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| = Nouns = | | = Nouns = |
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| The roles of nouns in a sentence are indicated through prepositions (or case) and word order. Amal has seven cases.
| | == morphology == |
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| == cases == | |
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| Genrally speaking, these case endings are invariable, with a few eceptions. If a noun ends in a vowel, that vowel is replaced by the case ending, unless the case ending begins with a consonant, then all remain. See examples below.
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| * '''muj''' - man; husband
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| :Nominative – '''muj''' man > '''mujim''' men
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| :Accusative – '''muji''' (the) man > '''mujim''' (the) men
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| :Genitive – '''mujin''' of the man; the man's > '''mujimin''' of the men; the men's
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| :Dative / Locative – '''mujda''' to the man; at the man > '''mujimda''' to the men; at the men
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| :Ablative / Comparative – '''mujac''' from the man; than the man > '''mujimac''' from the men; than the men
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| :Comitative – '''mujle''' with/accompanying the man > '''mujimle''' with/accompanying the men
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| :Instrumenal – '''mujun''' by; using; through the man > '''mujimun''' by; using; through the men
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| * '''doma''' - house; home
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| :Nominative – '''doma''' house > '''domam''' houses
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| :Accusative – '''domi''' (the) house > '''domim''' (the) houses
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| :Genitive – '''domin''' of the house; the house's > '''domamin''' of the houses; the houses’
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| :Dative / Locative – '''domada''' to the house; at the house > '''domamda''' to the houses; at the houses
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| :Ablative / Comparative – '''domac''' from the house; than the house > '''domamac''' from the houses; than the houses
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| :Comitative – '''domale''' with/accompanying the house > '''domamle''' with/accompanying the houses
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| :Instrumental – '''domun''' by; using; through the house > '''domamun''' by; using; through the houses
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| == plurals ==
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| Nouns are commonly preceded by determiners. Plural nouns are formed by appending '''-m''' to nouns ending in vowels
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| or '''-im''' to nouns ending in consonants. This does not alter the stress:
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| * '''doma > domam''' — house > houses
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| * '''muj > mujim''' — man > men
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| Mass nouns include liquids, powders, and substances, such as '''usu''' (water), '''ukum''' (sand), and '''uzra''' (wood). They do
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| not normally require determiners or the plural. However, one may add these to indicate specific examples or
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| different types:
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| * '''al usu''' — the water (e.g. in the cup)
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| * '''uzram''' — woods (e.g. various kinds)
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| == gender ==
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| Gender is typically not indicated. If necessary, nouns may be modified by '''-(e)ka''' (male) or '''-(e)va''' (female):
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| * '''konyaka''' / '''konyava''' — a stallion / a mare
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| A few terms for family members and traditional roles do show distinctions of gender. For example:
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| * '''am''' / '''ab''' — mother / father
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| * '''ban''' / '''neska''' — son / daughter
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| == apposition ==
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| Apposition — the use of one noun to modify another — is mostly limited to names and titles:
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| * '''kada Yusuf''' — Prof. Joseph
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| * '''ane nai Marya''' — my sister Mary
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| = Determiners = | | = Determiners = |
- See also:
Introduction
Amal is meant to be a simple and euphonic personal conlang.
Phonology
p b t d k g m n s sh h w y l r a e i o u
Word Order
SOV
Nouns
morphology
Determiners
Determiners in Amal precede the noun they modify. There is one article: al (the), used similar to English:
- al muj, cuma, u ayelim — the man, a woman, and children
Other words function similarly:
- an - that [over there]
- anta - such
- anyi - same
- ayam - whatever, whichever; any
- aza - few, little
- cok - many; much
- hacok - more
- haza - less; fewer
- kon - this [by me]
- kul - all; every; each
- ne - no; zero
- nek - some; several; a few
- son - that [by you]
- ukra - other
Pronouns
Pronouns in Amal are marked for number and case. There are three persons. Gender is not marked unless necessary for disambiguation. The stand-alone personal pronouns are not used widely as the person is evident from the personal verb ending. They are used for emphasis only in their simple form as the verb form itself already points to the person. This is similar to Spanish where a person will say comprendo - I understand instead of Yo comprendo - I understand.
- The irregular declensions should be apparent.
Pronoun Declension
|
NOM |
ACC |
GEN |
DAT/LOC |
ABL/COMP |
COM |
INS
|
| 1sg
|
na / -an
|
ni
|
nai
|
naye
|
nac
|
nale
|
nun
|
| 2sg
|
te / -at
|
ti
|
tai
|
taye
|
tac
|
tele
|
tun
|
| 3sg
|
il(a/u) / -a
|
ili
|
(i)lai
|
ilye
|
ilac
|
ile
|
ilun
|
| 1pl
|
nuk / -uk
|
inuk
|
nika
|
danuk
|
nukac
|
nukle
|
nukun
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| 2pl
|
tum / -ut
|
itum
|
tima
|
tumda
|
tumac
|
tumle
|
tumun
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| 3pl
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hum / -um
|
ihum/ihma
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hima
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humda
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humac
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humle
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humun
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Verbs
tense
The future tense is marked with -as-/-s(a)-. Past tense is marked with -ar-/-r(a)-. The present tense is unmarked. There are two aspects in Amal, progressive/continuous -i(y)-, and perfective -u(y)-. They are marked in the conjugation of the verb.
- yem-an - I eat
- yem-r-an - I did eat
- yem-s-an - I will eat
- yem-iy-an - I am eating
- yem-ir-an - I was eating
- yem-is-an - I will be eating
- yem-uy-an - I ate
- yem-ur-an - I have eaten
- yem-us-an - I will have eaten
Stories often describe events that take place in the past (or an imagined past), or whose location in time is of no concern to the reader. In such cases, the -ar-/-r(a)- may be omitted.
