Changes and Verbs. The morphemes in a verb phrase encode the depiction of a Subject-object's change in the Cognitive Image. At the heart of a verb phrase is the verbal root (e.g., `via- 'hit; beat'), which depicts the prototype of the change.

Prototypes. Inherent in a prototype is the depiction of the source of the force, or Actor, behind the change. If the force is confined internally to an object, the force and the corresponding verb are intransitive. If the force emanates externally from an Actor object, it is transitive; and the force path appears, along with a prototypical Goal object. The depiction of intransitive or transitive force is superimposed upon a prototype's configuration.

Intransitive

Transitive

A prototype may be augmented

• through the suffix -ov that depicts remote agency (e.g., ^vi·ov- 'hit [through an intermediary]'), or
• with words that specify
  • an incorporated object in the prototype (e.g., `Co via- 'shout', literally, "hit a shout") or
  • an incorporated direction of the prototype (e.g., ^bâra via- 'beat [heart]', literally, "hit out").

Remote Agent on Intransitive

Remote Agent on Transitive

Incorporated Object

Incorporated Direction

Morphemes that depict a prototype or an augmented prototype constitute the Prototypical Form of a verb, which depicts the verbal change in the default Prototypical Mode.

The Prototypical Form is used by itself to indicate a command to a singular hearer. It depicts the hearer as the Actor of a change, as the speaker would wish it. (The final a of -a-stem verbs changes to u; e.g., ^kânu 'laugh!', < ^kâna-.) Commands to plural hearers require the 2nd person plural subject-pointer suffix -ň. Examples are:

Prototypical Forms also depict immediately potential activities of the speaker, as in

Participles. Modal and aspectual suffixes may be added to the Prototypical Form to form participles. Participles depict the changing objects that participate in the verbal action. They include:

• a Conceptual Participle, marked by -la, which depicts a changing Actor in Conceptual Mode; e.g., `viala '[a hypothetical] hitter');
• a Progressive Participle, marked by -na, which depicts a changing Actor as it progresses through the change; e.g., `viana '[he/she/it] is hitting'); in Kâmviri this form functions only as the base of finite verbs;
• a Retrospective Participle, marked by -i, -řa, -na, -ňa, or -ta, which depicts a change retrospectively, focussing on the object that receives the force of the change (the Goal of a transitive verb or the Actor of an intransitive verb) in its final state at the end of the change; e.g., ^vina (< via=na 'beaten, hit').

Conceptual Participle (the object in the foreground)

Progressive Participle (the object in the foreground)

Retrospective Participle (the object in the foreground)

Feminine Singular Objects. If the changing object depicted by a participle is a feminine singular object, it must be marked by the feminine suffix -i added to the participle; e.g.,

Finite Verbs. When participles or the Prototypical Form follow the specification of objects in a predication, they function as Finite Verbs.

Simple finite verbs consist of a participle or the Prototypical Form followed by a subject pointer suffix, which indicates the pronominal zone of the changing Subject (the foregrounded object); e.g., with 1st person singular (speaker) subject pointer -m:

Finite Prototypical

Finite Conceptual

Finite Progressive

Finite Retrospective

Subject pointer suffixes appear in the following table:

Compound finite verbs are formed with a participle followed by a finite form of the verbs ^âsa- ‘is' or `bu- ‘happen', which respectively add dimensions of tense and Suppositional Mode to the depiction of the change. The Retrospective Participle, entitized with -sta ‘-one, being', is compounded with ^âsa- to indicate an Evidential Mode, in which a goal object in its final state of change acts as evidence for the prior, unperceived change itself.

Compounds formed with ^âsa- ‘is' may be closely compounded, as in

Emphatic Mode. Retrospective and Conceptual finite verbs may show an Emphatic Mode, marked by -o added to the participal base, which spotlights the change of a non-feminine-singular subject, enhancing the image's detail to distinguish it from Prototypical Mode; e.g.,

Feminine singular subjects do not appear in Emphatic Mode; consequently, feminine speakers may not refer to themselves in Emphatic Mode. Rather, they use forms compounded with ^âsa- 'is'; e.g.,

Emphatic Mode forms of ^âsa- 'is' (^âso-, etc.) may occur alone or in compound verb forms indicating tense, in which case they typically occur with the word ^nâmo 'nevertheless'; e.g.,

Emphatic Conceptual

Emphatic Progressive

Emphatic Retrospective

Nonfinite Verbs. Nonfinite verbal forms are formed with suffixes to the Prototypical form:

