Mirad Grammar/Determiners
Appearance
- Determiners are words that specify or point out the context of nouns and other parts of speech. The English determiner this, for example, specifies a noun for its proximity to the current context. In English, demonstrative pronouns/adjectives/adverbs, possessive pronouns/adjectives, quantifiers like more and very, and numeric expressions like both fall under this category.
Types of Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Determiners in Mirad fall into the following categories:
Types of Determiners TYPE ALSO KNOWN AS ENGLISH EXAMPLES Deictic Demonstrative Pronouns/Adjectives/Adverbs the, this, some, every, which?, when Pronominal Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives my, anybody's, one's own Quantitative Quantifiers more, less, very Numerical Numerals/Fractions/Ordinals/Dates, etc. one, half, first
- Furthermore, as for part of speech, determiners can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs. As adjectives, determiners can itemize or classify. As pronouns, they can refer to one or more persons (male or female) or things. As adverbs, they can specify circumstance, i.e. time, place, degree, kind, age, frequency, and so forth.
Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Deictic determiners are words which point out or specify other words as to their context, including what grammarians often call demonstratives. All deictic determiners in Mirad begin with the letter h. The letters following the h indicate the grammatical and semantic category.
- Deictic determiners include the following traditional grammatical categories:
- Demonstrative adjectives like this, that, those, that one
- The definite article the (which is really a demonstrative adjective like those above.)
- Demonstrative pronouns like this, that, those, that one
- Interrogative and relative pronouns like who, which, that
- Indefinite adjectives like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
- Indefinite pronouns like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
- Pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs of quantity like so much, that many, how many?, very, etc.
- Adverbs of circumstance:
- time like when, now, ever
- place like there, here, somewhere
- manner like how, thus, somehow
- kind like so, age this year old
- direction like that way, any which way
- reason why?, for that reason, for no reason
- degree this (well), so (good), how (bad)
- frequency like how often, so often, never
- age like this old, how old?, of any age
Deictic Prefixes
[edit | edit source]- There is a whole set of correlative deictic prefixes, which are joined to circumstantial stub category suffixes to derive pronoun, adjective, and adverb determiners. In some grammars, these words are called wh-question words and their pointed answers. For example, QUESTION: Who is your wife? ANSWER: This is my wife. (or) QUESTION: Where is your house? ANSWER: My house is here. These word forms are called correlative because they relate to one another in way that can be mapped to a table.
- Here are the Mirad deictic classification prefixes:
Deictic Prefixes CLASSIFICATION DEICTIC PREFIX Interrogative duho-...?....what?, which? Relative ho-....which, that Exclamatory hoo-....how...! Definite ha-....the Indefinite he-....some, a certain Proximal hi-....this, these Immediate hii-....the following Distal hu-....that, those Intensive huu-....such, so, what a...! Distributive hya-....every, all, each Indeterminate hye-....any, whatever Negative hyo-....no, not any Identical hyi-....the same, the very Non-identical hyu-....the other, another, else
- Note: The Identical (hyi-) and Non-identical prefixes (hyu-) can optionally be substituted with ge- (same) and oge- (different), respectively.
Circumstantial Category Suffixes
[edit | edit source]- The table below shows word stub suffixes that indicate the circumstantial category of deictic expressions. They are called stubs, because they are reduced word forms. The combination of deictic prefixes and circumstantial stub suffixes produce a matrix of deictic correlatives, seen later in this chapter. Use of the stub instead of the long form is a matter of optional economy. A few categories do not have stubs.
Category Stubs CATEGORY STUB LONG FORM QUESTION WORD EXAMPLE Person -t tob...person duhot?....who? Thing -s sun...thing duhos?....what? Place -m nem...place duhom?....where? Time -j job...time duhoj?....when? Manner -yen byen...manner duhoyen?....how? Kind -yena syena...of a style duhoyena?....what kind of? Degree -gla nog...degree duhogla fi?....how well? Quantity -gla sag...number duhogla pati?....how many birds? Mass -gla glan...amount duhogla mil?....how much water? Frequency -xag xag...frequency duhoxag?....how often? Reason -sav sav duhosav?....why? Age -jag jag...age duhojag?....how old?
- There can be other circumstantial categories other than those listed above, such as "direction", "order", etc. eg. Duhomep wit pa?....Which way did he go?.
