Kabardian verbs

The structure of the Kabardian verb features a rigid template of affixal slots preceding and following the verbal root. The argument structure zone, pre-stem elements, and aspectual/modal endings follow a definitive morphological polysynthetic template.

The overall structure of the Adyghe verbal complex is shown below:^[1][2][3]

Kabardian is the easternmost Circassian language. It utilizes three primary cases (absolutive, ergative, oblique) and a fixed verbal slot template. This section focuses on the specific shapes of the Kabardian prefixes and how they interact to form verbs.

Important: no я-/а- oblique in intransitive bivalent verbs. Kabardian distinguishes itself by not using я-/а- as a 3PL oblique prefix in this class of verbs. The 3PL oblique object is expressed by the same prefix as the 3SG oblique object, namely е- (with its allomorphs йо- / о- depending on phonetic environment). Plurality of the oblique is simply left unmarked on the verb.

Thus in Kabardian:

• Соплъ means both "I look at him" and "I look at them".
• Йоплъ means both "He looks at him" and "He looks at them".

To compare the oblique case with Adyghe, notice how Adyghe explicitly distinguishes between singular and plural 3rd person objects in both the present and past tenses. In Adyghe, these pairs are Сеплъы (I look at him) vs. Саплъы (I look at them) in the present tense, and Сеплъыгъ (I looked at him) vs. Саплъыгъ (I looked at them) in the past tense. Kabardian lacks this distinction here. The я-/а- oblique prefix is still used in Kabardian, but only in transitive verbs (see лъагъун "to see" below, where 3PL ergative "they" surfaces as я-).

The Kabardian verb follows a standard Circassian verb template:^[5]

The dynamic present-tense prefix is -о- (the orthographic reflex of underlying -уэ-). Its presence is what gives most present-tense transitive verb forms their characteristic "о" vowel right before the root.

The Kabardian verbal complex relies heavily on prefix slots. A fundamental rule across all paradigms is that the 3rd person singular Absolutive pronoun ("he/she/it") is a zero-morpheme (∅-).

Because of the highly agglutinative nature of the language, person markers undergo regular phonological transformations depending on their immediate phonetic environment.

• Voicing Assimilation: Prefixes adopt the voicing of the immediately following consonant (voiceless, voiced, or ejective). Orthographically, ejectives pattern with voiceless consonants.
  • Птхащ ("you wrote it") ➔ ∅-у-тх-а-щ (2SG /w/ + /t/ hardens to /p/)
  • ТщIыну ("we'll do it") ➔ ∅-д-щI-ы-ну (1PL /d/ + /ɕ'/ devoices to /t/)
  • Здзащ ("I threw it") ➔ ∅-с-дзы-а-щ (1SG /s/ + /dz/ voices to /z/)

• Intervocalic Voicing: Voiceless prefixes voice when trapped between two vowels (such as a preceding prefix and the dynamic -о- or oblique -е-). Conversely, if they sit at the absolute beginning of the word, they retain their base voiceless form.
  • Узолъагъу ("I see you") ➔ у-с-о-лъагъу (1SG с- voices to з-)
  • Къызоплъ ("He looks at me") ➔ ∅-къы-с-о-плъ

• 2nd Person Singular Hardening: The 2SG marker is underlyingly /w/ (written у). While it remains у in the absolutive or word-initially, as an ergative marker it hardens to a labial plosive in consonant clusters (п- before voiceless consonants, б- before the dynamic -о-).
  • Ибот ("You give it to him") ➔ ∅-и-у-о-т
  • Ептащ ("You gave it to him") ➔ ∅-е-у-т-а-щ
  • Бухащ ("You finished it") ➔ ∅-у-ух-а-щ
  • Note on contraction: When the sequence ы-у occurs, it typically contracts to о. Example: Къоплъ ("He looks at you") ➔ ∅-къы-у-плъ.

The following examples demonstrate how these rules apply across different valencies.

Intransitive with Indirect Object (Root: -плъ-, "to look")

• Ар сэ къызоплъ ("He is looking at me")
  • ∅-къы-с-о-плъ (ABS.3SG – CIS – IO.1SG – DYN – root) ➔ 1SG с- voices to з- intervocalically.
• Укъызоплъ ("You are looking at me")
  • У-къы-с-о-плъ (ABS.2SG – CIS – IO.1SG – DYN – root)

Transitive (Root: -лъагъу-, "to see")

• Сэ ар солъагъу ("I see it/him")
  • ∅-с-о-лъагъу (ABS.3SG – ERG.1SG – DYN – root) ➔ 1SG с- remains unvoiced word-initially.
• Узолъагъу ("I see you")
  • У-с-о-лъагъу (ABS.2SG – ERG.1SG – DYN – root) ➔ 1SG с- voices to з- intervocalically.

Ditransitive (Root: -т-, "to give")

• Абы ар сэ къызет ("He gives it to me")
  • ∅-къы-с-е-т (ABS.3SG – CIS – IO.1SG – ERG.3SG – root) ➔ 1SG с- voices between ы and е.
• Сэ ар уэ узот ("I give it to you")
  • ∅-у-с-о-т (ABS.3SG – IO.2SG – ERG.1SG – DYN – root) ➔ 1SG с- voices between у and о.
• Уезот ("I give you to him")
  • У-е-с-о-т (ABS.2SG – IO.3SG – ERG.1SG – DYN – root)
• Сыует ("He gives me to you")
  • Сы-у-е-т (ABS.1SG – IO.2SG – ERG.3SG – root) ➔ 1SG is the syllabic Сы- at the front of the complex; no voicing occurs.

The Kabardian verb еплъын "to look at" takes an absolutive subject and an oblique object.

In the present tense the dynamic -о- prefix is visible in almost every cell.

