VERBAL ALTERNATION

by Roland Siang Nawl, M. Div.

Lai verb has a broader definition than English in that it covers a wider denotation in addition to action, state of being, and occurrence. In Lai, a verb is a word that describes action, occurrence, state of being, existence, condition, feeling, color, ownership, and quality.


(a) Action

1. Mangbawi cusianginn a kai.
   MB TOPIC school 3 go
   Mangbawi goes to school.
2. Thilpipa cu teimaak tein ṭuan a hau.
   Thing+big TOPIC effort MOD pp work 3 need
   Great things need great efforts.
3. Tsunami tilet atho i mi tampi an thi.
   Tsunami wave 3 rise and people many 3Pl die
   A tsunami occurred and many people were killed in it.

(b) State of being

1. Ngaihthiamnak cu milianngan hna thil asi.
   Forgive+NOM TOPIC human+great Pl thing 3 be
   Forgiveness is the thing of the great.
2. Pu Thai Cawn cuLai pasal ṭha a raksi.
   Mr Thai Cawn TOPIC Chin man good 3 PAST be
   Pu Thai Cawn was a man of masculinity.
3. Kan vokthau cu cuai 40 ati.
   1Pl pig+fat TOPIC scale 40 3 be
   Our fat pig weighs 40 kilograms.

(c) Existence

1. Lairam ah minung sing nga hrawng khua an sa.
   Chin+land LOC people lakh five about life 3Pl build
   There are about five hundred thousand people living in Chinland.
2. Lairam cu fing le tlaang lawngte in a khat.
   Chinland TOPIC moor and hill only pp 3 fill
   Chinland is all covered with hills.
3. Ramlak ah ramsa an um.
   Jungle+in pp jungle+animal 3Pl be
   There are wild animals in the jungle.

(d) Ownership

1. Keimah cu computer pakhat ka ngei.
   I TOPIC computer one 1 have
   I have a computer.
2. Pu Rum Lian cu sia sawmnga a ngei.
   Mr Rum Lian TOPIC mythun fifty 3 have
   Pu Rum Lian has fifty mithuns.

(e) Condition/Feeling

1. Kham Bik cu a zaw.
   Kham Bik TOPIC 3 sick
   Kham Bik is sick.
2. Sang Lian cu a lung amit.
   Sang Lian TOPIC 3 heart 3 dizzy
   Sang Lian is dizzy.
3. Na ra i Khente aalawm.
   2 come and Khente 3Mid rejoice
   Khente rejoiced when you came.
4. Lian Dang cu a ral a ṭha.
   Lian Dang TOPIC 3 enemy 3 good
   Lian Dang was brave.
5. Dawtnak cu aaporhlaw lo.
   Love+NOM TOPIC 3MID boast NEG
   Love does not boast.
6. Hlawnku cu a mui aadawh.
   Hlawnku TOPIC 3 feature 3MID be.beautiful
   Hlawnku is beautiful.
7. Khente cu a hnem.
   KhenteTOPIC3 be. stingy
   Khente is stingy.

(f) Colour

1. Hnuuk cu a raang i langak cu a nak.
   Milk TOPIC3 white and crow TOPIC 3 black
   Milk is white and the crow is black.
2. Mang Chawn cu a thin a hun ca-ah a hmai a sen.
   Mang Chawn TOPIC 3 liver 3 angry because-pp 3 face 3 red
   Mang Chawn was so angry that his face turned red.
3. Rung Lian cua dam lo ca ah a mit a eng (a aihre).
   Rung Lian TOPIC 3 heal NEG bec-pp 3 eye 3 yellow
   Ram Lian was so unwell that his eyes turned yellow.
4. Nan vokfa cu an ṭial.
   2Pl pig+baby TOPIC 3Pl striped
   Your piglets are striped.

It should be kept in mind that some colours do not have lexical words to describe them and are described in terms of the things that have those colours. For example, coffee is used for brown, orange for a colour between red and yellow, ivory for a colour between yellow and white. These colour names cannot function as verbs.

