Globasa Grammar

This book contains a copy of the Complete Globasa Grammar and is the source for the translated books.

You can download it in EPUB format or read it online.

Summary

• Introduction
• Summary
• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Content Words: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Adverbs
• Function Words: Conjunctions, Prepositions and Function Adverbs
• Pronouns
• Correlatives
• Numbers and Months of the Year
• Verb Forms
• Word Order: Phrase Structure
• Word Order: Sentence Structure
• Word Formation
• Truncated Morphemes
• Abbreviations
• Word Classes
• Common Phrases and Expressions

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabet

Upper-case vs Lower-case Letters

There are currently no set rules in Globasa for the use of upper-case letters. Globasa speakers are welcome to use upper-case letters at their discretion until the time comes to establish such rules or guidelines.

Letter Names

When spelling words out loud, the names of the letters may be shortened.

• Vowels: a, e, i, o, u
• Consonants: be, ce, de, etc.

Consonants

Notes

c - never [k] as in cup or [s] as in cent

c, k, p and t - ideally aspirated (although not as strongly as in English) so as to better distinguish them from their voiced counterparts; permissible variant: strong aspiration, as in English

d, t - never like the American English pronunciation of d and t between vowels, as in lady and meter

In American English, d and t tend to be rendered as [ɾ] when they appear between vowels (leader, liter, etc). The phoneme [ɾ], or so-called tap, is virtually identical to the Spanish (and Globasa) r. English speakers with American accents should be careful to always pronounce a true d (the d in done, not in leader) and a true t (the t in talk, not in liter) in Globasa.

g - never [dʒ] as in gym

h - ideally pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative, not to be confused with [χ], a voiceless uvular fricative

The velar fricative is pronounced in the same point of articulation as [k], and is akin to a cat's hissing sound. In contrast, the uvular fricative is a more guttural sound pronounced further back in the throat in which uvular vibration is noticeable. Permissible variant: [h], as in hotel.

l - ideally pronounced as a clear or light [l] in any position, rather than as [ɫ], a velarized or so-called dark l, pronounced in English in syllable-final position, as in bell; compare with the French pronunciation of belle

ng - may be pronounced as [ŋ] in syllable-final position (as seen only in proper nouns); elsewhere as [ŋg]

r - ideally pronounced as a single flap or tap rather than a trill

s - always as a voiceless [s]; never [z] as in visit

In English, the s tends to be pronounced as [z] between vowels or in word-final position. In Globasa, s always remains voiceless.

w and y - permissible variants: as unstressed vowels (u and i)

See Spelling Convention below.

x - never [ks] as in taxi

z - always as a single voiced sibilant; never [ts] as in pizza

Other Consonant Variants

Depending on one's native language, other consonant variants are also permissible. For example, some Spanish speakers might tend to pronounce h as [χ] rather than [x]. French speakers might tend to pronounce r as [ʁ] rather than [ɾ]. Mandarin speakers might tend to pronounce x as [ʂ] or [ɕ] rather than [ʃ]. These and other such variants are also permissible.

The following table lists all free variation consonant allophones. The first allophone listed for each phoneme is the ideal Globasa pronunciation. Dozens of other complementary distribution allophones (allophones that depend on the phonetic environment) will likely be heard among many speakers, but everybody should make an effort to not deviate too much from the set of allophones listed here.

Vowels

Globasa's vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are pronounced as in Spanish, Italian or Esperanto.

Vowel Variants

a - ideally pronounced [ä], an open central unrounded vowel; the front [a] and back [ɑ] are permissible variants

e - ideally pronounced [e̞], a mid front unrounded vowel; the close-mid [e] and the open-mid [ɛ] are permissible variants

o - ideally pronounced [o̞], a mid back round vowel; the close-mid [o] and the open-mid [ɔ] are permissible variants

u - ideally pronounced [u], a close back rounded vowel; the close back compressed [ɯᵝ] is a permissible variant

Elision

In certain cases, primarily in poetry and song lyrics, e in word-initial position (when followed by -s- and another consonant) may be rendered silent and replaced by an apostrophe.

espesyal or 'spesyal

Stress

Syllables in Globasa are either stressed or unstressed. In other words, Globasa does not make use of secondary stress.

Monosyllabic Words

• All monosyllabic content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed.

Monosyllabic words may be stressed or unstressed according to what feels most natural for speakers. If in doubt, the following suggested guidelines may be used:

• Unstressed monosyllabic function words: prepositions, conjunctions and particles (including verb form particles)
• Stressed monosyllabic function words: pronouns, determiners, numerals, quantifiers, adverbs and interjections

Polysyllabic Words

The following stress rules apply to all polysyllabic words, including function words and derived words.

• If the word ends in a consonant, the stress falls on the last vowel.

barix (rain), pronounced ba-rix [ba.'ɾiʃ]
pantalun (pants, trousers, slacks), pronounced pan-ta-lun [pan.ta.'lun]
kitabudom (library), pronounced ki-ta-bu-dom [ki.ta.bu.'dom]

• If the word ends in a vowel, the stress falls on the second-to-last vowel.

piu (bird), pronounced pi-u ['pi.u]
harita (map), pronounced ha-ri-ta [ha.'ri.ta]
Espanisa (Spanish language), pronounced es-pa-ni-sa [es.pa.'ni.sa]

As stated above, stress rules apply to derived words as well. The derived word kitabudom (kitabu-dom), for example, is pronounced ki-ta-bu-dom, with the stress only on the last vowel, rather than as ki-ta-bu-dom.

Unwritten Epenthesis

Consonant Epenthesis

Although not ideal, and unlikely to be utilized by English speakers in most cases, an unwritten glottal stop may be optionally inserted between any two vowels, whether within or between words.

poema (poem), pronounced [po'ema] or [poʔ'ema]

Vowel Epenthesis

Although not ideal, and unlikely to be utilized by English speakers in most cases, any unrounded central vowel such as [ə] may be optionally inserted between any two consonants or in word-final position. As a central vowel, the cardinal [ä] is also allowed as an unwritten epenthesis, although this is the least recommended option since it's more likely to reduce intelligibility.

magneto (magnet), pronounced [mag'neto] or [magə'neto]

asif (sorry), pronounced [a'sif] or [a'sifə]

Double Vowels and Consonants

Double vowels and consonants, whether within words as a result of derivation or between words, are typically pronounced slightly longer or up to twice as long as single ones. As seen above, a permissible alternative is to add a glottal stop between double vowels and a mid central vowel between double consonants.

Double Vowels

beeskri (be written), pronounced [be'eskri] or [beʔeskri]

semiisula (peninsula), pronounced [semi:'sula] or [semiʔi'sula]

Double Consonants

possahay (hinder), pronounced [pos:a'xaj] or [posəsa'xaj]

aselli (original), pronounced [a'sel:i] or [a'seləli]

Double r

Although r cannot be lengthened in the same way that other consonants can be, a double r may be lengthened as a trill or alternatively pronounced as a single r. Since the trill is a variant of a single r, it's possible that some speakers will pronounce both r and rr as a trill, while others will pronounce both as a flap/tap and yet others will distinguish a single r as a flap/tap and a double r as a trill. As seen above with any two consecutive consonants, a third option in this case is to add an epenthetic vowel between two flaps/taps.

burroya (nightmare, bad dream), pronounced [bu'roja] or [bu'ɾoja] or [buɾə'ɾoja]

W and Y

Note: As a learner of Globasa you may skip the following portion, which is merely a discussion on how Globasa deals with w and y.

Stress

As stated above, w and y may be pronounced as vowels. However, since they are technically consonants they are never stressed.

Compare the pronunciation of following proper names:

Maria, pronounced ma-ri-a [ma.'ɾi.a]
Maryo, pronounced ma-ryo ['ma.ɾjo] or ma-ri-o ['ma.ɾi.o]

Spelling Maryo with y rather than i allows the stress to be shifted to a, the second-to-last vowel letter. With the stress on the appropriate vowel, it makes no difference in Globasa whether Maryo is pronounced as two syllables, with a consonantal y (ma-ryo), or alternatively, as three syllables, with y pronounced as an unstressed i (ma-ri-o).

Diphthongs

Globasa does not have true diphthongs. However, the following vowel plus approximant (consonant) combinations are allowed: aw, ew, ow, ay, ey, oy. These combinations may be pronounced as diphthongs even though -w and -y technically represent coda consonants, rather than nucleus glides. We know this because syllables (in ordinary words) may not end in -w/-y plus another consonant. If that were the case, -w/-y could be considered part of the nucleus. Instead, -w/-y take the slot of the sole syllable-final consonant allowed. It is also acceptable, as a permissible alternative, for -w and -y to be pronounced as independent, unstressed vowels.

Ewropa (Europe), pronounced ew-ro-pa [ew.'ɾo.pa]/[eu̯.'ɾo.pa] or even e-u-ro-pa [e.u.'ɾo.pa]

Spelling Convention

The following spelling convention applies only to root words and not to derived words. Next to other vowels, Globasa uses i and u only if these are stressed or if y and w are not permitted by phonotactic rules. In all other cases, Globasa uses y and w instead of i and u.

In the following root words, i and u are stressed:

maux (mouse), pronounced ma-ux [ma.'uʃ]
daif (weak), pronounced da-if [da.'if]

In the following root words, phonotactic rules only allow i and u:

triunfa (win, triumph), pronounced tri-un-fa [tri.'un.fa]
kruel (cruel), pronounced kru-el [kru.'el]

In the following root words, y and w, which may optionally be pronounced as vowels, are conventionally used:

pyano (piano), pronounced pya-no ['pja.no] or pi-a-no [pi.'a.no]
cyan (cyan), pronounced cyan [t͡ʃjan] or ci-an [t͡ʃi.'an]
swini (pig, hog), pronounced swi-ni ['swi.ni] or su-i-ni [su.'i.ni]
trawma (trauma), pronounced traw-ma ['traw.ma] or tra-u-ma ['tra.u.ma]

Phonotactics for Ordinary Words

Note: As a learner of Globasa you may skip this last portion on phonotactics, as this is merely a description of Globasa's syllable structure.

Globasa has two sets of phonotactics rules, one for ordinary words (this section) and one for proper nouns (see next section). Phonotactics rules for culture-specific words combine both sets of rules (see last section).

The following rules apply to ordinary words.

Syllables

Syllables consist of: (onset)-nucleus-(coda).

The syllable structure in Globasa's ordinary words is (C)(C)V(C).

Onset

Syllables may or may not have an onset. In Globasa, the onset consists of any single consonant, or any of the following Cl/Cr and Cw/Cy clusters:

bl-, fl-, gl-, kl-, pl-, vl-
br-, dr-, fr-, gr-, kr-, pr-, tr-, vr-
bw-, cw-, dw-, fw-, gw-, hw-, jw-, kw-, lw-, mw-, nw-, pw-, rw-, sw-, tw-, vw-, xw-, zw-
by-, cy-, dy-, fy-, gy-, hy-, jy-, ky-, ly-, my-, ny-, py-, ry-, sy-, ty-, vy-, xy-, zy-

Nucleus

All syllables have a nucleus. In Globasa, the nucleus consists of any single vowel: a, e, i, o, u.

Coda

Syllables may or may not have a coda. In Globasa, the coda of ordinary words consists of any single consonant. However, the following caveats apply:

Word-final position: Ordinary words in Globasa only allow the following consonants in word-final position: -f, -l, -m, -n, -r, -s, -w, -x, -y.

Coda-onset voicing: Coda-onset consonant clusters may or may not agree with regards to voicing: tekno (technology) vs magneto (magnet), epilepsi (epilepsy) vs absorbi (absorb), etc.

Coda-onset stops: Consonant clusters consisting of two stops (-kt-, -pt-, etc.) are not allowed in ordinary words. Instead, ordinary words follow the Italian and Portuguese model which omits the first consonant. In other words, if a syllable begins with a stop, the previous syllable may not have a coda stop: astrato (abstract), ativo (active), otima (optimal), etc.

Caveats with w and y

Nucleus-coda: When w or y are in the coda, neither i nor u is allowed in the nucleus. As a result, the following nucleus-coda combinations with -w and -y are not allowed: -iy, -iw, -uy, -uw. All other nucleus-coda combinations with -w and -y are allowed: -aw, -ew, -ow, -ay, -ey, -oy.

Nucleus-onset: The nucleus-onset combinations iy and uw are not allowed in ordinary words. For example, syahe (black) rather than siyahe.

Onset-nucleus: The onset-nucleus combinations wu and yi are also not allowed in ordinary words.

Phonotactics for Proper Nouns

Proper nouns have more lax phonotactic rules.

The syllable structure in Globasa's proper nouns is as follows: (C)(C)V(C)(C)

Onset

See phonotactic rules for ordinary words above.

Nucleus

See phonotactic rules for ordinary words above.

Coda

The coda for proper nouns may end in any consonant: Madrid (Madrid), etc. They may also consist of up to two consonants, including in word-final position: Polska (Poland), Budapest (Budapest), etc. Coda-onset double stops are allowed in proper nouns: vodka (vodka), futbal (American football), etc. However, double stops that differ only in voicing are not allowed and must either be reduced to one consonant or add an epenthetic vowel.

