The typical phrase order in Globasa is Subject-Verb-Object.
| SVO Sentence Structure | ||
| Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|
| patre father |
mwa kiss |
matre mother |
| Patre mwa matre. The father kisses the mother. |
||
Other than S-V-O, Globasa allows two other options with the subject always preceding the verb: S-O-V and O-S-V. This flexible phrase order is made possible using the direct object marker el, which essentially functions as a preposition. As illustrated below, el is used with S-O-V and O-S-V, which are typically only used in poetry and song lyrics.
Etymology of el: Korean (을 “eul”)
The verb is (be), known as the copula, functions as a predicate marker with phrases other than predicate verb phrases, linking the subject with noun phrases, nominal (infinitive) verb phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases and clauses.
| Sentence Structure with is | ||
| Subject | Copula | Noun Phrase |
|---|---|---|
| nini kid (boy or girl) |
is is |
misu bete my child |
| Nini is misu bete. The kid is my child. |
||
| Subject | Copula | Infinitive Verb Phrase |
| cele goal |
is is |
na triunfa to win |
| Cele is na triunfa. The goal is to win. |
||
| Noun Phrase | Copula | Adjective Phrase |
| uma horse |
is is |
perfetomo syahe perfectly black |
| Uma is perfetomo syahe.. The horse is perfectly black. |
||
| Subject | Copula | Prepositional Phrase |
| myaw cat |
is is |
in sanduku in the box |
| Myaw is in sanduku. The cat is in the box. |
||
| Subejct | Copula | Clause |
| yusu problem your problem |
is is |
ki yu godo fikir that you think too much |
| Yusu problem is ki yu godo fikir. Your problem is that you think too much. |
||
The question words keloka and kewatu as well as all their correlatives also link to subjects using the copula.
Myaw is keloka?
Where is the cat?
Filme is kewatu?
When is the movie?
In informal language, an unmodified copula (other than negated with no) may be optionally omitted when linking adjective phrases, prepositional phrases and -loka/-watu correlatives.
Myaw (is) keloka?
Where is the cat?
Myaw (is) in sanduku.
The cat is in the box.
Kam uma (is) perfetomo syahe? Is the horse perfectly black?
No, uma no (is) perfetomo syahe. No, the horse is not perfectly black.
Compare with the following sentences with a modified copula with verb markers or adverbs. In these sentences, the copula is always obligatory.
Myaw le is in sanduku. The cat was in the box.
Uma banwatu is perfetomo syahe. Horses sometimes are perfectly black.
Infinitive verb phrases are marked by the particle na followed by the verb. They are used in the following sentence structures.
The infinitive verb form must be used in noun and verb (transitive, intransitive or stative) complements.
Mi suki na lala.
I like to sing.
Mi musi na ergo.
I must work. or I have to work.
Mi no abil na danse.
I cannot dance.
Gitara asan na soti.
The guitar is easy to play.
Mi jumbi na idi.
I am ready to go.
misu xiwon na oko yu
my desire to see you
Verb phrases functioning in the place of noun phrases are known as nominal verb phrases and require the infinitive verb form.
In these sentences, the infinitive verb phrase may be moved to the end of the sentence if it is not already in that position.
Cele is na triunfa.
The goal is to win.
Na sabarkal is problem.
To be impatient is a problem.
or
Is problem na sabarkal.
It is a problem to be impatient.
In these sentences, the infinitive verb phrase may also be moved to the end of the sentence.
Na soti gitara asan.
To play the guitar is easy. or Playing the guitar is easy.
or
Asan na soti gitara.
It is easy to play the guitar.
Na suyon in bahari amusane.
To swim in the sea is fun. or Swimming in the sea is fun.
or
Amusane na suyon in bahari.
It is fun to swim in the sea.
fe tayday fe na danse - Instead of dancing
Te le sokutu dur na danse.
He fell while dancing.
Fe na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the boy fell asleep.
