Chapter 7 - The Past Tense
Submitted July 12, 2004 Updated November 16, 2004 Status Incomplete | These are short lessons based off the Quenya Elvish (LotR) course on Ardalambion.com. Rather than 40 pages a chapter, I got them down to 4. I don't have all lessons like this yet. All material belongs to Tolkien and was compiled by that site.
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Chapter 7 - The Past Tense
Chapter 7 - The Past Tense
The Regular Past Tense
add –ne to the end-Plurals stillthe same
a- stems verbs
Orta=rise –ortanë=rose
Lala=laugh – Lalanë= laughed
Caita= lie – Caitanë= lay
Ulya= pour – Ulyanë=poured
Primary verbs
R, m, n
Cen= cennë
Tam= tamnë(tapped)
But what about illegalconsonants?
t— Mat= mantë
c— Tac= tancë (nc- is always pronounced ñc or ‘gc’)
p— Top = tompë
l—vil = villë
-matne (maybe at one time) - mante-When letters move like this in linguistics, the change is called metathesis
Importance of Language Rules, Roots, and Similarities
Vil-“to fly” pa.t = ville -ll represents some combination of l and n.Older wilnë with the normal past tense ending(v < WIL), the group ln turning intoll in Quenya.
In Telerin, the sister language of Quenya, a verb formed from a root DEL ("go”) = past tense delle.It Probably descends from older denle.If it came from delne, it would have goneunchanged in Telerin. The cluster lnis permitted in that language (ex. elni"stars").
Practice:
ora- “urge” = oranë “urged” = órëa “is urging”
hehta- “exclude” = hehtanë“excluded” = hehtëa “is excluding”
ulya- “pour” = ulyanë “poured”= ulyëa “is pouring”
sinta- “fade” = sintanë “faded” = sintëa“is fading”
lanta- “fall” = lantanë “fell” =lantëa “is falling”
cap- “jump” = campë “jumped” = cápëa“is jumping”
tul- “come” = tullë “came” = túlëa “is coming”
Alternative” Past Tense
Simply involves the roots. ‘D’ exists only in clusters: ld, nd, rd
In Primitive Quenya, if a root hadthe ending ‘d,’ since that language didn’t permit theletter at the end, it became ‘r’ instead. This is still visible in the pasttense.
Rer “sow”= pa.trende (from RED)
Practice:
Hyar-(cleave) < (SYAD)= pa.t Hyandë
Nir-(press,force)< (NID)= pa.t Nindë
Ser-(rest)<(SED)=pa.t Sendë
Nyar-(tell, relate)<(NAR(old Nad)=pa.t Nyarnë/Nyandë
Irregualrities:
Lav- “lick” = pa.t lávë stem vowel lengthened, ‘n’ left out-irregular
Úmë- “not do/not be” Firiel’ssong- method in poem no longer common.
-Lav =Lambe
-Av(depart)/Ambe (departed) – but Lambeclashes with “language”
-In early QL, all ‘–v’ words have mb- pa.t probably could be formedeither way.
Some drop longer endings to have amuch shorter pa.t
-Mapa = Mampe or Mapane?
-Tolkienwrote Orane and orne for Ora, so use whichever fits your need
If it acts as a primary verb-
Lala (laugh) < LADA = pa.t Lande or Lalane
Lala (deny) (from LALA, never contained ‘d’) = pa.t Lalle or Lalane
Farya< PHAR = pa.t Farne
Vocabulary:
lempë"five"
elen"star"
harma"treasure" (noun)
sil- verb "shine" (withwhite or silver light, like star-shine or moon-shine)
hir- verb "find"
cap- verb "jump"
tec- verb "write"
quet- verb "speak, say"
mel- verb "love" (asfriend; no Quenya word referring to erotic lovebetween the sexes has been published)
cen- verb "see" (relatedto cenda- "read", which word isderived from a strengthened form of the same stem and meaning, basically, towatch closely).
orta- verb "rise", alsoused = "raise, lift up".
harya- verb "possess; have" (related to the noun harma"treasure", referring to a "possession")
Exercises
1. Translate into English
A. I nér cendanë iparma.
B. I Naucormanter.
C. I aran tultanë i tári.
D. Nís lindanë.
E. I vendi tirner i Elda.
F. I lempë roccor caitaner nu i alta tasar.
G. I eleni siller.
H. I Nauco cennë rocco.
2. Translate into Quenya:
I. A Dwarf found the treasure.
J. The Elf spoke.
K. The horse jumped.
L. The king loved the Elves.
M. A man wrote five books.
N. The queen rose.
O. The kings possessed great treasures.
P. The king and the queen summoned four Elves andfive Dwarves.
Answers:
1.
A. The man read the book.
B. The Dwarves ate.
C. The king summoned thequeen.
D. A woman sang.
E. The maidens watched theElf.
F. The five horses lay (/?were lying) under the big willow.
G. The stars shone.
H. TheDwarf saw a horse.
As suggested in F), it may be that it is also permissible totranslate Quenya past tenses using the "was/were...-ing" construction, e.g. B) "theDwarves were eating", D) "a woman was singing",F) "the five horses were lying". However, Quenya may well have distinct verb forms for this meaning.Published material provides no clues in this matter.
2.
I. Naucohirnë i harma.
J.I Elda quentë.
