Using Gevey verb tenses

The timing of an action - in the past, present or future - is clearly marked in Gevey through the tense particles N (for future actions), S (for current actions) and T (for past actions). The modality (must, might, could, etc) of a verb's action, its definiteness (yes, no, never) and other modifications of an action are handled by other grammatical processes.

The only exception to this is the historical tense (demonstrated by the TH particle) which has a wider remit than the other tenses:

• it is often used to identify the key action in a statement, which could be a past, present or future action
• it can also be used for actions that precede past actions being recounted by a person or text
• in older texts - particularly religious texts - it can be used in contrast to the past tense to show that a past action has unescapable implications for current activities

The only way to determine how the historic tense is being used is through context - when in doubt, it is often best to assume that the historical tense verb is identifying the key action in a sequence of actions. The tense of other verbs in the sequence will help establish whether the key action is past, present or future.

Fate, and the philosophy of time, in Gevey

In Gevey society, the concept of time can be tied closely to the concept of fate. Gevey society takes a helical approach to the role of time in history. They recognise that time has a direction (past => present => future), but also take note of its cyclical, repetitive nature. The Ramajal view that "the past is the past and the future is a new country" is a difficult concept for many Gevey speakers to grasp: for them actions in the past can impact deeply on, and shape actions taken in, the present and the future.

Fate, for Gevey society, comes in two flavours: that which is set in stone and thus unavoidable; and that which though destined to occur can be met (or avoided), and its outcome shaped, through innovative action.

This view of fate is very much shaped through Gevey society's understanding of the genetic imperative, genetic inheritance and genetic potential. Simply stated, every person (or more widely, object) is delivered into the world as a set of potentials. A similar concept can be seen to underpin the use of object status, in particular the use of the internal status.

Some potentials will become expressed over time whatever people try to do to avoid their fate. On a genetic level, this includes physical aptitudes, suseptibility to disease, aging and death. On a social level, these include binding agreements between parties whose outcomes (both for completing the contract and for breaking the contract) are known.

However, there is another set of potentials which represent those actions that a person (or object) are capable of achieving, but only if the conditions for expressing those potentials is right, and the person (or object) actively seek to express those potentials - for instance a person may be born with the potential to become a fast runner, but without training, appropriate discipline and good health that person is unlikely to achieve their potential to run fast.

Thus to summarise:

• Gevey society has a strong attachment to the concept of fate, both on individual lives and on the lives of communities and even inanimate objects
• native Gevey speakers do not make use of the (Ramajal) concepts of free will and independent action - conversations and texts will usually be underpinned by an unspoken assumption that every action is predecated by actions in the past
• there's also an unspoken assumption that past actions will be repeated due to the cyclical nature of time
• actions are, however, able to evolve (through experience and learning), reflecting the linearity of the direction of time
• in some respects, Gevey society can be considered a stoical society which accepts that unavoidable fate is inescapable and must be borne rather than tackled or avoided
• even so, Gevey society believes that some fates can be avoided through a combination of skill, intelligence and planning, and an amenable environment
• this contrast between avoidable and unavoidable actions can be marked in the language through the selective use of the past tense for avoidable actions and the historical tense for unavoidable actions.

The comparison, and progression, of tenses

The concept of present time is wider in Gevey than in languages such as Ramajal, and can include events that have just happened or are about to happen. This has implication for the use of completion aspect particles, as using the past tense without a completion aspect particle assumes that the action is completed. Similarly, an action in the present tense without a completion aspect particle indicates that the action is incomplete and continuous. Thus the particle 'let' is rarely used with the present tense.

As can be seen from the above table, Gevey verb tenses are less flexible than Ramajal verb "tenses" when it comes to determining the timing and sequencing of actions. Like Ramajal, Gevey will make use of modifiers and oblique objects (particularly time nouns) to refine the verb. Gevey also makes use of conjunctions to set out which actions happened when, and how each action relates to other actions in the sentence or utterance.

Gevey is a language driven by conjunctions (as explained on the guide to Gevey clauses webpage). A subset of conjunctions called temporal conjunctions are particularly important for determining action times relative to each other.

Unlike Ramajal, Gevey does not demonstrate progression of tenses - the tense in which the first clause is rendered will not affect the tense of any dependent clause. Rather, each clause is expected to demonstrate its own time:

• ơČĈ ĮČăŀ ơčąŔ ĩČĆĽČĂ ĴƏďĀ ŖČĆŪČĀŪČĂ ƍČĆơČāŀĞ ơČĈ ŪČćŀģ ĕĎĆ ĽčĊĮČĂūĿČĀūƣČĂ ŖČĂŪČăƕ
• jʊ ken jaɪɹ ʤɒ.ne glɑ fɒ.sæ.se lɒ.jænt jʊ sɒnd bɔ nɔɪ.ke.snæ.sje fe.seɫ
• yu ken yierj Dxone glaa fosase loyant yu sond bao noikesnasye feselj
• now that John has finished eating his cake we can start painting the room
• ơČĈ ĮČăŀ ơčąŔ ĩČĆĽČĂ ĴƏďĀ ŖČĆŪČĀŪČĂ ƢČāƐ ơČĈ ŪČćŀģ ĽčĊĮČĂūĿČĀłČĂ ğČĆƦČĀőČĂŪČāŀĚČĉƕŮ ŖČĂŪČăƕ
• jʊ ken jaɪɹ ʤɒ.ne glɑ fɒ.sæ.se ʲæl jʊ sɒnd nɔɪ.ke.snæ.ɲe dɒ.stæ.ɹe.sæn.tʊɫs fe.seɫ
• yu ken yierj dxone glaa fosase âl yu sond noikesnanje dostarjesantuljs feselj
• John has eaten his cake and we'll paint the room tomorrow