# Mirad/Grammar
### Introduction

    This textbook presents Version 1 of Mirad, formerly known as Unilingua. For the Version 2 grammar and dictionary, see Mirad Grammar.

### Spelling

    The author of Unilingua, Agapoff, uses a double quote to signal capitalization and thus dispenses with all majuscules. In this Mirad textbook, however, majuscules (upper case graphemes) are used and capitalization adheres to the American English model.
    In this book, the mostly Cyrillic single-grapheme characters used by Agapoff for iotacized vowels are replaced with the following system:
    Pre-iotacized vowels, that is, those preceded by a y-glide sound, take an acute accent:
| plain vowel | pre-iotacized vowel |
| a | á (ya) |
| e | é (ye) |
| i | í (yi) |
| o | ó (yo) |
| u | ú (yu) |
    Post-iotacized vowels, that is, those followed by a y-glide sound, take a grave accent:
| plain vowel | post-iotacized vowel |
| a | à (ay) |
| e | è (ey) |
| i | ì (iy) |
| o | ò (oy) |
| u | ù (uy) |
    Circum-iotacized vowels, that is those that are both preceded and followed by a y-glide sound, take a circumflex accent:
| plain vowel | circum-iotacized vowel |
| a | â (yay) |
| e | ê (yey) |
| i | î (yiy) |
| o | ô (yoy) |
| u | û (yuy) |
    A pre-iotacized vowel always begins a new vowel syllabic nucleus, whereas a post-iotacized vowel ends a vowel syllabic nucleus.
    Upper-case vowels take the iotacizing accents just as the lower-case values do (thus Á, È, Ô, etc.

### Punctuation

    The punctuation marks in Mirad are the same as in English. For example, a question mark (?) is used at the end of a sentence or sentence fragment to signal an interrogation.

### Nouns
#### Structure

    All nouns in their base form end in a consonant. This distinguishes them from adjectives and conjugated verbs, which end in a vowel.

#### Pluralization

    Nouns are made plural by adding the suffix -i.
| singular | plural |
| tob man | tobi men |
| dat friend | dati friends |
| car instrument | cari instruments |

#### Femininization

    Although nouns do not have inherent gender, the feminine or female-related counterpart of a noun can be formed by post-iotacizing the ordinal (inner) vowel, that is, by adding the grave accent ` to the vowel. If the vowel is already pre-iotacized (with an acute accent), then the acute accent is replaced with a circumflex (^) (circum-yodification) to show that it is both pre-iotacized and post-iotacized.
| male-related | female-related |
| tad father | tàd mother |
| tob man | tòb woman |
| tóáv sock | tóâv stocking |
| epet bull | epèt cow |

#### Case Tagging

    Nouns can take the following case endings, which are shortcuts for prepositional phrases:
| case ending | category | base | cased form |
| -a | genetive/possessive/relative/ablative [origin] | tob man | toba of the man, human (adj.), man's, from the man |
| -u | locative/dative [destination] | tam house | tamu to the house, (at) home, for the house |
| -à | comitive [accompaniment] | at I, me | atà with me |
| -è | instrumental [means] | és work | ésè through / by / via work |
| -ò | privative ["without"] | tec meaning | tecò without meaning, senseless |
    Examples of the genetive/possessive case:
       Meira zem ce gra ama. = The earth's core is very hot.
       Ata ted tome íbà. = My father lives far away.
       Ed et te dad ifana? = Do you know the language of love?
    Examples of the locative/dative case:
       Pu tamu! = Go home!
       Ít peé tamu. = She is staying at home / in the house / home.
       At teaco et uda moju. = I'll see you this evening. (= at this evening)
       Buu dén atu! = Give the book to me!
       Ev ud ce atu? = Is this for me?
    Examples of the comitive case:
       Upu atà! = Come with me!
       Ud ca ekpan tija tujà. = This was a life-and-death struggle.
       At ubeé uda ébdren ifanà. = I am sending you this letter with love.
    Examples of the instrumental case:
       Et vege nacikcer anà esè. = You can get rich only through work.
       It aksa koenè ván. = He succeeded by hiding the truth.
       Ágpar pa Parisè. = The train went through Paris.
    Examples of the privative case:
       Et vò vege akser nacò. = You cannot succeed without money.
       Tij ifanò vò naze ser. = Life without love is not worth living.
       Od et su atò? = What would you do without me.

### Pronouns
#### Forms

    All animate pronouns (those referring to people) end in t in their base form, while all inanimate pronouns (those referring to things) end in d in their base form. Pronouns can be singular or plural. All plural pronouns take the plural suffix i.
| animate | animate |
| singular | plural |
| ot? who?, whom? | oti? who all? |
| at I, me | ati we, us |
| et you | eti* you (pl.), you all |
| it he, him, that person | iti they, these persons |
| ìt she, her | ìti they (fem.) |
| ut this person, he | uti those persons, they |
| ót nobody, no one | óti none |
| át everyone, everybody, each person | áti all |
| ót another, someone else | éti others |
| ít such a person | íti such people |
| ét whoever, anyone | óti any |
| út someone, somebody | úti certain people |
| oát not a single person, nobody, no one | |
| get the same person | geti the same ones |
| oget someone else | ogeti others |
| gat another one | gati several |
| singular | plural |
| od what | odi what things |
| ad that (relative), the one | adi the things that |
| id that | idi those things |
| ud this | udi these things |
| ód nothing | ódi nothing |
| ád everything, each | ádi all things |
| ód something else, another | édi other things |
| íd such a thing | ídi such things |
| éd whatever, anything | édi any |
| úd something | údi some things, certain things |
| oád not a single thing, nothing | oádi none |
| ged the same thing | gedi the same things |
| oged something else | ogedi other things |
| gad another one | gadi several things |
** Note: Agapoff prefers ait, eit, iit for ati, eti, and iti.

#### Inflection

    All pronouns can take cases, just as nouns do:
| genetive/possessive ("of") ablative ("from") adjectival | dative ("to/in/on/at") locative | comitive ("with") | instrumental ("by/through/via") | privative ("without") |
| ata my, of me, from me | atu to me | atà with me | atè by me | atò without me |
| eta your, of you, from you | etu to you | età with you | etè by you | etò without you |
| ita his, of him, from him | itu to him | ità with you | itè by him | itò without him |
| ìta her, of her, from her | ìtu to her | ìtà with her | ìtè by her | ìtò without her |
| atia our, of us, from us | atiu to us | atià with us | atiè by us | atiò without us |
| ota whose?, of whom?, from whom? | otu to whom | otà with whom | otè by whom | otò without whom |
| áta everyone's | átu to everyone | átà with everyone | átè by everyone | átò without everyone |
| oda which, of what, from what | odu to which, at which, in which | odà with what? | odè by what?, how? | odò? without what? |
| ida that, of that, from that, those | idu to that, at that, in that | idà with that | idè by that, thus | idò' without that |
| uda this/these, of this, from this | udu to/at this, therefore | udà with this | udè by this, thus | udò without this |
| áda every, each, all | ádu to everything, in everyting | ádà with everything | ádè by everything, by all means | ádò without everything |
| óda not, not a | ódu to nothing | ódà with nothing | ódè by nothing | ódò without nothing |
| oáda not a single, no | oádu in not a single one, to none | oádà with nothing | oádè by nothing, in no way | -- |
| éda any, whichever | édu to anything | édà with whatever | édè by whatever, however | édò without whatever |
| úda some, a certain | údu at a certain thing | údà with something | údè by something, somehow | údò without something |
| geda same, the same | gedu to the same thing | gedà with the same thing | gedè by the same thing | gedò without the same thing |
| ogeda different, the other, another | ogedu to another thing | ogedà with another thing | ogedè by something else | ogedò without another thing |

