| 3.1.1. Noun Phrase:
Generally it is an endocentric construction with a noun as the head
and performing the function of a noun in the sentence. But exocentric
phrases also are numerous. Thus , a noun phrase may be either attributive,
additive, appositional or a vacative. |
| 3.1.1.1. Attributive
Noun Phrase: Strictly it is this type of phrase, which is endocentric.
It has noun as its head and takes modifiers with their expantion.
The modifiers may be of various kinds like demonstratives, adjectives,
numerals, possessives, emphatic particles and even another noun,
used attributively: |
| 31.1.1.1. With
Demonstratives and Interrogatives: Any animate or inanimate noun
may be preceded by demonstratives meaning ‘this’, ‘that’ or ‘yonder’
or interrogative ‘who’, ‘which’: |
ne ho o
|
‘this man’
|
oko koa
|
‘which
boy’
|
|
en disum
|
‘that countryside’
|
|
han daru
|
‘yonder
tree’
|
|
|
| 3.1.1.1.2. With
adjective, single, derived or phrasal: Adjectives or any form when
qualify an animate or inanimate noun, the whole construction may
be treated as a phrase. Such adjectives may be of participal category
also: |
sugaa
kui
|
‘beautiful
girl’
|
pere?akan
ca u?
|
‘filled up
pitcher’
|
rean-tea?da?
|
‘water to
take bath with’
|
|
isu pura?cauli
|
‘sufficient
rice’
|
kiciri akiri
sau
|
‘cloth selling
merchant’
|
|
|
| 3.1.1.13. With
numerals: The cardinal numerals are used in two forms as attributes
in a noun phrase. The full forms like miad, baria, apia, etc., may
be used to identify the numbers of items in an indenfinite manner,
as in: |
|
maid koa
hon ‘(any) one boy’
|
| baria haam-buia-ki
‘(any" two old man and woman’ The shortened forms of mid, bar,
api, etc., indicate the same in definite manner: |
mid hoo
|
‘one man’
|
bar daru-ki
|
‘two
trees’
|
|
|
| The suffix /si/
after/ mu/ and /bar/ and /ma/ after other numerals are added to
mean ‘one day’, ‘two days’ and so on. Yet, the whole phrase may
be an attribute to /hula/ ‘day’: |
musi
hula
|
‘one day’
(vowel harmony: mo>mu)
|
moemahula
|
‘five days’
|
|
|
| 3.1.1.1.4 With
possessives: The following possessive markers are added to the possessort
of unction as attribute to the possessed noun: |
| /a?/ suffixed to
animate the possessor, while the possessed |
| may be either animate
or inanimate, as in: |
|
a a?
oa?
‘my house’ , ama? seta
‘your dog’
|
| /ren/ suffixed
to possessor (animate) to denote relation like husband and wife: |
|
soma-ren kuri
‘soma’s wife’
|
| /rea?/ suffixed
to inanimate possessor, the possessed may be animate or inaminate.Occasionally,
even only /a?/ also may be used in this manner. |
|
bir-rea? daru
'tree of the jungle’
|
|
daru rea? ceøe
‘bird of the tree’
|
| 3.1.1.1.5 With
emphatic particles: The emphatic particles like /-ge/ ‘only, /-o/
‘also’, and /-do/ ‘however’ are suffixed to the nouns to form emphatic
noun phrases: |
|
kula-ge
‘only the tiger’ , uri? o
‘even the cattle’
|
|
buia-do
‘the ole lady, however’
|
| These suffixes
may occur as compounds also as /ge-o/, ge-do/o-ge/and /do-ge/. |