Linking Verbs

Verbs like nung, tlai, chuak, pang, hlawh are used after some verb infinitives to add the meaning of the infinitives.

nung (comes after duh, ṭih, fih)

1. Mah bawhte cu duha nung.
   That baby TOPIC love 3
   The baby is lively.
2. Cakei cu ṭih a nung ko.
   Tiger TOPICfear 3- EMPH
   The tiger is fearful.
3. Tholung cu fih an nung.
   Maggot TOPIC loath 3Pl
   Maggots are loathsome.

tlai (combined with huat meaning ‘hate’)

1. Miṭhalo cu huat an tlai
   Person+good+NEG TOPIC hate 3
   Bad people are hateful.

tlaak (combined with zumh ‘believe’)

1. Miding cu zumh an tlaak.
   Person+righteous TOPIC believe 3 deserve
   The righteous are believable.
   

hlawh (combined with dawt ‘love’) means deserve

1. Parku cu dawt aahlawh.
   Parku TOPIC love 3MID deserve
   Parku deserves to be loved.

um (combined with ngaih, zaangfah, etc)

1. Hlaan lio kan caan hna kha ngaih an um tuk.
   Past TENSE 1Pl time Pl DEM miss 3Pl be very
   The moments we had in the past are good missing.

Kinds of Verbs

Verbs are classified into two major parts according to their argumentative judgment - intransitive and transitive.

(a) Intransitive: Verbs that have only one argument (that is, the subject) are known as intransitive verbs. Examples below are intransitive verbs.

1. Ngakchia cua itcang.
   Child TOPIC 3 sleep PERF
   The child has been sleeping.
2. Naute cu daite in aa hngilh ko.
   Baby+little TOPIC silent MOD pp 3MID sleep EMPH
   The child is soundly asleep.
3. Ka u cu lam thlang ah a ril.
   1 brotherTOPIC road south pp 3 roll
   My brother rolled downhill off the road.
4. Lian Thleng cu rawlṭaam in a thi.
   Lian Thleng TOPICfood+starve pp 3 die
   Lian Thleng died of starvation.

(b) Transitive Verbs: Verbs that have two arguments - subject and object - are transitive verbs.

1. Ka nu le ka pa nih an ka dawt.
   1 mother and 1 father BY 3Pl 1 love
   My parents love me.
2. Na sualnak kan in ngaihthiam ko.
   2 guilt+NOM 1Pl 2 forgive EMPH
   We forgave you of your guilt.
3. Harnak na ton ahcun kaan bawmh lai.
   Hard+NOM2meetif 1+2 help FUT
   If you face with trouble, I will help you.
4. Amah nih a ka hruai.
   He BY 3 1 lead
   He leads me.

From the examples above, we have:

Parts of sentence

In Lai, a sentence can be divided into two main parts: the Nominative Phraseand Verb phrase parts.The Nominative part gives information of the subject and object and the verb phrase includes the verb with the agreement markers of the subject and the object. In most cases, the Nominative Phrase is optional but the verb phrase is a compulsory, without which no sentence is formed.

The Nominative Phrase may be optionally omitted in pragmatically utterance in sentences (1) to (6). In the above examples, underlined phrases are overtly necessary while italicized phrases optionally omissible.

The noun phrase ‘miṭha’ (good man) in (11) is the complement of the verb phase ‘a si’.

The character ϴ stands for the implicit objective marker for the third persons.

The syntactical order of structure can be made up from the verb phrase with subjective agreement markers before intransitive verbs and objective agreement markers occupying between the subjective markers and the transitive verbs, forming a sentence formulas ‘SV’ with intransitive and ‘SOV’ with intransitive verbs.

Intransitives to Transitives: Intransitive verbs change into transitives by adding some suffixes at the end. These suffixes are -hnawh, -kanh, -pi, -piak, -tak and -ter.It is to be noted that when suffixes are added to the stem-2 or infinitive form of the transitive verb.

1. Kan Lairam cu ka kirhnawh ţhaan lai.
   1Pl Chinland TOPIC 1 go-back+DAT again FUT
   I will go back to Chinland.

2. Siangakchia pawl nih an lungtlinlonak kong sayapa an chimhnawh.
   Student Pl BY 3Pl dissatisfied+NEG+NOM about teacher+Male 3 tell+against
   The students told their dissatisfaction against the teacher.
3. Zaan tlai i ka ṭiin ca ah ka panih innka a ka kharkanh.
   Night late pp 1 come.home because 1 father BY door 3 1 close-against
   Father shut the door against me because I came home late at night.
4. Thawng Lian nih America a kan phanhkanh.
   Thawng Lian BY America 3 1 arrive+before
   Thawng Lian arrived in America before me.
5. Ka pi cu Yangon ah keimah nihka kalpi.
   aunt TOPIC Yangon DAT I BY 1 go-along
   I guided my aunt to Yangon.
6. An nu le an pa nihan thihtaak hna.
   3Pl mother and 1Pl father BY 3Pl die+before Pl
   Their parents left them.

