Pulqer: Difference between revisions
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==Morphology and Grammar== | ==Morphology and Grammar== | ||
Pulqer morphology is largely analytical. Nouns and adjectives show no inflection and verbs relatively little. | |||
===Nouns=== | ===Nouns=== | ||
All Pulqer nouns are either masculine or feminine in gender and singular or plural in number but neither of these is marked on the noun itself, which is immutable. For example, ''atyn'' is a masculine noun and can mean "man" or "men" whilst ''hityn'' is feminine and may mean "woman" or "women". | All Pulqer nouns are either masculine or feminine in gender and singular or plural in number but neither of these is marked on the noun itself, which is immutable. For example, ''atyn'' is a masculine noun and can mean "man" or "men" whilst ''hityn'' is feminine and may mean "woman" or "women". | ||
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===Determiners=== | ===Determiners=== | ||
Determiners are the primary means by which Pulqer indicates grammatical number, gender and definiteness. They are generally composed of a stem + a vowel denoting a combination of gender and number, as follows: | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|- | |||
! style="width: 100px" | | |||
! style="width: 100px" | Singular | |||
! style="width: 100px" | Plural | |||
|- | |||
! Masculine | |||
| ''-u'' | |||
| ''-i'' | |||
|- | |||
! Feminine | |||
| ''-a'' | |||
| ''-e'' | |||
|} | |||
Forms are quoted with the masculine singular, e.g. ''su'' "the" indicates that the forms ''sa, si, se'' also occur. | |||
====Articles==== | ====Articles==== | ||
Articles | Articles always precede the noun they modify directly, or with intervening adjectives and must agree with the noun they modify in gender and number. | ||
The '''definite article''' is ''su'' and is declined as follows: | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="width: 100px | ! style="width: 100px" | | ||
! style="width: 100px" | Singular | ! style="width: 100px" | Singular | ||
! style="width: 100px" | Plural | ! style="width: 100px" | Plural | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Masculine | ! Masculine | ||
| '' | | ''-u'' | ||
| '' | | ''-i'' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Feminine | ! Feminine | ||
| '' | | ''-a'' | ||
| '' | | ''-e'' | ||
|} | |} | ||
Where | The '''indefinite article''' is ''nu'' and is declined in the same way (i.e. ''nu, ni; na, ne''). | ||
Where either article ends and the following word begins with the same vowel, they are reduced to ''s', n'''. | |||
Examples: | Examples: | ||
:: ''nu atyn'' "a man" | :: ''nu atyn'' "a man" | ||
:: ''si atyn'' "the men" | :: ''si atyn'' "the men" | ||
:: ''s' | :: ''s'aśtet'' "the star" (< ''sa astet'') | ||
:: ''ne kes'' "some houses" | :: ''ne kes'' "some houses" | ||
:: ''sa kat'' "the cat" | :: ''sa kat'' "the cat" | ||
:: ''n'iśtyl'' "the islands" (< ''ni iśtyl'') | :: ''n'iśtyl'' "the islands" (< ''ni iśtyl'') | ||
====Possessive Adjectives==== | ====Possessive Adjectives==== | ||
Possessive adjectives decline according to the gender and number of | Possessive adjectives precede the noun they qualify and decline according to the gender and number of that noun as follows: | ||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;" | ||
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| ''ler'' | | ''ler'' | ||
|} | |} | ||
Note that the stem of each pronoun is different in the masculine and feminine (''ma-'' vs. ''mu-'' etc.). | |||
Note also that the 3pl. ''lur'' is unusually declined with internal vowel change (OP. had ''lueru'' "of those (masc.)" and ''laeru'' "of those (fem.)). | |||
====Demonstrative Adjectives==== | ====Demonstrative Adjectives==== | ||
Demonstrative adjectives show a three way distinction: | Demonstrative adjectives show a three way distinction: | ||
* '' | * ''śtu'' "this" refers to objects close to the speaker | ||
* ''kisu'' "that" refers to objects close to the listener | * ''kisu'' "that" refers to objects close to the listener | ||
* ''kitlu'' "that" refers to objects at a distance | * ''kitlu'' "that" refers to objects at a distance |