Decision and try
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Decision (revisability)
To say that you have decided on something, put thoge plus an ending on /th/ before the ordinary verb. This word is called DECISION. Like PLAN, it is yours when nothing else is marked, and it does not say the act happens. Its ending says whether the decision is final, still open to change, or only for now, so you can say how open a choice is without changing the verb. (Cue: ✅ A checkmark confirms a choice.)
As a plain noun or verb, the root keeps its own meaning (zogel a checkmark; vogel to check / tick).
zuwen thogem vozuyel.z-speaker | th-DECISION-modifiable | v-sing
"I've decided to sing, and can still change that."
Unlike PLAN, DECISION carries no time. It says what you chose, not that the act still lies ahead: the sentence above fits I've decided to sing before you start and I'm singing by choice while you sing. So DECISION takes no /b/, not even a time offset. To say the act is still ahead, add PLAN.
Compare with: PLAN says how fully you have planned a later act. DECISION says how readily you may change a choice, whenever the act falls.
Compare with: a say word on yourself is a yes you give openly. zuwen vowurol hwuzal. is I promise to walk, which others can hold you to; zuwen thogel vowurol. is I've decided for good to walk, a choice only you can see.
Endings: changeability
The endings on DECISION run on the same settled-to-passing scale as changeability on an unmet sake: -l irreversible, -m modifiable, -r temporary. With -n, the word is an ordinary name. If you do not know how settled the decision is, use -m. How firm a choice will turn out is hard to know even for yourself, so -m claims nothing either way.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
thogel | irreversible | have decided for good to … | -l ≈ lasting (for good) |
thogem | modifiable (soft default if unknown) | have decided to …, and can still change that | -m ≈ open to change |
thoger | temporary | have decided for now to … | -r ≈ right now (for now only) |
To say both how detailed a plan is and how firm the decision is, put DECISION after PLAN:
zuwen thagom thogel vowurol.z-speaker | th-plan-itinerary | th-DECISION-irreversible | v-walk
"I plan to walk, and that choice is final."
PLAN and DECISION endings run the same way: -l is the most settled, -m the default, and -r the most passing.
zuwen thagor thoger vowurol.z-speaker | th-plan-sketch | th-DECISION-temporary | v-walk
"I intend to walk, details open, and I've decided that for now."
To say an event goes against a decision (against my decision), put DECISION after the hook uom (contrary to a stance).
zazozon vowurol uom thogem.z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-DECISION-modifiable]
"Azozon walks, against my decision."
zuwen vowurol uom thogel.z-speaker | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-DECISION-irreversible]
"I walk, against my own final decision."
Try
To say that someone is trying to do something, put howa plus an ending on /h/ before the ordinary verb. It is an intention adverb: it covers the whole clause wherever it sits. Unlike PLAN, an attempt is something others can watch, so it is not a stance and needs no holder. The sentence says the attempt happens, not whether it works. The ending says how committed the attempt is. (Cue: 🧪 A test tube tries a sample to see what happens.)
As a plain noun, the root keeps its own meaning (zowal a test tube).
zazozon howam varuyol.z-Azozon | h-ATTEMPT-unstated | v-write
"Azozon tries to write."
Endings: commitment
On owa, -l / -m / -r say how far the attempt will go. -n is ordinary proper. If you do not know, use -m.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
howal | committed | commits to trying … / keeps trying to … until it works or is ruled out | -l the full run |
howam | unstated (soft default) | tries to … | -m middle |
howar | trial run | tries out … / gives … a shot: a low-stakes probe, and failing is useful to know | -r ≈ right now (a small sample) |
zalazun howar vozuyel.z-Alazun | h-ATTEMPT-trial | v-sing
"Alazun gives singing a try."
zalazun howal vowurol.z-Alazun | h-ATTEMPT-committed | v-walk
"Alazun keeps trying to walk."
A trial run (-r) plans for failure: if it fails, that is what the probe was for. Use it when you want to lower the stakes, for yourself or for someone else.
