Lombard/Construction of the sentence

The reference orthography for this page of Lombard course is New Lombard orthography

Active form: affirmative sentences

Typical sentence structure in the indicative, subjunctive and conditional moods

Strong subject + Weak subject + Predicate + Direct object + Other complements

Examples: (in Milanese dialect)

El March l'ha mangiad on pom in cà

(translated into English: Mark ate an apple at home)

Warning:

• The strong subject is not mandatory; it can be a noun or a strong subject pronoun
  
• The weak subject must agree with the strong subject, it is more or less obligatory depending on the subject and the dialect. In Milanese dialect for the third person singular only when the verb is intransitive and if you want to put the subject after the predicate you can use "'ghe" instead of the weak third person singular pronoun, i.e. one can write both "gh'è mort el March", "gh'è rivad el March" and "l'è' mort el March", "l'è rivad el March .... "
  

(translated into English: Mark is dead, Mark has arrived)

• The predicate is obviously mandatory;
  
• The direct object is used if there is (and in any case only when the predicate is a transitive verb);
  
• The complement of term can also be placed before the direct object.
  

The direct object can also be expressed through the direct object pronominal particles before the predicate

(Strong subject) + Weak subject + Direct object pronominal particle + Predicate + (Other complements)

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Lu el m' ha ajutad

(translated into English: He helped me)

Warning: the weak subject pronoun mustn’t be placed with the presence of the pronominal particle object of the 3rd person plural ( je, ja, ai, ei …) except for the 2nd person singular, for which it is obligatory.

Example: ( in Milanese dialect)

Lu ei ha ajutad

(translated into English: He helped them)

• The other complements are added when needed, most of them are introduced through prepositions , they can also be added before the subject (especially those of time).
  

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Jer lu el m' ha ajutad

(translated into English: Yesterday he helped me)

• The complement of term (or that of advantage) can also be expressed by pronominal particles complement of the term (or of advantage) before the predicate
  

(Strong subject) + Weak subject + complement of term as a pronomial particle + predicate + (direct object) + (other complements)

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Lu el m' ha imprestad un liber

(translated into English: He lent me a book)

In the Lombard language, the reinforcement of the complement of term (or the one of advantage) is also allowed at the end of the sentence by adding "a + strong subject personal pronoun" when you want to highlight it.

Example (in Milanese dialect)

Lu el m' ha imprestad un liber a mi

(the complement of term is expressed through the pronominal particle me (→ m’) reinforced by a mi)

Whenever the complement of term is at the beginning of the sentence and it is actually the one who performs the action, the preposition "a" is often omitted (here is an example for the verb "piasé" (to like) for which when translatig from English into Lombard the subject of the sentence in English has to be turned into the complement of term in Lombard and the direct object of the sentence in English plays the role of the subject in the Lombard sentence.)

Examples: (in Milanese dialect)

(a) Mi me pias...

(translated into English: I like …)

• Both the pronominal particle of complement of term (or that of advantage) and that of the direct object can be present simultaneously. The structure is:
  

(Strong subject) + Weak subject + pronominal particle of complement of term + Personal pronoun of direct object + Predicate + (Direct object) + (Other complements)

In this case, as regards the weak subject pronoun, when it is used, it has always to be the "universal weak subject personal pronoun" except for the 2nd person singular (and it is always obligatory for the 2nd person singular and while for other persons it is obligatory depending on the dialect); moreover, in this case “le” instead of “el” (or its dialectal variants) is used as an object pronoun in the 3rd person singular.

Examples: (in Milanese dialect)

Lu a me l' ha imprestad

(translated into English: He lent it to me)
Ti te me l' heet imprestad

(translated into English: You lent it to me)

• The complement of place or motion can also be expressed through the pronominal particle "ghe" (or "ga" depending on the dialect) before the predicate;

• in the case just mentioned above the strong subject can be placed after the predicate while as weak subject, especially in the spoken form you can always use the universal weak subject pronoun "a", with the exception of some dialects including those of southern Lombardy like pavese, lomellino, Oltrepadan, where it is not used (there are also other cases in which you can do this, for example sometimes when talking about the weather by using the verbs "vesser" e "fà" (the verbs used in Lombard to express the weather while English uses only “to be”), contrariwise the verbs "pioeuver" (to rain), "fiocà" (to snow), etc. are treated as if they were personal with the third person singular weak subject pronoun playing the role of the subject (corresponding to English "it").
  

