Poswa irregular nouns

Poswa has a very large number of irregular nouns. Some short nouns can change their entire stem; for example, vwi "wood" changes, in its essive case, to džol. Likewise, blem means "bottle", but the word for "my bottle" is mio.

Syncopating nouns

Most irregular nouns are syncopating nouns who drop a medial vowel that is present in the nominative form but not in any other forms. These generally end in a consonant in the nominative form, meaning that syncope is impossible. Some nouns behave differently in the possessive stem as compared to the oblique.

Nominative stem	meaning	Oblique stem		1st person Possessive stem	Notes
fuvas	spear	fuffa-		fuffo
piput	honey	pippo-		pippo
wimas	pillow	wimma-		wimpo
žašap	birch tree	žašpo-		žašpo

Other irregular nouns

Some y¹ nouns are prone to syncope in their oblique form and forms derived from the oblique.

Syncope is not the only irregularity, however. Some nouns have other unusual quirks, and could be called the irregulars' irregulars. Some of them feature syncope in addition to their other changes.

B

baby

The declension of baby "all, whole, entire" is below. This is an unusual word because, although it is considered a noun, it is almost always used immediately after another noun and therefore is seen as a modifier. Thus, it becomes unstressed. It thus has undergone the common sound change bVb ---> b in some of its forms but not others.

Note that this word is etymologically identical with the less common plural ending -by and with the pronoun baby meaning "we", but that the three words diverged long enough ago that the meanings have changed:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	baby	babo	babe	baba	babo
(Oblique)	bo				babo
Accusative	bop	babop	babep	babap	babop
Locative	bom	babom	babem	babam	babom
Possessive	bos	babos	babes	babas	babos
Essive	babi	babi	babul	babel	babi
Instrumental	bub	babub	babi	babob	babub

bivibos

The declension of bivibos "skin" is below:

bivibos

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	bivibos	bivibo	bivibe	biviba
(Oblique)	bivibo	bivibo	bivibe	biviba
Accusative	bivibop	bivibop	bivibep	bivibap
Locative	bivibom	bivibom	bivibem	bivibam
Possessive	bivibos	bivibos	bivibes	bivibas
Essive	bivibi	bivibi	bivibul	bivibel
Instrumental	bivibub	bivibub	bivibi	bivibob

Pisfufi bivibap bomby mabiub.

I covered all of her skin with soap.

This word is historically a compound meaning "soft skin", where the original word for skin was bivi and was compounded with bos "soft object". Thus, it became irregular as it inherited the irregular declension pattern of bos. Bos is no longer used as a standalone noun, but it can appear as a suffix on other nouns, sometimes with the simple meaning "soft" and sometimes with the extended meaning "skin, peel".

bis

The declension of bis "substitute, replacement" is below. Note that this word, like baby, was originally an unstressed form of another noun; in this case, biris, which was first syncopated to bris and then simplified to bis. These were both regular sound changes for unstressed syllables, but not for stressed syllables:

bis

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	bis	bebo	bebe	beba	bebo
(Oblique)	bebo	bebo	bebe	beba	bebo
Accusative	bebop	bebop	bebep	bebap	bebop
Locative	bebom	bebom	bebem	bebam	bebom
Possessive	bebos	bebos	bebes	bebas	bebos
Essive	bebi	bebi	bebul	bebel	bebi
Instrumental	bebub	bebub	bebi	bebob	bebub

Note that the inflected forms of this word (that is, all but the nominative standalone form) do not have syncope, and thus retain the original /i/ as -e-, because another sound change happened first that removed the environment necessary for the syncope. Also, in some words, the sound change of bris --> bis did not happen, but these words decline the same way as the words ending in bis since the -r- had been removed in all of the inflected forms by another sound change anyway. Also, the full form of the word, biris, is still used as a word by itself, and it has a similar series of forms, the only difference being that the original -i- remains -i- instead of changing to -e-. Thus one can say

Bamba mumbebap pypembaba.

