Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Alfabeto/Alphabet
Kónsonanta/Consonants
Sémifona/Semivowels
e.g.
Tih /ˋtɪ ː/ = tea (could be pronounced like /ˋ tɪ -ɪ/)
Kombíneta/Combinations
NOTE: Any time we refer to a verb , we will use its gerund form.
Utilizéjs Témpoa/Using Tenses
Present Tense :
Used to describe an action taking place on the time being or the
current period of time
Equivalent to : Simple Present , Present Continuous
2nd person singular and plural consists the imperative form
Past Tense :
Used to describe an action that happened in the past
Equivalent to : Simple Past , Present Perfect , Past Continuous ,
Past Perfect , Present Perfect Continuous , Past Perfect
Continuous
Future Tense :
Used to describe a future or scheduled action
Equivalent to : Simple Future , Future Continuous , “be going to
…”
Conditional Tense :
Used in conditional expressions to describe a hypothetical action
Equivalent to : “I would …”
Gerund :
Equivalent to : Gerund (“to …” form)
Can also be inflected according to the gerund‟s subject
Sejt Tempo/Present Tense
Verb stem + “e” (+ suffix) = Present Tense
e.g.
- Vade (or vadéj) a Skola (I go to school)
- Beve (or bevés) si Zus! (Drink your juice!)
Fugájt Tempo/Past Tense
Verb stem + “a” (+ suffix) = Past Tense
e.g.
Dorma (or dormás) monit Órea? (Did you sleep for a long time?)
Vjenójt Tempo/Future Tense
Verb stem + “o” (+ suffix) = Future Tense
e.g.
- Vjeno (or vjenój) demen. (I‟m coming tommorow)
- Apeloj (ápelo should be avoided) vo Maria. (I will be called by Maria)
Ipotezit Tempo/Conditional Tense
Verb stem + “u” (+ suffix) = Conditional Tense
e.g.
In jo te zagád, te sabu (or sabúj). (If you had told me that , I would know it.)
Žerund/Gerund
Verb stem + “i” (+ suffix) = Gerund
e.g.
- Ne volu (or volúj) vadi (or vadíj) a Šínema. (I wouldn‟t like to go to the cinema.)
- Volún vadís a Skola. ( They would like you to go to school.)
Negoz/Negation
Frágea/Questions
Questions are formed just by addign the question mark („?‟) at the end
of a sentence. No additional sentence change is required.
When the verb (or gerund) subject is obvious or already known , the
“person” suffix may be omitted. The verb‟s stress remains
unchanged.
e.g.
Apeloj ( ápelo) vo Maria. (I will be called by Maria)
They present two numbers (singular and plural) and are not
gender-specific.
NOTE :
Articles are not accepted before people‟s names and possessive
adjectives
Articles may be omitted , if they don‟t provide essential information
singular plural
definite et at
indefinite en -
demonstrative es as
e.g.
- Et Liber set a et Tabel. (The book is on the desk)
- Liber set a Tabel. (exactly the same , providing less information –
which book? – which table?)
- En Barn zokét a Jard. (A kid is playing in the yard)
- As Liber sen rotit. (These books are red)
Noma/Nouns
Nouns are one of the most essential parts of a sentence.
They may present numbers (singular and plural) but they don‟t have cases
, as far as form changes are concerned. Cases can be formed using
prepositions.
When transforming a noun to its plural equivalent , one must consider two
separate factors : IS THERE AN ARTICLE?
YES
The plural is carried by an article change and the noun remains unchanged
e.g.
Et Liber (The book) -> At Liber (The books)
NO
The plural is formed by adding the suffix “-a” at the end of the noun. In the
plural form , the stress remains on the same syllable as on the singular form.
If the new syllable is other then the penultimate , a written acute accent “ˊ”
must be used.
NOTE : if the noun already ends in “-a” , it should become “aa” or just a long
“a”(/ɑː) sound. To solve this, we would use the “ah” combination.
e.g.
Liber (Book) -> Líbera (Books) , Vita (Life) -> Vitah (Lives)
Nom (Noun) -> Noma (Nouns) , Done (Woman) -> Dónea (Women)
Fornoma/Pronouns
Pronouns – as the word suggests – can be used to “replace” a noun.
NOTE :
Personal pronouns must have a capital first letter
Personal pronouns may be used just in order to create
emphasis and are not obligatory
e.g.
