Morphosyntax
Notes to expand upon
Anthologica Universe Atlas / Universes / The Allosphere / Enzean / Kànnow / Morphosyntax

  • Adjectives and adverbs are always incorporated into a verb. If two adjectives/adverbs need to be attached to one thing, one takes the dummy verb e.
  • Subjunctive (maybe more accurately called nonfinite) in this text is used in this text mostly to form a structure analogous to the Latin ablative absolute. It is also used for verb nominalization: subjunctive + verb + noun class ending -> noun. Subjunctives can also be used as adjectives: phrases like "tall man" would be translated as <subjunctive + "to be tall" with C1 agent marker> man.
  • Attaching a causative to a noun results in a verb "to make P become N": CAUS-man = A makes P become a man
  • Causatives can be passivized by adding a mediopassive marker: M-CAUS-man = P was made to become a man
  • -p attached to a cardinal number makes it an ordinal adjective, which can then be incorporated.
  • Time words — "then", "now", "before", etc. — are constructed by attaching a time marker (not a subjunctive!) to the verb 'e' and attaching -ģàt. There is no distinction between time adverbs and "when"; "when" in the present tense, for example, is identical to "now". "Before" takes past, "then"/"after"/etc. take future.
  • Collectives are treated as plural, not singular.
  • Definites aren't marked for number.
  • Word order: VSOD. In genitive phrases, the genitive comes before the thing that is owned. Conjunctions appear as the second, not the first, element in the sentence.
  • Verbs with one argument take the mediopassive. Some verbs take two arguments, and use the mediopassive and a reflexive.
  • Nouns can be incorporated. The verb for "resemble", with "man" incorporated, becomes "A resembles a man".