Sdanniskar syntax

Sdannískar is a Germanic language spoken in the Kingdom of Sdannland. It has moderately complex syntax, mostly concerned with different clause types, word order, and adjective placement. This section will aslo deal with the uses of the various verb forms, as well as the formation of compound tenses.

Verbal Morphology

Sdannískar's verbs inflect for a great many things. Each verb has four principle parts: infinitive, first person singular preterite indicative, first person plural preterite indicative, and past participle. Each stem has a number of things derived from it:

1. present indicative, participle, imperative, and subjunctive.
2. all singular preterite indicative forms.
3. all preterite plural indicative and preterite subjunctive forms.
4. all forms of the past participle, and any derived forms.

Strong Verbs

Some verbs in Sdannískar are classified as strong verbs, characterized by an internal vowel shift (ablaut) in principal parts 2-4. There are five classes of strong verbs (although class IV is divided into two subclasses), characterized by the end of their ablaut pattern.

I: a > æ > i > i (i-stems) (námon, nǽm, nímum, genímtar--name)
II: o > ø > u >u (u-stems) (bowan, bǿw, búwum, gebúwtar--inhabit)
III: i(l,r,m,n) > a(l,r,m,n) > u(l,r,m,n) > u(l,r,m,n) (consonant-stems; C-stems) (írran, árr, úrrum, gejúrrtar--fall from grace, err)
IVa: i > y > u > u (y-stems) (nímman, nýmm, númmum, genúmmtar--take)
IVb: u > y > i > i (y-stems) (þrútan, þrýt, þrítum, geþríttar--threaten)
V: a > æ > o > o (o-stems) (sprákan, sprǽk, sprókum, gespróktar--speak)

Weak Verbs

Most verbs in Sdannískar are classified as weak verbs, which lack the internal vowel shift. Weak verbs have a single set of conjugation endings for each tense.

Preterite-Present Verbs

A very few verbs in Sdannískar (notably máġan, "be able" and skállan "hope, wish") behave in the present tense as if they were the preterites of strong verbs, and their plural present indicatives are the same as all of their preterite forms. Preterite-present verbs have different principal parts from other verbs:

1. Infinitive
2. First person singular, present indicative
3. First person plural, present indicative
4. First person singular, preterite indicative

For example, the principle parts of máġan: máġan, mǽġ, míġum, míġ.

Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is used to make factual statements, tell fictional stories, and to quote another person. The indicative mood is the default mood, and is used in the vast majority of cases where a verb is used.

I run.
John walked to school that day.
"He said, 'I love to swim.'"

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is much less common. It is used to express contrafactual ideas and thoughts, as well as to make indirect statements, to express possibility or wish, and the like. The subjunctive mood can also express exhortation (indirect commands).

Had I time, I would help.
I wish I that I could help.
Let them come.

Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is used to give direct commands. It is generally considered impolite to use the imperative mood with one's elders or superiors.

Come here.
O come all ye faithful.
Do as I say.

Present Tense

The present tense expresses action simultaneous to or closely following the speaking. Many modal auxiliary verbs have one meaning in the present tense and another one in the preterite, an important distinction to make.

I walk.
I am about to walk.
I will walk.

Preterite Tense

The preterite tense expresses action prior to the speaking. It typically carries either an imperfect (used to) sense or a perfective (simple past) sense, but in older texts it is also often used where a more recent writer would use the modal perfect.

Modal Auxiliaries

The subjunctive forms of a number of verbs can be used with the infinitive or either participle of another verb to take on a secondary connotation, such as English will, would, can, could, and so on. Many of these verbs have different connotations depending on whether they are preterite or present tense forms. Many, such as skállan and máġan are preterite-present verbs, and many also have irregular preterites (wóld and skóld, for example). Here are some of the most common such verbs:

máġan: can (present), could (preterite); plain meaning: to be able (to)
háven: have [verb]ed (with past participle); plain meaning: to have
wýllon: will (present), would (preterite); plain meaning: to want, wish
skállan: shall (present), should (preterite); plain meaning: to wish, hope

Infinitive

The infinitive is equivalent to the English infinitive, though in translation the English "to" is not obligatory: ik wýllu fáran (I want to go) vs. ik wýllæ fáran (I will go). Infinitives in Sdannískar may end in -an, -en, or -on.