Notice that, as explained above, the cells "at him" and "at them" are identical (Соплъ, Йоплъ, etc.), since standard verbs in Kabardian do not distinguish 3SG and 3PL in the oblique series of intransitive bivalent verbs due to the dynamic present-tense vowel.

Verbs with Spatial Preverbs: Preserving the 3PL Object While standard bivalent intransitive verbs lack a distinction between 3SG and 3PL objects because the dynamic -о- swallows the prefix, verbs that use spatial preverbs (like пэ-, хэ-, те-) maintain this distinction. Because the preverb sits between the object prefix and the dynamic vowel, the 3PL oblique prefix а- remains clearly visible.

• Абыхэм щ1алэр къапоплъэ. — "The boy is waiting for them." (Note: The subject "жыхьэнмэр" is absolutive, and the 3PL object "абыхэм" is oblique. The verb features the directional къ- + 3PL object prefix а- + preverb пэ- + dynamic -о- + root плъэ). Contrast this with a 3SG object form къыпоплъэ ("waiting for him").
• Сэ абыхэм сахоплъэ. — "I look among them." (сы-а-х-о-плъэ : 1SG.SUBJ сы- + 3PL.OBJ а- + preverb хэ- + dynamic -о- + root плъэ).
• Си 1уэхук1э сэ унащхьэхэм сатоплъэ. — "Because of my business, I look upon the roofs." (сы-а-т-о-плъэ : 1SG.SUBJ сы- + 3PL.OBJ а- + preverb те- [which drops its vowel to become т-] + dynamic -о- + root плъэ).

To further clarify the usage of present bivalent intransitives, consider the root -джэ- (to read/study) and other verbs in context:

• Соджэ — "I read / I am studying" (с-о-джэ)
• Йоджэ — "He reads / He is studying" (й-о-джэ)
• Щ1алэр тхылъым йоджэ. — "The boy reads the book." (Notice how the subject "щ1алэр" is in the absolutive, and the object "тхылъым" takes the oblique case.)
• Сэ тхылъым соджэ. — "I read the book."
• Зыгуэрк1э сыноупщ1мэ, жэуап пэжыр псынщ1у къызот. — "If I ask you about something, you quickly give me the true answer."
  • Absence of dynamic -о- in conditionals: Note that the conditional suffix -мэ ("if") strips away the dynamic present-tense prefix -о-. The "о" visible in сыноупщ1мэ is not the dynamic prefix; it is simply the phonetic contraction of the 2nd-person singular object pronoun уэ (сы-ны-уэ-упщ1-мэ). We can verify this by switching the object to the 2nd-person plural (вэ), which yields сынывэупщ1мэ ("if I ask y'all"). The "о" completely vanishes, proving the dynamic prefix is indeed absent.

The Kabardian past-tense suffix for bivalent intransitives is -ащ. Again, the 3SG and 3PL oblique forms are identical (no я- is used) in standard verbs without preverbs.

Distinguishing the dynamic о- from the 2nd-person pronoun уэ. In the past tense, there is no dynamic present-tense о-. It is critical not to confuse the dynamic present-tense о- with the phonetic contraction of the 2nd person singular pronoun уэ- in the past tense. Consider:

• Сыноплъащ "I looked at you" ← derived from Сы-ны-уэ-плъ-ащ.
• Къоплъащ "He looked at you" ← derived from Къы-уэ-плъ-ащ.

We can prove that this о is purely the 2nd person pronoun (and not the dynamic present prefix) by replacing the "you" object with "me" (1SG, сэ-) or "y'all" (2PL, вэ-). When we do this, the о completely disappears, revealing the true past-tense structure without any dynamic prefix:

• Къызэплъащ "He looked at me"
• Сынывэплъащ "I looked at y'all"
• Къывэплъащ "He looked at y'all"

This diagnostic is useful throughout the Kabardian verbal system whenever one sees an "о" next to a 2nd person argument.

• Си гъусэу унежьэмэ, зык1и укъызэмыупщ1. — "If you set out with me, do not ask me anything at all." (Features the bivalent intransitive root in a negative imperative context: у-къы-зэ-мы-упщ1 "you-CIS-to.me-NEG-ask").
• Дыгъуасэ сэ тхылъыхэм сяджащ. — "Yesterday I read the books." (Note: The verb еджэн inherently uses the indirect object prefixes е- (singular) and я- (plural) rather than a spatial preverb. Therefore, the 1SG past plural is correctly formed as сяджащ [с-я-дж-а-щ], rather than *саджащ).
• Ц1ыхухэм сахэплъащ. — "I looked among the people." (сы-а-хэ-плъ-а-щ. A perfect past-tense construction maintaining the 3PL prefix а- with the хэ- preverb).
• Сэ нобэ жылэм и унащ1эхэм сарихьащ скъаплъынущ. — "Today I entered the village's new houses, I will look at them." (Features the past tense сарихьащ [сы-а-ры-хь-а-щ, "I entered among them"] alongside the future tense скъаплъынущ [сы-къ-а-плъ-ын-у-щ]).

The Kabardian verb лъагъун "to see" is transitive: its subject is ergative and its object is absolutive. The slot order in the prefix chain is therefore:

[Object (Abs)] – (optional cislocative къы-/къэ-) – [Subject (Erg)] – (dynamic -о-) – [Root]

Note that the 3PL ergative prefix я- (< а-) does appear here — for example in Ялъагъу "they see him" — unlike in the intransitive bivalent paradigm.

Here are further examples demonstrating present-tense transitive structures:

• Л1ым бийр еук1. — "The man kills the enemy." (Ergative subject "л1ым", Absolutive object "бийр". The verb еук1 marks the 3SG agent).
• Тхылъыр абыхэм ятх. — "They write the book." (The 3PL agent is clearly marked by the ergative я-).