#### Possessive Pronouns

    Any of the above pronominal adjective forms can be substantivized by adding -c. The resulting possessive pronouns can then take the plural affix and case endings.
| singular | plural |
| atac mine | ataci mine |
| etac yours | etaci yours |
| itac his | itaci his |
| ìtac hers | ìtaci hers |
| atiac ours | atiaci ours |
| etiac yours | etiaci yours |
| itiac theirs | itiaci theirs |
| ìtiac theirs | ìtiaci theirs |
| utac one's | utaci one's |
| otac? whose? | otaci whose |
| átac everyone's | átaci everyone's |
| ótac nobody's | ótaci nobody's |
| odac? which one | odaci which ones |
| ódac the other one | ódaci the other ones |
| udac this one | udaci these |
| idac that one | idaci those |
| ádac each one | ádaci all of them |
| édac any one, whichever one | édaci whichever ones |
    Any of the above substantival pronouns can take case endings:
| Mirad | English |
| ataca | of mine |
| otacà | with whose |
| átacu | to everyone's |
| udacò | without this one |
    Examples:
| Mirad | English |
| Uda tam ce atac. | That house is mine. |
| Oda déni et dédaé? | Which books have you read? |
| Ída tej aju vò teacâe. | Such a life has not been seen before. |
| Buu atu udi! | Give me those! |
| Áda tej nazace. | Every life counts. |
| Ádac nazace. | Each one counts. |
| Áta tej nazace. | Everyone's life counts. |
| Átac nazace. | Everyone's counts. |
| Áda évcunuti kode. | All lawyers lie. |
| Áti kode. | All of them lie. |
| Át kodeé. | Everyone is lying. |
| Ád ce kod. | Everything is a lie. |
| Mar ce zem áda. | The sun is the center of everything. |
| Ót ége kaer if ádu. | One can find pleasure in everything. |
| If ége uper bi éd. | Pleasure can come from anything. |
| Ud ce ga fia vél id (or: ga fia idu). | This is better than that. |
| Od ce eta dún? | What is your name? |
| At vage éd et vage. | I want what(ever) you want. |
| At vò ta ev it upo. | I didn't know whether he would come. |
| At ta ad it upo. | I knew (that) he would come. |
| Ad tej ce gúa vò vege vodé. | That life is hard cannot be denied. |
| Ev it íztejo vò twe. | Whether he will survive is unknown. |
| At vò te ev it íztejo. | I don't know if he'll survive. |
| Ad ìt sa ce ota seun. | What she did is nobody's business. |
| Atac ce ga aga vé etac. | Mine is bigger than yours. |
| Odac ce etac. | Which one is yours? |
| Édac cu fia atu. | Whichever one would be fine for me. |
| Otac ce ud? | Whose is this? |
| Otaci ce udi? | Whose are these? |
| Ev et co ata dat? | Are you going to be my friend? |
| Oádad ifca atu. | I did not like a single one. |
| Odè ìt tujswa? | How (by what) was she killed? |
| Otà et pa? | With whom did you go? |
| ...otacò ait vò vegu íztejer. | ...without whose we could not survive. |
| Odu et sa id? | Why (for what) did you do it (that)? |
| Iti údè kaa mep. | They somehow found the way. |
| Ébdren drwa atà otè? | The letter was written to me by whom? |
| Ota tamu et peé? | To whose house are you going? |
| Otacu et peé? | To whose are you going? |

### Correlatives

    By "correlatives" is meant a set of functional words in the languages than can be arranged in a matrix, all sharing a set of "deictic" or "specifier" prefixes. For example, the English words "which, what, where, why, when, how, who, whether, etc." can be considered part of a matrix of correlatives, because they all ask a question about topics such as "place", "time", "manner", and are therefore called "interrogative correlatives." The situation is similar in Unilingua. Note, however, that some of the correlative words in the chart below are slightly different from those invented by the original author of Unilingua.

#### Deictic morphemes (specifiers)

| category | deictic morpheme |
| interrogative | od- which, what |
| relative | ad- the, the one which |
| proximal | ud- this |
| distal | id- that |
| intensive | íd- so, such a |
| generic | úd- some, a certain |
| distributive | ád- all, every, each |
| indeterminate | éd- any, whatever |
| negative | ód- no, not any |
| identical | ged- same, selfsame |
| non-indentical | oged- different, other |

#### Dimensional Classifiers

    The above deictic morphemes combine with the following dimensional classifiers to form a whole matrix of functional deictic correlatives:
| category | classifier | short version |
| person | -t | |
| thing | -d | |
| place | -em | m |
| time | -job | j |
| manner/means | -è | |
| quality/kind | -én | |
| quantity | -gan | |
| degree | -nog | |
| frequency | -jig | |

#### Matrix of Deictic Correlatives

| thing | person | adjective | place | time | manner | kind | frequency | quantity | degree |
| od what | ot who | oda which | odmu where | odju when | odè how | odéna what kind of | odjigu how often | odganu how much | odnogu how |
| ud this | ut this person | uda this | udmu here | udju now | udè this way | udéna this kind of | udjigu this often | udganu this much | udnogu to this extent |
| id that | it that person, he | ida that | idmu there | idju then | idè that way, thus | idéna that kind of | idjigu that often | idganu that much | idnogu to that extent |
| íd such a thing | ít such a person | ída such, such a | ídmu at such a place | ídju at such a time | ídè in such a way, so | ídéna such a | ídjigu so often | ídganu so much | ídnogu so |
| úd something | út someone | úda some, a certain | údmu somewhere | údju sometime | údè somehow | údéna some kind of | údjigu sometimes | údganu some | údnogu somewhat |
| ád everything | át everyone | áda every, each | ádmu everywhere | ádju every time, always | ádè in every way | ádéna every kind of | ádjigu at all times | ádganu all of | ádnogu completely |
| éd whatever, anything | ét whoever, anyone | éda whichever, any | édmu wherever, anywhere | édju whenever, anytime | édè however, in any way | édéna whatever kind of | édjigu however often | édganu however much, any | édnogu to any extent |
| ód nothing | ót nobody | óda no, not a | ódmu nowhere | ódju never | ódè in no way | ódéna no kind of | ódjigu not once | ódganu not any, no | ódnogu not at all |
| ged the same thing | get the same person, self | geda the same, the very | gedmu at the same place | gedju at the same time | gedè in the same way | gedéna the same kind of | gedjigu as often | gedganu, ge as much | gednogu, ge to the same degree, as |
| oged something else | oget someone else | ogeda the other, another | ogedmu elsewhere | ogedju at another time | ogedè elsewise | ogedéna another kind of | ogedjigu at a different frequency | ogedganu not as much | ogednogu otherwise |

