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| Aleña Aleña | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | |||
| Fusional | |||
| Alignment | |||
| Nominative - Accusative | |||
| Head direction | |||
| Initial | |||
| Tonal | |||
| No | |||
| Declensions | |||
| Yes | |||
| Conjugations | |||
| Yes | |||
| Genders | |||
| No | |||
| Nouns decline according to... | |||
| Case | Number | ||
| Definiteness | Gender | ||
| Verbs conjugate according to... | |||
| Voice | Mood | ||
| Person | Number | ||
| Tense | Aspect | ||
General information
Aleña (/al.'e.ɲa/) is a Romance inspired language spoken in modern-day Portugal, Spain, and Southern France. It is regulated by the Academy of Aleñal Culture and Language. (ACLA).
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||
| Tap/Flap | ɾ | |||||||
| Fricative | f v | ð̪ | s z | x | ʁ | |||
| Approximant | j | |||||||
| Lateral app. | l | ʎ | ||||||
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a |
Diphthongs
[aɪ, aʊ, je, wo]
Orthography
| Letter | a | b | c1 | d | e | ê |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | a | b | s, k | d | e | ɛ |
| Letter | f | g2 | h | i | j | l |
| Sound | f | g, x | x | i | j | l |
| Letter | ll | m | n | ñ | o | p |
| Sound | ʎ | m | n | ɲ | o | p |
| Letter | r3 | s | t | u | v | y |
| Sound | ɾ, ʁ | s | t | u | v | ʎ |
| Letter | z | ai | ao | ie | uo | ui |
| Sound | z | aɪ | aʊ | je | wo | wi |
1c is pronounced as [s] before [j, i, e, au]. A hard c can be written as qu
2g is pronounced as [x] before [j, i, e, au]. A hard g can be written as gu
3r is pronounced as [ɾ] at the end of words and after consonants. It is pronounced as [ʁ] everywhere else.
Aleña uses the acute accent (´) to mark stress. Except in a diphthong, a grave accent (`) on a vowel indicates a vowel is preceded by /j/.
Punctuation and Capitalization
Periods
Aleña uses periods to end a complete sentence or abbreviate a word, e.g. Lê aivòñe vuolao suovêr lo dao.
Commas
Aleña uses commas to dependent clauses or preposition phrases to the beginning of a sentence or to separate ideas in a list.
Question Marks
Question marks appear at the end of an interrogative sentence
Quotation marks
Aleña uses << text >> instead of quotation marks.
Capitalization
Aleña capitalizes names, titles, and place. It does not capitalize religions, languages, or adjectives derived places
Stress
Stress in Alenã falls on the penultimate syllable, except in infinitves, where it maintained Latin's stress on the V̄́re. Irregular stress is marked by the acute accent (´).
Grammar
Nouns
Unlike the other romance languages, Aleña did not completely eliminate Latin's case system, however, it came quite close. Latin's 5 declensions were also condensed into 3 declensions, with neuter nouns becoming masculine. Furthermore, Latin's cases were reduced to the nominative and oblique in Aleña. They are used as follows:
The nominative case is used to mark the subject of the verb and after certain prepositions. It is also used to mark the agent in the passive voice.
The oblique case is used to mark objects of the verb and after certain prepositions. It is also used to mark the patient in the passive voice
Other cases are expressed using prepositions, most notably the genitive case. To express possession, the preposition de is used along with the nominative case. The possessor is the head of the prepositional phrase (e.g. de lê aivòñe - of the airplane of the airplane's).
Ambiguous case/gender/number are resolved by the articles (which are provided in the dictionary entry. Gender should be memorized).
Declension I
These nouns are derived from the -a stems in Latin and are mostly feminine.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -ao | -ê |
| Oblique | -a | -as |
Declension II
These nouns are derived from the -us, -um stems in Latin and are mostly masculine.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -ao | -i |
| Oblique | -ao | -os |
Declension III
These nouns are derived from the -es, -is stems (in the genitive) in Latin and are both masculine and feminine
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -e | -es |
| Oblique | -ê | -es |
Derivation
Many nouns can be derived from verbs. To this, remove the r from the infinite of the verb and add:
-dor: the doer of something
TBD
Pronouns
Pronouns in Latin preserve the case system to a much higher degree than regular nouns, keeping (to some degree) the nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, and reflexive cases. In general the nominative case is used to mark the subject and after certain prepositions, the accusative case is used to mark the direct object and after certain prepositions, the dative case is used to mark the direct object, the genitive case is used to mark possession, and the reflexive case is used to indicate that subject both does and receives an action. However, note that some verbs change meaning when used with a reflexive pronoun. Also, the dative is used in certain passive constructions (deponent verbs).
