Mirad Grammar/Adjectives

Adjective Types

 * Adjectives, which are words that modify nouns, can be of the following types and subcategories:
 * descriptive
 * qualitative, like iva (happy), fia (good), oga (small)
 * denominal ( ~ noun-derived), like doma (urban) < dom (city) or teaba (ocular) < teab (eye)
 * deverbal ( ~ verb-derived), (participles) like tejea (living) < tejer (to live) or twa (known) < ter (to know)
 * preposition-derived, like aba (upper) < ab....on top of or zoa (posterior) < zo (behind)
 * determinative
 * deictic ( ~ demonstrative, indefinite), like hia (this), huyena (such), haewa (both)
 * numeric, like awa (one), ea (second), iona (triple)
 * quantitative, like ga (more), glo (few), gra (too much)
 * pronominal ( ~ possessive), like ata (my), duhota? (whose), hyeta (anyone's)


 * Descriptive adjectives are the main focus of this section. Determinative adjectives (determiners) behave differently and are discussed under Determiners.  Deverbal adjectives, usually referred to as participles, are treated in the section on Verbs, since they are formed from verbs.  Pronominal determiners (i.e. possessive adjectives) are treated under both the section on Determiners and the section on Pronouns.

Descriptive Adjectives

 * All descriptive adjectives end in the adjectival marker vowel a.
 * {| class="wikitable" style="background: lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! STEM !! MEANING !! ADJECTIVE
 * + Adjective-marking suffix
 * fi- || qualitative root base word || fia....good
 * pur || noun meaning vehicle || pura....vehicular
 * dalw- || passive stem of the verb speak || dalwa....spoken
 * ab || preposition meaning on || aba....superior
 * }
 * dalw- || passive stem of the verb speak || dalwa....spoken
 * ab || preposition meaning on || aba....superior
 * }
 * }


 * Such adjectives precede the noun or noun phrase they modify:


 *  aga tam....a big house
 * ha fia toyb....the good woman
 * ata boka twed....my sick father
 *  fia ilzyebi bi vafil..... good bottles of wine
 * yata dooba doof....our national flag


 * Adjectives do not agree in number or gender with the noun they modify.


 * doba xeut....state agent can also be expressed as the noun compound dobxeut. Dob means a state.
 * pata bok....avian illness can be compounded as patbok, literally bird illness.


 * Note: Compounded nouns often have an idiomatic meaning not exactly equal to their separate parts. More about this in the later section on vocabulary-building.

Comparing Adjectives by Degree

 * As in English, descriptive adjectives can be compared by degree. To do this, a quantitative determiner of degree (ga, ge, etc.) is placed before the adjective, producing positive / negative comparative, equalitative, superlative, and other degree expressions as in the following table.  The quantitative determiners themselves that are used in these comparative expressions are discussed in detail in a later section on Quantitative Determiners.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="background:lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! QUANTITATIVE DETERMINER !! MODIFICATION BY DEGREE
 * + Modification of Adjectives by Degree
 * ga....more || ga fia (vyel)....better (than)
 * ge....as, equally || ge fia (vyel)....as good (as)
 * go....less || go fia (vyel)....less good (than)
 * gao....more or less || gao fia....good more or less
 * gla....very || gla fia....very good
 * glay....so || glay fia....so good
 * gle....rather/quite || gle fia....rather/quite good
 * glo....not very || glo fia....not very/slightly/barely good
 * gra....too || gra fia....too good
 * gre....enough || gre fia....good enough
 * gro....not enough || gro fia....not good enough
 * gwa....most || gwa fia (bi, be)....best (of, in)
 * gwe....just, merely || gwe fia....merely good
 * gwo....least || gwo fia (bi, be)....least good (of, in)
 * }
 * The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:
 * gra....too || gra fia....too good
 * gre....enough || gre fia....good enough
 * gro....not enough || gro fia....not good enough
 * gwa....most || gwa fia (bi, be)....best (of, in)
 * gwe....just, merely || gwe fia....merely good
 * gwo....least || gwo fia (bi, be)....least good (of, in)
 * }
 * The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:
 * gwe....just, merely || gwe fia....merely good
 * gwo....least || gwo fia (bi, be)....least good (of, in)
 * }
 * The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:
 * }
 * The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:


 * Ata tam se ga aga vyel etas.....My house is bigger than yours.
 * Hia tam voy se ge aga vyel atas.....This house is not as big as mine.
 * His se ha gwa aga tam bi yata yubem.....This is the biggest house in our neighborhood.


 * Unlike in English, where comparative forms can be irregular (smaller, more intense, better), there are no exceptions in the comparison of Mirad adjectives and adverbs.