In the past tense, the dynamic present-tense marker -о- disappears, so the "pure" ergative prefixes become visible. The 1SG ergative с-, the 2SG ergative п-, the 1PL ergative т- (< д- by devoicing, see below), the 2PL ergative ф-, the 3SG ergative и-, and the 3PL ergative я- all appear immediately before the root. The past-tense suffix is -ащ.

Note on pronunciation and spelling. In the past-tense transitive conjugation, the 1st-person plural ergative prefix д- becomes the voiceless т- because it precedes the voiceless lateral fricative лъ (e.g. тлъэгъуащ instead of the underlying длъэгъуащ).

In the past tense, the forms reflect completed actions without the dynamic -о-:

• Л1ым бийр иук1ащ. — "The man killed the enemy." (The 3SG past ergative is marked by и-, yielding иук1ащ).
• Тхылъыр абыхэм ятхащ. — "They wrote the book." (The 3PL ergative я- with the past suffix -ащ).
• Хьащ1эхэр елъэ1уащ къуаджэдэсхэм ягъэшхэну, ауэ къуаджэдэсхэм ягъэхьэщ1эн ядакъым. — "The guests begged the villagers to feed them, but the villagers refused to host them." (A complex sentence featuring past transitive actions like ядакъым "they did not agree/allow", driven by the 3PL ergative я-, and the causative past ягъэшхэну).

A trivalent (ditransitive) verb in Kabardian takes three arguments simultaneously:

• an ergative agent — the giver, sender, shower, or teller;
• an absolutive theme — the thing (or person) given, sent, or shown; and
• an oblique recipient — the entity to whom something is given, sent, or shown.

A complete 7 × 7 × 7 paradigm would produce several hundred distinct forms, so a representative set of examples is shown below. All forms are built on the prototypical trivalent root -т- "to give" (infinitive етын) and follow the standard slot template:

A striking feature of the trivalent paradigm is the sudden appearance of a linking consonant -р- between the Oblique and Ergative prefixes whenever both are 3rd person. This consonant has not been encountered in the preceding chapters on monovalent and bivalent verbs, and there is a simple structural reason for this:

• In monovalent (intransitive) verbs, the verb has only one argument — an absolutive. There is no Ergative–Oblique boundary where a linking consonant could arise.
• In bivalent verbs, the verb has two arguments, but they are either Absolutive + Ergative (transitive) or Absolutive + Oblique (indirect transitive). Since the 3rd person singular Absolutive is itself a zero-morpheme (Ø-), only one of Slot 3 or Slot 4 is ever filled on the surface. The linking problem never arises.
• Only in trivalent verbs are both the Oblique (Slot 3) and the Ergative (Slot 4) filled at the same time. When both happen to be 3rd person, two vowel-initial prefixes collide at a single morpheme boundary, and Kabardian repairs the collision by inserting -р-.

Concretely, the underlying collision of a 3rd-person Oblique with a 3rd-person Ergative is repaired as follows:

• и- (OBL 3SG) + е- (ERG 3SG + DYN) → -ире- ("he gives it to him" = ирет)
• и- (OBL 3SG) + а- (ERG 3PL) → -ира- ("they give it to him" = ират)
• я- (OBL 3PL) + е- (ERG 3SG + DYN) → -яре- ("he gives it to them" = ярет)
• я- (OBL 3PL) + а- (ERG 3PL) → -яра- ("they give it to them" = ярат)

The linking -р- is therefore not a new morpheme with its own meaning — it is a phonological bridge that surfaces precisely at the point where two third-person vowels would otherwise run together.

• (Sorted by Ergative Agent, then Absolutive Theme, then Oblique Recipient. Forms involving the 1st/2nd person plural are omitted for brevity).*

When the recipient (Oblique) is the same entity as the agent (Ergative), or the action reflects back to the self, Kabardian employs a reflexive oblique prefix (зы- or з-) and attaches the return/reflexive suffix -ж to the end of the root. Notice the use of the Kabardian suffix -ж. In the past tense, -ж is followed by the preterite suffix -ащ, yielding -жащ.

• (Note: The linking -ире- or -ира- drops when the Absolutive prefix is visible. Compare "He gives/gave it to himself" Зиретж / Зиритжащ with "He gives/gave you to himself" Узетж / Узитжащ).*

Every trivalent form decomposes cleanly into the five slots of the template: reading the prefix chain left-to-right tells the listener exactly what is being given, to whom, and by whom. Major features of this paradigm include the dynamic -о- (present tense only, fused with the ergative to yield зо-, бо-; absent in the past), the linking -р- between two 3rd-person arguments, the Ergative vowel shift е → и in the past, the simplification я → а in the middle of a past verb, and the -хэ, -ащ and -ж suffixes.

The dynamic prefix is a verbal morpheme that spans across several grammatical categories in Circassian languages, encompassing tense, mood, and dynamicity. It is strictly attached when a verb is used in the positive, dynamic and present tense.

Linguistically, this morpheme likely originates from the Proto-Circassian prefix *уэ-. As the language diverged, this prefix transformed phonologically depending on the dialect: it shifted to -о- in Kabardian and to -э- in Adyghe. This contrast is most evident when comparing the present tense (where the dynamic prefix is active) to the past tense (where the prefix is absent, leaving no connecting vowel between the personal pronouns and the verb root).

The dynamic prefixes (-о-, мэ-) strictly indicate the positive present tense. In non-present tenses, negative forms, and conditional statements, this prefix is completely omitted.

When switching from the present to the past or future tense, the dynamic prefix drops out, allowing the personal pronouns to attach directly to the verb root or the preceding relational prefixes.

