Determiners are words that specify or point out the context of nouns and other parts of speech. The English determiner this, for example, specifies a noun for its proximity to the current context. In English, demonstrative pronouns/adjectives/adverbs, possessive pronouns/adjectives, quantifiers like more and very, and numeric expressions like both fall under this category.
Determiners in Mirad fall into the following categories:
Types of Determiners
TYPE
ALSO KNOWN AS
ENGLISH EXAMPLES
Deictic
Demonstrative Pronouns/Adjectives/Adverbs
the, this, some, every, which?, when
Pronominal
Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives
my, anybody's, one's own
Quantitative
Quantifiers
more, less, very
Numerical
Numerals/Fractions/Ordinals/Dates, etc.
one, half, first
Furthermore, as for part of speech, determiners can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs. As adjectives, determiners can itemize or classify. As pronouns, they can refer to one or more persons (male or female) or things. As adverbs, they can specify circumstance, i.e. time, place, degree, kind, age, frequency, and so forth.
Deictic determiners are words which point out or specify other words as to their context, including what grammarians often call demonstratives. All deictic determiners in Mirad begin with the letter h. The letters following the h indicate the grammatical and semantic category.
Deictic determiners include the following traditional grammatical categories:
Demonstrative adjectives like this, that, those, that one
The definite articlethe (which is really a demonstrative adjective like those above.)
Demonstrative pronouns like this, that, those, that one
Interrogative and relative pronouns like who, which, that
Indefinite adjectives like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
Indefinite pronouns like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
Pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs of quantity like so much, that many, how many?, very, etc.
There is a whole set of correlative deictic prefixes, which are joined to circumstantial stub category suffixes to derive pronoun, adjective, and adverb determiners. In some grammars, these words are called wh-question words and their pointed answers. For example, QUESTION: Who is your wife? ANSWER: This is my wife. (or) QUESTION: Where is your house? ANSWER: My house is here. These word forms are called correlative because they relate to one another in way that can be mapped to a table.
Here are the Mirad deictic classification prefixes:
Deictic Prefixes
CLASSIFICATION
DEICTIC PREFIX
Interrogative
duho-...?....what?, which?
Relative
ho-....which, that
Exclamatory
hoo-....how...!
Definite
ha-....the
Indefinite
he-....some, a certain
Proximal
hi-....this, these
Immediate
hii-....the following
Distal
hu-....that, those
Intensive
huu-....such, so, what a...!
Distributive
hya-....every, all, each
Indeterminate
hye-....any, whatever
Negative
hyo-....no, not any
Identical
hyi-....the same, the very
Non-identical
hyu-....the other, another, else
Note: The Identical (hyi-) and Non-identical prefixes (hyu-) can optionally be substituted with ge- (same) and oge- (different), respectively.
The table below shows word stub suffixes that indicate the circumstantial category of deictic expressions. They are called stubs, because they are reduced word forms. The combination of deictic prefixes and circumstantial stub suffixes produce a matrix of deictic correlatives, seen later in this chapter. Use of the stub instead of the long form is a matter of optional economy. A few categories do not have stubs.
Category Stubs
CATEGORY
STUB
LONG FORM
QUESTION WORD EXAMPLE
Person
-t
tob...person
duhot?....who?
Thing
-s
sun...thing
duhos?....what?
Place
-m
nem...place
duhom?....where?
Time
-j
job...time
duhoj?....when?
Manner
-yen
byen...manner
duhoyen?....how?
Kind
-yena
syena...of a style
duhoyena?....what kind of?
Degree
-gla
nog...degree
duhogla fi?....how well?
Quantity
-gla
sag...number
duhogla pati?....how many birds?
Mass
-gla
glan...amount
duhogla mil?....how much water?
Frequency
-xag
xag...frequency
duhoxag?....how often?
Reason
-sav
sav
duhosav?....why?
Age
-jag
jag...age
duhojag?....how old?
There can be other circumstantial categories other than those listed above, such as "direction", "order", etc. eg. Duhomep wit pa?....Which way did he go?.
