Adyghe verbs

Adyghe language
Grammar Morphology Nouns Phonology Verbs

In Adyghe, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, the verb is the most inflected part of speech. Verbs are typically head final and are conjugated for tense, person, number, etc. Some of Circassian verbs can be morphologically simple, some of them consist only of one morpheme, like: кӏо "go", штэ "take". However, generally, Circassian verbs are characterized as structurally and semantically difficult entities. Morphological structure of a Circassian verb includes affixes (prefixes, suffixes) which are specific to the language. Verbal affixes express meaning of subject, direct or indirect object, adverbial, singular or plural form, negative form, mood, direction, mutuality, compatibility and reflexivity, which, as a result, creates a complex verb, that consists of many morphemes and semantically expresses a sentence. For example: уакъыдэсэгъэгущыӏэжьы "I am forcing you to talk to them again" consists of the following morphemes: у-а-къы-дэ-сэ-гъэ-гущыӏэ-жьы, with the following meanings: "you (у) with them (а) from there (къы) together (дэ) I (сэ) am forcing (гъэ) to speak (гущыӏэн) again (жьы)".

Adyghe verbs have several forms to express different tenses; here are some of them:

Tense	Suffix	Example	Meaning
Present	~∅	макӏо [maːkʷʼa]	(s)he is going; (s)he goes
Simple past	~агъэ [~aːʁa]	кӏуагъэ [kʷʼaːʁa]	(s)he went
Discontinuous past	~гъагъ [~ʁaːʁ]	кӏогъагъ [kʷʼaʁaːʁ]	(s)he went (but not there anymore)
Pluperfect	~гъагъ [~ʁaːʁ]	кӏогъагъ [kʷʼaʁaːʁ]	(s)he had gone"
Categorical future	~н [~n]	кӏон [kʷʼan]	(s)he will go
Factual future	~щт [~ɕt]	кӏощт [kʷʼaɕt]	(s)he will go
Imperfect	~щтыгъ	кӏощтыгъ [kʷʼaɕtəʁ]	(s)he was going; (s)he used to go
Conditional perfect	~щтыгъ	кӏощтыгъ [kʷʼaɕtəʁ]	(s)he would have gone
Future perfect	~гъэщт [~ʁaɕt]	кӏуагъэщт [kʷʼaːʁaɕt]	(s)he will have gone
Recent past	~гъакӏ [~ʁaːt͡ʃʼ]	кӏогъакӏ [kʷʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼ]	(s)he just (recently) went

The verbs in simple past tense are formed by adding -aгъ [aːʁ]. In intransitive verbs it indicates that the action took place, but with no indication as to the duration, instant nor completeness of the action. In transitive verbs it conveys more specific information with regards to completeness of the action, and therefore they indicate some certainty as to the outcome of the action.

Examples :

• кӏо [kʷʼa] go → кӏуагъ [kʷʼaːʁ] (s)he went
• къакӏу [qaːkʷʼ] come → къэкӏуагъ [qakʷʼaːʁ] (s)he came
• шхэ [ʃxa] eat! → шхагъ [ʃxaːʁ] (s)he ate
• ӏо [ʔʷa] say → ыӏуагъ [jəʔʷaːʁ] (s)he said
• еплъ [japɬ] look at → еплъыгъ [japɬəʁ] (s)he looked at
• шхы Adyghe pronunciation: [/ʃxə/] eat it → ышхыгъ [jəʃxəʁ] (s)he ate it

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏуагъ, седжагъ	[səkʷʼaːʁ], [sajd͡ʒaːʁ]	I went, I [have] read
	Second-person	укӏуагъ, уеджагъ	[wkʷʼaːʁ], [wajd͡ʒaːʁ]	You went, You [have] read
	Third-person	кӏуагъ, еджагъ	[kʷʼaːʁ], [jad͡ʒaːʁ]	He went, He [has] read
Plural	First-person	тыкӏуагъ, теджагъ	[təkʷʼaːʁ], [tajd͡ʒaːʁ]	We went, We [have] read
	Second-person	шъукӏуагъ, шъуеджагъ	[ʃʷkʷʼaːʁ], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaːʁ]	You (pl.) went, You [have] read
	Third-person	кӏуагъэх, еджагъэх	[kʷʼaːʁax], [jad͡ʒaːʁax]	They went, They [have] read

The tense ~гъагъ [~ʁaːʁ] can be used for both past perfect (pluperfect) and discontinuous past:

• Past perfect: It indicates that the action took place formerly at some certain time, putting emphasis only on the fact that the action took place (not the duration)
• Past perfect 2: It expresses the idea that one action occurred before another action or event in the past.
• Discontinuous past: It carries an implication that the result of the event described no longer holds. This tense expresses the following meanings: remote past, anti resultative (‘cancelled’ result), experiential and irrealis conditional.^[1]

Examples :

• кӏо [kʷʼa] go → кӏогъагъ [kʷʼaʁaːʁ] (s)he had gone
• къакӏу [qaːkʷʼ] come → къэкӏогъагъ [qakʷʼaʁaːʁ] (s)he had come
• шхэ [ʃxa] eat! → шхэгъагъ [maʃxaʁaːʁ] (s)he had eaten
• ӏо [ʔʷa] say → ыӏогъагъ [jəʔʷaʁaːʁ] (s)he had said
• еплъ [japɬ] look at → еплъыгъагъ [japɬəʁaːʁ] (s)he had looked
• шхы [ʃxə] eat it → ышхыгъагъ [jəʃxəʁaːʁ] (s)he had eaten

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏогъагъ, седжэгъагъ	[səkʷʼaʁaːʁ], [sajd͡ʒaʁaːʁ]	I had gone (then), I had read (then)
	Second-person	укӏогъагъ, уеджэгъагъ	[wkʷʼaʁaːʁ], [wajd͡ʒaʁaːʁ]	You had gone (then), You had read (then)
	Third-person	кӏогъагъ, еджэгъагъ	[kʷʼaʁaːʁ], [jad͡ʒaʁaːʁ]	He had gone (then), He had read (then)
Plural	First-person	тыкӏогъагъ, теджэгъагъ	[təkʷʼaʁaːʁ], [tajd͡ʒaʁaːʁ]	We had gone (then), We had read (then)
	Second-person	шъукӏогъагъ, шъуеджэгъагъ	[ʃʷkʷʼaʁaːʁ], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaʁaːʁ]	You (pl.) had gone (then), You (pl.) had read (then)
	Third-person	кӏогъагъэх, еджэгъагъэх	[kʷʼaʁaːʁax], [jad͡ʒaʁaːʁax]	They had gone (then), They had read (then)

The present tense in Adyghe has no additional suffixes, but in dynamic verbs, the pronoun prefix's vowels change form ы to э or е, for instance, сышхыгъ "I ate" becomes сэшхы "I eat" (сы → сэ), ылъэгъугъ "(s)he saw" becomes елъэгъу "(s)he sees" (ы → е).

