Basic Word Grammar in Pravic

The grammar of Pravic is simple. It is based around word roots which have noun meanings, but which can also have verb, adjective, adverb, and other meanings. So Pon means a real thing and, as a verb root, to have existence. The suffix indicates which word-type the root represents. No suffix or -i indicate a noun; -a, -e or -o indicate a verb.

The noun root can also become an adjective with a suffix of -y, and an adverb with a suffix of -u. So Pony means real (adjective), and Ponu means in a real way (adverb).

Noun Prefixes and Suffixes

In Pravic, as in English, nouns can be singular or plural and definite or indefinite. However, in English the definite and indefinite are indicated by word articles (a and the), in Pravic they are indicated by prefixes to the noun. The four forms are:

	Definite	Indefinite
Singular	The real thing (aPon)	A real thing (Pon)
Plural	The real thing (aPoni)	A real thing (Poni)

Verb Suffixes

Suffixes on verbs indicate tense, as follows:

Definite forms	Modal forms
-e = present tense (is xing)	-yme = present tense (may be x’ing)
-a = past tense (x’ed)	-yma = past tense (may have x’ed)
-o = future tense (will x)	-ymo = future tense (may be going to x)
-oda = past in future (will have x’ed)	-ymoda = past in future (may be going to have x’ed)
-odo = future in future (will be going to x)	-ymodo = future in future (perhaps will be going to x)
-ado = future in past (was going to x)	-ymado = future in past (may have been going to x)
-ada = past in past (had x’ed)	-ymada = past in past (perhaps had x’ed)

General Prefixes

Word meanings can be changed using a range of prefixes, which apply to all word types. They always occur in the same order: a negator prefix, then adpositional prefixes, then number prefixes, then the foreign word marker, then the root.

Negators

ma-, mi- and mo- can be added to any word type. mi- is the strongest negator (opposite of x), ma- is the weakest (not x), mo- is in the middle (unlike x).

Adpositions

Pravic has a range of adpositional prefixes. A list of them is given here.

Numbers

Counted things can have the number as a separate adjectival, or prefixed onto the root; e.g. the two sides can be aneLemi or aLemi Nesy (note that aLem Nesy means the second side). Numbers of more than two digits tend to be adjectival; e.g. the 248 trees is usually aHolumi Nenovaty, not anenovaHolumi. The numbers are given here.

Foreign Word Marker

Like any language, Pravic borrows terms from other languages. However, as these terms may well contain meanings which do not fit with the cultural mappings of Pravic, foreign words are marked with a prefix go, or gog if the foreign word begins with a vowel. So the Terran word acre (a measure of area) would be rendered as gogAkar. The insult propertarian is rendered as gogArriks, where aeruis is the A-Io word for owner.

Words can be formed using this simple map:

Pronominal Nouns

While pronouns are not a formal part of Pravic, there is a set of nouns which act in a pronominal role. These are:

Pravic	Meaning	Number	Person	Description
KSotrekv	a speaker or writer; the sender	Singular	First
aSeln	The listener or reader; the receiver	Singular	Second
aTRul	The unknown object of attention	Singular	Third	Unknown thing
aTRum	The known object of attention	Singular	Third	Known thing
aTRuz	The unknown person of attention	Singular	Third	Unknown person
aTRuv	The known person of attention	Singular	Third	Known person
aSeksot	The sender and receiver	Plural	First	Singular inclusive
aSeksoti	The sender, receiver & others	Plural	First	Plural inclusive
aKSot	The sender and one other, not receiver	Plural	First	Singular exclusive
aKSoti	The sender and others, not receiver	Plural	First	Plural exclusive
aTHathiv	Everyone	Plural	First	Universal
aSelni	Listeners or readers	Plural	Second
aTRuli	Unknown objects of attention	Plural	Third	Unknown things
aTRumi	Known objects of attention	Plural	Third	Known things
aTRuzi	Unknown people of attention	Plural	Third	Unknown people
aTRuvi	Known people of attention	Plural	Third	Known people
aTRusk	The self (used in reflexives)	Singular	All	Subject and object are the same; e.g. The-self is-washed-by John
aTRuski	The selves (used in reflexives)	Plural	All

KSotrekv is deliberately complex, both phonologically and in construction, to make it difficult for children to use. It is a mark of social self-effacement to pronounce the word correctly but slowly, as if it is not a normal part of your vocabulary. When referring to yourself, it is always KSotrekv (a speaker). When referring to others as speakers it is usually aKSotrevok (the one who speaks) or aKSotrekv (the previous speaker).

Asking Questions

Questions have the same form as statements, but are spoken with a rising inflection at the end. They also often use the modal form of the verb.