Sentence Structure
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Sentence Structure
Ekspi sentences follow a regular structure. Word order, noun morphology, and verb forms work together to show who is doing what.
1. Basic Statements
Normal statements use Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) word order.
Subject + Verb + Object
For example:
eu somes maren = I eat the house
peo somes maren = he eats the house
The verb does not change according to the subject.
2. Subjects
The subject normally comes first in a statement.
Subjects can be nouns or pronouns.
eu somes = I eat
peo da somes = he ate
A noun used as the subject remains in the nominative form.
3. Objects
The direct object normally comes after the verb in statements.
Direct objects use the accusative case.
Subject + Verb + Accusative Object
For example:
eu somes maren
The accusative ending -en identifies the object.
4. Questions
Questions use a different word order.
Yes/No Questions
Yes/no questions use Object–Subject–Verb (OSV) order and do not use a question particle.
Object + Subject + Verb
Information Questions
Information questions begin with a question particle, followed by OSV order.
Question particle + Object + Subject + Verb
The question particles are:
ke = who
ka = what
lo = where
ve = when
se = why
mi = how
Nouns in questions still follow all normal rules for case, number, gender, and articles.
5. Tense
Ranish expresses tense using auxiliary verbs.
Present: no auxiliary
Past: da
Future: va
The main verb remains unchanged.
Present: eu somes
Past: eu da somes
Future: eu va somes
6. Negation
Negation uses ne’, which attaches directly to the main verb.
eu ne’somes = I do not eat
eu da ne’somes = I did not eat
eu va ne’somes = I will not eat
7. Adjectives
Adjectives come after the noun.
They agree with the noun in number only.
mar sela = quiet house
mari seli = quiet houses
Adjectives do not change for gender or case.
8. Possession
Possessive words formed from pronouns come before the noun.
euj mar = my house
peaj mar = her house
ītuj mar = their house
Possessive words remain fixed. The noun still follows normal case and plural rules.
9. General Sentence Pattern
The basic structure of a Ranish statement is:
Subject + Verb + Object
Other grammatical features are added around this structure:
Subject + Tense Auxiliary + Verb + Object
For negation:
Subject + Tense Auxiliary + ne’ + Verb + Object
For questions:
Object + Subject + Tense Auxiliary + Verb
For information questions:
Question Particle + Object + Subject + Tense Auxiliary + Verb
10. Summary
Ekspi has a highly regular sentence structure:
Statements: SVO
Questions: OSV
Information questions: Question Particle + OSV
Adjectives: after nouns
Possessives: before nouns
Tense: separate auxiliaries
Negation: ne’ + main verb
Direct objects: accusative case
Possession with nouns: genitive case
Plural: -i