Q. nem-² v. (basic-verb) “*to seem, appear” (Category: to Seem)
Tolkien used the verb ᴹQ. nem- “seem, appear” in the Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) and Quenya Verbal System from the late 1940s (PE22/93 note #7; PE22/99-100), and this verb was also indicated by Q. nemesta “appearance, seeming” Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s (PE22/137). In EVS1 Tolkien toyed with using the verb form nim- “seem”, but this was revised to nem- (PE22/93 note #6).
Conceptual Development: The forms Q. níma/nimulë and S. nîf/nivol in 1957 notes, all glossed “phantom” or “seeming”, indicate Tolkien may have restored *√NIM “seem”. An unglossed past tense form nemne appeared in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/152), but this could be the past form of Q. nem- “judge” appearing later in the same bundle of documents, a verb that Tolkien rejected and revised: {nem- >> ham- >>} nav- “judge/think” (PE22/154 and notes #53-55).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain better attested nem- for “seem, appear”. For clarity in the model, I treat the 1969 past form nemne as “seemed” rather than “judged” so that I can use it as the basis for early 1950s Q. nemesta “appearance, seeming” and to avoid giving the mistaken impression that 1969 Q. nem- “judge” was not rejected.
References ✧ PE22/152
Inflections
| nemne | past | ✧ PE22/152 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
ᴹQ. nem- v. (basic-verb) “to seem, appear” (Category: to Seem)
References ✧ PE22/93, 99-100, 105, 111
Changes
Inflections
| nemia | active-participle | ✧ PE22/100 | |
| nemia | active-participle | “apparent” | ✧ PE22/111 |
| nĕmĕ | aorist | ✧ PE22/99 | |
| nĕmĭ- | aorist | “seem” | ✧ PE22/99 |
| nemit | aorist dual | ✧ PE22/99 | |
| nemir | aorist plural | ✧ PE22/99 | |
| nemin | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me” | ✧ PE22/93 |
| nemin | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “seems to me” | ✧ PE22/99 |
| nemuva | future | ✧ PE22/105 | |
| nemie | gerund | “seeming” | ✧ PE22/99 |
| nemie | gerund | “seeming, appearance” | ✧ PE22/99 |
| nēma | present | “is appearing” | ✧ PE22/100 |
Element In
Derivations
ᴹQ. nim- v. “to seem, appear” (Category: to Seem)
References ✧ PE22/93; PE23/73, 89, 92, 94-95
Changes
Inflections
| nime | aorist | “appears” | ✧ PE23/92 |
| nimin | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me” | ✧ PE22/93 |
| nimin | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me, I think” | ✧ PE23/89 |
| nimin | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me, I suppose, I think” | ✧ PE23/94 |
| nimin(ye) | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me” | ✧ PE23/73; PE23/95 |
| nimine | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me” | ✧ PE23/73 |
| niminye | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “it seems to me, I think” | ✧ PE23/89 |
| niminye | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “seems to me” | ✧ PE23/92 |
| niminye | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “appears to me” | ✧ PE23/92 |
Element In
Derivations