The baby is holding up her pacifier.

blem

Below is the declension for blem "bottle":

blem

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	blem	mio	mie	mia	mia
(Oblique)	mia	mio	mie	mia	mia
Accusative	miap	miop	miep	miap	miap
Locative	miam	miom	miem	miam	miam
Possessive	mias	mios	mies	mias	mias
Essive	miel	mie	miul	miel	miel
Instrumental	miob	miub	mie	miob	miob

blub

Below is the declension for blub "milk":

blub

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	blub	blwo	blwe	blwa	blwo
(Oblique)	blwu	blwo	blwe	blwa	blwo
Accusative	blwop	blwop	blwep	blwap	blwop
Locative	blwom	blwom	blwem	blwam	blwom
Possessive	blwos	blwos	blwes	blwas	blwos
Essive	blwi	blwi	blwul	blwel	blwi
Instrumental	blwub	blwub	blwi	blwob	blwub

Thus one can say:

Tus,₁ bom₂ blwe₃ miom?₄

Is that₁₂ your milk₃ in my bottle?₄

bub

Note that another common, and very similar, word for milk exists: bub. Bub specifically denotes human breast milk. The two words are related at a very deep level, as blub was long ago originally a compound with bub as its second element, despite the fact that blub has a wider range of meaning. The two declensions are exactly identical save for the presence or absence of the -l- in all forms. Below is the declension for bub "breast milk":

bub

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	bub	bwo	bwe	bwa	bwo
(Oblique)	bwu	bwo	bwe	bwa	bwo
Accusative	bwop	bwop	bwep	bwap	bwop
Locative	bwom	bwom	bwem	bwam	bwom
Possessive	bwos	bwos	bwes	bwas	bwos
Essive	bwi	bwi	bwul	bwel	bwi
Instrumental	bwub	bwub	bwi	bwob	bwub

Thus one can say

Plefi!₁ Tus₂ nobellam₃ bufeba₄ bwul?₅

Whoa!₁ This₄ ice cream₃ is₂ made from your breast milk?₅

F

fefappo

The declension of fefappo "metal; hard firm object" is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	fefappo	fefappypo	fefappype	fefappypa
(Oblique)	fefappwo
Accusative	fefappwop	fefappypop	fefappypep	fefappypap
Locative	fefappwom	fefappypom	fefappypem	fefappypam
Possessive	fefappwos	fefappypos	fefappypes	fefappypas
Essive	fefappwi	fefappypi	fefappypul	fefappypel
Instrumental	fefappwub	fefappypub	fefappypi	fefappypob

Puvapopi tallobi šaliašub fefappwiba.

I opened the door with my metal key.

Pwawam, swombyži potibemwop fefappwi.

Please, buy me the hard candy.

K

kuvar

The declension of kuvar "asymmetrical sphere; irregularly shaped bubble" is below:

kuvar

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	kuvar
(Oblique)	kuvvo
Accusative	kuvvop
Locative	kuvvom
Possessive	kuvvos
Essive	kuvvi
Instrumental	kuvvub

L

labal

The declension of labal "bed" is below:

labal

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	labal	lablio	lablie	lablia	lablo
(Oblique)	lablo	lablio	lablie	lablia	labžo
Accusative	lablop	labliop	labliep	labliap	labžop
Locative	lablom	labliom	labliem	labliam	labžom
Possessive	lablos	lablios	lablies	lablias	labžos
Essive	labli	lablie	labliul	labliel	labži
Instrumental	lablub	labliub	lablie	labliob	labžub

Lablies sentažwum boša.

Your bed's pillows are soft.

M

mimap

The declension of mimap "clumsy person, cripple" is below:

mimap

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	mimap	mimpio	mimpie	mimpia	mimpo
(Oblique)	mimpo	mimpio	mimpie	mimpia	mimpfo
Accusative	mimpop	mimpiop	mimpiep	mimpiap	mimpfop
Locative	mimpom	mimpiom	mimpiem	mimpiam	mimpfom
Possessive	mimpos	mimpios	mimpies	mimpias	mimpfos
Essive	mimpi	mimpie	mimpiul	mimpiel	mimpfi
Instrumental	mimpub	mimpiub	mimpie	mimpiob	mimpfub

This word is often used to denote someone with a disability. It originates from a term denoting something draped over a person, as if to imply that if that person could remove what was on top of them, they could be healthy again. Thus, mimap is often preceded by a word describing a disease or disability.

