Page:Hand-book of Volapük (Sprauge, 1888).djvu/32



These vowels when prefixed to the verb are called tense-signs or augments.

The present-sign, a, is omitted in the activ voice.

Binob, I am; &auml;binol, you were; ebinom, he has been; ibinof, she had been; obinos, it will be; ubinon, one will have been.

In English, most of the tenses are expressed by using the auxiliary verbs, have, shall and will; while in Volap&uuml;k there are no such auxiliaries, the verb-form consisting of a single word.

The word "do" is used in English as an auxiliary denoting emphasis, as, "I do believe." In Volap&uuml;k this cannot be translated otherwise than "I believe."

The same tense-vowels,

a, &auml;, e, i, o, u,

are used with some words other than verbs, when time is to be distinguished.

= EXERCISE 17 =

Put the following words into all the tenses, giving the meaning or each :

'''K&ouml;mob. Golol. Getom. N&auml;gof. L&ouml;mibos. Sagon. Labobs. Binols. Sumoms.'''

'''O flen divik&uuml;n ! egetob penedi ola blefik e pidob das ebinol mal&auml;dik. Spelob das uvedol suno saunikum e das ovisitol obis omulo.'''

Dear friend : the long letter, which you wrote to me, has pleased me (kimefal) very much. I hope that I shall soon have got better, and that I shall see you again next year.