Deriving Substantives from Adjectives

 * Adjectives can be suffixed to derive various noun substantives:
 * Abstract quality noun: -n
 * Thing having a quality: -s
 * Person having a quality: -t


 * {| class="wikitable" style="background:lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! ADJECTIVE !! QUALITY !! PERSON !! THING
 * + Deriving Substantives from Adjectives
 * fia....good || fia n ....goodness|| fia t ....a good person || fia s ....a good thing
 * yeva....just || yeva n ....justice||yeva t ....a fair person||yeva s ....a fair thing
 * joga....young || joga n ....youth||joga t ....a youth || joga s ....something new
 * }
 * joga....young || joga n ....youth||joga t ....a youth || joga s ....something new
 * }
 * }


 * The substantives ending in -s and -t can be referred to as deadjectival pronouns, because they act like pronouns but are derived from adjectives.

Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives

 * Descriptive adjectives can be negated by prefixing o. If the adjective being semantically reversed already begins with the prefix o, then the first semantic reversing prefix becomes ol.  This has the effect of English un- or non- in words like unlike, unhappy, and nonessential or the Greek privative prefix a(n)- in words like asymmetric or anomalous.


 * Prefixing the syllable lyo or ov has an even stronger semantic effect. It denotes the polar opposite of the adjective and can mean "anti-".


 * In cases where the o- creates an ambiguous word, lo- or -ol is substituted, depending on whether the base adjective begins with a consonant or a vowel, respectively. Note this in the last two words of the following chart:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="background:lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! NORMAL !! NEGATED
 * + Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives
 * twa....known ||  o twa....unknown
 * ega....normal ||  o ega....abnormal
 * eflawa....essential ||  o eflawa....nonessential
 * geyla....similar ||  o geyla....dissimilar
 * iva....happy ||  o iva....unhappy
 * data....friendly ||  o data....unfriendly  lyo data....inimical  ov data....hostile
 * dota....social ||  o dota....unsocial  lyo dota....barbarian  ov dota....antisocial
 * ifwa....loved ||  o ifwa....unloved
 * fwa....wanted ||  lo fwa....unwanted
 * ofwa....prohibited ||  ol ofwa....unprohibited
 * }
 * data....friendly ||  o data....unfriendly  lyo data....inimical  ov data....hostile
 * dota....social ||  o dota....unsocial  lyo dota....barbarian  ov dota....antisocial
 * ifwa....loved ||  o ifwa....unloved
 * fwa....wanted ||  lo fwa....unwanted
 * ofwa....prohibited ||  ol ofwa....unprohibited
 * }
 * fwa....wanted ||  lo fwa....unwanted
 * ofwa....prohibited ||  ol ofwa....unprohibited
 * }
 * }

Polarization of Base Word Adjectives

 * Base word adjectives are polarized adjectives that fall into the following pattern categories:
 * [iu]Ca (such as ifa, uja, ika, uka, etc.)
 * C[iu]a (such as fia, fua, via, vua, etc.)
 * [aeu]Ca (such as aja, eja, uja, yava, yeva, yova, etc.)
 * C[aeu]a (such as vaa, vea, vua, etc.)


 * In the case of the i/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with i are positive and are contrasted with those with u, which are negative, eg.:
 * {| class="wikitable" style="background: lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! Positive !! Negative
 * + I/U Polarized Adjectives
 * fia....good || fua....bad
 * iva....happy || uva....sad
 * via....beautiful || vua....ugly
 * }
 * via....beautiful || vua....ugly
 * }
 * }


 * In the case of the a/e/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with a are positive; those with e are intermediate, and those with o are negative, eg.:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="background: lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! Positive !! Intermediate !! Negative
 * + A/E/U-Polarized Adjectives
 * yava....innocent || yeva....fair || yova....guilty
 * aja....past || eja....present || oja....future
 * aga....big|| ega....normal || oga....small
 * }
 * aga....big|| ega....normal || oga....small
 * }
 * }

Deintensifying the Sense of Adjectives

 * The semantic strength of qualitative adjectives can often be deintensified by following the ordinal vowel or stem vowel with the glide y. Examples follow:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="background: lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! NORMAL !! DEINTENSIFIED
 * + Mitigated Adjectives
 * oma....cold || oyma....cool
 * ama....hot || ayma....warm
 * yufa....afraid || yuyfa....shy
 * yiva....free || yiyva....loose
 * via....beautiful || viya....pretty
 * ifwa....loved || iyfwa....liked
 * yefwa....obligatory || yeyfwa....due
 * ufwa....hated || uyfwa....disliked
 * }
 * via....beautiful || viya....pretty
 * ifwa....loved || iyfwa....liked
 * yefwa....obligatory || yeyfwa....due
 * ufwa....hated || uyfwa....disliked
 * }
 * ufwa....hated || uyfwa....disliked
 * }
 * }

Adjectival Derivational Endings

 * All descriptive adjectives end in at least the suffix a. Many adjectives are derived from other parts of speech, using one of more of the following derivational endings.


