Gevey conjunctions

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Conjunctions are a central, driving force of the Gevey language. They introduce clauses as well as joining together wordlists within a phrase and clauses into longer sentences. The choice of conjunction will determine the relationship between two clauses, and will often have a grammatical effect on the clause that follows. Conjunctions are divided into six key groups:

In addition, many conjunctions can be converted into a subset of concatenating words known as subjective conjunctions. These are used in the same way as normal conjunctions, except that they not only join together two clauses, but they also act as the subject for the second clause.

Coordinating conjunctions

The two purposes of coordinating conjunctions are:

A clause that starts with a coordinating conjunction will normally cast its principle verb in the primary (A) conjugation, unless it is part of a larger interrogative superclause.

Gevey has a wide range of coordinating conjunctions, including the following:

Conjunction Purpose Equivalent Example
âen Anti-posessive without, not having yo luuts âen yu lueseey tokase te
I like the cat without the tail
see note 9 below
 
âl Inclusive and rjapte âl tusre ken rjispatce ïstadeefsubz mete
the boy and his dog chased each other in the field
 
áp Exclusive but (not) tusro âl luutso áp lepwo
the dog and the cat, but not the rabbit
 
bostots Alternate plural quantitative some others, the rest of tusre bostots yec lepuwg zbedxate
the dog killed some other rabbits
see note 12 below
 
byants Specified each, every byants yec lepuwk ïzdaed yu tagrjaa deefes matc kapyanee ïsel
we must catch every rabbit in that field

byants lepwoc ïzdaed deefsu tagraa yum drjasue fuist fosatee
each rabbit in that field ate two cabbages
see note 3 below
 
cas Positive definitely, yes ye tuseir âl ye luuts cas ye lepuwk tokase te
I like the dog and the cat, and definitely the rabbit
 
daet Partitive as part of rabux daet trjanu ïzdaet rabgietu sedu bladxljanti
one of the trees in the forest fell down
see also notes 4 and 5 below
 
detj Unaccompanied without gyane dedj vlefrje ken yu rjoub nexlate
the woman, without the help of her son, built the house
see notes 7 and 8 below
 
dxaatj Superior and especially yo tuseir âl yo luuts dxaatj yo lepuwk tokate te
I liked the dog and the cat, and especially the rabbit
 
én Subtractive neither, none, nor én rjaptem yo mem bixef setcatce
neither of the boys knew their father
 
feeg Equative same feeg yo lepuwk ljabes kapyatce mizelj
we caught the same rabbit three times
 
fot Anequative different fot yo lepuwk kapyatce denerjezdenuljs mizelj
we caught a different rabbit yesterday
 
fust Metaphoric like tusro tuezaa fust luutse dxarixe, noihasato tatiy ko
that dog is like a big cat: it spat at me
 
fyal Contrastive yet, but tusre tcat áoslehiete, fyal lepre tcat áfosu
a dog for friendship, a rabbit for food
 
kats Instrumental with, posessing gyane kadz zwjunju ken yu rjoub nexlate
The woman with a hammer built the house
see notes 7 and 8 below
 
laes Full quantitative all laes yec tuseir cokratce tarjoubuks mizen mizelj
we took all the dogs home
 
monts Paucal quantitative a few monts yec tuseir cokratce tarjoubuks mizen mizelj
we only took a few dogs home
see note 12 below
 
nac Negative definitely not, no grjugan ye lepuwk nac luuts tatjane te
I want to buy a rabbit, not a cat
 
nets Benefactive for ye grjeey nets yo ten lost tatjane te
I will buy the rat for my sister
 
nied Nil quantitative none, no, but no yec fuegjg nied yex grjeey gluufate ïstagoegwjiekfups te
I saw spiders in the kitchen, but no rats
 
nitj Inferior but, to yu raes nitj mat vidxase te
I prefer wine to water
 
noest Comparative for, with respect to Dxono noest rjapte tradaso vitasei
John walks quickly, for a boy
 
paec Equivocal and possibly, too yum kyoplixum spifem paec yuc qler stoukasye mizelj
we need some wooden planks and possibly nails too
 
pits Additional also, too Dxone yum spifem monts yum dxocat pits yuc qler grjugase
John wants some boards, a few hinges and some nails too
 
pout Ungrouped alone, only pout rjapte ye tuseir gluufate xaagei ye loif traljate
only the boy saw the dog bite the man
see also notes 4 and 5 below
 