#### Basic deictic adjectives / Determiners

| category | determiner | example |
| indefinite/unary | a a | a tam a house |
| definite/relative | ada the | ada tam the house, ada tami the houses |
| interrogative | oda which | oda dén which book, oda déni which books |
| proximal | uda this, these | uda pat this bird, uda pati these birds |
| distal | ida that, those | ida pat that bird, ida pati those birds |
| negative | óda no | óda mep no road, óda mepi no roads |
| totalative | áda every, all, each | áda mep every road, áda mepi all roads |
| indeterminate | éda any, whichever | éda voz any color, éda vozi whichever colors |
| intensive | ída such a, such | ída dún such a name, ída dúni such names |
| partitive | úda some, a certain, certain | úda tob some man, úda tobi certain men |
| identical | geda same | geda dún the same name |
| non-identical | ogeda different, other | ogeda dún different name, another name |
| quasi-identical | gèda similar | gèda ceus a similar sound |
| superior | ga more | ga nac vél at more money than I |
| equal | ge as much, as many | ge job vél et vage as much time as you want |
| inferior | go less, fewer | go és less work |
| majorative | gla a lot, much | gla if a lot of fun |
| quasi-majorative | glà a goodly portion of, several | glà jubi several days |
| excessive | gra too much, too many | gra tel too much food |
| maximal | gá most | gá poti most animals |
| sufficient | gé enough, quite a bit | gé job enough time |
| minorative | glo very little, very few | glo auti very few individuals |
| insufficient | gro too little, too few | gro ék too little effort |
| minimal | gó the least | gó ék the least effort |
    Note: Nouns in Mirad are not normally accompanied by a definite article (the) or an indefinite article (a/an). The word tob can mean man, a man, or the man, depending on circumstances. Where further definition is required, a, the numeric or deictic adjective one, can be used for the indefinite article, while ada, the deictic adjective the can be used for the definite article.

#### Deitic pronouns
##### Inanimate pronouns

| singular | plural |
| od? what? | odi? what (things) |
| ad the thing (that) | adi the things (that) |
| ud this | udi these |
| id that | idi those |
| ád everything | ádi all things |
| éd anything, whatever | édi any things |
| íd such, such a thing | ídi such things |
| ód nothing | ódi none |
| úd something | údi certain things |
| ged the same thing | gedi the same things |
| oged another, something else | ogedi other things |
| gèlac a similar thing | gèlaci similar things |
| gac more | gaci more things |
| gec as much | geci as many things |
| goc less | goci fewer things |
| glac a lot, much | glaci many things |
| glàc a goodly portion | glàci several things |
| grac too much | graci too many things |
| gác the most | gáci most things |
| géc enough, quite a bit | géci quite a few things |
| gloc very little | gloci few things |
| groc too little | groci too few things |
| góc the least | góic as few things as possible |

##### Animate pronouns

| singular | plural |
| ot? who? | oti who (pl.) |
| at I | ati we |
| et you | eti you (pl.) |
| ut this person, this one | uti these |
| it that person, that one | iti those |
| át everyone | áti all people |
| ét anyone, whoever | éti any people |
| ít such a person | íti such people |
| ót not a single person, noboby | óti none |
| út somebody | úti certain people |
| get the same person, self | geti the same people, themselves |
| oget the other person, someone else | ogeti others, other people |
| ìt that female,she, her | ìti they (f.), them |
| ùt this female, she, her | ùti they (f.), them |
| aut person, individual | auti persons, people |
| out nobody, no one | outi no people, none |
| | ga auti more people |
| | ge auti as many people |
| | go auti fewer people |
| | gla auti many people |
| | glà auti several people |
| | gra auti too many people |
| | gá auti most people |
| | gé auti quite a few people |
| | glo auti few people |
| | gro auti too few people |
| | gó auti as few people as possible |
    Note: As with all pronouns and nouns, the above pronouns can appear in the genetive/ablative/possessive case (-a) or dative/locative case (u). For example: otu to whom, ota whose, áta everyone's, gla autia most people's, ata my, etu to you. The possessive adjective forms can, in turn, be substantivized by adding -c (thing): atac mine, atacu to mine, otac whose, getac the same person's, etc.

#### Determiners of Place

* place
* odmu? where?, whither? (also: odma? from where?, whence?)
* udmu here (also: udma from here, hence)
* idmu there (also: idma from there, thence)
* admu at/in/to the place where (relative)
* ódmu nowhere
* ádmu everywhere
* édmu anywhere, whereever
* ídmu at/in/to such a place
* ogedmu elsewhere (ogedem alibi)
* údmu somewhere
* gedmu at/in/to the same place (also: gedma from the same place)
* gèdmu at/in/to a similar place (also: gèdma from a similar place)

#### Determiners of Time

* time
* odju? when? (also: odja whence?, ji odjob since when?, etc.)
* udju now (also: udja hence)
* idju then (also: idja thence)
* adju when, at the time when (relative)
* ódju never
* ádju each time, everytime, always, ever
* édju anytime, whenever
* ídju at/in/to such a time
* údju sometime
* gedju at the same time
* ogedju at another time

#### Determiners of Quality

* kind
* odéna? what kind of?
* udéna this kind of
* idéna that kind of
* adéna the/what kind of (relative)
* ódéna no kind of
* ádéna every kind of
* édéna any/whatever kind of
* ídéna such
* údéna some kind of
* gedéna the same kind of
* gèdéna a similar kind of
* ogedéna another kind of

#### Determiners of Degree

* degree
* odnogu? how (...big, ...little, etc.)?, to what extent?
* udnogu this, to this degree
* idnogu that, to that extent
* adnogu how, to what degree, to the extent (that...) (relative)
* ódnogu not at all, to no extent
* ádnogu completely, to the full extent
* édnogu however, to whatever extent
* ídnogu so, to such an extent
* údnogu in some way, somehow
* ge, genogu equally, to the same degree, as
* oge, ogenogu unequally, to a different extent
* gè, gènogu similarly, to a similar extent
* ga, ganogu more, to a greater extent
* gla, glanogu very, greatly, very much so
* gra, granogu too, to too great an extent, overly, extremely
* go, gonogu less, to a lesser extent
* glo, glonogu slightly, to a small extent
* gro, gronogu to too small a degree, under
* gá, gánogu maximally, to the greatest extent possible
* gó, gónogu minimally, to the smallest extent possible
* gé, génogu enough, rather, pretty, sufficiently, quite
* ogé, ogénogu insufficiently
* fià, finogu to a good extent, well
* fuà, funogu to a bad extent, poorly
* végà, véga nogu proportionately
* vácà, váca nogu to the right extent, properly, duly
* vócà, vóca nogu to the wrong extent, disproportionately, unduly
* anogu primarily
* enogu secondarily
* uja nogu ultimately

#### Determiners of Manner, Means

* manner
* odè? how?, in what way?
* udè this way, thus
* idè that way, thus
* adè how, in the way that, as
* ódè in no way
* ádè in every way
* édè in whatever way, however
* ídè so, in such a way
* údè somehow
* gedè in the same way, also
* ogedè otherwise
* gèdè similarly, likewise

#### Determiners of Quantity

       The noun following the determiner is in the singular if a mass noun (odganu dril how much ink) or in the plural if a countable noun (odganu jubi how many years).
* quantity
* odganu?* how much, how many
* udganu this much, this many
* idganu that much, that many
* adganu how much, how many, the amount/number that
* ódganu no, not any, no amount of
* ádganu all
* édganu any, however much, however many
* ídganu so much, so many
* údganu a certain amount of, some, some number of
* ge, geganu as much, as many
* oge, ogeganu a different quanity of
* ga more
* go less, fewer
* gla a lot (of), much, many
* glà a goodly amount (of), quite a few
* glo little, too many
* glò barely, scarcely, hardly
* gá most
* gro too little, too few
* gó as little/few as possible
* gé a fair amount (of), enough, quite a lot (of)
* gê several
    * Literally: in what quantity, as in Odganu nac et àce? How much money do you have?. Used substantively, Odganu becomes Odgan, as in Odgan et àce? How much do you have? If followed by a mass noun, gla means much; if followed by a counting noun, gla means many; if followed by an adjective or adverb, it means very. All of the ga...ge...go words are multifunctional in this way.

