# Kabardian grammar

Eastern Circassian grammar (Kabardian: Къэбэрдеибзэ адыгабзэ), as described in this article, is the grammar of standard East Circassian also known as Kabardian, as spoken and written by the Kabardian and Besleney communities primarily in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and Karachay-Cherkessian Republic in Russia.
Eastern Circassian is ergative–absolutive, predominatly marks head final and its normal word order is SOV (Subject-Object-Verb). Its nouns are remarkably simple, only marking for 2 numbers and case (which is frequently optional). Its verbal morphology however is the most complex part of the language, being inflected with suffixes and prefixes, making it very agglutinative and polysynthetic. A verb can be marked for several persons (polypersonality), number, tense, mood, causative and with a large array of preverbs. Notions such as "can", "must", and "if", usually expressed as separate words in most European languages, are typically expressed with verbal suffixes in Eastern Circassian.

## Ergative–absolutive

Kabardian is an ergative–absolutive language. Unlike nominative–accusative languages, such as English, where the single argument of an intransitive verb ("She" in the sentence "She walks.") behaves grammatically like the agent of a transitive verb ("She" in the sentence "She finds it."), in ergative–absolutive language the subject of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb. For example, the word щӏалэ "boy" in the intransitive sentence щӏалэр малӏэ "the boy dies" behaves grammatically different from the word щӏалэ "boy" in the transitive sentence щӏалэм ар еукӏы "the boy kills it".
Nouns in Kabardian can have the following roles in a sentence:
* Ergative case: Marked as -м /-m/, it serves to mark the one that causes change by doing the verb.
* Absolutive case: Marked as -р /-r/, it serves to mark the one that is changed by the verb's, i.e. it is being created, altered, moved or ended by the verb.
* Oblique case: Also marked as -м /-m/, it serves to mark the dative and applicative case roles. It acts as the indirect object in the sentence and its state is not changed by the verb, i.e. we have no indication of what happens to it or how it behaves after the verb.
In intransitive verbs the subject is in the absolutive case thus it indicates that the subject is changing (created, altered, moved or ended).
* In this example the boy is changing by moving:
Щӏалэр
Щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
макӏуэ
макӏуэ
maːkʷʼa]
(s)he is going
Щӏалэр макӏуэ
Щӏалэ-р макӏуэ
[ɕʼaːɮar maːkʷʼa]
boy.ABS {(s)he is going}
"The boy is going."
* In this example the man is changing by moving. The verb еуэн /jawan/ "to hit" describes the movement of hitting and not the impact itself, so we have no indication of what happens to the object (the wall in this case).
Лӏыр
Лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
дэпкъым
дэпкъы-м
dapqəm
wall.OBL
йоуэ
йоуэ
jowa]
(s)he is hitting
Лӏыр дэпкъым йоуэ
Лӏы-р дэпкъы-м йоуэ
[ɬʼər dapqəm jowa]
man.ABS wall.OBL {(s)he is hitting}
"The man is hitting the wall." lit. "the man is hitting at the wall."
In transitive verbs the subject is in the ergative case thus it indicates that the subject causes change to the object which gets the absolutive case.
* In this example the wall changes by being destroyed (it was altered). The verb къутэн /qʷətan/ "to destroy" does not indicate how the subject (boy) destroyed the wall thus we have no indication of the boy changing, making him the one that causes the change (and not the one that changes).
Щӏалэм
Щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
дэпкъыр
дэпкъы-р
dapqər
wall.ABS
икъутащ
икъутащ
jəqʷətaːɕ]
(s)he destroyed
Щӏалэм дэпкъыр икъутащ
Щӏалэ-м дэпкъы-р икъутащ
[ɕʼaːɮam dapqər jəqʷətaːɕ]
boy.ERG wall.ABS {(s)he destroyed}
"The boy destroyed the wall."
* In this example the rock changes by moving (motion in air), the man causes the change and the wall acts as the indirect object of the preposition.
Лӏым
[ɬʼəm
man.ERG
мывэр
məvar
rock.ABS
дэпкъым
dapqəm
wall.OBL
тедзэ
tajd͡za]
(s)he is throwing at
Лӏым мывэр дэпкъым тедзэ
[ɬʼəm məvar dapqəm tajd͡za]
man.ERG rock.ABS wall.OBL {(s)he is throwing at}
"The man is throwing the rock at the wall."
It is important to distinguish between the intransitive and transitive verb, because the subject and object noun cases as well as the sentences' verb conjunctions (the prefixes that indicate person) depend on it. A fault in this can change the meaning of the sentence drastically, switching the roles of the subject and object. For instance, look at the following two sentences:
Щӏалэм
Щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
пщащэр
пщащэ-р
pɕaːɕar
girl.ABS
йолъэгъу
йолъэгъу
jawɬaʁʷ]
(s)he is seeing
Щӏалэм пщащэр йолъэгъу
Щӏалэ-м пщащэ-р йолъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam pɕaːɕar jawɬaʁʷ]
boy.ERG girl.ABS {(s)he is seeing}
"The boy is seeing the girl."
Щӏалэм
Щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
boy.OBL
пщащэр
пщащэ-р
pɕaːɕar
girl.ABS
йоплъ
йоплъ
jawpɬ]
(s)he is looking at
Щӏалэм пщащэр йоплъ
Щӏалэ-м пщащэ-р йоплъ
[ɕʼaːɮam pɕaːɕar jawpɬ]
boy.OBL girl.ABS {(s)he is looking at}
"The girl is looking at the boy."
Even though the noun cases of the word boy кӏалэ are the same (In the Ergative-Oblique case marked as -м), they behave grammatically different because the verb еплъын "to look" is considered an intransitive verb in contrast to the verb елъэгъун "to see" which is transitive.

## Noun
### Singular and plural

A Circassian noun can be in one of the following two states: singular or plural
Singular number is marked by a null morpheme, while plural nouns use the -хэ (-xa) suffix, which is attached to the main form of the word. A noun in its plural form must be in its definite form, meaning it must include case markers such as -р or -м.
For example: singular:
* унэ (wəna): home → унэхэр (wənaxar) homes
* тхылъ (txəɬ): book → тхылъхэр (txəɬxar) books
Names and vocative uses of a noun are exempt of this rule.
* къардэнхэ лъэпкъышхуэщ (qaːrdanxa ɬapqəʃxʷaɕ): The Kardan(ov)s are a large family/tribe
* фымыпIащIэ, цIыкIухэ! (fəməpʼaːɕʼa tsəkʷʼxa): Don't hurry, children!
* ныбжьэгъухэ, зэIущIэм зыкъыкIэрывмыгъэху! (nəbʑaʁʷxa zaʔʷəɕʼam zəqətʃʼarəvməʁaxʷ): Comrades, don't be late for the meeting!
However, the plural marking on the noun is optional in most cases. It is however frequently encoded in other parts of the sentence which are mandatory, for example the verb or possessive marking.
* сабийм жеIэ (saːbəjm ʒajʔa): the child speaks vs сабийм жаIэ (saːbəjm ʒaːʔa): the children speak
* сабийм и хьэл (saːbəjm jə ħaɮ): the child's character vs сабийм я хьэл (saːbəjm jaː ħaɮ): the children's character
As a side note, the suffix -хэ (-xa) is also present in verbs to denote that the absolutive participant is plural. However similarly, it is only optional. For example:
* ар макӏуэ he is going → ахэр макӏуэхэ: they are going

#### Collective nouns

Collective nouns, such as жылэ (ʒəɮa) village, къуажэ (qʷaːʒa) village, хьэблэ (ħabɮa) district, унагуэ (wənaːʁʷa) family, are noteworthy, in regards to the usage of the plural. All of them, can also refer to the members of that group and if they do the noun acts as a plurale tantum which can't have.
* жылэм я Iэр яIэтмэ, сэри си Iэр сIэтынщ (ʒəɮam jaː ʔar jaːʔatma, sarəj səj ʔar sʔatənɕ): if the villagers vote, I will also vote (lit. if the villagers raise their hands, I will raise my hand too)
* ар мы жылэм щопсэу (aːr mə ʒəɮam ɕawpsawə): he lives in this village

### Definite and indefinite forms

Circassian nouns usually have either definite or indefinite form. The idea behind this concept is close to the idea of definite/indefinite articles in English. The definite form of Circassian nouns have -р or -м (noun cases) formats at the end of the word. For example: щӏалэ "boy" – indefinite noun (has none of the definite formats) – it can be used in generalizations or when the boy is unknown to either the "speaker" or "listener" (a/an or zero article in English); щӏалэр, щӏалэм "the boy" – it is used when the mentioned boy is well known to both the "speaker" and "listener".

### Noun cases

Kabardian also declines nouns into four different cases, each with corresponding suffixes: absolutive, ergative, instrumental, and adverbial. The absolutive and ergative cases are considered primary cases, while instrumental and adverbial periphery cases, which means they have less of a core functionality and are frequently built on primary cases
| Case | Suffix | Suffix | example |
| Case | Cyrillic | IPA | example |
| Absolutive | р | /r/ | щӏалэр [ɕʼaːlar] ('the boy') |
| Ergative-Oblique | м | /m/ | щӏалэм [ɕʼaːlam] ('the boy's') |
| Instrumental | (м)кӏэ | /(m)t͡ʃʼa/ | щӏалэмкӏэ [ɕʼaːɮamt͡ʃʼa] ('using the boy') |
| Adverbial | ыу | /əw/ | щӏалу [ɕʼaɮəw] ('boy') |

#### Absolutive case

Has the suffix -р /r/ (e.g. щӏалэр [ɕʼaːɮar] 'the boy', щӏалэхэр [ɕʼaːɮaxar] ('the boys'), шыр [ʃər] 'the horse'). The absolutive case usually expresses subject in conjunction with intransitive verbs or direct object in conjunction with transitive verbs: For example:
In the following example, Щӏалэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the subject (the boy), and the sentence is in the absolutive form with an intransitive verb (кӏуащ);
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
еджапӏэм
еджапӏэ-м
jad͡ʒaːpʼam
the school.ERG
кӏуащ
кӏу-ащ
kʷʼaːɕ]
(s)he went
щӏалэр еджапӏэм кӏуащ
щӏалэ-р еджапӏэ-м кӏу-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮar jad͡ʒaːpʼam kʷʼaːɕ]
{the boy.ABS} {the school.ERG} {(s)he went}
"the boy went to the school"
In the following example, джанэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the direct object (the shirt which is being laundered), and the sentence is in the ergative form (after the form of its subject – Бзылъфыгъэм) with a transitive verb (егыкӏы).
бзылъхугъэм
бзылъхугъ-эм
[bzəɬxʷəʁam
the woman.ERG
джанэр
джанэ-р
d͡ʒaːnar
the shirt.ABS
егыкӏы
егыкӏы
jaɣət͡ʃʼə]
(s)he laundries it
бзылъхугъэм джанэр егыкӏы
бзылъхугъ-эм джанэ-р егыкӏы
[bzəɬxʷəʁam d͡ʒaːnar jaɣət͡ʃʼə]
{the woman.ERG} {the shirt.ABS} {(s)he laundries it}
"the woman laundries the shirt"