• Monovalent Verbs (to go):
  • I go: Сэ сокӏуэ (Present) / Сэ скӏуащ (Past) / Сэ скӏуэнущ (Future)
  • He/She goes: Ар макӏуэ (Present) / Ар кӏуащ (Past) / Ар кӏуэнущ (Future)
• Bivalent Intransitive Verbs (to look at it):
  • I look: Сэ абы соплъ (Present) / Сэ абы сеплъащ (Past) / Сэ абы сеплъынущ (Future)
  • He/She looks: Ар абы йоплъ (Present) / Ар абы еплъащ (Past) / Ар абы еплъынущ (Future)
• Bivalent Transitive Verbs (to write it):
  • I write: Сэ ар сотх (Present) / Сэ ар стхащ (Past) / Сэ ар стхынущ (Future)
  • He/She writes: Абы ар етх (Present) / Абы ар итхащ (Past) / Абы ар итхынущ (Future)

In the negative form, the dynamic prefix is completely dropped, even if the verb is in the present tense. Naturally, in the negative non-present tenses (past/future), the dynamic prefix is also absent, as it violates both the tense and the polarity rules.

• Present Tense (Negative): The dynamic vowels and the мэ- prefix disappear.
  • Сэ сокӏуэ (I go) → Сэ сыкӏуэркъым (I do not go)
  • Ар макӏуэ (He/She goes) → Ар кӏуэркъым (He/She does not go)
• Past Tense (Negative):
  • Сэ скӏуащ (I went) → Сэ скӏуакъым (I did not go)
  • Ар кӏуащ (He/She went) → Ар кӏуакъым (He/She did not go)

Adding suffixes such as -мэ (if), -ми (even if), -и (and), -у (while; adverbial), or -урэ (while; simultaneous action) strips the verb of its dynamic prefix.

• Examples using сокӏуэ (I go) and макӏуэ (he goes):
  • I go: сокӏуэ → сыкӏуэмэ (if I go), сыкӏуэми (even if I go), сыкӏуи (and I go), сыкӏуэу (while I go), сыкӏуэурэ (while I am going).
  • He goes: макӏуэ → кӏуэмэ (if he goes), кӏуэми (even if he goes), кӏуи (and he goes), кӏуэу (while he goes), кӏуэурэ (while he is going).

Distinguishing the Pronoun from the Tense Marker:
Because the dynamic prefix is dropped in conditional statements, we must be careful not to mistake pronouns for tense markers. Take the conditional phrase сыноупщӏмэ ("if I ask you"). While there is an "о" sound present, it is not the dynamic prefix. Because it is a conditional phrase, the dynamic prefix has dropped out, leaving the 2nd person singular pronoun уэ ("you") to blend with the preceding prefix (сы-ны-уэ-упщӏ-мэ).

If we swap the singular "you" (уэ) for the plural "y'all" (вэ), the "о" entirely disappears, confirming it was just a pronoun: сынывэупщӏмэ ("if I ask y'all").

Morphologically, the present tense lacks a dedicated temporal suffix at the end of the verb. Instead, the tense is marked at the front of the verb stem via this dynamic prefix. Its behavior and placement depend entirely on the verb's valency (monovalent, bivalent, or trivalent).

Monovalent verbs only take a single subject argument. The core dynamic prefix sits directly between the subject prefix and the verb root. In the past tense, the dynamic prefix is dropped, and the personal prefix attaches directly to the root.

• I go
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ сокӏуэ (сэ с-о-кӏуэ)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ скӏуащ (сэ с-кӏу-ащ)
  • Adyghe Present: Сэ сэкӏо (сэ с-э-кӏо)
  • Adyghe Past: Сэ скӏуагъ (сэ с-кӏу-агъ)
• I look
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ соплъ (сэ с-о-плъ)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ сплъащ (сэ с-плъ-ащ)
  • Adyghe Present: Сэ сэплъэ (сэ с-э-плъ-э)
  • Adyghe Past: Сэ сплъыгъ (сэ с-плъ-ыгъ)

The мэ- Mutation:  An interesting shift occurs in the 3rd person for monovalent verbs. Because there is no overt 3rd person prefix (it is a null prefix ∅-), the dynamic prefix becomes the absolute first letter of the word. Since the dynamic prefix cannot stand alone as an initial vowel without a preceding consonant, it mutates into мэ- in both dialects (i.e., ∅-о-кӏуэ transforms into макӏуэ). In the past tense, since there is no dynamic prefix, the verb simply starts with the root.

• He/She goes
  • Kabardian Present: Ар макӏуэ (ар мэ-кӏуэ)
  • Kabardian Past: Ар кӏуащ (ар ∅-кӏу-ащ)
  • Adyghe Present: Ар макӏо (ар мэ-кӏо)
  • Adyghe Past: Ар кӏуагъ (ар ∅-кӏу-агъ)

Bivalent intransitive verbs take an absolutive subject and an oblique indirect object. Here, the dynamic prefix is no longer word-initial, so it never mutates into мэ-. Instead, it acts as a glue that often "swallows" or blends with adjacent vowels. 

Distinguishing the tense marker from the pronoun: Look closely at the past tense for "I looked at you". In Kabardian, it surfaces as сыноплъащ. The "о" here is not the dynamic prefix. The present tense dynamic prefix was dropped. Instead, the "о" in the past tense is the phonetic contraction of the 2nd person singular pronoun уэ blending with the preceding prefix.

• I look at you
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ уэ сыноплъ (сэ уэ сы-ны-у-о-плъ) — The -о- is the dynamic prefix.
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ уэ сыноплъащ (сэ уэ сы-ны-уэ-плъ-ащ) — The -о- sound is the pronoun уэ.
• I look at y'all
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ фэ сынывоплъ (сэ фэ сы-ны-в-о-плъ)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ фэ сынывэплъащ (сэ фэ сы-ны-вэ-плъ-ащ)

If we compare the 2nd singular form (сыноплъащ) and the plural form (сынывэплъащ) of the past tense, we can clearly see that the plural form does not have an -о-.