Caveat with w and y

The nucleus-coda caveat for ordinary words also applies to proper nouns. When w or y are in the coda, neither i nor u is allowed in the nucleus. As a result, the following nucleus-coda combinations with -w and -y are not allowed: -iy, -iw, -uy, -uw. All other nucleus-coda combinations with -w and -y are allowed: -aw, -ew, -ow, -ay, -ey, -oy.

However, unlike ordinary words, proper nouns allow the nucleus-onset combinations iy and uw (Kuweyti - Kuwait, etc.) and the onset-nucleus combinations wu and yi (Wuhan - Wuhan, etc.).

Phonotactics for Culture-Specific Words

Phonotactics for culture-specific words follow the rules for ordinary words in word-final position and the rules for proper nouns elsewhere: teriyaki (teriyaki), koktel (cocktail), bakugamon (backgammon), blakjaku (blackjack), jazu (jazz), etc.

Note: The consonant cluster -ng in word-final position, including as seen in Pinyin, adds an epenthetic vowel, rather than being reduced to -n as seen in ordinary words: yinyangu (yinyang).

Content Words: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Adverbs

Nouns

Globasa's nouns do not distinguish between singular and plural forms.

• maux - mouse, mice
• kalamu - pen(s)

Globasa's nouns have neither definite nor indefinite articles.

• janela - (a) window, (the) window(s)

If it is necessary to emphasize definiteness, hin (this/these) or den (that/those) may be used.

• hin kitabu - this book, these books, the book(s)
• den flura - that flower, those flowers, the flower(s)

If it is necessary to emphasize singularity, un (one) may be used.

• un denta - one tooth, a tooth
• hin un denta - this (one) tooth, the tooth

If it is necessary to emphasize plurality, plu (multiple) may be used.

• plu pingo - (multiple) apples
• den plu pingo - those (multiple) apples, the apples

Gender

In Globasa, nouns denoting people and animals are typically gender-neutral.

• ixu - adult (man, woman)
• nini - kid, child (boy, girl)
• gami - spouse (husband, wife)
• mumu - cattle (bull, cow)

If it is necessary to emphasize gender, the adjectives fem (female) and man (male) may be used as prefixes.

• femnini - girl; mannini - boy
• femixu - woman; manixu - man
• femgami - wife; mangami - husband
• femmumu - cow; manmumu - bull

Etymology of fem: English (feminine), French (féminin), German (feminin), Spanish (femenina)

Etymology of man: Mandarin (男 “nán”), French (masculin), Spanish (masculino), English (masculine), German (männlich), Hindi (मर्दाना “mardana”), Persian (مردانه “mardane”)

A handful of nouns denoting people do indicate gender.

• matre or mama - mother or mom
• patre or papa - father or dad

Note: The gender-neutral word for parent(s) is atre. The gender-neutral word for mom/dad is mapa.

Nouns in Sentence Initial Phrases

Fe is often used in sentence initial phrases with nouns.

• Fe fato, - In fact, Actually
• Fe fini, - Finally
• Fe bonxanse, - Luckily, Fortunately
• Fe asif, - Regretfully, Unfortunately
• Fe onxala, - Hopefully
• Fe folo, - Therefore, Consequently, So
• Fe misal, - For example
• Fe xugwan, - Usually
• Fe benji, - In essence, Basically
• Fe moy kaso, - In any case, At any rate
• Fe alo kaso, - Otherwise
• Fe nunya, - At present, Now
• Fe leya, - In the past, Previously, Formerly
• Fe xaya, - In the future, Later (on)

Apposition

In Globasa, a noun may be followed by another noun without the use of a preposition when the second noun specifies the identity of the first. This is known as apposition.

• Hotel Kaliforni - Hotel California
• Estato Florida - the State of Florida
• Towa Babel - The Tower of Babel
• Dolo Onxala - Hope Street
• Myaw Felix - Felix the Cat
• misu doste Mark - my friend Mark
• lexi kursi - the word chair

Particle di: Culture-Specific Words and Proper Nouns

The particle di may be optionally used to mark culture-specific words and proper nouns that have identical form to ordinary words that are already established in Globasa.

• soho - reciprocal, mutual
  • (di) Soho - Soho (New York City neighborhood)

Particle ci: Endearment and Affection

A noun or proper name may be followed by the particle ci to denote endearment or affection.

• mama - mom
  • mama ci - mommy
• nini - child, kid
  • nini ci - kiddo
• Jon - John
  • Jon ci - Johnny

Honorifics: Gao and Kef

The adjective gao (high, tall) and the noun kef (boss, chief) may be used as honorifics.

• alimyen - teacher
  • gao alimyen - master
• papa - dad
  • kef papa - boss

Noun/Verbs

In Globasa, noun/verbs are words that can function as either noun or verb.

• ergo - work (noun or verb)
• danse - dance (noun or verb)
• yam - meal (noun) or eat (verb)
• lala - song (noun) or sing (verb)

Noun/Verb Comparison

Noun/verb comparison is expressed as follows using the words max (more), min (less, fewer), dennumer (that number of, as many), denkwanti (that quantity, as much), kom (as, than).

With nouns:

• max... kom... - more... than...
• min... kom... - fewer... than...

Mi hare max kitabu kom yu.
I have more books than you.

Yu hare min kitabu kom mi.
You have fewer books than I.

• max te/to kom... - more (of them) than...
• min te/to kom... - fewer (of them) than...

Mi hare max to kom yu.
I have more (of them) than you.

Yu hare min to kom mi.
You have fewer (of them) than I.

• max kom - more than
• min kom - fewer than

Mi hare max kom cen kitabu.
I have more than one hundred books.

Yu hare min kom cen kitabu.
You have fewer than one hundred books.

• dennumer... kom... - as many... as...

Te hare dennumer kitabu kom mi.
She has as many books as me.

• dennumer te/to kom... as many (of them) as...

Te hare dennumer to kom mi.
She has as many as me.

• denkwanti... kom... as much... as...

Yu yam denkwanti risi kom mi.
You eat as much rice as me.

• denkwanti to kom... as much (of it) as...

Yu yam denkwanti to kom mi.
You eat as much (of it) as me.

With verbs:

• max... kom.... or max kom... - more than

Myaw max somno kom bwaw.
or: Myaw somno max kom bwaw.
The cat sleeps more than the dog.

• min... kom.... or min kom... - less than

Bwaw min somno kom myaw.
or: Bwaw somno min kom myaw.
The dog sleeps less than the cat.

• denkwanti... kom... or denkwanti kom... - as much as

Bebe denkwanti somno kom myaw.
or: Bebe somno denkwanti kom myaw.
The baby sleeps as much as the cat.

To express the more/the less..., the more/the less..., Globasa uses folki... max/min, max/min.

Folki mi max doxo, mi max jixi.
The more I read, the more I know.

The order of these phrases may switch places:

Mi max jixi, folki mi max doxo.
I know more, the more I read.

Verb Categories

Verbs are defined in the dictionary as auxiliary, copula, transitive, intransitive, or ambitransitive.

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are immediately followed by another verb, which may be omitted. There are only three auxiliary verbs in Globasa: abil (can, able to), ingay (should, ought to), musi (must, have to).

Copula Verbs

Copula verbs link the subject to its complement. There are currently 12 copula verbs: sen (be), xorsen (become), sencu (become), sengi (cause to be), kwasisen (seem), okocu (look), orecu (sound), nasacu (smell), xetocu (taste), pifucu (feel to touch), hisicu (feel physically), ganjoncu (feel emotionally).

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs take a direct object: haja (need), bujo (catch, capture), gibe (give). However, certain transitive verbs will sometimes or often omit the direct object: doxo (read), yam (eat).

Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object: idi (go), konduta (behave), loka (be located). However, certain verbs labeled as intransitive may be used as transitive verbs with the same noun/verb word repeated as the direct object, or likewise with a proper noun or category of said noun.

Mi le somno (lungo somno).
I slept (a long sleep).

Yu le haha (sotipul haha).
You laughed (a loud laugh).

Te xa lala (Hox Xencudin).
She will sing (Happy Birthday).

Te danse (tango).
He's dancing (tango).

In theory, all other intransitive verbs may be used transitively with an optional use of -gi, although it may be a better practice to apply -gi in most cases.

Kam yu fley(gi) hawanavi?
Do you fly aircraft?

Mi xa sampo(gi) bwaw fe axam.
I will walk the dog in the evening.

Ambitransitive Verbs

Ambitransitive verbs in Globasa are verbs for which both the subject of the intransitive meaning and the direct object of the transitive meaning experience the same action/state of the verb. The intransitive meaning of these verbs may optionally apply -cu and the transitive meaning may optionally apply -gi. See -cu and -gi below under Common Affixes. There are four subcategories of ambitransitive verbs: verbs of feeling, verbs of state, agentless verbs, and verbs of position/location or movement.

Verbs of Feeling

Ambitransitive verbs denoting a feeling mean to feel [root noun] or cause to feel [root noun]. Note that the intransitive meaning may also be expressed as a copula and adjective phrase: sen [root noun]-do. See -do below.

• interes(cu) - be/feel interested (feel interest)
  interes(gi) - interest (cause to feel interest)

Mi interes(cu) tem basalogi. = Mi sen interesdo tem basalogi.
I'm interested in linguistics.

Basalogi interes(gi) mi.
Linguistics interests me.

• pilo(cu) - be/feel tired (feel fatigue)
  pilo(gi) - tire (cause to feel fatigue)

Te pilo(cu). = Te sen pilodo.
She is/feels tired.

Tesu ergo pilo(gi) te.
Her work tires her.

The prefix xor- may be used with verbs of feeling to express the following distinction:

Mi le interes tem basalogi lefe multi nyan.
I was interested in linguistics many years ago.

Te le pilo dur na ergo.
She was tired while working.

vesus:

Mi le xorinteres tem basalogi lefe multi nyan.
I became interested in linguistics many years ago.

Te le xorpilo dur na ergo.
She got/became tired while working.

Verbs of State

Ambitransitive verbs of state are similar verbs of feeling. They are nouns of state that can be used as ambitransitive verbs meaning to have [noun root] or to cause to have [noun root]. Note that the intransitive meaning may also be expressed as a copula and adjective phrase: sen [root noun]-pul. See -pul below.

• termo(cu) - be hot/warm (have heat)
  termo(gi) - heat (cause to have heat)

Misu kafe no haji termo. = Misu kafe no haji sen termopul.
My coffee isn't hot any longer.

Kam yu le termo banyo-kamer?
Did you warm up the bathroom?

• cinon(cu) - be intelligent (have intelligence)
  cinon(gi) - make intelligent (cause to have intelligence)

Syensiyen cinon. = Syensiyen sen cinonpul.
The scientist is intelligent.

Eskol le cinon te.
The school made him smart.

• talento(cu) - be talented (have talent)
  talento(gi) - make talented (cause to have talent)

Lalayen talento. = Lalayen sen talentopul.
The singer is talented.

Patre le talento lalayen.
The father made the singer talented.

The prefix xor- may be used with verbs of state to express the following distinction:

Jaledin le termo. = Jaledin le sen termopul.
Yesterday was warm

To le xortermo fe midinuru. = To le xorsen/sencu termopul fe midinuru.
It got/became warm at noon.

Agentless Verbs

In the intransitive meaning of agentless ambitransitive verbs, the action is something that happens to the subject rather than something the subject performs.

• kasiru(cu) - break (get broken)
  kasiru(gi) - break (cause to break)

Janela le kasiru(cu).
The window broke.

Mi le kasiru(gi) janela.
I broke the window.

• buka(cu) - open (become open)
  buka(gi) - open (make open)

Dwer le buka(cu).
The door opened.

Mi le buka(gi) dwer.
I opened the door.

Verbs of Position/Location or Movement

In the intransitive meaning of ambitransitive verbs of position/location or movement the subject is both agent and patient.

• esto(cu) - stop (come to a stop)
  esto(gi) - stop (bring to a stop or cause to stop)

Am esto(cu)!
Stop!

Am esto(gi) mobil!
Stop the car!

• harka(cu) - move (make a movement)
  harka(gi) - move (cause to move)

Am no harka(cu)!
Don't move!

Mi le harka(gi) yusu kursi.
I moved your chair.

The following three verbs in this subcategory also use xor- as seen above to make a similar distinction in meaning:

• side(cu) - sit (be seated/sitting)
  side(gi) - seat (cause to sit)

Te side(cu) fe fronta de darsu-kamer.
He's sitting at the front of the class.

Am side(gi) bebe per hin kursi.
Seat the baby on this chair.

• xorside(cu) - sit down, have a seat

Am xorside per sofa.
Sit down on the sofa.

• estay(cu) - stand (be standing)
  estay(gi) - (cause to) stand

Yu estay(cu) per misu kamisa!
You're standing on my shirt!

Am estay(gi) bebe.
Stand the baby up.

• xorestay(cu) - stand up

Mi le xorestay denwatu hu te le inidi kamer.
I stood up when she entered the room.

• leta(cu) - lie (be lying)
  leta(gi) - lay

Myaw leta(cu) per dixan.
The cat lies on the floor.

Mi xa leta(gi) bwaw per bistar.
I will lay the dog on the bed.

• xorleta(cu) - lie down

Am no xorleta per sofa!
Don't lie down on the couch!

Adjective/Adverbs

In Globasa, adjectives and verb-modifying adverbs have identical form.

• bon - good, well
• velosi - quick(ly), rapid(ly), fast
• multi - many, much

Adjective/adverbs precede the noun/verbs they modify.