#### Ergative case

Has the suffix -м /-m/ (e.g. щӏалэм [ɕʼaːɮam] 'the boy's', щӏалэхэм [ɕʼaːɮaxam] 'the boys'', щым [ʃəm] 'the horse's). This case has two roles: Ergative role and Oblique role.
* The Ergative role functions as subject in conjunction with transitive verbs.
лӏым
лӏы-м
[ɬʼəm
the man.ERG
мафӏэр
мафӏэ-р
maːfʼar
the fire.ABS
егъэункIыфI
∅-и-о-гъэункIыфI
jaʁawəntʃʼəfʼ]
(s)he extinguishes it
лӏым мафӏэр егъэункIыфI
лӏы-м мафӏэ-р ∅-и-о-гъэункIыфI
[ɬʼəm maːfʼar jaʁawəntʃʼəfʼ]
{the man.ERG} {the fire.ABS} {(s)he extinguishes it}
"the man extinguishes the fire"
* The Oblique role functions as indirect object with both transitive and intransitive verbs.
An example with an intransitive verb йоджэ "reads" and indirect object тхылъым "book".
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
тхылъым
тхылъ-ым
txəɬəm
the book.OBL
йоджэ
∅-∅+e-о-джэ
jawd͡ʒa]
(s)he reads
щӏалэр тхылъым йоджэ
щӏалэ-р тхылъ-ым ∅-∅+e-о-джэ
[ɕʼaːɮar txəɬəm jawd͡ʒa]
{the boy.ABS} {the book.OBL} {(s)he reads}
"the boy reads the book" lit. "the boy is involved in reading the book"
An example with an transitive verb ирет "gives" and indirect object пщащэм "girl".
щӏалэм
щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
мыӏэрысэр
мыӏэрысэ-р
məʔarəsər
the apple.ABS
пщащэм
пщащэм
pɕaːɕam
the girl.OBL
ирет
∅-и-∅+е-о-т
jərajt]
(s)he gives it to
щӏалэм мыӏэрысэр пщащэм ирет
щӏалэ-м мыӏэрысэ-р пщащэм ∅-и-∅+е-о-т
[ɕʼaːɮam məʔarəsər pɕaːɕam jərajt]
{the boy.ERG} {the apple.ABS} {the girl.OBL} {(s)he gives it to}
"the boy gives the apple to the girl"
The Ergative-Oblique case can also be used as an adverbial modifier. For example:
* Студентхэм махуэм ӏуэху ящӏащ (stəwdajntxam maːxʷam ʔʷaxʷ jaːɕʼaɕ): "The students have worked during the day" (махуэм – adverbial modifier of time).
* Щӏалэхэр мэзым кӏуахэщ (ɕʼaːɮaxar mazəm kʷʼaːxaɕ): "The boys went to the forest" (мэзым – adverbial modifier of place).
The Ergative-Oblique case is used in possessive constructions. For example:
* лIым и унэ (ɬʼəm jə wəna): the man's house, house of the man

#### Instrumental-Directional Case

Indefinite nouns are marked by the affix -кӏэ : тхылъ-кӏэ, "by/with book", ӏэ-кӏэ "by/with hand". definite nouns express this case using the ergative affix -м in conjunction with the affix -кӏэ: уадэ-м-кӏэ "by/with the hammer", тхылъ-м-кӏэ "by/with the book".
сэ
сэ
[sa
I
къэрэндащкӏэ
къэрэндащ-кӏэ
qarandaːɕt͡ʃʼa
pencil.INS
сотхэ
сотхэ
sawtxa]
I write
сэ къэрэндащкӏэ сотхэ
сэ къэрэндащ-кӏэ сотхэ
[sa qarandaːɕt͡ʃʼa sawtxa]
I pencil.INS {I write}
"I write using a pencil"
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
адыгэбзэкӏэ
адыгэбзэ-кӏэ
aːdəɣabzat͡ʃʼa
using Circassian language.INS
мэпсалъэ
мэпсалъэ
mapsaːɬa]
(s)he is speaking
щӏалэр адыгэбзэкӏэ мэпсалъэ
щӏалэ-р адыгэбзэ-кӏэ мэпсалъэ
[ɕʼaːɮar aːdəɣabzat͡ʃʼa mapsaːɬa]
boy.ABS {using Circassian language.INS} {(s)he is speaking}
"The boy is speaking (using) Circassian language."
The Instrumental case can also mark the direction of action:
** гъуэгу /ʁʷaɡʷ/ road → гъуэгумкӏэ /ʁʷaɡʷəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the road (direction).
** унэ /wəna/ house → унэмкӏэ /wənamt͡ʃʼa/ from the house.
** хы /xə/ sea → хымкӏэ /xəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the sea (direction).
дэ
дэ
[da
we
къуажэмкӏэ
къуажэ-мкӏэ
qʷaːʒamt͡ʃʼa
village.INS
докӏуэ
докӏуэ
dawkʷʼa]
we go
дэ къуажэмкӏэ докӏуэ
дэ къуажэ-мкӏэ докӏуэ
[da qʷaːʒamt͡ʃʼa dawkʷʼa]
we village.INS {we go}
"we are going in the direction of the village"
Том,
Том,
[tom
Tom (name)
нобэди
нобэди
nawbadi
today
еджапӏэмкӏэ
еджапӏэ-мкӏэ
jad͡ʒaːpʼamt͡ʃʼa
school.INS
ныщӏыхьэ
ныщӏыхьэ
nəɕʼəħa]
stop by
Том, нобэди еджапӏэмкӏэ ныщӏыхьэ
Том, нобэди еджапӏэ-мкӏэ ныщӏыхьэ
[tom nawbadi jad͡ʒaːpʼamt͡ʃʼa nəɕʼəħa]
{Tom (name)} today school.INS {stop by}
"Tom, come to our school today"

#### Adverbial case

Has the suffix -уэ /wa/, or -у /əw/ (e.g. щӏалу [ɕʼaːɮəw] 'boy'). The adverbial case usually expresses a transition into something, or definition (clarification, which often works like the English words -which, -who, -that... ) of a name. It points to the real (literal, not grammatical) subject in the sentence. For example:
лӏыр
лӏыр
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
профессорэу
профессор-эу
profesoraw
professor.ADV
хъуащ
хъу-ащ
χʷaːɕ]
(s)he became
лӏыр профессорэу хъуащ
лӏыр профессор-эу хъу-ащ
[ɬʼər profesoraw χʷaːɕ]
man.ABS professor.ADV {(s)he became}
"The man became a professor."
лӏыжьу
лӏыжъ-у
[ɬʼəʑəw
old man.ADV
щысар
щыс-а-р
ɕəsaːr
the one that sit
кӏуэжащ
кӏуэ-ж-ащ
kʷʼaʒaːɕ]
(s)he returned
лӏыжьу щысар кӏуэжащ
лӏыжъ-у щыс-а-р кӏуэ-ж-ащ
[ɬʼəʑəw ɕəsaːr kʷʼaʒaːɕ]
{old man.ADV} {the one that sit} {(s)he returned}
"The old man who had sat there, left."
лӏыр
лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
тхьэмаду
тхьэмад-у
tħamaːdəw
leader.ADV
дзэм
дзэ-м
d͡zam
army.OBL
къыхэкӏыжащ
къыхэкӏыжащ
qəxat͡ʃʼəʒaːɕ]
(s)he returned
лӏыр тхьэмаду дзэм къыхэкӏыжащ
лӏы-р тхьэмад-у дзэ-м къыхэкӏыжащ
[ɬʼər tħamaːdəw d͡zam qəxat͡ʃʼəʒaːɕ]
man.ABS leader.ADV army.OBL {(s)he returned}
"The man has returned from the army as an officer."

### Pro-drop

Kabardian is a pro-drop language. The subject and the object pronouns are sometimes omitted when verb conjugations reflect number and person.
* Both subject and object are mentioned :
щӏалэм
щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
пщащэр
пщащэ-р
pɕaːɕar
the girl.ABS
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
jaɬaʁʷə]
(s)he is seeing
щӏалэм пщащэр елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м пщащэ-р елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam pɕaːɕar jaɬaʁʷə]
{the boy.ERG} {the girl.ABS} {(s)he is seeing}
"the boy is seeing the girl"
* If the direct object is not mentioned :
щӏалэм
щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
jaɬaʁʷə]
(s)he is seeing
щӏалэм елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam jaɬaʁʷə]
{the boy.ERG} {(s)he is seeing}
"the boy is seeing him/her/it"
* If the subject is not mentioned :
пщащэр
пщащэ-р
[pɕaːɕar
the girl.ABS
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
jaɬaʁʷə]
(s)he is seeing
пщащэр елъэгъу
пщащэ-р елъэгъу
[pɕaːɕar jaɬaʁʷə]
{the girl.ABS} {(s)he is seeing}
"(s)he is seeing the girl"
* If both subject and object are not mentioned :
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
[jaɬaʁʷə]
(s)he is seeing
елъэгъу
елъэгъу
[jaɬaʁʷə]
{(s)he is seeing}
"(s)he is seeing him/her/it"

### Noun and adjective

In Kabardian, if a noun is accompanied by an adjective, the adjective is always placed right after the noun and also gets the grammatical role suffixes instead of the noun.
* Absolutive case
пщэщэ
[pɕaɕa
girl
дахэр
daːxar
the pretty.ABS
макӏуэ
maːkʷʼa]
(s)he is going
пщэщэ дахэр макӏуэ
[pɕaɕa daːxar maːkʷʼa]
girl {the pretty.ABS} {(s)he is going}
"the pretty girl is going"
* Ergative case
щӏалэ
[ɕʼaːɮa
boy
кӏыхьэм
t͡ʃʼəħam
the long.ERG
ешхы
jaʃxə
he is eating a/the
мыӏэрысэ
məʔarəsa]
the apple.ABS
щӏалэ кӏыхьэм ешхы мыӏэрысэ
[ɕʼaːɮa t͡ʃʼəħam jaʃxə məʔarəsa]
boy {the long.ERG} {he is eating a/the} {the apple.ABS}
"the long boy is eating the apple"
* Instrumental case
къэрэндащ
[qarandaːɕ
pencil
папцӏэмкӏэ
papt͡sʼamt͡ʃʼa
sharp.INS
сотхэ
sawtxa]
I am writing
къэрэндащ папцӏэмкӏэ сотхэ
[qarandaːɕ papt͡sʼamt͡ʃʼa sawtxa]
pencil sharp.INS {I am writing}
"I am writing with (using) the sharp pencil"