Charts of Correlative Deictic Determiners[edit | edit source]
Here is are three tables showing the matrix of correlative deictic determiners. Note that the determiners belong to three parts of speech, 1) adjectives, 2) pronouns, and 3) adverbs:
All deictic determiner adjectives in in -a and are used to modify nouns.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adjectives
SELECTIVE -a
POSSESSIVE -ta
KIND/MANNER -yena
QUANTITY -gla
AGE -jaga
FREQUENCY -xaga
Interrogative
duhoa? which?
duhota? whose?
duhoyena? what kind of?
duhogla? how much/many?
duhojaga? how old?
duhoxaga? how frequent?
Relative
hoa which
hota whose
hoyena what kind of
hogla how much/many
hojaga how old
hoxaga how frequent
Exclamatory
hooa what a...!
hoogla look how much/many...!
hoojaga how old a...!
Definite
ha1 the
hatas the person’s
hayena of the kind
hagla of the amount
hajaga of the age
haxaga of the frequency
Indefinite
hea some/a certain
heta someone's
heyena some kind of
hegla some
hejaga somewhat old
hexaga sometimes
Proximal
hia this
hita this person’s
hiyena this kind of
higla this much
hijaga this old
hixaga this often
Immdediate
hiia the following
hiita the follow person’s
hiiyena the following kind of
hiigla to the following degree
hiijaga of the following age
hiixaga of the following frequency
Distal
hua that
huta that person’s
huyena that kind of
hugla that much/many
hujaga of that age
huxaga that often
Intensive
huua such a
huuta such a person’s
huuyena such kind of
huugla so much/many
huujaga of such an age
huuxaga so often
Negative
hyoa no
hyota nobody’s
hyoyena no kind of
hyogla no amount/number of
hyojaga of no age
hyoxaga of zero frequency
Distributive
hya1 every
hyata everybody’s
hyayena every kind of
hyagla all
hyajaga of every age
hyaxaga always
Indeterminate
hyea whichever/any2
hyeta whosever
hyeyena whatever/any kind of
hyegla however much/many
hyejaga however old
hyexaga however frequent
Identical
hyia the same
hyita the same person’s
hyiyena the same kind of
hyigla just as
hyijaga just as old
hyixaga just as often
Non-identical
hyua the other
hyuta someone else's
hyuyena another kind of
hyugla not as much/many
hyujaga of another age
hyuxaga not as often
Note 1: The determiners ha (the) and hya (every) are shortened forms of haa and hyaa. Also, ha is commonly called a "definite article".
While hya means every or all, the word hyawa is used for each.
The possessive adjective forms in the above table ending in -ta such as hyeta....whosever cannot be pluralized by the ending -tia. To say other people's, use the expression bi hyuti (Lit. of others).
The ho- words are relative, meaning that they can serve to form relative clauses like the following:
Ha toyb, hota twad se Bill,....The woman, whose husband is Bill,
At voy te hos et tepfe.....I don't know what you mean.
At teste hogla et fie iyt.....I understand how much you love her.
The hoo- words are exclamatory and are used in expressions like the following:
Hoogla iva se at van et upa!....How glad I am that you came!
Hooa jub his saye!....What a day this has been! (Hoogla is pronounced ho-O-a as three syllables.)
Note 2: The indeterminant determiners can also be translated with no matter what, no matter where, etc.
All deictic determiner pronouns end either in -t for persons or -s for things. They can be singular or plural (-i).
Correlative Deictic Determiner Pronouns
THING -s THINGS -si
PERSON -t PERSONS -ti
KIND OF THING -yenas KINDS OF THINGS -yenasi
AMOUNT -glas NUMBER OF THINGS -glasi
NUMBER OF PEOPLE -glati
Interrogative
duhos? what? duhosi? what (things)?
duhot? who? duhoti? who (pl.)
duhoyenas? what kind of thing? duhoyenasi? what kinds of things?
duhoglas how much? duhoglasi? how many things?
duhoglati? how many people?