#### Determiners of Frequency

* frequency (jig = rate, frequency
* odjigu? how often?(lit: on how many occasions)
* udjigu this often
* idjigu that often
* adjigu as often as, the rate that
* ódjigu never
* ádjigu every time
* édjigu however often, anytime
* ídjigu so often
* údjigu with some frequency, sometimes
* gejigu as often
* ogejigu at a different rate
* gajigu more often
* gojigu less often
* glajigu (very) often, frequently
* glojigu seldom, rarely, not very often
* grajigu too often
* gájigu as often as possible
* grojigu too seldom
* gójigu as seldom as possible
* géjigu quite often, rather often, frequently enough

### Prepositions and relational adverbs

| positive | | middle | | negative | |
| ab | on, at the top of | eb | between | ob | off, at the bottom of |
| áb | above, up | éb | amid, among | ób | below, down |
| bà | with, along | bè | by, via | bò | without |
| ib | away from | --- | | ub | toward |
| íb | far from | --- | | úb | near to |
| bi | from, of | be | at | bu | to |
| bí | starting with, since | --- | | bú | ending with, up to, as far as |
| án | together | --- | | ón | apart |
| za | in front of | ze | in the middle of | zo | behind |
| zà | forward | zè | across | zò | back |
| áz | flush with | éz | in | óz | out |
| iza | straight | --- | | uza | roundabout |
| íz | beyond | --- | | úz | around, about |
| zi | right | --- | | zu | left |
| zí | all over | zé | through | zúa | round |
| ja | before | je | during, while | jo | after |
| jà | ahead (in time) | jè | throughout | jò | back (in time) |
| ji | since | --- | | ju | until |
| av | for | ev | if | ov | against |

#### Compound prepositions

    Prepositions can be compounded for more detailed senses:
| compound preposition | example |
| ézbu into | It tôapa ézbu tim. He walked into the room. |
| ézbi in from | At upa ézbi mamil. I came in from the rain. |
| ézbe in (location) | Dén ce ézbe ném. The book is inside the box. |
| ózbu out to | Po ózbu ekem. Go out to the playground. |
| ózbi out of, out from | It upea ózbi ita ésim. He was coming out of his office. |
| ózbe out in (as in: out in the backyard) | Potòg ce ózbe mamil. The pet is out in the rain. |
| ábzè over | Mampar pa ábzè tam. The plane flew over the house. |
| óbzè under | At tôapa óbzè domep. I walked under the highway. |
| zèbu across to | At tôapa zèbu ogeda kum. I walked over to the other side. |
| zèbi across from | It beme zèbi at. He sits across from me. |
| zòbu back to | Ait pee zòbu Berlin. We are going back to Berlin. |
| zòbe back at | Ait ce zòbe tom. We are back at home. |
| zòbi back from | Ait ce zóbi Berlin. We are back from Berlin. |
| zàbu ahead to | Teaso zàbu eta oj. Look forward to your future. |
| zàbi ahead of | Ed et ce zàbi at? Are you ahead of me? |
| ónbi apart from | Pa ónbi ogeti. It went apart from the others. |
| ánbe together with | Upo ánbe at. Come along with me. |
| izbu straight to | Po izbu ótotem! Go straight to hell! |
| izbi straight from | Ìt upa izbi nunem. She came straight from the market. |
| izbe right at | At ca izbe zem. I was right at the center. |
| zabi in front of | At ce zabi et. I am in front of you. |
| zobi in back of | Et ce zobi at.' You are in back of me. |
| abu onto | Bo dén abu cem. Put the book onto the table. |
| abe on (at) | Dén ce abe cem. The book is on the table. |
| obi off of | Bio dén obi cem. Take the book off of the table. |
| obe on the underside of | Ece úd obe cem. There is something on the underside of the table. |
| ábu up to | Po ábi eta tim. Go up to your room. |
| ábe up in | Od ce íd ábe mam? What is that up in the sky? |
| ábi up from | It upa ábi aaned. He came up from the first floor. |
| ábè up (via) | At tôapa ábè meb. I walked up the mountain. |
| óbu down to | Upo óbu momtim. Come down to the basement. |
| óbe down in | At ce óbe momtim. I am down in the basement. |
| óbi dowm from | Upo óbi mamtim. Come down from the attic. |
| óbè down (via) | It igpa óbè meb. He hurried down the mountain. |
| óbézbu down into | Pa óbézbu mom. He went down into the underground. |
| úzbu around to | Po úzbu ogeda kum tama. Go around to the other side of the house. |
| úzbè around (via) | Par pa úzbè tam. The car went around the house. |
| ízbi past, beyond | Par pa ízbi ait. The car went past us. |
| ízbu on to | At pa ízbu Kanad. I went on to Canada. |

#### Postpositions / Cases

    The following case endings or postpositions are shortcuts for prepositions:
| short form | long form |
| -a of, from | bi |
| -u to, on, at | bu to or be at / in / on |
| -à with | bà |
| -ò without | bò |
| -è by, via, through, per | bè |
    For example, the following expressions are equivalent:
| long form | short form |
| be tam bi X at the house of X | tamu Xa |
| bi dom bu dom from town to town | doma domu |
| tej bò if life without pleasure | tej ifò |
| bè Paris by way of Paris | Parisè |
| bà at with me | atà |

#### Other Prepositional Constructions

* vélu regarding, concerning, about, with respect to
* gè ov despite
* kumu next to, beside, along, on the side of
* ón bi apart from
* án bu together with
* gal in addition to, plus, including, besides
* gol minus, except
* gar times, multiplied by
* gor divided by
* zamu...-a in the face of (also: be zamu bi)
* cànu ...-a in the guise of
* canu ...-a in the form of
* debanu ...-a under the auspices of
* ûb in the presence of, in the face of
* dida ...-è at the request of
* iju...-a at the end of
* tecu...-a in the sense of
* av búun...-a for the sake of
* ... thanks to
* ... along the lines of
* izanu...-a in the direction of
* zág along
* kumnidu ...-a on the edge of, on the brink of
* genidu ...-a in line with, parallel to
* úbanu ...-a in the vicinity of, around
* gáanu ...-a in excess of
* bi abem...-a off the top of
* bi kumnidu...-a from the brink of
* dudea...-u in response to
* ovbea in opposition to
* ... in contrast to
* lovanu...-a in spite of
* oejanu...-a in the absence of
* usu ...-a because of
* usu ...-a on account of
* gè ov notwithstanding
* ...-è per
* zé via
* vél than, compared to, relative to
* adju ...-a at the time of
* admu ...-a at the place of