### Participle

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that does a specific verb (or something happened to him/it) can be represented with the verb word with the additional suffix -э (a) (for present tense -рэ (-ra)). For example:
* макӏуэ /maːkʷ'a/ – he is going → кӏуэр /kʷʼar/ – (one), who is going
* машхэхэ /maːʃxaxa/ – they are eating → шхэхэр /ʃxaxar/ – (ones), who are eating.
* лэжьащ /ɮaʑaːɕ/ – he worked → лэжьар /ɮaʑaːr/ – (one), who worked.
* лӏэнущ /ɬʼanəwɕ/ – he will die → лӏэнур /ɬʼanəwr/ – (one), who will die.
кӏуэр
кӏуэ-р
[kʷʼar
the person that is going.ABS
си
си
səj
my
къуэш
къуэш
qʷaʃ]
brother
кӏуэр си къуэш
кӏуэ-р си къуэш
[kʷʼar səj qʷaʃ]
{the person that is going.ABS} {my} {brother}
"the person that is going is my brother"

### Creating nouns from adjective

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that have a specific adjective can be presented with the adjective word with the additional noun case suffix (absolutive, ergative, etc.) For example:
* дахэ /daːxa/ – pretty → дахэр /daːxar/ – the pretty person (absolutive case).
* ӏэфӏ /ʔafʼə/ – tasty → ӏэфӏэр /ʔafʼar / – the tasty ones (absolutive case).
* щӏыӏэ /ɕʼəʔa/ – cold → щӏыӏэм /ɕʼəʔam/ – in the cold (ergative case).
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
хуабэм
хуабэ-м
xʷaːbam
the heat.ERG
хэт
хэт
xat]
(s)he is standing in
щӏалэр хуабэм хэт
щӏалэ-р хуабэ-м хэт
[ɕʼaːɮar xʷaːbam xat]
{the boy.ABS} {the heat.ERG} {(s)he is standing in}
"The boy is standing in the heat"

## Possessive

Possessive cases are one of the most important grammatical characteristics of nouns in the Circassian language. Singular Circassian nouns of the proprietary form are expressed by the following prefixes:
| Pronoun | Prefix | Example |
| First person | си- | си-тхы́лъ "my book"; |
| Second person | уи- | уи-тхы́лъ "your book"; |
| Third person | и- | и-тхы́лъ "his book". |
Plural nouns have these prefixes:
| Pronoun | Prefix | Example |
| First person | ди- | д-у́н "our home". |
| Second person | фи- | фи-у́н "your home". |
| Third person | я- | я-у́н "their home". |

## Demonstratives

Kabardian has three demonstratives: а /ʔaː/, мо /mo/ and мы /mə/.
а /ʔaː/
* that
    а ӏанэ — that table
    а пщащэ — that girl
    а щӏалэм жыӏэ — that boy is saying
* The determiner 'а' /ʔaː/ refer to a referent that is far away and invisible to both the speaker and the listener(s). It is similar to the English language determiner that, but with the condition that the referent has to be invisible or far away.
мо /maw/
* that
    мо ӏанэ — that table
    мо пщащэ — that girl
    мо щӏалэм жыӏэ — that boy is saying
* The determiner 'мо' refer to a referent that is visible and in a known distance from both the speaker and the listener(s) (both the speaker and the listener(s) can see the referent). It is similar to the English language determiner that, but with the condition that the referent has to be visible.
мы /mə/
* this
    мы ӏанэ — this table
    мы пщащэ — this girl
    мы щӏалэм жыӏэ — this boy is saying
* The determiner 'мы' refer to a referent that is close to both the speaker and the listener(s). It is exactly like the English language determiner this.

### Conjugation

The demonstratives can be used to express different things like:
    Location: адэ "there", модэ "there", мыдэ "here".
    Similarity: апхуэд "like that", мопхуэд "like", мыпхуэд "like this".

## Pronouns
### Personal pronouns

In Kabardian, only the first and second person, singular and plural, pronouns have dedicated words. Effectively speaking in terms of usage, а is the third person pronoun, however that is a demonstrative (for more details see here).
| Case | 1st-person | 1st-person | 2nd-person | 2nd-person |
| Case | singular | plural | singular | plural |
| Absolutive | сэsaсэsa | дэdaдэda | уэwaуэwa | фэfaфэfa |
| Ergative | сэsaсэsa | дэdaдэda | уэwaуэwa | фэfaфэfa |
| Instrumental | сэркӏэsart͡ʃʼaсэркӏэsart͡ʃʼa | дэркӏэdart͡ʃʼaдэркӏэdart͡ʃʼa | уэркӏэwart͡ʃʼaуэркӏэwart͡ʃʼa | фэркӏэfart͡ʃʼaфэркӏэfart͡ʃʼa |
| Adverbial | сэруsarəwсэруsarəw | дэруdarəwдэруdarəw | уэруwarəwуэруwarəw | фэруfarəwфэруfarəw |
сэ
сэ
[sa
I
тхылъым
тхылъы-м
txəɬəm
the book.ERG
седжащ
се-дж-ащ
sajd͡ʒaːɕ]
(s)he read
сэ тхылъым седжащ
сэ тхылъы-м се-дж-ащ
[sa txəɬəm sajd͡ʒaːɕ]
I {the book.ERG} {(s)he read}
"I read the book"
дэркӏэ
дэр-кӏэ
[dart͡ʃʼa
For us.INS
мы
мы
mə
this
шхыныр
шхыны-р
ʃxənər
the food.ABS
лъапӏэ
лъапӏэ
ɬaːpʼa]
expensive
дэркӏэ мы шхыныр лъапӏэ
дэр-кӏэ мы шхыны-р лъапӏэ
[dart͡ʃʼa mə ʃxənər ɬaːpʼa]
{For us.INS} this {the food.ABS} expensive
"This food is expensive for us"

### Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are мы "this", мо "that", а "that". There is a contradistinction between 'мы' and 'мо' on how far the referred object is. The pronoun 'а' is neutral on this matter. Third person pronouns are expressed as demonstrative pronouns.
| | Case | Demonstratives | Demonstratives | Demonstratives |
| | Case | а | мо | мы |
| Singular | Absolutive | арaːrарaːr | морmorморmor | мырmərмырmər |
| Singular | Ergative | абыaːbəабыaːbə | мобыmobəмобыmobə | мыбыməbəмыбыməbə |
| Singular | Instrumental | абыкӏэaːbət͡ʃʼaабыкӏэaːbət͡ʃʼa | мобыкӏэmobət͡ʃʼaмобыкӏэmobət͡ʃʼa | мыбыкӏэməbət͡ʃʼaмыбыкӏэməbət͡ʃʼa |
| Singular | Adverbial | арэуaːrawарэуaːraw | морэуmorawморэуmoraw | мырэуmərawмырэуməraw |
| Plural | Absolutive | ахэрaːxarахэрaːxar | мохэрmoxarмохэрmoxar | мыхэрməxarмыхэрməxar |
| Plural | Ergative | абыхэмaːbəxamабыхэмaːbəxam | мобыхэмmobəxamмобыхэмmobəxam | мыбыхэмməbəxamмыбыхэмməbəxam |
| Plural | Instrumental | абыхэмкӏэaːbəxamt͡ʃʼaабыхэмкӏэaːbəxamt͡ʃʼa | мобыхэмкӏэmobəxamt͡ʃʼaмобыхэмкӏэmobəxamt͡ʃʼa | мыбыхэмкӏэməbəxamt͡ʃʼaмыбыхэмкӏэməbəxamt͡ʃʼa |
| Plural | Adverbial | ахэрэуaːxarawахэрэуaːxaraw | мохэрэуmoxarawмохэрэуmoxaraw | мыхэрэуməxarawмыхэрэуməxaraw |
мыбы
мыбы
[məbə
This.ERG
щӏакхъуэ
щӏакхъуэ
ɕʼaːqχʷa
a bread
йошхы
йо-шхы
jawʃx]
(s)he eats
мыбы щӏакхъуэ йошхы
мыбы щӏакхъуэ йо-шхы
[məbə ɕʼaːqχʷa jawʃx]
This.ERG {a bread} {(s)he eats}
"This person/animal eats bread"
мыбыкӏэ
мыбы0кӏэ
[məbət͡ʼa
This way.INS
щӏалэр
щӏалэ0р
ɕʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
къакӏуэ
къа-кӏуэ
qaːkʷʼa]
(s)he is coming
мыбыкӏэ щӏалэр къакӏуэ
мыбы0кӏэ щӏалэ0р къа-кӏуэ
[məbət͡ʼa ɕʼaːɮar qaːkʷʼa]
{This way.INS} {the boy.ABS} {(s)he is coming}
"The boy is coming from this way"

### Possessive Pronouns

| Plurality | Person | Prefix | Prefix | meaning | example |
| Plurality | Person | Cyrillic | IPA | meaning | example |
| Singular | 1st person | си- | /səj-/ | "my" | сиунэ /səjwəna/ – my house; ситхылъ /səjtxəɬ/ – my book |
| Singular | 2nd person | уи- | /wəj-/ | "your" | уиунэ /wəjwəna/ – your house; уитхылъ /wəjtxəɬ/ – your book |
| Singular | 3rd person | и- | /jə-/ | "his" | иунэ /jəwəna/ – his house; итхылъ /jətxəɬ/ – his book |
| Plural | 1st person | ди- | /dəj-/ | "our" | диунэ /dəjwəna/ – our house; дитхылъ /dəjtxəɬ/ – our book |
| Plural | 2nd person | фи- | /fəj-/ | "your" | фиунэ /fəjwəna/ – your house; фитхылъ /fəjtxəɬ/ – your book |
| Plural | 3rd person | я- | /jaː-/ | "their" | яунэ /jaːwəna/ – their house; ятхылъ /jaːtxəɬ/ – their book |
си
си
[səj
my
унэ
унэ
wəna
house
фыкъакӏуэ
фы-къа-кӏуэ
fəqaːkʷʼa]
come.PL
си унэ фыкъакӏуэ
си унэ фы-къа-кӏуэ
[səj wəna fəqaːkʷʼa]
my house come.PL
"Come to my house"
ди
ди
[dəj
Our
машинэкӏэ
машинэ-кӏэ
maːʃinat͡ʃʼa
using the car.INS
къалэм
къалэм
qaːɮam
the city.ERG
докӏуэ
до-кӏуэ
dawkʷʼa]
we are going
ди машинэкӏэ къалэм докӏуэ
ди машинэ-кӏэ къалэм до-кӏуэ
[dəj maːʃinat͡ʃʼa qaːɮam dawkʷʼa]
Our {using the car.INS} {the city.ERG} {we are going}
"we are going to the city with our car"
| Case | 1st-person | 1st-person | 2nd-person | 2nd-person | 3rd-person | 3rd-person |
| Case | singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural |
| Absolutive | сэсийsasəjсэсийsasəj | дэдийdadəjдэдийdadəj | уэуийwawəjуэуийwawəj | фэфийfafəjфэфийfafəj | ийjəjийjəj | яйjaːjяйjaːj |
| Ergative | сэсыйsasəjсэсыйsasəj | дэдийdadəjдэдийdadəj | уэуийwawəjуэуийwawəj | фэфийfafəjфэфийfafəj | ийjəjийjəj | яйjaːjяйjaːj |
| Instrumental | сэсиемкӏэsasəjamt͡ʃʼaсэсиемкӏэsasəjamt͡ʃʼa | дэдиемкӏэtatəjamt͡ʃʼaдэдиемкӏэtatəjamt͡ʃʼa | уэуиемкӏэwawəjamt͡ʃʼaуэуиемкӏэwawəjamt͡ʃʼa | фэфиемкӏэʃʷaʃʷəjamt͡ʃʼaфэфиемкӏэʃʷaʃʷəjamt͡ʃʼa | иемкӏэjəjamt͡ʃʼaиемкӏэjəjamt͡ʃʼa | яемкӏэjaːjamt͡ʃʼaяемкӏэjaːjamt͡ʃʼa |
| Adverbial | сэсийуsasəjawсэсийуsasəjaw | дэдийуdadəjawдэдийуdadəjaw | уэуийуwawəjawуэуийуwawəjaw | фэфийуfafəjawфэфийуfafəjaw | иеуjəjawиеуjəjaw | яеуjaːjawяеуjaːjaw |

