Number system
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Description of Mnéren tihilen súbékil
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 25 Jan 2019, 23:21.
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[top]Introduction to Numbers
Nierenese numbers are quite different from those of most other languages. In Nieren it is not the counted entity that takes the nominal form but the number that is nominalized. Rather than asking "How many of what", Nieren likes to pose the question "What type of quantity do we have?"
It may be easier to see in the following sections.
[top]The Numbers
| English | Nieren |
|---|---|
| one | én |
| two | bro |
| three | os |
| four | bésak |
| five | devrat |
| six | sib |
| seven | don |
| eight | úmba |
| nine | mim |
| ten | ħit |
[top]Counting Nouns
As determiners, numbers come after the noun they modify. The modified noun takes an adjectival suffix, '-llé', and the number takes the appropriate affixes or articles, depending on the context. Technically, numbers are only ever 'nouns', as evident from the gloss below:
Néllé ú bésak denbeh1.
The four people are here.
né-llé
people-ADJAdjectival
syntactic ú
DEFDefinite
"the".ARTArticle
indicate the type of reference being made by the noun bésak
four.NMNoun (POS) den-be-h
here.NMNoun (POS)-LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc-PREDPredicative
expressions typically following a copula
This literally translates to: "The people-four are here".
1Notice that denbe is written with an 'h'. Remember: predicative adjectives must always end with an 'h' or 'eh'!
Ħútamúna baśllé bésakov kabinś.
I am eating four of his fish.
ħú-ta-mú-na
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-ABLAblative (case)
away from-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate-SRSubordinator
marks subordinate clause baś-llé
fish-ADJAdjectival
syntactic bésak-ov
four.NMNoun (POS)-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ka-bin-ś
PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing-eat-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current
Note that the definiteness and case of the noun is reflected in the declension of the number:
Baħallé sibov émgurmú
He has seen the six rocks before
baħa-llé
rock-ADJAdjectival
syntactic sib-ov
six.NMNoun (POS)-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ém-gur-mú
EXPExperiencer (role/case)
witnesses, experiences, observes, etc-see-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current
Whichever suffix would have been attached to an uncounted noun would attach itself to the number in the case of a counted noun.
[top]Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are formed by taking the adjectival form of the number and applying it to the noun.
Mimllé ú maś némó tyś siśtolatvó
The ninth man taught the people
mim-llé
nine-ADJAdjectival
syntactic ú
DEFDefinite
"the".ARTArticle
indicate the type of reference being made by the noun né-mó
people-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location tyś
light si-śto-lat-vó
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-give-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act-PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current
Two words for 'first'
énllé vs ulk
While in general terms both can be used to mean "first", énllé suggests that something is first in a list while ulk emphasizes the fact that nothing comes before it.
Énllé ú maś bunov sibinvó ten
The first man was able to eat the bread
énllé
first ú
DEFDefinite
"the".ARTArticle
indicate the type of reference being made by the noun maś
man bun-ov
bread-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient si-bin-vó-Ø
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-eat-PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee ten
POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability
Bunov sibinvó tenna ulk ú maś The first man to be able to eat the bread
(No man had been able to eat the bread before, ever)
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