Lingua Franca Nova

lingua-franca-nova.net

LFN

a paje xef

Yahoo grupo LFN

LFN wiki
Testos e plu - texts and more.

Presenta LFN
Aprende LFN a esta ora - learn LFN now!
Grammar

Plural Nouns
Articles
This, That, Many, Few, etc.
Pronouns
Who, What, Where, When, etc.
Questions
Past, Present, and Future
The Passive and Continuative
The Conditional
The Subjunctive
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Adverbs
Auxiliary Verbs
Verbs Used as Nouns
Verbs Used as Adjectives
Clauses
More and Less
Prepositions
Numbers
Ordinals, Fractions, Multiples, etc.
Word Order
Punctuation

Plural Nouns

  • -s (or -es after a consonant) indicates the plural.
    • -s and -es do not change the original stress of the word: Gáto, cat... Gátos cats, Óm, man... Ómes, men. Note that adjectives do not take plural endings.

    If there are other words (such as multe or numbers) that indicate plurality, the -s may* be dropped.

    * Wherever you see the word may in italics, it means that this option is a non-standard one which is none-the-less acceptable as a variation. You could say it's not what you would be taught in school, but no one would be surprised to hear it. The point here is that we need to combine some sort of standardization with enough flexibility to allow for natural differences among speakers of different native languages!

    Articles

    • the -- la
    • a, one -- un
    Articles are a feature of many languages, but are absent from just as many. Because they can be difficult, articles may be dropped in casual communication. Dropping articles is common in many languages when writing quick notes, and rarely results in misunderstandings.
    La is used before any noun which refers to something or someone that has been mentioned earlier, or the identity of which is understood by the listener (i.e. the listener knows of whom I am speaking, or can see the person or thing I am refering to, etc.). It may help to think of it as a "neutral" form of this or that (esta o acel). Use la where you could just as well use esta or acel. La is used with both singular and plural nouns.

    Un is used before any noun which refers to something or someone that is being introduced into the conversation for the first time, the identity of which is unknown to the listener. Use un where you might use some (alga) if the word were plural. Un also means one. There is no indefinite article for plural nouns.

    The preposition de (of) is used without an article to express the partitive sense, e.g. un tas de cafe... a cup of coffee, la pesa de torta... the piece of cake.

    No article is used when a word is being used in a generic sense, e.g. me ama cafe, torta es bon, la comandante de polis, var a scola... I like coffee, cake is good, the chief of police, going to school.

    No article is used before names, words used as names, abstract nouns (-ia), or infinitives (-r). Note that names and words used as names are capitalized.

    This, That, Many, Few, etc.

    • this -- esta
      • esta person, esta persones... this person, these people
      • these (as pronoun) -- estas
    • that -- acel
      • acel person, acel persones... that person, those people
      • those (as pronoun) -- aceles
    • every, each -- cada
      • cada person... every person, each person
    • no, none -- no
      • no person... no person, no one
    • all -- tota
      • tota persones... all people
    • many -- multe
      • multe persones... many people
      • la multe persones... the many people
    • some -- alga
      • alga persones... some people
    • few -- poca
      • poca persones... few people
      • la poca persones... the few people
    • both -- ambos
      • ambos persones
    • enough -- basta
      • basta persones
    • too much -- tro
      • tro persones
    The preceding particles often substitute for la or un and add a degree of precision. The following require an article unless plural:
    • same -- mesma
      • la mesma person, la mesma persones... the same person, the same people
    • other, else -- otra
      • la otra person, la otra persones... the other person, the other people
      • un otra person, otra persones... an other person, other people.
      • others (as pronoun) -- otras, la otras
    All the preceding particles may be used as pronouns, alone or followed by...
    • one, ones -- un, unes
    • person -- person
    • thing -- cosa
    • time -- ora (time, hour of the day)
      • ves (occasion)
    • place -- parte (area)
      • loca (location)
    • amount, quantity -- cuanto
    • manner, way, how -- modo
    • case, situation, circumstance -- caso
    Other particles:
    • such -- tal
      • tal persones
    • certain -- serta
      • un serta person, serta persones
    • several -- varios
      • varios persones
    • sole, only -- sola
      • la sola person, un sola person...