mipis

The declension of mipis "sweetheart, lover" is below:

mipis

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	mipis	mipsio	mipsie	mipsia	mipso
(Oblique)	mipso	mipsio	mipsie	mipsia	mipšo
Accusative	mipsop	mipsiop	mipsiep	mipsiap	mipšop
Locative	mipsom	mipsiom	mipsiem	mipsiam	mipšom
Possessive	mipsos	mipsios	mipsies	mipsias	mipšos
Essive	mipsi	mipsie	mipsiul	mipsiel	mipši
Instrumental	mipsub	mipsiub	mipsie	mipsiob	mipšub

mom

The declension of mom "mom" is below:

mom

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	mom	mama	mamap	mamas
(Oblique)	mio		mamwa	mamma
Accusative	miop	mamap	mamwap	mammap
Locative	miom	mamam	mamwam	mammam
Possessive	mios	mamas	mamwas	mammas
Essive	mie	mamel	mamwel	mammel
Instrumental	miub	mamob	mamwob	mammob

For auditory precision, the 3rd possessive forms are often replaced with the otherwise archaic mia- stem, which is the original regular stem of the word. Thus one can say

Mammas! Mias!

His mom's! His mom's!

The mama forms were originally a formal word, and mom was a familiar term, but the two partially switched places when Poswa changed its grammar somewhat and the words for "my mother", "your mother", and so on became three syllables long. For example, the mia above that survives as an alternate form was, at the time, *mugwaba. Mama came to take over because it was a noun of such an old type that it had effectively monomorphemic forms for its possessives, not needing to take a suffix such as -abo.

mum

The declension of mum "nipples (dual)" is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	mum	vo	ve	va
(Oblique)	miu
Accusative	miup	vop	vep	vap
Locative	mium	vom	vem	vam
Possessive	mias	vos	ves	vas
Essive	miel	vi	vul	vel
Instrumental	miob	vub	vi	vob

Because of their brevity, the possessed forms of this noun are convenient but can be easily missed in a conversation since the stem of the noun is reduced to a simple v-. They are also homophonous with several short words, although due to the grammar of Poswa, this does not often lead to confusion. Nevertheless, the possessed forms of this noun are often avoided in favor of using the compound noun mumblop "nipple eyes", or papom "breast nipples" (which declines in the same way as mum).

P

pamaš

The declension of pamaš "winter" is below:

pamaš

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pamaš
(Oblique)	pampo
Accusative	pampop
Locative	pampom
Possessive	pampos
Essive	pampi
Instrumental	pampub

Thus one can say

Swo, blob blubo nambvap pampos.

I sleep with my window open in winter.

pes

The declension of pes "hands; hand (plural)" is below:

pes

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pes	pifo	pife	pifa	pifa
(Oblique)	pipa	pifo	pife	pifa	pifa
Accusative	pipap	pifop	pifep	pifap	pifap
Locative	pipam	pifom	pifem	pifam	pifam
Possessive	pipas	pifos	pifes	pifas	pifas
Essive	pipel	pifi	piful	pifel	pifel
Instrumental	pipob	pifub	pifi	pifob	pifob

This noun does not normally take a plural suffix since it is seen as plural by default.

Pwopwa₁ pifas₂ plopum₃ pilabel.₄

The children₁ dipped₄ their hands₂ in the paint.₃

Note that the verb is intransitive and that the word for "their hands" is in the possessive case rather than the accusative.

pešaf

The declension of pešaf "book, poem, work of literature" is below:

pešaf

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pešaf	pešio	pešie	pešia	pešfo
(Oblique)	pešfo	pešio	pešie	pešia	pešfo
Accusative	pešfop	pešiop	pešiep	pešiap	pešfop
Locative	pešfom	pešiom	pešiem	pešiam	pešfom
Possessive	pešfos	pešios	pešies	pešias	pešfos
Essive	pešfi	pešie	pešiul	pešiel	pešfi
Instrumental	pešfub	pešiub	pešie	pešiob	pešfub

Thus one can say:

Pešiom₁ pwaefae!₂

You're sitting₂ on my books!₁

Note that this is an intransitive verb and that there is no object in this sentence.

Pešaf is a variant of the more common peššaf, which is regular. There is also another variant, pepaf, which declines the same way as pešaf.

pfop

The declension of pfop "hips (dual)" is below:

pfop

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pfop	putšo	putše	putša	putša
(Oblique)	puwa	putšo	putše	putša	putša
Accusative	puwap	putšop	putšep	putšap	putšap
Locative	puwam	putšom	putšem	putšam	putšam
Possessive	puwas	putšos	putšes	putšas	putšas
Essive	puwel	putši	putšul	putšel	putšel
Instrumental	puwob	putšub	putši	putšob	putšob

Note that this is the dual form of the word, not the plural, and thus is only used to describe one person's two hips.