 * {| class="wikitable sortable" style="background:lightyellow; font-size:smaller;"

! ENDING !! TRANSITION TYPE !! MEANING !! BASE WORD !! DERIVED ADJECTIVE
 * + Adjectival Derivative Endings
 * -a || N->ADJ ||relating to, of || tot....god tob....man dom....city || tota....divine toba....human doma....urban
 * -aya||N->ADJ||full of, -ful, -ous || mil....water yazmel....mountain tes....meaning || milaya....watery, aquaous yazmelaya....mountainous tesaya....meaningful
 * --ika||N->ADJ||full of, -ful, -ous || mil....water yazmel....mountain tes....meaning || milika....watery, aquaous yazmelika....mountainous tesika....meaningful
 * -oya||N->ADJ||empty of, -less, -free || teb....head level....sugar tes....meaning || teboya....headless leveloya....sugar-free tesoya....meaningless
 * -uka||N->ADJ||empty of, -less, -free || teb....head level....sugar tes....meaning || tebuka....headless leveluka....sugar-free tesuka....meaningless
 * -yena||N->ADJ||like, -ish, -y || tot....god tob....man dom....city || totyena....godly, godlike tobyena....manly, virile domyena....urbane
 * -ea||V->ADJ||-ing, -ent, -ant || ags-....grow tej-....live kyas-....change || agsea....growing, crescent tejea....living, alive kyasea....changing, variant
 * -yea||V->ADJ||-ive, tending to || dal-....talk tox-....forget vad-....affirm || dalyea....talkative toxyea....forgetful vadyea....affirmative
 * -wa||V->ADJ||-ed || dal-....talk tox-....forget vad-....affirm || dalwa....spoken toxwa....forgotten vadwa....affirmed
 * -oa||V->ADJ||-about to, apt to || toj-....die kyes-....happen tajb-....give birth || tojoa....moribund kyesoa....imminent tajboa....about to deliver
 * -ua||V->ADJ||-able, potentially V || tojb-....kill bukx-....harm akuj-....succeed || tojbua....lethal bukxua....dangerous akujua....potentially successful
 * -yafa||V->ADJ||-able || test-....understand ||testyafa....able to understand
 * -yafwa||V-ADJ||-able, possible to X || test-....understand||testyafwa....understandable
 * -yofa||V->ADJ||unable to || teat-....see||teatyofa....blind
 * -yofwa||V->ADJ||impossible to, un-X-able || teat-....see||teatyofwa....invisible
 * -yuka ||V->ADJ||comfortable Xing ||pes-....wait||pesyuka....patient
 * -yukwa ||V->ADJ||easy to X||test-....understand||testyukwa....clear
 * -yika ||V->ADJ||hard of Xing ||teet-....hear||teetyika....hard of hearing
 * -yikwa ||V->ADJ||hard to X||teet-....hear||teetyikwa....hard to hear
 * -ifa ||V->ADJ||fond of Xing, -phile/-ic ||t-....know dyes....book||tifa....curious dyesifa....bibliophilic
 * -ifwa ||V->ADJ||loved by||tyod-....people||tyodifwa....popular
 * -ufa ||V->ADJ||X-hating, -phobic, averse ||tob-....man yex....work||toybufa....anthrophobic yexufa....lazy, work-averse
 * -ufwa ||V->ADJ||hated by||hyat....everyone||hyatufwa....universally hated
 * -yifa ||V->ADJ||brave ||toj....death||tojyifa....brave in the face of death
 * -yufa ||V-ADJ||afraid of X||tot....god||totyufa....god-fearing
 * -yufwa ||V->ADJ||feared by X||gla....much||glayufwa....much-feared
 * -yefa ||V->ADJ||due to X||dud-....answer||dudyefa....answerable, responsible
 * -yeyfa ||V->ADJ||liable to X||fyuzi-....get punished||fyuziyeyfa....liable to be punished
 * -yefwa ||V->ADJ||X-worthy||fid-....praise||fidyefa....praiseworthy
 * -yakwa ||V->ADJ||expected to X||mamil-....rain||mamilyakwa....likely to rain
 * -valka ||N->ADJ||-safe, -proof||mil....water||milvalka....waterproof
 * -ava ||N->ADJ||pro-X||tej....life||tejava....pro-life
 * -eva ||N->ADJ||-neutral||toob....gender||toobeva....gender-neutral
 * -ova ||N->ADJ||anti-X||dropek....war||dropekova....anti-war
 * -yiva ||N->ADJ||-free||yef....debt||yefyiva....debt-free
 * -yuva ||N->ADJ||-bound||yef....duty vya-....truth dofin....moral||yefyuva....duty-bound vyayuva....loyal dofinyuva....scrupulous
 * -aza ||N->ADJ||strong-Xed||fon....will tip....temperament||fonaza....strong-willed tipaza....stern
 * -oza ||N->ADJ||weak-Xed||tip....temperament||tipoza....weak-hearted
 * -iza ||N->ADJ||straight-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepiza....logical daliza....frank
