This article outlines the grammar of the Dalmatian language.
Nouns A Dalmatian noun has a gender (masculine or feminine) and is inflected for number (singular or plural). The plural is formed with the ending -i for masculine and -e for feminine nouns.
Articles The indefinite article is (one), whose feminine form is .
Examples: – one house, a house – one man, a man
The definite article for masculine nouns is el in singular and i in plural. The definite article for feminine nouns is la in singular and le in plural. Before place names in the dative case, the articles are used in the forms in tel, in tela, in teli and in tele or abbreviated as nel, nela, neli and nele.
Examples: – What is it? – It is a house. – Where is the house? – The house is in the city. – Where is the tree? – The tree is in the wood.
Adjectives The adjectives are used before nouns and also have masculine and feminine gender and singular and plural number.
Examples: Maura kuosa – Big house La maura kuosa – The big house Briv kavul – Fast horse El briv kavul – The fast horse
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Nominative Singular Person Pronoun Meaning First ju I Second te thou Third jal he jala she
Plural Person Pronoun Meaning First nu we Second vu ye Third jali they jale they
Oblique Singular Person Pronoun Meaning First me/main me Second toi thee Third joi him joe her
Plural Person Pronoun Meaning First noi us Second voi you Third jai them
Possessive Singular Person Pronoun Meaning First mi/maja my Second to/toa thy Third de jal his de jala her
Plural Person Pronoun Meaning First nuester/nuestra our Second vester/vestra your Third de jali their de jale their
Prepositions in – in bas de – below de – of da – from, of dri – behind saupra – on alič – at
Verbs The Dalmatian language does not distinguish between the continuous and simple forms. The present tense is formed from the personal pronoun, the infinitive stem, and the present endings:
Singular -a, -uo -e -a, -uo
Plural -aime -aite -a, -uo
Example: (to speak)
Singular (I speak, I am speaking) (Thou speakest, thou art speaking) (He speaks, he is speaking)
Plural (We speak, we are speaking) (Ye speak, ye are speaking) (They speak, they are speaking)
The past tense is formed from the personal pronoun, the infinitive stem, the suffixes -ua or -oua, and the present endings.
Singular (I was speaking, I spoke) (Thou wast speaking, thou spokest) (He was speaking, he spoke)
Plural (We were speaking, we spoke) (Ye were speaking, ye spoke) (They were speaking, they spoke)
The future tense is formed from the infinitive form (ending in -ar, -ur, or -ro) and the future endings:
Singular -e -e -e
Plural -me -te -e
Examples:
Singular (I shall speak) (Thou wilt speak) (He will speak)
Plural (We shall speak) (Ye will speak) (They will speak)
The passive is formed from the past participle (ending in -ait, -oit, or -uat) and the prefixes joi or jai.
Examples: (is born) (is frozen) (is cut)
The Dalmatian language has also a conditional form:
Last night it was so cold, and all water has been frozen.
The imperative is formed from the infinitive stem and endings: -ai – second person singular -aite – second person plural
Examples: duai! – give! vedai! – look!
The imperative can also be formed from the imperative form of the verb "to be" and the infinitive: Saime vedar – Let us go Sait fuot – Let it be
The verb "to be":
Infinitive: Saite
Singular Ju sai Te sante Jal sant
Plural Nu saime Vu saite Jali sant
Adverbs Adverbs of place and direction: luc – here cauc – there sois – upwards sote – under dri – behind
Adverbs of time: aninč – before dapu – after diatremun – then junkaura – against, still adias – now
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