Choosing the right words in Vulcan

[Cap'n Frances]

For a fic I'm writing, I need a Vulcan word that would roughly translate to darling or beloved (used as a noun). I went to the Vulcan Language Dictionary and found more than I expected:
ashel-veh
ashayam
k'diwa
petakov
tal-kam
t'hy'la

I'm sure they have somewhat different meanings. I'm not sure which one to pick.

I also need to use the Vulcan equivalent of the English "be" in the imperative mood. The VLD lists nam-tor as the word for "to be" in the indicative mood but I couldn't find anything on the imperative mood. I tried the Vulcan Language Institute but I didn't find anything there either. I'm not sure if Vulcan has a distinct imperative mood.

If anyone has any suggestions on this, I'd really appreciate them.

[Aquarius]

It actually took me a couple of weeks of immersion in those sites to figure these out.

I found The Vulcan Language Institute most helpful in that it had language lessons and information about grammar, which was useful in choosing the right words - I wasn't just blindly throwing in shiny new vocabulary words I'd just learned. Just like Earth languages, rules and conventions govern when you choose what word when any of a number will work; when you know the rules, choosing is easier. I know you said you visited the site but I'm not sure how much time you spent or how deep you delved. I know I addressed the "to be" thing in at least one of my fics, but it was so long ago I don't remember what I did off the top of my head and it would take me a while to reconstruct my research.

[EntAllat]

She's not been around lately, but you might want to hit up Ladyrainbow with your question, Cap'n Frances! She's a linguist in real-life and might be able to offer some advice (or know of some other Vulcan language sources that'd clear things up.)

[Cap'n Frances]

Thanks, Aquarius and EntAllat! Lady Rainbow was very helpful. I think spending more time with the Vulcan Language Institute site will be a good investment for the future.