Basic Adjectives

There are no adjectives in Yivrian that are not formed with one of the adjectival endings presented here, and there are very few adjectives that are not derived from a noun. Just as with the verbs, most adjectives are formed by attatching a suffix to a noun root. The basic adjectival suffix is -il, and it is formed as follows:

• After roots ending in a consonat, the ending is simply attatched to the end of the noun. Ex: lav ~ lavil
• After roots ending in -a, the -a is deleted and the ending is added. Ex: kenda ~ kendil
• After roots ending in other vowels, the ending is added following the vowel. The i of the ending never forms a diphthong with the vowel of the root. Ex: nesso ~ nesso'il

The meaning of this adjective is generally predictable from the meaning of the noun root. It describes the most salient quality of the root that it comes from, defined culturally, indicating that the noun modified is similar to the noun that is the root of the modifying adjective.

Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives in Yivrian come in five degrees, which are not exactly equivalent to the English adjective degrees. These are illustrated with the adjective hatil "high":

The comparative and superlative degrees may have either a positive or negative meaning, depending on whether they are used with the particle ín or íl. This is discussed in a separate section.

Participial Adjectives

Yivrian has two participial adjectives, an active participle and a passive participle. In their root form, these refer to the immediate direct form of the verb and are attatched directly to their noun root, not to the stem of the verb. Thus, from the root kenda "king":

For participial forms referring to other aspects of the verb, the aspectual endings are added as usual, but lacking any y that they normally have in the finite forms of the verb. Then the participial endings are added as usual:

Participles do not decline for comparison or other categories.

Adverbs

Adverbs are formed following the same rules as adjectives, shown above. The adverbial ending is -on. Adverbs are also compared using essentially the same endings as adjectives. Example from noun root wara "speed":

Just as with adjectives, the comparative and superlative degrees may have either a positive or negative meaning, depending on whether they are used with the particle ín or íl. This is also discussed in a separate section.