Hinto sen bon yam.
This is a good meal.

Bebe bon yam.
The baby eats well.

Uma velosi pawbu.
The horse runs fast.

Alternatively, adverbs may appear after the verb, but preceded by the direct and indirect objects, if any: Subject - Verb - (Direct and Indirect Objects) - Adverb.

Bebe yam bon.
The baby eats well.

Bwaw glu sui velosi.
The dog drinks the water quickly.

Adverbs may also be moved to the start of the sentence, so long as there is a definite pause with the comma so as to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence. Without the pause, the adjective/adverb could be mistakenly interpreted as modifying the subject.

Velosi, bwaw glu sui.
Quickly, the dog drinks the water.

Unyum, te le idi cel banko.
First, she went to the bank.

Adjective/Adverbs in Sentence-Initial Phrases

The following are adjective/adverbs commonly used in sentence-initial phrases followed by a clear pause before the rest of the sentence.

• Ripul, - Again
• Ible, - Maybe, Perhaps
• Maxpul, - Moreover, Furthermore
• Pia, - Also
• Abruto, - Suddenly
• Total, - Absolutely, Totally
• Yakin, - Certainly
• Ideal, - Ideally
• Mimbay, - Obviously, Of course
• Mingu, - Clearly, Evidently
• Sipul, - Indeed
• Fori, - Immediately
• Pimpan, - Often, Oftentimes
• Sati, - Truly
• Umumi, - In general, Generally
• Nerleli, - Recently
• Telileli, - A long time ago
• Nerxali, - Soon
• Telixali, - In a long time

Adjective/Adverb Comparison

Adjective/adverb comparison is expressed as follows using the words maxmo (more, -er), minmo (less), denmo (as),kom (as, than).

• maxmo kimapul kom... - more expensive than...
• minmo kimapul kom... - less expensive than...
• denmo kimapul kom... - as expensive as...

To express the most (-est) and the least, Globasa uses maxim... te/to and minim... te/to. The word of means out of or off (of). Note that the pronouns te/to must immediately follow the adjective since noun phrases must always end in a noun or pronoun. See Noun Phrases.

• maxim juni te (of misu bete) - the youngest (of my children)
• minim kimapul to (of yusu mobil) - the least expensive/costly (of your cars)

To express the more/the less..., the more/the less..., Globasa uses folki maxmo/minmo, maxmo/minmo.

• folki (to sen) maxmo neo, (to sen) maxmo bon - the newer, the better

Verb/Adj-Adv Words

Besides noun/verb words and adj/adv words, Globasa has a third class of words: verb/adj-adv words. Only auxiliary verbs belong in this class which consists of only three words: abil, musi and ingay.

• abil: (verb) can, able to; (adj/adv) able, capable, which can
• musi: (verb) must, have to; (adj/adv) which must, which has to
• ingay: (verb) should, ought to; (adj/adv) which should, which ought to

Common Affixes

Noun Suffix -ya

The suffix -ya has a variety of useful functions and is equivalent to several English suffixes: -ity, -ness, -dom, -hood, -ship.

1. Abstract nouns are derived from adjective/adverbs by adding -ya.

• real - real (adj)
  realya - reality (noun)

• bimar - sick, ill (adj)
  bimarya - illness, disease (noun)

• huru - free (adj)
  huruya - freedom, liberty (noun)

• solo - alone (adj)
  soloya - solitude (noun)

2. The suffix -ya is used to derive abstract and noncount nouns from a variety of concrete and count nouns.

• poema - poem (concrete noun)
• poemaya - poetry (abstract noun)

The suffix -ya means -hood or -ship when attached to nouns denoting relationships.

• matre - mother (concrete noun)
  matreya - motherhood (abstract noun)

• patre - father (concrete noun)
  patreya - fatherhood (abstract noun)

• doste - friend (concrete noun)
  dosteya - friendship (abstract noun)

In some cases the concrete or count noun is used as a verb and the abstract or noncount noun is derived using -ya and functions as the counterpart to the verb.

• imaje - image/picture (concrete noun), imagine/picture (verb)
  imajeya - imagination (abstract noun)

• turi - trip (count noun), travel (verb)
  turiya - tourism (noncount noun)

Likewise, the body parts associated with the five senses denote the related action (verb), while -ya is used to derive the abstract noun.

• oko - eye (concrete noun), see, look (verb)
  okoya - view, sight or sense of sight (abstract noun)

• ore - ear (concrete noun), hear, listen (verb)
  oreya - hearing or sense of hearing (abstract noun)

• nasa - nose (concrete noun), smell (verb)
  nasaya - smell or sense of smell (abstract noun)

• xeto - tongue (concrete noun), taste (verb)
  xetoya - taste or sense of taste (abstract noun)

• pifu - skin (concrete noun), touch (verb)
  pifuya - touch or sense of touch (abstract noun)

3. Prepositions are turned into noun/verbs using the suffix -ya. See Prepositional Verbs.

4. The suffix -ya is also used to turn other function words into nouns. See Function Words.

Etymology of -ya: Hindi (सत्य "satya" - truth), Spanish (alegría - joy)

Prefix du-

Globasa uses the prefix du- to express the gerund.

• dudanse - (the act of) dancing
• dulala - (the act of) singing

The prefix du- is also used for the continuous/habitual verb aspect. See Verb Forms.

The prefix du- is truncated from dure (duration).
Etymology of dure: English, French, German and Spanish

Noun/Verb Suffix -gi

The suffix -gi may be applied to adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Adjectives

The suffix -gi turns adjectives into transitive verbs.

• bala - strong
  balagi - strengthen

• pul - full
  pulgi - fill

• mor - dead
  morgi - kill

Nouns

The suffix -gi means cause to be(come) when added to nouns.

• zombi - zombie
  zombigi - zombify

• korbani - victim
  korbanigi - victimize

The suffix -gi is truncated from gibe (give).
Etymology of gibe: English (give), German (geben, gibt) and Mandarin (给 “gěi”)

Verbs

The suffix -gi is also used to turn intransitive and transitive verbs into causative verbs (as seen below), or used optionally in patientive ambitransitive verbs, as seen above under Verb Categories.

• haha - laugh
  hahagi - make laugh (cause laughter)

• yam - eat
  yamgi - feed (cause to eat)

Noun/Verb Suffix -cu

The suffix -cu may be applied to adjectives and nouns, in addition to verbs, as seen above under Verb Categories.

Adjectives

The suffix -cu (get/become) turns adjectives into intransitive verbs.

• roso - red
  rosocu - blush/redden (get red)

• mor - dead
  morcu - die (become dead)

Nouns

The suffix -cu means become when added to nouns.

• zombi - zombie
  zombicu - turn into a zombie

• ixu - (human) adult
  ixucu - become an adult, come of age

The suffix -cu is truncated from cudu (take, obtain, acquire, gain)
Etymology of cudu: Mandarin (取得 "qǔdé"), Korean (취득 “chwideug”)

Adjective/Adverb Suffix -li

In Globasa, adjective/adverbs are derived from nouns by means of various suffixes. See full list of suffixes under Word Formation. One of the most common is the suffix -li (of, relating to).

• musika - music
  musikali - musical, musically

• denta - tooth
  dentali - dental

• dongu - east
  donguli - eastern

• Franse - France
  Franseli - French

The suffix -li is also used for deriving adjective/adverbs out of function words. See Function Words.

Etymology of -li: French (-el, -elle), Spanish (-al), English (-al, -ly), German (-lich), Russian (-ельный “-elni”, -альный “-alni”), Turkish (-li)

Adjective/Adverb Suffix -pul

The word pul means full. However, as a suffix -pul means with enough or more than enough.

• humor - humor
  humorpul - humorous, funny

• hatari - danger
  hataripul - dangerous

Etymology of pul: English (full), Hindi (पूर्ण “purn”), Russian (полный “poln-”)

Active Adjectives: Suffix -ne

The suffix -ne means in an active state or process of and is used to derive what are known in Globasa as active adjectives.

Active adjectives are in most cases equivalent to present participles in English (adjectives ending in -ing). However, unlike in English, active adjectives are not used to generate the progressive verb forms (I am sleeping, She is dancing, etc.). Instead, they only function as adjectives.

• somno - sleep
  somnone meliyen - sleeping beauty

• anda - walk
  andane moryen - walking dead

• danse - dance
  dansene uma - dancing horse

• interes - interest
  interesne kitabu - interesting book

• amusa - amuse, fun
  amusane filme - amusing/fun film

Etymology of -ne: English (-ing), French (-ant), Spanish (-ando), German (-en, -ende), Russian (-ный “-ny”), Turkish (-en, -an)

Sentence-Initial Active Adjectives

Active adjectives that appear sentence initially may alternatively be expressed as prepositional phrases using the infinitive verb form.

Doxone, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the kid fell asleep.

or

Fe na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the kid fell asleep.
or
Dur na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
While reading, the kid fell asleep.

This construction is useful particularly when the phrase includes a direct object since, unlike the present participle in English, active adjectives in Globasa cannot function as verbs.

Dur na doxo sesu preferido kitabu, nini le xorsomno.
While reading his favorite book, the kid fell asleep.

Naturally, these phrases may also be expressed as full clauses, as opposed to prepositional phrases.

Dur te le doxo (sesu preferido kitabu), nini le xorsomno.
While he read (his favorite book), the kid fell asleep.

Passive Adjectives

Active adjectives may be rendered passive by adding the passive prefix be- to derive what are known in Globasa as passive active adjectives (or passive adjectives for short). There is no exact equivalent in English for passive adjectives, but are best understood as the exact passive form of the present participle in English.

• belalane melodi - melody that is sung or being sung
• belubine doste - beloved friend or friend that is loved

Inactive Adjectives: Suffix -do

The suffix -do means in an inactive state of. Words with this suffix are known in Globasa as inactive adjectives and are typically translated as the past participle in English. However, unlike in English, inactive adjectives are not used to generate perfect or passive verb forms (I have worked, It was/got stolen, etc.). Instead, they function only as adjectives.

It is worth noting that, technically speaking, the suffix -do is added to the noun aspect of noun/verbs. For this reason, -do may be added to transitive, intransitive or ambitransitive verbs noun/verbs.

With transitive verbs

• hajado ergo - necessary work (in a state of necessity)
• bujodo morgiyen - captured murderer (in a state of capture)

With intransitive verbs

• Uncudo Nasyonlari - United Nations (in a state of union)
• awcudo fleytora - disappeared airplane (in a state of disappearance)

With ambitransitive verbs

• kasirudo janela - broken window (in a state of breakage)
• klosido dwer - closed door (in a state of closure)

Etymology of -do: English (-ed), Spanish (-ado, -ido)

Adverb Suffix -mo

Adjective/adverbs that modify other adjective/adverbs, known as adj/adv-modifying adverbs, add the suffix -mo. Compare the following pairs of phrases.

• perfeto blue oko - perfect blue eyes (blue eyes that are perfect)
  perfetomo blue oko - perfectly blue eyes (eyes that are perfectly blue)

• naturali syahe tofa - natural black hair (not a wig)
  naturalimo syahe tofa - naturally black hair (not dyed)

• sotikal doxone nini - quiet child reading
  sotikalmo doxone nini - child silently reading

Function Words: Conjunctions, Prepositions and Function Adverbs

Click to see Pronouns. Click to see Correlatives. Click to see Numbers.

Conjunctions

• ji - and
  • iji... ji... - both... and...
• or - or
  • oro... or... - either... or...
• nor - nor
  • noro... nor... - neither... nor...
• kam - yes/no question particle
  • kama... kam... - whether... or (whether)...
• mas - but
• eger - if
• kwas - as if [kwasi - seeming(ly)]
• ki - that (clause conjunction)

Fe

Fe is a multi-purpose preposition with a general, indefinite meaning, often translated as of (relating to). It may be used as a preposition of time (at, in, on), as a preposition of place (only in prepositional phrases, as seen below), in sentence initial phrases, as an alternative to -li adjectives, and in cases where no other preposition is suitable.

Fe is optional with most expressions of time, as shown in the following examples:

(fe) ban mara - on a certain occasion, once, once upon a time
(fe) duli mara - sometimes, on occasion, at times
(fe) hin mara - this time
(fe) hin momento - in this moment
(fe) Lunadin - (on) Monday
(fe) duli Lunadin - (on) Mondays
(fe) nundin - today (used as an adverb)
(fe) tiga din fe xaya - three days later

The expressions fe nunya (at present, presently, now), fe leya (in the past, previously) and fe xaya (in the future, later on, afterwards) are typically left intact.

Expressing Possession

Globasa has two ways of expressing possession. The preposition de (of, belonging to) is used to express possession by nouns.

Baytu de Maria sen day.
"House of Mary is big."
Mary's house is big.

If the noun is understood, a pronoun is used (te/to or ete/oto):

To de Maria sen day.
Mary's is big.

The suffix -su is added to pronouns to form possessive adjectives. Similarly, the particle su is used to express possession by nouns and is equivalent to the English possessive suffix 's. Unlike in English, however, su is used as a separate word.

Maria su baytu sen day.
Mary's house is big.

If the noun is understood, a pronoun is used (te/to or ete/oto):

Maria su to sen day.
Mary's is big.

