Appendix:Grammar/Negation

In Zekaiseivarsei, the *zi family is the special class of words of the root *zi that negate verbs, adjectives, nouns, or entire statements. In formal linguistics, these words are called negatives.
==Etymology==
All negatives of the *zi family are derived from the ancient Azerbaurighaunei root zi-h which is an absolute negative. From this root, other negatives were created. 
==Vocabulary==
The following words constitute the negative vocabulary of Zekaiseivarsei:
*zi: negates adjectives, as well as nouns
*zih: negates verbs
*zist: expresses the idea of nothing
*zit: none
These words can be used to express nothing, that is, the absence of something. 
==Usage==
In Zekaiseivarsei, these negatives are used in quite peculiar ways. They can be used in manners contrary to the grammar of natural languages.
===Double negatives ===
Double negatives exist in English, but their usage is considered grammatically improper. In Zekaiseivarsei, however, double negatives can properly be used for emphasis.
zih ame zu zist Zih and zist are both negatives, so logically they should cancel each other out, but in Zekaiseivarsei, they do not. Instead, they form a hypernegative. 
The sentence literally translates to "not I love you nothing" (or "I do not love you nothing"). In Zekaiseivarseivarsei, though, it means "I don't love you at all."
==== What if I mean to negate the negative? ====
If you mean to negate the negative, simply use the NEG ya NEG construction.
dwi zi ya zi sha e sha ra (two not PARTICLE OF RELATION not one and one PARTICLE OF EQUALITY, English: two does not not equal one plus one.) This means that two equals not not one plus one, which is the same as equaling one plus one. 
===Interrogatives ===
Sometimes, the word zih acts as a simple interrogative for yes-no questions. This is called the interrogative negative. It is used at the end of a sentence to summon an answer.
shha fwi, zih One [plus] one [is] two, no? (Is one plus one two?)
The answer would be sha (true).
===To state the obvious, not in order to be sarcastic===
The negatives are often used for the evidential mood, that is, the grammatical form that expresses that something is self-evident. 
Category:Grammar
Category:Negatives