The order of phrase components is:
Determiner QuantityWord Modifiers Noun
All but the noun are optional. The modifiers include participials, genitive phrases, partitive phrases, and relative clauses.
The determiners are:
| Word | Tag | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | non-specific indefinite |
| ži | Spc | specific indefinite |
| ku, 'u | Def | definite article |
| žini | Prox | demonstrative, proximal |
| kuni | Medi | demonstrative, medial |
| tani | Dist | demonstrative, distal |
| buni | CQ | content question |
| ?? | Uni | universal quantifier |
| ?? | Exi | existential quantifier |
| ?? | Nul | nullar quantifier |
The form 'u appears before k or g; otherwise, ku appears.
Genitive phrases may also act as determiners and so can ordinal numbers and superlatives.
The quantity words are primarily the cardinal and fractional numbers. They're preempted by the universal, existential, and nullar quantifiers.
A clause always ends with the verb. The order of the other components varies, but tends to have the subject first. Participials, secondary predicates, and infinitives are similar except that they lack expressed subjects.
The 1SNom pronoun saiš is normally omitted in statements and the 2SNom pronoun doiš is normally omitted in questions. Exceptions involve clause combinations which would otherwise be construed as coreferential. The pronoun niš appears for 1XPNom in statements and for 2PNom in questions under the same circumstances that the singular pronouns are omitted. Commands lacking expressed subjects implicitly have 2nd person subjects of either number.
These consist of a subject phrase (Nom or Abs) followed by a complement phrase (also Nom or Abs). If the complement is indefinite, the clause is one of definition; otherwise, it's an identity clause.
Attributives, infinitives, and secondary predicates lack post-final tense marking, so the aspect suffixes represent time relative to the context:
| Aor | relative present |
| Sta | relative present |
| Prg | relative present |
| Prf | relative past |
| Pro | relative future |
Although historically one mood with or without post-final suffix, there are 2 distinct uses: an imperative-hortative-jussive one in main clauses and a subjunctive-optative one in subordinate clauses.
A main clause imperative is either a command (2nd person), an exhortation (1st person inclusive plural), or an indirect command (all others). All of these take effect in the future, the time depending on the aspect:
| Aor | immediate future |
| Prg | definite future |
| Prf | definite future |
| Pro | definite future |
| Hab | multiple futures |
A nominalized subordinate clause or subjunctive represents an imagined or hypothetical situation.
| Taamiš Žaaniš dakai meruči. |
|---|
| "Tom wants John to run." |
The aspect and tense combinations are as follows:
| Form | Aspect | Description | Tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| -či | Sta | present stative | AT |
| -enči | Prg | present progressive | |
| -'imuči | Hab | present habitual | |
| -ukči | Prf | present perfect or indefinite past | |
| -asči | Pro | present prospective or indefinite future | |
| -to | Aor | definite past or future | DT |
| Sta | past or future stative | ||
| -ento | Prg | past or future progressive | |
| -'imuto | Hab | past or future habitual | |
| -ukto | Prf | past or future perfect | |
| -asto | Pro | past or future prospective | |
| -so | Aor | relative present aoristic | RT |
| Sta | relative present stative | ||
| -enuso | Prg | relative present progressive | |
| -'imuso | Hab | relative present habitual | |
| -ukso | Prf | relative past | |
| -asso | Pro | relative future | |
| -'imbo | Hab | present habitual | QT |
| -ukubo | Prf | any past | |
| -asubo | Pro | any future |
Definite time (DT) verbs must be used in contexts where either past or future time has already been established, typically with Prf + AT or Pro + AT.
Relative time (RT) verbs are used in temporal adjunct clauses specifying the temporal relation between the adjunct situation and the host situation.
| Aor | adjunct time during host time |
| Sta | host time during adjunct time |
| Prg | host time during adjunct time |
| Hab | ??? |
| Prf | host time after adjunct time |
| Pro | host time before adjunct time |
Polar questions are constructed by placing the polar question particle ben (PQ) after the main clause verb. Content questions have several forms:
| 'u gyomiš bunči? | "Where's the cat?" |
|---|---|
| 'u gyomi kaukči ben? | "Have you seen the cat?" |
| 'u gyomi beš kaukči? | "Who has seen the cat?" |
| 'u gyomi kaukubo? | "When did you see the cat?" |
| 'u gyomi bucu kauto? | "Where did you see the cat?" |
page started: 2013.Jul.09 Tue
current date: 2013.Jul.10 Wed
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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