Fallback (xen)
For try A; failing that, B, put the clause join xen between the attempt and the backup. The backup comes into play only if the attempt before it fails, so exactly one of them ends up holding.
zazozon howar vowurol xen zazozor vozuyel.[z-Azozon | h-ATTEMPT-trial | v-walk | x-or-else | z-←Azozon | v-sing]
"Azozon gives walking a try; failing that, Azozon sings."
An intention adverb covers only its own clause, so the backup above is a plain Azozon sings. Each clause takes its own, so you can probe the first option and commit to the backup:
zazozon howar vowurol xen zazozor howal vozuyel.[z-Azozon | h-ATTEMPT-trial | v-walk | x-or-else | z-←Azozon | h-ATTEMPT-committed | v-sing]
"Azozon gives walking a try; failing that, Azozon keeps trying to sing."
A fully prepared PLAN (thagol) already has backups. To name them, chain the clauses with xen, first choice first, and put PLAN on each one:
zuwen thagol vowurol xen zuwen thagol vozuyel xen zuwen thagol vezuvel.[z-speaker | th-plan-atlas | v-walk | x-or-else | z-speaker | th-plan-atlas | v-sing | x-or-else | z-speaker | th-plan-atlas | v-sleep]
"My plan is to walk; failing that, to sing; failing that, to sleep."
Compare with: ability says whether someone can do something; an attempt makes no claim either way. PLAN is intention before acting; an attempt is acting with the outcome open.
Not the same job as: plain or, xel (clause joins), which has no first choice and no backup.
Want
To say that you want something to happen, put thalo plus an ending on /th/ before the ordinary verb. This word is called WANT. It is a stance: like any /th/ word with nothing else marked, the want is yours, the speaker's. The sentence says you want the act; it does not say the act happens. The ending says how long the wanting lasts. (Cue: 🌠 A shooting star is where you make a wish.)
zazozon thalom vowurol.z-Azozon | th-WANT-unstated | v-walk
"I want Azozon to walk."
A want is in someone's mind, so someone else's want (Azozon wants to walk) is their view: you say whose it is and how you know it with a holder, not with WANT alone.
To want a person or thing (want Azozon), name the act that would get it (see, take) and put the person or thing in /d/ as usual.
zalazun thalom vayebel dazozon.z-Alazun | th-WANT-unstated | v-see | d-Azozon
"I want Alazun to see Azozon."
Endings: lastingness
On alo, -l / -m / -r say how long the wanting lasts. -n is ordinary proper. If you do not know, use -m.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
thalol | a want that keeps coming back | really want … / have long wanted … | -l ≈ lasting (a steady star) |
thalom | duration unstated (soft default) | want … | -m ≈ open |
thalor | a want that will pass | feel like … / have a whim to … | -r ≈ right now (a streak) |
zalazun thalor vozuyel.z-Alazun | th-WANT-passing | v-sing
"Right now I feel like having Alazun sing."
A want, a plan, and a decision are three different steps, so they stack in that order:
zuwen thalol thagom vowurol.z-speaker | th-WANT-lasting | th-plan-itinerary | v-walk
"I have long wanted to walk, and I plan to."
For against my wishes, put WANT after the hook uom (contrary to a stance): the event goes against that want. For someone else's wishes, a holder goes between uom and WANT.
zazozon vowurol uom thalom.z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-WANT-unstated]
"Azozon walks, against my wishes."
Compare with: hopefully (thuwuyom) is your hope about whether a claim turns out true; thalom is wanting the act itself. Motive says which sake the act serves, not that it is wanted. In emotion compose, SEEKING is a feeling turning toward someone for comfort, not a plain want.
Someone else's want, plan, or decision
WANT, PLAN, and DECISION are all in a mind, and with nothing else marked that mind is yours. English Alazun plans for Azozon to walk and Azozon has decided to walk report what is in someone else's mind as if you could see it. None of the three takes a /b/ for whose it is. Someone else's want, plan, or decision is their view: you give it with a holder, which says how you know it. That keeps a guess about someone's intentions from sounding like a fact.