When locational or directional prefixes are added, the dynamic prefix remains firmly planted right before the verb root:

• I look among them
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ ахэм сахоплъэ (сэ ахэм сы-а-х-о-плъэ)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ ахэм сахэплъащ (сэ ахэм сы-а-хэ-плъ-ащ)

With 3rd person indirect objects, the prefixes blend significantly:

• I look at it/him
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ абы соплъ (сэ абы сы-й-о-плъ)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ абы сеплъащ (сэ абы сы-йэ-плъ-ащ)
  • Adyghe Present: Сэ ащ сеплъы (сэ ащ сы-й-э-плъы)
  • Adyghe Past: Сэ ащ сеплъыгъ (сэ ащ сы-йэ-плъ-ыгъ)
• He/She reads the book
  • Kabardian Present: Ар тхылъым йодж (ар тхылъым ∅-й-о-дж)
  • Kabardian Past: Ар тхылъым еджащ (ар тхылъым ∅-йэ-дж-ащ)
  • Adyghe Present: Ар тхылъым еджэ (ар тхылъым ∅-йэ-э-джэ)
  • Adyghe Past: Ар тхылъым еджагъ (ар тхылъым ∅-йэ-дж-агъ)

In transitive verbs, the subject is ergative and the direct object is absolutive. The dynamic prefix slots in right after the ergative subject marker. Once again, observe how the past tense entirely lacks the dynamic vowel, forcing the consonants of the pronouns to cluster directly against the verb root.

• I see it
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ ар солъагъу (сэ ар ∅-с-о-лъагъу)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ ар слъэгъуащ (сэ ар ∅-с-лъэгъу-а-щ)
  • Adyghe Present: Сэ ар сэлъэгъу (сэ ар ∅-с-э-лъэгъу)
  • Adyghe Past: Сэ ар слъэгъугъ (сэ ар ∅-с-лъэгъу-гъ)
• I see you
  • Kabardian Present: Сэ уэ узолъагъу (сэ уэ у-с-о-лъагъу)
  • Kabardian Past: Сэ уэ услъэгъуащ (сэ уэ у-с-лъэгъу-а-щ)
  • Adyghe Present: Сэ о усэлъэгъу (сэ о у-с-э-лъэгъу)
  • Adyghe Past: Сэ о услъэгъугъ (сэ о у-с-лъэгъу-гъ)

The 3rd Person: Distinguishing Singular vs. Plural
An important distinction arises in the 3rd person. Unlike bivalent intransitive verbs (which use the same prefix structure regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural), bivalent transitive verbs strictly distinguish between singular and plural ergative subjects. 

Furthermore, the dynamic prefix -о- is completely "swallowed" by these 3rd person ergative pronouns:

• 3rd Person Singular: The pronoun и- absorbs -о- to become е- (и- + о- → е-).
• 3rd Person Plural: The pronoun я- absorbs -о- to become я- (я- + о- → я-).

We can see this clearly by contrasting the bivalent intransitive verb "to look at it" (еплъын) with the transitive verb "to see it" (лъагъун). Notice how the intransitive verb retains the combined йо- prefix across the board. In contrast, the transitive verb swallows the -о-, leaving only the distinct е- (singular) and я- (plural) markers. When we look at the past tense (where the dynamic prefix drops out entirely), the transitive singular prefix reverts to its true base form, и-.

Trivalent verbs take three arguments (an ergative subject, an absolutive direct object, and an oblique indirect object). The dynamic prefix still manages to secure its position directly before the verb root, absorbing into the ergative pronoun.

• I give it to you
  • Kabardian Present: Узот (∅-у-с-о-т)
  • Kabardian Past: Уэстащ (∅-у-э-с-т-ащ)

Kabardian verbs can be either dynamic or static.

Dynamic verbs express (process of) actions that are taking place (natural role of verbs in English):

Сэ сожэ: "I am running";

Сэ сокӏуэ: "I am going",

Сэ солъэгъу: "I am seeing it",

Сэ жызоӏэ: "I am saying it".

Static verbs express states or results of actions:

Сэ сыщытщ: "I am standing",

Сэ сыщылъщ: "I am lying.",

Сэ сыпхъащӏщ: "I am a carpenter",

Сэ сытрактористщ: "I am a tractor-driver".

Kabardian has a rich participle morphology. Participles are verb forms that function as nouns or noun modifiers, referring to one of the verb's arguments (subject, object, indirect object) or to circumstances of the action (time, place, manner, reason).

Participles in Kabardian are formed by adding noun case markers (Absolutive -р, Oblique/Ergative -м, Instrumental -кӏэ, Adverbial -у) directly to the verb form. This turns the verb into a noun or adjective (e.g., "the one who walks," "the sitting one").

To understand Kabardian participles, it is essential to first understand the valency of the verb (the number of arguments it takes) and the grammatical case of each argument:

• Monovalent Intransitive verbs have only one argument: an absolutive subject.
• Bivalent Intransitive verbs have two arguments: an absolutive subject and an oblique object.
• Bivalent Transitive verbs have two arguments: an ergative subject and an absolutive object.
• Trivalent Transitive verbs have three arguments: an ergative subject, an absolutive direct object, and an oblique indirect object.

Unlike Adyghe, which retains the dynamic suffix -рэ from Proto-Circassian in present tense participles, Kabardian has generalized the forms without this suffix. As a result, the case marker attaches directly to the verb stem or tense suffix in both dynamic and static verbs.

