Globasa's nouns do not distinguish between singular and plural forms.
Globasa's nouns have neither definite nor indefinite articles.
If it is necessary to emphasize definiteness, hin (this/these) or den (that/those) may be used.
If it is necessary to emphasize singularity, un (one) may be used.
If it is necessary to emphasize plurality, plu (multiple) may be used.
In Globasa, nouns denoting people and animals are typically gender-neutral.
If it is necessary to emphasize gender, the adjectives fem (female) and man (male) may be used as prefixes.
Etymology of fem: English (feminine), French (féminin), German (feminin), Spanish (femenina)
Etymology of man: Mandarin (男 “nán”), French (masculin), Spanish (masculino), English (masculine), German (männlich), Hindi (मर्दाना “mardana”), Persian (مردانه “mardane”)
A handful of nouns denoting people do indicate gender.
Note: The gender-neutral word for parent(s) is atre. The gender-neutral word for mom/dad is mapa.
Fe is often used in sentence initial phrases with nouns.
In Globasa, a noun may be followed by another noun without the use of a preposition when the second noun specifies the identity of the first. This is known as apposition.
The particle di may be optionally used to mark culture-specific words and proper nouns that have identical form to ordinary words that are already established in Globasa.
A noun or proper name may be followed by the particle ci to denote endearment or affection.
The adjective gao (high, tall) and the noun kef (boss, chief) may be used as honorifics.
In Globasa, noun/verbs are words that can function as either noun or verb.
Noun/verb comparison is expressed as follows using the words max (more), min (less, fewer), dennumer (that number of, as many), denkwanti (that quantity, as much), kom (as, than).
With nouns:
Mi hare max kitabu kom yu.
I have more books than you.
Yu hare min kitabu kom mi.
You have fewer books than I.
Mi hare max to kom yu.
I have more (of them) than you.
Yu hare min to kom mi.
You have fewer (of them) than I.
Mi hare max kom cen kitabu.
I have more than one hundred books.
Yu hare min kom cen kitabu.
You have fewer than one hundred books.
Te hare dennumer kitabu kom mi.
She has as many books as me.
Te hare dennumer to kom mi.
She has as many as me.
Yu yam denkwanti risi kom mi.
You eat as much rice as me.
Yu yam denkwanti to kom mi.
You eat as much (of it) as me.
With verbs:
Myaw max somno kom bwaw.
or: Myaw somno max kom bwaw.
The cat sleeps more than the dog.
Bwaw min somno kom myaw.
or: Bwaw somno min kom myaw.
The dog sleeps less than the cat.
Bebe denkwanti somno kom myaw.
or: Bebe somno denkwanti kom myaw.
The baby sleeps as much as the cat.
To express the more/the less..., the more/the less..., Globasa uses folki... max/min, max/min.
Folki mi max doxo, mi max jixi.
The more I read, the more I know.
The order of these phrases may switch places:
Mi max jixi, folki mi max doxo.
I know more, the more I read.
Verbs are defined in the dictionary as auxiliary, copula, transitive, intransitive, or ambitransitive. Suffixes seen in this section (-cu, -gi, -ne, -do, -pul) are explained under Common Affixes below. The prefix xor- is explained under Word Formation: Prefixes.
Auxiliary verbs are immediately followed by another verb, which may be omitted. There are only three auxiliary verbs in Globasa: abil (can, able to), ingay (should, ought to), musi (must, have to).
Copula verbs link the subject to its complement. There are currently 12 copula verbs: sen (be), xorsen (become), sencu (become), sengi (cause to be), kwasisen (seem), okocu (look), orecu (sound), nasacu (smell), xetocu (taste), pifucu (feel to touch), hisicu (feel physically or emotionally), ganjoncu (feel emotionally).
Transitive verbs take a direct object: haja (need), bujo (catch, capture), gibe (give). However, certain transitive verbs will sometimes or often omit the direct object: doxo (read), yam (eat), lala (sing), etc.
Some transitive verbs are almost always used without a direct object: somno (sleep), haha (laugh), pawbu (run), fley (fly), etc.
Mi le somno (lungo somno).
I slept (a long sleep).
Yu le haha (sotipul haha).
You laughed (a loud laugh).
The suffix -gi may be applied to transitive verbs with the meaning _to cause (direct object) to [root verb], to make (direct object) [root verb].
