Basics of Sentence Formation

The Basics of Forming a Sentence

Once you know the pronouns, building a sentence comes down to four basic steps: building a verb, building a noun phrase, adding prepositions (which go on the end of words in Taíno, called postpositions), and putting them in the right order.

Building an Action Verb Every active verb follows a simple three-part formula:

Pronoun Prefix + Verb Root + Tense Suffix

There are four main tense/aspect suffixes you attach to the end of the verb:

• -ka (Present / Habitual): Ongoing states or things done regularly.

• -ba (Past / Completed): Actions that are finished.

• -bo (Progressive): Actions happening right this second ("-ing").

• -ha (Future): Things that will happen.

Let's test this with the verb root ahiya (to speak) and bori (to work):

• b'ahiyaba (bu- + ahiya + -ba) = You spoke.

• d'ahiyabo (da- + ahiya + -bo) = I am speaking.

• tuborika (tu- + bori + -ka) = She works.

To give a Command (Imperative), use the pronoun prefix for who you are ordering around, and put -te at the end of the verb:

• b'ahiyate! (bu- + ahiya + -te) = Speak!

• hukãmate! (hu- + kãma [listen] + -te) = You all listen!

Saying "To Be" and Describing Things (Stative Clauses) Taíno doesn't have a separate verb root for "to be." Instead, it attaches the present/stative suffix -ka (or past -ba, future -ha) directly to the pronoun prefix:

• daka = I am

• buka = You are

• lika = He is | tuka = She is | toka = It is

• waka = We are | huka = You all are | naka = They are

• (In the past: liba = He was; in the future: daha = I will be.)

When you want to link a subject to an adjective (like xali "happy", sinato "angry", or tuyu "tall"), Ahiyaniwa Taíno gives you two equally valid ways to do it:

• The All-in-One Way (Synthetic): Sandwich the adjective right between the pronoun prefix and -ka.

  • toxalika (to- + xali + -ka) = It is happy.

• The Separate-Word Way (Analytic): Use the "to be" word first, followed by the adjective as a separate word.

  • lika sinato (li-ka + sinato) = He is angry.

Nouns, Articles, and Plurals Before dropping nouns into a sentence, you can dress them up with articles ("the" / "a") and plural endings:

• "The" (Definite Articles): Use the free word li before masculine humans (li kasike = the chief), and to before feminine or inanimate nouns (to hamaka = the hammock, to surihi = the path). For inanimate nouns, you can also attach the prefix ka- directly onto the noun to mean "the" (ka-bohio = the house, ka-arabu = the forest).

• "A / Some" (Indefinite Articles): Put aba before a noun for "a/an" (aba tiyawo = a friend) or ababe for "some/several" (ababe kaimã = some crocodiles).

• Plurals: Add -no to the end of human/animate nouns (tai "good" --> taino "good people") and -be to inanimate or general nouns.

• Combining Nouns/Adjectives: When combining words to describe something, the descriptor always goes before the main noun (just like English blue-eyed woman --> buti-kako inaru).

Postpositions (Prepositions in Reverse) In English, words like to, from, in, at, and with go before the noun (which is why they are called pre-positions). In Taíno, they are suffixes attached to the very end of the noun or pronoun (making them post-positions):

• -mũ (to / for): bu-mũ (to you), da-mũ (for me), li-mũ (to him)

• -yo (toward): arabu-yo (toward the forest)

• -kowa (at / on / in): ka-burẽ-kowa (ka- [the] + burẽ [griddle] + -kowa [at] = at the griddle)

• -oria (from / out of / than): t'oria (to- [it] + -oria [from] = from it)

• -oma (in the company of / with): w'oma (wa- [us] + -oma [with] = with us)

• -abo (using / with): d'awõ-m-abo (with my dog — notice how an extra -m- is tucked in to keep the nasal vowel õ from colliding with -abo!)

• -oloko (inside): kabohio t'oloko (inside the house).

Making a Sentence Negative To say someone is not doing something or is not a certain way, attach the prefix ma- to the very front of the verb:

• maxalika (ma- [not] + xali [happy] + -ka [is]) = is not happy.

Putting It All Together: Word Order

Unlike English, which puts the Subject first (S-V-O: The woman works at the griddle), Taíno prefers to lead with the action (V-S-O: Verb – Subject – Object / Location). Even when a full noun subject is included in the sentence, the verb at the beginning still keeps its matching pronoun prefix!

Here is how real sentences come together step-by-step using the rules above:

Example A: Action + Location + Accompaniment

"I will travel to the forest with my dog."

d'okonaha arabuyo d'awõmabo

• d'okonaha = da- (I, vowel dropped) + okona (travel) + -ha (future tense: will) --> "I will travel"

• arabuyo = arabu (forest) + -yo (toward/to) --> "to the forest"

• d'awõmabo = da- (my, vowel dropped) + awõ (dog) + -m- (bridge sound) + -abo (with) --> "with my dog"

Example B: Verb-First Word Order (V-S-O) with a Noun Subject

"My heart is happy at the guava tree."

toxalika d'anixi kawayabakowa

• toxalika = to- (it) + xali (happy) + -ka (is) --> "It is happy..." (Verb goes first!)

• d'anixi = da- (my) + anixí (heart) --> "...my heart..." (The Subject comes second, explaining what "it" is!)

• kawayabakowa = ka- (the) + wayaba (guava) + -kowa (at) --> "...at the guava tree."