Prepositions of Place

• in - in, inside of
  • inli - (adj) interior, inner
  • fe inya - (on the) inside; within
• ex - outside (of), out
  • exli - (adj) exterior, external
  • fe exya - (on the) outside; without
• per - on
  • perli - (adj) superficial, surface
  • fe perya - on the surface
• bax - under(neath), beneath, below
  • baxli - underlying
  • fe baxya - underneath, below
• of - off (of), out of, from
• cel - to (movement) [cele - goal/purpose]
  • celki - so that, in order that
  • cel na - in order to
  • cel in - into
  • cel ex - out from, out of
• hoy - toward(s) [hoyo - orientation/direction]
• intre - between
  • fe intreya - in between
• ultra - beyond
  • fe ultraya - beyond
• infra - below
  • infrali - inferior
• infer - shorter form of infraya: inferiority, belowness
  • fe infer - down below, down under
  • cel infer - down, downwards
• supra - above
  • suprali - superior
• super - shorter form of supraya: superiority, aboveness
  • fe super - up above
  • cel super - up, upwards
• pas - through, by way of, via [pasa - pass]
• tras - across, on the other side of, trans-
• cis - on this side of
• wey - around [jowey - surroundings]
• fol - alongside (of), according to [folo - follow]
  • fe folya - alongside, accordingly
  • posfol - against (in the opposite direction of)

Phrasal Prepositions and Conjunctions

• ruke - (n) back, rear; (v) be behind, be in the back
  • fe ruke - in the back
  • fe ruke de - behind, in the back of
• kapi - (n) head; (v) be on top (of)
  • fe kapi - on top
  • fe kapi de - on top of
• fronta - (n) forehead, front; (v) be in front (of)
  • fe fronta - in front
  • fe fronta de - in front of
• muka - (n) face; (v) be facing, be face to face, be across (from)
  • fe muka - across, face to face
  • fe muka de - across from
• oposya - (n) opposite; (v) be the opposite of
  • fe oposya - on the contrary
  • fe oposya de - opposite, contrary to, against (physically)
• peda - (n) foot, bottom; (v) be at the bottom (of)
  • fe peda - at the bottom
  • fe peda de - at the bottom of
• comen - (n) side; (v) be beside
  • fe comen - on the side
  • fe comen de - on the side (of), next to, beside
• tayti - (n) substitute, substitution; (v) substitute, replace
  • fe tayti fe - instead (of)
  • fe tayti ki - instead of + sentence
• kompara - (n) comparison; (v) compare
  • fe kompara fe - in comparison (to)
  • fe kompara ki - whereas
• kosa - (n) cause; (v) cause
  • fe kosa fe; kos - due to, because of
  • kos (den)to - that's why, therefore
  • fe kosa ki; koski - because, since
• folo - follow
  • fe folo - therefore, consequently, so
  • fe folo fe - as a consequence of, as a result of
  • fe folo ki - (such, so) that
• ner - nearby, close (to)
  • ner fe - near, close to
• teli - far, far away, remote, distant
  • teli fe - far from

Other Prepositions

• el - direct object marker
  • Functions as a preposition and is typically omitted
• de - of (belonging to)
• tas - to (indirect object marker), for
• tem - about [tema - theme, topic]
• pro - in favor of, for, pro- (opp anti)
• anti - against
• fal - (done) by [fale - do, make]
• har - with (having) [hare - have]
  • nenhar - without (not having)
• ton - (together/along) with [tongo - together]
  • nenton - without, separate/apart from
• yon - with (using), by means of [yongu - use]
  • yon na - by + -ing verb phrase
• nenyon - without (not using)
  • nenyon na - without + -ing verb phrase
• por - in exchange for
  • por (moyun) - per

Function Words of Time

• dur - during, for + noun phrase
  • dur (moyun) - per
  • dur na - while + -ing verb phrase
  • durki - while + sentence
• fin- - (prefix) end, come to [fini - finish/end]
  • finfe - (prep) until + noun phrase
  • finki - (conj) until + sentence
• xor- - (prefix) beginning [xoru - begin/start]
  • xorfe - (prep) from, since + noun phrase
  • xorki - (conj) (ever) since + sentence
• jaldi - early
• dyer - late
• haji - still
  • no haji - no longer, not anymore
• uje - already
  • no uje - not yet
• fori - immediate(ly)
• pimpan - frequent(ly), often
• nadir - rare(ly), seldom
• mara - time (occasion)
  • (fe) ban mara - once, once upon a time
  • (fe) duli mara - sometimes
• nun - present tense particle
  • nunli - present(ly), current(ly)
  • nunya - the present
    • fe nunya - at present, presently, now
  • nundin - today
  • (fe) nunli din - nowadays
• ja- - (pfx) immediately adjacent [jara - neighbor]
  • jali - adjacent
• le - past tense particle
  • jale - just have (immediate past tense)
  • jaledin - yesterday
  • leli - past, previous(ly), former(ly), ex-
  • jaleli - the last, the most recent
  • nerleli - recent(ly)
  • telileli - a long time ago
  • leya - (n) the past
    • fe leya - in the past, previously, formerly
  • lefe - before + noun phrase; ago
    • lefe or fe - by (on or before)
  • lefe na - before + -ing verb phrase
  • leki - before + sentence
• xa
  • jaxa - be about to (immediate future tense)
  • jaxadin - tomorrow
  • xali - (adj) future
  • jaxali - next, the following, (and) then
  • nerxali - soon
  • telixali - in a long time
  • xaya - (n) the future; (v) be after, come after, follow
    • fe xaya - in the future, later (on), afterwards
  • xafe - after, in + noun phrase
  • xafe na - after + -ing verb phrase
  • xaki - after + sentence

Function Words of Quantity and Degree

• kriban - almost
• kufi - sufficient, enough (of quantity)
  • kufimo - sufficiently, enough (of degree)
• plu - multiple (used for expressing plurality)
• multi - many, much
• xosu - few, little (of quantity), a little bit [opp multi]
• daymo - greatly, very
• lilmo - a little (of degree) [opp daymo]
• godomo - too
• total - entire, whole
• eskaso - scarce(ly), barely, hardly
• daju - approximate(ly), rough(ly), about, around
  • dajuya - (n) approximation, estimate; (v) approximate, estimate

Other Function Adverbs

• no - no, not, don't, doesn't
  • noli - negative
  • noya - say no (to), negate, deny, reject
• si - yes
  • sili - affirmative
  • siya - say yes (to), approve
• hata - even
  • no hata - not even
  • fe hataya - even so, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, in spite of that
  • fe hataya fe - in spite of, despite + noun phrase
  • fe hataya na in spite of + -ing verb phrase
  • fe hataya ki - even though, although, despite the fact that + sentence
• pia - also
• sol - only [solo - alone, the only, the sole]

Comparison

• kom - as (comparable to), than (as compared with) [kompara - comparison/compare]
• denmo... kom... - as... as...
• max - more
  • maxpul - additional, extra, another; additionally, moreover, further, furthermore
  • ji max (o)to/(e)te - et cetera
• max... kom... - more (a greater number of, a greater amount)... + noun/verb than...
• maxmo... kom... - more (to a greater degree)... + adj/adv than...
• denkwanti... kom... - as much as
• dennumer... kom... - as many as
• maxim - the most
• maximum - maximum, at most
  • maximumya - the maximum
  • maximummo - as... as possible
• maxori - (adj/adv) most (the majority of), mostly
  • maxoriya - majority
• maxus - (prep) plus, with addition of, in addition to, besides
  • maxusli - (adj/adv) positive (+1, +2, etc.), besides (that)
  • fe maxusya - besides (that)
• min - fewer, less
• min... kom... - fewer, less... + noun/verb than...
• minmo... kom... - less... + adj/adv than...
• minim - the least
• minimum - minimum, at least
  • minimumya - the minimum
• minori - (adj/adv) the minority of
  • minoriya - minority
• minus - (prep) minus, except for
  • minusli - (adj/adv) negative (-1, -2, etc.), except for that
  • fe minusya - except for that
  • minus eger - unless

Pronouns

Subject/Object Pronouns

Globasa's subject/object pronouns are as follows:

The gender-neutral te and ete are used for all living forms and personified objects. If it is necessary to emphasize gender, the adjectives fem and man, also used for nouns, may be used as prefixes.

• femte - she
• mante - he
• femete/manete - they

seli

The adjective seli is used with subject pronouns to express emphasis of self.

seli mi - I myself
seli yu - you yourself
etc.

Possessive Adjectives

The possessive adjectives are derived from the pronouns by adding the suffix -su:

As with the pronouns, the gender-neutral possessive adjectives tesu and etesu are typically used for all third-person animate beings. If it is necessary to emphasize gender, the prefixes fem and man may be used.

• femtesu - her
• mantesu - his
• femetesu/manetesu - their

Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns are derived from the possessive adjectives by adding the pronoun (e)te or (o)to:

Third-Person Pronouns at End of Noun Phrases

As seen under Correlatives, third-person pronouns (te/to and ete/oto) are used for correlative pronouns since determiners (ke, hin, den, etc.) must always be followed by a (pro)noun. See Noun Phrases.

Similarly, (e)te/(o)to are used at the end of noun phrases when the noun is understood.

One reason for this rule, as illustrated below, is that since nouns and verbs have the same form in Globasa, leaving a determiner or an adjective without a (pro)noun can potentially be mistaken as modifying the noun/verb immediately following.

Multi te pala sol in Englisa.
Many (people) speak only (in) English.

Another reason, as illustrated below, is that Globasa does not use articles. So whereas English is able to use adjectives as nouns, Globasa cannot.

bon te, bur te ji colo te
the good (one), the bad (one) and the ugly (one)

Notice as well that although te and to are singular pronouns they may be optionally used with words denoting plurality, such as max, min, multi, xosu.

Correlatives

Table of Correlatives

Determiner Correlatives

The correlatives words ke, hin, den, ban, moy, nil, alo and sama must always be followed by a noun (whether modified with adjectives or not) or by a pronoun. They should never stand alone because by omitting the (pro)noun the correlative can easily be mistaken as a determiner of the noun/verb that follows it. In the absence of a specified noun, the pronouns te or to mark the end of the noun phrase. See Noun Phrases.

Compare the following sentences:

Hinto bon nasacu.
This (thing) smells good.

In the sentence above, -to marks the end of the noun phrase.

Hin bon nasacu... memorigi mi cel misu femgami.
This good smell... reminds me of my wife.

In the sentence above, nasacu marks the end of the noun phrase.

kekwanti, kenumer

Likewise, kekwanti (what quantity of) and kenumer (what number of) must also be followed by te or to when a noun is understood and not specified.

kenumer bon lala - how many good songs
vs
Kenumer te bon lala?
How many (of them) sing well?

Mi le kari dua kilogramo fe risi. Yu le kari kekwanti to?
I bought two kilos of rice. How much did you buy?

Obligatory cel

The preposition cel is obligatory with loka correlatives when movement is involved.

cel keloka - where (to)
cel hinloka - here (hither)
cel denloka - there (thither)
etc.

Questions vs Interrogative Clauses within Declarative Sentences

Interrogative clauses within declarative sentences are clauses that appear in place of noun phrases and which mean the answer to the question "XYZ?" or a variation thereof. They are formed by introducing them with the clause conjunction ku, using the same determiner (ke) seen in true questions, and preserving the word order of the clause's counterpart question.

The following pairs of example sentences illustrate: (1) true questions, (2) declarative sentences with interrogative clauses

ke - which; kete - who(m); keto - what

(1) Kete lubi yu?
"Who loves you?"
Who loves you?

(2) Mi jixi ku kete lubi yu.
"I know this: Who loves you?."
I know who loves you.

(1) Yu lubi kete?
"You love who(m)."
Who(m) do you love?

(2) Mi jixi ku yu lubi kete.
"I know this: You love who(m)?."
I know who(m) you love.

(1) Te vole na yam keto?
"He wants to eat what?"
What does he want to eat?

(2) Mi le wanji ku te vole na yam keto.
"I forgot this: He wants to eat what?."
I forgot what he wants to eat.

(1) Te le gibe pesa tas ke doste?
"She gave the money to which friend?" Which friend did she give the money to?

(2) Te le no loga ku te le gibe pesa tas ke doste.
"She didn't say this Which friend did she give the money to?."
She didn't say which friend she gave the money to.

kesu - whose

(1) Hinto sen kesu kursi?
"This is whose chair?"
Whose chair is this?

(2) Mi vole na jixi ku hinto sen kesu kursi.
"I want to know this: This is whose chair?."
I want to know whose chair this is.

(1) Kesu kitabu sen per mesa?
"Whose book on the table?"
Whose book is on the table.

(2) Mi jixi ku kesu kitabu sen per mesa.
"I know this: Whose book is on the table?."
I know whose book is on the table.

kepul - like what or what kind of (with nouns); how (with verbs)

(1) Yu sen kepul?
"You are how?"
How are you?

(2) Te le swal ku yu sen kepul.
"She asked this: You are how?."
She asked how you were.

(1) Yu sen kepul insan?
"You are what kind of person?"
What kind of person are you?

(2) Mi jixi ku yu sen kepul insan.
"I know this: What kind of person are you?."
I know what kind of person you are.

kemo - how (to what degree)

(1) Te sen kemo lao?
"She is how old?"
How old is she?

(2) Te le loga tas mi ku te sen kemo lao.
"She told me this: She is how old?."
She told me how old she is.

(1) Yu sen kemo pilodo?
"You are how tired?"
How tired are you?

