User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Nouns

Nouns in Biwdiw language end almost exclusively in a vowel or in the recurring -iw diphthong. A certain number of nouns, mostly loanwords, may unusually end in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, -u-, is added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings.

Nouns display neither gender nor class distinction. There are, however, three morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular, dual, and plural.

The dual number is used when two entities are mentioned (or when these entities are usually found in couple):

līlužū suvö
I see dogs (three, four, some, many, …)

līlužū suvɛhiw
I see two dogs (it cannot be any other number)

In this case, the usage of the numeral hɛgiw, two, is not required. It can be used, however, to highlight the value of the numeral.

līlužū hɛɣiw suvɛhiw
I see two dogs (the amount of two is purposedly highlighted)

There is a limited case system. If a noun is deemed as indefinite, a form of indefinite article is used and placed before it.