Malagasy verbals
From UniLang Wiki
This pages focuses on the various issues surrounding Malagasy verbals. I use the term "verbals" because many words that in English would be adjectives are considered stative verbs in Malagasy.
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Tense
Malagasy verbs feature three tenses; present, past, and future. The general marker of the past tense is n- for most verbs (but t- for certain function words that are temporal), and h- for the future; the present tense is usually unmarked. Individual considerations for tense can be examined in the sections on voice and derivational affixes.
Mood
Generally, Malagasy verbs have three one finite mood, the indicative, and two personal non-finite moods, the imperative and conditional. Only the indicative and imperative are synthetic (i.e. affixed) mood; the conditional is formed with by periphrasis.
Voice
Malagasy verbs conjugate for three voices: active, passive, relative. The active voice maintains one form for all persons, but the passive and relative voices allow for personal affixes. For more on voice, click here.
Derivational Affixes: Transitivity and Aspect
Malagasy features an array of affixes that help to shade and nuance the meanings of verb roots and stems. The general affixes focus on transitivity and aspect. For more on derivational affixes, click here.