(b) Some intransitives with initial letters of m, r, k, p, and tl change into transitive by prefixing or suffixing h with them.

(1)

1. Leitlang an maan lo.
   The soil is not crumbled.
2. Leitlang kan hmaan.
   We crumbled the soil.

(2)

1. Lungtum cu lam thlang ah a ril.
   The stone rolled downhill off the road.
2. Lungtum cu ka hril kho lo.
   I cannot roll the stone.

(4)

1. Inn a kaang!
   House 3 burn
   The house is on fire.
2. Aho dah a khaang?
   Who Q 3 cause to burn
   Who caused the house on fire?

(5)

1. Zung tawh a tlau.
   Office key 3 lose
   The office key lost.
2. Keimah nih ka thlau
   I BY 1 lose
   I lost it.

Some intransitive verbs change into transitive verbs by adding the glottal stop sound (h) at the ending.

(1)

1. Inn kan ṭin pah ah ruah a sur
   Home 1Pl go while pp rain 3 rain
   On our way home it was raining.
2. Cin thlirhthlerh in a kan surh
   Wet completely pp 3 1Pl rain
   We were completely drenched by the rain.

(2)

Na seh kha a fum tuk. Na fumh dahra?
2 machine DEM 3 slow too 2 slow Q
Your machine runs slow. Did you slow it down?

(3)

“Na rangtum cu a kal a rang ko.” ~ “Ka ranh ca ah a si.”
2 horse TOPIC 3 go 3 quick EMPH 1 qucik+make because pp 3 be
“Your horse runs so quickly.” ~ “Because I hasten it.”

Some intransitive verbs change into transitive by prefixing and suffixing the letter h.

Example:
Khua ka ruah lio ah na ka hlauh i ka lau tuk.
I was started because you startled me while I was thinking.

Double Transitive Verbs

Some transitives are made into double transitives by adding suffixes to their ending. In double transitive verbs have two objects with one subject.

We have two objects in each of the sentences below.

(1)

Pastorpa nih Baibal a kan cawnpiak.
Pastor+male BY Bible 3 1 teach
The pastor taught us the Bible.

Objects:

1. Baibal (Bible)
2. Kanmah (us)

Verb phrase: a kan cawnpiak

(2)

Pa Lian nih Nu Sui thing a hlampiak.
Pa Lian BY Nu Sui firewood 3 collect+BEN
Pa Lian collected firewood for Nu Sui.

Objects:

1. Thing (firewood)
2. Nu Sui (Nu Sui)

Verb phrase: a hlampiak

(3)

Ka pa nih hrawl cung i cauk a ka laakpiak.
1 Father BY shelf on pp book 3 1 take+BEN
Father took the book on the shelf for me.

Objects:

1. Cauk (book)
2. Keimah (me)

Verb phrase: a ka laakpiak

(4)

Uico nih chizawh cu sa a eikanh.
Dog BY cat TOPIC meat 3 eat+Precede
The dog ate all the meat against the cat.

Objects:

1. sa (meat)
2. chizawh (cat)

Verb phrase: a eikanh

VERB FORMS

In Lai, there are two stem forms, and they are classified as finite and infinite. For convenience in use, we shall term the finite verb as stem-1 and infinite as stem-2. As there are some verbs which do not change their forms in any circumstances, there are some verbs in Lai which have the same form in all circumstances.

Change of verb forms

(a) Verbs which end in vowel sounds are suffixed with k, h le t to change into stem-2.

(b) Verbs ending in nasals (m, n) and liquids (l, r) are suffixed with the glottal stop (h) to change from stem 1 to stem 2.

(c) Some stem-1 verbs ending with velar-nasal (ng) decline to nasal ending with n to change to stem 2.

(d) Some stem-1 verbs ending with velar-nasal (ng) are suffixed with the glottal stop (h) in the stem-2 form.

(e) Stem-1 verbs ending wth stop finals such as k, p, and t are replaced with glottal stop (h) in the stem-2.

(f) Some stem-1 verbs ending in short vowel o change to awh in the stem-2 form.

(g) Some stem-1 verbs ending with closing diphthongs—ai, ao, au, ei, eo, eu, oi, etc change into stem-2 by suffixing the glottal stop h with them.

