Fudasi: Syntax

Table of Phonemes

POA	labial						dental					alveolar			velar		glottal			vowels
IPA	m	/p/	/b/	/ɸ/	/β/		/n/	/t/	/d/	/l/		/s/	/z/		/ǹ/		/ʔ/	/h/		/i/	/e/	/ä/	/o/	/ɯ/
Latin	m	p	b	f	v		n	t	d	l		s	z		ń		k	h		i	e	a	o	u
Devanagari	म	प	ब	फ	भ		न	त	द	ल		स	स़		ङ		क	ह		इ	ए	अ	आ	उ

Grammar

Word Order

• 001. Fudasi word order is SVO, subject-verb-object.
• 002. The accent is normally on the penultimate syllable. A written acute accent indicates a different accent.
• 003. The indirect object precedes the direct object.
• 004. The possessive noun follows the head noun.
• 005. Determiners precede the nouns they qualify. Adjectives follow the nouns they qualify.
• 006. The adjective precedes the standard of comparison.
• 007. The adjective follows the dependent verb.
• 008. Adverbs follow the verbs they modify.
• 009. Adverbials of time precede those of space.

Verbs - Selsan̨a सेल्सन्य

• 010. Verbs are a class of words that convey an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).
• 011. Tense is a grammatical category which expresses the time at which a state or action described by a verb occurs. Tense is indicated by modifying the word's initial phoneme.

The present tense is the base form of the verb without modification: hufu, see.

Neǹe hufu a sof̨aǹ, I see the clouds.

• 012. The past tense is formed by labializing the first consonant: susu, hear.

Neǹe šusu a naf̨uǹ, I heard the birds.

This gives a /w/ sound to initial vowels, e.g., usuvu, to live: ǔsuvu /ʷɯsɯβɯ/.

• 013. The future tense is formed by palatalizing the first phoneme: sezu, smell.

Neǹe s̨ezu a leb̨eǹ, I will smell the flowers.

This gives a /j/ sound to initial consonants, e.g., usu, to go; ųsu /ʲɯsɯ/.

• 014. A verbal noun is formed by suffixing the definite article, -ǹ, to the appropriate tense form. This verbal noun functions as an infinitive or gerund.

Hufuǹ eku tubuǹ , Seeing is believing.

• 015. Mood is a grammatical category by which the speaker expresses his attitude toward what he is saying.
• 016. The subjunctive mood is formed with the suffix -eme:

Seve sákeme a neǹe, She may love me.

• 017. The imperative mood is formed with the suffix -ete.

Sákete a neǹe, Love me.

• 018. The cohortative and jussive moods are formed with the verb sase, let, permit.

sásete a seve onesu, Let him sing.

• 019. The conditional mood is formed with the suffix -na:

Neǹe sákuna bene, If I love you....

Neǹe šákuna bene, If I loved you....

• 021. The passive form of the verb is formed with the particle vini:

Pepeǹ saku vini, The mother is loved.

Piseǹ v̌avu vini, The apple was cooked.

• 022. Sentence negation is formed with the suffix -b(o). It precedes all other prefixes:

Tabiǹ áhabo, The boy does not dance.

Tabiǹ s̨ákubo, The boy will not love.

Anafiǹ áhabeme, The girl may not want to dance.

• 023. A question is indicated by the use of the interrogative particle se at the beginning of the sentence:

Neǹe saku a bene, I love you.

Se neǹe saku a bene?, Do I love you?

• 024. Dependent verbs, such as infinitives and gerunds, follow the verb or adjective upon which they are dependent:

Neǹe ǎtavu taǹuǹ a zeke, I was afraid to touch a toad.

A direct object is placed before the infinitive:

Neǹe f̨ekudu a seve usuǹ, I ordered him to go.

• 025. Transitive verbs may be formed from adjectives with the verb tovu: puvu, wide.

Sev̨e puvtovu a havaǹ, They are widening the road.

• 026. The copulative verb to be is eku.

Seve eku naǹ, He is the chief.

Seve ěku nunuǹ, He was the father.

• 027. The existential copula is kaku, there is/are.

Ǹetu kaku hi masoǹ, There is an eagle in the tree.

Nouns - Pafsan̨a पफ्सन्य

• 029. Nouns are a class of words that function as the names of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
• 030. There are no noun classes in Fudasi.
• 031. Plurality is formed by palatalizing the last consonant:

seǹe, river; seǹ̨e, rivers.

If the plurality is evident, then the singular form is used: bu seǹe, two rivers.