Globasa, like most SVO languages, uses prepositions rather postpositions. Prepositional phrases always immediately follow the noun phrases they modify.
Myaw in sanduku somno.
The cat in the box is sleeping.
Prepositional phrases that modify verbs enjoy relative free word order and may be moved anywhere in the sentence. When moved before the verb, commas are used as seen below.
Myaw yam in sanduku maux.
Myaw yam maux in sanduku.
Myaw, in sanduku, yam maux.
In sanduku, myaw yam maux.
The cat eats the mouse in the box.
In order to indicate position without reference to location, prepositions are turned into nouns by adding -ya to form prepositional phrases with fe.
Myaw is fe inya.
The cat is inside.
Myaw fe inya somno.
The cat inside is sleeping.
Fe inya, myaw somno.
Inside, the cat is sleeping.
The indirect object is always marked with the preposition tas (to, for). Indirect object phrases, like direct object phrases marked with el, may be moved without the need to indicate movement using commas.
Mi gibe kitabu tas nini.
I give the book to the child.
Mi gibe tas nini kitabu.
I give the child the book.
Mi gibe kitabu tas te.
I give the book to her/him.
Mi gibe tas te kitabu.
I give her/him the book.
Mi gibe to tas nini.
I give it to the child.
Mi gibe to tas te.
I give it to her/him.
Tas nini mi gibe kitabu.
To the child I give a book.
Tas te mi gibe to.
To her/him I give it.
Globasa uses a number of phrasal prepositions using fe followed by a noun followed by de.
Baytu fe kape de liljabal kimapul.
The houses on top of the hill are expensive.
In order to indicate position without reference to location, phrasal prepositions simply drop de.
Baytu fe kape kimapul.
The houses on top are expensive.
Fe kape, baytu kimapul.
On top, the houses are expensive.
Kimapul baytu is fe kape.
The expensive houses are on top.
In Globasa, prepositions may be turned into verbs using the suffix -ya as an alternative to linking prepositional phrases to subjects using the copula, as seen above.
| Sentence Structure with Prepositional Verb | ||
| Subject | Prepositional Verb | Noun Phrase |
|---|---|---|
| myaw cat |
inya is inside |
sanduku box |
| Myaw inya sanduku. The cat is inside the box |
||
Prepositional verbs may or may not be followed by a noun phrase.
Myaw inya.
The cat is inside.
Nouns used in phrasal prepositions may also be used as verbs in the same way as prepositional verbs.
Myaw ruke sanduku.
The cat is behind the box.
Myaw ruke.
The cat is in the back.
The nouns leya and xaya also function as the verb counterparts to the prepositions lefe and xafe. In other words, lefeya and xafeya are not used, just as leli and xali are used instead of lefeli and xafeli.
The prepositional verb feya (be at) may be optionally used as a copula with -loka and -watu correlatives.
Kastilo feya keloka?
Where is the castle located?
The verb hay is used to express there is/are. Phrases in sentences with hay enjoy free word order, as the following examples illustrate.
Hay multi kitabu in kitabudom.
There are many books in the library.
Multi kitabu hay in kitabudom.
There are many books in the library.
In kitabudom hay multi kitabu.
In the library there are many books.
The verb hay is also used in sentences related to atmospheric conditions, such as the following:
Hay barix.
"There is rain."
It's raining.
Hay termo.
"There is heat."
It's warm.
The conjunction ki is used when a clause (a complete sentence) functions in place of a either the direct object or subject.
| Sentence Structure with Clause in place of Direct Object | ||
| Subject and Verb | Full clause in place of Direct Object | |
|---|---|---|
| mi jixi I know |
ki yu le xuli mobil (that) you repaired car |
|
| Mi jixi ki yu le xuli mobil. I know (that) you repaired the car. |
||
| Sentence Structure with Clause in place of Subject | ||
| Full Clause in Place of the Subject | Predicate | |
|---|---|---|
| ki yu le xuli mobil That you repaired the car |
no surprisa mi doesn't surprise me |
|
| Ki yu le xuli mobil no surprisa mi. That you repaired the car doesn't surprise me. |
||
Clauses in place of the subject may be moved to the end of the sentence.
