Carpathian adjectives
Carpathian adjectives have nominal morphology, although they share some traits with inactive verbs, such as object conjugation. Unlike nouns, adjectives alternate between all four genders (masculine, feminine, common and neuter), agreed with the corresponding gender of the noun. Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive (no suffix: masculine dàbas, neuter dàba, feminine dàbā, common dàbis “good”), comparative (suffix -es-: masculine dabesas, neuter dabesa, feminine dabesā, common dabesis “better”) and superlative (suffix -imm-: masculine dabimmas, neuter dabimma, feminine dabimmā, common dabimmis “better”). Their number agrees with the number of the corresponding nouns. Adjectives have no vocative case instead using the nominative, when necessary.
As in the case of noun paradigms, adjectives have their own classes, but there are only two: "a"-stem and "u"-stem. All other declensional classes either merged into the two, or did not exist. The masculine and neuter adjectives share all their oblique case endings, being different only in the nominative (for all numbers) and accusative (for dual and plural).
a-stem adjectives
An example of an "a"-stem adjective is jaũnas “young”.
| Case | Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | |
| Nominative Vocative |
jaũnas | jaũna | jaunā́ | jaunìs | jaũnū | jaũnai | jaũnī | jaũnai | jaunā̃ | jaũnās | jaũnīs | |
| Genitive | jaũnasa | jaunā̃s | jaunéis | jaunáu | jauniáu | jaunū̃n | jauniū̃n | |||||
| Dative | jaunái | jaũnei | jaunamā̃ | jaunā́mā | jaunimā̃ | jaunàmas | jaunā́mas | jaunìmas | ||||
| Accusative | jaũnun | jaũnān | jaũnin | jaũnū | jaũnai | jaũnī | jaũnōnas | jaunā̃ | jaũnānas | jaũnins | ||
| Instrumental | jaũnū | jaunā́n | jaunimì | jaunamā̃ | jaunā́mā | jaunimā̃ | jaunáis | jaunā́mīs | jaunìmīs | |||
| Locative | jaũnai | jaunái | jaunéi | jaunáu | jauniáu | jaunáišu | jaunā́su | jaunišù | ||||
u-stem adjectives
An example of a "u"-stem adjective is tingùs “heavy”.
| Case | Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Common | |
| Nominative Vocative |
tingùs | tingù | tingwī́ | tingwìs | tìngū | tìngwī | tìngaus | tìngū | tìngwīs | |||
| Genitive | tingáus | tingiā̃s | tingwéis | tingwáu | tingū̃n | tingiū̃n | ||||||
| Dative | tìngau | tìngwei | tingumā̃ | tingiā́mā | tingwimā̃ | tingùmas | tingiā́mas | tingwìmas | ||||
| Accusative | tìngun | tìngwīn | tìngwin | tìngū | tìngwī | tìnguns | tìngū | tìngwīnis | tìngwins | |||
| Instrumental | tingumì | tingwimì | tingumā̃ | tingiā́mā | tingwimā̃ | tingùmīs | tingiā́mīs | tingwìmīs | ||||
| Locative | tingáu | tingwéi | tingwáu | tingušù | tingiā́su | tingwišù | ||||||
Person markers
Carpathian adjectives can act as predicates by taking person markers. The adjectival person markers are the same as object markers of verbs and similar to possessive suffixes of nouns, all having a common origin in early Proto-Carpathian personal clitics. The category of number (singular or plural) is also indicated.
Below is the table of person markers:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| proximate | obviate | |||
| Singular | -mi | -ti | -(j)is | -tas |
| Dual | -nū | -wū | -(j)ī | -tai |
| Plural | -nas | -was | -īs | -tā |
Certain case endings change their vowel quality before a marker, for example: jaunū wīrū “two young men” wīrū šīW/sīE jaunōjī “these two men are young” ("W" is Western Carpathian and "E" is Eastern Carpathian).