Charts of Correlative Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Here is are three tables showing the matrix of correlative deictic determiners. Note that the determiners belong to three parts of speech, 1) adjectives, 2) pronouns, and 3) adverbs:
PART OF SPEECH ENDING Adjective -a Pronoun -t(i), -s(i) Adverb (no ending)
Deictic Determiner Adjectives
[edit | edit source]- All deictic determiner adjectives in in -a and are used to modify nouns.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adjectives SELECTIVE
-aPOSSESSIVE
-taKIND/MANNER
-yenaQUANTITY
-glaAGE
-jagaFREQUENCY
-xagaInterrogative duhoa?
which?duhota?
whose?duhoyena?
what kind of?duhogla?
how much/many?duhojaga?
how old?duhoxaga?
how frequent?Relative hoa
whichhota
whosehoyena
what kind ofhogla
how much/manyhojaga
how oldhoxaga
how frequentExclamatory hooa
what a...!hoogla
look how much/many...!hoojaga
how old a...!Definite ha1
thehatas
the person’shayena
of the kindhagla
of the amounthajaga
of the agehaxaga
of the frequencyIndefinite hea
some/a certainheta
someone'sheyena
some kind ofhegla
somehejaga
somewhat oldhexaga
sometimesProximal hia
thishita
this person’shiyena
this kind ofhigla
this muchhijaga
this oldhixaga
this oftenImmdediate hiia
the followinghiita
the follow person’shiiyena
the following kind ofhiigla
to the following degreehiijaga
of the following agehiixaga
of the following frequencyDistal hua
thathuta
that person’shuyena
that kind ofhugla
that much/manyhujaga
of that agehuxaga
that oftenIntensive huua
such ahuuta
such a person’shuuyena
such kind ofhuugla
so much/manyhuujaga
of such an agehuuxaga
so oftenNegative hyoa
nohyota
nobody’shyoyena
no kind ofhyogla
no amount/number ofhyojaga
of no agehyoxaga
of zero frequencyDistributive hya1
everyhyata
everybody’shyayena
every kind ofhyagla
allhyajaga
of every agehyaxaga
alwaysIndeterminate hyea
whichever/any2hyeta
whoseverhyeyena
whatever/any kind ofhyegla
however much/manyhyejaga
however oldhyexaga
however frequentIdentical hyia
the samehyita
the same person’shyiyena
the same kind ofhyigla
just ashyijaga
just as oldhyixaga
just as oftenNon-identical hyua
the otherhyuta
someone else'shyuyena
another kind ofhyugla
not as much/manyhyujaga
of another agehyuxaga
not as often
- Note 1: The determiners ha (the) and hya (every) are shortened forms of haa and hyaa. Also, ha is commonly called a "definite article".
- While hya means every or all, the word hyawa is used for each.
- The possessive adjective forms in the above table ending in -ta such as hyeta....whosever cannot be pluralized by the ending -tia. To say other people's, use the expression bi hyuti (Lit. of others).
- The ho- words are relative, meaning that they can serve to form relative clauses like the following:
- Ha toyb, hota twad se Bill,....The woman, whose husband is Bill,
- At voy te hos et tepfe.....I don't know what you mean.
- At teste hogla et fie iyt.....I understand how much you love her.
- The hoo- words are exclamatory and are used in expressions like the following:
- Hoogla iva se at van et upa!....How glad I am that you came!
- Hooa jub his saye!....What a day this has been! (Hooa is pronounced ho-O-a as three syllables.)
- Note 2: The indeterminant determiners can also be translated with no matter what, no matter where, etc.
Deictic Determiner Pronouns
[edit | edit source]- All deictic determiner pronouns end either in -t for persons or -s for things. They can be singular or plural (-i).
Correlative Deictic Determiner Pronouns THING -s
THINGS -siPERSON -t
PERSONS -tiKIND OF THING -yenas
KINDS OF THINGS -yenasiAMOUNT -glas
NUMBER OF THINGS -glasiNUMBER OF PEOPLE -glati Interrogative duhos?
what?
duhosi?
what (things)?duhot?
who?
duhoti?
who (pl.)duhoyenas?
what kind of thing?
duhoyenasi?
what kinds of things?duhoglas
how much?
duhoglasi?
how many things?duhoglati?
how many people?Relative hos
what
hosi
whathot
who
hoti
whohoyenas
what kind of thing
hoyenasihoglas
how much
hoglasi
how manyhoglati
how manyExclamatory hoos
what a thing!
hoosi
what things!hoot
what a person!
hooti
what people!hooglas
what an amount!
