Editing Plautdietsch (section)

===Verbs===
Mennonite Low German verbs have six tenses. The present and first past tenses are inflected, while the second and third past and both future tenses are different words marked by auxiliary verbs. Verbs can have two moods: Declarative and Imperative, two voices: active and passive, and three persons:1st pers. sing., 2nd pers. sing., 3rd pers. sing., and plural.

====Weak verbs====
The basic conjugation pattern is as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! -
! 1st sing
! 2nd sing
! 3rd sing
! plural
|-
| present
| stem
| stem + st
| stem + t
| infinitive*
|-
| past
| stem + d
| stem + sd
| stem + d
| stem + den
|-
| imperative
| -
| stem
| -
| stem + t
|}

To determine the stem, take the infinitive and drop the -en ending. There are a few modifications to this basic pattern: 1) If the stem ends with a [[plosive]] or [[fricative]] [[voiced consonant]] (d, g, j, soft s, w, zh), that consonant is [[Consonant voicing and devoicing|devoiced]] in the 2nd and 3d persons of the present, since voiceless t and st automatically force the preceding consonant (compare the sound of the letter d in English lived and liked). 2) If the stem ends with a [[voiceless consonant]] (ch, f, jch, k, kj, p, hard s, sch, t) that consonant devoices the d, sd, d, den endings of the past tense (into t, st, t, ten) for the same reason. 3) If the stem ends with two consonants, the second one being a [[nasal stop|nasal]] or [[Lateral consonant|lateral]], a [[schwa]] e is inserted to ease pronunciation. 4) Verbs with a [[diphthong]] and r have a special treatment; the r is dropped before endings are attached, and the st/sd of the second person is replaced by scht/zhd.

Examples of a regular verbs: '''spälen''' (to play), '''lachen''' (to laugh), '''läwen''' (to live), '''odmen''' (to breathe) and '''roaren''' (to cry). The first one follows strictly the basic pattern, the others show the various adjustments needed as described above.

If the inverted word order is used, the '''-en''' ending of the plural '''wie''', '''jie''' (but not '''see''') form is dropped, and a root-only form, identical to the 1st person singular, is used.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! ekj
! du
! hee, see, daut
! wie, jie, see
! ____ wie, jie
|-
! colspan="6" | spälen, to play
|-
| present
| späl
| spälst
| spält
| spälen
| späl
|-
| past
| späld
| spälsd
| späld
| spälden
| späld
|-
| imperative
| -
| späl (du)
| -
| spält (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | lachen, to laugh
|-
| present
| lach
| lachst
| lacht
| lachen
| lach
|-
| past
| lacht
| lachst
| lacht
| lachten
| lacht
|-
| imperative
| -
| lach (du)
| -
| lacht (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" |läwen, to live
|-
| present
| läw
| läfst
| läft
| läwen
| läw
|-
| past
| läwd
| läwsd
| läwd
| läwden
| läwd
|-
| imperative
| -
| läw (du)
| -
| läft (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | odmen, to breathe
|-
| present
| odem
| odemst
| odemt
| odmen
| odem
|-
| past
| odemd
| odemsd
| odemd
| odemden
| odemd
|-
| imperative
| -
| odem (du)
| -
| odemt (jie)
|-

! colspan="6" | roaren, to cry
|-
| present
| roa
| roascht
| roat
| roaren
| roa
|-
| past
| road
| roazhd
| road
| roaden
| road
|-
| imperative
| -
| roa (du)
| -
| roat (jie)
|}

====Strong verbs====
As in English and Dutch, some verbs have a vowel change in past tense and past participle. As in German, some verbs might have a vowel change in second and third person of the singular in present tense as well. A few verbs that are strong in German are weak in Plautdietsch, but many German weak verbs are strong in Plautdietsch. However, when compared with Dutch and English, those are strong, too.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! ekj
! du
! hee, see, daut
! wie, jie, see
! ____ wie, jie
|-
! colspan="6" | finjen, to find
|-
| present
| finj
| finjst
| finjt
| finjen
| finj
|-
| past
| funk
| fungst
| funk
| fungen
| fung
|-
| Imperative
|
| finj (du)
|
| finjt (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | sieekjen, to seek
|-
| present
| sieekj
| sieekjst
| sieekjt
| sieekjen
| sieekj
|-
| past
| socht
| sochst
| socht
| sochten
| socht
|-
| Imperative
|
| sieekj (du)
|
| sieekjt (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | sajen, to say
|-
| present
| saj
| sajchst
| sajcht
| sajen
| saj
|-
| past
| säd
| sätst
| säd
| säden
| säd
|-
| Imperative
|
| saj (du)
|
| sajcht (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | jäwen, to give
|-
| present
| jäw
| jefst
| jeft
| jäwen
| jäw
|-
| past
| jeef
| jeefst
| jeef
| jeewen
| jeew
|-
| Imperative
|
| jeff (du)
|
| jäft (jie)
|-

! colspan="6" | schriewen, to write
|-
| present
| schriew
| schrifst
| schrift
| schriewen
| schriew
|-
| past
| schreef
| schreefst
| schreef
| schreewen
| schreew
|-
| Imperative
|
| schriew (du)
|
| schrieft (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | moaken, to make
|-
| present
| moak
| moakst
| moakt
| moaken
|-
| past
| müak
| müakst
| müak
| müaken
|-
|Imperative
|
| moak{dü}
|
| moakt{jie}
|}
GENERALITIES: Vowel changes in present tense are somewhat predictable: long '''ie''' and '''u''' change into short '''i'''; long '''ä/o''' change into '''e''' or '''a'''; diphthongs '''äa''' and '''oa''' are simplified to '''a'''.