Many of this word's forms collide with those of the unrelated word pwap "buttocks" (see below). The primary verb for walking, puwap, is originally derived from pfop, as one walks by moving the hips, but because of the collision, it appears equally proper to relate it to pwap "buttocks" instead. Indeed, pwap is also an acceptable variant form of puwap, as it has been reanalyzed.

For further clarity, fep "side" can be added to specify the hips, which turns the word into a regular noun. However, this is mostly done with the singular word for hip rather than the dual.

Note that Poswa uses the dual form in many cases where an English speaker would expect the singular:

Putšos mupawabub babužvabbi.

My hip measurement is seven hands.

Using the singular form puvos would be generally understood but would imply that only one hip was measured.

pfwu

The declension of pfwu "diaper" is below:

pfwu

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pfwu	pfwo	pfwe	pfwa
(Oblique)
Accusative	pfwup	pfwop	pfwep	pfwap
Locative	pfwum	pfwom	pfwem	pfwam
Possessive	pfwus	pfwos	pfwes	pfwas
Essive	pfwi	pfwi	pfwul	pfwel
Instrumental	pfwub	pfwub	pfwi	pfwob

Thus one could say

Bwumbom₁ pfwem?₂

What's that₁ in your diaper?₂

The 2nd person possessed forms of this word collide with the free forms of the historically related word #pypae "hat". Though neither word is analyzed as a compound in modern Poswa, historically both were compounds, with the shared initial element indicating that hats and diapers are both articles of clothing worn to protect people from unwanted moisture. In modern Poswa, both pfwu "diaper" and pypae "hat" are used as standalone words, but compound forms such as plumpypae "rained-on hat" are not unknown. An example of an analogous form that is a synonym for diaper is pompwu. This word is difficult to translate into English morphemically because all possible English translations are euphemisms.

note, they would just use pfwupop.

piraf

The declension of piraf "goal, planned victory" is below:

piraf

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	piraf	piffo	piffe	piffa	piffo
(Oblique)	piffo	piffo	piffe	piffa	piffo
Accusative	piffop	piffop	piffep	piffap	piffop
Locative	piffom	piffom	piffem	piffam	piffom
Possessive	piffos	piffos	piffes	piffas	piffos
Essive	piffi	piffe	pifful	piffel	piffi
Instrumental	piffub	piffub	piffe	piffob	piffub

Note that piraf and pešaf do not follow similar patterns because the origins of their final /fʷ/ are different. Pešaf comes from Babakiam peišafu, and piraf comes from Babakiam pivafiu.

Note also that this word is often seen as the second element of the compound bespumpiraf which has the same meaning.

pobba

The declension of pobba "oak tree" is below:

pobba

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pobba	pupo	pupe	pupa
(Oblique)	pobba	pupo	pupe	pupa
Accusative	pobbap	pupop	pupep	pupap
Locative	pobbam	pupom	pupem	pupam
Possessive	pobbas	pupos	pupes	pupas
Essive	pobbel	pupi	pupul	pupel
Instrumental	pobbob	pupub	pupi	pupob

Thus one can say

Pupopi bipempupebi.

I climbed up my oak tree.

Lypel pobbam pwabapaba.

The squirrel is hiding in an oak tree.

Pampeftio pobbel.

My arrow is made of oak wood.

pobbas

The declension of pobbas "war" is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pobbas	pobbavo	pobbave	pobbava
(Oblique)	pobbava	pobbavo	pobbave	pobbava
Accusative	pobbavap	pobbavop	pobbavep	pobbavap
Locative	pobbavam	pobbavom	pobbavem	pobbavam
Possessive	pobbavas	pobbavos	pobbaves	pobbavas
Essive	pobbavel	pobbavi	pobbavul	pobbavel
Instrumental	pobbavob	pobbavub	pobbavi	pobbavob

Potibi pobbavas fub bibubbies.

I fought in the war against the spiders.

Bum pobbavopub waporbub!