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
| NOM | eò | tu | el/elao | nuos | vuos | elos/elas |
| ACC | me | te | lo/la | nòs | vòs | los/las |
| DAT | mè | te | le/le | ñis | vis | les/les |
| REFL | me | te | se/se | nòs | vòs | se/se |
Aleña uses separate possessive pronouns that agree in number, gender and case with the noun they possess. Note that the third person singular and plural possessive pronouns are identical. Pronoun placement in Aleña can be a bit complicated.
Pronoun Placement
The subject pronoun always goes before the verb and the object pronoun usually goes before the conjugated verb in the order of ACC, REFL, DAT. However, if the verb requires a preposition, the prepositional phrase is moved from after the verb to before the subject pronoun. More information is given in the verbs section.
1st person singular
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | mêù | mao | mi | mê |
| OBL | mao | mao | muos | mês |
2nd person singular
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | tu | tao | ti | tê |
| OBL | tao | tao | tuos | tês |
3rd person singular
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | su | sao | si | sê |
| OBL | sao | sao | suos | sês |
1st person plural
|
Singular |
Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | nuosu | nuosao | nuosi | nuosê |
| OBL | nuosao | nuosao | nuos | nuosês |
2nd person plural
|
Singular |
Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | viesu | viesao | viesi | viesê |
| OBL | viesao | viesao | viestos | viesês |
3rd person plural
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |
| NOM | su | sao | si | sê |
| OBL | sao | sao | suos | sês |
Aleña's most common interrogative pronouns and adjectives, while descended from Latin's, have lost case, number, and gender. They are listed in the table below.
| Thing (What, Which) | qué |
|---|---|
| Person (Who) | qués |
| Time (When) | cuêndao |
| Reason (Why) | prao qué |
| Place (Where) | uóve |
| Manny (How) | cao |
| Amount (How many) | cuêñao |
| Destination (To where) | êòve |
The most common relative pronouns/adjectives in Aleña are listed belove. Note they are similar to the interrogative pronouns/adjectives, differing only by an accent.
| Thing (What, Which) | que |
|---|---|
| Person (Who) | ques |
| Time (When) | cuandao |
| Reason (Why) | prao que |
| Place (Where) | uove |
| Manny (How) | cao |
| Amount (How many) | cuañao |
| Destination (To where) | êove |
Finally are the Aleña demonstrative pronouns/adjectives. These are used simillarly to their English counterparts. They agree in number in gender with their antecedent/the noun they are describing. Note which forms are the same.
| Proximal | Distal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem | |
| NOM | ||||
| Sing | hê | hao | esê | esao |
| Plural | hi | hao | esi | esao |
| OBL | ||||
| Sing | huon | hên | esao | esos |
| Plural | hos | hês | esao | esas |
Adjectives
Adjectives in Aleña are far simplier than there Latin counterparts and only agree in number and gender with the noun they are describing. Usually, adjectives are placed after the noun they modify; however, some adjectives (like buoñào, mêlo, vèos, and huovên) are placed before the noun they modify. In addition, adjective placement can sometimes change the meaning of the adjective.
Adjectives that end in -ao
| Masc | Fem | |
|---|---|---|
| Sing | -ao | -a |
| Plural | -os | -as |
Adjectives that end in a consonant.
| Masc | Fem | |
|---|---|---|
| Sing | -ø | -e |
| Plural | -es | -es |
Articles
Aleña uses articles to express definiteness and agree in number, gender with the noun they modify. Since some nouns have ambigious gender, the definite article is provided as part of the dictionary entry. The definite article is used more frequently than in English (like in Spanish), but the indefinite article is used in approximately the same way.
Definite Article
The indefinite article is derived from ille, illa
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem | |
| NOM | lê | lao | los | las |
| OBL | lo | la | luos | lês |
Indefinite Article
The indefinite article is derived from ūnus, ūna
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem | |
| NOM | uno | uñao | uñi | unê |
| OBL | uñao | uñao | unos | unas |
Comparison of adjectives
Aleña lost the suffixes of Latin and instead uses a modifier, mais + que or mieños + que to form the comparative form of the adjective and lê/lao mais or lê/lao mieños to form the superlative form of the adjective.
