Slovura 02 - Basic Sentence Structure
A Slovura sentence is built from a few basic parts. Before looking at Slovura's grammar, it helps to understand what those parts mean.
Subject
The subject is the person, thing or idea that the sentence is about.
In the English sentence:
I eat fruit.
I is the subject. It is the person doing the eating.
Predicate
The predicate is what the sentence says about the subject.
In:
I eat fruit.
eat fruit is the predicate.
A predicate can therefore describe what the subject does, is, or is like.
In Slovura, the subject and predicate are separated by the particle li.
subject li predicate
Unlike in Toki Pona, where li is omitted when the subject is only first- or second-person singular, li is never omitted in Slovura. This keeps the sentence structure regular.
Object
Some actions affect another person or thing directly. That person or thing is called the object.
In:
I eat fruit.
fruit is the object: it is the thing being eaten.
Not every sentence has an object. "The tree is tall" does not need one.
When a Slovura predicate contains a direct object, the particle e separates the action from that object.
Putting It Together
li marks where the subject ends and the predicate begins. e marks where the direct object begins.
The particles li and e do not need direct English translations. Their purpose is to show how the parts of a Slovura sentence relate to each other.
Remember
- The subject is what the sentence is about.
- The predicate says something about the subject.
- An object is something directly affected by an action.
- li separates the subject from the predicate.
- Slovura never omits li.
- e introduces a direct object.
- Slovura roots do not have fixed English-style parts of speech.
Next
Continue with Slovura 03 - Modifiers to learn how to use multiple roots to describe more complex concepts.