Let us win our war!

pop

The declension of pop "bathtub, bathing area; shower stall" is below:

pop

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pop	poppo	poppe	poppa	poppae
(Oblique)	poppe	poppo	poppe	poppa	popfwe
Accusative	poppep	poppop	poppep	poppap	popfwep
Locative	poppem	poppom	poppem	poppam	popfwem
Possessive	poppes	poppos	poppes	poppas	popfwes
Essive	poppul	poppi	poppul	poppel	popfwul
Instrumental	poppi	poppub	poppi	poppob	popfwi

Thus one can say

Bwumbebe₁ pwarbiep₂ poppem?₃

What did you do₁ to the bubbles₂ in the bathtub?₃

poppel

The declension of poppel "pen for writing, especially one made from a feather" is below:

poppel

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	poppel	popfo	popfe	popfa
(Oblique)	popfa	popfo	popfe	popfa
Accusative	popfap	popfop	popfep	popfap
Locative	popfam	popfom	popfem	popfam
Possessive	popfas	popfos	popfes	popfas
Essive	popfel	popfi	popful	popfel
Instrumental	popfob	popfub	popfi	popfob

poty

Poty can refer to either of two unrelated words in Poswa. One means "candy", the other means "soldier". Confusion does not usually present itself as the two meanings are very distinct. Both nouns are irregular and are irregular in the same way. They have been homophonous for more than 4000 years. Both are used primarily in compounds, either as the first or last element, although using them in free-standing form is not incorrect. The declension of poty "candy; soldier" is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	poty	popo	pope	popa
(Oblique)	poto
Accusative	potop	popop	popep	popap
Locative	potom	popom	popem	popam
Possessive	potos	popos	popes	popas
Essive	poti	popi	popul	popel
Instrumental	potub	popi	popub	popob

This pattern would be considered regular if the noun were longer; the sound change /tʷ/ > /p/ is found regularly in longer nouns. However, in words of only one syllable, because the first syllable is always stressed, the expected change is /tʷ/ > /pf/. The discrepancy exists because the shorter form was generalized from compounds.

pube

Pube is a stem-changing noun, like most nouns that end in -be. This is due to a very old sound change of /bi/ > /ž/ when followed by a vowel. The declension of pube "plant, plants in general" is below:

pube

Case	Free	Possessed
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pube	pužo	puže	puža
(Oblique)	pube	pužo	puže	puža
Accusative	pubep	pužop	pužep	pužap
Locative	pubem	pužom	pužem	pužam
Possessive	pubes	pužos	pužes	pužas
Essive	pubul	puži	pužul	pužel
Instrumental	pubi	pužub	puži	pužob

Thus one can say

Pubes₁ beblalio₂ rappa,₃ bubum?₄

What's₄ the name₃ for these plants₁ growing on me?₂

pumes

The declension of pumes "hip" is below. Pumes is a partly suppletive noun which also has a suppletive dual and plural form (listed separately):

pumes

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pumes	puvo	puve	puva	pumpae
(Oblique)	pumpe	puvo	puve	puva	pumpe
Accusative	pumpep	puvop	puvep	puvap	pumpep
Locative	pumpem	puvom	puvem	puvam	pumpem
Possessive	pumpes	puvos	puves	puvas	pumpes
Essive	pumpul	puvi	puvul	puvel	pumpul
Instrumental	pumpi	puvub	puvi	puvob	pumpi

Thus one can say:

Puvo puvapwop sapwel.

My hip opened the swinging door.

Puvo pamwiržom bavbažel.

My hip was injured by the wine glass.

Note that nonliving objects such as wine glasses are inanimate in Poswa, and thus cannot be the subject of a sentence even when they are in motion and would be considered the agent of the verb in languages such as English. Thus, a passive verb is needed. The sentence above translates literally as "My hip was injured on the wine glass," with the wine glass in the locative case.

pupu

The declension of pupu "round object" is below. Note that this word does not normally occur by itself, as it is homophonous with several other words. Rather, it appears as the second element of various compounds:

pupu

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pupu	puppo	puppe	puppa
(Oblique)	pupo
Accusative	pupop	puppop	puppep	puppap
Locative	pupom	puppom	puppem	puppam
Possessive	pupos	puppos	puppes	puppas
Essive	pupi	puppi	puppul	puppel
Instrumental	pupub	puppub	puppi	puppob

