Derived verbs beginning with n-
A Derived Verb Beginning with N
Kiteb means ‘he wrote’; nkiteb means ‘it was written’. Nqasam describes breaking or splitting.
How It Works
Form VII commonly relates a transitive base to an intransitive derivative. Compare kiteb, ‘he wrote’, with nkiteb, ‘it was written’. The written thing becomes the subject, while the writer can remain unnamed. An established derivative can also describe a change of state: nqasam means ‘broke’ or ‘split’.
The derived verb agrees with its own subject: masculine inkiteb contrasts with feminine nkitbet. Derivational n belongs to the lexical stem; in nikteb, ‘I write’, n instead marks first-person imperfect agreement. Learn established derivatives rather than adding n freely to arbitrary verbs. Initial supporting i depends on phonological context and spelling convention; it does not change the participant roles.
Examples (4)
- Pawlu kiteb rapport qasir.
Paul wrote a short report.
The base verb takes a writer as subject.
- Ir-rapport inkiteb ilbieraħ.
The report was written yesterday.
The affected report is the subject.
- Il-lista nkitbet dalgħodu.
The list was written this morning.
The derivative agrees with a feminine singular subject.
- Il-ħġieġ inqasam.
The glass broke.
The established derivative expresses a change of state.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Introduce n-derived verbs by moving the written thing into subject position and by reading inqasam as a lexical change of state. Supporting initial i and subject agreement do not supply or change the derivative's participant roles.
Related Patterns
Practice Derived verbs beginning with n- in Bubblegum
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