• Participles depict changing objects that participate in a verbal action.
  • The Conceptual participle may occur alone, as in
    `ptu mišoalea, `via pâtialea. 'Spit on the liar and beat the believer!'
    or before a noun, as in
    ^mišoali jukuř 'lying woman',
    
  • The Retrospective participle may occur directly before a noun, as in
    ^vina mânša 'beaten man';
    otherwise, it must be followed by the entitizer -sta, as in
    ^vina sta 'beaten one';
  • Adverbial and derivitive forms of participles depict more specific details of the participant objects.
    • Both participles may take the pluralizing suffix -uk, as in
      `vialuk 'beaters';
      ^vina stuk 'beaten ones';
    • The Adverbial form of the pluralized conceptual participle, ending in -uk-a-˜, is used with the verb ^viša- 'think; conjure up' to depict a false or sham performing of the action, as in
      `vialuka˜ višana. 'He's acting like a hitter' [i.e., pretending to be hitting];
    • The Adverbial form of the conceptual participle, ending in -e-a-˜, is used with the verb `bu- 'become' to depict an Actor's approaching closeness to performing the verbal action; e.g.,
      `mřelea˜ bi·sa. 'He's near to dying';

• Conjunctive Changes occur in conjunction with the change of a finite verb; three temporal relationships between the changes may be depicted:
  • Pre-Finite Change is depicted by a Precedential Participle, marked with -ti, indicating a change in an actor that leads up to the change represented by a finite verb; e.g.,
    `viati `go.
    hit-having go-did[-he].
    'He hit (him) and went.'
  • Post-Finite Change is depicted by a Verbal Precedential Adverb, marked with -o-˜ or -o-˜-u added to the Retrospective stem, indicating the temporal region preceding the completion of a change; it is expressed negatively (with `nâ 'not') as the time during which the change did not occur;
    `nâ jeno˜u go.
    not sat-did-midst-around go-did[-he].
    'He went without sitting.' ("In the time he didn't sit, he went.")
  • Concomitant Change is depicted by a Verbal Concomitant Adverb, marked with -m, indicating a change concomitant with motion; e.g.,
    `viam ^bâřo.
    beat-ing taken-away-![-he].
    'He was beaten as he was taken away.'

• Objectified Change depicts a change as a whole, treated as an object; such objects of change include:
  • an infinitive, marked with -˜, indicating the change as a dynamic goal of action, as in
    `via˜ ie- 'get beaten' ["go to a beating"];
    `via˜ bâ- 'be able to beat' ["get oneself to a beating"];
    `via˜ drov- 'dare to beat' ["run out to a beating"];
    or the change as an emphatic preview to a finite change, as in
    `via˜ de `vianta 'they really do beat' ["beating really, they beat"]';
    
    or the change as an attribute to objects, as in
    `via˜ mânša 'man to be beaten' ["man for beating"]';
    `via˜ vel 'time for beating';
    `via˜ cat 'wish for beating';
  • a gerund, marked with _sta or -˜_sta, indicating an objectived change, as in
    `via sta 'beating; one for beating';
    `ia˜ `via sta âsa. 'I have to beat' ["in-me beating is"];
    `o˜ `via sta âsam. 'I am to be beaten' ["I'm one for beating"]
  • a destination noun, marked with -ň, indicating a change as a goal of motion; e.g.,
    `viaň ie- 'go to beat' ["go for beating"];
    
    Certain verbs allow derivatives of destination nouns built with the suffix of extent -uk, perhaps indicating an object at the full extent of a change; e.g.,
    `jeňuk bu. 'Be seated.';
    
    The adverbial form of such derivitives, ending in -uk-a-˜, indicates an object moving through or beyond a fully reached state, as in
    ^viTloaňuka˜ âpsoa. 'Inflate it till it explodes ["Inflate it through the state of exploding."];
  • a location noun, marked with to˜ 'place', indicating the location (spatial or temporal) at which a change occurs; e.g.,
    `je to˜ 'place to sit';
    
    Further locative specification of ˗to˜ depicts backgrounded encompassing action, as in
    • -to˜_to 'while …-ing'; e.g.,
      `via to˜_to 'while hitting';
      `je to˜_to 'while sitting down' [??];
    • pâ-[Stem-RETRO]-to˜_u 'while …˗ed'; e.g.,
      ^pânšena to˜_u 'while seated';
      ^pâpSui to˜_u 'while asleep';
  • an impulse noun, marked with -ik, indicating an uncontrollable internal impulse; e.g.,
    ^kânik 'impulse to laugh';
    `oa_kâřik 'impulse to urinate ["make water"]';

Various types of adverbs may appear with a verb to indicate spatial and temporal location, direction, manner, negation, and speaker-hearer status.