User:Bukkia/sandboxVIII

Negation

There are two different ways of negating a root, depending on whether the negated root is verbal or nominal.

1. The negation of a verbal root is conveyed by the negative verbal root ʔiːs-. As it is a monosyllabic root, it does not display a perfective counterpart. It has the infinitive₁ of the negated verb as direct object. The object of the infinitival form, is, as a rule, declined in the ablative case.

ɬiːroli ʔoːna liːloṕ(æt́) → ɬiːroli ʔoːnaʂu liːloṕæme ʔiːs(æt́)
the man sees the woman → the man does not see the woman

Within the sentence this verb is conjugated according to the person and the number of its subject and according to the required tense, through the augment. The aspectual information is conveyed by the infinitival form, as the negative root has no aspectual counterpart.

ɬiːroli ʔoːna ʔaloliːṕ(æt́) → ɬiːroli ʔoːnaʂu loliːṕæme ʔaʔiːs(æt́)
the man saw the woman → the man did not see the woman

There is no need to place the augment onto the infinitive₁, as it is already placed onto the negative root. However, it can be found on both verbal forms, as a redundant agreement between roots.

2. The negation of a nominal root is conveyed by the negative adjectival root χeːsu. This root is placed, as a normal adjective, before every non-verbal root to be negated.

pʰuːḱa ʔaloliːṕoɬ → χeːsu pʰuːḱa ʔaloliːṕoɬ
I saw a person → I did not see a person

The usage of both roots is not exchangeable, and they tend not to be used together in the same clause. Thus, double negatives are generally not allowed.