Note that the very common word pobby "wheel" uses this morpheme (technically, a related one) at the beginning of the word, rather than the end, and therefore does not follow this pattern of declension. Instead, it declines normally.

pwap

The declension of pwap "buttocks (dual)" is below:

pwap

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pwap	pwatšo	pwatše	pwatša
(Oblique)	puwa	pwatšo	pwatše	pwatša
Accusative	puwap	pwatšop	pwatšep	pwatšap
Locative	puwam	pwatšom	pwatšem	pwatšam
Possessive	puwas	pwatšos	pwatšes	pwatšas
Essive	puwel	pwatši	pwatšul	pwatšel
Instrumental	puwob	pwatšub	pwatši	pwatšob

Note that this is the dual form of the word, not the plural, which is pres (which is also irregular) or prebum (which is regular).

Pintatšopi pwatšom pampam pebwebi.

I placed my ticket into my back pocket.

Note that only pwatšom "butt" is marked with a possessive suffix, because the possessive does not carry over to modifiers, even if they are semantically also possessed.

The free forms of the word, except for the nominative, are the same as those of pfop, the dual form of the word for hips. This has led to the verb for "to walk", originally derived from pfop "hips", to be reinterpreted as having been derived from pwap "buttocks" instead, as pwap was a more common word and the two stems were homophonous. More recently, that verb, originally derived from the accusative, has been reinvented as a nominative stem by analogy with most other verbs, which overwhelmingly build from the nominative. But it is the nominative form of pwap, rather than the original pfop, which is used. Thus in Poswa both pwap and puwap are verb stems meaning "to walk", and have no significant difference in meaning.

pypae

The declension of pypae "hat, cap, protection from rain" is below:

pypae

Case	Free	Possessed
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	pypae	pypo	pype	pypa
(Oblique)	pfwe
Accusative	pfwep	pypop	pypep	pypap
Locative	pfwem	pypom	pypem	pypam
Possessive	pfwes	pypos	pypes	pypas
Essive	pfwul	pypi	pypul	pypel
Instrumental	pfwi	pypub	pypi	pypob

Many of the forms of this word collide with forms of #pfwu "diaper". The two words are related, as they both describe articles of clothing that protect the wearer from wetness. This has led to the neologism plumpypae, by analogy with plumpapa "umbrella". The second morpheme in plumpypae declines identically to pypae except that it loses its -f- in all forms in which it appears in pypae. Thus one hears

Plumpwepi swombebi.

I bought a hat.

However, some speakers prefer to switch the other morpheme out in place of pfwu itself, effectively making the word for hat into a word that means "rain diaper". This has the advantage of being a syllable shorter in the possessed forms. Since both forms are acceptable, an individual speaker can vary between one and the other in the same sentence, meaning that the resulting hybrid word has suppletive possessives.

S

sabas

The declension of sabas "man, adult male human" is below:

sabas

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	sabas	sapšo
(Oblique)	sapsa	sapšo
Accusative	sapsap	sapšop
Locative	sapsam	sapšom
Possessive	sapsas	sapšos
Essive	sapsel	sapši
Instrumental	sapsob	sapšub

T

tos

The declension of tos "capable" is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	tos	tatio	tatie	tatia
(Oblique)	tato
Accusative	tatop	tatiop	tatiep	tatiap
Locative	tatom	tatiom	tatiem	tatiam
Possessive	tatos	tatios	taties	tatias
Essive	tati	tatie	tatiul	tatiel
Instrumental	tatub	tatiub	tatie	tatiob

tones

The declension of tones "party, celebration" is below:

tones

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	tones
(Oblique)	tonto
Accusative	tontop
Locative	tontom
Possessive	tontos
Essive	tonti
Instrumental	tontub

twu

The declension of twu "water" is below:

twu

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	twu	tšio	tšie	tšia	two
(Oblique)	two	tšio	tšie	tšia	tšio
Accusative	twop	tšiop	tšiep	tšiap	tšiop
Locative	twom	tšiom	tšiem	tšiam	tšiom
Possessive	twos	tšios	tšies	tšias	tšios
Essive	twi	tšie	tšiul	tšiel	tšie
Instrumental	twub	tšiub	tšie	tšiob	tšiub

Note that most of the forms of this word collide with those of #twub "urine". Thus one should be careful using sentences like

Tšiopi bwurbub!

Let me drink my water!