Relative
hos what hosi what
hot who hoti who
hoyenas what kind of thing hoyenasi
hoglas how much hoglasi how many
hoglati how many
Exclamatory
hoos what a thing! hoosi what things!
hoot what a person! hooti what people!
hooglas what an amount! hooglasi what a number!
hoglati what a number of people!
Definite
has it hasi they/them
hat he/she/him/her hati they/them
hayenas the king of thing hayenasi the kind of things
haglas the amount haglasi the number of things
haglati the number of people
Indefinite
hes something hesi some things
het someone heti some
heyenas some kind of thing heyenasi some kinds of thing
heglas some heglasi some things
heglati some people
Proximal
his this hisi these
hit this person hiti these people
hiyenas this kind of thing hiyenasi these kinds of things
higlas this much higlasi this many
higlati this many people
Immediate
hiis the following thing hiisi the following things
hiit the following person hiiti the following people
hiiyenas the following kind of thing hiiyenasi the following kinds of things
hiiglas the following amount hiiglasi this following number of things
hiiglati the following number of people
Distal
hus that husi those
hut that person huti those people
huyenas that kind of thing huyenasi those kinds of things
huglas that much huglasi that many
huglati that many people
Intensive
huus such a thing huusi such things
huut such a person huuti such people
huuyenas such a kind of thing huuyenasi such kinds of things
huuglas so much huuglasi so many
huuglati so many people
Negative
hyos nothing hyosi none of them
hyot nobody hyoti none of them
hyoyenas no kind of thing hyoyenasi no kinds of things
hyoglas none hyoglasi none
hyoglati none
Distributive
hyas everything hyasi all of them
hyat everybody hyati all of them
hyayenas every kind of hyayenasi all kinds of things
hyaglas all of it hyaglasi all of them
hyaglati all of them
Indeterminate
hyes anything hyesi any
hyet anybody hyeti any of them
hyeyenas any kind of hyeyenasi whatever things
hyeglas any of it hyeglasi any of them
hyeglati whoever
Identical
hyis the same thing hyisi the same things
hyit the same person hyiti the same people
hyiyenas the same kind of hyiyenasi the same kinds of things
hyiglas as much hyiglasi as many
hyiglati as many people
Non-identical
hyus something else hyusi other things
hyut someone else hyuti other people
hyuyenas another kind hyuyenasi other kinds
hyuglas another amount hyuglasi another number of things
hyuglati another number of people
Concerning the above chart, note the following:
The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po. I will go where you go.
Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun? What is your name?
Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam... This big old house....
Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Hot? means Who?, while Hoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
All deictic determiner adverbs refer to a circumstance.
Correlative Deictic Determiner Adverbs
CIRCUMSTANCE-->
PLACE -m
TIME -j
MANNERM -yen
DEGREE -gla
FREQUENCY -xag
REASON -sav
Interrogative
duhom? where?
duhoj? when?
duhoyen? how?
dugla? how (very)?
duxag? how often?
duhosav? why?
Relative
hom where
hoj when
hoyen how
hogla how (very)
hoxag how often
hosav because
Exclamatory
hooyen and how!
hoogla how very...!
Definite
ham the place
haj the time
hayen the manner
hagla just as
haxag as frequently
hasav the reason
Indefinite
hem somewhere
hej sometime
heyen somehow
hegla somewhat
hexag somewhat often
hesav for some reason
Proximal
him here
hij now
hiyen this way
higla this
hixag this often
hisav for this reason
Immediate
hiim the following place
hiij the following time
hiiyen the following way
hiigla to the following degree
hiixag at the following frequency
hiisav for the following reason
Distal
hum there
huj then
huyen that way
hugla to that degree
huxag that often
husav therefore
Intensive
huum 'such a place
huuj at such a time
huuyen in such a way
huugla so (very)
huuxag so often
huusav for such a reason
Negative
hyom nowhere
hyoj never
hyoyen in no way
hyogla not at all
hyoxag not once
hyosav for no reason
Distributive
hyam everywhere
hyaj always
hyayen in every way
hyagla fully
hyaxag always
hyasav for every reason
Indeterminate
hyem anywhere
hyej whenever
hyeyen however
hyegla however
hyexag however often
hyesav for whatever reason
Indentical
hyim at the same place
hyij at the same time
hyiyen in the same way
hyigla as
hyixag as often
hyisav for the same reason
Non-identical
hyum somewhere else
hyuj some other time
hyuyen otherwise
hyugla not as
hyuxag not as often
hyusav for some other reason
Concerning the above chart, note the following:
The determiners ha (the) and hya (every) are shortened forms of haa and hyaa.
