Page:Hand-book of Volapük (Sprauge, 1888).djvu/24

Man binom tedel. Vig binom dels vel (not binos). Del binom dil viga. Düp binom dil dela. Mul binom dil yela. Vat e vin binoms dlins. Nifos. Tötos. Logon nimis. Dlinon vati. Fidon bodi. Lilädon bukis.

The boy is a scholar. Dogs and sheep are animals. The day is a part of the year. Bread is food. Wine is a drink. Water is a drink. I am a merchant. You are a scholar. YOU are scholars. It thunders. One eats meat. It snows. One says (they say) that you are a scholar.

Supply the proper endings:—Dog fid- bod-. Dogs e jips bin- nim-. Sagon das töt-. Logon das nif-.

As explained under the third person (p. 10,) nouns denoting females are represented by the pronoun or person ending of; all others (whether masculin or neuter) by om. It may be said that Volapük has two genders of nouns: the feminin (of) and the non-feminin (om).

Ji- (English she) is prefixed to make nouns feminin when the sex is to be specifically pointed out: matel, husband; jimatel, wife. A few words, easily recognized, are always feminin, as mot (=jifat), kun (=jixol). Om- is occasionally prefixed to the name of an animal to point out the male when the sex is specifically pointed out. Jeval, horse, in general; omjeval, stallion; jijeval, mare.

Os means it, impersonally or abstractly, without referring to any noun. Binos velatik das edunob osi, it is true that I have done it.

Such phrases as “the true, the beautiful, the sublime, the ridiculous,” meaning “that which is true, that which is beautiful,” etc., are expressed thus: velatikos, jönikos, sublimikos, smilikos. This is usually termed a neuter adjectiv, but would seem rather to be an abstract noun. Neuter pronouns are formed in the same way: atos, this (this thing); kelos, what.