Examples :

• кӏо [kʷʼa] go → макӏо [makʷʼa] (s)he goes
• къакӏу [qaːkʷʼ] come → къакӏо [qakʷʼa] (s)he comes
• шхэ [ʃxa] eat! → машхэ [maʃxaʁ] (s)he eats
• ӏо [ʔʷa] say → еӏо [jəʔʷa] (s)he says
• еплъ [japɬ] look at → еплъы [japɬə] (s)he looks at
• шхы [ʃxə] eat it → ешхы [jəʃxə] (s)he eats it

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сэкӏо, седжэ	[sakʷʼa], [sajd͡ʒa]	I go, I read
	Second-person	окӏо, уеджэ	[wakʷʼa], [wajd͡ʒa]	You go, You read
	Third-person	макӏо, еджэ	[maːkʷʼa], [jad͡ʒa]	He goes, He reads
Plural	First-person	тэкӏо, теджэ	[takʷʼa], [tajd͡ʒa]	We go, We read
	Second-person	шъокӏо, шъуеджэ	[ʃʷakʷʼa], [ʃʷajd͡ʒa]	You (pl.) go, You read
	Third-person	макӏох, еджэх	[maːkʷʼax], [jad͡ʒax]	They go, They read

The future tense is normally indicated by the suffix ~(э)щт [(a)ɕt] (close to future simple). This tense usually expresses some certainty.

Examples :

• макӏо [maːkʷʼa] (s)he is going → кӏощт [kʷʼaɕt] (s)he will go
• къакӏо [qaːkʷʼa] (s)he is coming → къэкӏощт [qakʷʼaɕt] (s)he will come
• машхэ [maːʃxa] (s)he is eating → шхэщт [ʃxaɕt] (s)he will eat
• еӏо [jaʔʷa] (s)he says → ыӏощт [jəʔʷaɕt] (s)he will say
• еплъы [jajapɬə] (s)he looks at → еплъыщт [japɬəɕt] (s)he will look at
• ешхы [jaʃxə] (s)he eats it → ышхыщт [jəʃxəaɕt] (s)he will eat it

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏощт, седжэщт	[səkʷʼaɕt], [sajd͡ʒaɕt]	I will go, I will read
	Second-person	укӏощт, уеджэщт	[wkʷʼaɕt], [wajd͡ʒaɕt]	You will go, You will read
	Third-person	кӏощт, еджэщт	[kʷʼaɕt], [jad͡ʒaɕt]	He will go, He will read
Plural	First-person	тыкӏощт, теджэщт	[təkʷʼaɕt], [tajd͡ʒaɕt]	We will go, We will read
	Second-person	шъукӏощт, шъуеджэщт	[ʃʷkʷʼaɕt], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaɕt]	You (pl.) will go, You will read
	Third-person	кӏощтых, еджэщтых	[kʷʼaɕtəx], [jad͡ʒaɕtəx]	They will go, They will read

The imperfect tense is formed with the additional suffix ~щтыгъ [ɕtəʁ] to the verb. It can have meanings similar to the English "was walking" or "used to walk".

Examples :

• кӏо /kʷʼa/ go → кӏощтыгъ /makʷʼaɕtəʁ/ (s)he was going.
• къакӏу /qaːkʷʼ/ come → къэкӏощтыгъ /qakʷʼaɕtəʁ/ (s)he was coming .
• шхэ /ʃxa/ eat! → шхэщтыгъ /maʃxaɕtəʁ/ (s)he was eating.
• ӏо /ʔʷa/ say → ыӏощтыгъ /jəʔʷaɕtəʁ/ (s)he was saying.
• еплъ /japɬ/ look at → еплъыщтыгъ /japɬəɕtəʁ/ (s)he was looking at.
• шхы /ʃxə/ eat it → ышхыщтыгъ /jəʃxəɕtəʁ/ (s)he was eating it.

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏощтыгъ, седжэщтыгъ	[səkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [sajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	I was going, I was reading
	Second-person	укӏощтыгъ, уеджэщтыгъ	[wkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [wajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	You were going, You were reading
	Third-person	кӏощтыгъ, еджэщтыгъ	[kʷʼaɕtəʁ], [jad͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	(S)he was going, (S)he was reading
Plural	First-person	тыкӏощтыгъ, теджэщтыгъ	[təkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [tajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	We were going, We were reading
	Second-person	шъукӏощтыгъ, шъуеджэщтыгъ	[ʃʷkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	You (pl.) were going, You (pl.) were reading
	Third-person	кӏощтыгъэх, еджэщтыгъэх	[kʷʼaɕtəʁax], [jad͡ʒaɕtəʁax]	They were going, They were reading

This suffix can also be used to express an action that someone used to do in the past.

The conditional perfect is indicated by the suffix ~щтыгъ /ɕtəʁ/ as well.

Examples :

• кӏо [kʷʼa] go → кӏощтыгъ [makʷʼaɕtəʁ] (s)he would have gone.
• къакӏу [qaːkʷʼ] come → къэкӏощтыгъ [qakʷʼaɕtəʁ] (s)he would have come
• шхэ [ʃxa] eat! → шхэщтыгъ [maʃxaɕtəʁ] (s)he would have eaten.
• ӏо [ʔʷa] say → ыӏощтыгъ [jəʔʷaɕtəʁ] (s)he would have said.
• еплъ [japɬ] look at → еплъыщтыгъ [japɬəɕtəʁ] (s)he would have looked at
• шхы [ʃxə] eat it → ышхыщтыгъ [jəʃxəɕtəʁ] (s)he would have eaten it.

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏощтыгъ, седжэщтыгъ	[səkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [sajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	I would have gone, I would have read
	Second-person	укӏощтыгъ, уеджэщтыгъ	[wkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [wajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	You would have gone, You would have read
	Third-person	кӏощтыгъ, еджэщтыгъ	[kʷʼaɕtəʁ], [jad͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	(S)he would have gone, (S)he would have read
Plural	First-person	тыкӏощтыгъ, теджэщтыгъ	[təkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [tajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	We would have gone, We would have read
	Second-person	шъукӏощтыгъ, шъуеджэщтыгъ	[ʃʷkʷʼaɕtəʁ], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaɕtəʁ]	You (pl.) would have gone, You would have read
	Third-person	кӏощтыгъэх, еджэщтыгъэх	[kʷʼaɕtəʁax], [jad͡ʒaɕtəʁax]	They would have gone, They would have read

The future perfect tense is indicated by adding the suffix ~гъэщт or ~гъагъэщт. This tense indicates action that will be finished or expected to be finished at a certain time in the future.