 * -uza ||N->ADJ||crooked-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepuza....illogical daluza....devious
 * -okya ||N->ADJ||absent-Xed||tad....spouse ted....parent||tadokya....widowed tedokya....orphaned
 * -iga ||N->ADJ||fast-Xed || tuyub....finger || tuyubiga....nimble
 * -uga ||N->ADJ||slow-Xed || tep....mind || tepuga....slow-witted, dull
 * -aga ||N->ADJ|| big-Xed || tiib....heart || tiibaga....big-hearted, generous
 * -oga ||N->ADJ|| small-Xed || tep....mind || tepoga....small-minded
 * -yiga ||N->ADJ|| hard-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyiga....stern, strict
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }
 * -yufa ||V-ADJ||afraid of X||tot....god||totyufa....god-fearing
 * -yufwa ||V->ADJ||feared by X||gla....much||glayufwa....much-feared
 * -yefa ||V->ADJ||due to X||dud-....answer||dudyefa....answerable, responsible
 * -yeyfa ||V->ADJ||liable to X||fyuzi-....get punished||fyuziyeyfa....liable to be punished
 * -yefwa ||V->ADJ||X-worthy||fid-....praise||fidyefa....praiseworthy
 * -yakwa ||V->ADJ||expected to X||mamil-....rain||mamilyakwa....likely to rain
 * -valka ||N->ADJ||-safe, -proof||mil....water||milvalka....waterproof
 * -ava ||N->ADJ||pro-X||tej....life||tejava....pro-life
 * -eva ||N->ADJ||-neutral||toob....gender||toobeva....gender-neutral
 * -ova ||N->ADJ||anti-X||dropek....war||dropekova....anti-war
 * -yiva ||N->ADJ||-free||yef....debt||yefyiva....debt-free
 * -yuva ||N->ADJ||-bound||yef....duty vya-....truth dofin....moral||yefyuva....duty-bound vyayuva....loyal dofinyuva....scrupulous
 * -aza ||N->ADJ||strong-Xed||fon....will tip....temperament||fonaza....strong-willed tipaza....stern
 * -oza ||N->ADJ||weak-Xed||tip....temperament||tipoza....weak-hearted
 * -iza ||N->ADJ||straight-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepiza....logical daliza....frank
 * -uza ||N->ADJ||crooked-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepuza....illogical daluza....devious
 * -okya ||N->ADJ||absent-Xed||tad....spouse ted....parent||tadokya....widowed tedokya....orphaned
 * -iga ||N->ADJ||fast-Xed || tuyub....finger || tuyubiga....nimble
 * -uga ||N->ADJ||slow-Xed || tep....mind || tepuga....slow-witted, dull
 * -aga ||N->ADJ|| big-Xed || tiib....heart || tiibaga....big-hearted, generous
 * -oga ||N->ADJ|| small-Xed || tep....mind || tepoga....small-minded
 * -yiga ||N->ADJ|| hard-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyiga....stern, strict
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }
 * -aza ||N->ADJ||strong-Xed||fon....will tip....temperament||fonaza....strong-willed tipaza....stern
 * -oza ||N->ADJ||weak-Xed||tip....temperament||tipoza....weak-hearted
 * -iza ||N->ADJ||straight-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepiza....logical daliza....frank
 * -uza ||N->ADJ||crooked-Xed||tep....mind dal....speech||tepuza....illogical daluza....devious
 * -okya ||N->ADJ||absent-Xed||tad....spouse ted....parent||tadokya....widowed tedokya....orphaned
 * -iga ||N->ADJ||fast-Xed || tuyub....finger || tuyubiga....nimble
 * -uga ||N->ADJ||slow-Xed || tep....mind || tepuga....slow-witted, dull
 * -aga ||N->ADJ|| big-Xed || tiib....heart || tiibaga....big-hearted, generous
 * -oga ||N->ADJ|| small-Xed || tep....mind || tepoga....small-minded
 * -yiga ||N->ADJ|| hard-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyiga....stern, strict
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }
 * -uga ||N->ADJ||slow-Xed || tep....mind || tepuga....slow-witted, dull
 * -aga ||N->ADJ|| big-Xed || tiib....heart || tiibaga....big-hearted, generous
 * -oga ||N->ADJ|| small-Xed || tep....mind || tepoga....small-minded
 * -yiga ||N->ADJ|| hard-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyiga....stern, strict
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }
 * -yiga ||N->ADJ|| hard-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyiga....stern, strict
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }
 * -yuga ||N->ADJ|| soft-Xed || tip....temperament || tipyuga....lax, lenient
 * }