11th - Verb

A verb is a word (part of speech) that usually denotes an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. [1]
In Mapuzugun verbs in infinitive are formed by a stem [2] and suffix [3]
The verb suffix for any verb ending in a vowel is: "-n". If the root ends in a consonant, then the suffix is "-vn"
Exemples:
...nien = to have (formed by the root "nie-" + the suffix "-n")
...kimvn = to know (formed by the root "kim-" + the suffix "-vn"

The verb in infinitive is then also the verb in 1st Pres. Singular of the real mood.
Example:
"nien" means both "to have" and "I have"

Verb suffixes in Mapuzugun inflects the verb to indicate the person (1st, 2nd y 3rd person) and number (singular, dual or plural) and the mood (real, volitive[4] y conditional[5]).

Besides suffixes, there are a series of particles that are mostly used to encode grammatical categories (such as case, negation, place - or where the action is carried out -, etc)
Particles will be extensibly described in other entries. For now, it is important to remark certain characteristics of verbs in Mapuzugun:
1. Dynamic verbs, that shows continued or progressive action on the part of the subject, express that the action is already concluded (they imply the past tense)
2. Stative verbs (that have no duration and no distinguished endpoint) express that the state still continues when expressed.

Examples:
(Iñce) amun = (I) went
Notice: "amun" does not mean "I go"

(Iñce) nien = (I) have
Note: "nien" expresses the idea that the possessed thing is still possessed when it is expressed.

Suffixes corresponding to the real mood (indicative mood) will be listed in another entry.

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[1] http://www.wikipedia.org/
[2] In linguistics, a stem is the part of a word that is common to all its inflected variants. Stems are often roots, i.e. The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituent.
Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/.
[3] Cañumil et al, op. cit.
Note: In her course of Mapuzugun, María Catrileo identifies the infinitive form of a verb only by its root, without any suffix, i.e. while Prof. Cuñimil describes the infinitive for the verb "to have" as "nien" (root: "nie-" + suffix "-n"), María Catrileo just refers to it as "nie"
[4] The volitive mood is used to indicate the desires, wishes or fears, of the speaker.
[5] The conditional mood is used to speak of an event whose realization is dependent upon another condition.