Pitosona - Grammar

Phonology

Orthography table

Latin	m	n	p	t	k	s	f	h	y	l	i	e	a	o	u
Pitosona	𐋅	𐊿	ⵖ	⅄	V	ᚷ	Π	Ʇ	𐋐	ᗑ	·	:	⁝	⸫, ∧	⸪, ∨
IPA	/m/	/n/	/p/	/t/	/k/	/s/	/ɸ/	/h/	/j/	/l/	/i/	/e/	/a/	/o/	/u/
Hangul	ㅁ	ㄴ	ㅂ	ㄷ	ㄱ	ㅅ	ㅍ	ㅎ	ㅈ	ㄹ	ㅣ	ㅔ	ㅏ	ㅗ	ㅜ
Cyrillic	Мм	Нн	Пп	Тт	Кк	Сс	Фф	Һһ	Йй	Лл	Ии	Ее	Аа	Оо	Уу
Greek	Μμ	Νν	Ππ	Ττ	Κκ	Σσ	Φφ	Ͱͱ	Jϳ	Λλ	Ιι	Εη	Αα	Οο	Υυ
Name	ama	ana	apa	ata	aka	asa	afa	aha	aya	ala	i	e	a	o	u

Table of Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	<i> /i/		<u> /u/
Close-mid	<e> /e/		<o> /o/
Open		<a> /a/

Table of Consonants

	Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Glottal
Nasals	m /m/		n /n/
Voiceless Stops	p /p/	t /t/		k /k/	' /ʔ/
Non-sibilant Fricatives	f /φ/				h /h/
Sibilant Fricative			s /s/
Approximant				y /j/
Lateral Approximant		l /l/

Note: The glottal stop is not considered a separate letter in Pitosona. Its only use is to make a break between two of the same vowel which end and begin successive words: e.g., ku' una , the mother.

Grammar

Word Order

001. Pitosona word order is VSO, subject-verb-object.
002. The indirect object precedes the direct object.
003. The genitive noun follows the head noun.
004. Adjectives and determiners precede the nouns they qualify.
005. The adjective follows the standard of comparison.
006. The dependent verb precedes the auxiliary verb.
007. The adjective precedes the dependent verb.
008. Adverbs follow the verbs they modify.
009. Adverbials of time precede those of space.
010. Particles modifying sentences are placed first in the sentence.

Verbs

011. Verbs are a class of words that convey an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).
012. Tense is a grammatical category which expresses the time at which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs. There are two tenses in Pitosona, past, and non-past.
013. The verb in the non-past tense is marked with the pre-particle pe.

hera, love; Pe hera hu, I love.

hepo, do; Pe hepo te, he does.

014. The past tense is marked with the pre-particle pa.

lito, cook; Pa lito hu, I cooked.

sesi, sew; Pa sesi te, she sewed.

015. Mood is a grammatical category by which the speaker expresses his attitude toward what he is saying.
016. The subjunctive mood is formed with the pre-particle me: Me hera te huna, She may love me.
017. The imperative mood uses the unmarked form of the verb; Hera huna, Love me.
018. The cohortative and jussive moods are formed with the pre-particle ye- with the appropriate pronoun following in the objective form: ye eola nena , Let him sing.
019. The passive form of the verb is formed with the post-particle ni: Pe hera ni ku' una, The mother is loved; Pa lito ni ku nomu, The apple was cooked.
020. A verbal noun is formed by preceding the verb with the definite article. This verbal noun functions as an infinitive or gerund: Pe otuha ku paye ku nimotena ua hu , Swimming strengthens my limbs.
021. Sentence negation is indicated by the use of the negative particle ahe: Ahe pe hera hu, I do not love.
022. A question is indicated by the use of the interrogative particle fa: Pe hera hu tana, I love you; Fa pe hera hu tana?, Do I love you?
023. Dependent verbs, such as infinitives and gerunds, follow the verb or adjective upon which they are dependent: Pa tuta hu ku hehi na tusapetena, I was afraid to touch a toad; Pe pimo ne ku are, He wants to go.

A direct object is placed before the infinitive: Pa pimo hu nena ku are, I wanted him to go.

024. Verbs may be formed from perceptible nouns and from adjectives by using them as verbs: epofu, flower,: Pa epofu ku sulusulu hafeti, The roses bloomed yesterday.
025. Transitive verbs may be formed from adjectives by using the verb luo, make: piso, wide; Piso pe luo nene ku losunana, They are widening the road.

