Igetweian Grammar
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Basic grammar
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 9 May 2018, 06:04.
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1. Igetweian Grammar
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
The definite article declines and must match the noun it is modifying in number and case.
Like English, it is used to denote a specific instance of X in the singular. However, it is also used in combination with plurals to refer to generic countable nouns... Rather than saying "I like cats," you would say, "I like the cats."
The definite article is also used before proper nouns such as names.
The indefinite article, on the other hand, is mostly used for specific, countable nouns--ie, "I want a cat," like in English, but is NOT used for non-specific, uncountable nouns. Rather than saying "do you want any tea," it would simply be "do you want tea."
It can be used to refer to some amount of something, however... "Some tea fell off of the truck," where the "some" would be the indefinite article, implying some certain but non-specific amount. "A tea fell off of the truck."
Verbs conjugate from the infinitive based on number, person, and tense.
The perfect, which is always perfective, is marked by the particle fim after the verb.
Progressive is marked by the particle kou.
Imperative uses the 2nd person future with the word aida on the end... or pibi for a more delicate suggestion.
Negation is done by affixing -(i)j onto the very end of the fully conjugated verb.
Fai: To be.
Faitu: 1st person present tense singular: I am.
Faituj: 1st person present tense singular negative: I am not.
Diminutive: Suffix: -da "li'l patty," "tiny one." Generally endearing, for children or close ones. Can be reduplicated to -dada for a ruder implication of being child-like or miniscule (usu. wrt powerlessness or poking fun at one's size.)
Augmentative: Suffix: -bo "a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes" In this case, generally means size. like a megabus or a supergroup. or "my big man." Reduplicating it to -bobo makes it a little more condescending or pejorative. (akin to fatass)
Adjectives generally end in (often voiced, but not always) consonants, sometimes specifically -un, which tends to imply the adjective was derived from a noun.
Adverbs are made from adjectives by adding the suffix -ujom to the end.
They generally precede the item they are modifying.
Nouns have several cases--Absolutive, ergative, a genitive particle, a construct case, dative, and locative.
"She walked (with) the dog" (an intransitive verb) would be
She dog-with walked
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-FEMFeminine (gender)
feminine or female-ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument DEFDefinite
"the"-SWind element (gender/class)-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location dog-SWind element (gender/class)-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location walk-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
and "She hit him" (a transitive verb) would be
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-FEMFeminine (gender)
feminine or female-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-MASCMasculine (gender)
masculine or male-ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument hit-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech
The X of Y would be setup as "The Y ni X-Construct."
The Spear Of Shadows would be -
mij dinöte ni daufowi.
DEFDefinite
"the"-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few shadow-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has spear-GENGenitive (case)
possessive where Genitive is the possessed item.
The possessor does all the heavy lifting, determining the possessive phrases place in the sentence (in this case, ergative), with the definite article matching it in case and number, while the possessee (spear) is simply in the construct/genitive case following the possessive article.
"Di" is used in a similar way to "ni", in more formal situations or when a certain loftiness is desired.
So even more likely than mij dinöte ni daufowi, is actually mij dinöte di daufowi. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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