13. Commands and Requests

What You’ll Learn

This lesson teaches common ways to ask someone to do something:

Early Hick commands name the action as an event. The simplest command uses the action stem plus -es.

This is not a full sentence with a named doer. It is more like calling the building event into action.

For a more explicit command, keep the action ending -'er and then add -es. This can sound stronger, corrective, or more official.

This form is useful when the speaker wants the action itself to be unmistakable.

If the listener needs to be named, put that person after the command with the doer ending -el.

With a name:

When a command acts on a thing, the thing can come before the command word.

The boat is not marked with -es here. In this command pattern, the action word carries the command ending.

The word naterlas softens a command into a request. It means something like “toward willingness.”

This is gentler than a bare command because it asks the listener toward willingness rather than simply calling the action.

To say “do not,” put mo- before the action word.

For a more formal or explicit negative command, Early Hick can keep the command event and add a negative action word:

Translate each command or request.

Pop quizAnswers

vinud-es, Aigral-el!

build-COMMAND Aigral-DOER
"Build, Aigral!"

vinud'er-es naterlas 'al'tan-el

build-ACTION-COMMAND REQUEST person-that-DOER
"Please build." / "Would you be willing to build?"