In order to use the various forms of a Kunwok verb, you need to know which class (or "conjugation") it is in. The table below shows the conjugation patterns of the 11 verb classes. A longer list of Verbs is available. Below the table, you will find a guide to the grammatical terms used in the table and notes on each of the conjugation patterns.


Nonpast Conj Past Perfective Past Imperfective Imperative Irrealis English
yime 1 yimeng yimeni yimen yimeninj say, do, call, act
ngalke 2a ngalkeng ngalkeni ngalkemen ngalkeyinj find
dowen 2b doweng doweni dowemen dowemeninj die, feel unwell
bekkan 3a bekkang bekkani bekka bekkayinj feel, hear, touch, listen
nahnan 3b nahnang nahnani nahna nahnayinj look after, watch over
bawon 3c bawong bawoni bawo bawoyinj leave, give up
yawan 4a yawam yawani yawa yawayi(nj) look for
bimbun 4b bimbom bimbuni bimbu bimbuyinj write, draw, paint
rung 5a ruy rungi ru ruyinj burn
durndeng 5b durndi durndengi durnde durndeyi(nj) return
mang 5c mey mangi ma mayi take, get
dangen 6a danginj dangeni dangimen dangemeninj stand up
waydan 6b waydi waydanj wayda waydangemeninj be raised
di 7a di di din diwirrinj be, be standing
wokdi 7b wokdanj wokdi wokdin wokdiwirrinj talk, speak
yo 8 yoy yoy yun yuwirrinj lie
re 9 wam rayi ray rayinj go
burren 10 burrinj burreni burremen burremeninj fight
warremen 11 warreminj warremeni warremimen warremeninj go bad


Notes on grammatical terms

  • Non-past is the verb form to use for present tense and future tense, e.g. ngaborrkke (I dance, I am dancing, I do dance, I will dance)
  • Past Perfective is the past tense form used for a completed action, e.g. ngaborrkkeng (I danced)
  • Past Imperfective is the past tense form for an action that was on-going, incomplete or interrupted by another action, e.g. ngaborrkkeyinj (I was dancing, I used to dance) ngadjareni (I wanted it)
  • Imperative is used when giving an affirmative order or instruction, e.g. Yiborrkkemen! (dance!)
  • Irrealis is used when the action is unsure or a negative in the past tense, e.g. minj ngaborrkmeninj (I didn't dance, I wouldn't dance), yiborrkmeninj? (Did you dance?, Were you dancing?, Would you dance?, Would you have danced?, Were you going to dance?)

Conjugation Classes

Verbs can be grouped into several classes based on their pattern of conjugation. The table above lists some Kunwok verbs and the conjugation class that the verb belongs to. Here is a summary of the groups according to their non-past endings

  • Conjugation Group 1: This group ends in -me
  • Conjugation Group 2: This group ends in -ke, -ye or -we(n)
  • Conjugation Group 3: This group ends in -kan, -nan, -won or -ngun
  • Conjugation Group 4: This group ends in -bun or -wan. Note that there is a vowel change in -bu verbs in the past perfective
  • Conjugation Group 5: This group ends in -ung, -ong, -eng or -ang. Note that there is a vowel change in mang in the past perfective
  • Conjugation Group 6: This group ends in -dan or -dangen. Note that there is a vowel change in -dan verbs in the past perfective
  • Conjugation Group 7: This group ends in -di or -ni. Note that there is a vowel change in wokdi in the past perfective
  • Conjugation Group 8: This group ends in -yo. Note that there is a vowel change in the imperative and the irrealis
  • Conjugation Group 9: This group ends in -re
  • Conjugation Group 10: This group ends in -rren
  • Conjugation Group 11: This group ends in -men. Note that there is a vowel change in the past perfective. These verbs are generally derived from Adjectives.