A GUIDE TO ELVISH !

Elven Grammar !

The following is a simple guide for the use and creation of the Elvish tongue. This is a work in progress, and as such will have certain 'lackings' . . . should you stumble across one and feel you have a suitable answer for mainstream use, please post. (This was from the website, so obviously, if you find any 'lackings' here, check the website first.)

PLURALS

* Denoted r, ea, ie, or, io, and oo. Exact choice is left up to the person creating the plural.
* Use -rim to denote great numbers or respect.
Examples:
• Nimbrethie = birches
• Aredhelrim = Elf Lords

PRONOUNS

* When used alone pronouns express subjects (amin mela lle = I love you)
* When used in possessive phrases they express possession (melamin = my love)

I, My, Mine = Amin
We, Us, Ours = Lye
He = Ro
She = Re
It, Its = Ta
You, Yours = Lle
You (p), Yours (p) = Llie
Him, His = Ho
Her, Hers = He
They = Ron
Them, Their = Sen
This = Sina
That = Tanya
Who = Ya

POSSESSIVE PHRASES

SIMPLE
* Append pronoun to end of object.
* Pluralize noun first.
Examples:
• irmo = desire, irmoamin = my desire, irmoieamin = my desires
• atar = father, atarho = his father

COMPLEX
* Separate secondary subject (possessed by primary subject) with en from the simple familiar of the primary subject.
Examples:
• mela en coiamin = love of the life = I love of my life
• tinu en atarahe = daughter of the mother = her mother's daughter

SIMPLE NONFAMILIAR OR PROPER
* Use when possessor is expressing distance/separation from object or when possessor is proper.
* Separate subject from possessor with en.
Examples:
• mellon en amin = friend of I = my friend (express distance)
• megil en Lywnis = sword of Lywnis = Lywnis' sword

ADJECTIVES

* Appends to the front of the object/action they are describing.
Examples:
• corialote = purple flower
• lashae =wide ocean (last 2 n's from lann dropped)
* When expressing intensities (i.e. bright, brighter, brightest) when stem ends in vowel appends -n for -er and -nin for -est.
Examples:
• tiri = bright, tirin = brighter, tirinin = brightest
* When stem ends in noun append -in for -er and -inin for -est.
Examples:
• calen = green, calenin = greener, caleninin = greenest

ADVERBS

* Follows verb in unchanged form.
* Also see intensity rules listed above.
Examples:
• cormamin glina tiri = my heart it gleams bright = my heart gleams brightly
• i'aredhelrim quene hodo = the elf lords they spoke wise = the elf lords spoke wisely

VERBS

* Conjugate to past, present, future, conditional with e, a, uva, aya.
* past -e
* present -a
* future -uva
* conditional -aya
Examples:
• amin elee = I saw, amin elea = I see, amin eleuva = I shall see, amin eleaya = I would see
* Two or more conjugated verbs may exist in one phrase as long as they are not strung together.
* Use unconjugated verbs when stringing more than one together
Examples:
• amin irma quen = I desire to speak
• lle delotha mel amin = you hate to love me
* -ing endings are expressed by appending -ad or -ien to the stem if it ends in a noun or -d if it ends in a vowel.
Examples:
• amin naa tulien a' i'til = I am coming to the point
* -ed endings are expressed using the past tense conjugation.
Examples:
• nardane ron kaime e' i'liavea en' ilya n'at = entwined they slept in each others arms

CREATION OF NEW WORDS

* Keep it simple, use portions of other words, and try to remain true to the following nature of elven
* Rationalize your derivation, before using the words that you create. If a suitable words for derivation do not exile then make one up keeping in mind simplicity and the nature of elven.
* When taking a noun from a verb stem:
1) Conjugate to present form for direct noun (i.e. ele- = to see, elea(v) = sees, elea(n) = sight)
2) For a related term, append either o or u to the stem (i.e. eleo - eye)
3) When ascribing the verb to a person, append ar to the stem (i.e. oht-war, ohtar - warrior)
* When creating words from two or more words, append together and drop enough letters from the appendor to avoid cumbersome letter sequence (see below)

PHRASE CONSTRUCTION

* Use subject - verb - object (add adverb and adjectives as above)
* Phrase questions as statements followed by question maker.
* Words such as a, does, would, etc. may be inferred from the context of the phrase.
* When appending pronouns or adjectives, you may drop letters from the appendor in order to eliminate awkward sequences of letters. Examples would be avoiding three consonants in a row, three vowels in a row, or two of the same vowels in a row.
Examples:
• Amin mela lle = I love you
• Lye nuquernuva sen e degor = We will defeat them in battle
• Lle anta yulna en alu? = Do you need a drink of water?
• Uma, amin naa fauka = Yes, I am thirsty
• Amin sinta thaliole e degor = I know your strength in battle
More Complex Examples:
• Amin lastuva ten' aredhelamin quena hodo = I will listen because my lord (elf) speaks wisely
• Llie tula mellonea, vasa ni yulna en mereth en amin = Come friends, eat and drink of my feasts.
• Il'quen sinta melloneamin Lywnis? = Does everybody know my friend Lywnis?
• Uma, lye sinta he = Yes, we know him

Cormamin Niuve Tenna' ta elea lle au'

(my heart will weep until it sees thee again)