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Brytho-Hellenic: Difference between revisions
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===Articles=== | ===Articles=== | ||
Brythohellenic | Brythohellenic has no ''indefinite article''; to translate phrases like "a cat" or "some women" we have just to omit the article: '''ailur''' means both "a cat" and "cat", and '''ginais''' means both "some women" and "women". | ||
There is only one kind of article, the ''definite'' one: this article is used to talk about well known things that are familiar to the speakers, because they have already been talked about, or because they belong to the experiences baggage of the speakers, that is we use the definite article to talk about known informations, to talk about determined informations. | There is only one kind of article, the ''definite'' one: this article is used to talk about well known things that are familiar to the speakers, because they have already been talked about, or because they belong to the experiences baggage of the speakers, that is we use the definite article to talk about known informations, to talk about determined informations. | ||
The definite article has one invariable form, '''to''', that is used both for masculine and feminine nouns, for singular and plural nouns: '''to omyr''', "the rain"; '''to huvagh''', "the body"; '''to lusai''', "the languages"; '''to nysoi''', "the islands", and so on. | The definite article has one invariable form, '''to''', that is used both for masculine and feminine nouns, for singular and plural nouns: '''to omyr''', "the rain"; '''to huvagh''', "the body"; '''to lusai''', "the languages"; '''to nysoi''', "the islands", and so on. | ||
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===Imperfect tense=== | ===Imperfect tense=== | ||
The '''imperfect''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happened in the past. English | The '''imperfect''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happened in the past. English lacks a counterpart for this tense: the same meaning could be obtained using the ''Simple past'' or, even better, the pattern "used to + infinitive": ''I '''used to play''' football with friends every Friday''. This tense is also used to talk about actions that were happening in the past, to underline their duration, whereas in English one would rather use the ''Past Progressive'', which, anyway, exists also in Neohellenic, but, as for the progressive form of the present, it is rarely used. | ||
As it has been said, in Brythohellenic many verbs have a regular present, but an irregular imperfect, so it is impossible to talk about "regular verbs". However there are some "structural changes" in the formation of this tense that are common and can be analysed. | As it has been said, in Brythohellenic many verbs have a regular present, but an irregular imperfect, so it is impossible to talk about "regular verbs". However there are some "structural changes" in the formation of this tense that are common and can be analysed. | ||
Let's see the imperfect of six verbs whose present tense has already been observed and of the verb "to be", that has two different forms for this tense too. | Let's see the imperfect of six verbs whose present tense has already been observed and of the verb "to be", that has two different forms for this tense too. | ||