper') with pronounced as //pɬɨ// ('red') becomes pronounced as //tʃɨbʒɨjɜpɬɨ// ('red pepper').

Pronouns

Free pronouns in all North-West Caucasian languages lack an ergative-absolutive distinction.^[1]

! rowspan="2"
Normal	Jocular		3rd Person
1st Person	2nd Person		3rd Person
Singular	Standard	pronounced as //s(ɨ)ʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //(w(ɨ))ʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //χɜʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //ɐʁʷɜ//
Singular	Ali Bilaş	pronounced as //(s)χɜ//	pronounced as //(w(ɨ))ʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //χɜʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //ɐʁʷɜ//
Plural	Standard	pronounced as //ʃɨʁʷɜɬɜ//	pronounced as //ɕʷɨʁʷɜɬɜ//		pronounced as //ɐʁʷɜɬɜ//
	Tevfik Esenç	pronounced as //ʃɜɬɜ//	pronounced as //ɕʷɜɬɜ//
	Osman Güngür	pronounced as //ʃɨʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //ɕʷɨʁʷɜ//

The "standard" pronouns are displayed along with variations that particular speakers used due to rapid speech. All speakers condemned Tevfik Esenç's usage of pronounced as //ʃɜɬɜ// and he even accepted the correction but all recordings of Tevfik contain pronounced as //ʃɜɬɜ// regardless.

Possessive

1st Person! colspan="2"
	3rd Person	Normal	Jocular
2nd Person	3rd Person
Singular	pronounced as //sɨ//-	pronounced as //wɨ//-	pronounced as //χɜ//-	pronounced as //ʁɜ//-
Plural	pronounced as //ʃɨ//-	pronounced as //ɕʷɨ//-	pronounced as //χɜ//-	pronounced as //ɐʁɜ//-

Possessed nouns have their plurality marked with the affix pronounced as //-ɜw-//.

Verbs

Verb Template

The Ubykh verb template is quite complex with 26 slots for the verb.

Interrogative / subordinative prefixes
absolutive agreement marker or a prefixed interrogative pronoun
Oblique-1 marker agreeing with slot 4
Relational preverb
Incorporated noun or Oblique-2 marker
Local preverb
pronounced as //ʁɜ//- or pronounced as //ɐ//-
Generic preverb pronounced as //lɜ//
Orientational preverb pronounced as //jɨ//-
Ergative preverb marker
Negation in the dynamic and imperfect tenses or polite imperative
Causative
stem
Intensifying suffix
Habitual aspect
Iterative aspect
Exhaustive aspect
Excessive aspect
Continual aspect
Potential aspect
Plural marker
Tense
Plural marker for dynamic past, conditional II, and stative present.
Negation in all tenses except for dynamic present
Affect marker
Mood or converb markers
Conjunctive elements

Agreement

Oblique 1 markers are limited to marking the agreement of a noun before a relational preverb and Oblique 2 markers are used for not only marking agreement with local and directional preverbs but also the simple oblique, or dative, arguments.^[1]

Pronominal Agreement Markers!!!Absolutive!Oblique (1 and 2)!Ergative
First Person	sg.	pronounced as //s(ɨ)/-/	pronounced as //s(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //z//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //z//
First Person	pl.	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)/-/	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //ʒ/-/	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //ʒ/-/
Second Person	sg.	pronounced as //wɨ/-/	pronounced as //w(ɨ)/-/	pronounced as //w(ɨ)/-/
	pl.	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)/-/	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //ʑʷ(ɨ)/-/	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)/-/ ~ pronounced as //ʑʷ(ɨ)/-/
	sg. (joc., arc.)	pronounced as //χɜ/-/	pronounced as //χɜ/-/	pronounced as //χɜ/-/
Third Person	sg.	pronounced as //ɐ/-, /jɨ/-, /ɨ/-, /Ø/-/	pronounced as //Ø/-/	pronounced as /n(ɨ)/- /Ø/-/
Third Person	pl.	pronounced as //ɐ/-, /jɨ/-, /Ø/-/	pronounced as //ɐ/-/	pronounced as //ɐ/-, /nɐ/-/

The second-person pronounced as //χɜ/-/ is an archaic pronoun used to indicate that the person being referred to is a female, or heckling the speaker in some way. It became extinct before the death of the language due to all of the last speakers being male.

