Tolkien’s terminology regarding weak verbs is somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes he used this term to describe a specific verb class, and other times he used it to contrast weak versus strong past tenses within a given verb class. In one place, he used it to describe an entire category of verb
Quenya
Quenya Grammar P50: Derived Verbs
Derived verbs, as opposed to basic verbs, are those formed by adding some kind of verbal suffix to another word or root. The root may be verbal or non-verbal. Strictly speaking, the derived verbs are not themselves a distinct verb class, but are rather a collection of similar and related
Quenya Grammar P49: Basic Verbs
The basic verbs in Quenya are those verbs whoses stem ends in a consonant. They are mostly derived from primitive biconsonantal verbal roots of the form √KAT, though a few of them like ec- “to have a chance of” begin with a vowel and end with a consonant. Tolkien himself
Quenya Grammar P48: Verb Classes
Quenya verbs can be divided up into three broad groups: Basic verbs derived directly from some primitive verb stem. Derived verbs created by adding a verbal suffix to another root (verbal or otherwise). The u-stem or a-stem verbs which have a vocalic addition (a or u) to the stem. Within
Quenya Grammar P47: Verbs
Verbs in Quenya serve much the same function as they do in other languages, indicating the action of a phrase. Quenya verbs are inflected for tense, number and person, but the “person” inflections come mostly in the form of pronominal subject suffixes and object suffixes, which are discussed under pronouns.
Quenya Grammar P46: Relative Pronouns
The basis for most relative pronouns is the root √YA. However, the most common relative pronoun is i, which is probably related to the definite article. The word i is frequently used to introduce a subordinate clause: Átaremma i ea han Ea “our Father who art in Heaven”. lá carita
Quenya Grammar P45: Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogatives in Quenya were derived from the root √MA (PE17/68, 161-162; PM/357). This root also seems to be the basis for the neuter indefinite pronoun ma “something” (PE22/154). There are various interrogative forms derived from this root, many of which are simply the root with various Quenya noun case suffixes
Quenya Grammar P44: Indefinite Pronouns
Quenya does not have an indefinite article, but it does have a set of indefinite pronouns: mo “some (indefinite) person” and ma “some (indefinite) thing”: mo, indefinite personal pronoun “somebody, one”. ma, neuter personal pronoun “something, a thing”. For the indefinite mo the inclusive 1.pl.= “we, you and I (and
Quenya Grammar P43: Demonstrative Pronouns
Like most languages, Quenya had demonstrative elements that could be used to indicate near (“this”) or far (“that”) objects. There are Late Period documents on demonstratives that remain unpublished, so the analysis in this entry must be considered preliminary and incomplete. Tolkien experimented with a variety of forms for the
Quenya Grammar P42: Reflexive Pronouns
Quenya has a set of reflexive pronouns similar in function to English “myself, yourself, theirselves”. These pronouns are given in a chart written in the late 1960s (VT47/37), and are formed from the (primitive) independent pronouns with the prefix im- along with various appropriate phonetic adjustments. Primitive Reflexive 1st