    Pronouns


    		singular plural
    first person
         		me nos
    second person
         		tu vos
    third person
         		el los

    Me, tu, nos, and vos are also used as possessives, and are placed before the noun possessed. Possession may also be indicated with the phrase de me, etc. My house can be me casa or la casa de me.

    Se is the reflexive pronoun and possessive for the third person, both singular and plural. El ia colpe se, he hit himself, el ia colpe se peto, he hit his own chest.

    Possessives are always adjectives. Mine, yours, his, etc. are expressed by me, tu, se, etc. followed by a noun, e.g. me cosas, tu juetas, etc.

    Note that there are no masculine, feminine, or neuter forms of the third person. If gender is important, use phrases such as la om..., la fema..., la fia..., la fio.... There is a special form of demonstrative that is used only for things, especially when it is important to distinguish them from persons in a sentence:

    • esa -- it, this, that
    • esas -- they, them, these, those
    There are no distinctions of impolite/polite or formal/informal of you singular as there are in many of LFN's source languages.

    Who, What, Where, When, etc.

    An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions: Who is that man? Ci es acel om? A relative pronoun is used to introduce a relative clause (see below): He is the man who saw the accident. El es la om ci ia vide la acaso. Interrogatives and relatives in LFN are identical...

    what/that
    ce
    who
    ci
    which (of several)
    cual
    whose
    de ci
    how
    como
    how much/how many
    cuanto
    when
    cuando
    where
    do
    why
    per ce

    Como, cuanto, cuando, do, and per ce, when used as interrogatives, are essentially adverbs, and can come first in the sentence or right after the verb. How is he/she? Como el es? El es como?

    Questions

    A question can include an interrogative or interrogative phrase such as who, what, or why, or may be indicated by rising intonation alone. One may also express questions by beginning the sentence with the phrase Es ce...? or by adding no? (no) or si? (yes) to the end of the sentence, after a comma: Es ce tu parla Deutx? Tu parla Italian, si?

    In writing, questions always end with a final question mark (?). Tu parla Italian?

    Past, Present, and Future

  • ia indicates the past tense,
  • va indicates the future tense.
    • The present tense is indicated by the basic form. El canta, he or she sings... El ia canta, he or she sang... El va canta, he or she will sing.... The tense may be left out if it is clearly indicated by another word in the same sentence: El canta doman, he sings (will sing) tomorrow.


    The Conditional

    Conditional clauses are those involving if or if... then. The conditional nature of the action can be understood directly from the inclusion of si or si... donce. It can also be expressed with the auxiliary verbs pote or vole. Finally, it can be directly expressed by placing the particle ta before the verb.
    • Si me ia ave moneta, donce me dona alga a tu.
    • Si me ave moneta, donce me va dona alga a tu.
    • Si me ave moneta, me dona alga a tu.
    • Si me ave moneta, me pote dona alga a tu.
    • Si me ave moneta, me vole dona alga a tu.
    • Si me ta ave moneta, donce me ta dona alga a tu.
    • Etc.
    Ta indicates any action which is not real or factual, and so can be used to express situations that other languages express with conditional and subjunctive tenses. It should not be used when the action is real, normal, factual, or probable:
    • Si tu no ama un bebe, el va cria.
    • Si no pluve, nos va vade a la plaia.

    The Subjunctive

    The basic way to express the subjunctive is to use the regular verb in whatever tense you need. The unreal nature is communicated sufficiently by the words doubt, wish, etc. One can also suggest the subjunctive with pote and vole; Pote and ia pote (can/could) actually mean "be able to...," and vole and ia vole (will/would) mean "intend to...."
    • El vole ce el pote fa esta. -- He wishes he could do it.
    • Me duta ce el vole fa esta -- I doubt he would do it.
    Ta (roughly translated as "would" or "could") can also be used to mark the subjunctive, if desired:
    • El vole ce el ta fa esta.
    • Me duta ce el ta fa esta.

    Passive and Continuative

    The passive construction consists of es followed by the passive participle (-da), e.g. El ia es comeda... it was eaten.  If you wish to include the original subject, use par, e.g. El ia es comeda par me...  it was eaten by me (I ate it).

