Leson du (2)

Grammar

Adjectives always end in -i:  boni - good; xeni - beautiful;  Sa jandi xat - The big cat.


Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs.  Most Govores adverbs have the ending -e and are derived from the same roots as may adjectives and some other words.  (The root of a word is the part which tells its essential meaning and receives the grammatical ending to make it a word.)

Examples of such derived adverbs are xire - strongly, "with strength"; bone- well; kime- in a friendly way; abone- badly.

Govores also has a number of primary adverbs which have various endings.  Many of these have counterparts (probably quite old) in European languages basic to Govores.  Examples are Ejden(e) - yesterday.  ajden(e) - today, nu - no, not;   nun - now.

Subject pronouns and possessive adjectives


The following are the personal subject pronouns with their meanings.

mi - I
ti - you (singular)
li - he, she, it
ni - we
vi - you (plural)
zi - they
ici - one
ki - it


Myself, yourself, etc. add -mi to the pronoun.  Mi - I,  mimi - myself.  Note:  kimi and nimi are usually followed by "mem" due to the existence of a homonym.
Si is the reflexive pronoun for the third person and means himself, herself, itself, themselves. 
Li movar a si - He speaks to himself.  Zi eser lubeti de si - they were loved by themselves.

 

If one is speaking to a single person, one MUST use "ti."  There is no nuance of intimacy as in other languages.  "Vi" conversely has no connotation of deference or politeness; it is simply the plural you and cannot be used to one person.

Sentences with an object pronoun but no subject pronoun, can be interpreted as a quasi-passive or middle voice:  Kutel to zovar?  What is your name? (lit: "How does one call you?")  Mo zovar ____.  My name is ____.  (lit: "one calls me _____"). This is mostly restricted to so-called "stock phrases".  Note, these are NOT idioms.  They do make sense translated literally.  They are just particular to Govores.  As with the above, a speaker can use the literal translation:  Kuto esar tui nam?  What is your name?  Mui nam esar ________.  My name is _______.

 

Possessive adjectives (stress is on the "u")

mui - my, mine, of mine
tui - your, yours, of yours
lui - his, her, its; his, hers, its; of his, of hers, of its
nui - our, ours, of ours
vui - your, yours, of yours
zui - their, theirs, of theirs
kui - its
icui - one's

Sui - his own, her own, its own, their own, is used with a complement belonging to the subject of the sentence/clause.  Mui patik pedidar ku sui kim kaj lui josik.  My father walks with his (own) friend and his (the friend's) son.

 

The genitive of nouns is mainly used to show possession.  The genitive singular form of the noun takes the same ending as the possessive adjectives:  -ui (also stressed on the -U-:  sa tadikui xat . Note that the definite article "sa" is used with a genitive noun in this word order.  When the genitive noun is to be seen as expressly INdefinite, it will follow the noun it modifies:  Sa xat tadikui:  the cat of AN uncle.  However, with a possessive adjective, the genitive form retains its definite meaning:  Sa xat mui tadikui.  A rarely used word order for this least example (mainly as a literary device) is "mui tadikui xat"  Note, that the use of the genitive is optional and very rare in the colloquial form of the language:  one can always say "sa xat de sa(/mui) tadik" or "sa xat de tadik"

Ci tui hus esar jandi?  Is your house large?
Sa herik kaj sa herin.  The gentleman and the lady.
Zi zanecar en mui kip.  They are playing in my garden.
Sa tadikui xat. The uncle's cat 

Mi nu esar engus lui hus.  I am not near his house.

1.  Ci tui kip esar jandi?  Anu, mui kip esar jandi.
2.  Kute esar sa hus tui velikui?  Sa hus mui velikui esar engus mui kip.
3.  Ci tui velik esar ku ti?  Nu, li esar ku mui velin.
4.  Ci tui tadik kaj tui tadin esar atute?  Nu, zi nu esar atute.
5.  Kute zi esar?  Zi esar en tui hus.
6.  Kute esar tui kip?  Mui kip esar engus tui hus.
7.  Ci ti zanecar ku sa xat tui tadikui?  Nu, mi nu zanecar ku lui xat, mi zanecar ku mui xat.
8.  Kute esar tui velin?  Mui velin esar ku mui tadik en tui kip.
9.  Ci tui velik esar ku sa tadin?  Nu, li esar ku sa herik kaj sa herin en mui hus.
10.  Kute esar tui hus?  Mui hus esar en sa jandi kip de mui tadik.
11.  Kute esar sa kip tui tadikui?  Lui kip esar engus ta jandi hus de tui velik.
12.  Ci li esar tui velik?  Anu, li esar mui velik kaj sa her esar mui tadik.
13.  Kute zanecar tui velik?   Mui velik zanecar atute en mui kip.
14.  Ci li zanecar ku ti?  Nu, li nu zanecar ku mi; li zanecar ku mui tadin.
15.  Kute esar tui xat?  Mui xat esar ku sa xatin mui tadikui.
16.  Kute esar sa herik?  Li esar ku mui velik en sa kip mui tadikui.
17.  Kute ti zanecar ku tui xatin?  Mi zanecar en mui jandi kip.
18.  Ci tui xatin esar jandi?  Nu, mui xatin nu esar jandi.
19.  Ci ti nu zanecar ku tui xat?  Anu, mi zanecar ku mui jandi xat.
20.  Ci tui tadik kaj tui velik esar atute?  Nu, hero, zi nu esar atute, zi esar en mui kip.
21.  Kute esar tui tadin kaj sa herik?  Li esar en tui hus.
22.  Kute esar tui velik?  Li esar ku zi en sa jandi hus engus tui kip.
23.  Kute esar sa her?  Li esar en sa kip, kute mui velin zanecar ku lui xat.
24.  Ci sa kip esar engus ta hus, kute esar tui tadik?  Nu, lui kip esar engus mui hus.