Examples :

• кӏо [kʷʼa] go → кӏогъэщт [makʷʼaʁaɕt] (s)he will have gone.
• къакӏу [qaːkʷʼ] come → къэкӏогъэщт [qakʷʼaʁaɕt] (s)he will have come.
• шӏы [ʃʼə] do it → ышӏыгъагъэщт [ət͡ʃʼəʁaːʁaɕt] (s)he will have done it.
• ӏо [ʔʷa] say → ыӏогъэщт [jəʔʷaʁaɕt] (s)he will have said it.
• еплъ [japɬ] look at → еплъыгъэщт [japɬəʁaɕt] (s)he will have looked at.
• шхы [ʃxə] eat it → ышхыгъэщт [jəʃxəʁaɕt] (s)he will have eaten it.

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сыкӏогъэщт, седжэгъэщт	[sɘkʷʼaʁaɕt], [sajd͡ʒaʁaɕt]	I will have gone, I will have read
	Second-person	укӏогъэщт, уеджэгъэщт	[wkʷʼaʁaɕt], [wajd͡ʒaʁaɕt]	You will have gone, You will have read
	Third-person	кӏогъэщт, еджэгъэщт	[kʷʼaʁaɕt], [jad͡ʒaʁaɕt]	(S)he will have gone, (S)he will have read
Plural	First-person	тыкӏогъэщт, теджэгъэщт	[tɘkʷʼaʁaɕt], [tajd͡ʒaʁaɕt]	We will have gone, We will have read
	Second-person	шъукӏогъэщт, шъуеджэгъэщт	[ʃʷkʷʼaʁaɕt], [ʃʷajd͡ʒaʁaɕt]	You (pl.) will have gone, You will have read
	Third-person	кӏощтыгъэх, еджэгъэщтэх	[kʷʼaɕtəʁax], [jad͡ʒaʁaɕtax]	They will have gone, They will have read

In Circassian the verb being transitive or intransitive is of major importance in accounting for the contrast between the two cases ergative and absolutive. The division into transitive and intransitive verbs is an important distinction because each group functions a bit differently in some grammatical aspects of the language. Each group for example has its own arrangement of prefixes and conjunctions. Circassian is an ergative–absolutive language, which means it is a language in which the subject of intransitive verbs, behave like the object of transitive verbs. This is unlike nominative–accusative languages, such as English and most other European languages, where the subject of an intransitive verb (e.g. "She" in the sentence "She walks.") behaves grammatically like the agent of a transitive verb (e.g. "She" in the sentence "She finds it.")

Intransitive verbs in Circassian are verbs that have a subject in the absolutive case. The common definition of an intransitive verb is a verb that does not allow an object, and this is the case in Indo-European, Turkic and other languages. This is problematic in the Circassian languages, however, because in Circassian, there is a number of verbs with transitive semantics but morphological features and syntactic behavior according to the intransitive pattern. Thus, in Circassian, intransitive verbs can either have or not have objects.

Examples of intransitive verbs that have no objects:

• кӏон "to go"
• чъэн "to run"
• шхэн "to eat"
• гущыӏн "to talk"
• тхэн "to write"
• быбын "to fly"
• чъыен "to sleep"
• лӏэн "to die"
• пкӏэн "to jump"
• хъонэн "to curse"
• хъун "to happen"
• стын "to burn up"
• сымэджэн "to get sick"
• лъэӏон "to prey; to beg"
• тхъэжьын "to be happy"

Examples of intransitive verbs that have indirect objects:

• ебэун "to kiss"
• еплъын "to look at"
• елъэӏун "to beg to"
• еджэн "to read"
• есын "to swim"
• еон "to hit"
• ешъутырын "to kick"
• еӏункӏын "to push"
• ецэкъэн "to bite"
• еупчӏын "to ask"
• ешъон "to drink"
• ежэн "to wait"
• дэгущыӏэн "to speak with"
• ехъонын "to curse someone"

Transitive verbs in Circassian are verbs that have a subject in the ergative case. Unlike intransitive verbs, transitive verbs always need to have an object. Most transitive verbs have one object, but there are some that have two objects or several.

Examples of transitive verbs with a direct object:

• укӏын "to kill"
• шхын "to eat it"
• ӏыгъэн "to hold"
• дзын "to throw"
• лъэгъун "to see"
• хьын "to carry"
• шӏэн "to know"
• шӏын "to do"
• шӏыжьын "to fix"
• гъэшхэн "to feed"
• щэн "to lead someone"
• тхьалэн "to strangle"
• гурыӏон "to understand"
• убытын "to catch; to hug"
• штэн "to lift; to take"
• екъутэн "to break"

Examples of transitive verbs with two objects:

• ӏон "to say"
• ӏотэн "to tell"
• щэн "to sell"
• етын "to give to"
• тедзэн "to throw at"
• егъэлъэгъун "to show it to"

The absolutive case in Adyghe serves to mark the noun that its state changes by the verb (i.e. created, altered, moved or ended), for instance, in the English sentence "The man is dying", the man's state is changing (ending) by dying, so the man will get the absolutive case mark in Adyghe.

An example with an object will be "The man is stabbing its victim", here the man's state is changing because he is moving (likely his hands) to stab, so in this case the word man will get the absolutive case mark, the verb "stab" does not indicate what happens to the victim (getting hurt; getting killed; etc.), it just expresses the attacker's movement of assault.

Another example will be "The boy said the comforting sentence to the girl", here the sentence's state is changing (created) by being uttered by the boy and coming to existence, so sentence will get the absolutive case mark, it is important to notice that the boy's state is not changing, the verb "said" does not express how the boy uttered the sentence (moving lips or tongue; shouting; etc.).

In intransitive verbs the subject gets the absolutive case indicating that the subject is changing its state.

In transitive verbs the subject gets the ergative case indicating that the subject causes change to the direct object's state which gets the absolutive case.

Transitivity	Subject	Object
Intransitive	Absolutive (-r)	Oblique(-m)
Transitive	Ergative (-m)	Absolutive (-r)

For example, both the intransitive verb егъуин [jaʁʷəjən] and the transitive verb дзын [d͡zən] mean "to throw".

• егъуин expresses the motion the thrower (subject) does to throw something, without indicating what is being thrown, so the thrower (subject) gets the absolutive case.
• дзын expresses the movement of the object that was thrown (motion in air), without indicating the target, so the thing that is being throws (object) gets the absolutive case.

Another example is еон [jawan] "to hit" and укӏын [wət͡ʃʼən] "to kill".

• еон describes the movement of the hitter (subject) and there is no indication of what happens to the target (object), so the subjects gets the absolutive case because it is the one that changes (by moving).
• укӏын describes a person dying (object) by getting killed and there is no indication of how the killer does it, so the object gets the absolutive case because it is the one that changes (by ending).