    The continuative construction consists of es followed by the active participle (-nte), e.g. Me es comente... I am (in the process of) eating.

    There is no perfect-imperfect distinction, nor is there a subjunctive mode. The nuances of these can be suggested, if necessary, by adverbs, auxiliaries, etc. For example...

    • I had gone (by then). -- Me ia vade ante la ora. Me ia vade ja.
    • I will be going (after then). -- Me va vade pos la ora. Me va vade plu tarda.
    • I doubt he/she came. -- Me duta ce el ia vade.


    Adverbs

    Adverbs are the same as adjectives.

    Certain adverbs are useful for suggesting what in other languages are expressed as moods or aspects:

    Ja (already) is used to suggest the perfect:
    • Me come ja -- I have eaten.
    • Me ia come ja -- I had eaten.
    Pronto (soon):
    • Me come pronto -- I will eat momentarily, I am about to eat.
    Ance (still) suggests another way of expressing the continuative:
    • Me come ance -- I am eating, I am still eating.

    Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

    Intransitive verbs may be used without change as transitive verbs meaning "make or cause to...." If one needs to be clear as to which meaning is intended, the intransitive use of such a verb may be preceded or followed by the reflexive form of the pronoun (me, tu, se, nos, vos, se). Likewise, the transitive use may be made explicit with the auxiliary verb fa (to make).

    • El senta = El se senta... He/she sits ("he/she sits him/herself")
    • Me umidi la sala = Me fa umidi la sala... I humidify the room ("I make the room humidify")

    Auxiliary Verbs

    Auxiliary verbs (often called helper verbs) are followed by the simple form of the verb, but without a word like "to" in front of the verb. The infinitive (-r) may be used after auxiliary verbs, if the speaker or writer prefers.

    • make, cause to... -- fa
    • let, allow, permit to... -- permete
    • must, should, need to... -- debe
    • want to, intend to... -- vole
    • can, could, am able to... -- pote
    • know (how) to... -- sabe
    • go, begin to... -- vade
    • come (around) to... -- veni
    There are also a variety of "attitudinal" auxiliary verbs, such as...
    • expect to... -- espeta
    • hope to... -- espera
    • fear to.. -- teme
    • prefer to... -- preferi
    • hesitate to... -- esita
    • dare to... -- osa
    • threaten to... -- menasa
    • pretend to... -- finge
    • appear to... -- aperi
    • try to... -- atenta
    Verbs Used as Nouns

    The most common form of the verbal noun is the present verb used as is, to mean a specific instance of an act, the process of an act, or the immediate consequences of an act. Dansa, to dance, becomes la dansa, the dance; condui, to conduct (oneself), becomes la condui, the conduct; corti, to cut, becomes la corti, the cut....  Note that this form requires an article (la or un) or plural (-s).  It replaces many other forms, such as those ending in -tion, -ture, or -ment in English.

    To make an abstract noun (the infinitive) out of a verb, add -r.   One may use the verb as is, without an article or plural, if the abstract meaning is clear from context.  Note that there is no word like "to" before the infinitive.  Note that the active participle (-nte) is not used as an abstract noun, as it can be in English.

    Verbs Used as Adjectives

    There are two grammatical suffixes that create participles (verbal adjectives) from verbs:

  • -da indicates the passive participle,
  • -nte indicates the active participle.
    • They are used as adjectives and nouns: Cantada, sung, song, that which is being sung; Cantante, singing, singer, the person who is singing. They are also used to form the passive and continuative constructions, described next.


    Clauses

    Like creole languages around the world, Lingua Franca Nova avoids complex sentences when possible.  But inevitably, we find we need to use clauses anyway.  The rules are straightforward:

    A relative clause is a clause which modifies a noun. The clause begins with a relative pronoun (see above) and follows the noun it modifies.
    • La om, ci abita asi, ia va a Nu Iorc. -- The man who lives here went to New York.
    • La fema, ci me ama, veni de Frans. -- The woman (whom) I love comes from France.
    • El es la un ci vide la acaso. -- He is the one who saw the accident.
    As you can see, the relative pronoun is never left out! The use of commas to bracket the relative clause is optional.

