Syntax

Sentences in Kuapianese follow the SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) word order.

For example: Méu shéu heumuánbioeg (I am a human man)

Méu: Subject (I)

Shéu: Verb (to be)

Héumuánbioeg: Predicate (human man)

Adjectives can also be added. They are placed before the noun they modify:

Méu shéu biwik héumbioeg (I am a big human man)

Méu: Subject (I)

Shéu: Verb (to be)

Biwik: Adjective/Noun modifier (big)

Héumbioeg: Predicate (human man)

Additionally, some verbs can function as prepositions (co-verbs).

Shou can mean "to have" or "there is/are," depending on the context of the sentence. Guá can mean "to be (located)" or "in."

Méu [subj] guá [verb] oek [pred] (I am at home)

Guá [prep] oek [noun] (At home)

Méu shou kuár (I have a car)

Shou kuár (There is a car)

There is also the word wia, a particle that indicates possession. Placing it after a noun turns that noun into a genitive form.

Méu wia kuár (My car [I + possessive particle + car])

Tou wia kuár (Your car [You + possessive particle + car])

Hiamoen wia kuár (His/Her/Their car [He/She/They + possessive particle + car])

As you can see, the pronouns remain unchanged. There are no specific forms for "my," "your," or "his/her/their," nor are there equivalents for "whose" or "his/hers/theirs." In short, there are no unstressed (clitic) pronouns.