Kam yu fleygi hawanavi?
Do you fly aircraft?
Mi xa sampogi bwaw fe axam.
I will walk the dog in the evening.
Payaco le hahagi mi.
The clown made me laugh.
Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object: idi (go), konduta (behave), loka (be located), side (be sitting), garaku (drown, sink). Intransitive verbs may be turned into transitive verbs with an optional use of -gi in the presence of a direct object.
Navikef le garaku.
The captain drowned.
Navikef le garaku(gi) navi.
The captain sank the ship.
In word derivation, however, -gi is obligatory. Compare the following adjectives derived with garaku and the suffix -ne.
garakune navikef - the drowning captain
garakugine navikef- the captain sinking (the ship)
Ambitransitive verbs in Globasa are verbs for which both the subject of the intransitive meaning and the direct object of the transitive meaning experience the same action/state of the verb. The intransitive meaning of these verbs may optionally apply -cu and the transitive meaning may optionally apply -gi.
There are four subcategories of ambitransitive verbs: verbs of feeling, verbs of state, agentless verbs, and verbs of position/location or movement.
Verbs of Feeling
Ambitransitive verbs denoting a feeling mean to feel [root noun] or cause to feel [root noun]. Note that the intransitive meaning may also be expressed as a copula and adjective phrase: sen [root noun]-do.
Mi interes(cu) tem basalogi. = Mi sen interesdo tem basalogi.
I'm interested in linguistics.
Basalogi interes(gi) mi.
Linguistics interests me.
Te pilo(cu). = Te sen pilodo.
She is/feels tired.
Tesu ergo pilo(gi) te.
Her work tires her.
The prefix xor- may be used with verbs of feeling to express the following distinction:
Mi le interes tem basalogi lefe multi nyan.
I was interested in linguistics many years ago.
Te le pilo dur na ergo.
She was tired while working.
vesus:
Mi le xorinteres tem basalogi lefe multi nyan.
I became interested in linguistics many years ago.
Te le xorpilo dur na ergo.
She got/became tired while working.
Verbs of State
Ambitransitive verbs of state are similar verbs of feeling. They are nouns of state that can be used as ambitransitive verbs meaning to have [noun root] or to cause to have [noun root]. Note that the intransitive meaning may also be expressed as a copula and adjective phrase: sen [root noun]-pul.
Misu kafe no haji termo. = Misu kafe no haji sen termopul.
My coffee isn't hot any longer.
Kam yu le termo banyo-kamer?
Did you warm up the bathroom?
Syensiyen cinon. = Syensiyen sen cinonpul.
The scientist is intelligent.
Eskol le cinon te.
The school made him smart.
Lalayen talento. = Lalayen sen talentopul.
The singer is talented.
Patre le talento lalayen.
The father made the singer talented.
The prefix xor- may be used with verbs of state to express the following distinction:
Jaledin le termo. = Jaledin le sen termopul.
Yesterday was warm
To le xortermo fe midinuru. = To le xorsen/sencu termopul fe midinuru.
It got/became warm at noon.
Agentless Verbs
In the intransitive meaning of agentless ambitransitive verbs, the action is something that happens to the subject rather than something the subject performs.
Janela le kasiru(cu).
The window broke.
Mi le kasiru(gi) janela.
I broke the window.
Sui le boyle(cu).
The water boiled.
Te le boyle(gi) sui.
She boiled the water.
Jange le fini(cu).
The war ended.
Ete le fini(gi) jange.
They ended the war.
Verbs of Position/Location or Movement
In the intransitive meaning of ambitransitive verbs of position/location or movement the subject is both agent and patient.
Am esto(cu)!
Stop!
Am esto(gi) mobil!
Stop the car!
Am no harka(cu)!
Don't move!
Mi le harka(gi) yusu kursi.
I moved your chair.
Dwer le buka(cu).
The door opened.
Mi le buka(gi) dwer.
I opened the door.
In word derivation, ambitransitive verbs function as transitive verbs without the need for -gi. However, when the intransitive meaning of the verb is required in word derivation, -cu must be applied. Compare the following adjectives derived with buka and the suffix -ne:
bukane merasem - the opening ceremony
bukacune dwer - the opening door
In Globasa, adjectives and verb-modifying adverbs have identical form.
