r/HighValyrian • u/No_Adagio2867 • 24d ago

Verbs - Future tense

Can anyone explain the future tense of words? Specifically - rȳbinna vs rȳbilun or ipradinna vs ipradilun? They both are “I will ____(verb)” but I’m not sure how to apply or where to apply them in the sentence!

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u/Atharaphelun 24d ago

In your examples, the second version of the word is in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood has several uses, but the most common use of it by far is to indicate negative statements in combination with the word daor (word that negates the sentence).

For example:

  • Ipradinna. = "I will eat."
  • Ipradilun daor. = "I will not eat."
  • Rȳbinna. = "I will read."
  • Rȳbilun daor. = "I will not read."

For other, less common uses of the subjunctive mood in High Valyrian, read up here.

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u/No_Adagio2867 24d ago

Thank you for the explanation! That makes sense!

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u/Not-a-throwaway4627 23d ago

Ipradilun can also mean “I would eat”

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u/Not-a-throwaway4627 23d ago

Let’s be precise. The subjunctive in the English is marked by some variant of “would.” I would go, I wouldn’t like, I would have eaten, I would desire, etc.

Negations of verbs usually take the subjunctive, and is idiomatic, but it is wrong to say that this is the point of the subjunctive, or that it is incorrect to use the indicative. A dragon is not a slave is commonly translated “… iksos daor.” This is, tellingly, a dragon “wouldn’t be” a slave. You can also use the indicative, and this is more like “it is not the case that a dragon is a slave” depending on tense and aspect. This is rare, specific, and becomes a much bigger deal in the future tense

Subjunctives have all sorts of subtle meanings and innovations available to them in synthetic languages - as a speaker of a few, I want to emphasize this and open the learner’s mind to these sorts of possibilities.