Verbs

Verbs describe actions and relationships between people and things. Examples of verbs include:

• wak "walk"
• jump "jump"
• move "move"
• šout "shout"
• is "is/am/are/be"
• know "know"

Tenses

The suffix '-ed' converts a verb into the past tense. This suffix becomes '-d' if the word ends with 'e'. There are no irregular past tense forms.

• wak (walk) → waked (walked)
• know (know) → knowed (knew)
• is (is) → ised (was)
• move (move) → moved (moved)

The suffix '-el', or '-l' when the word ends in 'e', converts a verb into the future tense. In English this is done with the separate word "will", but in Koolaŋ it's a suffix just like the past tense is!

• wak (walk) → wakel (will walk)
• know (know) → knowel (will know)
• is (is) → isel (will be)
• move (move) → movel (will move)

Imperative

An imperative sentence is a sentence expressing a request or demand; ie. a sentence which tells someone to do something. In Koolaŋ these are formed by placing the suffix '-u' onto the verb. This suffix is derived from the '-u' imperative verb ending from Esperanto.

• Waku to ðe šop! "Walk to the store!"
• Eatu sandwic! "Eat a sandwich!"

Gerunds

A gerund is a verb which has been converted into a noun. In English, gerunds are formed with the "-ing" suffix (walking, eating, etc). Similarly, gerunds in Koolaŋ are formed with the '-iŋ' suffix.

• know (know) → knowiŋ (knowing)
• fli (fly) → fliiŋ (flying)

Here are examples of how gerunds can be used as nouns:

• Me enjoy readiŋ "I enjoy reading"
• Fliiŋ is fun "Flying is fun"

You can also attach subjects, objects, etc. onto a gerund. In other words, the '-iŋ' suffix can also convert an entire clause into a noun.

• Readiŋ books is good "Reading books is good"
• Isiŋ green is difikult "Being green is difficult"
• Pig fliiŋ is unprobable "A pig flying is improbable"

Participles

A participle is a verb which has been converted into an adjective. In English there are two types of participles: active participles, and passive participles.

In English, active participles are formed with the suffix '-ing', which is confusingly the same way that gerunds are formed. Koolaŋ uses the suffix '-eŋ' ('-ŋ' when the word ends in 'e'), which is separate from the gerund suffix '-iŋ'. It is important to not confuse active participles with gerunds; the most noticable difference is that participles act like adjectives, while gerunds act like nouns.

• Me wear maceŋ soks "I wear matching socks"
• Ðe film ised amazeŋ! "The movie was amazing!"

Active participles can also be used to form continuous verbs, ie. expressing that an action occurs continuously or is still ongoing.

• Me is eateŋ ðe sandwic "I am eating the sandwich"
• He ised runeŋ duriŋ loŋ time "He was running for a long time"

The other type of participle, passive participles, are often formed in English with the '-ed' suffix just as past tense verbs are (eg. "fabricated lie"), but there are many irregular forms (eg. "eat" → "eaten"). In Koolaŋ, passive participles are formed with the suffix '-en' ('-n' when the word ends in 'e').

• Ðe eaten pie "The eaten pie"
• Ðis konstrukten laŋguaje is good "This constructed language is good"

Passive participles can be used to form passive sentences:

• Me eated ðe pie. Ðe pie ised eaten bi me. "I ate the pie. The pie was eaten by me".
• Me folded ðe paper. Ðe paper ised folden bi me. "I folded the paper. The paper was folded by me."

Agent Nouns

An agent noun is a verb which has been converted into a noun which performs the verb's action. In English, agent nouns are formed with the '-er' suffix (eg. "writer", "maker"). Likewise, agent nouns in Koolaŋ are formed with the suffix '-er' ('-r' when the words ends in 'e').

• Še is good swimer "She is a good swimmer"
• Me is useŋ ðe komputer "I am using the computer"

The verb 'is'

The word 'is' is a very important verb and perhaps the most commonly used one; it means "is/am/are/be".

• Me is hapi "I am happy"
• Ðey is tired "They are tired"
• Ðe weaðer is good today "The weather is good today"

The verb 'is' can even be used without anything following it; in this case, it means something like "there is X".

• Animal is "There is an animal"
• Rain is "There is rain", or "It's raining"

dis-

The prefix 'dis-' can form the antonyms of verbs:

• enjoy (enjoy, like) → disenjoy (dislike)
• trust (trust) → distrust (distrust)

-ifi

Any word can be converted into a "causative verb" using the suffix -ifi, derived from English's "-ify" suffix, which has much the same meaning.

• good (good) → goodifi (goodify; to make something good)
• loŋ (long) → loŋifi (lengthen; to make something long)