After a holder, WANT and DECISION are the holder's, just as PLAN is. After uom, write the holder word, then the stance, for against their wishes.
zazozon thebamazozon thalom vowurol.z-Azozon | th-REPORTED-Azozon | th-WANT-unstated | v-walk
"I hear Azozon wants to walk."
zazozon theyomazozon thogem vowurol.z-Azozon | th-CLUES-Azozon | th-DECISION-modifiable | v-walk
"I gather Azozon has decided to walk, and can still change that."
zalazun vezuvel uom theyomazozon thalom.z-Alazun | v-sleep | [contrary-to | th-CLUES-Azozon | th-WANT-unstated]
"Alazun sleeps, against Azozon's wishes, as far as I can tell."
Compare with: requirement zazozon vowurol hwuvom blalazun. (Alazun makes Azozon walk) puts a demand on Azozon, who now owes the walk. zazozon thogem vowurol. (I've decided that Azozon walks) says only that you chose how things go, the way a coach decides who plays, with nothing asked of Azozon.
Plan or forecast
English will can state a plan or a forecast. Your own plan uses PLAN and needs no evidence. A forecast about the world, or about what someone else will do, uses a channel, a /th/ word that says how you know, plus the later offset blral (forecasts). So a forecast always says what it rests on.
thubom blral verulal.[th-PATTERN | bl-later] | v-rain
"It will rain, going by the pattern."
zalazun theyol blral vehohel.z-Alazun | [th-CLUES.strong | bl-later] | v-sit
"It looks like Alazun will sit down." (strong clues)
zuwen thagom blral vehohel.z-speaker | [th-plan-itinerary | bl-later] | v-sit
"I plan to sit down later."
Compare with: without an offset, a channel is about what is happening now or already so (thugem if you are watching it now; thevum if you remember watching it). Add blral when the claim is about a later event.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a board meeting
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| pen | ebewol | 🖊️ |
| DECISION | thogem | ✅ from check: the box is ticked |
| attempt-unstated | howam | 🧪 from test tube: try a sample |
| want-unstated | thalom | 🌠 from shooting star: a wish |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| I | uwen |
| PLAN | thagom |
| page | obonol |
| write | varuyol |
| sit | vehohel |
| tell | vezuyol |
| sing | vozuyel |
| find | vumewel |
English → Ageben
1. I've decided to sit down, and can still change that.
Show answer
zuwen thogem vehohel.
z-speaker | th-DECISION-modifiable | v-sit
2. Ahelan gives speaking a try.
Show answer
zahelan howar vezuyol.
z-Ahelan | h-ATTEMPT-trial | v-tell
3. Right now I feel like having Azozon sing.
Show answer
zazozon thalor vozuyel.
z-Azozon | th-WANT-passing | v-sing
4. I've decided for now to talk to Alazun.
Show answer
zuwen thoger vezuyol balazun.
z-speaker | th-DECISION-temporary | v-tell | b-Alazun
Ageben → English
1. zahelan thagom thogel dobonol varuyol.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | th-plan-itinerary | th-DECISION-irreversible | d-page | v-write
I plan for Ahelan to write the page, and that choice is final.
2. zazozon vezuyol uom thogem.
Show answer
z-Azozon | v-tell | [contrary-to | th-DECISION-modifiable]
Azozon speaks, against my decision.
3. zalazun howar vozuyel xen zalazur varuyol.
Show answer
[z-Alazun | h-ATTEMPT-trial | v-sing | x-or-else | z-←Alazun | v-write]
Alazun gives singing a try; failing that, Alazun writes.
4. zahelan thalol thagom debewol vumewel.
Show answer
z-Ahelan | th-WANT-lasting | th-plan-itinerary | d-pen | v-find
I have long wanted Ahelan to find a pen, and I plan for that.
Pick one
1. Alazun keeps trying to write. zalazun howal varuyol. or zalazun howar varuyol.
Show answer
zalazun howal varuyol.
z-Alazun | h-ATTEMPT-committed | v-write
-l commits to the attempt; -r is only a trial run.
What changes
1. zuwen thogem vehohel. / zuwen thogel vehohel.
Show answer
z-speaker | th-DECISION-modifiable | v-sit
z-speaker | th-DECISION-irreversible | v-sit
With thogem, the choice can still change. With thogel, it is final.