The preterite tense is a way to talk of something in the past that has been completed.
It was there. It happened. It snowed.
The present tense also specifies information that the past action occurred in a more distant past than another past action. It is almost always found in questions in Mahican texts with rare exceptions (P mlh29).
What had been there? What had been frozen?
In phrases without reference to another past event, the present tense may refer to a past event with ongoing or present time relevance. (HA23)(HA58)
How has it been working? Since when has it been snowing?
This tense can also be used for a hypothetic or conditional expression in the past. (P mlh29)
If it had never happened.
The Preterite
Preterite Indicative
Preterite forms are constructed using by first building the verb form using the appropriate ending, then adding the preterite ending -pan. Plural endings follow the preterite ending and use preterite specific forms. If no additional endings follow, the the preterite ending -pan is shortened to -p.
Ahtaap. It was there.
Ahtaapanih. They were there.
Note the preterite inanimate plural ending ih which is also used in the present when a plural ending is required.
When added to a form that has the ending -uw a contraction occurs which preserves the oo sound resulting in uw + -upan => -oopan. This shortens to -oop when no further endings follow the preterite suffix.
Thaθoop. It was cold.
Vowel stem verbs in the 3rd person forms add the preterite suffix -upan to the final w and the sequences aaw-upan and ąąw-upan contract to aap and ąąp respectively for the sg forms. Plural 3rd person forms contract to aapaniik and ąąpaniik.
Ahtaap. It was there.
Ahtaapanih. They were there.
Consonant stem verbs simply add -upan directly.
Sooknąąnup. It rained.
Wunutpanih. They were good.
Preterite Conjunct Order
The preterite suffix is added to the conjunct endings as -upan and as in other settings, -upan simplifies to -up.
ahtaakup It was there
Iiyunookwihkw noochih-ahkuyiikup. Since there was an earth. (HA58)
Examples with modal ending (-ah) which becomes -aa- before the preterite suffix:
ahtaakaap When it was there
The three ways to indicate completed action:
1. Use of anih-
Anih-ahtaaw. I was there.
2. Use of pakachih pc already
Pakachih ahtaaw. It already was there.
3. Use of preterite:
Ahtaap. It was there.
The Present
Inflection patterns are similar to those used with the preterite suffix. The present suffix -θan shortens to -θah when no additional endings follow.
aniixun vii lie there, consist (HA27) (Matt7.13)
Tąąn aniixunaaθah? What had it consisted of? (HA27)
Ahtaaθah. It has been there.
Ahtaaθanih. They have been there.
Note the plural ending ih which is also used in the preterite when an inanimate plural ending is required.
Vowel stem verbs in the 3rd person forms add the preterite suffix -uθan to the final w and the sequences aaw-uθan and ąąw-uθan contract to aaθah and ąąθah respectively for the sg forms. Plural 3rd person forms contract to aaθanih and ąąθanih.
When added to a form that has the ending -uw a contraction occurs which preserves the oo sound resulting in uw + -uθan => -ooθan. This shortens to -ooθah when no further endings follow the present suffix.
Thaθooθah. It had been cold. (s127)
Consonant stem verbs simply add -uθan directly.
Wunutθah. It had been good.
Present Tense in the Conjunct Order
The present suffix is added to the conjunct endings as -uθan and as in other settings, -uθan simplifies to -uθah when no endings follow
Waanihkuθah It has been good.