qjep Resultant from, for yux dxedj qjep luexent nexlatee éljs
they made bricks from clay
 
rig Valued for Dxone yo luuts rig yom drjasue lepuwk reegrjate
John exchanged the cat for two rabbits
 
rjoen Group inclusive together rjoen rjaptec pyihatee ïstadeefsubz
the boys played together in the field
see note 10 below
 
rut Grouped of raesu rut yaptju, yu raes rut yapetj
a bottle of wine
see note 6 below
 
sats Anti-instrumental without, not posessing gyane sadz zwjunju ken yu rjoub nexlate
The woman without a hammer built the house
see notes 7 and 8 below
 
stik Group exclusive apart, alone, lone doiy stik yu rab xuzdaet tjakel gaecane te
I'll meet you by the lone tree on the hill
 
stoc Labeller labelled, called, known as vopce telaa stoc Gevile dxaroile sekase
this city called Gevile has become too big
 
tatj Accompanied together with gyane tadj vlefrje ken yu rjoub nexlate
the woman and her son built the house
see notes 7 and 8 below
 
tcat Actionable for, for the, as âl tusre âl luutse pits lepwe tcat áfosu
a dog and a cat, and a rabbit for the eating
see note 11 below
 
tet Actionable for, for the, as âl tusre âl luutse pits lepwe tet huwju
a dog and a cat, and a rabbit for food
see note 11 below
 
tots Plural quantitative some tusre tots yec lepuwg zbedxate
the dog killed some rabbits
see note 12 below
 
ûin Posessive with, having yo luuts ûin yu viedxixu lueseey tokase te
I like the cat with the long tail
see note 9 below
 
vav Alternative or ye tuseir vav ye luuts trjev dxaso do
you can keep the dog or the cat
 

Notes on coordinating conjunctions:

  1. A particular problem occurs when listing direct objects using coordinating conjunctions. Sometimes the object following the conjunction will drop its dissociated complex - ye lepuwk nac luuts rather than ye lepuwk nac ye luuts. Often there is an idiomatic, seemingly non-logical pattern behind dissociated complex elision, which can (annoyingly) vary between dialects.
  2. A second problem with direct object listing is when the principle verb is motive or spatial. The verb's preposition should in theory attach to each of the direct object dissociated complexes, but again a native speaker will sometimes attach the preposition to the first direct object in the list, leaving the other direct objects to use the y-form complex, or elide the complex altogether. Once more students should follow the theory, and hope in time to learn the more common patterns of omission and elision through practice with native Gevey speakers.
  3. Byants can be translated as both each and every. The "each" translation relies on the object following the conjunction taking the external status. This conjunction can be used with other coordinating conjunctions, and will often be placed between a dissociated direct object complex and its stem if that space is free.
  4. The coordinating conjunctions daet (as part of) and pout (apart) can be particularly versatile, as they will happily suffix to spatial prepositions (normally the consonant ending forms, though this varies between dialects) to allow sentences like the boy next to the tree ate the banana - rjapte bazdaet rabu yu djitc fosate.
  5. Daet is also used with nominalised numbers to show how many of a group of objects are being discussed - lepwem daet trjabesem yuc fuist fosatce, three of the rabbits ate the cabbages. Note how the nominalised number will change its status to match that of the object it is counting, and will take the appropriate number suffix for its quantity. Pout can be used in a similar fashion: lepwem pout trjabesem yuc fuist fosatce, all bar (except) three of the rabbits ate the cabbages. Some dialects - including the Valley dialect - use a genetive form of nominalised number (which does not take a number suffix) rather than the 'daet' construction: lepwem trjabesen yuc fuist fosatce. Neither form is considered to be more proper than the other.
  6. The conjunction rut is most commonly used with group nouns - a bottle of wine, a box of balls, a pack of cards. In each of these instances, the item being grouped (wine, balls, cards) goes before the conjunction and the group noun (bottle, box, pack) follows. When the phrase is the direct object the group noun will commonly lose its dissociated noun complex: yu raes rut yapetj rather than yu raes rut yu yapetj.
  7. Gevey has a number of words and constructions relating to the Ramajal words "with" and "without". Tatj and detj are used to describe whether a person was accompanied (or not) by another person when they performed or experienced an action. Kats and sets are used to introduce the tool used to undertake or experience an action.
  8. Gevey also has a set of systemic prepositions - 'tas-', 'di-', 'kot-' and 'set-' - which can perform essentially the same job as the coordinating conjunctions. 'tas-' and 'di-' are used to describe whether a person was accompanied (or not) by a causative object that is not another person when they performed or experienced an action, and that causative object will always be cast in the oblique case. For tools, there is no such clear distinction - in general the prepositions are used (in the oblique case) when the tool is being emphasised, otherwise the conjunction is used where possible:
    • gyane tadj vlefrje ken yu rjoub nexlate
    • the woman and her son built the house
    • gyane dedj vlefrje ken yu rjoub nexlate
    • the woman, without the help of her son, built the house
    • gyane kadz zwjunju yu rjoub nexlate
    • The woman with a hammer built the house
    • gyane sadz zwjunju yu rjoub nexlate
    • The woman without a hammer built the house
    • gyane yu rjoub nexlate tatusres ken
    • the woman, with her dog, built the house
    • gyane yu rjoub nexlate ditusres ken
    • the woman, without her dog, built the house
    • gyane yu roub kotcu zwjugjg nexlate
    • The woman built the house using a hammer
    • gyane yu rjoub nexlate sezwjunjus
    • The woman built the house using a hammer
  9. Just to confuse things further, two other coordinating conjunctions can be translated as "with" or "without" - ûin (with, having) and âen (without, not having). These are not alternative forms of the genetive case: yo luuts ûin yu viedxixu lueseey tokase te translates as I like the cat with the long tail, whereas yu luutson lueseey viedxixu tokase te translates as I like the cat's long tail
  10. The coordinating conjunction rjoen has a relationship with the reflexive inclusive case of pronouns. Both rjoen rjaptec pyihatee ïstadeefsubz and rjaptec sete pyihatee ïstadeefsubz can be translated as the boys played together in the field, but the coordinating conjunction form is less explicit about the interaction between the boys than the reflexive inclusive pronoun form, which makes it clear that the boys are playing with each other, rather than just playing, in the field.
  11. Two actionable coordinating conjunctions are used by Gevey speakers. tcat is the more common form, while tet is more confined to the mountains and the Titan Valley. The conjunctions are used in particular for action-nominal constructions - where an action is nominalised (using the verb's anominate design) and folded into a more complex noun phrase:
    • Petre yu monts pat tcat ya Dxonem pyimalt nets yec ôeheel krjeexgate
    • Peter watched John give some bread to the chickens
      (Peter, some bread of John's giving to the chickens, watched)
      note that the phrase yu monts pat tcat ya Dxonem pyimalt nets yec ôeheel is a single noun phrase, rendered in the accusative case.
    • cuebu tcat ékigdxalte Petren kodjdxaspuetlu sekatu tcisates
    • Peter's reading of the book was very helpful to me
      (the book, of Peter's reading, helpful was for me)
      the phrase cuebu tcat ékigdxalte Petren is a single noun phrase, rendered in the nominative case.
  12. The quantitative coordinating conjunctions laes, nied, monts, bostots and tots are routinely used by mass objects to form their singular/paucal and plural forms. More information on this can be found on the Gevey nouns webpage.

Predicate conjunctions

Predicate conjunctions are in effect single word clauses and conjunctions combined, which are used to introduce interrogative clauses. They are heavily used in Gevey, being one of the most common ways of forming a question. These conjunctions can also be used to introduce a statement clause, particularly to answer a question.

An important point to note is that when a predicate conjunction is used with a clause to form a question, then the clause's principal verb will undertake tertiary (Type I) conjugation - this is explained in more detail on the Gevey clauses webpage. A peculiarity of the tertiary conjugation is its tendency to leak into subsequent clauses that form part of - or impact on - the question. In contrast, a statement clause introduced by a predicate conjunction will generally undertake primary (Type A) conjugation.