#### Using prepositions

    Prepositions go between the two elements they link, just as in English. Here are some examples:
| Mirad | English |
| Odju et po bu déntam?(or: déntamu) | When are you going to the library? |
| Uda bun ce av et (or: etu). | This gift is for you. |
| Dyen ca ab cem (or: cemu). | The book was on the table. |
| Upu bay at (or: atà). | Come with me. |
| Iyt igpa ub titam. | She ran toward the school. |
| Et co éz gela titim. | You will be in the same class. |
| Tob tyoyapa ózbi tam. | The man walked out of the house. |
| Mampar zaymampa ábzè dom. | The plane flew over the city. |
| Nidpar pa bi him bu hum. | The train went from here to there. |
| Et voy ibo bun ju zemoj. | You won't receive the gift until midnight. |

#### Prepositions prefixed to verbs

    As adverbials, many prepositions can be prefixed to other words, especially to verb bases. The following is a list of per (go) and ber (put) verbs with prepositional prefixes. Note that prepositions ending in b drop the b before the verb bases per and ber.
| intransitive | | transitive | |
| aper | get on | aber | put on |
| eper | stop | eber | stop |
| oper | get off | ober | take off |
| áper | rise | áber | raise |
| éper | intervene | éber | block |
| óper | descend | óber | lower |
| iper | go (away) | iber | receive |
| uper | come | uber | send |
| úper | approach | úber | bring near |
| íper | go away | íber | take away |
| ézper | enter | ézber | bring in |
| ízper | surpass | ízber | take beyond |
| zéper | go through | zéber | pull through |
| zèper | transit | zèber | take across |
| ánper | meet | ánber | unite |
| ónper | separate | ónber | separate |
| izper | go straight/ head (for) | izber | guide |
| zúper | roll | zúber | turn |
| ózper | exit | ózber | take out |
| zòper | return, go back | zòber | take back |
| zòpuer | arrive back | zòbuer | give back |
| zateaser | look forward | zoteaser | look behind |
| zèteaser | look across | zíteaser | look all around |
| zéteaser | look through | ízteaser | look beyond |
| ézteaser | look in | ózteaser | look out |
| ábteaser | look up | óbteaser | look down |
| ibteaser | look away | izteaser | look straight (ahead) |
| ziteaser | look left | zuteaser | look right |
| uzteaser | look askance | úzteaser | look around |
| avdaer | speak for | ovdaer | speak against |

### Personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives

    Personal pronouns have three persons (represented by the ordinal vowels a (1st), e (2nd), and i (3rd).
    The plural forms have the suffix i.
    There are also three case forms, which are alternate ways of expressing prepositional relations: Add -a for the genetive/possessive (of, from); -u for the locative/dative (to, at, for); -à (short for bà) for with; è (short for bè) for through/by, and ò (short for bò) for without.
    Note: These are the same case endings that can be added to any nouns. For example, tamu (to the house), taébò (without hair), teda (father's).
| nominative/accusative | genetive/possessive | dative/locative | comitive | instrumental | privative |
| at (I, me) | ata (my, mine) | atu (to/for me) | atà (with me) | atè (through/by me) | atò (without me) |
| et (you) | eta (your, yours) | etu (to/for you) | età (with you) | etè (through/by you) | etò (without you) |
| it (he, him) | ita (his) | itu (to/for him) | ità (with him) | itè (through/by him) | itò (without him) |
| ìt (she,her) | ìta (her, hers) | ìtu (to/for her) | ìtà (with her) | ìtè (through/by her) | ìtò (without her) |
| ati (we, our) | atia (our, ours) | atiu (to/for us) | atià (with us) | atiè (through/by us) | atiò (without us) |
| eti (you [all]) | etia (your, yours) | etiu (to/for you) | etià (with you) | etiè (through/by you) | etiò (without you) |
| iti (they, them (m. or m/f)) | itia (their) | itiu (to/for them) | itià (with them) | itiè (through/by them) | itiò (without them) |
| ìt (they (f.)) | ìtia (their) | ìtiu (to/for them) | ìtià (with them) | ìtiè (through/by them) | ìtiò (without them) |
    Possessive pronouns are expressed with the addition of -c to the genetive/possessive ending:
| English | Mirad |
| This book is mine. | Uda dén ce atac. |
| Those books are ours. | Ida déni ce atiaci. |
| Theirs has not arrived. | Itiac vò puaé. |
| Theirs have arrived. | Itiaci puaé. |
| Is this yours or mine? | Ev ud ce etac vè atac? |
| Will you come to mine tomorrow? | Ev et upo atacu zajubu? |
| Nothing will happen without yours. | ód swo etacò. |

### Conjunctions
#### Correlative Conjunctions/Adverbs

| positive | neutral | negative |
| va yes | ve maybe | vo no |
| và indeed | vè possibly | vò not |
| và...và both...and | vè...vè either...or | vò...vò neither...nor |
| av that, so that, for | ev whether, if | ov lest, against |
| à and | è or | ò but |
| -à with | -è by, through, via | -ò without |
| ga more (than) | ge as, equal to | go less (than |
| gá most | gé enough | gó least |
| gà also, moreover | gè even, including | gò except, but |
| gla very | gle somewhat | glo slightly, little, not very |
| gra too (much) | gre just, exactly | gro too little |
| English | Mirad |
| I do want to go, but I cannot. | At và vage per ò at vò vege. |
| Do you know whether he's coming. | Ev et te ev it upo? |
| It will either rain or snow. | Vè mamilo vè màlómo. |
| If it rains, I'll not come. | Ev mamilo at vò upo. |
| No, it's not true that he died. | Vo, vò ce váa ad it tuja. |
| My father and mother are still alive. | Ata ted à tèd gaju tejeé. |
| Is it true that you were you born here? | Ev et tija udmu? |
| We did not know (that) you were married. | Ati vò ta ad et ce tadca. |
| The fact that you work is not the issue. | Ad et ése vò ce kos. |
| Whether you work or play is more important. | Et vè ése vè eke ce ga kíta. |
| Unless you go to school you will never learn anything. | Oev et po titamu et ódju tio úd. |
| In order to learn you must study more. | Av ticer et ége ga tier. |
| Everyone except you is ready. | Yat gò et ce perfia. |
| Did you want me to come long?' | Ev et vaga av at àpu? |
| I want you not to leave. | At vage ov et piu. |
| Don't tell her what I did. | Ov du ìtu od at sa. |
| Are you for or against me? | Ev et av è ov at? |

