Ulyan Word Order: view article

Menu 1. Main clauses 2. Adpositions 3. Possession 4. Modifiers 5. Relative clauses 6. Comparatives 7. Auxiliaries 8. Questions Word order in Ulyan follows some general patterns. The following are not strict rules but rather the basic, natural ordering of words and clause constituents in “normal” sentences. In some situations word order may be different. Also, speakers may change word order, to some degree, for effect. Non-standard word order can bring attention or focus to particular things. For example, putting the subject noun or noun phrase first could be used to emphasize its extra importance in an utterance.

[edit] [top]Main clauses

Verb first, VSO. However it is common to prefix verbs with polypersonal pronominal affixes.

zok im ab
zok
see im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ab
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I see you.

zok ep en
zok
see ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument en
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
You see me.

mzok ab
m-
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument- zok
see ab
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I see you.

emzok
em-
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument>2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient- zok
see
I see you.

pizok en
pi-
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument- zok
see en
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
You see me.

ipzok
ip-
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument>1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient- zok
see
You see me.

[edit] [top]Adpositions

Adpositions tend to be prepositions: they are placed before the noun they apply to. Frequently they are prefixed to nouns, in which case the last letter of the adposition is usually dropped. In addition, the locative case may sometimes be used instead of, or in addition to an adposition.

jvaks im ef jnente
jvaks
put_down im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ef
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient jnen
table -te
-LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc
I put it on the table.

jvaks im ef nun jnente
jvaks
put_down im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ef
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient nun
on_top_of jnen
table -te
-LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc
I put it on the table.

jvaks im ef nujnente
jvaks
put_down im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ef
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient nu-
on_top_of- jnen
table -te
-LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc
I put it on the table.

zok im mizge vjardo
zok
see im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument mi-
next_to- zge
river vjar
rock -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I see the rock next to the river.

mijgil elotc
mi-
by- jgil
hill el-
DEFDefinite
"the"- otc
house
The house by (the) hill.

[edit] [top]Possession

Possessee-possessor is the normal form.

jbein ivwa
jbein
pants ivwa
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GENGenitive (case)
possessive
his/her pants

nev epua
nev
mother epua
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GENGenitive (case)
possessive
your mother

[edit] [top]Modifiers

Modifiers, like adjectives, tend to come after the noun they effect. They are usually marked for case in agreement with their head noun. The case agreement is often dropped in simple constructions when the relationship is obvious. Sometimes they can be prepended to nouns in case-unmarked form.

Adjectives can also be appended to verbs, in which case they take on an adverbial sense. The suffix -yi makes adjectives into adverbs, but can be optional. Separate adverbs tend to come after the main verb.

elprathnia cmïl
el-
DEFDefinite
"the"- prathnia
brook cmïl
little
the little brook

With case agreement:

elvrabdo vedo
el-
DEFDefinite
"the"- vrab
man -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ve-
old- -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
the old man

Agreement dropped:

jwaundo oro
jwaun
home -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient oro
new
new home

Prepended to noun:

lojkolcezli
loj-
long- kolc
tooth -e-
-EEpenthetic
something 'meaningless' inserted for structural reasons- -zli
-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
long teeth

jbuljleivdo
jbul-
true- jleiv
way -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
true way (accusative)

tsauktïmzmi
tsauk-
best- tïm
fruit -zmi
-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location
best fruit (dative)

Likewise, number and quantifier words come after the noun they modify:

avbregza jdü
av-
INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent- breg
town -za
-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few jdü
few
a few towns

elbreg tcïjde
el-
DEFDefinite
"the"- breg
town tcïjde
most_of
most of the town

Adverbs tend to come after the verb they modify:

edcreif cmisoyi elalael iam
ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- creif
whisper cmisoyi
quietly ela-
DEFDefinite
"the"- lael
girl iam
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location
The girl quietly whispered to me.

[edit] [top]Relative clauses

Relative clauses come before their head nouns. The terms ank and kai mark the start and end of a relative clause. “ank” is usually dropped.

Dak im [ank] edusoctek [iv] avabloz kai elvrabdo.
dak
hit im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument [ank]
[RELRelative] ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- uso-
CONTContinuative (tense/aspect)
continuous or durational action- ctek
wear [iv]
[3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] ava-
INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent- bloz
hat kai
RELRelative el-
DEFDefinite
"the"- vrab
man -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
Hit I was_wearing [he] a_hat the_man.
I hit the man who was wearing a hat.

