Mirad Grammar/print version

Mirad, formerly known as Unilingua, is an artificially constructed auxiliary language (conlang) developed and published in 1966 by the now-deceased Paris-based author Noubar Agopoff as a serious medium for easy and logical international communication. Mirad, which means world speech, and is pronounced mee-RAHD, is categorized by constructed language experts as taxonomic or ontological, because its vocabulary is mapped letter-by-letter to a semantic ontology or thesaurus. Also, the word-stock of Mirad is considered a priori, meaning that there is no deliberate association with words or roots in existing natural languages. The vocabulary is from scratch, yet based on internal lexical and semantic rules that help the learner to construct and deconstruct derivations sytematically, logically, mnemonically, and consistently. The author claims in his book Unilingua -- Langue universelle auxiliaire that this language is well-suited for universal, logical communication because it is based on principles already exploited globally by sciences like mathematics and chemistry, where symbolic formulas are constructed in accordance with strict rules and a limited sequence of symbols understood by all practitioners.

Yubjo, ha mir gonbio yansauna gabyuxea dalzeyn. (In the near future, the world will share a common auxiliary language.)

Principles

Mirad is constructed on the following principles:

• Every vowel has numeric, vectorial, scalar, semantic, or grammatical value.
• Every consonant is meaningful either lexically or grammatically.
• Word derivation is systematic, consistent, analogical, and mnemonic.
• Words are as ontologically unambiguous as possible.
• Words are as short and as easy to pronounce as possible.
• Inflection and derivation of words is regular and predictable.
• Word opposites differ only in the stem vowel (iva....happy; uva....sad).
• Words that have similar meanings will share all but one or two letters (iva....happy; ivra ....joyful).
• All words in the language are constructed from fewer than 500 building blocks.
• Vocabulary in specialized and scientific fields is built on internationally agreed conventions.
• The grammatical rules are regular and as simple as possible.
• The vocabulary is totally a priori and neutral and not based on any existing language.
• Formatives (derivational and inflexional prefixes, infixes, and suffixes) are nonexponential, that is, each one has only one purpose or meaning. In other words, the language is non-fusional.

Changes from earlier version

This book contains a revision of the language with additions and modifications to the original. The principal changes are:

• The writing system now consists only of letters of the Latin alphabet, with no diacritics.
• The letter w was added to mark the passive voice of verbs, among other things.
• The letter s was changed to sound like the s in English sun.
• The letter x was changed to sound like the sh in English show.
• The letter c was changed to sound like the ch in English chair.
• The letter h was added, mainly to create a systematic set of determiners like this, that, and every.
• The letter q was added for certain scientific words and outside-imported words such as daiqiri or Qatar.
• Grammatical cases were eliminated and replaced by prepositions.
• Some prepositions and conjunctions were changed or added.
• The definite article ha (the) was introduced.
• Much new vocabulary was added and some words were altered.
• The system of determiners was overhauled.
• The manner of encoding names of chemicals, metrical units, and other entities was changed.
• The language was gender-neutralized but provided the means to mark gender where necessary.
• Zoological and botanical terms in Unilingua were differentiated by semi-random numerical scaling (apet....horse, epet....ox, etc.). This has been changed in Mirad to a systematic prefixation of syllables to the base name where the syllables come from the Linnaean Taxonomy.

Conventions in this book

In this book:

• Words in Mirad are boldfaced.
• Words in English that are translations of Mirad are italicized.
• Technical grammatical terms in English are both boldfaced and italicized.

For example:

• The Mirad word van means that and is a positive subordinating conjunction.

External links

• Earlier version of Mirad (Unilingua)
• Agopoff, author of Unilingua
• Wikipedia: Constructed_Language
• Mirad Thesaurus (a wikibook)
• Mirad Lexicon (a wikibook)

Vocabulary Built on Native Roots

In English, we have many words like ichthyology, which baffle younger speakers of the language, because they are borrowed from a foreign language, in this case, classical Greek. This word, which could just as easily and more rationally be the Anglicized fishlore, means the science of fish. If a word in English relates to fish, why is fish not a part of the word? Even for modern day Greeks to understand the word ιχθυολογία (ichthyologia), they have to know the ancient root ιχθύς (ichthys) for fish, which has long been supplanted by the current word everyone uses, ψάρι (psari). What I'm saying is that the vocabulary of English, as is the case in many other natural languages, is a hodgepodge of borrowings, irregular spellings, and words cobbled from obscure roots that have little recognizability for the average speaker.

While English is a melting pot of words, there are some languages that do less borrowing and less non-discriminate formation of words that do not associate with one another through some root or pattern. Icelandic, for example, does not borrow very much from other languages and its words are formed using roots familiar to speakers of that language. The Icelandic word for library is bokasafn, which literally, is book collection ( = saving). Any child in that language knows what the word means immediately, because it is composed of root words that are obvious. The English word library makes sense only if you know the Latin roots libr- (book) and -ary (place of).

Arabic, by contrast, is a language that has a system of word-building based on a rational association of consonants and vowel patterns, such that most words relating to books and writing contain the three consonants k-t-b. Over the centuries, the system has been polluted with irregularities, but at least the consciousness of associations of words based on a root pattern is there and is still used today to coin new words.

In Turkish, the bulk of words having to do with knowledge contain the native root bil. Because of this, most of these words will be grouped on the same pages in a dictionary. For example: bildik known, bildirim announcement, bilecen know-it-all, bilgi knowledge, bilgili knowledgeable, bilgin scholar, etc. A word such as unknowability inevitably contains the root bil and can be learned fairly easily by a young student of the language.

Mirad has a vocabulary-building system with approximately 500 morphemes (word atoms or vocabulary building blocks) that are used to form derived words in the same sense family in accordance with a set of word-building rules. Words that are related semantically will share the same bulk of letters. For example, iva (happy), ivla (glad), and ivra (delighted) share the root morpheme iv- and differ only in one letter. The opposite of happy is derived by switching the vowel in the root morpheme from i to the negative counterpart u, such that uva means sad. Similarly, uvla (woeful) and uvra (tragic) are opposite counterparts to the extended iv- words.

In Mirad, every letter of a word has some semantic or grammatical function. All words are part of a system. If you know the word for to lengthen, then you automatically know the word for to shorten. The rules for deriving new words from existing words are consistent across the language. In Mirad, there is no such thing as irregular conjugation of verbs as in English write, wrote, written. Nouns are pluralized in one way only across the board, unlike the multiple, unpredictable ways German and Arabic words are pluralized. Prepositions have one meaning, as contrasted with the multiple, inscrutable meanings of Russian or Latin prepositions.

Words in Mirad are pronounced as they are written, with no exceptions. One letter is used for one sound. Only Roman letters are used in the alphabet, and there are no pesky diacritics (accents). Word stress is regular.

What if we took this root association to the maximum degree and ensured that all words in a language were constructed on logical, associational, and regular principles with roots that are obvious to the learner? That would be the way Mirad does it.

Deriving Opposites by Vowel-switching

A very simple principle in Mirad is that a good portion of the vocabulary can be guessed by the learner without looking up words in the dictionary. All descriptive adjectives can be changed to their opposite with a simple change of vowel. For example, if you know fia (good), then you automatically know fua (bad). This is possible by knowing the rule of contrastive vowels: i is a positive vowel and contrasts with u, a negative vowel. Similarly, a contrasts with o, so that the opposite of aza (strong) is--you guessed it--oza (weak). In fact, if you know that e is an intermediate vowel, then you understand that eza means moderate. These simple principles of word-building mean that students of the language can cut down on their learning time by at least 50%.

Using Consonants and Vowels to Vary Domains

Another principle is that the beginning and/or closing consonants of a word in Mirad give you clues as to the meaning. All sentient creatures have the final stem consonant t, such that dat (friend), tot (god), at (I), tuzut (artist), and pit (fish) all refer to sentient creatures. The root stems of all words having to do with communication, begin with the letter d, eg. der (to say), dud (answer), dyes (book), dal (speech), etc. The internal vowels of root stems very often indicate concepts such as sky, land, sea or up vs. down, or zeroth, first, second, or toward the speaker vs. away from the speaker, and on and on.

Scalarization

In English, as in many other languages, there was probably some attempt to associate words in this way. Take for example, the series sing, sang, sung, song, singer, songstress or drip, drop, droop, dribble. More often than not, there is very little association among English words that are obviously distinguished by the one feature, size, eg. mountain, hill, knob, bump, pimple. In Mirad, these are all distinguished regularly by a scalarizing enumerative vowel. The Mirad days of the week are not a series of Roman- or Teutonic-related concepts, Moon-day, Tiw's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, Freya's-day, Saturn-day, and Sun-day, all of which are a matter of memorization by the child or student of the language. Mirad days of the week consist rather of a series of words numerically arranged "day-one, day-two, day-three, etc." This is actually the approach taken by quite a few natural languages like Portuguese.

The months, too, ought to be learned in 10 seconds, by knowing that an internal vowel of the root expresses the numerical order of the months. Again, there are some natural languages that do this. By knowing that jiab means month one, January, then by knowing how to count in the language, the word for September can be readily deduced as jiyub (month nine, yu being the number for 9).

Taxonomy

The formulaic language of chemistry is a pretty good likeness of Mirad. There is a world-recognized symbolic, taxonomic relationship between H₂O and C₂O. Similarly, in Mirad, the stem vowels of the names of animals indicate their primary habitat: air, land, sea, or combinations of these. Other combinations of letters indicate whether the animal is domestic, predatory, wild, etc. From then on, its enumeration is based on factors such as commonness, taxonomic relationships, etc. Likewise, with human and animal body terms, the stem vowel indicates location on the body, such as head, trunk, or limbs. Then another vowel delineates in a directional way where on the head: upper, middle, lower, and so forth. Just by looking at the word for a body part for the first time, by knowing the system, you can tell at least approximately that it is, say, a higher joint of the arm. Color words are based on their position on nature's color spectrum. Governmental and courtly powerholders and other hierarchical elements are ranked by an ordinal vowel, eg. adeb (emperor), edeb (monarch), ideb (prince), udeb (duke), etc. The names of the planets are enumerated by their relative distance from the sun, so: amer (planet 1 = Mercury), emer (planet 2 = Mars), imer (planet 3 = Earth), etc. Zoological and botanical names are based on the international Linnean Taxonomy.

Mnemonics

Words in the language can be mnemonically associated to body terms by changing the initial domain consonant accordingly, so, while teb means head, xeb in the x or work/action domain is boss, deb in the social/political domain is leader, etc.

The following chart shows in this mnemonic echoing in action, where the letters before -ub suggest the domain:

Mnemonic Echoing

DOMAIN	WORD
human (body)	tub....arm
work/action	xub....subsidiary, branch
plants	fub....limb, branch, bough(of a tree)
fish	pitub....fin
birds	patub....wing
animal	potub....paw
land-sea animal	peitub....flipper
shoe	tyoyafub....(scuba-diving) flipper
vegetation	vub....shoot, sprig, twig
society/politics	dub....minister, department head
building	tomub....wing (of a building)
land	mub....promontory
river	mifub....oar
things	sub....ramification, offshoot
table	semub....flap (of a table)
rotating things	zyufub....rudder
flat	zyifub....paddle
round	zyub....lobe

Conclusion

Mirad uses many different techniques to short-cut the difficulty of learning new words or recognizing terms. The vowels, consonants, mnemonics, scalarization, taxonomy and many other methods are used to make the vocabulary as rational and intuitive as possible. Unlike in most natural languages, words like snow and sleet are going to have sounds in common in Mirad. I have never found a language other than Mirad where the words for ice, water, and steam are derived from one another even though we all know they are actually all H₂O in different temperature states.

The Alphabet

Mirad uses the Roman alphabet as in Modern English. There is an upper case (majuscules or capital letters) and a lower case (miniscules or small letters). The upper case letters are used for capitalization exactly as in English. Mirad, at least for non-foreign words, uses no diacritic marks such as the brève, the grave accent, or the dieresis. The order of the alphabet is the same as in English. The letters, though, are pronounced as shown in the chart. Note that there is a pattern: The vowel of each Mirad letter name changes to the single vowel letter before it. For example, the vowel in the name for letter f changes to e following the letter e in the alphabetic sequence. The Mirad letter name for j is ji because it is just beyond the vowel letter i in the alphabetic sequence. Uppercase letters have a Mirad letter name beginning in ag, a prefix meaning big.

Alphabet A-N

Lowercase	a	b	c	d		e	f	g	h		i	j	k	l	m	n
Mirad Letter Name	a	ba	ca	da		e	fe	ge	he		i	ji	ki	li	mi	ni
Uppercase	A	B	C	D		E	F	G	H		I	J	K	L	M	N
Mirad Letter Name	aga	agba	agca	agda		age	agfe	agge	aghe		agi	agji	agki	agli	agmi	agni

Alphabet O-Z

Lowercase	o	p	q	r	s	t		u	v	w	x	y	z
Mirad Letter Name	o	po	ko	ro	so	to		u	vu	wu	xu	yu	zu
Uppercase	O	P	Q	R	S	T		U	V	W	X	Y	Z
Mirad Letter Name	ago	agpo	agko	agro	agso	agto		agu	agvu	agwu	agxu	agyu	agzu

The letters c and q are used only to represent words and names imported into Mirad from other languages, or for words in which letters of the alphabet are used to spell out chemical terms, metric units, country names, languages, and other terms based on existing world standards like ISO.

Letter Names

Spelling a word aloud means uttering the word's Mirad letter names in succession left to right. If the letter is a upper case, then the letter name is preceded by ag-....big, eg.:

• anxwa is spelled aloud as a-ni-xu-wu-a
• Mirad is spelled aloud as agmi-i-ro-a-da

Note that age for E and agge for G need to be carefully distinguished. The former, age is pronounced a-ge, while the latter, agge, is pronounced ag-ge.

Capitalization

Capitalization in Mirad is handled almost exactly as in English:

• The first word of a new sentence is capitalized.

• At ife et.....I love you.
• Iyt da: "At ife et."....She said, "I love you."

• All proper nouns are capitalized, including names of people, organizations, books, languages, countries, etc.

• Mirad....Mirad
• Ferom....France
• ha Feromati....the French
• Alica be Flisem....Alice in Wonderland
• ha Yoongun....The Pentagon

• Acronyms are capitalized.

• ZUYX....NATO.
• DXV....FBI.

• If a verb or adjective is based on a proper noun, the proper noun part of the word gets capitalized.

• Deumxer....to Germanify
• loNazixer....to de-Nazify
• Irolim-ulza....Kelly (= Ireland) green.

• The planets and inhabitants of planets are capitalized.

• Ha tyod bi Imer.....The people of Earth.
• Ha Umerati upeye.....The Martians are coming.

• The word god is capitalized if referring to a religion's one, true god, otherwise not.

• Ha toti se futipa.....The gods are angry.
• Fyadilu bu Tot.....Pray to God.
• Van yat fyadilu bu Allah.....Let's pray to Allah.

Unlike in English, though:

• The days of the week, the months of the year, and the seasons are not capitalized.

• juab....Monday
• jieb....February
• jeub....Winter

Punctuation

Punctuation is handled as in English, with the following exception:

• A colon (:) is used in direct quotations, as opposed to the comma (,) used in English, eg.:

He said, "Let there be light."....It da: "Van esu man."

Here is a chart showing punctuation marks and symbols along with their names in Mirad:

Punctuation Marks and Symbols

ENGLISH	SYMBOL	MIRAD
MARKS (siyn)
period	.	nodsiyn
comma	,	grunsiyn
colon	:	ennodsiyn
semi-colon	;	nodgrunsiyn
question mark	?	didsiyn
exclamation point	!	yoksiyn
single quote	'	aona gedsiyn
double quote	"	eona gedsiyn
hyphen	-	naydsiyn
dash, em dash	--	eona nadsiyn
underscore, low line	_	oybnadsiyn
vertical line	|	aonadsiyn
wave dash	~	pyaon nadsiyn
forward slash, solidus	/	zaya kinad
backward slash, reverse solidus	\	zoya kinad
double slash	//	eona kinad
apostrophe	'	oysunsiyn
left parenthesis right parenthesis	( )	zua uzkun yebyujarsiyn zia uzkun yebyujarsiyn
left angle bracket right angle bracket	< ]	zua gun yebyujarsiyn zia gun yebyujarsiyn
left square bracket right square bracket	[ ]	zua izkun yebyujarsiyn zia izkun yebyujarsiyn
left curly bracket right curly bracket	{ }	zua uzyua yebyujarsiyn zia uzyua yebyujarsiyn
ellipsis	...	innodsiyn
caret	^	garsiyn
SYMBOLS (siun)
ampersand	&	aysiun
at sign	@	asiun
percent sign	%	asoynsiun
hash tag, pound sign, number sign	#	sagsiun
asterisk	*	marsiun
dollar sign	?	Usodansiun/

Note: Most of these marks and symbols are on a standard English-language keyboard. Mathematical symbols are not listed here, nor are most accent marks like "grave accent". See the Mathematical Expressions section of Numbers.

Text Direction

Text in Mirad is written from left to right with spaces between words.

Consonants

Consonant graphemes and phonemes

The following chart shows the correspondence of the consonants and their phomemic values in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA):

Correspondence of Consonant Graphemes and Phonemes

Grapheme	b	c	d	f	g	h	j	k	l	m	n	p	q	r	s	t	v	x	z
Phoneme	/b/	/t͡ʃ/	/d/	/f/	/g/	/h/	/ʒ/	/k/	/l/	/m/	/n/	/p/	/k/	/ɽ/	/s/	/t/	/v/	/ʃ/	/z/

Pronunciation of Consonants

The following chart shows the Mirad consonants with their phonemic values in the IPA:

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		/m/	/n/
Plosive	voiced	/b/	/d/		/g/
	unvoiced	/p/	/t/		/k/
Affricate	voiced
	unvoiced			/t͡ʃ/
Fricative	voiced	/v/	/z/	/ʒ/
	unvoiced	/f/	/s/	/ʃ/		/h/
Approximate			/l/
Flap			/ɽ/

The phonemes /r/ and /l/ are consonant liquids and behave in a special way in forming words in Mirad.

In Mirad, every consonant has a one-to-one correspondence with a single phoneme (ideal sound). Mirad does not use digraphs like sh or ph to represent consonant sounds. There are no double consonants, although sometimes a consonant will come together with the same consonant in the same word, but not the same syllable. There are no silent consonants. Also, there are no letters in "native" Mirad with diacritical marks like é or ñ.

Here are the letters that are pronounced somewhat differently from English:

• The letter x is pronounced like an sh in English, or a ch in French.
• In native Mirad words, h is pronounced like the h in English hand. It is sometimes used to simulate foreign sounds like the ch in Yiddish lachayim (to life!), or German Bach. If h comes at the end of a word, it is silent, but, being a consonant, it can serve to move the stress to the word-final syllable, as in Allah, pronounced a-LA.

• The letter j is pronounced like the zh in Russian Zhivago or the ge in English mirage.

• The letter s is always unvoiced as English ss and never sounds like a z.

• The letter g is always a hard sound as in English gap, not as in English wage.

• The letter c represents the unvoiced affricative sound t͡ʃ like the ch in English church. Some chemical names and metric units use the letter c, such as calilk (chlorine).

• The unvoiced plosives p, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of breath that sometimes follows them in their English counterparts. The corresponding consonants in French are exact equivalents.

• The consonant r should be a flap or trill like the r in Brit. Eng. very or the single, intervocalic r in Spanish pero.

• The consonant q is usually pronounced as a k, but in foreign borrowings or proper names, it may be pronounced according to context.

• The consonants in the Mirad alphabet correspond one-to-one with phonemes. There are no cases of consonant sounds being represented in native words by digraphs as in English ph, sh, ch, or th. For example, the sh sound in English is represented by x in Mirad. The English ch sound is represented in Mirad with the letter c. There are no equivalents in Mirad for the English sounds th in this or the th in think, but the combination th in foreign borrowings is pronounced as it is in the source language.

Here is a chart showing the phonetic values of Mirad consonants:

Consonants

MIRAD CONSONANT/ SEMI-CONSONANT GRAPHEME	IPA	ARTICULATION	NEAREST EQUIVALENTS
b	[b]	unaspirated voiced bilabial plosive	French bon, English boy
c	[tʃ]	unvoiced palato-alveolar affricate	English child, Spanish chico
d	[d]	unaspirated voiced alveolar plosive	French de, English dog
f	[f]	unvoiced labio-dental fricative	English fog
g	[g]	unaspirated voiced velar plosive	French gare, English good (always hard, even before e and i).
h	[h] [x]	glottal fricative	English house (used in some foreign words and names as a kh-like sound like German Bach. Not pronounced at the end of foreign borrowings like Allah or Arkansah.
j	[ʒ]	voiced palatal fricative	French je or English mirage.
k	[k]	unaspirated unvoiced velar fricative	French carte, English skip (without aspiration).
l	[l]	voiced post-alveolar lateral approximant	English love or French bel (never a dark l as in English bell.
m	[m]	voiced bilabial nasal	English mother.
n	[n] [ŋ]	voiced alveolar nasal	English nobody Before g or k, like English fang.
p	[p]	unvoiced bilabial plosive	French pain, English span (without aspiration).
q	-	-	(Only used in foreign words, or some chemical names, where it has various k-like or guttural pronunciations).
r	[r]	alveolar flap	Spanish mira or Italian Roma or British Eng. 'very.
s	[s]	unvoiced alveolar fricative	Always hard as in English safe (never a z sound as in rose).
t	[t]	unaspirated unvoiced alveolar plosive	French tous, English stop (without aspiration).
v	[v]	voiced labial-dental fricative	English very. Spanish and German speakers need to beware: this is not a bilabial consonant, nor is it an f sound.
x	[ʃ]	unvoiced post-alveolar fricative	English shape or French cher
z	/z/	voiced alveolar fricative	English zone. German speakers, beware. Mirad z is pronounced like a German s, as in sehr, not like z as in zehn, which sounds more like ts.

Vowels

Mirad vowels are divided into simple and glided vowels. The simple vowels are single letters, while the complex vowels have one or more semi-vowel glides (y or w) prefixed or suffixed.

Simple Vowels

The Mirad graphemes (alphabetic letters) used to represent the simple vowel phonemes (minimal meaningful sounds) are as follows:

Vowel Graphemes and Phonemes

Grapheme	a	e	i	o	u
Phoneme	/a/	/e/	/i/	/o/	/u/

Pronunciation of Simple Vowels

The simple vowels are pronounced as they are in many European Latin-based languages. The table below gives their phonetic values and some close examples in Spanish and French, and not-so-close examples in English.

Simple Vowels

VOWEL	IPA1	SPANISH	FRENCH	ENGLISH APPROXIMATION
a	[a]	mano	à	father
e	[e]	hecho	et	day 2
i	[i]	si	si	see2
o	[o]	no	de l'eau	so3
u	[u]	tu	ou	too3

Glided Vowels

Glided vowels are those preceded or followed by the semi-vowel glides y or w. This chart shows the possible glided vowels, their IPA equivalents, and their approximate pronunciations using English and other languages.

Glided Vowels

GLIDED VOWELS	IPA1	PRONUNCIATION
PRE-Y-GLIDED VOWELS
ya	[ja]	Eng. yacht, Fr. hiacinthe
ye	[je]	Eng. yet, Fr. grillé (grilled)
yi	[ji]	Eng. yeast*, Fr. bouilli
yo	[jo]	Eng. yoke*, Fr. maillot
yu	[ju]	Eng. you*, Fr. piou-piou
PRE-W-GLIDED VOWELS
wa	[wa]	Eng. water, Fr. gouache (poster paint)
we	[we]	Eng. wet, Fr. ouais (yes)
wi	[wi]	Eng. wee2, Fr. oui (yes)
wo	[wo]	Eng. woke2
wu	[wu]	Eng. woo2
POST-Y-GLIDED
ay	[aɪ]	Eng. sight, Sp. hay (there is)
ey	[eɪ]	Eng. day, Sp. rey (king)
iy	[iɪ]	Eng. see, Fr. bille (marble)
oy	[oɪ]	Eng. boy, Sp. hoy (today)
uy	[uɪ]	Eng. gooey, Sp. muy (very)
POST-W-GLIDED
aw	[ɔ]	Eng. awe
ew	[eʊ]	colloq. Eng. Tell me!
iw	[iʊ]	Eng. eew! (sound of disgust), Du. niew (new)
ow	[oʊ]	Eng. know, foe
uw	[uʊ]	Eng. goo
PRE-Y-POST-W-GLIDED
yaw	[jaʊ]	Eng. yaw
yew	[jeʊ]	Eng. yell (very rare)
yiw	[jiʊ]	Eng. yield (very rare)
yow	[joʊ]	Eng. yo bro!
yuw	[juʊ]	Eng. you
CIRCUM-Y-GLIDED
yay	[jaɪ]	Eng. yikes
yey	[jeɪ]	Eng. yea!
yiy	[jiɪ]	Eng. yeesh! (sound of disgust)
yoy	[joɪ]	Eng. yoink ( = New Jyoizy )
yuy	[juɪ]	Eng. Hughie
PRE-W-POST-Y-GLIDED
way	[waɪ]	Eng. wise, Fr. ouailles (flock)
wey	[weɪ]	Eng. way
wiy	[wiɪ]	Eng. wee! (sound of fun)
woy	[woɪ]	Eng. woy (rhymes with boy)
wuy	[wuɪ]	Eng. wooish (rhymes with gooey)

In Mirad, the above glided vowels are considered single vowels for the purposes of grammar, syllabification, and stress.

Note 1: International Phonetic Alphabet. See chart and click on sounds at [[1]].

Note 2: Without the typical y-glide at the end of the English vowel. The vowel should be pure, as in the Romance languages of Europe.

Note 3: Without the typical w-glide at the end of the English vowel. The vowel should be pure, as in the Romance languages of Europe.

Every syllable in Mirad contains one and only one vowel. A y when final or followed by a consonant is used to post-y-glide or diphthongize the previous vowel and is therefore considered part of the syllable in which that vowel is the nucleus (see case 2, below). Similarly, the liquids r and l, when final or followed by a consonant are considered to be a part of the syllable where the preceding vowel is the nucleus (see case 4, below). Two vowels in a row form two syllabic nuclei (see cases 3, 6, and 7, below). How syllables are divided is important for determining where the stress accent goes in a word (see Mirad_Grammar/Stress, below).

Syllabification

CASE	EXAMPLE	SYLLABIFIED
1	ama.....hot	a-ma
2	ayma.....warm	ay-ma
3	aymsea.....warming up	aym-se-a
4	pixwa....caught	pix-wa
5	upayo....will have come	u-pa-yo
6	vyaa....true	vya-a
7	vyaay....truly	vya-ay
8	vay....indeed	vay
9	tambwa....settled	tam-bwa
10	faof....plank	fa-of
11	twoyba....he-she	twoy-ba
12	yansauna....common	yan-sa-u-na

Although stress in Mirad is not marked and is not phonemic, i.e. not semantically distinctive, in all words of more than one syllable, the stress occurs on the last, non-final vowel, including glided vowels. The following chart gives some examples:

Stress

Mirad Word	With Stress and Syllabification Marked
tejna....vital	tej-na
igay....quickly	i-gay1
alayn....eleventh	a-layn
Mirad....Mirad	Mi-rad
booka....tired	bo-o-ka2
bookan....fatigue	bo-o-kan
akea....winning	a-ke-a
oyse....lacks	oy-se
byoskyin....pendulum	byos-kyin
pyaon....wave	pya-on
tooyba....female	to-oy-ba

¹ Here ay is a single post-y-glided vowel, and final, so it is not stressed.

² Two vowels in a row are pronounced in two syllables.

Here is a small passage where the stress of vowels in shown by boldfacing:

Hya tobi taje yiva ay gea be utfiz ay doyivi. Yit bulwe texyaf ay tyaf ay yeyfe hyuitaxler tidyenay.

All men are born equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another as brothers.

Phonotactics refers to the patterns in which the phonemes of a language may combine to form sequences. The possible syllabic patterns of Mirad are given below in a chart.

For the purposes of this chart:

• Y stands for the semi-vowel glides y or w.
• L stands for the liquids r and l.
• C stands for consonants other than glides or liquids.
• A stands for simple vowels.
• N stands for the nasal consonants m or n.
• + means 1 to 3 of the foregoing letter
• Parentheses indicate that a letter is optional.
• Bracketing indicates a choice of letters or patterns.

Syllables in native Mirad are shaped according to the following pattern constraints:

Phonotactics

ALLOWABLE SYLLABIC PATTERNS	EXAMPLES
(C)[LG]A+(Y)(L)(C)	o, ay, xwa, gyo, gra, toyb, glays, alp mayr, hyos, va, xwa, gyo, gla, gre, vya, lo, wa, yu, gaw
...A(Y)N(C)[sx]	mamp, yomx, yank, yons, eynx

• Two non-glide/liquid/non-nasal consonants cannot appear together in the same syllable, except in foreign-imported words.
• Two glides or liquids cannot come together in one syllable except in foreign-imported words.

Mirad words can be categorized as the following parts of speech, followed by their inflectional and derivational subcategories:

SUBSTANTIVES

• Nouns ( = sunduni)

• Common Nouns

• Countable Nouns    (tam....house, ewa tami....two houses)

• Animate Nouns    (tob....person)
• Inanimate Nouns    (pur....car)
• Gender-Neutral Nouns    (nyem....box)
• Male-Specific Nouns    ( twob....man)
• Female-Specific Nouns    ( toyb....cow)
• Singular Nouns    (sem....table)
• Plural Nouns    ( semi....tables)

• Uncountable Nouns

• Mass Nouns    (miek....sand, gla miek....a lot of sand)
• Deverbal Nouns ( ~ Gerunds/Infinitives/Abstractions)   (melyexen....farming, melyexer....to farm, ifon....love, xeyn....deed)
• Deadjectival ( ~ Abstract) Nouns   (vian....beauty)

• Proper Nouns

• Full names    (Usom....United States)
• Acronyms   (EA....EU)

• Pronouns ( = avduni)

• Personal Pronouns    (iyt....she)
• Reflexive Pronouns    (aut....myself)
• Possessive Pronouns    ( atas....mine)
• Deictic ( ~ Demonstrative) Pronouns    (hus....that)
• Quantitative Determiner Pronouns    (glati....many of them)
• Reciprocal Pronouns    (hyuit....one another)

VERBS ( = erduni)

• Tenses

• Present    (pe....goes)
• Past    (pa....went)
• Future    (po....will go)
• Atemporal    (pu!....Go!)

• Aspects

• Progressive    (peye....is going, peya....was going)
• Perfect    (paye....has gone, paya....had gone)
• Imminent    (poye....is about to go, poya....was to go)
• Potential    (puye....is apt to go, puya....was apt to go)

• Moods

• Hypothetical    (pu....would go, [van has] pu....[that it] go)
• Indicative    (po...will go, pe....goes)

• Voices

• Active    (It yijba ha mes.....He opened the door.)
• Passive    (Ha mes yijbwa.....The door was opened.)
• Medio-passive    (Ha mes yija.....The door opened.)

• Transitivity

• Transitive    (besa....stayed)
• Intransitive    ( bexa....held)

• Dynamicity

• Static    (tujeye....is sleeping)
• Dynamic    (tujpa....fell asleep)

• Focus

• Subject-oriented    (yafe....is able)
• Patient-oriented    (yafwe....is possible)

MODIFIERS

• Adjectives ( = aduni)

• Deictic Adjectives ( ~ Determiners)    (duhoa?....which?, hyea....any)
• Descriptive Adjectives    (via....beautiful)
• Denominal Adjectives    (vensona....conditional)
• Pronominal ( ~ Possessive) Adjectives)    (yata....our)
• Deverbal Adjectives ( ~ Participles)    (tejea....living, obwa....removed)
• Numeric Adjectives    (awa....one, ewa....two)

• Adverbs (ayduni)

• Inherent adverbs    (voy....not)
• Derived adverbs    (ikay....fully)

CONNECTORS

• Prepositions ( = ebduni)

• Simple Prepositions    (av....for)
• Complex Prepositions (be zam bi....in front of, yib bi....far from)

• Conjunctions ( = yanxduni)

• Coordinating    (ay....and, ey....or)
• Subordinating    (van....that, ven....if)
• Correlative    (hyaewa...ay....both...and)
• Adverbial    (johus....then, avhus....therefore)

PARTICLES ( = dunesi)

• Interjections    ( = tipduni) (hey!....Yoohoo!, hway!....bravo!)
• Cardinal Numbers    (a....one, e....two)
• Letter Names    (a, ba, ca)
• Onomatopeia    (pao!, xux!)
• Abbreviations    (a.g.....etc., a.k.....e.g.)

Noun Types

Nouns in Mirad can be distinguished in the following 7 ways:

1. common vs. proper
2. concrete vs. abstract
3. countable vs. mass
4. gender-neutral vs. masculine/feminine
5. singular vs. plural
6. animate vs. inanimate
7. full form vs. acronym

Common vs. Proper Nouns

COMMON	PROPER
tam....house	Emer....Venus
yagsim....bench	Ferom....France
dyes....book	Notre Dame...Notre Dame
tej....life	Tot....God

Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns

CONCRETE	ABSTRACT
tab....body	ifon....love
mil....water	oyman....coolness
deuz....song	deuzen....singing

Abstract nouns include gerunds, i.e. nouns which are nominalized derivations of verbs like deuzen....singing < deuzer....to sing or osexen....destruction < osexer....to destroy. Infinitives like deuzer....to sing are also considered abstract nouns.

Countable vs. Mass Nouns

COUNTABLE	MASS
pat....bird	pattel....bird food
patayebi....feathers	patayebyan....plumage
megi....rocks	mil....water

In native Mirad, all common nouns in their singular dictionary lookup form end in a consonant. Proper nouns sometimes end in a vowel, such as Roma....Rome. Plural common countable nouns end in the vowel i (pat....bird ⇒ pati....birds).

Gender-neutral vs. Gendered

GENDER-NEUTRAL	FEMININE	MASCULINE
tob....human being	toyb....woman	twob....man
edeb....monarch	edeyb....queen	edweb....king
ted....parent	teyd....mother	twed....father

Singular vs. Plural Nouns

SINGULAR	PLURAL
dom....city	domi....cities
gon....part	goni....parts
jub....day	jubi....days

Inanimate vs. Animate Nouns

INANIMATE	ANIMATE
mam....sky	pot....animal
tom....building	aot....person
job....time	tobet....child

Full form vs. Acronym

FULL FORM	ACRONYM
Anxwa Doobi....United Nations	AD....UN
Mir Nunuien Xob....World Trade Organization	MNX....WTO

The above noun type distinctions are relevant in various parts of Mirad's grammar.

Pluralization of Common Nouns

A singular countable common noun always ends in a consonant and is made plural by suffixing the pluralizing marker -i. So, the plural of pur....car is puri....cars. In noun phrases, for example, where a noun is modified by an article and adjective, only the noun is pluralized, that is, there is no agreement across word boundaries as in many European languages (la belle fleur →les belles fleurs). The plural suffix -i is the only way nouns in Mirad are inflected. All other changes to nouns are derivational in nature, eg. genderization, augmentation, diminution, capitalization, etc.

Pluralization of Nouns

SINGULAR	PLURAL
tam....house	tami....houses
toyb....woman	toybi....women
tej....life	teji....lives
ha via dom....the beautiful city	ha via domi....the beautiful cities

Modifying Nouns with the Definite Article

In Mirad, there is only a single noun-modifying article, the invariable definite article ha (the). There is no indefinite article like English a / an. A noun is considered indefinite or general unless modified by the definite article ha (which in reality is a definite deictic determiner, discussed with other deictic determiners in the later section on Mirad Grammar/Determiners#Deictic Determiners). The definite article ha is positioned, as in English, before the noun and before any other adjectives or modifiers of that noun. It is invariable, in that it does not vary for gender, number, or case as in German or Spanish. The definite article acts like its counterpart in English, as shown in the following chart:

Use of the Definite Article

MIRAD	ENGLISH	SPECIFICITY
tam	a house	indefinite, no article
ha tam	the house	definite
ha tami	the houses	definite, plural
tej	life	general, no article
fitejawa tej	a life well-lived	indefinite, no article
ha tej (...ho at bayse)	the life (... that I have)	specific
Ferad	French	language name, already specific, no article
Ivan	Ivan	person's name, no article
Ifliu yivan!	Cherish freedom	abstraction, no article
Ha yivani ho yat ifie.	The freedoms that we enjoy.	abstraction specified
Yata yivani...	Our freedoms...	abstraction specified with possessive pronoun, no article

Speakers of French and other European languages should take note that general concepts like love, life, freedom do not employ the definite article unless they refer to a specific instance, such as in the phrases the love that dare not speak its name or the life well-lived or the freedoms we possess. The names of languages and countries are also considered already specific, and so as in English, they do not take a definite article as they might in some European languages. Names of persons do not take the definite article as they do in modern Greek, unless in a phrase like "the Ivan I once knew."

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns, such as names of people, places, languages, etc., are capitalized as in English. The formation of country names and languages is discussed in Countries of the World and Languages of the World. It can be said here, though, that country names end in -m; the inhabitants of those places end in -t or pl. -ti; and the languages they speak end in -d. Language names are capitalized, eg. At tixe Ferad. (I study French.). In fact, this is the case for all parts of speech derived from a proper name, eg. Usoma tel Feramxweye. American food is being Frenchified.. French speakers beware; this is not like in French. And German speakers beware, too! Not all nouns are capitalized; only ones that are proper, such as names of people, companies, languages, countries, etc.

Names of people, cities, etc. are spelled in Mirad to best reflect the foreign pronunciation, but also to remain recognizable. For example:

• Xikago....Chicago
• Paris....Paris
• Munxen....Munich/München
• Beijing....Beijing
• Nu York....New York
• Nu Orlinz....New Orleans
• Xampanya....Champagne
• Méhiko Dom....Mexico City
• Waxington....Washington
• Seol....Seoul
• Xeykspir....Shakespeare

An inhabitant of a city is formed by adding -t or -at to the name, depending on whether it ends in a vowel or consonant, respectively, eg. Parisat....a Parisian or Waxingtonati....Washingtonians. Chicago's main newspaper is expressed in Mirad as ha aaga jubdindref bi Xikago. The English preposition in used before cities and states is translated by be in Mirad, eg. At tambese be Paris.....I live in Paris.

Noun Modifiers: Placement and Agreement

Nouns can be modified by various qualitative, quantitative, and deictic adjectives, which all precede the noun. These modifiers come in the same order as in English. There is no gender or number agreement between the modifiers and the noun, except that numeric adjectives, such as ewa....two naturally are followed by a noun in the plural number.

Noun Modifiers

Mirad	English
ha ewa aga tami	the two big houses
gla ifxea taxi	many pleasant memories
hya fia tob	every good man
ha yaga via mepi	the long, beautiful roads
gra vua sexen	too much ugly construction
ata aja teji	my past lives

Noun Linkage

Nouns can be

1. linked with a preposition or conjunction, where the prepositional/conjunctional phrase follows the head noun, or
2. juxtaposed, where the modifier noun is separated by a space and comes before the head noun, or
3. compounded, where the modifier noun is prefixed to a headword, or
4. hyphenated, where two equal elements are joined by a hyphen.

Examples:

Noun Linkage

LINKAGE EXAMPLE	CONSTRUCTION
Ivan ay Maria....Ivan and Maria	nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ay (and)
ha tam ey ha par....the house or the car	nouns linked associatively by the conjunction ey (or)
hyati oy ha toybi....all but the women	nouns linked associatively by the conjunction or (but)
nyandras boy eta dyun....a list without your name	nouns linked associatively by the preposition boy (without)
tej bi nasuk....a life of poverty	nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of)
ha tam bi Maria ....Mary's house (the house of Mary	nouns linked possessively by the preposition bi (of)
job bi aga ivan....a time of great joy	nouns linked associatively by the preposition bi (of)
dyes ayv ha Ea Mira Dropek....a book about the Second World War	nouns linked associatively by the preposition ayv (about)
dropek jwabeni....war preparations	modifier noun dropek (war) juxtaposed with the head noun jwabeni (preparations)
dom yuzpur....a city bus	modifier noun dom (city) juxtaposed with the head noun yuzpur (bus)
tojojfon....a death wish	modifier noun toj (death) compounded with the head noun ojfon (wish)
jogatanyaf....youth league	modifier noun jogat (youth) compounded with the head noun anyaf (league)
maj-moj....a day-and-night	two or more equal, opposed nouns hyphenated

The X bi Y prepositional construction must always be used for possession by a named person, eg. ha tam bi Sam (Sam's house = the house of Sam). The methods of noun linkage otherwise follow the English pattern in most all cases. Pronominal possession such as his car is discussed in the section on personal pronouns. The preposition bi....of is used in partitive expressions like tilzyeb bi vafil....a glass of wine (but: vafil tilzeb....wine glass, where wine modifies the glass associatively). More about this and other prepositions or conjunctions can be found in the section on Mirad Grammar/Prepositions or Mirad Grammar/Conjunctions.

Details on how noun vocabulary is derived appears in the section on Mirad Grammar/Vocabulary Formation.

Noun Derivational Affixes

Nouns can be divided into:

• simple nouns such as pur....vehicle
• compound nouns such as bixpur....train < bix....pull + pur....vehicle
• derived nouns such as fabyan....forest < fab....tree + -yan
  a suffix meaning collection

Derived nouns can be formed by attaching nominal suffixes or prefixes to words or roots. A list of nominal suffixes to form derived nouns is shown in the following table. More can be read about noun derivation in the section on vocabulary-building.

Noun Suffixes

Noun Derivational Suffixes

SUFFIX	MEANING	BASE ONTO WHICH SUFFIX IS ADDED	EXAMPLES
-ag	big	noun	tam....house → tamag....mansion tyal....meal → tyalag....banquet tilar....spoon → tilarag....ladle
-an	abstact quality -ness -hood, -ity	adjective stem	via....beautiful → vian....beauty yeva....fair → yevan....fairness, equity toba....human → toban....humanity, humanness, manhood
-ayg	big and cute	noun	tam....house → tamayg....cozy mansion kapet....dog → kapetayg....wolfie
-ambok	-itis, inflammation	noun	buixtaib....tendon → buixtaibambok....tendonitis
-d	language speech utterance	adjective and other stems	Enigem....English → Eniged....English (language) Mira....of the world → Mirad....Mirad (world speech) ekpet....horse →ekped....neigh, whinny
-drun	-gram	noun stems	tiib....heart → tiibdrun....cardiogram
-dra/i/ur	-graph	noun stems	am....heat → amdrar....thermograph
-dren	-graphy	mostly noun stems	yib....far → yibdren....telegraphy
-ef	need of	various stems	tel....food→telef....hunger iga....fast→igef....emergency til....drink→ tilef....thirst
-en	present gerund -ing -tion -ment	verb stem	ifi-....enjoy →ifien....enjoyment deuz-....sing→deuzen....singing ax-....act → axlen....acting
-eyn	present gerund -tion -ment	verb stem	x-....do →xeyn....deed s-....to be→seyn....essence jaup-....preceed → jaupeyn....precedent
-es	smaller counterpart thing	noun	tef....hat→ tefes cap saun....kind→ saunes....sample dreuz....poem → deuzes....stanza mek....dust, powder→mekes....speck, grain
-et	smaller counterpart person	noun	twob....man → twobet....boy toyb....woman→ toybet....girl
-if	love of -philia	noun	tel....food → telif....gourmandise doab....homeland → doabif....patriotism dyes....book → dyesif....bibliophilia, love of books
-ig	quick	noun and verb stem	man....light → manig....flash pyex....stroke→pyexig....swat yopap-....dive, fly down → yopapig....swoop
-im	room, chamber	various stems	fyadil-....to pray →faydilim....chapel magel-....to cook → magelim....kitchen tof-....to dress → tofim....dressing room
-in	doctrine, dogma, -ism	various stems	tot....god → totin....religion, theism otofa....nude→otofin....nudism yufr-....terror → yufrin....terrorism
-kyaoxar	-stat	noun stems	am....heat → amkyaoxar....thermostat
-n	abstract noun	various stems	ze....in the middle of → zen....center za....in front of →zan....face byi....since, starting with → byin....source go....less→ gon....part
-am	house building	various stems	nun-....merchandise → nunam....store til drink → tilam....bar, tavern fyadil-....to pray → fyadilam....church
-(e)m	place	various stems	duho-? what-?→ duhom?....where? yex....work → yexem....worksite ab....on, above → abem....top, surface kua....lateral→kum....side
-um	compartment booth	various stems	teuzibar....telephone → teuzibarum....telephone booth
-yem	enclosure, box	various stems	ekpet....horse →ekpetyem....corral b-....put → byem....position
-ud	offspring, baby of	noun	ekpet....horse→ekpetud....foal
-wud	son of	noun	ekpet....horse→ekpetwud....colt
-uyd	daughter of	noun	ekpet....horse→ekpetuyd....filly
-og	little	noun	tab body→ tabog....corpuscle ekpet....horse → ekpetog....pony tyal....meal → tyalog....snack golbun....cut → golbunog....cutlet
-oyg	little and cute	noun	tam....house → tamoyg....cottage gafapayt....chicken →gafapaytoyg....chickadee mimpar....boat → mirparoyg....dingy
-nagar	-ometer	noun	am....heat → amnagar....thermometer
-ar, -ir, -ur	tool, machine, engine	usu. verb stem	p-....to go→ pur....car dr-....to write → drar....pencil gobl-....to cut → goblar....knife yaobl-....to lift up and down → yaoblur....elevator, lift yaoblir....lift, crane dop....military → dopar....gun dopur....machine gun dopir....artillery, cannon
-s	thing, object, the X one	adjective	aa first → aas....first one, first thing otwa....unknown → otwas....mystery, an unknown tejea....living → tejeas....living thing
-(s)on	abstract thing issue	various stems	if-....to love→ifon....love ov against→ ovon....obstacle aza strong → azon....force yika....difficult → yikson....problem
-(s)un	object thing result of an action	various stems	vyua....dirty → vyun....spot tamb-....settle →tambiun....settlement gofr- shred → gofrun....scrap, shred hyo....not a single→ hyosun....not a single thing
-t	person	adjective	ea second → eat....second one, second person fya-....holy → fyat....holy one, saint ujna....last→ujat....last one, last person Usoma....American →Usomat....an American
-tajbus	-ogen, producer	noun	om....cold, cry- → omtajbus....cryogen
-tun	science of, -ology	noun	tot....god → tottun....theology tob....man → tobtun....anthropology vob....plant →vobtun....botany
-tuyn	pseudo-science	noun	mar....star → martuyn....astrology
-tuin	theory	noun	vyelan....relativity→ vyelantuin....theory of relativity
-tyen	skill, craft	noun	sur....engine → surtyen....engineering
-(t)in	doctrine, -ism	noun	zaypas-....progress → zaypasin....progressivism
-tut, tuyt (f.)	scientist -ologist -ist	noun	tot....god → tottut....theologist tob....man → tobtuyt....woman anthropologist vob....plant→ vobtut....botanist
-uf	hate of, -phobia	noun	mil....water → miluf....hydrophobia totin....religion → totinuf....hatred of religion toyb....woman → toybuf....misogyny
-ut, uyt (f.)	agent, one who Xes, -er, -ant, -ist	verb stem	bek-....treat → bekuyt....female nurse pop-....travel→poput....traveler ak-....win → akut....winner
--yaf	ability to, power -ability	verb stem	teat-....to see → teatyaf....ability to see tex-....to think → texyaf....cognition test-....to understand → testyaf....comprehension nos-....to spend → nosyaf....spending power t-....to know → tyaf....cognizance
-yafwan	possibility, -ability	verb stem	teat-....to see → teatyafwan....visibility
-yof	inability to, disability	verb stem	teat-....to see → teatyof....blindness teet-....to hear → teetyof....deafness pas-....to move→pasyof....paralysis tuj-....to sleep → tujyof....insomnia
-yofwan	impossibility	verb stem	teat-....to see → teatyofwan....invisibility
-yag	big and ugly, long	noun	tetwid....uncle→ tetwidyag....dirty old uncle toyb....woman → toybyag....hag
-yan	collection, grouping -ary	noun	tob....man → tobyan....mankind mar....star → maryan....constellation fab....tree → fabyan....forest dyes....book→ dyesyan....library
-yen	manner, kind	noun	dal....talk →dalyen....parlance sex-....build →sexyen....structure
-yef	duty, obligation	verb stem	dud-....to answer → dudyef....responsibility byok-....to ache → byokyef....punishment
-yik	difficulty to	verb stem	teeter....to hear → teetyik....difficulty hearing tiex-....to breathe → tiexyik....difficulty breathing, asthma
-yog	little and ugly	noun	tam....house →tamyog....shack anpiat....duck → anpiatyog....ugly duckling kod....secret → kodyog....little dirty secret
-yuf	fear of, -phobia	noun	serpyet....snake→ serpyetyuf....fear of snakes mil....water → milyuf....hyrophobia
-yuk	ease of	verb stem	pes- to wait → pesyuk....patience kovyox- to fool → kovyoxyuk....gullibility, foolhardiness

Differences between -en, -eyn, and -un

The noun suffixes -en, -eyn, and -un create nominalized forms from verb stem, but are a bit confusing. The suffix -en is equivalent to the English -ing and forms a gerundive. The suffix -eyn is a slight variation and refers to a single action or state. The ending -un forms a word meaning the result of an action and is often a thing. Sometimes -eyn is used instead of -un where the latter has a special meaning. Here are some examples:

• xer....to do

• xen....doing
• xeyn....deed
• xun....fact

• yugxer....to slow up

• yugxen....deceleration
• yugxun....bottleneck

• der....to say

• den....saying
• deyn....utterance, a saying
• dun....word

• ujer....to end

• ujen....ending eg. I like ending on a happy note.
• ujeyn....an ending, finale eg. This play's finale was emotional.
• ujun....end, tail end eg. The road came to a sudden end.

Examples of the Suffix -yen

Wording Ending in -yen

Base Word	Derivation
ajtyod....past people	ajtyodyen....tradition
d-....to say	dyen....expression
akpas....winning move	akpasyen....tactic
dre(r)....to write	dreyen....writing system
amal....atmosphere	amalyen....weather
an-....single	anyen....quirk, idio-
axl-....to act	axlyen....behavior
aot....person	aotyen....character, personality
ty-....to know how	tyen....skill, craft
x-....to do	xyen....profession
ze-....middle	zeyen....means
bas-....gesture	basyen....body language
tex....thought	texyen....opinion
es-....to exist	esyen....state
kya-....change	kyayen....version
p-....to go	pyen....pace, gait
yex-....to work	yexyen....line of work
tayot-....to feel	tayotyen....texture

Noun Prefixes

Prefixes can also be attached to nouns to create derivatives. Here are some common productive ones:

Noun Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Base Noun	Derivations
aa-	first, arch-	deb....leader dezun....performance tat....angel	aadeb....premier azdezun....premiere aatat....archangel
ab-	superior, sur-, on	donab....rank dout....gentleman dyun....name	abdonab....superior rank abdout....aristocrat abdyun....title, surname
an-	one, uni-, mono-	zyukpar....wheeled vehicle dungon....syllable	anzyukpar....unicycle andungon....monosyllable
ao-	vertical	nab....rank	aonab....column
aoyeb-	in-and-out	belen....carrying	aoyebelen....import-exports
aov-	for-and-against	dalson....subject	aovdalson...controversy
ayb-	over-, super-	dras....script ilp....flow mas....name	aybdrun....superscript aybilp....overflow aybmas....ceiling
ayn-	holo-	dras....script meg....stone sag....number	ayndras....hologram aynmeg....hololith aynsag....integer
aj-	past, pre-, fore-	din....story gex....equity	ajdin....history ajgex....revenge
az-	strong	hihid....laugh ojvad....promise tos....feeling	azhihid....guffaw azojvad....covenant aztos....passion
do-	public	del....statement did....question vyab....rule	dodel....announcement dodid....inquiry dovyab....law
eb-	inter-, dia-	dal....statement ifek....gram kyax....change	ebdal....dialog ebifek....interlude ebkyax....interchange
eyn-	semi-, hemi-, half-	il....liquid	eynil....semi-liquid
en-	bi-, di-, two-	zyukpar....wheeled vehicle	enzyukpar....bicycle
eg-	normal	byen....manner	egbyen....norm
ej-	step-, current	twid....brother din....story	ejtwid....step-brother ejdin....current news item
ev-	a-, neutral	totin....deism	evtotin....atheism
fi-	eu-, bene-	dyen....expression tos....feeling fon....will	fidyen....euphemism fitos....euphoria fifon....benevolence
fyi-	helpful	dal....talk	fyidal....advice
fu-	caco-, mal-, ill-, dys-	seux....sound fon....will tos....feeling	fuseux....cacophony fufon....ill-will, malevolence futos....dysphoria
fyu-	waste	mil....water pelt...insect mul....stuff	fyumil....waste water fyupelt....pest fyumul....garbage
fya-	holy	din....story buun....gift byekut....healer	fyadin....gospel fyabuun....oblation, offering fyabyekut....shaman, witchdoctor
fye-	fantasy, mytho-	din....story diyn....tale mir....world	fyedin....myth, fantasy fyediyn....fairy-tale, fable fyemir....fantasia, fantasy-world
fyo-	evil	tat....angel	fyotat....demon
gab-	plus	nix....earning	gabnix....interest
gaw-	re-	aklen....conquest	gawaklen....reconquest
ge-	equi-, iso-, even-	eksag....score kyin....weight	geeksag....tie gekyin....equilibrium
gel-	homo-, like-, simul-	dredun....speling san....form	geldredun....homograph gelsan....isomorph, clone
gla-	multi-, plur-, poly-	gon....part	glagon....plurality
gra-	too, hyper-	bik....caution	grabik....hypercaution
gwa-	macro-, super-	mor....universe	gwamor....macrocosm
gwo-	micro-, mini-	drenod....dot nog....degree	gwodrenod....microdot gwonog....minimum
hyi-	homo-, same	toobif....gender preference	hyitoobif....homosexualtiy
hyu-	hetero-, different, other-, allo-, xeno-	toobif....gender preference mer....planet san....shape	hyutoobif....heterosexuality hyumer....alien planet hyusan....allomorph
hya-	omni-, pan-, all-	doobin....nationalism	hyadoobin....pan-nationalism
hye-	any, whatever	saun....kind	hyesaun....any kind
hyo(s)-	nothing	ten....knowledge	hyosten....ignorance
hyuit-	mutual	fizuen....respect	hyuitfizuen....mutual respect
ig-	fast	didyan....questionnaire	igdidyan....pop quiz
ij-	initial, head	dun....word miap....stream	ijdun....prologue ijmiap....headstream
ik-	full	nuxen....payment	iknuxen....liquidation
il-	liquid	ok....loss	ilok....leak
im	wet	mel....soil	immel....loam, wetland
in-	tri-, three	goblun....cut	ingoblun....trisection
iv-	happy	din....story	ivdin....comedy
iz-	straight, orth-, rect-, direct	fin....quality mep....path	izfin....rectitude izmep....beeline, vector
ja-	before, pre-	bik....caution	jabik....precaution
je-	continuous	dodal....speech	jedodal....harangue
jo-	after, post-	dren....writing	jodren....postscript
jwa-	proto-, eo-, early	ajdin....history ejob....modern era	jwaajdin....protohistory jwaejob....eocene
jwe-	prompt	puen....arrival	jwepuen....on-time arrival
jwo-	latter, late	moj....night	jwomoj....late night
ku-	side, aside, lateral	bux....push deyn....saying	kubux....rebuff kudeyn....remark
ki-	diagonal, slant	nad....line texyen....opinion	kinad....diagonal, slant kitexyen....bias
ko-	hide, covert	d....utterance exut....operative flen....desire jadrun....plan	kod....secret koexut....spy koflen....envy kojadrun....plot
kya-	change, para-, re-	'bax....movement dyan....phrase din....story naz....value napxen....ordering	kyabax....shift kyadyan....paraphrase kyadin....version kyanaz....variable kyanapxen....reordering, shuffling
kye-	haphazard	den....saying fyun....harm kaxun....find	kyeden....guesswork kyefyun....danger kyekaxun....discovery
kyo-	fixed	byen....manner deyn....saying doneg....social class	kyobyen....habit kyodeyn....cliché kyodoneg....caste
kyi-	heavy	azon....force tes....meaning bal....pressure	kyiazon....gravity kyites....importance kyibal....strain
kyu-	light	azon....force mamil	kyuazon....ballast kyumamil....drizzle
lo-	dis-, de-, un-	bexun....possession bokulxen....toxification box...quiet	lobexun....dispossession, divestment lobokulxen....detoxification lobox....disquiet
mak-	electro-, e-	ebdras....letter nagar....meter	makebdras....email maknagar....electrometer
o-	not, un-	bik....care	obik....neglect
ob-	off-	goflun....rip fub....branch	obgoflun....stub obfub....offshoot
oge-	unequal, aniso-	izonan...orientation	ogeizonan....anisotropy
ogel-	hetero-, different	toobifan....sexual preference	ogeltoobifan....heterosexuality
oyb-	under-, sub-, infra-	mos....floor neg....level	oybmos....basement oybneg....sublevel
of-	unauthorized	birun....grab dresini....drawings gelxun....copy	ofbirun....loot ofdresini....grafitti ofgelxun....plagiarism
og-	small	soni....matters	ogsoni....trivia
oj-	future, fore-	buen....giving deyn....utterance	ojbuen....lending ojdeyn....forecast
ok-	loss	buun....gift tos....feeling	okbuun....sacrifice oktos....heartache
ov-	against, counter-, contra-	adabinut....imperialist apyex....attack	'ovadabinut....anti-imperialist ovapyex....counterattack
oz-	weak	duun....suggestion	ozduun....hint
ug-	slow	dal....speech ilok....leak teax....look	ugdal....drawl ugilok....seepage ugteax....gaze
ui-	'horizontal	nab....rank	uinab....row
un-	quadri-, tetra-, four-	drezun....poem yan....collection	undrezun....quatrain unyan....tetrad
uj-	end	ak....win dun....word jud....date	ujak....success ujdun....epilogue ujjud....deadline
uk	empty	dal....talk mel....soil nod....point	ukdal....blather ukmel....desert uknod....puncture
ut-	self-, sui-, aut(o)-	tojben....killing dab....government	uttojben....suicide utdab....autarchy
uv-	sad	deuzun'....song dolen....silence kyeuj....fate	uvdeuzun....dirge uvdolen....sulking uvkyeuj....tragedy
uf-	hate	dal....speech tos....feeling	ufdal....rant uftos....anger
uz-	crooked, curved, arc	aybmas....roof dopar....weapon kunad....edge	uzaybmas....vault, arch uzdopar....bow, arch uzkunad....rim
va-	yes	bien....taking diun....request dud....answer	vabien....acceptance vadiun....claim vadud....assent
ve-	maybe	texen....thinking yovdeyn....inculpation	vetexen....supposition veyovdeyn....indictment
vo-	no	texen'....thinking fon....will	votexen....doubting vofon....disinclination
vya-	true	deyn....utterance dud....answer nad....line	vyadeyn....avowal vyadud....solution vyanad....guideline
vye-	relative	dren....writing	vyedren....correspondence
vyo-	wrong, mis-	bek....treatment dat....friend	vyobek....mistreatment vyodat....false friend
yan-	together, con-	dal....talk	yandal....conversation
yon-	apart	byex....strike	yonbyex....breach
yov-	shame	bixen....pulling byok....pain if....pleasure	yovbixen....seduction yovbyok....punishment yovif....schadenfreude
yab-	up, super-, high-, hyper-	dom'....city dot....society	yabdom....uptown yabdot....high society
yabnan-	hypso-, acro-, height	dren....recording	yabnandren....hypsography
yaob-	up-and-down	yuijar....valve pusen....jumping	yaobyuijar....piston yaopusen....bouncing
yaz-	swollen, protruding, convex	dal....talk buk....wound tiub....belly	yazdal....bombast yazbuk....boil, blister yaztiub....potbelly
yez-	flush, along, para-	baktut....medic mel....terrain	yezbaktut....paramedic yezmel....meadow
yiz-	beyond, meta-, ultra-, hyper-	doobin....nationalism dreniv....text	yizdoobin....ultra-nationalism yizdreniv....hypertext
yoz-	sunken, concave	nad....line	yoznad....groove, gutter
yaoz-	saw-toothed, convex-concave	nad....line goblar....knife	yaoznad....tilde yaozgoblar....saw
yuz-	around, circ-, circum-, peri-	pipen....navigation teaxar....scope tyop....walk	yuzpipen....circumnavigation yuzteaxar....periscope yuztyop....stroll
yeb-	in-, intro-, inner-	dungab....affix dem....yard	yebdungab....infix yebdem...courtyard
oyeb-	out-, extro-, outer-	dom....city dovyaban....legality	oyebdom....outskirts oyebdovyaban....extralegality
yib-	tele-, far	drir....typewriter teaxar....viewer, scope	yibdrir....teletype yibteaxar....telescope
yibaj	ancient, archaeo-, paleo-	deyn....utterance tun....science	yibajdeyn....archaism yibajtun....archaeology
yub-	near, para-	gexen....equaling kex....search	yubgexen....approximation yubkex....examination
yubaj-	recent, ceno-
yob-	down, sub-, supra-	doneg....class gol....division	yobdoneg....low class yobgol....subdivision
za-	front, fore-, pre-, north	dungab....affix dyun....name mer....planet	zadungab....prefix zadyun....forename zamer....north
ze-	middle, mid-	dom....city jub....day	zedom....downtown zejub....midday
zo-	behind, back	bex....hold bix....pull	zobex....delay zobix....drag
zay-	forward, pro-	bix....pull bux....push	zaybix....protraction zaybux....propulsion
zey-	across, trans-, meta-	dras....script ilp....flow	zeydras....transcript zeyilp....crosscurrent
zoy-	re-, retro-, back	axlen....action kix....bend mag....fire mav....flash	zoyaxlen....reaction zoykix....reflection zoymag....retrofire zoymav....flashback
zya-	wide	dodal....speech drurun....printout	zyadodal....propaganda zyadrurun....poster
zye-	through, per-, trans-, dia-	belun....cargo muf....rod bwas....something put	zyebelun....shipment zyebuxmuf....ramrod (through-push-rod) zyebwas....metaphor
zyi-	flat, plat-	dyen....expression melyaz....mountain mos....floor	zyidyen....platitude zyimelyaz....plateau zyimos....platform
zyo-	narrow	bex....hold bix....pull gun....angle	zyobex....clasp, grip zyobix....tension zyogun....acute angle
zyu-	round, roto-, cyclo-	abaun....cover drurun....printout tom....building	zyuabaun....dome zyudrurun....rotograph zyutom....tower

Gender

Nouns in Mirad are gender-neutral, unless those relating to people, animals, and sometimes clothing are altered to be specifically male/male-oriented or female/female-oriented. To create the male or male-oriented form of an otherwise gender-neutral noun, prefix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with the letter w. To create the female or female-oriented form, suffix the vowel of the semantically-significant syllable with y. If the noun is an agent noun with the suffix -ut, that is, a noun that means "one who does something as an occupation or behavior", the ending -ut is changed to -uyt for the female form, but the male form stays the same. The reason for this is that the addition of a w to the agentive ending could be confused with the verbal passive marker w (see the chapter on Mirad Grammar/Verbs. The chart below shows how this works:

Making Nouns Gender-specific

NEUTRAL	MALE/MALE-ORIENTED	FEMALE/FEMALE-ORIENTED
tob....human being, person	twob....man	toyb....woman
tobet....child	twobet....boy	toybet....girl
tad....spouse	twad....husband	tayd....wife
ejtad....step spouse	ejtwad....step-husband	ejtayd....step-wife
ajtad....ex-spouse	ajtwad....ex-husband	ajtayd....ex-wife
ted....parent	twed....father	teyd....mother
datif....sweetheart	dwatif....boyfriend	daytif....girlfriend
yapet....pig	yapwet....boar	yapeyt....sow
edeb....monarch	edweb....king	edeyb....queen
apat....fowl	apwat....rooster	apayt....hen
tiuv....underwear	tiwuv....briefs	tiuyv....panties
vapet....antelope	vapwet....deer	vapeyt....doe
deuzut....singer	deuzut....singer	deuzuyt....songstress
tud....child	twud....son	tuyd....daughter

For gender specification in pronouns, see Mirad Grammar/Pronouns, below).

