Sentences and Word Order

Na'vi 1

Course 1 · Chapter 7 · Sentences and Word Order

You now have the parts: nouns with case endings (Chapter 3), pronouns (Chapter 4) and verbs with infixes (Chapters 5 and 6). This chapter puts them into whole sentences. The big surprise for English speakers is that the order of the main parts is free. The case endings, not the position, tell you who did what.

The idea in a box

In English, "the dog bites the man" and "the man bites the dog" differ only in order. In Na'vi the endings carry that job, so the parts can move. What does not move freely is the small stuff attached to a noun: adjectives, negatives and similar modifiers.

Free Order, Held by Case

The agent takes -l (or -ìl) and the object takes -t or -ti. Because each role is marked on the word itself, you can reorder them. The reference grammars give the greeting in three orders, all meaning "I see you":

# agent = oel (I)   object = ngati (you)   verb = kameie
Oel ngati kameie.        I see you.
Ngati oel kameie.        I see you.
Oel kameie ngati.        I see you.

The usual order is agent, object, verb, and that is the order to use while learning. Free order is a feature you recognise when you read, and use later for emphasis.

English	Na'vi
Order tells you the roles	Endings tell you the roles
"I see you" ≠ "You see I"	Oel ngati kameie = Ngati oel kameie
Verb after the subject, nearly always	Verb can move; no agreement to give it away
Adjective before the noun	Adjective before or after, joined with a

Adjectives: Joined with a

An adjective does not change for number or case. It is linked to its noun by the small piece a, written on the side next to the noun: before the noun the adjective ends in -a, after the noun it starts with a-. Either order is fine.

# kilvan "river"   ngim "long"
ngim-a kilvan       a long river
kilvan a-ngim       a long river

# as a statement, use lu "is" instead of the linker
kilvan ngim lu         The river is long.

The linker joins an adjective to a noun that is already in the sentence. To say that something is a certain way, you need the verb lu from Chapter 5, covered next.

The Verb lu: Being and Having

Na'vi has no separate word for "is" in each tense; the verb lu "to be" does the work and takes the same infixes as any verb.

# lu + adjective or noun
Fìtrr lu sìltsana trr.        Today is a good day.

# "has" is built from lu plus the dative of the owner
lu poru tstxo                    he/she has a name (literally: is to-him a name)

Compare English, which has a verb "to have". Na'vi says that the thing is to its owner, using the dative ending from Chapter 3 (-ru after a vowel). The Chapter 4 pronoun poru is the dative of po.

Showing Ownership and Topic

Ownership uses the genitive from Chapter 3 (-yä) and the possessive pronouns of Chapter 4 (oeyä, ngeyä, peyä). The topical ending -ri marks "as for X", and the reference grammar uses it to let a speaker name a person first and then talk about a part that is theirs. "As for me, the nose is …" is understood as "my nose is …".

Topic is a good way to see that Na'vi is built around who and what you are talking about, not around a fixed slot for "subject". Use it sparingly while learning.

Words That Join a Noun: Adpositions

Words like "with", "in" and "to" can stand before the noun as separate words, or follow it joined on. hu "with" gives either hu nga or ngahu, and so the farewell blessing from Chapter 1, Eywa ngahu, is just "Eywa with you". The word mì "in" gives mì sokx "in the body"; joined on, it does not change the noun: tokxmì.

Some adpositions that come before a noun lenite it, with the same changes as Chapter 3: px, tx, kx become p, t, k; p becomes f; t, ts become s; k becomes h; and ' disappears. That is why a table of forms often shows a changed first letter.

Watch out: free order is not no order

Only the main roles are free. An adjective, a negative word or a quantity word stays tied to the noun or verb it modifies. If you move a role to the front, make sure every role still carries its ending: a bare noun with no ending is read as the intransitive subject, not as an object.

Watch out: do not copy English "to be"

You do not need lu to link every adjective. Inside a noun phrase use the a linker; use lu only when the adjective is the statement ("The river is long").

Common myths

"Free word order means anything goes." The endings must be right, and modifiers stay put.
"Na'vi has no verb 'to have'." It does not have the English word, but lu with a dative owner does the same job.
"You must use -ri to start every sentence." Topic marking is optional emphasis.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

Write the three word orders of "I see you" (oel, ngati, kameie) that keep the meaning, and then show what would go wrong if you left the -ti off ngati. Say which order you would use as a beginner.

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Exercise 2

Using kilvan "river" and ngim "long", write "a long river" in both orders, and then "The river is long". Explain which version uses the a linker and which uses lu.

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Exercise 3

Explain in your own words how Na'vi says "she has a name" without the English verb "to have". Name the verb, the case ending and the pronoun form, and say how English and Na'vi differ.

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Chapter 7 Quick Reference

Word order is free; case endings mark the roles. Beginner order: agent, object, verb
Adjective + noun: ngim-a kilvan or kilvan a-ngim (the a goes next to the noun)
"X is …": kilvan ngim lu; lu takes the usual infixes
"Has": lu poru tstxo (is + dative owner + thing)
Topic: -ri ("as for …"); possession: -yä, oeyä, ngeyä, peyä
Adpositions before or after the noun: hu nga = ngahu; some lenite the noun

Coming next

Na'vi 1, Chapter 8 covers questions and negation: asking yes or no questions, using question words, saying "not", and giving short answers.