Hrmitt reference grammar


3.2. Adjectives

Adjectives are suffixed to the modified noun, before any possessives or case markers:

voluŋhaht.

voluŋ-haht
spaceship-big

A big spaceship.

voluŋhahtemi aiherltu.

voluŋ-haht-en-mi
spaceship-big-1sg-instr
aiherl-tu
distant_skies-dat

I fly my big spaceship away to the distant skies.

An epithentic vowel may be inserted between the noun and adjective in some contexts for ease of pronunciation or prosodic considerations (see section 2.3.1.1). A linking consonant may also be added as well (see section 2.3.3).

ipfemi bufetcheŋgeshpergu.

ipf-en-mi
eye-1sg-v
buf-et-cheŋ-shperg-u
body-3sg-man-fat-pat

I see the fat man.

3.2.1. Predicative Adjectives

In adjectival clauses, adjectives are detached from the noun and stand alone:

voluŋgen hahti.

voluŋ-en
spaceship-1sg
haht-i
big-pred

My spaceship is big.

3.2.2. Verbalised Adjectives

Adjectives may be verbalised by the suffix -ni, meaning “to become”. See section 3.3.2 for more details.

3.2.3. Interrogative Adjectives

The interrogative affix -ai, which is always accented, turns an adjective into a question.

voluŋ hahtaini?

voluŋ
spaceship
haht-ai-i?
big-q-pred

Is the spaceship big?