The prototype of the Eurish grammar is the system of classical Latin,
which is reformed to a few regular used endings and prepositions for
the various parts of speech. This works as follows:
Nouns (words for objects or states) end in -u in the
singular, for
example: hom-u = man (human being), dom-u =
house.
Adjectives (words for describing things) end in -a, and do
not
change
in the plural. They follow the noun. Examples: long-a =
long,
filumu
longa = long thread, domi bela = beautiful
houses. Verbs (words for actions) end in -e in the "infinitive", so for example: dic-e = to say, ir-e = to go. 1.) The present tense is identical to the infinitive -e. So we have: e = is, are, am, rid-e = laugh(s). 2.) To form the past tense, -ba is put behind the infinitive: eba = was, were, aud-eba = heard. 3.) To form the future tense,-ra is put behind the infinitive: era = will be, clam-era = will cry. There is no definite or indefinite article in Eurish, so that the English the, a, an are not translated: imagu = the, a picture.
We can now form some simple sentences:
To ask a question, we can invert subject and predicate: To make a sentence negative, we place na = not before the verb: Pluvu na cadera = Rain will not fall. The personal pronouns are:
Singular forms: mu = I, me, vu / tu = you
(singular: formal/familiar), lu
(ilu, elu), su = he, she, it. (lu stands for the male,
female forms ilu,
elu). To form possessive adjectives we simply add -a:
Singular forms: mu-a = my, mine, tu-a / vu-a
=
your(s), lu-a
= his,
hers, su-a = its. The short singular forms are ma
=
my, mine, ta
/ va =
your(s) , la = his, hers, sa = its.
There are also anu = one, "you", people and
se = reflexive pronoun
(herself etc.). Conjunctions join phrases together, for example y = [speak i as in hit] and, au = or, autem = but. Prepositions are useful little words like in = in, sur = on, suba = under. So for example: Mensu eba in camu, libru eba sur mensu = The table was in the room, the book was on the table.
The use of distinguishing endings (-u, -a, -e etc.) allows easy
derivation of words. For instance:
which are either suffixes, such as:
or prefixes, such as: Specially prepared by Molla Muhammad Selim for travlang - Foreign Languages for Travelers , August 2000. |
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