### Indefinite pronoun

In Kabardian whole one – зыгоруэ, Serves for indication of all notions corresponding to English words "someone", "something", "someone", "something", "sometime", "somewhere", etc. Зыгуэрэ changes either as noun – in number and in cases:
| Case | Singular form | Plural form |
| Absolutive | зыгуэрэzəɡʷaraзыгуэрэzəɡʷara | зыгуэрэхэрzəɡʷaraxarзыгуэрэхэрzəɡʷaraxar |
| Ergative | зыгуэрэмzəɡʷaramзыгуэрэмzəɡʷaram | зыгорэхэмэzəɡʷaraxamaзыгорэхэмэzəɡʷaraxama |
| Instrumental | зыгуэрэ(м)кӏэzəɡʷara(m)t͡ʃʼaзыгуэрэ(м)кӏэzəɡʷara(m)t͡ʃʼa | зыгуэрэхэ(м)кӏэzəɡʷaraxa(m)t͡ʃʼaзыгуэрэхэ(м)кӏэzəɡʷaraxa(m)t͡ʃʼa |
| Adverbial | зыгуэрэуzəɡʷarawзыгуэрэуzəɡʷaraw | зыгуэрэхэуzəɡʷaraxawзыгуэрэхэуzəɡʷaraxaw |

## Verbs

In Kabardian, like all Northwest Caucasian languages, the verb is the most inflected part of speech. Verbs are typically head final and are conjugated for tense, person, number, etc. Some of Circassian verbs can be morphologically simple, some of them consist only of one morpheme, like: кӏуэ "go", щтэ "take". However, generally, Circassian verbs are characterized as structurally and semantically difficult entities. Morphological structure of a Circassian verb includes affixes (prefixes, suffixes) which are specific to the language. Verbs' affixes express meaning of subject, direct or indirect object, adverbial, singular or plural form, negative form, mood, direction, mutuality, compatibility and reflexivity, which, as a result, creates a complex verb, that consists of many morphemes and semantically expresses a sentence. For example: укъазогъэпсэлъэж "I am forcing you to talk to them again" consists of the following morphemes: у-къы-я-с-о-гъэ-псэлъэ-ж, with the following meanings: "you (у) from there (къы) to them (я) I (с) am (о) forcing (гъэ) speak (псэлъэ) again (ж)".

### Transitivity

Verbs in Kabardian can be transitive (лъэIэс) or intransitive (лъэмыIэс). The main difference is that a base intransitive verb governs only over 1 argument, the subject in the absolutive/nominative case (-р), while a base transitive verb governs over 2 arguments, the subject in the ergative case (-м) and the direct object in the absolutive/nominative case (-р).
Below the intransitive verb плъэн "to look" and transitive verb лъагъун "to see Y" are used to demonstrate that. With лIы "man" and жыг "tree".
* лIыр плъэнщ: the man will look
* лIым жыгыр илъэгъунщ: the man will see the tree
One major difference between the two is that transitive verbs mark a third person subject while intransitives don't mark it. The simply reason is that the absolutive third person is a null-morpheme (∅-), while the ergative has dedicated morphemes for singular and plural (и- jə- and я- jaː-).
Below are a few further example sentences with intransitive verbs:
* Жэмахъуэр щытщ "The shepherd is standing (there)";
* Пэсакӏуэр макӏуэ "The security guard is going";
* Лӏыр мэжей "The man is sleeping".
Below are a few further example sentences with transitive verbs:
* Щӏалэм письмор етх "The boy is writing the letter";
* Пхъащӏэм уадэр къищтащ "The carpenter took out the hammer";
* Хьэм тхьэкIумэкӏыхьыр къиубыдащ "The dog has caught the hares".
There are also ambitransitive verbs (can be used as intransitive and transitive without (almost) any morphological change). Most of these are agentive, with only some being patientive. For example:
* тракторыр мавэ: "the tractor plows"
* тракторым щӀыр евэ: "the tractor plows the land"
* абджыр мэкъутэ "The glass is broken",
* щӏалэм абджыр екъутэ "The boy is breaking the glass".
Through valency increasing operations, both intransitive and transitive verbs can get one or more indirect objects. One frequent way is to use preverbs, for example the generic preverb е- "to/at". Thus intransitive verbs can also govern over 2 arguments only that the cases are switched (since the subject is in the absolutive and the indirect object in the ergative (oblique). For example:
* Щӏалэр пщащэм еплъащ "The boy looked at the girl",
* щIалэм мыIэрысэр пщащэм иритащ "the boy gave the apple to the girl"
* Лӏыр жыгым щӏэлъщ "The man lies under the tree".
* Щӏалэр тхылъым йоджэ "The boy reads the book".
Intransitive verbs can be turned into transitive with the causative affix -гъэ- (meaning "to force, to make"). For example:
* Ар мажэ "He is running", but Абы ар е-гъа-жэ "He forces him to run",
* Ар матхэ "He is writing", but Абы ар е-гъа-тхэ "He makes him write".
The verbs in the first sentences мажэ "is running", матхэ "is writing" are intransitive, and the verbs in the second sentences егъажэ "forces ... to run", егъатхэ "makes ... to write" are already transitive.

### Person Markers

The differentiation of person markers depends upon the parameters of person, number, and case. Interestingly, the first and second person markers bear a close resemblance to their respective pronouns.
Presented below are the foundational markers which are subject to change contingent upon their surrounding environment.
| | Absolutive | Ergative | Oblique |
| 1S | сы- | с- | с- |
| 2S | у(ы)- | у-/б- | у-/б- |
| 3S | ∅- | и- | ∅- |
| 1P | ды- | д- | д- |
| 2P | фы- | ф- | ф- |
| 3P | ∅- (-хэ) | я- | я- |
A cursory glance reveals that the markers undergo minimal transformations across the cases. The principal modification between absolutive and ergative markers is the -ы suffixed to the absolutive markers, and the inclusion of markers for the third person in the ergative case.
The second person singular marker warrants special attention. The true base form of the ergative is /w/, however because of the writing system, this doesn't get distinguished from the absolutive marker /wə/, as both are written with the letter <у>. In addition, in most places /w/ gets hardened, so that it might appear that б or п are the base forms.
Depending on the environment, the person markers change their phonological appearance.
The person marker gets the voicedness of the following consonant, i.e. voiceless, voiced or ejective, however, orthographically ejectivity is simply treated as voiceless.
* птхащ "you wrote it" from ∅-у-тхы-ащ
* тщIыну "we'll do it" from ∅-д-щIы-ну
* здзащ "I threw it" from ∅-с-дзы-ащ
Between vowels, the person markers get voiced.
* узолъэгъу "I see you" from у-с-о-лъэгъу
* къызоплъ "X looks at me" from ∅-къы-с+е-о-плъ
In front of consonants, the second person singular ergative у- marker gets hardened to a labial plosive. Before vowels and intervocalically there is more variation. E.g.:
* ибот "you give it to him" from ∅-∅+е-у-о-ты
* епт-а-щ "you gave it to him" from ∅-∅+е-у-ты-а-щ
* бухащ "you started it" from ∅-у-ух-а-щ
* къыуитащ "he gave it to you" from ∅-у+е-и-ты-а-щ
* къоплъ "he looks at you" from ∅-къы-у+е-плъы
* уухащ "you started it" from ∅-у-ух-а-щ

### The о- Prefix

The о- prefix is a morpheme which can't be neatly categorized, as it spans over various categories be it tense, mood, dynamicity and polarization. It is only used in positive, dynamic, indicative, present tense verbs.
Originally, this morpheme was probably *уэ-, however transformed into о- in most phonological contexts.
* сошх "I'm eating it" from ∅-с-о-шхы but сшхащ "I ate it" from ∅-с-шхы-а-щ
Most notably it transformed into мэ- word initially.
* мэлажьэ "he works" from ∅-о-лэжьэ but солажьэ "I eat" from сы-о-лэжьэ
* машхэ "he eats" from ∅-о-шхэ but сошхэ "I eat" from сы-о-шхэ
It and the ergative third person singular person marker и- combine into е-.
* ешх "he eats it" from ∅-и-о-шхы
While the ergative third person plural person marker я- eats it.
* яшх "they eat it" from ∅-я-о-шхы
It and the preverb е- combine into йо-.
* йоплъ "he looks at it" from ∅-∅+е-о-плъы

### Dynamic and static verbs

Kabardian verbs can be either dynamic or static.
Dynamic verbs express (process of) actions that are taking place (natural role of verbs in English):
    Сэ сожэ: "I am running";
    Сэ сокӏуэ: "I am going",
    Сэ солъэгъу: "I am seeing it",
    Сэ жызоӏэ: "I am saying it".
Static verbs express states or results of actions:
    Сэ сыщытщ: "I am standing",
    Сэ сыщылъщ: "I am lying.",
    Сэ сыпхъащӏщ: "I am a carpenter",
    Сэ сытрактористщ: "I am a tractor-driver".