Dynamic verbs express (process of) actions that are taking place while steady-state verbs express the condition and the state of the subject. For example, in Adyghe, there are two verbs for "standing", one is a dynamic verb and the other is a steady-state verb:

• steady-state: The verb щыт [ɕət] expresses someone in a standing state.
• dynamic: The verb къэтэджын [qatad͡ʒən] expresses the process of someone moving its body to stand up from a sitting state or a lying state.

Examples of dynamic verbs:

• ар макӏо - "(s)he is going".
• ар мэчъые - "(s)he is sleeping".
• ар еджэ - "(s)he is reading it".
• ащ еукӏы - "(s)he is killing it".
• ащ елъэгъу - "(s)he sees it".
• ащ еӏо - "(s)he says it".

Examples of steady state verbs:

• ар щыс - "(s)he is sitting".
• ар тет - "(s)he is standing on".
• ар цӏыф - "(s)he is a person".
• ар щыӏ - "(s)he exists".
• ар илъ - "(s)he is lying inside".
• ар фай - "(s)he wants".
• ащ иӏ - "(s)he has".
• ащ икӏас - "(s)he likes".

Subject pronouns		Affixes		Examples
		Cyrillic	IPA
Singular	1st person	сы~	[sə]	сыщыс [səɕəs] – I am sitting.
	2st person	у~	[wə]	ущыс [wəɕəs] – you are sitting.
	3rd person	—	—	щыс [ɕəs] – (s)he is sitting.
Plural	1st person	ты~	[tə]	тыщыс [təɕəs] – we are sitting.
	2nd person	шъу~	[ʃʷə]	шъущыс [ʃʷəɕəs] – you are sitting.
	3rd person	~ых	[əx]	щысых [ɕəsəx] – they are sitting.

Verb valency is the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. Verbs in Adyghe can be monovalent (e.g. I am sitting), bivalent (e.g. I am hitting an enemy), trivalent (e.g. I am giving a book to a friend), possibly also quadrivalent (e.g. I am telling the news to someone with my friend).

For example, the verb макӏо [maːkʷʼa] "(s)he is going" has one argument, the verb ео [jawa] "(s)he is hitting it" has two arguments, the verb реӏо [rajʔʷa] "(s)he is saying it to him/her" has three arguments.

Monovalent verbs can only be intransitive having one argument, an absolutive subject with no objects.

Monovalent	Subject	Direct object	Indirect object
Intransitive	Absolutive (-r)	-	-
Transitive	-	-	-

Examples :

• кӏалэр макӏо [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːkʷʼa] the boy is going.
• кӏалэр мачъэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːt͡ʂa] the boy is running.
• кӏалэр машхэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːʃxa] the boy is eating.
• кӏалэр маплъэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːpɬa] the boy is looking.
• кӏалэр мэгущыӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maɡʷəɕaːʔa] the boy is speaking.
• кӏалэр малӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːɬʼa] the boy is dying.

Subject		Affixes		Examples
		Cyrillic	IPA
Singular	1st person	сэ~	[sa]	сэкӏо [sakʷʼa] - I am going
	2nd person	о~	[wa]	окӏо [wakʷʼa] - you are going
	3rd person	ма~	[maː]	макӏо [maːkʷʼa] - (s)he is going
Plural	1st person	тэ~	[ta]	тэкӏо [takʷʼa] - we are going
	2nd person	шъо~	[ʃʷa]	шъокӏо [ʃʷakʷʼa] - you are going
	3rd person	ма~, ~эх	[maː], [ax]	макӏох [maːkʷʼax] - they are going

Bivalent verbs in Adyghe can be either intransitive or transitive.

Bivalent	Subject	Direct object	Indirect object
Intransitive	Absolutive (-r)	-	Oblique (-m)
Transitive	Ergative (-m)	Absolutive (-r)	-

In a sentence with an intransitive bivalent verb :

• The subject is in the absolutive case.
• The indirect object is in the oblique case.

This indicates that the subject is changing by doing the verb.

Examples :

• кӏалэр егупшысэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jaɡʷəpʃəsa] the boy is thinking of...
• кӏалэр ео [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jawa] the boy is playing a...
• кӏалэр еджэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jad͡ʒa] the boy is reading a...
• кӏалэр еплъы [t͡ʃʼaːɮar maːpɬa] the boy is looking at...
• кӏалэр еупчӏы [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jawt͡ʂʼə] the boy is asking a...
• кӏалэр елӏыкӏы [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jaɬʼət͡ʃʼə] the boy is dying of...
• кӏалэр ебэу [t͡ʃʼaːɮar jabawə] the boy is kissing a...

Conjugation of the intransitive bivalent verb еплъын (to look at)

Subject	Object
	At me	At you	At him	At us	At you (pl)	At them	At oneself
I		Сыоплъы Сыкъыоплъы (I look at you)	Сеплъы Сыкъеплъы (I look at him)		Сышъоплъы Сыкъышъоплъы (I look at you (pl))	Саплъы Сыкъаплъы (I look at them)	Сызэплъыжьы Сыкъызэплъыжьы (I look at myself)
You	— Укъысэплъы (You look at me)		Уеплъы Укъеплъы (You look at him)	— Укъытэплъы (You look at us)		Уаплъы Укъаплъы (You look at them)	Узэплъыжьы Укъызэплъыжьы (You look at yourself)
He	— Къысэплъы (He looks at me)	— Къыоплъы (He looks at you)	Еплъы Къеплъы (He looks at him)	— Къытэплъы (He looks at us)	— Къышъоплъы (He looks at you (pl))	Аплъы Къаплъы (He looks at them)	Зэплъыжьы Къызэплъыжьы (He looks at himself)
We		Тыоплъы Тыкъыоплъы (We look at you)	Теплъы Тыкъеплъы (We look at him)		Тышъоплъы Тыкъышъоплъы (We look at you (pl))	Таплъы Тыкъаплъы (We look at them)	Тызэплъыжьы Тыкъызэплъыжьы (We look at ourselves)
You (pl)	— Укъысэплъы (You (pl) look at me)		Шъуеплъы Шъукъеплъы (You (pl) look at him)	— Шъукъытэплъы (You (pl) look at us)		Шъуаплъы Шъукъаплъы (You (pl) look at them)	Шъузэплъыжьы Шъукъызэплъыжьы (You (pl) look at yourselves)
Them	— Къысэплъых (They look at me)	— Къыоплъых (They look at you)	Еплъых Къеплъых (They look at him)	— Къытэплъых (They look at us)	— Къышъоплъых (They look at you (pl))	Аплъых Къаплъых (They look at them)	Зэплъыжьых Къызэплъыжьых (They look at themselves)

In a sentence with a transitive bivalent verbs:

• The subject is in ergative case.
• The direct object is in absolutive case.

