Constructing Nouns from Verbs
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An overview of "one who ..." and "that which ..."
This public article was written by [Deactivated User] on 17 Apr 2016, 20:15.
[comments] spwgrammar In English, one can create a noun from a verb either by saying "(some)one who ..." or "that (something) which ..." where these constructions are placed directly before the verb; an alternative structure for this type of grammatical function is the addition of the suffix "-er" (walker, mover, sleeper, where walk, move, and sleep are verbs). The first two constructions make a distinction between a human or animate noun, and an inanimate one. The -er suffix, on the other hand, can refer to either. A "walker" can be a person who walks, or a device to help someone walk (these are animate and inanimate, respectively).
In Sparrow Islandish, there is always a distinction between animate and inanimate in the conversion of verbs to nouns. Take a basic verb like ł̓utm; with the addition of the animate/person prefix am- the verb becomes a noun: amł̓utm, "hunter" (literally: one who hunts), which can be augmented with the plural suffix -ł̓ to form amł̓utmł̓, "hunters" or "hunting party." On the other hand, taking the suffix meaning "that which ..." (łi-) and adding it to ł̓utm creates łił̓utm, meaning "hunting implement," which can refer to any generic tool or weapon used for hunting.
Some examples:
xułtw "discover"; amxułtw "explorer"; łixułtw "map"
č̓ce "slash"; łič̓ce "machete" or "sword" (used to refer to any long bladed weapon)
ndəst "cut"; łindəst "knife" ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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