Verb infixes
All verbal inflection in Na'vi makes use of infixes: morphemes which, rather than occurring before (prefixes) or after (suffixes) are inserted into the middle of the verbal root.
Contents
First position infixes
Infixes that occur in the first position indicate tense, aspect, and mood.
First-position affixes are placed between the onset (if one is present) and the nucleus of the penultimate syllable of the verb. In cases where the verb is monosyllabic, they are placed before the first, and only, vowel of the root.
Aspect
Two aspects are recognized in the grammar of Na'vi: the perfective, which indicates that the activity described by the verb is complete, and imperfective aspect, for things which are ongoing.
The perfective morpheme is <ol>, as seen in the examples below.
(Examples)
The imperfect morpheme is <er>, as shown in the examples below.
(Examples)
Tense
There are five tenses in Na'vi: future, immediate future, present, immediate past, and past.
Mood
Combination of affixes in first position
Although not all possible combinations of aspect, tense, and mood are known from the current corpus, it is known that at least some combinations result in a
Second position infixes
Infixes which occur in the second position indicate a range of features, including most prominently speak attitude toward the event.
First and second position affixes in monosyllabic verbs
In monosyllabic verb roots, first and second position clitics placed in the same position. When this occurs, the first-position infixes precede the second position infix, should there be one.