(the brackets around [ank] indicate it is normally dropped; and around [iv], which may be dropped in cases like this)

The start of the relative clause, the "ank position", may be replaced with a relative pronoun/adverb like cwor (which/who/what). Such relative pronouns are sometimes but not always case marked.

Pros im cwordo mlis ep.
pros
know im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument cwor
who -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient mlis
love ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument
I know who you love.

Pros im cwormo edveiv ep ieth.
pros
know im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument cwor
who -mo
-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- veiv
give ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ieth
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I know to whom you gave it.

When the function of a relative pronoun is ambiguous when put in the “ank position” it can be instead placed after the noun is applies to (in which case “ank” is normally explicit).

Pros im ank edveiv ep tleimdo ckurva mraumo.
pros
know im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ank
RELRelative ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- veiv
give ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument tleim
food -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ckurva
whose mraum
cat -mo
-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location
I know whose food you gave to the cat.

Pros im ank edveiv ep tleimdo mraumo ckurva.
pros
know im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ank
RELRelative ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- veiv
give ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument tleim
food -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient mraum
cat -mo
-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location ckurva
whose
I know whose cat you gave food to.

[edit] [top]Comparatives

The normal order is "adjective-marker-standard". The marker word is gï (“than”). The adjective is marked with a comparative prefix that indicates the type of comparison being made.

Tet im kodol gï ab.
tet
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ko-
COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'- dol
tall gï
than ab
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I am taller than you.

Tet im kwadol gï ab.
tet
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument kwa-
EQUnknown code- dol
tall gï
than ab
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I am as tall as you.

Tet vrï suxuki gï vra.
tet
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate vrï
this sux-
NEGNegative (polarity)
not.COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'- uki
round gï
than vra
that
This is less round than that.

Comparing objects (direct or otherwise) and adverbials is done by prefixing the comparative clitic to the first object/adverbial being compared:

Nizg gron kotleindo gï olthdesdo.
nizg
want gron
dog ko=
COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'= tlein
food -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient gï
than olthdes
warmth -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
The dog wants food more than (the dog wants) warmth.

Veiv im zmaldo kouep gï mraumo imua.
veiv
give im
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument zmal
money -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ko=
COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'= uep
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location gï
than mraum
cat -mo
-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location imua
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.GENGenitive (case)
possessive
I give more money to you than to my cat.

Edkür kovanïl im gï xwenïl.
ed-
PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech- kür
run ko=
COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'= vanïl
today im
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument gï
than xwenïl
yesterday
I ran faster today than yesterday.

When comparing verbs and/or whole clauses, the comparative clitic is prefixed to the marker word gï:

Mlis im myenzli imua kogï vraitc [im eifs].
mlis
love im
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument myen
friend -zli
-PUnknown code.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient imua
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.GENGenitive (case)
possessive ko=
COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'= gï
than vraitc
hate [im
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument eifs]
3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I love my friends more than [I] hate [them].

Zok im ab kwagï yeth ep en.
zok
see im
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument ab
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient kwa=
EQUnknown code.COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better'= gï
than yeth
hear ep
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument en
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I see you as much as you hear me.

[edit] [top]Auxiliaries

Auxiliary verbs are placed after the main verb. For example the auxiliary passive verb thuek:

Mleis thuek avlelt.
mleis
eat thuek
PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed av-
INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent- vlelt
bird
A bird was eaten.

The causative auxiliary verb lo is placed after the main verb and the “causer”:

Ifacmak im lo ep eifs.
ifa-
FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech- cmak
pay im
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument lo
CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act ep
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument eifs
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
I will make you pay them.

[edit] [top]Questions

Questions can be formed in various ways, such as interrogative affixes on a verb. There are also question particles that function in a sort of “fill in the blank” form. For example, the number interrogative xo asks what number word should go in its place:

bregza xo?
breg
town -za
-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument xo
how_many
how many towns?

Questions about the discourse itself can be formed with interjections, which tend to come at the start of a clause in the form “[audience] INTERJECTION [speaker]”, with audience and speaker optional.

For example, preu means “what? please repeat”.

There is also the general question marking interjection ksü, which is placed at the start of a clause and means “this clause is true, isn’t it?”. For example:

Ksü tet mraum imua melgdo?
ksü
QInterrogative
question tet
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate mraum
cat imua
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GENGenitive (case)
possessive melg
fat -do
-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient
My cat is fat, no?”

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