(2) Mi jixi ku yu sen kemo pilodo.
I know this: "You are how tired?".
I know how tired you are.

kekwanti - how much; kenumer - how many

(1) Yu le kari kekwanti risi?
"You bought how much rice?"
How much rice did you buy?

(2) Mi le oko ku yu le kari kekwanti risi.
"I saw this: You bought how much rice?."
I saw how much rice you bought.

(1) Yu hare kenumer bete?
"You have how many children?"
How many children do you have?

(2) Mi jixivole ku yu hare kenumer bete.
"I wonder this: You have how many children?."
I wonder how many children you have.

keloka - where

(1) Te ergo keloka?
"He works where?"
Where does he work?

(2) Mi jixi ku te ergo keloka.
"I know this: He works where?."
I know where he works.

kewatu - when

(1) Te xa preata kewatu?
"She will arrive when?"
When will she arrive?

(2) Dento sen ku te xa preata kewatu.
"That is this: She will arrive when?."
That is when she will arrive.

keseba - why

(1) Yu le no idi cel parti keseba?
"You didn't go to the party why?"
Why didn't you go to the party?

(2) Mi jixi ku yu le no idi cel parti keseba.
"I know this: You didn't go to the party why?."
I know why you didn't go to the party.

kemaner - how (done how)

(1) Yu le xuli mobil kemaner?
"You fixed the car how?"
How did you fix the car?

(2) Mi jixivole ku yu le xuli mobil kemaner.
I wonder this: You fixed the car how?."
I wonder how you fixed the car.

Declarative Sentences with Interrogative Phrases

Speakers will sometimes reduce an interrogative clause into a phrase, even to the lone interrogative word. The conjunction ku is still used in the absence of a full clause.

Mi jixi ku fe ke mesi.
I know in what month.

Te le no loga ku keseba.
She didn't say why.

Dento sen ku keloka.
That is where.

Mi jixi ku na idi keloka.
I know where to go.

Correlative Phrasal Conjunctions

Correlative phrasal conjunctions end in -loka, -watu, -seba and -maner, and use the relative conjunction hu.

Mi ergo denloka hu yu ergo.
I work where you work.

Mi xa preata denwatu hu yam sen jumbi. or Denwatu hu yam sen jumbi, mi xa preata.
I will arrive when the meal is ready. or When the meal is ready, I will arrive.

Mi le no idi cel parti denseba hu yu idi.
I didn't go to the party for the reason that you went.

Mi le xuli mobil denmaner hu yu le alim tas mi.
I fixed the car how/like you taught me.

Denmaner hu mi le loga...
Like I said...

Comparative Correlatives

The conjunction kom means as, like and is used with the correlatives ending in -pul, -mo, -kwanti and -numer to make comparisions. In the following pairs of example sentences, the second sentence replaces a specific word or phrase with a correlative.

(1) Mi sen hazuni kom yu.
I am sad like you.

(2) Mi sen denpul kom yu.
I am like you.

(1) Mi salom yu sodarsim kom misu sodar.
I greet you fraternally as my brother.

(2) Mi salom yu denpul kom misu sodar.
I greet you as my brother.

(1) Mi no abil na lala meli kom yu.
I can't sing beautifully like you.

(2) Mi no abil na lala denpul kom yu.
I can't sing like you.

(1) Sama kom mi, pia te hare tiga bete.
The same as me, she too has three children.

(2) Denpul kom mi, pia te hare tiga bete.
Like me, she too has three children.

(1) Hin baytu sen daymo day kom misu to.
This house is very big like mine.

(2) Hin baytu sen denmo day kom misu to.
This house is as big as mine.

(1) Mi hare tiga bete kom misu gami.
I have three children like my spouse.

(2) Mi hare dennumer bete kom misu gami.
I have as many children as my spouse.

(1) Mi le kari dua kilogramo fe risi kom yu.
I bought two kilos of rice like you.

(2) Mi le kari denkwanti risi kom yu.
I bought as much rice as you.

daydenpul

The word daydenpul is a derived word composed of day- (augmentative prefix) and the correlative denpul. It translates as what a followed a noun in exclamations such as the following:

Daydenpul din!
What a day!

daydenmo

The word daydenmo is an derived word composed of day- (augmentative prefix) and the correlative denmo. It is an adverb of degree meaning so, when followed by an adjective/adverb, or such, when followed by a modified noun.

Yu daydenmo bala.
You are so strong.

Yu hare daydenmo day oko.
You have such big eyes.

The word daydenmo is also used much like daydenpul. It means how, when followed by an adjective/adverb, or what a, when followed by a modified noun.

Daydenmo meli!
How beautiful!

Daydenmo meli din!
What a beautiful day!

daydenkwanti, daydennumer, denmo multi

Similarly, the words daydenkwanti and daydennumer may be used to express so much and so many, respectively. Alternatively, the expression denmo multi may be used to express either, as it is synonymous with both daydenkwanti and daydennumer.

moyun

The word moyun is a derived word composed of the correlative word moy and un (one). It means each (one) and is used when it is necessary to distinguish it from every/all.

Compare the following sentences:

Mi le kari tiga yuxitul cel moyun nini.
I bought three toys for each child.

Mi le kari tiga yuxitul cel moy nini.
I bought three toys for all the children.

Numbers and Months of the Year

Cardinal Numbers

0 - nil
1 - un
2 - dua
3 - tiga
4 - care
5 - lima
6 - sisa
7 - sabe
8 - oco
9 - nue
10 - des

11 - des un
12 - des dua
13 - des tiga
14 - des care
15 - des lima
16 - des sisa
17 - des sabe
18 - des oco
19 - des nue

20 - duades
30 - tigades
40 - caredes
50 - limades
60 - sisades
70 - sabedes
80 - ocodes
90 - nuedes

100 - cen
200 - duacen
300 - tigacen
400 - carecen
500 - limacen
600 - sisacen
700 - sabecen
800 - ococen
900 - nuecen

1,000 - kilo
2,000 - dua kilo
3,000 - tiga kilo
4,000 - care kilo
5,000 - lima kilo
6,000 - sisa kilo
7,000 - sabe kilo
8,000 - oco kilo
9,000 - nue kilo

1 x 10^6 (1,000,000) - mega
1 X 10^9 (1,000,000,000) - giga
1 X 10^12 (1,000,000,000,000) - tera

Larger numbers can be expressed by combining kilo, mega, giga and tera.

1 x 10^15 - kilo tera
1 x 10^18 - mega tera
1 x 10^21 - giga tera
1 x 10^24 - tera tera

Ordinal Numbers

first (1st) - unyum (1yum)
second (2nd) - duayum (2yum)
third (3rd) - tigayum (3yum)
fourth (4th) - careyum (4yum)
fifth (5th) - limayum (5yum)
sixth (6th) - sisayum (6yum)
seventh (7th) - sabeyum (7yum)
eighth (8th) - ocoyum (8yum)
ninth (9th) - nueyum (9yum)
tenth (10th) - desyum (10yum)
eleventh (11th) - desunyum (11yum), etc.

Collectives

unyen, unxey - single, solo
duayen, duaxey - duo, couple, pair
tigayen, tigaxey - trio, etc.

Fractional Numbers

Derived fractional numbers are nouns and are composed of two words, the numerator followed by the denominator prefixed with of-.

1/2 (a half) - un ofdua
1/3 (a third) - un oftiga
1/4 (a quarter) - un ofcare
1/5 (a fifth) - un oflima
1/6 (a sixth) - un ofsisa
1/7 (a seventh) - un ofsabe
1/8 (an eighth) - un ofoco
1/9 (a ninth) - un ofnue
1/10 (a tenth) - un ofdes
1/11 (an eleventh) - un ofdesun, etc.

Globasa also uses the following fractional metric numbers.

1 X 10^-1 (one 10th of): deci (un ofdes fe)
1 X 10^-2 (one 100th of): centi (un ofcen fe)
1 X 10^-3 (one 1,000th of): mili (un ofkilo fe)
1 X 10^-6 (one 1,000,000th of): mikro (un ofmega fe)
1 X 10^-9 (one 1,000,000,000th of): nano (un ofgiga fe)
1 X 10^-12 (one 1,000,000,000,000th of): piko (un oftera fe)

Metric Measurements

Words for metric measurements use whole number and fractional numerals as prefixes.

metro - meter
desmetro - decameter
cenmetro - hectometer
kilometro - kilometer

decimetro - decimeter
centimetro - centimeter
milimetro - millimeter

gramo - gram
kilogramo - kilogram
miligramo - milligram

litro - liter
mililitro - milliliter

Multiplied Numbers

unple - single
duaple - double
tigaple - triple
careple - quadruple
limaple - quintuple
sisaple - sextuple, etc.

Months of the Year

mesi 1 (mesi un) - January
mesi 2 (mesi dua) - February
mesi 3 (mesi tiga) - March
mesi 4 (mesi care) - April
mesi 5 (mesi lima) - May
mesi 6 (mesi sisa) - June
mesi 7 (mesi sabe) - July
mesi 8 (mesi oco) - August
mesi 9 (mesi nue) - September
mesi 10 (mesi des) - October
mesi 11 (mesi des un) - November
mesi 12 (mesi des dua) - December

Verb Forms

Omission of Verb Particles

Verb particles may be omitted at the speaker's discretion, or, if preferred, the speaker may apply the following guidelines:

• The dictionary form of the verb may express the simple present, allowing for the omission of the markers nun, du- and u.

• In storytelling, as well, the dictionary verb form alone may be used to narrate events. Technically speaking, it's not that the simple past particle le is omitted in this case, but rather a story is told as if the scene of a film were being described, in the present tense, with the omission of nun, du- or u.

• Other than in the cases described above, tense/mood may be established anew with every subject phrase and maintained without repetition for other verbs or until the tense/mood is changed within that clause. In other words, the particle for any tense/mood may be omitted in subsequent verbs within a clause once the tense/mood has been established with the first verb of each predicate.

Simple Present Tenses

Globasa's simple present tenses are expressed as follows.

Dictionary Verb Form

By default, the dictionary verb form expresses the general present tense, which is equivalent to the English simple present. In addition, the dictionary form alone may also express the present active tense, which is equivalent to the present progressive in English. In other words, the dictionary verb form alone is ambiguous and implies the omission of either nun or du-.

The Particle u

As an alternative to using the dictionary verb form alone, the particle u may be used in place of either nun or du-. This particle is typically only used in formal texts or speech as a simple way to mark the predicate where no other tense/mood marker is being used.

Prefix du-

As a verb prefix, du- expresses the continuous/habitual aspect, which depicts an activity or a state over an indefinite period of time, rather than happening in a single moment in time or for a specific length of time. The prefix du- is typically omitted with the present tense.

As nouns, words with the prefix du- are equivalent to the gerund in English.

dulala - (the act of) singing
dudanse - (the act of) dancing

The prefix du- is truncated from dure (duration).
Etymology of dure: English, French, German, Spanish

Simple Past

The simple past tenses are expressed using the particle le.

Etymology of le: Mandarin (了 “le”), Swahili (-li-), Russian (-л “-l”)

Simple Future Tenses

The simple future tenses are expressed using the particle xa.

Etymology of xa: Arabic (سوف “sawf”, سا “sa”), English (shall), Dutch (zal)

Immediate Past and Future Tenses

The immediate past and future tenses are expressed as follows using the prefix ja-.

Prefix ja-

The prefix ja- means immediately adjacent and is truncated from jara (neighbor).

Etymology of jara: Arabic (جارة “jara”), Swahili (jirani), Indonesia (jiran)

Compound Tenses

The compound tenses are formed by combining any two of the general tense particles (nun, le, xa).

Linguistically speaking, the compound tenses are used for expressing different grammatical aspects in detail. There are three aspects expressed through the compound tenses, which correlate with the three rows in each of the tables below: progressive (active), perfective (completed) and prospective.

While the simple tenses report events only from the point of view of the present moment, the compound tenses are used for reporting the temporal status and aspect of an event from the point of view of the present, past or future.

Some compound tenses are rarely used and are often best expressed using a simple tense instead. Others are more useful and may be rather common in speech, particularly the following tenses: past active (le nun), present completed (nun le), future completed (xa le), past prospective (le xa).

Compound Present Tenses

The compound present tenses are expressed as follows:

Compound Past Tenses

The compound past tenses are expressed as follows:

Compound Future Tenses

The compound future tenses are expressed as follows:

It is worth noting that whereas the perfect tenses in English do not always express a completed action, the completed tenses in Globasa always do.

Continuative Aspect

The continuative aspect adverb dupul is used when an action or state began in the past and continues into the present. In English, this is expressed either with the present perfect or the perfect progressive.

Example Sentences with the Present Perfect in English

Mi no dupul oko te xorfe mesi tiga.
I haven't seen her since March.

Mi dupul kone te dur 30 nyan.
I have known him for 30 years.

Mi dupul sen gadibu.
I have been angry.

Yu dupul sen kepul?
How have you been?

Example Sentences with the Perfect Progressive in English

Mi dupul yam hin pingo dur un satu.
I have been eating this apple for one hour.

Yu dupul fale keto?
What have you been doing?

Mi dupul doxo hin kitabu xorfe jaleli sabedin.
I have been reading this book since last week.

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood is expressed using the particle ger.

The particle ger is truncated from eger (if).
Etymology of eger: Hindi (अगर “agar”), Persian (اگر “agar”), Turkish (eğer)

The subordinate clause (if...) uses the dictionary form of the verb.

