- Dalmatian grammar
-
This article outlines the grammar of the Dalmatian language.
Contents
Alphabet
A B Č D E F G I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V Z Y
Nouns
A Dalmatian noun has a gender (masculine or feminine) and is inflected for number (singular or plural). The plural is formed with the ending -i for masculine and -e for feminine nouns.
Articles
The indefinite article is yoin (one), whose feminine form is yoina.
Examples:
- yoina kuosa - one house, a house
- yoin jomno - one man, a man
The definite article for masculine nouns is el in singular and i in plural. The definite article for feminine nouns is la in singular and le in plural. Before place names in the dative case, the articles are used in the forms in tel, in tela, in teli and in tele or abbreviated as nel, nela, neli and nele.
Examples:
- Če sant el ? - What is it?
- La sant yoina kuosa. - It is a house.
- Jo sant la kuosa ? - Where is the house?
- La kuosa sant in tela Čituot. - The house is in the city.
- Jo sant el Juarbol ? - Where is the tree?
- El Juarbol sant in tel buasc. - The tree is in the wood.
Adjectives
The adjectives are used before nouns and also have masculine and feminine gender and singular and plural number.
Examples:
- Maura kuosa - Big house
- La maura kuosa - The big house
- Briv kavul - Fast horse
- El briv kavul - The fast horse
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Singular
Person Pronoun Meaning First ju I Second te thou Third jal he jala she Plural
Person Pronoun Meaning First nu we Second vu ye Third jali they jale they Oblique personal pronouns
Singular
Person Pronoun Meaning First me/main me Second toi thee Third joi him joe her Plural
Person Pronoun Meaning First noi us Second voi you Third jai them Possessive pronouns
Singular
Person Pronoun Meaning First mi/maja my Second to/toa thy Third de jal his de jala her Plural
Person Pronoun Meaning First nuester/nuestra our Second vester/vestra your Third de jali their de jale their Prepositions
- in - in
- bas de - below
- de - of
- da - from, of
- dri - behind
- saupra - on
- alič - at
Verbs
The Dalmatian language does not distinguish between the continuous and simple forms. The present tense is formed from the personal pronoun, the infinitive stem, and the present endings:
Singular
- -a, -uo
- -e
- -a, -uo
Plural
- -aime
- -aite
- -a, -uo
Example: favular (to speak)
Singular
- Ju favula (I speak, I am speaking)
- Te favule (Thou speakest, thou art speaking)
- Jal favula (He speaks, he is speaking)
Plural
- Nu favulaime (We speak, we are speaking)
- Vu favulaite (Ye speak, ye are speaking)
- Jali favula (They speak, they are speaking)
The past tense is formed from the personal pronoun, the infinitive stem, the suffixes -ua or -oua , and the present endings.
Singular
- Ju favlua (I was speaking, I spoke)
- Te favlue (Thou wast speaking, thou spokest)
- Jal favlua (He was speaking, he spoke)
Plural
- Nu favluaime (We were speaking, we spoke)
- Vu favluaite (Ye were speaking, ye spoke)
- Jali favlua (They were speaking, they spoke)
The future tense is formed from the infinitive form (ending in -ar, -ur, or -ro) and the future endings:
Singular
- -e
- -e
- -e
Plural
- -me
- -te
- -e
Examples:
Singular
- Ju favulare (I shall speak)
- Te favulare (Thou wilt speak)
- Jal favulare (He will speak)
Plural
- Nu favularme (We shall speak)
- Vu favularte (Ye will speak)
- Jal favulare (They will speak)
The passive is formed from the past participle (ending in -ait, -oit, or -uat) and the prefixes joi or jai.
Examples:
- joi nascoit (is born)
- jai glazait (is frozen)
- joi talyuat (is cut)
The Dalmatian language has also a conditional form:
- Sta nuat el foit en maur gheluat, kve tota la jakva joi glazait.
- Last night it was so cold, and all water has been frozen.
The imperative is formed from the infinitive stem and endings:
- -ai - second person singular
- -aite - second person plural
Examples:
- duai! - give!
- vedai ! - look!
The imperative can also be formed from the imperative form of the verb "to be" and the infinitive:
- Saime vedar - Let us go
- Sait fuot - Let it be
The verb "to be":
Infinitive: Saite
Singular
- Ju sai
- Te sante
- Jal sant
Plural
- Nu saime
- Vu saite
- Jali sant
Adverbs
Adverbs of place and direction:
- luc - here
- cauc - there
- sois - upwards
- sote - under
- dri - behind
Adverbs of time:
- aninč - before
- dapu - after
- diatremun - then
- junkaura - against, still
- adias - now
Links
Categories:- Grammars of specific languages
- Dalmatian language
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