Adjective/adverbs precede the noun/verbs they modify.
Hinto sen bon yam.
This is a good meal.
Bebe bon yam.
The baby eats well.
Uma velosi pawbu.
The horse runs fast.
Alternatively, adverbs may appear after the verb, but preceded by the direct and indirect objects, if any: Subject - Verb - (Direct and Indirect Objects) - Adverb.
Bebe yam bon.
The baby eats well.
Bwaw glu sui velosi.
The dog drinks the water quickly.
Adverbs may also be moved to the start of the sentence, so long as there is a definite pause with the comma so as to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence. Without the pause, the adjective/adverb could be mistakenly interpreted as modifying the subject.
Velosi, bwaw glu sui.
Quickly, the dog drinks the water.
Unyum, te le idi cel banko.
First, she went to the bank.
The following are adjective/adverbs commonly used in sentence-initial phrases followed by a clear pause before the rest of the sentence.
Adjective/adverb comparison is expressed as follows using the words maxmo (more, -er), minmo (less), denmo (as),kom (as, than).
To express the most (-est) and the least, Glosaba uses maxim... te/to and minim... te/to. The word of means out of or off (of). Note that the pronouns te/to must immediately follow the adjective since noun phrases must always end in a noun or pronoun. See Noun Phrases.
To express the more/the less..., the more/the less..., Globasa uses folki maxmo/minmo, maxmo/minmo.
Besides noun/verb words and adj/adv words, Globasa has a third class of words: verb/adj-adv words. Only auxiliary verbs belong in this class which consists of only three words: abil, musi and ingay.
The suffix -ya has a variety of useful functions and is equivalent to several English suffixes: -ity, -ness, -dom, -hood, -ship.
real - real (adj)
realya - reality (noun)
bimar - sick, ill (adj)
bimarya - illness, disease (noun)
huru - free (adj)
huruya - freedom, liberty (noun)
solo - alone (adj)
soloya - solitude (noun)
The suffix -ya means -hood or -ship when attached to nouns denoting relationships.
matre - mother (concrete noun)
matreya - motherhood (abstract noun)
patre - father (concrete noun)
patreya - fatherhood (abstract noun)
doste - friend (concrete noun)
dosteya - friendship (abstract noun)
In some cases the concrete or count noun is used as a verb and the abstract or noncount noun is derived using -ya and functions as the counterpart to the verb.
imaje - image/picture (concrete noun), imagine/picture (verb)
imajeya - imagination (abstract noun)
turi - trip (count noun), travel (verb)
turiya - tourism (noncount noun)
Likewise, the body parts associated with the five senses denote the related action (verb), while -ya is used to derive the abstract noun.
oko - eye (concrete noun), see, look (verb)
okoya - view, sight or sense of sight (abstract noun)
ore - ear (concrete noun), hear, listen (verb)
oreya - hearing or sense of hearing (abstract noun)
nasa - nose (concrete noun), smell (verb)
nasaya - smell or sense of smell (abstract noun)
xeto - tongue (concrete noun), taste (verb)
xetoya - taste or sense of taste (abstract noun)
pifu - skin (concrete noun), touch (verb)
pifuya - touch or sense of touch (abstract noun)
Prepositions are turned into noun/verbs using the suffix -ya. See Prepositional Verbs.
The suffix -ya is also used to turn other function words into nouns. See Function Words.
Etymology of -ya: Hindi (सत्य "satya" - truth), Spanish (alegría - joy)
Globasa uses the prefix du- to express the gerund.
The prefix du- is also used for the continuous/habitual verb aspect. See Verb Forms.
The prefix du- is truncated from dure (duration).
Etymology of dure: English, French, German and Spanish
The suffix -gi may be applied to adjectives, nouns and verbs.
The suffix -gi turns adjectives into transitive verbs.
bala - strong
balagi - strengthen
pul - full
pulgi - fill
mor - dead
morgi - kill
The suffix -gi means cause to be(come) when added to nouns.
zombi - zombie
zombigi - zombify
korbani - victim
korbanigi - victimize
The suffix -gi is also used to turn intransitive and transitive verbs into causative verbs, or used optionally in ambitransitive verbs, as seen under Verb Categories above.
The suffix -gi is truncated from gibe (give).
