Phrases
This page lists how words stand together in a phrase: who acts, what the action is done to, and in which order the words come.
The shape of a phrase §
A phrase is built around a verb. The verb carries its subject as a prefix,
so a phrase may be one word: ozu is I love.
The other words say who takes part. A case on each word says what it does.
| Case | Gloss | It marks | Its place |
|---|---|---|---|
m |
ACC |
what the action is done to | a suffix, always there |
ni |
DAT |
the one that the action is for | a prefix |
fu |
ERG |
the one who acts | a prefix, and only for stress or to be clear |
wu |
GEN |
what is owned, before its owner | a suffix |
The one who acts most often has no case, and the object always has one. Since the cases say what each word does, the order of the words is free.
An example has three lines: the words cut into their morphemes, the gloss of each word, and the translation.
John a-guwu tame-m ni-Jane
John 3SG-give ball-ACC DAT-Jane
'John gives the ball to Jane.'
The rules §
The subject is on the verbPhrases
A verb starts with its subject. A word for the one who acts may stand beside it, and is often left out.
The object takes mPhrases
The thing that the action is done to takes the accusative m.
m stands at the end of the objectPhrases
When the object is several words, m is on the last one. When the words of the object are apart, each takes m.
The one who receives takes niPhrases
The one that the action is for takes the dative ni, as a prefix.
The one who acts may take fuPhrases
The one who acts may take the ergative fu, as a prefix. It is used to stress who acts, or when the phrase is not clear without it.
The order of the words is freePhrases
The cases say what each word does, so the words may stand in any order. What comes last is what the phrase stresses.
wa ends the topicPhrases
wa ends the part of the phrase that is known. What follows is what the phrase says about it.
An order is a root alonePhrases
An order to the one spoken to is a root with no subject. Its object may leave out m, and the word for whose it is.
The passivePhrases
With es, the subject on the verb is the one that the action is done to. The word for it takes no case.
No verb to bePhrases
A property is said as something that happens to its owner: the passive, with the continuous lu.
A phrase with no subjectPhrases
What happens with no one who acts is said with the passive and the infinite subject.
A phrase inside a phrasePhrases
The verb of a phrase that is the object of another takes the subordinate n. The two phrases may stand in either order.
Whose it isPhrases
The word for the owner stands before the thing or after it, in one word. With wu, it stands apart.
You, as an objectPhrases
Three words say you as an object. tim is built on your, im on the subject, and idam on the subject and da, the self in its body.