This indicates that the subject causes change to the object.

Examples:

• кӏалэм елъэгъу [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jaɬaʁʷə] the boy is seeing a.
• кӏалэм ешхы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jaʃxə] the boy is eating it.
• кӏалэм егъакӏо [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jaʁaːkʷʼa] the boy is making someone go.
• кӏалэм екъутэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jaqʷəta] the boy is destroying the.
• кӏалэм еукӏы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jawt͡ʃʼə] the boy is killing a.
• кӏалэм едзы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam jad͡zə] the boy is throwing a.

In transitive verbs the left prefix pronoun is the object while the right prefix pronoun is the subject, for example in осэгъакӏо "I am making you go", the left prefix pronoun о "you" is the object while the right prefix pronoun сэ "I" is the subject.

Conjugation of the transitive bivalent verb ылъэгъун (to see)

Subject	Object
	At me	At you	At him	At us	At you (pl)	At them	At oneself
I		Осэлъэгъу Укъэсэлъэгъу (I see you)	Сэлъэгъу Къэсэлъэгъу (I see him)		Шъосэлъэгъу Шъукъэсэлъэгъу (I see you (pl))	Сэлъэгъух Къэсэлъэгъух (I see them)	Зэсэлъэгъужьы Зкъэсэлъэгъужьы (I see myself)
You	Сэолъэгъу Скъэолъэгъу Сэбэлъэгъу Скъэбэлъэгъу (You see me)		Олъэгъу Къэолъэгъу Къэбэлъэгъу (You see him)	Тэолъэгъу Ткъэолъэгъу Тэбэлъэгъу Ткъэбэлъэгъу (You see us)		Олъэгъух Къэолъэгъух Къэбэлъэгъух (You see them)	Зэолъэгъужьы Зкъэолъэгъужьы Зэбэлъэгъужьы Зкъэбэлъэгъужьы (You see yourself)
(S)he	Селъэгъу Скъелъэгъу (He sees me)	Уелъэгъу Укъелъэгъу (He sees you)	Елъэгъу Къелъэгъу (He sees him)	Телъэгъу Ткъелъэгъу (He sees us)	Шъуелъэгъу Шъукъелъэгъу (He sees you (pl))	Елъэгъух Къелъэгъух (He sees them)	Зелъэгъужьы Зыкъелъэгъужьы (He sees himself)
We		Отэлъэгъу Укъэтэлъэгъу (We see you)	Тэлъэгъу Къэтэлъэгъу (We see him)		Шъотэлъэгъу Шъукъэтэлъэгъу (We see you (pl))	Тэлъэгъух Къэтэлъэгъух (We see them)	Зэтэлъэгъужьы Зкъэтэлъэгъужьы (We see ourselves)
You (pl)	Сэшъолъэгъу Скъэолъэгъу (You (pl) see me)		Шъолъэгъу Къэшъолъэгъу (You (pl) see him)	Тэшъолъэгъу Ткъэшъолъэгъу (You (pl) see us)		Шъолъэгъух Къэшъолъэгъух Къэбэлъэгъух (You (pl) see them)	Зэшъолъэгъужьы Зкъэшъолъэгъужьы (You (pl) see yourselves)
They	Салъэгъу Скъалъэгъу (They see me)	Уалъэгъу Укъалъэгъу (They see you)	Алъэгъу Къалъэгъу (They see him)	Талъэгъу Ткъалъэгъу (They see us)	Шъуалъэгъу Шъукъалъэгъу (They see you (pl))	Алъэгъух Къалъэгъух (They see them)	Залъэгъужьы Зыкъалъэгъужьы (They see themselves)

Trivalent verbs require three arguments: a subject, a direct object and an indirect object:

• The subject is in ergative case.
• The direct object is in absolutive case.
• The indirect object is in oblique case.

Most trivalent verbs in Adyghe are created by adding the causative prefix гъэ~ to bivalent verbs. The causative prefix increases the valency of the verb by one and forms a transitive, thus bivalent verbs become trivalent. Intransitive bivalent verbs that become trivalent have different conjunction than transitive bivalent verbs that become trivalent, thus we end up with two types of trivalent verbs.

To form a trivalent verb one must take a bivalent verb (either intransitive or transitive), add the causative prefix гъэ~ [ʁa] and the subject's pronoun prefix to the right.

Examples with intransitive verbs:

• ео [jawa] "(s)he is hitting him/it" → ебэгъао [jabaʁaːwa] "You are making him hit him/it".
• уеджэ [wajd͡ʒa] "you are reading it" → уесэгъаджэ [wajsaʁaːd͡ʒa] "I am making you read it".
• усэплъы [wsapɬə] "I am looking at you" → усэзэгъэплъы [wsazaʁapɬə] "I am making myself look at you".
• укъысэупчӏы [wqəsawt͡ʂʼə] "you are asking me" → укъысегъэупчӏы [wqəsajʁawt͡ʂʼə] "(s)he is making you ask me".

Examples with transitive verbs:

• едзы [jad͡zə] "(s)he is throwing him/it" → ебэгъэдзы [jabaʁad͡zə] "You are making him throw him/it".
• ошхы [waʃxə] "you are eating it" → осэгъэшхы [wasaʁaʃxə] "I am making you eat it".
• осэлъэгъу [wasaɬaʁʷə] "I am seeing you" → осэзэгъэлъэгъу [wasazaʁaɬaʁʷə] "I am making myself see you".
• сэбэукӏы [sabawt͡ʃʼə] "you are killing me" → сэуегъэукӏы [sawajʁawt͡ʃʼə] "(s)he is making you kill me".

Trivalent	Subject	Direct object	Indirect object
Transitive with intransitive root	Ergative (-m)	Absolutive (-r)	Oblique (-m)
Transitive	Ergative (-m)	Absolutive (-r)	Oblique (-m)

These verbs are formed by adding the causative prefix to intransitive bivalent verbs, increasing their valency and making them transitive.

Examples:

• кӏалэм регъаджэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajʁaːd͡ʒa] the boy is making him read it.
• кӏалэм регъэплъы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajʁapɬə] the boy is making him watch it.
• кӏалэм регъэджыджэхы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajʁad͡ʒəd͡ʒaxə] the boy is making him roll down it.

The conjugation of the trivalent verb with an intransitive origin:

• The first prefix indicates the direct object (absolutive).
• The second prefix indicates the indirect object (oblique).
• The third prefix indicates the subject (ergative).

These verbs can be formed by adding the causative prefix to transitive bivalent verbs. There are some exceptional transitive verbs that are trivalent by default without any increasing valency prefixes such as етын "to give".