Nouns

026. Nouns (upuna) are a class of words that function as the names of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
027. There are no noun classes in Pitosona.
028. A noun must be preceded by a determiner or an adjective: Pe ina ku peliso uli, the man is here; Pe ina ni pelisoliso uli, men are here.
029. Plurality is indicated by duplicating the noun. If the noun has more than two syllables, only the last two are duplicated: mopu, stone; mopumopu, stones; peliso, man; pelisoliso, men.

This plural form is not used if a number accompanies the noun: fiso mopu, three stones.

030. Possession is indicated by the preposition ua, of: ku nomu ua ku fihopu ; the child's apple.
031. The suffix -na marks the direct object of the verb: Pe tameli hu ku usapéna, I see the bird. The accent shifts to the noun's new penultimate syllable.

The suffix -na is affixed after the plural reduplication: Pe tameli hu ku usapesapena, I see the birds.

032. Abstract nouns are derived from adjectives by using an adjective or a determiner: tesi, short; ku tesi, shortness.
033. Abstract nouns are derived from verbs by using an adjective or a determiner: esiho, begin, ku esiho, beginning; imolu, hope, ku imolu, hope.
034. Nouns naming a person characterized by an adjective are formed by using the word yupa, person: pieso, young; pieso yupa, youth; hiso, old; hiso yupa, elder.
035. The agent of a verb is formed by using the word yupa, person: eola, sing; ku eola yupa, the singer.
036. The instrument for performing the action of a verb is formed by using the word sohe, tool: huta, cut; ku huta sohe, the knife.
037. Nouns denoting perceptible things are formed from verbs by using the word sehi, thing; ku upiosa sehi, the dream.
038. A noun may be specified as masculine or feminine by using the prefixes le- and ni-, respectively: fihopu, child; ni-fihopu, girl; le-fihopu, boy.
039. Collective nouns are formed from nouns or adjectives by using the word uneli : ku' usape neli, the flock of birds; ku ohufa neli, the school of fish; ku pito neli, archipelago.
040. Nouns may be used to modify other nouns: ku tuapi lufeni, the mountain stream.

Modifiers

041. In Pitosona grammar adjectives, adverbs and determiners are classed together as modifiers.

Adjectives

041. Adjectives are a class of words which qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.
042. Adjectives are placed before the noun between it and any determiner: ku hemi le-fihopu, the good boy; ku hemi le-fihofiho, the good boys.
043. The one degree of comparison, known as the elative (ELT), is formed by reduplication: pieso, young; pieso pieso, younger, youngest.
044. Reduplication of only the first syllable means very or too: pipieso, very young, too young.
045. Negative comparison is formed with the word meto, less: nehiso, distant; meto nehiso, less/least distant.
046. The comparison of equality is formed with the word otu, equal. The preposition uo, as, is used with the noun of comparison: miaha, white; otu miaha, as white, Pe ina uafe' epofu otu miaha uo ni houpa, This flower is as white as snow.
047. Participles are a form of a verb that is used to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, playing a role similar to an adjective or adverb.
048. There are two participles in Pitosona.

a. The present participle is formed by using the present form of the verb as an adjective: ku pe paye ohufa, the swimming fish.

b. The past participle is formed by using the past form of the verb as an adjective: ku pa taposi luemi, the sunken boat.

049. Nouns of material may be used like adjectives: ku mopu' uola, the stone house.
050. Word negation is indicated by the use of the prefix e-: nemi, even; e-nemi, uneven.
051. yuni, like, combined with a noun forms an adjective denoting similarity, likeness or resemblance to what is named in the noun root, -ish, -like: usape, bird; usapeyuni, like a bird.
052. Adjectives with the meaning without are expressed with the preposition oi, without: imolu, hope; oi ni' imolu, hopeless.

Determiners

053. Determiners are a class of words that serve to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. They may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.
054. The definite article is ku placed before the noun: peliso, man; ku peliso, the men.
055. The definite article is used before nouns that are used in an abstract or general sense: pesemi, brave; ku pesemi, bravery.
056. The indefinite article is ni placed before the noun: hapiho, woman; ni hapiho, a woman. The indefinite article is also used when no other modifier is present: Pe' epofu ni epofupofu ie ku ieso, Flowers bloom in the spring.
057. Numerals precede the noun in the absence of the definite article: Pe lito fiso hapihopiho, Three women are cooking. They follow the noun if the noun is preceded by an adjective or determiner: Pe home male hapihopiho fiso, Three sad women are crying.
058. The demonstrative determiners are uafe, this/these; and hiope, that/those; hiope usape, that bird; uafe' epofupofu, these flowers.
059. The elective indefinite determiner is hepi, any.
060. The assertive indefinite determine is mohu, some.