Some stem-1 verbs ending with opening diphthongs—ia, ua change into stem-2 forms with t or k being added to them.

(h) Stem-1 verbs ending with -iang, -uang decline to -ian, -uan with the letter g being dropped when changed into stem-2 forms.

(i) Some verbs remained unchanged in the stem-2 forms. They are unchanged forms.

Alteration of Multi-syllabic verbs

Multi-syllabic verbs follow the rules of change mentioned above. However, they differ in syllables.

(a) In some words, changes take place only in the first syllable. The last letter of the first syllable changes according to the stem changing rules.

(b) In some multi-syllabic verbs, the last letter of the second syllable change according to the rules of the stem change.

Some multi-syllabic verbs change both in the first and second syllables according to the stem change rules.

REASONS FOR VERBAL ALTERATION:

1. Use of stem-1 forms (Finite)

(a)In the indicative mood, except in the clause, all the intransitive verbs are used in stem 1 form.

1. Ngakchia cu chun ah an it tawn.
   Child TOPIC noon pp 3Pl sleep sometimes
   Children sometimes sleep in the day time.
2. Ramvai pawl ramlak in an hung tlung.
   Hunter Pl jungle+in pp 3Pl DIR come home
   The hunters came home from the jungle.

(b) Verbs - both intransitive and transtive - accompanied by negative marker lo and question word maw are in the finite or stem 1 forms.

1. Ka pu nih a ka daw lo.
   1 uncle BY 3 1 love NEG
   My uncle does not love me.
2. Na pi a ra cang maw?
   2 father 3 come PERF Q
   Has your father come?

(c) All verbs in the imperative/subjunctive moods take the stem-1 or finite forms. In these moods the personal agreement markers are ning, usih, seh, and hna seh (for the third person plural).

1. Na sinah keimah ra ning.
   2 to-pp I come 1
   May I come to you.
2. Kanmah nih in bawm hna usih.
   We BY 2 help Pl 1Pl
   Let us help you (Pl).
3. Hi kong hi ṭha te in ruat u.
   This account this good MOD pp think 2Pl
   Please think about this matter very well.
4. Thiang Thlarau nih ka mit kha tawng seh.
   Holy Spirit BY 1 eye that touch 3
   Let the Holy Spirit touch my eyes.

2. Use of Stem-2 Forms (Infinitive)

a. Stem-2 form is used before conjunctional phrases (except na in) such as ahcun, ca ah, hnu ah, hlaan ah, tik ah, lio ah.

1. Nikhua a chiat ca-ah kan piknik kan leet.
   Weather 3 bad because pp 1Pl picnic 1Pl cancel
   We cancelled our picnic because the weather was bad.
2. Khua ka ruah lio-ah na ra.
   Though 1 think while pp 2 come
   You came to me while I was thinking.
3. Sianginn in ka phaak tik-ah kaan leeng hna lai.
   School from 1 arrive when pp 1-2 visit Pl FUT
   I will visit you when I come home from school.
4. Na thih hnu-ah khoi dah na kal lai?
   2 die after pp where+Q 2 go FUT
   Where are you going after you die?
5. Tlanglawng dinhhmun kan phaak hlaan-ah tlanglawng a rak chuak cang.
   Train rest+place 1Pl arrive before-pp train 3 PAST leave PERF
   The train had left before we arrived at the station.

b. When there is the agentive marker nih in the sentence, the verb is in the stem-2 or infinitive form. Something that we need to be aware of is that verbs in the domain of nih are transitive verbs.

1. Pathian nih vawlei a dawt.
   God BY world 3 love
   God loves the world.
2. Ralkap nih khuami kha phaisa an chuh hna.
   Soldiers BY villagers that money 3Pl seize Pl
   The soldiers took money from the villagers by force.
3. Nu Khen nih Pa Bik a lawmh.
   Nu Khen BY Pa Bik 3 thank
   Nu Khen thanked Pa Bik.

It needs, however, to keep in mind that some stem determiners are stronger than others and the verbal variants follow the stronger determiners. For example, the verbal variants in the examples above take stem-1 forms before lo, and maw which are stronger determiners than nih as in (4) to (6).

1. Pathian nih vawlei a daw maw?
   God BY world 3 love Q
   Does God love the world?
2. Ralkap nih khuami phaisa an chut hna maw?
   Soldier BY villager money 3Pl seize Pl Q
   Did the soldiers take money by force from the villagers?
3. Nu Khen nih Pa Bik a lawm lo.
   Nu Khen BY Pa Bik 3 thank NEG
   Nu Khen did not thank Pa Bik?