Examples :

• кӏалэм реӏо [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajʔʷa] the boy is saying it to him.
• кӏалэм реты [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajʔʷa] the boy is giving it to him.
• кӏалэм редзы [t͡ʃʼaːɮam rajd͡zə] the boy is signing it on something.
• кӏалэм къыӏепхъуатэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮam qəʔajpχʷaːta] the boy snatches it from him.
• уесэубытэ [wajsawbəta] "I am holding you forcefully in it".
• уесэӏуатэ [wajsaʔʷaːta] "I snitching you to him".
• уесэты [wajsatə] "I am giving you to him".
• уесэгъэлъэгъу [wesaʁaɬaʁʷə] "I am making him see you".

The conjugation of the trivalent verb with a transitive origin:

• The first prefix indicates the indirect object (oblique).
• The second prefix indicates the direct object (absolutive).
• The third prefix indicates the subject (ergative).

Adyghe infinitives are created by suffixing -н to verbs. For example:

кӏон "to go".

чъыен "to sleep".

гущыӏэн "to talk".

Along with roots, verbs already inflected can be conjugated, such as with person:

ошхэ [waʃxa] "you are eating" → ушхэн [wəʃxan] "(for) you (to) eat"

Also, due to the interchangeability of nouns and verbs, infinitives can be constructed from nouns, resulting in verbs that describe the state of being the suffixed word.

фабэ "hot" → фэбэн "to be hot".

чэщы "night" → чэщын "to be night".

дахэ "pretty" → дэхэн "to be pretty".

For the future tense, the suffix ~нэу is added.

In Circassian, morphology is the most important part of the grammar. A Circassian word, besides that it has its own lexical meaning, sometimes, by the set of morphemes it is built of and by their aggregate grammatical meanings, can reproduce a sentence. For example, a verb by its set of morphemes can express subject's and object's person, place, time, manner of action, negative, and other types of grammatical categories. Negative form

In Adyghe, most verbal prefixes either express direction (on, under, etc.) or valency increasing (for, with, etc.).

In Circassian, negative form of a word can be expressed with two different morphemes, each being suited for different situations.

Negative form can be expressed with the infix ~мы~. For example:

кӏо "go" → умыкӏу "don't go".

шхы "go" → умышх "don't eat".

шъучъый "sleep (pl.)" → шъумычъый "don't sleep (pl.)".

Negative form can also be expressed with the prefix ~эп, which usually goes after the suffixes of time-tenses. For example:

кӏуагъ "(s)he went" → кӏуагъэп "(s)he didn't go".

машхэ "(s)he is eating" → машхэрэп "(s)he is not eating".

еджэщт "(s)he will read" → еджэщтэп "(s)he will not read".

The prefix гъэ~ designates causation. It expresses the idea of enforcement or allowance. It can also be described as making the object do something. for example:

фабэ "hot" → егъэфабэ "(s)he heats it".

чъыӏэ "cold" → егъэучъыӏы "(s)he colds it".

макӏо "(s)he is going" → егъакӏо "(s)he is making him go; (s)he sends him".

еджэ "(s)he studies; (s)he reads" → регъаджэ "(s)he teaches; (s)he makes him read".

Examples:

кӏалэм ишы тучаным егъакӏо - "the boy sends his brother to the shop".

пшъашъэм итхылъ сэ сыригъэджагъ - "the girl allowed me to read her book".

The prefix д~ designates action performed with somebody else, or stay/sojourn with somebody.

чӏэс "(s)he is sitting under" → дэчӏэс "(s)he is sitting under with him".

макӏо "(s)he is going" → дакӏо "(s)he is going with him".

еплъы "(s)he is looking at it" → деплъы "(s)he is looking at it with him".

Examples:

кӏалэр пшъашъэм дэгущыӏэ - "the boy talking with the girl".

кӏэлэцӏыкӏухэр зэдэджэгух - "the kids are playing together".

сэрэ сишырэ тучанэм тызэдакӏо - "me and my brother are going to the shop together".

The prefix ф~ designates action performed to please somebody, for somebody's sake or in somebody's interests.

чӏэс "(s)he is sitting under" → фэчӏэс "(s)he is sitting under for him".

макӏо "(s)he is going" → факӏо "(s)he is going for him".

еплъы "(s)he is looking at it" → феплъы "(s)he is looking at it for him".

Examples:

кӏалэр пшъашъэм факӏо тучаным - "the boy is going to the shop for the girl".

кӏалэм псы лӏым фехьы - "the boy is bringing water to the man".

къэсфэщэф зыгорэ сешъонэу - "buy for me something to drink".

The prefix шӏу~ designates action done against somebody's interest or will. The prefix also strongly indicates taking something away from someone by doing the action or taking a certain opportunity away from somebody else by doing the action.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → шӏуехьы "(s)he is taking it away from him".

етыгъу "(s)he is stealing it" → шӏуетыгъу "(s)he is stealing it from him".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → шӏуештэ "(s)he is taking it away from him".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → шӏуешхы "(s)he is consuming his food or property or resources".

Examples:

сичӏыгу къэсшӏуахьыгъ - "they took my land away from me".

мощ итхьэматэ шӏосыукӏыщт - "I will take his leader's life away from him".

сянэ симашинэ къэсшӏодищыгъ - "my mother took my car out (against my interest)".

кӏалэм шӏуешхы пшъашъэм ишхын - "the boy is eating the girl's food (against her will)".

The verbal suffix ~жь [ʑ] designates recurrence/repetition of action.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → ехьыжьы "(s)he is taking it again".

етыгъу "(s)he is stealing it" → етыгъужьы "(s)he is stealing it again".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → ештэжьы "(s)he is taking it again".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → ешхыжьы "(s)he is eating again".

Examples:

лӏым иӏофы ешӏыжьы - "the old man is doing his job again".

хым сыкӏожьынэу сыфай - "I want to return to the sea".

кӏалэр фылымым еплъыжьы - "the boy re-watches the movie".

This verbal suffix can also be used to designates continuum, meaning, an action that was paused in the past and is being continued, for example:

лӏым иӏофы ешӏыжьы - "the old man continues his work".

кӏалэр фылымым еплъыжьыгъ - "the boy finished watching the movie".

экзамыным сыфеджэжьыгъ - "I finished studying for the exam".

The verbal suffix ~эу [aw] designates action that takes place during other actions.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → ехьэу "while (s)he is taking it".

етыгъу "(s)he is stealing it" → етыгъоу "while (s)he is stealing it".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → ештэу "while (s)he is taking it".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → ешхэу "while (s)he is eating".

Examples:

сянэ тиунэ ытхьэкӏэу унэм сыкъихьэжьыгъ - "I came home while my mother was washing the house".

сыкӏоу сылъэгъугъ кӏалэр - "while I was going, I saw the boy".

шхын щыӏэу къычӏэкӏыгъ - "it turned out that there was food".