Adjective Types

Adjectives, which are words that modify nouns, can be of the following types and subcategories:

• descriptive

1. qualitative, like iva (happy), fia (good), oga (small)
2. denominal ( ~ noun-derived), like doma (urban) < dom (city) or teaba (ocular) < teab (eye)
3. deverbal ( ~ verb-derived), (participles) like tejea (living) < tejer (to live) or twa (known) < ter (to know)
4. preposition-derived, like aba (upper) < ab....on top of or zoa (posterior) < zo (behind)

• determinative

1. deictic ( ~ demonstrative, indefinite), like hia (this), huyena (such), haewa (both)
2. numeric, like awa (one), ea (second), iona (triple)
3. quantitative, like ga (more), glo (few), gra (too much)
4. pronominal ( ~ possessive), like ata (my), duhota? (whose), hyeta (anyone's)

Descriptive adjectives are the main focus of this section. Determinative adjectives (determiners) behave differently and are discussed under Determiners. Deverbal adjectives, usually referred to as participles, are treated in the section on Verbs, since they are formed from verbs. Pronominal determiners (i.e. possessive adjectives) are treated under both the section on Determiners and the section on Pronouns.

Descriptive Adjectives

All descriptive adjectives end in the adjectival marker vowel a.

Adjective-marking suffix

STEM	MEANING	ADJECTIVE
fi-	qualitative root base word	fia....good
pur	noun meaning vehicle	pura....vehicular
dalw-	passive stem of the verb speak	dalwa....spoken
ab	preposition meaning on	aba....superior

Such adjectives precede the noun or noun phrase they modify:

• aga tam....a big house
• ha fia toyb....the good woman
• ata boka twed....my sick father
• fia ilzyebi bi vafil.....good bottles of wine
• yata dooba doof....our national flag

Adjectives do not agree in number or gender with the noun they modify.

doba xeut....state agent can also be expressed as the noun compound dobxeut. Dob means a state.

pata bok....avian illness can be compounded as patbok, literally bird illness.

Note: Compounded nouns often have an idiomatic meaning not exactly equal to their separate parts. More about this in the later section on vocabulary-building.

Comparing Adjectives by Degree

As in English, descriptive adjectives can be compared by degree. To do this, a quantitative determiner of degree (ga, ge, etc.) is placed before the adjective, producing positive / negative comparative, equalitative, superlative, and other degree expressions as in the following table. The quantitative determiners themselves that are used in these comparative expressions are discussed in detail in a later section on Quantitative Determiners.

Modification of Adjectives by Degree

QUANTITATIVE DETERMINER	MODIFICATION BY DEGREE
ga....more	ga fia (vyel)....better (than)
ge....as, equally	ge fia (vyel)....as good (as)
go....less	go fia (vyel)....less good (than)
gao....more or less	gao fia....good more or less
gla....very	gla fia....very good
glay....so	glay fia....so good
gle....rather/quite	gle fia....rather/quite good
glo....not very	glo fia....not very/slightly/barely good
gra....too	gra fia....too good
gre....enough	gre fia....good enough
gro....not enough	gro fia....not good enough
gwa....most	gwa fia (bi, be)....best (of, in)
gwe....just, merely	gwe fia....merely good
gwo....least	gwo fia (bi, be)....least good (of, in)

The relative conjunction vyel is used to translate English as in an equalitative comparison or than in a non-equalitative comparison. Examples:

• Ata tam se ga aga vyel etas.....My house is bigger than yours.
• Hia tam voy se ge aga vyel atas.....This house is not as big as mine.
• His se ha gwa aga tam bi yata yubem.....This is the biggest house in our neighborhood.

Unlike in English, where comparative forms can be irregular (smaller, more intense, better), there are no exceptions in the comparison of Mirad adjectives and adverbs.

Deriving Substantives from Adjectives

Adjectives can be suffixed to derive various noun substantives:

• Abstract quality noun: -n
• Thing having a quality: -s
• Person having a quality: -t

Deriving Substantives from Adjectives

ADJECTIVE	QUALITY	PERSON	THING
fia....good	fian....goodness	fiat....a good person	fias....a good thing
yeva....just	yevan....justice	yevat....a fair person	yevas....a fair thing
joga....young	jogan....youth	jogat....a youth	jogas....something new

The substantives ending in -s and -t can be referred to as deadjectival pronouns, because they act like pronouns but are derived from adjectives.

Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives can be negated by prefixing o. If the adjective being semantically reversed already begins with the prefix o, then the first semantic reversing prefix becomes ol. This has the effect of English un- or non- in words like unlike, unhappy, and nonessential or the Greek privative prefix a(n)- in words like asymmetric or anomalous.

Prefixing the syllable lyo or ov has an even stronger semantic effect. It denotes the polar opposite of the adjective and can mean "anti-".

In cases where the o- creates an ambiguous word, lo- or -ol is substituted, depending on whether the base adjective begins with a consonant or a vowel, respectively. Note this in the last two words of the following chart:

Reversing the Semantics of Adjectives

NORMAL	NEGATED
twa....known	otwa....unknown
ega....normal	oega....abnormal
eflawa....essential	oeflawa....nonessential
geyla....similar	ogeyla....dissimilar
iva....happy	oiva....unhappy
data....friendly	odata....unfriendly lyodata....inimical ovdata....hostile
dota....social	odota....unsocial lyodota....barbarian ovdota....antisocial
ifwa....loved	oifwa....unloved
fwa....wanted	lofwa....unwanted
ofwa....prohibited	olofwa....unprohibited

Polarization of Base Word Adjectives

Base word adjectives are polarized adjectives that fall into the following pattern categories:

• [iu]Ca (such as ifa, uja, ika, uka, etc.)
• C[iu]a (such as fia, fua, via, vua, etc.)
• [aeu]Ca (such as aja, eja, uja, yava, yeva, yova, etc.)
• C[aeu]a (such as vaa, vea, vua, etc.)

In the case of the i/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with i are positive and are contrasted with those with u, which are negative, eg.:

I/U Polarized Adjectives

Positive	Negative
fia....good	fua....bad
iva....happy	uva....sad
via....beautiful	vua....ugly

In the case of the a/e/u vowel adjectives, those adjectives with a are positive; those with e are intermediate, and those with o are negative, eg.:

A/E/U-Polarized Adjectives

Positive	Intermediate	Negative
yava....innocent	yeva....fair	yova....guilty
aja....past	eja....present	oja....future
aga....big	ega....normal	oga....small

Deintensifying the Sense of Adjectives

The semantic strength of qualitative adjectives can often be deintensified by following the ordinal vowel or stem vowel with the glide y. Examples follow:

Mitigated Adjectives

NORMAL	DEINTENSIFIED
oma....cold	oyma....cool
ama....hot	ayma....warm
yufa....afraid	yuyfa....shy
yiva....free	yiyva....loose
via....beautiful	viya....pretty
ifwa....loved	iyfwa....liked
yefwa....obligatory	yeyfwa....due
ufwa....hated	uyfwa....disliked

Adjectival Derivational Endings

All descriptive adjectives end in at least the suffix a. Many adjectives are derived from other parts of speech, using one of more of the following derivational endings.

Adjectival Derivative Endings

ENDING	TRANSITION TYPE	MEANING	BASE WORD	DERIVED ADJECTIVE
-a	N->ADJ	relating to, of	tot....god tob....man dom....city	tota....divine toba....human doma....urban
-aya	N->ADJ	full of, -ful, -ous	mil....water yazmel....mountain tes....meaning	milaya....watery, aquaous yazmelaya....mountainous tesaya....meaningful
--ika	N->ADJ	full of, -ful, -ous	mil....water yazmel....mountain tes....meaning	milika....watery, aquaous yazmelika....mountainous tesika....meaningful
-oya	N->ADJ	empty of, -less, -free	teb....head level....sugar tes....meaning	teboya....headless leveloya....sugar-free tesoya....meaningless
-uka	N->ADJ	empty of, -less, -free	teb....head level....sugar tes....meaning	tebuka....headless leveluka....sugar-free tesuka....meaningless
-yena	N->ADJ	like, -ish, -y	tot....god tob....man dom....city	totyena....godly, godlike tobyena....manly, virile domyena....urbane
-ea	V->ADJ	-ing, -ent, -ant	ags-....grow tej-....live kyas-....change	agsea....growing, crescent tejea....living, alive kyasea....changing, variant
-yea	V->ADJ	-ive, tending to	dal-....talk tox-....forget vad-....affirm	dalyea....talkative toxyea....forgetful vadyea....affirmative
-wa	V->ADJ	-ed	dal-....talk tox-....forget vad-....affirm	dalwa....spoken toxwa....forgotten vadwa....affirmed
-oa	V->ADJ	-about to, apt to	toj-....die kyes-....happen tajb-....give birth	tojoa....moribund kyesoa....imminent tajboa....about to deliver
-ua	V->ADJ	-able, potentially V	tojb-....kill bukx-....harm akuj-....succeed	tojbua....lethal bukxua....dangerous akujua....potentially successful
-yafa	V->ADJ	-able	test-....understand	testyafa....able to understand
-yafwa	V-ADJ	-able, possible to X	test-....understand	testyafwa....understandable
-yofa	V->ADJ	unable to	teat-....see	teatyofa....blind
-yofwa	V->ADJ	impossible to, un-X-able	teat-....see	teatyofwa....invisible
-yuka	V->ADJ	comfortable Xing	pes-....wait	pesyuka....patient
-yukwa	V->ADJ	easy to X	test-....understand	testyukwa....clear
-yika	V->ADJ	hard of Xing	teet-....hear	teetyika....hard of hearing
-yikwa	V->ADJ	hard to X	teet-....hear	teetyikwa....hard to hear
-ifa	V->ADJ	fond of Xing, -phile/-ic	t-....know dyes....book	tifa....curious dyesifa....bibliophilic
-ifwa	V->ADJ	loved by	tyod-....people	tyodifwa....popular
-ufa	V->ADJ	X-hating, -phobic, averse	tob-....man yex....work	toybufa....anthrophobic yexufa....lazy, work-averse
-ufwa	V->ADJ	hated by	hyat....everyone	hyatufwa....universally hated
-yifa	V->ADJ	brave	toj....death	tojyifa....brave in the face of death
-yufa	V-ADJ	afraid of X	tot....god	totyufa....god-fearing
-yufwa	V->ADJ	feared by X	gla....much	glayufwa....much-feared
-yefa	V->ADJ	due to X	dud-....answer	dudyefa....answerable, responsible
-yeyfa	V->ADJ	liable to X	fyuzi-....get punished	fyuziyeyfa....liable to be punished
-yefwa	V->ADJ	X-worthy	fid-....praise	fidyefa....praiseworthy
-yakwa	V->ADJ	expected to X	mamil-....rain	mamilyakwa....likely to rain
-valka	N->ADJ	-safe, -proof	mil....water	milvalka....waterproof
-ava	N->ADJ	pro-X	tej....life	tejava....pro-life
-eva	N->ADJ	-neutral	toob....gender	toobeva....gender-neutral
-ova	N->ADJ	anti-X	dropek....war	dropekova....anti-war
-yiva	N->ADJ	-free	yef....debt	yefyiva....debt-free
-yuva	N->ADJ	-bound	yef....duty vya-....truth dofin....moral	yefyuva....duty-bound vyayuva....loyal dofinyuva....scrupulous
-aza	N->ADJ	strong-Xed	fon....will tip....temperament	fonaza....strong-willed tipaza....stern
-oza	N->ADJ	weak-Xed	tip....temperament	tipoza....weak-hearted
-iza	N->ADJ	straight-Xed	tep....mind dal....speech	tepiza....logical daliza....frank
-uza	N->ADJ	crooked-Xed	tep....mind dal....speech	tepuza....illogical daluza....devious
-okya	N->ADJ	absent-Xed	tad....spouse ted....parent	tadokya....widowed tedokya....orphaned
-iga	N->ADJ	fast-Xed	tuyub....finger	tuyubiga....nimble
-uga	N->ADJ	slow-Xed	tep....mind	tepuga....slow-witted, dull
-aga	N->ADJ	big-Xed	tiib....heart	tiibaga....big-hearted, generous
-oga	N->ADJ	small-Xed	tep....mind	tepoga....small-minded
-yiga	N->ADJ	hard-Xed	tip....temperament	tipyiga....stern, strict
-yuga	N->ADJ	soft-Xed	tip....temperament	tipyuga....lax, lenient

Adverb Types

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. There are two types of adverbs in Mirad, namely:

• derived adverbs
• inherent adverbs.

Derived Adverbs

Adverbs can be derived from descriptive adjectives by suffixing the adverbial marker y, eg.:

Derived Adverbs

ADJECTIVE	ADVERB
fia....good	fiay....well
yeva....fair	yevay....fairly
uja....final	ujay....finally
ejna....new	ejnay....newly
teyda....maternal	teyday....maternally

At the end of sentences or clauses, common one-syllable-stem adverbs can be shortened by removing the ay ending:

• Iyt deuze fi.....She sings well.
• At upo ig.....I'll come quickly.

Otherwise, the full adverb form is used, eg.:

• Yet yefe ugay fiaser.....You people must slowly improve.
• At tojo ivay, tea van at beaye fia tej.....I will die happily knowing that I've had a good life.

Inherent Adverbs

There are some words in the language that are inherently invariable adverbs and do not take the ay ending, because they are not formed from adjectives, or because they already end in ay. Here are the most common examples:

Inherent Adverbs

yab....up yaob....up and down	(a)yeb1....in oyeb....out aoyeb....in and out	yob....down	yub....near yuib....near and far	yib....far oyib....not far
ab....on ayb....above aob....of and on	eb....between eyb....among	ob....off oyb....under	ub....toward	ib....away
bay....with/along	bey....by/via	boy....without	byu....as far (as)	byi....since
vay....indeed	vey....perhaps	voy....not
za....in front (of) zay....ahead zya....throughout zao....back and forth	ze....to/at the middle (of) zey....across zye....through	zo....in back (of) zoy....back	zu....on the left (of) zui....right and left	zi....on the right (of)
			uz....on a curve uiz....zigzig	iz....straight, directly
	yez....along		yuz....around	yiz....beyond oyiz....not beyond
ga....more gao....more or less	ge...equally	go....less
gay....also	gey....even	goy....no more/except
gaj....still		goj....no longer
yan....together		yon....apart
ja....before jao....before and after jay....already	je....meanwhile jey....meanwhile	jo....after joy...next	ju....until	ji....since

Note 1: Ayeb is almost always shortened to yeb.

The words in the above chart that are underlined can also serve as prepositions (See Prepositions).

The words underlined below are considered adverbial because they can modify verbs. For example:

• At teaxa yab.....I looked up.   (= At yabteaxa.)
• Duven et hyej upo zoy?.....Will you ever come back.   (= ...zoyupo?)
• Et po yib be tej......You will go far in life.   (= Et yipo...)
• At voy se eta ted.....I am not your father.
• Pu zu, jogat!....Go left, young man!   (= Zupu...)
• Yat vay sa hum.....We were indeed there.
• It pa oyeb.....He went outside.   (= It oyepa.)
• Iyt gay deuze.....She also sings.
• Yit yexe gey be moji.....They work even nights.
• Ha tobud gaj tujeye.....The baby is still sleeping.
• Yat yefe yexer yan.....We must work together.   (= ...yanyexer.)
• His vey upo yon.....This may come apart.   (= ...yonupo.)
• Hit se jay toja.....This one is already dead.
• Hut se voy toja.....That one is not dead.
• At popeyo zya.....I will be traveling all around.   (= zyapopeyo.)
• Et byase yon.....You stand apart.
• Van yet besu yan.....Stay together, guys.

Many of the above adverbs can be prefixed to verbs, nouns, and even adjectives to indicate motion in various directions. (Keep in mind that the b or p can be assimilated to the first letter of per (go) or ber (put). For example:

• yeb (in) + per (go) = yeper (to enter)  [NOT: yebper]
• oyeb (out) + bier (take) = oyebier (to take out)  [NOT: oyebbier]
• yab (up) + per (go) = yaper (to rise)  [NOT: yabper]
• yob (up) + kima (sloped) = yobkima (downward-sloping)
• yub (near) + per (go) = yuper (to approach)  [NOT: yubper]
• yib (far) + daler (talk) = yibdaler (to telephone)
• yiz (beyond) + per (go) = yizper (to surpass)
• yez (along) + per (go) = yezper (to go along)
• yuz (around) + pipen (sailing) = yuzpipen (circumnavigation)
• zay (ahead) + paser (move) = zaypaser (to advance)
• zao (back and forth) + baser (move) = zaobaser (to rock)
• ze (to the middle) + jaga (aged) = zejaga (middle-aged)
• zye (through) + teatyafwa (visible) = zyeteatyafa (transparent)
• zey (across) + mep (road) = zeymep (bridge)
• zoy (back) + nogea (gradual) = zoynogea (retrogressive)
• iz (straight) + nad (line) = iznad (vector)
• zi (to the right) + kum (side) = izkum (right side)
• zu (far) + tuyab (hand) = zutuyaba (left-handed)
• uz (on a curve) + nad (line) = uznad (curve)
• yan (together) + up (come) = yanup (a meeting)
• yon (apart) + ber (put) = yonber (to separate)

Word Order of Adverbs

The word order of adverbs is fairly free, as in English. But, to avoid ambiguity, the adverb should be placed immediately before or after the sentence element it modifies, eg.:

• It deuze vi.....He sings beautifully.
• Et yefe xer gwa ig.....You must do it as quickly as possible.
• Et hyoj ako fika ivan.....You will never gain perfect happiness.
• At voy te. (OR) At te voy. ....I do not know.

Comparison of Adverbs by Degree

Adverbs can be compared just as adjectives with the use of Quantitative Determiners. The words than, compared to, and as are translated by the relative conjunction vyel (than, compared to, with respect to)

Comparison of Adverbs by Degree

POSITIVE	+/=/- COMPARATIVE	+/- SUPERLATIVE
yikay....easily	ga yikay vyel....more easily than ge yikay vyel....as easily as go yikay vyel....less easily than	(ha) gwa yikay....(the) most easily (ha) gwo yikay....(the) least easily

Examples:

• At pipe ga fi vyel et.....I swim better than you.
• Yat tra hua twob go fi vyel yet.....We knew that man less well than you guys.
• Eta tayd deuza ha gwa vi be ha ebyek.....Your wife sang the most beautifully in the competition.
• Et xa has ha gwa fu vyel hyet.....You did it the worst compared to anyone.
• Dalu ge azay vyel et yafe.....Speak as loudly as you can.

Determiners are words that specify or point out the context of nouns and other parts of speech. The English determiner this, for example, specifies a noun for its proximity to the current context. In English, demonstrative pronouns/adjectives/adverbs, possessive pronouns/adjectives, quantifiers like more and very, and numeric expressions like both fall under this category.

Types of Determiners

Determiners in Mirad fall into the following categories:

Types of Determiners

TYPE	ALSO KNOWN AS	ENGLISH EXAMPLES
Deictic	Demonstrative Pronouns/Adjectives/Adverbs	the, this, some, every, which?, when
Pronominal	Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives	my, anybody's, one's own
Quantitative	Quantifiers	more, less, very
Numerical	Numerals/Fractions/Ordinals/Dates, etc.	one, half, first

Furthermore, as for part of speech, determiners can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs. As adjectives, determiners can itemize or classify. As pronouns, they can refer to one or more persons (male or female) or things. As adverbs, they can specify circumstance, i.e. time, place, degree, kind, age, frequency, and so forth.

Deictic Determiners

Deictic determiners are words which point out or specify other words as to their context, including what grammarians often call demonstratives. All deictic determiners in Mirad begin with the letter h. The letters following the h indicate the grammatical and semantic category.

Deictic determiners include the following traditional grammatical categories:

• Demonstrative adjectives like this, that, those, that one
• The definite article the    (which is really a demonstrative adjective like those above.)
• Demonstrative pronouns like this, that, those, that one
• Interrogative and relative pronouns like who, which, that
• Indefinite adjectives like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
• Indefinite pronouns like any, some, all, something, such, etc.
• Pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs of quantity like so much, that many, how many?, very, etc.
• Adverbs of circumstance:

• time like when, now, ever
• place like there, here, somewhere
• manner like how, thus, somehow
• kind like so, age this year old
• direction like that way, any which way
• reason why?, for that reason, for no reason
• degree this (well), so (good), how (bad)
• frequency like how often, so often, never
• age like this old, how old?, of any age

Deictic Prefixes

There is a whole set of correlative deictic prefixes, which are joined to circumstantial stub category suffixes to derive pronoun, adjective, and adverb determiners. In some grammars, these words are called wh-question words and their pointed answers. For example, QUESTION: Who is your wife? ANSWER: This is my wife. (or) QUESTION: Where is your house? ANSWER: My house is here. These word forms are called correlative because they relate to one another in way that can be mapped to a table.

Here are the Mirad deictic classification prefixes:

Deictic Prefixes

CLASSIFICATION	DEICTIC PREFIX
Interrogative	duho-...?....what?, which?
Relative	ho-....which, that
Exclamatory	hoo-....how...!
Definite	ha-....the
Indefinite	he-....some, a certain
Proximal	hi-....this, these
Immediate	hii-....the following
Distal	hu-....that, those
Intensive	huu-....such, so, what a...!
Distributive	hya-....every, all, each
Indeterminate	hye-....any, whatever
Negative	hyo-....no, not any
Identical	hyi-....the same, the very
Non-identical	hyu-....the other, another, else

Note: The Identical (hyi-) and Non-identical prefixes (hyu-) can optionally be substituted with ge- (same) and oge- (different), respectively.

Circumstantial Category Suffixes

The table below shows word stub suffixes that indicate the circumstantial category of deictic expressions. They are called stubs, because they are reduced word forms. The combination of deictic prefixes and circumstantial stub suffixes produce a matrix of deictic correlatives, seen later in this chapter. Use of the stub instead of the long form is a matter of optional economy. A few categories do not have stubs.

Category Stubs

CATEGORY	STUB	LONG FORM	QUESTION WORD EXAMPLE
Person	-t	tob...person	duhot?....who?
Thing	-s	sun...thing	duhos?....what?
Place	-m	nem...place	duhom?....where?
Time	-j	job...time	duhoj?....when?
Manner	-yen	byen...manner	duhoyen?....how?
Kind	-yena	syena...of a style	duhoyena?....what kind of?
Degree	-gla	nog...degree	duhogla fi?....how well?
Quantity	-gla	sag...number	duhogla pati?....how many birds?
Mass	-gla	glan...amount	duhogla mil?....how much water?
Frequency	-xag	xag...frequency	duhoxag?....how often?
Reason	-sav	sav	duhosav?....why?
Age	-jag	jag...age	duhojag?....how old?

There can be other circumstantial categories other than those listed above, such as "direction", "order", etc. eg. Duhomep wit pa?....Which way did he go?.

Charts of Correlative Deictic Determiners

Here is are three tables showing the matrix of correlative deictic determiners. Note that the determiners belong to three parts of speech, 1) adjectives, 2) pronouns, and 3) adverbs:

PART OF SPEECH	ENDING
Adjective	-a
Pronoun	-t(i), -s(i)
Adverb	(no ending)

Deictic Determiner Adjectives

All deictic determiner adjectives in in -a and are used to modify nouns.

Correlative Deictic Determiner Adjectives

	SELECTIVE -a	POSSESSIVE -ta	KIND/MANNER -yena	QUANTITY -gla	AGE -jaga	FREQUENCY -xaga
Interrogative	duhoa? which?	duhota? whose?	duhoyena? what kind of?	duhogla? how much/many?	duhojaga? how old?	duhoxaga? how frequent?
Relative	hoa which	hota whose	hoyena what kind of	hogla how much/many	hojaga how old	hoxaga how frequent
Exclamatory	hooa what a...!			hoogla look how much/many...!	hoojaga how old a...!
Definite	ha1 the	hatas the person’s	hayena of the kind	hagla of the amount	hajaga of the age	haxaga of the frequency
Indefinite	hea some/a certain	heta someone's	heyena some kind of	hegla some	hejaga somewhat old	hexaga sometimes
Proximal	hia this	hita this person’s	hiyena this kind of	higla this much	hijaga this old	hixaga this often
Immdediate	hiia the following	hiita the follow person’s	hiiyena the following kind of	hiigla to the following degree	hiijaga of the following age	hiixaga of the following frequency
Distal	hua that	huta that person’s	huyena that kind of	hugla that much/many	hujaga of that age	huxaga that often
Intensive	huua such a	huuta such a person’s	huuyena such kind of	huugla so much/many	huujaga of such an age	huuxaga so often
Negative	hyoa no	hyota nobody’s	hyoyena no kind of	hyogla no amount/number of	hyojaga of no age	hyoxaga of zero frequency
Distributive	hya1 every	hyata everybody’s	hyayena every kind of	hyagla all	hyajaga of every age	hyaxaga always
Indeterminate	hyea whichever/any2	hyeta whosever	hyeyena whatever/any kind of	hyegla however much/many	hyejaga however old	hyexaga however frequent
Identical	hyia the same	hyita the same person’s	hyiyena the same kind of	hyigla just as	hyijaga just as old	hyixaga just as often
Non-identical	hyua the other	hyuta someone else's	hyuyena another kind of	hyugla not as much/many	hyujaga of another age	hyuxaga not as often

Note 1: The determiners ha (the) and hya (every) are shortened forms of haa and hyaa. Also, ha is commonly called a "definite article".

• While hya means every or all, the word hyawa is used for each.
• The possessive adjective forms in the above table ending in -ta such as hyeta....whosever cannot be pluralized by the ending -tia. To say other people's, use the expression bi hyuti (Lit. of others).
• The ho- words are relative, meaning that they can serve to form relative clauses like the following:

• Ha toyb, hota twad se Bill,....The woman, whose husband is Bill,
• At voy te hos et tepfe.....I don't know what you mean.
• At teste hogla et fie iyt.....I understand how much you love her.

• The hoo- words are exclamatory and are used in expressions like the following:

• Hoogla iva se at van et upa!....How glad I am that you came!
• Hooa jub his saye!....What a day this has been! (Hooa is pronounced ho-O-a as three syllables.)

Note 2: The indeterminant determiners can also be translated with no matter what, no matter where, etc.

Deictic Determiner Pronouns

All deictic determiner pronouns end either in -t for persons or -s for things. They can be singular or plural (-i).

Correlative Deictic Determiner Pronouns

	THING -s THINGS -si	PERSON -t PERSONS -ti	KIND OF THING -yenas KINDS OF THINGS -yenasi	AMOUNT -glas NUMBER OF THINGS -glasi	NUMBER OF PEOPLE -glati
Interrogative	duhos?   what? duhosi?   what (things)?	duhot?   who? duhoti?   who (pl.)	duhoyenas?   what kind of thing? duhoyenasi?   what kinds of things?	duhoglas   how much? duhoglasi?   how many things?	duhoglati?   how many people?
Relative	hos   what hosi   what	hot   who hoti   who	hoyenas   what kind of thing hoyenasi	hoglas   how much hoglasi   how many	hoglati   how many
Exclamatory	hoos   what a thing! hoosi   what things!	hoot   what a person! hooti   what people!		hooglas   what an amount! hooglasi   what a number!	hoglati   what a number of people!
Definite	has   it hasi   they/them	hat   he/she/him/her hati   they/them	hayenas   the king of thing hayenasi   the kind of things	haglas   the amount haglasi   the number of things	haglati   the number of people
Indefinite	hes   something hesi   some things	het   someone heti   some	heyenas   some kind of thing heyenasi   some kinds of thing	heglas   some heglasi   some things	heglati   some people
Proximal	his   this hisi   these	hit   this person hiti   these people	hiyenas   this kind of thing hiyenasi   these kinds of things	higlas   this much higlasi   this many	higlati   this many people
Immediate	hiis   the following thing hiisi   the following things	hiit   the following person hiiti   the following people	hiiyenas   the following kind of thing hiiyenasi   the following kinds of things	hiiglas   the following amount hiiglasi   this following number of things	hiiglati   the following number of people
Distal	hus   that husi   those	hut   that person huti   those people	huyenas   that kind of thing huyenasi   those kinds of things	huglas   that much huglasi   that many	huglati   that many people
Intensive	huus   such a thing huusi   such things	huut   such a person huuti   such people	huuyenas   such a kind of thing huuyenasi   such kinds of things	huuglas   so much huuglasi   so many	huuglati   so many people
Negative	hyos   nothing hyosi   none of them	hyot   nobody hyoti   none of them	hyoyenas   no kind of thing hyoyenasi   no kinds of things	hyoglas   none hyoglasi   none	hyoglati   none
Distributive	hyas   everything hyasi   all of them	hyat   everybody hyati   all of them	hyayenas   every kind of hyayenasi   all kinds of things	hyaglas   all of it hyaglasi   all of them	hyaglati   all of them
Indeterminate	hyes   anything hyesi   any	hyet   anybody hyeti   any of them	hyeyenas   any kind of hyeyenasi   whatever things	hyeglas   any of it hyeglasi   any of them	hyeglati   whoever
Identical	hyis   the same thing hyisi   the same things	hyit   the same person hyiti   the same people	hyiyenas   the same kind of hyiyenasi   the same kinds of things	hyiglas   as much hyiglasi   as many	hyiglati   as many people
Non-identical	hyus   something else hyusi   other things	hyut   someone else hyuti   other people	hyuyenas   another kind hyuyenasi   other kinds	hyuglas   another amount hyuglasi   another number of things	hyuglati   another number of people

Concerning the above chart, note the following:

• The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.
    I will go where you go.
• Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?
    What is your name?
• Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam...
    This big old house....
• Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duhot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?

Deictic Determiner Adverbs

All deictic determiner adverbs refer to a circumstance.

Correlative Deictic Determiner Adverbs

CIRCUMSTANCE-->	PLACE -m	TIME -j	MANNER -yen	DEGREE -gla	FREQUENCY -xag	REASON -sav
Interrogative	duhom? where?	duhoj? when?	duhoyen? how?	dugla? how (very)?	duxag? how often?	duhosav? why?
Relative	hom where	hoj when	hoyen how	hogla how (very)	hoxag how often	hosav because
Exclamatory			hooyen and how!	hoogla how very...!
Definite	ham the place	haj the time	hayen the manner	hagla just as	haxag as frequently	hasav the reason
Indefinite	hem somewhere	hej sometime	heyen somehow	hegla somewhat	hexag somewhat often	hesav for some reason
Proximal	him here	hij now	hiyen this way	higla this	hixag this often	hisav for this reason
Immediate	hiim the following place	hiij the following time	hiiyen the following way	hiigla to the following degree	hiixag at the following frequency	hiisav for the following reason
Distal	hum there	huj then	huyen that way	hugla to that degree	huxag that often	husav therefore
Intensive	huum such a place	huuj at such a time	huuyen in such a way	huugla so (very)	huuxag so often	huusav for such a reason
Negative	hyom nowhere	hyoj never	hyoyen in no way	hyogla not at all	hyoxag not once	hyosav for no reason
Distributive	hyam everywhere	hyaj always	hyayen in every way	hyagla fully	hyaxag always	hyasav for every reason
Indeterminate	hyem anywhere	hyej whenever	hyeyen however	hyegla however	hyexag however often	hyesav for whatever reason
Indentical	hyim at the same place	hyij at the same time	hyiyen in the same way	hyigla as	hyixag as often	hyisav for the same reason
Non-identical	hyum somewhere else	hyuj some other time	hyuyen otherwise	hyugla not as	hyuxag not as often	hyusav for some other reason

Concerning the above chart, note the following:

• The interrogative determiners all begin with duho-, which means say which, and are technically imperatives. Duhom?, for example, means Tell (me) the place.... The o-stem forms without the du- are used as relative clause heads, eg. At po hom et po.....I will go where you go.
• There are is a category not shown in the table:

• hoo-, used to form exlamatory determiners like Hoogla flia!....How marvelous! or Hooa via jub!....What a beautiful day!.

• Person determiners can be specified for gender. A determiner is made female by inserting a y after the ordinal, or male by inserting a w before the ordinal, eg. Huyti....those females or Hwit....this guy.
• Interrogatives usually come at the beginning of a sentence as in English, eg. Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
• Determiners come first before any other epithets of a noun, eg. Hia aga jaga tam.......This big old house....
• Person and Thing determiners can be made selective by inserting a before the final t or s, eg. Duot? means Who?, while Duhoat? means Which one (of several persons)?

• Duhoas?'....Which one? (things), Hias....This one, etc.
• Duhoati?....Which ones? (people), Huati....Those, etc.
• Duhoyat?....Which of us?, Hyeyat....Any of us, etc.
• Duhoyet?....Which of you?, Hyayet....All of you, etc.
• Duhoyit?....Which of them?, Hyoyit....None of them, etc.

• Also not included in the above chart is a related interrogative, which is a complementizer.

• Duven...?.... (Question introducer) Is it true that...?, Say whether...

• Duven et se tadxwa?....Are you married? (= Say whether you are married.)

• The adverbs of degree in the above chart (duhogla?, etc.) are interchangeable with adverbs ending in -nog....degree (duhonog?....to what degree?, how...?, henog....somewhat)

• Other deictic determiner adverbs of circumstance exist and are not on the above chart:

• duhomep?....which way?

• humep....that way

• duhobyun?....to what end?

• hyobyun....for no purpose

• duhoizon?....in which direction?

• 'hyaizon....in every direction

• duhosauna....what kind of

• hyesauna....any kind of

Examples of Deictic Determiner Usage

• Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name? (Duhos is pronounced du-HOS)
• Duhot se iyta twad?....Who is her husband?
• Duhowat se iyta twad?....Which one of the guys is her husband? (selective)
• Duhoti fe eker?....Who (pl.) want to play?
• Hyas se fia.....Everything is fine.
• Hyat tre et.....Everyone knows you.
• Hyot tre at.....Nobody knows me.
• Hyati ekeye fi.....All of them are playing well.
• Hyoti ekeye fi.....None of them are playing well.
• Hyet yafe eker.....Anyone can play.
• Hyes yafwe.....Anything is possible.
• At fe hyuyenat be ata ekutyan.....I want someone else on my team.
• Huuyenati fyuxe yata oj.....Such people harm our future.
• Et yefe tepier hiisi.....You must bear in mind the following things.
• Duhoyen et xa hus......How did you do that? (pronounced du-ho-YEN)
• Duhosav iyt pia huugla jwa?....Why did she leave so early?
• Hwita tam se ga aga.....This guy's house is bigger.
• At voy ayse ha dyuni bi huyti.....I don't have those women's names.
• Duhoa tam se etas?....Which house is yours?
• Huua tej et ayse!....What a life you have!
• Duhoyena dyezuni ifxe et?....What kind of movies do you like?
• Duhota tef okwa?....Whose hat was lost?
• Hota tef okwa bese otwas.....Whose hat was lost remains a mystery.
• Ha tob ta yata dyuni.....The man knew our names.
• Hoyena dini at ife, et ufe.....The kind of stories I love, you hate.
• Hea mepi gawdyunxwo.....Certain streets will be renamed.
• Heyena fukyes uxaye purilp nyaunx.....Some kind of accident has caused a traffic jam.
• Heta abtaf kaxwa be ha zatem......Someone's coat was found in the foyer.
• Hia dyes se ata gwafwas.....This book is my favorite.
• Hiia duni se ofwa.....The following words are prohibited.
• Hiiyena axlyen voy afwu.....The following sort of behavior would not be allowed.
• Hiyena axlyen voy vayafwo.....This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
• Hita tim so yolza.....This person's room will be blue.
• Hua mas efwe gawvozilbwer.....That wall needs to be repainted.
• Huua dini yufxe tudi.....Such stories scare children.
• Huyena duni voy yeyfwe yixwer za at.....Such words should not be used in front of me.
• Hwuta tam magseye.....That guy's house is on fire.
• Hyoa din se ga kyitesa.....No story is more important.
• Hyoyena tes tesiyafwe.....No such meaning can be inferred.
• Hyota jatexdras sa ga fia.....Nobody's plan is better.
• Hyos oboxe huyt.....Nothing bothers that gal.
• Hya mepi izpe Roma.....All roads lead to Rome.
• Hya ha mepi se ebwa.....All the roads are blocked.
• Hya twob yefe xer ita gon.....Every man must do his part.
• Hyayena telami ese be hia domep.....All manner of restaurants exist on this street.
• Hyata tej se uka bi yaobi.....Everyone's life is full of ups and downs.
• Hyaewa domi agsaye.....Both cities have grown.
• Hyea voz so fia.....Any color will be fine.
• Hyeyena til se aysyafwa.....Any kind of drink is available.
• Hyeta ved se ge ifa vyel atas.....Anyone's guess is as good as mine.
• Hyea tim et fe et yafe ayser.....Whatever room you want, you can have.
• Hyia/(Ha gea) fukyesi kyese glaxag.....The same accidents occur frequently.
• Hyiyena/(Ha geyena) dyezuni teaxuwa zajub.....The same kind of films were shown yesterday.
• Hyita/(Ha geta) dyun yixwa gajod.....The same person's name was used again.
• Hyua dyezun sa ga ifuyea.....The other movie was more entertaining.
• Hyuyena/(Ogeyena) som teasu ga fia.....Another kind of furniture would look better.
• Hyuta/(ogeta) texyen se ge fyia.....Someone else's opinion is equally valid.
• Ha dyuni bi hiyti voy dodrawe.....These women's names have not be make public.
• Ha dyuni bi hwiiti voy dodrowe.....The following males' names will not be publicized.
• Hijaga tobweti voy afwo him.....Boys of this age will not be allowed here.
• Duhom et tambese?....Where do you live?
• At tambese hum.....I live there.
• Et tambese hom ha mep uje.....You live where the road ends.
• Duhom yet peye?....Where are you guys going?
• Et yafe per hyem et fu.....You can go anywhere you would like.
• Duhom et byise?....Where are you from? (Lit: Where do you originate.
• Duhoj et taja?....When were you born?
• At voy tajaya huj.....I had not been born then.
• Et yeyfe duder hiiyen.....You should respond in the following way.
• Ot voy yefe daler huuyen.....One must not talk in such a manner.
• Et pia hesav.....He left for some reason.
• Duhoyen et iyfe hia vifil?....How do like this wine?
• Voy se fia axler hiyen.....It is not good to act this way.
• Duhosav et tadsa huugla jwa?....Why did you marry so late?
• Ha twob pia hyosav.....The man left for no reason.
• Hwat pia hosav it efa per hem.....The guy left because he needed to go somewhere.
• Hyeta texyen so fia.....Anyone's opinion will be fine.
• Duhota dyes se his?....Whose book is this?
• Bi hoti se hia dyesi?....Whose are these books?
• Hyata tili yebexe yom.....Everyone's drinks contain ice.
• Et se gaj geyenat( ~ hyiyenat).'....You are still the same kind of person.

The semantic reverser o- can be prefixed to some of the above deictic determiners:

Ohyat tiste Platon.....Not everyone understands Plato.

Ohut!'....Not that person!

At iyfe gwa apovili, oy ohuas!....I like most beers, but not that one!

If the definite article or any other deictic determiner is omitted before a noun, then it has the effect of the English indefinite article a / an with a singular noun or some with a plural noun. For example:

• Yat tilia ha tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the glass of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank a glass of wine.

• Yat tilia ha tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the glasses of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank (some) glasses of wine.

• Yat tilia awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank one glass of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia ha awa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the one glass of wine.

• Yat tilia ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank two glasses of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia ha ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the two glasses of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia hya ewa tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank both glasses of wine.

• Yat tilia owa tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank no/zero glasses (=not a single glass) of wine.

• Yat tilia ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank another/a second glass of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia ha ea tilyeb bi vifil.....We drank the second glass of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank second glasses of wine., vs.
  • Yat tilia ha ea tilyebi bi vifil.....We drank the second glasses of wine.

If an indefinite article sense is needed for clarity, the words awa (one) or hea (some, a certain) can be used, eg.:

• At igteata awa tob yiztyoper.....I glimpsed a man walk by.
• Wit zoyupo hea juab.....He will come back on a / a certain / some Monday.

Selective vs. Non-Selective Forms

The deictic interrogative determiner pronoun duhot? means who(m) and contrasts with its selective counterpart duhoat?, which means which one?. All the selective determiners refer to one or more things or persons from a selectable pool of things or persons.

The following sentences illustrate the use of the above determiner pronouns:

• Duhot aka zajuba ek?....Who won yesterday's game?
• Duhoat bi ha akuti sa ha gwa fiat?....Which one of the winners was the best?
• Duhota tam se hus?....Whose house is that?
• Duhotas se hus?....Whose is that?
• Duhotia deuzi et gaife?....Whose songs do you prefer?
• Duhotias et gaife?....Whose do you prefer?
• Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
• Duhosi se eta gaifuni?....What are your preferences?
• Duhoa deuzi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which songs are your best?
• Duhoasi se eta gwa fiasi?....Which ones are your best?
• Bi hia deuzuti, hoat et gaife?....Of these vocalists, which one do you prefer?
• Hiiti yaneko hijub.....The following people will compete today.
• Duhoati se gwa fia?....Which ones are best?
• Duhoti et teexe gwa jodi?....Who (all) do you listen to the most often?
• Hoat at teexe gwaxag draye ejna deuz.....The one I listen to the most has written a new song.
• Ejna deuz? At voy teste hoas et tede.....New song? I don't understand which one you mean.
• Hias.....This one.
• Vo. Huasi se ga fia.....No. Those are better.
• His se jub av ivxelen.....This is a day for celebration.
• Va. Hia jub. At tese hijub.....Yes. This day. I mean To-day.
• Husi sa ha jubi, ata dat!....Those were the days, my friend!
• Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?
• Duhot aka ha igpek?....Who won the race?
• Hyas uja fi.....Everything ended well.
• Hyasi uje.....All things come to an end.
• Hyayenasi vey kyesu.....All sorts of things might happen.
• Hyos yokxa at.....Nothing surprised me.
• Hyot ta hot ako.....Nobody knew who would win.
• Hoayti fu pier yefe.....Those females who would like to leave may.
• Hyet yefe eker hia ifek.....Anyone can play this game.
• Huyenasi voy afwo.....Such things will not be permitted.
• Hua twob voy taxe hia toyb.....That man does not remember this woman.
• Hwuti yanyexe fi.....Those guys work well together.
• Huuyti hyaj yubixe tepzex.....Such females always attract attention.
• At jay teataye hiyenasi.....I've seen such things before.
• Huyenwat voy vabiwu.....A guy like that would not be accepted.
• Duhoyenasi weti iyfe xer je ha maj.....What kinds of things do you guys like to do during the day?

Numerical Deictic Determiners

Sometimes, a deictic determiner specifies numerical information. This chart shows those forms:

Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners

ADJECTIVE	INANIMATE PRONOUN	ANIMATE PRONOUN	PRONOMINAL DETERMINER	POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
hawa1 the only	hawas the only thing hawasi the only things	hawat the only one (person) hawati the only ones	hawata the only person's	hawatas the only one's hawatasi the only one's (things)
hyawa* each	hyawas each one	hyawat each person	hyawata each person's	hyawatas each one's hyawatasi each one's (things)
hyaewa both	hyaewasi both (things)	hyaewati both (people)	bi hyaewati both person's	has bi hyaewati both person's hasi bi hyaewati both persone's (things)
hyaiwa all three	hyaiwasi all three (things)	hyaiwati all three (people)	hyaiwata all three person's	has bi hyaiwati all three person's hasi bi hyaiwati all three person's (things)
ohyawa not every	ohyawas not everything	ohyawat not everyone	ohyawata not every person's	ohyawatas not everyone's ohyawatasi not everyone's (things)
hyoawa not a single	hyoawas not a single thing	hyoawat not a single person	hyowata not a single person's	hyowatas not a single person's hyowatasi not a single person's (things)
hyeawa either	hyeawas either one	hyeawat either one (person)	hyeawata either one's	hyeawatas either one's hyeawatasi either one's (things)
hyeewa any two	hyeewasi any two things	hyeewati any two people	bi hyeewati any two person's	has bi hyeewati any two persons' hasi bi hyeewati any two persons' (things)
hyeowa neither	hyeowas neither one	hyeowat neither person	hyeawata neither person's	hyeowatas neither one's hyeowatasi neither one's (things)
hyuawa another	hyuawas another one	hyuawat another	hyuawata another's	hyuawatas another's hyuawatasi another's (things)
hyuowa no other	hyuowas nothing else	hyuowat nobody else	hyuowata no other's	hyuowatas no other's hyuowatasi no other's (things)
gawa2 another	gawas another one	gawat another (person)	gawata another's	gawatas another's gawatasi another's (things)

1Hawa and hyawa are short for haawa and hyaawa, respectively.

2Gawa is short for ga awa, yet one.

Notes on Numerical Deictic Determiners

Examples using the above number-incorporating deictic determiners:

• Ohyawat se iva bay eta vaod.....Not everyone is happy with your decision.
• Hyaewasi yafwe uxer yata efi.....Both (things) can serve our needs.
• Hyeawa tim ivlaxo at.....Either room will satisfy me.
• Hyeowas oivlaxo at.....Neither one will dissatisfy me.

Note:

• hyua means another (an alternative). Ex. At fu hyua til.....I would like another (a different) drink.
• hyuawa means another (an additional). Ex. At fu hyuawa til.....I would like another (an additional) drink.
• ha hyua means the other (the alternative). Ex. At fu ha hyua til.....I would like the other drink.

Similarly, hya means every, all, while hyawa means each, and hyaha....all the, ex:

• Hya dom ayse tebixea suni teaxer.....Every city has interesting things to see.
• Hya domi ayse tebixusi.....All cities have things of interest.
• Hyaha domi ayse tebixusi.....All the cities have things of interest.
• Hyawa dom ayse tebixun.....Each city has something of interest.

Also, ha means the, while hawa means the only, eg.:

• Ha twob hu at gwa ife se et.....The man I most love is you.
• Hawa toyb nazea ata tepzex se et.....The only woman worth my attention is you.

By appending y to hawa, we get the adverb haway....only, solely, eg;

• Haway et nize ata tepzex.....Only you deserve my attention..

The singular person pronouns in the above chart can be converted into pronominal determiners by adding the adjective suffix a, eg.:

• Hyawata tej se ge glatesa vyel hyutas.....Each one's life is as important as another's.
• Hyeowata dyun se vyama.....Neither person's name is real.

However, the plural person pronouns in the above chart use the preposition bi (of) to form possessives, eg.:

• Ha teji bi hyaiwati se kyebukuwa.....The lives of all three are in danger.

The above singular pronominal determiners can, in turn, be converted into inanimate pronouns with the suffix -s.

• Hyawatas se glatesa.....Each one's is important.
• Hyeowatas se vyama.....Neither's is real.

The plural pronominal determiners can be nominalized with the use of bi, eg:

• Hyaiwasi bi huti se kyebukuwa.....All three of theirs' are in danger.

Correlative Number-incorporating Deictic Determiners are handled as follows:

• Hyeawa A ey B....either A or B
• Hyeowa A oy B....neither A nor B
• Hyaewa A ay B....both A and B
• Hawa A, voy B....only A, not B

elsewhere.

The different, somewhat confusing, meanings of how are illustrated here:

• Duhoyen wit xa hus?....How did he do that?.... (Equivalent to Be duha byen...?....In what way...?) (ADVERB OF MANNER)
• Duhoyen et xeye?....How are you doing?.... (This is the normal way of saying How are you? or How do you do? (ADVERB OF MANNER)
• Duhoyena sa ha dyezun?.... How was the film?.... (How here is an ADJECTIVE OF KIND, and thus ends in -a.)
• Duhonog (= Duhogla) aga it se?....How big is he?.... (ADVERB OF DEGREE)
• Huunog (= Huugla) iyfla et se!....How nice you are!.... (ADVERB OF EMPHATIC DEGREE)

The conjunction as is expressed most often using relative pro-adverbs of manner:

• Xu hoyen at de.....Do as I say. = (in) the way that...
• Xu hyiyen (~ geyen) at xe.....Do as I do. ( = (in) the same way that...)
• Xu hiiyen:....Do as follows. ( = (in) this hereby manner...)

However, the preposition/conjunction gel (like, as) can be substituted:

• Xu gel at de.....Do as I say.

Many of the determiner adverbs in the above chart can be used in relative clauses, eg:

• At teato et hoj et puo him.....I will see you when you get here.
• It xa has hosav tosa yefa.....He did it because (for the reason that) he felt compelled.
• Hyehom et po, et so ga iva.....Wherever you go, you'll be happier.
• Hyet te ha did, yabu eta tuyab.....Whoever knows the answer, raise your hand.
• At te hoyen et xa is.....I know how you did it.

See more about this in the section on relative clauses under Syntax.

Pronominal Deictic Determiners

Some words in Mirad incorporate deictic prefixes with pronouns and pronominal adjectives, as shown in the following chart:

Pronominal Deictic Determiners

Pronoun
1st Person Plural	2nd Person Plural	3rd Person Plural
duhoyat which of us	duhoyet which of you	duhoyit which of them
heyat some of us	heyet some of you	heyit which of them
hyayat each of us	hyayet each of you	hyayit each of them
hyeyat any of us	hyeyet any of you	hyeyit any of them
hyoyat none of us	hyoyet none of you	hyoyit none of them
Pronominal Adjective
1st Person (Plural)	2nd Person (Plural)	3rd Person (Plural)
duhoyata which of our	duhoyet which of your	duhoyita which of their
heyata some of our	heyeta some of your	heyita which of their
hyayata each of our	hyayeta each of your	hyayita each of their
hyeyata any of our	hyeyeta any of your	hyeyita any of their
Singular/(Plural) Possessive Pronoun
1st Person (Plural)	2nd Person (Plural)	3rd Person (Plural)
duhoyatas(i) which of ours	duhoyetas(i) which of yours	duhoyitas(i) which of theirs
heyatas(i) some of ours	heyetas(i) some of yours	heyitas(i) which of theirs
hyayatas(i) each of ours	hyayetas(i) each of yours	hyayitas(i) each of theirs
hyeyatas(i) any of ours	hyeyetas(i) any of yours	hyeyitas(i) any of theirs
hyoyatas(i) none of ours	hyoyetas(i) none of yours	hyoyitas(i) none of theirs

The above possessive pronouns refer to things. If you replace the final -s or -si, to -t or -ti, then they become animate and refer to people, eg.:

• Ese ewa tudi him. Duhoyitas se his?....There are two children here. Which one of theirs is this?

All of the forms in the above chart can also be expressed as separate words, eg.:

• Duhoyet?  ~  Duhoat bi yet?....Which one of you?
• Hyayat  ~  Hyaglati bi yet....All of us.
• Hyoyatasi  ~  Hyogla yatasi....All of ours (things)

Note:

• Awayat  ~  Awat bi yat....one of us
• Hyaewayet  ~  Hyaewat bi yet....both of you
• Hyaiwayit  ~  Hyaiwat bi yit....all three of them

Quantitative Deictic Determiners

The deictic prefixes can be combined with gla to form quantitative expressions acting as adverbial or adjectival determiners, and substantives (pronouns referring to things or people):

Quantitative Deictic Determiners

	ADVERBIAL / ADJECTIVAL DETERMINER	INANIMATE SINGULAR PRONOUN	INANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN	ANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN
Interrogative	duhogla? how?/how much?/how many?	duhoglas? how much?	duhoglasi? how many	duhoglati? how many (people)?
Relative	hogla as many/much	hoglas how much	duhoglasi how many	duhoglati how many (as)
Definite	hagla how/as much/as many	haglas as much	haglasi as many	haglati as many (people)
Indefinite	hegla somewhat/some/some	heglas some	heglasi some	heglati some (people)
Proximal	higla this/this much/this many	higlas this much	higlasi this many	higlati this many (people)
Distal	hugla that/that much/that many	huglas that much	huglasi that many	huglati that many (people)
Intensive	huugla so very, so much, so many	huuglas so much	huuglasi so many	huuglati so many (people)
Negative	hyogla none, not very	hyoglas none of it	hyoglasi none of them	hyoglati none
Distributive	hyagla totally/all/all	hyaglas all of it	hyaglasi all of them	hyaglati all
Indeterminate	hyegla however/any/any	hyeglas any of it	hyeglasi any of them	hyeglati any number of them
Identical	hyigla as/as much/as many, equally	hyiglas the same amount	hyiglasi the same number	hyiglati as many (people)
Non-identical	hyugla not as much/not as much/not as many	hyuglas a different amount	hyuglasi a different number of things	hyuglati a different number of people

Here are some examples showing how these quantitative determiners are used:

• Et deuze huugla fi.....You sing so well.
• At se hegla booka.....I am somewhat tired.
• Duhogla pati et teata hijub?....How many birds did you see today?
• At teata vyavay hugla tami.....I saw exactly that many houses.
• Iyt fe hyiglas vyel et.....She wants the same amount as you.
• Duhoglati yantexe yet?....How many (people) agree with you?
• Hyoglati yantexe.....None agree.
• Yit fu heglasi.....They would like some (of them).
• Et yafe bier hyehoglasi et fe.....You can take however many you want.
• Besu bay at hogla job et fe.....Stay as long with me as you want.
• At se huugla booka.....I am so tired.

NOTE: The following determiners are synonymous and interchangeable:

• hegla = gle = henog (somewhat, to some degree)
• hyigla = ge = hyinog (as, equally, to the same degree)

The determiner huugla can be used as an exclamatory adverb, eg.:

• Huugla et agsaye!....How you have grown!
• Hua twob jagsaye huugla!....That man has aged so much!
• Hia jotul se huugla fiteluza!....This dessert is sooo delicious!

Pronominal Determiners

Pronominal Determiners are what are more often called possessive adjectives such as my or your and are discussed in a subsection of Pronouns.

Quantitative Determiners

Quantitative determiners act in one of several ways, they:

• specify mass, uncountable, singular nouns for relative AMOUNT, eg. much happiness, less work
• specify countable nouns for relative NUMBER, eg. one apple, two birds, many places
• specify adverbs, adjectives, and verbs for relative DEGREE, eg. how poorly, very good, eat too much.

From these, pronominalized quantitative determiners for PERSONS and THINGS can be derived.

• Inanimate singular pronouns are formed by adding s for AN AMOUNT OF A THING
• Inanimate plural pronouns are formed by adding si for A NUMBER OF THINGS
• Animate plural pronouns are formed by adding ti for A NUMBER OF PERSONS.

The following table presents most of these word forms (Note that the determiners are in a plus (+), equal (=), or minus (-) row.):

Quantitative Determiners

Adverb / Adjective		Singular Pronoun	Plural Pronoun
Degree/Amount/Number		Amount	Number of Things	Number of People
+	ga....more	gas....more (stuff)	gasi....many (things)	gati....many (people)
=	ge....as, as much, as many	ges....as much (stuff)	gesi....as many (things)	geti....as many people
-	go....less, fewer	gos....less (stuff)	gosi....fewer (things)	goti....fewer (people)
+	gla....very, much, many glay....so, so much, so many glaa....several	glas....much (stuff) glays....so much stuff)	glasi....many (things) glaysi....so many (things) glaasi....several things	glati....many (people) glayti....so many (people) glaati....several people
=	gle....rather, quite a lot, quite a few	gles....quite a lot (of stuff)	glesi....quite a lot (of things)	gleti....quite a few (people)
-	glo....slightly, a little, few	glos....a little bit	glosi....a few (things)	gloti....few (people)
+	gra....too, too much, too many	gras....too much (stuff)	grasi....too many (things)	grati....too many (people)
=	gre....enough	gres....enough (stuff)	gresi....enough (things)	greti....enough (people)
-	gro....insufficiently, too little, too few	gros....too little	grosi....too few	groti....too few (people)
+	gwa....most	gwas....the most (stuff)	gwasi....the most (things)	gwati....most people
=	gwe....just so (much/many)	gwes....just so much	gwesi....just so many	gweti....just so many (people)
-	gwo....least	gwos....the least (stuff)	gwosi....the least (number of)	gwoti....the least number (of people)

Examples Using Graded Quantitative Determiners

Adverbs of degree modifying an adjective:

• At se gla iva.....I am very happy.
• Et sa gra uga.....You were too slow.

Adverbs of Degree modifying another adverb:

• Twobi dale ge igay vyel toybi.....Men talk as fast as women.
• Yat yexe ga igay vyel yet.....We work faster (= more quickly) than you.

Adjectives quantifying a singular mass noun:

• Ga nas efwo.....More money will be needed.
• Gra nas noxwa.....Too much money was spent.

Adjectives quantifying a plural countable noun (= things or people):

• At ayse gro sari.....I've got too few tools.
• Gla tami osexwa.....Many houses were destroyed.
• Yat efe gla ga valkdibuti.....We need many more policemen.

Pronouns referring to a mass amount of something (= stuff):

• Gas ilokeye.....More (stuff) is leaking.
• Et dileye gras.....You are asking for too much (stuff).
• Yat kexo gwas.....We will seek as much (stuff) as possible.
• At iba gwes.....I received just the right amount.

Pronouns referring to a countable number of things:

• Hisi se fia oy yat fe gasi.....These (items) are good but we want more (items).
• At teate drilari oy grosi.....I see pens, but too few.

Pronouns referring to a countable number of people:

• Grati xaye vyoki be hia yexem.....Too many (people) have made mistakes at this work site.
• Glati dyunwe oy gloti kebiwe.....Many are called but few are chosen.

Numerical Determiners

This category of determiners, which includes cardinal, ordinal and other number words like two, a tenth, and first, is such a vast topic that it is treated in its own chapter Mirad_Grammar/Numbers

Types of Numbers

Numerals are words used to vocalize numbers, which are scalar symbols used to count and quantify things and people. For example the numeral two is how the number 2 is read or spoken. Mirad uses Arabic numbers (0, 1, 2, 3...), as in all Western World languages.

Numerals can be various parts of speech:

• numeric nouns (The score was six to four.)
• numeric pronouns (I want two. Give me the fifth one.)
• numeric determiners (Five days ago. The fifth day. A double dose.)
• prefixes (monochrome, bicentennial, triangle)
• rootwords (anxer....to unite, onxer....to annihilate)

Number-based words include:

• cardinal numbers (one, two, three... used in counting and arithmetic)
• ordinal numbers (first, second... indicating ordered position)
• multiplicative numbers (double, triple, foursome...)
• fractional numbers (half, third, hundredth...)
• frequency numbers (once, twice, thrice...)
• miscellaneous number-based words (only, percentage, annihilate)

Cardinal Numbers

The cardinal numbers are words used in counting and reciting numerals such as telephone numbers, social security numbers, and zip codes, and in arithmetic. They are also used as the so-called "ordinal" stem vowels of words that relate to one another in a scalar, hierarchical, or some other ontological relationship. See this in the chapter on Vocabulary Formation.

Units

• The cardinal unit numerals are formed from the simple and pre-y-glided vowels.

Units

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
o	a	e	i	u	yo	ya	ye	yi	yu
zero	one	two	three	four	five	six	seven	eight	nine

• Ata yibdalar sag se 703-842-6190 (pronounced: ye-o-i-yi-u-e-ya-a-yu-o).....My telephone number is....
• At tambese 114 (pronounced: a-a-u) Maple Street.
• E gab e se u.....Two plus two is four.

Decades

• The decade formant -l- is used to form the decades. Followed by -o....zero, we have the base decade numerals. These can be used for number recitation, arithmetic, and as numeric adjectives followed by plural nouns:

Decades with the -l- Formant

10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90
alo	elo	ilo	ulo	yolo	yalo	yelo	yilo	yulo
ten	twenty	thirty	forty	fifty	sixty	seventy	eighty	ninety

By changing the o....zero in lo to other cardinal unit numerals, the numerals within decades can be generated as follows:

Decadal Counting

ala....11	ela....21	ila....31	ula....41	yola....51	yala....61	yela....71	yila....81	yula....91
ale....12	ele....22	ile....32	ule....42	yole....52	yale....62	yele....72	yile....82	yule....92
...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
alyu....19	elyu....29	ilyu....39	ulyu....49	yolyu....59	yalyu....69	yelyu....79	yilyu....89	yulyu....99

• At ayse alo dati.....I have ten friends.
• It yafe sagder byu alyo.....He can count up to fifteen.
• Yulyu gob alo gese yilyu.....Ninety-nine minus ten equals eighty-nine.

Hundreds

• By adding the hundreds formant s, you get the hundreds:

Hundreds with the -s- Formant

100	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900
aso	eso	iso	uso	yoso	yaso	yeso	yiso	yuso

All the in-between numerals of the hundreds can be generated by modifying the so ending with the units and decades:

• asa....101
• asale....112
• usyulyu....599

Thousands

• The thousands are generated with the formant r:

Note: The number categories starting with the thousands on up end in -o and are separated from the rest of a number by a space.

