Qino: Difference between revisions
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====Number==== | ====Number==== | ||
Many nouns are by default unmarked for number. The singulative is formed with suffixes | Many nouns are by default unmarked for number. The singulative is formed with the suffixes ''-ka, -icha'' (masculine) or ''-ti, -itti'' (feminine) and their variants. The plural is formed with suffixes such as ''-oota, -ani, -aani, -eeni, -ooni, -eeCi, -ooCi, -eeya, -ooya, -oowa, -iina'' and ''-aati''. Broken plurals are common in Arabic loanwords and are sometimes extended to other words. The endings ''-eeya'', ''-oowa'', and ''-ooya'' may be analyzed as collectives rather than true plurals. | ||
The gender of the plural depends on the suffix used. The collective endings (in ''-wa/-ya'') are grammatically masculine and the rest are feminine. This mainly affects articles and attributives; regardless of plural formation, main verbs generally take either plural or feminine singular agreement when referring to a plural noun. In very formal language, the verb agrees with the noun in gender (with plural being used only when the subject is a plural pronoun). | The gender of the plural depends on the suffix used. The collective endings (in ''-wa/-ya'') are grammatically masculine and the rest are feminine. This mainly affects articles and attributives; regardless of plural formation, main verbs generally take either plural or feminine singular agreement when referring to a plural noun. In very formal language, the verb agrees with the noun in gender (with plural being used only when the subject is a plural pronoun). | ||