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| Likewise, the oblique object articles will often bond with the preposition: '''aril''', "to the"; '''celuõl''', "in a"; '''euil''' "to the" (this last needs the glide "u" to bond '''e''' and '''il'''). | | Likewise, the oblique object articles will often bond with the preposition: '''aril''', "to the"; '''celuõl''', "in a"; '''euil''' "to the" (this last needs the glide "u" to bond '''e''' and '''il'''). |
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| ====Plurality====
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| Plural nouns are expressed in a number of ways. The most common is to add an -n or -en to the end of the word:<blockquote>'''ytanney, ytanneyn''', "foot, feet"
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| '''fanttear, fanttearn''', "dance, dances"
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| '''pyttela, pyttelan''', "color, colors"
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| '''paneht, pannehten''', "force, forces" (here the word undergoes a change in stress)
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| '''imuif, imuivn''', "gift, gifts" (here the -en has been modified, and the "f" voiced)</blockquote>The other most common plural is the addition of the plural prefix '''ni-''' or '''mim-''':<blockquote>'''htindro, nihhtindro''' ("song, songs")
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| '''flehta, nifflehta''' ("fire, fires")
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| '''hsavves, mimhsaves''' ("grass, grasses"--note here the shift in emphasis back to the initial syllable, now '''mim-''')
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| '''selivy, niselivy''' ("concept, concepts")</blockquote>The last example shows no change in stress in the root word because the rules have not been violated (i.e., a four syllable word is stressed on the second syllable); therefore, the prefix form of the plural is most often applied to three-syllable words with initial (normal) stress. Nonetheless, there are plenty of two syllable words that take the plural prefix, changing their stress, and many cases in which such words show either form: '''betõn''' ("boys"), and '''nibbetõ''' ("boys"). Occasionally you get a pleonasm: '''nibbetõn''' ("boys"), but this is rare.
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| Typographically, definite articles are almost never bonded to nouns with plural prefixes, but stand alone:<center>'''li nihhtindro''', "the songs"</center>Occasionally:<center>'''lini htindro''', "the songs"</center>The indefinite article suffix is never added to plural nouns, the preferred form being the adjective '''mimim'''(pronoun '''mim''' + partitive genitive '''õm'''): "some of," from which the plural prefix is of course formed:<center>'''mimim nihhtindro'''</center><center>"some (of) songs"</center>This is oftened abbreviated to '''mimi''' before non-collective '''ni-''' plurals: '''mimi nihhtindro''', and to '''mi''' before '''mim-''' plurals: '''mi mimshaves''', "some grasses." Typographically, this is sometimes rendered '''mimmim hsaves''', "some grasses."
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| The numbers followed suit, and when used adjectivally ("four spoons") they were assumed to carry the same plural force that '''mimmim''' does: so nouns aren't made plural after numbers:<blockquote>'''tibrom pronep''' "two (of) fork[s]"
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| ...although you will occasionally see '''tibro nippronep''', "two forks"</blockquote>
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| ==Syntax== | | ==Syntax== |