Any argument of a verb can become the pivot of a participle. The grammatical role of the participle is determined by its morphology:

• The base form of the participle (no prefix) refers to the absolutive argument — i.e., the subject of an intransitive verb or the direct object of a transitive verb.
• The prefix зы- (or з- before a vowel) marks the ergative or oblique argument — i.e., the subject of a transitive verb, or an object marked by a preverb.

Participles themselves can take case endings: -р (absolutive) and -м (oblique/ergative), depending on the role the participle plays in the larger sentence.

The sole argument (the absolutive subject) is referenced by the base participle.

These verbs have an absolutive subject and an oblique object. Both arguments can be expressed as participles, distinguished by the absence or presence of зы-. Note that in the third person present tense, these verbs typically take the form йо- (e.g., йоджэ, йоплъ).

These verbs have an ergative subject and an absolutive object. The base form refers to the absolutive (the object being acted upon), while зы- marks the ergative (the one performing the action).

These verbs have an ergative subject, an absolutive direct object, and an oblique indirect object. The base form refers to the absolutive (the item being given, told, etc.), while зы- marks both the ergative subject and the oblique recipient.

When a participle stands alone, it refers generically to "the one who…" or "that which…". To specify exactly what or who the participle refers to, the relevant noun is marked with the adverbial case -у [-əw]. The participle then acts as a relative clause modifying that noun.

The key insight is: the noun marked with -у is the referent of the participle, even if it does not stand directly adjacent to the participle in the sentence. Because only one noun in the clause carries -у, there is no ambiguity about which noun the participle describes.

In the examples below, the noun bearing the adverbial case -у is marked in green.

Note how in sentences like Щӏалэу хъыджэбзыр зылъэгъуам сыхуэзащ, the noun щӏалэу and its participle зылъэгъуам are separated by another noun phrase (хъыджэбзыр), yet the sentence remains unambiguous: since only щӏалэу bears the adverbial case, the participle must refer to it.

In addition to argument participles, Kabardian has participles that refer to circumstances of the action rather than to its arguments. These are formed by adding specific prefixes to the verb.

Marked by щы-, this participle denotes the time (and sometimes the location) at which an action takes place.

Marked by здэ-, this participle denotes the place at which an action occurs.

Marked by зэры-, this participle denotes the manner in which an action is performed.

Marked by щӏэ-, this participle denotes the reason for which an action is performed.

Masdar (a form of verb close to gerund) in the Kabardian language is expressed with the suffix -н:

тхы-н "a write (writing)",

жэ-н "a run (running)",

щтэ-н "a take (taking)",

псэлъэ-н "a talk (talking)",

дзы-н "a throw (throwing)".

Masdar has grammatical cases:

Absolutive жэны-р,

Ergative жэны-м,

Instrumental жэны-м-кӏэ,

Adverbial жэн-у

and different forms for different person:

сы-жэн "I will run",

у-жэн "you will run",

жэн "he will run".

In the Kabardian language, the negative form of a verb is expressed through different morphemes (prefixes and suffixes) depending on the mood, tense, and form of the verb.

In finite verbs, the negative meaning is typically expressed with the suffix -къым. This suffix is attached at the end of the verb, usually following the tense suffixes. It is primarily used to negate standard declarative statements.

Below is a table demonstrating the negative conjugation of five verbs—тэджын (to get up), кIуэн (to go), лъэгъун (to see), плъэн (to look), and къыгурыIуэн (to understand)—in the first and third persons across the present, past, and future tenses:

In participles, adverbial participles, masdars, imperatives (commands), interrogatives, and other dependent verb forms, negation is expressed with the prefix -мы-. This prefix usually attaches directly before the root morpheme that carries the main lexical meaning.

The prefix -мы- is specifically required when:

• Issuing a command (e.g., :у-мы-тх "you don't write / do not write", :у-мы-кӏу "you don't go / do not go").
• Using conditional suffixes. For example, when adding -мэ ("if"), -ми ("even if"), and -и ("and"):
  • :сы-къы-пхуэ-мы-щэмэ "if you can't bring me"
  • :у-къа-мы-гъа-кIуэмэ "if you aren't forced to come"
• Forming participles and adding particles.

The use of vowels and pronominal prefixes in conjunction with the negative -мы- changes depending on whether the verb is intransitive or transitive.

Intransitive verbs focus on the action generally, without a specific direct object.

Examples with Conditionals:

• сэ сымытхэмэ — if I don't write
• ар мытхэмэ — if (s)he doesn't write
• сэ сымыкIуэмэ — if I don't go
• ар мыкIуэмэ — if (s)he doesn't go
• сэ семыджэмэ — if I don't read / study
• ар емыджэмэ — if (s)he doesn't read / study
• сэ абы семыплъымэ — if I don't look at it
• ар абы емыплъымэ — if (s)he doesn't look at it

Examples with Participles:

• мытхэр — the one who does not write (present)
• мытхар — the one who did not write (past)
• мытхэнур — the one who will not write (future)

Transitive verbs focus on an action directed at a specific object.

Examples with Conditionals:

• сэ ар сымытхымэ — if I don't write it
• абы ар имытхымэ — if (s)he doesn't write it
• сэ ар сымылъэгъумэ — if I don't see it
• абы ар имылъэгъумэ — if (s)he doesn't see it
• сэ ар сымылъэгъуамэ — if I didn't see it
• абы ар имылъэгъуамэ — if (s)he didn't see it

Examples with Participles:

• сымытхыр — what I don't write (present)
• имытхыр — what (s)he doesn't write (present)
• зимытхыр — the one who doesn't write it (present, relative)
• сымытхар — what I didn't write (past)
• имытхар — what (s)he didn't write (past)
• зимытхар — the one who didn't write it (past, relative)
• сымытхынур — what I will not write (future)
• имытхынур — what (s)he will not write (future)
• зимытхынур — the one who will not write it (future, relative)

Kabardian verbs have several forms to express different tenses and aspects. Tense indicates when an action occurs, while aspect indicates how the action unfolds over time (e.g., continuously, habitually, or as a completed event).