The third person agreement markers have a fair amount of variation due to the rules it must follow.

absolutive markers!Marker!Rule!Example
pronounced as //ɐ/-/	No other third person object is present in the sentence.	pronounced as //ɐ-qʼɜ-qʼɜ// "(s)he said" – pronounced as //ɐ-z-bjɜ-n// "I see it"
pronounced as //jɨ/-/	Appears when the following marker is also third person singular.	pronounced as //jɨ-Ø-jɜ-qʼɜ// "X hits Y"
pronounced as //ɨ/-/	This is a rare allophone of pronounced as //jɨ/-/ and usually appears when the marker carries stress.	pronounced as //ɨ́-Ø-tʷʼɜ-qʼɜ// "X digs Y"
pronounced as //Ø/-/	This appears when the following marker is third person plural.	pronounced as //Ø-ɐ́-ʃ-tʷʼɨ-n// "we give X to them"

The plural markers exist in the same rules as the singular rules with the exception that singular pronounced as //ɐ/-/ can be deleted but plural pronounced as //ɐ/-/ cannot.

Dynamic Verb Conjugation

Dynamic Ubykh verbs are split up in two groups: Group I which contain the simple tenses and Group II which contain derived counterpart tenses. Only the Karaclar dialect uses the progressive tense and the plural is unknown.

The singular-plural distinction is used when the subject, the ergative, is singular or plural.

Square brackets indicate elided vowels; parenthesis indicate optional parts of the stem; and the colon indicates the boundary of a morpheme.

|-!Present|-pronounced as //n//|-pronounced as //ɐ-n//|-!Future I|-pronounced as //ɜw//|-pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜw//|-!Future II|-pronounced as //ɜw:t//|-pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜw:t//|-!(Progressive)|-pronounced as //ɜwɨ:n//|?|-! colspan="3" |Group II|-!Pluperfect|-pronounced as //qʼɜ:jtʼ//|-pronounced as //qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)// ~ -/qʼɜ:nɜ:jtʼ/|-!Imperfect|-pronounced as //nɜ:jtʼ//|-pronounced as //ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//|-!Conditional I|-pronounced as //ɜwɨ:jtʼ//|-pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)//|-!Conditional II|-pronounced as //ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ//|-pronounced as //(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)//|}

Simple Past

The verbs in the simple past tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //qʼɜ// in the singular and -pronounced as //qʼɜ-n(ɜ)// in the plural.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼɜ-qʼɜ// (s)he said
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ// (s)he ate
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼɜ-qʼɜ// (s)he knew
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼɜ-qʼɜ// (s)he went

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ//	I ate
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-qʼɜ//	you ate
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ//	(s)he ate
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)//	we ate
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)//	you (all) ate
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ-n(ɜ)//	they ate

Mirative Past

The verbs in the mirative past tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //jtʼ// in the singular and -pronounced as //jɬ(ɜ)// in the plural.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼɜ-jtʼ// (s)he said apparently
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-jtʼ// (s)he ate apparently
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼɜ-jtʼ// (s)he knew apparently
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼɜ-jtʼ// (s)he went apparently

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-jtʼ//	I ate apparently
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-jtʼ//	you ate apparently
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-jtʼ//	(s)he ate apparently
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)//	we ate apparently
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)//	you (all) ate apparently
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-jɬ(ɜ)//	they ate apparently

Present

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //n// in the singular and -pronounced as //ɐ-n// in the plural.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼɜ-n// (s)he says
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n// (s)he eats
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼɜ-n// (s)he knows
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼɜ-n// (s)he goes

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-n//	I eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-n//	you eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n//	(s)he eats
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n//	we eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n//	you (all) eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɐ-n//	they eat

Future I

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //ɜw// in the singular and -pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜw// in the plural. It conveys a sense of certainty, immediacy, obligation, or intentionality.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼ-ɜw// (s)he certainly will say
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜw// (s)he certainly will eat
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜw// (s)he certainly will know
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜw// (s)he certainly will go

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-f-ɜw//	I certainly will eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-f-ɜw//	you certainly will eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜw//	(s)he certainly will eat
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw//	we certainly will eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw//	you (all) certainly will eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw//	they certainly will eat

Future II

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //ɜw:t// in the singular and -pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜw:t// in the plural. It conveys a generic sense of the future as well as an exhortative sense such as: pronounced as //ʃɨ-kʲʼɜ-n[ɜ]-ɜw// (let's go!).