Mi ger yam pingo eger mi sen yamkal.
I would eat the apple if I were hungry.

Passive Voice

The passive voice is expressed using the prefix be-.

Etymology of be-: Mandarin (被 “bèi”), English (be), Norwegian (ble)

Although the passive mood can technically also be used with all the compound tenses, in practice it is most often used with the general present, past and future tenses, as illustrated above.

Note: In Globasa, the agent in passive voice sentences is expressed as the direct object without the need for a preposition to mark the agent. In contrast, English marks the agent using by.

Myaw le no velosi yam piu.
The cat didn't eat the bird quickly.

Piu le no velosi beyam myaw.
The bird wasn't quickly eaten by the cat.

Imperative and Jussive Moods

In Globasa, commands (imperative mood) and exhortation (jussive mood) are both expressed using the particle am.

The particle am is truncated from amiru (command)
Etymology of amiru: Arabic (أمر “amr”), Turkish (emir), Swahili (amri, -amuru)

Imperative Mood

The pronouns yu and uyu may be omitted when expressing the imperative mood.

Jussive Mood

The jussive mood is similar in meaning to the imperative mood but is used for the 3rd person (te/to, ete/oto), as well as the 1st person singular (mi).

The jussive mood can also function as a mandative subjunctive within subordinate clauses. The mandative subjunctive expresses a demand, requirement, request, recommendation or suggestion.

Mi vole ki te am safegi sesu kamer.
I want him to clean his room.

Mi peti ki imi am xorata jaldi.
I ask that we arrive early.

Kitabu hu xwexiyen am doxo da no sen daymo lungo.
The book that the pupils are to read is not very long.

Negation

Negation for all verbs forms is expressed with the word no and, as an adverb, it immediately precedes the verb and any other modifying adverbs.

Infinitive Mood

In Globasa, the infinitive verb form is marked with the particle na and is typically omitted within a clause once it has been established with the first verb. See Infinitive Verb Phrases under Sentence Structure.

Etymology of na: Greek (να “na”), Hindi (-ना “-na”)

Subordinate Clauses

As seen above, if clauses in conditional sentences use the dictionary verb form. However, not every sentence that has an if clause is a conditional sentence. Unless the sentence is conditional, if clauses are marked for tense.

Eger mi xa yam pingo, mi xa no haji sen yamkal.
If I eat the apple (in the future), I will no longer be hungry.

Eger te le yam yusu pingo, kam yu xa sen gadibu?
If he ate your apple (in the past), will you be angry?

Eger te yam yusu pingo, kam yu gadibucu?
If he eats your apples (in general), do you get angry?

Sentences with other subordinate clauses

Besides eger (if), subordinate clauses may begin with other conjunctions, such as denwatu hu (when), denloka hu (where), koski (because), etc. Tense markers are obligatory in all these subordinate clauses.

Word Order: Phrase Structure

Strict Word Order

In Globasa, a relatively strict word order is applied within phrases.

Noun Phrases

Noun phrases consist of the following structure, as illustrated in the table below:

(Specifier) + (Complement) + Head

Since specifiers and complements are optional, a noun phrase may consist of a single noun, for example, kitabu.

Third-Person Pronouns at End of Noun Phrases

Noun phrases must always end in either a noun or a pronoun. Whenever a noun is understood and omitted, a pronoun must replace it, rather than leaving a specifier or complement hanging. Without the use of pronouns to complete noun phrases, such phrases would have different meanings or create incomplete and therefore ungrammatical sentences.

Determiner + Pronoun = Complete Noun Phrase

Banete ergo velosi ji banete ergo hanman.
Some work quickly and some work slowly.

Without the pronoun te, the sentence would read:
Ban ergo sen velosi ji ban ergo sen hanman.
Some work is fast and some work is slow.

Possessive Adj + Pronoun (Possessive Pronoun) = Complete Noun Phrase

Yusu gami ergo velosi mas misu te ergo hanman.
Your spouse works fast but mine works slow.

Without the pronoun te, the second part of the sentence would read:
Misu ergo sen hanman.
My work/job is slow.

Quantifier + Pronoun = Complete Noun Phrase

Dua basataytiyen ergo velosi mas un te ergo hanman.
Two translators work quickly but one works slowly.

Without the pronoun te, the second part of the sentence would read:
Un ergo sen hanman.
One job is slow.

Adjective + Pronoun = Complete Noun Phrase

Day manyen ergo velosi mas lil te ergo hanman.
The big man works quickly but the small one works slowly.

Without the pronoun te, the second part of the sentence would read:
Lil ergo sen hanman.
The small job is slow.

Verb Phrases

Verb phrases are similar in structure to noun phrases:

Verb Markers

As specifiers, verb markers (nun, le, xa, ger, am, na) are placed at the start of verb phrases.

Adverbs

As seen in the sentence above, adverbs (or adverb phrases) typically precede verbs.

Alternatively, adverbs may be placed after the verb, immediately following objects, if any.

• If the sentence has no direct or indirect objects the adverb may immediately follow the verb.

Femyen danse meli.
The lady dance beautifully.

• However, if the sentence contains objects, the adverb phrase must immediately follow all objects.

Mi le gibe pesa cel coriyen volekal koski mi le befobi ki te xa morgi mi.
I gave the money to the thief involuntarily because I feared he would kill me.

Adverbs may also be moved to the start of the sentence, so long as there is a definite pause with the comma to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence. Without the pause, the adjective/adverb could be mistakenly interpreted as modifying the subject.

Velosi, bwaw glu sui.
Quickly, the dog drinks the water.

Unyum, te le idi cel banko.
First, she went to the bank.

Negation

The negating adverb no immediately precedes the word or phrase being negated.

Manyen no godomo bur danse.
or: Manyen danse no godomo bur.
The man doesn't dance too badly.

In the second sentence above, no is along with the rest of the complement to the end of the sentence. (The man did dance, but not too badly.)

Alternatively, no could immediately precede the verb and interpreted as modifying the verb plus its descriptive adverbs.

Manixu no danse godomo bur.
The man doesn't dance too badly.

Infinitive Verb Phrases

Infinitive verb phrases have the following structure:

na + verb phrase

See Infinitive Verb Phrases under Sentence Structure.

Prepositional Phrases

Globasa, like most SVO languages, uses prepositions rather than postpositions. Prepositional phrases are composed of a preposition followed by a noun phrase.

The position of prepositional phrases within sentences is explained under Sentence Structure.

Adverbs of Focus

Other than no (not), Adverbs of focus, such as sol (only), pia (also, too) and hata (even), do not appear in the Noun Phrase and Verb Phrase tables above. The reason for this is that adverbs of focus can appear anywhere in a sentence, depending on what is being modified in the sentence. Adverbs of focus always immediately precede the phrase or word they modify.

Misu gami glu sol kafe fe soba.
My spouse drinks only coffee in the morning.

Misu gami glu kafe hata fe axam.
My spouse drinks coffee even in the evening.

Pia misu gami glu kafe fe soba.
My spouse, too, drinks coffee in the morning.

Complex Adjective Phrases

Complex adjective phrases come after the nouns they modify.

Adj/Adv plus Prepositional Phrase

kitabu eskrido fal misu doste
the book written by my friend

alimyen hox kos yusu sukses
the teacher happy for your success

Comparative Adj/Adv Phrases

nini maxmo lao kom misu sodar
the kid older than my brother

Relative Clauses

In Globasa, relative clauses are introduced with the modifying clause marker hu and retain typical word order. It is worth noting that the conjunction hu doesn't have an exact equivalent in English but is typically translated as who, which, or that.

Relative Clauses with Resumptive Pronoun

Relative clauses that require a pronoun to refer back to the antecedent use the obligatory resumptive relative pronoun da (he, she, it, they, that, that one, those, those ones).

Te sen femixu hu da lubi mi.
"She is the woman who that-one loves me."
She is the woman who loves me.

Te sen femixu hu mi lubi da.
"She is the woman who I love that-one."
She is the woman whom I love.

Mi le sonxi katatul hu mi kata roti yon da.
"I lost the knife which I cut the bread with that-one."
I lost the knife with which I cut the bread.

Kamisa hu mi suki da sen blue. or To sen blue, kamisa hu mi suki da.
"The shirt which I like that-one is blue." or "It's blue, the shirt which I like that-one."
The shirt (that) I like is blue. or It's blue, the shirt (that) I like.

Note: As seen in the last example, when the relative clause is part of the subject, the sentence may be reworded in order to place the core of the sentence first and move the relative clause to the end of the sentence. This helps to make the sentence easier to process.

The possessive adjective dasu is used in relative clauses as follows:

Te sen manixu hu dasu sodar kone mi.
"He is the man who his brother knows me."
He is the man whose brother knows me.

Te sen manixu hu mi kone dasu sodar.
"He is the man who I know his brother."
He is the man whose brother I know.

Manyen hu dasu gami Globasa sen misu doste. or Te sen misu doste, manyen hu dasu gami Globasa.
"The guy who that-one's spouse speaks Globasa is my friend." or "He's my friend, the guy who that one's spouse speaks Globasa."
The guy whose spouse speaks Globasa is my friend. or He is my friend, the guy whose spouse speaks Globasa.

Relative Clauses with Resumptive Correlative Adverb

Relative clauses in which a correlative adverb refers back to the antecedent are as follows:

Kitabudom hu mi ergo denloka sen day.
"The library which I work there is big."
or
Kitabudom hu denloka mi ergo sen day.
"The library which there I work is big."
The library where I work is big.

Din hu mi xa preata denwatu sen Lunadin.
"The day which I arrive then is Monday."
or
Din hu denwatu mi xa preata sen Lunadin.
"The day which then I arrive is Monday."
The day when I arrive is Monday.

Instead of correlative adverbs, prepositional phrases may be used to convey equivalent sentences.

Kitabudom hu mi ergo in da sen day.
"The library which I work in it is big."
or
Kitabudom hu in da mi ergo sen day.
"The library which in it I work is big."
The library in which I work is big.

Din hu mi xa preata fe da sen Lunadin.
"The day which I arrive on it is Monday."
or
Din hu fe da mi xa preata sen Lunadin.
"The day which on it I arrive is Monday."
The day on which I arrive is Monday.

Relative Clauses in Non-Specific Noun Phrases

Non-specific noun phrases with relative clauses may be composed of to/te plus a resumptive correlative adverb or da.

Mi no suki to hu mi ergo denloka.
"I don't like it which I work there."
or
Mi no suki to hu denloka mi ergo.
"I don't like it which there I work."
I don't like where I work.

Mi suki to hu yu broxa misu tofa denmaner.
"I like it which you brush my hair that way."
or
Mi suki to hu denmaner yu broxa misu tofa.
"I like it which that way you brush my hair."
I like how you brush my hair.

Am gibe tas mi to hu mi vole da.
"Give me it which I want that."
Give me what I want.

Mi no suki te hu yu le seleti da.
"I don't like her/him/them who you chose that-one."
I don't like whom you chose.

Alternatively, they may be composed of a noun plus a resumptive prepositional phrase or da.

Mi no suki loka hu mi ergo in da.
"I don't like the place which I work in that."
or
Mi no suki loka hu in da mi ergo.
"I don't like the place which in that I work."
I don't like the place in which I work.

Mi suki maner hu yu broxa misu tofa yon da.
"I like the way which you brush my hair in that."
or
Mi suki maner hu yon da yu broxa misu tofa.
"I like the way which in that you brush my hair."
I like the way in which you brush my hair.

Am gibe tas mi xey hu mi vole da.
"Give me the thing which I want that."
Give me the thing (that) I want.

Mi no suki person hu yu le seleti da.
"I don't like the person who you chose that-one."
I don't like the person you chose.

Non-relative Modifying Clauses

Nouns are sometimes modified with clauses that are not relative, in other words, clauses without a resumptive element. These clauses are introduced using feki.

Singa begude idey feki maux ger abil na sahay te.
The lion was tickled by the idea that the mouse could help him.

Clauses with feki instead of Relative Clauses with hu

Noun phrases with words of place, time, manner and reason may be modified using clauses with feki instead of relative clauses with hu. In other words, in order to create shorter sentences without resumptive clauses, feki may replace hu plus a resumptive correlative or prepositional phrase (hu denloka/hu in da, hu denwatu/hu fe da, hu denmaner/hu yon da, hu denseba/hu kos da).

Mi no suki restoran feki imi le yam.
"I don't like the restaurant that we ate at."
I don't like the restaurant we ate at.

Te sokutu (fe) moy mara feki te estaycu.
"He falls every time that he stands up."
He falls every time he stands up.

Mi suki maner feki yu broxa misu tofa.
"I like the way that you brush my hair."
I like the way you brush my hair.

Seba feki yu no xwexi sen koski yu no abyasa.
"The reason that you don't learn is because you don't practice."
The reason you don't learn is because you don't practice.

​Word Order: Sentence Structure

SVO

The typical phrase order in Globasa is Subject-Verb-Object.

Direct Object Marker

Other than S-V-O, Globasa allows two other options with the subject always preceding the verb: S-O-V and O-S-V. This flexible phrase order is made possible using the direct object marker el, which essentially functions as a preposition. As illustrated below, el is used with S-O-V and O-S-V, which are typically only used in poetry and song lyrics.

