Verbs' behavior is mainly determined by its transitivity. Transitivity is the ability of a verb to bind a direct object (object with no preposition; in Slovak, the accusative case):
- I am reading: read is intransitive in this sentence
- I am reading a book: read is transitive.
- I am sleeping: sleeping is intransitive (and cannot be transitive: I am sleeping it).
Similarly in Greenlandic:
Sinnippoq(intransitive indicative): he sleeps/slept (sinnik + voq); SinnippaangaEqqaamavaanga(transitive indicative): he remembers me (eqqaama + vaanga); Eqqaamavoq
Based on transitivity, the respective transitive of intransitive paradigm is used for the verb.
Transitivity also defines how to express definiteness.
Moods of Verbs
Indicative
Subject does something.
Intransitive Indicative
Only subject involved in the action (I Vb)
Transitive Indicative
Subject acting on an object (I Vb it)
Interrogative
Does subject do something?
Intransitive Interrogative
Does subject act? (Do I Vb?)
Transitive Interrogative
Does subject act on an object (Do I V it?)
Contemporative
Used in subject or object clause when the subject of the superordinate clause is the subject of the subordinate clause (Subject Vbs that Subject Vbs.)
Participle
Used in object clauses without coreference (Subject1 Vbs that Subject2 Vbs.)