Etymology of gibe: English (give), German (geben, gibt) and Mandarin (给 “gěi”)
The suffix -cu may be applied to adjectives and nouns, in addition to verbs, as seen under Verb Categories above.
The suffix -cu (get/become) turns adjectives into intransitive verbs.
roso - red
rosocu - blush/redden (get red)
mor - dead
morcu - die (become dead)
The suffix -cu means become when added to nouns.
zombi - zombie
zombicu - turn into a zombie
ixu - (human) adult
ixucu - become an adult, come of age
The suffix -cu is truncated from cudu (take, obtain, acquire, gain)
Etymology of cudu: Mandarin (取得 "qǔdé"), Korean (취득 “chwideug”)
In Globasa, adjective/adverbs are derived from nouns by means of various suffixes. See full list of suffixes under Word Formation. One of the most common is the suffix -li (of, relating to).
musika - music
musikali - musical, musically
denta - tooth
dentali - dental
dongu - east
donguli - eastern
Franse - France
Franseli - French
The suffix -li is also used for deriving adjective/adverbs out of function words. See Function Words.
Etymology of -li: French (-el, -elle), Spanish (-al), English (-al, -ly), German (-lich), Russian (-ельный “-elni”, -альный “-alni”), Turkish (-li)
The word pul means full. However, as a suffix -pul means with enough or more than enough.
humor - humor
humorpul - humorous, funny
hatari - danger
hataripul - dangerous
Etymology of pul: English (full), Hindi (पूर्ण “purn”), Russian (полный “poln-”)
The suffix -ne means in an active state or process of and is used to derive what are known in Globasa as active adjectives.
Active adjectives are in most cases equivalent to present participles in English (adjectives ending in -ing). However, unlike in English, active adjectives are not used to generate the progressive verb forms (I am sleeping, She is dancing, etc.). Instead, they only function as adjectives.
somno - sleep
somnone meliyen - sleeping beauty
anda - walk
andane moryen - walking dead
danse - dance
dansene uma - dancing horse
interes - interest
interesne kitabu - interesting book
amusa - amuse, fun
amusane filme - amusing/fun film
Etymology of -ne: English (-ing), French (-ant), Spanish (-ando), German (-en, -ende), Russian (-ный “-ny”), Turkish (-en, -an)
Active adjectives that appear sentence initially may alternatively be expressed as prepositional phrases using the infinitive verb form.
Doxone, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the kid fell asleep.
or
Fe na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
Reading, the kid fell asleep.
or
Dur na doxo, nini le xorsomno.
While reading, the kid fell asleep.
This construction is useful particularly when the phrase includes a direct object since, unlike the present participle in English, active adjectives in Globasa cannot function as verbs.
Dur na doxo sesu preferido kitabu, nini le xorsomno.
While reading his favorite book, the kid fell asleep.
Naturally, these phrases may also be expressed as full clauses, as opposed to prepositional phrases.
Durki te le doxo (sesu preferido kitabu), nini le xorsomno.
While he read (his favorite book), the kid fell asleep.
Active adjectives may be rendered passive by adding the passive prefix be- to derive what are known in Globasa as passive active adjectives (or passive adjectives for short). There is no exact equivalent in English for passive adjectives, but are best understood as the exact passive form of the present participle in English.
The suffix -do means in an inactive state of. Words with this suffix are known in Globasa as inactive adjectives and are typically translated as the past participle in English. However, unlike in English, inactive adjectives are not used to generate perfect or passive verb forms (I have worked, It was/got stolen, etc.). Instead, they function only as adjectives.
It is worth noting that, technically speaking, the suffix -do is added to the noun aspect of noun/verbs. For this reason, -do may be added to transitive, intransitive or ambitransitive verbs noun/verbs.
Etymology of -do: English (-ed), Spanish (-ado, -ido)
Adjective/adverbs that modify other adjective/adverbs, known as adj/adv-modifying adverbs, add the suffix -mo. Compare the following pairs of phrases.
perfeto blue oko - perfect blue eyes (blue eyes that are perfect)
perfetomo blue oko - perfectly blue eyes (eyes that are perfectly blue)
naturali syahe tofa - natural black hair (not a wig)
naturalimo syahe tofa - naturally black hair (not dyed)
sotikal doxone nini - quiet child reading
sotikalmo doxone nini - child silently reading