### Tenses

| Tense | Suffix | Example | Meaning |
| Present | ~(р) /~(r)/ | макӏуэ /maːkʷʼa/ | (s)he is going; (s)he goes |
| Preterite | ~ащ /~aːɕ/ | кӏуащ /kʷʼaːɕ/ | (s)he went |
| Pluperfect | ~гъащ /~ʁaːɕ/ | кӏуэгъащ /kʷʼaʁaːɕ/ | (s)he went a long time ago" |
| Categorical Future | ~нщ /~nɕ/ | кӏуэнщ /kʷʼanɕ/ | (s)he will go |
| Factual Future | ~нущ /~nəwɕ/ | кӏуэнущ /kʷʼanəwɕ/ | (s)he will go, (s)he is about to go |
| Imperfect | ~(р)т /~(r)t/ | кӏуэ(р)т /kʷʼa(r)t/ | (s)he was going |
| Anterior Perfect (Perfect II) | ~ат /~aːt/ | кӏуат /kʷʼaːt/ | (then) (s)he went |
| Anterior Pluperfect | ~гъат /~ʁaːt/ | кӏуэгъат /kʷʼaʁaːt/ | (then) (s)he went a long time ago" |
| Future II Categorical | ~нт /~nt/ | кӏуэнт /kʷʼant/ | (s)he was about to go / (s)he would go |
| Future II Factual | ~нут /~nəwt/ | кӏуэнут /kʷʼanəwt/ | (s)he was about to go / (s)he would go |

### Valency

Verb valency is the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. It is very close to the concept of transitivity, in the sense that base intransitive verbs are monovalent, while base transitive verbs are bivalent.
Most operations in Kabardian are valency increasing operations, in frequency as well as in amount of morphemes. Those operations usually affect the transitivity, or rather any operations which affects the transitivity (almost) always affects the valency.
Among the valency increasing operations is the causative prefix and the various preverbs. E.g.:
* ар мажэ: he runs -> абы ар егъажэ: he makes him run
* ар матхэ: he writes -> абы ар егъатхэ: he makes him write
Among the valency decreasing operations is the reflexive person marker. E.g.:
* абы уэ уехуапэ: he clothes you -> абы зехуапэ: he dresses (lit. he clothes himself)
* хъыджэбзым хьэкъущыкъур итхьэщIащ: the girl washee the dishes -> хъыджэбзым зитхьэщIащ: the girl washee herself

#### Valency increasing

| Case | Prefix | Meaning | Example |
| Causative | гъэ~ [ʁa~] | "to force, to make" | гъэ-плъэн [ʁapɬan] "to make him look at" |
| Comitative | дэ~ [da~] | "with" | д-еплъын [dajpɬən] "to look with" |
| Benefactive | хуэ~ [xʷa~] | "for" | ху-еплъын [xʷajpɬən] "to look for" |
| Malefactive | фӏ~ [fʼa~] | "against one's interest" | фӏ-еплъын [fʼajpɬən] "to look against his interest" |
| Reflexive | зэ~ [za~] | "self" | зэ-плъын [zapɬən] "to look at oneself" |

### Moods
#### Imperative

The imperative mood denotes a command.
As its subject, the imperative mood can only have the second person as its subject. It is formed by stripping away all tense suffixes from the verb, with the specialty that the positive second-person singular form doesn't mark the subject. The negative is marked by мы-.
| infinitive | meaning | positive singular | negative singular | positive plural | negative plural |
| кIуэн | to go | кIуэ | умыкIуэ | фыкIуэ | фымыкIуэ |
| тхын | to write Y | тхы | умытх | фтхы | фымытх |
| къэщтэн | to take Y | къэщтэ | къыумыщтэ | къэфщтэ | къэвмыщтэ |

#### Conditional

Conditional mood is expressed with suffix -мэ: сы-кIуэ-мэ "if I go", сы-жэ-мэ "if I run", с-щIэ-мэ "if I do".

#### Concessive

Concessive mood is expressed with suffix -ми: сы-кIуэ-ми "even if I go", сы-жэ-ми "even if I run", с-щIэ-ми "even if I do".

#### Affirmative

Affirmative form is expressed with the affix -къэ: кӏуэ-къэ "isn't he is going?", гыщӏэ-къэ "isn't he washing?".

### Participle

Kabardian has a rich participle morphology.
Usually, all arguments of a verb can be the pivot of participles. In addition, there are participles which may denote place, time, reason, manner, etc, which are independent from the arguments.
Other than not being able to change the grammatical category of mood, participle can mark for everything else what normal verbs can.

#### Absolutive Participle

The absolutive participle denotes the absolutive argument of a verb. If that verb is intransitive, it refers to the subject, if it is transitive it refers to the direct object. Absolutive participles are marked by a null morpheme.
Intransitive verbs:
* кIуэр (kʷʼar): one, who goes (cf. кIуэн (kʷʼan): to go)
* жэр (ʒar): one, who runs (cf. жэн (ʒan): to run)
Intransitive verbs with preverbs:
* ежьэр (jaʑar): one, who waits for Y (cf. ежьэн jaʑan): to wait for Y)
* еплъыр (japɬər): one, who looks at Y (cf. еплъын (japɬən): to look at Y)
Transitive verbs:
* илъэгъур (jəɬaːʁʷər): one, whom X sees (cf. лъагъун (ɬaːʁʷən): to see Y)
* ишэр (jəʃar): one, whom X leads (cf. шэн (ʃan): to lead Y)
Transitive verbs with preverb:
* зэхихыр (zaxəjxər): one, whom X hears (cf. зэхэхын (zaxaxən): to hear Y)
* жыпIар (ʒəpʔaːr): that, what you said (cf. жыIэн (ʒəʔan): to say Y)
* иритыр (jərəjtər): that, what X gives to Z (cf. етын (jatən): to give Y to Z)

#### Ergative Participle

The ergative participle denotes the ergative argument of a verb. This participle is only present in transitive verbs and refers to the subject. It is marked by зы-.
Transitive verbs:
* зылъагъу (zəɬaːʁʷər): one, who sees Y (cf. лъагъун (ɬaːʁʷən): to see Y)
* зышэр (zəʃar): one, who leads Y (cf. шэн (ʃan): to lead Y)
Transitive verbs with preverb:
* жызыIар (ʒəzəʔaːr): one, who said Y (cf. жыIэн (ʒəʔan): to say Y)
* зэхэзыхыр (zaxazəxər): one, who hears Y (cf. зэхэхын (zaxaxən): to hear Y)
* езытыр (jazətər): one, who gives Y to Z (cf. етын (jatən): to give Y to Z)

#### Oblique Participle

The oblique participle denotes the oblique argument of a verb. This participle is present in every verb which has an oblique argument, usually only possible by having a preverb. It is marked by зы-. One can argue that it is simply the ergative participle, but simply applied on a preverb, however it may be useful to differentiate them, because oblique participles don't denote the subject of a verb (the ergative participle can only denote the subject) in addition they exist for transitive and intransitive verbs (the ergative participle only exists for transitive verbs).
Intransitive verbs with preverbs:
* зэжьэр (zaʑar): one, whom X waits for (cf. ежьэн jaʑan): to wait for Y)
* зэплъыр (zapɬər): one, who X looks at (cf. еплъын (japɬən): to look at Y)
* сызытесыр (səzətajsər): that, what I sit on (cf. тесын (tajsən): to sit on Y)
Transitive verbs with preverb:
* зыритыр (zərəjtər): one, to whom X gives Y (cf. етын (jatən): to give Y to Z)
Sentence Examples:
* дыгъуасэ хъыджэбз сызыхуэзар дахэщ (dəʁʷaːsa χədʒabz səzəxʷazaːr daːxaɕ): the girl, whom I met yesterday is pretty

#### Temporal Participle щы-

This participle denotes time as well as location, depending on the context. It is marked by щы-.
* щылажьэр (ɕəɮaːʑar): when, X works
Sentence examples:
* Ар щылажьэр унэрщ (aːr ɕəɮaːʑar wənarɕ): he works at home (lit. where he works is home)
* Ар щылажьэр сощIэ (aːr ɕəɮaːʑar sawɕʼa): I know where/when he works
* Уэ укъыщыкIуэжам щыгъуэ сэ унэм сыщыIакъым (wa wəqəɕəkʷʼaːm ɕəʁʷa sa wənam səɕəʔaːqəm): I wasn't home when you arrived
* Си шыпхъур къыщалъхуам щыгъуэ сэ илъэсибл сыхъуат (səj ʃəpχʷər qəɕaːɬxʷaːm ɕəʁʷa sa jəɬasəjbɮ səχʷaːt): When my sister was born, I was already seven years old.
* сыщилъэгъум, ар жащ (səɕəjɬaʁʷəm, ar ʒaːɕ): When he saw me, he ran away

#### Locative Participle зыдэ-

The locative participle denotes the place. It is marked by здэ-.
* здэлажьэр (zdaɮaːʑar): where, X works

#### Manner Participle зэры-

The manner participle denotes the manner. It is marked by зэры-.
* зэрылажьэр (zarəɮaːʑar): how, X works

#### Reason Participle щIэ-

The reason participle denotes the reason. It is marked by щIэ-.
* щIэлажьэр (ɕʼaɮaːʑar): reason, why X works

### Masdar

Masdar (a form of verb close to gerund) in the Kabardian language is expressed with the suffix -н:
    тхы-н "a write (writing)",
    жэ-н "a run (running)",
    щтэ-н "a take (taking)",
    псэлъэ-н "a talk (talking)",
    дзы-н "a throw (throwing)".
Masdar has grammatical cases:
    Absolutive жэны-р,
    Ergative жэны-м,
    Instrumental жэны-м-кӏэ,
    Adverbial жэн-у
and different forms for different person:
    сы-жэн "I will run",
    у-жэн "you will run",
    жэн "he will run".

### Negative form

In the Adyghe language negative form of a word is expressed with different morphemes (prefixes, suffixes). In participles, adverbial participles, masdars, imperative, interrogative and other forms of verbs their negative from is expressed with the prefix -мы, which, usually, goes before the root morpheme, that describes the main meaning:
    у-мы-тх "you don't write",
    у-мы-кӏу "you don't go",
    сы-къы-пхуэ-мы-щэмэ "if you can't bring me",
    у-къа-мы-гъа-к1уэмэ "if you aren't forced to come".
In verbs the negative meaning can also be expressed with the suffix -къым, which usually goes after the suffixes of time-tenses. For example:
    сы-тэджыр-къым "I am not getting up",
    сы-тэ-джа-къым "I have not got up",
    сы-тэджыну-къым "I will not get up".

