3rd
person pronoun and form of ‘be’ verbroot follows which
could be optionally deleted. |
/b  nénè
á  hà/ |
‘milk
is good’ |
| (milk)
(this) (good) |
|
| /náupá
cù á hà
á nìh/ |
|
| (boy)
(the)(he)(good)(a)(is) |
‘the
boy is good’ |
| /ín
cù a:nsà/ |
‘the
building is tall’ |
| (house)
(the) (it is ) (tall) |
|
| /ín
ìnsà:
a nìh/ |
‘It
is a tall building’ |
| (house)
(tall) (it is) |
|
| /lampùi
à séi á nìh/ |
‘the
road is long’ |
| (road)
(this)(long)(it is) |
|
/pènsíl
cù à t :í
á nìh/ |
‘the
pensil is short’ |
| (pensil)(the)(it)(short)
(it is) |
|
|
|
|
But
it is also possible to have the adjectives in such expressions
attributively forming part of the NP in the subject
slot and separate the verb. Examples: |
| /náupá
hà
á nìh/ |
‘the
boy is good’ or, |
| (boy)
(good)(it is) |
|
| /ín
ìnsa
á nìh/ |
‘the
building is tall’ or |
| (building)
(tall)(it is) |
|
|
|
|
| 3.2.4.5 |
Adjectives
of Comparison |
|
Hmar
interestingly, like Sanskrit and partly like English,
inflects adjectives for comparative and superlative
degrees by suffixation. Given below are the few examples: |
| Positive
|
| /ìnsá:/ |
‘tall’ |
| /cí:n/ |
‘small’ |
| /hrá:t/ |
‘strong’ |
| /lìen/ |
‘big’ |
| /tám/ |
‘many/large
numbers’ |
|
|
| Comparative
|
| /ìnsá:-lém/ |
‘taller’ |
| /cí:n-lem/ |
‘smaller’ |
| /hrá:t-lem/ |
‘stronger’ |
| /lìen-lém/ |
‘bigger’ |
| /tám-lèm/ |
‘larger’ |
|
|
| Superlative
|
| /ìnsá:-ták/ |
‘tallest’ |
| /cí:n-ták/ |
‘smallest’ |
| /hrá:t-tàk/ |
‘strongest’ |
| /lìen-ták/ |
‘biggest’ |
| /tám-tàk/ |
‘largest’ |
|
|
|
It
forms larger constructions by adding post positions
which may mean super superlative. In such constructions,
the 2nd constuent is a post position which is again
repeated, in some cases partically, as the 3rd constituent. |
| /hrá:t-cù-hnù/ |
‘stronger
than strongest’ |
| /ìnsá:-cú-hnù/ |
‘higher
than high-test’ |
| /ìnhnúoi-tp-khk/ |
‘lower
than lowest’ |
|
|
|
|
Two
categories of content class of words could be discussed
under the other mojor word-class ‘Verbals’. Of these,
the former, from the formal point of view, could be
divided into 3 sub categories. Thus, the ‘Verbals’ category
of word-class would be represented as under: |