• 032. Possession is indicated by the possessive particle b(a), of.

sahafaǹ ba piseǹ, the child's apple.

anaǹ b' etu, the man's foot.

• 033. Abstract nouns are derived from adjectives with the prefix na-:

fudu, short; nafudu, shortness.

• 034. Abstract nouns are derived from verbs with the prefix na- and the suffix -a:

tubu, to die, natuba, death.

sumu, to hope, nasuma, hope.

• 035. In making componds the final vowel of the first element is dropped.
• 036. Nouns naming a person characterized by an adjective are formed by using the word puna, person:

ǹesu, young; ǹespuna, youth; ǹ̨espuna, youths.

lovu, old; lovpuna, elder; lovpun̨a, elders.

• 037. The agent of a verb is formed using the word puna, person.

onelu, sing; onelpuna, the singer; onelpun̨a, singers.

• 038. The instrument for performing the action of a verb is formed using the word hazo, tool.

suvu, cut; suvhazo, the knife; suvhaz̨o, knives.

• 039. Nouns denoting perceptible things are formed from verbs are formed by using the word faba, thing.

ǹevu, laugh; ǹevfaba, laugh, laughter.

• 040. A noun may be specified as masculine or feminine by using the suffixes ǹan and ǹaf, respectively: navu, bird; ǹannavu, cock; ǹafnavu, hen.
• 041. Collective nouns are formed from nouns or adjectives by using the word sofu, group.

sofuǹ nav̨u, the flock of birds; sofuǹ teseb̨a, the school of fish; sofuǹ tuf̨e, archipelago.

• 042. Diminutives of nouns are formed with the prefix ta-.

nutseǹeǹ, the stream; tanutseǹeǹ, the creek; tanutseǹ̨eǹ, the creeks.

• 043. Nouns may be used to modify other nouns.

kufu nutseǹeǹ, the mountain stream.

Modifiers - Telsan̨a तेल्सन्य

• 044. In Fudasi grammar adjectives, adverbs and determiners are classed together as modifiers.

Adjectives - Siksan̨a सिक्सन्य

• 045. Adjectives are a class of words which qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.
• 046. Adjectives are placed before the noun: katu tabiǹ, the good boy.
• 047. The one degree of comparison, known as the comparative (COMP), is formed with adverb kana, more.

ǹesu, young; kana ǹesu, younger, youngest.

• 048. Negative comparison is formed with the word toso, less: nilu, distant; toso nilu, less/least distant.
• 049. The comparison of equality is formed with the conjunction abe, as.

seku, red; abe seku, as red,

Sa lebe eku abe seku abe sinosi, This flower is as red as blood.

• 051. Participles are a form of a verb that are used to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, playing a role similar to an adjective or adverb.
• 052. There are two participles in Fudasi.

a. The present participle is formed is formed with the suffix -lu:

akazlu tesebaǹ, the swimming fish.

b. The past participle is formed with the suffix -nu:

tudofnu lobiǹ, the sunken boat.

• 053. Word negation is indicated by the use of the prefix l(o)-.

nuvu, even; lonuvu, uneven.

• 054. The suffix -bunu combines with a noun to form an adjective denoting similarity, likeness or resemblance to what is named in the noun root, -ish, -like.

navu, bird; navbunu, like a bird.

• 055. Adjectives with the meaning without are expressed with the prefix -betu, -less.

nasuma, hope; nasumbetu, hopeless.

• 056. Adjectives end in -u so that they may be used as stative verbs: masu sahafaǹ, the sick child; sahafaǹ m̌asu, the child was sick.

Determiners - Tizsan̨a तिस़्सन्य

• 056. Determiners are a class of words that serve to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. They may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc. They are placed before the noun.
• 057. The definite article is -ǹ.
• 058. There is no indefinite article.
• 059. The proximal demonstrative, this/these, is sa.

sa pele, this leaf; sa pel̨e, these leaves.

• 060. The distal demonstrative, that/those, is ta'.

ta patu, that cloud; ta pat̨u, those clouds.

• 061. Numerals precede the noun in the absence of a determiner.

de ǹafu vavu, Three women are cooking.

They follow the noun if the noun is preceded by a determiner.

sa ǹafu de vavu, These three women are cooking.

• 062. The elective indefinite determiner is vibi, any.
• 063. The assertive indefinite determiner is nuzi, some.
• 064. The negative determiner is beku, no.