However, if there is a conjunctional phrase after lo, the verb stem is determined by the former as in (7). The stem lawmh in this situation is determined by caah, and not with nih.

1. Nu Khen nih Pa Bik a lawmh lo caah, Pa Bik a ngaih a chia.
   Nu Khen BY Pa Bik Bik 3 thank NEG because Pa Bik 3 - be- sad
   Because Nu Khen did not thank Pa Bik, he was sad.

Observing the above sentences, we can find that determiners that come afterwards are more determinative than the ones that come before in order. [Nih < lo < conjunction (< = stronger)]

c. Stem-2 forms are used before nominalizer awk and ding (when having similar meaning to awk)

1. Tuufa cu thah awk/ding ah an kalpi.
   Lamb TOPIC kill to pp 3 go-together
   They took the lamb away to be killed.
2. Rawl chumh awk/ding a um lo.
   Food cook to 3 be NEG
   There is no food to cook.
3. Thih awk ah aa tlaak.
   Die to pp 3-MID deserve
   He deserved to die.

d. Transitivizers such as -hnawh, -kanh, -pi, -piak, -tak, -ter, etc are suffixed to stem-2 forms.

1. 1. Rawl kan ei caah kan nung. (intransitive)
      Food 1Pl eat because 1Pl live
      We live because we eat food.
   2. Rawl ei hi kan nunhnawh lo.
      Food eat this 1Pl live+for NEG
      We do not live for food.
2. 1. Ral Kam cu ram caah a thi.
      Ral Kam TOPIC country for 3 die
      Ral Kam died for the country.
   2. b. Ral Kam nih ram a thihhnawh.
      Ral Kap BY country 3 die+for
      Ral Kam died for the country.
3. 1. Ramlak ah mei a kaang.
      Jungle+in pp fire 3 burn
      A wildfire is burning in the jungle.
   2. b. Ramvai nih an kanghter.
      Hunter BY 3Pl burn+CAUS
      The hunters cause it to burn.

e. The nominalizer –nak is suffixed to the stem-2 form.

Stem-2 +nak →; gerund

Thih → thihnak
Nun → nunnak
Dawt → dawtnak
Ṭhangh → ṭhanghnak
Velh → velhnak

f. Verbs in their stem 2 or the infinitive forms stand as nouns.

1. Miraltha pawl nih thih an ṭih lo.
   Person+brave Pl BY die 3Pl fear NEG
   The brave are not afraid to die.
2. Nun cu raldoh a si.
   Life TOPIC enemy+fight 3 be
   Life is war.
3. Khual-tlawn cu ka huamsazia a si.
   Foreign+travel TOPIC 1 hobby 3 be
   Traveling is my hobby.
4. Sifah cu i pheh ding a si lo.
   Poor TOPIC MID deny to 3 be NEG
   It is not good to deny your poverty.
5. Minung ciocio kan zawn kan i ruah awk a si.
   Person each-each 1Pl affairs 1Pl RR consider should 3 be
   We should be kind to each other as human beings.

f. The stem 2 form is used when the relative suffix –mi is added to the verb in the situation where the the entity that the relative suffix mi refers to is the patient.

1. Amah hi ka dawtmi ka fapa a si.
   He this 1 love+REL 1 son 3 be
   He is my son whom I love.
2. Mangte nih a ngaihmi cu Nu Renh a si.
   Mangte BY 3 miss+REL TOPIC Nu Renh 3 be
   The one that Mangte missed is Nu Renh.
3. Bawipa nih a huatmi thil pasarih a um.
   Lord BY 3 hate+REL thing seven 3 be
   There are seven things that the Lord hates.

f. Verb stem-2 is used in integrative sentences that begin with Zei (= what).

1. Zei tik ah dah kan sin na phanh lai?
   What when+pp Q 1Pl with 2 arrive FUT
   When are you getting to us?
2. Zei ruang ah dah harnak a tlun?
   What why pp Q hard+NOM 3 come home
   Why does hardship come?
3. Zei dah na hmuh hna?
   What Q 2 see Pl
   What do you see?

g. When two determinant zei and maw are present in a sentence, the verb stem takes the stem-2 form since the latter determinant is always stronger than the former one that comes first.