Thousands

1000	2000	3000	4000	5000	6000	7000	8000	9000
aro	ero	iro	uro	yoro	yaro	yero	yiro	yuro

• aro....1,000
• aro a....1,001
• ero isi....2,300
• yoro yasula....5,641

Millions

• The millions are generated with the formant ml:

Millions with the -ml- Formant

1,000,000	2,000,000	3,000,000	4,000,000	5,000,000	6,000,000	7,000,000	8,000,000	9,000,000
amlo	emlo	imlo	umlo	yomlo	yamlo	yemlo	yimlo	yumlo

• emlo yala....2,000,051
• umlo esu....4,000,204
• yumlo usyoro isyala....9,405,361

Billions

• The billions are generated with the formant mr;

Billions

1,000,000,000	2,000,000,000	3,000,000,000	4,000,000,000	5,000,000,000	6,000,000,000	7,000,000,000	8,000,000,000	9,000,000,000
amro	emro	imro	umro	yomro	yamro	yemro	yimro	yumro

In numbers ending in -ro (thousand), -mlo (million), and -mro (billion), these numbers keep the -o and are separated by a space from the other elements of the number.

• imro emlo yoro asyula....three billion, two million, five thousand, one hundred fifty one
• iro asyulyo....3,195
• yamlo asyulyo....6,000,195
• alomro yelyomlo asyilyaro yusele....10,075,186,922

Trillions etc.

The trillions are generated with the word garale, which means 10 to the positive power of 12 or 10¹².

These numbers do not combine with surrounding numbers.

• i garale....3,000,000,000
• eso garale....200,000,000,000

Even higher numbers are shown in the Number Chart later in this chapter.

Numeric Determiners

Numeric Determiners are adjectives based on numerals that modify a following noun.

Integers

The unit numeric integer determiners, which are used to quantify nouns, consist of the cardinal units followed by the unit formant wa. The noun following the numeric determiner is plural if the number is greater than one. The wa formant is used on unit numerals when they are stand-alone, not when they are part of a larger number. In contrast with English usage, "zero" is followed by a singular noun (zero box vs. zero boxes. Think of it as not a single box).

Standalone Unit Numeric Determiners

owa tam	awa tam	ewa tami	iwa tami	uwa tami	yowa tami	yawa tami	yewa tami	yiwa tami	yuwa tami
no/zero houses	one house	two houses	three houses	four houses	five houses	six houses	seven houses	eight houses	nine houses

If a unit number is used in forming larger numbers like 13 or 204, no wa is used.

In a sequence of noun modifiers, the numerical determiner goes in the same place as in English, eg:

• Ata iwa gajaga twidi bese bay at.....My three older brothers live with me.
• Hia uwa tomi losexwo.....These four buildings will be destroyed.
• At fu ewa ey iwa gouni.....I would like two or three pieces.

The numeric determiners beyond the units do NOT take the -wa suffix. For example, ala tami....eleven houses.

Numeric Determiners modifying a singular or plural noun

Mirad	English	Wa Behavior	Pluralization Behavior
owa tam	no houses, zero houses	The numeral is a unit, so wa is suffixed.	The numeral is less than 2, so the noun is singular.
awa tam	one house, a house	"	"
ewa tami	two houses	"	The numeral is greater than 2, so the noun is plural.
iwa tami	three houses	"	"
uwa tami	four houses	"	"
yowa tami	five houses	"	"
yawa tami	six houses	"	"
yewa tami	seven houses	"	"
yiwa tami	eight houses	"	"
yuwa tami	nine houses	"	"
alo tami	ten houses	The numeral is not a unit so no wa is suffixed.	"
ase tami	a hundred two houses	"	"
ero iwa tami	two thousand three houses	The numeral i is a unit, so wa is suffixed.	"
iro alo tami	three thousand ten houses	The numeral alo is not a unit, so wa is not suffixed.	"

Numeric determiners can be pronominalized as things and persons by suffixing s or t, respectively. These can, in turn, be pluralized by suffixing i. Furthermore, person pronouns can be feminized with a y before the t. The s suffix is short for sun....thing or suni....things. The t ending is short for aot....person or aoti....persons. For example:

• Et ayse awa tam. At gey ayse awas. (singular inanimate pronoun)....You have one house. I have one too.
• At aysa alo drari. Hij at ayse anay ewasi (plural inanimate pronoun).....I had ten pencils. Now I only have two.
• Esa asoti yeb be ha duzam. (plural animate pronoun).... There were a hundred people in the concert hall.
• Yat yefe kebier awoyt bi huti. (singular animate female pronoun)....We must choose one female person from those people.

Ordinals

Ordinal numeric determiners (= ordinals) like first, second, etc. are formed from the cardinal numerals by adding the adjectival ending a to the cardinal numeral. A variation of this is with the word nap (order) inserted:

Ordinal Numeric Determiners

Cardinal Numeral	Ordinal Numeric Determiner	Variation with nap (order)
o....zero	oa....zeroth	onapa....zeroth
a....one	aa....first	anapa....first
e....two	ea....second	enapa....second
i....three	ia....third	inapa....third
alo....ten	aloa....tenth	alonapa....tenth
asu....104	asua....104th	asunapa....104th
garale....trillion	garalea....trillionth	garalenapa....trillionth

Note: ana is an adjective meaning only, single, eg. Iyt se ana tud.....She is an only child. As an adverb, anay means only, eg. At yexe anay be tam.....I work only at home.

There are other ordinal adjectives that are not based on numbers:

Ordinal Words Not Based on Numbers

Root Word	Ordinal Word
ij....beginning	ijna or ijnapa....first
uj....end	ujna or ujnapa....last
aj....past	ajna or ajnapa....ex-, former, previous
oj....future	ojna or ojnapa....future, upcoming
ej....present	ejna or ejnapa....current, new, present
ja....before	jana or janapa....previous, last, foregoing
jo....after	jona or jonapa....next, following
za....in front of	zana or zanapa....next
zo....behind	zona or zonapa....last (previous, foregoing)

Ordinal determiners and adjectives can be converted to adverbs by adding the suffix y to the adjectival counterparts:

Ordinal Adverbs

ADJECTIVE	ADVERB
aa....first	aay....firstly
anapa....first	anapay....primarily
ea....second	eay....secondly
ujna....last	ujnay....finally

Ordinal determiners can be converted to animate pronouns (persons) with the suffix t and inanimate pronouns (things) with the suffix s. These, in turn, can be pluralized with the suffix i. Neutral-gender animate pronouns can be made specifically masculine or feminine by changing at to wat for the former, and to ayt for the latter:

• ha aas....the first thing
• ha aat....the first person
• ha aati....the first people
• hua aayt....that first female
• ha enapas....the second thing
• ewat....another guy
• Ha ujnati so ha ijnati.....The last shall be first.
• ha zanapat....the next fellow

Again, in the sequencing of stacked adjectival elements, the order is as in English, that is: <deictic or pronominal determiner> | <ordinal determiner> | <cardinal numerical determiner> | <adjective>

• hua uwa aga tami....those four big houses
• ha aa alo oga tami....the first ten little houses
• ata anapa ewa oga tudi....my first two little children

Note: Ordinal numeric determiners are not to be confused with ordinal vowels, which are used to derive scalar iterations of nouns. Cardinal numbers are used in the latter case, eg.:

• dob....state (1st level)
• dab....government (2nd level derivative)
• deb....leader (3rd level derivative)
• dib....administration (4th " " )
• dub....minister (5th " " )

Fractions

Fractional numeric determiners ( = fractions) like half and quarter are formed by adding -yn for those functioning as nouns, -yna for adjectives, -ynay for adverbs, or -yn for prefixes, to the respective cardinal number.

Fractional Numeric Determiners

CARDINAL NUMERAL	FRACTION AS NOUN	AS ADJECTIVE	AS ADVERB	AS PREFIX	AS VERB
o....zero	oyn....a void, vacuum, null	oyna....null, nil	--	oyn-....devoid of	oynxer....annihilate, nullify
a....one	ayn....whole	ayna....entire, whole	aynay....entirely	ayn-....holo-, whole-, all-	aynxer....integrate
e....two	eyn....a half	eyna....half	eynay....halfway	eyn-....half-, semi-, hemi-, demi-	eynxer....halve
i....three	iyn....a third	iyna....third	iynay....by a third	iyn-....terci-	iynxer....cut in third
u....four	uyn....a quarter	uyna....quarter	uynay....quarterly	uyn-....quadri-	uynxer....quarter
alo....ten	aloyn....a tenth	aloyna....tenth	aloynay....by a tenth	aloyn-....deci-	aloynxer....decimate
aso....hundred	asoyn....hundredth, percent	asoyna....hundredth	asoynay....by a hundredth	asoyn-....centi-	asoynxer....cut by a hundred

Here are some examples:

• His uxo ha oynxen bi yata mir.....This will cause the anihilation of our world.
• Ha ayna mir te ayv et.....The whole world knows about you.
• Is se gas vyel ha ayn bi isa goni.....It is more than the whole of its parts.
• Ferad se ayndyana dalzeyn.....French is a holophrastic language.
• Et yafe bier eyn bi is.....You can take half of it.
• Yat yefo eynxer eta yexnix.....We will have to halve your salary.
• Hus sa eynvyan.....That was a half-truth.
• Eso eynzyunida dropek.....There is going to be a hemispheric war.
• Duven his se eynutexea dopar?....Is this a semi-automatic weapon?
• Iynxu hua absakpovel.....Cut that pie in thirds.
• It yeyfe bixwer ay uynxwer.....He should be drawn and quartered.
• Hia nas se aloyn bi hos yat nixa zojab.....This money is a tenth of what we earned last year.
• Ha dep aloynxwu.....The army would be decimated.
• Ewa asoyni bi ha dityan baksa.....Two percent (=hundredths) of the citizenry got sick.
• Hia tom se anay asoyn ge aga vyel hua tom.....This building is only a hundredth as big as that building.
• Hwut se oyntofa.....That guy is naked.

The fractional adverbs can be used as in these examples:

• Et so aynay dudyefa av eta xeyni.....You will be wholly accountable for your actions.
• Iyt eynay tikabeloka.....She almost (= halfway) threw up.

Pronominalizations like half of it, a third of them:

• Eynas sa fia.....Half of it was good.
• Eynasi sa fua.....Half of them (things) were bad.
• Esa uwa tobi se hua fukyes. Eynati toja.....There were four people in that accident. Half (of them) died.
• Iynati bi yet se vyaka.....A third of you are right.
• Uynati bi yat yantexe.....A quarter of us agree.
• Alo asoyni bi hia dyesi fyunxwa.....Ten percent of these books were ruined.

Multiples

Multiplicative numeric determiners ( = multiples) like double, triple can be formed by adding -on to the respective cardinal numeral if the numeral is monosyllabic, otherwise just -n. These noun forms can be adjectivized with the suffix -a. They can also serve as prefixes on animate nouns, inanimate nouns, and prefixes, as the following chart shows. The prefix ending, -n is often dropped.

Multiplicative Numeric Determiners

CARDINAL NUMERAL	MULTIPLE AS NOUN	...AS ADJECTIVE	...AS ADVERB	...AS PREFIX	...AS VERB-MAKER
o....zero	oon....null	oona....nil		on-....zero-	onxer....cancel, zero out
a....one	aon....single	aona....single	aonay....singly	an-....uni-/mono-	anxer....unify
e....two	eon....twosome, double	eona....double	eonay....doubly	en-....di-/bi-	enxer....double
i....three	ion....threesome, triplet	iona....triple	ionay....triply	in-....tri--	inxer....triple
u....four	uon....quartet	uona....quadruple	uonay....quadruply	un-....quadri-/tetra-	unxer....quadruple
yo....five	yoon....quintet	yoona....quintuple	yoonay....quintuply	yoon-*....quinti-/penta-	yoonxer*....quintuple
ya....six	yaon....sextet	yaona....sextuple	yaonay....sextuply	yaon-*....sexi-/hexa-	yaonxer*....sextuple
alo....ten	alon....decade	alona....decadic	alonay....by a multiple of ten	alon-....deca-	alonxer....multiply by ten
aso....hundred	ason....hundredfold	asona....hundredfold	asonay....by a hundredfold	ason-....hecato-	asonxer....multiply by a hundred

* An extra o is added to these prefixes to avoid ambiguity with yan meaning together and yon meaning apart.

The multiplicative noun dozen is expressed by aleon.

• Aleoni bi pati yizpapa.....Dozens of birds flew by.

By adding the suffix -at to the noun multiple, we get groupings of people. The -na- in some of these words can be omitted, thereby simplifying the words:

• aonat or aot ....solo, single, person

• aonatser of aotser....become single, become a person
• aonawat....singleton

• eonat or eot....duo, pair, twosome, couple

• eotxer....to copulate
• eontajat....twin

• ionat or iot....trio, threesome, trinity

• iotxer....to do a threesome
• Ionatin....Trinitarianism
• iontajati....triplets

• uonat or uot ....quartet, foursome

• uontajat....quadruplet

• yoonat or yoot....quintet, group of five people

• yoontajati....quintuplets
• yoonati....quintets

By adding the suffix -un instead of -on, we get the following:

• aun....unit

• auna....unitary, individual
• aunser....unite
• aunyan....series

• aunyana....serial

• eun....pair

• euna....even, paired, binary
• oleuna....odd, non-binary, uneven, unpaired

• oleunat....odd man out
• eunxer....even out

Some examples where the above multiple determiners and derivatives are used:

• Yat naptyopa be eo(na)ti yez bi ha mep.....We marched in twos (= pairs) down the street.
• Asonati upo bay yat bu hia ovdal.....Hundreds (of people) will come with us to this protest.
• Hia ivxel xwe enjabay.....This celebration happens biennially.
• Iyt se untupokyat.....She is a quadriplegic. (Lit: x 4+limb+loss+person)
• Diwe sagu ha auni.....Please count the units.
• Yet gafisa aronay!....You all have improved a thousandfold!
• Tob se entyoyaba sat.....Man is a bipedal creature.

Note: Sometimes the multiple prefix ending in -on in the numbers below ten is shortened to -n in common words:

• anzyuk....monocycle
• enzyuk....bicycle
• ingun....triangle
• ungun....quadrangle
• yoongon....pentagon
• yaongon....hexagon

Note: The prefixes for penta-/quinti- and hexa-/sext- must keep the -on so as to distinguish them from the prefixes yon....apart and yan....together. This rule does not apply to numbers inside chemical names and formulas (See Coding Chemical Elements).

• yoongona....quintipartite  BUT: yonper....separate, go apart
• yaongun....hexagon  BUT: yanuper....meet, come together

Number Chart

The following chart shows numbers in Mirad as symbols, adjectives, pronouns, prefixes, and verbs:

Number Chart

MULTIPLE					FRACTION
SYMBOL	ADJECTIVE	NOUN	PREFIX1	VERB	SYMBOL	NOUN	PREFIX	VERB
0	owa zero	oon nonentity, null oot nobody	on- zero-	onxer nullify	1/0	oyn zeroth	oyn- nihil-	oynxer anihilate
1	awa one aa first ana single, lone	aon unit aot solo, individual	an- uni-, mono-	anxer unify	1/1	ayn whole	ayn- holo-	aynxer integrate
2	ewa two ea second ena dual ensuana binary	eon double eot duo, pair, couple eontajat twin	en- bi-, di-	enxer double eotxer copulate	1/2	eyn half	eyn- semi-	eyxner halve
3	iwa three ia third insuana ternary	ion triple iot trio, threesome iontajat triplet	in- tri-	inxer triple	1/3	iyn third	iyn- terci-	iynxer split into three
4	uwa four ua fourth	uon quadruple uot quartet, foursome uontajat quadruplet	un- tetra-	unxer quadruple	1/4	uyn fourth uynjab quarter	uyn- quadri-	uynxer quarter
5	yowa five yoa fifth	yoon quintuple yoot quintet yoontajat quintuplet	yoon-2 penta-	yoonxer quintuple	1/5	yoyn fifth	yoyn- quint-	yoynxer cut in fifths
6	yawa six yaa sixth	yaon sextuple yaot sextet yaontajat sextuplet	yaon-3 hecto-	yaonxer sextuple	1/6	yayn sixth	yayn- hexi-	yaynxer cut in sixths
7	yewa seven yea seventh	yeon septuple yeot septet yeontajat septuplet yejub week	yen- hepto-	yenxer mult seven	1/7	yeyn seventh	yeyn- hepti-	yeyxner cut in sevenths
8	yiwa eight yia eighth	yion octuple yiot octet yiontajat octuplet	yin- octo-	yinxer mult eight	1/8	yiyn eighth	yiyn- octi-	yiynxer cut in eighths
9	yuwa nine yua ninth	yuon nonuple yuot set of nine yuontajat nonuplet	yun- nona-	yunxer mult nine	1/9	yuyn nineth	yuyn- novi-	yuynxer cut in ninths
10	alo ten aloa tenth alosuana decimal	alon tenfold alojab...decade	alon- deca-	alonxer increase by a factor of ten	1/10	aloyn tenth	aloyn- deci-	aloynxer decimate
100 104	aso hundred asoa hundredth	ason hundredfold asojab century	ason- heca-	asonxer increase a hundredfold	1/100 10-2	asoyn hundredth percentage cent	asoy- centi-	asoynxer divide by a hundred
1,000 103	aro thousand aroa thousanth	aron thousandfold arojab millennium	aron- kilo-	aronxer divide by a thousand	1/1000 10-3	aroyn thousandth	aroy- milli-	aroynxer
1,000,000 106	amlo million amloa millionth	amlon millionfold	amlon- mega	amlonxer multiply by a million	10-6	amloyn millionth goryan	amloyn- micro-	amloynxer divide by a million
109	amro billion amroa billionth	amron billionfold	amron- giga-	amronxer multiply by a billion	10-9	amroyn- nano-	amroynxer divide by a billion
1012	garale3 trillion garalea trillianth	garalen trillionfold	garalen- tera		10-12	goralen- pico-	goralen trillionth
1015	garalyo quadrillion garalyoa quadrillionth	garalyon quadrillionfold	garalyon- peta-		10-15	garalyon- femto-	goralyon quadrillionth
1018	garalyi quintillion garlyia quintillionth	garalyin quintillionfold	garalyin- exa-		10-18	goralyin- atto-	goralyin quintillianth
1021	garela sextillion garelaa sextillionth	garelan sextillionfold	garelan- zetta-		10-21	gorelan- zepto-	gorelan sextillionth
1024	garele septillion garelea septillionth	garelen eptillionfold	garelen- yotta-		10-24	gorelen- yocto-	gorelen septillionth
1027	garelye octillion garelyea octillionth	garelyen ctillionfold	garelyen- ronna-		10-27	gorelyen- ronto-	gorelyen octillionth
1030	garilo nonillion gariloa nonillionth	garilon nonillionfold	garilon- quetta-		10-30	gorilon- quecto-	gorilon nonillionth

• Note 1: Sometimes the final -n on the numeric prefix is dropped, especially as an ordinal vowel in scalar words, eg. anapa
  first, atistam
  elementary school.
• Note 2: An extra o is inserted into this prefix to distinguish it from yon-
  dis-, apart
• Note 3: An extra o is inserted into this prefix to distinguish it from yan-
  con-, together
• Note 4: Garale is short for alo gar ale
  ten to-the-power-of 12. By the same token, gorale is short for alo gor ale
  ten to-the-power-of-minus 12

Metric Units

Mirad uses the International System of Units (SI) for rendering measurement units. These symbols are pronounced as if you were spelling each letter out (see the alphabet. Bear in mind that majuscules (uppercase letters are prefaced with the word ag- (big). Similarly, Greek letters are rendered by their Greek names (ω = omega, Ω = Omega). The measurement unit names are followed by nak (measurement unit).

SI base units

ENGLISH UNIT NAME	SYMBOLIC ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
second	s	time	sonak
meter	m	length	minak
kilogram	kg	mass	kigenak
ampere	A	electric current	aganak
kelvin	K	thermodynamic temperature	agkinak
Mole	mol	amount of substance	miolinak
candela	cd	luminous intensity	cadanak

Here are SI derived units with special names and symbols:

SI derived units with special names and symbols

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOLIC WRITTEN ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
radian	rad	plane angle	roadanak
steradian	sr	solid angle	soronak
hertz	Hz	frequency	aghezunak
newton	N	force, weight	agninak
pascal	Pa	pressure, stress	agpoanak
joule	J	energy	agjinak
watt	W	power	agwunak
coulomb	C	electric charge	agcanak
volt	V	electrical potential difference	agvunak
farad	F	capacitance	agfenak
ohm	Ω	electrical resistance	Omeganak
Siemens	S	electrical conductance	agsonak
Weber	Wb	magnetic flux	agwubanak
tesla	T	magnetic flux density	agtonak
henry	H	inductance	aghenak
degree Celsius	°C	temperature	nogagcanak
lumen	lm	luminous flux	liminak
lux	lx	illuminance	lixuak
becquerel	Bq	radioactivity	agbakonak
gray	Gy	absorbed dose (of ionizing radiation)	aggeyunak
sievert	Sv	equivalent dose (of ionizing radiation)	agsovunak
katal	kat	catalytic activity	kiatonak
byte	b	8 bits of information	banak

Also, here are some non-SI units that are very convenient and acceptable:

Convenient non-SI units

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOLIC WRITTEN ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
litre	L	volume	aglonak or litr(i)
hectare	ha	area	heanak or hektar(i)
ton	t	area	tonak or ton(i)
decibel	dB	loudness	daagbanak or decibel(i)
fathom	ftm	depth of water	fetominak

The following chart shows how in Mirad to pronounce coherent derived unit formulae in terms of base units. Note that the backslash means per or divided by and is pronounced gol. The symbol x means times and is pronounced gal. The superscript number is a power and is pronounced gar plus the number (with -wa, if a unit number). The negative superscript number is pronounced gor plus the number (again, with -wa if a unit number). See Arithmetical Expressions for further information on these terms.

Examples of coherent derived units in terms of base units

NAME	SYMBOLIC FORMULA	DERIVED QUANTITY	TYPICAL SYMBOL	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
square meter	m2	area	A	minak-gar-ewa
cubic meter	m3	volume	V	minak-gar-iwa
meter per second	m/s	speed, velocity	v	minak-gol-sonak
meter per second squared	m/s2	acceleration	a	minak-gol-sonak-gar-ewa
reciprocal meter	m−1	wavenumber	σ, ṽ	minak-gor-awa
		vergence (optics)	V, 1/f
kilogram per cubic meter	kg/m3	density	ρ	kigenak-gol-minak-gar-iwa
kilogram per square meter	kg/m2	surface density	ρA	kigenak-gol-minak-gar-ewa
cubic meter per kilogram	m3/kg	specific volume	v	minak-gar-iwa-gol-kinak-ge
ampere per square meter	A/m2	current density	j	aganak-gol-minak-gar-ewa
ampere per meter	A/m	magnetic field strength	H	aganak-gol-minak
mole per cubic meter	mol/m3	concentration	c	minolinak-gol-minak-gar-iwa
kilogram per cubic meter	kg/m3	mass concentration	ρ, γ	kinak-ge-gol-minak-gar-iwa
candela per square meter	cd/m2	luminance	Lv	canak-da-gol-minak-gar-ewa

The SI has a whole list of prefixes that act as multipliers (macro) or dividers (micro) of the above and other measurement units. For example, a kilometer is a meter times a 1,000 (macro unit), whereas a millimeter is a meter divided by a 1,000 (micro unit). Banak means byte, so garale-banak is terabyte. This breaks down to 10¹² bytes. Here is a table showing the Mirad macro and micro prefixes:

Scalar Metrics

MACRO				MICRO
BASE 10	US/UK NAME	MIRAD PREFIX....SI PREFIX	SI SYMBOL	BASE 10	(US/UK NAME)	MIRAD PREFIX....SI PREFIX	SI SYMBOL
1	one	an- *... mono-, uni-		1/1	whole	ayn-....holo-, uni-
2	two	en-....bi-		1/2	half	eyn-....demi-, di-
3	three	in-....tri-		1/3	third	iyn-....terci-
4	four	un-....tetra-		1/4	fourth	uyn-....quadri-
5	five	yoon- *....penta-		1/5	fifth	yoyn....quinti-
6	six	yaon-....hexa-		1/6	sixth	yayn....sexti-
7	seven	yeon-....hepta-		1/7	seventh	yeyn....septi-
8	eight	yion....octo-		1/8	eighth	yiyn....octi-
9	nine	yuon....nona-		1/9	ninth	yuyn....novi-
10	ten	alon-....deca-	da	1/10	tenth	aloy-....deci-	d
102	hundred	aso-....hecto- **	h	10-2	hundredth	asoy-....centi-	c
103	thousand	amso-....kilo-	k	10-3	thousandth)	amsoy-....milli-	m
106	million	amlo-....mega-	M	10-6	millionth	amloy-....micro-	r
109	billion /milliard	amro-....giga-	G	10-9	billionth/ milliardth	amroy-....nano-	n
1012	trillion /billion	garale-....tera-	T	10-12	trillionth / billionth)	gorale-....pico-	p
1015	quadrillion)/ billiard	garalyo-....peta-	P	10-15	quadrillionth) / billiardth	goralyo-....femto-	f
1018	quintillion / trillion	garalyu-....exa-	E	10-18	quintillionth)/ trillionth	goralyu....atto-	a
1021	sextillion)/ trilliard	garela-....zetta-	Z	10-21	sextillionth / trilliardth	gorela....zepto-	z
1024	septillion)/ quadrillion	garelu-....yotta-	Y	10-27	septillionth / quadrillionth	gorelu....yocto-	y

*Note: The -n or -on can sometimes be omitted in macro-prefixation, especially where there is no ambiguity. The -n (but NOT the -yn) in the micro prefixes can also sometimes be omitted.

**Note: The gar (to a plus power) and gor (to a minus power) forms are alternatives for the numeric prefixes beyond 100. For example, billion (10⁹) could be expressed as garyu-(ten) to the 9th power, while billionth could be expressed by goryu ((ten) to the minus 9th power). The prefix garya- is composed of the positive exponential operator gar (to the power of), followed by the number 6. The prefix gorale- is composed of the negative exponential operator gor (to the root of), followed by the number 12.

The macro and micro values can also be represented with abbreviated symbols, which can be pronounced in Mirad as spelled out alphabetics. Greek letter are rendered by their names in Greek. Upper case equivalents are preceded with ag-. Here is a table showing grams:

Kg Metrics With Abbreviated Symbols

MACRO		MICRO
SYMBOL (EXPANSION)	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION	SYMBOL (EXPANSION)	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
dag (decagram)	daagenak	(decigram)	dagenak
hg (hectogram)	hegenak	cg (centigram)	cagenak
kg (kilogram)	kogenak	mg (milligram)	migenak
Mg (macrogram)	agmigenak	μg (microgram)	mugenak
Gg (gigagram)	aggegenak	ng (nanogram)	nigenak
Tg (teragram)	agtogenak	pg (picagram)	pogenak
Pg ( petagram)	agpogenak	fg (femtogram)	fegenak
Eg (exagram)	agegenak	ag (attogram)	agenak
Zg (zettagram)	agzegenak	zg (zeptogram)	zegenak
Yg (yottagram)	agyugenak	yg (yoctogram)	yugenak

The squared and cubed representations of the above are followed by gar e (squared) and gar i (cubed), respectively:

• 10 km²....(pronounced as:) alo kominaki gar e
• 12 mm³....(pronounced as:) ale miminaki gar i

Expressing Frequency

There are two ways to form determiners of frequency:

• Using jod(i) meaning occasion(s), instance(s), time(s), or
• Using xag meaning frequency

Here is a chart showing the most common frequency determiners:

Frequentative Determiners

"JOD" METHOD	"XAG" METHOD	MEANING
duhogla jodi?	duhoxag?	how often?, how many times?
hogla jodi	hoxag	how often, how frequently
hagla jodi	haxag	the frequency
hegla jodi	hexag	sometimes, on some occasions
higla jodi	hixag	this often, this many times
hugla jodi	huxag	that often, that many times, so many times
huugla jodi	huuxag	so often, so many times
hyogla jodi	hyoxag	never
hyagla jodi	hyaxag	always, at all times
hyegla jodi	hyexag	any number of times, however often
hyigla jodi	hyixag	as often, the same number of times
hyugla jodi	hyuxag	not as often, some other number of times
ga jodi	gaxag (vyel)	more often (than)
ge jodi	gexag (vyel)	as many times (as), as often (as)
go jodi	goxag (vyel)	less often (than)
gla jodi	glaxag	many times, often
gle jodi	glexag	quite a few times, quite often
glo jodi	gloxag	not so many times, seldom
gra jodi	graxag	too often
gre jodi	grexag	often enough
gro jodi	groxag	too seldom
gwa jodi	gwaxag	as often as possible, most often, most times
gwe jodi	gwexag	an average number of times
gwo jodi	gwoxag	least often, as seldom as possible
owa jod	oxag	never, at no time, zero times
awa jod	axag	once, one time
awa ga jod	ga axag	again, once more
ewa jodi	exag	twice, two times
iwa jodi	ixag	thrice, three times
alo jodi	aloxag	ten times

Examples:

• Duhoxag et pe ha tayegoblam?....How often do you go to the barber shop?
• Duhogla jodi et akaye hia ekun?....How many times have you won this game?
• At teataye hua dyezun iwa ey uwa jodi.....I have seen that film three or four times.
• At teataye is huugla jodi (or: huuxag) van at bokseye.....I have seen it so many times that I am getting sick.
• Hus xwaye gaxag vyel et te.....That has happened more often than you know.

Mathematical Expressions

Mathematical vocabulary is based mostly on deriviatives of the degree word ga....more.

Chart of Mathmatical Components

The following chart shows mathematical operator verbs and derived terms:

Arthmetic Expressions

VERB	OPERATION	PATIENT	SUBJECT	OPERATOR	SIGN	RESULT
gaber add	gaben addition	gabwas addend, summand	gabus augend	gab plus +	gabsiyn plus sign	gabix sum
galer multiply	galen multiplication	galwas multiplicand	galus multiplier factor	gal times x	galsiyn times sign	galix product
garer raise to the power of	garen exponentiation	garwas base	garus exponent	gar raised to the power of	garsiyn exponent sign	garix power
gazer logarithmize	gazen logarithmization	gazwas base	gazus antilogarithm	gaz log		gazix logarithm
gober subtract	goben subtraction	gobwas subtrahend	gobus minuend	gob minus -	gobsiyn minus sign	gobix difference
goler divide	golen division fraction	golwas dividend numerator	golus divisor denominator	gol divided by ÷	golsiyn division sign	golix quotient
gorer derive the nth root of	goren root extraction	gorwas radicand	gorus degree	gor the nth root of √	gorsiyn radical sign	gorix root
gexer equal	gexen equation	gexwas thing being equated	gexus equator	ge equal to =	gesiyn equal sign	gexix equation solution

How to Verbalize Math Expressions

• 1 + 1 = 2.....A gab a gese e.
• 3 - 1 = 2.....I gob a gese e.
• 2 x 4 = 8.....E gal u gese yi.
• 10 % 2 = 5.....Alo gol e gese yu.
• 5² = 25.....Yo gar e gese elyu.
• 2³ = 8.....E gar i gese yi.
• 4 √2 = 2 = 2.....U gor e gese e.
• log₁₀ 1000 = 3.....Aro gaz alo gese i.

Note 1: gese (equals) can be substituted with se (is), eg.:

• E gab e se u.....Two plus two is four.

Note 2: If numbers are used as numeric adjectives, the units take the suffix -wa, eg.:

• Ewa lafebi gab awa afeb gese vavol.....Two oranges plus one apple equals a salad.

Examples of mathematical expressions:

• E gab e gese u.....Two plus two equals four.
• E gal i gese ya.....Two times three equals six.
• I gar e gese yu.....Three to the second power equals nine.
• E gob e gese o.....Two minus two equals zero.
• Yu gol i gese i.....Nine divided by three equals three.
• Yu gor i gese i.....Nine cubed equals three.
• Aso gor e gese alo.....One hundred squared equals ten.
• Aro gaz alo gese i.....Log₁₀(1000) = 3. (= Logarithm of a thousand to base ten equals three)

Decimal Expressions

Decimal expressions like 2.5 use the word nod....point as in English.

• Hia bavol kyinse ga vyel 10.8 (alo nod yiwa) kigenaki.....This tomato weighs more than 10.8 (ten point eight) kilograms.

Calendar and Time Expressions

The word for calendar is judar. The sections below explain how calendar expressions are formed and used:

Basic Calendar Units

Time is divided using the following basic terms:

Calendar Units

MIRAD	ENGLISH
job	time
jab	year
jeb	season
jib	month
jub	day
jwob*	hour
jwab*	minute
jweb*	second

• Note: These would ordinarily be jyob, jyab, and jyeb respectively, but the w glide is much easier to pronounce after the letter j, and is therefore substituted.

Other Calendar Units

Other calendar units are formed through the agglutination of numerical stubs to some of the time units above:

Other Calendar Units

MIRAD	ENGLISH	NUMERICAL FORMULA
rojab	millenium	year x 1,000
sojab	century	year x 100
lojab	decade	year x 10
eynjab	half year	year x 1/2
uynjab	quarter	year x 1/4
yajib	semester	month x 6
yejub	week	day x 7
yejubuj	weekend	day x 7 end
eynjwob	half hour	hour x 1/2

This, next, last, etc. are expressed as follows:

Day Pointers

MIRAD	ENGLISH
hijub hia yejub hijab	today this week this year
zojub zoyejub zajab	yesterday last week last year
zajub zayejub zajab	tomorrow next week next year
hujub huyejub hujab	that day that week that year
jazojub ja ewa yejubi jazojab	the day before yesterday two weeks ago the year before last
jozajub jo ewa yejubi jozajab	the day after tomorrow two weeks from now the year after next
Duhajub?	Which day?
hyajub	every day
hyejub	any day
hejub	someday
hejubi	some days

Seasons of the Year

Seasons of the year are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for season jeb:

Seasons of the Year

MIRAD	ENGLISH
jeab	spring
jeeb	summer
jeib	autumn, Fall
jeub	winter

Examples of usage:

• be jeab....in spring
• ja jeeb....before summer
• ju jeib....until autumn
• ji jeub....since winter
• je ha jeb....during the season
• ub ha uj bi jeeb....toward the end of summer
• eb jeab ay jeeb....between spring and summer
• jeeba gemoj....vernal equinox
• jeiba fayebi....autumn leaves
• jeba til....seasonal drink
• jeubyena jebmalyen....wintry climate
• jeabyena malyen....spring-like weather
• jeuben....hibernation
• hijeab....this season
• zajeab....next season
• zojeab....last season
• hyajeab....every season

Months of the Year

Months of the year are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for month jib:

Months of the Year

MIRAD	ENGLISH
jiab	January
jieb	February
jiib	March
jiub	April
jiyob	May
jiyab	June
jiyeb	July
jiyib	August
jiyub	September
jilob	October
jilab	November
jileb	December

Some expressions using the months:

• be jilob....in October
• ja jiyab....before June
• lojo zajiyeb....by next July (lojo = not after)
• hijib....this month
• zojib....last month
• zajib....next month
• bi-jib-bu-jiba jobnis....month-to-month rent
• jibay....monthly
• jibi joy....months later
• jiba sindryen....monthly magazine
• hujiba jobnis....that month's rent
• hya ionjib....every trimester
• jiber....menstruate
• byi zojilob....since last October
• ub zejib....toward mid-month

Days of the Week

Days of the week are expressed by internally scalarizing the word for day jub:

Days of the Week

MIRAD	ENGLISH
juab	Monday
jueb	Tuesday
juib	Wednesday
juub	Thursday
juyob	Friday
juyab	Saturday
juyeb	Sunday

Here are some common terms relating to days of the week:

Day Expressions

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Duhojub?	Which day?
hojub hu...	the day that...
hejub	someday
hijub	today
hujub	that day
hyijub	(on) the same day
hyajub	every day
hyejub	any day
zajub	yesterday
zojub	tomorrow
ha jajub be ha jana jub	the day before, (on) the previous day
ha jojub be ha jona jub	the day before, (on) the previous day
jazojub	the day before yesterday
jozajub	the day after tomorrow
hya ea jub	every other/second day
hyajub boy juyeb	every day except Sunday
yejub	week
hiyejeb	this week
yejubuj	weekend
yexjub (or) zeyejub	weekday
enyejuba(y)	bi-weekly
zoyejub	last week

Examples of Usage:

• (be) juyob....on Friday
• ju juib....until Wednesday
• ji zojub....since yesterday
• lojo jubuj....by [Lit: not after] day's end
• jo zajub....after tomorrow
• je ha jub....during the day
• bi juab bu juub....from Monday to Friday
• yejubuja ponpop....a weekend getaway

Parts of the Day

Here are the principal parts of a day:

Parts of the Day

DAYTIME	NIGHTTIME
maj....daytime, day	moj....nighttime, night
bi maj....A.M.	bi moj....P.M.
jamajij....pre-dawn	jamojij....pre-dusk
majij....daybreak, dawn	mojij....dusk
amaryap....sunrise, sunup	amaryop....sunset, sundown
jwamaj....morning zajwamaj....tomorrow morning hijwamaj....this morning zojwamaj....yesterday morning hujwamaj....that morning hyajwamaj....every morning	jwamoj....evening zajwamoj....tomorrow evening hijwamoj....this evening zojwamoj....yesterday evening hujwamoj....that evening hyajwamoj....every evening
zemaj....noon	zemoj....midnight
jozemaj....afternoon	jozemoj....after midnight
majuj....day's end	jwomoj....late night

• Examples of Usage:

• At tijpa ja majij.....I woke up before dawn.
• At iyfe tuyjer be ha jwoa jozemaj.....I like to nap in the late afternoon.
• It yexe bi amaryap bu amaryop.....He works from sunup to sundown.
• Be gwa jwamoji, at teaxe sinibar.....Most evenings, I watch television.

Expressing Dates

The following is a how a date (jud) is normally expressed:

• be juab, 11 jieb 2018 joK.....on Monday, February 11th, 1918 A.D.

A date like 2018 can be expressed as twenty eighteen (elo alyi) or two thousand eighteen (ero alyi).

The day 11 in the above expression is pronounced ala.

The acronym for B.C. is jaK, short for ja Krist (before Christ).

The acronym for the de-Christianized "BCE", meaning Before the Common/Current Era is expressed in Mirad with jaEJ (ja ha Eja Joeb).

The acronym for A.D. is joK, short for jo Krist (after Christ).

The acronym for the de-Christianized C.E. is EJ, shoft for ha Eja Joeb (the Current Era).

Other date expressions follow:

• be ha 1800 jabi (alyi aso jabi)....In the 1800's (eighteen hundreds)
• ja ha 20a (eloa) asojab....before the 20th (twentieth) century
• eb 1920 (yulo elo) ay 2001 (emso awa)....between 1920 (nineteen twenty) and (two thousand one)
• hyaje hua alojab....throughout that decade
• At yexa hum je gla jabi.....I worked there for [Lit: during] many years.
• Ujbu his lojo jiyab.....Finish this by [Lit: not after] May.
• Iyt so him ub ha uj bi 2 (ewa) jiab.....She will be here toward the end of January 2nd.
• At taja je ha Tejika Eloni.....I was born in the Roaring Twenties.

Telling Time

Clock time expressions use mostly the word jwob (hour) or jwobi (hours).

Times of the day are expressed in the 24-hour European system, or what might be called by Americans "military clock time." So, 3PM in U.S. parlance should be expressed in Mirad as 15 hours (ulo jwobi), which is the same as 15:00 or 15 hundred hours.

The usual time-of-day question is Se duhojwob?....What time is it? [Lit: is what-hour?]

The typical answer is in the format Se alo (jwobi) yuwa. (Lit: (It) is ten hours five). The use of jwobi is optional, but if jwobi is modified by awa....one, then the singular form jwob is used.

Here are some typical answers:

• Se awa jwob.....It is one o'clock AM [Lit: It is one hour.]
• Se ewa jwobi.....It is two o'clock AM [Lit: It is two hours.]
• Se ale jwobi.....It is twelve o'clock AM.
• Se alyu jwobi elo.....It is 15:30 (3:30 PM).
• Se eli jwobi ali.....It is 23:13 (11:13 PM).
• Se elu jwobi.....It is 24:00 (12 PM).

The words jwob and jwobi can be abbreviated as j..

• be elo j.....At 8:00 PM

The designation AM and PM can be used but are not necessary in the 24-hour clock system:

• bi maj....(AM)
• bi moj.... (PM)

• Se vyavay 15:10 (= alu alo).....It is exactly 7:10 P.M..  [Lit: It is exactly fifteen ten.]
• Et sa jwoa bey alo jwabi.....You were late by 10 minutes.  [Lit: You were late by ten minutes.]
• Has ijo yuz 21:30 (= ela jwobi ilo).....It will begin around 10:30 PM.
• Puu him lojo jwoa vyel 15:00 j.....Get here no later than 3 PM.
• Ha yuzpar puo hum yeb 10 jwabi.....The bus will arrive there within 10 minutes.
• Ha jwobar izeade¹ 17:00.....The clock says [Lit. indicates] 5 PM.
• Yit pua be 3 j. be ha nod.....They arrived at 3 on the dot.

Note 1: izeade (indicates) can be substituted with de (says).

Note the following clock time idioms:

Clock Idioms

MIRAD	ENGLISH
jwa	early
jwe	on time
jwo	late
Se vyavay elo j.	It is exactly 8 PM.
yub bi zemaj or yuz bi zemaj.	around noon
ub zemoj	toward midnight
yeb bi jwebi	within seconds
alo jwabi ja hij	ten minutes ago [= before now]
lojo 3 j.	no later than / by 3 o'clock AM.
jwobay	hourly / by the hour / on the hour
Hia pop efxe 2 1/2 (= ewa gab eyn) jwobi.	This trip takes (Lit: necessitates) 2 1/2 hours.
ju awa jwob bi hij	until one hour from now
ji zojub be 10a j.	since yesterday at 10 o'clock.
je ha jana 12 jwabi	for/during/over the last 12 minutes
ja ojo 10 j.	before / by 10 AM.
lojo 10 jwobi.	by / in / within 10 hours.
jo 10 j.	after 10 o'clock AM.
At saye him ji ewa jwobi.	I have been here for [= since] two hours.

Expressing Age

Many expressions relating to age are built on the Mirad word for age: jag.

The typical question is:

• Et se duhojaga?....How old are you? (Lit. what-aged)

A typical answer is:

• At se eli (jabi) (jaga).....I am twenty-three (years old).

The word jaga can be left understood, as well as the word jabi....years:

• At se ilo.....I am thirty.

Here is a list of important age expressions and categories:

• duhojaga?....how old?
• hojoga....of which age
• hajaga....of the age
• hejaga....of some age
• hijaga....this old
• hujaga....that old
• huujaga....so old
• hyajaga....of every age
• hyejaga....of any age
• hyijaga / gejaga....of the same age, as old
• hyujaga / ogejaga....of a different age
• zejaga .... middle-aged
• jaga....old
• jayga....oldish
• joga....young
• joyga .... youngish
• gle jaga....rather old, oldish
• gla jaga....very old
• gra jaga....too old, super-aged
• gro jaga....under-aged, minor
• ge jaga....as old, of the same age
• awa (jab) jaga....one year old
• ewa (jabi) jaga....two years old
• alo (jabi) jaga....ten years old
• ga jaga vyel et....older than you
• ga joga vyel at....younger than me
• ge joga vyel iyt....as young as her
• ha gwa jagat bi ata tidetyan....the youngest of my siblings
• gajagat .... an elder
• grojagat....a minor
• alojagat....a ten-year-old
• aloynjagat....a teenager
• jagat .... old person, elder, senior
• jagwat .... old man
• jagayt .... old woman
• jogat....a youth
• jogwat....a boy
• jogayt....a girl
• grejat....an adult, someone of age
• jagseat....an adolescent
• jagsyat/agsyat....a grownup
• yilojagat....an octogenarian
• asojagat....a centenarian
• tud .... child, offspring
• twud .... male child, son
• tuyd .... female child, daughter
• tudet .... baby, infant
• tobet .... youth, young person
• twobet .... boy, young man
• toybet .... girl, young woman, maiden

Some other examples of usage:

• Et jagseye fi.....You are aging well.
• At voy jogseye hyegla.....I am not getting any younger.
• His se taam av ha jagati.....This is a home for the elderly.
• Gawaku eta jogan!....Regain your youth!
• At se ga jaga vyel ha yazmeli.....I am older than the hills.
• Teaxu ata gwa joga tud.....Look at my youngest child.
• Yat ife yata awajagat.....We love our one-year-old.
• Jagseatan se yika joob bi tej.....Adolescence is a difficult period of life.
• Agsu!....Grow up!

Note the difference:

• agaser....to get bigger
• agser....to grow

Currency Nomenclature

The ISO abbreviation for the currency expressions from various countries of the world are used to form the Mirad equivalents. The lowercase ISO code abbreviation for a particular country's denomination is spelled out in Mirad alphabetics and then the letter n is suffixed (mnemonic for nas....money). Then, since a monetary unit can be considered a proper noun, the first letter is capitalized, eg.:

• The ISO code abbreviation for "U.S. dollar" is "USD".
• Lowercase is "usd"
• Spelled out in Mirad alphabetics is u so da.
• This, with n suffixed, results in usodan.
• Finally, the first letter is capitalized, giving Usodan.
• Pluralized, Usodan becomes Usodani (= U.S. dollars).

• The Euro is therefore Euron.
• The Thai baht is Toheban.
• The Russian ruble is Rouban.

The ISO codes can be found at List of circulating currencies. A portion of that file is replicated here:

Currencies

English Currency Name	Currency symbol	ISO code	Mirad Name
Jordanian dinar	JD	JOD	Jiodan
Moroccan dirham	DH	MAD	Miadan
Australian dollar	$	AUD	Audan
Bitcoin	₿	(BTK?)	Batokin
Brunei dollar	$	BND	Banidan
Eastern Caribbean dollar	$	XCD	Xucadan
Hong Kong dollar	$	HKD	Hekidan
New Zealand dollar	$	NZD	Nizudan
Singapore dollar	$	SGD	Sogedan
United States dollar	$	USD	Usodan
Armenian dram	֏	AMD	Amidan
Euro	€	EUR	Euron
Central African CFA franc	Fr	XAF	Xuafen
CFP franc	Fr	XPF	Xupofen
Swiss franc	Fr	CFN	Cufenin
West African CFA franc	Fr	XOF	Xuofen
Netherlands Antillean guilder	ƒ	ANG	Anigen
Danish krone	kr	DKK	Dakikin
Turkish lira	₺	TRY	Toroyun
Mauritanian ouguiya	UM	MRU	Miroun
Sterling	£	GBP	Gebapon
Saint Helena pound	£	SHP	Sohepon
South African rand	R	ZAR	Zuaron
Russian rouble	₽	RUB	Rouban
Indian rupee	₹	INR	Iniron
Israeli new shekel	₪	ILS	Ilison

The hundredth fractional unit for most currencies can be converted into Mirad by appending the word -asoyn to the end of the Mirad name of the currency.

For example:

• The American cent is Usodan-asoyn.
• The Euro cent is Euron-asoyn.
• The British penny is Gebapon-asoyn.

In context, all of the above can be abbreviated to asoyn.

The symbol used for each currency can also be taken from the Wikipedia table referenced above. The symbol precedes the number and a comma is used for the thousand breaker and a period is used for the decimal breaker. For example:

• Five point six Euros ==> Yowa nod yawa Euroni ==> €5.6
• Two thousand nine dollars ==> Emro yuwa Usodani ==> $2,009

Note: : The bitcoin has no ISO code, so it is arbitrarily translated into Mirad as Batokin (for BTK). Its billionth fractional unit is called a satoshi and is translated into Mirad as Batokin-amroyn.

Other monetary vocabulary:

• nas....money

• nasa....monetary
• nasyen....currency
• nases....change
• nasmug....coin
• syagnas....cash

• syagnasuer....to cash

• ejnux....debit, cash
• ojnux....credit
• nasyef....debt
• ojbier....to borrow
• ojbuer....to lend
• drefnas....paper money
• nasdrev....bill, note, banknote

• alo Usodan nasdrev....ten dollar bill

• nax....price
• nayx....cost
• namper....to shop
• nusbier....to buy
• nisbuer....to sell
• nun....merchandise, product
• nuer....to supply
• nuxer....to pay
• nyuxer....to deliver
• nier....to demand
• nixer....to earn
• nyixer....to order
• nexer....to save
• nyexer....to stock
• noxer....to spend
• nyoxer....to waste
• kyaxler nas....convert money
• nasokrer....go bankrupt
• nasam....bank
• nuien....trade
• nuiem....market
• nam....store

Pronoun Categories

Pronouns are words that substitute for explicit nouns. For example, the pronoun I stands for the person standing at this place. The pronoun this stands for the thing or person nearest. The pronoun big one stands for a person or thing of some stature.

In this grammar, pronouns are divided into three categories:

• personal pronouns
• deictic determiners
• deadjectival pronouns

Deictic determiners like who?, this, that, such a, all, anything are discussed in a later chapter called Determiners.

Deadjectival pronouns are discussed in the chapter on Adjectives, because they are basically pronouns built from an adjective or adjective stem, such as:

• fia....good
• fiat....a good guy
• fias....a good thing
• ha gwa fiasi....the best ones

This chapter discusses personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns

In Mirad, personal pronouns can be classified by the following features:

• person

• 1st
• 2nd
• 1st & 2nd hybrid
• 3rd

• specificity

• person-specific
• generic
• reciprocal
• reflexive

• gender

• gender-neutral
• masculine
• feminine

• case

• subject
• direct object
• indirect object

• animacy

• animate
• inanimate

• other

• emphatic
• possessive

The chart below shows the principal personal pronouns, but does not include hybrid, reciprocal, emphatic, and possessive forms.

Personal Pronouns

PERSON	TYPE	ANIMACY	GENDER	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st	Specific	Animate	Neutral	at....I, me	yat....we, us
2nd				et....you	yet....you, you all
3rd				it....he, she, him, her	yit....they, them
			Masculine	wit....he, him
			Feminine	iyt....she, her
		Inanimate	Neutral	is....it	yis....they, them
	Generic	Animate		ot....one, they	yot....people
	Reflexive			ut....self	yut....selves

Animacy

If a Mirad pronoun ends in -t, the pronoun is animate. If the pronoun ends in -s, the pronoun is inanimate.

The Mirad 3rd person specific animate pronouns it (he/she), iyt (she), wit (he), and yit can refer to any animate or pseudo-animate creatures such as animals, babies, dolls, angels, gods, or monsters. However, Mirad it cannot refer to non-animate things such as tables, ideas, abstractions, plants, etc. Instead, the 3rd person inanimate pronoun is (singular) or yis (plural) is used. A deictic determiner (this/that, these/those) can also be used in such cases, as discussed in the chapter on Determiners, eg.:

• Eta dom se via. At iyfe is.....You house is beautiful. I like it.
• Ata dyun se Pierre. Is se Feroda.....My name is Pierre. It's French.
• Tej se vira, oy is uje gra ig.....Life is wonderful, but it ends too soon.
• Teaxu hua amaryop. Has se via.....Look at that sunset. It (=the thing) is beautiful. In this case, is and the determiner has are synonymous.

If the English word they or them refers to inanimate objects, concepts, or abstractions, then the Mirad 3rd person inanimate plural pronoun isi is used, eg.:

• At ujba dyeer ha dyesi. Isi sa gla fia.....I finished reading the books. They were very good.

Note that the endings -t and -s alternate regularly in the language for things and persons.

Gender

Personal pronouns are gender-neutral, except that the 3rd singular animate pronoun it (he/she) can be made to express gender by prefixing w for masculine or inserting y before the final t for feminine. This is optional and only used where needed to differentiate referents.

• it....he/she/him/her
• iyt....she/her
• wit....he/him
• ita....his/her
• iyta....her
• wita....his
• iut....himself/herself
• iuyt....herself
• wiut....himself
• iuta....his/her own
• iuyta....her own
• wiuta....his own

In rare cases, distinguishing other personal pronouns for gender might be possible:

• wat....I/me, as a male
• eyt....you, a female

Number

All plural personal pronouns begin with y:

• yat....we, us
• yet....you (all)
• yit....they, them (m. or f.)
• yot....people
• yut....themselves

Plural personal pronouns do not express gender.

Case

Personal pronouns in Mirad do not express case with inflected forms such as he vs. him or she vs. her, or they vs. them in English. Rather, the position in the sentence or prepositions do the job.

• Et teate at.....You see me. (subject)
• At teate et.....I see you. (direct object)
• Yat teate yit.....We see them. (subject)
• Yit teaate yat.....They see us. (direct object)
• Du at din.....Tell me a story. (indirect object)
• Buu is bu at.....Give it to me. (indirect object)

Tell me a story. can also be expressed in Mirad as Du din bu at. (Tell a story to me.). Some verbs in Mirad like der (to tell), buer (to give), and uper (to come) have a built-in dative notion and do not require the preposition bu (to) if the object pronoun immediately follows the verb.

Expressing Pronouns with Quantitative Elements

Here are some possible personal pronouns with quantitative elements:

• awat bi yat....one of us
• ewat bi yet....two of you
• Hyaewat bi yit....both of them
• hya yat....we/us all
• anay wet....only you (m.)
• duhot bi yet?....who of you?
• Hyawas se fia.....Each one is good.

The above terms involve deictic determiners, which are discussed in the chapter on Determiners, as well as numbers, discussed in Numbers.

Generic Pronouns

The third person generic pronouns ot and yot are used as in English one and they, people (meaning unspecifed persons), as in the following examples:

• Ot yefe xer ha yakwas.....One must do what is expected.
• Yot de van et vyode hyoj.....They/People say you never lie.

Hybrid Pronouns

Mirad offers two special hybrid 1st & 2nd person pronouns, aet and ayet, which mean, respectively, I and you (dual) and I and you (plural). These are used only where the situation calls for it, eg.:

• Aet yeyfe tadser.....You and I should get married.
• Ayet efe yanbeser.....You people and I need to stick together.

Reflexive Personal Pronouns

Reflexive personal pronouns like English myself, yourself, etc. are formed by postfixing a u just before the final t. Reflexive personal pronouns are invariable for gender. Translating iut as herself depends on the context.

Reflexive Pronouns

PERSON	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st specific animate	aut....myself	yaut....ourselves
2nd specific animate	eut....yourself	yeut....yourselves
3d specific animate	iut....himself/herself	yiut....themselves
3d specific inanimate	ius....itself	yius....themselves
3d generic animate	out....oneself	yout....people themselves

Reflexive pronouns do not have gendered forms, because they hearken back to personal pronouns which can be gendered.

The above reflexive pronouns can be adjectivized, as in the following:

• auta tam....my own house
• yiuta byen....their own way
• iusa volz....its own color

These in turn can be pronominalized, as in the following:

• At bese yub bi autati.....I stay nearby my own (people).
• Eutas se ga fia.....You own is better.
• Iyt bexe iutasi.....She has her own things.

Examples of personal pronoun usage:

• At yafe teater aut be ha sinzyef.....I can see myself in the mirror.
• Iyt yubteaxa iut.....She examined herself.
• Tru eut!....Know thyself.
• Yat yeyfe tadser.....We should get married.
• Iyt vey tojbo iut.....She may kill herself.
• Ot yefe ifer out.....One must love oneself.
• Yot glaxag voy ife yout.....People often don't love themselves.
• Yet ufe yeut.....You (people) hate yourselves.
• Yet yeyfe yovser yeut.....You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
• Yat ufe yet.....We hate you.
• Upu eker bay yat.....Come play with us.
• At aut voy movie.....I myself do not smoke.

The reflexive pronoun ut....self can sometimes be prefixed (with no variation in gender or number) to a verb to form a reflexive version of that verb, or it can be prefixed to other parts of speech to mean auto-, or self-, eg.:

• tojber....kill → uttojber....commit suicide
• vyixer....clean → utvyixer....wash up, clean oneself, self-clean
• exer....function → utexer....function automatically, self-run
• izber....pilot → utizber....auto-pilot, self-drive
• exut....operator → utexut....automaton
• deber....rule → utdebea....autocratic, self-ruling
• tejdin....biography → uttejdin....autobiography
• fider....praise → utfider....boast   (= self-praise)

Emphatic Personal Pronouns

Emphatic personal pronouns can be formed by following the personal pronoun with the reflexive correspondent, eg.:

Emphatic Personal Pronouns

PERSON	GENDER	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1st	neutral	at aut....I myself, me myself	yat yaut....we ourselves, us ourselves
2nd		et eut....you yourself	yet yeut....you yourselves
3rd		it iut....the person him or herself	yit yiut....they themselves
	masculine	wit iut....he himself	wit wiut....they themselves
	feminine	iyt iut....she herself	yit yiut....they themselves

Note: Gender is not expressed in personal reflexive pronouns. Only the personal specific pronouns express gender, and then only optionally.

Examples:

• At aut voy vatexe Tot.....I myself don't believe in God.
• At jateate yet yeut be hua dezyem.....I foresee you yourselves on that stage.
• Iyt iut voy sa hum.....She herself was not there.

Reciprocal Personal Pronouns

The animate reciprocal personal pronoun....one another, each other is translated with hyuit, which is a melding of hyut (the other person) and hyit (the same person). This is an invariable pronoun and does not express gender or number, but refers to sentient beings.

• Yat yefe ifer hyuit.....We must love one another.

This reciprocal pronoun can be converted to a pronominal determiner by suffixing a, as in hyuita....one another's, mutual, reciprocal:

• Yat tobweti yefe fiyzaxer hyuita fwasi.....We guys must respect one another's wishes.

The inanimate reciprocal personal pronoun....one another, each other is translated with hyuis, which is a hybridization of hyus (the other thing) and hyis (the same thing. This is an invariable pronoun and does not express gender or number, but refers to inanimate objects, concepts, and abstractions.

• Meri glexag yanpyexe hyuis.....Planets sometimes crash into each other.
• Syaagiri dale bay hyuis hyaj.....Computers talk with one another all the time.

This reciprocal pronouns can sometimes be used as a prefix, eg.:

• Yat yefe hyuitifer.....We must love one another.
• Hyuitfiyz....mutual respect
• Hyuisloyexen....mutual destruction.

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Possessive adjectives are derived from pronouns by adding the adjectival ending a to the end of the pronoun, as follows:

• at....I, me    → ata....my
• aut....myself    → auta....my own
• yat....we, us    → yata....our
• yaut....ourselves    → yauta....our own
• iut....himself/herself    → iuta....his/her own
• hyuit....one another    → hyuita....one another's

In turn, these possessive adjectives can be pronominalized with singular and plural forms referring to things. The following chart shows these forms:

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Adjective	Pronoun
	Singular (thing)	Plural (things)
ata....my	atas....mine	atasi....mine
auta....my own	autas....your own	autasi....your own
aeuta....your and my own, our own	aeutas....your and my own, our own	aeutasi....your and mine, our own
eta....your	etas....yours	etasi....yours
euta....your own	eutas....your own	eutasi....your own
ita....his/her	itas....his/hers	itasi....his/hers
iuta....his/her own	iutas....his/hers own	iutasi....his/hers own
wita....his	witas....his	witasi....his
wiuta....his own	wiutas....his own	wiutasi....his own
iyta....her	iytas....hers	iytasi....hers
iuyta....her own	iuytas....her own	iuytasi....her own
hyuita....one another's	hyuitas....one another's	hyuitasi....one another's
isa....its	isas....its	isasi....its
iusa....its own	iusas....its own	iusasi....its own
ota....one's	otas....one's	otasi....one's
outa....one's own	outas....one's own	outasi....one's own
yata....our	yatas....ours	yatasi....ours
yauta....our own	yautas....our own	yautasi....our own
yaeta....your and ours	yaetas....yours and ours	yaetasi....yours and ours
yaeuta....your and our own	yaeutas....yours and our own	yaeutasi....yours and our own
yeta....your	yetas....yours	yetasi....yours
yeuta....your own	yeutas....your own	yeutasi....your own
yita....their	yitas....theirs	yitasi....theirs
yiuta....their own	yiutas....their own	yiutasi....their own
yisa....their	yisas....theirs	yisasi....theirs
yiusa....their own	yiusas....their own	yiusasi....their own
yota....people's	yotas....people's	yotasi....people's
youta....people's own	youtas....people's own	youtasi....people's own

Examples of possessive adjectives and pronouns in use.

• Ata tej se fia.....My life is good.
• Yata twed.......Our father...
• Ota fyadili yeyfe ser dola.....One's prayers should be silent.
• At voy teata ita dyes.....I did not see his/her book.
• At tre wita twed.....I know his father.
• Yat yefe ovmasber yatasi.....We must protect our own [pl. things].
• Etasi naze ga vyel atasi.....Yours are worth more than mine.
• Biku yeutasi.....You guys, mind your own business (= things).
• Yat toybeti fe ayser yauta nig.....We gals want to have our own space.
• Hia vafil bayse iusa toleuz.....This wine has its own taste.

In rare cases, inanimate possessive pronouns like, say, yatasi (our own [things]) can be animated by changing the s to a t, yielding yatati (our own [people]), as in Ha Feromati ife vafil. Yatati gey.....The French people love wine. Ours do too.

Translating various uses of it in English

When translating English it referring to animate creatures such as babies, animals, dolls, angels, ghosts, and monsters, the Mirad third person animate personal pronouns it he/she/it, iyt she, or wit he is used, eg:

• At eke bay ha epet hosav at iyfe it / iyt / wit.....I play with the dog because I like it / her / him.

When translating English it referring to an inanimate object or abstraction, the inanimate personal pronoun is can be used.

• At teasa ha dyezun ay at iyfa is gla.....I saw the movie and I liked it a lot.
• Ha mes sa yija oy at voy ta is.....The door was open but I didn't know it.

Deictic determiners like this and that can also be used. Read more about that in the chapter on Determiners.

If it introduces a non-previously-mentioned abstraction in English or has no antecedent, then the it is left unexpressed in the Mirad equivalent sentence. For example:

• Mamilo.....It will rain. ( = Will rain.)
• Se fia van et upa.....It is good that you came. ( = Is good that you came.)
• Sa via jub bay et.....It was a beautiful day with you. ( = Was a beautiful day...)
• Voy se yuka yaprer hia yazmel.....It is not easy to climb this mountain. ( = Is not easy...)

The Verb Stem

Verbs in Mirad are listed in the dictionary under the present active infinitive (see Mirad Grammar/Verbs#Non-finite Forms), such as yexer....to work. The infinitive minus the er ending is the stem. The stem is used as the base for all other verbal instantiations. The infinitive as listed in the dictionary is usually active in voice, but occasionally a passive infinitive ending in -wer will be lexicalized because it is somehow special, so then, the stem is the infinitive minus the -wer ending. All Mirad verbs are conjugated in the same way and there are no exceptions.