hooglasi
what a number!hoglati
what a number of people!Definite has
it
hasi
they/themhat
he/she/him/her
hati
they/themhayenas
the king of thing
hayenasi
the kind of thingshaglas
the amount
haglasi
the number of thingshaglati
the number of peopleIndefinite hes
something
hesi
some thingshet
someone
heti
someheyenas
some kind of thing
heyenasi
some kinds of thingheglas
some
heglasi
some thingsheglati
some peopleProximal his
this
hisi
thesehit
this person
hiti
these peoplehiyenas
this kind of thing
hiyenasi
these kinds of thingshiglas
this much
higlasi
this manyhiglati
this many peopleImmediate hiis
the following thing
hiisi
the following thingshiit
the following person
hiiti
the following peoplehiiyenas
the following kind of thing
hiiyenasi
the following kinds of thingshiiglas
the following amount
hiiglasi
this following number of thingshiiglati
the following number of peopleDistal hus
that
husi
thosehut
that person
huti
those peoplehuyenas
that kind of thing
huyenasi
those kinds of thingshuglas
that much
huglasi
that manyhuglati
that many peopleIntensive huus
such a thing
huusi
such thingshuut
such a person
huuti
such peoplehuuyenas
such a kind of thing
huuyenasi
such kinds of thingshuuglas
so much
huuglasi
so manyhuuglati
so many peopleNegative hyos
nothing
hyosi
none of themhyot
nobody
hyoti
none of themhyoyenas
no kind of thing
hyoyenasi
no kinds of thingshyoglas
none
hyoglasi
nonehyoglati
noneDistributive hyas
everything
hyasi
all of themhyat
everybody
hyati
all of themhyayenas
every kind of
hyayenasi
all kinds of thingshyaglas
all of it
hyaglasi
all of themhyaglati
all of themIndeterminate hyes
anything
hyesi
anyhyet
anybody
hyeti
any of themhyeyenas
any kind of
hyeyenasi
whatever thingshyeglas
any of it
hyeglasi
any of themhyeglati
whoeverIdentical hyis
the same thing
hyisi
the same thingshyit
the same person
hyiti
the same peoplehyiyenas
the same kind of
hyiyenasi
the same kinds of thingshyiglas
as much
hyiglasi
as manyhyiglati
as many peopleNon-identical hyus
something else
hyusi
other thingshyut
someone else
hyuti
other peoplehyuyenas
another kind
hyuyenasi
other kindshyuglas
another amount
hyuglasi
another number of thingshyuglati
another number of people
- Concerning the above chart, note the following:
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.
I will go where you go. - Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?
What is your name? - Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam...
This big old house.... - Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duhot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.
Deictic Determiner Adverbs
[edit | edit source]- All deictic determiner adverbs refer to a circumstance.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adverbs CIRCUMSTANCE--> PLACE
-mTIME
-jMANNER
-yenDEGREE
-glaFREQUENCY
-xagREASON
-savInterrogative duhom?
where?duhoj?
when?duhoyen?
how?dugla?
how (very)?duxag?
how often?duhosav?
why?Relative hom
wherehoj
whenhoyen
howhogla
how (very)hoxag
how oftenhosav
becauseExclamatory hooyen
and how!hoogla
how very...!Definite ham
the placehaj
the timehayen
the mannerhagla
just ashaxag
as frequentlyhasav
the reasonIndefinite hem
somewherehej
sometimeheyen
somehowhegla
somewhathexag
somewhat oftenhesav
for some reasonProximal him
herehij
nowhiyen
this wayhigla
thishixag
this oftenhisav
for this reasonImmediate hiim
the following placehiij
the following timehiiyen
the following wayhiigla
to the following degreehiixag
at the following frequencyhiisav
for the following reasonDistal hum
therehuj
thenhuyen
that wayhugla
to that degreehuxag
that oftenhusav
thereforeIntensive huum
such a placehuuj
at such a timehuuyen
in such a wayhuugla
so (very)huuxag
so oftenhuusav
for such a reasonNegative hyom
nowherehyoj
neverhyoyen
in no wayhyogla
not at allhyoxag
not oncehyosav
for no reasonDistributive hyam
everywherehyaj
alwayshyayen
in every wayhyagla
fullyhyaxag
alwayshyasav
for every reasonIndeterminate hyem
anywherehyej
wheneverhyeyen
howeverhyegla
howeverhyexag
however oftenhyesav
for whatever reasonIndentical hyim
at the same placehyij
at the same timehyiyen
in the same wayhyigla
ashyixag
as oftenhyisav
for the same reasonNon-identical hyum
somewhere elsehyuj
some other timehyuyen
otherwisehyugla
not ashyuxag
not as oftenhyusav
for some other reason
- Concerning the above chart, note the following:
- The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.....I will go where you go.
- There are is a category not shown in the table:
- hoo-, used to form exlamatory determiners like Hoogla flia!....How marvelous! or Hooa via jub!....What a beautiful day!.
- Person determiners can be specified for gender. A determiner is made female by inserting a y after the ordinal, or male by inserting a w before the ordinal, eg. Huyti....those females or Hwit....this guy.
- Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam.......This big old house....
- Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
- Duhoas?'....Which one? (things), Hias....This one, etc.
- Duhoati?....Which ones? (people), Huati....Those, etc.
- Duhoyat?....Which of us?, Hyeyat....Any of us, etc.
- Duhoyet?....Which of you?, Hyayet....All of you, etc.
- Duhoyit?....Which of them?, Hyoyit....None of them, etc.
- Also not included in the above chart is a related interrogative, which is a complementizer.
- Duven...?.... (Question introducer) Is it true that...?, Say whether...
- Duven et se tadxwa?....Are you married? (= Say whether you are married.)
- The adverbs of degree in the above chart (duhogla?, etc.) are interchangeable with adverbs ending in -nog....degree (duhonog?....to what degree?, how...?, henog....somewhat)
- Other deictic determiner adverbs of circumstance exist and are not on the above chart:
- duhomep?....which way?
- humep....that way
- duhobyun?....to what end?
- hyobyun....for no purpose
- duhoizon?....in which direction?
