Noun Classes

Yivrian inflects for two numbers, singular and plural, and five cases: nominative, genitive, ablative, dative, and contradative. For the usage of these cases, see the Syntax section. Of the five Yivrian cases, the nominative, ablative, and dative are central. The genitive and contradative are secondary formations of the nominative and dative.

C- and V-class nouns

The case endings for C-class and V-class nouns are the same. In fact, the only difference between these classes (aside from the plural endings) is that the C-class nouns attatch the case endings directly to the end of the noun, while with the V-class nouns the case endings precede the final vowel. The following table shows the declension of two nouns in these classes:

U-class nouns

The U-class nouns are more complicated. In the U-class nouns, there is an alternation in the vowel of the stem. One stem, known as the strong stem, occurs in the nominative and the genitive. Another stem, known as the weak stem, occurs in the other cases. However, there is a correlation between strong stem vowel and weak stem vowel, as the following chart shows:

There are also slight differences in the case endings for this class of nouns, namely, that where the C- and V-class nouns have an o in their endings, the U-class nouns have a u. The following sample declension illustrates:

Minor classes: K-class and IND-class nouns

The K-class nouns are a small subclass of the V-class nouns that end in a vowel preceded by /s/. In these nouns the /s/ is always spelled {ss}; in nouns that end in -sV that are not K-class nouns, the /s/ is written singly. The K-class nouns behave just like regular V-class nouns except that in the dative and contradative, the /s/ in the stem changes to a /k/. Example:

The IND-class nouns are a subclass of the U-class nouns. Rather than alternating the stem vowel, these nouns contain a suffix -ind in the nominative and genitive that is replaced by the regular U-class case endings in the other cases. Example:

Plurals and Case Endings

Yivrian inflects for two numbers, singular and plural, and five cases: nominative, genitive, ablative, dative, and contradative. For the usage of these cases, see the Syntax section. Of the five Yivrian cases, the nominative, ablative, and dative are central. The genitive and contradative are secondary formations of the nominative and dative.

C- and V-class nouns

The case endings for C-class and V-class nouns are the same. In fact, the only difference between these classes (aside from the plural endings) is that the C-class nouns attatch the case endings directly to the end of the noun, while with the V-class nouns the case endings precede the final vowel. The following table shows the declension of two nouns in these classes:

U-class nouns

The U-class nouns are more complicated. In the U-class nouns, there is an alternation in the vowel of the stem. One stem, known as the strong stem, occurs in the nominative and the genitive. Another stem, known as the weak stem, occurs in the other cases. However, there is a correlation between strong stem vowel and weak stem vowel, as the following chart shows:

There are also slight differences in the case endings for this class of nouns, namely, that where the C- and V-class nouns have an o in their endings, the U-class nouns have a u. The following sample declension illustrates:

Minor classes: K-class and IND-class nouns

The K-class nouns are a small subclass of the V-class nouns that end in a vowel preceded by /s/. In these nouns the /s/ is always spelled {ss}; in nouns that end in -sV that are not K-class nouns, the /s/ is written singly. The K-class nouns behave just like regular V-class nouns except that in the dative and contradative, the /s/ in the stem changes to a /k/. Example:

The IND-class nouns are a subclass of the U-class nouns. Rather than alternating the stem vowel, these nouns contain a suffix -ind in the nominative and genitive that is replaced by the regular U-class case endings in the other cases. Example:

Pronominal Suffixe

In Yivrian, there are no separate words for possessive pronouns such as my or his. Rather, these concepts are expressed by a set of suffixes known as pronominal suffixes. These suffixes consist of two parts: a lengthening of the final vowel of the root, and the suffix itself. The term "vowel lengthening" is here used merely for convenience; it has nothing to do with the durative length of the vowel. Instead, the vowel alternation is usually one of diphthongization, as the following chart shows:

For C- or V-class nouns, the final vowel is always lengthened when a pronominal suffix is added, even if the word ends in a consonant. Then the suffix itself is added. If the word is C-class, an e is added between the stem and the suffix. The following examples illustrate with the complete set of affixes and the root nouns in the nominative singular:

The N-class nouns are a small class of nouns that end in a cluster of a liquid plus a nasal. These nouns insert the diphthong ai into the final cluster when forming their pronominal forms. For example:

The U-class nouns (including IND-class nouns) use the same affixes, but do not lengthen the stem vowel. Rather, the vowel í is added after the weak stem, followed by the regular affixes. Example:

K-class nouns are the same as V-class nouns, except that the second-person endings also cause the /s/ in the stem to alternate with /k/. Thus:

Inflection of pronominal forms

Pronominally marked forms all behave as V-class nouns, with the case endings and plural marker following the pronominal suffix. Thus, the other caseforms of (for example) mirídeva are:

Determiner Prefixes

Yivrian has a class of prefixes that serve the same functions as English determiners and quantifiers. There are various syntactic constraints on these prefixes that differ rather widely from English usage; these are discussed in the Syntax section. The prefixes themselves are divided into two groups: determiners and quantifiers.

The determiner prefixes are illustrated here with two different root nouns. Note that some of the prefixes show a spelling difference depending on whether the following word begins with a vowel or a consonant:

The quantifier prefixes are as follows (illustrated with the same two nouns):

Grouped with the quantifier prefixes are the numerals, which are always made into prefixes when they are counting an object. For obvious reasons, any numeral higher than "one" must be used with a plural noun. A complete listing of numerals and explanation of the counting system is found under Counting on the grammar main page: