Verbs

Verbs do not conjugate for person or number.

The same form is used with every subject.

Present and ordinary verb use

The bare root is the ordinary present-tense verb form.

ik timb — I build
han timb — he builds
de timb — they build

The bare root is also used when one verb directly governs another. Nordsippisk does not insert an infinitive marker merely because English would use to.

ik vil far — I want to go
han kan timb hus — he can build a house

Explicit infinitive

at + VERB forms an explicit infinitive phrase.

It is used when the verb itself is being treated abstractly or occupies a noun-like syntactic role and the bare root would not clearly function as the clause’s verb.

at liv — to live
at sterf — to die

At liv ett at sterf.
To live is to die.

At skriv ett god.
To write is good.

The marker is not required when ordinary clause structure already identifies the verb.

ik liv — I live

The common case therefore remains short and unmarked.

at is not a general noun-modifying particle. English constructions such as things to do are not mechanically copied as þingar at mak; Nordsippisk prefers transparent compounding where possible, such as makþingar.

Past

-de is the universal past-tense suffix.

There are no irregular past forms.

timb → timb-de — built
far → far-de — went
zin → zin-de — saw
kom → kom-de — came
sterf → sterf-de — died / ceased functioning

Affixation does not trigger spelling repair.

Present perfect

The present perfect is now committed as:

hav + VERB-de

The -de form keeps its ordinary completed/past-event role. hav supplies the present connection rather than creating a separate participle morphology.

ik hav skrivde — I have written
han hav komde — he has come

This was preferred because it adds useful aspect with no new verb form.

Future

skal is the invariant future auxiliary.

SUBJECT → skal → VERB → OBJECT

ik skal timb hus

I will build a house.

han skal zin husen

He will see the house.

Copula

ett is the regular copular verb meaning to be.

It follows ordinary verb rules.

han ett timber — he is a builder
han ett-de timber — he was a builder
han skal ett timber — he will be a builder

husen ett redd — the house is red

Clause negation

ne is the invariant clause-negation particle.

ik ne timb

I do not build.

ik ne timb-de husen

I did not build the house.

ik skal ne timb husen

I will not build the house.

This is distinct from lexical un-, which forms opposites or reversals.

ik un-timb husen

I dismantle the house.

Verb chaining

When one verb governs another, the governed verb remains in its bare form.

No at is used in ordinary verb chains.

ik vil far

Literal: I want go.
Natural translation: I want to go.

han kan timb hus

Literal: he can build house.

han skal kan timb hus

Literal: he will can build house.
Natural translation: he will be able to build a house.

Literal English awkwardness is not considered a problem.