This shows how to determine the stem of a verb listed in the dictionary:

Verb Stems

SIMPLE INFINITIVE	STEM+INFINITIVE ENDING
yexer....to work	yex+er
poser....to (come to a) stop	pos+er
xer....to do	x+er
xwer....to happen, be done (PASSIVE)	x+wer

Verb Formants

The active stem of verbs most often end in one of the following verb formants:

Verb Formats

Verb Formant	Function	Examples
-xer	action or causation	xer....to do, saxer....to create, agaxer....to magnify, yixer....to use
-xler	forceful action	yixler....to employ
-xrer	more forceful action	yixrer....to wear out
-ber	gesture	ber....to put, aber....to apply, yujber....to close
-bler	forceful gesture	yujbler....to lock
-brer	more foreful gesture	yobrer....to knock down
-ser	state or becoming	ser....to be, eser....to exist, aser....to become, zyaser....to widen, become wider
-per	motion or going	per....to go, yaper....to ascend, paper....to fly
-ier	action toward subject	bier....to take, nier....to consume, ifier.'..to enjoy, dier....to ask
-uer	action toward object	buer....to give, nuer....to supply, ifuer....to please, duer....to suggest
-ner	various verbs	uxner....to motivate, axner....to behave
-der	communication	der....to say, vader....to affirm, yevder....to judge
-drer	writing	drer....to write, teedrer....to report, taxdrer....to record
-ter	knowing	ter....to know, tester....to understand, teater....to see
-fer	volition	fer....to want, ifer....to love, ufer....to hate
-ver	some modal verbs	yiver....to have a right to, yuver....to have a duty to
-ker	various verbs	aker....to win, oker....to lose, eker....to play
-jer	opening/closing	ijer....to begin, ujer....to end, tajer....to be born, tojer....to die, yijer....to open
-ler	various verbs	baler....to press, boler....to support, beler....to carry, daler....to speak
-[aiu]rer	tool use	ukarer....to shovel, purer....to drive, myekirer....to mill
-zer	perform an art	dazer....to dance, dezer....to act, deuzer...to sing

Verb Categories

Verbs have morphological categories, which involve changes to the verb not always found in the dictionary, but developed through rule-bound affixation (such as live, lives, lived, living). They also have lexical categories, which involve derived forms usually listed in dictionaries (enjoy, enjoyable, enjoyment)

Morphological Categories

Verbs are inflected with the following morphological categories:

• 2 STATES: finite, non-finite
• 4 TENSES: present, past, future, atemporal¹
• 5 ASPECTS: simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential
• 2 VOICES: active, passive
• 2 MOODS: indicative, hypothetical

Note 1: The term "atemporal" means that tense is not marked. For example, in Mirad, Pu! is the imperative of the verb per....to go. It means Go! and is atemporal. The -u ending is an atemporal hypothetical mood marker.

In effect, the PERSON/NUMBER category is not listed above, because this category does not affect the morphology of the Mirad verb form itself. The Mirad verb form stays the same for all persons and numbers. That information is contained in the external subject pronouns governing the verb. In English, for example, the verb "be" has several different forms in the present tense verb form depending on the person and number (I am, you are, he is, we are, etc.), but not so in Mirad. The following chart shows how the English pattern differs from the corresponding single Mirad verb form se for all persons and numbers:

Verb ser (to be) Unchanged for person/number

PERSON	NUMBER	ENGLISH	MIRAD
1st	Singular	I am	at se
2nd		you are	et se
3rd		he/she/it is	it se
1st	Plural	we are	yat se
2nd		you are	yet se
3rd		they are	yit se

This invariability of person/number exists for all tenses.

Lexical Categories

In addition, verbs can be described in terms of the following opposing lexical categories. By lexical, is meant that verbs having different lexical properties are listed in the dictionary and have nothing to do with conjugation.

Verb Lexical Categories

STATIVE	DYNAMIC
ser....to be	xer....to do
INTRANSITIVE	TRANSITIVE
agaser....to grow large	agaxer....to magnify
SUBJECT-DIRECTED	PATIENT-DIRECTED
bier....to take	buer....to give
REFLEXIVE	NON-REFLEXIVE
utvyixer....to wash up (wash oneself)	vyixer....to wash
INCHOATIVE	CAUSATIVE
tujper....fall asleep	tujber....put to sleep
AUTONOMOUS	DYNAMIC
yijer....to open (by itself)	yijber....to (make it) open
RECIPROCAL	NON-RECIPROCAL
hyuittujber....to kill one another	tujber....to kill
GESTURAL	LOCOMOTIVE
baser....to stir, budge	paser....to move
SUBJECT-ORIENTED	OBJECT-ORIENTED
teetyiker....to be hard of hearing	teetyikwer....to be hard to hear

Non-finite Forms

Non-finite verb forms are

• not conjugated for person or number
• cannot form a predicate
• and do not have a subject.

There are three kinds of non-finite verb forms in Mirad:

• infinitives: the dictionary lookup form of a verb, ending in -er
• gerunds: verbal nouns, ending in -en
• participles: verbal adjectives, ending in -a

Infinitives

Verbs are listed in the dictionary under the active voice simple aspect infinitive form, which always ends in er and means to X, or rarely the passive voice simple aspect infinitive form, which ends in wer and means to be Xed. The part of the verb form minus the -er or -wer is the verb stem.

Infinitive Stems

INFINITIVE	STEM	ENDING
agser....to grow	ags-	-er
igxer....to quicken	igx-	-er
per....to go	p-	-er
xwer....to happen, be done	x-	-wer

The infinitive in Mirad is used very much as its counterpart in English. The infinitive can be marked for two aspects (simple, perfect) and two voices (active, passive), as shown in the chart below, where the verb stems are underlined:

Active and Passive Infinitive Stems

ASPECT	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Simple	igxer....to quicken	igxwer....to be quickened
Perfect	igxayer....to have quickened	igxawer....to have been quickened

In the above chart,

• the verb stem is igx- and
• the infinitive marker is -er;
• the simple aspect active voice marker is zero;
• the simple aspect passive voice marker is w;
• the perfect aspect active voice marker is -ay-;
• the past aspect passive voice marker is -aw-.

The passive voice infinitive of a verb will not appear in the dictionary unless it has a special meaning, such as xwer to happen. The perfect infinitives are never listed in the dictionary.

Gerunds

The gerund is a verbal noun like English playing in playing ball.

The gerund has two possible aspects (simple and perfect) and two possible voices (active and passive):

Gerund Formation

ASPECT	VOICE	ENDING	EXAMPLE
Simple	Active	-en	agaxen....magnifiying, magnification
Simple	Passive	-wen	agaxwen....being magnified
Perfect	Active	-ayen	byekayen....having cured
Perfect	Passive	-awen	byekawen....having been cured

Note: Intransitive verbs like per to go do not have a passive gerund form.

Lexicalized gerunds, such as sanxen formation, forming generally appear in the dictionary in the active voice.

Some examples of gerund usage:

• (sanxer....to form)    Ha sanxen bi hia mar efxa amroni bi jabi.....The forming (or: formation) of this star took millions of years.
• (deuzer....to sing)    Iyta deuzen sa gla via.....Her singing was very beautiful.
• (poper....to travel)    Popen se yika yex.....Traveling is hard work.
• (teeter....to hear)    Teetwen fiay se glatesa av dezuti.....Being heard well is important for actors.
• (teater....to see)    Teaten se vyatexen......Seeing is believing.
• (uper....to come)    His se ha jeb bi Upen.....This is the season of Advent (coming).
• (tadier....to get married)    Ata tadiayen ewa jodi bixa tepzex.....My having married twice drew attention.
• (aker....to win)    At voy ta ita akawen hua nuz.....I did not know about his having won that prize.

Gerunds, being verb forms, can take direct and indirect objects:

• At ifxwe bey eta buayen at hua nas.....I am pleased by your having given me that money.
• Tojben eut voy se kebiyaf.....Killing yourself is not an option.

The special gerundive ending -eyn gives a nuance emphasizing the action as a single act, much like the English endings -ment or -tion. Here are a few examples showing the difference between -en and -eyn.

• yanlaxen....combining  ≠<  yanlaxeyn....combination
• xen....doing  ≠<  xeyn....action, deed
• zayben....advancing  ≠<  zaybeyn....advancement

Another special gerundive (but lexical) ending is -un, which expresses the result of an action, eg.:

• zyegxer....to puncture  ≠<  zyegxun....a puncture
• zyeuber....to transmit  ≠<  zyeubun....a broadcast
• deuzer....to sing  ≠<  deuzun....a song

Participles

Participles are verbal adjectives and can modify nouns and pronouns. Since they act as adjectives, they have the adjectival ending -a. Participles are marked by aspect (simple, progressive, perfect, imminent, potential) and voice (active, passive).

The aspect markers per voice are:

Aspect Markers

ASPECT	VOICE	FORM	EXAMPLE
Progressive	Active	-ea-	tejea....living
	Passive	wea	xwea....happening
Perfect	Active 2	-ya	pya....gone (< pyaa1)
	Passive	-wa	xwa....done (< xwaa1), drawa2....written
Imminent	Active	-oa	tojoa....about to die
	Passive	-woa	dodelwoa....about to be announced
Potential	Active	-ua	tojbua....lethal
	Passive	-wua	opoxwua....unstoppable

¹: The double aa in the perfect endings is reduced to a.

²: The wa ending is changed to awa after stems ending in a double consonant, the second being l or r. Example: dr- (to write) becomes drawa (written).

Note 1: The perfect active particple ending in -ya is used only for intransitive verbs like per (to go). He is gone. is expressed by Wit se pya.

Note 2: The potential aspect, represented by the vowel u is much like the conditional in English, but is not considered a tense in Mirad. For example, tojbu means would kill and the participle tojbua means lethal (referring to something that would/has the potential to kill). More about this in a later section.

Note 3: There is another form of the progressive participle that falls in the lexical, rather than morphological category, in that such forms are listed in the dictionary as adjectives. For example, in the phrase The animals bothering our bird feeder..., the participle bothering would be oboxea in Mirad. By inserting the letter y between the verb stem and the participial ending, the participle becomes an adjective denoting a propensity or habit, as in bothersome (oboxyea). Such participles are invariably in the active voice. Most such adjectives in English end in -ive as in repulsive or -ly as in wiggly or -ous as in circuitous. Such adjectives in Mirad are listed in the dictionary and end in -yea.

Adverbial participles can be made from the above adjectival participles, by suffixing the letter y. Examples:

• Iyt yepa ha tim deuzeay.....She entered the room singing.
• Ujbaway ha dodal, it pia.....The speech having been finished, he left.

Also, the above participles can be converted into abstract nouns by suffixing n. Examples:

• tiluwa....drinkable → tiluwan....potability
• tojbua....lethal → tojbuan....lethality
• mansea....shining → he mansean bi iyta deuzen....the brilliance of her singing
• aakaxyea....inventive → aakaxyean....inventiveness

Furthermore, these participles can sometimes be pronominalized with s for things and t for people or living things. These forms can, in turn, be pluralized:

• xwa....done → xwas....what is done, a happening
• xwa....done → xwasi....happenings, deeds
• otwa....unknown → otwas....what is not known, a mystery
• osexea....destroying → osexeas....a destroyer
• tojbua....lethal → tojbuas....something lethal, a lethal thing
• tojboa....moribund → tojboati....people about to die, fatal cases
• tejea....living → tejeat....a living person
• tejea....living → tejeasi....living things

There is a special tenseless, nominalized, animate participle used for agent nouns (English one who does something, Xer, Xant, Xist), which refers to a person who habitually does some action, perhaps as a profession or trade. These agent nouns end in -ut.

• sexut....builder
• nuut....supplier
• tojbut....killer
• ifut....lover
• akuti....winners

Note: There is a slight difference of meaning between the tensed participial pronoun ha akeat....the one winning and the non-tensed agent noun ha akut....the winner.

Similarly, there is a special tenseless, nominalized, inanimate participle used for a thing that performs the action denoted by the verb stem. These agent nouns end in -us.

• yuxus....aid (a thing that helps)
• byuxwus....button (a thing that gets touched on the keyboard)
• paxus....motive (a thing that moves one)
• jaupus....precedent (a thing that comes before)

The above -us ending contrasts with the endings -ar (instrument), -ir (machine), -ur (motor, engine), which are physical objects and not always suffixed to a verbal root.

Finite Forms

In Mirad, finite verb forms are those that can take a person subject, serve as a predicate, and be conjugated. Finite verb forms are conjugated by using suffixes indicating, through their presence or absence, the following categories:

• TENSES

1. present
2. past
3. future
4. atemporal

• MOODS

1. indicative
2. hypothetical

• ASPECTS

1. simple
2. progressive
3. perfect
4. imminent
5. potential

• VOICES

1. active
2. passive
3. reflexive
4. reciprocal

Person and number are not marked on the verb form itself. For example, am, is, are, which change according to the person subject in English, are all expressed with the same verb form in Mirad: se. Thus, at se....I am, et se....you are, it se....he/she/it is, etc.

Moods

There are two moods in Mirad:

• indicative
• hypothetical.

Indicative Mood

The indicative form of the verb indicates an action or state that occurs in actual time, such as he went, he is going, he will go.

The indicative mood has three tenses, present, past, future, indicated by the suffixes -e, -a, and -o, respectively.

Hypothetical Mood

Wheras the indicative verb forms expresses actuality in time, the hypothetical mood expresses one of the non-actuality situations below and uses the vowel u.

• a command , i.e. the IMPERATIVE (Go!)
• a wish or suggestion, i.e. the HORTATIVE or JUSSIVE (May the king live long!, Let's celebrate!)
• an unrealized situation, i.e. the SUBJUNCTIVE (It is important that you be early.)
• an imagined if-then-situation, i.e. the CONDITIONAL (If I were rich, I would be happy.)

Aspects

There are five aspects in the Mirad verb system.

• the SIMPLE aspect (default), i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional.
• the PROGRESSIVE aspect, i.e. an action or state on-going in the particular tense, using ey
• the PERFECT aspect, i.e. an action or state anterior or already completed, using ay
• the IMMINENT aspect, i.e. an action or state about to happen, using oy
• the POTENTIAL aspect, i.e. an action potentially happening, using uy

The Simple Aspect

Unless specifically marked, the default aspect is simple, i.e. non-progressive, non-perfect, non-imminent, and non-conditional. Three indicative tenses can be expressed in the simple aspect:

• Present with e
• Past with a
• Future with o.

An atemporal verb ending in u in the simple aspect is considered hypothetical and expresses three things, depending on how it is used in the sentence:

• a conditional like I would go (if...)
• an imperative like Go!
• a hortative like Let's go!
• a subjunctive like (It is important that) we go.

Here is a chart showing the simple, active voice instantiations of the Mirad verb per (to go) with the endings underlined:

Simple Active Conjugation of Per

MOOD	TENSE	ASPECT	VOICE	INSTANTIATION	VERB per
Indicative	Present	Simple	Active		At pe....I go
Indicative	Past	Simple	Active		At pa....I went
Indicative	Future	Simple	Active		At po....I will go
Hypothetical	Atemporal	Simple	Active	Conditional	At pu....I would go
				Hortative/Optative/Jussive	Van yat pu!....Let's go!
				Imperative	Pu tam!....Go home!
				Subjunctive	Se efwa van et pu.....It is necessary that you go.

Note that the last four instantiations are the same tense, but differ in syntax. For example, if the verb form is hypothetical, atemporal, simple, active and has no subject, it operates as an imperative.

The Simple Indicative Present Active Tense

The simple indicative present instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix e and has a non-progressive (habitual) aspect as in English I work or I live. Progressive aspect forms like I am studying are explained later.

Examples:

• At yexe be tam. ....I work at home.
• Hia tom se nam. ....This building is a store.

The Simple Indicative Past Active Tense

The simple indicative past tense instantiation is marked with the vowel suffix a and has a non-progressive (punctual) meaning as in English I did something at some particular point in time. The simple past contrasts in aspect with the past progressive (I was doing something) or the present perfect (I have done something), or past potential (I would have done something). The simple past is punctual, that is, it describes an event that occurred at a particular point in time.

Examples:

• Iyt iba ha nyuf zojub. ....She received the package yesterday.
• At ujba ha dyes ji iwa jwobi. ....I finished the book three hours ago.
• His kyesa exag hijub.....This happened twice today.

The Simple Indicative Future Active Tense

The simple indicative future tense is marked with the vowel suffix o and has the same meaning as in English I will do something at some particular point in the future.

Examples:

• Yit tadso zajab.....They are going to get married next year.
• Hua kaxon ujako. ....That solution will work.

The Simple Hypothetical Atemporal Active Tense

A verb form ending in u like pu has no time value and is used to express unreal actions or states, such as the imperative, hortative, conditional, or subjunctive.

Examples:

• Upu him!....Come here! (IMPERATIVE)
• Von upu! ....Don't come! (NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE)
• Ha edeb fu teater et. ....The king would like to see you. (CONDITIONAL)
• Ven at su et, at dolu. ....If I were you, I would be quiet. (CONDITIONAL)
• Van yeyt ujaku be yeytia yexnadi. ....May all you (women) succeed in your careers. (HORTATIVE)
• Van yat ijbu bay fyadil. ....Let's begin with a prayer. (JUSSIVE)
• Se kyitesa van et puu jwa. ....It's important that you arrive early. (SUBJUNCTIVE)
• Se kyitesa von et puu jwo.....It's important that you not arrive late. (NEGATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE)

Hypothetical verb forms ending in -u can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the following syntactical patterns in the sentence:

• Generally, if a verb form ending in -u begins a sentence and has no subject, then it is an IMPERATIVE (a command). For example, Ipu!, Go away!.
• If the verb form has a subject not preceded by the complementizers van, ven, or von, then it is probably a CONDITIONAL predicate like At fu per.....I would like to go..
• If the subject of the verb is preceded by ven....if, then it is a CONDITIONAL clause as in Ven at su nasikat.......If I were a rich man..
• If the subject is preceded by Van....that/let/may or von....don't, then it is a HORTATIVE wish like Van et yagteju.....May you live long. or a JUSSIVE suggestion like Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. or a prohibition like Von tiliu his!....Don't drink this!.

Voices

Mirad has four voices:

• Active
• Passive
• Reflexive
• Reciprocal.

Active Voice

The default voice is active, i.e. the subject of the verb is doing the action.

• At teata ha kyes.....I saw the event.

Passive Voice

A verb form is converted from active to passive by inserting a w just before the last vowel of the verb form. The past passive particle ending -waa is usually abbreviated to -wa (done is xwa). However, if the verb stem ends in a consonant plus l or r, then -wa is changed to -awa for ease of pronunciation, eg. drawa....written.

The following chart shows the distinction between active and passive voice of various verbs:

Contrasting Active and Passive Voice

VERB FORM	ACTIVE	ACTIVE EXAMPLE	PASSIVE	PASSIVE EXAMPLE
Infinitive	xer to do	At fe xer fi. I want to do well.	xwer to be done	Ese hyos xwer. There is nothing to be done.
Present Participle	sexea constructing	Ha yansyem sexea hia tom... The firm constructing this building...	sexewa being constructed	His se sexewa. This is under construction.
Present	xe do/does	At xe fi be tistam. I do well in school.	xwe is done	Huyenasi hoj xwe. Such things are never done.
Past Participle	xaa having done	Iyt, xaa hya iyta yex,... She, having done all her work,...	xwa done	Hyas se xwa. Everything is done.
Past	tojba killed	Duhat tojba hwut? Who killed that guy?	tojbwa was killed	Duhaj it tojbwa? When was he killed?
Hypothetical	bakxu heal	Bakxu at! Heal me!	bakxwu be healed	Van it bakxwu. May he be healed.

Many intransitive verbs cannot be made passive. For example, tajer....to be born is intransitive (takes no object) and has no passive voice form. However, the transitive verb tajber....to bear, give birth can be passive, as in Ha tudet tajbwa zajub.....The child was delivered yesterday (as opposed to Ha tudet taja zajub.....The child was born yesterday.) Notice the following verb:

• Ha mes uja.....The door opened (by itself). (medio-passive)
• Ha mes ujpa.....The door came open. (dynamic medio-passive)
• Ujbu ha mes.....Open the door. (transitive active)
• Ha mes ujbwa.....The door was opened (by someone). (passive)

Reflexive Voice

A verb is made reflexive by prefixing the reflexive pronoun ut (self), for example:

• tojber....to kill → uttojber....to kill oneself
• vyilxer....to wash → utvyilxer....to wash up
• teater....to see → utteater....to see oneself
• yalber....to lift → utyalber....to lift oneself → Utyalbu!....Lift yourself up!
• trer....to know → uttrer....to know oneself → Uttru!....Know thyself!

Reciprocal Voice

A verb is made reciprocal by prefixing the reciprocal pronoun hyuit....one another, for example:

• tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
• vyilxer....to wash → hyuitvyilxer....to wash one another
• teater....to see → hyuitteater....to see one another

Both the reflexive pronoun and reciprocal pronoun can be used as standalone objects. However, the plural form yut is used if the subject is plural, for example:

• Yit vyilxa yut.....They (f.) washed up. (= washed selves).
• Ha twobeti dizeuda hyuit.....The boys laughed at one another.

The word hyuit is a hybrid of hyit....the same one combined with hyut....the other one.

Aspects Revisited

Mirad verbs have the following aspects:

• SIMPLE -- this is the default aspect, shown above, i.e. NON-PROGRESSIVE, NON-PERFECT, NON-IMMINENT, and NON-POTENTIAL.
• PROGRESSIVE -- this is an aspect where the verb describes an on-going action or state spread over time.
• PERFECT -- this presents the action or state as anterior, or completed prior to another action or state.
• IMMINENT -- this describes an action or state about to happen.
• POTENTIAL -- this refers to an action or state where something is possible.

The Simple Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Simple aspect. In the active voice, the tense vowels a, e, o, and u are affixed to the stem. In the passive voice, the passive marker consonant w is inserted between the stem and the final tense vowels. The simple present tense refers to actions or states that are habitual (I regularly go to school.), regular (The earth revolves around the sun.), or permanent (Blue is a color.). The simple past refers to actions or states that occurred at a fixed point in time (I did my homework last night.). The simple future refers to actions or states that will occur at some particular point in the future (The sun will rise tomorrow at dawn.). The simple atemporal hypothetical ( = conditional) refers to an imagined action or state that has not be realized (You would make a good president.).

Simple Aspect

ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Simple	Present	Indicative	At xe....I do	Has xwe....It is done
Simple	Past	Indicative	At xa....I did	Has xwa....It was done
Simple	Future	Indicative	At xo....I will do	Has xwo....It will be done
Simple	Atemporal	Hypothetical	At xu....I would do	Has xwu....It would be done

Note: Absence of tense (Atemporal) + Hypothetical mood = CONDITIONAL

The Progressive Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Progressive aspect. The present tense vowel e followed by a buffer consonant, are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.

Progressive Aspect

ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Progressive	Present	Indicative	at xeye....I am doing	Has xewe....it is being done
Progressive	Past	Indicative	at xeya....I was doing	Has xewa....it was being done
Progressive	Future	Indicative	at xeyo....I am going to be doing	Has xewo....it will be happening
Progressive	Atemporal	Hypothetical	at xeyu....I would be doing	Has xewu....it would be happening

The Perfect Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Perfect aspect. The past tense vowel a following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice.

Perfect Aspect

ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Perfect	Present	Indicative	At xaye....I have done	Has xawe....It has been done
Perfect	Past	Indicative	At xaya....I had done	Has xawa....It had been done
Perfect	Future	Indicative	At xayo....I will have done	Has xawo....It will have been done
Perfect	Atemporal	Hypothetical	At xayu....I would have done	Has xawu....It would have been done

The Imminent Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Imminent aspect (sometimes referred to as the Prospective aspect). The future tense vowel o following by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. Not that only indicative mood imminent tenses are ever used.

Imminent Aspect

ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Imminent	Present	Indicative	At xoye....I am about to do	Has xowe....It is about to be done
Imminent	Past	Indicative	At xoya....I was about to do	Has xowa....It was about to be done

The Potential Aspect

The following chart presents Mirad verbs in the Potential aspect. The hypothetical vowel u followed by a buffer consonant are inserted between the stem and the final tense vowel. The buffer consonant is y in the active voice, or w in the passive voice. The future potential and hypothetical potential aspects are never used.

Potential Aspect

ASPECT	TENSE	MOOD	ACTIVE VOICE	PASSIVE VOICE
Potential	Present	Indicative	At xuye....I am to do	Has xuwe....It is to be done, it is doable
Potential	Past	Indicative	At xuya....I was to do	Has xuwa....It was to be done, it was doable

Verb Conjugation Chart

The following chart presents the totality of the Mirad affirmative verb conjugation system using the verb xer....to do and its passive xwer....to be done, happen. The rows beginning with a light blue background are finite forms, while those beginning with light green are non-finite forms.

Verb Conjugation Chart

STATE	MOOD	ASPECT	TENSE	VOICE
				ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Finite	Indicative	Simple	Present	xe does	xwe is done, happens
			Past	xa did	xwa was done, happened
			Future	xo will do	xwo will be done, will happen
	Hypothetical			xu would do, do!	xwu would be done, would happen, be done!
	Indicative	Progressive	Present	xeye is doing	xewe is being done, is happening
			Past	xeya was doing	xewa was doing, was happening
			Future	xeyo will be doing	xewo will be happening
	Hypothetical			xeyu would be doing be doing!	xewu would be happening
	Indicative	Perfect	Present	xaye has done	xawe has been done, has happened
			Past	xaya had done	xawa had been done, had happened
			Future	xayo will have done	xawo will have been done, will have happened
	Hypothetical			xayu would have done	xawu would have been done, would have happened
	Indicative	Imminent	Present	xoye is about to do	xowe is about to be done, is about to happen
			Past	xoya was to be done	xowa was to be done, was to happen
		Potential	Present	xuye is supposed to do	xuwe is supposed to happen
			Past	xuya was supposed to do	xuwa was supposed to be done, was supposed to happen
Infinitive		Simple		xer to do	xwer to be done, to happen
		Perfect		xayer to have done	xawer to have been done, to have happend
Participle		Progressive	xea doing	xewa being done, happening
		Perfect	x(a)ya2 having done	x(a)wa1 done, happened
		Imminent	xoa about to do	xowa about to happen
		Potential	xua bound to do	xuwa doable
Gerund		Simple		xen doing	xwen being done, happening, event
		Perfect		xayen having done	xawen having happened

Note 1: The perfective passive participle usually ends in -wa, but occasionally the longer form -awa is used, especially if the verb stem ends in a consonant followed by l or r that make the shorter form harder to pronounce, eg. pyuxrwa becomes pyuxrawa (shocked).

Note 2: Intransitive verbs such as per to go have no passive forms. An expression such as They are gone. would be translated as Yit se pya.

Negative Forms

All of the above verb forms are affirmative. The indicative and conditional forms can be made negative by preceding the negative adverb voy (not, 'nt, doesn't, don't). Those forms that are subjunctive, jussive, or imperative ending in -u use the negative subordinate conjunction von (don't, let not, lest).

• Voy mamilo.....It will not rain. (indicative)
• Von mamilu.....Let it not rain. (subjunctive)
• Von yat fuyaku.....Let us not despair. (jussive)
• At voy te.....I don't know.
• Von pu!....Don't go. (imperative)
• At voy xu hus.....I would not do that.

How to Express Certain English Tenses

English speakers have some tenses that do not fit into the above schema:

• The English tense I have been studying French for four years. is translated in Mirad by At tixeye Ferad ji uwa jabi.....I am studying French since four years. (Mirad present progressive tense).
• The English tense I had been studying is translated in Mirad by At tixeya. (Mirad past progressive tense).
• The English tense I am going to be starring in that role. is translated in Mirad by At dezdebeyo be hua dezgon. (Mirad future progressive).
• The modern Black English tense Don't you be doing that. is handled in Mirad by Von et xeyu hus. (Mirad imperative progressive).

Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs, which can take a direct object, oppose themselves to intransitive verbs, which do not take a direct object. Some verbs are marked overtly for transitivity.

Verbs that end in xer (to do, -ify, -ize) are by nature transitive, and often have intransitive counterparts in ser (to be, become, -ify, -ize). Likewise, verbs ending in ber (to put, take) are transitive and have intransitive counterparts in per (to go). Here are some examples:

Transitive vs. Intransitive

TRANSITIVE	INTRANSITIVE
xer....do	ser....be
agxer....grow (something)	agser....grow (up)
amxer....heat, make hot	amser....become hot, heat up
puxer....throw	puser....jump
per....go	ber....put
aber....put on	aper....get on
yaber....raise	yaper....rise
poxer....stop (something)	poser....(come to a) stop
yuber....bring	yuper....approach
yeber....insert	yeper....enter

• At agxe vobi.....I grow [TRANSITIVE] plants.
• Ha vobi agseye ig.....The plants are growing [INTRANSITIVE] fast.

• Poxu ha pur!....Stop [TRANSITIVE] the car!
• Ha pur posa.....The car stopped [INTRANSITIVE].

• At yaba ha mis.....I raised [TRANSITIVE] the window.
• Ha maar yapaye.....The sun has risen [INTRANSITIVE].

Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity

Note the following verbs, whose stems end in j are hard to pronounce with intransitive s and transitive x, so these two endings are placed with p and b, respectively, although the presence of the p is optional, i.e. it's presence or absence can slightly change the meaning from static to dynamic, eg. tujer....to sleep vs. tujper....to fall asleep. The transitive forms can be either active or passive.

Marking -jer Verbs for Transitivity

INTRANSITIVE		TRANSITIVE
STATIC	DYNAMIC	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Ha mes yija The door opened.	Ha nasyef yijpa The purse came open.	At yijba ha mes. I opened the door.	Ha mes yijbwa bey yelput. The door was opened by an intruder
Ha mes yuja. The door closed.	Ha yanup yujpa. The meeting adjourned.	At yujba ha mes. I closed the door.	Ha mes yeyfe yujbwer ja sumjob. The door should be closed by bedtime.
Ha dezun ijaye. The play has started.	Ha par ijpa boy poys. The car started up immediately.	At ijba ata tyal. I started my meal.	Ha tyal ijbwa jwa. The meal was started early.
Ha dezun ujaye. The play has ended.	Ata yex ujpaye. My work has come to an end.	A ujba ha dyes. I finished the book.	Ha dyes hyoj ujbwa. The book never got finished.
Ha tob toja zomoj. The man died yesterday evening.	Ha tob tojpa. The man dropped dead.	Hot tojba ha twob? Who killed the man?	Ha twob tojbwa bey ita tayd. The man was killed by his wife.
Teju. Live!.	Tejpu!. Come alive!.	Yat efe tejber ha twob. We need to revive the man.	Ha twob yofwa tejbwer. The man could not be revived.
Ha tobot taja zojub. The baby was born yesterday.	Hoj ha tobot tajpo? When will the baby pop out?	Iyt tajba awa twobot zojub. She gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.	Ha twobot tajbwa jo eymoj. The baby boy was birthed after midnight.
At tija jwe. I woke up on time.	It voy tijpa. He did not come to..	At tijbo et jwa. I will wake (you) up early.	At voy fe tijbwo gra jwa. I don't want to be woken too early.
At tujeya. I was sleeping.	At tujpeya. I was falling sleep.	At tujbo it. I will put (him) to sleep..	Ha tobot tujbwo glojo. The baby will be put to sleep soon.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs, where the object refers back to the subject, work just as in English, where the object is a reflexive pronoun, eg.:

• At tujboye aut.....I am going to kill myself.
• Tru eut!....Know thyself!
• It gobla iut bey goblar.....He cut himself with a knife.
• Ot yefe yuxer out.....One must help oneself.

Sometimes, verbs are reflexive lexically and incorporate the reflexivity in the actual verb form using ut as the prefix:

• uttujber....commit suicide (= self-kill)
• utboler....support oneself (= self-support)
• utdider....wonder (= self-ask)

Sometimes, verbs are used reflexively in Mirad even though they are used simply intransitively in English, eg.:

• Et efe vyilxer eut.....You need to wash up [= wash yourself]. (or)
• Et efe utvyilxer.....You need to wash up [= self-wash].

Omission of Prepositions After Certain Verbs

Some verbs inherently incorporate a preposition and so it is not necessary to use that assumed preposition before what would normally be an indirect object.

Inherent Propositions

PREPOSITION-INCORPORATING VERB	EXAMPLE
per....go (to)	Pu tam! (Not: Pu bu tam!) Go home. It pa Paris.....He went to Paris.
der....say (to), tell	Du at eta dyun.....Tell me your name. Du at has.....Tell it to me.
peser....wait (for)	Pesu at.....Wait for me.
buer....give (to)	Buu at hua dyes.....Give me that book.

As in English, in omitting the inherent preposition in a sentence with both a direct object and an indirect object, place the indirect object before the direct object. If the direct object comes first, then the preposition must be overtly specified before the indirect object, eg. Buu at hus.....Give me that. or Buu hus bu at.....Give that to me. See more about this in the chapter on Syntax.

Causative vs. Inchoative Verbs

A causative verb has the sense to make something have some quality, whereas an inchoative verbs means to become of take on the quality of something.

Derived from Adjectives

Adjectives can be converted into transitive/causative and intransitive/inchoative verbs. Causative verbs are always transitive (taking an object), while inchoative verbs are intransitive (not taking an object). English causative / inchoative verbs often end in -ify like magnify, or -ate, liberate, or ize, like sensitize.

To derive a causative verb from an adjective, add the suffix xer....to do to either the stem or the whole adjective (with the a ending). Whether you do the former or the latter depends on several factors, but the end result is slightly different in nuance. A verb with adjective stem + xer is slightly more idiomatic or less literal than the adjective stem + axer.

-axer vs -xer in Transitive Verbs

ADJECTIVE	CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE	CAUSATIVE/TRANSITIVE
-xer	LITERAL	IDIOMATIC
aga big	agaxer to magnify	agxer to grow
ana one	anaxer to unify	anxer to unite
yona apart	yonaxer to separate	yonxer to cut
yaga long	yagaxer to lengthen	yagxer to stretch
yuga slow	yugaxer to retard	yugxer to brake
sana formal	sanaxer to formalize	sanxer to form
gea equal	geaxer to equalize	gexer to copy, equate
jaa prior	jaaxer to prioritize	jaxer to prepare

To derive an inchoative verb from an adjective, add the suffix ser....to be to either the stem or the whole adjective.

Creating Inchoative Verbs

ADJECTIVE	INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE	INCHOATIVE/INTRANSITIVE
-ser	LITERAL	IDIOMATIC
aga big	agaser to get bigger	agser to grow
ana one	anaser to unify	anser to unite, become united
yona apart	yonaser to become separate	yonser to break

Be careful to use the transitive, causative verb form when you have a direct object, and the intransitive, inchoative verb form when no direct objects are present or possible, eg.:

• Ansu ey yet golxwo.....Unite or you will be divided. [INTRANSITIVE]
• At yontadsa hoj at sa eta jag.....I got divorced when I was your age. [INTRANSITIVE]
• Hisi agaxo hos et teate.....These will magnify what you see. [TRANSITIVE]
• Hia tud agseye ig.....This child is growing up fast. [INTRANSITIVE]
• Ata tayd agxe vosi be oyebzom.....My wife grows flowers out back. [TRANSITIVE]

Derived from Nouns

Transitive/causative/active and intransitive/inchoative/passive verbs can also be formed from nouns. The sense of the former is to make be X and of the latter, to become X.

Verbs Derived from Nouns

NOUN	TRANSITIVE/CAUSATIVE/ACTIVE	INTRANSITIVE/INCHOATIVE/PASSIVE
mog....ash	mogxer to incinerate	mogser to become ashes
yan....collection	yanxer to collect	yanser to get together
tad....spouse	tadxer to marry	tadser to get married
yom....ice	yomxer to freeze/make ice	yomser to freeze/become ice
mag....fire	magxer to burn, set fire to	magser to burn, get burned
uk....void	ukxer to empty	ukser become empty, empty out

Intermediary Causative Verbs

Intermediary verbal causatives like have/get my car washed, make/force him go, get one's hair cut are formed by suffixing the causative verb infix -ux- (active) or uxw (passive) to the stem of the verb signifying the action to be arranged or caused by someone other than the subject, eg.:

• At gorbuxo ata tayeb zamaj.....I will get my hair cut tomorrow.
• Et voy yafe puxer at.....You cannot make me go.
• It tojbuxa yit.....He had them killed.
• At efe vyilxuxer ata par.....I need to have my car washed.
• Et upuxwa him hesav.....You were made to come here for some reason.
• At bakambuxo et.....I will have you hospitalized.
• Et voy yafe deuzuxer at.....You cannot make me sing.
• At hihiduxwa.....I was tickled (= made to laugh).
• Eta deuz hihiduxa yat.....Your song tickled us. (= Made us laugh.)
• Van het ivasuxu weti.....May someone get you guys to be happy.
• Hua enzyukpur uzpuxa ha pur.....That motorcycle caused the car to veer.

Subject-directed vs. Patient-directed Verbs

The directionality of some verbs can be distinguished by the verbal formant infix -i- for an action or motion toward the speaker and -u- for an action or motion away from the speaker toward some patient, eg.:

Directional Verbs

SUBJECT-DIRECTED	PATIENT-DIRECTED
bier....to take	buer....to give
nier....to consume	nuer....to supply
nyier....to order	nyuer....to deliver
nunier....to buy	nunuer....to sell
nazunier....win a prize	nazunuer....award a prize
noysier....pay off	noysuer....charge
ojbier....borrow	ojbuer....lend
tadier....get married	taduer....marry off
papier....take flight	papuer....send off flying
pipier....set sail	pipuer....dock
simbier....take a seat	simbuer....offer a seat
tampier....leave home	tampuer....arrive home
tamier....settle in	tamuer....shelter
nuxbier....to buy	nixbuer....to sell
telier....to eat	teluer....to feed
gonbier....to participate	gonbuer....to share
tilier....to drink	tiluer....to ply with drink
teubier....to swallow	teubuer....to spit out
teatier....to observe, watch	teatuer....to show
taxier....to memorize	taxuer....to remind
alier....to breathe in	aluer....to breathe out, expire
ilier....to absorb	iluer....to pour
ifier....to enjoy	ifuer....to please
dier....to ask	duer....to suggest
tier....to learn	tuer....to inform
pier....to depart	puer....to arrive
kebier....to choose	kebuer....to distribute
byier....to originate	byuer....to target
mempier....to take off	mempuer....to land
sinier....visualize	sinuer....display
xier....to result	xuer....to cause
yifier....to get up the courage	yifuer....to encourage, challenge
yafonier....to gain power	yafonuer....to empower
trier....to become acquainted with	truer....to acquaint with, introduce to
tepizier....to pay attention to	tepizuer....to draw attention to

In some cases, the directionality can be both ways in a verb, in which case the verb formant infix -ui- (a hybrid form) is used, eg.:

• nunier ....to purchase (subject-directed)
• nunuer....to sell (patient-directed)
• nunuier....to trade (subject & patient-directed)

• tier....to learn, realize (subject-directed)
• tuer....to inform, tip off (patient-directed)
• tuier....to communicate (subject & patient-directed)

• alier....to breathe in, inhale (subject-directed)
• aluer....to breathe out, exhale (patient-directed)
• aluier....to breathe, respire (subject & patient-directed)

• bier ....to take (subject-directed)
• buer....to give (patient-directed)
• buier....to give and take, exchange (subject & patient-directed)

Verbs with Vectorial Prefixes

Prepositions and directional adverbs can be prefixed to verbs in order to change their vectorial semantics. A preposition ending in b will assimilate to p before the verb per....to go and a preposition ending in b will lose the b before a verb beginning with b. Here are some examples:

Verb Prepositional Prefixes

PREPOSITION/ADVERB	TRANSITIVE VERB	INTRANSITIVE VERB
ab....on	aber....apply	aper....get on, mount
ob....off	ober....remove	oper....get of, dismount
eb....between	eber....block	eper....intervene
yab....up	yaber....raise	yaper....rise
yob....down	yober....take down	yoper....descend
yub....near	yuber....bring near	yuper....approach
yib....far	yiber....take away	yiper....go far away
yeb....in	yeber....insert	yeper....enter
yeb....in	yepuxer....throw in	yepuser....jump in
oyeb....out	oyeber....expose	oyeper....exit
oyeb....out	oyepuxer....eject	oyepuser....jump out
zyu....round	zyuber....rotate	zyuper....revolve
zya....throughout	zyaber....spread	zyaper....tour
av....for	avdaler....plead	avper....pursue
ov....against	ovber....oppose	ovper....countervene
yan....together	yanber....compose	yanper....meet
yon....apart	yonber....separate	yonper....separate
iz....direct	izber....lead	izper....head
uz....curved	uzber....divert	uzper....diverge
yuz....around	yuzbexer....surround	yuzper....circulate
yiz....beyond	yizber....transfer	yizper....surpass
zoy....back, re-	zoyber....return	zoyper....go back

Verbs with Other Semantics-altering Prefixes

As in English and many other languages, prefixes can be used on verbs to reverse, mitigate, or otherwise alter the semantics:

Expressing re- with zoy- or gaw-

The prefix zoy-....back or gaw-¹....again are used like the English prefix re-, eg.:

• ember....to position → zoyember....to reposition, replace
• buer....to give → zoybuer....to return (an object), give back
• sanxer....to shape, form → zoysanxer....to reshape, reform, transform
• zyauber....to broadcast → gawzyauber....to re-broadcast
• taja....born → gawtaja....reborn
• aber....to apply → gawaber....to reapply
• uper....to come → zoyuper....to return (come back)
• teaper....to visit → gawteaper....to revisit
• uper....to come → zoyuper....to return, come back
• buxer....to push → zoybuxer....to repel, push back
• puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to reject, throw back, jettison

Note 1: The prefix gaw- before a consonant is pronounced like the gaw in the English word gawk. It is short for ga awa jod or gawa meaning one more time, again. If the "re-" word means to do something again, then gaw- is used, eg. To reconvene ( = meet again)....gawyanuper If the sense of back is intended, than the prefix zoy- is used, eg. To return ( = come back)....zoyuper. Both prefixes are used in the expression Come back again!....Gawzoyupu!.

Until we meet again. is expressed by Ju van yat gawyanupo.

Expressing de-, dis-, un- with lo-

The prefix lo- reverses the semantics of a verb and is like English dis-, de-, or un-, eg.:

• saxer....to build, construct → losaxer....to destroy, deconstruct
• anxer....to unite → loanxer....to disunite
• xer....to do → loxer....to undo

Note the difference between o- and lo-.

• odoparuwa....unarmed (= not armed)
• lodoparuwa....disarmed (= from the verb lodoparuer....to disarm)

Expressing co- with yan-

The prefix yan-....together is used as the English co-, eg.:

• exer....to operate → yanexer....to cooperate
• tamer....to dwell → yantamer....to cohabit
• napber....to put in order → yannapber....to coordinate

Making Verbs Completive with ik-

Verbs can be made completive by prefixing them with ik- (fully). Such verbs are comparable to phrasal verbs in English with up and other prepositions as in to eat up. Here are some examples in Mirad:

• tojber....to kill → iktojber....to kill off, exterminate
• telier....to eat → iktelier....to eat up
• ujber....to finish → ikujber....to finish off/up
• gofler....to rip → ikgofler....to rip up
• drer....to write → ikdrer....to write down
• byexer....to beat → ikbyexer....to beat up

Making Verbs Continuative with je-

Verbs can be given a continuative nuance with the addition of the prefix je-:

• daler....to talk → jedalar....to go on talking, to blabber
• tejer....to live → jetejer....to go on living, to survive
• yexer....to work → jeyexer....to go on working, to keep working
• teaxer....to look → jeteaxer....to watch
• teexer....to listen → jeteexer....to keep listening, to pay attention
• duler....to insist → jeduler....to nag

Making Verbs Inchoative with ij-

Verbs can be given an inchoative nuance with the addition of the prefix ij-:

• texer....to think → ijtexer....to start to think
• ifier....to enjoy → ijifier....to start liking
• tyer....to know → ijtyer....to get to know

Making Verbs Terminative with uj-

Verbs can be given a terminative nuance with the addition of the prefix uj-:

• telier....to eat → ujtelier....to finish eating
• dyeer....to read → ujdyeer....to finish reading
• ufteuder....to complain → ujufteuder....to quit carping

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Pleasure with if-

• tyoper....to walk → iftyoper....to stroll
• tuyuxer....to finger → iftuyuxer....to tickle
• teaxer....to look → ifteaxer....to ogle (voyeuristically)
• piper....to sail → ifpiper....to go cruising
• teuder....to shout → ifteuder....to laugh

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Displeasure with uf-

• tosier....to feel → uftosier....to get angry
• eker....to play → ufeker....to fight
• der....to say → ufder....to express displeasure
• aluer....to exhale → ufaluer....to huff
• daler....to talk → ufdaler....to rant

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Prohibition with of-

• bier....to take → ofbier....to steal
• deler....to declare → ofdeler....to ban
• yeper....to enter → ofyeper....to intrude, break in
• zeyper....to cross → ofzeyper....to transgress, poach
• gelxer....to copy → ofgelxer....to pirate, plagiarize
• bekuluer....to administer medicine → ofbekuluer....to dope
• nuxuer....to pay → ofnuxuer....to bribe, pay off, suborn

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Holiness with fya-

• bexler....to keep → fyabexler....to enshrine
• buer....to give → fyabuer....to sacrifice
• der....to say → fyader....to bless
• daler....to speak → fyadaler....to preach, sermonize
• diler....to request → fyadiler....to pray
• deuzer....to sing → fyadeuzer....to chant
• ifrer....to love dearly → fyaifrer....to worship, adore
• jader....to predict → fyajader....to prophesy
• miluer....to sprinkle → fyamiluer....to sprinkle with holy water
• ojvader....to promise → fyaojvader....to swear
• xeler....to practice → fyaxeler....to celebrate
• koser....to hide → fyakoser....to go on a retreat, go into hermitage
• teazer....perform a show → fyateazer....to perform a miracle

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Profanity with fyo-

• der....to say → fyoder....to curse
• diler....to request → fyodiler....to conjure
• tyezer....to perform magic → fyotezer....to engage in black magic
• xer....to do → fyoxer....to sin

Expressing Good Actions with fi-

• der....to say → fider....to praise
• fer....to want → fifer....to mean well
• xer....to do → fixer....to do well
• yaker....to expect → fiyaker....to hope
• yuxer....to help → fiyuxer....to benefit

Expressing Bad Actions with fu-

• yevder....to judge → fuyevder....to critique negatively
• fer....to want → fufer....to will ill
• der....to say → fuder....to badmouth
• napxer....to arrange → funapxer....to mess up
• yuxer....to help → fuyuxer....to abuse

Expressing More Intense Actions with az-

• yujber....to close → azyujber....to lock
• der....to say → azder....to emphasize
• duer....to suggest → azduer....to urge
• dizeuder....to laugh → azdizeuder....to guffaw

Expressing Less Intense Actions with oz-

• der....to utter → ozder....to whisper
• duer....to suggest → ozduer....to hint
• dizeuder....to laugh → ozdizeuder....to chuckle
• uvteuder....to moan → ozuvteuder....to whimper
• tyoper....to walk → oztyoper....to limp

Expressing pre-, fore- with ja-

• der....to tell → jader....to foretell, predict
• teater....to see → jateater....to foresee, preview
• ter....to know → jater....to presage, have foreknowledge of
• yever....to judge → jayever....to prejudge
• juder....to date → jajuder....to antedate

Expressing post-, after- with jo-

• juder....to date → jojuder....to postdate
• texer....to think → jotexer....to reflect on, review
• uvder....to express sadness → jouvder....to mourn, regret
• ibler....to obtain → joibler....to inherit

Expressing excessively with gra-

• telier....to eat → gratelier....to overeat
• fer....to want → grafer....to covet
• der....to say → grader....to exaggerate
• daler....to talk → gradaler....to yammer

Expressing inadequately with gro-

• fyinder....to value → grofyinder....to underestimate
• mageler....to cook → gromageler....to undercook
• xaer....to perform → groxaer....to underperform

Expressing counter-, contra- with ov- or oyv-

• axler....to act → ovaxler....to counteract
• apyexer....to attack → ovapyexer....to counterattack
• daler....to speak → ovdaler....to oppose
• der....to say → oyvder....to contradict
• ber....to put → oyvber....to reverse, overturn
• texer....to think → oyvtexer....to contest, disagree
• per....to go → oyvper....to contravene

Expressing on behalf, for with av-

• axler....to act → avaxler....to act on behalf of
• daler....to speak → avdaler....to advocate, speak on behalf of

Making Verbs Reflexive with ut- (self-, auto-)

• tojber....to kill → uttojber....to commit suicide
• vyovider....to flatter → utvyovider....to flatter oneself
• zaypuxwer....to be propelled → utzaypuxwer....to be self-propelled
• fider....to praise → utfider....to brag
• gober....to decrement → utgober....to autodecrement

Making Verbs Reciprocal with hyuit- (one another)

• tojber....to kill → hyuittojber....to kill one another
• ifer....to love → hyuitifer....to love one another

Expressing inter-, intra- with eb- (between)

• tadier....to marry → ebtadier....to intermarry
• zyaber....to spread → ebzyaber....to intersperse
• vyexer....to relate → ebvyexer....to interrelate

Expressing the Opposite of an Action with o- (un-)

• bexler....to keep → obexler....to release, let go of
• aynser....to integrate → oaynser....to disintegrate, to decay
• beler....to carry → obeler....to drop
• bier....to take → obier....to leave, relinquish
• boser....to be quiet → oboser....to be upset
• drer....to write → odrer....to erase

Note: If the base verb already begins with the negative prefix o-, then the prefix is changed to ol-, eg. obexler....to release → olobexwa....to unreleased

Expressing a Public or Official Action with do-

Do- is a stub for dot (society).

• afder....to allow → doafder....to authorize
• bier....to take → dobier....to conquer, take over, take control of
• tojber....to kill → dotojber....to execute
• buer....to give → dobuer....to dedicate
• daler....to speak → dodaler....to orate, speak in public
• deler....to declare → dodeler....to announce
• drer....to write → dodrer....to publicize, report

Giving Verbs a Nuance of Truth with vya-

• der....to say → vyader....to avow, be frank
• ber....to set, put → vyaber....to control
• napxer...to arrange, order → vyanapxer....to adjust
• kexer....to seek → vyakexer....to investiage
• tuer....to inform → vyatuer....to advise

Giving Verbs of Nuance of Falseness with vyo-

• der....to say → vyoder....to lie, to misstate
• tester....to understand → vyotester....to misunderstand
• tuer....to inform → vyotuer....to misinform, to deceive
• xer....to do → vyoxer....to do wrong, fail, misdo
• yuxler....to serve → vyoyuxler....to betray, to serve unfaithfully

Making Verbs Positive with va-

• der....to say → vader....to affirm
• texer....to think → vatexer....to believe
• yeker....to expect → vayeker....to presume
• bier.....to take → vabier....to accept

Making Verbs Negative with vo-

• der....to say → voder....to deny
• texer....to think → votexer....to doubt
• yeker....to expect → voyeker....to rule out
• bier.....to take → vobier....to reject

Making Verbs Suppositional with ve-

• der....to say → veder....to conjecture
• texer....to think → vetexer....to suppose, hypothesize
• yovder....to blame → veyovder....to indict, accuse

Speeding up Verbs with ig-

• pier....to leave → igpier....to flee
• pyoser....to drop → igpyoser....to plummet
• tyoper....to walk → igtyoper....to run
• yeper....to enter → igyeper....to rush in

Slowing up Verbs with ug-

• paser....to move → ugpaser....to amble
• teaxer....to look → ugteaxer....to gaze
• ilper....to flow → ugilper....to trickle
• tilier....to drink → ugtilier....to sip

Expressing the Nuance of Suddenness with yok-

• baxer....to stir → yokbaxer....to startle
• hihider....to laugh → yokhihider....to burst out laughing
• teaser....to appear → yokteaser....to suddenly appear
• yoktojer....to die → yoktojer....to drop dead

Expressing the Notion of Fixedness with kyo-

• byaser....to stand → kyobyaser....to stand still
• kexer....to seek → kyokexer....to hound, stalk
• teaxer....to look → kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
• texer....to think → kyotexer....to obsess with, fixate on

Expression the Notion of Randomness with kye-

• der....to say → kyeder....to guess, divine
• per....to per → kyeper....to fluctuate
• poper....to travel → kyepoper....to wander
• napxer....to order → kyenapxer....to scramble
• bier....to take → kyebier....to select

Expressing the Notion of Change with kya-

• baser....to make a move → kyabaser....to shift
• sanxer....to form → kyasanxer....to transform
• xer....to do/make → kyaxer....to change
• napxer....to order → kyanapxer....to shuffle
• dyanxer....to phrase → kyadyanxer....to paraphrase

Expressing Covert Actions with ko-

• ber....to put → kober....to hide
• beler....to carry → kobeler....to smuggle
• bier....to take → kobier....to steal
• ebkyaxer....to exchange → koebkyaxer....to traffic
• exer....to operate → koexer....to spy, operate under cover
• fler....to wish for → kofler....to covet, be jealous of
• apyexer....to attack → koapyexer....to ambush, to sneak-attack
• loexer....to destroy → koloexer....to sabotage

Expressing Actions with Intentionality with ke-

• teaxer....to look → keteaxer....to scan
• vyaxer....to prove → kevyaxer....to experiment
• tier....to learn → ketier....to be interested in

Expressing Lateral Actions with ku-

• buxer....to push → kubuxer....to rebuff, shun
• der....to say → kuder....to comment, remark
• tyoper....to step → kutyoper....to step aside

Expressing Near Actions with yub-

• der....to say → yubder....to intimate, hint
• gexer....to equate → yubgexer....to approximate
• bixer....to pull → yu(b)bixer....to attract, draw near
• teaxer....to look → yubteaxer....to scrutinize, examine

Expressing Distance Actions with yib- (far, tele-)

• drer....to write → yibdrer....to wire, telegraph
• bixer....to pull → yi(b)bixer....to distract
• tuier....to communicate → yibtuier....to telecommunicate
• nyuxer....to deliver → yibnyuxer....to mail, post

Expressing up-, super- with yab-

• ber....to put → ya(b)ber....to raise, to put up
• bixler....to drag → ya(b)bixler....to dredge up
• uper....to come → yabuper....to come up
• nogyanxer....to scale → yabnogyanxer....to scale up, escalate

Expressing down-, sub- with yob-

• ber....to put → yo(b)ber....to lower, put down
• kyaber....to shift → yobkyaxer....to downshift
• musper....to climb → yobmusper....to climb down
• nogyanxer....to scale → yobnogyanxer....to downscale

Expressing in- with yeb-

• ber....to put → ye(b)ber....to insert, put in
• beler....to carry → ye(b)beler....to import
• uzber....to bend → yebuzber....to inflect
• yujber....to close → yebyujber....to enclose, include

Expressing out-, ex-, extra- with oyeb-

• ber....to put → oye(b)ber....to put out, expose
• beler....to carry → oye(b)beler....to export
• uber....to send → oyebuber....to emit, send out
• yujber....to close → oyebyujber....to exclude

Expressing pro-, forward with zay-

• ber....to put → zayber....to advance, put forward
• kexer....to seek → zaykexer....to scout out
• puxer....to throw → zaypuxer....to propel, thrust
• tyoper....to walk → zaytyoper....to progress, to walk forward

Expressing back-, retro-, re- with zoy-

• uber....to send → zoyber....to send back
• kixer....to bend → zoykixer....to reflect
• puxer....to throw → zoypuxer....to repel
• neadper....to track → zoyneadper....to backtrack

Expressing across, trans-, over-, cross- with zey-

• per....to go → zeyper....to cross, transit
• beler....to carry → zeybeler....to transport, convey
• drer....to write → zeydrer....to transcribe
• kyober....to fix → zeykyober....to transfix, transplant
• vyayeker....to check → zeyvyayeker....to crosscheck

Expressing through, per- with zye-

• per....to go → zyeper....to permeate, get through
• kexer....to seek → zyekexer....to rummage, sift through
• drer....to write → zyedrer....to cross out, draw a line through
• iluer....to pour → zyeiluer....to soak
• koper....to sneak → zyekoper....to sneak through

Expressing all over, widely, all about with zya-

• ber....to put → zyaber....to spread
• buer....to give → zyabuer....to distribute
• ijber....to open → zyaijber....to open wide
• nuxer....to pay → zyanuxer....to disburse
• puxer....to throw → zyapuxer....to scatter, cast about

Expressing mid-, center with ze-

• ber....to put → zeber....to balance
• byaser....to stand → zebyaser....to straddle
• der....to say → zeder....to interject
• pyoser....to fall → zepyoser....to sag
• poxer....to stop → zepoxer....to interrupt

Expressing futurity with oj-

• ber....to put → ojber....to put off, postpone
• bier....to take → ojbier....to borrow
• fer....to want → ojfer....to wish, aspire
• texer....to think → ojtexer....to plan
• teater....to see → ojteater....to envision
• vader....to affirm → ojvader....to promise

Expressing past with aj-

• ber....to put → ajber....to pass, relegate to the past
• der....to say → ajder....to evoke, hearken, recount
• embier....to occupy → ajembier....to haunt
• texer....to think → ajtexer....to reminisce, to reflect
• uvtosder....to express sadness → ajuvtosder....to apologize
• nexer....to store → ajnexer....to archive

Expressing present with ej-

• buer....to give → ejbuer....to present
• eser....to exist → ejeser....to attend, to be present
• nuxer....to pay → ejnuxer....to pay cash
• tuer....to inform → ejtuer....to update
• uvtosder....to express sadness → ejuvtosder....to apologize

Expressing a stretched out action with yag- (long)

• beser....to stay → yagbeser....to linger
• bexer....to hold → yagbexer....to conserve, preserve
• daler....to talk → yagdaler....to ramble
• dodaler....to orate → yagdodaler....to harangue
• fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine
• teaxer....to look → yagteaxer....to stare
• fer....to want → yagfer....to yearn, pine

Expressing a brief action with yog- (short)

• drer....to write → yogdrer....to abbreviate
• teaxer....to look → yogteaxer....to glance at
• tujer....to sleep → yogtujer....to snooze, nap
• gobler....to cut → yoggobler....to cut short, truncate

Some Hybrid Prefixes

The prefix kui- is a hybrid of ku- (lateral) and ki- (diagonal)

• per....to go → kuiper....to wobble
• tyoper....to walk → kuityoper....to limp

The prefix zao- is a truncated hybrid of zay- (forward) and zoy- (backwards), eg:

• baser....to move → zaobaser....to rock
• per....to go → zaoper....to alternate
• beler....to carry → kuibeler....to shuttle, ferry
• pyoser....to fall → kuipyoser....to pendulate

The prefix yaob- is a hybrid of yab- (up) and yob- (down). The final b- is assimilated or dropped before a b or p.

• baser....to move → yaobaser....to bob
• per....to go → yaoper....to heave
• beler....to carry → yaobeler....to shuttle, ferry
• peper....to ride → yaopeper....to jounce
• puser....to jump → yaopuser....to hop, bounce

The prefix bui- is a hybrid of bu- (to) and bi- (from), eg:

• drer....to write → buidrer....to correspond
• -er....to x → buier....to trade
• beler....to carry → buibeler....to shuttle, ferry
• xer....to do → buixer....to push and pull, spring
• poper....to travel → buipoper....to travel to and fro, travel round trip

The prefix uiz- is a hybrid of uz- (crooked) and iz- (straight), eg:

• drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
• der....to say → uizder....to equivocate
• baser....to move → uizbaser....to wiggle, to squirm
• per....to go → uizper....to careen, reel
• paser....to move → uizpaser....to swerve, yaw

The prefix zui- is a hybrid of zu- (left) and zi- (right), eg:

• drer....to write → uizdrer....to squiggle
• buxer....to push → zuibuxer....to push around
• baser....to move → zuibaser....to sway, totter
• per....to go → zuiper....to zigzag
• pasler....to shake → zuipasler....to wobble

The prefix aoyeb- is a hybrid of (a)yeb- (in) and oyeb- (out), eg:

• ber....to put → aoyeber....to insert and extract
• tiexer....to breathe → aoyetiexer....to breath in and out
• paper....to fly → aoyepaper....to fly in and out

The prefix aob- is a hybrid of ab- (on) and ob- (off), eg:

• ber....to put → aober....to put on and off
• per....to go → aoper....to get on and off, embark and disembark

The prefix vao- is a hybrid of va- (yes) and vo- (no), eg:

• der....to say → vaoder....to decide
• daler....to talk → vaodaler....to waffle
• duder....to answer → vaoduder....to answer yes or no
• kyaxer....to change → vaokyaxer....to redact
• texer....to think → vaotexer....to deliberate, vacillate

The prefix uij is a hybrid of uj- (end) and ij- (begin)

• ber....to put → uijber....to switch off and on
• daler....to talk → uijdaler....to stutter

The prefix yuij is a hybrid of yuj- (close) and yij- (open)

• ber....to put → yuijber....to open and close, blink

The prefix huim is a hybrid of hum (there) and him (there)

• paper....to fly → huimpaper....to fly here and yon
• per....to go → huimper....to wander
• kexer....to seek → huimkexer....to search high and low

Different Nuances of teaxer with Prefixes

• teaxer....to look, behold, regard
• aybteaxer....to supervise, look over
• ajteaxer....to look back on (retrospect)
• eynteaxer....to squint
• fizteaxer....to respect
• fuzteaxer....to disrespect
• gawteaxer....to review, re-look
• hyuitteaxer....to look at one another
• ibteaxer....to ignore
• igteaxer....to glance, glimpse
• ifteaxer....to marvel at
• izteaxer....to view directly, confront, aim
• jateaxer....to preview
• jeteaxer....to watch, observe
• joteaxer....to review
• kateaxer....to look for
• keteaxer....to scan
• kiteaxer....to look askance
• koteaxer....to peek, spy
• kozyeteaxer....to peep
• kozyoteaxer....to peer
• kuteaxer....to observe
• kyeteaxer....to browse
• kyoteaxer....to stare, glare
• oteaxer....to ignore, overlook
• ufteaxer....to glare, leer
• ugteaxer....to gaze
• yagteaxer....to gape, gawk
• yebteaxer....to inspect
• yibteaxer....to view from afar
• yogteaxer....to glance at
• yokteaxer....to get a glimpse of
• yubteaxer....to examine
• yuibteaxer....to look near and far
• yuzteaxer....to look around, circumspect
• yanteaxer....to view together
• yizteaxer....to look beyond, overlook
• vyateaxer....to investigate, check out
• vyoteaxer....to view wrongly
• zateaxer....to face, confront
• zayteaxer....to look ahead, expect
• zoyteaxer....to look back
• zeyteaxer....to look across
• ziteaxer....to look to the right
• zuteaxer....to look to the left
• zuiteaxer....to look right and left
• zyateaxer....to look all over, survey
• zyeteaxer....to look through, peruse
• zyoteaxer....to squint
• yobteaxer....to look down
• yaobteaxer....to look up and down
• zaoteaxer....to look back and forth
• yabteaxer....to look up
• yubketeaxer....to pry
• uzteaxer....to look indirectly at
• oyebteaxer....to look out
• ojteaxer....to peer into the future
• marteaxer....to star-gaze
• tabteaxer....to autopsy

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are usually followed by the main verb in the infinitive or a subjunctive dependent clause and have to do with wanting, permitting, prohibiting, being able, being unable, needing, being obliged to do something, etc.