The verbal suffix ~шъу [ʃʷə] designates the ability to perform the indicated action.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → ехьышъу "(s)he is capable of carrying it".

етыгъу "(s)he is stealing it" → етыгъушъу "(s)he is capable of stealing it".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → ештэшъу "(s)he is capable of taking it".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → ешхышъу "(s)he is capable of eating".

Examples:

лӏыжъыр мэчъэшъу - "the old man is capable of running".

экзамыным сыфеджэшъу - "I can study for the exam".

фылымым сеплъышъугъэп - "I could not watch the movie".

The verbal suffix ~акӏэ [aːt͡ʃʼa] expresses the manner in which the verb was done. It turns the verb into a noun.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → ехьакӏэ "the manner in which (s)he carries it".

макӏо "(s)he is going" → кӏуакӏэ "the manner in which (s)he is going".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → ештакӏэ "the manner in which (s)he is talking it".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → ешхакӏэ "the manner in which (s)he is eating".

Examples:

пшъашъэм икӏуакӏэ дахэ - "the manner in which the girl goes is beautiful".

кӏалэм иеджакӏэ дэгъопz - "the manner in which the boy studies is not good".

унэм ишӏыкӏэ тэрэзыр - "the right way to build the house".

A similar expression can be expressed by adding the prefix зэрэ~ [zara] and a noun case to the verb, but this behaves differently than the previous one.

ехьы "(s)he is carrying it" → зэрихьрэ "the way (s)he carries it".

макӏо "(s)he is going" → зэрэкӏорэ "the way (s)he is going".

ештэ "(s)he is taking it" → зэриштэрэ "the way (s)he is talking it".

ешхы "(s)he is eating" → зэришхырэ "the way(s)he is eating".

Examples:

пшъашъэр зэракӏорэр дахэ - "the way the girl goes is beautiful".

кӏалэр зэреджэрэр дэгъоп - "the way the boy studies is not good".

унэр тэрэзкӏэ зэрашӏырэр - "the right way to build the house".

The imperative mood of the second person singular has no additional affixes:

• штэ [ʃta] "take"
• кӏо [kʷʼa] "go"
• тхы [txə] "write"
• шхэ [ʃxa] "eat"

When addressing to several people, The prefix шъу- /ʃʷə-/ is added:

• шъушт [ʃʷəʃt] "take (said to plural)"
• шъукӏу [ʃʷəkʷʼ] "go (said to plural)"
• шъутх [ʃʷətx] "write (said to plural)"
• шъушх [ʃʷəʃx] "eat (said to plural)"

In Adyghe, the positional prefixes are expressing being in different positions and places and can also express the direction of the verb. Here is the positional conjugation of some dynamic verbs, showing how the prefix changes the indicated direction of the verb:

Position	Prefix	Example
		Looking	Throwing
Body position/Pose	щы~ [ɕə]	щеплъэ [ɕajpɬa] "(s)he is looking at that place"	щедзы [ɕajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at that place"
On	те~ [taj]	теплъэ [ɕajpɬa] "(s)he is looking on"	тедзэ [ɕajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at"
Under	чӏэ~ [ʈ͡ʂʼa]	чӏаплъэ [ʈ͡ʂʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking under"	чӏедзэ [ʈ͡ʂʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing under"
Through/Within some mass	хэ~ [xa]	хаплъэ [xaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking through"	хедзэ [xajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing through"
Within some area	дэ~ [da]	даплъэ [daːpɬa] "(s)he is looking at some area"	дедзэ [dajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at some area"
Inside an object		даплъэ [daːpɬa] "(s)he is looking inside an object"	дедзэ [dajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing inside an object"
Around	ӏу~ [ʔʷə]	ӏуаплъэ [ʔʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking around"	ӏуедзэ [ʔʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing around"
Inside	и~ [jə~]	еплъэ [japɬa] "(s)he is looking inside"	редзэ [rajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing inside"
Hanged/Attached	пы [pə]	пэплъэ [papɬa] "(s)he is searching by looking"	педзэ [pajd͡za] "(s)he is hanging by throwing"
Behind	къо [qʷa]	къуаплъэ [qʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking behind"	къуедзэ [qʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing behind"
Aside	го [ɡʷa]	гуаплъэ [ɡʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking aside"	гуедзэ [ɡʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing aside"
In front of	пэӏу [paʔʷə]	пэӏуаплъэ [paʔʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking in front of"	пэӏуедзэ [paʔʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing in front of"
Backwards	зэкӏ [zat͡ʃʼ]	зэкӏаплъэ [zat͡ʃʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking backwards"	зэкӏедзэ [zat͡ʃʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing backwards"
Inside within	кӏоцӏы [kʷʼat͡sʼə]	кӏоцӏаплъэ [kʷʼat͡sʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking within inside"	кӏоцӏедзэ [kʷʼat͡sʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing within inside"
Near	кӏэлъыры [ּ֫t͡ʃʼaɬərə]	кӏэлъырыплъэ [t͡ʃʼaɬərəpɬa] "(s)he is looking near"	кӏэлъыредзы [t͡ʃʼaɬərajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing near"
Toward	лъы [ɬə]	лъэплъэ [ɬapɬa] "(s)he is looking toward"	лъедзы [ɬajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing toward"
Past	блэ [bɮa]	блэплъы [bɮapɬə] "(s)he is looking past"	бледзэ [bɮajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing past"
Toward the head	шъхьары [ʂħaːrə]	шъхьарыплъы [ʂħapapɬə] "(s)he is looking at the head"	шъхьаредзы [ʂħapajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing at the head"
Over	шъхьадэ [ʂħaːda]	шъхьэдэплъы [ʂħadapɬə] "(s)he is looking pass over"	шъхьэдедзы [ʂħadajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing pass over"
Over and beyond	шъхьапыры [ʂħaːpərə]	шъхьапырыплъы [ʂħaːpərəpɬə] "(s)he is looking beyond"	шъхьапыредзы [ʂħaːpərajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing beyond"
Directly at	жэхэ [ʒaxa]	жэхаплъэ [ʒaxaːpɬa] "(s)he is glaring at one's face"	жэхедзэ [ʒaxajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at one's face"
Mouth	жэдэ~ [ʒada~]	жэдаплъэ [ʒadaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking at a mouth"	жэдедзэ [ʒadajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at a mouth"