1. Zei tal na hmu maw? (Zei tal na hmuh maw?*)
   What else 2 see Q
   Did you see anything else?
2. Zei thawng hmanh na thei lo maw?
   What news even 2 hear NEG Q
   Did you not hear any news?

h. When we describe that something happens by itself, not caused by any other things, we use the stem 2 form as in the sentences below. In this situation, the personal pronoun focus (variant 1) is accompanied by the stem-2 verb.

1. Arfa te amah thih in a thi. (thih…thi)
   Chicken little Itself die pp 3 die
   Our little chicken died by itself.
2. Ram cu amah kangh in a kaang.
   Grass TOPIC itself burn pp 3 burn
   The grass burned ablaze by itself.
3. Ka pi cu amah tluuk in a tlu. (tluuk…tlu)
   1 aunt TOPIC herself fall pp 3 fall
   My aunt fell without being caused by any outside force.
4. Naa hngilhnak in nangmah ṭhangh te in naa ṭhang. (ṭhangh…ṭhang)
   2MID sleep+NOM pp You awake MOD pp 2MID awake
   You woke up by yourself.

h. Stem-2 form is used before words such as ning, daan, zia, that describe manner, means, and degree.

1. Kan Lairam te a nuamh zia ka chim kho lo. (stem-1 nuam)
   1Pl Chinland DIM 3 pleasant how 1 say can NEG
   I cannot say how pleasant our Chinland is.
2. Lai Grammar cu keimah ka fian ning in kaan chimh lai. (stem 1 fiang)
   Lai grammar TOPIC I 1 understand how pp 1-2 teach FUT
   I will teach you Lai grammar in the way I understand it.
3. Na thil ruah daan le ka ruah daan an i khat. (stem 1, ruat)
   2 thing think way and 1 think way 3Pl MID one
   Your way of thinking is similar to mine.
4. Mah thilhar hi a tawlchan zia kan thiam lo. (stem 1 tawlchang )
   This thing+hard this 3 handle means 1Pl know NEG
   We don’t know how to handle this difficult thing.

i. Stem-2 form is used with the adverb phrase khawh chung in describing “as much as possible”. In this situation, the same verb appears in two places—the first in stem 1 form and the second time in stem 2 form.

1. Sakhi ka pauh i, a rankhawh chung rang in a tli. (stem 1, rang)
   Deer 1 startle and 3 fast can in pp 3 run
   I startled a deer and it ran as fast as possible.
2. Tiva cu a lianhkhawh chung in a lian.
   River TOPIC 3 big can in pp 3 big
   The river swelled up as big as possible. (stem 1, lian)
3. Ngakchia pawl a thankhawh chung thang in hla an sa.
   Children Pl 3 loud can in loud pp song 3Pl sing
   The children are singing as loud as possible.
4. Zingka ah a tuanhkhawh chung tuan in ka tho.
   Morning pp 3 early can in early pp 1 get-up
   In the morning, I get up as early as possible.
   (OR) Zingka ah a tuanh khawh chung tuan ah ka tho.
   In the morning, I get up at the earliest time.
5. Ruahpi a tuh khawh chung tuk in a sur.
   Rain 3 –be torrent can in be torrent pp 3 rain
   It is raining very torrentially.

Verb Stems as Nouns

In Lai, both the finite (stem 1) and infinite (stem 2) forms can function as nouns but in different aspects. The stem 1 form denotes the person while the stem 2 denotes condition of the verb.

1. Sifaak (stem 1)/Sifah (poverty):
   1. Sifaak cu kan bawmh hna awk a si.
      Poor TOPIC 1Pl help Pl should 3 be
      We should help the poor.
   2. Sifah (stem 2):
      Mikip nih sifah ral kan doh lai.
      Person+every poverty enemy 1Pl fight FUT
      Everyone will fight against the enemy of poverty.
2. Ram-vai (stem 1):
   Ram-vaih (stem 2):
   1. Ramvai pawl nih meithal an puah.
      Hunter Pl BY gun 3Pl fire
      The hunters fired guns.
   2. Lian Dang cu ramvaih a huam.
      Lian Dang TOPIC hunting 3 like
      Lian Dang likes hunting.
3. Ral-tu (stem 1): person who fights in battle
   Ral-tuk (stem 2): fighting in battle
   1. Kan dihlak in ram ca raltu kan si.
      1 all pp country for fighter 3Pl be
      We are all fighters for the country.
   2. Ram ca raltuk cu kan rian a si.
      Country for fighting TOPIC 1Pl work 3 be
      It is our responsibility to fight for the country.