Before starting this lesson, you should re-read Chapter 4 of the reference manual.
Na- proper name ni- plural, more than one
-ma true generic root (default = P-s adjective) -pe demonstratives (default = P-s adjective) -pyo positive relational locatives (at/in/on, between, above, to the left of, north of, default = P/F-s case tag) -xe measurable physical states with corresponding, commonly used, measure words (hot, tall, heavy, thick, fast, old/aged, expensive, high, long, late) -zwe item of furniture (chair, table, bed, sofa, bookcase, desk, tripod, ladder)
lokonda - think about, ponder, reflect on, contemplate
jiloda - live, reside, dwell, make one's home
tateda - ask for/that, request, order [eg. at a restaurant]
lokandi - truck, lorry
tawkandi - airplane, plane, aircraft
zwedi - chair
cezwedi - piece or item of furniture
konzwedi - desk
lozwedi - table, bench, stand
ceki - who [interrogative noun] [stress: CE-ki]
Najoncedi - John [stress: na-JON-ce-di]
Naryacedi - Mary [stress: na-RYA-ce-di]
cacindi - plumber
tawcedi - pilot, airman, aviator, flier
kanjidi - garage, carbarn, coach or carriage house
zwetodi - living room, parlor, sitting room
kontodi - classroom, schoolroom
tawtodi - attic, garret, loft
xedo - old, aged, antiquated
kanxedo - fast, quick
camu - one, single
xemu - much, many. a lot of, numerous, plenty of
ma - a/an, some/any, indefinite article
pe - this/these
bape - that/those
pyo - at, near, with
topyo - in, inside of, within
pi - present-imperfect tense-aspect disjunct
1. Use the tense-aspect disjunct "pi" to force a verb to be present-imperfect:
Pi konloda sencindi.
The linguist is teaching.
Pi tada mi cadi.
I want the water.
2. To convert a singular noun to a plural noun, use the prefix "ni-":
Lokonda Najoncedi nijudi.
John thought about the dogs.
Pi loda nicedi.
The people are working.
Use "nicezwedi" to represent the simple English noun "furniture":
Pi jutada mi nicezwedi.
I like the furniture.
[Literally: I like the pieces of furniture.]
3. Use "ma" for the English indefinite articles 'a', 'an', or 'some':
Pi jiloda cacindi ma topyo jidi bape.
A plumber lives in that house.
Tateda nitakoncedi ma mi cadi ma.
Some students asked me for some water.
Tada mi judi femu ma.
I wanted two dogs.
Keep in mind that all noun phrases are definite by default in Nasendi. Thus, "ma" must be used in the last example above.
Note that "ma" is an adjective by default. And since it is a root-terminator, the adjective part-of-speech suffix "-do" is not needed.
4. Note that roots that end in "pe" are adjectives by default. And since it is a root-terminator, the adjective part-of-speech suffix "-do" is not needed. Thus "pe" means 'this/these', and "bape" means 'that/those'.
5. Note that "ceki" consists of the 'person' classifier "ce" and the interrogative suffix "-ki". Literally, it means 'which person'.
Teda ceki femi pi loda mi?
Who told you that I'm working?
6. The word "pyo" is a very general locative case tag, and its English equivalent depends on its argument (i.e., the word that follows "pyo"):
Takonloda ceki pyo konzwedi bape?
Who studied at that desk?
Pi loda Najoncedi pyo tawtodi.
John is working in the attic.
Pi caloda sencindi pyo tawkandi.
The linguist is drinking near the airplane.
If the above seems confusing, it's because English uses different prepositions for different arguments. However, "pyo" can always be thought of as equivalent to English "at". But when "at" is ungrammatical or sounds awkward, it's necessary to substitute the closest English equivalent.
Note that "pyo" is a case tag by default. And since it is a root-terminator, the case tag part-of-speech suffix "-de" is not needed.
Here are several English examples:
AT the cave/river/reservoir/dam/school/commune/swamp/
house/shopping mall/island/planet/wharf/beach/
farm
IN the forest/garden/city/desert/room/suburb
ON the patio/campus/road/continent/balcony/stage
NEAR the refrigerator/chair/flagpole/car/tent/door
WITH/NEAR the books/hooks/choir/scissors/salt/dog/boy
In other words, always translate "pyo" to "at" if it sounds right,
otherwise use the closest English equivalent.
Who is working?
Pi loda ceki?
John is thinking about the desks.
Pi lokonda Najoncedi nikonzwedi.
Does the friendly cat like this attic?
Meki pi jutada jijudi jutindo tawtodi pe?
Is the linguist teaching in the classroom?
Meki pi konloda sencindi pyo kontodi?
[Note that we can use either "pyo" or "topyo" since the
translation for either one is "in" with the word "classroom".]
The pilot asked me for a fast airplane.
Tateda tawcedi mi tawkandi kanxedo ma.
I didn't tell John that you like that chair.
Bume teda mi Najoncedi pi jutada femi zwedi bape.
Does a plumber live in that house?
Meki pi jiloda cacindi ma topyo jidi bape?
Who did you tell that I'm drinking?
Teda femi ceki pi caloda mi?
The doctor asked me for one piece of furniture.
Tateda cindi mi cezwedi camu ma.
Mary told me that you don't like the furniture.
Teda Naryacedi mi bume pi jutada femi nicezwedi.
I know that those old birds are flying.
Pi konda mi pi tawloda nicetawdi xedo bape.
Who is the teacher thinking about?
Pi lokonda koncindi ceki?
Mary didn't like this living room.
Bume jutada Naryacedi zwetodi pe.
Did you tell me that you don't want the truck?
Meki teda femi mi bume pi tada femi lokandi?
The plumber asked me for a lot of tables.
Tateda cacindi mi lozwedi xemu ma.
[Note the mandatory use of "ma" above. But note that it must
not be used in the next example.]
I thought about the many airplanes.
Lokonda mi tawkandi xemu.
[The above would sound more realistic if "airplanes" were
modified by a relative clause, as in "I thought about the many
airplanes that passed overhead". We'll learn about relative
clauses in a future lesson.]
Three students explained to me in the garage that you
don't like me.
Konteda takoncedi gimu ma mi topyo kanjidi bume pi
jutada femi mi.