The present tense in Kabardian encompasses both the Simple Present (habitual actions, general facts) and the Present Continuous (actions happening at the current moment). The specific nuance is understood strictly from the context.

For example:

• Сэ солажьэ: Can mean "I work" (habitually/employed) OR "I am working" (right now).
• Сэ тутын софэ: Can mean "I smoke" (a habit) OR "I am smoking right now".
• Сэ кола сефэркъым: Can mean "I do not drink cola" (habitually) OR "I am not drinking cola" (right now).
• Сэ шэджагъуэм лэжьапӏэм сыщошхэ, унэм сыщышхэркъым: "At noon I eat at work, I do not eat at home." This clearly demonstrates a habitual routine. To contrast this, another person describing their own habit might say, Сэ лэжьапӏэм сыщышхэныр сигу ирихьыркъым, унэм сыкӏуэжмэ сошхэж ("I don't like eating at work; when I go home, I eat").

Morphologically, the present tense lacks a dedicated temporal suffix at the end of the verb. Instead, the tense is marked at the front of the verb stem via a dynamic prefix. The behavior of this dynamic prefix depends entirely on the verb's valency (monovalent vs. bivalent) and the presence of proceeding morphemes.

1. Monovalent Intransitive Verbs (The о- vs. мэ- distinction)
For monovalent intransitive verbs, the core dynamic prefix is о-. When preceded by a personal subject prefix (1st or 2nd person), the vowels blend to create the forms со-, уо-, до-, фо-.

• Сэ с-о-кӏуэ → сокӏуэ (I go)
• Уэ у-о-кӏуэ → уокӏуэ (You go)
• Дэ д-о-кӏуэ → докӏуэ (We go)
• Фэ ф-о-кӏуэ → фокӏуэ (You all go)

In the 3rd person, there is no overt personal prefix preceding the dynamic marker. Because the dynamic prefix о- cannot stand alone as the initial morpheme without a preceding consonant, it mutates into мэ-.

• Ар макӏуэ (He/She goes) — Note: мэ- + кӏуэ surfaces as макӏуэ due to phonetic rules.
• Ахэр макӏуэ(х) (They go)
• Ар мэлажьэ (He/She works)

2. Bivalent Intransitive Verbs (The persistent о-)
In bivalent intransitive verbs, the dynamic prefix is always preceded by an object or relational marker. Because о- is no longer the initial morpheme, it never mutates into мэ-. It remains о- across the board in the present tense. Compare the present tense to the past tense to see the dynamic о- in action:

• Present: Сэ абы соджэ (I read it) / Past: Сэ абы седжащ (I read it)
• Present: Уэ абы уоплъ (You look at it) / Past: Уэ абы уеплъащ (You looked at it)
• Present: Ар абы йоуэ (He is hitting him) / Past: Ар абы еуащ (He hit him)

3. Complex Prefix Chains
When additional prefixes (such as directional or personal object markers) are stacked, the dynamic о- maintains its position right before the verb root.

• Сыноплъ (Сы-ны-у-о-плъ): I look at you
• Укъызоплъ (У-къы-с-о-плъ): You look at me
• Сынывоплъ (Сы-ны-в-о-плъ): I look at y'all
• Къывоплъ (Къы-в-о-плъ): He looks at y'all

Even when prepositional prefixes are added, the о- is present:

• сыпхоплъэ (сы-п-х-о-плъэ): I look through you.

4. Distinguishing the Dynamic о- from the 2nd Person Pronoun уэ
In the past tense, there is no dynamic present tense о-. It is critical not to confuse the dynamic present tense о- with the phonetic contraction of the 2nd person singular pronoun уэ- in the past tense.

• Сыноплъащ (I looked at you) → Derived from Сы-ны-уэ-плъ-ащ.
• Къоплъащ (He looked at you) → Derived from Къы-уэ-плъ-ащ.

We can prove this о is purely the 2nd person pronoun (and not a tense marker) by replacing the "you" object with "me" (1st person, сэ) or "y'all" (2nd person plural, вэ). When we do this, the о completely disappears, revealing the true past tense structure:

• Къызэплъащ (He looked at me)
• Сынывэплъащ (I looked at y'all)
• Къывэплъащ (He looked at y'all)

5. Dropping the Dynamic Prefix
Although the dynamic prefixes (о-, мэ-) are the primary indicators of the positive present tense, they are completely dropped in several specific grammatical contexts:

• Negative Form: In the present negative, the dynamic prefix is strictly omitted. For example, солажьэ (I work) reverts to its base prefix to become сылажьэркъым (I do not work). Likewise, the 3rd person мэлажьэ (he works) simply becomes лажьэркъым.
• Conditional and Conjunctional Suffixes: Adding suffixes such as -мэ (if), -ми (even if), -и (and), -у (while; adverbial), or -урэ (while; simultaneous action) also forces the removal of the dynamic prefix.
• Examples using сокӏуэ (I go) and макӏуэ (he goes):
  • I go: сокӏуэ → сыкӏуэмэ (if I go), сыкӏуэми (even if I go), сыкӏуи (and I go), сыкӏуэу (while I go), сыкӏуэурэ (while I am going).
  • He goes: макӏуэ → кӏуэмэ (if he goes), кӏуэми (even if he goes), кӏуи (and he goes), кӏуэу (while he goes), кӏуэурэ (while he is going).

The factual future tense is indicated by the suffix ~нущ. This functions as a "Simple Future" that states a concrete plan or a highly certain fact about the future.

The categorical future, formed with ~нщ, carries a slightly weaker degree of certainty, often translating to "will/may".

