Here are a few quick and dirty rules of Oro Mpaa grammar, but it's strongly recommended to check out the website, especially the grammar section:- Noun phrases are parsed from left to right, i.e. the first noun is the phrase head, and all immediately following nouns modify it. This is also used for genitive constructions: |ama sia| {mother I} "my mother".www.cinga.ch/langmaking/orompaa.html - Basic syntax is SVO.
- Every verb has exactly two forms: a finite ("strong") one and a non-finite ("weak") one. The former is usually translated as a finite verb, while the latter ends up as a participle, infinitive or relative sentence: |ttou mpa| "the man talks" (finite); |ttou mpaa| "the talking man, the man who talks".
- One distinguishes action verbs (v.a.) and state verbs (v.s.). The former are usually translated with a verb in English, the latter with "be" + adjective. There is no separate word class for adjectives in Oro Mpaa, they all come bundled in state verbs. Since the non-finite form of action verbs is usually derived from the finite form, their forms are given as strong / weak in the dictionary, while state verbs are given as weak \ strong:
|mpa/mpaa| "talk" -> |ttou mpa| "the man talks" (finite), |ttou mpaa| "the talking man, the man who talks"- A verb can never have more than two arguments in Oro Mpaa (a subject before and an object after it), so more complex events must make use of serial verb constructions. A verb always takes the noun phrase preceding it as a subject, even if it is the object of the previous verb: |Ttou tovea mbao iop.| {man kick dog run} "The man kicks the dog, who in turn runs."
|lote\loteh| "wet" -> |iaho loteh| "the rock is wet" (finite), |iaho lote| "the rock being wet == the wet rock"- The duty of prepositions is fulfilled by special idiomatic serial verb constructions: |Ttou ppou tacce ee mbao.| {man give bone go_to dog} "The man gives a bone to the dog.", |Tamen len rooa olo.| {guy sing discuss love} "The guy sings about love."
- Complex verb actions are often described with several simple verbs: |Ttou ppac uel penia.| {man hit fish die} "The man beats the fish dead.", |Sono toc crau.| {child eat be_ill} "The child overeats, the child eats so much that it ends up ill."
- Oro Mpaa verbs don't mind having no subject. It's an easy way to make passive or impersonal sentences: |Sel.| {rain} "It rains.", |Asso ttou.| {witness man} "There is a man.", |Toc uel.| {eat fish} "Fish is eaten."
- The prefix |me(m)-| makes a verb switch from SVO to OVS. |Uel metoc.| {fish SWAP:eat} "(Somebody) eats fish == fish is eaten", |Metoc ttou.| {SWAP:eat man} "Man eats (something) == something is eaten by the man". It is not the same thing as a passive mood, since it also works on intransitive and impersonal verbs: |Ttou memasso.| {man SWAP:witness} "There is a man." Better consult the website about his topic if it gives you a headache.
Idioms
weather-age == season (of the year)
lower the whip == have mercy
unpack witnessing == remember