• Patre mwa matre. - (S-V-O) The father kisses the mother.
• Patre el matre mwa. - (S-O-V) The father kisses the mother.
• El matre patre mwa. - (O-S-V) The father kisses the mother.

Etymology of el: Korean (을 “eul”)

Copula

The verb sen (be), known as the copula, functions as a predicate marker with phrases other than predicate verb phrases, linking the subject with noun phrases, nominal (infinitive) verb phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases and clauses.

The question words keloka and kewatu as well as all their correlatives also link to subjects using the copula.

Myaw sen keloka?
Where is the cat?

Filme sen kewatu?
When is the movie?

In informal language, the copula may be omitted when linking adjective phrases.

Uma (sen) perfetomo syahe.
The horse is perfectly black.

Infinitive Verb Phrases

Infinitive verb phrases are marked by the particle na followed by the verb. They are used in the following sentence structures.

Noun/Verb Complements

The infinitive verb form must be used in noun and verb (transitive, intransitive or stative) complements.

• Verb Complements

Mi suki na lala.
I like to sing.

Mi musi na ergo.
I must work. or I have to work.

Mi no abil na danse.
I cannot dance.

Gitara sen asan na soti.
The guitar is easy to play.

Mi sen jumbi na idi.
I am ready to go.

• Noun Complements

misu xiwon na oko yu - my desire to see you

Nominal Verb Phrases

Verb phrases functioning in the place of noun phrases are known as nominal verb phrases and require the infinitive verb form.

• With copula (sen) sentences as shown above:

Cele sen na triunfa.
The goal is to win.

In these sentences, subject infinitive verb phrases may be moved to the end of the sentence. However, the pronoun to must take the place of the infinitive verb phrase and a comma must be added before relocated phrase.

Na sen nensabar sen problema.
To be impatient is a problem.
or
To sen problema, na sen nensabar.
It is a problem to be impatient.

Na soti gitara sen asan.
To play the guitar is easy. or Playing the guitar is easy.
or
To sen asan, na soti gitara.
It is easy to play the guitar.

Na suyon in bahari sen amusane.
To swim in the sea is fun. or Swimming in the sea is fun.
or
To sen amusane, na suyon in bahari.
It is fun to swim in the sea.

• As the complement of a preposition:

fe tayti fe na danse - Instead of dancing

Te le sokutu dur na danse.
He fell while dancing.

Fe na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the boy fell asleep.

Prepositional Phrases

Globasa, like most SVO languages, uses prepositions rather postpositions. Prepositional phrases always immediately follow the noun phrases they modify.

Myaw in sanduku somno.
The cat in the box is sleeping.

Prepositional phrases that modify verbs enjoy relative free word order and may be moved anywhere in the sentence. When moved before the verb, commas are used as seen below.

Myaw yam in sanduku maux.
Myaw yam maux in sanduku.
Myaw, in sanduku, yam maux.
In sanduku, myaw yam maux.
The cat eats the mouse in the box.

In order to indicate position without reference to location, prepositions are turned into nouns by adding -ya to form prepositional phrases with fe.

Myaw sen fe inya.
The cat is inside.

Myaw fe inya somno.
The cat inside is sleeping.

Fe inya, myaw somno.
Inside, the cat is sleeping.

Indirect Object

The indirect object is always marked with the preposition tas (to, for). Indirect object phrases, like direct object phrases marked with el, may be moved without the need to indicate movement using commas.

Mi gibe kitabu tas nini.
I give the book to the child.

Mi gibe tas nini kitabu.
I give the child the book.

Mi gibe kitabu tas te.
I give the book to her/him.

Mi gibe tas te kitabu.
I give her/him the book.

Mi gibe to tas nini.
I give it to the child.

Mi gibe to tas te.
I give it to her/him.

Tas nini mi gibe kitabu.
To the child I give a book.

Tas te mi gibe to.
To her/him I give it.

Phrasal Prepositions

Globasa uses a number of phrasal prepositions using fe followed by a noun followed by de.

Baytu fe kapi de liljabal sen kimapul.
The houses on top of the hill are expensive.

In order to indicate position without reference to location, phrasal prepositions simply drop de.

Baytu fe kapi sen kimapul.
The houses on top are expensive.

Fe kapi, baytu sen kimapul.
On top, the houses are expensive.

Kimapul baytu sen fe kapi.
The expensive houses are on top.

Prepositional Verbs

In Globasa, prepositions may be turned into verbs using the suffix -ya as an alternative to linking prepositional phrases to subjects using the copula, as seen above.

Prepositional verbs may or may not be followed by a noun phrase.

Myaw inya.
The cat is inside.

Nouns used in phrasal prepositions may also be used as verbs in the same way as prepositional verbs.

Myaw ruke sanduku.
The cat is behind the box.

Myaw ruke.
The cat is in the back.

leya and xaya

The nouns leya and xaya also function as the verb counterparts to the prepositions lefe and xafe. In other words, lefeya and xafeya are not used, just as leli and xali are used instead of lefeli and xafeli.

• leya - (n) the past; (v) be before, come before, precede
• xaya - (n) the future; (v) be after, come after, follow

feya

The prepositional verb feya (be at) may be optionally used as a copula with -loka and -watu correlatives.

Kastilo feya keloka?
Where is the castle located?

hay

The verb hay is used to express there is/are. This is the only verb in Globasa that allows the subject to come either before or after the verb. Across languages, the subject of the equivalent of hay typically comes after the verb.

Multi kitabu hay in kitabudom.
or
Hay multi kitabu in kitabudom.
There are many books in the library.

The verb hay is also used in sentences related to atmospheric conditions, such as the following:

Hay barix. or To barix.
"There is rain." or "It rains."
It's raining.

Hay termo. or To sen termopul.
"There is heat." or "It is warm."
It's warm.

Conjunction ki

The conjunction ki is used when a clause (a sentence embedded into the main sentence) functions in place of either the direct object or the subject.

Clause in Place of Direct Object

Clause in Place of Subject

Subject ki clauses may be moved to the end of the sentence. However, the pronoun to must take the place of the ki clause and a comma must be added before said phrase.

To no surprisa mi, ki yu le xuli mobil.
It doesn't surprise me that you repaired the car.

Questions

In Globasa, the word order of interrogative sentences is the same as that of their counterpart declarative sentences.

Yes/No Questions

Yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle kam at the beginning of the question's countepart declarative sentence. This is illutrated in the following pairs of sentences with (1) a declarative sentence and (2) the counterpart yes/no question.

(1) Yu sen yamkal.
You are hungry.

(2) Kam yu sen yamkal?
Are you hungry?

(1) Yu yam mahimaso.
You eat fish.

(2) Kam yu yam mahimaso?
Do you eat fish?

Wh- Questions

Likewise, wh- questions preserve typical word order. This is illustrated in the following pair of example sentences with (1) a question whose word order mirrors that of (2) a possible answer.
(1) Yusu name sen keto?
"Your name is what?"
What is your name?

(2) Misu name sen Robert.
My name is Robert.

(1) Yu sen kepul?
"You are how?"
How are you?

(2) Mi sen bon.
I'm fine.

(1) Parti xa okur keloka?
"The party will happen where?"
Where will the party take place?

(2) Parti xa okur in misu preferido restoran.
The party will take place in my favorite restaurant.

Colon Questions

Colon questions in Globasa are as follows.

Yu suki keto: kafe or cay?
"You like what: coffee or tea?"
Do you like coffee or tea?

Yu ogar keloka: in Barati or Indonesi?
"You live where: in India or Indonesia?"
Do you live in India or Indonesia?

Word Formation

Word Class of Affixed Words

Prefixes do not alter the word class of the affixed word. On the other hand, suffixes do and are defined as either adjective/adverb suffixes or noun/verb suffixes.

Grammatical Affixes

• -su: possessive adjectives
• -li: turns nouns into adjective/adverbs (of, relating to)
• -mo: turns adjectives into adjective/adverb-modifying adverbs
• -ya: turns adjectives into abstract nouns
• -gi: transitivity marker
• -cu: intransitivity marker
• be-: passive voice
• du-: gerund; habitual/continuous verb aspect

Prefixes

• aw-: absent, away
  • awidi - leave, go away (idi - go); awglu - drink up (glu - drink); awpel - drive away (pel - drive/push, impulse/impetus)
• awto-: auto- (automatic) [awtomati - automatic]
  • awtosahigi - autocorrect (sahi - correct, right; sahigi - correct)
• dis-: disperse, scatter
  • disgibe - distribute (gibe - give)
• eko-: eco-
  • ekologi - ecology (logi - specialty, discipline), ekosistema - ecosystem (sistema - system)
• fin-: finish, to the end
  • findoxo - end of, finish reading to the end (doxo - read); finyam - finish eating everything (yam - eat)
• fron-: forwards [fronta - forehead, front]
  • fronkadam - progress (kadam - step)
• ja-: immediately adjacent [jara - neighbor]
  • jale - just (have) (le - past tense verb particle); jaxa - about to (xa - future tense verb particle); jaledin - yesterday (din - day); jaxadin - tomorrow (din - day)
• nen-: un-, in-, im-, ir-
  • nenmuhim - unimportant (muhim - important); nenkompleto - incomplete (kompleto - complete); nenible - impossible (ible - possible); okonenible - invisible (oko - see); imanunenible - unbelievable, incredible (imanu - believe); nensomno - insomnia (somno - sleep)
• pos-: opposite [opos - opposite]
  • possahay - hinder (sahay - help); possukses - failure/fail (sukses - success); posdongwi - disagree (dongwi - agree); posgami - divorce (gami - spouse/marry)
• pre: here/there, present (as opposed to away, absent)
  • preata - arrive (ata - come); preporta - bring, take (porta - carry)
• ri-: re- (again)
  • rieskri - rewrite (eskri - write); riadresu - forward (adresu - address); ridoxo - reread (doxo - read)
• ru-: retro-, re- (back) [ruke - back/rear]
  • ruata - come back, return (ata - come); ruidi - go back, return (idi - go); rugibe - give back, return (gibe - give); ruaksyon - react/reaction (aksyon - act/action)
• xor-: start of, beginning of
  • xorsomno - fall asleep (somno - sleep); xoraham - realize, come to understand (aham - understand)

Adj/Adv Suffixes

• -do: in an inactive state of (turns nouns into inactive adjectives)
  • kasirudo - broken (kasiru - break); klosido - closed (klosi - close); estodo - stopped (esto - stop)
• -ne: in the active process of (turns verbs into active adjectives)
  • somnone - sleeping (somno - sleep); interesne - interesting (interes - interest); amusane - amusing, fun (amusa - amuse)
• -ple: multiple
  • duaple - double (dua - two); tigaple - triple (tiga - three); careple - quadruple (care - four)
• -yum: ordinal numbers
  • unyum - first (un - one); duayum - second (dua - two); tigayum - third (tiga - three)

Noun Suffixes

• -gon: -agon (geometric figure) [gono - angle]
  • tigagon - triangle (tiga - three); limagon - pentagon (lima - five); ocogon - octagon (oco - eight); ortogon - rectangle (orto - upright)
• -ina: -ine
  • kafeina - caffeine (kafe - coffee)
• -je: degree [daraje - degree, level]
  • dayje - size (day - big/large); velosije - speed (velosi - fast); telije - distance (teli - far); laoje - age (lao - old); termoje - temperature (termo - heat); gaoje - height (gao - tall/high)
• -sa: language; animal cries [basa - language]
  • Globasa - Globasa (globa - world); Englisa - English (Engli - England); Espanisa - Spanish (Espani - Spain)
  • bwawsa - bark (bwaw - dog); myawsa - meow (myaw - cat); umasa - neigh (uma - horse); singasa - roar (singa - lion)

Function Words as Quasi-Prefixes in Compound Words

• anti: against, counter, anti-
  • antidokya - antidote (dokya - poison); antijento - fight against (jento - fight); antiaksyon - counteract (aksyon - act/action)
• bax: under, sub-, vice-
  • baxgeoli - subterranean (geo - earth, ground); baxpresidiyen - vice-president (presidiyen - president)
• pas: through
  • pasdoxo - read through (doxo - read); pasjiwa - live through (jiwa - live, life); paspasa - traverse, pass through (pasa - pass)
• ex: out
  • exidi - exit (idi - go); exporta - export (porta - carry); exnasyonli - foreign (nasyon - nation)
• in: in
  • inidi - enter (idi - go); inporta - import (porta - carry); inhare - contain (hare - have)
• infra: infra-, hypo-
  • infratermo - hypothermia (termo - heat); infraroso - infrared (roso - red); infraidi - descend (idi - go)
• intre: between, inter-
  • intrenasyonli - international (nasyon - nation); intrepala - conversation (pala - speak, talk); intreaksyon - interact/interaction (aksyon - act/action); intrediskusi - dialogue (diskusi - discuss/discussion)
• le: past
  • lefe - before (fe - at); legami - ex-spouse (gami - spouse); lepresidiyen - ex-president (presidi - preside)
• lefe: pre-, fore-
  • lefeoko - foresee (oko - see); lefeloga - foretell, predict (loga - say/tell)
• moy: every, all
  • moyabil - almightly, omnipotent (abil - able, capable); moydinli - daily, everyday (din - day)
• of: off (of), from, fractions
  • offolo - depend on (folo - follow); un ofdua - half, one out of two (dua - two)
• se: self-
  • semorgi - suicide (morgi - kill); sebawe - self-defense (bawe - defense)
• supra: above, super-, hyper-
  • suprarealsim - hyperrealistic (real - real; realsim - realistic); supraidi - ascend (idi - go)
• ton: together, co-
  • tonaksyon - cooperate (aksyon - act/action); tonergo - collaborate (ergo - work)
• tras: across, trans-
  • trasporta - transport/transportation (porta - carry)
• ultra: beyond
  • ultrajiwa - survive (jiwa - life); ultranaturali - supernatural (natura - nature); ultrapasa - surpass (pasa - pass)
• xa: future
  • xafe - after (fe - at)
• xafe: post-
  • xafeplasi - postpone (plasi - put); xafemorculi (preferably expressed more succinctly as a prepositional phrase - xafe morcu) - postmortem, posthumous (morcu - death); xafexengili (preferably expressed more succinctly as a prepositional phrase - xafe xengi) - postpartum (xen - born; xengi - give birth)

Noun/Verb Words as Quasi-Prefixes in Compound Words

• gami: spouse, marry; in compounds: in-law
  • gamisodar - brother-in-law, sister-in-law (sodar - sibling); gamiatre - in-laws (atre - parent)
• hawa: air; in compounds: aero-
  • hawanavi - aircraft (navi - ship)

Adj/Adv Words as Quasi-Prefixes in Compound Words

Many adjective/adverbs may be used to create compounds. The following list includes the most commonly used adjective/adverbs in compounds.