Volés manzím aber , Ja , ne vole. (You want us to eat , but I
don‟t want to)
Refleksivit Fornoma/Reflexive Pronouns
e.g.
- Vede se! (I see you!)
- Skrive en Leter. Te Skrive. (I‟m writing a letter. I‟m writing it.)
- Maria zaga jo ot vola manzím. Maria jo te zaga.
(Maria told me that she wanted us to eat. Maria told me about it.)
- Brota no et Liber. No te brota. (I brought them the book. I brought it to them)
Ážektifa/Adjectives
There are two types of adjectives :
Personal
Objective
e.g.
- Sej altis. (I am tall)
- Es Kane set fortit. (This dog is strong)
- Veda en belis Done. (I saw a beautiful woman)
- En kapabilis Doter pote salvi monit Vitah. (A capable doctor
can save many lives)
Kompara i Ážektifa/Comparation of adjectives
Comparative Grade
Used to compare two nouns
In positive comparation (“more … than”), is formed by adding the “-or-”
prefix before the adjective‟s ending
In negative comparation (“less … than”), is formed by adding the “-on-”
prefix before the adjective‟s ending
The second parameter of the comparation must be in “genitive case” ,
thus preceded by the preposition „i‟.
e.g.
- Maria set beloris i Peter (Maria is more beautiful than Peter)
- At Tortéz sen fortonit Ánimala i Kánea (Turtles are weaker [less strong]
animals than dogs)
Superlative Grade
Used to express the maximum level of a quality
Must be preceded by the definite article
In positive comparation (“the most … ”), is formed by adding the “-im-”
prefix before the adjective‟s ending
In negative comparation (“the least …”), is formed by adding the “-il-”
prefix before the adjective‟s ending
In relative superlative , the second parameter of the comparation must
be in “genitive case” , thus preceded by the preposition „i‟.
In absolute superlative , there is no second parameter.
e.g.
- Maria set et belimis Done i et Situ (Maria is the most beautiful woman of the
city)
- Atom set grandilit Elemente (An atom is the tiniest [the least big] element)
Pozesit Ážektifa/Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives are used in order to show possession and are placed
just before the noun being described.
e.g.
- Ji Kaza set grandorit i et Si. (My house is bigger than yours.)
- Ji Kaza set grandorit i si Kaza. (My house is bigger than your house.
- Jo donát ji Pena. (He gave me my pen.)
Avérbea/Adverbs
Avérbea i Manjera/Adverbs of manner
e.g.
- bonis , bonit (good) -> boner (well)
- fasilis , fasilit (easy) -> fasiler (easily)
- fortoris , fortorit (stronger) -> fortorer (more strongly)
e.g.
- Ko es Strada , potús vadi fasilorer a et Situ. (By this way , you
would go more easily to the city)
Sentéj boner. (I feel good)
Avérbea i Tempo/Adverbs of time
Word Meaning
estag today
demen tomorrow
jertag yesterday
sindemen the day after tomorrow
forjertag the day before yesterday
nue now
frekenter frequently / often
enote sometimes
alote always
note never
rarer seldom
for before
sin after
duri during
e.g.
- For vadi a Skola , dove manzi. (before going to school , I
must eat)
- Enote guste lezi Líbera. (I sometimes like reading books)
Utilibit Fornoma & Avérbea/
Useful Pronouns & Adverbs
Interrogativ Negativ Relativ Indefinit Inclusive
e e e e (al-)
(k-) (n-) (-) (en-)
Person kis nis is enis alis
(-is) who? nobody who someone everyone
(-um)
e.g.
- Kis ses? (Who are you?)
- Kum kostét es Apel? (How much does this apple cost?)
- Et Apel , it set a et Tabel , set rotit. (The apple , which is on the table , is
red.)
- Perda ji Pena. Deve si enu. (I lost my pen. It must be somewhere.)
- Ku sen alis? (Where is everyone?)
Konésora/Conjunctions
Conjunctions are used to connect different sentences.
equivalent
and ve
or uj
both … and … ve … vehse (ve ese) …
also ese
neither … nor .. ne … nehse (ne ese) …
but aber
e.g.
- Vada a Skola ve studa ji Leson. (I went to school and studied
my lesson.)