    A nonrestrictive (nonessential, nondefining) relative clause is one that is not essential to the sentence, but only adds additional information.
    • La can, ce ave macias negra, ia morde la polis. -- The dog, who has black spots, bit the policeman.
    • Me padre, ci es retira, abita en Mexico. -- My father, who is retired, lives in Mexico.
    Ce is used not only for "thing" nouns, but also when the relative clause refers back to the entire prior clause:
    • El scrive con se mano sinistra, ce es nonusual. -- He writes with his left hand, which is unusual.
    • El salta a un metre alta, ce surprenda tota. -- She jumped a meter high, which surprised everyone.
    Ci and ce are used even when the noun modified is the direct object of the relative clause:
    • La fia, ci el no atende, departe de el. -- The girl (whom) he ignored left him.
    If the noun is the object of a preposition, that preposition precedes the relative pronoun:
    • Me libro, en ce me scrive el nom, es supra la table. -- My book, in which I wrote her name, is on the table.
    • La fia, de ci me ia oblida la nom, sta ante me. -- The girl, whose name I forgot, is standing before me.

    Independent clauses     can stand as sentences by themselves, and are linked by conjunctions (see below).
    • Me ia desira la auto, ma me no ia ave la moneta. -- I wanted the car, but I didn't have the money.
    The use of commas to separate the two clauses is recommended, but not required.

    Independent clauses are often so independent that they could be presented as two separate sentences.
    • El ia vole canta e el ia vole dansa, ma el ia es temente. -- He wanted to sing and he wanted to dance, but he was afraid.
    • El ia vole canta. El ia vole dansa. El ia es temente. -- He wanted to sing. He wanted to dance. He was afraid.
    Additional types of clauses:
    • I know how to speak English -- Me sabe parla engles.  Like many creole languages, LFN often uses two verbs in sequence if they share the same subject.
    • You are good at speaking English -- Tu parla bon engles.  Complex use of gerunds such as 'at speaking" are normally simplified.
    • I help the child find its mother -- Me aida la enfante trova se madre.  Ce is not used because the object of help is the more properly the child, rather than the entire clause.

    More and Less

    The comparative is expressed with plu; The superlative with la plu. The negative comparative uses min; The negative superlative uses la min. E.g. plu calda, la plu calda, min calda, la min calda -- hotter, the hottest, less hot, the least hot.

    • more... than -- plu... ce
    • less... than -- min... ce
    • as...as, ...like -- ...como
    • as many as, as much as -- cuanto

    Prepositions

    There are 20 prepositions, some of which have dual purposes, depending on whether the context indicates we are talking about space, time, or relations:

    Space

    • at, to -- a
    • in front of -- ante
    • behind -- pos
    • from, out of -- de
    • in, into -- en
    • outside -- estra
    • above, over, on -- supra
    • below, under -- su
    • between, among -- entre
    • by, beside, up to -- asta
    • toward -- versa
    • along -- longo
    • across, through -- tra
    • around -- sirca
    • opposite -- contra
    Time
    • at, to -- a
    • before -- ante
    • after -- pos
    • since -- de
    • in (hence) -- en
    • during -- entre
    • until -- asta
    Relations
    • of -- de
    • about, concerning -- supra
    • for, in order to, benefiting, on behalf of --per
    • by (actor, author) -- par
    • with, in company of, using -- con
    • without, except -- sin
    • opposite, against, in spite of -- contra
    • approximately, around, close to -- sirca

    Conjunctions

    • and -- e
    • both...and... -- e...e
    • or -- o
    • either...or -- o...o
    • neither...nor -- no... no
    • but -- ma
    • if, whether -- si
    • then, consequently, therefore -- donce
    • because, in order that, so that -- per ce
    • although -- contra ce
    • after -- pos ce
    • before -- ante ce
    • since -- de ce
    • till, until -- a ce
    • while -- entre ce

    Numbers

    • one-- un
    • two -- du
    • three -- tre
    • four -- cuatro
    • five -- sinco
    • six -- ses
    • seven -- sete
    • eight -- oto
    • nine -- nove
    • ten -- des
    Higher numbers are constructed as follows:
    • eleven -- des-un
    • twenty -- dudes
    • hundred -- sento
    • 101 -- sento-un
    • 321 -- tresento-dudes-un
    • 1000 -- mil
    • 45 678 -- cuatrodes-sinco mil sessento-setedes-oto
    • million -- milion

    Ordinals, Fractions, Multiples, etc.