- 'hyaizon....in every direction
- duhosauna....what kind of
- hyesauna....any kind of
Examples of Deictic Determiner Usage
[edit | edit source]- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name? (Duhos is pronounced du-HOS)
- Duhot se iyta twad?....Who is her husband?
- Duhowat se iyta twad?....Which one of the guys is her husband? (selective)
- Duhoti fe eker?....Who (pl.) want to play?
- Hyas se fia.....Everything is fine.
- Hyat tre et.....Everyone knows you.
- Hyot tre at.....Nobody knows me.
- Hyati ekeye fi.....All of them are playing well.
- Hyoti ekeye fi.....None of them are playing well.
- Hyet yafe eker.....Anyone can play.
- Hyes yafwe.....Anything is possible.
- At fe hyuyenat be ata ekutyan.....I want someone else on my team.
- Huuyenati fyuxe yata oj.....Such people harm our future.
- Et yefe tepier hiisi.....You must bear in mind the following things.
- Duhoyen et xa hus......How did you do that? (pronounced du-ho-YEN)
- Duhosav iyt pia huugla jwa?....Why did she leave so early?
- Hwita tam se ga aga.....This guy's house is bigger.
- At voy ayse ha dyuni bi huyti.....I don't have those women's names.
- Duhoa tam se etas?....Which house is yours?
- Huua tej et ayse!....What a life you have!
- Duhoyena dyezuni ifxe et?....What kind of movies do you like?
- Duhota tef okwa?....Whose hat was lost?
- Hota tef okwa bese otwas.....Whose hat was lost remains a mystery.
- Ha tob ta yata dyuni.....The man knew our names.
- Hoyena dini at ife, et ufe.....The kind of stories I love, you hate.
- Hea mepi gawdyunxwo.....Certain streets will be renamed.
- Heyena fukyes uxaye purilp nyaunx.....Some kind of accident has caused a traffic jam.
- Heta abtaf kaxwa be ha zatem......Someone's coat was found in the foyer.
- Hia dyes se ata gwafwas.....This book is my favorite.
- Hiia duni se ofwa.....The following words are prohibited.
- Hiiyena axlyen voy afwu.....The following sort of behavior would not be allowed.
- Hiyena axlyen voy vayafwo.....This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
- Hita tim so yolza.....This person's room will be blue.
- Hua mas efwe gawvozilbwer.....That wall needs to be repainted.
- Huua dini yufxe tudi.....Such stories scare children.
- Huyena duni voy yeyfwe yixwer za at.....Such words should not be used in front of me.
- Hwuta tam magseye.....That guy's house is on fire.
- Hyoa din se ga kyitesa.....No story is more important.
- Hyoyena tes tesiyafwe.....No such meaning can be inferred.
- Hyota jatexdras sa ga fia.....Nobody's plan is better.
- Hyos oboxe huyt.....Nothing bothers that gal.
- Hya mepi izpe Roma.....All roads lead to Rome.
- Hya ha mepi se ebwa.....All the roads are blocked.
- Hya twob yefe xer ita gon.....Every man must do his part.
- Hyayena telami ese be hia domep.....All manner of restaurants exist on this street.
- Hyata tej se uka bi yaobi.....Everyone's life is full of ups and downs.
- Hyaewa domi agsaye.....Both cities have grown.
- Hyea voz so fia.....Any color will be fine.
- Hyeyena til se aysyafwa.....Any kind of drink is available.
- Hyeta ved se ge ifa vyel atas.....Anyone's guess is as good as mine.
- Hyea tim et fe et yafe ayser.....Whatever room you want, you can have.
- Hyia/(Ha gea) fukyesi kyese glaxag.....The same accidents occur frequently.
- Hyiyena/(Ha geyena) dyezuni teaxuwa zajub.....The same kind of films were shown yesterday.
- Hyita/(Ha geta) dyun yixwa gajod.....The same person's name was used again.
- Hyua dyezun sa ga ifuyea.....The other movie was more entertaining.
- Hyuyena/(Ogeyena) som teasu ga fia.....Another kind of furniture would look better.
- Hyuta/(ogeta) texyen se ge fyia.....Someone else's opinion is equally valid.
- Ha dyuni bi hiyti voy dodrawe.....These women's names have not be make public.
- Ha dyuni bi hwiiti voy dodrowe.....The following males' names will not be publicized.
- Hijaga tobweti voy afwo him.....Boys of this age will not be allowed here.
- Duhom et tambese?....Where do you live?
- At tambese hum.....I live there.
- Et tambese hom ha mep uje.....You live where the road ends.
- Duhom yet peye?....Where are you guys going?
- Et yafe per hyem et fu.....You can go anywhere you would like.
- Duhom et byise?....Where are you from? (Lit: Where do you originate.
- Duhoj et taja?....When were you born?
- At voy tajaya huj.....I had not been born then.
- Et yeyfe duder hiiyen.....You should respond in the following way.
- Ot voy yefe daler huuyen.....One must not talk in such a manner.
- Et pia hesav.....He left for some reason.
- Duhoyen et iyfe hia vifil?....How do like this wine?
- Voy se fia axler hiyen.....It is not good to act this way.
