Lesson 7.3

Descanz seith: tridzha radn
(SWF: deskans seyth: radn trei)

So far we have ony dealt with the locative (long) form of boaz in the affirmative.
Now let’s look at the interrogative and negative.
It is slightly more complicated than the descriptive (short) form.

Here is a reminder of Dick Gendall’s version:

theram, therama, thera vi = I am
thesta, thera chi = thou art, you are s.
emâ or mâ = there is or there are
mâ ê, mâ ev, mâva = he or it is, m.
mâ hei = she or it is, f.
thera nei = we are
thera hwei = you are, s. or pl.
emonz, monz, mâ dzhei = they are

INTERROGATIVE

For 1st and 2nd persons, to form a question you can knock the “th” off the forms that start with “th”, so:

era vi? = am I? (SWF: ero’vy?)
estah? = art thou? (for nearest and dearest and social inferiors!)
era nei? = are we? (SWF: ero’nei?)
era hwei? = are you? (plural and polite singular) (SWF: ero’hwei?)

For 3rd person we get a new form (I have left some versions out for simplicity)

idzhava? = is he/it? (SWF: uji?)
idzha hei? = is she? (SWF: uji?)
idzha (name)? = is (name)?
idzha an (noun, sing. or plural)? = is the (noun)?
idzhanz? = are they? (SWF: ujons?)

But, if we do not specify a particular subject we use “ez?” (SWF: eus?),
meaning “is there a (noun)?” or “is a (noun)?” or “is there any (noun)?”.

Using the verb “moaz” = to go, as an example:

Era vi moaz? = Am I going? (SWF: Ero’vy mos?)
Era nei moaz? = Are we going?
Idzhava moaz? = Is he going? (SWF: Uji mos?)
Idzha hei moaz? = Is she going?
Idzha Pol moaz? = Is Paul going?
Idzha an dên moaz? = Is the man going?
Idzha an flehaz moaz? = Are the children going?
Era nei moaz? = Are we going?
Era hwei moaz? = Are you going?
Idzhanz moaz? = Are they going? (SWF: Ujons mos?)

but:

Ez dên moaz? = Is a man going? or Is there a man going? or Is there any man going?
Ez flehaz moaz? = Are children going? or Are there children going? or Are there any children going?

It can, of course, be used without the secondary verb:

Ez dên? = Is there a man? Is there any man?
Ez flehaz? = Are there children? Are there any children?
Ez keaz? = Is there cheese? Is there any cheese?

You might specify a place:

Ez dên ennah? = Is there a man there?
Ez flehaz en lûar? = Are there any children in the garden?
Ez keaz war an bord? = Is there any cheese on the table?

NEGATIVE

To form the negative you simply put NAG in front of the question
(and lose the question mark).
If you keep the question mark as well you have a negative question.

nag era vi = I am not (SWF: nag ero’vy)
nag estah= thou art not (for nearest and dearest and social inferiors!)
nag era nei = we are not
nag era hwei = you are not (plural and polite singular)

For 3rd person (again, I have left some versions out for simplicity)

nag idzhava = he is not (SWF: nag uji)
nag idzha hei = she is not
nag idzha (name) = (name) is not
nag idzha an (noun, sing. or plural) = the (noun) is not
nag idzhanz = they are not (SWF: nag ujons)

But, if we do not specify a particular subject we use “nagez” (SWF: nag eus),
meaning “there is not a (noun)” or “there no (noun)”.

Using the verb “moaz” = to go, as an example:

Nag era vi moaz = I am not going
Nag idzhava moaz = He is not going
Nag idzha hei moaz = She is not going
Nag idzha Pol moaz = Paul is not going
Nag idzha an dên moaz = The man is not going
Nag idzha an flehaz moaz = The children are not going
Nag era nei moaz = We are not going
Nag era hwei moaz = You are not going
Nag idzhanz moaz = They are not going

but:

Nagez dên moaz = There is no man going/ No man is going/There aren’t any men going
Nagez flehaz moaz = There are no children going/ There aren’t any children going/ No children are going

Without a secondary verb:

Nagez dên = There’s not a man/ There aren’t any men
Nagez flehaz = There are no children/ There aren’t any children
Nagez keaz = There’s no cheese/ There isn’t any cheese (SWF: Nag eus keus)

Specifying a place:

Nagez dên ennah = There isn’t any man there/ There’s no man there
Nagez flehaz en lûar = There are no children in the garden/There aren’t any children in the garden
Nagez keaz war an bord = There’s no cheese on the table? There isn’t any cheese on the table

Examples of negative questions:

Nagez dên ennah? = Isn’t there a man there?
Nag era hwei moaz? = Aren’t you going?
Nag idzha hei toaz trê? = Isn’t she coming home?