There are some words in the language that are inherently invariable adverbs and do not take the ay ending, because they are not formed from adjectives, or because they already end in ay. Here are the most common examples:
Inherent Adverbs
yab....up yaob....up and down
(a)yeb1....in oyeb....out aoyeb....in and out
yob....down
yub....near yuib....near and far
yib....far oyib....not far
ab....on ayb....above aob....of and on
eb....between eyb....among
ob....off oyb....under
ub....toward
ib....away
bay....with/along
bey....by/via
boy....without
byu....as far (as)
byi....since
vay....indeed
vey....perhaps
voy....not
za....in front (of) zay....ahead zya....throughout zao....back and forth
ze....to/at the middle (of) zey....across zye....through
zo....in back (of) zoy....back
zu....on the left (of) zui....right and left
zi....on the right (of)
uz....on a curve uiz....zigzig
iz....straight, directly
yez....along
yuz....around
yiz....beyond oyiz....not beyond
ga....more gao....more or less
ge...equally
go....less
gay....also
gey....even
goy....no more/except
gaj....still
goj....no longer
yan....together
yon....apart
ja....before jao....before and after jay....already
je....meanwhile jey....meanwhile
jo....after joy...next
ju....until
ji....since
Note 1: Ayeb is almost always shortened to yeb.
The words in the above chart that are underlined can also serve as prepositions (See Prepositions).
The words underlined below are considered adverbial because they can modify verbs. For example:
At teaxa yab.....I looked up. (= At yabteaxa.)
Duven et hyej upo zoy?.....Will you ever come back. (= ...zoyupo?)
Et po yib be tej......You will go far in life. (= Et yipo...)
At voy se eta ted.....I am not your father.
Pu zu, jogat!....Go left, young man! (= Zupu...)
Yat vay sa hum.....We were indeed there.
It pa oyeb.....He went outside. (= It oyepa.)
Iyt gay deuze.....She also sings.
Yit yexe gey be moji.....They work even nights.
Ha tobud gaj tujeye.....The baby is still sleeping.
Yat yefe yexer yan.....We must work together. (= ...yanyexer.)
His vey upo yon.....This may come apart. (= ...yonupo.)
Hit se jay toja.....This one is already dead.
Hut se voy toja.....That one is not dead.
At popeyo zya.....I will be traveling all around. (= zyapopeyo.)
Et byase yon.....You stand apart.
Van yet besu yan.....Stay together, guys.
Many of the above adverbs can be prefixed to verbs, nouns, and even adjectives to indicate motion in various directions. (Keep in mind that the b or p can be assimilated to the first letter of per (go) or ber (put). For example:
The word order of adverbs is fairly free, as in English. But, to avoid ambiguity, the adverb should be placed immediately before or after the sentence element it modifies, eg.:
It deuze vi.....He sings beautifully.
Et yefe xer gwa ig.....You must do it as quickly as possible.
Et hyoj ako fika ivan.....You will never gain perfect happiness.
Adverbs can be compared just as adjectives with the use of Quantitative Determiners. The words than, compared to, and as are translated by the relative conjunction vyel (than, compared to, with respect to)
Comparison of Adverbs by Degree
POSITIVE
+/=/- COMPARATIVE
+/- SUPERLATIVE
yikay....easily
ga yikay vyel....more easily than ge yikay vyel....as easily as go yikay vyel....less easily than
(ha) gwa yikay....(the) most easily
(ha) gwo yikay....(the) least easily
Examples:
At pipe ga fi vyel et.....I swim better than you.
Yat tra hua twob go fi vyel yet.....We knew that man less well than you guys.
Eta tayd deuza ha gwa vi be ha ebyek.....Your wife sang the most beautifully in the competition.
Et xa has ha gwa fu vyel hyet.....You did it the worst compared to anyone.
Dalu ge azay vyel et yafe.....Speak as loudly as you can.