#### Other Conjunctional Expressions

| conjunction | example |
| ad that | Ati ta ad it upo. We knew (that) he would come. |
| av so that | At egdo id av et tico. I will repeat it so that you'll understand. |
| avad because | It tuja bi us avad it vò abá ígtef. He died because he was not wearing a helmet. |
| ju until | Ju et uvdo at vò teapo et. Until you apologize, I will not visit you. |
| ji since | Ji et pua at cee iva. Since you arrived, I've been happy. |
| ánad even though, although | Ánad et oka, at gaju fítce et. Even though you lost, I still respect you. |
| ovad despite the fact that | Ovad et zageda, et vò upa. Despite the fact that you agreed in advance, you didn't come. |
| igjo as soon as | Igjo ìt pua at gafi teca. As soon as she arrived, I felt better. |
| váfà ge just as | Váfà ge at jada, ija mamiler. Just as I predicted, it started raining. |
| ge ev as if | Ìt teubozá ge ev ìt ca iva. She smiled as if she were happy. |
| ev whether | At vò te ev mamilo. I don't know whether it will rain. |
| ev if | Et zàpo ev et éko. You will advance if you try. |
| à and | Et à at ce gá fia. You and I are the best. |
| è or | Et vege jobier è kobier; ce eta kebi. You can borrow or steal; it's your choice. |
| kéà ad in the event that | Kéà ad mamilo, aúbio eta mamilovar. In the event that it should rain, bring along your umbrella. |
| fiákea av in the hope that | It nucbia drénet fiákea av it ako. He bought a ticket in the hope that he would win. |
| fúnea ov for fear that | It ézpa fúnea ov mamilo. He went inside for fear that it might rain. |
| ov lest | Bono ov et tíjso lopét. Stay calm lest you awake the snake. |
| ónad aside from the fact that | Yonad gaijop mamile, doma mamecan ce gla fia. Aside from the fact that it rains occasionally, the city's weather is very nice. |
| tea ad knowing that | At vage tujer tea ad at po totamu. I want to die knowing that I will go to heaven. |

### Verbs

    Verbs in Mirad are conjugated for tense (present, past, future), mood (indicative, conditional/imperative/subjunctive/jussive), voice (active, passive), and finiteness. The verbal system is perfectly regular and predictable.
    The infinitive, which serves as the dictionary lookup form, always ends in -er. The stem, therefore, is the infinitive without the -er ending. For example, the stem of the verb buner (to push) is bun. The stem is used as the base of all conjugated verb forms.

#### Finite forms

    Finite verb forms are modulated for tense based on the three-way vowel distinction a (present), e (past), and o (future).
    A fourth ending, u is used for the equivalent of the English conditionals, subjunctives, and imperatives.
    Verbs can be further modulated for progressive, anterior (perfect), and imminent senses through compounding.
    Endings do not change depending on the subject person. For example, unlike in English where am, are, and is are used in the present depending on the subject, the Unilingua verb cer has one present indicative form of to be for all persons: ce.
| Mirad | English |
| at ce | I am |
| et ce | you are |
| it ce | he is |
| ìt ce | she is |
| id ce | that is, it is |
| ud ce | this is |
| ot ce | who is? |
| ati ce | we are |
| eti ce | you (all) are |
| iti ce | they are |
| íti ce | they are |
| oti ce | who are? |
| át ce | everyone is |
| ét ce | whoever/anyone is |
| ód ce | nothing is |
| apeti ce | horses are |

##### Simple tense forms

    The simple tense verb forms are generated by adding the tense markers a, e, o, or the conditional marker u to the stem of the verb. For example, the stem of the verb ter to know is t and the inflected forms of the simple tenses are as follows:

##### Active voice forms

| ending | meaning | example |
| e | present | It te. He knows. |
| a | past | At ta. I knew. |
| o | future | Et to. You will know. |
| u | conditional | Iti tu. They would know. |

##### Non-indicative forms

    The u ending is not only used for the conditional as above, but also non-indicatives moods such as the imperative and and subjunctive. The conditional form without a subject is used for imperatives (direct commands). Positive subjunctives and jussives are expressed with the use of the affirmative jussive conjunction av (for, so that, let) followed by the subject and the verb in the conditional.
| pattern | meaning | example |
| Vu | direct command | Aku! (short for Av et aku!) Win!. |
| av N Vu | may N V | Av ati aku! May we win!. |
| av N Vu | let N V | Av it upu. Let him come. |
| av N Vu | wishes, etc. | At vàge (av) et piu. I wish you would leave. |
    Negative subjunctives and jussives are expressed with the use of the negative jussive conjunction ov (against, lest) followed by the subject and the verb in the conditional.
| pattern | meaning | example |
| ov Vu | direct command | Ov oku!. Don't lose! |
| ov N Vu | may N V | Ov ati oku! May we NOT lose!. |
| ov N Vu | lest N V | Ov it upu. Don't let him come. |
| ov N Vu | wishes, etc. | At vayge ov et piu. I wish you would NOT leave (lit: I wish lest you leave). |
    Unreal conditionals are expressed with the conditional conjunction ev (if, whether) followed by the subject and the verb in the conditional (-u) in both the main and subordinate clause..
| pattern | meaning | example |
| ev N Vu, N Vu... | if N were..., N would... | Ev at cu edeb, at ívsu it. If I were king, I would free him. |

##### Illative patterns
###### Interrogative

    Beginning a sentence with the conditional conjunction ev (whether, if) makes the sentence into a yes/no question:
| pattern | meaning | example |
| ev + VP | Is it true that...? | Ev et aka? Did you win? |

###### Negative

    Use the negative adverb voy (not) in front a verb to negate it:
| pattern | meaning | example |
| vò + V | negative | Et vò ako. You will not win. |
| ev + negVP | negative interrogative | Ev et vò akeé? Aren't you winning? |

###### Affirmative

    Similary, the positive adverb vay (indeed) is used in various combinations to qualify verbs. Like vò (not), this adverb immediate preceeds the verb form.
| ending | meaning | example |
| và + V | affirmative | At và aka. I did win. / I won indeed. |

###### Potential

    Used the potential adverb vè (maybe) in front of a verb to qualify it as potential or possible (like English may):
| ending | meaning | example |
| vè + V | potential | It vè ako He may win!. |
| ev + VP | negative potential interrogative | Ev et vè vò akaú? Might'nt you have won? |

##### Passive voice forms

    The passive voice is formed by preceding the tense endings with w.
| ending | meaning | example |
| w+e | present | It twe. He is known. |
| w+a | past | It twa. He was known. |
| w+o | future | It two. He will be known. |
| w+u | conditional | It twu. He would be known. |

#### Progressive aspect forms

    The progressive or continuous tenses, which are optional and used only where the distinction is useful, are formed from the simple present forms by compounding with pre-iotacized tense vowels.
| ending | meaning | example |
| e+é | present continuous active | At akeé. I am winning. (pronounced: a-KE-ye) |
| e+á | past continuous active | At akeá I was winning. (pronounced: a-KE-ya) |
| e+ó | future continuous active | At akeó. I will be winning. |
| e+ú | conditional continuous active | At akeú. I would be winning. |
| we+é | present continuous passive | At akweé. I am being beaten. |
| we+á | past continuous passive | At akweá I was being beaten. |
| we+ó | future continuous passive | At akweó. I will be in the process of being beaten. |
| we+ú | conditional continuous passive | At akweú. I would be in the process of being beaten. |

#### Anterior tense forms

    The anterior or perfect tenses, which are also optional, are formed from the simple past tense form by compounding with pro-iotacized tense vowels.
| ending | meaning | example |
| a+é | present perfect active | At akaé. I have won. |
| a+á | past perfect active | Ati akaá We had won. |
| a+ó | future perfect active | Ati akaó. We will have won. |
| a+ú | conditional perfect active | Ati akaú. We would have won. |
| wa+é | present perfect passive | Iti akwaé. They have been beaten. |
| wa+á | past perfect passive | Iti akwaá. They had been beaten. |
| wa+ó | future perfect passive | Iti akwaó. They will have been beaten. |
| wa+ú | conditional perfect passive | Iti akwaú. They would have been beaten. |

