Sentences
High Valyrian 1
Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Sentences and Phrases
You now have nouns, cases, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and numbers. This chapter puts them into whole sentences: where each part goes, how to say "not", how to ask a question, and a few greetings and polite phrases from the television series and phrasebooks.
Word Order: Subject, Object, Verb
Chapter 1 noted a disagreement between sources about word order. The sentences in this course agree on one thing: in every example below the verb comes at the end.
- The cases do the work. The accusative marks the object (havon "bread"), so the order can vary for emphasis and the sentence stays clear.
- Adverbs of time and place come first. Ēlī vala taobe ūndas "First the man saw the boy" (Chapter 8).
- Modifying clauses go right before the noun. A clause that describes a noun sits directly before it. The notes give Vale tegot ūndan "I saw the man on the ground", where tegot "on the ground" describes vale.
- Passives keep the verb last too. Taoba valo ondoso ūndaks "The boy was seen by the man".
Saying "Not"
Daor follows the verb. Chapter 4's Zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor is "A dragon is not a slave". The notes give a second example inside a subordinate clause with the subjunctive: Taoba avy urnios daor jaelan "I hope that the boy doesn't see you". They state that a negative subordinate clause "looks no different from a matrix negative clause".
Questions
A question usually begins with a question word from Chapter 5:
| Word | Meaning | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| skoros | what | Skoros morghot vestri? "What do we say to the God of death?" |
| skoriot | where | Skoriot ñuhyz zaldrīzesse ilzi? "Where are my dragons?" |
| skorkydoso | how | Skorkydoso glaesā? "How are you?" |
- Question word first. In each sentence it opens the question, with the verb last as usual.
- A question without a question word. Ao ynoma dīnilūks? "Will you marry me?" opens with the pronoun ao "you" and is a yes/no question, and it contains no question word. The wiki's Quptenkos Ēngoso ȳdrassia? "Do you speak the Common tongue?" is another.
Greetings and Courtesies
| English | High Valyrian | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Rytsas | from rytsa "healthy"; said by Talisa in Game of Thrones episode 307 |
| Thank you | Kirimvose / kirimvos | the longer Kirimvose avy rytsuran is "thank you, I thank you", "presumably more formal" |
| Goodbye | Geros ilas | fan phrasebook |
| Please | Kostilus | fan phrasebook |
| I'm fine | Syrī glaesan | fan phrasebook |
| My name is … | … brōziks | fan phrasebook |
| What's your name? | Skoroso jemēle brōzā? | fan phrasebook |
A line from the series shows the courtesy in use. In episode 410, Fennesz says Yne urniō syt kirimvose avy rytsuran, Aōhys Eglivys, "Thank you for seeing me, Your Grace". The wiki gives only the free translation. You can recognise yne as the accusative "me" from Chapter 5.
Hands-On Exercises
Put these words in order to make "The man cuts the bread": nektos, havon, vala. Then say which word marks the object and which word is the verb.
📄 View solutionIn Skoriot ñuhyz zaldrīzesse ilzi? find the question word, the possessive and the noun, and say what each does. Then explain how daor would change a sentence.
📄 View solutionWrite a short exchange using the phrases in this chapter: greet someone, ask how they are, say you are fine, and thank them.
📄 View solutionChapter 9 Quick Reference
- Order: subject, object, verb; time and place adverbs first; the cases mark the roles
- Not: daor after the verb
- Question words: skoros what, skoriot where, skorkydoso how; yes/no questions have no separate marker found
- Phrases: Rytsas hello, Kirimvose thank you, Geros ilas goodbye, Kostilus please