fai kwesta — to make (ask) a question
fai kasam — to make (take) a vow
fai fiasko — to not succeed
fai interes om koysa — to take an interest in something
fai bak! — may mean "set back" or "throw back!" etc.
fai avan! — may mean "throw forward!" etc.
As distinct from ‘zwo’ (to do, to make) ‘fai’ is a helping verb and may be used only in combinations, so “Do it!” is “Zwo to!”
In speech the combination ‘fai+noun’ may sometimes replace verbs that you cannot remember. In such a case ‘fai’ means ‘to use the object in some usual way, to act in usual way in connection with the object’:
fai kitaba — to read a book
fai kama — to sleep or lie on a bed
fai kaval — to ride a horse
fai gitara — to play guitar
fai kino — to watch a cinema or to go to the cinema
fai (defai) butas — to lace (unlace) shoes.
Modal verbs
Mog — can, may:
Me bu mog lekti: kitaba yok. — I cannot read: there is no book.
Yu mog zwo to kom yu yao. — You may do it as you like.
Bu mog — one can't, it is impossible.
Bu mog jivi sin chi. — One can't live without eating.
Darfi — to have permission, be allowed, (one) may:
Lu darfi gun kom leker. — He is allowed to work as a doctor.
Me darfi zin ku? — May I come in?
Yao — want:
Kwo yu yao? — What do you want?
Me yao aiskrem. — I want ice-cream.
Me wud yao safari kun yu. — I would like to go on the trip with you.
Mus — must; have to:
Oli jen mus chi fo jivi. — All people must eat in order to live.
Manya me mus go a ofis. — Tomorrow I must go to the office.
Treba — it is necessary; require:
Treba zwo se olo til aksham. — It is necessary to do it all till the evening.
Treba kaulu to. — One should consider this.
Sey kwesta treba kaulusa. — This question requires consideration.
Treba pyu jen. — More people are needed/required.
("Treba" has a wider meaning than "nidi" and "gai").
Nidi — need:
Lu nidi yur helpa. — He needs your help.
Durtitaa sempre nidi ahfi swa. — Craftiness always needs to hide.
Gai — (one) should, (one) ought, supposed to:
Me gai lekti mucho. — I should read a lot.
Yu bu gai lanfai. — You should not be lazy.
Sempre gai zwo olo tak kom gai. — One should always do everything as needed.
Majbur — be compelled to, have to, there is no other way but:
En-pluvi, nu majbur go a dom. — It begins to rain, we have to go home.
Meteo es bade, majbur deri avion-ney departa. — The weather is bad, the plane's departure has to be delayed.
Si me bu findi kitaba, majbur kupi nove-la. — If I don't find the book, I'll have to buy a new one.
Pri — to like:
Me pri flor. — I like flowers.
Me pri sey flor. — I like this flower.
May kinda pri rasmi. — My child likes to draw.
"Intensive" verbs
Some verbs are used to add specific meanings to the action description.
Pai — (the basic meaning "to get, receive") imparts the meaning "to succeed, achieve, obtain":
nulwan pai kapti ta — nobody managed to catch it
pai kreki nuta — to (succesfully) crack the nut
pai ofni ken — to open can (at last)
nu pai zwo to — we did it.
Lwo — (the basic meaning "to fall") conveys the depth of transition into another state/condition:
lwo in plaki — burst into tears
lwo in ridi — burst out laughing; start roaring with laughter
lwo in pyani — take to hard drinking
lwo in lekti nove kitaba — to become thoroughly engrossed in reading a new book.
Dai — (the basic meaning "to give") conveys unexpectedness of action for observers or its unexpected intensity:
dai shwo — blurt out, plump out
ta lai e dai darbi ta in nos — he came and all of a sudden hit him in the nose
ta dai kwiti molya — he took and abandoned his wife.
Verb prefixes
be — when added to intransitive verbs, makes action apply to an object:
dumi — to think
bedumi koysa — to think something over
kresi — to grow
pelin bekresi korta — wormwood overgrows the yard
when added to transitive verbs, changes the object of action:
chori koysa — to steal something
bechori koywan — to rob somebody
planti koysa — to plant something
beplanti agra bay repa — to plant the field with turnips
pendi koysa — to hang something
bependi mur bay piktura — to cover the wall with pictures
de(s) — opposite action ("des" if before a vowel):
desharji — discharge
delodi — unload
desorganisi — disorganize
ek- — denotes that something is done only one time or rather suddenly (from Hindi "ek" one):
tuki — to knock
ek-tuki — to give a knock
krai — to cry
ek-krai — to cry out
salti — to jump
ek-salti — to jump up
en- — denotes the beginning of action:
en-somni — to fall asleep
en-lubi — to fall in love
en-krai — to start crying
en-tuki — to begin knocking
en-jan — to come to know, find out
fa — conveys the meaning "to get, to become":
akwa fa-warme — the water is getting warm
fa-tume — it is getting dark
fa-gran — to get bigger, enlarge
fa-syao — to diminish, get smaller
fa-dey — it dawns
luy wangas fa-rude — his cheeks redden
Fa-garme-te. — It became hot.
Jiva fa-hao oltaim pyu. — Life is always getting better.
When used with verbs, makes them intransitive:
astoni — “to astonish”
fa-astoni — “to be (become) astonished”.
mah — causative prefix meaning "to make, render, transform into, bring into a condition" (synonymous with the suffix -isi). It is practical to use it with adjectives like ‘hao, gao’. E. g.:
treba mah-hao situasion — one should improve the situation.
This prefix also modifies verbs:
jal — to burn, be burning
mah-jal — to burn (something).
Lu zai mah-jal papir. — He is burning the papers.
• It should be noted that there is also a link-verb ‘mah’ meaning the same as the English “make”:
mah li zwo to — make them do it
mah kaval lopi — make the horse run
se ve mah yu fogeti to — this will make you forget it
se bu ve mah yu triste — this will not make you sad
mah koywan felise — to make someone happy
mah butas repari-ney — to have the boots repaired
mah gunsa zwo-ney — to get the work done.
mis — equal to the English mis-:
misyusi — to misuse
miskalkuli — to miscalculate.
ras — separation, division, or dispersion:
muvi — to move
rasmuvi — to move apart
dai — to give
rasdai — to distribute, give out to many
sendi — to send
rassendi — to send out/round
lwo — to fall
raslwo — to fall to pieces
ri — again, anew: