Conjugation is carried out with a combination of endings and auxiliary verbs. The verb esser (to be) is written es in the present due to its high frequency. Simple Verb Tenses Compound Verb Tenses The present participle is used to qualify nouns: un cat ama, un amant cat (a cat loves, a loving cat) and is often seen in adjectives such as fatigant (tiring, from fatigar, to tire). The gerund is used to indicate another action or state of being going on at the same time: scriente un missage, yo videt que... (writing a message, I saw that...). Many further combinations of endings and auxiliary verbs are possible. Some examples:  Yo vell har esset amat = I would have been loved  Hante retornat al dom... = Having returned to the house... (ha + gerund)  Other notes on verbs:  The subjunctive does not exist in Interlingue: yo vole que tu ama (I want you to love). Mey is often used to express it when necessary, however: Yo vole que tu mey amar (I want you to love, lit. "I want that you may love"). Hay is a standalone verb that means there is or "there are". Hay du homes in li dom (there are two people in the house). As a standalone verb there is no official infinitive but users of the language often conjugate it as if there were (hayat, etc.) Other ways of expressing there is or there are: esser (esset nequó altri a far = there was nothing else to do), exister (it existe du metodes = there are two ways), trovar se (in li cité trova se tri cavalles = there are three horses in the city), etc. The passive is formed using the verb esser: yo es amat (I am loved). Se makes the verb refer to itself (reflexive form) which often functions as a shorter way to form the passive: li frontieras esset cludet = li frontieras cludet se (the borders were closed). The progressive tense (-nt) is not used with the same frequency as in English (what are you doing? = quo tu fa?, not quo tu es fant?). It emphasizes the continuity of the verb and is often used in storytelling (noi esset marchant vers li rivere quande... = we were walking towards the river when...)