Principal Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Mirad has a set of modal auxiliary verbs that can be followed by a main verb in the infinitive mode. This is very much like Enlish modal auxiliary verbs in the following examples:

• I want to go.
• You must wait.
• You may stay.
• I dare say.

Here is a chart showing the main modal auxiliary verbs in Mirad:

Principle Modal Auxiliary Verbs

TYPE	POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
Permission	afer....may ayfer....might	ofer....may not oyfer....might not
Ability	yafer....can	yofer....cannot
Need	efer....need to
Obligation	yefer....must yeyfer....should	oyefer....must not oyeyfer....should not
Desire	fer....want to
Enjoyment	ifer....love to, enjoy iyfer....like to	ufer....hate to uyfer....dislike to
Courage	yifer....dare to	yufer....be afraid to, fear
Liberty	yiver....have a right to, be free to	yuver....be bound to, be supposed to
Expectation	yaker....expect to	yoker....be surprised to
Conation	yeker....try to

These modal auxiliary verbs are often followed by a verbal infinitive, as in the following examples:

• At fe ter.....I want to know.
• Wit yifa yeper.....He dared to enter.
• Yat yafe teater yet.....We can see you.
• Duven et yaka aker?....Did you expect to win?
• Diwe yeku xer ga fi.....Please try to do better.

If the modal verb is in the hypothetical aspect (conditional), then the sense is somewhat mitigated, as in these examples:

• At fe per.....I want to go.
• At fu per.....I would like to go.

• Et yafe aker.....You can win.
• Et yafu aker.....You could win.

• Yet yefe iper.....You must leave.
• Yet yefu iper.....You ought to leave.

Post-y-gliding the stem vowel of the modal verb also reduces the strength, for example:

• At ife et. ....I love you.
• At iyfe et. ....I like you.

• Et yefe iper.....You must leave.
• Et yeyfe iper.....You should leave.

• Iyt yafe aker.....She can win.
• Iyt yayfe aker.....She might win.

• At ufa uda tuz.....I hated that art.
• At uyfa uda tuz.....I disliked that art.

The use of l and r intensify the meaning of the auxiliary verbs, eg:

• Et yuve puer jwe.....You are supposed to arrive on time.
• Et yuvle tepzexer.....You have to pay attention.
• Et yuvre buer nas.....You absolutely must give money.

• At yeka ser yeva.....I tried to be fair.
• At yekla ujber jwa.....I strove to finish early.
• At yekra nixer ga nas.....I struggled (= worked hard)) to earn more money.

• Iyt ife eker zyun.....She loves to play ball.
• Iyt ifla teater et.....She was delighted to see you.
• Iyt ifre teaper him.....She adores visiting here.

Here are some examples showing how these modal verbs are used as auxiliaries:

• Et afe oyeper ay ifeker.....You may go out and play.
• Yat efa tujer.....We needed to sleep.
• Ot ofe mavier him.....One is prohibited to smoke here.
• Mavier him ofwe.....Smoking here is prohibited.
• At ife dyeer.....I love to read.
• Duven et fe yeper?....Do you want to come in?
• At fu teaper et edjub.....I would like to visit you some day.
• It ufaye hyaj teaxwer.....He has always hated being looked at.
• Duven et iyfe per tilami?....Do you like going to bars?
• At uyfe tijer gra jwa.....I dislike waking up too early.
• Et yafe xer hyehos et fu.....You can do whatever you like.
• Et yefer xer ad vyaas.....You must do the right thing.
• Et yeyfe voy daler huuyen azay.....You should not talk so loud.
• At yeyfa ter ga fi.....I should have known better.
• At voy yifu der hyea fuas.....I would not dare say anything bad.
• Von yufu der hos et tesde.....Don't be afraid to say what you mean.
• Et yive dier yevanavdut.....You have a right to ask for a lawyer.
• Yat voy yuvle kyoejer.....We are not bound to stick around.

Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms

All of these modal verbs can be passive, in which case they are "patient-oriented" rather than "subject-oriented." The participial adjective yafa....able is subject-oriented and refers to a person, whereas the passived adjective yafwa....possible is patient-oriented and refers to a thing or event. Here is a chart of the principal modal verbs and corresponding participial adjectives with this subject/object-orientation distinction shown:

Subject-oriented vs. Patient-oriented Modal Verb Forms

MODAL TYPE	SUBJECT-ORIENTED	SUBJECT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED
	VERB	ADJECTIVE	VERB	ADJECTIVE
Permission	afer may	afa allowed	afwer be permitted	afwa permissable
Necessity	efer need	efa needful	efwer be necessary	efwa necessary, required
Prohibition	ofer be unallowed	ofa prohibited	ofwer be prohibited	ofwa banned
Possibility	yafer be able	yafa able	yafwer be possible	yafwa possible
Obligation	yefer must	yefa obliged	yefwer be obligatory	yefwa obligatory
Duty	yeyfer should	yeyfa supposed, duty-bound	yeyfwer be supposed	yeyfwa due
Impossibility	yofer be unable	yofa unable	yofwer be impossible	yofwa impossible
Volition	fer want	fa desirous	fwer be desirable	fwa desirable, wanted
Love	ifer love iyfer like	ifa enamored iyfa fond	ifwer be loved iyfwer be liked	ifwa lovable iyfwa likeable
Hate	ufer hate uyfer dislike	ufa averse uyfa displeased	ufwer be hated uyfwer be disliked	ufwa odious unliked
Courage	yifer dare	yifa daring, brave	yifwer be safe	yifwa safe
Fear	yufer be afraid	yufa afraid	yufwer be a danger	yufwa frightening
Joy	iver enjoy	iva glad	ivwer be a joy	ivwa enjoyable
Sorrow	uver be sorry	uva sorry, sad	uvwer be a shame	uvwa regrettable

Examples of subject-oriented forms:

• At se yafa xer hes.....I am capable of doing anything.
• Et ofe teater hia dyezun.....You are not allowed/are prohibited to see this film.
• Duven at afe per hum?....Am I allowed to go there?
• Yat fu ter eta dyun.....We would like to know your name.
• Piti ufe beser be mel.....Fish hate to remain on dry land.
• At ajay ifa dazer.....I once loved to dance.
• Et se iva, at yife der.....You are beautiful, I dare say.
• At yeyfa xer has ga ig.....I should have done it sooner.
• Von yufu; At yupeye.....Fear not; I am coming.
• Et yefe puer ja eymaj.....You must arrive before noon.
• Yet yofe daler je ha dezun.....You people must not talk during the performance.
• Yat yeyfe (= se yeyfa) aker.....We should (= are bound/supposed/due) to win.
• At ive teater et bakser.....I'm glad to see you get better.
• Su iva.....Be happy.
• At uvu (= su uva) teater et iper.....I would be sad to see you leave.

Examples of patient-oriented forms:

• Afwe (= se afwa) mavier him.....It is permissible to smoke here.
• Ofwe (= se ofwa*) puxer fyumul him.....It is prohibited to throw litter here.
• Fwe (= se fwa) van yet dolu.....It is desired that you stop talking.
• Voy yafwe beser him gajob.....It is not possible to remain here any longer.
• Yofwa av at ivteuder.....It was not possible for me to laugh.
• Yefwe van et piu ig.....It is essential that you leave quickly.
• He yeyfwe ober ata tyoyafi?....Is it obligatory to remove my shoes?
• Ga yux efwo.....More help will be needed.
• Yuxren se ufwa xetyen.....Slavery is an odious practice.
• Uvwe van wit oka.....It's a shame that he lost.

*lofwa is used for unwanted for disambiguation purposes.

Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems

Various causative verbs can be formed from modal stems, as shown in the chart below:

Deriving Causatives from Modal Stems

SUBJECT-ORIENTED	PATIENT-ORIENTED
afxer....allow (someone to do sthg.)	afwaxer....permit (something to be done)
efxer....require	efwaxer....necessitate
ofxer....prohibit	ofwaxer....prohibit
yafxer....enable	yafwaxer....make possible
yefxer....oblige	yefwaxer....make obligatory
yofxer....cripple	yofwaxer....disable
yifxer....embolden	yifwaxer....make safe
yufxer....intimidate	yufwaxer....make frightening
ifxer....please	ifwaxer....make pleasant

Creating Modal Verbs and Adjectives with Modal Stem Suffixes

Verb stems can be suffixed with modal participles to produce related modal verbs and adjectives. The first chart shows the modal participles themselves that can be suffixed to verb stems. Subject-oriented forms refer only to people, while patient-oriented forms (ending in -wa) refer only to things.

Modal Suffixes

Subject-oriented	Patient-oriented
-yafa....able to X, -able	-yafwa....possible to X
-yofa....unable to X	-yofwa....impossible to X
-ifa....fond of Xing, Xophile	-ifwa....enjoyable to X
-ufa....averse to Xing, Xophobic	-ufwa....unenjoyable to X
-yika....hard of Xing	-yikwa....hard to X
-yuka....comfortable/easy Xing	-yukwa....easy to X
-yaka....expecting to X	yakwa....expected/likely to X
-efa....in need of Xing	-efwa....necessary to X
-yefa....obliged to X	-yefwa....obligatory/due to X
-yufa....afraid of Xing	-yufwa....frightening to X

This table shows some of these modal suffixes applied to actual verb and noun stems:

Modals and Orientation

ORIENTATION	POSITIVE ADJECTIVE	POSITIVE VERB	NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE	NEGATIVE VERB
Subject	teatyafa able to see, sighted	teatyafer be able to see	teatyofa blind	teatyofer be blind
Patient	teatyafwa visible	teatyafwer be visible	teatyofwa invisible	teatyofwer be invisible
Subject	teetyafa able to hear, hearing	teetyafer be able to hear	teetyofa deaf	teatyofer be deaf
Patient	teetyafwa audible	teetyafwer be audible	teeyofwa inaudible	teeyofwer be inaudiable
Subject	dalyafa able to speak	dalyafer be able to speak	dalyofa mute, dumb	dalyofer be mute, dumb
Subject	doabifa patriotic	doabifer be patriotic	doabufa rebellious	doabufer rebel
Subject	tosyafa sensitive	tosyafer be able to feel	tosyofa insensitive	tosyofer be numbed
Patient	tayotyafwa palpable	tayotyafwer be palpable	tayotyofwa numb	tayotyofwer be impalbable, numb
Patient	testyukwa easy to understand	testyukwaxer make easily understood	testyikwa hard to understand	testyikwaxer make hard to understand
Subject	tudyaka pregnant, expecting	tudyaker be expecting
Patient	mamilyakwa likely to rain	mamilyakwer to be expected to rain	mamilyokwa unlikely to rain	mamilyokwer to be unlikely to rain
Subject	tilefa thirsty	tilefer be thirsty
Subject	telefa hungry	telefer be hungry
Patient	tejefwa vital	tejefwer be vital
Subject	tujefa sleepy	tujefer be sleepy
Subject	nasefa poor, needy	nasefer be needy
Subject	dudyefa accountable, responsible	dudyefer be responsible
Patient	texiyefwa noteworthy	texiyefwer be noteworthy

Sensing Verbs

Verbs involving the senses, such as sight or hearing, follow a similar pattern, as the following chart shows:

Sensing Verbs

TYPE	teab....eye teata....visual	teeb....ear teeta....audial	teib....nose teita....olfactory	teub....mouth teuta....gustatory	tayob....skin tayota....tactile
Receptive Active	teater see	teeter hear	teiter smell	teuter taste	tayoter feel
Receptive Passive	teatwer be seen	teetwer be heard	teitwer be smelled	teutwer be tasted	tayotwer be felt
Stative	teaser seem	teeser sound	teiser smell	teuser taste	tayoser feel
Dynamic Active	teaxer look at	teexer listen	teixer sniff	teuxer taste	tayoxer touch
Dynamic Passive	teaxwer be looked at	teexwer be listened to	teixwer be sniffed	teuxwer be tasted	tayoxwer be touched
Causative Active	teatuer show	teetuer make hear	teixuer make smell	teuxuer offer a taste	tayoxuer make feel
Causative Passive	teatuwer be shown	teetuwer be made to hear	teituwer be made to smell	teutuwer be given a taste	tayotuwer be made to feel
Inchoative Active	teatier perceive, catch sight of	teetier catch the sound of	teitier get a whiff of	teutuer get a taste of	tayotier get the sensation of
Inchoative Passive	teatiwer be perceived	teetiwer be heard	teitiwer be whiffed	teutiwer be tasted	tayotiwer be felt
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative	teatyofer be blind	teetyofer be deaf	teityofer be unable to smell	teityofer be unable to taste	tayotyofer be insensitive
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Stative	teatyofwer be invisible	teetyofwer be inaudible	teityofwer be undetectable odorwise	teityofwer be insipid	tayotyofwer be undetectable by touch
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative	teatyofxer blind	teetyofxer deafen	teityofxer desensitize to smell	teutyofxer desensitize to taste	tayotyofxer desensitize
Negative-Modal Patient-oriented Causative	teatyofwaxer make invisible	teetyofwaxer make inaudible	teityofwaxer make odorless	teutyofwaxer render tasteless	tayotyofwaxer numb

Examples of usage:

• At teatyofxwa bey ha mani.....I was blinded by the lights.
• Ha xeus sa teetyofxyea.....The noise was deafening.
• Hia tit se gla teatiyafa.....This pupil is very perceptive.
• Hua bekil se teityofwa.....That medicine is odorless (impossible to smell).
• Teatyofwaxu ha vyuni.....Make the spots invisible.
• Ha magmeb yonprex tayotyafwa zya ha mir.....The volcano eruption could be felt throughout the world.

Frequentative Verbs

Frequentative verbs or repetitive action verbs can be formed with the infix -eg- placed between the verb stem and verb ending, eg.:

Frequentative Verbs

NORMAL	FREQUENTATIVE
pyaser....jump	pyaseger....bounce
paper....fly	papeger....flitter
kobirer....steal	kobireger....pilfer
braser....shake	braseger....vibrate
brasea....shaking	brasegea....vibrating

Hybridized Verbs

Verbs that involve motion directions that change back and forth can be formed by hybridizing the stem vowel or the vowel of the vectorial prefix. Here are some examples:

Frequentative Verbs

FIRST DIRECTION	SECOND DIRECTION	HYBRIDIZED DIRECTION
pyaser....jump	pyoser....fall	pyaoser....bounce, undulate
buer....give	bier....take	buier....exchange
nuer....furnish	nier....consume	nuier....trade
tuer....inform	tier....learn	tuier....communicate
yaper....ascend	yoper....descend	yaoper....go up and down
zayper....go forward	zoyper....go back	zaoper....vacillate
vader....affirm	voder....deny	vaoder....decide
yijber....open	yujber....close	uijber....valve
baser....stir	boser....be still	baoser....vibrate

Biradical Verbs

There are a few verbs in Mirad which are composed of two verb roots, called biradical verbs. Sometimes the last letter of the first verb root gets dropped. Here are a few:

Biradical Verbs

Root 1	Root 2	Biradical Verb
kex-....to seek	bi-....to take	kebier....to choose
kox-....to hide	bi-....to take	kobier....to steal
kox-....to hide	p-....to go	koper....to sneak
kox-....to hide	geldr-....to copy	kogeldrer....to plagiarize
kox-....to hide	f-....to want	kofer....to covet
kax-....to reveal	d-....to say	kader....to disclose
kax-....to reveal	teax-....to look	kateaxer....to locate
teat-....to see	p-....to go	teaper....to visit
teat-....to see	d-....to tell	teader....to testify
tax-....to remember	dr-....to write	taxdrer....to record
teat-....to see	yof-....to be unable	teatyofer....to be blind
teet-....to hear	dr-....to write	teedrer....to report
teet-....to hear	p-....to go	teeper....to attend
teet-....to hear	tu-....to inform	teetuer....to notify
teet-....to hear	yik-....have a hard time	teetyiker....to strain to hear
teet-....to hear	yof-....to be unable	teetyofer....to be deaf
tes-....to mean	d-....to say	tesder....to explain
tes-....to mean	t-....to know	tester....to understand

Expressing Habitual Actions and States

Mirad uses the term gel jubyen (as a habit) to express a verb reflecting habitual action, eg:

• At tijeya be yiwa jwobi gel jubyen.....I used to wake up at 9 o'clock. (Lit. I was waking up at 9 o'clock as a habit.).

The term hyujod....one another occasion (or be aj....in the past) is use to express once (upon a time), eg:

• At sa tuxut hyujod (~ be aj) sa tuxut. ....I once was a teacher.

The term vyabxelay (routinely) can also be used, eg:

• Yat eke duz yuz bi ha doym vyabxelay.....We play music around town routinely.

Expressing an Immediate Past

To express an immediate past, such as in the sentence "We have just gotten married.", Mirad uses the adverb ejnay (newly) much like the word just in English:

• Yat tadsaye ejnay.....We have just gotten married.
• Ejnay tadxwa.....Just married.
• Wit dokebiwa ejnay.....He was just elected.
• At ujbaya yex ejnay hoj iyt yebupa.....I had just finished work when she came in.

Verb Predicate Types

Mirad verb predicates can be classified as follows:

• Voice

• Active (The subject is the doer of the action)
• Passive (The subject is the receiver of the action)
• Middle (The subject is both the agent and patient)
• Reflexive (The subject is also the patient.)
• Reciprocal (Plural subjects interact.)

• Stativity

• Stative (Does not involve action)
• Dynamic (Action is involved)

• Valency

• Impersonal (There is no subject)
• Transitive (There is an object)
• Intransitive (There is no object)
• Auto-transitive (The subject is a patient and there is no agent)
• Anti-transitive (There is the patient but an agent is assumed)
• Causative (Subject causes an action to be performed)
• Copula (X is Y)

• Other

• Modal (can, must, should, wants to...)
• Auxiliary (help to, hope to, prepare to + verb)
• Motion (run, go, ride...)
• Communication (say, answer, claim that...)
• Gesture (put, shake, hit...)
• State/Stative (be, become, live, be born...)
• Action/Dynamic (do, act, make)

Verb Predicate Types

VOICE	STATIVITY	VALENCY	EXAMPLE
active	stative	impersonal, -agent, -object	Mamilo zajub.....It will rain tomorrow.
active	stative	impersonal, -agent, +complement	Sa gla oma.....It was very cold.
active	stative	impersonal, +subject	Ese het be ha mes.....There is someone at the door.
active	stative	copula, subject + noun/adjective complement	Et se ata twud.....You are my son. At aseye epyextipa.....I am becoming angry.
middle	stative	auto-transitive, +subject=patient -agent -object	Iyt toja.....She died
middle	stative	auto-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object	Ha mes yija.....The door opened.
active	stative	intransitive, +subject -object	Et bokso.....You will get sick.
active	stative	transitive, sense, +subject +object	At teate et.....I see you.
active	stative	transitive, modal, +subject +verb complement	At fe per.....I want to go.
active	stative	intransitive, subject-oriented modal, -subject +verb complement	Yofwe teater.....It is impossible to see.
passive	stative	patient-oriented modal, +subject	Mamil yakwe.....Rain is expected.
middle	dynamic	anti-transitive, +subject=patient +agent -object	Ha mes yijpa.....The door came open.
active	dynamic	intransitive, +subject -object	Ha fab pyosa.....The tree fell.
active	dynamic	transitive, +subject +-object	Yit pyoxa ha fab.....They felled the tree.
passive	dynamic	intransitive, +subject, -object	Ha fabi pyoxwa.....The trees were felled.
active	dynamic	transitive, +subject, +object	Obu eta tef.....Take your hat off.
active	dynamic	ditransitive, +subject, +object +object	Von et buu iyt ha nas.....Don't give her the money.
active	dynamic	transitive, motion, +subject, +destination/origin	Yupu ha mees.....Approach the bench. Pu tam!....Go home! (you implied)
active	dynamic	causative, +subject +object, +agent	At tayegobluxo Jon.....I will get my hair cut by John.
passive	dynamic	causative, +subject +object, +agent	At tayegobluxwo.....I will get my hair cut.
active	dynamic	auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object	Yuxu at xer his.....Help me do this.
passive	dynamic	auxiliary, ditransitive, +patient +verb object	At tuxwa eker duz.....I was taught to play music.
middle	dynamic	reflexive, +subject = patient, -object	Iyt uttojba.....She killed herself.
active	dynamic	reciprocal, +subjects = patients	Yit voy hyuitdale gaj.....They don't talk to one another anymore.

Prepositions are words that connect and show a relationship between a noun or noun phrase and the rest of the sentence. In Mirad, prepositions are simple monosyllables or phrases. Prepositions, as in English, are positioned before the noun or noun phrase they connect.

Simple Prepositions

In Mirad, there are single-word and multi-word prepositions. Single-word prepositions are called simple propositions.

Here is a chart of simple prepositions. Most are spatial, but some are temporal, relational, or mathematical.

Simple Prepositions

POSITIVE	NEUTRAL	NEGATIVE
SPATIAL
ab....on, upon	eb....between	ob....off, off of
ayb....over, above	eyb....among, amid	oyb....under, below
bu....to	be....at	bi....from, of
byu....as far as, up to	bey....by, via	byi....since, starting with
ub....toward		ib....away from
za....in front of	ze....at the middle of	zo....behind, in back of
zya....throughout	zye....through
zu....(to the) left (of)	zey....across	zi....(to the) right (of)
TEMPORAL
ja....before	je....during, while	jo....after lojo....no later than, by
ju....until		ji....since
RELATIONAL
bay....with	bey....by, via, with	boy....without
av....for	vyel....than, as, compared to, about	ov....against
ayv....about		oyv....despite
ay....and	ey....or oey....nor	oy....but, except
MATHEMATICAL
ge....equal to		oge....unequal to
gab....plus, +	gaob....plus or minus	gob....minus, -
gal....times, ×	gel....like ogel....unlike	gol....divided by, ÷
gar....to the power of, ˆ		gor....to the root of, √

The most versatile and useful preposition is be, which means at as a general locative when used literally, but is used before many nouns and noun phrases when the meaning is idiomatic. Some examples follow:

• Yat se be tam.....We are at home. (literal, general locative)
• Yat se be dropek.....We are at war. (idiomatic)
• At teata et be yibsin.....I saw you on television. (idiomatic)
• Be Ejna York ese mamyabtomi.....In New York, there are skyscrapers. (general locative)

The preposition bi can mean of or from. Here are some examples:

• Hus se tam bi ifron.....That is a house of worship.
• At tyopa bi ha nam bu ata pur.....I walked from the store to my car.
• Bi him bu hyajob.....From here to eternity.
• Ha tajnem bi Tom se him.....Tom's birthplace is here.
• His sa ha gwaifwa tuzun bi eta teyd.....This was your mother's favorite piece of art.

As you can see above, bi is used to form the possessive form of nouns and names.

Examples showing how single-word prepositions are used:

• Ha dyes se ab ha sem.....The book is on the table.
• Von pyosu ob ha abtamas!....Don't fall off the roof!
• Ha pati papa ayb ata tam.....The birds flew over my house.
• It kosa oyb ha yagsim.....He hid under the bench.
• Simbiu eb hut ay at.....Take a seat between that person and me.
• Yat teje eyb fiati.....We live among good people.
• Duhos se nax bi pop bu ay bi Boston?....What is the cost of a trip to and from Boston?
• His se ifek bi kyen.....This is a game of luck.
• Duven et sa be hua duzun zomoj?....Were you at that concert last night?
• Yit se embwa be ha zenod bi ha mapil.....We are positioned at the hub of this storm.
• Iyt tyopa byu ha mis.....She walked up to/as far as the door.
• Ha twob tojbwa bey goblar.....The man was killed with/by a knife.
• Et xu ga fiay ser bay at vyel boy at.....You would do better to be with me than without me.
• Teaxu ib ha amar.....Look away from the sun.
• Von teaxu iz ub ha man.....Don't look directly toward the light.
• Iyt simpa za at. ....She sat in front of me.
• Et yeyfe simbier zo hua toyb.....You should sit in back of that woman.
• Embu has zu ha mis.....Put it to the left of the door.
• At simpo zi et.....I will sit to the right of you.
• Ha pat besa ze ha tim.....The bird stayed in the middle of the room.
• Mil upeye zye ha yijun.....Water is coming through the opening.
• Bikiu je pen zey ha domep......Take care when going across the street.
• Eso ivan zya ha mir.....There will be happiness throughout the world.
• His xwo ja zajub. ....This will happen before tomorrow.
• Esa mapil je ha moj.....There was a storm during the night.
• Ju zamaj.....Until tomorrow morning.
• At voy teataye et ji zoyejub.....I have not seen you since last week.
• Diwe xu hes av at.....Please do something for me.
• Hia dyes se ayv dalzeyntun.....This book is about linguistics.
• Hia dyen se din vyel ewa fiuti.....This book is a story about two lovers.
• Datan se ga fia vyel nas.....Friendship is better than money.
• Hos se ge fua vyel has hu yat xoa zojab.....Nothing is as bad as what we underwent last year.
• Yit yexeya ov yat.....They were working against us.
• Ha vakdibut dopoxa at oyv ata azovdeyni.....The police officer arrested me despite my protests.
• Et ay Bob yeyfe ser dati.....You and Bob should be friends.
• Duhot ako, et ey at?....Who will win, you or I?
• Hyat oy hwut ta ha dud.....Everyone but that guy knew the answer.
• Et voy se gel at.....You are not like me.
• Et se hyagla ogel at.....You are totally unlike me.
• E gab e gese u.....Two plus two equals four.
• U gob e gese e.....Four minus two equals two.
• E gal e gese u.....Two times two equals four.
• E gol e gese a.....Two divided by two equals one.
• U gar e gese asya.....Four squared (4²) equals sixteen. (Lit: Four to the power of two...)
• Alya gor e gese u.....The square root (√16) of sixteen is four. (Lit: Sixteen to the minus power of two...)

Phrasal Prepositions

Some prepositions involve multiple word expressions, that is, phrasal prepositions.

Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs

There are certain directional adverbs that can play a part in forming phrasal prepositions, but cannot act as prepositions in and of themselves:

Adverbs Used in Phrasal Prepositions

yub....near		yib....far
iz....directly, straight		uz....indirectly, roundabout
yab....up	yeb....in oyeb....out	yob....down
yiz....beyond	yez....along, flush	yuz....around
zay....forward, ahead		zoy....back

The next chart lists some phrasal prepositions using the above adverbs:

Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs

PHRASAL PREPOSITION	EXAMPLE
yub bu....near to, close to	At fe tujer yub bu et.....I want to sleep close to you.
yib bi....far from	Ha amar se yib bi ha imer.....The sun is far from the earth.
yab bu....up to	It fu paper yab bu ha mam.....He would like to fly up to the sky.
yab bi....up from	Su yab bi ha sim.....Get up from the bed.
yab bey....up (by way of)	Yat tyoyapo yab bey ha meab.....We will walk up the hill.
yab be....up at	Ha yipet kaxwa yab be ha tam.....The cat was found up at the house.
yob bu....down to	Igpu yob bu ha obmos.....Run down to the cellar.
yob bi....down from	Ha tat upa yob bi ha mam.....The angel came down from the sky.
yob bey....down (by way of)	Iyt igtyoyapa yob bey ha meab.....She ran down the hill.
yob be....down at	Ha dyes kaxwa yob be ha obem.....The book was found down at the bottom.
yob ab....down at	Has kaxwa yob ab eta oybmos.....It was found down on your floor.
yeb be....in, inside	Eta teyd se yeb be ha tam.....Your mother is in(side) the house.
yeb bu....into	It pyasa yeb bu ha mip.....He jumped into the river.
yeb bi....in from	Upu yeb bi ha oma oyebem.....Come in from the cold outdoors.
yez bay....along with, flush with	Upu yez bay at.....Come along with me.
oyeb be....out in/at	Ha tudi sa oyeb be ha zodeym.....The children were out in the backyard.
oyeb bi....out from	Yepu oyeb bi ha om.....Come in out from the cold.
oyeb bu....out to	Yat fu peper oyeb bu ha meim.....We'd like to ride out to the countryside.
iz bu....straight to	Pu iz bu fyomir! ....Go straight to hell!
iz zoy bi....right back from	It upu iz zoy bi ha yexim.....He came right back from the office.
zay bu....on to, forth to, ahead to	Ha bixpur popa zay bu zona doym.....The train traveled on to the next town.
zey bi....across from	At simbeseya zey bi et.....I was sitting across from you.
zoy bi....back from	At se zoy bi ha yexim.....I am back from the office.
zoy bu....back to	Pu zoy bu ha nam.....Go back to the store.
zoy be....back at	Duven et se zoy be tam?....Are you back at home?

Some simple prepositions can also be combined into prepositional phrases:

• Ha yipet yapra ab bu ha abtamas.....The cat climbed onto the roof.
• He yepet pyosa ob bi ha sem.....The dog fell off (from) the chair.
• Pu zey bu ha hyua kum bi ha domep.....Go across to the other side of the street.
• At simbeseya iz zey bi et.....I was sitting just across from you.

Phrasal Prepositions Using Spatial Nouns

The following chart shows how prepositions and directional adverbs can be joined with the spatial ending -(e)m meaning place (or others) to be form spatial nouns, which, in turn, can be used in idiomatic prepositional phrases:

Spatial Nouns Built on Prepositions or Adverbs

ab....on	abem....top abned....upper surface abmas....roof
eb....between	ebem....interstice ebjob....interval ebnod....intersection ebmas....partition
ob....off	obem....bottom obned....lower surface obmas....foundation
ayb....above	aybem....area above aybmas....ceiling
oyb....below	oybem....area below oybmas....floor
eyb....among	eybem....midst
yab....up	yabem....upstairs, upper area yabneg....top level
yob....down	yobem....downstairs, lower area yobneg....bottom level
yeb....in	yebem....inside, interior, indoors yebnig....inner space
oyeb....out	yobem....outside, exterior, outdoors
za....in front of	zam....front, foreground zan....face
ze....in the middle of	zem....middle zenod....center, hub zen....center zenad....median
zo....behind	zom....back, rear, background
zi....right	zim....right area zikum....left side ziizon....right direction imer....east
zu....left	zum....left area zukum....left side zuizon....left direction umer....west
iz....straight	izmep....direct route iznad....vector izon....direction
uz....indirectly	uzmep....detour uznad....curve uzon....deviation
yub....near	yubem....vicinity yubkum....near side yubaj....recent past
yib....far	yibem....distance yibkum....far side yibnod....pole yiboj....distant future
yuz....around	yuzem....perifery yuznad....perimeter yuznig....environment
yiz....beyond	yizem....area beyond yiznod....extremity

The following chart shows phrasal prepositions that can be created with the use of the spatial nouns in the previous section or other nouns. These phrases are considered idiomatic, because they are abbreviated by the omission of the definite article ha in front of the noun:

Idiomatic Phrasal Prepositions

AT SOMEWHERE	TO SOMEWHERE	FROM SOMEWHERE
be abem bi....at the top of	bu abem bi....to the top of	bi abem bi....from the top of
be obem bi....at the bottom of	bu obem bi....to the bottom of	bi obem bi....from the top of
be ebem bi....in the area between	bu ebem bi....to the area between	bi ebem bi....from the area between
be aybem bi....above, over	bu aybem bi....to the area above	bi aybem bi....from the area above
be oybem bi....below, under	bu oybem bi....to the area below	bi oybem bi....from the area below
be eybem bi....amid	zye eybem bi....through the midst of	bi eybem bi....from the midst of
be zam bi....at the front of	bu zam bi....to the front of	bi zam bi....from the front of
be zem bi....at the middle of	bu zem bi....to the middle of	bi zem bi....from the middle of
be zom bi....at the back of	bu zom bi....to the back of	bi zom bi....from the back of
be zim bi....at the right of	bu zim bi....to the right of	bi zim bi....from the right of
be zum bi....at the left of	bu zum bi....to the left of	bi zum bi....from the left of
be yubem bi....in the vicinity of	bu yubem bi....to the vicinity of	bi yubem bi....from the vicinity of
be yibem bi....at a distance from	bey azon bi....by dint of	be avon bi....in favor of
be ubem bi....in the direction of	bay ux bi....with assistance from	be byux bay....in touch with
be yabem bi....in the upper reaches of	be vyen bu....in relation to	doytaxwa bay....associated with
be yobem bi....in the bottom area of	be ned bi....on the level of	be mep bu....on the way to, en route
be yebem bi....on the inside of, inside	be oyebem bi....on the outside of, outside	bu oyebem bi....to the exterior of
bey mep bi....by way of, via	be kum bi....beside, at the side of	be ij bi....at the start of
be uj bi....at the end of	bey uxun bi....by means of	be kunad bi....at the edge of
be nod bi....at the point of	be yebem bi....at the interior of, inside	be oyebem bi....at the exterior of, outside
be nad bay....in line with	be uznod bi....alongside	be tes bi....in the sense of
be teas bi....in the guise of	be san bi....in the form of	be yanx bi....in conjunction with
be bol bi....in support of	be gab bu....in addition to	be dyun bi....in the name of
be avson bi....on behalf of	be vyeson bi....on the subject of	bay yux bi....with the aid of

Separable Verb Prefixes

Verbal prefixes that formed from prepositions and adverbs can usually be "unpacked", that is, treated as separate words. This works like separable verbs in German. The following table demonstrates how that works:

Separable Verb Prefixes

VERB-BOUND	UNPACKED	ENGLISH
Zyulmap yuzpa yata tam.	Zyulmap pa yuz bi yata tam.	The tornado circled/went around our house. (= went around)
Ha yux bi yams yeyfe yobnogxwer.	Ha yux bi cal yeyfe nogxwer yob.	The use of carbon should be downscaled. (= scaled down)
Yat zaybuxo hia dovyabdren.	Yat buxo hia dovyabdren zay.	We shall advance this legislation. (= push forward)

Types of Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that join or introduce clauses. There are two major types of conjunctions, with some minor categories, noted below:

1. Coordinating Conjunctions

• Simple Linking Conjunctions, such as and, or, but
• Correlative Conjunctions, such as either...or, neither...or, both...and
• Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions, such as then, also, therefore

2. Subordinating Conjunctions

• Complementizing Conjunctions, such as that, if, whether, lest
• Relative Conjunctions, such as as, when, because, while

Coordinating Conjunctions

Mirad has three types of coordinating conjunctions, as shown in the following charts:

Simple Linking Conjunctions

Simple Linking Conjunctions

CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
ay....and	At oveko ay at ako. I will compete and I will win.
ey....or	Bosu ey at tuyapyexo et. Be still or I will spank you.
oy....but	It yeka oy it oka. He tried but he lost.
oey....nor	At voy tilo oey at telo. I shall not drink, nor shall I eat.
bayhus....yet	At ayse hyas at fe, bayhus at voy se iva. I have everything I want, yet I'm not happy.
avhus....so	Ha amar yapaye, avhus et yefe sumpier. The sun has risen, so you must get up out of bed.

Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions

The following conjunctions come in pairs:

Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions

CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
hyaewa...ay....both...and	At hyaewa dyede ay dre Mirad. I both read and write Mirad.
hyeawa...ey....either...or	Et yafe hyeawa beser ey pier. Se eta kebiun. You can either stay or leave. It's your choice.
hyoawa...oey....neither...nor	Yat hyoawa move oey tile. We neither smoke nor drink.
voy hyawa...oy (gay)....not only...but (also)	At voy hyawa deuze oy gay at daze. I not only sing but also I dance.
ven....avhus....if...then	Ven et te ha dud, avhus du has. If you know the answer, then say it.
ha...ha....the...the	Ha ga et tixe, ha ga et akujo. The more you study, the more you'll succeed.
ga yukay...vyel....rather...than	At oku ga yukay vyel vyoeker. I'd rather lose than cheat.
ji van...iz huj....no sooner...than	Ji van ha dezut yepa, iz huj ha hyaydeux ija. No sooner did the actor enter than the applause began.
huugla...van....so/such...that	Ha map sa huugla aza van ha fab pyoxwa. The wind was so strong that the tree was felled.
ven...ey (voy)....whether...or (not)	Ven et te is ey voy, at tadioye. Whether you know it or not, I am about to get married.

Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions

Some grammars call these conjunctive adverbs:

Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions

CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
jo hus / joy then, next, after that	Yat deuza, jo hus hyat daza. We sang, then everyone danced.
je hus / jey meanwhile	Je hus, at ujba hyas. Meanwhile, I finished everything.
av hus so, therefore	It vuda at, av hus at pia. He insulted me, so I left.
(gey) ov hus nevertheless, even so, despite that, yet, however	At yexa kyotepay, ov hus, at ujoka. I work diligently, yet I failed.
gel hus / gelay likewise, also, similarly	At daze. Gel hus, at deuze. You dance; likewise, I sing.
hyiyen / geyen in the same way, likewise	Yit xa fi; hyiyen, et xo gay fi. They did well; in the same way, you will too.
ogel hus / ogelay otherwise, else	Du hes, ogel hus, piu. Say something, otherwise, leave.
gay also	Et yeka; gay, et ujaka! You tried; also, you succeeded!
be nem (bi hus) instead (of that)	Hyot fida iyt; be nem bi hus, yit fuda iyt. Nobody praised her; instead, they badmouthed her.
huyen thus, in that way	Tixu jestay; huyen, et ujako. Study diligently; in that way, you'll succeed.
husav for that reason, so, therefore	At voy ifeyie has; husav, at pio. I'm not enjoying it, so I will leave.
vray as a matter of fact, actually, in fact	Vray, et se vyasa. In fact, you're right.
gel jos consequently, as a consequence	It baksa; gel jos, it toja. He got sick; as a consequence, he died.
gel xin as a result	At voy tixa; gel xin, at okuja. At didn't study; as a result, I failed.
ga vyel hus moreover, what's more	Mamila. Ga vyel hus, esa mamxeus. It rained. Moreover, there was thunder.
be hyua duni in other words	At voy da ha vyan; be hyua duni, at vyoda. It did not tell the truth; in other words, I lied.
jey meanwhile, in the meantime	Ha toboti xeya gla xeus; jey, at jesa tixer. The children were making a lot of noise; meanwhile, I continued to study.
ovay on the contrary	Ha tam voy se aga; ovay, has se gle oga. The house is not big; on the contrary, it's rather small.
bi hyua teasgun on the other hand	At voy deuze. Bi byua teagun, at eke duzar. I don't sing. On the other hand, I play a musical instrument.
gey bay hus still, even so	Voy esa duz, gey bay hus, ha xej sa ifxea. There was no music. Even so, the event was entertaining.
ujnay finally, in the end	Unjnay, hyoa fus xwa. In the end, nothing bad happened.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions introduce three types of dependent or subordinate clauses:

1. Adjectival subordinate clauses (also called relative clauses)

• He is the guy that earned the most this year. The subordinate clause modifies a noun in the main clause. Adjectival clauses are introduced in Mirad by the relative complementizer ho. Relative clauses are discussed in the Relative Clauses section of the chapter on Verbs.

2. Nominal subordinate clauses (also called factive clauses)

• I knew that she would come. The subordinate clause is the object or complement of a verb in the main clause. Nominal subordinate clauses are introduced by one of the factive complementizers van, ven, or von, depending on whether the subordinate clause is positive, conditional, or negative.

3. Adverbial subordinate clauses (also called circumstantial clauses).

• Did you see where they went?. The subordinate clause is an adverbial clause modifying a verb in the main clause for time, place, manner, and other circumstances. Adverbial subordinate clauses are introduced by relative deictic adverbs like hom....where, hoj....when, and hosav....why.

Complementizers

The complementizers above are part of an overall scheme. In the chart below, the six complementizers act:

• as a clause linker, where the complementizer introduces a clause that is a statement of FACT or CONDITION, or
• as a sentence introducer, where the complementizer introduces a sentence that is a command/wish, a prohibition, or a yes-no question. Some of these complementizers can act in either or both roles. In actuality, all of the complementizers introduce or link a subordinate clause; it's just that in some cases, the main clause is left unexpressed.

Complementizers

TYPE	COMPLEMENTIZER	CLAUSE LINKER	SENTENCE INTRODUCER
Positive / Hortative	van	that, the fact that	May....(something happen), Let....(something happen)
Conditional	ven	if, whether	--
Negative / Prohibitive	von	lest, that...not	Don't
Anti-Conditional	oven	unless	--
Interrogative	Duven...?	--	Is it true that, say whether..., do(es)?
Relative	ho	that, which, who(m)	--

Examples of these conjunctions linking a main and subordinate clause:

• At ta van et upo.....I knew that you would come. (FACTIVE)
• At xa is av van et testu.....I did it so that you would understand.
• At voy ta ven et upo.....I did not know whether you would come. (CONDITIONAL)
• Ven et te ha dud, du has.....If you know the answer, say it. (CONDITIONAL)
• At yufa von et upu.....I feared lest you might come. (PROHIBITIVE)
• At voy upo oven et upo gay.....I will not come unless you come, too. (ANTI-CONDITIONAL)
• At fe teater ha tob ho xa his.....I want to see the man who did this. (RELATIVE)
• At fe teater hoa tob xa his.....I want to see which man did this.
• Iyt akeye oyv van iyt bayse yofi.....She is winning despite the fact that she has disabilities.

Example of these conjunctions introducing different types of sentences:

• Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. (Hortative, i.e., A WISH)
• Van yit teliu avol!....Let them eat bread.
• Van ha edweb yagteju.....May the king live long.
• Duven et te ha dud?....Do you know the answer? (YES/NO QUESTION)
• Duven et se tadxwa.....Are you are married. (SAY WHETHER...)
• Von (et) yufu.....Don't (you) be afraid. (Prohibitive, i.e., AN INJUNCTION)
• Von hus xwu.....Let that not happen. (NEGATIVE HORTATIVE)

The sentence-initial interrogative complementizer Duven (Is it true that?) is used to introduce a yes/no question. The word can be analyzed as a command meaning Say whether... where Say... is the main clause in the imperative mood.

• Duven et se tadokyayt?....Are you a widow? (= Say whether you are...).

Av van + a predicate in the hypothetical mood expresses a "so that, in order that" clause, eg.:

• At uzba ata teb av van at yafu teater hos xowe^*.....I turned my head so that I could see what was about to happen.

Using the negative complementizer, von, the above sentence could be rephrased as:

• At uzba ata teb av von at teatu hos xowe.....I turned my head so that I wouldn't see what was about to happen.

Since the subject is the same in both clauses, the sentence could be expressed more easily with an infinitive:

• At uzba ata teb av (~ ov) teater hos xowe.....I turned my head so as (not) to see what was about to happen.

* xowe means is about to happen/be done. Unlike English, there is no relative sequencing of tenses in conjoined clauses. "I knew she would come." is rendered in Mirad with direct sequences of tenses, i.e. as "I knew that she will come." Also, unlike English, the "that" conjunction cannot be left out: At ta van iyt upo.

Conjunctions with the subordinate conjunctions van/ven/von

Conjunctions introducing nominal subordinate clauses consist of a preposition followed by the positive complementizer van, the conditional complementizer ven, or the negative complementizer von. English can use a bare preposition as a conjunction, as in the sentence "He will grow up before you notice it." However, Mirad requires the complementizer, much as in French, where "avant" (before) must be accompanied by "que" when followed by a clause ("Il se grandira avant que tu ne le remarques.") Here is a chart showing the most important of these conjunctions:

Subordinating conjunctions with van and ven

CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
ja van before	Du hay ja van et pio. Say hi before you leave.
je van while, as long as	Je van at so him, at xo gle yex av et. While I'm here, I'll do some work for you.
jo van after	At buo et has jo van et nuso. I will give it to you after you pay.
ojo van by the time	Ojo et puo him, at piayo. By the time you get here, I will have departed.
ju van until	Yat voy ijo ju van et puo him. We won't start until you get here.
ji van since	At voy teataya huyenas ji van et sa hum. I had not seen such a thing since you were there.
gey ven even if	Gey ven et yontexe, at bolo et. Even if you disagree, I'll support you.
gel ven as if	Yat yeyfe axler gel ven yat teata hyos. We should act as if we saw nothing.
gey ov van even though, though	Gey ov van ha pansin sa gra yaga, at ifia has. Even though the movie was too long, I enjoyed it.
ov van (al)though, despite the fact that	At po ov van at voy fe. I'll go, although I don't want to.
av van so (that)	It utifbua av van hyuti teju. He sacrificed himself so that others might live.
av von lest, so that...not	It utifbua av von hyuti toju. He sacrificed himself so that others might not die (= lest others might die).
Buwa van in as much as, given that	Buwa van iyt se tadiwa, at voy byuxo iyt. Given that she's married, I won't touch her.
Hij van now that	Hij van et se him, biu hegla kafeyl. Now that you're here, have some coffee.
Vakuwa van provide that	Vakuwa van et se yukoma, at hoydo. Provided you're comfortable, I will say my goodbyes.
ven if	Ven yat fe iber ixuni, yat yefe yexer ga jestay. If we want to get results, we must work harder.
ven whether	Ven et ijbo ha yexes obyose et. Whether you finish the job is up to you.
Oven unless	Oven et do hyuyen, at dolo. Unless you say otherwise, I will be silent.

Conjunctions as Circumstantial Clause Headers

If the conjunction contains a deictic adverb like where, when, how, etc., then the relative form of the deictic adverb is used. The most common of these begin with ho- or hye- and behave as in English.

Subordinating Conjunctions

CONJUNCTION	CIRCUMSTANCE	EXAMPLES
hoj when	TIME	Hoj et pua, ha if ija. When you arrived, the fun began.
hyej whenever	TIME	Hyej et dale, at hihide. Whenever you talk, I laugh.
hom where	PLACE	At voy te hom it pa. I don't know where he went.
hyem wherevere	PLACE	Et yafe per hyem et fu. You can go wherever you'd like.
hyam everywhere	PLACE	Hyam at pe, et se hum. Everywhere I go, you're there.
hosav why	CAUSE	Duven et te hosav it xa his? Do you know why he did it?
hosav because	CAUSE	It xa has hosav it fa teatuer yat hes. He did it because he wanted to show us something.
hoyen how, as	MANNER	Xu hoyen et fu van hyuti axlu ub et. Do as you'd want others to act toward you.
hogla as	DEGREE	Yexu hogla ugay et efe. Work as slowly as you need to.
hyegla however much (that)	DEGREE	Dalu hyegla et efo. Talk however much you need to.
hoglas as much (as)	QUANTITY	At telio hoglas at fe. I will eat as much as I want.

Other conjunctions of circumstance are sometimes used. This is not a complete list.

Assertive Interjections

Interjections in Mirad include the assertive expressions yes, no and maybe:

Common Assertive Interjections

Va!	Yes!
Ve!	Maybe!, Perhaps!
Vo!*	No!

* Not to be confused with voy, which translates the English adverb not, as in Vo, wit voy se tadxwa.....No, he is not married.

Examples:

• Va. At se otadxwa.....Yes. I am unmarried.
• Va. At se vay otadxwa.....Yes. I am indeed/really unmarried.
• Va, vay.....Yes, indeed.
• Va ay vo. Hus vey se vyaa.....Yes and no. That may be true.
• Va ey vo?....Yes or no?
• Ve. At te voy valay.....Maybe. I don't know for sure.
• Vo. At voy vatexe et.....No. I don't believe you.
• Vo! Dilwe von xu hus.....No! Please don't do that.
• Et se Amerikama, vao?....You're American, yes or no?
• Ven va, (van et) xu has.....If so, (let you) do it.
• Ven vo, von (et) xu has.....If not, don't (you) do it.

There are also some hybrid combinations of the above assertive expressions:

Hybrid Interjections

Vao?	Yes or no?
Vea!	Maybe so!
Veo!*	Maybe not!

Other interjections

There is a group of common interjections called the H interjections, because they all begin with the letter h:

Greetings

Initial Greeting	hay!	Hello!, Hi!
Vocative Greeting	hey!	Hey!, O!, Oh!
Terminal Greeting	hoy!	Goodbye!, Bye!
Proximal Specifier	hiy!	Voici!, Here is...
Distal Specifier	huy!	Voila!', There is...
Positive Exclamation	hyay!	Great! Wow!, Bravo!, Woopee!, Hurrah!
Surprise Exclamation	hyey!	What a...!, Oh!, Well!
Negative Exclamation	hyoy!	What a pity!, It's a shame!, Woe is...!, Darn it!, Yikes!, Boo!
Expression of Thanks	hway!1	Thanks!
Expression of Welcome	hwey!	You're welcome!, Please
Expression of Sorrow	hwoy!	Sorry!, Excuse me!
Expression of Joy	hwiy!	Whee!, O la la!
Expression of Pain	hwuy!	Ouch!, Ow!, That hurts!
Laughter	hihi!	Ha ha!, Hee hee!
Lamentation	huhu!	Boo hoo!, Woe is me!, Oy veh!
Admiration	hwaw!2	Wow!, What a show!
Disgust	hwow!3	Yuck!, Eeoow!, Gross!

¹Pronounced like English why. Mirad hw is pronounced like English wh.

²Pronounced like English wh+aw.

³Pronounced like English wh+oh.

Examples:

• Hay! Ata dyun se Johan.....Hi! My name is John.
• Hey, Johan! Duhoyen et xeye?....Hey, John, how are you doing?
• Hey, Tot!....O, God!
• Hoy. At teato et zajub.....Bye. I will see you tomorrow.
• Hiy ha dyen ho et dila.....Here's the book you requested.
• Hiy Tob.....Behold Man. (Ecce Homo).
• Hiy ata dyundraf.....Here's my caling card.
• Huy! Se xwa.....Voilà! It's done.
• Huy hos at yaka.....There's what I expected.
• Hyay et!....Good for you!
• Hyay! Et utnaze his......Bravo! You deserve this.
• Hway! Et sa gla fitipa......Thanks.! You were very kind.
• At fu hwayder et.....I'd like to congratulate you.
• Hwey!....You're welcome!
• Et efe hwoyder at.....You need to apologize to me.
• Fi. Hwoy.....Ok. I'm sorry.
• Hyey via imaj! ....Oh, what a beautiful morning!
• Hyey At ta voy van et upo.....Oh! I didn't know you were coming.
• Hyoy at.....Woe is me.
• Hyoy! Ga fia fikyen jonay.....Pity!. Better luck next time.
• Hwoy. At yefe hyoder et.....Sorry. I must take leave of you.
• Hihi! Hus sa gla diza.....Ha ha! That was very funny.
• Von hihidu.....Don't laugh.
• Huhu!.....Oy!
• Ha tudet voy poxo huhuder.....The baby won't stop crying.

Vulgar expletives are not offered here, but may arise naturally in daily speech.

Note: The English expression Please can be expressed in various ways:

• Hwey! Yepu.....Please! Come in. (Hwey can also mean you're welcome in answer to thank-you.
• Diwe von (et) tyopu ab ha vaz.'....Please (= it is requested) don't walk on the grass.
• Diwe van et yanupu yat.'....Please (= it is asked that) join us.
• Diwe!....Please!
• Xu (at) (ha) fis bi yubeler at hua tyoyafi.....Please (= do (me) (the) favor of) bring me those shoes.

Stronger forms of please include dilwe....it is requested or dirwe....it is begged.

Many of the interjections in this section can be made into verbs with the addition of -der (to utter), eg.:

• hayder....greet, say hi
• heyder....address, call out to, wave down
• hoyder....say goodbye to
• hyayder....congratulate
• hwayder....thank
• hwoyder....apologize, excuse oneself, say you're sorry
• hihider....laugh
• huhuder....boo, cry

There is a class of words in Mirad which are called hybrids, i.e. cross-combinations of opposite words that mean something and something else or something or something else. For example, in English, swinging is "moving BACK-AND-FORTH", or, questions can be of the type "YES-OR-NO". The vowels in these directionals are, for euphonic purposes, ao, eo, or ui. These alternating expressions are often used as adverbs or verbal prefixes. Here is an incomplete list of such expressions, the elements decomposed, and examples of their usage:

Hybrid Expressions

Opposite Elements	Hybrids
ab....on ob....off	aoper....get on and off aober....take on and off
bu....to, give bi...from, take	buinax....round trip fare buipar....shuttle bus buier....trade
ga....more go....less	gao....more-or-less
hum....there him....here	huimpoper....travel here and yon
hus....that his....this	huisbier....select between this and that
hyas....everything hyos....nothing	hyaoson....all-or-nothing matter
hyut....another hyit....the same person	hyuita....mutual hyuitifer....love one another
tej....life toj....death	teoja ebyem....life-and-death situation
u....away/west i....toward/east	uinab....row uinada....horizontal Uiyanmel....Eurasia
a....up/north o....down/south	aonab....column aonada....vertical pyaoser....to bounce
uz....crooked iz....straight	uizpaser....careen, stagger uizder....to equivocate
ub....toward ib....away	uipeni....comings and goings
uj....end ij....beginning	uijbar....on-off switch
uga....slow iga....fast	uigpar....scooter
va....yes vo....no	vaoder....decide vaotexer....wonder vaodid....yes-or-no question
yuja....closed yija....open	yuija....open-and-shut yuijar....valve manyuijar....light switch teabyuijer....blink
yab....up yob....down	yaoblir....elevator (up-and-down taker) yaoblar....lever yaopyaser....jump up and down yaobsum....bunkbed
ayeb1....in oyeb....out	aoyebar....piston (in-and-out-device)
za....front zo....back	zaobaser....rock zaopaser....swing
zu....left/west zi....right/east	zuibaser....wobble zuipaser....zigzag zuimera....east-west zuituyaba....ambidextrous
malza....white molza....black	maolza....gray
yav-....innocent yov-....guilty	yaovyek....trial (Lit: innocent-guilty-test)
zyu-....round zyi-....flat	zyuis....oval, ellipse
up-....come ip-....go, leave	mimuip....tide (Lit: sea-come-go) uipeni....comings and goings
uv-....sad iv-....happy	uivdin....tragicomedy

¹This is a long form of yeb (in) that contrasts with oyeb (out).

Keep in mind that if a hybrid word ends in b, the b assimilates by dropping from per (to go) and ber (to put) words, eg:

• aob + ber = aober
• uib + per = uiper

Exclamations Using the H-words

Many common exclamatory expressions in Mirad use words that begin with the letter h:

Common Exclamatories

MIRAD	ENGLISH	EMOJI
Hay!	Hello!	🙋
Hey!	Hey!, Oh...!, Yahoo!
Hoy!	Bye!	🙋
Hiy...	Here is / Here comes... / Voici
Huy...	There's... / There goes... / Voilà
Hway!*	Great! / Good for you! / Congratulations!, wow! / hurray!
Hwey!	Oh my! / Goodness gracious! / Well!
Hwoy!	Too bad! / What a shame! / Sorry!/ oy!
Hyay!	Thanks!	🙏
Hyey!	Your're welcome! / That's ok.
Hyoy!	Sorry!	😢
Hihi!	Ha ha! / That's funny!
Huhu!	Boo hoo!

* Pronounced like English why.

The above h-exclamations can be made into verbs by suffixing forms of -der....to utter, eg.:

• hyay....thanks ⇒ hyayder....to thank

• At fu hyayder et av hos et xa.....I'd like to thank you for what you did.

• hihi....ha ha ⇒ hihider....to laugh ⇒ hihiduer....to make laugh

• Et hihidua.....You made me laugh.

Expressions by Category

Offering Suggestions

• If I were you,.......Ven at su et,...
• In my opinion,.......Be ata texyen,...
• Speaking personally,.......Dalea av aut,...
• If I might suggest,.......Ven at duyafu,...
• I would suggest that.......At duu van...
• You would be well-advised to X.......Et su fiduwa Xer...
• Have you thought of Xing...?....Duven et vyetexaye Xen...?
• Why not X...?....Duhosav voy Xer...?

Asking for Suggestions

• What would you do if...?....Duhos et xu ven...?
• I'd like your opinion on.......At fu eta texyen vyel...
• Please advise me on.......Diwe fyidu at vyel...

Dispensing Advice

• I think you should X....,At texe van et yefu Xer
• If I were you,.......,Ven at su et,...
• You would be wrong to X.....Et su vyoa Xer.
• It would be good if.......Et su fia ven...
• I warn you that.......At jwatue et van...

Requests

• Would you mind Xing...?....Duven oboxu et Xer...?
• May I X...?....Duven at yafu Xer...?
• I'd like to X.......At fu Xer...
• Could you possibly X.......Duven et yafu hyeyen Xer...
• I would be much obliged if you were to X.......At su gla yefxwa ven et Xu...
• Please do me the favor of Xing.......Diwe xu at ha avun bi Xer...
• Could I ask you to X?....Duven at yafu dier et Xer?

Asking for Opinions

• I'd like to know you opinion on.......At fu ter eta texyen vyel...
• Tell me what you think about.......Du at hos et texe vyel...

Offering Opinions

• It seems to me that.......Tease at van...
• I believe that.......At vatexe van...
• I don't think that.......At votexe van...
• We don't feel that.......Wat voy tose van...
• I must say.......At dyefe...
• As far as I'm concerned.......Auta texyen se van...
• Personally, .......Aotay, ...
• I am convinced that.......At se vatexuwa van...

Expressing Preferences

• Which do you prefer, X or Y?....Duhaas et gaife, X ey Y?
• Would you like to X...?....Duven et fu Xer...
• I would prefer to X... ....At gaifu Xer...
• It doesn't matter to me whether.......Av at, getese ven...
• I don't mind if.......Av at glotese ven...

Expressing Intentions

• Do you intend to X?....Duven et ojtexe Xer?
• What are you going to do?....Duhos et xo?
• He is determined to X.......It vafe Xer...
• I would like to X.....At fu Xer.
• We would like you to X.....Wat fu van et Xu.

Permission and Prohibition

• May I come in?....Duven at afe yeper?
• Is that permitted?....Duven hus afwe?
• Parking is prohibited.....Purkoxwen ofwe.
• Do not walk on the grass.....Von tyope ab ha vab.
• You are authorized to X.....Et se afdwa Xer.
• No entry.....Von yepu. ~ Yepen ofwe.
• You must not cry.....Et yofe huhuder.
• Permit me to say.......Afxu at der...

Obligation and Necessity

• You must pay attention.....Et yefe tepzexer.
• You should leave.....At yefu ~ yeyfu iper.
• I have to go.....At yefe per.
• You are obliged to X.....Yet yefxwe Xer.
• We need your help.....Yat efe yeta yux.
• It is urgent that you respond.....Igefwe van et dudu.
• I am asking you to X.....At dieye et Xer.
• He demands that you X.....Wit dire van et Xu.
• It is required that you stay longer.....Dirwe van et besu gaj.

Agreement

• Yes, I agree with you.....Va, at yantexe et.
• He disagreed with me.....It yontexa at.
• My opinion differs from yours.....At texyen ogelse etas.
• This book will concur with me.....Hia dyes geltexo at.
• I don't accept your view.....At voy vabie eta texgun.
• I reject the concept that.......At vobie ha tyun van...
• What you said is entirely true.....Hos et da se aynay vyaa.
• What a great idea!....Huu agala teyen!
• Your application has been approved.....Eta didras fivadawe.
• Blessed be this food.....Van hia tel fyadwu.
• We are glad that you came.....Yat se iva van et upa.

Disagreement

• No, that's wrong.....Vo, hus se vyoa.
• You are lying.....Et vyodeye.
• I disagree with your opinion.....At yontexe eta texyen.
• We don't approve of you actions.....Yat voy fivade eta axleni.
• I cannot accept the fact that.......At vabiyofe van...
• Do you refuse to answer?....Duven et vobie duder?
• That's out of the question.....Hus se vabiyofwa.
• I must decline that suggestion.....At yefe voder hua dul.
• We condemn your views.....Yat fuvade eta texguni.
• I must disapprove of your actions.....At fuvadyefe eta axleni.
• Your statement be damned!....Eta del fyodwu!
• It's a pity (~ shame) that you don't understand.....Se yov van et voy teste.
• I hate the fact that.......At ufe van...
• It is sad that you have to leave now.....Se uva van et yefe pier hij.

Affirmation, Quibbling, Negation

• Yes.....Va.
• Yes, indeed.....Va, vay.
• Certainly ~ Of course....Vla(y).
• True.....Vya.
• Truly.....Vyay.
• Maybe.....Ve.
• Maybe so.....Vey va.
• Maybe not.....Vey vo.
• Possibly.....Vey.
• Probably.....Vle(y)
• Hardly.....Yikay.
• Almost.....Yubge.
• Barely.....Haway gwe.
• Exactly.....Gwe.
• No.....Vo.
• Most certainly not.....Vlo.
• Perhaps no.....Vey vo.
• Yes and no.....Vao.
• False.....Vyo.
• Absolutely not.....Abray voy.
• In no way.....Hoyen.
• In no way whatever.....Hyoyen.

Certainty, Probability, Possibility, and Capability

• I'm sure she'll come.....At se vlata van iyt upo.
• It is not certain that.......Voy se vlatwa van...
• It is probable that.......Se vlea van...
• You'll probably change your mind.....Et vley kyaxer eta texyen.
• In all likelihood,.......Gwa vley,...
• It might rain.....Vey mamilo.
• It will definitely rain.....Vlay mamilo.
• What is the probability that it will rain?....Duhos se ha vlean van mamilo?
• It is conceivable that she will win.....Texiyafwe van iyt ako.
• It would be inconceivable.....Texiyofwu.
• I am persuaded that nothing will happen.....At se vatexuwa van hyos xwo.
• It could be true.....Has yafwu ser vyaa. ~ Has syafwu vyaa.
• Those results are impossible.....Hua ixuni se yofwa.
• The odds of that happening.......Ha kyensagi van hus xwo...
• I can't understand you.....At yofe tester et. ~ At voy yafe tester et.
• Could you speak a little louder?....Duven et yafu daler ga az?
• It is not impossible that.......Voy se yofwa van...
• I would not be surprised if.......At voy yoku ven...
• Am I expected to be early?....Duven at yakwe ser jwaa?
• I doubt they will survive.....At vlotexe van yit yiztejo.
• She suspected that I'd be late.....Iyt vetexa van at so jwo.
• She assumed that I would be.......Iyt vletexa van at so...
• I bet you know.....At vlede van et te.
• You can't know for sure.....Et yofe ter vlay.
• That's impossible to predict.....Hus jadyofwa. ~ Hus se yofwa jader.
• I will be unable to X.....At yofo Xer.