### Positional conjugation

In Kabardian, the positional prefixes are expressing being in different positions and places and can also express the direction of the verb. Here is the positional conjugation of some dynamic verbs, showing how the prefix changes the indicated direction of the verb:
| Position | Prefix | Example | Example |
| Position | Prefix | Looking | Throwing |
| Body position/Pose | щы~ [ɕə~] | щеплъэ [ɕajpɬa] "(s)he is looking at that place" | щедзы [ɕajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at that place" |
| On | те~ [taj~] | теплъэ [tajpɬa] "(s)he is looking on" | тедзэ [tajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at" |
| Under | щӏэ~ [ɕʼa~] | щӏаплъэ [ɕʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking under" | щӏедзэ [ɕʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing under" |
| Through | хэ~ [xa~] | хаплъэ [xaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking through" | хедзэ [xajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing through" |
| Within some area | дэ~ [da~] | даплъэ [daːpɬa] "(s)he is looking at some area" | дедзэ [dajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at some area" |
| Inside an object | дэ~ [da~] | даплъэ [daːpɬa] "(s)he is looking inside an object" | дедзэ [dajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing inside an object" |
| Around | ӏу~ [ʔʷə~] | ӏуаплъэ [ʔʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking around" | ӏуедзэ [ʔʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing around" |
| Inside | и~ [jə~] | еплъэ [japɬa] "(s)he is looking inside" | редзэ [rajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing inside" |
| Hanged/Attached | пы~ [pə~] | пэплъэ [papɬa] "(s)he is searching by looking" | педзэ [pajd͡za] "(s)he is hanging by throwing" |
| Behind | къуэ~ [qʷa~] | къуаплъэ [qʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking behind" | къуедзэ [qʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing behind" |
| Aside | го~ [ɡʷa~] | гуаплъэ [ɡʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking aside" | гуедзэ [ɡʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing aside" |
| Against | пэӏу~ [paʔʷə~] | пэӏуаплъэ [paʔʷaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking against" | пэӏуедзэ [paʔʷajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing against" |
| Backwards | зэщӏ~ [zaɕʼ~] | зэщӏаплъэ [zaɕʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking backwards" | зэщӏедзэ [zaɕʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing backwards" |
| Inside within | кӏуэцӏы~ [kʷʼat͡sʼə~] | кӏуэцӏаплъэ [kʷʼat͡sʼaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking within inside" | кӏуэцӏедзэ [kʷʼat͡sʼajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing within inside" |
| Toward | кӏэлъы~ [kʲʼaɬə~] | кӏэлъэплъэ [ɬapɬa] "(s)he is looking toward" | кӏэлъедзы [ɬajd͡zə] "(s)he is throwing toward" |
| Past | блэ~ [bɮa~] | блэплъы [bɮapɬə] "(s)he is looking past" | бледзэ [bɮajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing past" |
| Over | щхьэпыры~ [ɕħapərə~] | щхьэпырыплъы [ɕħapərəpɬə] "(s)he is looking over" | щхьэпыредзэ [ɕħapərajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing over" |
| Directly | жьэхэ~ [ʑaxa~] | жьэхаплъэ [ʑaxaːpɬa] "(s)he is glaring at one's face" | жьэхедзэ [ʑaxajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at one's face" |
| Mouth | жьэдэ~ [ʑada~] | жьэдаплъэ [ʑadaːpɬa] "(s)he is looking at a mouth" | жьэдедзэ [ʑadajd͡za] "(s)he is throwing at a mouth" |
Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:
| | stands | sits | lies |
| Body position/Pose | щыт (ɕət) | щыс (ɕəs) | щылъ (ɕəɬ) |
| On | тет (tajt) | тес (tajs) | телъ (tajɬ) |
| Under | щIэт (ɕ’at) | щIэс (ɕ’as) | щIэлъ (ɕ’aɬ) |
| Among | хэт (xat) | хэс (xas) | хэлъ (xaɬ) |
| Within some area | дэт (dat) | дэс (das) | дэлъ (daɬ) |
| Behind | ӏут (ʔʷət) | ӏyc (ʔʷəs) | ӏулъ (ʔʷəɬ) |
| Inside | ит (jət) | иc (jəs) | илъ (jəɬ) |
| Hanged or attached | пыт (pət) | пыc (pəs) | пылъ (pəɬ) |
| Corner or behind | къуэт (qʷat) | къуэc (qʷas) | къуэлъ (qʷaɬ) |
| Side | гуэт (gʷat) | гуэc (gʷas) | гуэлъ (gʷaɬ) |
| In front of | пэӏут (paʔʷət) | пэӏуc (paʔʷəs) | пэӏулъ (paʔʷəɬ) |
| Inside within | кӏуэцӏыт (kʷʼat͡sʼət) | кӏуэцӏыс (kʷʼat͡sʼəs) | кӏуэцӏылъ (kʷʼat͡sʼəɬ) |
| Slope | кӏэрыт (kʲʼarət) | кӏэрыс (kʲʼarəs) | кӏэрылъ (kʲʼarəɬ) |
| Over | щхьэпырыт (ɕħapərət) | щхьэпырыс (ɕħapərəs) | щхьэпырылъ (ɕħapərəɬ) |
| Directly | жьэхэт (ʑaxat) | жьэхэс (ʑaxas) | жьэхэлъ (ʑaxaɬ) |
| Toward the mouth | жьэдэт (ʑadat) | жьэдэс (ʑadas) | жьэдэлъ (ʑadaɬ) |
Examples:
щыт – [someone or something] stands (as a pose);
Iут – [someone or something] stands (behind);
щIэт – [someone or something] stands (under)
тет – [someone or something] stands (above)
дэт – [someone or something] stands (between), etc.

## Adjectives

From the morphological point of view adjectives in the Circassian language are not very different from nouns. In combinations with nouns they lose their grammatical independence. Adjectives form their plural form the same way nouns do, they also use the same affixes to form different grammatical cases (from Absolutive to Adverbial).
Adjectives can be either qualitative or relative.
Adjectives can be in singular or plural form: хужы "white" (singular) – хужы-хэ-р "whites" (plural).
They switch grammatical cases similarly to nouns:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Absolutive | хужыр | хужыхэр |
| Ergative-Oblique | хужым | хужыхэм |
| Instrumental | хужы(м)кӏэ | хужыхэ(м)кӏэ |
| Adverbial | хужу | хужыху |
A qualitative adjective as a compliment in a sentence goes after the word it describes: к1алэ дэгъу "good boy", унэ лъагэ "high house"; a relative adjective goes before it: пхъэ уадэ "wooden hammer", гъущӏ пӏэкӏор "iron bed". In the second case adjectives do not change their form, only the appropriate nous do. For example: in plural – пхъэ унэ "wooden house".
In different grammatical cases:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Absolutive | пхъэ унэр | пхъэ унэхэр |
| Ergative-Oblique | пхъэ унэм | пхъэ унэхэм |
| Instrumental | пхъэ унэ(м)кӏэ | пхъэ унэхэ(м)кӏэ |
| Adverbial | пхъэ уну | пхъэ унэху |
Combining adjectives with nouns it is possible to produce a great lot of phrases: пщэщэ дахэ "beautiful girl", щӏалэ дэгъу "good boy", цӏыху кӏыхьэ "long man", гъуэгу занщӏэ "straight road", удз шхъуантӏэ "green grass" and so on. These phrases can be easily included into sentences. If a noun has a certain grammatical case, the adjective gets the suffix of the case instead of the noun, for example щӏэлэ лъэщы-р "the strong boy (abs.) and уадэ псынщӏэ-мкӏэ "using the light hammer (ins.).
Сэ
[sa
I
нобэ
nawba
today
пщэщэ
pɕaɕa
a girl
дахэ
daːxa
beautiful
слъэгъуащ
sɬaʁʷaːɕ]
I saw
Сэ нобэ пщэщэ дахэ слъэгъуащ
[sa nawba pɕaɕa daːxa sɬaʁʷaːɕ]
I today {a girl} beautiful {I saw}
"I have seen a beautiful girl today."
Дэ
[da
we
гъуэгу
ʁʷagʷ
road
занщӏэм
zaːnɕʼam
straight.ERG
дырыкӏуащ
dərəkʷʼaːɕ]
we were walking
Дэ гъуэгу занщӏэм дырыкӏуащ
[da ʁʷagʷ zaːnɕʼam dərəkʷʼaːɕ]
we road straight.ERG {we were walking}
"We were walking on the straight road."
Circassian qualitative adjectives also have comparative and superlative forms. For example: нэхъ хужы "whiter, more white" (comparative form) and янэхъ хужы "whitest, most white",
The Comparative degree is formed by auxiliary word нэхъ:
    Ар абы нэхъ лъагэ – he is higher than you,
    Нэхъ ины хъущ – He became bigger [More big became],
    Нэхъ лӏыгъэ къызхэбгъэлъын хуей – You must be braver.
The superlative degrees is formed by auxiliary word анахь (more than all...):
    Ар пщащэмэ янэхъ дахэ – She is the most beautiful among the girls,
    Ар псоми янэхъ лъагэ – It is the highest,
    Псэри шхын янэхъ дэгъумкӏэ игъэшхащ – (S)he feeds him with the tastiest meal,
    Ар псоми янэхъ лъэщ – He is the strongest.

### Affixes

The following suffixes are added to nouns:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
| ~щӏэ (~ɕʼa) | new | унащӏэ (new house) |
| ~жьы (~ʑə) | old | унэжьы (old house) |
| ~шхуэ (~ʃxʷa) | large | унэшхуэ (large house) |
| ~цӏыкӏу (~t͡sʼəkʷʼ) | small | унэцӏыкӏу (small house) |
The following suffixes are added to adjectives:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
| ~ӏуэ (~ʔʷa) | slightly | стырыӏуэ (slightly spicy) |
| ~щэ (~ɕa) | too much | дыджыщэ (too much bitter) |
| ~дэд (~dad) | very | дэгъудэд (very good) |
| ~кӏей (~t͡ʃʼej) | pretty | дэгъукӏей (pretty good) |
| ~ншэ (~nʃa) | lacking | акъылыншэ (mindless) |
Мы
[mə
this
джанэр
d͡ʒaːnar
shirt
уэркӏэ
wart͡ʃʼa
for you
иныӏуэ
jənəʔʷa]
slightly big
Мы джанэр уэркӏэ иныӏуэ
[mə d͡ʒaːnar wart͡ʃʼa jənəʔʷa]
this shirt {for you} {slightly big}
"This shirt is slightly big for you"
Мы
[mə
this
сурэтыр
səwratər
painting
дэхэдэд
daxadad]
very beautiful
Мы сурэтыр дэхэдэд
[mə səwratər daxadad]
this painting {very beautiful}
"This painting is very beautiful"

#### Opinion

To indicate a thought or an opinion of someone, the prefix фӏэ~ (fʼa~) is added to the adjective. This can also be used on nouns but it is very uncommon. For example:
* дахэ "pretty" → фӏэдах "it's pretty for him.
* дэхагъ "as pretty" → фӏэдэхащ "it was pretty for him.
* ӏэфӏ "tasty" → фӏэӏэфӏ "it is tasty for him.
* плъыжьы "red" → фӏэплъыжь "it is red for him.
щӏалэхэмэ
щӏалэ-хэ-мэ
[t͡ʃaːlaxama
the boys.ERG
яфӏэдахкъым
я-фӏэ-дахэ-къым
jaːʃʷadaːxap
it was not pretty for them
си
си
si
my
джанэ
джанэ
d͡ʒaːna]
shirt
щӏалэхэмэ яфӏэдахкъым си джанэ
щӏалэ-хэ-мэ я-фӏэ-дахэ-къым си джанэ
[t͡ʃaːlaxama jaːʃʷadaːxap si d͡ʒaːna]
{the boys.ERG} {it was not pretty for them} my shirt
"my shirt was not beautiful for the boys."

