verbal nouns

Verbal nouns are similar to verbal adjectives, in that they are constructed from phrases. But as the name suggests, verbal nouns turn phrases into nouns.

Verbal Noun - Past/Present Tense
A verbal noun is made from a phrase by replacing the verb with past/present tense stem + mJ

Verbal Noun - Future Tense
For verbs in
  • Classes 1-4, replace the verb with verb root + t; + -mJ
  • Class 5, replace the verb with future tense stem + g; + -mJ
  • Classes 6-7, replace the verb with verb root + g;g; + -mJ

See the lesson on Class 5 Verbs for reference on Class 5 future tense stems.

Another way of thinking about verbal nouns is this: replace the verb suffix (for nouns besides mJ and mit) with -mJ. For mJ and mit in the past and present tense, also replace the verb suffix with -mJ.

properties of verbal nouns

Verbal nouns can take case suffixes. When taking case suffixes, verbal nouns behave like mJ. The final -mJ will be replaced with whatever word mJ would change to in the same situation. For example, -mJ would change to -mjdhy; in the instrumental case, and -mjw;F in the dative case.