Scellan/Syntax

A mostly-analytic language, Eevo is strongly head-initial (with exceptions in poetry). It usually uses VSO word order; the focused constituent is fronted.

Eevo is split-ergative, the split being conditioned by aspect.

Negation

The usual negative particle is twm, which is placed before the verb. hob 'don't!' is used for the negative imperative. In literary or poetic language, ni (indicative) and daw (irrealis) can also be found.

Negative pronouns

• twm satn (lit. not a thing) = nothing
• twm lias (lit. not a soul) = no one

On double negation

Double negation usually resolves to a positive, since litotes involving negative pronouns are commonly used for emphasis. For example:

Twm satn a twm roféelin.

NEG thing DET NEG change-PRET

'Everything changed.' (literally 'Nothing did not change.')

Interrogative

The common question particles (placed at the beginning of the sentence) are:

• sec = interrogative
• sder = negative interrogative

Sder bo croð niaŋt dyb çuþ?

NEG.INTERR COL human also in-COL animal

Are humans, too, not animals?

es may be used in archaic Eevo.

Copular sentences

There are two (non-interchangeable) ways to say 'X is Y' where X, Y are nouns. (Khmer makes a similar distinction.)

1. Y (COP) DET X - This is used to assert that nouns X and Y refer the same thing.

   Ŋen a fawl ry ŋiþúin awr dy.

   DEM.DIST DET.SG year REL enter-PRET 3PL in

   That was the year in which they entered.

2. dyb Y (COP) DET X (lit. X is in the set of all Y's) - This is used to assert that "X is-a Y".

   Dyb croð a Socrátes, paryçtá bo croð. Ceeda paryçtá a Socrátes.

   in-COL human DET.SG Socrates, mortal DET.COL human. therefore mortal DET.SG Socrates

   Socrates is human; humans are mortal. Hence Socrates is mortal.

Example: Sder bo croð niaŋt dyb çuþ? NEG.INTERR COL human also in-COL animal Are humans, too, not animals?

Noun phrase

Number is marked by a preposed determiner; the determiner is optional for proper nouns.

There is a genitive particle ry, but it is optional.

Determiners can be omitted in elevated language.

Predicates

Eevo has no copula. Instead, the "predicate" or the focused constituent is fronted:

e.g. Dy eell naw ee. = I love her; Ee a (fa) dy eell ren. = It's her that I love

When fronting of a noun occurs, the remaining verb phrase becomes a noun phrase, thus a determiner must be used.

Twm øráð syrŋ bo [toxrorégin] a go þarcǿma að smøøh bo sbenopats.

NEG only new COL evolve-PASS.PART DET PST.IPFV inhabit SG world COL dinosaur

The world of the dinosaurs was not solely occupied by the newly-evolved.

In some tenses (progressive, perfect) the particle fa can be used after the a when fronting.

Dy iant a duvwŋ.

The teacher is sleeping.

Duvwŋ a (fa) dy iant.

It's the teacher who is sleeping.

Contrasting

Contrastive "partial clauses" borrow the syntax used in focused clauses.

Dy ell Sani Maið, ah twm a ry Hmorill.

Sani loves Maið, but Hmorill does not [love him].

Dy ell Sani Maið, ah twm Gelli.

Sani loves Maið, but she does not love Gelli.

Existence

The verb room is used for existence.

Ergativity

Eevo is split-ergative, with imperfective tenses using accusative morphosyntax and perfective tenses using ergative morphosyntax. The ergative preposition is rw.

It's conflated with the possessive pronouns in some dialects, where it is used even outside ergative tenses to mark an ergative subject in clauses with fronting, and the possessive pronouns are also used ergatively. Some even argue that a(ð) is on its way to becoming an absolutive case marker.

Clause types

Time clauses

Deranked time clauses can be formed by using a preposition, most commonly dy 'when', ŋal 'before', and 'tyn' 'after'. The subject of the time clause is marked with the genitive ry.

Ex.

• dy cri riav 'when we walk', lit. 'at our walking', or dy cri 'when walking'.

Relative clauses

• no relativizer is used when the head is the subject in the relative clause
• ry is used otherwise, possibly with a resumptive pronoun
• resumptive pronouns are optional - hence relative clauses can end in a preposition as in English
  • This state of affairs came about because the older resumptive pronominal affixes on prepositions elided and the emphatic pronoun remained optional.
• for places, cah 'there' can be used as a resumptive pronoun
• in formal writing, the head may be repeated instead of using a resumptive pronoun to eliminate ambiguity (cf. mathematical writing)
• for relativizing sentences or statements, taw 'what' is used

... taw þwmoŋéed emb vyðár tyþ.

what confirm COMP equal two

...which confirms that the two are equal.

dlïahar ry twm go sovl awb ber (awr)

event-PLV REL NEG IPFV hear 1EX about (3PL)

events that we did not hear of

Complement clauses

The complementizer is emb.

Eevo provides other syntaxes for complement clauses which are non-finite...

Conditional clauses

Generally true statement:

I tøøh a ŋwi, (coþ) gias a cnoo. [also found in high register: Tøøhor a barah, ...]

If it rains, (then) the grass is wet.

Conditional on a possible future event:

I tøøht a ŋwi, faht gias a cnoo.

If it rains [lit. if it will rain] the grass will be wet.

Tahd a fiar a criht, naw a criht.

whither A 2SG A go.FUT, 1SG A go.FUT

Wherever you go, I will go.

Hypothetical supposition/a less likely "if":

If it rained, the grass would be wet.

Counterfactual supposition:

Had it rained, the grass would have been wet.

Time clauses (when, while, before, after) work similarly.

Method clauses

Method clauses ("by X-ing") use the construction nai + VN.

Modal expressions

• Ŋiwð naw = I want to
• Beð ryn a... = I have to (lit. it is my part to)
  • Colloquially: beðyn, beðes, beðeeb, beðee, beðyŋ, beðiav, beðeg, beðed, beðer, beðy çar
• Cwllyn a... = I can (< it is open for me to)
  • Conjugation: cwllyn, cwlles, cwlleeb, cwllee, cwllyŋ, cwlliav, cwlleg, cwlled, cwller, cwlly çar
• Orr llyn a... = I should...
• Dewm ryn a... = I may... (lit. it is my right to)
  • The possessive pronoun can be omitted in casual speech.
• Ulyn naw... = I might... (probabilistic)

Topicalization

Eevo can topicalize constituents by fronting them in front of the focused constituent. However, the topicalized phrase must be set off by a strong comma in the native script.

Dyð otsón, tŋiv aversfits teþ zydóŋ twm hugmasgen.

in-DET.SG plane, always intersect two line not parallel

In a plane, two nonparallel lines always intersect.

Infinitive absolute

In an infinitive absolute construction, the verb is repeated once before being "conjugated" for TAM. This is found in literary usage.

Fyŋg lly fyŋg ab rree ciab.

die FUT.PERF die 3SG.M day one

Die he will one day. [lit. a dying he is to die]