Present Participle

The present participle is equivalent to the English present participle. As in English, it is used in the formation of the progressive tenses, but unlike English it also appears in the immediate future tense: ik ím fárandar (I am going) vs. ik fáru fárandar (I am going to go).

Past Participle

The past participle is equivalent to the English past participle. Like in English, it is used in the formation of the modal perfect tenses and the passive voice: ik hávu gefírtar (I have gone) vs. ik ím for-gewolttar (I am wished for).

Gerund

The gerund is equivalent to the English gerund. It is used as a verbal noun. It can also function as a defective supine form with verbs of motion, best translated by the infinitive: fáranþar íst góðar (running is good) vs. ik sándu þan fýhtanþa (I send them to fight--lit. "for fighting")

Compound Tenses

There are a great number of compound tense forms in Svannískar. Compound tenses are formed by a combination of a modal verb (usually one of the above) and either an infinitive or a participle. The compound tenses are as follows.

Modal Perfect

The modal perfect tenses are formed by combining the verb háven with the past participle of a verb. They are equivalent to the English perfect tenses:

ik hávu gefírtar (I have gone)
þu hǽft gefýhtar (you have fought)

Progressive Tenses

The progressive tenses are formed by combining the verb wésan with the present participle of a verb. They are equivalent to the English progressive tenses:

ik ím farándar (I am going)
þu ís fýhtandar (you are fighting)

Passive Voice

The passive voice is formed by combining the verb wésan with the past participle of a verb. It is the equivalent to the English passive voice:

sa íst gegíftar (it is given)
þu ís gekwúþtar (you are told)

Modal Future

The modal future tenses are formed by combining the subjunctive forms of the verb wýllan with the infinitive of a verb. They are equivalent to the American English future (present subjunctive) or conditional (preterite subjunctive):

ik wýllæ fáran (I will go)
ik wóld fáran (I would go)

Modal Suggestive

The modal suggestive tenses are formed by combining the subjunctive forms of the verb skállan with the infinitive of a verb. They are equivalent to the British English future (present subjunctive) or suggestive (preterite subjunctive).

ik skállæ fáran (I shall go)
ik skóld fáran (I should/ought go)

Modal Potential

The modal potential tenses are formed by combining the present subjunctive forms of the verb máġan with the infinitive of a verb. They are equivalent to the English permissive or potential forms.

ik míġ fáran (I can/could/may/might go)

Nominal Morphology

Sdannískar is a richly inflected language. Each noun inflects for one of five cases in two numbers. Nouns are divided into strong and weak classes.

Nominative Case

The nominative case indicates the subject of a verb. In English:

I run.
It was given.

Accusative Case

The accusative case in its most basic sense indicates the direct object of a verb. In English:

I gave it.

The accusative case may also be used with a preposition of motion to indicate motion towards:

I run to it.

Finally, the accusative may also be used as the subject of an infinitive clause:

I told you to give it to her.

Dative Case

The dative case in its most basic sense indicates the indirect object of a verb. In English:

I gave it to her.

The dative case may also be used with a preposition of location to indicate location within:

The mouse is in the box.

Finally, the dative case may be used to describe the agent of a passive verb.

The cake was made by me.

Genitive Case

The genitive case in its most basic sense indicates possession or origin. In English:

It is mine.
The United States of America are political divisions.

The genitive case may also be used with a preposition of motion to indicate motion from:

I went away from the school.

Finally, the genitive may be used to describe a divided whole (the partitive genitive):

One of the soldiers came into the room.