K. I rocco campë.
L. I aran mellë Eldar(or ...i Eldarwith the article if the phrase "the Elves" is taken as referring tosome particular Elves rather than the Elvish race in general)
M. Nértencë lempë parmar.
N. I tári ortanë.
O. I arani haryaner altë harmar.
P. I aran ar itári tultaner canta Eldar arlempë Naucor.
add –ne to the end-Plurals stillthe same
a- stems verbs
Orta=rise –ortanë=rose
Lala=laugh – Lalanë= laughed
Caita= lie – Caitanë= lay
Ulya= pour – Ulyanë=poured
Primary verbs
R, m, n
Cen= cennë
Tam= tamnë(tapped)
But what about illegalconsonants?
t— Mat= mantë
c— Tac= tancë (nc- is always pronounced ñc or ‘gc’)
p— Top = tompë
l—vil = villë
-matne (maybe at one time) - mante-When letters move like this in linguistics, the change is called metathesis
Importance of Language Rules, Roots, and Similarities
Vil-“to fly” pa.t = ville -ll represents some combination of l and n.Older wilnë with the normal past tense ending(v < WIL), the group ln turning intoll in Quenya.
In Telerin, the sister language of Quenya, a verb formed from a root DEL ("go”) = past tense delle.It Probably descends from older denle.If it came from delne, it would have goneunchanged in Telerin. The cluster lnis permitted in that language (ex. elni"stars").
Practice:
ora- “urge” = oranë “urged” = órëa “is urging”
hehta- “exclude” = hehtanë“excluded” = hehtëa “is excluding”
ulya- “pour” = ulyanë “poured”= ulyëa “is pouring”
sinta- “fade” = sintanë “faded” = sintëa“is fading”
lanta- “fall” = lantanë “fell” =lantëa “is falling”
cap- “jump” = campë “jumped” = cápëa“is jumping”
tul- “come” = tullë “came” = túlëa “is coming”
Alternative” Past Tense
Simply involves the roots. ‘D’ exists only in clusters: ld, nd, rd
In Primitive Quenya, if a root hadthe ending ‘d,’ since that language didn’t permit theletter at the end, it became ‘r’ instead. This is still visible in the pasttense.
Rer “sow”= pa.trende (from RED)
Practice:
Hyar-(cleave) < (SYAD)= pa.t Hyandë
Nir-(press,force)< (NID)= pa.t Nindë
Ser-(rest)<(SED)=pa.t Sendë
Nyar-(tell, relate)<(NAR(old Nad)=pa.t Nyarnë/Nyandë
Irregualrities:
Lav- “lick” = pa.t lávë stem vowel lengthened, ‘n’ left out-irregular
Úmë- “not do/not be” Firiel’ssong- method in poem no longer common.
-Lav =Lambe
-Av(depart)/Ambe (departed) – but Lambeclashes with “language”
-In early QL, all ‘–v’ words have mb- pa.t probably could be formedeither way.
Some drop longer endings to have amuch shorter pa.t
-Mapa = Mampe or Mapane?
-Tolkienwrote Orane and orne for Ora, so use whichever fits your need
If it acts as a primary verb-
Lala (laugh) < LADA = pa.t Lande or Lalane
Lala (deny) (from LALA, never contained ‘d’) = pa.t Lalle or Lalane
Farya< PHAR = pa.t Farne
Vocabulary:
lempë"five"
elen"star"
harma"treasure" (noun)
sil- verb "shine" (withwhite or silver light, like star-shine or moon-shine)
hir- verb "find"
cap- verb "jump"
tec- verb "write"
quet- verb "speak, say"
mel- verb "love" (asfriend; no Quenya word referring to erotic lovebetween the sexes has been published)
cen- verb "see" (relatedto cenda- "read", which word isderived from a strengthened form of the same stem and meaning, basically, towatch closely).
orta- verb "rise", alsoused = "raise, lift up".
harya- verb "possess; have" (related to the noun harma"treasure", referring to a "possession")
Exercises
1. Translate into English
A. I nér cendanë iparma.
B. I Naucormanter.
C. I aran tultanë i tári.
D. Nís lindanë.
E. I vendi tirner i Elda.
F. I lempë roccor caitaner nu i alta tasar.
G. I eleni siller.
H. I Nauco cennë rocco.
2. Translate into Quenya:
I. A Dwarf found the treasure.
J. The Elf spoke.
K. The horse jumped.
L. The king loved the Elves.
M. A man wrote five books.
N. The queen rose.
O. The kings possessed great treasures.
P. The king and the queen summoned four Elves andfive Dwarves.
Answers:
1.
A. The man read the book.
B. The Dwarves ate.
C. The king summoned thequeen.
D. A woman sang.
E. The maidens watched theElf.
F. The five horses lay (/?were lying) under the big willow.
G. The stars shone.
H. TheDwarf saw a horse.
As suggested in F), it may be that it is also permissible totranslate Quenya past tenses using the "was/were...-ing" construction, e.g. B) "theDwarves were eating", D) "a woman was singing",F) "the five horses were lying". However, Quenya may well have distinct verb forms for this meaning.Published material provides no clues in this matter.
2.
I. Naucohirnë i harma.
J.I Elda quentë.
K. I rocco campë.
L. I aran mellë Eldar(or ...i Eldarwith the article if the phrase "the Elves" is taken as referring tosome particular Elves rather than the Elvish race in general)
M. Nértencë lempë parmar.
N. I tári ortanë.
O. I arani haryaner altë harmar.
P. I aran ar itári tultaner canta Eldar arlempë Naucor.
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