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼ-ɜw:t// (s)he will say
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜw:t// (s)he will eat
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜw:t// (s)he will know
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜw:t// (s)he will go

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-f-ɜw:t//	I will eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-f-ɜw:t//	you will eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜw:t//	(s)he will eat
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t//	we will eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t//	you (all) will eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜw:t//	they will eat

Pluperfect

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //ɜw// in the singular and -pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜw// in the plural. It conveys [TODO]

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼɜ-qʼɜ:jtʼ// (s)he had said
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-qʼɜ:jtʼ// (s)he had eaten
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼɜ-qʼɜ:jtʼ// (s)he had known
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼɜ-qʼɜ:jtʼ// (s)he had gone

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ//	I had eaten
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ//	you had eaten
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jtʼ//	(s)he had eaten
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	we had eaten
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	you (all) had eaten
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-qʼɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	they had eaten

Imperfect

The verbs in the imperfect tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //nɜ:jtʼ// in the singular and either -pronounced as //ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)// in the plural. It conveys a sense of

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼ-nɜ:jtʼ// (s)he was saying, (s)he used to say
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-nɜ:jtʼ// (s)he was eating, (s)he used to eatk
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼ-nɜ:jtʼ// (s)he was knowing, (s)he used to know
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼ-nɜ:jtʼ// (s)he was going, (s)he used to go

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ//	I was eating, I used to eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ//	you were eating, you used to eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-nɜ:jtʼ//	(s)he was eating, (s)he used to eat
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	we were eating, we used to eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	you (all) were eating, you (all) used to eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɐ-nɜ:jɬ(ɜ)//	they were eating, they used to eat

Conditional I

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //ɜwɨ:jtʼ// in the singular and -pronounced as //n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)// in the plural. It conveys a sense of uncertainty but also a kind of future-in-the-past if the situation had been reversed.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼ-ɜwɨ:jtʼ// (s)he would have said
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜwɨ:jtʼ// (s)he would have eaten
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜwɨ:jtʼ// (s)he would have known
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜwɨ:jtʼ// (s)he would have gone

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-ɜwɨ:jtʼ//	I would have eaten
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jtʼ//	you would have eaten
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jtʼ//	(s)he would have eaten
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)//	we would have eaten
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)//	you (all) would have eaten
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n[ɜ]-ɜwɨ:jɬ(ɜ)//	they would have eaten

Conditional II

The verbs in the present tense are conjugated with -pronounced as //ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ// in the singular and -pronounced as //(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)// in the plural. It conveys a sense of certainty and intention but also a kind of future-in-the-past if the situation had been reversed.

Examples:

pronounced as //qʼɜ// – to say → pronounced as //ɐ-qʼ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ// (s)he was going to say
pronounced as //fɨ// – to eat → pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ// (s)he was going to eat
pronounced as //tɕʼɜ// – to know → pronounced as //ɐ-tɕʼ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ// (s)he was going to know
pronounced as //kʲʼɜ// – to go → pronounced as //ɐ-kʲʼ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ// (s)he was going to go

Plurality	Person	Ubykh	Meaning
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ//	I was going to eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ//	you were going to eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ//	(s)he was going to eat
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)//	we were going to eat
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)//	you (all) were going to eat
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-(n[ɜ]-)ɜw:tʷ:qʼɜ(-n)//	they were going to eat

Static Verb Conjugation

In all dialects and speakers, only two static tenses exist: present and past.

!!Singular!Plural
Present	-pronounced as //Ø//\|-pronounced as //n(ɜ)//

|-!Past|-pronounced as //jtʼ//|-pronounced as //jɬ(ɜ)//|}

Aspect

There are five basic aspects that exist besides the aspects that exist within the Ubykh tense system. They are: habitual, iterative, exhaustive, excessive, and potential.

A few meanings covered in English by adverbs or auxiliary verbs are given in Ubykh by verb suffixes.

A speaker may combine one of these aspects with another to convey more complex aspects in conjunction with the tenses.

Aspect! rowspan="2"
Ubykh	English	Ubykh	English
Suffix	Example with pronounced as //fɨ// ('to eat')		Example with pronounced as //dʑʷɜ// ('to drink')
habitual	-pronounced as //gʲɜ//\|pronounced as //ɐsfɨɡʲɜn//\|I eat it all the time\|pronounced as //ɐzdʑʷɜɡʲɜn//\|I drink it all the time\|-\|iterative\|-pronounced as //ɐj(ɨ)//\|pronounced as //ɐsfɐjɨn//\|I eat it again\|pronounced as //ɐzdʑʷɐjɨn//\|I drink it again\|-\|exhaustive\|-pronounced as //lɜ//\|pronounced as //ɐsfɨlɜn//\|I am eating it all up\|pronounced as //ɐzdʑʷɜlɜn//\|I am drinking it all up\|-\|excessive\|-pronounced as //tɕʷɜ//

|pronounced as //ɐsfɨtɕʷɜn//|I eat it too much|pronounced as //ɐzdʑʷɜtɕʷɜn//|I drink it too much|-|potential|-pronounced as //fɜ//|pronounced as //ɐsfɨfɜn//|I can eat it|pronounced as //ɐzdʑʷɜfɜn//|I can drink it|}