The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.....I will go where you go.
There are is a category not shown in the table:
hoo-, used to form exlamatory determiners like Hoogla flia!....How marvelous! or Hooa via jub!....What a beautiful day!.
Person determiners can be specified for gender. A determiner is made female by inserting a y after the ordinal, or male by inserting a w before the ordinal, eg. Huyti....those females or Hwit....this guy.
Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam.......This big old house....
Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Hot? means Who?, while Hoat? means Which one (of several persons)?
Duhoyat?....Which of us?, Hyeyat....Any of us, etc.
Duhoyet?....Which of you?, Hyeyet....Any of you, etc.
Duhoyit?....Which of them?, Hyeyit....Any of them, etc.
Also not included in the above chart is a related interrogative, which is a complementizer.
Duven...?.... (Question introducer) Is it true that...?
The adverbs of degree in the above chart ('duhogla?, etc.) are interchangeable with adverbs ending in -nog....degree (duhonog?....to what degree?, how...?.
Other deictic determiner adverbs of circumstance exist and are not on the above chart:
At iyfe gwagla yavili, oy ohuas!....I like most beers, but not that one!
If the definite article or any other deictic determiner is omitted before a noun, then it has the effect of the English indefinite article a / an with a singular noun or some with a plural noun. For example:
Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
Yat tilia tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank a glass of wine.
Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
Yat tilia tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank (some) glasses of wine.
Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
Yat tilia ha awa tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank the one glass of wine.
Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
Yat tilia ha ewa tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank the two glasses of wine., vs.
Yat tilia hya ewa tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank both glasses of wine.
Yat tilia owa tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank no/zero glasses (=not a single glass) of wine.
Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
Yat tilia ha ea tilyeb bi vafil.....We drank the second glass of wine., vs.
Yat tilia ea tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank second glasses of wine., vs.
Yat tilia ha ea tilyebi bi vafil.....We drank the second glasses of wine.
If an indefinite article sense is needed for clarity, the words awa (one) or hea (some, a certain) can be used, eg.:
At igteata awa tob yiztyoper.....I glimpsed a man walk by.
Hwit zoyupo hea juab.....He will come back on a / a certain / some Monday.
The deictic interrogative determiner pronoun duhot? means who(m) and contrasts with its selective counterpart duhoat?, which means which one?. All the selective determiners refer to one or more things or persons from a selectable pool of things or persons.
The following sentences illustrate the use of the above determiner pronouns:
Duhot aka zajuba ek?....Who won yesterday's game?
Duhoat bi ha akuti sa ha gwa fiat?....Which one of the winners was the best?
Duhota tam se hus?....Whose house is that?
Duhotas se hus?....Whose is that?
Duhotia deuzi et gaife?....Whose songs do you prefer?
Duhotias et gaife?....Whose do you prefer?
Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
Duhosi se eta gaifuni?....What are your preferences?
Duhoa deuzi se eta gwafiasi?....Which songs are your best?
Duhoasi se eta gwafiasi?....Which ones are your best?
Bi hia deuzuti, hoat et gafie?....Of these vocalists, which one do you prefer?
Hiiti yaneko hijub.....The following people will compete today.
Duhoati se gwa fia?'....Which ones are best?
Duhoti et teexe gwa jodi?....Who (all) do you listen to the most often?
