Verbs

Dothraki 1

Course 1 · Chapter 6 · Verbs 1: The Basics

Now you can build a sentence: a subject pronoun from Chapter 5 and a verb. This chapter covers how Dothraki verbs are named (the infinitive), how to find the stem, how to make the present tense for both kinds of stem, and how the present is made negative. The past and future come in Chapter 7.

The idea in a box

A Dothraki verb is listed by its infinitive, which ends in -at or -lat. Remove that ending to get the stem, then add person endings for the present tense. Which endings you add depends on whether the stem ends in a consonant or a vowel.

The Infinitive and the Stem

The infinitive is the dictionary form ("to say", "to ride"). Its ending depends on the stem:

-at after a stem that ends in a consonant: astat "to say", stem ast.
-lat after a stem that ends in a vowel: dothralat "to ride", stem dothra.

To find the stem, take off the ending. Ifat "to walk" gives the stem if. A small warning from the sources: a few stems end in l, so for those it is best to check the dictionary entry (for example zalat "to hope" has a consonant-final stem).

The Present Tense

Add a person ending to the stem. The two kinds of stem take different endings:

Person	Consonant stem: astat "to say"	Vowel stem: dothralat "to ride"
I (1SG)	astak	dothrak
we (1PL)	astaki	dothraki
you (2SG)	asti	dothrae
you (2PL)	asti	dothrae
he/she/it (3SG)	asta	dothrae
they (3PL)	asti	dothrae

# consonant stem: stem + ak / aki / i / i / a / i
ast + ak   -> astak      I say
ast + a    -> asta       he / she / it says

# vowel stem: stem(a) + k / ki / e / e / e / e
dothra + k   -> dothrak    I ride
dothra + e   -> dothrae    you / he / she / they ride

Notice how much the pronoun does: in the vowel-stem verbs dothrae serves for four different persons, so the subject pronoun from Chapter 5 is what tells you who is riding.

Simple Sentences

Put the pronoun first, then the verb:

Anha dothrak.       I ride.
Yer dothrae.        You ride.
Me dothrae.         He / she rides.
Kisha dothraki.     We ride.
Mori dothrae.       They ride.
Anha astak.         I say.
Me asta.            He / she says.

Anha dothrak appears in the sources as an example; the others are built by the rule in the table above.

Making the Present Negative

The sources give the negative words vo and vos, and the negative verb endings change a little:

Consonant stems: 1SG -ok, 1PL -oki, 3SG -o; the plural "you" and "they" stay -i.
Vowel stems: -ok and -oki in the first person, -o in the others.

Applied to the examples above, the negative of astak is astok and the negative of dothrak is dothrok. The word that goes with them (vos in the source's example Me vos essa "it did not return") is placed before the verb. How vo and vos divide their work is a detail to check in the dictionary.

Watch out: the negative forms are built by rule here

The sources document the negative endings and one past-tense negative sentence. The present negatives astok and dothrok in this chapter are produced by applying those endings, so treat them as the pattern, not as attested lines from the show.

Watch out: "to be" and "to have"

The outline for this chapter planned to cover "to be" and "to have". Neither is covered by the sources used so far, so they are not taught here rather than guessed. Check the dictionary entries for these verbs when you need them.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

Find the stem and say whether it is consonant-final or vowel-final: astat, dothralat, ifat. Then give the infinitive ending that goes with each kind of stem.

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Exercise 2

Write the full present tense of ifat "to walk" (stem if), using the consonant-stem endings, and then say "you walk" and "we walk" with the pronoun in front.

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Exercise 3

Explain why dothrae can mean "you ride", "he rides" or "they ride", and what tells the listener which one is meant. Then build the negative first-person singular of dothralat and of astat.

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Chapter 6 Quick Reference

Infinitive: -at (consonant stem), -lat (vowel stem); remove it to get the stem
Consonant stem present: -ak, -aki, -i, -i, -a, -i (astak, astaki, asti, asti, asta, asti)
Vowel stem present: -k, -ki, -e, -e, -e, -e (dothrak, dothraki, dothrae ...)
Negative present: -ok, -oki, -o with vo / vos before the verb
Word order in these examples: pronoun, then verb

Coming next

Dothraki 1, Chapter 7 adds the past and the future, the commands and how to ask questions.