The suffix -i is used for forming non-verbal clauses from adjectives and nouns.
Adjectival clauses take an object in the nominative, and expresses an attribute of the object. The adjective is detached from the noun and stands alone, with the predicative -i suffix:
hopf nriki.
| hopf |
| leader |
| nrik-i |
| short-pred |
The leader is short.
fraht lishi.
| fraht |
| girl |
| lish-i |
| pretty-pred |
The girl is pretty.
voluŋtek hahti.
| voluŋ-tek |
| spaceship-2sg |
| haht-i |
| big-pred |
Your spaceship is big.
When the object of a nominal clause is in the nominative, it expresses identity:
bufet aisi.
| buf-et |
| body-3sg |
| ais-i |
| pilot-pred |
He is a pilot.
cheŋ landahi.
| cheŋ |
| man |
| landah-i |
| employee-pred |
The man is an employee.
When the object is in the patientive case, it has an adjectival meaning:
voluŋteku dahshti.
| voluŋ-tek-u |
| spaceship-2sg-pat |
| dahsht-i |
| trouble-pred |
Your spaceship has trouble (broken, damaged).
Locative clauses are expressed by a predicative noun and an object in the nominative case:
buftek dasti.
| buf-tek-∅ |
| body-2sg-nom |
| dast-i |
| there-pred |
You are over there.
voluŋgen ahshapfi.
| voluŋ-en-∅ |
| spaceship-1sg-nom |
| ahshapf-i |
| outside-pred |
My spaceship is outside.
This construction is identical to a nominal clause expressing identity; the distinction appears to be based on whether the predicative noun in -i is a place noun.
Nominal clauses use the mo'- prefix to indicate plurality. For example:
dast mogorli.
| dast |
| over_there |
| mo'-gorl-i |
| many-food-pred |
Over there is a lot of food.
voluŋtek mopfahi.
| voluŋ-tek |
| spaceship-2sg |
| mo'-pfah-i |
| many-door-pred |
Your spaceship has many doors.
Some uses of mo'- appear to have idiomatic meaning, though:
bufet movershti.
| buf-et |
| body-3sg |
| moversht-i |
| building-pred |
He/she is in the building.
The word moversht is a derivation from mo'- “many” + versht “inside”, literally “many insides”, an idiom for “building”. It appears that this idiomatic meaning is chosen over the literal interpretation of the above utterance as “she has many rooms (insides)”.
A similar idiom appears as a pejorative:
buftek mo'ipfi.
| buf-tek |
| body-2sg |
| mo'ipf-i |
| monster-pred |
You're a monster!
Literally, mo'ipf means “many-eyed”: being a one-eyed species, the native speakers consider the idea of having many eyes monstrous. Hence, calling someone many-eyed (or, if we are to take buftek literally, saying that someone's body has many eyes) is a pejorative.
To describe referents that belong to another referent, an ablative construction is used:
hramat esht hramisahi.
| hram-at |
| station-abl |
| esht |
| six |
| hramis-ah-i |
| satellite-4pl-pred |
The station has 6 satellites.
malahtat hrvat fhreshtugahi.
| malaht-at |
| warship-abl |
| hrvat |
| five |
| fhreshtug-ah-i |
| cannon-4pl-pred |
On the warship are five cannons.
To describe referents that are an inalienable part of another referent, a possessive construction is used instead:
hramisethram eshti.
| hramis-et-hram |
| section-3sg-station |
| esht-i |
| six-pred |
There are 6 sections of the station.
Note that the same noun hramis is used for sections within the station, and satellites outside the station (see previous example), the distinction being whether alienable or inalienable possession is used to describe them.
Nominal and adjectival clauses are negated by inserting the negation suffix -opf- before the predicative -i.
bufetfraht himshopfi.
| buf-et-fraht |
| body-3sg-girl |
| himsh-opf-i |
| tall-neg-pred |
The girl is not tall.
bufetcheŋ nrikopfi.
| buf-et-cheŋ |
| body-3sg-man |
| nrik-opf-i. |
| short-neg-pred |
The man is not short.
voluŋgu dahshtopfi.
| voluŋ-u |
| spaceship-pat |
| dahsht-opf-i |
| trouble-neg-pred |
The spaceship is not damaged.
bufetcheŋ shestopfi.
| buf-et-cheŋ |
| body-3sg-man |
| shest-opf-i |
| here-neg-pred |
The man is not here.