Back to Table of Contents
Previous Lesson Next Lesson
Printable (pdf) version of this lesson

Lesson 5: Negative

Vocabulary


	bal		bread
	dóon		to be correct
	em		yes
	laya		to be red
	ne		you (second person pronoun, singular)
	nezh		you (second person pronoun, several: 2 to 5)
	née		to be alien
	nen		you (second person pronoun, many: 6 or more)
	ra		negative, no, not
	wi		Evidence Morpheme: known to the speaker because the matter is self-evident to the speaker and the hearer

Negative

[Verb (Negative) CP&ndashS]

The parentheses around “Negative” mean that it is an optional element in the sentence.

To make a sentence negative, just put “ra” immediately after the verb. The “ra” does not change the form of the Verb, nor of the Case Phrases.

“Ra” is a very useful word. In addition to making a sentence negative, “ra” can also be used as a prefix on other words to make them mean their opposites. We’ve seen one example of this already: “rahu” (to be closed) comes from “ra–” (non–, not–) + “u” (to be open).

Examples


	Bíi thal with wa.		The woman is good (according to my perceptions).
	Bíi thal ra mid wáa.		The creature is not good (I’m told).

	Bíi di ne wáa.		You speak, I hear.
	Bíi di ra mid wi.		The creature doesn’t speak, obviously.

	Bíi laya bal wáa.		The bread is red (I hear from a trusted source).
	Bíi laya ra bal wa.		The bread is not red (according to my perceptions).
	Bíi laya ra bal wi.		The bread is not red (obviously—because it is present for the speaker and hearer to examine).

	Bíi hal le wa.		I work.
	Bíi hal ra le wa.		I don’t work.
	Bíi mehal lezh wa.		We (few) work.
	Bíi mehal ra len wa.		We (many) do not work.

Exercises

Translate the following into English


1	Bíi mehóoha ra len wa.
2	Bíi née ra mid wáa.
3	Bíi u ra áath wi.
4	Bíi medi ra nezh wáa.
5	Bíi medoth ra thili wa.
6	Bíi mezháadin ra with wáa.

Make the following sentences negative; translate into English before and after.


7	Bíi áana hena wáa.
8	Bíi memíi thul wa.
9	Bíi mehéeya lezh wa.
10	Bíi rahu tham wáa.
11	Bíi dóon bud wa.
12	Bíi dathim Bétheni wi.

Translate the following into Láadan (they’re trusted hearsay, unless that doesn’t make sense).


13	The stone does not work.
14	The grass is not alive.
15	I do not ask.
16	The pillows are not good.
17	You are not red.
18	The song is not beautiful.

In #13, it should be obvious that a stone does not work. Therefore, I have chosen to use “wi” as the Evidence Word. The circumstances surrounding the utterance would have to be extremely unusual for the statement in #15 to rely upon hearsay (about myself); for that reason, I have translated this one with the Evidence Word “wa.”

top

Answers


1	We (many) are not tired.
2	The creature isn’t alien.
3	The door is not open, obviously.
4	You (few) do not speak (I’m told).
5	The fish do not follow.
6	The women are not menopausing (I’m told).

7	The sibling is asleep (I’m told).
	Bíi áana ra hena wáa.
	The sibling is not asleep (I’m told).
8	The parents are amazed.
	Bíi memíi ra thul wa.
	The parents are not amazed.
9	We (few) are afraid.
	Bíi mehéeya ra lezh wa.
	We (few) are not afraid.
10	The circle is closed.
	Bíi rahu ra tham wáa.
	The circle is not closed.
11	The clothing is correct.
	Bíi dóon ra bud wa.
	The clothing is not correct.
12	Bethany needleworks (obviously).
	Bíi dathim ra Bétheni wi.
	Bethany is not needleworking (obviously).

13	Bíi hal ra ud wi.
14	Bíi wíi ra hesh wáa.
15	Bíi mime ra le wa.
16	Bíi methal ra thom wáa.
17	Bíi laya ra ne wáa.
18	Bíi áya ra lom wáa.

top