C2 Selan Lesson 1

​Selan C2 course

Lesson 1​

The Selan Common Present Tense​

​What you will learn

in this lesson​

• Some administrative matters

• The present continuous in Selan

• Pronunciation in Selan

• A collection of common phrases

​Make notes

This might sound like a silly piece of advice but we strongly advise you to get a notebook specifically for this course. These lessons won't be available forever, so storing all the information in a notebook will prove helpful in the future. Information that you should write down will be in italics. At the end of a unit, everything you should've written down will be shown.

The present continuous in Selan

The most commonly used tense in colloquial Selan is the present continuous.

Note this table in your notebook. It will be filled up throughout the course.

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Present Continuous | Forming the tense

​Active Tenses	​Used for	​Formed
​Present Continuous	​	​
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​The present continuous is formed by combining a verbal noun and the verb 'to be' (ασπαι).

ασπαι + αλ/αν + verbal noun

These grammatical concepts shall further be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs. ​

​Active Tenses	​Used for	​Formed with
​Present Continuous	​	​ασπαι + αλ/αν + verbnoun
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Verbal nouns

Verbal nouns are a concept that is not very common in English, but it is definitely not difficult to understand. In English, they are created by replacing the infinite suffix with -ing. If you add an article to that, you essentially change a verb into a noun, hence the name verbal noun.

(E.g. 'to walk' becomes 'the walking). You can remember this concept as it is normally only used in movie titles. 'The walking dead,' 'the awakening,' 'the happening,' etc.

In Selan, verbal nouns are formed by replacing the infinite suffix (usually αι) with ε. Then add the prefix χ(ε). There are, of course, exceptions to this but for now, this is the most complicated we'll make it.

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Present Continuous | Verbal nouns

Fill in the Blank

Form the verbal noun of διραι (to greet)

Fill in the Blank

Give the verbal noun of σκαι (to say)

Fill in the Blank

Give the verbal noun for εμιται (to come from)

The verb 'to be': 'ασπαι'

In colloquial Selan, the verb ' to be' is a mix between​ the original Selan verb and the Turkish one. This causes for the verb to be somewhat irregular.

​Note this table in your notebook.

Present continuous | To be

​Inf	​ασπαι
I am​	ας​
You are​	εν​
He/she/it is​	ο​
We are​	εσας​
You are (p)​	ζες αδα​
​They are	​αδα
There is​	ο​
There are​	ασπεν​
​Be (s)	αδε​!
​Be (p)	αδερ!​

Pronouns with the verb to be​

The verb 'to be' does not require any pronouns apart from two exceptions.

You are in plural requires the pronoun ζες to be added.

'We are' uses the pronouns ​ες but this was essentially integrated into the verb conjucation.

Present continuous | To be

Multiple Choice

I am, we are, be! (plural), it is

• ο, ας, αδε, ο

• ας, εσας, αδε, ο

• αδα, εν, ο, εν

• ας, εσας, αδερ, ο

Multiple Choice

there is, you are (singular), they are, you are (plural)

• εν, εν, εσας, αδα

• ο, ας, αδα, αδα

• ο, εν, αδα, ζες αδα

• εσας, εν, αδα, ζες αδα

Multiple Choice

to be, there are, I am, he is

• ασπαι, ασπεν, ας, ο

• ο, ασπεν, εσας, ο

• εσας, ασπαι, ας, ο

• ο, ασπαι, ας, ο

αλ or αν​

αλ and αν are two words that connect the verb 'to be' with the verbal noun. But when do you use which one? Selan is a somewhat vague language when it comes to this. As a rule of thumb:

​Αλ is used for verbs that can logically be made into a passive verb. Αν is used for the opposite.

For example, 'to build' can be made passive; "I am building, the house is being built." But in the case of ​'to think' this isn't really possible. "I think. I am being thinking." You will have to remember some edgecases and irregularities for this.

Present continuous | To be

​When to use αλ and when αν

Multiple Choice

Το dream

• Αλ

• Αν

Multiple Choice

To arrive

• Αλ

• Αν

Multiple Choice

Το throw

• Αλ

• Αν

When to use present continuous

The present continuous is used for any regular present tense. This means it is used for any present tense that is not a statement of fact, a question or a negative sentence. ​

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Present Continuous | When to use the tense

​Active Tenses	​Used for	​Formed with
​Present Continuous	​All normal present tenses	​ασπαι + αλ/αν + verbnoun
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Word order in Selan

The Selan language is rather finicky when it comes to word order. The most common word oder

Some text here about the topic of discussion