Note on verb stems: For bivalent transitive verbs like лъагъун, the root vowel changes from 'а' to 'э' (лъэгъу-) when followed by future suffixes.

The simple past describes an action that was completed at a specific point in the past. It is a neutral tense used to establish historical facts, recent events, or a sequential narrative without emphasizing whether the result of the action is still valid today.

It is typically formed by adding the suffix -ащ. The choice of form and the behavior of the final root vowel follow specific morphological rules:

• Verbs ending in -э or -ы change to -а- before adding the suffix -щ.
• Dynamic prefixes (like мэ- or the dynamic о-) are dropped in the past tense.

Below are examples showing the transition from the present tense to the simple past for various verb valencies and endings.

The pluperfect or discontinuous past tense is formed by adding the suffix ~ат. Unlike the simple past, this tense highlights the relationship of the action to the present timeline or to other past events. It fundamentally alters the nuance, timeline, and ongoing validity of an action, carrying specific aspectual meanings:

Discontinuous Past: It implies that the action was completed, but its result no longer holds true in the present (e.g., "he had come, but he is gone now").^[6]

Past Perfect & Distant Past: More accurately, the ~ат suffix designates that "at that specific time, Action X had already happened." It functions as a perfect past aspect—the past of the past. It firmly anchors an action prior to an indicated past time frame, or states a fact situated in the distant past (once upon a time).

Below are examples showing the transition from the present tense to the pluperfect for various verb valencies and endings.

1. Distant Past & Emphasis The suffix ~ат can be used to state a fact situated in the distant past, or to strongly emphasize that a specific action was fully accomplished. In contrast, ~ащ is more neutral and often describes a recent event.

2. Past Perfect (Relative Timeline) When establishing a sequence of events in the past, ~ат indicates that an action was already completed by the time another event occurred. Conversely, ~ащ usually signifies that the action happened when or after the secondary event occurred.

3. Discontinuous Past (Reversed Results) The "discontinuous" aspect of ~ат is used to describe a past state or action whose results are no longer true in the present (e.g., an action was completed, but the outcome has since been reversed). Using ~ащ implies that the result of the past action is still valid or ongoing.

The imperfect tense is formed with the additional suffix ~(р)т [~(r)t].

This tense serves two primary functions: the Habitual Aspect and the Continuous Aspect.

This aspect is used to mention an action or state that occurred regularly or habitually in the past, but no longer occurs in the present. In English, it is often translated using the phrase "used to."

This aspect describes an action that was ongoing or continuous in the past, particularly when another action interrupted it or occurred simultaneously. In English, it is typically translated using the past continuous tense ("was / were ...ing").

The conditional perfect is indicated by adding the suffix ~нт [~nt] or ~нут [~nəwt] to the verb.

This tense is used to describe an action that *would have* happened in the past, but ultimately did not—usually because a certain condition or requirement was not met. In English, this concept is most commonly expressed using the structure "would have [done something]" or "could have [done something]."

Sentence Examples & Elaborations:

• Экзамен зэрэдиӏэр сщӏагъащэрэтэмэ, седжэнти нэхъ фӏэфӏу зызгъэхьэзырынут.

 Translation: "If I had known we had an exam, I would have studied and prepared myself for it better."
 Explanation: This sentence demonstrates a sequence of actions that did not happen because the prerequisite condition (knowing about the exam beforehand) was not met. It highlights how multiple hypothetical outcomes ("studying" and "preparing better") can be chained together as a result of a single unfulfilled past condition.

• А пщащэр къэзгъуэтыфынут ди къуажэдэсатэмэ.

 Translation: "I could have found that girl if she was from our village."
 Explanation: Shows a hypothetical outcome (finding the girl) that was impossible because the condition (her living in the speaker's village) was false.

• Дыщэм и уасэр зэрыдэкӏуеинур сщӏагъащэрэтэмэ, дыщэ куэд къэсщэхунут.

 Translation: "If I had known the price of gold would go up, I would have bought a lot of gold."
 Explanation: Expresses a missed past opportunity due to a lack of necessary foresight or information.

• Университетым сыщеджагъэтэмэ, иджы лэжьапӏэ нэхъыфӏ сиӏэнут.

 Translation: "If I had studied at the university, I would have a better job now."
 Explanation: Links an unfulfilled past condition directly to a hypothetical present result.

The future perfect tense can be indicated by combining past-perfect suffixes with future suffixes (e.g., ~гъахэнущ or analogous constructions).

Note: This tense is relatively uncommon in everyday speech. When it is used, it is frequently combined with the element ~гъах ("already") to emphasize prior completion.

This tense is used to describe an action that is expected or planned to be *completely finished* before a specific point of reference in the future. It places the speaker at a future date, looking back at an action that will already be completed by that time. In English, this is expressed using the structure "will have [done something]."

Sentence Examples & Elaborations:

• Сэ тхылъым седжэгъахэнущ пщэдей.

 Translation: "I will have read the book by tomorrow."
 Explanation: The speaker is not just saying they will read tomorrow, but rather that the act of reading the book will be entirely completed by the time tomorrow arrives.

• Экзаменыр къэсыху седжагъэнущ.

 Translation: "By the time the exam date arrives, I will have studied."
 Explanation: Establishes a concrete future reference point (the arrival of the exam date) by which the primary action (studying) will be completely finished.

• Гъусэпщащэ къэбгъуэтыху сэ сыкъэщэгъахэнущ.

 Translation: "By the time you find a girlfriend, I will already be married."
 Explanation: Uses the combined suffix to emphasize that the state of being married will "already" be achieved before the other person's future action occurs.

• Пщэдей хъуху лӏыжьыр лӏэгъахэнущ.

 Translation: "The old man will already be dead by tomorrow."
 Explanation: Stresses that an event is definitively expected to be completed before the specified future time (tomorrow).