Hand-book of Volapük/14

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130068Hand-book of Volapük — 141887Charles E. Sprague

THE PASSIV VOICE

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All the tenses of the passiv voice commence with the letter p. Therefore the passiv tense-augments are,

present pa- palöfob, I am loved.
imperfect pä- pälogol, you were seen.
perfect pe- peflapom, he has been struck.
pluperfect pi- piropof, she had been interrupted.
future po- posagos, it will be said.
future perfect pu- pununon, one will have been informed.

In English, a present passiv is often really perfect in signification; as, "the house is finished," ,,dom pefinom." On the other hand we use what is, apparently, an activ form in a passiv sense, as, "the house is building," meaning "the house is being built," ,,dom pabumom." In all such cases we must consider the sense and not the sound.