- Duhosav et tadsa huugla jwa?....Why did you marry so late?
- Ha twob pia hyosav.....The man left for no reason.
- Hwat pia hosav it efa per hem.....The guy left because he needed to go somewhere.
- Hyeta texyen so fia.....Anyone's opinion will be fine.
- Duhota dyes se his?....Whose book is this?
- Bi hoti se hia dyesi?....Whose are these books?
- Hyata tili yebexe yom.....Everyone's drinks contain ice.
- Et se gaj geyenat( ~ hyiyenat).'....You are still the same kind of person.
- The semantic reverser o- can be prefixed to some of the above deictic determiners:
- Ohyat tiste Platon.....Not everyone understands Plato.
- Ohut!'....Not that person!
- At iyfe gwa apovili, oy ohuas!....I like most beers, but not that one!
- If the definite article or any other deictic determiner is omitted before a noun, then it has the effect of the English indefinite article a / an with a singular noun or some with a plural noun. For example:
- Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank a glass of wine.
- Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank (some) glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the one glass of wine.
- Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia hya ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank both glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia owa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank no/zero glasses (=not a single glass) of wine.
- Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the second glass of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank second glasses of wine., vs.
- Yat tilia ha ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the second glasses of wine.
- Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
- If an indefinite article sense is needed for clarity, the words awa (one) or hea (some, a certain) can be used, eg.:
- At igteata awa tob yiztyoper.....I glimpsed a man walk by.
- Wit zoyupo hea juab.....He will come back on a / a certain / some Monday.
Selective vs. Non-Selective Forms
[edit | edit source]- The deictic interrogative determiner pronoun duhot? means who(m) and contrasts with its selective counterpart duhoat?, which means which one?. All the selective determiners refer to one or more things or persons from a selectable pool of things or persons.
- The following sentences illustrate the use of the above determiner pronouns:
- Duhot aka zajuba ek?....Who won yesterday's game?
- Duhoat bi ha akuti sa ha gwa fiat?....Which one of the winners was the best?
- Duhota tam se hus?....Whose house is that?
- Duhotas se hus?....Whose is that?
- Duhotia deuzi et gaife?....Whose songs do you prefer?
- Duhotias et gaife?....Whose do you prefer?
- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Duhosi se eta gaifuni?....What are your preferences?
- Duhoa deuzi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which songs are your best?
- Duhoasi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which ones are your best?
- Bi hia deuzuti, hoat et gaife?....Of these vocalists, which one do you prefer?
- Hiiti yaneko hijub.....The following people will compete today.
- Duhoati se gwa fia?....Which ones are best?
- Duhoti et teexe gwa jodi?....Who (all) do you listen to the most often?
- Hoat at teexe gwaxag draye ejna deuz.....The one I listen to the most has written a new song.
- Ejna deuz? At voy teste hoas et tede.....New song? I don't understand which one you mean.
- Hias.....This one.
- Vo. Huasi se ga fia.....No. Those are better.
- His se jub av ivxelen.....This is a day for celebration.
- Va. Hia jub. At tese hijub.....Yes. This day. I mean To-day.
- Husi sa ha jubi, ata dat!....Those were the days, my friend!
- Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
- Duhot aka ha igpek?....Who won the race?
- Hyas uja fi.....Everything ended well.
- Hyasi uje.....All things come to an end.
- Hyayenasi vey kyesu.....All sorts of things might happen.
- Hyos yokxa at.....Nothing surprised me.
- Hyot ta hot ako.....Nobody knew who would win.
- Hoayti fu pier yefe.....Those females who would like to leave may.
- Hyet yefe eker hia ifek.....Anyone can play this game.
- Huyenasi voy afwo.....Such things will not be permitted.
- Hua twob voy taxe hia toyb.....That man does not remember this woman.
- Hwuti yanyexe fi.....Those guys work well together.
- Huuyti hyaj yubixe tepzex.....Such females always attract attention.
- At jay teataye hiyenasi.....I've seen such things before.
- Huyenwat voy vabiwu.....A guy like that would not be accepted.
- Duhoyenasi weti iyfe xer je ha maj.....What kinds of things do you guys like to do during the day?
