Verbs ----- - Verbs form past tense with -a - Verbs form a gerund(?) or participle(?) wiith -ir (based on translator) (eg from "see" this could give either "seeing" or "sight") - Verb-noun derivation with -le (ie protect->protection; based on translator) - Sentences without verbs have an implied copula. Nouns ----- - Nouns form a plural with -i - Some plurals are instead formed with -ic (based on translator) - Noun->adjective with -up (I think I made this one up) --> However, sometimes a noun can behave as an adjective without inflection in some compounds. For example, "ixen garmth", meaning "fireball", which would mean something different from "ixenup garmth" or "garmth ixenup" (ie "fiery ball", a ball that's set on fire), and also different from "ixen garmthup" (ie "spherical fire", which might be a reasonable description of a fireball but does not necessarily imply the explosive aspect of a fireball). Other examples of this that I have personally used are "sjenik ifni" (dimension door) and "pabarzith kepesk" (sleet storm). - Adjective->noun with -im (made up) - Diminutive noun with ghi- Pronouns -------- singular plural 1st-person — yth 2nd-person wux wux For 3rd-person, there are no pronouns; you must substitute an appropriate generic noun. For 1st-person singular, there is no pronoun; instead, the lack of a noun or pronoun implies it. Possessives ----------- - ar(i)-X means "my X", but see the below two notes. - e(r|the)-X means "my X" but is only used for relatives and friends; NOT for enemies or such - veth(i)-X means "my X" but is only used for material possessions - ar(i)-X-Y means "X's Y". Note that X can be a pronoun (eg, yth or wux). - So for example, ariwux-X is "your X" and aryth-X is "our X". - e(r|the)-X-Y means "(my) X's Y", again used only if X is a relative or friend and Y a relative or friend of X. - As a special case, ethewux-X means "your X" even if X is not a friend or relative of the speaker - veth(i)-X-Y means "X's Y", but is only used when X is a relative or friend and Y is a material possession of said relative or friend - ar(i)-X-Y-Z means "the Z of X's Y"; however, longer chainings than three are not allowed, and even this form may be uncommon. - Proper nouns form possessives in the same way as any other noun. - veth(i)- is not used if the dragon does not recognize the person's ownership of the item as legitimate; in this case, ar(i)- is substituted. Examples: - arirlim -> "my enemy" - vethicaex -> "my sword" - ethethurirl -> "my friend" - arirlimcaex -> "my enemy's sword" - ethethurirlvrak -> "my friend's child" - vethithurirlcaex -> "my friend's sword" - aricaex -> "someone else's sword that is in my possession" (rare) - ariwuxcaex -> "your (stolen) sword" It may be a good idea to hyphenate possessive constructions: ari-rlim, vethi-caex, ethe-thurirl, ari-rlim-caex, ethe-thurirl-vrak, vethi-thurirl-caex, ari-caex, ari-wux-caex While not strictly necessary, it makes it clearer where the word boundaries lie. Emphasis -------- The original source states that emphasis always falls on the first syllable, which works nicely for the sample words of two syllables; however, for words of three syllables or more, I feel it's more natural to stress the second syllable. Doing this also increases the contrast when using the fireburst emphasis. Fireburst emphasis, denoted by surrounding a word in *asterisks*, shifts the emphasis so that the first and last syllables are emphasized equally, more heavily than standard emphasis. In words of one syllable, this means the word is emphasized in relation to the surrounding words. In words of four or more syllables, the second syllable may still have a secondary emphasis in relation to the other non-initial, non-final syllables. Applying fireburst emphasis to a verb gives a sense of "should" to it. It also may be used to intensify a command or convey a future certainty. Applying fireburst emphasis to a noun intensifies it, which can sometimes be translated using the word "much" or "many". Applying it to an adjective also intensifies it, sometimes similar to a superlative. The meaning of the fireburst is rather inexact, but generally ends up being some form of intensification.