|
Number |
The personal pronouns
show a two-way distinction in number, viz., singular and plural.
In personal pronoun, the human and
animate nouns take the plural marker -tum whereas the
neuter nouns have a separate plural
marker -huy. In other nouns, human nouns mark plural with
-mar, atum and mar atum
whereas a collective adjective meaning ‘many’ an is added
to all nouns to mark plurality. Otherwise,
plural is not marked in non-human nouns. |
The singular is unmarked
in all the nouns.
|
| ne |
netum |
‘I’
|
‘we’
|
ala |
alatum |
‘he, she’
|
‘they (hum.)
|
| le |
latum |
‘he, she, it’
|
‘they (hum. animate)’
|
|
lahuy |
|
‘they (neuter)’
|
| arnam |
arnammar |
‘God’
|
‘Gods’
|
|
arnamatum |
|
‘Gods’
|
|
arnammaratum |
|
‘Gods’
|
| monit |
monit atum |
'man'
|
‘men’
|
|
monit mar |
|
‘men’
|
|
monit maratum |
|
‘men’
|
| richo |
richomar |
‘young person’
|
‘young persons’
|
|
richo atum |
|
‘young persons’
|
| la |
la an |
‘he, she, it’
|
‘they (non-human)’
|
| monit |
monit an |
‘man’
|
‘all men’
|
| ri |
ri an |
‘hand’
|
‘hands’
|
| hem |
hem an |
‘house’
|
‘houses, all houses’
|
| me |
mean |
‘cat’
|
‘cats, all cats’
|
| kitap |
kitap an |
‘book’
|
‘books, all books’
|
|
|
The plural marker follows the gender or honorific markers if
they are present. |
| ocho-po |
ochopo-mar |
‘boy’
|
‘boys’
|
| |
ochopomar atum |
| |
‘boys’
|
| alali
|
alalitum |
| ‘he, she (hon.)’
|
‘they (hum. hon.)’ |
|
|
|
|
|
