Valorik Grammar and Function Words

Word Order and Sentence Structure

Valorik follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) structure. Adjectives and modifiers always follow the noun.

Example

oʊn fɛniː kɑɪlə the big child

Articles typically precede nouns, and prepositions always precede their objects.

Articles

Valorik uses definite, indefinite, and demonstrative articles. Articles may be gendered using class prefixes.

Meaning	Feminine	Masculine	Neuter	IPA
a / an	zɛluːn	duːɹuːn	uːn	/zɛluːn, duːɹuːn, uːn/
the	zɛloʊn	duːɹoʊn	oʊn	/zɛloʊn, duːɹoʊn, oʊn/
this	zɛliːn	duːɹiːn	iːn	/zɛliːn, duːɹiːn, iːn/
that	zɛlɛɪn	duːɹɛɪn	ɛɪn	/zɛlɛɪn, duːɹɛɪn, ɛɪn/

Examples

zɛluːn fɛniː – a (female) child
duːɹoʊn duːɹfɛniː – the boy
iːn pɛkə – this thing
zɛlɛɪn zɛlkə – that woman

Pronouns

Pronouns are marked for person, number, and inclusivity.

Person	Singular	Plural (inclusive)	Plural (exclusive)
1st	miː	muː	muːiː
2nd	nɛɹə	nɛɹəzuː
3rd masc.	duːɹ	duːɹzuː
3rd fem.	zɛlə	zɛləzuː
3rd neut.	pɛkə	pɛkəzuː
Reflexive	mɛnɛm
Indefinite	kənuː

Plural is formed by adding -zuː to the singular pronoun.*

Prepositions

Prepositions precede their objects.

Meaning	Form	IPA
in	dʊɹə	/dʊɹə/
on	zɛɪlə	/zɛɪlə/
under	mɛnɛθ	/mɛnɛθ/
with	kɛrə	/kɛrə/
for	dɛlzə	/dɛlzə/
by	kɛɪlə	/kɛɪlə/
from	kɹɛɪdə	/kɹɛɪdə/
to	zɛndə	/zɛndə/
between	bɛlnə	/bɛlnə/
through	mɛlvə	/mɛlvə/

Example

dʊɹə oʊn fiːnə in the house

Conjunctions

Meaning	Form	IPA
and	kə	/kə/
but	t͡suːdə	/t͡suːdə/
or	ʊdə	/ʊdə/
if	mɛθə	/mɛθə/
because	dɹɛlnə	/dɹɛlnə/
so	sɛʃə	/sɛʃə/

Interrogatives

Interrogative words typically occur sentence-initially.

Meaning	Form	IPA
who	fɛnuː	/fɛnuː/
what	t͡siːnə	/t͡siːnə/
where	vɑːlə	/vɑːlə/
when	zɛlvɛθə	/zɛlvɛθə/
why	mɛnziːdə	/mɛnziːdə/
how	t͡suːlɛnə	/t͡suːlɛnə/

Tense and Verb Morphology

Verbs take a tense suffix.

Tense	Suffix	Example	Meaning
Present	-vɔ	miː mɛnuːθəvɔ	I eat
Past	-dɛ	miː mɛnuːθədɛ	I ate
Future	-gə	miː mɛnuːθəgə	I will eat

Negation

Negation is formed with the particle nɛθə, which precedes the verb.

Example

miː nɛθə mɛnuːθəvɔ I do not eat.

Questions

Yes–no questions are marked with the sentence-final particle kə.

Example

nɛɹə mɛnuːθəvɔ kə? Do you eat?

Additional Grammar Notes

Adjectives follow nouns.
Articles may be omitted if context is clear.
Plural marking is optional outside pronouns.

Example Sentences

miː d͡zɛɹə ɔkiːtə – I love you.
zɛliːn fɛniː zɛɪlə – this child is on (something).
mɛnziːdə miː mɛlvədɛ? – why did I pass through?