The distinction between
word and phrase especially of noun and noun phrase is not
clear-cut in Karbi. If a word is defined as that which is
bounded by pauses, then the gender and number markers can be
both a separate word and part of a word.
me
a-lo
‘male cat’
me
a-pi
‘female cat’
arnam-po
‘God’
arnam-pi
‘Goddess’
ala-tum
‘they (Hum.)’
ne-tum
‘we (Excl.)’
monit a-tum
‘men, people’
pincho a-tum
‘men’
Whenever a-
occurs with gender and number, then the forms are separate
words. The same is valid in case of some cases and postpositions
also.
la-phan
‘him, her, it’
la-tum aphan
‘them’
thepi
a-du
‘near the tree’
ne-du
‘near me’
A noun phrase in Karbi
may be any one of the following :
1)
The noun followed by gender.
methan alo
‘male dog’
methan api
‘female dog’
cayno
api
‘cow’
Some gender forms
precede the noun.
pincho aocho
‘boy (male child)’
arlocho aocho
‘girl (female child)’
2.
The noun followed by number
pinchomar atum
‘men’
hem an
‘houses’
ochomar atum
‘children’
tovar an
‘roads’
palo
an
‘cots’
3.
The noun marked for both gender and number
vo-pi an
‘hens, female birds’
me
api an
‘female cats’
methan alo an
‘male dogs’
arlochopimar atum
‘women’
the derived noun
kecho aba
‘one who is sick, patient’
kam keklem aba
‘one who works, worker’
4.
The noun preceded by demonstrative adjective
or genitive
a-lo 