The first and third person of the past tense are identical (as in weak verbs).

With only a few exceptions (like the verb sajen), all voiced consonants are devoiced in the three persons of the singular past, the nasal '''ng''' and '''nj''' are retained in second person, but devoiced in first and third person.

The past tense has the same vowel through all persons.

If there is a vowel change from '''ä''' to '''e''' or '''a''' in the present tense, that feature is retained in the singular imperative.

The plural form for wie/jie in the inverted word order keep the final consonant voiced.

====Auxiliary, modal and anomalous verbs====
A small groups of verbs are more irregular: the auxiliaries '''sennen''' and '''haben''', the modal verbs, and a few verbs that originally were monosyllabic and with time have evolved a '''-nen''' ending:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! ekj
! du
! hee, see, daut
! wie, jie, see
! ____ wie, jie
|-
! colspan="6" | sennen, to be
|-
| present
| sie (senn)
| best
| es
| sent
| sent
|-
| past
| wia
| wieescht
| wia
| wieren
| wia
|-
| Imperative
|
| sie (du)
|
| siet (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" |haben, to have
|-
| present
| hab
| hast
| haft
| haben
| hab
|-
| past
| haud
| hautst
| haud
| hauden
| haud
|-
| Imperative
|
| hab (du)
|
| habt (jie)
|-
! colspan="6" | kjennen, can, to be able
|-
| present
| kaun
| kau(n)st
| kaun
| kjennen
| kjenn
|-
| past
| kunn
| ku(n)st
| kunn
| kunnen
| kunn
|-
| Imperative
|
| -
|
| -
|-

! colspan="6" |stonen, to stand
|-
| present
| sto
| steist
| steit
| stonen
| sto
|-
| past
| stunt
| stuntst
| stunt
| stunden
| stund
|-
| Imperative
|
| sto (du)
|
| stot (jie)
|}

====Participles====
The present participle, formed of the infinitive plus a '''-t''' ending, is not often used. It appears in idiomatic expressions like '''aunhoolent bliewen''' (to persist), and in a few adjective forms, which have to be inflected for number, gender and case, the -t is voiced into -d: koaken, koakendet Wota (to boil, boiling water).

The past participle of weak verbs is formed with '''je-''' plus the stem of the verb plus '''-t'''. A voiced consonant is devoiced to go along with '''t''', the inserted '''e''' between double consonant is retained, the '''r''' after a long vowel is dropped. For the weak verbs given above the past participles are: '''jespält, jelacht, jejäft, jeodemt, jeroat'''.

The past participle for strong and anomalous verbs is hard to predict, they could be formed in five or six different ways:
# some are like the weak verbs: '''jejäft, jesajcht''' (given, said);
# others are formed of '''je-''' plus infinitive: '''jestonen''' (stood);
# some, including modal verbs, of '''je-''' plus first person past tense: '''jehaut'''; '''jesocht''', '''jekunt''' (had, sought, been able);
# others of '''je-''' plus plural past: '''jefungen''' (found);
# Those with an '''ee''' or '''oo''' in past tense are simplified to '''ä/o''': '''jeschräwen, jedonen''' (written, done)
# the past participle of '''sennen''' is '''jewast''' (been)

Adjectives are frequently made from the past participle by attaching an adjective inflection ending and voicing the final '''t'''; if the preceding consonant is voiced, with '''-en''' participles the '''e''' is dropped:

'''{{lang|de|molen, jemolt, een jemoldet Bilt}}''' (to draw, drawn, a drawn picture)

'''koaken, jekoakt, eene jekoakte Ieedschock''' (to boil, boiled, a boiled potato)

'''stälen, jestolen, een jestolna Hunt''' (to steal, stolen, a stolen dog)

====Compound tenses====
Except for the present and simple past, all other tenses are constructed with the aid of the auxiliary verbs sennen, haben, woaren:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! ekj
! du
! hee, see, daut
! wie, jie, see
! ____ wie, jie
|-
| Perfect
| hab jespält
| hast jespält
| haft jespält
| haben jespält
| hab '''wie''' jespält
|-
| Plusquamperfect
| haud jespält
| haudst jespält
| haud jespält
| hauden jespält
| haud '''wie''' jespält
|-
| Future
| woa spälen
| woascht spälen
| woat spälen
| woaren spälen
| woa '''wie''' spälen
|-
| Conditional
| wudd spälen
| wurscht spälen
| wudd spälen
| wudden spälen
| wudd '''wie''' spälen
|-
| Future II
| woa jespält haben
| woascht jespält haben
| woat jespält haben
| woaren jespält haben
| woa '''wie''' jespält haben
|}

Some intransitive verbs take '''sennen''' instead of '''haben''' as auxiliary verbs if they: 1) indicate a motion from one place to another, or 2) indicate a change of condition, or 3) the verbs '''sennen''' (to be) and '''bliewen''' (to keep being, to remain). Example: '''ekj sie jekomen, ekj sie oolt jeworden, ekj sie jewast''' (I have come, I have become old, I was).