Since TA verbs agree with both their subject and object, there are 49 different forms possible when a TA verb is conjugated, e.g., the Independent Indicative Present. The following table, Possibilities of Person Combinations in TA Verbs, illustrates this. (Note: Reflexive and reciprocal combinations are not included).

Click the image to enlarge it:

By observing the richness of TA conjugations, we can identify subclasses organized according to the interaction between participants and the person of the verb. The forms can be described as being governed by a person hierarchy, where the 2^nd person takes precedence over the 1^st and the 3^rd, the 1^st over the 3^rd, the 3^rd over the 4^th (obviative) and the 5^th (surobviative). Since TA verbs only have animate persons, only the left part of the hierarchy applies.

Subclasses of TA Verb Forms

An initial classification of the TA verb forms reveals three distinct groups of forms:

• local: where the participants of the verb, i.e. the subject and the object to which the verb refers, can only be 1^st or 2^nd persons, excluding the participation of a 3^rd person (e.g. tshuapamitin I see you: 1^st and 2^nd persons);
• mixed: where one 1^st or 2^nd person participant, subject or object, interacts with a 3^rd or 4^th person subject or object (e.g. tshuapamau you see him/her: 2^nd and 3^rd persons);
• non-local: where the participants, subject or object, can only be 3^rd or 4^th (or 5^th or 6^th) persons, excluding 1^st and 2^nd persons (e.g. uapameu s/he sees him/her (obv): 3^rd and 4^th persons).

A second classification reflects the situation of the subject with respect to the person hierarchy. Thus, we have the following forms:

• direct:
  • have a subject whose person is higher in the hierarchy of persons than that of the object (e.g. tshiminuashin you like me: 2^nd and 1^st persons; niminuatau I like him/her: 1^st and 3^rd persons);
  • in the Independent, the prefix, which always reflects the person who has precedence in the person hierarchy, refers to the subject (tshuitshin you help me: 2^nd and 1^st persons; nuitshiau I help him/her: 1^st and 3^rd persons);
• inverse:
  • have a subject whose person is lower in the person hierarchy than that of the object (tshimińuatitin I like you: 1^st and 2^nd persons; nimińuatik^u s/he likes me: 3^rd and 1^st persons);
  • in the Independent, the prefix, which always reflects the person who has precedence in the person hierarchy, refers to the object (tshuitshitin I help you: 1^st and 2^nd persons; nuitshiku s/he helps me: 3^rd and 1^st persons);

Joining these two classifications together, we get six subclasses of TA verb forms:

• local direct (tshuapamin you see me, tshuitshinan you help us)
• local inverse (tshuapamitin I see you, tshuitshitinan we help you)
• mixed direct (nuapamau I see him/her, tshuitshianan we help him/her)
• mixed inverse (nuapamik^u s/he sees me, tshuitshikunan s/he helps us)
• non-local direct (uapameu s/he sees him/her (obv), uitshieu s/he helps him/her (obv))
• non-local inverse (uapamiku s/he (obv) see him/her, uitshiku s/he (obv) helps him/her)

The conjugations of TA verbs found in the Conjugation Guide follow this classification of TA verb forms. The same classification also governs the distribution of thematic suffixes.