Decorative image of a mouse walking on a path, playing a stringed instrument
Conlang Year, Day 192 prompt

Goal: Review verb forms in light of y/n question strategies

Note: Identify if/how any inflectional markings are affected by question forms.

Tip: Use a single question as a base form and run it through a variety of inflectional options.

Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure


Review any information you’ve written on verb forms (e.g. inflection charts, documentation) to see if there are any areas that need to be updated in light of your y/n question strategies.

As you work, also check to make sure you have created y/n questions with all the inflections you have created for verbs so far. The goal is to figure out of your y/n interrogative forms interact with your older inflections in any way, whether that means forms combine or need to be ordered in particular ways.

I find it easier to do this by taking a single question form and running it through all the different inflectional forms and combinations, like

  • Did/Does the mouse write a letter?
  • Is/Was the mouse writing a letter?
  • Has/Had the mouse written a letter?
  • Has/Had the mouse been writing a letter?
  • Is/Was a letter written by the mouse?
  • Has/Had a letter been written by the mouse?
  • Didn’t/Doesn’t the mouse write a letter?
  • … and so on

Using a single question form helps catch any areas you may have previously missed because you’re not thinking about what verb, subject, or object to use but instead focusing solely on all the ways the verb phrase can be inflected.