Examples: (in Milanese dialect)

De foeura a gh' era el temporal

(translated into English: There was a storm outside.)
De foeura a fa on gran frecc
(translated into English: It is very cold outside.)

In the other cases, the personal pronoun weak subject typical of the person is used.

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

L'intenzion la gh' era

(translated into English: There was the intention.)

• Only the weak universal pronoun "a" can be used in impersonal or impersonal passive sentences constructed with the passive/impersonal pronominal particle "se"
  

►see►►Passive form

►see►►Impersonal form

Consonant conflict caused by pronominal particles or weak subject personal pronouns

When the presence of a pronominal particle or a weak subject personal pronoun produces a conflict between consonants, i.e. an uncomfortable phonetic situation or an uncomfortable pronunciation, it's added an "a" before it.

Example (in Milanese dialect):

De done n'hèm viste → de done a n'hèm viste

(which translated into English: As for women, we have seen some/many of them)

In fact, here there is a conflict between the final "n" of done – considering that in the Milanese dialect the final "e" is not pronounced – and the initial one of the particle “ne”, the conflict is resolved by adding an “a”)

In this case "a" is also the universal weak pronoun which is introduced for phonetic reasons even if it is not normally obligatory

Another example:

El mond l'era sporch → El mond a l'era sporch

(translated into English: The world was dirty)

Typical structure (sentences infinitive, gerund and imperative moods and 1st and 2nd person as subject)

Predicate + (complement of term) + (Direct object) + Other complements

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Dà a lu un pom de mangià

(Translated into English: ”Give him an apple to eat”)

The direct object can also be expressed through the pronominal particles of the direct object in the form of a suffix

Predicate + Pronominal particle of direct object (suffix) + (Other complements)

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Dàll a lù de mangià

(translated into english: Give it to him to eat)

• The complement of term (or that of advantage) can also be expressed through the complement of term (or of advantage) as a prononial particle in the form of a suffix
  

Predicate + pronominal particle of complement of term (suffix) + Direct object personal pronoun + (Other complements)

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Dàgh on pom de mangià

(translated into English: Give him an apple to eat)
However, since in Lombard the complement of term is reinforced, the typical form is the one with the complement of term both in the form extended and in particle form, that is:

Dàgh a lu on pom de mangià

• Both the pronominal particle of complement of term and that of the direct object as a suffix can also be present. The structure is:
  

Predicate + Pronominal particle of complement of term (suffix) + Pronominal particle of direct object (suffix) + (Other complements)

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Daghell (a lu) de mangià

(translated into English: Give it to him to eat)

Subject

It is the person or the thing that performs the action. The subject can be reinforced. The weak subject and the strong subject are the same entity, the weak subject only serves to reinforce the strong one. The strong subject is never obligatory. The weak one can be or not depending on the person (1st singular, 2nd singular ...) and on the dialect. For example, in the Milanese dialect, which is highly italianised, it is obligatory only for the 2nd and 3rd person singular. The less Italianized dialects almost always use it instead. It is usually obligatory in the 2nd and 3rd person singular and in the 3rd plural (and also in the 1st plural in Eastern Lombard).

Strong subject

It can be a noun preceded by an article or a strong subject personal pronoun
In the module about personal pronouns the strong subject pronouns in the various dialects are shown

Weak subject

It is a personal subject pronoun that agrees with the strong subject
The module about personal pronouns shows whether the weak subject pronouns are mandatory depending on the dialect.

Predicate

The predicate can be nominal or verbal

Nominal predicate

The nominal predicate is made up of the verb “vesser” (to be), the linguistic copula, which can be conjugated in all the tenses and which can be joined with some servile verbs or phrasal verbs, and a nominal part, which gives information about the subject. The nominal part can be a noun or an adjective. If the nominal part is a noun, it can be accompanied by one or more adjectives.

Verbal predicate

The verb predicate is made up of one or several verbs that can be conjugated in all tenses, which says something about the subject's action. Unlike the nominal predicate, the verbal predicate consists only of verbs (which can also be the verb "vesser" (to be), the verb "havégh" (to have) as well as any other verb or even compound verbs).

