NLS — Sentence Construction Chart
4 min read · 783 words
# NLS — Sentence Construction Schema
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# 1. Basic Word Order
> Rule: subject + verb + (object*-ne*)
Mut gara pom-ne = I eat the apple
## Present Progressive
> Rule: subj. + el(pres.) + verb-inf. + verb*-mu*
Mut ela garmu = I am eating
## Adjectives
> Rule: adjective + noun (always before, English-style)
gredu arrue = big house
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# 2. Questions
## Without interrogative word
> Rule: verb + subject ?
Gara til fuk muti? = Are you eating with me?
## With adverb (where/when/how...)
> Rule: adverb + verb + subject ?
Grau ela til? = Where are you?
## With who / what
> Rule: who/what (in place of element) + verb (+ subj.)
Vic gara? = Who is eating?
Wolo gara til? = What are you eating?
## With future tense
> Rule: skul + subject + verb-infinitive ?
Skul nus bed ut argu tida? = Will we go to work on Tuesday?
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# 3. Negation
> Rule: subject + nep + verb
Mut nep gara = I do not eat
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# 4. Imperative
> Rule: bolo + verb root (subj. omitted)
Bolo bed! = Go!
Bolo bed vor! = Go! (pl.)
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# 5. Possession
## Saxon genitive (animate beings)
> Rule: i- + possessor + possessed*(-ne*)
ikett arrue-ne = the friend's house
## Generic relation / compound "of" (replaces -ssa)
>Rule: sik + noun (+*-ra* plur.) (+*-ne* determ.)
sik kett-ne = of the friend
sik kett-ra-ne = of the friends
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# 6. Comparatives
> Rule: glin/*sin* + adjective + sik + term
Mut ela glin gredu sik til = I am bigger than you
> Rule: glin-ne/*sin-ne* + adjective (relative superlative)
Mut ela glinne gredu = I am the biggest
> Rule: adjective + doubled final vowel (elative)
Mut ela greduu = I am very big (word stress on 1st syllable + light on -`u)
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# 7. Subordinate and Relative Clauses
> Rule: main clause + conjunction + subj. + verb
Mut nep gara, stink mut nep meku = I do not eat because I am not hungry
> Rule: noun + ko + (subj.) + verb
darcone ko beda ut krek = the son who goes to school
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# 8. Pronouns
| | subj. | obj. | poss. |
|---|-------|------|-------|
| I | mut | muti | imut |
| you | til | tili | itil |
| she | lat | lati | ilat |
| he | lam | lami | ilam |
| we | nus | nusi | inus |
| you (pl.) | vor | vori | ivor |
| they | rem | remi | irem |
root / root+i / i+root
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# 9. Simple Tenses (suffix on root)
| tense | marker |
|-------|--------|
| present | -a |
| imperfect | -at |
| remote past | -ate |
| participle | -ur |
| gerund | -mu |
| conditional | -ke |
| imperative | bolo+ |
| future | skul+ |
No subjunctive mood (as in modern English, the indicative is used)
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# 9b. Compound Tenses (auxiliary + part.)
ar(tense) + verb*-ur* = active
el(tense) + verb*-ur* = passive
Auxiliary chosen by function (active/passive), never by specific verb
Mut ara bedur = I have gone
Mut arat bedur = I had gone
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# 10. Articles and Prepositions
| function | marker |
|----------|--------|
| a/an | en- |
| the | -ne |
| of the | sik + noun (+*ra*) + -ne |
| in the | net |
| to/from/on the... | prep. + -ne |
| plural noun | -ra |
| negation noun | a- |
| | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| of | sik | on | bado |
| to | ut | for | stin |
| from | it | between | tik |
| in | zuk | with | fuk |
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# 11. Numbers
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mo | en | ti | dra | ro |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gut | rab | ai | tal | rao |
tens: -mif
hundreds: -zef
thousands: -tesc
millions: -saum
Composition: highest to lowest value. E.g.: 25 = timifgut
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# 12. Root Reuse
The same root can be used for different grammatical classes (prep./adv./noun): sentence position and suffixes (e.g. -u = adjective) disambiguate.
> Phonetics: word stress is always on the first syllable (fixed, does not move). Phonemic spelling: read as it is written.