Ćwarmin: Deriving Nouns from Verbs

Ćwarmin has a few strategies for deriving nouns from verbs, see a previous post mentioning four such affixes.

Instruments can be derived from verbs by the suffix -(e)kye/-(o)kvo, which is appended to the verb root. However, this is not particularly productive any longer, although a bunch of such nouns are common, i.e.

sabokvo (from sab-, sabam, sabjul) - a duvet or blanket or cloth (from v. cover)
ripekye (from rip-, ripen, ripəm, ripjig) - scissors, (the verb meaning 'bite')

However, a more popular formation currently is simply to take the augmentative or diminutive prefixes har-/hər- or sir-/sur- and prefix them to the verb root.

sirsab (from sab-) - a lid
harsab (from sab-) - a roof
hərrip - (from rip-) - leghold traps

 Generally, things that are the size of two palms or thereabout or smaller take sir/sur-, other things take har/hər-. -okvo/-ekye can also be affixed to a noun, and then indicates a thing or person equipped with the thing marked by the suffix.

er ś(e)n-okvo - onehanded
one hand-instr

Numbers can also take this marking. It then signifies 'a thing that suffices for NUM amount', so i.e.

sikrekye = enough for three, a thing that suffices for three
dustokvo = enough for ten, a thing that suffices for ten

These can be used as adjectives or as adverbs, and even as nouns in their own right. As adjectives or adverbs, they usually take no case marking whatsoever (or alternatively,

For agents, the suffixes -ed/-ad, often in combination with a diminutive or augmentative serves the same role. However, it can be affixed to nouns as well, and then signifies someone who carries out a typical verb with regards to the object, i.e.

mauŋ-ed
food-er
'foodie' or 'eater', depending on context

 A set of more typical derivations would include

okkaulad - resistance fighter
itred - drunkard
rakad - reader
ragad - speaker
hacjad - thinker

The various distinctions that can be expressed by different infinitive suffixes are not carried over, but for some verbs, the -j- in the -jul or -jig infinitive suffixes may for some reason carry over.

With adjectives, -ed/-ad signifies someone distinguished by the quality the adjective marks, i.e. 'an X one', i.e.

samar-ad
fast-AGENT
a fast one

On numbers, it can also signify a set of such a cardinality:

sikred = trio, troika
mered = duo, pair
ered = solo, unity
ambad = a double quartet

Saying that a woman is sikred or mered and so on is also possible, and then indicates that she has given birth to that number of children.

Patients are formed from the passive -aśp|-əśp, with a diminutive suffix, usually the gar/yər- for inanimates, and others for animates, or sir-/sur- for animates. These can serve both as nouns and adjectives. A fossilized set of nouns survive with the former method of affixing -ad|-ed to -aśp|-eśp, giving -aśfad|-eśfed.