!simple!habitual!iterative!exhaustive!excessive!potential
Singular	First-person	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-n//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-gʲɜ-n//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-lɜ-n//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n//	pronounced as //s(ɨ)-fɨ-fɜ-n//
	Second-person	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-n//	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-gʲɜ-n//	pronounced as //wɨ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n//	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-lɜ-n//	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n//	pronounced as //wɨ-fɨ-fɜ-n//
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-gʲɜ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-lɜ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-tɕʷɜ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-fɜ-n//
Plural	First-person	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-f-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ʃ(ɨ)-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n//
	Second-person	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɕʷ(ɨ)-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n//
	Third-person	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-gʲ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-f-ɐj(ɨ)-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-l[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-tɕʷ[ɜ]-ɐ-n//	pronounced as //ɐ-fɨ-f[ɜ]-ɐ-n//

Mood

There are eleven distinct moods in Ubykh: indicative; direct, polite, and emphatic imperative; potential and frustrative optative; irrealis and realis conditional; binary and complex interrogative.^[1]

Indicative

There is no marker for the indicative mood.

Imperative moods

There are two forms of the imperative: a formal, more polite imperative and a direct, curt imperative.

Direct

The direct imperative is usually the omission of the singular tense marker:Versus in the plural:

Polite

This is formed by adding a -pronounced as //ɨ// suffix to the verb root. This, however, is sometimes omitted.

Emphatic

This is formed by adding -pronounced as //mɜɕ// to the end of an imperative verb.

Optative moods

There are two forms of optative present: potential and frustrative optative.

Potential

This is formed by adding a -pronounced as //χ// suffix to the verb root or /ɐχ/ after a final pronounced as //ɨ//.

Frustrative

This is formed by adding a -pronounced as //dɐχ// or -pronounced as //dɜχ//.

Conditional moods

There are realis and irrealis conditionals.

Realis

This is marked with -pronounced as //dɜ(n)//.

Irrealis

This is marked with -pronounced as //bɜ//.

Interrogative moods

Open questions are marked with -pronounced as //ɕ// and closed questions are marked with -pronounced as //j//.

Copulas of Existence

Singular! colspan="2"
static	Meaning	dynamic	static	dynamic
Plural	Meaning
pronounced as //sɨ//	pronounced as //w(ɨ)s//	pronounced as //ʒʷɜ//	pronounced as //kʲʼɜʒʷɜ//	to be in a sitting position; to be (of smaller objects)
pronounced as //tʷɨ//	pronounced as //w(ɨ)tʷ//	pronounced as //xɜ//	pronounced as //wɨxɜ// or pronounced as //kʲʼɜxɜ//	to be in a standing position; to be (of larger objects)
pronounced as //ʁɨ//	pronounced as //wʁʷɜ//	pronounced as //ʁʲɜ//		to be suspended, to be handing
pronounced as //ɬɨ//	pronounced as //wɨɬ//	pronounced as //ɬɜ//	pronounced as //kʲʼɜɬɜ//	to be lying

Converbs

Ubykh has a liberal usage of converbs to convey complex sentences.

!Converb!Meaning
pronounced as //ɡʲɨ// ~ pronounced as //j(ɨ)//	Momentary action with the primary verb.
pronounced as //ɕɜ//	Ongoing or continuing action with the primary verb.
pronounced as //msɜ//	Similar to pronounced as //ɕɜ// but implies that the verb is continuing or prolonged in nature.
pronounced as //ɡʲɨmsɜ// ~ pronounced as //j(ɨ)msɜ//	Instrumental-like connotations such as 'by means of'.
pronounced as //ʃɜ//	Exclusively used with pronounced as //ʁʷɜ// ('to want') to mark that the verb is what is wanted.
pronounced as //n(ɨ)// ~ pronounced as //n(ɜʁʷɜdɜ(n)//	Similar to the absolutive marker and has a sense of "X and then Y". Verbs are usually not marked with a tense when this is used.
pronounced as //mɜ//	Forms a conditional or slight imperative force. Usually accompanies with Future I and Future II tenses.
pronounced as //tɐlɜ//	Always accompanies Future I. Extremely rare so its nuance isn't known.
pronounced as //ɐdʷɜn//	Has a sense of goal and implies that the verb it marks is required but the task was unfulfilled and has been completed.

Notes and References

Book: Fenwick, R. S. H. . A Grammar of Ubykh . Lincom Europa . 2011 . Munich.