Veda Grammar

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Veda Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Orthography

Veda is an analytic language. The basic word order is subject-object-verb (SOV). Nouns do not decline, and the language features serial verb constructions.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

There are first and second person pronouns in both singular and plural. However, third person uses demonstratives with no distinction between singular and plural. The first and second person pronouns are as follows:

Singular Plural
First Person kyun "I" min "we"
Second Person da "you" sa "you"

Demonstrative pronouns

In place of third person pronouns, demonstratives are used, with no plural distinction:

Veda English Distance from interlocutor
Proximal lin she, he, it, they, this, these
Medial sen she, he, it, they, that, those Close to the addressee.
Distal khon she, he, it, they, that, those Far from both the speaker and the addressee.

Demonstratives follow the nouns they modify. A demonstrative which precedes a noun is interpreted as the possessor of the noun.

Nouns

Possession

Nouns in Veda do not show any form of inflection. When a noun precedes another noun, it is taken to be its possessor, but there are longer ways to indicate possession if more accuracy is needed.

Direct object

Transitive verbs feature some accusative marking on the direct object. Here are some example sentences, using the particle kho, originally a verb meaning "take", which precedes direct objects of transitive verbs:

  • Maq jul. "The eagle sleeps."
  • Wits jul. "The mouse sleeps."
  • Maq kho wits vugh. "The eagle eats a mouse."

Indirect object

For standard ditransitive verbs, the indirect object is placed after the verb:

  • Maq kho tsuk shun wits. "The eagle gives a spear to the mouse."
  • Wits kho tsuk shun maq. "The mouse gives a spear to the eagle."

In case of ambiguity, yu ("go") is used to mark the indirect object:

  • Maq kho rǝn qas yu wits. "The eagle says something to the mouse."
  • Wits kho rǝn qas yu maq. "The mouse says something to the eagle."

Adjectives

Adjectives can precede or follow the nouns they modify, i.e. they can be prepositive or postpositive, respectively. They can also bee used predicatively, and in this case behave similarly to verbs, with full verbal paradigms.

Comparison

Adjectives have forms of comparison differ in their prepositive and postpositive forms:

Prepositive Postpositive English translation
Plain Adjective zho large
Equative yu zho zho yu as large
Comparative dzok zho zho ghor larger
Superlative zho ghor mem largest
Contrastive ung dzok zho ung zho ghor less large
Sublative ung zho ghor mem least large

When comparing the noun to something else, the postpositive form is used, and the last word of the postpositive form serves as a preposition.

Verbs

The majority of Veda grammar is based on serial verb constructions. Depending on how it is analyzed, it is either subject-verb-object (SVO) in older analysis or subject-object-verb (SOV) in modern analysis.

Aspect

Perfective

Actions can be expressed in the perfective aspect, using the verb nǝkh, meaning "finish":

  • Maq jul nǝkh. "The eagle (has) slept."
  • Wits jul nǝkh. "The mouse (has) slept."
  • Maq kho wits vugh nǝkh. "The eagle ate (has eaten) a mouse."

Imperfective

The imperfective or progressive aspect is marked with the verb gǝn, which means "sit". It is placed before the verb. This can be seen in examples such as:

  • Maq gǝn jul. "The eagle is asleep (is sleeping)."
  • Wits gǝn jul. "The mouse is asleep (is sleeping)."
  • Maq kho wits gǝn vugh. "The eagle is eating a mouse."

With transitive verbs, gǝn can be used without a direct object:

  • Maq gǝn vugh. "The eagle eats (is eating)."

Inchoative

The verb yu ("go") is used with a verb to refer to its beginning or indicate a growing state, that is, to form the inchoative aspect:

  • Maq yu jul. "The eagle goes to sleep."
  • Wits yu jul. "The mouse goes to sleep."
  • Maq kho wits yu vugh. "The eagle starts eating a mouse."
  • Maq yu chuf. "The eagle becomes (gets) quiet."

Voice

Passive

When yu is used with a transitive verb without an explicit direct object, it is interpreted as a passive verb. The particle ag (originally a verb meaning "come") is used to mark the demoted agent and former subject, equivalent to "by" in English:

  • Maq yu vugh (ag wits). "The eagle is eaten (by the mouse)."
  • Wits yu vugh (ag maq). "The mouse is eaten (by the eagle)."

Causative

Causative verbs can be formed with kho, for both intransitive and transitive verbs:

  • Maq kho wits jul. "The eagle makes the mouse sleep."
  • Wits kho maq jul. "The mouse makes the eagle sleep."
  • Maq kho wits vugh ghok. "The eagle makes the mouse eat meat."
  • Wits kho maq vugh ghok. "The mouse makes the eagle eat meat."

Mood

Imperative

Imperatives are formed with kho by itself, with verb-object word order. Unless necessary, kho is not used to mark the direct object in commands.

Participles

Participles are placed before the nouns they modify.

Syntax

Copulative constructions

Veda does not have a copula. For clarity, a demonstrative can stand between the two elements, for instance:

  • Mǝnghok tsuksukh. "The mortal is a spear-thrower."
  • Mǝnghok lin tsuksukh. "The mortal is a spear-thrower."

Negation

To negate a verb, the verb tso (meaning "leave") is placed before the verb in intransitive sentences, or before the object in transitive sentences, as the following examples demonstrate:

  • Maq tso jul. "The eagle doesn’t sleep."
  • Wits tso jul. "The mouse doesn’t sleep."
  • Maq tso wits vugh. "The eagle does not eat a mouse."

Notably, the particle kho is left out in negative transitive constructions.

For negation in copulative constructions, tso is placed between the two elements.

Relative clauses

Relative clauses appear before the nouns they modify with a gap for the relativized argument.