Apologies

• I'm sorry but.......At se tipuva oy...
• Excuse me but.......Yovobu at oy...
• Please forgive me.....Diwe yovobu at.
• It pains me to say.......Byokxe at der...
• It is sad to say.......Se uva der...
• It is regrettable that.......Se uvtexyafwa van...
• They expressed their regrets.....Yit uvtaxde.
• I regret my crimes.....At zoyuvtose ata doyovi.
• I regret to inform you that.......At uvtose tuer et van...

Thanks

• Thank-you for your kind words.....Hyay av eta tipifa duni.
• I shall be forever grateful......At so byu hyaj ivtaxika.
• I am much obliged for your gift.....At se gla yefxwa av eta fibun.
• Thank-you very much!....Hyay hyay! ~ Ivtaxwo! ~ Gla yefxwa! ~ Gla naxtwe.
• I appreciate your help.....At nazte eta yux.
• Your words are much appreciated.....Eta duni gla naztwe.

Best Wishes

• Congratulations!....Hyay! ~ Yanfyaztos!
• I congratulate you!....At hyayde et! ~ At yanfyaztosde et!
• Best wishes to you!....Fia ojfoni av et!
• Happy birthday!....Iva tajjub!
• May your day be blessed!....Van eta jub fyadwu! ~ Fyadwu eta jub!
• I wish you a good trip!....At ojfe et fia pop!
• Bon voyage!....Fia pop!
• Season's greetings!....Iva jeb!
• Merry Christmas!....Iva Kristtaj!
• Happy New Year! ~ Nowruz!....Iva Ejna Jab!
• Happy Anniversary!....Iva jabzyus!
• Happy Hannukka!....Iva Hanuka!
• Get well soon!....Fibaksu ig!
• Good luck on your exams!....Fikyen be eta vyaoyeki!
• I wish you every success!....At ojfe et hya akuj!
• Good luck! (~ Mazel Tov!)....Fikyen!
• Be well!....Baksu!
• Long live the king!....Van ha edeb yagteju! ~ Yagteju ha edeb!
• Vive la France!....Hyay Ferom!
• Bravo! ~ Well done! ~ Congratulations!....Hyay!
• Get better soon! ~ Speedy Recovery!....Baksu ig! ~ Byekwu ig!

Common Greetings

• Hello!....Hay!
• Hey!....Hey!
• Goodbye!....Hoy!
• Good day!....Fijub!
• Good morning!....Fimaj!
• Good afternoon!....Fijwomaj!
• Good evening!....Fijwamoj!
• Goodnight!....Fimoj!
• How are you?....Duhoyen et se?
• How are you doing?....Duhoyen et xeye?
• I'm doing fine.....At xeye fi.
• What's new?....Duhos se ejna?
• See you later! ~ Au revoir!....Ju ha gawteat!
• Be well!....Su baka!
• Sleep well!....Tuju fi!
• What's happening?....Duhos kyeseye?
• Until then!....Ju huj!
• Take care!....Bikiu!

Announcements

• We are pleased to announce the birth of.......Yat ifie dotuer ha taj bi...
• I am happy to say that.......At se iva der van...
• I am sorry to report that.......At se uva dotuer van...
• It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of.......Bay gla uvan, yat dotue ha toj bi...
• Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated.....Duyti ay Dwuti, diwe simbiu.
• Welcome to the stage: X!....Fiupdiu bu ha dezyem: X!
• I would like to introduce you to our speaker, X.....At fu tyuer yet yata dalut: X.
• Attention! ~ Hear ye, hear ye!....Tepzexu!

Regrets and Condolences

• I'm very sorry for your loss.....At uvtose eta ok.
• My condolences on the death of.......Ibu ata yanuvtosi av ha toj bi...
• I am so sorry.....At se huugla uvtosika.
• Alas!....Hyoy!
• I share your grief.....At yantipuvie et.
• I regret having done that.....At ajuvtose xaer hus.
• I apologize for my actions.....At ajuvtosde (~ hyoyde) ata axleni.
• We were terribly upset to hear the news that.......Yat gla yobaxwa teeter ha tuun van...

Invitations and Responses

• You are hereby invited to join us.......Yet hiyen updiwe yanser yat...
• Welcome to our home.....Fiupu yata toom.
• Would you like to dine with us?....Duven yet fu tyaler bay yat?
• Be my guest!....Updiwe!
• I would be happy to come.....At su iva uper.
• Sorry, but I am otherwise engaged then.....Hyoy, at se hyuyen yuvlaxwa huj.
• Unfortunately, I must decline.....Fukyenay, at yefe vobier.

Establishing Parallels

• On the one hand...,on the other.......Ayen...,hyuyen ....
• Just as...so, too.......Gwe gel van...gey gel van...
• What is more,.......Gayen,...
• Furthermore,.......Gayen,...
• Added to this,.......Gabwa bu his,...
• By the same token,.......Geyen,...
• As far as...is concerned,.......Vyelea...
• As for.......Ayv...

Enumerating

• or...or even.......ey...ey gey...ey ujay
• but finally.......oy ujay...
• First of all.......Ujnay...
• Next, but not least.......Zanapay, oy voy gwo...

Favorable Comparisons

• far superior to....gla fia vyel
• We can't compete with....Yat yofe yanyeker bay
• has the edge over....se gyoay fia vyel

Unfavorable Comparisons

• was nowhere near as good as.......sa yib bi ser ge fia vyel'
• is no match for....yofe yanyeker bay
• is far inferior to....se gla oba vyel
• does not measure up to....voy se be neg bi
• bears no comparison with....voy se vyegexyafwa bay

Similar Comparison

• is equivalent to....genaze
• on a par with....gekyinse
• corresponds to....vyegexe
• can be likened to....se vyegexyafwa bu

Asking an Opinion

• What do you thing of X?....Duhos et texe ayv X?
• What is your opinion on X?....Duhos se eta texyen vyel X?
• What is your attitude to X?....Duhos se eta tepkin ub X?
• How do you see...Xing?....Be eta texyen, duhoyen...Xo?

Expressing an Opinion

• In my opinion,....be ata texyen,
• As I see it,....Be ata duni,
• Personally, I believe that.......Aotay, at vatexe van...
• It seems to me that.......Tease at van...
• I dare say (that).......At dyife van...
• As far as I'm concerned,....Ven et didu at,
• It is our belief that....Se yata vatex van
• I'm convinced that.......At se vetexuwa van...

Saying What You Like

• I would like to X.......At fu Xer...
• I would prefer to X.......At gaifu Xer...
• I very much enjoy Xing.....At gla ifie Xen.
• I have a weakness for X.....At ayse ozan av X.
• I love chocolate.....At ifle dyofyel.
• I adore ballet.....At ifre dyaz.
• Do you like dogs?....Duven et iyfe yepeti?
• I am very pleased to meet you.....At se gla ifxwa trier et.

Saying What You Don't Like

• I am not keen on seafood.....At voy iyfe piit.
• Do you dislike X?....Duven et uyfe X?
• I hate X.....At ufe X.
• I can't stand (~bear) the thought of Xing.....At yofe xorer ha tex bi Xen.
• That is disgusting.....Hus se ufxea.
• I despise rude people.....At ufre fubyenati.

Expressing Indifference

• I don't care about X.....At voy bikse vyel X.
• It doesn't matter to me.....Voy bikxe at (or: Getese bu at.)
• That doesn't matter.....Hus voy glatese.
• I couldn't care less about X.....X trefxe at hyohen.

Giving Reasons

• Why did you do that?....Duhosav et xa hus?
• I came because.......At upa hosav van...
• Because of X...?....Be ux bi X...?
• As a result of X...?....Gel ix bi X...?
• In order to X.......Av Xer...
• So that we would understand.......Av van yat testu...
• Therefore,.......Av hus,...
• As a result,.......Gel ix,...
• As a consequence,.......Gel jos,...
• As a result of X....Gel ix bi X
• As a consequence of X....Gel jos bi X
• I don't understand why.......At voy teste hosav van...
• This is due to the fact that.......His se ux bi van...
• Given that.......Twa van...
• The child died for lack of X.....Ha tud toja bi oys bi X.
• This happened by illegal means.....His kyesa bey odovyaba zeyeni.
• Tell me why you did it.....Duhosav et xa has.
• So, leave!....Av hus, ipu!
• I think, therefore I am.....At texe, av hus, at ese.

Correspondence Greetings

• Dear Sir....Hey Dwut
• Dear Madam....Hey Duyt
• Dear beloved.......Hey ifwa...
• To Whom it May Concern:....Hey Hyet:
• Yours truly, X....Hoy, X...

Euphemisms

Mirad sometimes offers polite ways to express certain things that might sound too direct or rude in normal conversation. Here are some examples:

Euphemisms

POLITE	DIRECT
ujpon....final rest	toj ....death
ujponxelam....final rest ceremony house	tojxelam....mortuary
ujpondin....final rest story	tojdin....obituary, death notice
eftim....necessity room	fyusulsom....toilet (waste appliance)
pontim....rest room	fyusulsom....toilet
twoobgon....male part	tiyub....penis
ogoblawa....uncut, uncircumcized	otiyugoblawa....un-penis-cut
xer sag a....to do a number one	tiyabiler....to pee (lit: bladder-fluid-do)
xer sag e....to do a number two	tikyeler....to defecate, sh-t (lit: anus-fluid-do)
milxer....to urinate, to pee, lit. to make water	tiyabiler....to urinate (lit: bladder-fluid-do)

Mirad Gammar/Acronyms and Abbreviations

Onomatopoeia refers the words in languages that represent sounds as they are heard by the speakers of those languages. They are the noise words you see in comics, such as pow or bang bang. These charts show equivalent sound words in Mirad. Often, they are reduplicated, hyphenated expressions like pop-pop. Any onomatopoetic word can be made into an action verb by suffixing some form of -der, if a human or animal vocalization, or -xer if it is a noise made by an object. Some example:

• hihi....ha ha

• hihider....to laugh

• plop-plop....plop, splat

• plop-plopxer....to go plop, to go splat

Human Sounds

Consuming food or drink

Language	Biting	Eating food	Drinking	Swallowing
English	chomp, crunch	yum yum	slurp	gulp
Mirad	nyam-nyam, krac-krac	yum-yum	slup-slup	glu-glu

Body sounds

Language	Heart-beating	Belching	Vomiting	Coughing	Flatulence	Sneezing	Snoring	Yawning
English	thump thump	burp	barf	cough cough	toot, fart	achoo	zzzz	ho-hum, yawn
Mirad	tump-tump	brup-brup	blug-blug	kah-kah	hwuf-hwuf	acuh-acuh	zii-zuu	yaa-yaa

Cries of Distress

Language	Baby crying	Scream	Shriek
English	wah wah	ow, ouch, yeow,	eek
Mirad	waa-waa	awc-awc	iik-iik

Expression of Positive Emotions

Language	Laughter	Kiss
English	ha ha	mwa
Mirad	hihi	mwa-mwa

Interrupted Speech

Language	Hushing	Pausing or thinking
English	shh, shush	uh, um, er
Mirad	xux-xux	hum-hum

Others

Language	Laughter	Kissing	Crying
English	ha ha	mwa	boo hoo
Mirad	hihi	mwa-mwa	huhu

Non-human Noises

Objects

Language	Balloon bursting	Canon, gunfire, machine gun	Crash	Door or floor creaking	Engine back-firing	Knocking	Dull strike	Falling strike	Sharp strike	Wet strike	Crunching, cracking (of sticks, bones, etc.)
English	pop	kaboom, pow, ra-ta-tat	wham, bang	bam, crash	put-put	knock knock, tap tap, bang bang, rap	bump, thud, thump	plop, splat, thunk	clang, clink, clank, clunk, chink, dink, tink, plink, ding, ping, conk	splash, splish, splosh, splat	crunch, crack
Mirad	pop-pop	bum-bum	krax-krax	bam-bam	pat-pat	bang-bang, tap-tap	bop-bop, dump-dump	plop-plop, slap-slap	cink-cink, tink-tink, konk-konk	splax=splax, splox-splox, splak-splak	krunc-krunc, krak-krak

Machinery

Language	Camera shutter	Car engine revving	Car horn honking	Clock ticking	Door bell ringing	Keyboard striking	Telephone ringing	Siren wailing	Train whistling
English	click	vroom vroom	beep beep	tick tock	ding dong, bing bong	click clack	ring ring, ringaling	wee-woo, awooga	choo choo
Mirad	klik-klik	vrum-vrum	bip-bip	tik-tuk	din-don	klik-kluk	riin-riin	ninu-ninu	cu-cu

Physical and natural phenomena

Language	Electricity flowing	Electric shock	Fire	Rain	Thunder	Steam hissing	Water dripping	Wind blowing
English	buzz	zap	crackle	pitter-patter	crack, kaboom, rumble	psss	drip drop, plink plonk	swish, whizz, wheeze, howl, sigh
Mirad	bzuu-bzuu	psiit-psiit	knit-knut	plip-plop	bum-bum	psii	plik plok	kxuu-kxuu, hwuu-hwuu

Animal Noises

Animal noises are formed by replacing the final -t of an animal name to a form of -der, eg.:

kapet....dog

kapeder....to bark, to bow-wow

fepet....cat

fepeder....to meow, to mew

bopet....cattle

bopeder....to moo

kapyot....wolf

kapyoder....to howl

serpyet....snake

serpyeder....to hiss

Here is a fuller list. If you replace the final der of the noise word with t, you'll get the animal that produces it.

• afekpeder....to bray, to hee-haw
• akorpelder....to chirp
• akpyader....to squawk, to screech
• alcerpoder....to bellow
• anpiader....to quack, to honk
• anpiyeder....to croak, to rivet
• ansanpiader....to honk
• appelader....to buzz, do drone, to thrum
• apwader....to cockadoodledoo, to crow
• bopeder....to beloow, to low, to moo
• bradepiider....to creak
• bubopoder....to snort
• cerpoyder....to bleat
• cihempelder....to chirp
• dipelader....to buzz
• ekpeder....to hinny, to neigh, to whinny, to sneer
• elpoder....to trumpet
• epleder....to wail
• famarpoder....to shriek
• fepeder....to meow, to mew, to purr
• fepyoder....to growl
• fumuspoder....to dook
• gafapader....to crow
• gafapayder....to cluck
• gafapaytuder....to cheep
• gepiader....to cry
• gipiader....to quack
• hirpaspader....to squall, to squeal
• kampoder....to hum
• mefapader....to gobble
• stripyader....to hoot
• urpyoder....to growl, to roar
• yopyeder....to croak

Introduction

In order to facilitate word-building and to maximize comprehension and decipherability of words, certain meanings and functions have been attached to consonants and vowels.

The vocabulary of Mirad is composed of base words and derived words.

The vocabulary is built on base words, that is, indivisible, building-block words. The choice of the root of these words (formed generally from two or three letters) is determined by:

• The meaning of each letter of the word.
• The importance of the group of ideas that this word evokes in its proper sense and in the sense that is directly opposite it, eg.: fixed vs. variable.
• How frequently the word and its derivations are used in the language.
• The geometric system of vocabulary construction (see a later section on what this is all about).
• The logic of its composition.
• The mnemonic associations this word suggests.

The words derived from base words in turn follow very simple laws called vocabulary-building rules, which are spelled out below.

Base Words

Base words are elements of vocabulary that cannot be broken down any further and which serve as the basis for many derived words in the language. Base words are divided into two groups:

• Group 1:  consisting of nouns
• Group 2:  consisting of prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, determiners, and verbs.

Base words of Group 1

Base words of Group 1 (nouns) are composed of three letters:

• The first, a consonant called the classifier
• The second, a vowel or vowel cluster called the ordinal
• The third, a consonant called the generic

Examples:

Base Word Composition

CLASSIFIER	ORDINAL	GENERIC	MEANING
t	o	b	man
d	o	t	society
p	o	t	animal
f	o	b	plant

Base words of Group 2

Base words of Group 2 (everything but nouns) are composed of one or two letters, not including grammatical endings. If one letter, it is a consonant or sometimes a vowel(*). If two letters, they consist of a consonant + vowel combination or a vowel + consonant combination. Here are some examples (the hyphen at the end means that the base word does not stand alone, but is followed in usage by a grammatical ending such as -er (verb infinitive marker) or -a (adjective marker):

Some Examples of Group 2 Base Words

b-....put	p-....go
s-....be	x-....do
d-....say	t-....know
ab....on	ob....off
bu....to	bi....from
if-....love	uf-....hate
fi-....good	fu-....bad
va....yes	vo....no
vya*-....true	vyo-....false
a....one	o....zero

* As mentioned above, "vowel" in this case may include complex vowels, i.e. those preceded and/or followed by one of the glides y or w. So, for purposes here, ya, ye, yi, yo, yu, wa, and other pre- and post-glided vowels, are considered "complex vowels".

Consonants and Their Meanings

The classifier (initial letter) and generic (final letter) in group 1 base words (nouns) are consonants. Also, group 2 base words almost always have one consonant. So, you need to be familiar with the general meaning of the consonants in the Mirad alphabet, as shown in the following chart:

Consonants and Their Meanings

CONSONANT	GROUP 1 CLASSIFIER	GROUP 1 GENERIC	GROUP 2 CLASSIFIER	IN NUMBERS
b	organ, health	organism	gesture, position
d	society	family	communicating
f	vegetation	textile, clothing	volition, attributes
g	--	measurement	quantity, attributes
j	time	time	time
k	--	health	change, risk, attributes
l	--	element, food, liquid, nature	--	l = ten
m	nature	place, building, furniture	temperature, light	ml = million mr = billion
n	commerce	--	--
p	animal, vehicle	motion	movement
r	--	tool, machine, cosmos	--	r = thousand
s	form, image, furniture	thing	being, form, thing	s = hundred
t	human, body	person, animal	intelligence, knowing
v	plant, color	linen	truth, attributes
x	action	--	action, doing, making
z	--	precious, art	spatial, attributes

The following consonants have semantic functions rather than, or in addition to semantic values:

• l and r:   Liquids used after vowels to intensify the semantics of a word, eg.: baer....to lean, baler....to press, barer....to crush;
• y:   Glide used 1) before a stem vowel to intensify the semantics of a word, eg. voa....negative -> vyoa....false, or 2) after a vowel to de-intensify the semantics of a word, eg. ama....hot -> ayma....warm.
• h:   Used functionally only in certain interjections like hoy....goodbye and determiners like his....this, and has no semantic value.
• w:   Has no semantic value of its own, but is used only 1) to form the masculine gender of nouns and pronouns, eg. tob....person -> twob....man, or 2) to form the passive voice of verbs, eg. uber....to send -> ubwer....to be sent, or 3) to form a numerical unit marker, eg. awa....one, or 4) sometimes to substitute for y when this letter would cause ambiguity or difficulty in pronunciation with other consonants eg. jwo....late, instead of jyo.
• n:   In addition to its semantic values, functions often 1) as a buffer letter, as in ana....only, or 2) as a suffix to derive a nominal abstraction from an adjective, such as fian....goodness from fia....good, or from a verb, such axnen....behaving from axner....to behave.

Vowels and Their Meanings

Ordinal vowels in Mirad have meanings or values of the following types:

• meronymic
• hierarchical
• scalar
• geo-specific
• oppositional/polar
• vectorial
• directional and positional
• special

Ordinal Vowel Values

The numerical value of ordinal vowels is shown in the chart below. The vowels beginning with y are considered pre-y-glided vowels. These numeric values serve as the "ordinal vowel" in scaled base words. See the section on Vowels.

Numeric Values of Vowels

Ordinal Vowel	o	a	e	i	u	yo	ya	ye	yi	yu
Cardinal Number	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Meronymic Vowel Gradation

Ordinal vowels can be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a meronymic series. (This gradation can also be called taxonomic. The top element, or hypernym, has zero (o) as its defining vowel. The others are hyponyms or meronyms, and have incrementally higher numbers of their ordinal vowel. Tab (body) is the first meronym of tob (human being), the hypernym or zeroth element.

Meronymic Series

Rank	Meronymic
0	tob....human	fob....plant	vob....crop
1	tab....body	fab....tree	vab....grass
2	teb....head	feb....fruit	veb....tuft
3	tib....trunk	fib....trunk	vib....stalk
4	tub....arm	fub....branch	vub....shoot
5	tyob....leg	fyob....root	vyob....tuber

The words that descend from the base word are called subordinal words, hyponyms, or meronyms. A hypernym is a word that is higher in the taxonomy.

Hierarchical Vowel Values

Ordinal vowels can be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a hierchical series where the top element has zero (o) as its defining vowel. The others are subordinate elements and have incrementally higher numbers that define a descending series related to that top element.

Hierarchical Vowel Gradation

Rank	Hierarchy
0	dob....state	dot....society	tod....family	xob....organization
1	dab....government	dat....friend	tad....spouse	xab....staff
2	deb....leader	det....associate	ted....parent	xeb....boss
3	dib....ministry	dit....citizen	tid....sibling	xib....department
4	dub....minister	dut....gentleman	tud....child	xub....branch

Scalar Vowel Gradation

Ordinal vowels can also be used as the stem vowel in Group 1 base words to form a scalar series, where each member of the series is a smaller or less important component as it descends.

Scalar Series

Rank	Scalar
0	mos....masonry	som....furniture	tom....building
1	mas....wall	sam....cabinet	tam....house
2	mes....door	sem....table	tem....hall
3	mis....window	sim....chair	tim....room
4	mus....stairs	sum....bed	tum....closet

Geo-specific Vowel Gradation

Ordinals can have geo-specific values, that is values, related to the sky, land, sea, outer space, and underground.

Geo-specific Vowel Values

Ordinal	Mirad Color	English Color
o	outer space, top level	mop....orbit	mom....outer space	mol....nature	dop....military	pop....voyage
a	air, gas, sky	map....wind	mam....sky	mal....air	dap....air force	pap....flight
e	ground, soil, solid	mep....road	mem....land	mel....soil	dep....army	pep....ride
i	liquid, water, sea	mip....river	mim....sea	mil....water	dip....marines	pip....navigation/swim
u	underground, mineral, substance	mup....tunnel	mum....underground	mul....mineral		pup....tunneling

Spectral Ordinal Vowel Gradation

The basic color terms use the natural order of the spectrum to determine the ordinal vowels:

Spectral Ordinal Vowel Gradation

Order	Mirad	English
0	olza1	blank, of no color
1	alza	red
2	elza	orange
3	ilza	yellow
4	ulza	green
5	yolza	blue
6	yalza	purple
7	yelza	pink2

1) In the natural spectrum, there really is no 0th order. The colors black and white are rendered in Mirad by the words molza and malza, which are polar opposites based on the roots mo for dark and ma- for light.

2) Properly indigo, but humans have a hard time distinguishing purple and indigo.

Oppositional (or Polar) Vowel Values

In Group 2 stems:

Oppositional Vowel Values

a  ⇔  ya	intermediate	i  ⇔  yi
⇑ positive ⇓negative	e  ⇔  ye	⇑ positive ⇓negative
o  ⇔  yo	value	u  ⇔  yu

• positive a contrasts with negative o    (av....for vs. ov....against)
• positive ya contrasts with negative yo    (yava....innocent vs. yova....guilty)
• positive i contrasts with negative u    (fia....good vs. fua....bad)
• positive yi contrasts with negative yu    (yiva....free vs. yuva....bound)
• e and ye are in-between values    (eva....neutral, yeva....fair)

Group 1 Oppositional Vowel Gradation

positive	intermediate	negative
aga....big	ega....normal	oga....small
yava....innocent	yeva....just	yova....guilty
ava....for	eva....neutral	ova....against
aker....to win	eker....to risk	oker....to lose
yak....expectation	yek....attempt	yok....surprise
fia....good		fua....bad
ifer....love		ufer....hate
yifa....brave		yufa....afraid

Some Group 1 base words have ordinal vowel stems that exhibit oppositional values:

The Group 1 base word bok (illness) is a good example:

Group 1 base word with oppositional values

NEGATIVE	INTERMEDIATE	POSITIVE
bak....health	bek....treatment	bok....illness
byak....hygiene	byek....cure	byok....pain byoyk....ache blok....suffering brok....agony
baak....sanitation		book....fatigue
bik....care		buk....wound buyk....sore

Vectorial Vowel Values

These ordinal vowels have to do with directions, up, down, south, left, etc.

a

↑

u  ←     e     →  i

↓

o

a....on, above, north (ab....on, zamer....north)

e....center, middle, equator (eb....between, ze....center)

o....off, below, south (ob....off, zomer....south)

i....right, east (zi....right, zimer....east)

u....left, west (zu....left, zumer....west)

Directional and Positional Vowel Values

Directional and Positional Vowel Values

A
U		a ↓	↓ a	↑ ya	ya ↑		I
	u →		e	ye		→ i
	→ u		e	ye		i →
	→ yu		E			yi →
	yu →					→ yi
		↑ o	o ↑	yo ↓	↓ yo
O

Explanation of the above chart:

• If the vowel is capitalized, it indicates a positional value. It is used in its lowercase spelling as a prefix in Group I words.
• The non-capitalized vowels (including y-glides) indicate directional values.
• If the vowel is underlined, it means that it is placed before the classifier consonant (prefixed) in verbs
• Otherwise, a normal vowel means that it is placed after the classifier consonant (infixed) in Group 2 words.

Explanation of the Vowel Meanings Chart

A	position		on, above, north	zamer....north
a	movement	(free)	on	baer....lean
a	movement	(contact)	onto	aber....put on
ya	movement	(free)	up, ascend	byaer....lift
ya	movement	(contact)	up, get up, set up	yaber....raise
O	position		under, lower, south	zomer....south
o	movement	(free)	off	boer....hang
o	movement	(contact)	on the bottom of, underneath	oper....get off
yo	movement	(free)	down	pyoser....fall
yo	movement	(contact)	fall	yoper....rise
U	position		left, west	zumer....west
u	movement	(free)	move toward the center, come	uber....send
u	movement	(contact)	reach the center, arrive	pyuer....reach
yu	movement	(free)	near, approach	yuber....approach
yu	movement	(contact)	near, reach	byuser....touch
I	position		right, east	zimer....east
i	movement	(free)	from the center out, go away	pier....go away
i	movement	(contact)	from the center out, leave	iper....leave
yi	movement	(free)	away, go far	yiper....go far
yi	movement	(contact)	from afar, originate	pyiser....originate
E	position		center, equator	zemer....equator
e	rest		between	eb....between
e	rest		at, stay, hold	bexer....hold
ye	movement		in, into, enter	yeper....enter
ye		(contact)	contain	byeer....contain

Special value of certain vowels

The prefixes a- or an- meaning one, sole, singular.

• aot....person
• anot....individual

Also, the prefix yan- meaning together contrasts with yon-....apart.

• yanber....to compose
• yonber....to separate

The letter y is prefixed to the vowels of personal pronouns to make them plural:

• at....I, me as opposed to yat....we, us
• et....you as opposed to yet....you (pl.), you all
• it....he, she, him, her as opposed to yit....they, them

The letter y is post-fixed to vowels to change the gender to specifically feminine:

• it....he, she, him, her as opposed to iyt....she, her
• tob....person, human being as opposed to toyb....woman

The letter w is prefixed to vowels to change the gender to specifically masculine:

• it....he, she, him, her as opposed to wit....he, him
• tob....person, human being as opposed to twob....man

The Meaning of Group 1 Base Words

The meaning of the base words of Group 1 comes from the combination of the values of the classifier (initial) and the generic (final) consonants.

The ordinal vowel of those Group 1 base words has a 1) scalar/hierachical, 2) geo-spatial, 3) oppositional, 4) vectorial/positional, or 5) mnemonic values.

The following table shows some Group 1 bases words, the meaning of their consonants, and the type of ordinal vowel scalarity:

Group 1 Zeroth-level Scalar Base Words and Meanings of the Consonants

BASE WORD	CLASSIFIER CONSONANT	GENERIC CONSONANT	SCALARITY TYPE
tob....person	t = human	b = organism	meronymic
tof....clothing	" " "	f = fabric	meronymic
tod....family	" " "	d = society	hierchical
tom....building	" " "	m = place	vectorial/positional
tov....lingerie	" " "	v = linen	meronymic
tol....nourishment	" " "	l = food	oppositional
top....soul, spirit	" " "	p = motion	meronymic
dob....state	d = society	b = organism	hierarchical
dop....military	" " "	p = movement	geo-specific
dot....society	" " "	t = human	hierarchical
dom....city	" " "	m = place	geo-specific
job....time	j = time	b....organism	hierarchical
fob....vegetation	f = vegetable	b = organism	meronymic
vob....crop	v = plant	b = organism	meronymic
vos....flower	" " "	s = thing	meronymic
volz....color	" " "	lz = color, art	spectral
som....furniture	s = thing	m = place	scalar
mos....masonry	m = place, nature	s = thing	scalar
mor....universe	" " "	r = machine, system	scalar
mom....outer space	" " "	m = place	geo-specific
mol....nature	" " "	l = substance	geo-specific
mop....orbit	" " "	p = movement	geo-specific
pot....animal	p = movement	t = human, animal	geo-specific
bok....illness	b = organ	k = condition	oppositional
nom....place	n = commercial	m = place	special
nog....degree	" " "	g = measurement	special
nof....cloth	" " "	f = cloth	special
nov....linen	" " "	v = linen	special
nod....point	" " "	d = communication	special
xob....organization	x = action	b = organism	hierarchical

Special Arrangement

Other Group 1 nouns, listed in the chart below, have an ordinal vowel which is not so much geo-specific or hierarchical per se, but rather special in some fashion. The consonants, especially the classifier consonant, have meanings like those in the above chart.

Other Group 1 Base Words

d- communication daz dance dyaz ballet dez theater diz comedy duz music dyez cinema din story dun word dyun name dyan sentence dyes book deup rhythm

dr- write drof board draf card dref paper drov cardboard drav notebook drev page drez poetry drar pencil drir typewriter drur printer

m- nature mag fire mak electricity mog ash meg stone mef brick mug metal muk mineral mez crystal mek dust myek powder mav flame mov smoke maf cloud maj daytime moj night man light maz shine mon shade moz dark

n- commerce naz value nas money nax price nyaz wealth nyan stack nox expense nyox waste nex saving nyex storing nix earning nyix order nux pay nyux supply nun merchandise nyun product nuz jewel nem location nyem place nyeb box nab row nap order nad line nod point ned plane nyed grid nyad chain nid volume nag measure nog degree nig space

j- time jag age jud date jod instance jop sequence jep process jwap moment jwep instant

s- thing sag number saz sculpture san form saun kind son matter (abstract) sin image siz painting sun thing (concrete) syan class syen style syin subject syun object sar instrument sir machine sor engine sur motor

t- human / knowledge taz statue tap physique tep mind top spirit tuz art toz skin color tez culture tyez magic tin doctrine tun science tyan class tyen skill tyun idea tos sensation tes meaning tot god

The Meaning of Group 2 Base Words

The meaning of Group 2 base word stems comes from the combination of the values of the classifier consonant and the ordinal (stem) vowel. The stem does not include adjectival (-a), adverbial (-ay), and verbal inflections (-er, -ser, -xer, etc.), which are shown in a smaller typeface after the stem.

The ordinal (stem vowel) holds oppositional values like positive, intermediary, and negative.

Examples:

Stems of Group 2 Base Words

CLASSIFIER CONSONANT	POSITIVE	INTERMEDIATE	NEGATIVE	POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
j (time)	ja before	je during	jo after	ji since	ju until
	aj past	ej present	oj future	ij/er beginning/begin	uj/er end/end
	taj/er birth/to be born	tej/er life/to live	toj/er death/to die	tij/er awake state/to be awake	tuj/er sleep/to sleep
	jwa early	jwe on time	jwo late	yij/a opening/open	yuj/a closing/closed
g (measurement)	ga more	ge equal	go less	gin point	gun angle
	aga big	ega normal	oga small	iga fast	uga slow
	yaga long	yega normal	yoga short	yiga hard	yuga soft
	gyaa thick	gyea enough	gyo- thin	gyia solid	gyua fragile
k (randomness)	kaxer find	kexer seek	koxer hide	kia oblique	kua lateral
	aker win	eker play	oker lose	ika full	uka empty
	yaker expect	yeker try	yoker suprise	yika difficult	yuka easy
	kyaa mobile	kyea haphazard	kyoa fixed	kyia heavy	kyua light
m (nature)	ama hot	--	oma cold	ima wet	uma dry
fer (want, qualities)				fia good	fua bad
	fyaa holy	fyea mythical	fyoa profane	fyia useful	fyua harmful
	yafer be able	yefer must	yofer cannot	yifer dare	yufer fear
	afer may	efer need	ofer be prohibited	ifer love	ufer hate
v (truth, qualities )	va yes	ve maybe	vo no	via beautiful	vua ugly
	vay really	vey may	voy not
	av for	eva neutral	ov against	iva happy	uva sad
	vyaa true	vyea relative	vyoa false	vyia clean	vyua dirty
	yava innocent	yeva fair	yova guilty	yiva free	yuva captive
	van that	ven if	von lest
z (spatial)	za in front of	ze in the middle of	zo in back of	zia right	zua left
	zay ahead	zey across	zoy back, re-
	zyaa wide	zye through	zyoa narrow	zyia flat	zyua round
	aza strong	eza moderate	oza weak	iza straight	uza curved
	yaza convex	yez along	yoza concave	yiz beyond	yuz around
b-er (put)	bay/(xer) with, (agitate)	bey/((xer)) by, (hold)	boy(xer) without/(calm)	bi(er/xer) from, (take/pull)	bu(er/xer) to, (give/push)
	ab(er) on,(put on)	eb(er) between,(block)	ob(er) off,(take off)	ib(er) away,(receive)	ub(er) toward,(send)
	byaser/xer stand/erect	byexer tap	byoser/xer hang/hang	byi(ser) since,(originate)	byu(ser/xer) up to,(contact/touch)
	yab(er) up,(raise)	yeb(er) in,(enter) oyeb(er) out,(exit)	yob(er) down,(lower)	yib(er) far,(remove)	yub(er) near,(bring)
per (go)	paser/xer move/move	peser/xer wait/trap	poser/xer stop/stop	pier/ser/xer leave/withdraw/catch	puer/ser/xer arrive/jump/throw
	pyaer/ser/xer hover/jump up/launch	pyeser/xer encounter/strike	pyoser/xer fall/drop	pyiser/xer emanate/derive	pyuser/xer reach/impact
	yaper rise	yeper enter	yoper descend	yiper go far	yuper approach
	aper get on	eper intervene	oper get off	iper go away	uper come
ser (be)	san/s/xer evolve/make	sexer build	son/xer matter/destroy	sin/yn image/sign	sun/er/xer thing/provide/realize
	aser become	eser exist	oser cease to be
xer (do )	xaler execute	xeler practice	xoler fail	xiler undertake	xuler provoke
	axler act	exer function	oxler abstain	ixer effect	uxer cause
	yaxer be busy	yexer work	yoxer be idle	yixer use	yuxer help
ter/rer/yer (know/recognize/know how)	taxer remember	texer think	toxer forget	tier/xer learn/study trier get to know tyier learn how	tuer/xer/uxer inform/teach/raise truer familiarize tyuer train
der/rer (say/write)	daler talk	deler state dyeer read	doler be silent droer erase	dier/ler/rer ask/beg/require	duer/ler/rer suggest/insist/demand dyuer call
h- (determiners)	ha(a) the	hea some	hoa which	hia this	hua that
	hya(a) all	hyea any	hyoa no	hyia same	hyua other
(conjunctions)	ay and	ey or	oy but
	yan together		yon apart
(numbers)	a one	e two	o zero	i three	u four
	ya six	ye seven	yo five	yi eight	yu nine
(privatives)			lo- (dis-/un-) lyo- (dis-) oy- (-less)

* Mixed root. taj/tej/toj instead of yaj/yej/yoj, because the human letter root t is more intuitive.

Note: The opposition (y)a-(y)e-(y)o is a three-way opposition with an intermediary sense, but (y)i-(y)u is two-way, without any intermediary sense.

Derived Word Formation Rules

Derived words are formed in accordance with certain simple rules of word-building:

These consist of the following rules:

1. Compounding
2. Affixation
3. Ordinal Vowel Scaling
4. Overlapping
5. Adding Ordinal Vowels
6. Swapping Generic Consonants
7. Marking Words for Gender
8. Deriving Words with Geo-specific Vowels
9. Deriving Words with Directional and Positional Vowels
10. Deriving Words with a Mnemonic Pattern
11. Deriving Nuanced Words Phonetically

Rule #1: Compounding

Compound words are obtained through the combination of two or more whole words or stub words. In the combining process, the determining word is placed quite simply in front of the word it determines. Compounds consist mainly of noun + noun, but there can be other part-of-speech combinations.

Examples:

Compounding

COMPONENT 1	COMPONENT 2	COMPOUND
mor....cosmos	tun....science, -ology	mortun....cosmology
mag....fire	yazmel....mountain	magyazmel....volcano
dob....state	mem....land	dobmem....territory
tul....dish	dras....something written	tuldras....menu
sin....picture	dras....something written	sindras....description
tam....house	kyoxer....to fix (in place)	tamkyoxer....to settle
tax....memory	drer....to write	taxdrer....to record
kyo-....fixed	tep-....head	kyotepa....stubborn

Sometimes, the first element can be a stub of a whole word, i.e. the word with the final consonant dropped. The word for rain, for example, is ma(m) (sky) + mil (water), where the final consonant of the first word is dropped, thus, mamil.

When compounding an adjective with a noun, if the adjective begins with a vowel, often it will be suffixed to the noun, otherwise prefixed, (but this is not a strict rule), eg:

• uzra....twisted + tep....mind ---> tepuzra....crazy
• kyoa....fixed + tep....mind ----> kyotepa....stubborn, obsessed
• aza....strong + tep....mind ----> tepaza....intelligent
• fua....bad + tip....mood ----> futipa....cross, ill-tempered
• aga....big + tip....mood ----> tipaga....magnanimous, generous

Rule #2: Affixation

Most adverbs and prepositions can be used as prefixes:

Prefixes

Adverbs and Prepositions as Prefixes

PREFIX	BASE	COMPOUND
ja....before	per....to go	japer....to precede
jo....after	per....to go	joper....to follow
va....yes	der....to say	vader....to affirm
jo....after	dras....something written	jodras....postscript
za....ahead	jub....day	zajub....tomorrow
yon....apart	mel....land	yonmel....island

Prepositional prefixes ending in b with verbs per and ber (and their derivations) lose the b before verbal elements based on per (go) and ber (put), as shown in the following chart:

Assimilation of b and p

PREFIX	BASE VERB	NEW VERB
yab....up	ber....put	yaber....raise (NOT: yabber)
yab....up	per....go	yaper....rise (NOT: yabper)
ab....on	ber....put	aber....put on, apply
ab....on	per....go	aper....get on, mount
yob....down	ber....put	yober....take down
yob....down	per....go	yoper....descend
ob....off	ber....put	ober....take off, remove
ob....on	per....go	oper....get off, dismount
yeb....in	bux....a push	yebux....impulse
yeb....in	pyoser....fall	yepyoser....collapse

The loss of the b in the above words in one of the only cases of fusion in Mirad's grammar. Mirad is by and large an agglutinative language where building-blocks are juxtaposed with no change of form. Another case of fusion is when so-called stubs are combined. For example, doyijem (public square), which is composed of do(m)....city + yij(a)....open + (n)em....place. The morphemes (= building-block words) of Mirad always have one and only one meaning, unlike in English where the prefix a- can have many different meaninings.

The adjective ending a is often dropped¹, as is the er or prefixes taken from verbs. Longish noun prefixes are sometimes clipped, so that tyoyab becomes tyoya-.

Prefixes Built on Words and Word Stubs

PREFIX	BASE VERB	COMPOUND VERB
oza....weak	der....say	ozder....whisper
yaga....long	der....say	yagder....ramble
aja....past	der....say	ajder....evoke
yoga....short	der....say	yogder....summarize
tyoyab....foot	per....go	tyoyaper....walk
dreer....write	sar....tool	dresar....pencil
tuyob....hand	dren....writing	tuyodren....manuscript
mam....sky	mil....water	mamil....rain

¹: Sometimes, the adjective ending a is retained when an adjective is compounded with xer or ser. This device may be used to distinguished two differently nuanced verbs. For example, aga + xer can produce agaxer....to magnify or agxer....to grow. Usually, the compound where the adjective suffix has been eclipsed has the more idiomatic meaning.

Most Common Mirad Prefixes

Common Prefixes

PREFIX	EXAMPLES
a(n)-....uni-, number one, up	anzyuspar....unicycle antotin....monotheism adeb....emperor
aa-....arch-, first-, prime	aadub....prime minister aatat....archangel aavyan....principle
aag-....arch-, proto-, main	aagmep....highway aagdovyab....constitution aagovekut....archrival
aaj-....paleo-, proto-	aajtobtun....paleoanthropology aajsiyn....fossil
ab-....ad-, top, on, epi-	abtob....superman abtim....attic abzen....epicenter
ayb-....over-, super-, hyper-, sur-	aybmep....overpass aybdresin....superscript abdyun....hypernym
agal-....mega(lo)-	agalvyotos....megalomania agaltoj....megadeath
alo(n)-....deca-, ten-	alojaga....ten years old alojab....decade alonsuna....decimal
aloy(n)-....deci-, tenth-	aloynux....tithe aloyngoler....decimate
am-....thermo-	amzemula....thermonuclear amvyabxar....thermostat
amlo(n)-....mega-	amloagvunak....megavolt amlotoj....megadeath
amloyn-....micro-	amloynjweb....microsecond
anyen-....idio-	anyenboka....idiopathic anyendyan....idiom anyentepa....idiotic
ao(b/p)-....north-south, up-down, vertical, vertically, y-axis	aonab....column, x-y-axis aopuys yuzpar....hop-on-hop-off bus aonada....vertical
aoye(b/p)-....in-and-out	aoyebar....piston aoyebelen....import-exports aoyepaper....fly in and out
aro(n)-....kilo-	aronminak....kilometer arobanak....kilobit
aroyn-....milli-	aroynvunak....millivolt aoynwunak....milliwatt
(a)so(n)....cent-	asojagat....centenarian asolinak....hectoliter sojab....century
asoy(n)-....cent-, centi-	asoygenak....centigram asoylinak....centiliter
av-....pro-	avyaotina....pro-communist
ayn-....full-, holo-, whole-	aynnuut....wholesaler aynsin....hologram aynteptija....fully-conscious
e(b/p)-....inter-	ebmos....mezzanine ebyanmulxer....intermingle eper....intercede
ejna-....neo-	ejnadun....neologism ejnaobdabin....neocolonialism
e(n)-....ambi-, bi-, di-, duo-, two-	entyoba....bipedal enzyuspar....bicycle envolza....dichromatic
eon-....duo-, double-, twin-	eonin....dualism eondal....double-speak eonsum....twin bed
ev-....a-, neutral	evdofina....amoral evdabtuna....apolitical
ey(b/p)-....intra-, among	eybmasa....intramural eybmimkuma....intracoastal
ey(n)-....demi-, half-, hemi-, mixed-, pen-, quasi-, semi-	eynzyus....semi-circle eynzyup....half-turn eyntilsyeb....demitassee eynyonmel....peninsula
fi-....bene-, eu-, good-, nice-, well-	fixut....benefactor fidrawa....well-written fitos...euphoria
fu-....dys-, ill-, mal-, mis-, poorly-	futos....dysphoria futuwa....ill-informed fuxeyn....malfeasance
fya-....hiero-, holy-, sancti-	fyasdresiyn....hieroglyphic fyader....sanctify fyatwed....holy father
fye-....mythical, fantasy	fyetop....phantom fyetobet....elfin fyetexer...fantacize fyedin....fantasy
fyo-....evil, profane	fyotez....occult fyotat....devil fyotyez....witchcraft
gaw-....re-, again	gawteaper....revisit gawaker....regain
garale-....tera-	garaleagbanak....terabyte
garalyi-....exa-	garalyibanak....exabit
garalyo-....peta-	galayoagbanak....petabyte
garela-....zetta-	garelaagbanak....zettabyte
garelu-....yotta-	gareluagbanak....yottabyte
ge-....equal to, equi-, even-	geyafwa....equipollent genaza....equivalent
gel-....homo-, like-, simul-	gelzena....homocentric gelvolza....homochromatic
geyl-....simul-	geyldyan....simile geylxer....assimilate
gla-....many-, multi-, poly-	glatyenika....multi-skilled glatwada....polyandrous glavolza....many-hued
glo-....mini-, little-, few-	gloduna....succint, of few words glonixea....low-earning
gorale-....pico-	goraleagfenak....picofarad
goralyi-....atto-	goralyigenak....attogram
goralyo-....femto-	goralyoon....quadrillionth
goralyu-....nano-	goralyusonak....nanosecond
gorela-....zepto-	gorelagenak....zeptogram
gorelu-....yocto-	gorelugenak....yoctogram
gra-....extra-, hyper-, over-, ultra-	gratosea....hypersensitive grazoyaxler....overreact granoxea....extravagant
gro-....hypo-, under-	groyixlawa....underemployed groaman....hypothermia
gwa-....hyper-, maxi-, -most, pleisto-, uber-, ultra-, pure, macro-	gwayelza....pure pink gwayafa....supreme gwauja....ultimate gwazoa....hindmost
gwo-....least-, mini-, micro-	gwosag....minimum gwoyuzpur....minibus gwoexlus....microprocessor
hi-....hither, these, this	his....this hisi....these him....here
hya(s)-....pan(to)-, omni-, all-, every-	hyas....everything hyati....all of them hyastea....omniscient hyataadifa....pansexual
hu-....that	hus....that huj....then huyen...that way
huim-....here-and-there, here-and-yon	huimkexer....search high and low huimpaper....fly here and there hyuimpoper....travel here-and-there
huu-....so, such	huugla....so, so very hus....such huyen....in such a way, so, thus
hyaewa-....ambi-	hyaewati....both of them hyaewaziza....ambidextrous hyaewatoobifa....ambi-sexual
hye-....-ever, any, whatever, whichever	hyem....anywhere, wherever hyempea....erratic hjej....ever, anytime
hyi-....homo-, like-, same	hyitoobifa....homosexual hyis....same thing hyij....at the same time
hyo(s)-....nothing, a-	hyostosea....apathetic
hyu(t/s)-....alter-, hetero-, other-, xeno-, else	hyutoobifa....heterosexual hyua....another, alternate hyutufa....xenophobic hyus....something else
hyui(t/s)-....cross-, mutual, one thing and another, reciprocal	hyuitvikaxen....mutual admiration hyuixer....reciprocate hyuisa....mutual, reciprocal hyuitif....mutual love
i-....toward the speaker	iber....receive ixer....result
ik-....fully, thoroughly	iktoxer....forget completely iktos....satisfaction ikyebixer....engulf, swallow up completely
i(n)-....three-, tri-, tripl-, tern-	inzyuspar....tricycle inaga....three-dimensional injiba....trimensual insuna....ternary intotan....trinity
iyn-....terci-, third	iyna....terciary iynxer....cut into thirds
iz-....ortho-, recti-, right-, straight-	iznada....rectilinear izguna....orthogonal iztin....orthdoxy izdea....forthright
ja-....ante-, fore-, pre-	jaupya....foregone jauper....precede jadropeka....antebellum
je-....per-, continuously, ever-	jetejer....persevere jeteaxer....watch jexrer....perpetuate
jo-....after-, meta-, post-	joexlen....postprocessing jomir....metasphere jotej....afterlife
jwa-....early-, eo-, preter-, proto-	jwaber....prepare jwader....warn, premonish jwadodin....early history, protohistory jwamola....preternatural jwajoeb....eocene
jwo-....ceno-, late-, latter-, tard-	jwonux....late payment jwoa....tardy jwoteja....cenozoic
ko-....cover-, hidden, secret-, stealth-	koa....covert koexut....spy koyeper....sneak in
kovyo-....pseudo-	kovyotun....pseudoscience
ku-....para-	kuifut....paramour kuteliut....parasite kuteptun....parapsychology
kya-....alternate, dia-, re-, trans-, vari-, cross-	kyaember....relocate kyajoba....diachronic kyatajnad....crossbreed kyatooba....transgendered kyavolza....variegated, motley
kyao-....falteringly, unsteadily	kyaoper....stagger kyaotexer....vacillate
kye-....chance-, hap-, random-	kyea....haphazard kyebyus....chance encounter kyeteater....happen to see kyesauna....of a random type
kyo-....fixed-, still-, stereo-, stat-	kyosaun....stereotype kyopa....stable, static, stationary kyoson....status
lo-....dis-, semantic reversing prefix, un-	lozeb....disequilibrium loyuvlaxer....disengage loyuzyuber....uncoil lomulvyusber....decontaminate
logel-....hetero-, different-	logelsauna....heterogenous logelaxer....differentiate
maz-....bright-	mazteaba....bright-eyed
mial-....hygro-, atmo-, vapori-	mialama....hygrothermal mialnagar....atomometer, vaporimeter
mil-....aqua-, hydro-, water-	milyexun....aquaculture milmaka....hydroelectric miltilsyeb....water glass
mul-....hylo-, substance	mulsana....hylomorphic
o(l)-....a-, dis-, non-, un-, in-	ovyilxwa....unwashed omalza....non-white ototina....atheist otepzexea....inattentive
o(b/p)-....de-, hypo-, off-, sub-, vice-	oper....get off obneg....sublevel obxeb....sous-chef, sub-officer obtyodeb....vice-president
gwo-....micro-, mini-	ogalmor....microcosm ogalteaxer....microscope gowaxer....minimize
ov-....contra-, counter-, dis-, non-, the opposite of, un-	ovalxer....countervail ovper....contravene ovkyin....counterweight ovdat....enemy olovmasbwa....undefended
oy-....-less, a(n)-, without	oytofa...naked oyxer....deprive oytosen....apathy oyteupiba....toothless
oyb-....hypo-, infra-, sub-, under-	oybnadrer....underline oybtomsan....infrastructure oybseuxa....subsonic oybtayoba....hypodermic
oyeb-....ex-, extra-, out-	oyebnad....outline oyebyujber....exclude oyebdoabuer....extradite
oyeyb-....extra-	oyeybdovyaba....extralegal oyeybtadiena....extramarital
oyv-....contra-, opposite, reverse	oyvkuma...opposite oyvder....contradict oyvduer....contraindicate oyvaxer....reverse
tayi(b)-....neuro-, nerve	tayibteptun....neuropsychology tayibyok....neuralgia
teeb-....auri-, oto-, ear-	teebbekut....aurist teeteiteyobtut....otorhinolaryngologist teebyel....earwax
tee(s/x/t)-....audio-, son-, phono-	teesnagen....audiography teestaxdras....phonogram teestun....audiology teexdras....audiogram teetyofwa....inaudible
tei(b)-....nasal, nose, rhino-, aroma-, olfact-, osmo-	teibbok....rhinitis teibyeg....nostril teiz....perfume teizuka....aroma-free teityaf....olfactory sense
tiibil-....blood-, hema-, hemato-, hemo-, sanguin-	tiibililp....hemorrhage tiibiliut....bloodsucker tiibloker....exsanguinate tiibiltun....hematology
tuj-....hypno-, somni-, sopor-	tujbek....hyptotherapy tujbyea....somniferous, soporific
u-....away from the speaker	uber....send uxer....cause
ui-....horizontal, left-right, x-axis	uinab....row, x-axis uinada....horizontal
uib-....back-and-forth, toward-and-away, transmit-receive	uibar....transceiver
uig-....fast-and-slow	uigpar....scooter
uij-....begin-and-end, start-and-stop	uijdaler....stutter
uip-....come-and-go	uipen....traffic, coming and going
uiz-....straight-then-crooked	uizbaser....swagger uizdrer....scribble uizpaser....swerve
u(n)-....four-, quadri-, tetra-, quater-	ungona....quadripartite unnednid....tetrahedron unsuna....quaternary
uyn-....fourth-, quarti-	uynxer....quarter uynjab....quarter (of a year)
ut-....auto-, self-, sui-, ego-	utifon....egoism utgober....autodecrement utfuyix....self-abuse uttujben....suicide
va-....yes	vayovder....convict vabier....accept vatexer....believe
vao-....yes-no	vaoder....decide vaodaler....waffle vaonaza....boolean
vi-....bell-, eu-, fine-, pulchri-	vituzyan....fine arts, beaux arts vidun....euphemism vidrenyan....literature, belles lettres visuana....classic
vo-....non-, neg-	voyafxer....veto voxer....negate voyovder....acquit, declare not guilty
vya-....justi-, recti-, true-, reg-	vyadin....true story vyader....avow vyamol....essence
vyak-....ortho-, correct-	vyakdred....orthography vyakxer....correct
vyo-....mis-, para-, wrong-	vyoyufa....paranoid vyoyux....perfidy vyoyixer....misuse
ya-....more than one, multi-	yaota....communal
yab-....hyper-, supra-, sur-, up-, upper-	yabdom....uptown yabdoneg....upper class yabduzneg....high pitch yabexer....support yabzyobix....hypertension
yabnan-....height-, hypso-, alti-	yabnanagar....hypsometer, altimeter
yag-....long-	yagyiban....long distance yagyeker....strive yagblokea....long-suffering
yan-....co(n)-, fellow-, -mate	yanzena....concentric yanyeker....compete yandit....fellow-citizen
yao(b/p)-....up-and-down	yaopuyser....skip yaopsim....seesaw yaoblir....elevator yaobaser....bounce
ya(on)-....six-, hexa-, sex-	yaonat....sextet yaongun....hexagon yaona....six-fold, sextuple yagol....sextile
yaov-....guilty-or-innocent	yaovder....adjudicate yaovdutyan....jury yaovkader....plead yaovyek....trial
yaoz-....serrated, bumpy, jagged	yaozaxer....serrate yaozgoblar....saw yaozper....bump along
yayb-....supra-	yaybdooba....supranational
yayn-....sex-, sixth	yayna...sixth
ye(on)-....hept-, hepta-, septi-, seven-	yejub....week yeongun....heptagon yeonat....septuplet
ye(b/p)-....en-, endo-, in-, intra-, intro-	yebuzaser.....inflect yebzoytiibufa....intravenous yebyujer....enclode yebtayoba....endodermal yeper....enter yeber....introduce
yeov-....fair or not	yeovdut....umpire
yeyb-....intra-	yeybmepyan....intranet yeybdoeba....intrastate
ye-'....hepto-, seven-, septi-	yejub....week
yeyn-....seventh	yeynxer....split into sevenths
yi(on)-....oct-, eight-	yiona...eight-fold octuple
yib-....far-, tele-, remote	yibsin....televison yibteata....far-sighted yibtrawa....famous
yibaj-....archai-, archeo-, ancient	yibajtun....archaeology,yibajtun....archeology
yiyn-....eighth	yiynxer....divide into eighths
yiz-....beyond, extra-, meta-, out-, para-, past, super-, supra-, trans-, ultra-	yiztyun...metaphor yizeza....paranormal yizmeirat....extraterrestrial yizseux....utrasound
yoon-....five-, penta-, quint-	yoongun....pentagon yoongol...quintile yoon....group of five quintet
yo(b/p)-....down-, hypo-, sub-	yobdom...downtown yoper....go down yobgoler....subdivide
yon-....apart, dis-, se-	yonzyaber....disperse yonxer....separate yonsauna....distinct
yoyn-....fifth-, quinti-	yoynnaga....quintic yoyn....a fifth
yu(n)-....nine-, nona-	yunapa....ninth (in order) yungunid....nonagon yunkunid....nonahedron
yub-....near-, proxi-	yuboj....near future yubna....next yubteas....closeup (view) yubge....almost yubfia....intimate yubgeser....approximate
yui(b/p)-....near-and-far	yuibjo....sooner or later yuibteabar....bifocals yuipoper....travel near and far
yuij-....open-and-shut	yuijar....valve yuijer....blink, wink manyuijer....blink makyuijar....switch
yuyb-....quasi-, pen-, almost	yuybyonmel....peninsula yuybega....quasi-normal
yuon-....ninth-, novi-	yuonat....nonuplet
yuz-....circ-, circum-, peri-, roto-, round-	yuzper....circulate yuznad....perimeter yuzof....wrap-around yuznadrer....circumscribe
za-....ante-, fore-, front-, pre-, pro-	zatim....antechamber zamimuf....foremast zagab....prefix zajuber....procrastinate
zao-....back-and-forth, front-and-back	zaopaser....wobble zaokuper....slalom zaopyoser....pendulate
zay-....forth-, pro-, forward, ahead, north	zaypuyser....skip ahead zaypuxer....propel zayper....go forward, procede zayupea....forthcoming zamer....north
ze-....mid-, central, medio-	zetej....midlife zepoxer....interrupt, stop midway zetem....central hall
zey-....cross-, meta-, over-, trans-, across	zeyper....transit, get across zeynod....crosspoint zeytyun....metaphor
zi-....right, east	zim....right side zimera....eastern
zo-....back-, hind-, retro-, south	zotib....back zotiub....hindquarters zonapa....retrograde zomer....south
zoy-....back-, retro-, re-	zoyper....recede, go back zoybeler....carry back zoyzyublen....backspin
zu-....left-, west-	zutinut....leftist zukum....left side zumera....western
zui-....left-and-right, zig-zag, east-west	zuibyoser....dangle, hang left-and-right zuiper....zigzag zuituyaba....ambidextrous zuimera....east-west
zya-....-wide, wide-, broad-, all about	zyauber....broadcast zyateaba....wide-eyed zyasauna....general zyapoper....cruise, wander zyamira....global, worldwide
zye-....per-, thorough-, thru-, trans-	zyetejer....live through, experience zyeteaxer....peruse zyeteatyafwa....transparent zyemep....thoroughfare zyeper....permeate, transit
zyo-....narrow, steno-	zyotepa....narrow-minded zyoteat....tunnel vision zyoyija....stenopeic
zyu-....cyclo-, rot-, round-, gyro	zyutim....rotunda zyusem....roundtable zyuper....cycle, gyrate, rotate

Suffixes

Mirad has semantic stub suffixes, derivational suffixes, and normal semantic suffixes.

Semantic Stub Suffixes

Semantic stub suffixes are generally formed from the last letters of a base word minus the initial consonant. They serve to put a word into some category, such as liquid, place, person, or material.

Semantic Stub Suffixes

SUFFIX STUB	SUFFIX FULL FORM	SUFFIXED EXAMPLE < BASE WORD
-il....liquid, drink	mil....water	teabil....tear  <  teab....eye teubil....saliva  <  teub....mouth tayebil....sweat  <  tayeb....skin mamil....rain  <  mam....sky
-al....gas	mal....air	tiebal....breath  <  tieb....lung
-(e)l....food	tel....food	supel....pork  <  supet....swine taol  <  taob....flesh fel  <  feb....fruit
-ul....stuff	mul....substance	vixul....cosmetic  <  vix-....to beautify bekul....medecine  <  bek....treatment
-yel....oil, gel, wax, pulp	yel....oil	olfyel....olive oil  <  olfeb....olive appelatyel....wax  <  appelat....bee magyel....grease  <  mag....fire bekyel....salve  <  bek....treatment megyel....cement  <  meg....stone yanyel....paste  <  yan....together
-am....house	tam....house	apatam....chicken coop  <  apat....chicken apellatam....beehive  <  apellat....bee melyexam....farmhouse  <  melyex....agriculture datibam....hostel  <  datib....guest-reception
-(e)m....place	nem....place	vobyexem....plantation, farm  <  vob....plant + yex....work vabem....field  <  vab....grass abem....top, surface  <  ab....above, upper zem....middle  <  ze(a)....middle tim....room
-im....room	tim....room	tulim  <  tul....cuisine tujim....bedroom  <  tuj....sleep
-um....cell, booth	tum....compartment	pexum....cage  <  pexer....catch ilzyapixum....shower stall  <  ilzyapix....shower
-yem....space	nyem....enclosure	yomyem....icebox  <  yom....ice
-yeb....container	nyeb....container	zyeb....bottle  <  zye(f)....glass vosyeb....vase  <  vos....flower
-of....material	nof....cloth	tof....clothes  <  t-....human misof....curtain  <  mis....window faof....wood  <  fa(b)-....tree tayof....leather  <  tayo(b)....skin
-ov....linen	nov....linen	teyov....collar  <  teyob....neck
-ar....instrument	sar....tool	par....cart  <  p-....motion zyupar....rotor  <  zyup....turn gobrar....knife  <  gobrar....cut jwobar....watch  <  jwob....hour
-ir....machine	sir....machine	drir....typewriter  <  dr-....write gwobir....clock
-ur....large machine	sur....engine	purr....car jwoburr....grandfather clock  <  jwob....hour
-(u)n....thing	sun....thing	dun....word  <  d-....utter, say gofrun....piece, scrap  <  gofrer....rip, shread, tear zyiun....plaque, plate  <  zyia....flat vyun....spot  <  vyua....dirty
-on....abstract thing	son....issue	yovon....tort, wrong  <  yov....guilt
yen....manner, kind	byen....manner	texyen....opinion  <  tex....thought hiyen....this way, thus  <  hi-....this esyen....status  <  es-....exist
-in....-ism	tin....doctrine	totin....theism, religion  <  tot-....god Kristin....Christianity  <  Krist....Christ vyisatin....puritanism  <  vysiat....puritan, clean person oytofin....nudism  <  oytofa....nude
-ufyeg....cylinder	mufyeg....pipe	manufyeg....candle  <  man....light tiibufyeg....artery  <  tiib....heart milufyeg....toilet  <  mil....water movufyeg....cheminee  <  mov....smoke
-ab....government	dab....government	ditab....democracy  <  dit....citizen
-eb....leader	deb....leader	xeb....boss  <  x-....do tameb....master of the house  <  tam....house
-ub....branch	tub....arm	patub....wing  <  pat....bird
-ad....language	-a + d(alzeyn)....language	Fransad....French (language)
-uz....jewelry	nuz....jewel	teyobuz....necklace  <  teyob....neck teebuz....earring  <  teeb....ear
-u(er)....give	buer....give	tiebaluer....exhale  <  tieb....lung + al....air
-i(er)....take	bier....take	tiebalier....inhale  <  tieb....lung + al....air
-ui(er)....exchange	buier....exchange	tiebaluier....breathe  <  tieb....lung + al....air

Derviational Suffixes

Mirad has only a few derivational suffixes, i.e. suffixes that change the part of speech.