#### Imminent aspect forms

    The so-called imminent tenses are formed from the simple future active tense forms in the same way.
| ending | meaning | example |
| o+é | present imminent active | At akoé. I am going to win. |
| o+á | past imminent active | At akoá I was about to win. |
| wo+é | present imminent passive | Et akwoé. You are going to be beaten. |
| wo+á | past imminent passive | Et akwoá. You were about to be beaten. |

#### Non-finite forms

| ending | meaning | example |
| er | active infinitive | Et ége aker You must win. |
| wer | passive infinitive | Et vò vagu akwer You would not want to be defeated. |
| en | active verbal noun | Aken ce ád. Winning is everything. |
| wen | passive verbal noun | At vò ife akwen. I do not like being beaten. |
| ea | active present participle | Akea ekut The winning player |
| aa | active past participle | Akaa ekut The player who won. |
| oa | active future participle | Tob ce tujoa. Man is mortal (about to die). |
| ua | active conditional participle | Tob cua deb. The man who would be king. |
| wea | passive present participle | Akwea ekut The player being beaten |
| waa | passive past participle | Magelwaa taol Cooked meat. |
| woa | passive future participle | Teacwoa pancin the film to be seen |
| wua | passive conditional participle | Oteacwua tob the invisible man |
| eà | present affirmative gerundive | At teacibso pueà. I will call upon arriving. |
| eò | present negative gerundive | At ija teò éd. I started without knowing anything. |
| aà | past affirmative gerundive | Teacaà at pia. Having seen, I left. |
| aò | past negative gerundive | At pila dom teacaò ád. I left the town without having seen everything. |
| enè | present instrumental gerundive | Et akso gla ésenè. You will succeed by working hard. |
** Note: The -ua/wua ending approximates the English -able ending. oteacwua = invisible, íztijua = survivable, ogorwua = indivisible, vegua = capable, opanua = immobile. Adding an -n forms the substantive, eg. ogorwuan = indivisibility.

#### Conditional constructions

    In sentences with conditional clauses the conditional clause is in the same tense as the main clause, contrary to the practice in English:
      * Ev mamilo at co uva. If it rains (= will rain), I will be sad.
      * Ev mamilaú at caú uva. If it had rained (= would have rained), I would have been sad.
      * Ev at cu nasika at ga zípu. If I were (=would be) rich, I'd travel more.
      * Ev et tu dud, (av et) du id atu. If you (= would) know the answer, (= that you would) tell it to me.

#### Sequence of tenses

    Unlike in English, the tense of a consecutive clause is a real tense, not an adjusted tense relative to the main clause:
      * It da ad it tadco at. He said he would (= will) marry me.
      * It da ad it teaca it ejipu. He said he had seen (= saw) it twice.

#### Impersonal constructions

    Impersonal verbs are conjugated without the subject personal pronoun:
      * Mamileé. It is raining.
      * Amco. It will warm up.
      * Eco dropek. There will be a war.
      * Ége av et upu já. It is necessary that you come early.
      * Ce fia. It's ok.

#### The verb "to be"

    In Mirad, the verb cer (to be) is not suppressed in the present tense as in some languages like Russian or Agapoff's original version of Unilingua. Also, there is no existential distinction as in Spanish between ser and estar. Furthermore, the progressive forms ceá and ceé can be used at times as in some of the examples below:
      * Ati ce íva! We are free.
      * At co idmu. I'll be there.
      * Déni ca ab cem. The books were on the table.
      * Cayo e jubi ji at ca dopu. It will have been two days since I was in the army.
      * Cer ey voy cer. To be or not to be.
      * At caú uva ev et vò upaú. I would have been sad if you hadn't come.
      * Et ceé gla fua. You are being very bad.
      * At vò ceá ivcla. I was not being funny.

#### Reflexive constructions

    Verbs can be made reflexive by adding the direct object get (self).
      * At vímila get ja per majtulu. I washed up (washed myself) before going to breakfast.
      * Tobet tuja get. The boy killed himself.
      * At teasa get cinzéfu. I looked at myself in the mirror.
      * Tu get! Know thyself!

#### Modal or auxiliary verbs

| Mirad | English | Meaning | Example |
| íver | may | permission | Et íve iper. You may leave. |
| úver | must | requirement | Et úve iper. You must leave. |
| ûver | should | obligation | Et ûve iper. You should leave. |
| éger | have to | necessity | At ége iper. I have to leave. |
| êger | should | obligation | Et êge iper. You ought to leave. |
| vager | want to | volition | At vage iper. I want to leave. |
| vaager | long to | yearning | At vaage iper. I long to leave. |
| vàger | would like to | preference | At vàge iper. I would like to go. |
| vagrer | be eager to | eagerness | At vagre iper. I am eager to leave. |
| valter | intend to | intention | At valte iper. I intend to leave. |
| veger | can | ability | At vege ser id. I can do that. |
| voger | refuse to | refusal | At voge ser id. I refuse to do that. |
| áker | expect to | expectation | At áke aker. I expect to win. |
| áaker | hopeto | aspiration | At áake aker. I hope to win. |
| éker | try to | attempt | It vò éko iper. He won't try to leave. |
| ékler | dare to | dare | It vò éklo iper. He will not dare leave. |
| óker | to be surprised to | surprise | At óka aker. I was surprised to win. |
| ifer | to love to | love | It ife eker. He loves to play. |
| ìfer | to like to | liking | It ìfe eker. He likes to play. |
| ufer | to hate to | hate | It ufe eker. He hates to play. |
| ùfer | to dislike to | dislike | It ùfe eker. He dislikes playing. |
| iver | to be glad to | gladness | At ivo iper. I shall be glad to leave. |
| uver | to regret to | regret | At uva der id. I regretted saying it. |
| aver | to favor | espousal | At ave iper. I favor leaving. |
| over | to be opposed to | opposition | At ove eker. I am opposed to playing. |
    As you see in the examples above, modal verbs are followed by the infinitive form (-er) of the main verb.

#### Subordinate clauses introduced by ad

    The positive complementizer particle ad (the fact that) is used to introduce a subordinate clause:
      * At ta (ad) it upo. I knew THAT he would come.
      * At ce vala (ad) et vádeé. I'm sure THAT you are telling the truth.
      * Ad mamilo ce valan. THAT it will rain is a certainty.
      * Ata tèd da (ad) iyt co tamu ojo èmaj. My mother said THAT she would be home by noon.
    As in English, if the that can be dropped without any loss of meaning, it can be:
      * At da at dro. I said I'd (= I'll) write.
      * Et ta it sa id. You knew he had done (= did) it.
    Unlike in English, a relative sequence of tenses is not applied. For example, English "I knew he would come." is rendered in Unilingua as "I knew he will come."
    Do not confuse the particles ad and av. Clauses following ad are facts, whereas clauses following av are unreal wishes. Av should be thought of as so that.
      * At pana av it ábtu. I moved so that he could (= would) sit down.
      * At ta ad it ábto. I knew that he would (= will) sit down.

#### Subordinate clauses introduced by ev

    The conditional complementizer particle ev (whether) is used to introduce a subordinate clause of the type "whether...":
      * At vò ta ev it upo. I did not know whether he would come.
      * Ev it upo ca teskía atu. whether he would or would come was not important to me.