Numerical Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Sometimes, a deictic determiner specifies numerical information. This chart shows those forms:
Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners ADJECTIVE INANIMATE PRONOUN ANIMATE PRONOUN PRONOMINAL DETERMINER POSSESSIVE PRONOUN hawa1
the onlyhawas
the only thing
hawasi
the only thingshawat
the only one (person)
hawati
the only oneshawata
the only person'shawatas
the only one's
hawatasi
the only one's (things)hyawa*
eachhyawas
each onehyawat
each personhyawata
each person'shyawatas
each one's
hyawatasi
each one's (things)hyaewa
bothhyaewasi
both (things)hyaewati
both (people)bi hyaewati
both person'shas bi hyaewati
both person's
hasi bi hyaewati
both persone's (things)hyaiwa
all threehyaiwasi
all three (things)hyaiwati
all three (people)hyaiwata
all three person'shas bi hyaiwati
all three person's
hasi bi hyaiwati
all three person's (things)ohyawa
not everyohyawas
not everythingohyawat
not everyoneohyawata
not every person'sohyawatas
not everyone's
ohyawatasi
not everyone's (things)hyoawa
not a singlehyoawas
not a single thinghyoawat
not a single personhyowata
not a single person'shyowatas
not a single person's
hyowatasi
not a single person's (things)hyeawa
eitherhyeawas
either onehyeawat
either one (person)hyeawata
either one'shyeawatas
either one's
hyeawatasi
either one's (things)hyeewa
any twohyeewasi
any two thingshyeewati
any two peoplebi hyeewati
any two person'shas bi hyeewati
any two persons'
hasi bi hyeewati
any two persons' (things)hyeowa
neitherhyeowas
neither onehyeowat
neither personhyeawata
neither person'shyeowatas
neither one's
hyeowatasi
neither one's (things)hyuawa
anotherhyuawas
another onehyuawat
anotherhyuawata
another'shyuawatas
another's
hyuawatasi
another's (things)hyuowa
no otherhyuowas
nothing elsehyuowat
nobody elsehyuowata
no other'shyuowatas
no other's
hyuowatasi
no other's (things)gawa2
anothergawas
another onegawat
another (person)gawata
another'sgawatas
another's
gawatasi
another's (things)
- 1Hawa and hyawa are short for haawa and hyaawa, respectively.
- 2Gawa is short for ga awa, yet one.
Notes on Numerical Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Examples using the above number-incorporating deictic determiners:
- Ohyawat se iva bay eta vaod.....Not everyone is happy with your decision.
- Hyaewasi yafwe uxer yata efi.....Both (things) can serve our needs.
- Hyeawa tim ivlaxo at.....Either room will satisfy me.
- Hyeowas oivlaxo at.....Neither one will dissatisfy me.
- Note:
- hyua means another (an alternative). Ex. At fu hyua til.....I would like another (a different) drink.
- hyuawa means another (an additional). Ex. At fu hyuawa til.....I would like another (an additional) drink.
- ha hyua means the other (the alternative). Ex. At fu ha hyua til.....I would like the other drink.
- Similarly, hya means every, all, while hyawa means each, and hyaha....all the, ex:
- Hya dom ayse tebixea suni teaxer.....Every city has interesting things to see.
- Hya domi ayse tebixusi.....All cities have things of interest.
- Hyaha domi ayse tebixusi.....All the cities have things of interest.
- Hyawa dom ayse tebixun.....Each city has something of interest.
- Also, ha means the, while hawa means the only, eg.:
- Ha twob hu at gwa ife se et.....The man I most love is you.
- Hawa toyb nazea ata tepzex se et.....The only woman worth my attention is you.
- By appending y to hawa, we get the adverb haway....only, solely, eg;
- Haway et nize ata tepzex.....Only you deserve my attention..
- The singular person pronouns in the above chart can be converted into pronominal determiners by adding the adjective suffix a, eg.:
- Hyawata tej se ge glatesa vyel hyutas.....Each one's life is as important as another's.
- Hyeowata dyun se vyama.....Neither person's name is real.
- However, the plural person pronouns in the above chart use the preposition bi (of) to form possessives, eg.:
- Ha teji bi hyaiwati se kyebukuwa.....The lives of all three are in danger.
- The above singular pronominal determiners can, in turn, be converted into inanimate pronouns with the suffix -s.
- Hyawatas se glatesa.....Each one's is important.
- Hyeowatas se vyama.....Neither's is real.
- The plural pronominal determiners can be nominalized with the use of bi, eg:
- Hyaiwasi bi huti se kyebukuwa.....All three of theirs' are in danger.
- Correlative Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners are handled as follows:
- Hyeawa A ey B....either A or B
- Hyeowa A oy B....neither A nor B
- Hyaewa A ay B....both A and B
- Hawa A, voy B....only A, not B
elsewhere.
- The different, somewhat confusing, meanings of how are illustrated here:
- Duhoyen wit xa hus?....How did he do that?.... (Equivalent to Be duha byen...?....In what way...?) (ADVERB OF MANNER)
- Duhoyen et xeye?....How are you doing?.... (This is the normal way of saying How are you? or How do you do? (ADVERB OF MANNER)
- Duhoyena sa ha dyezun?.... How was the film?.... (How here is an ADJECTIVE OF KIND, and thus ends in -a.)
- Duhonog (= Duhogla) aga it se?....How big is he?.... (ADVERB OF DEGREE)
- Huunog (= Huugla) iyfla et se!....How nice you are!.... (ADVERB OF EMPHATIC DEGREE)
- The conjunction as is expressed most often using relative pro-adverbs of manner:
- Xu hoyen at de.....Do as I say. = (in) the way that...
- Xu hyiyen (~ geyen) at xe.....Do as I do. ( = (in) the same way that...)
- Xu hiiyen:....Do as follows. ( = (in) this hereby manner...)
