Editing Syriac language (section)

=== Verbs ===
Most Syriac verbs are built on triliteral roots as well. Finite verbs carry [[grammatical person|person]], gender (except in the first person) and number, as well as [[grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]]. The non-finite verb forms are the [[infinitive]] and the [[active voice|active]] and [[passive voice|passive]] participles.

Syriac has only two true [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] tenses: perfect and imperfect. Whereas these tenses were originally [[grammatical aspect|aspectual]] in Aramaic, they have become a truly temporal [[past tense|past]] and [[future tense|future]] tenses respectively. The [[present tense]] is usually marked with the [[participle]] followed by the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] pronoun. Such [[pronoun]]s are usually omitted in the case of the third person. This use of the participle to mark the present tense is the most common of a number of ''compound'' tenses that can be used to express varying senses of tense and aspect.

Syriac also employs [[Derived stem|derived verb stems]] such as are present in other Semitic languages. These are regular modifications of the verb's root to express other changes in meaning. The first stem is the ground state, or ''{{transliteration|syc|Pəʿal}}'' (this name models the shape of the root) form of the verb, which carries the usual meaning of the word. The next is the intensive stem, or ''{{transliteration|syc|Paʿʿel}}'', form of the verb, which usually carries an [[Intensive word form|intensified meaning]]. The third is the extensive stem, or ''{{transliteration|syc|ʾAp̄ʿel}}'', form of the verb, which is often [[causative]] in meaning. Each of these stems has its parallel passive conjugation: the ''{{transliteration|syc|ʾEṯpəʿel}}'', ''{{transliteration|syc|ʾEṯpaʿʿal}}'' and ''{{transliteration|syc|ʾEttap̄ʿal}}'' respectively. To these six cardinal stems are added a few irregular stems, like the ''{{transliteration|syc|Šap̄ʿel}}'' and ''{{transliteration|syc|ʾEštap̄ʿal}}'', which generally have an extensive meaning.

The basic G-stem or "Peal" conjugation of "to write" in the perfect and imperfect is as follows:<ref>Robinson and Coakley, 2013 p.36, p. 60.</ref>
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | Perfect
! colspan="2" | Imperfect
|-
! singular !! plural
! singular !! plural
|-
! colspan="2" |  1st person
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܬ}} {{Transliteration|syc|keṯḇeṯ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܢ}} {{Transliteration|syc|kəṯaḇn}}
| {{lang|syc|ܐܟܬܘܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|eḵtoḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܢܟܬܘܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|neḵtoḇ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2nd person
! m.
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܬ}} {{lang|syc|kəṯaḇt}}
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܬܘܢ}} {{lang|syc|kəṯaḇtûn}}
| {{lang|syc|ܬܟܬܘܒ}} {{lang|syc|teḵtoḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܬܟܬܒܘܢ}} {{lang|syc|teḵtəḇûn}}
|-
! f.
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܬܝ}} {{lang|syc|kəṯaḇt}}
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒ̈ܬܝܢ}} {{lang|syc|kəṯaḇtên}}
| {{lang|syc|ܬܟܬܒܝܢ}} {{lang|syc|teḵtəḇîn}}
| {{lang|syc|ܬܟܬܒ̈ܢ}} {{lang|syc|teḵtəḇān}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 3rd person
! m.
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|kəṯaḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܘ}} {{Transliteration|syc|kəṯaḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܢܟܬܘܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|neḵtoḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܢܟܬܒܘܢ}} {{Transliteration|syc|neḵtəḇûn}}
|-
! f.
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒܬ}} {{Transliteration|syc|keṯbaṯ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܟܬܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|kəṯaḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܬܟܬܘܒ}} {{Transliteration|syc|teḵtoḇ}}
| {{lang|syc|ܢܟܬܒ̈ܢ}} {{Transliteration|syc|neḵtəḇān}}
|}