Vōv Grammar: Difference between revisions
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===Interrogative pronouns=== | ===Interrogative pronouns=== | ||
The interrogative pronoun ''sik'' can be translated as both "what" and "who." It can also be used as a determiner in constructions like ''ginah sik'' "how," literally " | The interrogative pronoun ''sik'' can be translated as both "what" and "who." It can also be used as a determiner in constructions like ''ginah sik'' "how," literally "by what way." | ||
==Determiners== | ==Determiners== | ||
Revision as of 10:03, 27 March 2024
Vōv is an agglutinative language. The language is mostly head-initial. Adjectives and determiners follow the nouns they modify.
Nouns
Nouns decline for case and number. The cases include nominative (unmarked), accusative (marked with s-, from a root meaning "touch"), dative (n-/m-, "give"), genitive (gi-, "come"), and locative (v-, "stay"). Plural number is marked by partial reduplication, for example nah "way" ́~ nanah "ways".
Possession
Possession in nouns is marked by possessive suffixes:
| First Person | Second Person | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | -(h)um | -vā |
| Plural | -loi |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns decline for case and number. The personal pronouns of Vōv are shown in the following table:
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 1st Person | 2nd Person | |
| Nominative | hum | vā | lō | |
| Accusative | sum | svā | slō | sǝsǝr |
| Dative | nhum | mvā | ||
| Genitive | gihum | |||
| Locative | ||||
Demonstrative pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns include the proximal demonstratives mem "this" and qen "these," as well as the distal ruk "that" and tōn "those." The demonstratives are used in place of third-person pronouns.
Interrogative pronouns
The interrogative pronoun sik can be translated as both "what" and "who." It can also be used as a determiner in constructions like ginah sik "how," literally "by what way."
Determiners
Demonstrative determiners are mostly the same as the demonstrative pronouns. When used attributively, they can suffix to the nouns they modify.
Adjectives
Adjectives used predicatively work like stative verbs in Vōv, and inflect accordingly, such as in hīnimik "I am happy" or "I will be happy." When used attributively, they can suffix to the nouns they modify, such as in kailī "sweet voice" (with lī meaning "sweet.")
Verbs
Verbs in Vōv agree with their subjects in person and number. This is marked by suffixes:
| First Person | Second Person | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | -um/-m | -vā/-va/-v |
| Plural | -loi/-lō/-l | -s |
Verbs are also marked for tense. The tenses include present (unmarked), past (marked with -aur, from a root meaning "die"), and two future tenses (-ik/-īk, "straight" as well as -ūv/-uv, "long").
Negation
Negation is marked with the negative verb ul(l)-, which takes the agreement in person and number, with the verb being negated following it uninflected.