Imperative sentences

Typical structure (put the subject at the bottom!)

(che)³ + Weak subject³+ Predicate + (Direct object) + (Other complements) + (Strong subject)

3 : only in the third person singular or plural.

The imperative can also be expressed in the impersonal form without the subject and with the verb in the infinitive mood .

Negative sentences

The construction of negative sentences is the same as the affirmative ones, the difference is that the predicate is in the negative form. To make the form negative, you add the negating adverb "minga" (or its local variants miga, menga, mìa, mea, migna) or (only in certain dialects such as Milanese, Lodesan, Brianzoeul and Pavese) no :
►" minga, miga, menga, mea, migna is put " (for all dialects)
1) After the verb whenever it is in a simple tense:

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Affirmative: Lu el canta

(translated into English: He sings)

Negative: Lu el canta minga

(translated into English: He doesn't sing)

2) between the auxiliary and the past participle in the case of compound tenses:

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Affirmative: Lu l' ha cantad

(translated into English: He sang)

Negative: Lu l' ha minga cantad

(translated into English: He didn't sing)

3) Before the verb in the infinitive form after a preposition (except for the gerundial complements)

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Affirmative: per cantà

(translated into English: to sing / to singing)

Negative: per minga cantà

(translated into English: not to sing / for not singing)

4) by applying it to servile verbs, if before the verb there is a servile verb:

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Affirmative: Lu l' ha podud cantà

(translated into English: He could sing)

Negative: Lu l' ha minga podud cantà

(translated into English: He could not sing)

5) after the verb in the gerundial complements, if in the gerundial complement there is a servile verb, after the servile verb:

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Affirmative: L'è mej a fàss vedé

(translated into English: It's better to be seen)

Negative: L'è mej a fàss minga vedé

(translated into English: It's better not to be seen)

In these cases an other form according to which the gerundial complements with the preposition "de" instead of "a" has spread.

►nò is usually placed after the past participle: (it is used only for certain dialects such as Milanese, Pavese, Brianzoeul, Lodesan …) 1) After the verb if it is in a simple tense:

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Affirmative: Lu el canta

(translation into English: He sings)

Negative: Lu el canta nò

(translation into English: He doesn't sing)

2) After the past participle in the case of compound tenses:

Example: ( in Milanese dialect)

Affirmative: Lu l' ha cantad

(translation into English: He sang)

Negative: Lu l' ha cantad nò

(translation into English: He didn't sang)

We usually use "minga", the choice between " minga" and "no" is also based on phonetic reasons.

►mai
Negative sentences are also those that indicate an action or a fact that has never happened or will not happen in the future. In this case the adverb mai is used instead of minga and the construction of the sentence is similar.

►nagot/nient, pu
For the other types of negative constructions see: Negation

► see passive form for the passive form

Double Absolute Negative

Double negative is absolute when, in a negative sentence, a negating pronoun like nient /nagot or nissun (or their variants) is present as direct object. A negating adverb like pu, mai (or their variants) can also be present.

• In MIlanese dialect when the direct object is in final position after the adverb "pu" (here named 2° negative adverb), the construction of the sentence is:

(Strong subject ) + no + (Weak subject) + Predicate + 2° negative adverbs + Direct object + Other complements

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Mi no vedi pu nagot

(Translation into English: I don't see anything anymore.)

Mi no hoo pu vist nissun

(Translation into English: I haven't seen anyone again.)

• In Milanese dialect, in other cases, i.e. when there is no adverb "pu" it is not necessary to put the adverb "no"

(No) + (Weak subject) + Nominal predicate + Negating pronoun as a strong subject + other complements

Examples (Milanese dialect):

(No) gh'è nissun

(Translation into English: There is no one)

• Instead in the most conservative dialects such as the Alpine ones, the use of "no" can be more recurrent.

Example (in Lombard Alpine):

No l'hoo mai vedud

(Translation into English: I 've never seen him)

• Another use of "no" before the verb is when the subject contains a comparative and is placed after the verb.

No gh'è persona pussee vijaca

(Translation into English: There is no more cowardly person)

• Another use of "no" before the verb is when the sentences contains the negating adverb né.