No surprisa mi ki yu le xuli mobil.
It doesn't surprise me that you repaired the car.
In Globasa, relative clauses are introduced with the relative conjunction hu (who, which) and retain typical word order. It is worth noting that English does not have a relative conjunction and as such, the conjunction hu doesn't have an exact equivalent in English but is typically translated as who or which.
Relative clauses that require a pronoun to refer back to the antecedent use the obligatory resumptive relative pronoun da (he, she, it, they, that, that one, those, those ones).
Te is femixu hu da lubi mi.
"She is the woman who that-one loves me."
She is the woman who loves me.
Te is femixu hu mi lubi da.
"She is the woman who I love that-one."
She is the woman whom I love.
Mi le sonxi katatul hu mi kata roti har da.
"I lost the knife which I cut the bread with that-one."
I lost the knife with which I cut the bread.
Kamisa hu mi suki da blue. or To blue, kamisa hu mi suki da.
"The shirt which I like that-one is blue." or "It's blue, the shirt which I like that-one."
The shirt (that) I like is blue. or It's blue, the shirt (that) I like.
Note: As seen in the last example, when the relative clause is part of the subject, the sentence may be reworded in order to place the core of the sentence first and move the relative clause to the end of the sentence. This helps to make the sentence easier to process.
The possessive adjective dasu is used in relative clauses as follows:
Te is manixu hu dasu sodar kone mi.
"He is the man who his brother knows me."
He is the man whose brother knows me.
Te is manixu hu mi kone dasu sodar.
"He is the man who I know his brother."
He is the man whose brother I know.
Manyen hu dasu gami Globasa is misu doste. or Te is misu doste, manyen hu dasu gami Globasa.
"The guy who that-one's spouse speaks Globasa is my friend." or "He's my friend, the guy who that one's spouse speaks Globasa."
The guy whose spouse speaks Globasa is my friend. or He is my friend, the guy whose spouse speaks Globasa.
Relative clauses in which an optional correlative adverb refers back to the antecent are as follows:
Kitabudom hu mi ergo (denloka) dayo.
"The library which I work (there) is big."
The library where I work is big.
Dina hu mi xa preata (denwatu) is Lunadin.
"The day which I arrive (then) is Monday."
The day when I arrive is Monday.
Mi no suki loka hu mi ergo (denloka).
"I don't like the place which I work (there)."
I don't like where I work.
Am gibe tas mi (den)to hu mi wole da.
"Give me that/it which I want it."
Give me what I want.
Mi suki (den)to hu yu hare da.
"I like that/it which you have that."
I like what you have.
In Globasa, the word order of interrogative sentences is the same as that of their counterpart declarative sentences.
Yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle kam at the beginning of the question's countepart declarative sentence. This is illutrated in the following pairs of sentences with (1) a declarative sentence and (2) the counterpart yes/no question.
(1) Yu yamwol. You are hungry.
(2) Kam yu yamwol. Are you hungry?
(1) Yu yam maciso. You eat fish.
(2) Kam yu yam maciso? Do you eat fish?
Likewise, wh- questions preserve typical word order. This is illustrated in the following pair of example sentences with (1) a question whose word order mirrors that of (2) a possible answer.
(1) Yusu name is keto?
"Your name is what?"
What is your name?
(2) Misu name is Roberto.
My name is Robert.
(1) Yu kepul?
"You are how?"
How are you?
(2) Mi bono.
I'm fine.
(1) Parti xa okur keloka?
"The party will happen where?"
Where will the party take place?
(2) Parti xa okur in misu preferido yamkan.
The party will take place in my favorite restaurant.