#### Scaliness of an adjective

The suffix ~гъэ (~ʁa) is appended to indicate a measure of a certain adjective. Usually it is used for measurable adjectives like length, height, weight, size, strength and speed but it can be used on any adjective such as good, tasty, beauty, etc. This suffix can be used to scale adjectives, for instance, the word ӏэфӏы-гъэ (from the adjective ӏэфӏы "tasty") can be used to express different levels/qualities of tastiness. This suffix turns the adjective to a noun.
* кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ – long → кӏыхьэгъэ /t͡ʃʼaħəʁa/ – length.
* ӏэтыгъэ /ʔatəʁa/ – high → ӏэтыгъагъэ /ʔatəʁaːʁa/ – height.
* псынщӏэ /psənɕʼa/ – fast → псынщӏагъэ /psənɕʼaːʁa/ – speed.
* хуабэ /xʷaːba/ – hot → хуабагъэ /xʷabaːʁa/ – heat.
* ӏувы /ʔʷəvə/ – wide → ӏувыгъэ /ʔʷəvəʁa/ – width.
* дахэ /daːxa/ – beautiful → дэхагъэ /daxaːʁa/ – beauty.
* ӏэфӏы /ʔafʼə/ – tasty → ӏэфӏыгъэ /ʔafʼəʁa/ – level of tastiness.
* дэгъу /daʁʷə/ – good → дэгъугъэ /daʁʷəʁa/ – level of goodness.
пхъэм
[pχam
the wood.ERG
и
jə
its
ӏувыгъэ
jəʔʷəvəʁa
width
65
65
65
сантиметр
saːntimetr]
centimeters
пхъэм и ӏувыгъэ 65 сантиметр
[pχam jə jəʔʷəvəʁa 65 saːntimetr]
{the wood.ERG} its width 65 centimeters
"The wood's width is 65 centimeters"
щӏалэм
[ɕʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
лъэщыгъэ
ɬaɕəʁa
strength
хэлъ
xaɬ]
it is laying in
щӏалэм лъэщыгъэ хэлъ
[ɕʼaːɮam ɬaɕəʁa xaɬ]
boy.ERG strength {it is laying in}
"The boy has strength in him."

#### State of the adjective

The suffix ~гъакӏэ (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) is appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the state of being the adjective", in contract to the suffix ~гъэ which is used to measure and scale the adjective. Some examples:
* кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ – long → кӏыхьэгъакӏэ /t͡ʃʼaħəʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – lengthiness; longness.
* псынщӏэ /psənɕʼa/ – fast → псынщӏэгъакӏэ /psənɕʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – speediness.
* кӏуащӏэ /kʷʼaːɕʼa/ – strong → кӏуэщӏэгъакӏэ /kʷʼaɕʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – strongness.
* лъэщ /ɬaɕ/ – strong → лъэщыгъакӏэ /ɬaɕəʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – strongness.
* дахэ /daːxa/ – pretty → дэхэгъакӏэ /daxaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ – prettiness.
сэ
сэ
[sa
I
мыӏэрысэм
мыӏэрыс-эм
məʔarəsəm
apple.ERG
и
и
jə
its
ӏэфӏыгъакӏэ
ӏэфӏы-гъакӏэ
ʔaʃʷʼəʁaːt͡ʃʼa
tastiness
сыкъегъатхъэ
сы-къ-е-гъа-тхъэ
səqajʁaːtχa]
I enjoy it
сэ мыӏэрысэм и ӏэфӏыгъакӏэ сыкъегъатхъэ
сэ мыӏэрыс-эм и ӏэфӏы-гъакӏэ сы-къ-е-гъа-тхъэ
[sa məʔarəsəm jə ʔaʃʷʼəʁaːt͡ʃʼa səqajʁaːtχa]
I apple.ERG its {tastiness} {I enjoy it}
"I enjoy the apple's tastiness."

## Adverbs

In the Kabardian language adverbs belong to these groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of quality and adverbs of amount.

### Adverbs of place

* адэ – "there" (invisible).
* модэ – "there" (visible).
* мыдэ – "here".
модэкӏэ
модэ-кӏэ
[modat͡ʃʼa
over there.INS
тучаныр
тучан-ыр
tut͡ʃaːnər
shop.ABS
ӏут
ӏут
ʔʷərt]
it is standing
модэкӏэ тучаныр ӏут
модэ-кӏэ тучан-ыр ӏут
[modat͡ʃʼa tut͡ʃaːnər ʔʷərt]
{over there.INS} shop.ABS {it is standing}
"The shop is placed over there."
адэ
адэ
[aːda
there
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
ɕʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
кӏуащ
кӏу-ащ
kʷʼaːɕ]
(S)he went
адэ щӏалэр кӏуащ
адэ щӏалэ-р кӏу-ащ
[aːda ɕʼaːɮar kʷʼaːɕ]
there boy.ABS {(S)he went}
"The boy went there."

### Adverbs of time

* нобэ – "today".
* дыгъуасэ – "yesterday".
* пщэдей – "tomorrow".
* мыгъэ – "this year".
* иджы – "now".
* иджыри – "still"
* иджыпсту – "right now".
* пщэдджыжьым – "at morning".
* шэджагъуэм – "at noon".
* жэщым – "in the night".
* зэманым – "in the past".
* етӏанэ – "afterwards"

### Adverbs of amount

* мащӏэ – "few".
* тӏэкӏу – "a bit".
* тӏэкӏурэ – "few times, for a short period of time".
* куэд "a lot".
* куэдрэ "a lot of times, for a long period of time".
* ӏаджэ "many".
щӏалэм
щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
boy.ERG
ахъщэ
ахъщэ
aːχɕa
money
куэд
куэд
kʷad
a lot
иӏ
иӏ
jəʔ]
(s)he has
щӏалэм ахъщэ куэд иӏ
щӏалэ-м ахъщэ куэд иӏ
[ɕʼaːɮam aːχɕa kʷad jəʔ]
boy.ERG money {a lot} {(s)he has}
"The boy has a lot of money."
жэщым
жэщы-м
ʒaɕəm
night.ERG
лӏыр
лӏы-р
ɬʼər
man.ABS
тӏэкӏурэ
тӏэкӏурэ
tʼakʷʼra
short period of time
макӏуэ
макӏуэ
maːkʷʼa]
(s)he went
жэщым лӏыр тӏэкӏурэ макӏуэ
жэщы-м лӏы-р тӏэкӏурэ макӏуэ
ʒaɕəm ɬʼər tʼakʷʼra maːkʷʼa]
night.ERG man.ABS {short period of time} {(s)he went}
"In the night, the man goes for a small period of time."

### Adverbs of quality

Adverbs of this group are formed from the appropriate qualitative adjectives using the suffix ~у /~w/. Adverbs in this group describe the manner in which the verb was done.
* къабзэ "clean" → къабзу "cleanly"
* жыжьэ "far" → жыжьу "far",
* псынщӏэ "quick" → псынщӏэу "quickly",
* дахэ "beautiful" → даху "beautifully",
* благъэ "near" → благъу "nearly".
* лъэщ "powerful" → лъэщу "powerfully".
* щабэ "soft" → щабу "softly"
* быдэ "firm" → быду "firmly"
щӏалэр
щӏалэ-р
[ɕʼaːɮar
boy.ABS
жыжьу
жыжь-у
ʒəʑəw
far.ADV
жащ
ж-ащ
ʒaːɕ]
(s)he ran
щӏалэр жыжьу жащ
щӏалэ-р жыжь-у ж-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮar ʒəʑəw ʒaːɕ]
boy.ABS far.ADV {(s)he ran}
"The boy ran far."
щӏалэм
щӏалэ-м
[ɕʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
шхыныр
шхын-ыр
ʃxənər
food.ABS
дэгъу
дэгъу-у
daʁʷəw
excellently
ищӏащ
ищӏ-ащ
jəɕʼaːɕ]
(s)he done it
щӏалэм шхыныр дэгъу ищӏащ
щӏалэ-м шхын-ыр дэгъу-у ищӏ-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮam ʃxənər daʁʷəw jəɕʼaːɕ]
{the boy.ERG} food.ABS excellently {(s)he done it}
"The boy done the food excellently."
пщащэр
пщащэ-р
[pɕaːɕar
the girl.ABS
даху
дах-у
daːxəw
beautifully
матхэ
матхэ
maːtxa]
(s)he writes
пщащэр даху матхэ
пщащэ-р дах-у матхэ
[pɕaːɕar daːxəw maːtxa]
{the girl.ABS} beautifully {(s)he writes}
"The girl writes beautifully."

## Unions

In English the word "and" is used to connect parts of speech with others, while in Circassian, there are different ways to connect different parts of speech with others.
| Case | Suffix | Suffix | Example |
| Case | Cyrillic | IPA | Example |
| Indefinite nouns | рэ | /ra/ | щӏалэ-рэ пщащэ-рэ къэкӏуахэщ "a boy and a girl came." |
| Definite nouns | мрэ | /mra/ | щӏалэ-мрэ пщащэ-мрэ къэкӏуахэщ "the boy and the girl came." |
| Pronouns | рэ | /ra/ | сэ-рэ о-рэ дыкӏуащ "You and I went." |
| Indefinite adjectives | ри | /ri/ | щӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-ри пщащэ дахэ-ри къэкӏуахэщ "a tall boy and a pretty girl came." |
| Definite adjectives | мри | /mri/ | щӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-мри пщащэ дахэ-мри къэкӏуахэщ "a tall boy and a pretty girl came." |
| Numbers | рэ | /ra/ | щӏэлэ тӏу-рэ пщащэ щы-рэ къэкӏуахэщ "two boys and three girls came." |
| Universal nouns | и | /i/ | щӏал-и пщащ-и къэкӏуахэщ "boys and girls came." |
| Adverbs | мкӏи | /mt͡ʃʼi/ | махуэ-мкӏи жэщы-мкӏи къэкӏуахэщ "they came in the day and in the night." |
The conjunctions ыкӏи /ət͡ʃəj/ "and" can also be used to connect different parts of speech.
    Verbs: Щӏалэр йоджэ ыкӏи матхэ "The boy reads and writes".
    Adjectives: Щӏалэр дахэ ыкӏи кӏыхьэ "The boy is handsome and tall".

## Conjunctions

Conjunctions in the Circassian language play the same role like in English, they are used to connect together, in different ways, words or parts of a difficult sentence. According to structure of Circassian conjunctions they can be separated into two groups: simple and complex.

### Simple conjunctions

Among simple Circassian conjunctions are:
* ыкӏи – "and".
* е – "or".
* ауэ – "but".
Сэ
[sa
I
сыкӏуащ
səkʷʼaːɕ
I went
къалэм,
qaːɮam
city.ERG
ауэ
aːwa
but
къэзгъэзэжакъым
qazʁazaʒaːqəm]
I didn't return
Сэ сыкӏуащ къалэм, ауэ къэзгъэзэжакъым
[sa səkʷʼaːɕ qaːɮam aːwa qazʁazaʒaːqəm]
I {I went} city.ERG but {I didn't return}
"I went to the city, but I haven't returned."

### Complex conjunctions

* арщхьэкӀэ – "because".
* aтӀэ – "in spite of".
* хьэмэ – "or".
* сыту – "as".
* щхьэкӀэ – "though".
* сыт щхьэкӀэ – "because (of) / why".
* папщӀэ – "for".
* папщӀэкӀэ – "as".
* щыгъуэ – "when".
* зэ-зэ – "first…then".
* е-е – "either-or".
* къудейуэ – "as soon as".
* ару – "just".
* пэтми – "although".
* щытмэ – "if".
* ипкъ иткӀэ – "therefore".
* къыхэкӀкӀэ – "because / that’s why".