(No) gh'è né lee né lu

(Translation into English: There is neither her nor him)

Attention: before the verb it is no (IPA /nu/ or /no/), after the verb it is nò (IPA /nɔ/)

Relative astringent negative

...

Example: (in MIlanese dialect)

Mi no hoo fad alter che 'l lavorà

(Translation into English: I did not do nothing else but work)

Direct interrogative sentences

The interrogative form in Lombard was originally constructed by inverting the position of the verb and the weak pronoun; now this construction is present only in eastern dialects. In any case for the interrogative form you must add the question mark at the end of the sentence.

Example:

► Lu l' è grand (affirmative form; Translation into English: "He is great")

► Lu e'l grand? (original interrogative form; translation into English: "Is he great?")

► Lu l'è grand? (current interrogative form in western dialects; translation into English: "Is he great?")

Interrogative sentences about the direct object or the identity

Interrogative sentences about things (with interrogative pronouns)

Depending on the dialect, the interrogative pronoun Cossa/'Se can be placed at the beginning of the sentence or Cossè at the end of the sentence;

Cossa/'Se/Cossa l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

The rest of the sentence + cossè?

Example:

'Se te see 'dree a fa?

(translation into English: What are you doing?)

Cossa te see 'dree a fa?

(translation into English: What are you doing?)

Cossa l'è che te see 'dree a fa?

(translation into English: What are you doing?)

Te see 'dree a fa cossè?

(translation into English: What are you doing?)

Cossa l' è?

(translation into English: What is it?)

Cossa l'è che l' è?

(translation into English:What is it?)

Interrogative sentences about persons (with interrogative pronouns)

Chi/Chi l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

Example: (in Milanese dialect)

Chi te amet?

(Translated into English: Who do you love?)

Chi l'è che te amet?

(Translated into English: Who do you love?)

Chi te seet?

(Translated into English: Who are you?)

Chi l'è che te seet?

(Translated into English: Who are you?)

In addiction, about the identity of both persons and things (with interrogative pronoun)

Qual è quell che... + the rest of the sentence? "m"

(male)

Qual è quella che... + the rest of the sentence? "f"

(female)

(In English: What is that that...? /Who is that that...?)

Interrogative sentences about things or people with the interrogative adjective "che"

Che + noun + the rest of the sentence?

Examples (Milanese dialect)

Che bagai te voeulet?

(English translation: What boy do you want?)

Note

Special cases: time and weather:
►►see►►►How to ask and express the time
►►see►►►How to ask and express the weather

Interrogative sentences about the topic

Interrogative sentences about things

...

De cossa/De cossa l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: What + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrases about the topic of an action indicated by the verb, usually write or talk or similar)

In su cossa/In su cossa l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: What + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrase about the topic of something like a book, a conversation etc.)

Sora cossa/In su cossa l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: What + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrase about the topic of something like a book, a conversation etc.)

Interrogative sentences about persons

....

De chi/De chi l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: Who + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrases about the topic of an action indicated by the verb, usually write or talk or similar.)

In su chi/In su chi l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: Who + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrase about the topic of something like a book, a conversation etc.)

Sora chi/In su chi l'è che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: Who + the rest of the sentence + about?

(Question phrase about the topic of something like a book, a conversation etc.)

Interrogative sentences about time

Precise moment

Quandè che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: When + the rest of the sentence?

Example

Quandè che te fee quella roba chì ? /Quandè che te faree quella roba chì ?

(translation into English: When are you going to do this?)

Beginning of an action

De quandè che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: Since when + the rest of the sentence?

Example:

De quandè che te spetet  ?

(translation into English: Since when do you wait?)

End of an action

Fina a quandè che + the rest of the sentence?

in English: Until when + the rest of the sentence?

Interrogative sentences about the cause

Cossa/'Se + the rest of the sentence + de fà ?

In English: Why + the rest of the sentence?

Come mai + the rest of the sentence ?

In English: Come mai + the rest of the sentence?

Examples (in Milanese dialect):

'Se te pianget de fà?

(translation into English: Why are you crying?)

Come mai te pianget?

(translation into English: Why are you crying?)

Interrogative sentences about the purpose

Construction similar to the previous

Cossa + the rest of de sentence + de fà ?