- Resto uj fugo? (Are you going to stay or are you going to
leave?)
- Ve Maria vehse Peter sen a Skola. (Both Maria and Peter are
at school.)
- Vada a Šínema aber sat fermit. (I went to the cinema but it
was closed.)
Suordonéjt Konésora/Subordinating Conjunctions
equivalent
because par
if in
unless nin (ne in)
so that / in order to utás
so alor
thanks to Gras i
because of Koz i
before for
after sin
while men
without anef
when ote
although inve
however peró
e.g.
- In sa zenoris , potu te fi. (If I was younger , I would be able to do it.)
- Ke rite? Par se kontentis! (Why are you laughing? Because I‟m
happy!)
- Men dormás , studáj. (While you were sleeping , I was studying.)
- Rena vo Órea. Peró , nue , Sjel se klarit. (It was raining for two hours.
However , now , the sky is clear.)
Forpártikela/Prepositions
Prepositions are used to show relations with nouns.
NOTE :
Prepositions must always precede the noun , article ,
pronoun , etc
In order to assure fluent pronounciation , the
preposition may be connected to the article
After the connection of “i” with the article (e.g. “et”) ,
it gives “jet” (and not “iet”)
equivalent
with ko
from / by vo
to / at a
of (/ genitive case) i
for pro
in nel
e.g.
- Et Port jet (or i et) Kaza set rotit. (The House‟s door is red.)
- Vjene ko Ja. (Come with me.)
- Vade aet (or a et) Skola. (I‟m going to school.)
- Es Gató se pro Ja? (Is this present for me?)
- Neles (or nel es) Kase , trovós en Klef. (In this box, you will find a key.)
- Es skrivat vo Ja. (This was written by me.)
Númera/Numbers
Asolutit Númera/Cardinal Numbers
equivalent
0 nul
1 en
2 vo
3 tre
4 dor
5 fif
6 sis
7 set
8 ut
9 nef
decade(s) dek(a)
hundred(s) sent(a)
thousand(s) mil(a)
million(s) mel(a)
billion(s) bil(a)
e.g.
- 12 = dek-vo (one decade plus two)
- 34 = tredeka-dor (three decades plus five)
- 103 = sent-tre (one hundred plus three)
- 154 = sent-fifdeka-dor (one hundred plus five decades plus four)
- 1986 = mil-nefsenta-utdeka-sis (one thousand plus nine hundreds plus
eight decades plus six)
Ordinalit Númera/Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are used just like adjectives and share the same
endings (personal,objective) according to the noun being described.
NOTE : In case the last letter is “t” (e.g. ut , set , etc) , the second “t” is
omitted
equivalent
first entis
second votis
third tretis
fourth dortis
fifth fiftis
sixth sistis
seventh setis
eightth utis
nineth neftis
tenth dektis
eleventh dek-entis
e.g.
- 12th = dek-votis
- 34th = tredeka-dortis
- 103rd = sent-tretis
- 154th = sent-fifdeka-dortis
- 1986th = mil-nefsenta-utdeka-sistis
Ezemplit Téstoa/Example Texts
Oskar Ghuájld – Et Imáz i Dórian Grej (Prolog)/
Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray (Preface)
The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is
art‟s aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his
impression of beautiful things.
Et Artiste set et Fabriker i belit Mátera. Montri Art ve kazi et Artiste set et Gol jet
Art. Et Kritiker set Ta is pote traduki alterer uj koen novit Materit ti Vedete i belit
Mátera.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those
who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This
is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For
these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
Ve Altimit vehse kortimit Forma i Kritik set Modus i Sebiografja. Na is trovén
malit Sinifika a belit Mátera sen favelis anef si belis. Se faltit. Na is trovén belit Sinifika
a belit Mátera sen at Kultivis. Pro Na , ezistét Spera. Sen at Selektis a is belit Mátera
sinifikén soler Bela.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or
badly written. That is all. The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of
Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism
is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.
Ne ezistét en moralit uj en umoralit Liber. Líbera sen boner uj maler skrivéjt. Set
alit. Et Ugusto jet dek-neftit Sekel pro Realizmo set et Manjo i Káliban vedéjs ti Fas
nelen Glas. Et Ugusto jet dek-neftit Sekel pro Romantizmo set et Manjo i Káliban
uvedéjs ti Fas nelen Glas.