- However, the preposition/conjunction gel (like, as) can be substituted:
- Xu gel at de.....Do as I say.
- Many of the determiner adverbs in the above chart can be used in relative clauses, eg:
- At teato et hoj et puo him.....I will see you when you get here.
- It xa has hosav tosa yefa.....He did it because (for the reason that) he felt compelled.
- Hyehom et po, et so ga iva.....Wherever you go, you'll be happier.
- Hyet te ha did, yabu eta tuyab.....Whoever knows the answer, raise your hand.
- At te hoyen et xa is.....I know how you did it.
- See more about this in the section on relative clauses under Syntax.
Pronominal Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Some words in Mirad incorporate deictic prefixes with pronouns and pronominal adjectives, as shown in the following chart:
Pronominal Deictic Determiners Pronoun 1st Person Plural 2nd Person Plural 3rd Person Plural duhoyat
which of usduhoyet
which of youduhoyit
which of themheyat
some of usheyet
some of youheyit
which of themhyayat
each of ushyayet
each of youhyayit
each of themhyeyat
any of ushyeyet
any of youhyeyit
any of themhyoyat
none of ushyoyet
none of youhyoyit
none of themPronominal Adjective 1st Person (Plural) 2nd Person (Plural) 3rd Person (Plural) duhoyata
which of ourduhoyet
which of yourduhoyita
which of theirheyata
some of ourheyeta
some of yourheyita
which of theirhyayata
each of ourhyayeta
each of yourhyayita
each of theirhyeyata
any of ourhyeyeta
any of yourhyeyita
any of theirSingular/(Plural) Possessive Pronoun 1st Person (Plural) 2nd Person (Plural) 3rd Person (Plural) duhoyatas(i)
which of oursduhoyetas(i)
which of yoursduhoyitas(i)
which of theirsheyatas(i)
some of oursheyetas(i)
some of yoursheyitas(i)
which of theirshyayatas(i)
each of ourshyayetas(i)
each of yourshyayitas(i)
each of theirshyeyatas(i)
any of ourshyeyetas(i)
any of yourshyeyitas(i)
any of theirshyoyatas(i)
none of ourshyoyetas(i)
none of yourshyoyitas(i)
none of theirs
- The above possessive pronouns refer to things. If you replace the final -s or -si, to -t or -ti, then they become animate and refer to people, eg.:
- Ese ewa tudi him. Duhoyitas se his?....There are two children here. Which one of theirs is this?
- All of the forms in the above chart can also be expressed as separate words, eg.:
- Duhoyet? ~ Duhoat bi yet?....Which one of you?
- Hyayat ~ Hyaglati bi yet....All of us.
- Hyoyatasi ~ Hyogla yatasi....All of ours (things)
Note:
- Awayat ~ Awat bi yat....one of us
- Hyaewayet ~ Hyaewat bi yet....both of you
- Hyaiwayit ~ Hyaiwat bi yit....all three of them
Quantitative Deictic Determiners
[edit | edit source]- The deictic prefixes can be combined with gla to form quantitative expressions acting as adverbial or adjectival determiners, and substantives (pronouns referring to things or people):
Quantitative Deictic Determiners ADVERBIAL / ADJECTIVAL
DETERMINERINANIMATE SINGULAR
PRONOUNINANIMATE PLURAL
PRONOUNANIMATE PLURAL
PRONOUNInterrogative duhogla?
how?/how much?/how many?duhoglas?
how much?duhoglasi?
how manyduhoglati?
how many (people)?Relative hogla
as many/muchhoglas
how muchduhoglasi
how manyduhoglati
how many (as)Definite hagla
how/as much/as manyhaglas
as muchhaglasi
as manyhaglati
as many (people)Indefinite hegla
somewhat/some/someheglas
someheglasi
someheglati
some (people)Proximal higla
this/this much/this manyhiglas
this muchhiglasi
this manyhiglati
this many (people)Distal hugla
that/that much/that manyhuglas
that muchhuglasi
that manyhuglati
that many (people)Intensive huugla
so very, so much, so manyhuuglas
so muchhuuglasi
so manyhuuglati
so many (people)Negative hyogla
none, not veryhyoglas
none of ithyoglasi
none of themhyoglati
noneDistributive hyagla
totally/all/allhyaglas
all of ithyaglasi
all of themhyaglati
allIndeterminate hyegla
however/any/anyhyeglas
any of ithyeglasi
any of themhyeglati
any number of themIdentical hyigla
as/as much/as many, equallyhyiglas
the same amounthyiglasi
the same numberhyiglati
as many (people)Non-identical hyugla
not as much/not as much/not as manyhyuglas
a different amounthyuglasi
a different number of thingshyuglati
a different number of people
- Here are some examples showing how these quantitative determiners are used:
- Et deuze huugla fi.....You sing so well.
- At se hegla booka.....I am somewhat tired.
- Duhogla pati et teata hijub?....How many birds did you see today?
- At teata vyavay hugla tami.....I saw exactly that many houses.
- Iyt fe hyiglas vyel et.....She wants the same amount as you.
