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Taalennin negatives and interrogatives

From:Aidan Grey <grey@...>
Date:Wednesday, April 17, 2002, 7:06
   In affirmative sentences, the object of a verb is in the nominative case:

   Eithan mau: I see a cat.
   I har ovaene i tra: the person brought the thing.
   I mau vashor docha: The cat will kill mice.

   Interrogative and negative sentences use the interrogative or negative
verb + the verbal noun:

   Aen eithas : I don't see.
   I har aene ovenu: The person didn't bring.
   I mau euro vashu: The cat will not kill.
   Hen eithas? : Do I see?
   I har heine ovenu? Did the person bring?
   I mau heur vashu? Will the cat kill?

   The objects of such sentences appear in the genitive:

   Aen eithas mauve: I don't see a cat (lit. Not-I a cat's seeing)
   I har aene ovenu i trai: The person didn't bring the thing.
   I mau euro vashu dochen: The cat will not kill mice.
   Hen eithas mauve?; i har heine ovenu i trai?; i mau heur vashu dochen?

   Some verbal clauses do the same thing to the verbal noun:

   Aemme yeras          vashon : we don't want to kill.
   not-we   wanting:VN kill:VN-gen.sg.
   killing's wanting is not with us. (a sort of literal translation)

   Whaddaya think?

   AIdan