Without being mindful of the pissibility of alternative interpretations. Nevertheless, just as Poswobs generally do not have a problem with mentioning potty problems in polite company, they do not find coincidences such as this as disturbing as most of their neighbors do, and have happily gone on using a word that means both "water" and "urine" for hundreds of years (in the much longer history before the recent sound changes, the two words were still distinct, as they still are in Pabappa). Nevertheless, when clarity is needed, other words can be pulled into use, such as rumu, a synonym for water in general, or a compound with more specific meaning such as satwu "drinking water" or listwu "bathwater". There are some semantic differences here; for example, putting the two words in the locative case, twom means "wet", but rumom means "in the water", implying that the water is stably surrounding something.

On the other side of the divide, one can use a compound such as potwub "down-(flowing) urine" or replace the term entirely with a word such as pypo, which literally means water flowing downhill but has come to be used as another word for urine. Nevertheless, none of these terms have driven the tw- words out of their positions as the primary terms.

twub

The declension of twub "urine" is below:

twub

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	twub	tšio	tšie	tšia	two
(Oblique)	two	tšio	tšie	tšia	tšio
Accusative	twop	tšiop	tšiep	tšiap	tšiop
Locative	twom	tšiom	tšiem	tšiam	tšiom
Possessive	twos	tšios	tšies	tšias	tšios
Essive	twi	tšie	tšiul	tšiel	tšie
Instrumental	twub	tšiub	tšie	tšiob	tšiub

Tšie poppu, vwom waebwos.

My urine sample is ready for the lab.

Most of the forms of this word are identical to the forms in the same positions for #twu "water". This is a coincidence, as the two words are unrelated and are distinct in close relatives such as Pabappa, where the word for urine is wupur and the word for water is wap. The coalescence happened only a few hundred years ago, and although the Poswobs have alternate words available to express these concepts, they are generally pushed into use only when confusion could result. The situation is plain enough that it would be seen as strange to substitute one of the less-used words solely for the sake of euphemism.

Verbs

Note that the corresponding verb forms are formed from the nominative, which is the only form wherein the two words differ. Thus, the verbs are distinct, and both are regular:

Sambvabiepi₁ tuwebi.₂

I watered₂ the flowers.₁

Žuftam šoššam twirebi.

I peed in the puddle on the floor.

W

wiwi

The declension of wiwi "tooth; sharp object; to blow forcefully" is below:

wiwi

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	wiwi	wiwio			wiwo
(Oblique)	wiwe	wiwio			wiwio
Accusative	wiwep	wiwiop			wiwiop
Locative	wiwem	wiwiom			wiwiom
Possessive	wiwes	wiwios			wiwios
Essive	wiwi	wiwie			wiwie
Instrumental	wiwub	wiwiub			wiwiub

Tašepi₁ nabi₂ wiwiub.₃

I carried₂ the apple₁ with my teeth.₃

Wiwembabo!

I need something sharp!

Note that the corresponding verb is regular.

Džopfabbiopi wiwibebi.

I blew on the candles.

wup

The declension of wup "message, information, data" is below:

wup

Case	Free	Possessed			Attached
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative	wup	wupio	wupie	wupia
(Oblique)	wupwo	wupio	wupie	wupia
Accusative	wupwop	wupiop	wupiep	wupiap
Locative	wupwom	wupiom	wupiem	wupiam
Possessive	wupwos	wupios	wupies	wupias
Essive	wupwi	wupie	wupiul	wupiel
Instrumental	wupwub	wupiub	wupie	wupiob

Wupiopi puvebe, pa?

Did you hear my message?

Nouns utilizing contracted forms of the membership infix -s-

Membership

Many nouns use contracted forms of this affix. For example, ta "human" does not become taso "I'm a human", but rather to. Thus, there exists a Poswa word with more morphemes than phonemes. However, this word is normally used as a suffix appearing at the end of a longer word such as sittuta "doctor". The necessary sound changes to make this contraction could not have happened in the standalone form, and were generalized from the much more common suffix form.

Most of these nouns are words for humans, since only humans could use the 1st and 2nd person forms of the resulting contracted verbs. However, some of the nouns that contract are words for animals, such as džimi "snail, slug":

Mapsipufos džimpa pummatšem batia.

My pet, a slug, is crawling up your leg.

