Before starting this lesson, you should re-read Chapter 10 of the reference manual.
-ja informative/artistic/entertaining/social thing (map, book, CD-ROM, painting, statue, tombstone, flag, encyclopedia, toy, coin, award/prize, photograph, money, letter/missive, flagpole) -lay infrastructure (park, canal, dike, road, trail, reservoir, plaza, interchange, marketplace, parking lot) -zi measures (meter, acre, gallon, gram, ton, second, century, radian, dollar, joule, newton, hertz, watt, ampere, ohm)
jadi - book, volume, tome
byejadi - painting, mural, canvas (that has been painted on)
kanjadi - license plate
konjadi - textbook, schoolbook
bikonjadi - encyclopedia
tejadi - dictionary, wordbook, lexicon
xejadi - antique, something made a long time ago but still
having social value
jajidi - town hall, city hall, municipal building
laydi - road, roadway, carriageway, thoroughfare
calaydi - canal, waterway, watercourse
gyalaydi - market(place), open market, bazaar, outdoor marketplace
jalaydi - park, common(s)
kanlaydi - parking lot
laygyadi - railroad station/depot, train station/depot
laykandi - train, railroad train
laypyo - along (the length of)
layxedo - long, lengthy [spatial]
xezidi - month, unit of measure equal to one-twelfth of a year
zidi - day, unit of measure equal to twenty-four hours
layzidi - meter [unit of measurement]
focedi - child, youth, kid, a young person
xecedi - adult, grownup, a mature person
zemu - seven
paw - here, at this location
bapaw - there, at that location
may - now, at this time
may-ziday - today, on this day
femay - earlier, already, at a time before now
femay-ziday - yesterday
gimay - later, at a time after now
gimay-ziday - tomorrow
xema - very, highly, extremely, a lot, much
toma - only, just, merely, simply, solely, exclusively,
purely, nothing but
[Note that "xema" and "toma" are previous-word
modifiers.]
1. Positive, measurable, scalar non-relational states can be used as measure verbs when converted to P/F-s verbs (suffix = "-sa"):
Pi xesa judi xezidi gimu ma.
The dog is three months old.
Pi layxesa tawkandi layzidi lumu ma.
The airplane is five meters long.
Note that, technically, the above measure phrases are new referents, and therefore must be marked indefinite using "ma". Measure phrases can even be made definite later, as in "The five meters was longer than I expected" or "Why is the five meters that I measured longer than what you measured?".
We can also use other argument structures. Here's an example using the A/P/F-d suffix "-vu":
Layxevu mi lozwedi layzidi femu ma.
I made the table two meters long.
Literally, the above sentence means 'I caused the table to become two meters long'.
2. Verbs can be converted to adverbs and case tags by simply changing the part-of-speech with the suffix "-de":
Pi pyoda Najoncedi jintodi jinlode.
John is in the kitchen cooking.
Pi pyoda Najoncedi jintodi jinlovyude tetawdi.
John is in the kitchen cooking the parrot.
3. The temporal adverbs "may", "femay", and "gimay" are called "deictic" because the referent time is the moment of speech. In other words, "may" means 'at the same time that the speaker speaks', "femay" means 'at a time before the speaker speaks', and "gimay" means 'at a time after the speaker speaks'.
A temporal adverb will override a verb's default tense:
Canzanvyu mi licandi may.
I'm opening the window now.
Lokonda mi nibyejadi gimay.
I'll think about the paintings later.
The adverb "may" does not override a verb's default tense when it is modified by a measure word, such as "day" or "month" (eg. "may-ziday" = 'today'), because the actual time is ambiguous. For example, in the sentence "Lida cindi judi may-ziday", did the doctor see the dog earlier today, will he see it later today, or does he see it right now?
However, there is no ambiguity when "femay" or "gimay" are modified, and thus they will override the default tense:
Kanloda mi gimay-ziday.
I'll go tomorrow.
These books won't make you wise.
Bume pu kontinvyu nijadi pe femi.
How many paintings do you have now?
Posa femi byejadi muki may?
The adults were in the living room drinking.
Pyoda nixecedi zwetodi calode.
Is this colored wall three meters long?
Meki pi layxesa tocandi byedo pe layzidi gimu ma?
The pilot may have done something to the seventh
airplane.
Me guda tawcedi tawkandi zetamu.
I wanted to make the room six meters long.
Tada mi layxevuvi todi layzidi bamu ma.
There are only a few buildings along the canal.
Pi fida cejidi fomu toma ma laypyo calaydi.
We'll go to the town hall later by train.
Kanloda zemi pyosude jajidi gimay guswa nulaykandi.
I saw your car's license plates in front of the radio.
Lida mi nikanjadi po kandi fepoy lipyo tawtebyadi.
The foolish technician lifted the very hot television.
Tawguda byacindi kontoydo libyadi jinxedo xema.
John asked the teacher for the textbook earlier at the
library.
Tateda Najoncedi koncindi konjadi femay pyo konjidi.
I explained to the merchant that the cat is only one
month old.
Konteda mi gyacindi pi xesa jijudi xezidi camu toma ma.
Will you have the young people build a shed tomorrow?
Meki pu fivyu femi figuda nicedi fodo zujidi ma
gimay-ziday?
The painter wanted to have a cold dry day.
Tada byecindi posavi zidi cazudo jinfodo ma.
The slow owl flew low above the marketplace.
Tawloda litawdi kanfodo tawfode tawpyo gyalaydi.
I saw nothing yellow in the parking lot near the
skyscraper.
Lida mi bumadi jinbyedo pyo kanlaydi fomoydu tawjidi.
The children were in the garage making a desk.
Topyoda nifocedi kanjidi fivyude konzwedi ma.
Mary heard the talkative parrot in the park after you
went shopping.
Telida Naryacedi tetawdi tetoydo pyo jalaydi pude
gyaloda femi.
The unfriendly painter will paint the floor here in the
hallway.
Pu byelovyu byecindi jutoydo butawcandi paw pyo cantodi.
Did the students make the teacher angry by painting the
dictionary?
Meki jintavyu nitakoncedi koncindi guswa byelovyuvi
tejadi?
I saw something wet between the two sofas yesterday.
Lida mi madi cabido canpyodu bizwedi femu femay-ziday.
Why did you put only the old encyclopedia above the
telephone?
Tawpyovu femi bikonjadi xedo tomado tebyadi maveki?
[Note that we must use the adjective form "tomado" so that the
entire noun phrase (including the adjective "old" and the default
article "the") is modified by "only". If we had used the previous-
word modifier form "toma", it would have modified only the word
"old", which is useless since it would imply that the only quality
that the encyclopedia has is "oldness".]
You should have put the four small pieces of furniture
along the blue fence.
Xemo laypyovu femi cezwedi zudo jomu jicandi tawbyedo.
The road is there because a lot of people want to go to
the waterfall.
Pi bapawda laydi mave pi tada cedi xemu ma kanlovi
pyosude cajindi.
Will the friendly chef give you the truck for the bad
antiques today?
Meki pu povu jincindi jutindo femi lokandi mase
nixejadi budo may-ziday?
The plumber told me that the high ceiling in the train
station is weak.
Teda cacindi mi pi cinzuda tawcandi tawxedo topyodu
laygyadi.