## Particles

In the Circassian language participles are different both by their semantics and structure. Semantically they fall into the following groups: affirmative, negative, interrogative, intensive, indicatory and stimulating.
* дыдэ – "quite, very".
* уеблэмэ – "even".
* пIэрэ – "whether, really".
* мис – "here".
* мес – "there (near by)".
* кхъы1э – "please".
* нэхъ – "more".
* нэхърэ – "more than".
* хьэуэ – "no".
* нтIэ – "yes".
* акъудей (аркъудей) – "quite not".
* къудей – "just now".

## Postpositions

In the Circassian language, as well as in other Ibero-Caucasian languages, role of prepositions belongs to postpositions. It is difficult to define the exact count of postpositions in the Circassian language, because even such major parts of speech as nouns (from the point of view of their functionality) sometimes can be included into the group, together with some verb prefixes. For example, in the sentence Тхылъыр столым телъ "The book is lying on the table" the noun has no preposition, but the meaning remains clear because in the verb те-лъ "is lying" the prefix те- expresses something's being on a surface, so this form of the verb literally means "on the surface is lying".
Nouns and adverbs sometimes play role of postpositions. For example, nous that describe different parts of human body (head, nose, side and so on) sometimes function as postpositions. For example: Фызыр лӏым ипэ иту кӏуащ "The wife went in front of the husband" (the preposition "in front of" in the Circassian sentence is expressed by the phrase ипэ иту "being in front of his nose").
Nouns and pronouns combine with a postposition in the ergative grammatical case only. For example, the postposition деж "near, beside" requires a word in the ergative case:
* жыгы-м деж "near the tree".
Postpositions can attach possessive prefixes to themselves. For example, in singular:
* сэ с-а-деж "near me",
* о у-а-деж "near you",
* абы и деж "near him";
in plural:
* дэ д-а-деж "near us",
* фэ ф-а-деж "near you",
* ахэмэ я деж "near them".
The following words are used as postpositions in the Circassian language:
* ипIэкIэ "before".
* пщ1ондэ "before".
* щыгъуэ "during".
* икIуэцIкI "inside".
* лъандэ "since".
* къэскIэ "until".
* нэс "until".
* деж "near".
* дежкIэ "at".
* иужь "after".
* пащхьэ "in front of".
* щ1ыбагъ "behind".
* щIагъ "under".
* нэмыщI "except".
* фIэкIа "except".
* къэс "every".

## Word Formation
### Compounding
#### Noun + Noun

* адэ-анэ: parents (cf. адэ: father, анэ: mother)
* джэдкъаз: domesticated bird (cf. джэд: chicken, къэз: goose)
* мэкъумэш: harvest (cf. мэкъу: hay, анэ: millet)
* мастэIуданэ: sewing kit (cf. мастэ: ??, Iуданэ: needle)
* джанэгъуэншэдж: set of clothes (cf. джанэ: shirt, гъуэншэдж: pants)

#### Noun + Verb

This strategy is very similar to the English one, which gives words like pickpocket, cutthroat, scarecrow.
* пхъащIэ (pχaːɕʼa): carpenter (cf. пхъэ: wood, щIэн: to do Y)
* пщэдэлъ (pɕadaɬ): scarf (cf. пщэ: wood, дэлъын: to lie at Y)
* псышэ (psəʃa): water carrier (cf. псы: water, шэн: to lead Y)

### Derivation
#### -ей

A suffix denoting a tree.
* дей (daj): walnut/hazelnut tree (cf. дэ: nut)
* абрикосей (aːprəjkawsaj): apricot tree (cf. абрикос: apricot)
* балией (baːɮəjaj): cherry tree (cf. балий: cherry)

#### зэ-

* зэадэзэкъуэ (zaaːdazaqʷa): father and son
* зэанэзэпхъу (zaaːnazapχʷ): mother and daughter
* зэдэлъхузэшыпхъу (zadaɬxʷzaʃəpχʷ): brother and sister
* зэлӀзэфыз (zaɬʼzafəz): husband and wife
* зэныбжьэгъу (zanəbʑaʁʷ): friends

#### -тэ

This is an unproductive suffix, which creates new verbs from other verbs.
* лъэтэн (ɬatan): to fly (cf. лъэн: to jump)
* кIуэтэн (kʷʼatan): to move (cf. кIуэн: to go)
* къутэн (qʷətan): to break Y (cf. къун: to beat Y up)

## Numbers

* Numbers from zero to ten are specific words
    1 зы
    2 тӀу
    3 щы
    4 плӀы
    5 тху
    6 хы
    7 блы
    8 и
    9 бгъу
    10 пщӏы
* Numbers from eleven to nineteen are built with the word for ten, followed by кӏу ([kʷʼə]) and the unit digit:
    11 пщӏыкӀуз [pɕʼəkʷʼəz]
    12 пщӏыкӀутIу [pɕʼəkʷʼətʷʼ]
    13 пщӏыкӀущ [pɕʼəkʷʼəɕ]
    14 пщӏыкӀуплI [pɕʼəkʷʼəpɬʼ]
    15 пщӏыкӀутху [pɕʼəkʷʼətxʷ]
    16 пщӏыкӀух [pɕʼəkʷʼəx]
    17 пщӏыкӀубл [pɕʼəkʷʼəbɮ]
    18 пщӏыкӀуй [pɕʼəkʷʼəj]
    19 пщӏыкӀубгъу [pɕʼəkʷʼəbʁʷ]}
* The tens follow a vigesimal system from forty up, with the exception of fifty:
    20 тӀощӏ [tʷʼaɕʼə] (20)
    21 тӀощӏэ зырэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra zəra] (20 and 1)
    22 тӀощӏэ тIурэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra tʷʼəra] (20 and 2)
    23 тӀощӏэ щырэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra ɕəra] (20 and 3)
    30 щэщӏ [ɕaɕʼ] (30)
    31 щэщӏрэ зырэ [ɕaɕʼra zəra] (30 and 1)
    32 щэщӏрэ тIурэ [ɕaɕʼra tʷʼəra] (30 and 2)
    40 плIыщI [pɬʼəɕʼ] (20 × 2)
    50 тхущI,[txʷəɕʼ] (half-hundred)
    60 хыщI,[xəɕʼ] (20 × 3)
    70 блыщI [bɮəɕʼ] (20 × 3 and 10)
    80 ищI [jəɕʼ] (20 × 4)
    90 бгъущI [bʁʷəɕʼ] (20 × 4 and 10)
* One hundred is щэ (ɕa). The hundreds are formed by the hundred word root (щ (ɕ)) followed by -и-
(-i-) and the multiplier digit root.
    100 щэ (ɕa)
    101 щэрэ зырэ (ɕara zəra) (100 and 1)
    110 щэрэ пщӏырэ (ɕara pʃʼəra) (100 and 10)
    200 щитӀу (ɕitʷʼ) (100 × 2)
    201 щитӀурэ зырэ (ɕitʷʼəra zəra) (200 × 2 and 1)
    300 щищ (ɕiɕ) (100 × 3)
    400 щиплӀ (ɕipɬʼ) (100 × 4)
    500 щитху (ɕitxʷ) (100 × 5)
    600 щих (ɕix) (100 × 6)
    700 щибл (ɕibɮ) (100 × 7)
    800 щий (ɕij) (100 × 8)
    900 щибгъу (ɕibʁʷ) (100 × 9)
* One thousand is мин (min). The thousands are formed by the thousand word root (мин (məjn))
followed by -и- (-i-) and the multiplier digit root.
    1000 мин (min)
    1001 минрэ зырэ (minra zəra) (1000 and 1)
    1010 минрэ пщӏырэ (minra pʃʼəra) (1000 and 10)
    1100 минрэ щэрэ (minra ɕara) (1000 and 100)
    2000 минитӀу (minitʷʼ) (1000 × 2)
    3000 минищ (miniɕ) (1000 × 3)
    4000 миниплӀ (minipɬʼ) (1000 × 4)
    5000 минитху (minitxʷ) (1000 × 5)
    6000 миних (minix) (1000 × 6)
    7000 минибл (minibɮ) (1000 × 7)
    8000 миний (minij) (1000 × 8)
    9000 минибгъу (minibʁʷ) (1000 × 9)
    10000 минипщӏ (minipʃʼ) (1000 × 10)
    11000 минипщӀыкӀуз (minipʃʼəkʷʼəz) (1000 × 11)
    12000 минипщӀыкӀутIу (minipʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼ) (1000 × 12)
    20000 минитӀощӏ (minitʷʼaɕʼə) (1000 × 20)
    100000 минищэ (miniɕa) (1000 × 100)
    200000 минищитӀу (miniɕitʷʼ) (1000 × 200)
When composed, the hundred word takes the -рэ (-ra) suffix, as well as the ten and the unit if any (e.g.: щэрэ зырэ (ɕara zəra) [101], щэрэ тIурэ (ɕara tʷʼəra) [102], щэрэ пщӀыкӀузырэ (pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼəra) [111], щитӀурэ щэщӀырэ плIырэ (ɕitʷʼəra ɕat͡ʃəra pɬʼəra) [234]).

### Ordinal numbers

* Except апэрэ/япэрэ – first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For
example: ятIунэрэ – second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ – third (jaːɕənara), яплIынэрэ – fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).
    first – Япэ [jaːpa]
    second – ЕтIуанэ [jatʼaːna]
    third – Ещанэ [jaɕaːna]
    firth – Еянэ [jajaːna]
    tenth – ЕпщIанэ [japɕʼaːna]
    eleventh – ЕпщыкIузанэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəzaːna]
    sixteenth. – ЕпщыкIуханэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəxaːna]

### Discrete numbers

    Зырыз – in ones, one by one
    ТIурытI – in twos, two by two
    Щырыщ – in threes, three by three
    ПлIырыплI – in fours, four by four
    Тхурытху – in fives, five by five
    Хырых – in sixes, six by six
    Блырыбл – in sevens, seven by seven
    Ири – in eights, eight by eight
    Бгъурыбгъу – in nines, nine by nine
    ПщIырыпщI – in tens, ten by ten

### Fractional numbers

    half (1÷2) – Ныкъуэ [nəqʷa]
    one third (1÷3) – щанэ [ɕaːna]
    two thirds (2÷3) – щанитӏу [ɕaːnitʷʼ] (1÷3 × 2)
    one fourth (1÷4) – плӀанэ [pɬʼaːna]
    two fourths (2÷4) – плӀанитӏу [pɬʼaːnitʷʼ] (1÷4 × 2)
    three fourths (3÷4) – плӀанищ [pɬʼaːniɕ] (1÷4 × 3)
    one fifth (1÷5) – тфанэ [tfaːna]
    one sixth (1÷6) – ханэ [xaːna]
    one seventh (1÷7) – бланэ [blaːna]
    one eighth (1÷8) – янэ [jaːna]
    one ninth (1÷9) – бгъуанэ [bʁʷaːna]
    one tenth (1÷10) – пщӀанэ [pʃʼaːna]
    one eleventh (1÷11) – пщӀыкӏузанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼəzaːna]
    one twelfth (1÷12) – пщӀыкӏутӏуанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼaːna]
    one twentieth (1÷20) – тӏощӏанэ [tʷʼaɕʼaːna]
    one hundredth (1÷100) – щанэ [ɕaːna]