• bon: good; in compounds: eu-, objectively or morally good/well
  • bonata - welcome (ata - come); bonxanse - good luck (xanse - chance, luck); bonlexi - euphemism (lexi - word); bonmorcu - euthanasia (morcu - death); bonoko - observe, watch (oko - eye/see/look); bonore - listen (ore - ear/hear)
• bur: bad; in compounds: objectively or morally bad
  • burnini - brat (nini - kid); bursolo - lonely (solo - alone); burlexi - swearword (lexi - word)
• colo: ugly; in compounds: ugly
  • coloeskri - scribble (eskri - write)
• cuyo: main, chief, primary; in compounds: main, chief, primary, master, arch-
  • cuyodolo - main street (dolo - street); cuyoyawxe - master key (yawxe - key)
• day: big, large; in compounds: augmentative
  • daybon - excellent, great, awesome (bon - good); dayday - huge, gigantic (day - big, large); daylil - tiny (lil - small, little); dayxaher - metropolis (xaher - town, city); daybaytu - mansion (baytu - house)
• fem: female
  • femgami - wife (gami - spouse); femnini - girl (nini - kid/child); femixu - woman (ixu - adult, man/woman); femwangu - queen (wangu - monarch, king/queen)
• godo: - excessive, excessively, too much, too many; in compounds: too
  • godojaldi - premature (jaldi - early)
• juni: young; in compounds: offspring
  • junibwaw - puppy (bwaw - dog); junimyaw - kitten (myaw - cat); junisinga - cub (singa - lion); juninini - infant, toddler (nini - kid, child)
• kwasi: seeming(ly); in compounds: quasi-, step-
  • kwasisodar - step-brother, step-sister (sodar - sibling)
• lama: ancient [ opp neo]
  • lamahistori - ancient history (histori - history)
• lao: old [opp juni]
  • laoatre - ancestor, forefather, foremother (atre - parent); laonini - teen, adolescent (nini - kid, child); laodaypatre/laodaypapa - great grandfather/great grandpa (daypatre - grandfather; daypapa - grandpa)
• lil: small, little; in compounds: diminutive
  • lilhaha - giggle (haha - laugh); lilbaytu - hut, cottage (baytu - house); lilnahir - stream (nahir - river)
• mal: wrong; in compounds: mis-
  • malaham - misunderstand (aham - understand); malhesabu - miscount (hesabu - count)
• man: male
  • mangami - husband (gami - spouse); mannini - boy (nini - kid/child); manixu - man (ixu - adult, man/woman); manwangu - king (wangu - monarch, king/queen)
• meli: beautiful, pretty
  • melieskri - calligraphy (eskri - write)
• midi: middle; in compounds: mid-
  • midinuru - noon (nuru - daytime); midinoce - midnight (noce - night); mididay - medium
• neo: new; in compounds: new, neo-
  • neoklasiko - neoclassical (klasiko - classic, classical)
• semi: sort of, kind of, partly; in compounds: half-; semi-, -ish
  • semisodar - half-brother/half-sister (sodar - sibling); semikijawi - greenish (kijawi - green); seminudi - semi-nude (nudi - nude)

Numerals as Quasi-Prefixes in Compound Words

Numerals may also be used to create compounds.

• unbasayen - monolingual (basa - language)
• duacalun - bicycle (calun - wheel)

Adj/Adv Words as Quasi-Suffixes in Compound Words

• abil: can, able; in compounds: can, -ive
  • kreaabil - creative (krea - create); okonenabil - blind (oko - see)
• bimar: ill, sick
  • sikobimar - mentally ill (siko - mind)
• bon: good
  • xetocubon - delicious (xetocu - taste); xansebon - lucky, fortunate (xanse - odds)
• bur: bad
  • xansebur - unlucky, unfortunate (xanse - odds)
• ible: possible; in compounds -able/-ible
  • yamible - edible (yam - eat); doxoible - legible (doxo - read); okoible - visible (oko - see)
• fil: inclined to, prone
  • ergofil - diligent, industrious (ergo - work); fobifil - fear-prone (fobi - fear); dinifil - religious (dini - religion)
• kal: empty; in compounds: -less
  • legakal - illegal, lawless (lega - law); ergokal - unemployed (ergo - work); pesakal - poor (pesa - money); luminkal - dark (lumin - light); yamkal - hungry (yam - eat/meal); suikal - thirsty (sui - water)
• kolordo (kolor-do): shade, colored (See also -sim.)
  • asmankolordo - sky blue (asman - sky)
• laye: worthy
  • xinloylaye - trust-worthy (xinloy - trust); memorilaye - memorable (memori - memory/remember); doxolaye - worth reading (doxo - read)
• musi: must, have to; in compounds: (active) must; (passive) must be, imperative
  • active: triunfamusi - who must win (triunfa - win/triumph)
  • passive: beokomusi - must-see (oko - see; beoko - be seen)
• peldo (pel-do): driven
  • somnopeldo - sleepy (somno - sleep)
• pul: full; in compounds: -ful
  • kimapul - costly, pricey, expensive (kima - price); yampul - full, satiated (yam - eat/meal); jawgupul - careful (jawgu - take care); brilapul - shiny (brila - shine); pesapul - rich (pesa - money); hataripul - dangerous (hatari - danger); legapul - legal, lawful (lega - law); bawlupul - violent (bawlu - violence)
• sim: similar; in compounds: -like, -ish, shade of color
  • dostesim - friendly (doste - friend); ninisim - childish (nini - child); dahabusim - golden (dahabu - gold); realsim - realistic (real - real); femsim - female-like (fem - feminine)

Nouns as Quasi-Suffixes in Compound Words

• bol: ball
  • pedabol - soccer/football (peda - foot); basketobol - basketball (basketo - basket)
• din: day
  • Soladin - Sunday (Sola - Earth's sun); Lunadin - Monday (Luna - Earth's moon); Marihidin - Tuesday (Marihi - Mars); Bududin - Wednesday (Budu - Mercury); Muxtaridin - Thursday (Muxtari - Jupiter); Zuhuradin - Friday (Zuhura - Venus); Xanidin - Saturday (Xani - Saturn); Kristodin - Christmas (Kristo - Chirst); xencudin - birthday (xencu - birth)
• dom: place
  • kitabudom - library (kitabu - book); mehmandom - hostel (mehman - guest); dinidom - church, temple (dini - religion)
• doku: document
  • pasadoku - passport (pasa - pass); xencudoku - birth certificate (xen - born, xencu - birth)
• dukan: store
  • kitabudukan - bookstore (kitabu - book); yamdukan - grocery store (yam - food)
• ente: inanimate agent
  • medisente - medicine, medication (medis - medicine); antigutonente - analgesic, pain-killer (guton - pain)
• fon: -phone, audio tool
  • telifon - telephone (teli - far); infon - microphone (in - in); exfon - speakers (ex - out); orefon - earphones (ore - ear); radyofon - radio transmitter (radyo - radio)
• hole: sheath, holder
  • xamahole - candlestick (xama - candle); pamtulhole - holster (pamtul - gun)
• grafi: recording; in compounds; recording, -graphy
  • jiwagrafi - biography (jiwa - life); radyagrafi - x-ray image (radya - radiation); teligrafi - telegram (teli - far)
• ismo: -ism
  • kapitalismo - capitalism (kapital - capital); komunismo - communism (komun - communal); Budaismo - Buddhism (Buda - Buddha)
• ista: -ist (meaning limited to adherent to -ism)
  • kapitalista - capitalist (kapital - capital); komunista - communist (komun - communal); Budaista - Buddhist (Buda - Buddha)
• itis: inflammation (-itis)
  • artroitis - arthritis (artro - joint); mogeitis - encephalitis (moge - brain)
• kaxa: container
  • anjenkaxa - safebox (anjen - safe); pesakaxa - purse (pesa - money); bezekaxa - beehive (beze - bee)
• kamer: room
  • banyokamer - bathroom (banyo - bath); somnokamer - bedroom (somno - sleep); darsukamer - classroom (darsu - lesson, class)
• kef: boss, leader, chief
  • navikef - captain (nave - ship); xaherkef - mayor (xaher - city)
• krasi: government
  • demokrasi - democracy (demo - people, public)
• kumax: (piece of) cloth
  • banyokumax - towel (banyo - bath); mesakumax - tablecloth (mesa - table); nasakumax - handkerchief (nasa - nose); muntekumax - napkin (munte - mouth)
• lari: collective group
  • drevolari - forest (drevo - tree); insanlari - humanity (insan - human being); darsulari - course (darsu - lesson/class); mumulari - herd of cattle (mumu - bull/cow, cattle); lexilari - vocabulary (lexi - word); menalari - dictionary (mena - meaning, definition); navilari - fleet of ships (navi - ship); yumawlari - plumage (yumaw - feather)
• lexi: word
  • namelexi - noun (name - name); falelexi - verb (fale - do); sifalexi - adjective (sifa - characteristic); manerlexi - adverb (maner - manner)
• logi: specialty, study of
  • biologi - biology (bio - life/organisms); sikologi - psychology (siko - mind)
• maso: meat
  • mumumaso - beef (mumu - bull/cow, cattle); kukumaso - chicken (kuku - hen/rooster); swinimaso - pork (swini - pig, hog); mahimaso - fish (mahi - fish)
• medis: medicine (practice)
  • dentamedis - dentistry (denta - tooth); sikomedis - psychiatry (siko - mind); hewanmedis - veterinary medicine (hewan - animal); ninimedis - pediatrics (nini - child); pifumedis - dermatology (pifu - skin)
• meter: measuring device
  • termometer - thermometer (termo - heat); satumeter - clock, watch (satu - hour)
• mon: element or part of a whole
  • talujimon - snowflake (taluji - snow); watumon - period (watu - time); atexmon - flame (atex - fire)
• mosem: season
  • bardimosem - winter (bardi - cold); bijamosem - spring (bija - seed/sow); termomosem - summer (termo - heat); xuhamosem - autumn (xuha - reap/harvest)
• osis: pathology
  • sikoosis - psychosis (siko - mind)
• pel: drive, push
  • seksopel - sex drive, libido (sekso - sex); amirupel - control (amiru - command); tehdidupel - coerce (tehdidu - threat)
• tim: team; in compounds: team, body
  • asosyatim - association (asosya - associate); komuntim - community (komun - communal); organisatim - organization (organisa - organize); jangetim - military (jange - war); krasitim - government (krasi - rule/govern); ergotim - staff (ergo - work); oretim - audience (ore - ear/hear)
• tora: machine, device, apparatus; in compounds: -ator, machine, device, apparatus
  • komputatora - computer (komputa - compute); liftitora - elevator, lift (lifti - lift); woxatora - washing machine (woxa - wash); tayputora - typewriter (taypu - type)
• tul: tool
  • eskritul - writing utensil (eskri - write); katatul - knife (kata - cut); yuxitul - toy (yuxi - play/game)
• xey: thing, object; in compounds: thing, object, substance
  • yamxey - food (yam - meal, eat); kreaxey - (a) creation (krea - create); kostruixey - building (kostrui - build)
• yen: being (any living being or personified object); in compounds: -ist, -er, -an
  • noun/verb roots: estudiyen - student (estudi - study); danseyen - dancer (danse - dance); medisyen - physician (medis - medicate, medicine); arteyen - artist (arte - art); alimyen - teacher (alim - teach); polisiyen - police officer (polisi - police); legayen - lawyer/attoney (lega - law); poemayen - poet (poema - poem)
  • adjective roots: juniyen - young man/woman, gal/guy (juni - young)
  • nationalities: Italiyen - Italian (Itali - Italy); Mexikoyen - Mexican (Mexiko - Mexico)
  • physicians: dentamedisyen - dentist (denta - tooth); sikomedisyen - psychiatrist (siko - mind); hewanmedisyen - veterinarian (hewan - animal); ninimedisyen - pediatrician (nini - child); pifumedisyen - dermatologist (pifu - skin)