THE PASSIV VOICE
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.
EXERCISE 18
Fa, by.
'Nelijapük papükom in Nelij, Pebaltats, Kanadän, Talop e läns votik. Volapük potidom in juls valik. Volapük pädatuvom fa söl Schleyer. Fluks poseloms delido ayelo; päseloms nedelido äyelo. Dom gletik pabumom in süt telsekilid.
Many children are educated in the schools or America; many have been educated and many will be educated. Books are sold by the merchant, whose store is in 42nd street. These books are not mine; they are sold. [Is this patüp ?] What language is spoken in America ?
THE INFINITIV
The verbs given so far have been in the form which simply asserts, called the indicativ mood.
The infinitiv mood, or verb-noun, has the ending -ön. It is usually, though not always, preceded in English by to. In Volapük it may be in various tenses: patüp, petüp, potüp, or putüp.