A few irregular forms adjectives still exist
buoñao (good) > meyor > lê/lao meyor
mêlo (bad) > peòr > lê/lao peòr
vèos (old) > maiòr > lê/lao maiòr
huovên (young) > mienor > lê/lao mienor
Note, don't confuse meyor with maiòr and mienor with mieños!
Both nouns in the comparison are in the nomiantive case e.g. Hê aivòñe êste maiòr que esê aivòñe - This airplane is older than that airplane.
Adverbs
Adverbs in Aleña are usually simple; adjectives can be made into adverbs by taking the feminine singular form and adding -mênê
For example:
grêndào > grêndamênê
fêcil > fêcilemêne
Some adjectves become adverbs irregular e.g. buoñao > bien
Most adverbs are placed immediately after the verb, but adverbs referring to duration of time (siemprê (always), nuoncao (never), etc.) are placed before the verb.
Verbs
Verb are the most complicated part of Aleña grammar. Latin's 4 conjugations fell into 3 conjugations in Aleña: -ar, er, and -ir. Latin -ō become -ar, -ēo and -ō (-ere) became -er and -īo became -ire. Aleña verbs conjugate for the indicate, subjunctive, conditional, and imperative moods. The perfect and continuous apsects are formed using a paraphrastic construction: hêver + past participle for the perfect aspect and êser + present participle for the continuous apsects. While verbs do not have separate inflections for the passive voice, a special construction is used to create the passive voice (somewhat similar to, though more complete than, the passive se in Spanish).
Verb negation
Verbs in Aleña are negated with non e.g. Non eò te aimê - I might not love you.
Infinitive
In Aleña, the infinite usually ends in -êr, -er, or -ir. However, it is common in colloquial speech and writing to drop the end of the infinitive, writing/saying just the stem of the verb. If the verb stem ends in ñ or y, those letters are changed to n and l respectively (e.g. aimêr > aim, vêñir > vên, etc.). Verb stems that end in a vowel (oìr, lêèr, crêèr, etc.) do not exhibit this process.
Passive Voice
The passive voice is formed by placing a special pronoun in front of the verb. The pronoun agrees in number and gender with the patient. The verb itself is conjugated normally (i.e. there are no special passive conjugations).
It is important to distinguish these pronouns from the reflexive pronouns. Unlike other romance language, this construction is used even when the agent is explictly mentioned with pòr
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Masculine | mêì | toì | es | nor | vor | êè |
| Feminine | mêì | toì | ào | nor | vor | e |
E.g - Aimao lo aivòñê - I love the plane vs. Lo aivòñê es aimao - The plane is loved vs. Lo aivòñê es aimao pòr eò - The plane is loved by me.
The passive voice is fairly common in Aleña so it is important to learn it well.
1st Conjugation
This conjugation is the largest conjugation and is conjugated as follows.
Simple Tenses
| Singular | Plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
| Ind. | Pres. | aimao | aimas | aimao | aimêmos | aimaìs | aimañe | |
| Pret | aimêvi | aimavesi | aimave | aimavemos | aimavaìs | aimavañe | ||
| Imp. | aimêbao | aimêbas | aimêbao | aimabêmos | aimabaìs | aimabañe | ||
| Fut | aimarí | aimarés | aimaré | aimaremos | aimareìs | aimareñe | ||
| Subj. | Pres*. | aimê | aimes | aimê | aimemos | aimeìs | aimeñe | |
| Past | aimassê | aimasses | aimassê | aimassemos | aimasseìs | aimasseñe | ||
| Fut. | aimare | aimarís | aimare | aimarimos | aimariìs | aimaréñe | ||
| Cond. | Pres. | aiaêreà | aimareàs | aimarejê | aimareàmos | aimareis | aimareàñe | |
| Past | aimarò | aimaràs | aimarò | aimaràmos | aimarìs | aimaràñe | ||
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | aimao | ø | aimemos | aimaè | ø | |
| Non-Finite Forms | ||||||||
| Past Participle | aimêào | |||||||
| Pres. Participle | aimêndao | |||||||
| Infinitive | aimar | |||||||
- Note that the stem for these verbs is from the eò form of the present indicative tense
Perfect Tenses
Perfect tenses are formed with hêv + the past participle.