    • first -- prime
    Other ordinals are the same as cardinals, except following the noun, e.g. la om tre, the third man ("the man three"). This may also be expressed as la om numero tre.
    • whole -- completa
    Fractions constructed with -i, e.g. di, tri, cuatri,... desi, senti, mili, etc.
    • unitary, simple -- simple
    Multiple units are formed with -uple, e.g. duple, truple, cuatruple,...
    • once -- un ves
    • twice -- du veses, etc.
    Addition is expressed with plu: un plu un es du.

    Subtraction is expressed with min: ses min tre es tre.

    Multiplication is expressed with ves or veses: du veses tre es ses.

    Division is expressed with the phrase divideda par: oto divideda par du es cuatro.

    Powers may be expressed as ...a pote du (or ...cuadrida), ...a pote tre (or ...cubida), ...a pote cuatro, etc.

    Roots may be expressed as ...a radis du (or la radis cuadra de...), a radis tre (or la radis cuba de...), a radis cuatro, etc.

    Word Order

    The usual, formal word order is subject noun phrase - verb phrase (- object noun phrase), e.g. El ia dise esta, he or she said that.

    Pronoun objects may be placed before the verb, e.g. Nos los ia vide = Nos ia vide los, we saw them.

    Questions may have the verb before the subject, e.g. Parla tu engles? = Tu parla engles? Do you speak English?

    Commands and requests may be formed as verb-object, with the subject understood, e.g. Para! = Tu para! Stop!

    So-called zero-place verbs are used without subject or object -- Pluve, it is raining. The verb es, to be, is used in similar constructions involving adjectives or nouns -- Es bon, it's good, okay.

    Noun phrases are (article -) noun (- adjective), e.g. la flor bela, the pretty flower. Also treated as articles are demonstratives, possessive pronouns, indefinites, and numbers.
    In combinations, articles, demonstratives, and possessive pronouns precede indefinites and numbers, e.g. esta tre omes, these three men.

    Numbers following the noun are understood to be ordinals, e.g. La om tre, the third man.

    The adjectives bon (good) and mal (bad) may come just before the noun. Additional adjectives follow the noun, separated by commas or e (and). Adjectives are normally preceded by modifying adverbs, e.g. la fema vera bela, the very pretty woman.

    Prepositional phrases are preposition - noun phrase and generally follow that which they modify, e.g. la mus en la casa, the mouse in the house.

    Verb phrases are (auxiliary -) verb (- adverb), e.g. El va vade pasea pronto, he will go walking soon. Adverbs and adverbial phrases may also be placed at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a comma.


    Punctuation

    The period (.) indicates the end of a complete sentence. The first word in a sentence should be capitalized. Commas (,) are used to separate members of a list, or phrases within a sentence.

    The question mark (?) is used at the end of questions, and the exclamation mark (!) at the end of sentences which are to be understood as having an emotional intensity if spoken.

    Colons (:) are used before presenting a list not integral to a sentence, and semicolons (;) may be used to separate members of a list following a colon which are phrases in themselves.

    Hyphens (-) and Parentheses (()) are used to insert additional information within the context of a sentence, or to add incidental information to a body of text.

    Quotes are used to contain text that is taken from another text or is spoken by someone. Any of the various forms of quotes may be used (', ", <>, «», etc.). If the quotation extends beyond one paragraph, the endquote is left off until the final paragraph.

    In general, punctuation is left up to the writer, the standard being only one of clarity. Over time, it would be advisable to devise standards for teaching purposes and universality.

    Lingua Franca Nova par Dr. C. George Boeree e la grupo LFN. Paje rede par Stefan Fisahn

    Lingua Franca Nova Links

    lingua-franca-nova.net v 4_3