Before starting this lesson, you should re-read Chapter 5 of the reference manual.
-bye colors (red, blue, green, turquoise, magenta, colored) -fi other binary non-relational states (open, actual/existent, straight, exposed, up, vertical, hollow, authentic, functional/operational, natural, clear/transparent, colorful, whole/complete) -gu other acts, default = A/P-d verb (do something to, push, tickle, betray, spill, kick, throw, catch, drop, punish, drag, grasp/grab, pick up, put down, build, manipulate, spit on) -jin non-weather phenomena (hot spring, earthquake, volcanic eruption, mudslide, life, species, fire/blaze, waterfall, sunspot, sun, star, galaxy, instinct) -me epistemic modal (default AP/F-s deictic disjunct) -po genitive/relative clause linker (F/P-s open adjective)
guda - do something to, affect
tawguda - lift, pick up
figuda - build, construct, fabricate, erect, make
kanloda - go, travel
tokonda - remember, recall, have in one's memory
jindi - fire, blaze
cajindi - waterfall, falls, cascade, cataract
jintada - be angry, irate, furious, incensed at
jincedi - fire fighter, fireman
jinkandi - firetruck, fire engine
jinxedo - hot, of relatively high temperature
jinloda - cook, prepare food using heat
jincindi - chef, cook
jintodi - kitchen, room where food is cooked or prepared
tawjidi - skyscraper, a very tall building
byedo - colored, having color, hued, in color
bubyedo - black
jinbyedo - yellow
tawbyedo - blue
byecindi - painter, one who paints for a profession
byeloda - paint, take part in the activity of painting
fido - actual, existent, real
fida - there is/are/etc, exist, actually, really, in reality,
to be real or actual [see Grammar note 2. below]
cinfido - in working order, working, functional/functioning,
operational/operative
cinfida - work, function, run, be in working order, be
functional or operational
jomu - four
muki - how many, how much, what quantity of [interrogative]
po - of [genitive marker]
posa - have, possess
me - may, be possible [possibility modal disjunct]
1. Use the modal disjunct "me" to indicate that an event may be possible:
Me posa Najoncedi judi.
John may have had the dog.
Me pi takonloda Naryacedi topyo zwetodi.
Mary may be studying in the living room.
Meki me pi lokonda femi lokandi?
Is it possible that you're thinking about the truck?
Do not confuse "me" with the permissive sense of English "may" as in "You may go now". We'll discuss how to do this in a later lesson.
2. The root "fi", meaning 'existent/actual', is especially useful, because the verb "fida" simply means 'to be existent/actual', which is equivalent to English "there is/are" when the subject is an indefinite or generic noun phrase (we'll have more to say about generic nouns in a later lesson):
Fida cedi gimu ma pyo todi.
There were three people in the room.
Meki pi fida konzwedi xemu ma pyo zwetodi?
Are there a lot of desks in the living room?
Literally, the first example can be translated 'Three people existed in the living room' and the second example can be translated 'Do a lot of desks exist in that room?".
When the subject is a definite noun phrase, "fida" is equivalent to English "be" or "exist":
Pi fida konzwedi pyo todi bape.
The desk is in that room.
[Literally: 'The desk exists in that room'.]
Pi fida tawkandi.
The airplane exists.
Note in the second example that we could also have said "The airplane is real". However, the English word "real" often implies 'authenticity', which the Nasendi word does not imply. Keep in mind that the root "fi" means 'existent', not 'authentic'.
When the subject is a clause, the English translation is best implemented by means of the English expression "it is/was/etc true" or by an adverb such as "actually" or "really". However, since "fida" is a verb and can have a different tense than its argument, we will always implement it using "it is/was/etc true":
Me pi fida jutada tawcedi femi.
It may be true that the pilot liked you.
[Literally: 'It may be actual/real that the pilot liked you'.]
Fida pi tada sencindi konzwedi pe.
It was true that the linguist wants this desk.
[Literally: 'It was actual/real that the linguist wants this desk'.]