2nd Conjugation
Simple Tenses
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | bevao | beves | bevê | bevemos | beveìs | bevêñe |
| Pret | bevi | bevesi | beveò | bevemos | bevès | beveroñe | |
| Imp. | beveà | beveàs | bevejê | beveàmos | beveis2 | beveàñe | |
| Fut | beverí | beverés | beveré | beveremos | bevereìs | bevereñe | |
| Subj. | Pres1. | beva | bevas | beva | bevamos | bevaìs | bevañe |
| Past | bevessê | bevesses | bevessê | bevessemos | bevesseìs | bevesseñe | |
| Fut. | bevere | beverís | bevere | beverimos | beveriìs | beveréñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | bevereà | bevereàs | beverejê | bevereàmos | bevereis2 | bevereàñe |
| Past | beverò | beveràs | beverò | beveràmos | beverìs | beveràñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | beve | ø | bevamos | beveè | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | bevejao | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | bevêndao | ||||||
| Infinitive | bever | ||||||
1 Note that the stem for these verbs is from the eò form of the present indicative tense.
2 In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Perfect Tenses
Perfect tenses are formed with hêv + the past participle
3rd Conjugation
Simple Tenses
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | rêcevao | rêcevis | rêcevê | rêcevimos | rêceviìs | rêceveñe |
| Pret | rêcevivi | rêcevivis | rêcevive | rêcevivimos | rêcevivaís | rêceviviñe | |
| Imp. | rêcevià | rêceviàs | rêcevijê | rêceviàmos | rêcevís | rêceviàñe | |
| Fut | rêcevirí | rêcevirés | rêceviré | rêceviremos | rêcevireìs | rêcevireñe | |
| Subj. | Pres1. | rêceva | rêcevas | rêceva | rêcevamos | rêcevaìs | rêcevañe |
| Past | rêcevissê | rêcevisses | rêcevissê | rêcevissemos | rêcevisseìs | rêcevisseñe | |
| Fut. | rêcevire | rêcevirís | rêcevire | rêcevirimos | rêceviriìs | rêcevirèñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | rêcevireà | rêcevireàs | rêcevirejê | rêcevireàmos | rêcevireis2 | rêcevireàñe |
| Past | rêcevirò | rêceviràs | rêcevirò | rêceviràmos | rêcevirìs | rêceviràñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | rêcevê | ø | rêcevamos | rêceviè | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | rêceviào | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | rêcevindao | ||||||
| Infinitive | rêcevir | ||||||
1 Note that the stem for these verbs is from the eò form of the present indicative tense.
2 In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Perfect Tenses
Perfect tenses are formed with hêv + the past participle
Irregular Verbs
Aleña has a fair amount of irregular verbs, most of which are stem changing verbs. There are a few verbs that are totally irregular. The most common ones are listed below (the irregular forms are highlighted)
Hêv
Hêv is an auxiliary verb used to form the perfec tenses (the third person singular also means "there is/are"). This is the only verb with a different pattern for the infinitve.
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | hi | hes | he | hemos | heìs | heñe |
| Pret | hêò | hêàs | hêò | hêàmos | hêìs | hêàñe | |
| Imp. | heà | heàs | hejê | heàmos | heis | heàñe | |
| Fut | hêví | hêvés | hêvé | hêvemos | hêveìs | hêveñe | |
| Subj. | Pres. | heja | hejas | heja | hejamos | hejaìs | hejañe |
| Past | hêssê | hêsses | hêssê | hêssemos | hêsseìs | hêsseñe | |
| Fut. | hêvé | hêvís | hêvé | hêvimos | hêvìs | hêvèñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | hêveà | hêvàs | hêvejê | hêveàmos | hêveis1 | hêveàñe |
| Past | hevò | hevàs | hevò | hevàmos | hevìs | hevàñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | heve | ø | hevamos | heveè | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | hêào | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | hêìndao | ||||||
| Infinitive | hêv | ||||||
1In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Êsser
Êsser is one verb meaning "to be" (along with estêr).
