User:Najahho/High Valyrian Noun Cases

Nominative

Basic use: the grammatical subject of a sentence:

Āeksio yne ilīritas.

—The Lord has smiled upon me.

Other uses:

• Nominal predicates:

Zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor.

—A dragon is not a slave.

• Adjectival predicates:

Davido zaldrīzes aōhos zaldrīzose rovyktys issa.

—David’s dragon is bigger than your dragon.

• The nominative singular is the citation form for declinable words, and thus the form one normally uses when looking a word up in the dictionary:

zaldrīzes [zal'driːzes]
n. 4sol. dragon.

Accusative

Basic use: the direct object of a verb.

Dovaogēdys! Āeksia ossēnātās, menti ossēnātās!

—Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers!

Other uses:

• The applied object of a verb containing the oblique applicatve prefix, i-, will be in the accusative. This will usually be a word one would otherwise expect to be in the dative:

Belmurtī ivestrās kesir pōnte jiōrinna

—Tell the slavers I will receive them here.

If the verb had been vestrās, without the i-, we would have expected the dative *belmurtoti instead.

• In phrases that aren't complete sentences, words may be in the accusative, as if dependent on an unstated verb. This is called the "accusative of exclamation":

Biarior Arlior Jēdari!

—Happy New Year!

Genitive

Basic use: possessives, and in general anything that would be expressed with "of" in English. Genitives usually come before the "possessor":

Va oktio remȳti vale jikās.

—Send a man to the gates of the city.

But not always:

Olvī voktī Rulloro Qelbriā ūndessun daor.

—I don’t see many priestesses of R’hllor in the Riverlands.

This seems to be especially true in titles:

Daenerys Targārien, Jelmazmo, Dorzālty, Dāria Sīkudo Dārȳti Vestero, Muña Zaldrizoti.

—Daenerys Targaryen of the Storm (i.e. Stormborn), the Unburnt, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the Mother of Dragons.

Personal pronouns generally do not use the genitive to express possession, instead they use their possessive adjective. However, they still use the genitive in other contexts:

...rūso zȳhosy gōvilirose zijo syt pyghas lue prūmie.

—... with his child beneath the heart that beats for him.

Other uses:

• The "genitive of material" to indicate what something is made out of:

Āeksio ondos

—Hand of gold

• All postpositions take a genitive object:

Dāeri vali pōntālo syt gaomoti iderēbzi.

—Free men make choices for themselves.

• The applied object of a verb containing the locative applicatve prefix, u-, will be in the genitive if the verb in question begins with a consonant.

Jemēlo syt ziry mazemagon jemo bēvilza.

—It is incumbent on you to take it for yourselves.

• A genitive may indicate agent/instrument with a passive verb, at least sometimes:

Perzo Vūjita

—Kissed by fire

• When a single adjective modifies two nouns of different genders, it appears that it is to be put in the genitive singular instead:

Vēzos qēlossās ñuho.

—My sun and stars.

... va daorunto ñelli qringaomnā pōjo zālari.

—... burning their sins and flesh away.

It is unclear whether this rule only affects possessives, or it applies more generally.

Dative

Basic use: indirect objects:

Voktys Eglie aōt gaomilaksir teptas.

—The High Priest gave you a mission.

Other uses:

• The applied object of a verb containing the locative applicatve prefix, u-, will be in the dative if the verb in question begins with a vowel.
• Certain verbs may take a dative object for other reasons.

Keso glaesot iderēptōt daor.

—You did not choose this life.

• Two out of the three prepositions may take a dative case, depending on the meaning, but there are no certain examples of this so far.
• With verbs of motion, though the exact conditions are unclear. Possibly only with people in a "dative of advantage" (i.e. "come to you" in the sense of "visit"?), but this does not seem to be the case.

Yn aderī, mōrī, aōt māzīli se hēnkirī īlvi biarvī manaerili.

—But soon, when it is all over, we shall come to you and celebrate together.

The dative is less common in HV than one might think:

• The oblique applicative turns many datives to accusatives.
• In many languages the dative is also used to indicate for whose benefit (or to whose detriment) something is done, but High Valyrian seems mostly to cover that with the postposition syt.

Locative

Basic use: location:

Olvī voktī Rulloro Qelbriā ūndessun daor.

—I don’t see many priestesses of R’hllor in the Riverlands.

This also includes time:

Kesy tubi jemot dāervī tepan.

—On this day I give you freedom.

Other uses:

• All three prepositions may take a locative object:

Va oktio remȳti vale jikās.

—Send a man to the city gates.

Yne sytivīlībilāt? Hae dāero valoti?

—Will you fight for me? As free men?

Instrumental

Basic use: In theory, the instrumental indicates the instrument or means (may be translated "by" or "with," but critically "with" in the sense of "by means of.")

Quptenkos Ēngoso ȳdrassis?

—Do you speak the Common tongue?

(i.e. literally "by means of the Common Tongue")

Other uses:

• To form adverbs:

Mentyri idañe jevi ivestrilātās keskydoso gaomagon.

—You shall tell your fellow soldiers to do likewise.

Aōhoso ziry rijībiā, se ñuhoso ziry rijībin.

—You worship Him your way, and I’ll worship Him mine.

Rīglose Belmoti Pryjatys rhaenan.

—It is an honour to meet the Breaker of Chains.

• in "absolute"/"attendant circumstance" clauses:

... kesrio syt lanta iksan, rūso zȳhosy gōvilirose zijo syt pyghas lue prūmie.

—... for now I am two, with his child beneath the heart that beats for him.

• With certain verbs, e.g. mijegon (probably an "instrumental of separation"):

Dōrior dārion udrirzi mijessis.

—No kingdom lacks a language.

• With comparative adjectives, meaning "than":

Davido zaldrīzes aōhos zaldrīzose rovyktys issa.

—David’s dragon is bigger than your dragon.

Comitative

Basic use: indicates accompaniment. Usually carries the meaning that someone accompanies the subject in the action of the verb. May be translated "with" in the sense of "along with":

• Issa, ñuhys teptys, zaldrīzesse Daeneromy ēdrusi.

  —Yes, my teacher, the dragons are sleeping with Daenerys.

Other uses:

• To form adjectives (indeclinable):

Taoba zaldrīzerme jenti majaqsa.

—The boy admires the invincible leader.

Bony ēngoso taoba issa!

—That is a chatty boy!

Vocative

Basic use: used when addressing someone directly:

Dovaogēdys! Naejot memēbātās!

—Unsullied! Forward march!

Muñus jorrāeliarzus

—Dearest mother

It may also occur in adjectives being used predicatively to a vocative noun:

Jaehossas sȳris sātās

—Gods be good!

Other uses: With the infinitive to form a "third person command."

Dohaerirus māzigon!

—May a slave come!