In English: What + the rest of the sentence + for?

Example (in Milanese dialect):

Cossa / 'Se el serviss de fà?

(translation into English: What is it for?)

Interrogative - Negative sentences about the cause

Interrogative adverb + the rest of the sentence + nò ?

Interrogative adverb= Perchè / Come mai

Examples

Perchè te manget nò?

(translation into English: Why don't you eat?)

Come mai te manget nò?

(translation into English: Why don't you eat?)

Interrogative sentences about the way to do something

They can be built like this:

Interrogative adverb + the rest of the sentence + ?

with Interrogative adverb= Come / Comè che / In che manera

Or, depending on the dialect, the interrogative adverb "come" can also be placed at the end of the sentence, but in this case the accent falls on the final "e" i.e. comè

the rest of the sentence + comè?

Examples (in Milanese dialect):

Comè che t' hee fad?

(English translation: How did you do?)

Come t' hee fad?

(English translation: How did you do?)

T' hee fad comè?

(English translation: How did you do?)

Interrogative sentences about the place

State in place

Depending on the dialect, the interrogative adverb indove is placed at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. If the interrogative adverb is placed at the beginning, the accent is on the "o" (indóve ), if instead it is at the end, the accent is on the final “e” ( indovè ). Another way is to put " indovè " (with the final accent) at the beginning followed by the conjunction "che".

Indove + the rest of the sentence ? (Milanese dialect)

the rest of the sentence + indovè?

Indovè che + the rest of the sentence ?

In English: Where + the rest of the sentence?

Examples (in Milanese dialect):

Indove te seet?

(translation into English: Where are you?)

Te seet indovè?

(translation into English: Where are you?)

Motion from place (origin /provenance)

Depending on the dialect, the interrogative pronoun indove (preceeded by the preposition “de” – or its dialectal variants "da") is placed at the beginning or at the end of the sentence; If it is at the beginning, it has the accent on the "o": D'indove If it is at the end on the final "e": d'indovè

De indove + the rest of the sentence ? (Milanese dialect)

in English: Where + the rest of the sentence + from?

Construction similar to affirmative sentence + de indovè?

in English: Where + the rest of the sentence + from?

Examples (Milanese dialect)

De indove el ven?

(translation into English: Where does it come from?)

Interrogative sentences about quantity

1) At the beginning of the sentence the interrogative adjective Quant (masculine singolar)/ Quanta (feminine singolar) /Quanti (masculine plural) /Quante (feminine plural) is used before the noun which would be the direct object.

Quant + noun that plays the role of the direct object + the rest of the sentence ?

Quant / quanta correspond to the English "How much" and are used for questions about the quantity of somthing uncountable. Quanti/Quante correspond to the English "How many" and are used for questions about the number of countable entities.

Examples (in Milanese dialect)

Quanta carna t' hee mangiad?

(translation into English: How much meat did you eat?)

2) At the beginning of the sentence the interrogative pronoun "Cossa" or "Quanto" is used. The construction with "Cossa" is always to be preferred when the question is about value or cost.

Cossa + the rest of the sentence ?

Quanto + the rest of the sentence ?

Examples (in Milanese dialect)

Quanto t' hee bevud?

(translation into English: How much did you drink?)

Cossa el var?

(translation into English: How much is it worth?)

Interrogative sentences about what time it is

►►see►►►How to ask and express the time

Interrogative sentences about the weather

►►see►►►How to ask and express the weather

Interrogative sentences about the name

Come + (weak pronoun) + reflexive pronominal particle ("se" or "sa" depending on the dialect) + verb “ciamà”?

Examples:

Come te se ciamet?

(English translation: What's your name?)

Linkage between sentences

When there is a relationship between two sentences, they can be connected:

-through a conjunction or a conjunctive locution (followed by a sentence with a verb in a finite mood - (indicative, subjunctive or conditional);

-through prepositions or prepositional locutions (followed by a sentence with a verb in the infinitive form);

-starting the second sentence with a relative pronoun (relative clause), when the second sentence is a clause included (and subordinate) in the main one which serves to specify a noun or a pronoun of the first main sentence )

► see ► Relative sentences in Lombard

Progressive majority comparison between sentences

► see ► Lombard/Adjective degrees#Comparative