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | sao | ês | estê | somos | eseìs | soñe |
| Pret | fui | fuesi | fue | fuemos | fuesis | fueroñe | |
| Imp. | êrao | êras | êrê | êrêmos | êraìs | êrañe | |
| Fut | êsserí | êsserés | êsseré | êsseremos | êssereìs | êssereñe | |
| Subj. | Pres. | se | sis | se | simos | siìs | señe |
| Past | fuessê | fuesses | fuessê | fuessemos | fuesseìs | fuesseñe | |
| Fut. | êsseré | êsserís | êsseré | êsserimos | êsseris | êssereñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | êssereà | êssereàs | êsserejê | êssereàmos | êssereis1 | êssereàñe |
| Past | êsserò | êsseràs | êsserò | êsseràmos | êsserìs | êsseràñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | se | ø | simos | señe | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | êsseào | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | êssêndao | ||||||
| Infinitive | êsser | ||||||
1 In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Estar
Estar also means "to be" and is used to form the continuous tenses (along with the present participle). It is irregular only in the preterite and past subjunctives.
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | estao | estas | estao | estêmos | estaìs | estañe |
| Pret | estêvi | estêvesi | êstêve | êstevemos | êstêvaìs | êstêvañe | |
| Imp. | estêbao | estêbas | estêbao | estabêmos | estabaìs | estabañe | |
| Fut | estarí | estarés | estaré | estaremos | estareìs | estareñe | |
| Subj. | Pres. | estê | estes | estê | estemos | esteìs | esteñe |
| Past | estêvassê | estêvasses | estêvassê | estêvassemos | estêvasseìs | estêvasseñé | |
| Fut. | estaré | estarís | estaré | estarimos | estaris | estareñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | estareà | estareàs | estarejê | estareàmos | estareis1 | estareàñe |
| Past | estarò | estaràs | estarò | estaràmos | estêrìs | estaràñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | estao | ø | estemos | estaè | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | estêào | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | estêndao | ||||||
| Infinitive | estar | ||||||
1In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Poder
Poder is an auxiliary verb meaning "to be able to."
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ||
| Ind. | Pres. | puosao | puodes | puodê | podemos | podeìs | puodêñe |
| Pret | pui | puesi | pue | puemos | puesis | pueroñe | |
| Imp. | podeà | podeàs | podejê | podeàmos | podeis | podeàñe | |
| Fut | poderí | poderés | poderé | poderemos | podereìs | podereñe | |
| Subj. | Pres. | puose | puosis | puose | puosimos | puosiìs | puoseñe |
| Past | puessê | puesses | puessê | puessemos | puesseìs | puesseñé | |
| Fut. | poderé | poderís | poderé | poderimos | poderis | podereñe | |
| Cond. | Pres. | podereà | podereàs | poderejê | podereàmos | podereis1 | podereàñe |
| Past | poderò | poderàs | poderò | poderàmos | poderìs | poderàñe | |
| Imp. | Pres. | ø | puodê | ø | puosimos | puodeè | ø |
| Non-Finite Forms | |||||||
| Past Participle | podêào | ||||||
| Pres. Participle | podêndao | ||||||
| Infinitive | poder | ||||||
1In this case, the e and i are in two separate syllables, not separated by /j/
Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs are formed using a reflexive pronoun. Conjugation tables usually list the reflexive pronoun with the verb e.g. dormirse - to go to sleep is conjugated as me duormao, te duormes, se duormê, etc.
Syntax
Sentences
Generally, Aleña is an SVO language. Independent clauses are always SVO when not used in an interrogative sentence. However, dependent clauses not introduced by que are often VSO. Que is never optional as in English.
Pronoun Placement
In general, nominative pronouns are not used in Aleña because the verb usually indicates the subject. Object pronouns are always placed before the conjugated verb and nothing may go between the object pronoun and the verb. They may also be attached the the end of an infinitve (when there is a conjugated verb before it), present paritciple, or past participle (when the verb is being used in the perfect).
Some verbs are followed by a preposition. When they require a pronoun, the preposition + pronoun are moved before the subject pronoun. An overview of pronoun placement is below.