Or even common inanimate objects such as wupe "book, learning resource". That is, someone writing a book on biology might title it something such as

Peppapa wa pubebum pupipum: Wupa

Animals and plants of the world: A book

Examples of nouns with membership contractions

Most nouns with membership contractions are those in which sound changes have silenced the -s- that normally marks membership in a class. Those that were irregular in other ways but retained the -s- tended to be quickly restored to a regular form. Words in which the bare form is obsolete in standard speech are marked in the left column with an asterisk; however, educated speakers may sometimes use them when context is clear.

Noun stem	Meaning	3rd person form	Notes
mapo	girl	mappa	earlier maptsa --> mappsa --> mappa
pypub	boy	pypwa
ta	human; agentive suffix	ta	Used almost exclusively as the agentive suffix in words such as sittuta "doctor"
poty	soldier	potwa	Not usually applied to the homophonous word poty meaning "candy".
wenub	dead body	wenta
piššop	mouse	piššopwa	collides with theoretical verb "to mouse"
*sum	dolphin	sympa	The bare form sum is not normally used in general discourse
sumpapapa	dolphin	sumpapapa	sympa (see above) is more common
tama	small boy	tampa
taepe	slave	taepa
tabo	mollusk, that which has a seashell	tapwa	this is a fossil word, using infixed -a- instead of suffixed -a
*uma	woman	umpa	Not in dictionary; this word is rarely used in bare form
popa	child, offspring	popa	Not used in the sense "child; young person", but rather only to indicate descendants
wembapop	parent(s)	wempa	Membership contractions are independent of number, so the dual suffix -pop disappears
pwopol	mature, elderly	pwopa	-pui > -pol, but -puis- > -pes- > -ps- > -p-
pipa	toddler	pipa	behaves in many cases as a suppletive for pwopwa
pavy	student, trainee, recently enlisted soldier	panta	originally regular; Babakiam pa niu ----> pavy, but pa nius ba --> panysa --> panisa --> pantsa --> panta
baemu	nurse	baempa	This word might make more sense if it began with be-
*pib	man, adult male human	pipwa
wampa	babysitter	wampa	Implies a teenage girl; however, sometimes used by small children for their teachers
pappi	teenager (boy or girl)	pappa
tae	toddler	tapa	used primarily in the 2nd person
šyso	young adult (man or woman)	šyssa
wupe	book	wupa
pisa	young (said of animals)	pissa
potta	flower	potta
šul	fish	šes	An example where -s is preserved

In terms of address, membership contractions are so common that Poswobs have subconsciously selected for words that have them over words that do not. In some cases, the agentive suffix -ta has been added to words in order that they fit into this category. For example, the military ranks bapsata, sužata, and boprata were originally standalone nouns without the suffix -ta, in keeping with the terms for lower ranking soldiers such as poty and pavy, but because their phonetic shape did not allow them to change during the time when membership contractions were taking place, the speakers of Poswa added the -ta by mental association with other words and they therefore came to have membership contractions after all. Words ending with the suffix -ta are not listed above because they are considered to be accounted for in the entry for ta itself.

Use of terms of address

Poswobs of both sexes are more likely to use words for children to address others and to denote oneself than to describe third parties. This is largely because context allows a two-person conversation freer use of terms of address, including those that are not literally true.

In fact, one of the most popular terms of address for adults of both sexes is tae "toddler". This word is rarely used literally, appearing almost exclusively in membership words and in compounds such as taempom "playground, place where toddlers play". However, the word pipa, which also means toddler, is usually reserved for literal usage; calling out

Tape!

Hey, kid!

Could turn the faces of nearly an entire room around, but someone who says Pipe! instead will draw the attention only of the very young.

The only commonly used words for adults, uma and pib, are both obsolete as standalone terms, rarely appearing outside of compounds. However, unlike tae, they are still commonly used for third-person address:

Pupsafos umpa kuva.

My female boss is sick.

Use of tense markers with membership verbs

Membership verbs, like other verbs, conjugate for tense as well as person. Thus one can say

Pipipies, pipepaži.

When I was a toddler, I was blonde.

Scrub

blank noun table:

NOUN

The declension of NOUN " " is below:

NOUN

Case	Free	Possessed
		1p	2p	3p
Nominative
(Oblique)
Accusative
Locative
Possessive
Essive
Instrumental