Numerals

060. The Pitosonas have an octal numeral system.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
iso nu	alu to	fiso la	falu ke	liso si	lalu fe	yiso mu	yalu po

061. The numerals 9-15 are formed by suffixing the proper cardinal to po, eight.

9	10	11	12	13	14	15
ponu	poto	pola	poke	posi	pofe	pomu

062. The numerals 16-64 are formed by prefixing the proper cardinal to po, eight.

16	24	32	40	48	56	64
topo	lapo	kepo	sipo	fepo	mupo	popo

063. Compounds of 64 can be made by prefixing the proper ordinal to popo: topopo, 128, but the Pitosonas seldom need to count that high.
064. The ordinals are made by adding the suffix -fi to the cardinal number: tofi, second.
065. The adverbial numbers are made by adding the suffix -tu to the ordinal number: totu, twice; potu, eight times.

Adverbs

066. Adverbs are a class of words that modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a noun phrase, a clause, or a sentence. They typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc.
067. They have the same form as the adjective, but follow the verb they modify: ku besemi peliso, the brave man; Pa hepo besemi ne, He acted bravely.
068. The elative of these adverbs is formed in the same way as are adjectives; besemi, bravely; besemi besemi , more bravely.

Pronouns

069. Pronouns are a class of words that substitute for a noun or noun phrase. There are seven types of pronouns in Pitosona.
070. The personal pronouns are hu, I; huhu, we; ta, you (sg.); tata, you (pl.); ne, he, she, it; nene, they.
071. The interrogative pronoun is tafe which stands for the interrogative pronouns who, what and which.
072. The relative pronoun is ulu which stands for the relative pronouns who and which.
073. The reflexive pronouns are translated by using the personal pronoun as both subject and object; Pa lupa hu huna, I hurt myself.
074. The intensive pronouns are formed with the noun mesi: Pe ale hu mesi, I myself will go.
075. The demonstrative pronouns are the same as the demonstrative determiners, uafe, this; uafeafe, these; and hiope, that; hiopeope, those, but take the direct object particle as needed: Pe pimo hu hiopeopena, I want those.
076. The indefinite pronouns are made from the indefinite determiners: hepi yuna, anyone, anybody, hepi sehi, anything; mohu yuna, someone, somebody; mohu sepi, something; ahe yuna, no one, nobody; ahe sepi nothing.
077. There are no possessive pronouns. The possessor is expressed with a prepositional phrase using ua: Pe ina uafe' epofu ua ta, pe ina hiope ua hu, This is your flower, that is mine.

Postpositions

078. Pitosona uses prepositions, a class of words that express spatial or temporal relations (in, under, towards, before) or mark various semantic roles (of, for): ie ku eohoema, at the beach.
079. If there is no motion involved, the noun without a marker is used with the postposition: Pe ina ku lufisa ou ku felisa, The cup is on the table.
080. If there is motion involved, the object marker is added to the noun: Pa tesi hu ku ferisana ou ku rufisana, I put the cup on(to) the table.

Conjunctions

081. A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases or clauses.
082. In Pitosona there are three types of conjunctions.
083. A coordinate conjunction joins two or more items of equal syntactic importance: Pe' esitu le'-elimo ua hu heo hu ni nomunomu heo ni eroterote. My brother and I like apples and pears.
084. Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join two or more items of equal syntactic importance: Fio pe liola ta fio pe iape. You will either eat your supper or go to bed.
085. Subordinating conjunctions join an independent clause and a dependent clause: heoli pe ina ne' esufa, pa esofa. Although she is sick, she ate her breakfast.

Octal Table

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
nu	to	la	ke	si	fe	mu	po
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
ponu	poto	pola	poke	posi	pofe	pomu	topo
17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
toponu	topoto	topola	topoke	toposi	topofe	topomu	lapo
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
laponu	lapoto	lapola	lapoke	laposi	lapofe	lapomu	kepo
33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
keponu	kepoto	kepola	kepoke	keposi	kepofe	kepomu	sipo
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48
siponu	sipoto	sipola	sipoke	siposi	sipofe	sipomu	fepo
49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
feponu	fepoto	fepola	fepoke	feposi	fepofe	fepomu	mupo
57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
muponu	mupoto	mupola	mupoke	muposi	mupofe	mupomu	popo