si
Keywords: core, determiners, nouns, verbs, relative clauses
| Pronunciation (IPA): | si |
|---|---|
| Part of Speech: | determiner |
| Class: | relative pronoun |
| Forms: | si, xi, ixi, sin |
| Glosses: | that |
Description:
There are two relative pronouns. One is used to modify nouns (su), and the other one is used to modify verbs (si). They both inflect for case but not number. This entry is for 'si', see the entry for 'su', attached, for relative clauses that modify nouns.
| Case | Form | Pron. |
|---|---|---|
| Absolutive | si | si |
| Ergative | xi | ʃi |
| Dative | ixi | 'i.ʒi |
| Nominative | sin | sin |
Verbal Relative Pronouns
The article si is used to introduce a suboirdinate clause that as a whole fills an actor role centred around the verb in the main clause. The case of si is the case for the role the clause performs in the main verb. The clause introduced by si may appear anywhere in the sentence that as simple noun phrase introduced by 'a' could go. Word order within the clause is the same as for su. The clause must be introduced by si and the verb phrase must be the last element in the clause. A simple example:
A pocuk nox triju ixi a paluh se an citit.
The(ABS) child go(NP-IMP) see that(DAT) the(ABS) dog stand(NP-IMP) be happy.
'The child sees that the dog is happy.'
The article si is in the dative case because the verb 'triju', to see, is a semitransitive verb, and the thing seen, in this cause, the fact that the dog is happy, therefore must be in the dative case.