Noun Declension

Ruvian noun gender, number and mandatory noun endings

Ruvian uses a grammatical noun declension system in which every noun must carry an ending that identifies its gender and number. These endings are mandatory whenever a noun is used in a sentence.

Unlike languages where nouns can appear without a gender marker, Ruvian requires nouns to follow its declension rules. The ending communicates whether a noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or belongs to a mixed group.

1. Singular noun endings

Ruvian has three singular noun endings:

Masculine (-o)

The ending -o is used for masculine nouns.

It applies to male people and animals, as well as nouns that have been assigned masculine grammatical gender.

Examples:

• can → cano (male dog)

• amig → amigo (male friend)

• fil → filo (male child)

Feminine (-a)

The ending -a is used for feminine nouns.

It applies to female people and animals, as well as nouns that have been assigned feminine grammatical gender.

Examples:

• can → cana (female dog)

• amig → amiga (female friend)

• fil → fila (female child)

Neuter (-e)

The ending -e is used for nouns that do not have a specific gender, can refer to either gender, or have an unspecified gender.

This is particularly important for objects, concepts, and gender-neutral references.

Examples:

• mais → maise (house)

• liver → livere (book)

• pan → pane (bread)

• amig → amige (friend of unspecified gender)

The neuter ending is not restricted to inanimate objects. It can also be used for people and animals when their gender is unknown, unspecified, or irrelevant.

2. Plural noun endings

Plural nouns follow the same gender distinctions, with an additional -s.

Examples:

• canos = male dogs

• canas = female dogs

• canes = dogs of unspecified or mixed gender

• amigos = male friends

• amigas = female friends

• amiges = friends of mixed or unspecified gender

3. Mixed-gender groups

When referring to a group containing both masculine and feminine members, the ending -es must be used.

Ruvian does not use the masculine plural ending as the default for mixed-gender groups.

For example:

• A group of male friends: amigos

• A group of female friends: amigas

• A group of male and female friends: amiges

The same rule applies to groups of people and animals regardless of their individual genders.

4. Mandatory noun declension

Every noun used in an ordinary sentence must have an appropriate declension ending.

A noun cannot normally appear in its unmarked dictionary form when functioning as a noun in a sentence.

The correct ending must be selected according to its gender and number.

For example:

This rule applies regardless of where the noun appears in a sentence. Subjects, direct objects, indirect objects and other noun functions must all carry their appropriate endings.

The ending does not change according to the noun's grammatical position. It changes according to gender and number.

5. Exceptions

Certain established words do not follow ordinary noun declension.

The clearest exception is the names of months. Month names retain their established dictionary forms and do not require an additional noun ending.

For example:

• jenolo (January)

• febrolo (February)

• mařsolo (March)

• abrilo (April)

• mayõ (May)

• junõ (June)

• julõ (July)

• agusolo (August)

• septelo (September)

• octolo (October)

• novilo (November)

• desilo (December)

These are treated as established calendar names rather than ordinary declined nouns.

Other exceptions must be explicitly established as exceptions rather than assumed.

6. Summary

Ruvian noun declension is mandatory and follows a consistent system:

Every ordinary noun must carry one of these endings when used in a sentence.

The system distinguishes masculine and feminine nouns while also providing a dedicated neuter form for genderless, gender-neutral and unspecified references. Mixed-gender plural groups always use -es.

These rules apply universally to Ruvian nouns unless a specific exception has been established.