Tenses in SUL
In English, verbs change shape to show time: go, went, gone, going. In SUL the verb never changes. You glue a time marker onto the end instead - and no marker at all means right now.
These are the words used in this lesson - all ordinary words straight from the dictionary:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| me (I) | us | usuuss | |
| you | ok | okookk | |
| we | ef | efeeff | |
| xhe (he/she) | ogat | ogatooggaatt | |
| go | ogak | ogakooggaakk | |
| eat | aguf | agufaagguuff | |
| see | otef | otefootteeff |
There are only two, and each is a single short sound:
| Tense | Meaning | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | The action happened before now | as | asaass | |
| In a sentence: "I went" | usmenogakgonaspast | usnogaknasuussnnooggaakknnaass | ||
| Future | The action will happen after now | it | itiitt | |
| In a sentence: "I will go" | usmenogakgonitfuture | usnogaknituussnnooggaakknniitt | ||
"Right now" needs no marker at all. A bare verb always means the present - you only ever add something for past or future. In a sentence: "I go" - me-go → usnogak.
The time marker glues onto the end of the verb with the n glue - so a word like "I went" is really three little pieces in a row. Taking it apart piece by piece:
us (me) + n + ogak (go) + n + as (past) = usnogaknas
Same slot order as the word chaining lesson: the marker sticks to the end of the verb, never between the who and the action.
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| I go | usmenogakgo | usnogakuussnnooggaakk | |
| I went | usmenogakgonaspast | usnogaknasuussnnooggaakknnaass | |
| I will go | usmenogakgonitfuture | usnogaknituussnnooggaakknniitt | |
| You ate | okyounagufeatnaspast | oknagufnasookknnaagguuffnnaass | |
| We will see | efwenotefseenitfuture | efnotefniteeffnnootteeffnniitt | |
| Xhe went | ogatxhenogakgonaspast | ogatnogaknasooggaattnnooggaakknnaass |
No separate words for "yesterday" or "tomorrow" - count days from now: unit, then how many, then which direction. The result stands on its own in the sentence:
| English | How it's built | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| now | glue it onto the verb to stress it's happening this moment | agut | agutaagguutt | |
| In a sentence: "I am going (right now)" | usmenogakgonagutnow | usnogaknagutuussnnooggaakknnaagguutt | ||
| yesterday (day-1-past) | 1 day back from now, as its own word | itogniseknas | itogniseknasiittooggnniisseekknnaass | |
| tomorrow (day-1-future) | 1 day ahead of now, as its own word | itogniseknit | itogniseknitiittooggnniisseekknniitt | |
In notation: day-1-past = itogniseknas, day-1-future = itogniseknit. Works with any count and any unit: day-3-past = 3 days ago, year-1-future = next year.
A time word never replaces the marker: the marker says which direction (grammar), the time word says when exactly (vocabulary). A non-present verb always carries its marker:
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| I will go tomorrow | usmenogakgonitfutureitogdaynisek1nitfuture | usnogaknituussnnooggaakknniittitogniseknitiittooggnniisseekknniitt | |
| I ate yesterday | usmenagufeatnaspastitogdaynisek1naspast | usnagufnasuussnnaagguuffnnaassitogniseknasiittooggnniisseekknnaass | |
| I am going (right now) | usmenogakgonagutnow | usnogaknagutuussnnooggaakknnaagguutt |
Other add-ons keep their slots: "no" after the marker, the question part last, and + pins a piece onto its neighbour alone (see the word chaining lesson). Marker position changes meaning: me-go-want-past = the wanting was past ("I wanted to go") - me-go-past-want = wanting now to have gone.
| English | SUL | Written | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| I did not go | usmenogakgonaspastnakno | usnogaknasnakuussnnooggaakknnaassnnaakk | |
| Will you go? | okyounogakgonitfuturenetquestion | oknogaknitnetookknnooggaakknniittnneett | |
| You will go! (an order) | okyounogakgonitfuturenotufcommand | oknogaknitnotufookknnooggaakknniittnnoottuuff | |
| I do not want to go | usmenogakgonafofwantwakno | usnogaknafofwakuussnnooggaakknnaaffooffwwaakk | |
| I wanted to go | usmenogakgonafofwantnaspast | usnogaknafofnasuussnnooggaakknnaaffooffnnaass |