View source for Noun Phrases in Waa

Nouns and nouns phrases in [[Waa]] generally follow a 'head - dependent' or 'modified - modifier' pattern. A noun might consist of a single - usually bymoraic or bisyllabic - morpheme:


'''katu''' - 'cat'

'''huno''' - 'dog'

'''huso''' - 'house'

'''rota''' - 'rat', 'rodent', 'mouse'

'''taa''' - star


Compound nouns may be made up of two (or sometimes more) morphemes. The 'head' morphemes come first, and the modifying morphemes follow:


'''husohuno''' - 'doghouse'

'''katutaa''' - 'leopard' (lit. 'star cat')


Most often, the modifying morpheme something that can be used as a noun by itself. Sometimes, words from other parts of speech - most often verbs - can also be used used to form compounds:


'''husoitu''' - 'restaurant' ('eat-house')

'''rumosewa''' - 'bedroom' ('sleep-room')


Nouns may be modified by adjectives, possessors, prepositional phrases, and relative clauses. These kinds of modifiers are placed after the noun.