TGV/MGV - Lesson 4
Ba-|Iyi-Gol-Vuhlkansu - Tupa 4

NOUN-VERB PAIRS
Shiflar t'Vel-Zhit - Tor-Zhit


    This lesson is a grammatical introduction to noun-verb pairs in Traditional and Modern Golic Vulcan. Following regular patterns found in many verbs, it is often easy to determine what the corresponding noun form of the word is. Due to shades of meaning, there may be more than one noun form. It does not work as easily when going from the noun to the verb, as we will show below. The Golic Vulcan languages are languages with millennia of history behind them and have had many borrowings from other Vulcan languages. Changing technology and language reforms, left incomplete after Surak's death, have also changed the use or form of some words over time.


    Notes
    Pitohlar

    All verbs in Golic Vulcan have a corresponding noun form and vice versa. Unlike many Federation Standard English words where the noun and the verb are the same word, for example, "like", "hate", etc., it is practically unheard of in the Golic Vulcan languages to see this. Vulcans accept the logic of the words of the famous ancient grammarian Tenek of Shi'Han, whose first words to every new class of students was simply, >Na'natya-is - natya-shid.< ("For different use, a different form.")

    Below are several charts showing examples of different kinds of noun-verb pairs.


    Pairs From Weak Verbs
    Shiflar t'Kobat-Tor-Zhitlar
Verb Form Noun Form
Ashiv-tor (to repeat) Ashiv (repeat/repetition)
Fulag-tor (to lead) Fulag (lead, as in a race)
Is-tor (to use) Is (use), Isan (usage)
Kras-tor (to paint) Kras (paint)
Kum-tor (to catch) Kum (catch)
Mahr-tor (to buy) Mahr (buy)
Min-tor (to glow) Min (glow)
Tam-tor (to dance) Tam (dance)
Zhu-tor (to hear) Zhu (hearing)
Noun-Verb Pairs -- "Regular" Weak Verbs

    Although this looks childishly simple and you would be tempted to assume all weak verbs pair this way, this is not the case. Because of confusion with another similar word or for phonic clarity, the root of many weak verbs is actually "clipped off". If you simply removed the "-tor" action suffix of these "clipped" weak verbs, the remaining "noun" could mean something unrelated to the verb or even nothing at all. For example, "da" means "pebble" -- the noun partner of "da-tor" is "dan" (see below).

    Also, it is possible to find a shade or difference in meaning in different endings of nouns, compared to the corresponding verbs. Study the large vocabulary lists on our site to note these differences.
Verb Form Noun Form
Da-tor (to rotate) Dan (rotation)
Gla-tor (to see) Glan (sight)
She-tor (to ascend) Shen (ascent)
Tev-tor (to descend) Tevan (descent)
Zahv-tor (to taste) Zahvan (taste)
Noun-Verb Pairs -- "Clipped" Weak Verbs

    As you can see, though, all of the "clipped" examples are suffixed "~n" (after a vowel) or "~an" (after a consonent). In the future, when translating Golic Vulcan weak verbs, remember this pattern, as it holds true for most cases. Therefore, if you come across a weak verb like "klu-tor" or "zan-tor" and cannot find a corresponding noun "klu" or "zan" with the right meaning, try "klun" or "zanan".


    Pairs From Irregular Strong Verbs
    Shiflar t'Ripakhaik Kari-Tor-Zhitlar
Verb Form Noun Form
Aitlu (to desire) Aitlun (desire)
Estuhl (to touch) Esta (touch)
Foshuhl (to shed) Fosha (shedding)
Ip-Sut (to hide) Ip-Sui (hiding)
Klacha (to lock) Klachek (lock)
Lasha (to arrive) Lashan (arrival)
Pstha (to search) Psthan (search)
Salur (to blow) Sal (blow, as in wind)
Shei (to scream) She (scream)
Thanai (to adopt) Thanah (adoption)
Vlur (to howl) Vlut (howl)
Noun-Verb Pairs -- Irregular Strong Verbs

    Irregular strong verbs cause the most confusion to students of the Golic Vulcan languages. This is because these verbs are usually ancient words and/or words from non-Golic Vulcan languages. The rules for Golic Vulcan word formation often do not have any meaning here. Surak and others had intended to smooth out these irregularities gradually over time, but Surak's death prevented the reforms from being completed. There are patterns here, of course, but they are based on the grammatical rules of the parent language. Students of Golic Vulcan will have to memorize these words.


    Pairs From Regular Strong Verbs
    Shiflar t'Pakhaik Kari-Tor-Zhitlar
Verb Form Noun Form
Betau (to approach) Betaya (approach)
Danau (to explain) Danaya (explanation)
Kitau (to write) Kitaya (writing)
Tishau (to like) Tishaya (like/liking)
Vravshau (to fail) Vravshaya (failure)
Noun-Verb Pairs -- Regular Strong Verbs

    As is plain to see, all regular strong verbs have a noun partner with a fixed pattern of formation. Of course, some of these kinds of verbs may have additional nouns based on the same root with other forms for different shades of meaning.





This lesson was put online on
January 3, 2001.
and updated on
January 11, 2005.




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