Preposition + Pronoun - Subject Pronoun - Reflexive Pronoun - Indirect Object Pronoun - Direct Object Pronoun - Conjugated Verb
or
Preposition + Pronoun - Subject Pronoun - Conjugated Verb - Infinitive/Present Participle/Past Partciple - Direct Object Pronoun - Indirect Object Pronount - Reflexive Pronoun
Interrogative Sentences
The order of the sentence is inverted in questions, becoming VSO. Unlike English, the verb "do" is not needed in questions (e.g. Does the plane fly = Vuolao lê aivòñe?). When an interrogative pronoun is used as the subject, the word order remains VSO (e.g. Who is flying the plane? = Vuolao qués lo aivòñê?). Wen an interrogative pronoun is used as the object, the word order becomes OVS (e.g. Whom do you love? = Qués aimas tu?).
Conditional Clauses
Aleña, like other languages, has several ways of expressing conditional clauses. All conditional clauses have the same structure:
Si + verb (condition) + , + verb (result).
However, there are several differrent combinations of verb moods that create several different meanings
- If X is true, Y is true (Indicative Present + Indicative Present)
- If X is true, Y will be true (Indicative Present + Future Present)
- If X has been true, Y has been true (Present Perfect Indicative + Present Perfect Indicative)
- If X has been true, Y will have been true (Present Perfect Indicative + Future Perfect Indicative)
- If X were true, Y would be true (Imperfect Subjunctive + Conditional Present)
- If X were true, Y would have been true (Pluperfect Subjunctive + Conditional Present Perfect)1
- If X had been true, Y would have been true (Imperfect Subjunctive + Conditional Past or Conditional Present Perfect)
- If X should be true, Y will be true (Present Subjunctive + Future Subjunctive)2
1Relatively rare, not generally used in spoken Aleña
2Incredibly rare, never used in spoken Aleña, only extremely formal literary or legal documents.
Uses of Verbs
The distinctions between tense/mood in Aleña can be quite complicated and sometimes differ from other romance languages.
Preterit vs. Imperfect
The distinction between the preterit and imperfect is largely similar to other romance languages. In general, the preterit refers to a single event or a completed action and the imperfect refers to a habitual or ongoing event. Some verbs change meaning based on which past tense is used
| Verb | Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| poder | tried | was able to |
| têñer | received | had |
| estar | became | was |
| hêv | there was (event) | there was (description) |
Descriptions also change meaning depending on the past tense used. Descrptions in the preterit mean that that characterstic has changed (e.g. Lao isolao fue pêqueña - The island was small (but it isn't anymore)). Descriptions in the imperfect mean that the characteristic hasn't changed (e.g. Lao isolao êrê pêqueña - The island was small (and still is)).
Use of the infinitive vs. the present participle (gerund)
Aleña only uses the present participle when forming the continuous tense. When the present participle is used as a noun in English, Aleña uses an infinitive (this is not declined). When the peresent participle is used as an adjunct, Aleña uses de + infinitive.
Examples:
Estao joguêndao en la aica - I am playing in the water
Aimao jogar en la aica - I love playing in the water
Veèmos luos piscos de naàr en la aica - We saw the fish swimming in the water.
Use of the indicative vs. the subjunctive
While similar to many romance languages, there are some unique distinctions in Aleña. One thing unique to Aleña is that Aleña frequently uses the subjunctive in independent clauses (sobjonctivao solao). There are several ways to translate it depending on context
Present Subjunctive
The present subjunctive, when used in independent clauses, usually translates as "may" or "might" e.g. Te aimê - I might love you. It can also be used to refer to an indefinite or non existent subject or used in general truths e.g. Los pisqui naèñe - Fish swim.
Future Subjunctive
The future subjunctive, when used in independnet clauses, also translates as "may" or "might." The phrase êsse a + infinitive translates as "to plan to" when used in the future subjunctive. It can also be used to refer to an indefinite or non existent subject.
Êsserí a naàr - I plan to swim
Hêvé piscos en la mêra mañao - There may be fish in the sea tomorrow.
The future subjunctive is very frequently used in independent clauses to refer to events that may or may not happen, such as weather predictions, predictions about sporting events, and the distant (> 1 year in the future) future.
Past Subjunctive
The past subjunctive is not used in independent clauses very frequently. It usually translates to "may" or "might" as well. It is not usually used to refer to an indefinite or non existent subject.
Hêssê piscos en la mêra deào - There may have been fish in the sea yesterday.
Vocabulary
Example text
UDHR
Todao los humañi nacêñe libros e aicuales en digneda e dirêctos