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Maltcégj: Difference between revisions
→Sentence Structure
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==Sentence Structure== | ==Sentence Structure== | ||
The word order in Maltcégj is very strict. Because all aspects of the language are indicated by particles, there is no need to change the word order. Sentences are formed using a VSO structure; that is, verb – subject – object. This is the basis of every sentence, but there can be more to a sentence than just these components. Other components of a sentence are treated just as rigidly. Every clause will flow in the same order, even if it does not contain all of these elements: | |||
<center>Conjunction – Verbal Particle – Primary Verb – Adverb – Secondary Verb – Subject – Temporal Clause – Spatial Clause – Indirect Object – Direct Object</center> | |||
Some examples: | |||
''I nicely gave the book to the man at his house this morning.'' | |||
I [subject] nicely [adverb, i.e. how the action is taking place] gave [verb, past tense] the book [direct object, i.e. what is being given] to the man [indirect object] at his house [spatial clause, i.e. where the action is taking place] this morning [temporal clause, i.e. when the action is taking place]. | |||
If you rearrange these into the prescribed word order above, you get: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
| gave || nicely || I || this morning || at his house || to the man || the book | |||
|- | |||
| dydgélk || lefbreuð || jǫg || jatemét || pul umárgahíli || þádað || klága | |||
|} | |||
You need never deviate from this word order. To make an indicative statement into a question (whereby in English we would reverse the subject and the verb), simply add the particle ''cʌþ'' before the verb. | |||
Aside from these sentence elements, there are a few other word order concerns to note: | |||
* Adjectives always follow the nouns they modify (as in romance languages). | |||
* Numbers also follow the nouns they modify. | |||
* Adpositions always follow the nouns they modify (except ''u-''). | |||
* Phrases are “left-headed,” including numbers, possessives, genitives, adjectives, and others. | |||
* When an adjective is used as the predicate of a sentence, it can be treated as a verb; however, you can also use the verb ''ek'' ('to be'). | |||
[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:A_priori]] | [[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:A_priori]] | ||