Instrumental Case

The instrumental case in its most basic sense indicates means. In English:

I sprayed the wall with paint.

The instrumental case may also be used with a variety of prepositions to indicate accompaniment or simultaneity:

I walked with you.
During the run, I met her.

Finally, the instrumental may be used to compare nouns or adjectives:

"I wandered lonely as a cloud."

Gender

Nouns in Sdannískar belong to one of three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Most of the time, words with natural gender have the same grammatical gender (e.g. "man" is masculine), but there are exceptions. Each gender has at least two declension patterns, one or more weak and one or more strong. Nouns are classified by stem vowel (or occaisionally consonant), e.g. a-stems, i-stems, etc.

Case Uses

Traditional grammar includes various specific definitions of cases, typically around four for each case other than the nominative.

Accusative of Motion Towards

With the preposition at "to, towards", the accusative takes the meaning of motion towards a place.

ik fáru to þan Kyningdóma Sdannlánder (I go to the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Accusative of Time Within Which

With adverbs of time, the accusative describes events occurring within a certain period (e.g. from 8.00 to 12.00).

fram ahto to twæ-lif ik fǽr to þan Kyningdóma Sdannlánder (from 8.00 to 12.00 I went to the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Accusative of Infinite Subject

Within an infinitive clause, the accusative can act as both the subject of an infinitive verb and the direct object of a finite verb.

ik kwíþu þik to þan Kyningdóma Sdannlánder fáran (I tell you to go to the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Accusative of Internal Object

The internal object accusative is a redundant object of a verb (e.g. "I have a possession").

ik hávu ǽnam gehíftano (I have a possession)

Dative of Location

With the preposition in "in", the dative takes the meaning of location in a place.

ik wás in þésma Kyningdóma Sdannlánder (I was in the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Dative of Time At Which

With adverbs of time, the dative describes events occurring at a certain point in time (e.g. at 8.00)

at ahto ik kǿm to þan Kyningdóma Sdannlánder (at eight I came to the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Dative of Infinite Subject

Within an infinitive clause, the dative can act as both the subject of an infinitive verb and the indirect object of a finite verb.

ik sǽge þe to þan Kyningdóma Sdannlánder fáran (I said to you to go to the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Dative of Personal Agent

The dative may be used with the preposition bi "by" to indicate the agent of a passive verb.

þu wást gesǽgittar bi me (you were told by me)

Genitive of Motion From

With the preposition fram "from", the genitive takes the meaning of motion away from a place.

ik fǽr fram þes Kyningdómer Sdannlánder (I went from the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Genitive of Time From Which

With adverbs of time, the dative ascribes a temporal beginning to certain events (e.g. since 8.00)

jæ ahto ik hávu gefírtar fram þes Kyningdómer Sdannlánder (since 8.00 I have left the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Genitive of the Divided Whole

The genitive case may describe a larger entity to which a single thing or group of things belong.

þæ þes Sdánner ðat wóldun þan dón (those of the Sdannar that would do that)

Genitive of Local Origin

The genitive case may describe the origin of a person (i.e., their home city/town/village/farm/forest/etc.).

þæ mánnos Skavárner fírum (the Skavarnic men went)

Instrumental of Means

The instrumental may be used with the preposition með "with" to indicate instrument (tool).

Jónnar tǽked þen með bǿki (John taught them with a book)

Instrumental of Manner

The instrumental may be used with the preposition þur "through" to indicate path or way.

Jónnar fǽr þur þy Kyningdǿmi Sdannlánder (John went through the Kingdom of Sdannland)

Instrumental of Accompaniment

The instrumental may be used with the preposition með "with" to indicate presence with or (dis)agreement with.

þæ ne trǿstend með þy (they do not agree with him)

Instrumental of Definition

The instrumental case is used when describing a person's employment or place of origin. This can be used more or less interchangeably with the genitive of local origin.

þæ mánnos sínd Skavǽrni (the men are Skavarnic)

Word Order

Svannískar has three word orders, depending on the type of clause. As a general note, written Sdannískar almost never has two conjugated verbs next to each other without something to separate them.

