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Celabrian: Difference between revisions
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→Definiteness
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There are three levels of definiteness in Celabrian: | There are three levels of definiteness in Celabrian: | ||
*Definite: Something known to both speaker and listener, | *Definite: Something known to both speaker and listener, that may have been previously mentioned or that is uniquely specified. Equivalent to English "the" in "I saw '''the''' car." | ||
*Semidefinite: Something specific that | *Semidefinite: Something specific that is identifiable by the speaker but not the listener. Equivalent to English "a" in "I saw '''a''' car." | ||
*Indefinite: | *Indefinite: Refers non-specifically to a member of a class. Equivalent to English "a" in "I need '''a''' car." | ||
Nouns unmarked for definiteness are semidefinite by default. The definite article is ''-<u>ə</u>n'' (added before case endings). | Nouns unmarked for definiteness are semidefinite by default. The definite article is ''-<u>ə</u>n'' (added before case endings). | ||
The indefinite article for singular, countable nouns is ''m<u>ə</u>-''. For plural | The indefinite article for singular, countable nouns is ''m<u>ə</u>-''. For plural and mass nouns, it is ''-<u>a</u>'' (equivalent to the ablative case ending and the partitive article). | ||
Nouns with possessive suffixes do not take the definite article, but can take the indefinite article. Possessive suffixes come before case endings and the plural/uncountable indefinite suffix. | Nouns with possessive suffixes do not take the definite article, but can take the indefinite article. Possessive suffixes come before case endings and the plural/uncountable indefinite suffix. | ||
In addition to definite and indefinite articles, Celabrian has partitive and negative articles. The partitive article is ''-<u>a</u>'' (equivalent to the ablative case and the plural/mass indefinite article). It refers to a non-specific quantity of something. It is equivalent to English "some" in "I want '''some''' coffee." | |||
The negative article specifies none of something, and is equivalent to English "no" in "I see '''no''' car." The negative article is ''n<u>ə</u>-''. | |||
===Adjectives=== | ===Adjectives=== | ||