Salute, Jonathan!/Grammar (articles)
Articles
[edit | edit source]One single definite article
[edit | edit source]There is a single definite article: li. This is used regardless of whether the noun refers to something that is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular or plural.
Examples: Li mann (the man), li cité (the city), li trenes (the trains), li manu (the hand), li die (the day), li pomieros (the apple trees).
One single indefinite article
[edit | edit source]An indefinite article exists only for the singular: un. For the plural the noun is used without an article.
Examples:
Un castelle (a castle), un lettre (a letter), un altri land (another land).
Yo ama cités (I love cities), persones ne deve trincar (people should not drink).
Pluralizing li
[edit | edit source]The article li can take the plural if no other word expresses it, or if the word following it should not or cannot be pluralized for some reason.
Example: Jonathan ne vole scrir lis e. - Jonathan doesn't want to write the e's (the letters 'e').
Contracting li
[edit | edit source]A li is contracted to al, and de li is contracted to del.
- Benevenit al hotel (Welcome to the hotel).
- Il curre al porta (He runs to the door).
- Ili comensa ear vers li porta del castelle (They start to go towards the door of the castle).
- Li coses del passate (The things of the past).
No partitive article
[edit | edit source]Some languages such as French use a partitive article when talking about a certain quantity of something. Despite its outward similarity to French, be sure not to copy this usage as it is not needed in Occidental.
- Jonathan pensa: "Oh, hay manjage!" - Jonathan thinks: "Oh, there is food!" (not: "Oh, hay de manjage!")
- Leva li persianes; yo vole luce! - Raise the blinds, I want light! (not: "yo vole de luce!")