Numerals - Tonsan̨a तोन्सन्य

• 065. Fudasi has an octal numeral system.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
nu	bu	de	ka	za	so	tu	pe

• 066. The numerals 9-15 are formed by suffixing the proper cardinal to gud, eight.

9	10	11	12	13	14	15
penu	pebu	pede	peka	peza	peso	petu

• 067. The numerals 16-64 are formed by prefixing the proper cardinal to pe, eight.

16	24	32	40	48	56	64
bupe	depe	kape	zape	sope	tupe	pepe

• 068. The ordinals are made with the prefix he-.

hebu nobeǹ, the second rope

• 069. The adverbial numbers are made with the suffix -ha.

buha, twice; peha, eight times.

Adverbs - Dibsan̨a दिब्सन्य

• 070. Adverbs are a class of words that modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a noun phrase, a clause, or a sentence. They typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc.
• 071. Adverbs may be derived from adjectives with the suffix -so.

kasu ǹeseǹ, the brave man; Seve šahu kasuku, He acted bravely.

• 072. The comparative of these adverbs is formed in the same way as are adjectives; kasuku, bravely; kana kasuku, more bravely.

Pronouns - Seǹevsan̨a सेङेभ्सन्य

• 073. Pronouns are a class of words thnu substitute for a noun or noun phrase. There are seven types of pronouns in Fudasi.
• 074. The personal pronouns are neǹe, I; neǹ̨e, we; ben̨e, you (sg.); bene, you (pl.); seve, he, she, it; sev̨e, they.

Neǹe sáku a seve, I love her.

Seve sáku a neǹe, She loves me.

Neǹe ěnivu i seve a lebeǹ, I gave her the flower.

• 075. The interrogative pronouns are hevi, who; bevi, what; and haba, which.
• 076. The reflexive pronouns are translated by using the noun nusa, self.

Neǹe ǔnefu a nusa, I hurt myself.

• 077. The intensive pronouns are formed with the noun nusa, self.

Neǹnusa ųsu, I myself will go.

• 078. The demonstrative pronouns are compounds of the demonstrative determiners and the personal pronouns: savi, this; tavi, that.

This is a flower, Savi eku lebe.

Those are leaves, Tav̨i eku pel̨e .

• 079. The indefinite pronouns are made from the indefinite determiners.

vibpuna, anyone, anybody; vibfaba, anything.

nuzpuna, someone, somebody; nuzfaba, something.

bekpuna, no one, nobody; bekfaba, nothing.

• 080. There are no possessive pronouns. The possessor is expressed with a prepositional phrase using ba.

Savi eku lebe ba bene, tavi eku ba neǹe, This is your flower, that is mine.

Prepositions - Mapsan̨a मप्सन्य

• 081. Fudasi uses prepositions, a class of words that express spatial or temporal reatuions (in, under, towards, before) or mark various semantic roles (of, for).

hi pefeǹ, at the beach.

Nasaǹ eku oli nosiǹ, The cup is on the table.

Conjunctions - Nobezsan̨a नोबेस़्सन्य

• 082. A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases or clauses.
• 083. In Fudasi there are three types of conjunctions.
• 084. A coordinate conjunction joins two or more items of equal syntactic importance.

Sohe ba neǹe ǹe neǹe sabafu saben̨o ǹe seb̨a, My brother and I like coconuts and bananas.

• 085. Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join two or more items of equal syntactic importance.

Neǹe ųsu se i pefeǹ se i kufuǹ, I will go either to the beach or to the mountains.

• 086. Subordinating conjunctions join an independent clause and a dependent clause.

Babu seve eku masu, ňemivu a nataso, Although she is sick, she ate her breakfast.

Octal Table

1 १	2	3 ३	4 ४	5 ४	6 ६	7 ७	8 ८
nu नु	bu बु	de दे	ka क	za स़	so सो	tu तु	pe पे
9 ८१	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
penu	pebu	pede	peka	peza	peso	petu	bupe
17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
bupenu	bupebu	bupede	bupeka	bupeza	bupeso	bupetu	depe
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
depenu	depebu	depede	depeka	depeza	depeso	depetu	kape
33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
kapenu	kapebu	kapede	kapeka	kapeza	kapeso	kapetu	zape
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48
zapenu	zapebu	zapede	zapeka	zapeza	zapeso	zapetu	sope
49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
sopenu	sopebu	sopede	sopeka	sopeza	sopeso	sopetu	tupe
57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
tupenu	tupebu	tupede	tupeka	tupeza	tupeso	tupetu	pepe