Note in the second example that the event was true but there is an implication that it may no longer be true. If we had used "actually" instead of "it was true", we would have failed to translate this implication.
3. You can convert an adjective or a noun to a P-s verb by simply changing its part-of-speech to verb using the suffix "-da":
Bume kontinda koncindi.
The teacher wasn't wise.
Meki pi kanxeda fekandi bape?
Is that bicycle fast?
Pi cinda nicedi bape.
Those people are doctors.
Some Nasendi words that are verbs by default are adjectives in English. To get the adjective form, just change the part-of-speech to adjective with the suffix "-do":
Verb form:
Jintada tawcedi mi.
The pilot was angry at me.
Adjective form:
Pi loda tawcedi jintado.
The angry pilot is working.
4. Use the genitive open adjective "po" to indicate possession or a close association. This is usually indicated in English by adding apostrophe-s to the possessor if it is simple, or by using the preposition "of" if the possessor is too long or complex. Here are some examples:
Pi posa mi tetawdi po cacindi.
I have the plumber's parrot.
Jutada mi nitawkandi po tawcedi jutindo jomu bape.
I liked the airplanes of those four friendly pilots.
Note that the word "posa", meaning 'to have', is simply the P/F-s verb
form of "po".
You weren't wise.
Bume kontinda femi.
Is it possible that John had the good car?
Meki me posa Najoncedi kandi lado?
There was an actual parrot in the living room.
Fida tetawdi fido ma pyo zwetodi.
Are you angry at the painter?
Meki pi jintada femi byecindi?
How many desks does the classroom have?
Pi posa kontodi konzwedi muki?
Those four airplanes may exist.
Me pi fida tawkandi jomu bape.
A yellow bird is flying in Mary's room.
Pi tawloda cetawdi jinbyedo ma pyo todi po Naryacedi.
Did you have three black cats?
Meki posa femi jijudi bubyedo gimu ma?
Are there a lot of angry people in that building?
Meki pi fida cedi jintado xemu ma topyo cejidi bape?
I want you to lift those two colored chairs.
Pi tada mi tawguda femi zwedi byedo femu bape.
Are you asking me for the pilot's furniture?
Meki pi tateda femi mi nicezwedi po tawcedi?
I know that the fire is hot.
Pi konda mi pi jinxeda jindi.
How many people are painting in the kitchen?
Pi byeloda cedi muki pyo jintodi?
I told the teachers that one painter went in the truck.
Teda mi nikoncindi kanloda byecindi camu ma topyo
lokandi.
The four good vehicles are in the garage.
Pi fida cekandi lado jomu topyo kanjidi.
It's true that Mary didn't like the bathroom.
Pi fida bume jutada Naryacedi catodi.
Who told you that the truck doesn't work?
Teda ceki femi bume pi cinfida lokandi?
This piece of furniture is a table.
Pi lozweda cezwedi pe.
How many fire fighters were in the firetruck at the
skyscraper?
Fida jincedi muki topyo jinkandi pyo tawjidi?
Who did something to the water of the plumber's dog?
Guda ceki cadi po judi po cacindi?
Some people told me that the chef is cooking in the
kitchen.
Teda nicedi ma mi pi jinloda jincindi pyo jintodi.
The doctor may have wanted a quiet parrot.
Me tada cindi tetawdi tetindo ma.
I don't remember an old yellow house.
Bume pi tokonda mi jidi jinbyedo xedo ma.
Did the linguist build the furniture in the attic?
Meki figuda sencindi nicezwedi pyo tawtodi?
I was angry that the room is blue.
Jintada mi pi tawbyeda todi.
There were four bicycles in working order in the garage.
Fida fekandi cinfido jomu ma topyo kanjidi.
The students are building an actual airplane at the
waterfall.
Pi figuda nitakoncedi tawkandi fido ma pyo cajindi.
I told the teacher that the students may be studying at
the library.
Teda mi koncindi me pi takonloda nitakoncedi pyo
konjidi.