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Siron: Nauthog i linnad bain?
Ivrinel: Nauthon i linnad dîn rovain! A gin, Amdiron?
Siron: Ieston linnathar aen oh i daur a û i 'aear! Nae, thî aníron ledhed ennas.
Siron: Do you think the singing is beautiful?
Ivrinel: I think their singing is most beautiful. And you, Amdiron?
Amdiron: I wish they would sing about the forest and not the sea! Alas, now I want to travel there.
Ivrinel: Nauthon i linnad dîn rovain! A gin, Amdiron?
Siron: Ieston linnathar aen oh i daur a û i 'aear! Nae, thî aníron ledhed ennas.
Siron: Do you think the singing is beautiful?
Ivrinel: I think their singing is most beautiful. And you, Amdiron?
Amdiron: I wish they would sing about the forest and not the sea! Alas, now I want to travel there.
Sindarin has two main types of verbs which are generally known as I-stem verbs and A-stem verbs.
You can tell which is which simply by looking at a verb in a dictionary. If it ends with an A, it's an A-stem verb. If it doesn't, it's an I-stem verb.
Verbs in Sindarin are very unlike those in English. In English we have separate pronouns and verbs (I write, You think, They do). In Sindarin the pronouns attach to the verb and are known as pronominal suffixes (a suffix that serves as a pronoun).
You can tell which is which simply by looking at a verb in a dictionary. If it ends with an A, it's an A-stem verb. If it doesn't, it's an I-stem verb.
Verbs in Sindarin are very unlike those in English. In English we have separate pronouns and verbs (I write, You think, They do). In Sindarin the pronouns attach to the verb and are known as pronominal suffixes (a suffix that serves as a pronoun).
I-stem verb suffixes and changes
Stem vowels
I-stem verbs all contain a single vowel. This is the 'stem vowel'. The Elvish (Quenya) term for this is sundóma.
E.g. in Cen- 'to see', the stem vowel is E; in Badh- 'to judge', the stem vowel is A.
I-stem verbs all contain a single vowel. This is the 'stem vowel'. The Elvish (Quenya) term for this is sundóma.
E.g. in Cen- 'to see', the stem vowel is E; in Badh- 'to judge', the stem vowel is A.
Before you can add on these suffixes, you need to be aware of i-affection. This is a change caused by adding suffixes with an 'i' in them. If the suffix doesn't contain an i you don't need to apply i-affection.
Table of I-affection and vowel lengthening changes
Stem vowel |
Changes to |
Lengthens to |
a |
e |
â |
e |
e |
ê |
i |
i |
î |
o |
e |
ô |
Pronominal suffixes
Infinitive 'to x' |
-ed |
Imperative 'X!'- |
-o- |
Gerund '...ing' (noun) |
-ed |
Present participle '...ing' (adjective) |
-ol- |
1st person 'I...' |
-in |
Plural 'We...' |
-im |
2nd person formal 'You...' |
-il |
Plural 'You (all)...' |
-idh |
2nd person informal 'You...' |
-ig |
Plural 'You (all)...' |
-igir |
3rd person 'He/she/it...' |
Lengthened stem vowel |
Plural 'They...' |
-ir |
Example: Tol- 'to come'
The stem vowel of Tol- is 'o'. From the table given above we can see that O changes to E if a suffix is added that contains an 'i'. When lengthened, o changes to ô. This gives us the following completed table for the present tense of Tol-.
Infinitive 'to come' |
Toled |
Imperative 'Come!' |
Tolo- |
Gerund 'coming' (noun) |
Toled |
Present participle 'coming' (adjective) |
Tolol- |
1st person 'I come, I am coming' |
Telin |
Plural 'We come, we are coming' |
Telim |
2nd person formal 'You come, you are coming' |
Telil |
Plural 'You (all) come, you are all coming' |
Telidh |
2nd person informal 'You come, you are coming' |
Telig |
Plural 'You (all) come, you are all coming' |
Teligir |
3rd person 'He/she/it comes, he/she/it is coming' |
Tôl |
Plural 'They come, they are coming' |
Telir |
A-stem verb suffixes
A-stem verbs are not subject to i-affection or vowel lengthening.
Infinitive 'to x' |
-ad |
Imperative 'X!' |
-o |
Gerund '...ing' (noun) |
-ad |
Present participle '...ing' (adjective) |
-ol |
1st person 'I...' |
-on |
Plural 'We...' |
-am |
2nd person formal 'You...' |
-ol |
Plural 'You (all)...' |
-odh |
2nd person informal 'You...' |
-og |
Plural 'You (all)...' |
-ogir |
3rd person 'He/she/it...' |
-a |
Plural 'They...' |
-ar |
Example: Ista- 'to know'
Infinitive 'to know' |
Istad |
Imperative 'Know!' |
Isto |
Gerund 'knowing' (noun) |
Istad |
Present participle 'knowing' (adjective) |
Istol |
1st person 'I know' |
Iston |
Plural 'We know' |
Istam |
2nd person formal 'You know' |
Istol |
Plural 'You (all) know' |
Istodh |
2nd person informal 'You know' |
Istog |
Plural 'You (all) know' |
Istogir |
3rd person 'He/she/it knows' |
Ista |
Plural 'They know' |
Istar |
What is the difference between the gerund and the present participle?
The only example of an I-stem verb gerund is in the place name Cabed en-Aras = Leap of the deer. Note that this is not translated 'Leaping of the deer', but is translated as being a noun, 'Leap'.
In English, both the gerund and the present participle are formed with -ing (for example 'walking', 'running', 'talking') and look identical however if it is the gerund it acts as a noun, and if it is the present participle it acts as an adjective.
In English, both the gerund and the present participle are formed with -ing (for example 'walking', 'running', 'talking') and look identical however if it is the gerund it acts as a noun, and if it is the present participle it acts as an adjective.
Notes on the present tense
One of the first mistakes new learners of Sindarin often make is to write sentences like Im iston or Nin iston to try and say 'I know'. Because of the way Sindarin verbs are constructed, as we have learnt above, you do not need an extra pronoun as the verb already contains one. Simply say Iston. Im iston actually means 'I know myself'. If you place a pronoun before the verb, ensure it is acting as an object.
Sindarin has only one present aspect. In English you could say 'I am eating' or 'I eat'. In Sindarin these are both covered by Medin. Similarly 'They are coming' and 'They come' are both Telir. This is an important distinction to make when dealing with Sindarin, as otherwise you are likely to try and make sentences like this:
Ni maded = I am eating
De toled = He is coming
Why is this wrong? Well although written down, 'Ni maded = I am eating' looks exactly the same as 'Medin = I am eating', they have different meanings. Ni maded implies that you, personally, are something called 'to eat, eating'.
Sindarin has only one present aspect. In English you could say 'I am eating' or 'I eat'. In Sindarin these are both covered by Medin. Similarly 'They are coming' and 'They come' are both Telir. This is an important distinction to make when dealing with Sindarin, as otherwise you are likely to try and make sentences like this:
Ni maded = I am eating
De toled = He is coming
Why is this wrong? Well although written down, 'Ni maded = I am eating' looks exactly the same as 'Medin = I am eating', they have different meanings. Ni maded implies that you, personally, are something called 'to eat, eating'.