- Duhoglati yantexe yet?....How many (people) agree with you?
- Hyoglati yantexe.....None agree.
- Yit fu heglasi.....They would like some (of them).
- Et yafe bier hyehoglasi et fe.....You can take however many you want.
- Besu bay at hogla job et fe.....Stay as long with me as you want.
- At se huugla booka.....I am so tired.
- NOTE: The following determiners are synonymous and interchangeable:
- hegla = gle = henog (somewhat, to some degree)
- hyigla = ge = hyinog (as, equally, to the same degree)
- The determiner huugla can be used as an exclamatory adverb, eg.:
- Huugla et agsaye!....How you have grown!
- Hua twob jagsaye huugla!....That man has aged so much!
- Hia jotul se huugla fiteluza!....This dessert is sooo delicious!
Pronominal Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Pronominal Determiners are what are more often called possessive adjectives such as my or your and are discussed in a subsection of Pronouns.
Quantitative Determiners
[edit | edit source]- Quantitative determiners act in one of several ways, they:
- specify mass, uncountable, singular nouns for relative AMOUNT, eg. much happiness, less work
- specify countable nouns for relative NUMBER, eg. one apple, two birds, many places
- specify adverbs, adjectives, and verbs for relative DEGREE, eg. how poorly, very good, eat too much.
- From these, pronominalized quantitative determiners for PERSONS and THINGS can be derived.
- Inanimate singular pronouns are formed by adding s for AN AMOUNT OF A THING
- Inanimate plural pronouns are formed by adding si for A NUMBER OF THINGS
- Animate plural pronouns are formed by adding ti for A NUMBER OF PERSONS.
- The following table presents most of these word forms (Note that the determiners are in a plus (+), equal (=), or minus (-) row.):
Adverb / Adjective | Singular Pronoun | Plural Pronoun | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Degree/Amount/Number | Amount | Number of Things | Number of People | |
+ | ga....more | gas....more (stuff) | gasi....many (things) | gati....many (people) |
= | ge....as, as much, as many | ges....as much (stuff) | gesi....as many (things) | geti....as many people |
- | go....less, fewer | gos....less (stuff) | gosi....fewer (things) | goti....fewer (people) |
+ | gla....very, much, many glay....so, so much, so many glaa....several |
glas....much (stuff) glays....so much stuff) |
glasi....many (things) glaysi....so many (things) glaasi....several things |
glati....many (people) glayti....so many (people) glaati....several people |
= | gle....rather, quite a lot, quite a few | gles....quite a lot (of stuff) | glesi....quite a lot (of things) | gleti....quite a few (people) |
- | glo....slightly, a little, few | glos....a little bit | glosi....a few (things) | gloti....few (people) |
+ | gra....too, too much, too many | gras....too much (stuff) | grasi....too many (things) | grati....too many (people) |
= | gre....enough | gres....enough (stuff) | gresi....enough (things) | greti....enough (people) |
- | gro....insufficiently, too little, too few | gros....too little | grosi....too few | groti....too few (people) |
+ | gwa....most | gwas....the most (stuff) | gwasi....the most (things) | gwati....most people |
= | gwe....just so (much/many) | gwes....just so much | gwesi....just so many | gweti....just so many (people) |
- | gwo....least | gwos....the least (stuff) | gwosi....the least (number of) | gwoti....the least number (of people) |
- Examples Using Graded Quantitative Determiners
- Adverbs of degree modifying an adjective:
- At se gla iva.....I am very happy.
- Et sa gra uga.....You were too slow.
- Adverbs of Degree modifying another adverb:
- Twobi dale ge igay vyel toybi.....Men talk as fast as women.
- Yat yexe ga igay vyel yet.....We work faster (= more quickly) than you.
- Adjectives quantifying a singular mass noun:
- Ga nas efwo.....More money will be needed.
- Gra nas noxwa.....Too much money was spent.
- Adjectives quantifying a plural countable noun (= things or people):
- At ayse gro sari.....I've got too few tools.
- Gla tami osexwa.....Many houses were destroyed.
- Yat efe gla ga valkdibuti.....We need many more policemen.
- Pronouns referring to a mass amount of something (= stuff):
- Gas ilokeye.....More (stuff) is leaking.
- Et dileye gras.....You are asking for too much (stuff).
- Yat kexo gwas.....We will seek as much (stuff) as possible.
- At iba gwes.....I received just the right amount.
- Pronouns referring to a countable number of things:
- Hisi se fia oy yat fe gasi.....These (items) are good but we want more (items).
- At teate drilari oy grosi.....I see pens, but too few.
- Pronouns referring to a countable number of people:
- Grati xaye vyoki be hia yexem.....Too many (people) have made mistakes at this work site.
- Glati dyunwe oy gloti kebiwe.....Many are called but few are chosen.
- Adverbs of degree modifying an adjective:
Numerical Determiners
[edit | edit source]- This category of determiners, which includes cardinal, ordinal and other number words like two, a tenth, and first, is such a vast topic that it is treated in its own chapter Mirad_Grammar/Numbers