Derivational Suffixes

DERIVATIONAL SUFFIX	FUNCTION	BASE WORD --> SUFFIXED DERIVATION
-er	NOUN --> VERBAL INFINITIVE	sag....count --> sager....to count
-n	PRESENT TENSE VERB --> VERBAL NOUN (GERUND) ADJECTIVE --> ABSTRACT NOUN	yexe....(he/she/...) works --> yexen....working via....beautiful --> vian....beauty yuba....near --> yuban....proximity, nearness
-a	NOUN --> ADJECTIVE ACTIVE VERB --> VERBAL ADJECTIVE (PRESENT PARTICIPLE) PAST PASSIVE VERB --> PERFECT PASSIVE PARTICIPLE (ADJECTIVE)	mor....universe --> mora....universal ake....wins --> akea....winning teatwa....was seen -->teatwaa (or, shortened to: teatwa....seen)
-ya	INTRANSITIVE VERB STEM --> PAST ACTIVE PARTICIPLE	ip-....go away --> ipya....gone away
-yea	VERB STEM --> HABITUAL PRESENT PARTICIPLE (ADJECTIVE)	zaypas-....progress --> zaypasyea....progressive
-y	ADJECTIVE --> ADVERB	iga....quick --> igay....quickly tea-....knowing -->teay....knowingly
-ut	VERB STEM --> ANIMATE AGENT NOUN one who Xes, -er	ak-....win --> akut ....winner
-us	VERB STEM --> INANIMATE AGENT NOUN thing that Xes, -er	gol-....divide --> golus ....divisor

*Derivational affixes change the part of speech of a base word, whereas inflexional affixes change the status of a word within a grammatical paradigm. Verb tense/mood/voice affixes and the plural marker -i fall under the latter category.

Normal Semantic Suffixes

• Augmentative Suffixes

Augmentative Suffixes

AUGMENTATIVE SUFFIX	BASE WORD	SUFFIXED DERIVATION
-ag (augmentative)	tam....house	tamag....mansion
-ayg (affectionate augmentative)	sem....chair	semayg....big old chair
-yag (pejorative augmentative)	apet....horse	apetyag....nag

• Diminutive Suffixes

Diminutive Suffixes

DIMINUTIVE SUFFIX	BASE WORD	SUFFIXED DERIVATION
-og (diminutive)	tam....house	tamog....hut
-oyg (affectionate diminutive)	tam....house	tamoyg....cottage
-yog (pejorative diminutive)	tam....house	tamyog....shack
-et (a smaller person)	twob....man	twobet....boy
-es (thing of lesser importance)	nas....money	nases....change, coin
-ud (child of, offspring)	tob....man	tobud....infant

• Semantic Adjectival Suffixes

Semantic Adjectival Suffixes

ADJECTIVAL SUFFIX	MEANING	BASE WORD	SUFFIXED DERIVATION
-a	mor....universe	related to, -al, -ic	mora....universal
-aya	miek....dust	full of, -ous, -y	miekaya....dusty
-oya	vyun....spot	empty of, -less, -free	vyunoya....spotless
-ika	miek....dust	full of, -ous, -y	miekika....dusty
-uka	miek....dust	empty of, -less, -free	miekuka....dust-free
-yea	vyod....lie	given to doing X, -ive	vyodyea....mendacious, given to lying
-yena	tat....angel	like, -ly, -ic	tatyena....angelic

• Other Semantic Suffixes

Other Semantic Suffixes

SUFFIX	BASE WORD	DERIVATION
-tun....science, ...ology	tej....life	tejtun....biology
-tut....-ologist, expert, -ist	dar....language	dartut....linquist
-tuin....theory	tob....mar	martuin....astrology
-yan....collection, aggregate	fab....tree	fabyan....forest
-tyen....trade, -ics	sir....machine	sirtyen....mechanics
-if....pet name	twed....father	twedif....papa
ifa....-philic, -loving	dyes....book	dyesifa....bibliophilic
ifwa....liked by	tyod....people	tyodifwa....popular
ufa....-phobic, -hating	toyb....woman	toybufa....misogynous
ufwa....hated by	tyod....people	tyodufwa....unpopular
yafa....able to	tyoyap-....walk	tyoyapyafa....ambulatory
yafwa....possible to	teat-....see	teatyafwa....visible
yofa....unable to	teat-....see	teatyofa....blind
yofwa....impossible to	dye-....read	dyeyofwa....illegible
yika....hard of...ing	teet-....hear	teetyika....hard of hearing
yikwa....hard to	teet-....hear	teetyikwa....hard to hear
yuka....easy at...ing	vatex-....believe	vatexyuka....gullible
yukwa....easily...ed	test-....understand	testyukwa....easily understood
yufa....fearful of, -phobic	tot....god	totyufa....god-fearing
yufwa....feared	hyat....everybody	hyatyufwa....feared by all
yiva....free to	kebi-....choose	kebiyiva....free to choose
efa....needful of	tel....food	telefa....hungry
efwa....necessary to	tej....life	tejefa....vital
yefa....duty-bound to, -worthy of	dud....answer	dudyefa....responsible
yefwa....due, -worthy of	fid-....laud	fidyefwa....praiseworthy
afa....authorized to	dokebi-....vote	dokebiafa....franchised
ofwa....prohibited to	movi-....smoke	moviofwagonem....no-smoking zone
yiva....free to	kebi-....choose	kebiyiva....free to choose
yivwa....free to be ...ed	kebi-....choose	kebiyivwa....optional
yuva....bound	tam....house	tamyuva....house-bound
ova....resistant, anti-	aagdovyab....constitution	aagdovyabova....anti-constitutional
ava....in favor of, pro-	tyodab....democracy	tyodabava....pro-democracy
eva....neutral	toos....gender	tooseva....gender-neutral

Rule #3: Ordinal Vowel Scaling

Creating a hierarchy of scalar terms applies only to base words of the Group 1. The hierarchy of scalar terms is built by increasing the numeric value of the ordinal vowel of the base word as the importance or relevance of the word decreases from the topmost, zeroth object. This process is called first-level ordinal scaling.

First-level Ordinal Scaling

First-level Ordinal Scaling

ORDINAL VOWEL	t...b	m...r	j...b	m...s	t...m	d...b	f...b	s...m	d...t	t...d
o = 0	tob man	mor universe	job time	mos floor	tom building	dob state	fob plant	som furniture	dot society	tod family
a = 1	tab body	mar sun	jab year	mas wall	tam house	dab government	fab tree	sam armoire	dat friend	tad spouse
e = 2	teb head	mer planet	jeb season	mes door	tem hall	deb leader	feb fruit	sem table	det associate	ted parent
i = 3	tib trunk	mir earth	jib month	mis window	tim room	dib office	fib tree trunk	sim chair	dit citizen	tid sibling
u = 4	tub arm	mur moon	jub day	mus stairs	tum cell	dub minister	fub branch	sum bed	dut gentleperson	tud child
yo = 5	tyob leg		jyob* hour				fyob root			tyod people

* The palatal glide y in these words, which follows a palatal j is hard to pronounce, so the y is replaced with a w, giving jwob, jwab, and jweb.

Second-level Ordinal Scaling

A second-level hierarchy of scalar words can be creating by adding a vowel immediately after the ordinal vowel of the word stem.

Examples:

Second-level Ordinal Scaling

mi...p	me...p	tu...b	tyo...b	ma...f	me...g	do...b
mip river	mep way	tub arm	tyob leg	maf cloud	meg stone	dob state
miap stream	meap road	tuab shoulder	tyoab hip	maaf stratus	meag marble	doab...fatherland
miep brook	meep path	tueb upper arm	tyoeb thigh	maef cumulus	meeg slate	doeb province, state
miip rivulet	meip trail	tuib elbow	tyoib knee	maif stratocumulus	meig granite	doib county, shire
miup torrent	meup track	tuub forearm	tyoub shin	mauf cumulonimbus	meug clay, dough	doub district
miyop trickle		tuyob wrist	tyoyob ankle	mayof nimbostatus	meyog china
		tuyab hand	tyoyab foot	mayaf altostratus	meyag chalk
		tuyeb fist	tyoyeb heel	mayef altocumulus	meyeg limestone
		tuyib palm	tyoyib sole	mayif cirrus	meyig alabaster
		tuyub finger	tyoyub toe	mayuf cirrostratus	meyug gypsum
		tulob fingernail	tyolob toenail	malof cirrocumulus

Third-level Ordinal Scaling

A third-level hierarchy can be created by prefixing a third ordinal number vowel to the word.

Example:

Third-level Ordinal Scaling

tuyub....finger
atuyub....thumb
etuyub....index
ituyub....middle finger
utuyub....ring finger
yotuyub....pinky

So, to sum up, we have:

Summary of Scaling

t...b	tob = human being
FIRST-LEVEL	tub....arm
SECOND-LEVEL	tuyub....finger
THIRD-LEVEL	atuyub....thumb

Scaling with Prefixed Numbering

We can also obtain a very convenient classification for new words through prefixed numbering even though there is no first-level or second-level numbering. In this case, the first subordinal level usually begins with a.

Example:

Prefix Numbering

NUMBER	dob....state	pet....animal	deb....leader	mez....gem	mer....planet	maf....cloud	sagtun....mathematics
1	adob....empire	apet....horse	adeb....emperor	amez....diamond	Amer....Mercury	amaf....nimbus	asagtun....arithmetic
2	edob....kingdom	epet....bull	edeb....king	emez....topaz	Emer....Venus	emaf....stratus	esagtun....geometry
3	idob....principality	ipet....ass	ideb....prince	imez....ruby	Imer....Earth	imaf....nimbostatus	isagtun....algebra
4	udob....duchy	upet....ram	udeb....duke	umez....emerald	Umer....Mars	umaf....cumulus	usagtun....trigonometry
5	yodob....marquisate	yopet....goat	yodeb....marquis	yomez....saphire	Yomer....Jupiter	yomaf....cumulostatus	yosagtun....calculus
6	yadob....county	yapet....pig	yadeb....count	yamez....lapis lazuli	Yamer....Saturn	yamaf....stratocumulus
7	yedob....dominion	yepet....dog	yedeb....lord	yemez....amthyst	Yemer....Uranus	yemaf....altocumulus
8	yidob....viscounty	yipet....cat	yideb....viscount	yimez....amber	Yimer....Pluto	yimaf....altostratus
9	yudob....barony	yupet....rabbit	yudeb....baron	yumez....topaz		yumaf....cirrocumulus
10	alodob....tribe		alodeb....tribal chief	alomez....opal		alomaf....cirrus

Rule #4: Overlapping

When combining two words, if the generic (final) consonant of the first word is the same as the classifier (first) consonant of the second word, the generic consonant of the determining word is dropped. This results in overlapping or a portmanteau.

Examples:

Overlapping in Compounds

FIRST WORD	SECOND WORD	PORTMANTEAU
dom....city	mep....road	domep....boulevard
pat....bird	teub....mouth	pateub....beak
pat....bird	tub....arm	patub....wing
teypib....tooth	byok....pain	teypibyok....toothache

In some cases, this type of overlapping can cause ambiguity, and is therefore avoided.

Rule #5: Adding Ordinal Vowels

When forming a compound word with the words of a same family of terms, if the ordinal vowel is an o, replace it with the ordinal vowel of the determinant word.

Examples:

• edob....kingdom -> deb....chief -> edeb....monarch (edweb....king, edeyb....queen)
• udob....principality -> deb....chief -> udeb....prince (udweb....prince, udeyb....princess)

By contrast, if the two words are already ordered, the vowel of the determinant (first word) is inserted between the ordinal vowel of the determined (second) word and the generic (final) consonant:

Examples:

mil....water + mal....air -> mial....vapor, steam

Rule #6: Swapping Generic Consonants

When the generic (final) consonant of a base word is replaced by that of another base word, the entire family of the latter undergoes the transformation by the new generic consonant.

Example:

Swapping Generic Consonants

BASE WORD 1	BASE WORD 2	DERIVED WORD
tob....human	nov....linen	tov....lingerie
tab....body	nof....cloth	taf....suit
teb....head	nof....cloth	tef....hat
tib....trunk	nof....cloth	tif....vest
tyoyab....foot	nof....cloth	tyoyaf....shoe
tyoyab....foot	nov....linen	tyoyav....sock
tuyab....hand	nof....cloth	tuyaf....glove
doob*....nation	nof....cloth	doof....flag
taob*....flesh	tol....food	taol....meat

* This is a derived, not base, word, but the principle holds.

Rule #7: Marking Words for Gender

Words in Mirad are neutral with respect to gender, but specifically masculine or feminine gender can be marked in nouns and pronouns with the use of the masculine infix w and the feminine infix y. If the noun or pronoun is animate, then gender can marked. If the noun or pronoun is inanimate, then it can be marked for predominate use by or reference to a male or female.

• To make a neutral animate noun or pronoun specifically male, precede the ordinal (stem) vowel with w.
• To make a neutral animate noun or pronoun specifically female, follow the ordinal (stem) vowel with y.

Examples:

Marking Animate Nouns for Gender

GENDER NEUTRAL	MALE	FEMALE
tob....human being	twob....man	toyb....woman
tobet....young person	twobet....boy	toybet....girl
ted....parent	twed....father	teyd....mother
it....he/she/it	wit....he	iyt....she
apat....cock	apwat....rooster	apayt....hen
toob....gender	twoob....male	tooyb....female

• Inanimate objects, such as items of clothing or body pats, can be "feminized" in a similar way. In such a case, the feminized form refers to an object that is for woman, rather than men, eg.:

Making Inanimate Objects Female-related

MALE-ORIENTED OR NEUTRAL	FEMALE-ORIENTED
taf....suit	tayf....dress
tyoyav....sock	tyoyayv....stockings
tiav....shirt	tiayv....blouse

• Some body parts can be marked for maleness or femaleness:

Body Parts Genderized

NEUTRAL	MALE-ORIENTED	FEMALE-ORIENTED
tilab....breast	twilab....male breast	tilayb....female breast
	twiyib....testicals	tiyiyb....ovary
tiyub....sexual organ	twiyub....penis	tiyuyb....vagina

• In nouns that end in -ut, the agentive suffix meaning -er, one who..., the nouns can be feminized by changing -ut to -uyt, eg. dezut....actor -> dezuyt....actress. Because the stem of such words is often a verb, prefixing -ut with w to make it specifically male is normally not done, because the w can sometimes be confused with the passive voice marker. For this reason, a word like dezut can mean actor of neutral or male gender.

• Animate nouns having the ending -et (smaller version of some person), are genderized by adding w or y to the semantic base of the word, eg. tobet....child, youth -> toybet....girl or twobet....boy.

Rule #8: Deriving Words with Geo-specific Vowels

A series of related words can be derived from a Group 1 base word by replacing the ordinal vowel with one of the following vowels, which have certain specific geographic meanings.

Geo-specific Vowels:

• o  =  outer space, abstract object, initial stuff
• a  =  sky, air, gas
• e  =  land, soil, solid
• i  =  sea, water, liquid
• u  =  underground, mineral, concrete object, other

Examples:

Deriving Words with Geo-specific Vowels

	m...p	m...m	d...p	p...t	m...l	m...r
Space	mop....orbit	mom....space	dop....military	pot....animal	mol....nature	mor....universe
Sky	map....wind	mam....sky	dap....air force	pat....bird	mal....air	mar....star
Land	mep....road	mem....land	dep....army	pet....land animal	mel....soil	mer....planet
Water	mip....river	mim....sea	dip....marine force	pit....fish	mil....water	mir....world
Underground (or other)	mup....tunnel	mum....underground			mul....mineral	mur....moon

This vowel codification also allows generating other categories of words by infixing, just before the generic (final) consonant, a vowel having the value that is attributed to it in Rule #9. This creates "hybrid" nouns. See the chapter on Hybrids for more on this subject.

Examples:

Hybrid nouns

FIRST-LEVEL DERIVATION	+ GEOSPECIFIC VOWEL	SECOND-LEVEL DERIVATION
pet....land animal	i....water, sea	peit....aquatic mammal
pelt....insect	a....air, sky	pelat....flying insect
mel....soil	i....water, sea	meil....mud
mil....air	a....air, gas	mial....vapor

Rule #9: Deriving Words with Vectorial Vowels

The rule for deriving words with vectorial ( = directional and positional) vowels starts with the following schema:

Vectorial Vowel Values

A
U		a ↓	↓ a	↑ ya	ya ↑		I
	u →		e	ye		→ i
	→ u		e	ye		i →
	→ yu		E			yi →
	yu →					→ yi
		↑ o	o ↑	yo ↓	↓ yo
O

Explanation of the above chart:

• If the vowel is capitalized, it indicates a positional value. It is used in its lowercase spelling as a prefix in Group I words.
• The non-capitalized vowels (including y-glides) indicate directional values.
• If the vowel is underlined, it means that it is placed before the classifier consonant (prefixed) in verbs and involves contact.
• Otherwise, a normal vowel means that it is placed after the classifier consonant (infixed) in Group 2 words and involves free movement.

Explanation of the Vectorial Vowels Chart

A	position		on, above, north	amer....north
a	movement	(free)	on	baer....lean
a	movement	(contact)	onto	aber....put on
ya	movement	(free)	up, ascend	byaer....lift
ya	movement	(contact)	up, get up, set up	yaber....raise
O	position		under, lower, south	omer....south
o	movement	(free)	off	boer....hang
o	movement	(contact)	on the bottom of, underneath	oper....get off
yo	movement	(free)	down	pyoser....fall
yo	movement	(contact)	fall	yoper....rise
U	position		left, west	umer....west
u	movement	(free)	move toward the center, come	uber....send
u	movement	(contact)	reach the center, arrive	pyuer....reach
yu	movement	(free)	near, approach	yuber....approach
yu	movement	(contact)	near, reach	byuser....touch
I	position		right, east	imer....east
i	movement	(free)	from the center out, go away	pier....go away
i	movement	(contact)	from the center out, leave	iper....leave
yi	movement	(free)	away, go far	yiper....go far
yi	movement	(contact)	from afar, originate	pyiser....originate
E	position		center, equator	emer....equator
e	rest		between	eb....between
e	rest		at, stay, hold	bexer....hold
ye	movement		in, into, enter	yeper....enter
ye		(contact)	up against, strike	pyexer....strike

Special value of certain vowels

The prefixes a- or an- meaning one, sole, singular:

• aot....person, individual
• anota....alone, solitary
• anay....only
• aun....unit

The prefixes ya- or yan- meaning collection, plural:

• yat....we, us
• yanot....constituent
• yanota....communal
• yanotyan....community
• yan....together

Also, the prefix yan- meaning together contrasts with yon-....apart.

• yon....apart
• yanota....communal vs. yonota....private
• yanxer....to combine vs. yonxer....to separate

Rule #10: Deriving Words with Mnemonic Patterns

Sometimes part of a derived word can serve as a mnemonic pattern for forming other words having some relationship or parallelism in meaning.

For example, the mnemonic eu pattern from the word for mouth, teud can be used to form many other words having an oral, acoustic, vocal, or sound-related meaning:

Mnemonic Pattern Derivation

PATTERN WORD teub....mouth	CLASSIFIER	GENERIC
teud....shout	t = human	d = communication
teuz....voice	t = human	z = art
deuz....song	d = communication	z = art
seuz....tone	s = thing	z = art
seux....sound	s = thing	x = action
xeus....noise	x = action	s = thing
teuf....muzzle	t = human	f = apparel
teuv....mask	t = human	v = linen
teus....taste	t = human	s = thing

More Mnemonic Pattern Derivations

PATTERN WORD teab....eye	(t)ea- = see	GENERIC
teaper....visit	" " "	p = go
teader....witness	" " "	d = say
teaxer....look	" " "	x = do
teaser....seem	" " "	s = be
teater....see	" " "	t = know
keaxer....scan	ke- = seek	x = do
vyaleaxer....check	vyal- = certain	x = do
yoneater....distinguish	yon- = apart	t = know
beaxer....guard	be- = hold	x = do
teatier....perceive		-i- = subject-directed
teatuer....show		-u- = object-directed
PATTERN WORD teeb....ear	(t)ee- = hear	GENERIC
teeper....attend	" " "	p = go
teeder....testify	" " "	d = say
teexer....listen	" " "	x = do
teeser....sound (like)	" " "	s = be
teeter....hear	" " "	t = know
keexer....scan (acoustically)	ke- = seek	x = do
koteexer....snoop on	ko- = hide	x = do
vyaleexer....sound out	vyal- = certain	x = do
teetier....get wind of		-i- = subject-directed
teetuer....make heard		-u- = object-directed
zyateetuer....rumor	zya- = all around	-u- = objected-directed

A syllable of a long compound can be suppressed as long as it does not cause ambiguity or confusion.

Examples:

Shortening Long Compounds

WORD 1	WORD 2	LONG COMPOUND	SHORTENED COMPOUND
ekpet....horse	teuder....make a noise	*ekpeteuder	ekpeder....neigh
serpyet....snake	teuder....make a noise	*serpyeteuder	sepyeder....hiss
vifeb....grape	il....liquid	*vifebil....grape juice	vifil....wine
povob....grain	il....liquid	*povobil	povil....beer

Sometimes, the last syllable of a compound or last letters of a word will give birth to a new stubs whose derivations, through the application of this rule, will not be long.

Examples:

From Full Words to Stubs

COMPOUND	NEW STUB	DERIVATION
tilabil....breast milk	bil....milk	bilyug....butter
fauf....log	-uf....(stub suffix for types of) cylinder	muf....rod, stick
zyeg....hole	-yeg....(stub suffix for types of) hole, hollow thing	mufyeg....pipe

The clipped word bil now gives rise to other compounds:

• bilyig....cheese
• bilyigem....cheese factory
• bilyug....butter
• bilyugyena....butter-like

The word mufyeg (Lit: hollow stick) means pipe, reed, cylinder

Rule #11: Deriving Nuanced Words Phonetically

Words which follow Rule #12 are those that are connected by a similarity of meaning or quality. These words differ by nuances and it is phonetic nuances that govern their formation.

These nuances are obtained by:

• Addition of a subordinal vowel of the same type as the ordinal vowel.

These vowels are:

a for a and ya

e for e and ye

i for i and yi

o for o and yo

u for u and yu

Examples:

Creating Nuances with a Doubled Vowel

WORD	NUANCED DERIVATION
nad....line	naad....rail
dob....state	doob....nation
vyab....rule	vyaab....system
boka....sick	booka....tired

• Post-y-gliding the ordinal vowel or subordinal vowel, to produce a nuance of less intensity:

Deintensification with Post-y-gliding

WORD	MITIGATED DERIVATION
ifer....love	iyfer....like
iva....happy	iyva....glad
zyutom....tower	zyutoym....turret
ama....hot	ayma....warm
oma....cold	oyma....cool

• Pre-y-gliding the ordinal vowel or subordinal vowel, to produce a nuance of greater intensity:

Intensification with Pre-y-Gliding

WORD	ENHANCED DERIVATION
pot....wild animal	pyot....predator animal
pat....bird	pyat....bird of prey
tod....family	tyod....people
oma....cold	yoma....frozen
nuxer....pay	nyuxer....deliver
nexer....save	nyexer....store

• Following the ordinal vowel or the consonant with the intensifying liquid l or the further intensifying liquid r:

Intensification with L and R

WORD	L-INTENSIFIED	R-INTENSIFIED
ifer....love	ifler....be fond of	ifrer....adore
iva....happy	ivla....content	ivra....delighted
vaa....affirmative	vlaa....sure	vraa....indubitable
aga....big	agla....huge	agra....immense
ga....more	gala....multiple	gara....exponential
baer....lean on	baler....press	barer....crush
yexer....work	yexler....labor	yexrer....toil, slave
yixer....use	yixler....hire	yixrer....exploit

• Adding consonants other than l or r as the generic consonant:

Some words have so many nuanced varieties that other letters like t, f, s, k, and z are used, eg.:

Creating Nuances with Other Consonants

WORD	NUANCED DERIVATION
fia....good	fika....perfect fira....excellent
fua....bad	futa....wicked fura....rotten
gea....equal	geta....identical gela....alike
vyaa....true	vyaka....correct vyama....real
vyoa....false	vyoka....incorrect vyoma....fake
yiga....hard	yigza....sour yigla....brusk yigra....brutal
yuga....soft	yugfa....smooth yugla....tender yugra....mild

• Transforming the generic consonant from voiced to unvoiced or vice versa:

Voicing or Devoicing Consonants for Nuance

WORD	NUANCED DERIVATION
nab....row	nap....order
vyava....just	vyafa....precise
jwab....minute	jwap....moment
jweb....second	jwep....instant
tab....body	tap....physique
tob....person	top....soul, animus
nov....linen	nof....cloth
naz....value	nas....money
nag....dimension	nak...unit of measurement

Technical Nomenclature

The sections below describe how techical vocabulary is developed in Mirad. In most cases, there are common, ordinary words, but these are supplemented with less common, technical terms that are usually somehow based on an international nomenclature standard. Typically, the common words share a stem, which is prefixed with ordinal syllables that group words of the basis of some like features.

Zoological Nomenclature

The names of animals are formed in a systematic way.

Base Names

First of all, the base stem of all animal names (except human) begin with p (mobile) and end with t (sentient), the idea being that animals are moving, sentient creatures.

The vowels in the stem are geo-specific and indicate whether the animal inhabits the air (a), water (i), land (e), or a hybrid of these; whether it is wild (o), tame, or predatory (y); and a few other features, as shown in the chart below:

Animal Base Names in Geo-specific Terms

TYPE	AIR = a	WATER = i	LAND = e	ANYWHERE = o
Ordinary	pat....bird	pit....fish	pet....domestic land animal	pot....wild animal
Predatory	pyat....raptor	pyit....predatory fish	pyet....reptile	pyot....predatory animal
Hybrid	piat....waterfowl pelat....flying insect opat....flightless bird	piit....crustacean pilt....marine invertebrate peit....mammalian fish pyeit....mollusk	payet....flying reptile piyet....batracian peyet....worm pelt....insect	piot....aquatic mammal

Derived Names

The names of different species of animals are derived by prefixing syllables to the base names that are obtained from the Latin names in the Linnaean taxonomy. In that taxonomy, all of the dog or dog-like animal species are ranked under the family name Canidae (canids). The family prefix is derived by taking the first syllable and spelling it in Mirad as it is pronounced in Latin. Ca in Latin is pronounced ka. See the table below in which Latin spellings are given in Mirad. In this family, one dog species is domestic, Canis familiaris, while all the others are wild or predatory. So, to derive the word for the common domesticated dog, we would affix the family taxonomic prefix ka to the base name for domestic land animal pet, yielding kapet (dog). All other members of the dog family end in pot (feral animal) or pyot (predatory animal). The taxonomic prefix must contain at least one consonant and one vowel. If not, the prefix derived from the Latin taxon is extended until that rule is met. The taxonomic syllables are prefixed to the base animal type name in reverse order of the Linnaean; for example, prairie dog (which is not a dog, but a rodent) is rendered by ci³xi²ro¹pot from Ro¹dentia Sci²uridae Cy³nomys, where pot is the basic animal type wild animal. All rodents have the taxonomic syllable ro from the Latin "order" taxon Rodentia, while all squirrel names will have the syllable xi from a pronunciation spelling of the Latin "family" taxon Sciuridae (xiuriday). The following shows the system as it is applied to the dog family:

Canidae (dog family) >

kapet...the common domestic dog (only one species, Canis familiaris)

kapot...wild dog

kapyot...predatory dog

Species under kapyot are derived by taking the first syllables of the respective Latin binomial (and sometimes trinomial) species names:

Canis lupus > lukapyot...gray wolf (or just wolf)

Canis latrans > lakapyot...coyote, prairie wolf

Canis latrans lestes > leslakapyot...mountain coyote

Canis aurus > awkapyot > jackal, golden jackal

Canis aurus curensis > kurawkapyot....Indochinese jackal

Canis vulpus > vulkapyot...fox, red fox

If the taxonomic syllable ends in a vowel and precedes another syllable beginning with a vowel, the first taxonomic syllable is extended until it ends in a consonant. In the case of the Indochinese jackal, the base is awkapyot and the taxonomic syllable to be prefixed from curensis would normally be ku, but it has to be extended to kur because the base begins in a vowel.

The conversion of Latin/Greek spellings to Mirad is governed by the following chart:

Latin/Greek - Mirad correspondences

Latin/Greek Spelling	Latin Sound	Mirad Spelling	Example
au	aw	aw	aurus....aw-
eu	ew	ew	europa....ew-
ai ae	ay	ay	aegyptus....ay-
ei ey	ey	ey	Rheidae....ey
oe	oy	oy	Foeniculum....oy
ua	wa	wa	suavis....swa
ca/co/cu	ka/ko/ku	ka/ko/ku	canis....ka
ce/ci/cy'	che/chi/chi	ce/ci/ci	cypris....ci
y	i	i	cypris....i
g'	g	g	Geococcyx/Gastropoda....g
ch	k	k	Chiroptera....ki
ph	f	f	Sphyrapicus....f
rh	r	r	Rheidae....ey
x	ks	ks	Loxodonta....ks
qu	kw	kw	Quercus....kw
j	y	j	julianus....ju
sci	ski	ski	Sciuridae....xi
th	t	ti	Thunnus....t
cci	ksi	ksi	Vaccinus....ksi

Note that double consonants are counted as being two consonants in different syllables. So, for example, the taxonomic syllable for Cinnamomum would be cin.

The Latin letter j is represented in Mirad with j even though it is pronounced like a y. This is for better recognizability.

Genderized and Other Forms

Form the female of an animal by inserting a y before the t of the base adult name:

• kapet....dog ====> kapeyt....bitch
• vulkapyot....fox ====> vulkapyoyt....vixen

Form the specific male of an animal by inserting a w right after the p of the base adult name, unless the base name begins with py in which case the w is inserted just before the t of the base name:

• ekpet....horse ====> ekpwet....stallion
• ovbopet....sheep ====> ovbopwet....ram
• vulkapyot....fox ====> vulkpyowt....dog fox

Form the gelded version of an animal by inserting an o after the ordinal vowel of the base male adult name:

• bopet....bovine ====> bopweot....ox
• gafapat....cock ====> gafapweot....capon

The offspring of an animal is formed by suffixing -ud, the stub for tud....child:

• ekpet....horse ====> ekpetud....colt
• kapet....dog ====> kapetud....pup
• ovbopet....sheep ====> ovbopetud....lamb

The pet name of an animal is derived by suffixing -if:

• kapet....dog ====> kapetif....puppy
• fepet....cat ====> fepetif....kitty

The diminutive of an animal is formed by suffixing -og:

• supet....pig ====> supetog....piggy
• ekpet....horse ====> ekpetog....pony

Sometimes, the above derivations can be combined. The animal ekpet....horse can serve as an example:

Derivations of Horse

VARIATION	MIRAD NAME	ENGLISH NAME
Adult	ekpet	horse
Male	ekpwet	stallion
Female	ekpeyt	mare
Offspring	ekpetud	colt
Female Offspring	ekpetuyd	filly
Small adult	ekpetog	pony
Gelded	ekpweot	gelding

Animal Sounds

The sound that an animal makes can be derived by substituting the t of the base name with d, the letter associated with communication. The verb form ends in -der:

• ekpet....horse ====> ekpeder....to neigh
• kapet....dog ====> kapeder....to bark
• pat....bird ====> pader....to tweet, chirp
• serpyet....snake ====> serpyeder....to hiss

A collection of animals can be derived by suffixing -yan or -nyan:

• lepanfepyot....lion ====> lepanfepyotyan....a pride of lions
• ovbopet....sheep ====> ovbopetyan....a herd of sheep
• pit....fish ====> pityan....a school of fish

Motions that animals make can be derived by replacing the final t of the base name with -per....to go:

• serpyet....snake ====> serpeper....to slither
• lapet....rabbit ====> lapeper....to hop
• ekpet....horse ====> ekpeper....to gallop

The food name associated with an animal can be derived by ending the animal or animal part name in l (a stub for tel, meaning food):

• supet....pig ====> supel....pork
• supetyob....hog leg ====> supetyol....ham
• bopet....steer ====> bopel....beef
• ovbopet....sheep ====> ovbopel....mutton
• bopetud....calf ====> bopetul....veal
• appelat....bee ====> appelatil....honey

The habitats of animals are formed by suffixing -am....house, -um....cage, etc. to the base name:

• supet....pig ====> supetam....pigsty
• gafapayt....chicken ====> gafapaytam....chicken coop
• lepanfepyot....lion ====> lepanfepyotam....lion's den
• kapet....dog ====> kapetam....doghouse
• forpelt....ant ====> forpeltam....anthill
• appelat....bee ====> appelatam....bee hive
• pat....bird ====> patum....birdcage, patsum....nest, patyanam...aviary
• pot....wild animal ====> potam....lair

Dog Breeds

Dog breeds are created by prefixing elements to kapet....dog that are based on the official World Canine Organization dog breed site [[2]]. This site organizes dog breeds by groups, sections, subsections, and country ownership.

The base of the dog breed name is kapet....dog. The group number is converted to the lowercase alphabetic consonants (b, c, d, etc.). The top or zeroth group is assigned the the ordinal vowel o, so bokepet is a group category for sheepdogs and cattledogs. The sections underneath this group change the o....zero to a....one, e....two, etc. The subsections below are enumerated with an initial ordinal vowel starting with a....one, e....two, etc. A particular breed is written as the country adjective representing the breed country of origin, followed a space, and the lowest section name preceded by the number of the country entry alphabetized. If there is only one entry of that country, no ordinal number is prefixed.

As an example:

To get the name for basset hound:

• Start with the word for dog: kapet.

This animal is in Group 6 for scent hounds and related breeds, so the 6th consonant in the Mirad alphabet is h. This is prefixed to kapet, with an ordinal vowel representing the section the breed is in, starting with a for one. The basset hound is in Section 1 for "scent hounds", so the prefix becomes ha-.

• hakapet is a "scent hound" (not to be confused with ha kapet....the dog.).

A basset hound is classified in subsection 1.3 as a "small-sized scent hound", so the ordinal vowel i.... three is prefixed:

• ihakapet is a "small-sized scent hound"

A basset hound is the 1st small-sized scent hound entry under the country Great Britain, so the Mirad word a.... one is prefixed (with a w buffer vowel when prefixed to a vowel) and the adjectival word for Great Britain, Gebaroma is placed in front, separated by a space:

• Gebaroma awahikapet is a basset hound, a dog breed name owned by Great Britain.

Here is a partial representation of the hiararchy as obtained by the World Canine Organization (FCI) site. Other Mirad dog breed names can be created by consulting the site.

Group 1 = bokapet....sheepdogs/cattledogs

• Section 1 = bakapet....sheepdogs

• Belgian only entry = Belima bakapet....Belgian shepherd dog
• German only entry = Deuma bakapet....German shepherd

• Section 2 = bekapet....cattledogs except Swiss cattledogs

• Great Britain 2nd entry = Gebaroma ebekapet....Welsh corgi (Cardigan)

Group 2 = cokapet....pinscher/schnauzer/Molossoid/Swiss Mountain-/Cattle Dogs

• Section 1 = cakapet....pinscher/schnauzer type
• Section 2 = cekapet....Molossian type
• Section 3 = cikapet....Swiss mountain/cattledogs

Group 3 = dokapet....terriers

• Section 1 = dakapet....large and medium-sized terriers

• Great Britain 9th entry = Gebaroma yudakapet....Welsh terrier

• Section 2 = dakapet....small-sized terriers
• Section 3 = dekapet....bull type terriers

• Great Britain 3rd entry = Gebaroma idekapet....Staffordshire bull terrier

• Section 4 = dakapet....toy terriers

Group 4 = fokapet....dachshunds

• Germany only entry = fakapet....dachshund

Group 5 = gokapet....spitz and primitive types

• Section 1 = gakapet....nordic sledge dogs

USA 1st entry = agakapet....Siberian husky

• Section 2 = gekapet....nordic hunting dogs
• Section 3 = gikapet....nordic watchdogs/herders
• Section 4 = gukapet....European spits
• Section 5 = gyokapet....Asian spitz and related breeds
• Section 6 = gyakapet....primitive types
• Section 7 = gyekapet....hunting dogs

Group 6 = hokapet....scent hounds and related breeds

• Section 1 = hakapet....scent hounds

• Subsection 1.1 = ahakapet....large-sized hounds

• USA 1st entry = Usoma awahakapet....American foxhound

• Subsection 1.2 = ehakapet....medium-sized hounds

• Great Britain only entry = Gebaroma ehakapet....harrier

• Subsection 1.3 = ihakapet....small-sized hounds

• Great Britain 1st entry = Gebaroma awihakapet....basset hound
• Great Britain 2nd entry = Gebaroma ewihakapet....beagle

Group 7 = jokapet....pointing dogs

• Section 1 = jakapet....continental pointing dogs
• Section 2 = jekapet....British and Irish pointers and setters

Group 8 = kakapet....retrievers/flushing dogs/water dogs

• Section 1 = kakapet....retrievers
• Section 2 = kekapet....flushing dogs
• Section 3 = kikapet....water dogs

Group 9 = lokapet....companion and toy dogs

• Section 1 = lakapet....bichons
• Section 2 = lekapet....poodles

• France only entry = Ferama lekapet....poodle

• Section 3 = likapet....small Belgian dogs
• Section 4 = lukapet....hairless dogs
• Section 5 = lyokapet....Tibetan breeds

• Tibet 2nd entry = Ferama elekapet....shih tzu

• Section 6 = lyakapet....Chihuahueno

• Mexico only entry = Ferama lyakapet....chihuahua

• Section 7 = lyekapet....English toy spaniels
• Section 8 = lyikapet....Japan Chin and Pekingese
• Section 9 = lyukapet....continental toy spaniel and others
• Section 10 = lalokapet....Kromforhländer
• Section 10 = lalekapet....small Molossian type dogs

Group 10 = mokapet....sight hounds

• Section 1 = makapet....long-haired sighthounds

• Great Britain 1st entry = Gebaroma amakapet....greyhound
• Great Britain 2nd entry = Gebaroma emakapet....whippet

• Section 2 = mekapet....rough-haired sighthounds
• Section 3 = mikapet....short-haired sighthounds

Cat Breeds

The names for cat breeds are generated from the CFA organization's alphabetical list of cat breeds (See [3]. You take the first letters of the CFA name up to the first non-initial consonant, and convert them to lowercase. If the next breed on the list has the same letters, add a Mirad number (1=a, 2=e, 3=i, ...) to distinguish them. Now, end the word with the Mirad word for cat fepet.

This chart shows the process for the first few cat breeds in the CFA list:

Creating Cat Breed Names

CFA NAME	FIRST LETTERS LOWERCASED	NUMBER IF ANY + fepet	MIRAD NAME
American Shorthair	am	a + fepet	amafepet
American Wirehair	am	e + fepet	amefepet
Balinese	bal	bal + fepet	balfepet
Bengal	ben	ben + fepet	benfepet

Color Nomenclature

The word for color in Mirad is volz, which is mnemonically related to the word for flower (vos). The diminutive of color is voylz, meaning tint, shade, hue.

The names of common color adjectives in Mirad are based on a scale relating to the natural spectrum, with the first part of the word being the a number representing the spectrum order and the last half being the color stub -lza. The last historically-defined divisions of the spectrum are called indigo and violet, but even scientists themselves admit that the human eye does not distinguish these shades very well, and so Mirad divides the last two as purple and pink for convenience.

Basic Color Words

1 - red	2 - orange	3 - yellow	4 - green	5 - blue	6 - purple	7 - pink
alza	elza	ilza	ulza	yolza	yalza	yelza

There are four other basic colors:

Other Basic Color Words

	malza....white	(Associated with man (light)
	melza....brown	(Associated with mel (soil)
	molza....black	(Associated with mon (dark)
	maolza....gray	(A blend of malza and molza)

Plus:

• olza....of no color, blank, clear

All other colors are formed by prefixing a word or mnemonic word stub (usually flowers or fruits) to the basic color with hyphenation. For example:

• mecirufeb-ulza....lime green from mecirufeb....lime fruit + ulza....green
• mim-yalza....aquamarine from mim....sea + yalza....blue
• licirufeb-ilza....lemon yellow from licirufeb....lemon + ilza....yellow
• salpyit-alza....salmon red
• magmef-alza....firebrick red
• mim-yalza....sea blue, aquamarine

Shaded variants of color terms can be achieved in the following manner:

1. A "light" shade by changing lza to ylza: uylza....light green
2. A "-ish" shade by changing lza to lzyena: ulzyena....greenish
3. A "bright" shade by changing lza to lzayna: ulzayna....bright green
4. A "dark" shade by changing lza to lzoyna: ulzoyna....dark green

Some in-between colors can be created by mixing the ordinal vowel:

• maolza....gray from malza....white and molza....black
• yaulza....blue-green, cyan from yalza....blue and ulza....green
• maelza....beige from malza....white and melza....brown

Colors can be made into nouns by dropping the adjectival suffix -a:

• Ulz se via volz.....Green is a beautiful color.
• At gafe yalzayn.....I prefer dark blue.

Colors can also be used to form verbs:

• Iyta teobi alzasa.....Her cheeks turned red (= blushed).
• His se fia teubip malzaxus.....This is a good teeth whitener.
• Eta teupibi ilzaseye.....Your teeth are yellowing.

Rarely Used Colors

The more exotic or rare colors can be expressed by the RAL number / 10 in the Wikipedia Chart of RAL Colors expressed in Mirad + -lz. For example, the color golden yellow has the RAL number 1004. Divided by 10 yields the number 104 (ase, in Mirad), thus, the color is named aselz. The adjectival form of this color is aselza. One advantage of this system is that the colors are grouped by nine classic colors represented by the thousands unit, then subdivided by up to 999 shades of those classic colors, although in practice, the number of shades belonging to each classic color is under 40. For that reason, the thousands unit is reduced to a hundreds unit in the formation of Mirad color names.

Skin colors

When a color refers specifically to skin tone, the prefix tayo(b)- is used. The final -b of tayob is dropped before a consonant or glide. The word for skin-color itself is tayovolz. Thus:

• (tayo-)molzat....black(-skinned) person
• (tayo-)malzat....white(-skinned) person
• (tayo-)melzat....brown(-skinned) person
• (tayob)omalzat....non-white(-skinned) person
• (tayob)omolzat....non-black(-skinned) person
• (tayob)omelzat....non-brown(-skinned) person
• (tayob)eymolzat....half-black(skinned) person
• (tayob)eymalzat....half-white(-skinned) person
• (tayo-)maolzat....mulatto, mixed-skinned person
• (tayob)olzat....albino
• hyetayovolza....of any skin-tone
• hyatayovolzati....people of all colors
• Iyt se duhotayovolza?....What skin color is she?

Hair Colors

Hair colors are produced by suffixing the color to the word for hair, tayeb. The final -b of tayeb is dropped before a consonant or y. The word for hair color is tayevolz.

• tayebalza....red-headed, auburn
  • tayebalzayt....an auburn female
• tayemolza....brunette
• tayemelza....brown-haired
• tayebiylza....blond
• tayemaolza....gray, gray-haired

• It gwa tayemaolzaso.....He will go gray early.

• Duhotayevolza iyt se?....What color hair is she?

Eye Colors

Eye colors are expressed by the prefix tea(b) followed by the color. The word for eye color is teavolz. In the following examples, teab (eye) becomes tea before any consonants or glides:

• teayolza....blue-eyed
• teabulza....green-eyed
• teamelza....brown-eyed

• teamelzat....brown-eyed person

• teamolz....a black eye
• teamalz....the white of the eye
• Duhoteavolza et se?....What color eyes do you have?

Chemical Nomenclature

The names of chemical elements are formed by converting the abbreviation for the element into Mirad lowercase alphabetic equivalents, then adding lk, a suffix stub for chemicals. For example, the abbreviation for hydrogen is H. So we replace that with the word for lowercase h in Mirad: he. By adding the stub suffix lk, we get helk.

Use the the names of the small letters of the alphabet as shown below. The letter name ca is pronounced cha as in English cha-cha.

Lowercase Alphabet with Letter Names

Lowercase	a	b	c	d		e	f	g	h		i	j	k	l	m	n		o	p	q	r	s	t		u	v	w	x	y	z
Mirad Name	a	ba	ca	da		e	fe	ge	he		i	ji	ki	li	mi	ni		o	po	ko	ro	so	to		u	vu	wu	xu	yu	zu

Coding Chemical Elements

The following chart shows some examples of how words for chemical elements are formed:

Coding Chemical Elements

ENGLISH ELEMENT NAME	ABBREVIATION	MIRAD NAME
silver	Ar	arolk
iron	Fe	feelk
hydrogen	H	helk
nitrogen	N	nilk
mercury	Hg	hegelk
darmstadtium	Ds	dasolk

In chemical compounds, the lk is used only on the last element of the compound.

Chemical compounds such as H₂O (hydrogen dioxide) are coded in the following manner.

1. The H for hydrogen is rendered as he (without the -lk).
2. The number 2 refers to two hydrogen atoms, so the Mirad prefix for two, bi-, en- is prefixed to the h, giving enhe.
3. The word for oxygen, ol is added, and, since it is the last element in the compound, the lk is suffixed.
4. The English word ends in -ide, which is rendered in Mirad as -iyd, giving enheolkiyd

Such chemical suffix equivalents are given below:

Given the chemical element sulfur, which has the abbreviation S, the Mirad equivalent for this solid is solk. Possible variants of this chemical, plus others, are:

Chemical Compound Suffixes

Chemical Suffix Equivalents

ENGLISH SUFFIX	MIRAD EQUIVALENT	ENGLISH EXAMPLE	MIRAD EQUIVALENT
-ide	-iyd	sulfide	solkiyd
-ite	-iyt	sulfite	solkiyt
-ate	-ayt	sulfate	solkayt
-ine	-iyn	iodine	ilkiyn
-ane	-ayn	methane	ahelkayn
-ene	-eyn	benzene	ehelkeyn
-one	-oyn	ketone	ketoyn
-ine	--iyn	alanine	alaniyn
-ic	-a	ferric	feelka
-ous	aya	ferrous	feelkaya

Note that the numeral prefixes in chemical formulae end in -n.  : The numeral prefixes 5 and 6 end in -on instead of -n so as to distinguish them from the words yan....together and yon....apart.

The chart below shows some of the numeric prefixes:

Numeric Prefixes

NUMBER	PREFIX	EXAMPLE
a....mono-	an	anolkiyd....monoxide (O)
e....bi-/di-	en	encalkayt....bicarbonate (C2)
i....tri-	in	inolkiyd-....trioxide (O3)
u....tetr(a)-	un	unolkiyd-....tetroxide (O4)
yo....pent(a)-	yoon	yoonolkiyd-....pentoxide (O5)
ya....hex(a)-	yaon	yaonolkiyd....hexoxide (O6)
ye....hept(a)-	yen	yenolkiyd....heptoxide (O7)
yi....oct(o)-	yin	yinolkiyd-....octoxide (O8)
yu....non(a)-	yun	yunolkiyd-....nonoxide (O9)
alo....dec(a)-	alon	alonolkayt-....decoxidate (O10)

Examples:

• carbon dioxide (C₂O)....calk enolkiyd
• sodium bicarbonate (Na2C)....nialk encalkayt
• calcium dihydrogen phosphate....caalk enhelk polkayt
• glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆)....yaoncaalanheyaonolk (or: levelos)
• methanol (C₃HOH)....cainheohelk

Note: the -lk is added only at the end of a compound and before the endings -iyd, -iyt, and -ayt, etc.

Names of Atomic Parts

The word for atom in Mirad is gwomulk, which literally is least particle.

The main particles in an atom are:

• vamulk....proton
• vemulk....neutron
• vomulk....electron

Every atom contains mulki (subatomic particles).

The Standard Model classification of particles

The principle elementary atomic particles (quarks, leptons, bosons) are named from the alphabetic spellings of the letter abbreviations in the Standard Abbreviations chart to the right, some of which are Greek letters, both upper and lower case. (See wikipedia:Subatomic_particle ).

• hamulk....hadron

• mi-hamulk....meson

• pimi-hamulk....pion
• kami-hamulk....kaon

• ba-hamulk....baryon

• lambda-ba-hamulk....lambda baryon

• vomulk....proton
• vemulk....neutron
• zemulk....nucleon
• alfamulk'....alpha particle
• fermimulk....fermion
• goryumulk....nanoparticle
• kyiazon mulk....graviton

• bamulk....boson particle

• agha-bamulk....higgs particle
• agwu-bamulk....W boson
• agzu-bamulk....Z boson
• gamma-bamulk....photon
• ge-bamulk....gluon

• qomulk....quark

• ba-qomulk....bottom quark
• ca-qomulk....charm quark
• da-qomulk....down quark
• ov-qomulk....antiparticle, antiquark
• penta-qomulk....penta quark
• tetra-qomulk....tetra quark
• to-qomulk....top quark
• u-qomulk....up quark
• so-qomulk....strange quark

• limulk....lepton

• gamma-limulk....photon (also: manmulk)
• mu-limulk....muon
• pi-limulk....pion
• tau-limulk....tau
• vu-e-limulk....electron neutrino
• vu-mu-limulk....muon neutrino
• vu-tau-limulk....tau neutrino
• e-limulk....electron (also: vamulk)
• vamulk....electron

The nucleus of an atom is called zemulk. Therefore, zemulka means nuclear.

Musical Nomenclature

Musical Instruments

The musical instruments are encoded as follows, where all instruments contain the word for musical instrument (duzar < duz (music) + -ar (instrument). The system is based on a five-way classification system that relates to the way the instrument is played.

Madras_musical_instruments_and_snake_charmer's_music

Musical Instruments

MIRAD	ENGLISH
BOWED-STRING
aduzar	violin
eduzar	violin alto
iduzar	cello
uduzar	bass
yoduzar	viola
yaduzar	fiddle
yeduzar	viol
WOODWIND
faduzar	flute
feduzar	oboe
fiduzar	clarinet
fuduzar	bassoon
fyoduzar	French harp, harmonica
fyaduzar	recorder
fyeduzar	bagpipe
fyiduzar	didgeridoo
fyuduzar	piccolo
faloduzar	fife, hornpipe
faladuzar	ocarina, ocarine
BRASS
voduzar	horn
vaduzar	trumpet
veduzar	trombone
vuduzar -- avuduzar -- evuduzar --ivuduzar	saxophone -- tenor saxophone -- alto saxophone -- bass saxophone
vyoduzar	tuba
vyaduzar	bugle
vyeduzar	French horn
vyiduzar	cornet
vyuduzar	euphonium
valoduzar	flugelhorn
valaduzar	sousaphone
valeduzar	clarion
validuzar	mellophone
PERCUSSION
kaduzar -- akaduzar -- ekaduzar -- ikaduzar -- ukaduzar -- yokaduzar -- yakaduzar -- yekaduzar	drum -- snare drum -- bass drum -- tenor drum -- steel drum -- bongo drum -- timbrel -- kettledrum
keduzar	glockenspiel
kiduzar	vibraphone
kuduzar	marimba
kyoduzar	tubular bell
gaduzar	triangle
geduzar	gong
giduzar	castanet
guduzar	rattle
gyoduzar	xylophone
gyaduzar	maraca
gyeduzar	cajón
gyiduzar	cymbal
gyuduzar	tambourine
galoduzar	steelpan
galaduzar	wind chime
galeduzar	chime bar
galiduzar	celeste
galuduzar	clapper
galyoduzar	Jew's harp
galyaduzar	bazooka
KEYBOARD
raduzar -- utekea raduzar -- agala raduzar -- sem raduzar	piano -- player piano -- grand piano -- keyboard
reduzar	clavichord
riduzar	harpsichord
ruduzar -- mufyeg ruduzar -- maka ruduzar	organ -- pipe organ -- electric organ
ryoduzar	accordion
ryaduzar	dulcimer
ryeduzar	calliope
ryiduzar	melodica
ryuduzar	concertina
GUITAR
baduzar -- seuxa baduzar -- maka baduzar -- yoba baduzar	guitar -- accoustic guitar -- electric guitar -- bass guitar
beduzar	banjo
biduzar	lute
buduzar	harp
byoduzar	mandolin
byaduzar	ukelele
byeduzar	zither
byiduzar	lyre
byuduzar	cithara, kithara
baloduzar	sitar

Voice Ranges

Voice Ranges (Deuz nabyani)

MIRAD	ENGLISH	MEANING
WOMEN
yabdeuzuyt	soprano	"high-voice-female"
yaybdeuzuyt	mezzo-soprano	"high-ish-voice-female"
yobdeuzuyt	alto, contralto	"low-voice-female"
MEN
yabdeuzwut	tenor	"high-voice-male"
yoybdeuzwut	baritone	"high-ish-voice-male"
yobdeuzwut	bass	"low-voice-male"
vyoyabdeuzwut	falsetto	"false-high-voice-male"
BOYS
twobet yabdeuzwut	treble	"boy high-voice-male"

Suffix these nouns with -a to make them adjectives, eg.:

• His se yabdeuzwuta duznod.....This is a tenor note.

Solmization Syllables

The syllables used in Mirad to spell out musical notes is like the system used in the English-speaking world:

Solmization Syllables

do

re

mi

fa

sol

la

ti

do

Musical Score Elements

The semitone or accidental symbols are:

Accidentals

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOL	MIRAD NAME	ENGLISH EXAMPLE	MIRAD EXAMPLE	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
flat	𝄬	yobwa (=lowered)	B flat	B yobwa	ba YOBwa
sharp	𝄰	yabwa (=raised)	C sharp	C yabwa	ca YABwa
natural	𝄮	egxwa (=normalized)	F natural	F egxwa	fe EGxwa

Some staff notation:

Staff Notation

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOL	MIRAD NAME
staff	𝄙	nuidyan
treble clef, G clef	𝄞	G yijar
C clef	𝄡	C yijar
base clef, F clef	𝄢	F yijar
note		nod
half note	𝅗𝅥	eyna nod
quarter note	𝅘𝅥	uyna nod
whole note	𝅝	ayna nod
quarter rest	𝄽	uyna poys
eighth note	𝅘𝅥𝅮	yiyna nod
bar, measure	𝄀	nodzyan
ligature		yanxus

Characteristic Features of Music

Characteristic Features of Music

MIRAD	ENGLISH
deup	beat
seupan	cadence
jes	duration
zoyteuz	echo
yanseuz	harmony
duzneg	pitch
ijduzneg	key
druz	lyric
agala duzmus	major scale
duznag	measure
duznad	melody
duzjob	tempo
nak	meter
ogala duzmus	minor scale
duz	music
yinig	octave
byexes	pulse
zoyseuzen	resonance
deupyan	rhythm
duzmus	scale
duzdreyn	score
seux	sound
duzigan	tempo
seuzvolz	timbre
seuz	tone
yanseuz	chord, harmonic
aybseuz	overtone
deuzunog	tune
deuz	voice
seuxnid	volume

Dynamics

Notations having to do with musical dynamic accents are usually in Italian and are recognized the world over. For this reason, they are left as is in Mirad.

These include:

a tempo, accelerando, accelerando, crescendo, decrescendo, diminuendo, fermata, forte, fortissimo, glissando, legato, lento, marcato, mezzo forte, mezzo piano, pianissimo, piano, poco a poco, portamento, rallentando, ritardanto, rubato, sforzando, staccatissimo, staccato, subito piano, tenuto, tremolo, and others.

Types of Arrangements

Musical Arrangements

ENGLISH	MIRAD
a capella song	a kapella deuzun, deuzun boy duzari
anthem	fizdeuzun, tezdeuzun
antiphon	duiddeuzun
aria	arya, awat deuzun
arrangement	napbeyn
art song	tuz deuz
ballad	daz deuz, ifonkex deuzun
battle hymn	dropek deuzun
bird song	pat deuzun
broadway song	Broadway deuzun
campfire song	tamoftem deuzun
cantata	kantata
canticle	efyadeuzun
carol	ivdeuzun
chant	yagdeuzun
choral arrangement	deuzutyan napxeyn
Christmas carol	Kristtaj ivdeuzun
classical song	visauna deuzun
composition	duzdrun
concerto	koncerto
country song	odom deuzun, meimtyoda deuzun
dance song	daz deuzun
dirge	uvdeuzun
ditty	deuzog
doggerel verse	dizdeuzun
drinking song	tilien deuzun
duet	ewat (deuzun)
folksong	tyoyd deuzun
glee	Gebama deuzun
gospel song	fyadin deuzun
hip hop song	hip hop deuzun
hit song	agakus deuzun
hymn	fyadeuzun
instrumental	duzarun
jingle	nundeuzunog
karaoke song	karaoke deuzun
love song	ifon deuzun
lullaby	tudet deuzun
lute song	riduzar deuzun
madrigal	duzuka deuzun
marching song	doptyopen deuzun
medley	ebmulxwa deuzyan
metal song	mug deuzun
musical number	duzun
old standard	ajdeuzun
opera	dyuz, dyuzun
oratorio	oratoryo
paean	akrun deuzun
partsong	gon deuzun
patter song	deuzig
pop song	tyoda deuzun
psalm	afyadeuzun
rock song	rok deuzun
round	zoydea deuzun
sea shanty	mim deuz
show tune	duez deuzun
signature song	ujak deuzun
slow jam	bluz deuzun
soliloquy	awat, awat deuzun
solo	awat (duzun), awat (deuzun)
song	deuzun
spiritual, negro spiritual	topa deuzun
sporting song	tapifek deuzun
symphony	viduzunyag
theme song	texzena deuz
torch song	ifonok uvdeuzun
vaudeville song	Vaudeville deuzun
Wienerlied	Viena deuzun

Musicians

Musicians

ENGLISH	MIRAD
musician	duzut, duzuyt, duzwut
instrumentalist	duzarut
violinist	aduzarut
conductor	duzdeb, duzutyaneb
soloist	anduzut
singer, vocalist	deuzut
danseur	dyazwut
ballerina	dyazuyt
dancer	dazut, dazuyt, dazwut
opera singer	dyuzut, dyuzuyt, dyuzwut
operatist, librettist	dyuzdrut
composer	duzdrut
lyricist, songwriter	deuzdrut
dance conductor	dazeb
(symphony) orchestra	duzarutyan
philharmonic orchestra	duzarutyanag
chorus, chorale	deuzutyan
dance troupe	dazutyan

Song Parts

Song Parts

MIRAD	ENGLISH
ujgon	coda
ijgon	intro
ebek	interlude
ijek	finale
galijun	reprise
galdwas	refrain
agalduznad	theme
nadyan	verse
zeymep	bridge
galdwas	chorus
ujnadyan	outro

Music Genres

Some genres and styles of music:

Genres of Music

MIRAD	ENGLISH
a kapella, boy duzari	a capella
yugtaxea duz	ambiant
Usoma tyoyduz	American folk
Usoma egona duz	American standard
yizejna	avant garde
Baroka	Baroque
yolza vab	bluegrass
bluz	blues
Bolliwud	Bollywood
bossa nova	bossa nova
kalipso	calypso
Kelta yagdeuz	Celtic chant
Canima tyoyduz	Chinese folk
Canima ajutbyena dyuz	Chinese traditional opera
jejoba deupyan ay bluz	contemporary R&B
maima bluz	country blues
maima duz	country music
maima pop	country pop
maima rap	country rap
maima rok	country rock
dazam pop	dancehall pop
disko	disco
du-wop	doo-wop
maka dauz	electronic dance music (EDM)
yugtaxea duz	elevator music
Euma disko	Euro-disco
jwayeka	experimental
flamenko	flamenco
funk	funk
Gregoria yagdeuz	Gregorian chant
hip-hop	hip-hop
honki-tonk	honky-tonk
hyusuna rok	Indie rock
jaz	jazz
makjaz	jazztronica
juju	juju
fyaxela duz	liturgical music
majika	majika
mamo	mambo
merengwe	merengue
mesitzo	mesitzo
mug	metal
Mixuma duz	Mexican
seuz bi Naxvil	Nashville sound
Ejna Orleans bluz	New Orleans blues
dyuz	opera
rancera	ranchera
rap	rap
rege	reggae
deupyan ay blus, ro-ay-ba	rhythm & blues
rok-ay-rol	rock & roll
salsa	salsa
samba	samba
ska	ska
galoduzaruta duz	steel band music
swing	swing
Tehano	Tejano
eyntuj duz	trance music
Umera visauna	Western classical
Umeryena	Western
zideko	zydeco

Geographic Placenames

As in English, Geograpic placenames are capitalized, including the languages and inhabitants.

Countries of the World

Below is a complete list of the current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes, with country names being English short country names officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA). The Mirad equivalents are formed by replacing the letters of the ISO code with the lowercase Mirad alphabetic spells, except if the letter is followed by a vowel, in which case the ISO letter is kept as is, but lower-cased. The letter m is suffixed as a stub for "place" and then the word-initial letter is capitalized, eg.:

Example 1:

Burundi is translated as follows:

• The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code is BDI.
• BDI is lowercased to bdi
• b is convered to the Mirad alphabetic spell ba.
• Since d is followed by a vowel, it is left as is: d.
• The vowel i is left as is: i
• m is appended for place: badim
• The initial letter of the country name is capitalized: Badim
• BDI (Burundi) = Badim.

Example 2:

Uzbekistan is translated as follows:

• The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code is UZB.
• UZB is lowercased to uzb
• u is left as is: u.
• z is converted to the Mirad alphabetic spell: zu
• b is converted to the Mirad alphabetic spell: ba
• m is appended for place: uzubam
• The initial letter of the country name is capitalized: Uzubam
• UZB (Uzbekistan) = Uzubam.