Hoat at teexe gwaxag draye ejna deuz.....The one I listen to the most has written a new song.
Ejna deuz? At voy teste hoas et tede.....New song? I don't understand which one you mean.
Hias.....This one.
Vo. Huasi se ga fia.....No. Those are better.
His se jub av ivxelen.....This is a day for celebration.
Va. Hia jub. At tese hijub.....Yes. This day. I mean To-day.
Husi sa ha jubi, ata dat!....Those were the days, my friend!
Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
Duhot aka ha igpek?....Who won the race?
Hyas uja fi.....Everything ended well.
Hyasi uje.....All things come to an end.
Hyayenasi vey kyesu.....All sorts of things might happen.
Hyos yokxa at.....Nothing surprised me.
Hyot ta hadut hu ako.....Nobody knew who would win.
Hoayti fu pier yefe.....Those females who would like to leave may.
Hyet yefe eker hia ifek.....Anyone can play this game.
Huyenasi voy afwo.....Such things will not be permitted.
Hua twob voy taxe hia toyb.....That man does not remember this woman.
Huti yanyexe fi.....Those guys work well together.
The deictic prefixes can be combined with gla to form quantitative expressions acting as adverbial or adjectival determiners, and substantives (pronouns referring to things or people):
Quantitative Deictic Determiners
ADVERBIAL / ADJECTIVAL DETERMINER
INANIMATE SINGULAR PRONOUN
INANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN
ANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN
Interrogative
duhogla? how?/how much?/how many?
duhoglas? how much?
duhoglasi? how many
duhoglati? how many (people)?
Relative
hogla as many/much
hoglas how much
duhoglasi how many
duhoglati how many (as)
Definite
hagla how/as much/as many
haglas as much
haglasi as many
haglati as many (people)
Indefinite
hegla somewhat/some/some
heglas some
heglasi some
heglati some (people)
Proximal
higla this/this much/this many
higlas this much
higlasi this many
higlati this many (people)
Distal
hugla that/that much/that many
huglas that much
huglasi that many
huglati that many (people)
Intensive
huugla so very, so much, so many
huuglas so much
huuglasi so many
huuglati so many (people)
Negative
hyogla none, not very
hyoglas none of it
hyoglasi none of them
hyoglati none
Distributive
hyagla totally/all/all
hyaglas all of it
hyaglasi all of them
hyaglati all
Indeterminate
hyegla however/any/any
hyeglas any of it
hyeglasi any of them
hyeglati any number of them
Identical
hyigla as/as much/as many, equally
hyiglas the same amount
hyiglasi the same number
hyiglati as many (people)
Non-identical
hyugla not as much/not as much/not as many
hyuglas a different amount
hyuglasi a different number of things
hyuglati a different number of people
Here are some examples showing how these quantitative determiners are used:
Et deuze huugla fi.....You sing so well.
At se hegla booka.....I am somewhat tired.
Duhogla pati et teata hijub?....How many birds did you see today?
At teata vyavay hugla tami.....I saw exactly that many houses.
Iyt fe hyiglas vyel et.....She wants the same amount as you.
Duhoglati yantexe yet?....How many (people) agree with you?
Hyoglati yantexe.....None agree.
Yit fu heglasi.....They would like some (of them).
Et yafe bier hyehoglasi et fe.....You can take however many you want.
Besu hogla job bay at et fe.....Stay as long with me as you want.
At se huugla booka.....I am so tired.
NOTE: The following determiners are synonymous and interchangeable:
hegla = gle = henog (somewhat, to some degree)
hyigla = ge = hyinog (as, equally, to the same degree)
The determiner huugla' can be used as an exclamatory adverb, eg.:
Huugla et agsaye!....How you have grown!
Hua twob jagsaye huugla!....That man has aged so much!
Hia jotul se huugla fiteluza!....This dessert is sooo delicious!
This category of determiners, which includes cardinal, ordinal and other number words like two, a tenth, and first, is such a vast topic that it is treated in its own chapter Mirad_Grammar/Numbers