Here is the positional conjugation of some steady-state verbs, showing how the root changes the indicated position:

	prefix	stands	sits	lies
Body position/Pose	щы~ [ɕə]	щыт [ɕət]	щыс [ɕəs]	щылъ [ɕəɬ]
On	те~ [taj]	тет [tat]	тес [tas]	телъ [taɬ]
Under	чӏэ~ [ʈ͡ʂʼa]	чӏэт [ʈ͡ʂʼat]	чӏэс [ʈ͡ʂʼas]	чӏэлъ [ʈ͡ʂʼaɬ]
Among	хэ~ [xa]	хэт [xat]	хэс [xas]	хэлъ [xaɬ]
Within some mass
Within some area	дэ~ [da]	дэт [dat]	дэс [das]	дэлъ [daɬ]
Inside an object
Around	ӏу~ [ʔʷə]	ӏут [ʔʷət]	ӏyc [ʔʷəs]	ӏулъ [ʔʷəɬ]
Inside	и~ [jə]	ит [jət]	иc [jəs]	илъ [jəɬ]
Hanged	пы~ [pə]	пыт [pət]	пыc [pəs]	пылъ [pəɬ]
Attached
Behind	къо~ [qʷa]	къот [qʷat]	къоc [qʷas]	къолъ [qʷaɬ]
Aside	го~ [ɡʷa]	гот [ɡʷat]	гоc [ɡʷas]	голъ [ɡʷaɬ]
Inside within	кӏоцӏы~ [kʷʼat͡sʼə]	кӏоцӏыт [kʷʼat͡sʼət]	кӏоцӏыc [kʷʼat͡sʼəs]	кӏоцӏылъ [kʷʼat͡sʼəɬ]

In Adyghe verbs indicate the direction they are directed at. They can indicate the direction from different points of view by adding the fitting prefixes or changing the right vowels.

In Adyghe, the positional conjugation prefixes in the transitive verbs are indicating the direction of the verb. According to the verb's vowels, it can be described if the verb is done toward the indicated direction or off it. Usually high vowels (е [aj] or э [a]) designates that the verb is done towards the indicated direction while low vowels (ы [ə]) designates that the verb is done off the indicated direction. For example:

Directional forms of the verb пкӏэн [pt͡ʃʼan] "to jump"

Position	Towards			Away
	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
On	тепкӏэн	[tajpt͡ʃʼan]	to jump on something	тепкӏын	[tajpt͡ʃʼən]	to jump off from somewhere
Among	хэпкӏэн	[xapt͡ʃʼan]	to jump into some mass	хэпкӏын	[xapt͡ʃʼən]	to jump off from some mass
Inside	ипкӏэн	[jəpt͡ʃʼan]	to jump inside something	ипкӏын	[jəpt͡ʃʼən]	to jump outside something

• The word дзын /d͡zən/ "to throw" :

Directional conjugation of the verb дзын [d͡zən] "to throw"

Position	Towards			Away
	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
On	тедзэн	[tajd͡zan]	to throw an object on something	тэдзын	[tajt͡ʃʼən]	to throw an object off somewhere
Among	хэдзэн	[xad͡zan]	to throw an object into some mass	хэдзын	[xad͡zən]	to throw an object off from some mass to remove an object/participant from a group
Inside	идзэн	[jəd͡zan]	to throw inside	идзын	[jəd͡zən]	to throw outside

Directional conjugation of the verb плъэн [pɬan] "to look at"

Position	Towards			Away
	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
On	теплъэн	[tajpt͡ʃʼan]	to look on something	теплъын	[tajpt͡ʃʼən]	to look off something
Among	хэплъэн	[xapt͡ʃʼan]	to look into some mass	хэплъын	[xapɬən]	to look from some mass to look through something
Inside	иплъэн	[jəpt͡ʃʼan]	to look inside	иплъын	[jəpt͡ʃʼən]	to look outside

Directional conjugation of the verb тӏэрэн [tʼaran] "to drop"

Position	Towards			Away
	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
On	тетӏэрэн	[tajtʼaran]	to drop on something	тетӏэрын	[tajtʼarən]	to drop off from on something
Among	хэтӏэрэн	[xatʼaran]	to drop into an area with some mass	хэтӏэрын	[xatʼarən]	to drop out from an area with some mass to be dropped from an organization
Inside	итӏэрэн	[jətʼaran]	to drop inside something	итӏэрын	[jətʼarən]	to drop outside something

The cislocative prefix (marked as къы~ [q]) is a type of verbal deixis that designates orientation towards the deictic center (origo), in the simplest case towards the speaker. In Adyghe, verbs by default are andative (Indicating motion away from something) while verbs that have къы~ are venitive (Indicating motion to or toward a thing).

For example:

• макӏо [maːkʷ'a] (s)he goes → къакӏо [qaːkʷ'a] (s)he comes
• мачъэ [maːt͡ʂa] (s)he runs (there) → къачъэ [qaːt͡ʂa] (s)he runs (here)
• маплъэ [maːpɬa] (s)he looks (there) → къаплъэ [qaːpɬa] (s)he looks (here)
• ехьэ [jaħa] (s)he goes in → къехьэ [qajħa] (s)he comes in
• ехьы [jaħə] (s)he takes to → къехьы [qajħə] (s)he brings
• нэсы [nasən] (s)he reaches → къэсы [qasə] (s)he arrives

When speaking to someone, the prefix къэ~ /qa~/ can be used to indicate that the verb is directed at him, for example :

• сэкӏо [sakʷ'a] "I go" → сыкъакӏо [səqaːkʷ'a] "I come"
• сэчъэ [sat͡ʂa] "I run" → сыкъачъэ [səqaːt͡ʂa] "I run toward you"
• сэплъэ [sapɬa] "I look" → сыкъаплъэ [səqaːpɬa] "I look toward you"
• техьэ [tajħa] "we enter" → тыкъехьэ [təqajħa] "we enter" (in case the listener is inside the house)
• тынэсы [tənasən] "we reach" → тыкъэсы [təqasə] "we arrive"

In intransitive verbs, it can also be used to exchange the subject and the object in a sentence, for example :

• сыфэд [səfad] "I am like him" → къысфэд [qəsfad] "(s)he is like me"
• сыдакӏо [sədaːkʷʼa] "I am going with him" → къыздакӏо [qəzdaːkʷʼa] "(s)he is coming with me"
• сыфэлажьэ [sfaɮaːʑa] "I am working for him" → къысфэлажьэ [qəsfaɮaːʑa] "(s)he is working for me"
• удашхэ [wədaːʃxa] "you are eating with him" → къыбдашхэ [qəbdaːʃxa] "(s)he is eating with you"
• сыфэлажьэ [sfaɮaːʑa] "I am working for him" → къысфэлажьэ [qəsfaɮaːʑa] "(s)he is working for me"
• усэплъы [wsapɬə] "I am looking at you" → укъысэплъы [wəqəsapɬə] "you are looking at me"
• уеплъы [wajpɬə] "you are looking at him" → къыоплъы [qəwapɬə] "(s)he is looking at you"

• Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling, Circassian Clause Structure: [1].