### Adjectives

    Adjectives end in the suffix -a. They are invariable in form:
   * aga big
   * oga small
   * aza strong
   * oza weak
   * taba bodily
   * teaba ocular
   * tea aware
   * otea unaware
    Adjectives used substantively to describe persons end in -t, while those used to describe things end in -c:
| adjective | animate substantive | inanimate substantive |
| yoga young / new | yogat youth | yogac novelty |
| tuja dead | tujat dead person | tujac dead thing |
| fia good | fiat good person | fiac good thing |
    Adjectives always preceed the noun they modify:
   * aga tam a big house
   * yaga drun the long sentence
   * aza tob the strong man
   * mona maf a dark cloud
    Serial adjectives usually go in the same order as in English:
   * ujna via jeeba jub the last beautiful summer day

#### Degrees of Comparison in Adjectives and Adverbs
##### Summary of Comparison Constructions

    Note: vél is a preposition that comes from the verb véler to relate and is used to signal the object against which a relative comparison is being made (than, relative to).
| Mirad | English |
| ga...vél | more...than |
| ge...vél | as...as |
| go...vél | less...than |
| gá...vél | the most...in/of |
| gé...vél | rather...compared to |
| gó...vél | the least...in/of |

##### The Comparative of Superiority

    More than is expressed by the adverb ga, followed by the adjective, adverb, or verb and the preposition vél (in relation to, than, as) preceding the noun, pronoun, or predicate being compared:
| Mirad | English |
| Ata tadet ce ga aza vél et. | My brother is stronger than you. |
| At ga ése vél et. | I work more than you. |
| Ita tedet ga aga vél ata. | His son is taller than mine. |
| Uda dén ce ga ketlea vél idac. | This book is more interesting that that one. |
| Mam ce ga aga vél et tese. | The sky is bigger than you think. |

##### The Comparative of Equality

    As...as' is expressed by the adverb ge, following by the adjective, adverb, or verb and the preposition vél (in relation to, than, as) preceding the noun, pronoun, or predicate being compared.
| Mirad | English |
| Ìt ge te vél at. | She knows as much as I do. |
| At ge fi deuze vél et. | I sing as well as you do. |
| Ata tam ce ge aga vél eta. | My house is as big as yours. |
| Ece ge tobi vél tobomi. | There are as many grownups as babies. |

##### The Comparative of Inferiority

    Less...than' is expressed by the adverb go, following by the adjective, adverb, or verb and the preposition vél (in relation to, than, as) preceding the noun, pronoun, or predicate being compared.
| Mirad | English |
| Ìt go te vél at. | She knows less than I do. |
| At go fi deuze vél et. | I sing less well than you do. |
| Ata tam ce go aga vél etac. | My house is less big than yours. |
| Ece go tobi vél tobomi. | There are fewer grownups than babies. |

##### The Superlative of Superiority

    The most...of/in' is expressed by the adverb gya, followed by the adjective, adverb, or verb, and the compared noun or pronoun preceded by the preposition vyel.
| Mirad | English |
| Ud ce gya yobaga miam vyel mir. | This is the deepest lake in the world. |
| At gya fi deuze. | I sing the best. |
| Gya fia ticudi vyel ticudyan akbuyo. | The best students in the class will be rewarded. |
| At ce gya ivat vyel yati. | I am the happiest person of all. |

##### The Superlative of Inferiority

    The least...of/in' is expressed by the adverb gyo, followed by the adjective, adverb, or verb, and the compared noun or pronoun preceded by the preposition vyel.
| Mirad | English |
| Uda ticud ce gó tepaza vél áda ticudi. | This student is the least intelligent of all the students. |
| At gó fi deuze. | I sing the least well. |
| Gó fia ticudi vél ticudyan uóvfuso. | The worst students in the class will be punished. |
| At ce gó ivat vél áti. | I am the least happy person of all. |

##### Idioms Using Adjectival/Adverbial Comparison Constructions

| Mirad | English | example |
| ga...ga | the more...the more | Ga mamile ga ilirke. The more it rains, the more it floods. |
| ga...go | the more...the less | Ga iva at ce ga azà at dae. The happier I am the louder I speak. |
| go...ga | the less...the more | Go et tile ga fia ce. The less you drink the better. |
| go...go | the less...the less | Go et ézbue go et ózbie. The less you put in the less you get out. |
| gá... | as much as possible... | At tele gá ida telamu. I eat as much as possible in that restaurant. |
| gá veá... | the most possible | Puo gá já veá. Arrive as early as possible. |
| gó veá... | the least possible | Bookco gó veá. Tire yourself out the least possible. |
| vòga...vél | no more...than | At tila oga vél jubénà. I drank no more than usual. |
    Note: vél, as a preposition, originates from a verb, much like the prepositions gal plus and gar times:
| verb | preposition |
| galer to add | gal plus |
| garer to multiply | gar times |
| goler to subtract | gol minus |
| gorer to divide | gor divided by |
| véler to relate | vél relative to, than |

### Adverbs
#### Formation

    Adverbs can be formed from adjectives by post-iotacizing the adjectival ending, that is, by changing -a to -à, for example:
| adjective | adverb |
| fia good | fià well |
| ana single | anà only |
| gía easy | gíà easily |
    The adverbial ending -à is really the same as the comitive ending, meaning with. So, in effect, nouns in the comitive case are really adverbs. The same holds true for the instrumental ending -è by means of, through, by.
| noun | adverb |
| gúan difficulty | gúanà with difficulty |
| ágan length | áganè lengthwise, by length |
| bik care | bikà with care, carefully |
| at me | atè by me |
    Similarly, a noun in the dative case (-u) can amount to an adverbial expression.
| noun | adverb |
| uda job this day | udjobu today |
| oda em which place | od(e)mu where? |
| tam house | tamu (at) home |
| mep way | mepu en route |
    Some words are inherently adverbs:
      * áb up as in go up
      * ób down as in come down
      * zà ahead as in run ahead
      * zò back as come back
      * úz around as in spin around
      * ga more as in eat more
      * go less as in eat less
      * ge same, as as in as big or do the same
      * gla very as in very good
      * glo not so as in not so bad
      * và indeed as in He is indeed our leader.
      * vò not as in He is not our leader.
      * vè possibly as in It's possibly true.

#### Comparison

    Adverbs are compared in the same way as adjectives:
| normal | equalitive degree | comparitive degree | maximal degree |
| igà quickly | ge igà (vél) as quickly (as) | ga igà more quickly | gá igà as quickly as possible |
| ugà slowly | ge ugà (vél) as slowly (as) | go ugà less slowly | gá ugà as slowly as possible |

#### Syntax

    Adverbs, like adjectively, normally precede the element in the sentence which they modify, however, this rule is a loose one and can be bent without peril in most cases.
      * Igà upu! Come quickly!
      * At anà go te. I know only a little.
      * Uda tam fià ceswa. This house was built well.
      * Et vò sa ge fuà. You did not do as badly.
      * Upu gá ubà. Come as closely as possible.
      * At vò te ev it pa áb è ób. I don't know whether he went up or down.

#### Shortcuts

    Adverbs formed from adjectives ending in -ia or -ua can be shorted to -i and -u, respectively:
      * Pu fi! Fare well!
      * vi swa beautifully done
      * ésu gú! Work hard!
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