| Again,
almost any word placed before a noun functions like an adjective.
They include the numerals. |
| 2.3.1.
Derivations of adjectives: |
| (a) The demonstrative
/-n/ is suffixed to a noun root to get ajectives liek - bugin/,
edkan/, where /bugi/ ‘good’ and edka ‘bad’. |
| (b) Personal
(animate) suffix /i?/ and impersonal (inanimate) /a/ are added to
the demonstratives ne, en and han for the demostrative adjectives. |
|
Morphophonological changes:
|
|
ne + i?
|
= ni?,
|
as before
|
|
en + i?
|
=
ini,
|
where the
initial /e/ changes to /i/ for a close harmony.
|
|
|
| (c) /-an/
is suffixed to words denoting animate, inanimate as well as certain
qualities. When such a word ends in /a/ itself, the suffix is simply
/-n/. |
| bilka |
|
|
‘kindness;
|
bilkan
|
‘kind’
|
|
boro
|
‘fear’
|
‘boroan’
|
‘fearful’
|
|
|
| (d) /-akan/,
the perfect participle form is suffixed to verb root and as such is
used as adjective. |
|
bul
|
bul ‘to
drink heavily (wine)’
|
bulakan
|
‘drunk’.
|
|
|
| (e) To make
an adective of a cardinal number, the vowel occurring finally with
these numbers is generally and that occurring medially is somtimes
dropped: |
mia>mid, baria>bar,
apia>api, upunia>upun, mo ea>moe, turia>turi, eea>ee, iralia>iral, area>are and
gelea>gel. |
| The
shortened forms as stated above are used to form further cardinal
numbers, when they are prefixed to the number which they multiply,
e.g., barhisi ‘two twenty’ or ‘forty’ |
| (f) The first
syllable or the numeral is prefixed to make the reduplicative forms
for the distributive and this is used adjectively, e.g., ba-baria. |
| (g) /sa?/
is suffixed for proportional numerals to the shortened forms, e.g.,
midsa? ‘once’. |
| Certain postpositions
are used for adjective and numerical phrases for different functions. |
| (h) For superlatives
the postposition/utar/ is placed after the qualificative or the later
may follow the particles like isu ‘much’ pura? ‘very’,
isupura? ‘very much’ etc. |
| -p- is infixed into
qualitatives denoting dimensions to form their superlatives: |
mara
|
‘great’
|
mapara
|
‘very
great’
|
|
|
| 2.4.
Verbs: |
| All roots which take
aspect and /or tense affixes or the suffix for the imperative may
be classified into the form class of verb. |
| Almost any and every
root can be placed in the above positive to perform the function of
verb. The verb roots are of two broad classes transtive and intransitive,
both having separate functions and having separate sets of tense and
aspect markers as well as differing in forming stems. Some transitive
and intransitive verb roots are formally identical. |
| The bare root form
without any affixation is an infinitive, which when placed before
a noun performs the function of an adjective. |