Primary Clauses

Primary clauses are clauses which have finite verbs, can stand on their own as sentences, and are neither imperative, suggestive, nor contrafactual. Primary clauses have a Subject-Verb-Object order:

ik gávu þan þe (I give it to you)

Dependent Clauses

Dependent clauses are clauses which have finite verbs but cannot stand on their own as sentences. Dependent clauses have a (Subject-)Object-Verb order:

ik gávu þan, ðat mín wás, þe (I gave it, which was mine, to you)

Infinitive Clauses

Infinitive clauses are clauses which have non-finite verbs and cannot stand on their own as sentences. Infinitive clauses have a Subject-Object-Verb order. Infinitive clauses feature the Accusative of Infinite Subject:

ik kwíþu þik fáran (I told you to go)

Imperative and Suggestive Clauses

Imperative clauses are clauses which give (direct or indirect) commands or suggestions and may or may not include a subject. Imperative clauses have a Verb-(Subject-)Object order:

kwíþaþ jur me (speak you to me)
kwíþæþ jur me (may you speak to me)

Contrafactual Clauses

Contrafactual clauses are clauses which make an untrue statement and are generally unable to stand on their own as sentences. Contrafactual clauses have a Verb-Subject-(Object) order:

if hávæ ik þan, ik wóld þan þe gávan (If I had it, I would give it to you)

Questions

Questions in Sdannískar often reverse subject and object, like in English, making them (Object)-Verb-Subject. When a compound verb is employed, the subject divides the conjugated part of the compound from the non-conjugated.

Of hwísa íst þu? (From where are you?)
Hwá hávæs þu gedúntar? (What have done you?)

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs have a number of rules associated with them. Adjectives and adverbs both generally precede the word they modify.

Adjectives

Adjectives precede the noun they modify in the vast majority of cases. They must agree with (match) the noun in case, gender, and number:

sa góðanu mánna

When placed between sa used as the definite article and the noun it modifies, or after a conjugated verb, an adjective declines weakly, unless it is one of the following:

A past participle
ǽnar, ǽnu, ǽnam
A possessive pronoun
A superlative form in -ístar

The following adjectives always decline weak:

Present participles
Comparative forms in -íron
Second (or third, fourth, etc.) adjectives in a noun phrase (e.g. góðos, gláðæ mánnos sínd hin)
Numeric adjectives (e.g. twæ, twor, two "two")

Adjectives rarely follow the noun they modify in modern prose, though in older texts they often do. However, modern texts only place adjectives after nouns for poetic reasons.

Adverbs

Unlike adjectives or verbs, adverbs neither decline nor conjugate, but rather maintain a static form. There are a few rules about adjective placement:

In primary clauses, adverbs immediately precede the verb they modify.
In verb-final clauses, adverbs immediately follow the verb (or infinitive) they modify.
In verb-initial clauses, adverbs may either precede or follow the verb they modify, depending on the whim of the speaker.

Idiomatic Verb Uses

There are a few important idiomatic verb uses to be aware of.

Presence/Absence Verbs

In English, these are "there is", "there were", "there had been", and so on. In Sdannískar, they have the same structure as contrafactual clauses. They use the subjunctive of wésan in the third person, followed by what there is. Presence/absence verbs never have a subject pronoun.

Ýst Sdánnar? (Is there a Sdánnar [here]?)
Wórun Sdánnos? (Were there Sdánnos [there]?)

Verbs Without Pronouns

In written Sdannískar, as in English or French, pronouns are required, e.g. ik ím Sdánnar, never ím Sdánnar. However, spoken Sdannískar, especially that of young people, very often drops first and second person pronouns altogether.

Spoken ['im 'zdan.nar und 'θu ɔf 'xʷi.sa 'ist] vs. written ik ím Sdánnar. Und þu? Of hwísa íst þu?