Your Sindarin Textbook
Chapter Seven, Lesson Six: Irregular Verbs, the Impersonal Tense, and a Possible Subjunctive/Conditional Tense

Chapter Seven | Lesson One | Lesson Two | Lesson Three | Lesson Four | Lesson Five | Lesson Six
Introduction
Syllabus
Part I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part II
Chapter One
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We are now at the last abstract tidbits of Sindarin verbs.

Irregular Verbs

Not all verbs follow the pattern we've figured out. These we call irregular verbs, and the best way to deal with them is just memorize them. Keep this list handy when translating until you have it memorized.

English Verb Root Present Tense Strong Past Tense Weak Past Tense Past Participle Perfect Participle
Give anna- — aun — onen óniel
Protect beria- — — — — bóriel
Talk carfa- — agramp agarfant crammen carfiel
Hammer damma- — dammint — — —
Conceal delia- — daul — dollen —
Go into exile egledhia- — eglant egledhas — eglídhiel
Rain elia- ail aul — — —
Go gwa- gwa/gwae- awn/anu- — anwen gwóiel
Have knowledge ista- — sint istas — —
Try/Strive raitha- — — rithant/rithas — —
Have sav- — aw — awen —
Give greetings suilanna- — suilon — suilonen —
Fence thora- — thaur — thornen —

The Impersonal Tense

Some verbs have it, some don't, but most importantly, an impersonal verb is a verb that doesn't have a subject. Or, it has an understood, very vague subject, normally along the lines of "one".

"Rain" (elia-) has normal conjugation as well as impersonal conjugation. The subject that is understood here is "the sky".

Impersonal present tense: ail. It means, "It is raining."

Impersonal past tense: aul. It means, "It rained."

Examples

It is raining animals? Idiocy! It rains water!
Ail levain? Pe-channas! Ail nen!
It rained during our conversation.
Aul ned athrabeth vîn.

"Need" (boe-) has only one form, and that is the impersonal tense. It could be present tense, past tense, or future tense, it doesn't matter, it is always the same. There are several ways to translate sentences with this verb.

Impersonal tense: boe. It means, "it is necessary".

Examples

We must defend the bridge.
(Literally:) It is necessary to defend the bridge.
Boe beriad i iant.
(Literally:) It is necessary that we defend the bridge.
Boe i berianc i iant.
He needed water.
(Literally:) It is necessary that he had water.
Boe i agor nen.
He will need water.
(Literally:) It is necessary that he will have water.
Boe i geritha nen.

A Possible Subjunctive/Conditional Tense

In the King's Letter, there is an odd little phrase. "I sennui Panthael estathar aen". It is translated as "Who ought to be called Fullwise." Literally though, it says, "Who instead Fullwise they will name…" with the meaning of "aen" uncertain. Some claim it is a third person pronoun. Others claim it could mean, "may it be so!" Others say it could be a helping verb for the subjunctive conjugation. And David Salo, the transltor for the movies, thinks it's a helping verb for passive constructions. I don't use aen at all. We simply know too little about it. The interpretation that I like most is using it for a subjunctive, and I will teach it, but use it with extreme caution.

This conjugation is the same for both A-verbs and I-verbs. Conjugate the verb in its future tense and put the word aen after it. It goes before adverbs or pronouns to be right next to the verb.

Example

It should/could/would rain during evening.
Eliatha aen ned thin.

For the past tense, conjugate the verb in the past tense and place aen in the same place that you would for the future tense.

Example

You should/could/would have run.
Onureg aen.

Homework

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