There are seven predicate conjunctions in common use:

Conjunction Translation Description
badj where introducing a place related question or statement
 
év is it that introducing a boolean (yes/no) question or statement
 
keeb how introducing a method question or statement
 
koen how much/many introducing a quantitative question or statement
 
krjos when introducing a time related question or statement
 
mik if introducing a multi-condition question or statement
 
pok why introducing a purpose question or statement
 

Examples of predicate conjunction sentences

Dependent conjunctions

Dependent conjunctions link two independent conjunctions, making one of them subordinate to the other. They are used to introduce qualified clauses. There are a wide range of dependent conjunctions in Gevey, including:

Conjunction Translation Description
bljois so, with a result of presenting the result of an action
 
cacos yes, so of course presenting an affirmation
 
évd that presenting a known fact
can also be translated as 'I know that', 'he knew that' etc, adding the appropriate systemic personal pronoun to the end of the clause to indicate who 'knows'
 
graetap despite presenting a negation
 
keebat by means of presenting a method
 
mikas if presenting a general condition
 
mikat as if, like presenting a comparison
 
pokat because presenting a purpose
 
rutap whereas presenting a contrast
 
staenof notwithstanding presenting a denigration
 
tandrjis although presenting a belief
can also be translated as 'I believe that', 'he believed that' etc, adding the appropriate systemic personal pronoun to the end of the clause to indicate who 'believes'
 
tcuuset although presenting a second hand point of view
can also be translated as 'I hear that', 'he heard that' etc, adding the appropriate systemic personal pronoun to the end of the clause to indicate who 'hears'
 
úelgaar although presenting an observation
 
ûdx so, and so, thus presenting the continuance of a sequence of actions
 

Examples of dependent conjunctions

Temporal conjunctions

Temporal conjunctions form a subset of dependent conjunctions. When listing actions and clauses, it is possible to show the order in which the actions occur, and the consequences of an action taking place or not, using temporal conjunctions. These conjunctions play a particularly important role in giving nuance to the set of Gevey verb tenses - for more information see the verb tenses webpage:

Action sequence Conjunction Ramajal sentence Gevey translation
action 1 and action 2 are both occurring at the same time ëdezd John was eating his cake while we were painting the room yu ken yierj Dxone fosate ëdezd yu sont noikesnatce feselj
 
action 1 is completed before action 2 occurs loyant John had to eat his cake before we started painting the room yu ken yierj Dxone fosate loyant yu sont noikesnatce feselj
 
action 1 occurs after action 2 is completed íden John ate his cake after we finished painting the room yu ken yierj Dxone fosate íden yu sont noikesnatce feselj
 
action 1 is taking place when action 2 commences rjetas John was eating his cake when we started painting the room yu ken yierj Dxone fosate rjetas yu sont noikesnatce feselj
 
action 1 is taking place when action 2 ceases rjewjist John was eating his cake when we finished painting the room yu ken yierj Dxone fosate rjewjist yu sont noikesnatce feselj
 
action 1 is taking place when action 2 occurs rjadost we were painting the room when John ate his cake yu sont noikesnatce feselj rjadost yu ken yierj Dxone fosate
 
action 1 is taking place, preventing action 2 occuring rjedet we were painting the room, so John couldn't eat his cake yu sont noikesnatce feselj rjedet yu ken yierj Dxone fosate
 

Switch conjunctions

Gevey has a special group of conjunctions known as switch conjunctions. This set of conjunctions was developed by a group of philosophers who needed to adapt the language to better represent their exploration of logic, and has since come into common usage. The system involves setting a condition, together with up to three alternative responses, which in turn can be further conditions with their own set of responses. While switch conjunctions are in effect a specialised subset of dependent conjunctions, because the dependencies between each of the clauses introduced by switch conjunctions (there will usually be more than one clause) are mutual, the clauses they introduce are known as mutual clauses. The conjunctions involved in this system are:

Conjunction Translation Description
mik if setting the main condition
 
man then presenting the course of action if the condition is met
 
most otherwise presenting the course of action if the condition is not met
 
miej or else presenting the course of action if the condition is not determined
 

Subjective conjunctions

Whenever two clauses share the same subject, then the subject in the second clause can be dropped if the conjunction is amended to demonstrate the subject's status. This action will also trigger the second (or dependent) clause's principal verb to undertake the secondary conjugation - this is explained in more detail in the Gevey clauses webpage. A clause that is altered in this manner is known as a tethered clause.

Details of the suffixes which can be added to the tethered clause's introductory conjunction can be found on the word order and focus webpage.

Relative clause conjunctions

Relative clauses are clauses that modify words in other clauses. More information on Gevey relative clauses, and the conjunctions used to introduce and end them, can be found on the relative clauses web page.

This page was last updated on Tecunuuntuu-24, 527: Tincuu-77 Gevile