Country Names (click on arrows to sort a column)

ISO	English	Mirad
ABW	Aruba	Abawum
AFG	Afghanistan	Afegem
AGO	Angola	Agom
AIA	Anguilla	Aiam
ALA	Åland Islands	Alam
ALB	Albania	Alibam
AND	Andorra	Anidam
ANT	Netherlands Antilles	Anitom
ARE	United Arab Emirates	Arem
ARG	Argentina	Arogem
ARM	Armenia	Aromim
ASM	American Samoa	Asomim
ATA	Antarctica	Atam
ATF	French Southern Territories	Atofem
ATG	Antigua and Barbuda	Atogem
AUS	Australia	Ausom
AUT	Austria	Autom
AZE	Azerbaijan	Azem
BDI	Burundi	Badim
BEL	Belgium	Belim
BEN	Benin	Benim
BFA	Burkina Faso	Bafam
BGD	Bangladesh	Bagedam
BGR	Bulgaria	Bagerom
BHR	Bahrain	Baherom
BHS	The Bahamas|Bahamas	Bahesom
BIH	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bihem
BLM	Saint Barthélemy	Balimim
BLR	Belarus	Balirom
BLZ	Belize	Balizum
BMU	Bermuda	Bamum
BOL	Bolivia	Bolim
BRA	Brazil	Baram
BRB	Barbados	Barobam
BRN	Brunei Darussalam	Baronim
BTN	Bhutan	Batonim
BVT	Bouvet Island	Bavutom
BWA	Botswana	Bawam
CAF	Central African Republic	Cafem
CAN	Canada	Canim
CCK	Cocos Islands	Cacakim
CHE	Switzerland	Cahem
CHL	Chile	Cahelim
CHN	China	Cahenim
CIV	Côte d'Ivoire	Civum
CMR	Cameroon	Camirom
COD	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Codam
COG	Republic of the Congo	Cogem
COK	Cook Islands	Cokim
COL	Colombia	Colim
COM	Comoros	Comim
CPV	Cape Verde	Capovum
CRI	Costa Rica	Carim
CUB	Cuba	Cubam
CXR	Christmas Island	Caxurom
CYM	Cayman Islands	Cayumim
CYP	Cyprus	Cayupom
CZE	Czechia	Cazem
DEU	Germany	Deum
DJI	Djibouti	Dajim
DMA	Dominica	Damam
DNK	Denmark	Danikim
DOM	Dominican Republic	Domim
DZA	Algeria	Dazam
ECU	Ecuador	Ecum
EGY	Egypt	Egeyum
ERI	Eritrea	Erim
ESH	Western Sahara	Esohem
ESP	Spain	Esopom
EST	Estonia	Esotom
ETH	Ethiopia	Etohem
FIN	Finland	Finim
FJI	Fiji	Fejim
FLK	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	Felikim
FRA	France	Feram
FRO	Faroe Islands	Ferom
FSM	Federated States of Micronesia	Fesomim
GAB	Gabon	Gabam
GBR	United Kingdom	Gebarom
GEO	Georgia	Geom
GGY	Guernsey	Gegeyum
GHA	Ghana	Geham
GIB	Gibraltar	Gibam
GLP	Guadeloupe	Gelipom
GMB	Gambia	Gemibam
GNB	Guinea-Bissau	Genibam
GNQ	Equatorial Guinea	Geniqom
GRC	Greece	Gerocam
GRD	Grenada	Gerodam
GRL	Greenland	Gedolim
GTM	Guatemala	Getomim
GUF	French Guiana	Gufem
GUM	Guam	Gumim
GUY	Guyana	Guyum
HKG	Hong Kong	Hekigem
HMD	Heard Island and McDonald Islands	Hemidam
HND	Honduras	Henidam
HRV	Croatia	Herovum
HTI	Haiti	Hetim
HUN	Hungary	Hunim
IDN	Indonesia	Idanim
IMN	Isle of Man	Iminim
IND	India	Inidam
IOT	British Indian Ocean Territory	Iotom
IRL	Republic of Ireland	Irolim
IRN	Iran	Ironim
IRQ	Iraq	Iroqom
ISL	Iceland	Isolim
ISR	Israel	Isorom
ITA	Italy	Itam
JAM	Jamaica	Jamim
JEY	Jersey	Jeyum
JOR	Jordan	Jorom
JPN	Japan	Jiponim
KAZ	Kazakhstan	Kazum
KEN	Kenya	Kenim
KGZ	Kyrgyzstan	Kigezum
KHM	Cambodia	Kihemim
KIR	Kiribati	Kirom
KNA	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Kinam
KOR	Korea, Republic of	Korom
KWT	Kuwait	Kiwutom
LAO	Laos	Laom
LBN	Lebanon	Libanim
LBR	Liberia	Libarom
LBY	Libya	Libayum
LCA	Saint Lucia	Licam
LIE	Liechtenstein	Liem
LKA	Sri Lanka	Likam
LSO	Lesotho	Lisom
LTU	Lithuania	Litum
LUX	Luxembourg	Luxum
LVA	Latvia	Livam
MAC	Macao	Macam
MAF	Saint Martin	Mafem
MAR	Morocco	Marom
MCO	Monaco	Micom
MDA	Moldova	Midam
MDG	Madagascar	Midagem
MDV	Maldives	Midavum
MEX	Mexico	Mexum
MHL	Marshall Islands	Mihelim
MKD	Republic of Macedonia	Mikidam
MLI	Mali	Milim
MLT	Malta	Militom
MMR	Myanmar	Mimirom
MNE	Montenegro	Minem
MNG	Mongolia	Minigem
MNP	Northern Mariana Islands	Minipom
MOZ	Mozambique	Mozum
MRT	Mauritania	Mirotom
MSR	Montserrat	Misorom
MTQ	Martinique	Mitoqom
MUS	Mauritius	Musom
MWI	Malawi	Miwim
MYS	Malaysia	Miyusom
MYT	Mayotte	Miyutom
NAM	Namibia	Namim
NCL	New Caledonia	Nicalim
NER	Niger	Nerom
NFK	Norfolk Island	Nifekim
NGA	Nigeria	Nigam
NIC	Nicaragua	Nicam
NOR	Norway	Norom
NIU	Niue	Nium
NLD	Netherlands	Nilidam
NPL	Nepal	Nipolim
NRU	Nauru	Nirum
NZL	New Zealand	Nizulim
OMN	Oman	Ominim
PAK	Pakistan	Pakim
PAN	Panama	Panim
PCN	Pitcairn Islands	Pocanim
PER	Peru	Perom
PHL	Philippines	Pohelim
PLW	Palau	Poliwum
PNG	Papua New Guinea	Ponigem
POL	Poland	Polim
PRI	Puerto Rico	Porim
PRK	North Korea	Porikim
PRT	Portugal	Porotom
PRY	Paraguay	Poroyum
PSE	Palestinian territories	Posem
PYF	French Polynesia	Poyufem
QAT	Qatar	Qatom
REU	Réunion	Reum
ROU	Romania	Roum
RUS	Russia	Rusom
RWA	Rwanda	Rowam
SAU	Saudi Arabia	Saum
SDN	Sudan	Sodanim
SEN	Senegal	Senim
SGP	Singapore	Sogepom
SGS	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Sogesom
SHN	Saint Helena	Sohenim
SJM	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Sojimim
SLB	Solomon Islands	Solibam
SLE	Sierra Leone	Solem
SLV	El Salvador	Solivum
SMR	San Marino	Somirom
SOM	Somalia	Somim
SPM	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Sopomim
SRB	Serbia	Sorobam
STP	São Tomé and Príncipe	Sotopom
SUR	Suriname	Surom
SVK	Slovakia	Sovukim
SVN	Slovenia	Sovunim
SWE	Sweden	Sowem
SWZ	Swaziland	Sowuzum
SYC	Seychelles	Soyucam
SYR	Syria	Soyurom
TCA	Turks and Caicos Islands	Tocam
TCD	Chad	Tocadam
TGO	Togo	Togom
THA	Thailand	Toham
TJK	Tajikistan	Tojikim
TKL	Tokelau	Tokilim
TKM	Turkmenistan	Tokimim
TLS	East Timor	Tolisom
TON	Tonga	Tonim
TTO	Trinidad and Tobago	Totom
TUN	Tunisia	Tunim
TUR	Turkey	Turim
TUV	Tuvalu	Tuvum
TWN	Taiwan	Towunim
TZA	Tanzania	Tozam
UGA	Uganda	Ugam
UKR	Ukraine	Ukirom
UMI	United States Minor Outlying Islands	Umim
URY	Uruguay	Uroyum
USA	United States	Usam
UZB	Uzbekistan	Uzubam
VAT	Vatican City	Vatom
VCT	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Vucatom
VEN	Venezuela	Venim
VGB	British Virgin Islands	Vugebam
VIR	United States Virgin Islands	Virom
VNM	Vietnam	Vunimim
VUT	Vanuatu	Vutom
WLF	Wallis and Futuna	Wulifem
WSM	Samoa	Wusomim
YEM	Yemen	Yemim
ZAF	South Africa	Zafem
ZMB	Zambia	Zumibam
ZWE	Zimbabwe	Zuwem

The adjective for these Mirad country names can be formed by suffixing the adjective marker a, eg:

• Feram....France ==> Ferama....French
• Usom....United States ==> Usoma....American
• Deum....Germany ==> Deuma....German

The inhabitant of a country is formed by changing the final m of the placename to t (meaning person), eg:

• Feram....French ==> Ferat....a French person, a Frenchman

The names of country inhabitants can be pluralized and genderized, as other animate nouns, eg:

• Ferat....a French person ==> ha Ferati....the French
• Etohet....an Ethiopian ==> Etohwat....an Ethiopian male
• Finit....a Finn ==> Finiyt....a Finnish woman

Do not confuse the adjectival name of a country with the language: Ferama refers to the country of France, not the language French. French the language is Ferad.

Continents

The word for continent in Mirad is yanmel (= "together-soil"). The names of the continents in Mirad are formed from the word yanmel with vectorial prefixes.

Continent Names

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Ayanmal	North America
Oyanmel	South America
Iyanmel	Asia
Uyanmel	Europe
Eyanmel	Africa
Yoyanmel	Oceania

The adjective counterparts of these placenames are derived by suffixing -a:

• Iyanmela....Asian
• Uyanmela....European

By appending -t(i) to the adjectival names, we get the inhabitants:

• Eyanmelat....an African
• Ayanmelati....North Americans

Note:

• The Americas is expressed in Mirad with the hybrid word Aoyanmel (a combination of North and South America).
• Central America is expressed in Mirad by Ebaoyanmel (Inter-America)
• The word Usom means United States or USA. The word America by itself is not used in Mirad; only North America or South America. United States of America is expressed by Usom bi Ayanmel (United States of North America), abbreviated as UA.
• The word Usomati is used for Americans when referring to inhabitants of the U.S.
• The word Eyanmel-Usomat, or more briefly, Eusomat is used for African American.
• Latin America is expressed as Liada Oyanmel.
• A Latino is Liadut.
• A latinx in the U.S. is called Usoma Liadut.
• In some geographic systems, Ausom....Australia is considered a continent.

The word for island is yonmel (= separate land).

Oceans

The Mirad word for ocean is mimag. The ocean names are formed by prefixing a vectorial ordinal to the word mimag:

Ocean Names

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Amimag	Arctic Ocean
Omimag	Southern Ocean
Imimag	Pacific Ocean
Umimag	Atlantic Ocean
Emimag	Indian Ocean

Compass Directions and Poles

The compass directions (merizoni) and poles (mernodi) are as follows:

• zamer....north / zamera....northern / zamernod....north pole
• zomer....south / zomera....southern / zomernod....south pole
• zimer....east / zimera....eastern
• zumer....west / zumera....western

The words Yibzamer....Arctic and Yibzomer...Antarctic(a) both use the prefix yib....far.

Prefixing the directions with iz-....due- yields:

• iz zamer....due north
• iz zomer....due south, etc.

Directional words can be hybridized, eg:

• zaomera....north-south
• zuimera....east-west
• zaumera....north-west
• zaimera....north-east

Earth Grid Lines

The earth grid lines (mernadi) are as follows:

• zamernad....Arctic Circle
• zomernad....Antarctic Circle
• zaomernad....longitude
• zuimernad....latitude
• zemernad....equator

• abzemernad....Tropic of Capricorn
• obzemernad....tropic, Tropic of Cancer

• yizobzemernad....subtropic

• eymernad....meridian
• mamnad....horizon
• aonada....vertical
• uinada....horizontal
• zyenada....perpendicular

Languages of the World

Mirad names of languages are based on either:

• the name of the country most associated with the language (English < England, French < France), or:
• the ISO 639-2 alpha-3 three-letter code. (See [of Congress ISO639-2 Codes].

If formed from the country name, the language name is acquired by replacing the final m or the country name with d. For example, Enigem (England), becomes Eniged (English). See Countries of the World.

If formed from the ISO 639-2 code, because their is no particular country associated with the language, the letters of the code are replaced with the Mirad lowercase alphabetic spells. The initial letter is capitalized and d is suffixed to the word. A Mirad alphabetic spell in the shape of consonant+vowel loses its vowel before a spell consisting of just a vowel. For example, ba + e becomes be.

Mirad Language Names

ISO LANGUAGE NAME	COUNTRY or ISO CODE	MIRAD LANGUAGE NAME
Abkhazian	abk	Abakid
Afar	aar	Aarod
Afrikaans	Zafem....South Africa	Zafed
Akan	aka	Akad (< a + ki + a +d, where ki + a = ka)
Albanian	Alibam....Albania	Alibad
Amharic	amh	Amihed
Arabic	ara	Arad
Aragonese	arg	Aroged
Armenian	Aromim	Heyud
Assamese	asm	Asomid
Avaric	ava	Avad
Avestan	ave	Aved
Aymara	aym	Ayumid
Azerbaijani	Azem....Azerbaijan	Azed
Bambara	bam	Bamid
Bashkir	bak	Bakirod
Basque	baq	Baqod
Belarusian	Balirom....Belarusia	Balirod
Bengali	Bagedim....Bangladesh	Bagedid
Bislama	bis	Bisod
Bosnian	Bihem....Bosnia	Bihed
Breton	bre	Bared
Bulgarian	Bagerom....Bulgaria	Bagerod
Burmese	Mimirom....Miyanmar	Mimirod

...and so on...

The language names can be adjectivized by suffixing -a, eg:

• Eniged....(the) English (language) ==> Enigeda....(in the) English (language)
• Hia Enigeda dreun se testiyofwa.....This English language document is incomprehensible.

The language names can be verbalized with the addition of -der....to say, -daler....to speak, and -xer....to translate into, eg:

• Ferad....French ==> Ferader....to say in French
• Esopod....Spanish ==> Esopodaler....to speak Spanish
• Arad....Arabic ==> Aradxer....to Arabicize/translate into Arabic
• Ferad bayse gla Enigedxwasi.....French has many Anglicizations.

The speaker of a language is created by adding -ut or -alut, eg:

• Eniged....English ==> Enigedut (or) Enigedalut....English speaker
• Duven et Enigedale?....Do you speak English?
• Aradu hia dun.....Say this word in Arabic.
• At se Itadut/Itadalut.....I am a speaker of Italian.

Specialized forms, dialects, levels, and regional variants of languages are expressed as follows:

Language Variants

VARIATION CATEGORY	EXAMPLE
Ajna....Old/Ancient	Ajna Eniged....Old English, Anglo-Saxon
Ejoba....Modern	Ejoba Perod....Modern Persian, Farsi
Visauna....Classical	Visauna Gerocad....Classical Greek
Vyirina....Puristic	Vyirina Gerocad....Katharevousa (Puristic Greek)
Tyoda....Vulgar/Popular/Demotic	Tyoda Latod....Vulgar Latin Tyoda Gerocad....Demotic Greek
Fyaxela....Liturgical	Fyaxela Hebad....Liturgical Hebrew
Fyadyesa....Biblical	Fyadyesa Hebad....Biblical Hebrew
Egona....Standard	Ejoba Egona Arad....Modern Standard Arabic
Egema....Egyptian	Egema Arad....Egyptian Arabic
Usoma....American	Usoma Eniged....American English

There are some languages with no ISO code that have to be formed in another way, in particular, Mirad itself.

• Mirad....Mirad (Mir....world)
• Meurad....Martian (Meur...Mars)

• Celtic, which is the name of a family of languages, is represented by the ISO code "cel" and is therefore called Celid in Mirad.
• Indo-European, with the code "ine", translates to Inied in Mirad.

Cities and Their Residents

Here are some key cities, their adjectival forms, and inhabitants. The adjective can end in -a or -yena.

Cities and Their Residents

CITY	ADJECTIVE	INHABITANT
Paris....Paris	Parisyena....Parisian	Parisat....Parisian
Ejna York....New York	Ejna Yorka....of New York	Ejna Yorkat....New Yorker
Rom....Rome	Roma....Roman	Romat....Roman
Beijing....Beijing	Beijinga....of Beijing	Beijingat....resident of Beijing
Berlin....Berlin	Berlina....from Berlin	Berlinat....Berliner

Examples:

• Berlina diti dyunwe Berlinati.....Berlin citizens are called Berliners.
• Bostonati bayse Bostonyena deus.....Bostonians have a Bostonian accent.

Playing Cards Notation

The playing card suits and prime denominations are:

Playing Card Suits

MIRAD	ENGLISH	IMAGE
tiib	heart	♥
melukar	spade	♠
amez	diamond	♦
infayeb	club	♣

High Cards plus the Joker

MIRAD	ENGLISH	IMAGE
Az bi tiibi	ace of hearts
Edweb bi melukari	king of spades
Edeyb bi amezi	queen of diamonds
Yuxtwobet bi infayebi	jack of clubs
hihiduut	joker

Some useful terms:

• eker drafi....to play cards
• zyabuer ha drafi....to deal the card
• ebnapxer ha drafi....to shuffle the cards
• goler ha nyan....to cut the deck
• ujber....to fold
• durer....to bid
• lokoxer draf....to turn over a card
• lokoxer ota tuyab....to show one's hand
• abnabxer....to trump
• ekdrafnyan....deck of cards
• nab....suit
• joper nab...to follow suit
• kyesdraft....wild card
• abnaba draf....trump card
• ha yannas....the pot
• ha nax....the ante
• yaber ha nax....to up/raise the ante

Chess Piece Nomenclature

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

The King's Gambit

The game of chess is called xahifek in Mirad.

The chess pieces (xahifek gouni) are as follows:

Chess Piece Names

MIRAD	ENGLISH	IMAGE
edweb	king
edeyb	queen
efyaxeb	bishop
apetaput	knight
tamaz	rook
melyexut	pawn

Some chess terms:

• to checkmate....xahtojber
• Check!....Xah!
• Checkmate!....xahtoj!
• chess board....xahifek seym, xahifek drof
• to move a piece....paxer goun
• to capture a piece....pixler goun
• chess clock....xahifek jwobar
• chess set....xahifek gounyan
• chess tournament....xahifekanyan
• chess player....xehifekut
• my turn....ata nayb
• score....aoksag
• world champion....miraklut

Botanical Nomenclature

The plant world is a mighty big place and the names of all those flowers, fruits, vegetables, plants, etc. are very difficult to put into a rational naming scheme any better that the existing one using Latin appelations classified into phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. This botanical world in Mirad, much like the system for coding the zoological world, is coded by a system of syllables that relate to the Linnaean taxonomy.

Base Names

So, in Mirad, botanical organism names have at their base the following words:

• fab....trees

• feb....fruits and nuts

• fayb....vines and shrubs

• feyb....berries

• vob....crops
• vol....vegetables
• veel....legumes and beans
• vos....flowers

Specific Names

To create more specific names, syllables derived from the Greco-Latin Linnaean Taxonomy, spelled to conform to Mirad pronuncation, are prefixed left-to-right onto one of the above base categories, with the left-most syllable representing the most specific taxon. So, for example, pine tree is rendered as pifab. The pi prefix is the first syllable of the family of pine trees Pinaceae. The fab ending applies to all trees. To specify other trees in this family, other syllables are prepended, eg. cedar tree is cepifab from Pianaceae Cedrus. A cedar of Lebanon is licepifab from the more specific Pinaceae Cedrus libani.

By constructing botanical terms this way, all pine trees can be listed by searching for all names ending in pifab.

Basic Botanical Terms

fob....plant	vob....crop	vol....vegetable	vos....flower
fab....tree fayeb....leaf faob....wood fayob....bark	vab....grass vayob....peel
feb....fruit/nut	veb....ear/tuft veeb....seed veeyb....grain	veel....legume
fib....trunk	vib....stem
fub....branch	vub....blade vulob....thorn
fyob....root	vyob....tuber

Product Names

Products derived from plants are formed with the following words:

• -fel....juice
• -feel....-ade
• -feyl....juice
• -fil....alcoholic drink
• -fyel....oil/jam/syrup
• -fyeyl....jelly
• -fol....grounds/powder
• -fayel....leaf juice

Individual derivations of these base words are formed exactly as the names of animals in the section Zoological Nomenclature. For example, an apple is from the Rosaceae family of trees, the genus being Malus. So the word for apple becomes marofeb. Apple tree is marofab and apple juice is marofel. Thus, apple cider is marofil.

Crops

Crops are grassy plants that humans cultivate for clothing, food, medicine, or other social needs. Individual crop names are formed by prefixing the base vob with taxonomic syllables.

The base words of this group are:

• -vob....crop
• -vab....grass
• -vayeb....leaf
• -veb....ear, cob, head, spike, tuft
• -veeb....seed, germ
• -veel....bean, legume
• -veeyb....grain, kernel, pip
• -vib....stem
• -vub....blade, sprig, twig
• -vyob....tuber
• -vel....edible product
• -vil....drinkable product, beer
• -vyel....syrup
• -vol....vegetable

From the above base words are derived these products, among others:

• sakol....sugar < sakvob....sugarcane
• povel....bread < povob....cereal
• zepovyel....corn syrup, corn oil < zepovob....corn
• zepovil....whiskey, bourbon
• sepovil....rye whiskey < zepovob....rye
• povil....beer
• epovil....ale
• avpovob mekil....oatmeal < avpovob....oat
• orpovob zyiglal....rice cake < orpovob....rice
• mekuvol....melon

Vegetables and Legumes

Vegetables are crops grown by human for food. Individual vegetable names are formed by prefixing the base vol (vegetable) or veel (legume, bean) with classifier syllables derived from the international Linnean Taxonomy. Vegetables can consist of bulbs, flowers, fruits, fungi, leaves, roots, seeds, legumes, beans, or stalks.

Vegetables

EDIBLE CROP	TAXONOMY
LEGUMES: EDIBLE SEEDS
faveel....bean	Fabaceae Phaseolus vulgaris
lensfaveel....lentil	Fabaceae Lens culinaris
glifaveel....soybeen	Fabaceae Glycine max
vigfaveel....black-eyed pea	Fabaceae Faseolus vigna unguiculata
VEGETABLES: BERRIES/FRUITS
lisovol....tomato	Solanaceae Solanum lycopersicum
mesovol....eggplant	Solanaceae Solanum melongena
perlawvol....avocado	Lauraceae Persea americana
sakuvol....cucumber	Cucurbitaceae Cucumis sativus
cinasvol....artichoke	Asteraceae Cynara cardunculus
akapsovol....chili pepper	Solanaceae Capsicum annuum
abmalvol....okra	Malvaceae Abelmoschus esculentus
BULBS
amalvol....leek	Allium ampeloprasum
cepalvol....onion	Allium cepa
alkalvol....shallot	Alium ascalonicum
satalvol....garlic	Allium sativum
zinvol....ginger	Zingiberaceae Zingiber officinale
skoynalvol....chive	Allium Schoenoprasum
foynapvol....fennel	Apiaceae Phoenix dactylifera
MELONS/GOURDS
kuvol....squash, gourd	Cucurbitaceae Cucurbita
makuvol....pumpkin	Cucurbitaceae Cucurbita maxima
mekuvol....melon, honeydew, cantaloupe	Cucurbitaceae Cucumis melon
cikuvol....watermelon	Cucurbitaceae Citrullus lanatus
pekuvol....zucchini	Cucurbitaceae Cucurbita pepo
TUBERS/ROOT VEGETABLES
tusovol....potato	Solanaceae Solanum tuberosum
betamvol....beet, beetroot	Amaranthaceae Beta vulgaris
rafbravol....radish	Brassicaceae Raphanus raphanistrum sativus
kadawapvol....carrot	Apiaceae Daucus carota
nabravol....turnip	Brassica napus
cinasvol....artichoke	Asteraceae Cynara cardunculus
pasavol....parsnip	Apiaceae Pastinaca sativa
kolaravol....taro	Araceae Colocasia esculenta
divol....yam	Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea
LEAFY/FLOWERING VEGETABLES
bravol....cabbage	Brassicaceae
botrolbravol'....cauliflower	Brassica oleracea botrytis
gemolbravol....Brussels sprouts	Brassica oleracea gemmifera
valkavol....corn salad, lamb's lettuce	Caprifocilaceae Valerianella locusta
lakasvol....lettuce	Asteraceae Lactuta sative
spinamvol....spinach	Amaranthaceae Spinancia oleracea
rupolivol....sorrel	Polygonaceae Rumex acetosa
tarasvol....mustard greens	Asteraceae Taraxacum officinale
itolbravol....broccoli	Brassica Oleracea italica
abmalvol....okra	Malvaceae Abelmoschus esculentus
petapvol....parsley	Apiaceae Petroselinum crispum
basoclamvol....basil	Lamiaceae Ocimum basilicum
orlamvol....thyme	Lamiaceae Origanum vulgare
encivol....chicory, endive	Cichorium endivia
nasbravol....watercress	Brassicaceae Nasturtium officinale
korapvol....coriander	Apiaceae Coridandrum sativum
STALKS
aspavol....asparagus	Asparagaceae Asparagus officinalis
gravapvol....celery	Apiaceae Apium graveolens
rewmpolivol....rhubarb	Polygonaceae Rheum hybridum
kurzinvol....turmeric	Zingiberaceae Curcuma longa
kokarvol....heart of palm, swamp cabbage	Arecaceae Cocos
cimpovol....lemongrass	Poaceae Cymbopogon

Common Flower Names

Flower Parts

Flower names are built on the base name vos, meaning flower. First, here is a list of flower parts:

Flower Parts

Flower Parts
vos....flower
vosayob....sepal
vosayeb....petal
vosib....receptacle
veeybpexus....stigma
vosij....bud, flower bud
tooygon....pistil
veeybyan....pollen
twoogon....stamen
twoogonyif....filament
veeybyem....anther
vosyob....peduncle

Flower Names

Common flower names are generated by prefixing classifying syllables to the base vos that reflect the Linnaean taxonomic specification. Here are some examples:

sompavos....opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)

magvos....magnolia (Magnoliaceae Magnolia)

orvos....orchid (Orchidaceae Orchis)

krokirvos....crocus (Iridaceae Crocus)

For a fuller list, see the section Flower Words.

Computer Terminology

This section will be ever-changing as new technology emerges.

Computerese

MIRAD	ENGLISH
agna saibyan syaagir	mainframe computer
absem syaagir	desktop computer
agbanak	byte
ajnexer	to archive
amloagbanak	megabyte
anay dyewa tax	read-only memory, ROM
aota syaagir	personal computer
aottuunyan	profile
aoyebmeyp	port
apaxler	to swipe
aroagbanak	kilobyte
baler buxnuf	to press/hit a key
banak	bit
agdresin kyoxea buxnuf	caps lock key
buxnuf	key
buxnufsemes	keyboard
buxnufseym	keypad
izeaxus	cursor
byuxseym	touchpad
datier	to friend
dodrer ebdras	to post a message
dota zeyn	social medium
ebdrer	to text
dreun	document
dreuzyufer	to scroll, pan
droer naab	to delete a file
drou buxnuf	delete key
drur	printer
drurer naab	to print out a file
drurer	to print out
druru buxnuf	print screen key
drurun	a printout
dunexlar	word processor
dyezier	to take a movie
ebdayler	to chat
ebdaylim	chatroom
emojin	emoji
ex buxnuf	function key
exen vyaab	operating system
extuundras	program, application
extuundrasog	app
extuundrasyan	software
extuundrer	to program
fuk	bug
fukaya	buggy
fukoyxer	to debug
garalyoagbanak	petabyte
gelxer naab	to copy a file
googler	to google
gyia kyos yebiar	solid state drive, SSD
gyia zyiun yebiar	cd drive
haydren dyun	login name
haydrer bay tuyubbal	to log in with one's fingerprint
haydrer	to log in
hoydrer	to log out
huisteaxar	browser
kyeteaxer	to browse
hyux buxnuf	alt key
iber naab	to receive a file
ila mez sinuar, IMS	liquid crystal display, LDC
izbex buxnuf	control key
izbexdrof	motherboard
kliker ab	click on
kodun	password
gawdyunxer naab	to rename a file
kyax buxnuf	shift key
kyea yempuen tax	random access memory, RAM
kyisier naab	to download a file
kyisuer naab	to upload a file
kyiunxar	charger
kyiunxer	to charge
lodatier	to unfriend
makebdren	email
makedrer	to email
man-oyebubea enmep sinuar, MOES	LED
mansin dyes	photo album
mis	window
naab	file
naedzyun	trackball
nagonxar	modem
neaf mansiniar	web camera
nexer naab	to save a file
num yibdalir	cellphone
belyafwa syaagir	laptop computer
oglagos	microchip
gwoteexar	microphone
omijber	to boot up
gawomijber	to reboot
paxer naab	to move a file
paxyafwa yibdalir	mobile phone
poxu zyumuf buxnuf	scroll lock key
sagbexu buxnuf	numlock key
sagseym	number pad
sam	console
saunapxer naab	to sort a file
semes syaagir	tablet computer
sindren semes	graphics tablet
sindrenyan exlen aun	graphics processing unit, GPU
sines	icon
sinuar	screen, display, monitor
syaager	to compute
syaagir	computer
syaagirdal	computerese
syaagirtun	computer science
syaagnyed	spreadsheet
taam mays	home screen
tampu buxnuf	home key
sirmul	hardware, physical matter
taxdrer	to record
taxmuf	memory stick
teataxdrer	to video
teataxdrun	video
tuunnabyan	database
tuyab izdar	mouse
uber naab	to send a file
uinig buxnuf	tab key
utmansin	selfie
yaybdreniv sindren dalzeyn (YSD)	HTML
yeber	to enter, insert
yebu buxnuf	enter key, return key, insert key
yiga zyiun yebiar	hard disk drive, HDD
yijber naab	to open a file
yujber naab	to close a file
makmepdrof	circuitboard
zea exlen aun	central processing unit, CPU
zoynigxu buxnuf	backspace key
zyiun yebiar	disk drive

Medical and Pharmaceutical Terminology

This is a vast field where the limited morpheme aggregate of Mirad cannot serve to translate all the technical vocabulary. It will, therefore, translate only very common words and leave the rest in Greco-Latin as do many natural languages.

Medical Diseases

Some common medical conditions can be readily be translated in Mirad using its existing set of morphemes, eg.

• balyoganbok....asthma (lit: shortness of breath illness)
• tiebbok....pneumonia (lit: lung illness)
• teibbok....rhinitis (lit: nose illness)
• tayibblok....neuropathy (lit: nerve suffering)
• tebbyoyk....headache (lit: head ache)
• teibzyegikanbok....osteoporosis (lit: bone porosity illness)

Pharmaceuticals

Medicines can be referred to by their trade names, some of which have been genericized.

• aspirin....aspirin
• Ibupropen....Ibupropen

Others can be translated by words indicating the purpose:

• bukpoyxol, bukkyuxlol....analgesic, painkiller (Lit: pain reliever)
• tikebilokxol....emetic (Lit: vomit-inducing-substance)

Less common drugs, and any drugs for that matter, can be referred to by the official International Nonproprietary Name (INN) (see Nonproprietary Names). For example, phenobarbital. In case a Greco-Roman name is used, the following pronunciation guide applies to Mirad:

INN names pronunciation

GRECO-ROMAN SPELLING	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
ch	k
ph	f
x	ks
y	i
qu	kw
rh	r
th	t
ae	ay
oe	oy
c before i, e, or y	c
c otherwise	k
final e	silent
double consonant	single consonant

Examples:

• acetaminophen....a-ce-ta-mi-no-FEN
• amphetamine....am-fe-ta-MIN
• trimethroprim....tri-me-tro-PRIM
• sulfamethoxazole....sul-fa-me-to-ksa-ZOL
• oxacillin....o-ksa-si-LIN

Mineral Nomenclature

General words:

muk....mineral

muz....ore

mug....metal

mez....crystal

meg....rock, stone

megog....pebble

meges....gravel

mel....soil

meil....mud

mek....dust

miek....sand

mev....porcelain

mef....brick

Common Crystals

The common crystals end in -mez and are listed here:

Names of Common Crystals

MIRAD	ENGLISH
mez	crystal
amez	diamond
emez	topaz
imez	ruby
umez	emerald
yomez	sapphire
yamez	lapis lazuli
yemez	amethyst
yimez	amber
yumez	topaz
alomez	opal
alamez	tourmaline
alemez	garnet
alimez	zirconia
alumez	jasper
alyomez	jade
alyamez	marganite
alyemez	quartz

Other Minerals

All other minerals end in -muk with a prefix related to the official 3-letter International Mineorological Association (IMA) symbol name (see The Wikipedia List of Mineral Symbols). The IMA name is substituted with lower-case Mirad alphabetic spellings. For example:

Some Mineral Names

ENGLISH	IMA SYMBOL	MIRAD SPELLINGS	MIRAD NAME
argyrodyte	Agy	a-ge-yu	ageyumuk
brochantyte	Bct	ba-ca-to	bacatomuk
chromite	Chr	ca-he-ro	caheromuk

There are some minerals having an IMA with a hyphenated suffix of one or two letters. In that case, the extra letters are added to the name (without the hyphen), eg.:

• Lemmleinite-K (Lem-k) is liemikomuk in Mirad.

Rock Classification

The naming of individual rock types is based on the [BGS Rock Classification Scheme ].

All rocks end in one of the following suffixes, depending on the main type:

• ameg....sedimentary rock
• emeg....igneous rock
• imag....metamorphic rock

The names for obscure rocks are taken from the BGS Rock Classification Scheme. The final e is dropped from names that end in yte or ite. For example, trachydacite in the scheme becomes trachydacit in Mirad. This word is then followed by one of the rock types above (emeg igneous rock). So trachydacite becomes trachydacitemeg in Mirad. For obvious reason, all the thousands of rock names cannot be listed here or included in the Mirad dictionary.

The word meg rock has some common derivatives:

• megag....boulder
• meg....stone
• megog....pebble
• meges....gravel
• megyel....cement, asphalt, bitumen

• megyelyig....concrete

• megil....lava
• meggos....crag
• megyig....flintstone, basalt
• meag....marble
• meeg....slate
• meig....granite
• meug....clay, dough
• meyog....china
• meyag....chalk

• meyaz....pastel
• meyayg....calcite

• meyeg....limestone, sediment
• meyig....alabaster
• meyug....gypsum
• mealog....sandstone, stoneware
• mameg....coal

• eymameg....coke
• maameg....anthracite
• maemeg....peat
• maimeg....lignite

Related are:

• mek....dust

• mekes....grit
• mekil....grout
• meyk....grit

• myek....powder
• miek....sand
• mieg....coral
• mel....dirt
• muk....mineral
• meil....mud
• mez....crystal

• meyz....spar
• meyzag....feldspar

• muz....ore
• memol....alkali
• mimol....salt
• mef....brick

Measurements

Mirad uses the International System of Units (SI)) for rendering measurement units. These symbols are pronounced as if you were spelling each letter out (see Mirad_Grammar/Alphabet. Bear in mind that majuscules (uppercase letters are prefaced with the word ag- (big). Similarly, Greek letters are spelled with the Greek names (alpha, gamma, etc.) preceded with the word ag- if majuscule (aggamma for γ) The Mirad equivalent of the SI symbol for ohm (Ω) is agomega. All metric units end in the word nak.

SI Base Units

SI base units

ENGLISH UNIT NAME	SYMBOLIC ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
second	s	time	sonak
meter	m	length	minak
kilogram	kg	mass	kigenak
ampere	A	electric current	aganak
kelvin	K	thermodynamic temperature	agkinak
Mole	mol	amount of substance	miolinak
candela	cd	luminous intensity	cadanak

SI Derived Units

Here are SI derived units with special names and symbols:

SI derived units with special names and symbols

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOLIC WRITTEN ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
radian	rad	plane angle	roadanak
steradian	sr	solid angle	soronak
hertz	Hz	frequency	aghezunak
newton	N	force, weight	agninak
pascal	Pa	pressure, stress	agpoanak
joule	J	energy	agjinak
watt	W	power	agwunak
coulomb	C	electric charge	agcanak
volt	V	electrical potential difference	agvunak
farad	F	capacitance	agfenak
ohm	Ω	electrical resistance	agomeganak
Siemens	S	electrical conductance	agsonak
Weber	Wb	magnetic flux	agwubanak
tesla	T	magnetic flux density	agtonak
henry	H	inductance	aghenak
degree Celsius	°C	temperature	nogagcanak
lumen	lm	luminous flux	liminak
lux	lx	illuminance	lixunak
becquerel	Bq	radioactivity	agbakonak
gray	Gy	absorbed dose (of ionizing radiation)	aggeyunak
sievert	Sv	equivalent dose (of ionizing radiation)	agsovunak
katal	kat	catalytic activity	kiatonak
byte	B	8 bits of information	agbanak
bit	b	one bit of information	banak

Also, here are some non-SI units that are very convenient and acceptable:

Convenient Non-SI Units

Convenient non-SI units

ENGLISH NAME	SYMBOLIC WRITTEN ABBREVIATION	QUANTITY UNIT	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
litre	L	volume	aglinak
hectare	ha	area	heabak
ton	t	area	tonak
decibel	dB	loudness	daagbanak

Metrical Formulae

The following chart shows how in Mirad to pronounce coherent derived unit formulae in terms of base units. Note that the backslash means per or divided by and is pronounced gol. The symbol x means times and is pronounced gal. The superscript number is a power and is pronounced gar plus the number (with -wa, if a unit number). The negative superscript number is pronounced gor plus the number (again, with -wa if a unit number). See Arithmetical Expressions for further information on these terms.

Examples of coherent derived units in terms of base units

NAME	SYMBOLIC FORMULA	DERIVED QUANTITY	TYPICAL SYMBOL	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
square meter	m2	area	A	mi-gar-ewa
cubic meter	m3	volume	V	mi-gar-iwa
meter per second	m/s	speed, velocity	v	mi-gol-so
meter per second squared	m/s2	acceleration	a	mi-gol-so-gar-ewa
reciprocal meter	m−1	wavenumber	σ, ṽ	mi-gor-awa
		vergence (optics)	V, 1/f
kilogram per cubic meter	kg/m3	density	ρ	kige-gol-mi-gar-iwa
kilogram per square meter	kg/m2	surface density	ρA	kige-gol-mi-gar-ewa
cubic meter per kilogram	m3/kg	specific volume	v	mi-gar-iwa-gol-kige
ampere per square meter	A/m2	current density	j	aga-gol-mi-gar-ewa
ampere per meter	A/m	magnetic field strength	H	aga-gol-mi
mole per cubic meter	mol/m3	concentration	c	mioli-gol-mi-gar-iwa
kilogram per cubic meter	kg/m3	mass concentration	ρ, γ	kige-gol-mi-gar-iwa
candela per square meter	cd/m2	luminance	Lv	cada-gol-mi-gar-ewa

Metric Micro and Macro Prefixes

The SI has a whole list of prefixes that act as multipliers (macro) or dividers (micro) of the above and other measurement units. For example, a kilometer is a meter times a 1,000 (macro unit), whereas a millimeter is a meter divided by a 1,000 (micro unit). The SI symbol for b (byte) is pronounced ba in Mirad. A terabyte ( Tb) is therefore pronounced ag-to-ba, which This amounts 10¹² bytes. Here is a table showing the Mirad macro and micro prefixes:

Scalar Metrics

MACRO				MICRO
BASE 10	US/UK NAME	MIRAD PREFIX SI PREFIX MIRAD PRON.	SI SYMBOL	BASE 10	(US/UK NAME)	MIRAD PREFIX SI PREFIX	SI SYMBOL MIRAD PRON.
1	one	an- ... mono-, uni-		1/1	whole	ayn- holo-, uni-
2	two	en- bi-		1/2	half	eyn- demi-, di-
3	three	in- tri-		1/3	third	iyn- terci-
4	four	un- tetra-		1/4	fourth	uyn- quadri-
5	five	yoon- penta-		1/5	fifth	yoyn quinti-
6	six	yaon- hexa-		1/6	sixth	yayn sexti-
7	seven	yen- hepta-		1/7	seventh	yeyn septi-
8	eight	yin octo-		1/8	eighth	yiyn octi-
9	nine	yun nona-		1/9	ninth	yuyn novi-
10	ten	alo- deca-	da da-a-	1/10	tenth	aloy- deci-	d da-
102	hundred	aso- hexa-	h hi-	10-2	hundredth	asoy- centi-	c ca-
103	thousand	amso- kilo-	k ki-	10-3	thousandth)	amsoy- milli-	m mi-
106	million	amlo- mega-	M agmi-	10-6	millionth	amloy- micro-	r ro-
109	billion /milliard	amro- giga-	G agge-	10-9	billionth/ milliardth	amroy- nano-	n ni-
1012	trillion /billion	garale- tera-	T agto-	10-12	trillionth / billionth)	gorale- pico-	p po-
1015	quadrillion)/ billiard	garalyo- peta-	P agpo-	10-15	quadrillionth) / billiardth	goralyo- femto-	f fe-
1018	quintillion / trillion	garalyu- exa-	E age-	10-18	quintillionth)/ trillionth	goralyu atto-	a a-
1021	sextillion)/ trilliard	garela- zetta-	Z agzu-	10-21	sextillionth / trilliardth	gorela zepto-	z zu-
1024	septillion)/ quadrillion	garelu- yotta-	Y agyu	10-27	septillionth / quadrillionth	gorelu yocto-	y yu-

*Note: The gar (to a plus power) and gor (to a minus power) forms are alternatives for the numeric prefixes beyond 100. For example, billion (10⁹) could be expressed as garyu-(ten) to the 9th power, while billionth could be expressed by goryu ((ten) to the minus 9th power). The prefix garya- is composed of the positive exponential operator gar (to the power of), followed by the number 6. The prefix gorale- is composed of the negative exponential operator gor (to the root of), followed by the number 12.

Abbreviated Symbols

The macro and micro values can also be represented with abbreviated symbols, which can be pronounced in Mirad as spelled out alphabetics. Upper case equivalents are preceded with ag-. Here is a table showing grams:

Kg Metrics With Abbreviated Symbols

MACRO		MICRO
SYMBOL (EXPANSION)	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION	SYMBOL (EXPANSION)	MIRAD PRONUNCIATION
dag (decagram)	daage	(decigram)	dage
hg (hexagram)	hege	cg (centigram)	cage
kg (kilogram)	koge	mg (milligram)	mige
Mg (megagram)	agmige	rg or μg (microgram)	roge or muge
Gg (gigagram)	aggege	ng (nanogram)	nige
Tg (teragram)	agtoge	pg (picagram)	poge
Pg ( petagram)	agpoge	fg (femtogram)	fege
Eg (exagram)	agege	ag (attogram)	age
Zg (zettagram)	agzege	zg (zeptogram)	zege
Yg (yottagram)	agyuge	yg (yoctogram)	yuge

The squared and cubed representations of the above are followed by gar ewa (squared) and gar iwa (cubed), respectively:

• 10 kg2....(pronounced as:) alo koge gar ewa
• 12 mm3....(pronounced as:) ale mimi gar iwa

Trigonometric Nomenclature

This table shows trigonometry functions and their equivalents in Mirad. The function symbols are translated into Mirad by a succession of the pronounced Mirad values of the function abbreviation followed by -naz (value).

Trigonometry Functions

Function (Symbol)	Mirad Technical Name	Mirad Ordinary Name
sine (sin)	soini-naz	uznaz
cosine (cos)	caoso-naz	yanuznaz
arccosine (arccos, cos-1) anticosine inverse cosine	arocacaoso-naz	ovuznaz
hyperbolic sine (sinh)	soinihe-naz	enuza uznaz
hyperbolic cosine (cosh)	caosohe-naz	enuza yanuznaz
secant (sec)	soeca-naz	golus naz
cosecant (csc)	casoca-naz	yangolus naz
arccosecant (arccsc)	arocacasoca-naz	enuza yangolus naz

Poetry Nomenclature

Mirad uses the nonsense syllables di and da to form various poetic meter words that usually are formed with Greek words in English. The syllable di represents an unstressed syllable in verse, while the syllable da denotes a stressed syllable. These are hyphenated and followed with a space and the word deup as a noun, which means meter or rhythm. The adjectival form of the word ends in deupa. Here are the most common poetic meters:

• di-da deupa.... iambic

• di-da yoonkyiba deup.... iambic pentameter

• di-di-da deupa.... anapestic
• di-da-da deupa.... bacchius
• da-da deupa.... spondaic
• da-da-da deupa.... molossus
• da-da-di deupa.... antibacchius
• da-di deupa.... tochaic

• da-di deup.... trochee, choree

• da-di-da deupa.... cretic, amphimacer
• da-di-di deupa.... dactylic
• da-di-di yaonkyiba deup.... dactylic hexameter
• da-di-di-da deupa.... amphibrachic

Other words representing elements of poetry are:

• drez....poetry, verse

• dreza....poetic
• drezyen....poesy
• drezyan....anthology (of poetry)
• drezut....poet

• drezuyt....poetess
• popdrezut....minstrel
• Vikinga drezut....skald
• dreuzut....bard

• odrez....prose
• vyasma drez....concrete verse
• tyoda drez....folk poetry
• inkyiba drez....trimeter
• unkyiba drez....tetrameter
• yoonkyiba drez....pentameter
• yaonkyiba drez....hexameter
• yenkyiba drez....heptameter
• yinkyiba drez....octameter
• ogelseuxwa drez....blank verse
• yiva drez....free verse
• drezun....poem

• deuzwa drezun....sung poem, lay
• dindrezun....ballad
• dizdrezun....limerick
• fiddrezun....ode
• fizdrezun....epic poem
• haikudrezun....haiku
• viysindrezun....idyll
• ifondrezun....love poem, romantic poem
• indrezun....terzain
• jodrezun....epode
• yindrezun....sistina
• klerihyudrezun....clerihew
• meimdrezun....pastoral
• melyexdrezun....georgic
• petnyanuta drezun....pastoral, eclogue
• popduzuta drezun....troubadour poem
• rondodrezun....rondeau, rondel, roundel
• seuz drezun....sound poem
• tadyandrezun....prothalamion, epithalamion
• tankadrezun....tanka
• taxdrezun....epitaph
• tuddrezun....nursery rhyme
• ulondrezun....sonnet
• ujdreznadeon....envoi
• undrezun....quatrain
• unnad drezun....tetrastich
• uvdrezun....elegy
• alyundrezun....villanelle
• virelaydrezun....virelai, virelay
• yizivtos drezun....rhapsody
• yoondrezun....quintain

• dreznad....line, -stich, verse

• eyndreznad...hemistich
• endreznad....couplet

• dreznadyan....stanza
• gelseux....rhyme

• gelseuxyen....rhyme scheme
• dunija gelseuxen....alliteration

• seuxzoyxen....assonance
• geyldyan....simile
• yiztyun....metaphor
• yanseuzan....consonance
• deup....rhythm, beat, metrical foot, meter
• kyib....stress
• seuz....tone

Forming Adjectives

You can form an adjective by adding the suffix a to a substantive, adverb, or preposition. By substantive is meant a noun, pronoun, or gerund. Any of these can be adjectivized.

Examples:

Deriving Adjectives

NOUN	ADJECTIVE
taam....home	taama....domestic
doob....nation	dooba....national
tej....life	teja....vital
tyoyapyaf....ability to walk	tyoyapyafa....ambulatory
martun....astronomy	martuna....astronomical
PRONOUN	ADJECTIVE
at....I, me	ata....my
eut....yourself	euta....your own
hiyen....this kind	hiyena....this kind of
duhot?....who?	duhota?....whose?
GERUND	ADJECTIVE
ifeken....recreation	ifekena....recreational
VERB FORM	ADJECTIVE (= PARTICIPLE)
teje....(he) lives	tejea....living
tojo....will die	tojoa....moribund, about to die
tojbu....would kill	tojbua....lethal
twa....was known	twaa....known (usu. shortened to twa)

Adjectival Suffixes

Various types of adjectives can be created with adjectival suffixes beyond just a.

Examples:

Deriving Other Adjectives

SUFFIX	MEANING	NOUN	ADJECTIVE
-ava	pro-, for
		Usom U.S.	Usomava pro-U.S.
		yuvrin slavery	yuvrinava pro-slavery
-ova	anti-, against
		dobvyabyan constitution	dovyabyanova anti-constitutional
		dot society	dotova anti-social
-aya	full of, having, -ous, -ful, -ly
		volz color	volzaya colorful
		futax resentment	futaxaya resentful
		tiibil blood	tiibilaya bloody
		yiflan courage	yiflanaya courageous
-oya	bereft of, -less, un-
		volz color	volzoya colorless, pale
		tajyaf talent	tajyafoya untalented
-ika	full of, -ous, -ful, -y
		map wind	mapika windy
-uka	bereft of, without, -less
		nas money	nasuka broke, penniless
-yena	-like, -ous, -ly, -y, -ish, -ic, -al
		tudet child	tudetyena childish, infantile
		tot god	totyena divine, godly
		pit fish	pityena fish-like, fishy
-wa or -awa	-ed, past passive participle (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	PAST PASSIVE PARTICIPLE
		t- know	twa known
		dal- speak	dalwa spoken, oral
		nixbu- sell	nixbuwa sold
		dr- write	drawa written
-ea	-ing (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE
		ot- not know	otea ignorant
		tej- live	tejea living, alive
		tuj- die	tujea dying
-yea	-ive, prone to Xing, given to X (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE
		tujb- kill	tujbyea murderous
		tex- think	texyea pensive, thoughtful
		tox- forget	toxyea forgetful
		axl- act	axlyea active
-uwa	-able, apt to be Xed (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	POTENTIAL PASSIVE PARTICIPLE
		ex- operate	exuwa operable
		tos feel	tosuwa palpable
		tex- think	texuwa conceivable
		tel- eat	teluwa edible
-yafa	-able, capable of Xing (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	POTENTIAL SUBJECT-ORIENTED
		teat- see	teatyafa sightful, able to see
		dyed- read	dyedyafa literate
-yafwa	-able, possible to be Xed (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	POTENTIAL OBJECT-ORIENTED
		teat- see	teatyafwa visible
		tax- remember	taxyafwa memorable
		teet- hear	teetyafwa audible
		tel- eat	telyafwa edible
-yofa	incapable of Xing (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	NEGATIVE POTENTIAL SUBJECT-ORIENTED
		teat- see	teatyofa blind
		tyoyap- walk	tyoyapyofa lame
		teet- hear	teetyofa deaf
		dal- speak	dalyofa dumb, incapable of speaking
-yofwa	un-X-able (added to verb stem)	VERB STEM	NEGATIVE POTENTIAL OBJECT-ORIENTED
		teat- see	teatyofwa invisible
		teet- hear	teetyofa inaudible
		tox- forget	toxyofa unforgetable
		dal- speak	dalyofa unspeakable
-ifa	fond of, -phile	NOUN STEM	ADJECTIVE
		pot animal	potifa pet-friendly
		hyitoob- same-gender	hyitoobifa homophile
		tobot child	tobotifa pedophile
		fitel food	fitelifa gourmand
		doob nation	doobifa patriotic
-ifwa	loved by	NOUN STEM	ADJECTIVE
		tyod people	tyodifwa popular
-ufa	adverse to, hating, miso-, -phobic	NOUN STEM	ADJECTIVE
		tob human	tobufa misanthropic
		hyut- other person	hyutufa xenophobic
		toyb- woman	toybufa misogynist
-ef(w)a	needful of, (necessary to be X-ed)	NOUN OR VERB STEM	ADJECTIVE
		til drink	tilefa thirsty
		tel food	telefa hungry
		nas money	nasefa poor, needy
		yelb- to oil	yelbefwa squeaky, in need of oil
-yef(w)a	worthy of, due to be (deserving of being X-ed)	NOUN OR VERB STEM	ADJECTIVE
		fid praise	fidyefa praiseworthy
		dud answer	dudyefa responsible
		tax- remember	taxyefwa memorable
-yuk(w)a	easy to, (easily X-ed)	VERB STEM	ADJECTIVE
		vatex- believe	vatexyuka gullible
		vatex- believe	vatexyukwa incredible, hard to believe
-yik(w)a	hard to, (hard of X-ing)	VERB STEM	ADJECTIVE
		teat- see	teatyikwa opaque
		teet- hear	teetyika hard of hearing

Adjectival Prefixes

Negating the Meaning of Adjectives

The semantics of an adjective can be reversed with the prefix o-.

Examples:

• vlea....probable → ovlea....improbable
• fika....perfect → ofika....imperfect
• twa....known → otwa....unknown
• bosa....quiet → obosa....upset, unquiet

Note: Occasionally, the prefix lo- is used to avoid ambiguity, as in the following case:

• fwa....wanted
• → ofwa....prohibited < ofer....to prohibit
• → yofwa....impossible < yofer....to be unable
• → lofwa....unwanted < fer....to want (disambiguated)

The prefixes lyo- and ov are more intense for reversing the meaning of an adjective:

• data....friendly
• odata....unfriendly
• ovdata....hostile
• lyodata....inimical

• dota....social
• odota....unsocial
• ovdota....antisocial
• lyodota....savage

Table of Adjective Prefixes

As in English, where the sense of adjectives can be altered by a number of prefixes of Germanic, Latin, and Greek origin, the sense of adjectives in Mirad can also be altered with prefixes. Here are the principal ones:

Altering the Sense of Adjectives with Prefixes
Click on double arrow to alphabetize the column

MIRAD PREFIX	ENGLISH PREFIX	ALTERED ADJECTIVE EXAMPLES
o-	un-, a(n)-, in-, non-	obaka....unhealthy oyezyebeya....incontinent, oyelpea....non-invasive ototina....atheist
ov-	anti-, counter-	ovzuina....anti-leftist oviztida....counter-intuitive
av-	pro-	avhyitoosifa....pro-gay
kovyo-	pseudo-	kovyotepina....pseudo-intellectual
hya(s)-	all-, pan-, omni-	hyastea....all-knowing, omniscient
voy-, gal-	re-	voyupya....returned galabwa....reapplied
vyo-	mis-	vyoseudxwa....mispronounced
eyn-	semi-, half-	eynlevelaya....semi-sweet eyntija....half-awake
yiz-	ultra-, super-	yizdoobina....ultra-nationalist yizmola....supernatural
gro-	under-, hypo-	grojaga....under-aged
gra-	over-, hyper-, uber-	graagxwa....overgrown gratoseya....hypersensitive
gla-	multi-, many-, poly-	glakuma....multilateral glatadaya....polygamous
fu-	mal-, ill-	futeyenxwa....ill-conceived fusanxwa....malformed
fi-	well-	fitofabwa....well-dressed
yuyb-	quasi-, almost	yuybdaba....quasi-governmental
ja-	pre-, (a)fore-, pro-	jateyenxwa....pre-conceived jaigdawa....aformentioned
jo-	post-	jodropeka....post-war
oyeb-	extra-, exo-,	oyebtada....extra-marital
yeb-	endo-	yebtayoba....endo-dermal
agl(a)-	macro-	aglamora....macrocosmic
ogl(a)-	micro-	oglamora....microcosmic
ut-	auto-, self-, sui-	utpana....automatic uttojbua....suicidal
hyaewa-	ambi-	hyaewatesea....ambivalent
en-	bi-	entoobifa....bisexual
yuz-	circum-	yuzteaxea....circumspect
gel-	homo-	gelsauna....homogeneous
ogel-	hetero-	ogelsauna....heterogeneous
oyb-	infra-, sub-	oybivoza....infrared
ge-	iso-, equi-	gevoza....isochromatic
agr(a)-	mega-	agratipa....megamaniacal
ku-	para-	kuega....paranormal
yuyb-	quasi-, almost, pen-	yuybdobyena....quasi-official
yib-	tele-, far-	yibpyuxea....far-reaching
zey-	trans-, cross-	zeymimaga....transoceanic
aaj-	paleo-	aajtoba....paleoloanthropic
eej-	neo-	eejvisauna....neoclassical
yibaj-	arch(a)eo-, ancient	yibajtuna....archaeological
yeb-	endo-, inner, intro-	yebzena....endocentric yebuzbwa....introverted
oyeb-	exo-, outer, ex-, extr(a/o)-	oyebzena....exocentric oyebuzbwa....extroverted
yab(an)-	high-, up	yabnoga....upscale yabnayxa....high-priced
yaban-	acro-	yabanyufa....acrophobic
yob-	low-, down-	yobnoga....low-grade, down-scale

English and Mirad Adjectival Suffix Comparison

Here is a chart showing a comparison between English adjectival suffixes and their Mirad counterparts:

English and Mirad Adjectival Suffixes Compared

ENGLISH SUFFIX	MEANING	MIRAD SUFFIX	ALTERED ADJECTIVE EXAMPLES
-ful	full of	-aya -ika	vozaya....colorful tuzika....skillful
-ous	full of	-aya -ika	nazika....precious milaya....aqueous
-filled	full of	-aya -ika	movika / movaya....smoke-filled
-y	full of	-aya -ika	movika / movaya....smoky
-ous	of like	-a	totina....religious vyosa....erroneous
-ly	like	-yena	totyena....godly toybyena....womanly
-like	like	-yena	patyena....bird-like
-ish	like	-yena	tobotyena....childish
-y	like	-yena	fyabyena....fruity
-ic	like	-yena	tuzyena....artistic silyena....acidic
-ic	of related to	-a	tuna....scientific beka....therapeutic
-ical	of related to	-a	zyunida....spherical iztexa....logical
-ological	pertaining to the study of	-tuna	tejtuna....biological
-ist(ic)	pertaining to the doctrine of	-ina	doparina....militarist(ic) nasyanina....capitalist(ic)
-ophobic (and miso- prefix)	hating fearful of	-ufa	yudatufa....xenophonic tobyanufa....misanthropic
-ophilic (and philo- prefix)	loving	-ifa	tobotifa....pedophilic tobifa....philanthropic
-al	like	-yena	pyotyena....bestial
-al	of pertaining to	-a	teja....vital amana....thermal
-less	without empty of	-oya -uka	tejuka....lifeless tobotoya....childless
-free	without empty of	-oya -uka	yomuka....ice-free vyosoya....error-free
-safe -proof	free not subject to	-vaka	milvaka....waterproof

Forming Adverbs

Adjectives can be converted into adverbs by post-y-gliding the adjectival suffix a, in other words, by adding a y to the adjective. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Examples:

Deriving Adverbs

ADJECTIVE	ADVERB
fia....good	fiay....well
vyaa....true	vyaay....truly
gyua....easy	gyuay....easily
iga....quick	igay....quickly
auta....personal	autay....personally

For brevity's sake, the stem of monosyllabic de-adjectival adverbs can be used at the end of a clause or sentence. For example:

• It tyoyape ig.....He walks fast.
• Yit xa has fi.....They did it well.

Special Adverbs

Mirad has special adverbs that are not derived from adjectives and may or may not end in -ay.

Here are the principal such adverbs:

Special Adverbs

MIRAD	ENGLISH
vay	indeed, really, certainly, do (cf. va....yes)
vey	possibly, may, might (cf. ve....maybe)
voy	not (cf. vo....no)
ga	more (modifying an adjective, adverb, or verb)
gay	also, moreover, further, still
ge	as, equally (modifying an adjective, adverb, or verb)
gey	even
go	less (modifying an adjective, adverb, or verb)
goy	no longer, no more
gla	very
glay	quite, rather, so
gle	so
glo	not very, not so
gra	too
gre	enough, sufficiently, over-
gro	not...enough, inadequately, under-
gwa	most, super-
gwe	average
gwo	least, sub-
zay	ahead, forward
zey	across
zoy	back
zye	through
zya	throughout

The first three adverbs in the above chart are used to affirm or emphasize, cast doubt on, or negate verb predicates as in the examples that follow:

• AFFIRMATIVE: Va, at vay se taduwa.....Yes, I am indeed married.
• DUBITIVE: Iyta dud se vey vyosa.....Her response is possibly wrong.
• NEGATIVE: At voy se eta yuxrut.....I am not your slave.

The adverbs above beginning with g are quantitative adverbs and modify an adjective, verb, or another adverb:

• Et se gla via.....You are very beautiful [=ADJECTIVE].
• Et peya gra ig.....You were going too fast [=ADVERB].
• It gra dale.....He talks [=VERB] too much.

Other special adverbs, which do not end in -ay, include the following, which can all be used in multi-word prepositions:

Adverbs Used in Prepositional Phrases

SPECIAL ADVERB	EXAMPLES
yab....up	Ha pat papa yab bu ha mam.....The bird flew up to the sky.
yob....down	Teaxu yob bu ha mel.....Look down to the ground.
yub....near	Besu yub bi ha mas.....Stay near the wall.
yib....far	Ha tobi igpia yib bi ha yovbyokam.....The people ran far from the prison.
yeb....in, inward, inside	Kyedu hat hu ogja tyoyapa yeb buha tam!....Guess who just walked into the house!
oyeb....out, outside	It tyoyapa oyeb zye bi ha zames.....He walked out through the front door.
yuz....around	Yit daza yuz bi yat.....They danced around us.
yiz....beyond	Et yefe teaxer yiz bi hia tistam av yux.....You must look beyond this school for help.
iz....directly, straight	Pu iz bu hat.....Go right up to him.
zi....right	Uzpu zi ub yat!....Turn right toward us!
zu....left	Hat uzpa zu ib at.....He turned left away from me.
zay....forward	Pu zay bu ha uj.....Go on to the end.
zoy....back	Upu zoy bi hua nem.....Come back from that place.
zye....through	Yat buxo ha muyv zye bi ha dref.....We will push the pin through the paper.
yan....together	Van yat tyopu yan.....Let's walk together.
yon....apart	Ha meri kyapeye yon.....The planets are drifting apart.

Pro-adverbs

There are also adverbial expressions that are formed with deictic prefixes and categorical stubs to produce what are known as pro-adverbs. These include interrogative pro-adverbs like duhom? (where?), duhoyen? (how?), duhoj? (when?), duhogla (to what extent?), and their answers, such as hum (there), heyen (somehow), and hyoj (never), hugla (so, to that extent). These words are discussed under the chapter on Deictic Determiners.

Forming Verbs

Verbs can be formed from various parts of speech:

• Noun stems
• Adjective stems
• Verb stems

Forming Verbs from Nouns

Verbs can often be formed from nouns simply by adding the verb infinitive suffix er:

Denominal Verb Derivation

NOUN	VERB
syag....count	syager....to count
af....permission	afer....may, be allowed
teud....cry, shout	teuder....to cry, shout, exclaim
taj....birth	tajer....to be born
tej....life	tejer....to live
toj....death	tojer....to die
ej....present	ejer....to continue
ij....beginning	ijer....to begin
uj....end	ijer....to end
yuj....sleep	tujer....to sleep

Verb Formants

More often, an auxiliary verb or verb stub is used to create various verbs from nouns. The most common such verb formants are in this chart:

• -ser....to be/become usually intransitive and stative (unite = become one)
• -xer....to do/make usually transitive and dynamic (unite = make one)
• -per....to go usually intransitive and a dynamic verb of motion (mount = get onto)
• -ber....to put usually transitive and a verb of gesture (apply = put onto)
• -ier a stub from the verb to take, usually an action verb benefiting the agent (eat = take food)
• -uer a stub from the verb to give, usually an action verb benefiting the patient (feed = give food)
• -der....to say, a verb of communication (affirm = say yes)
• -ter....to know, verbs of the perception and knowledge (teater = see)

Some of the above formants can be intensified with the liquids l or r, eg.sler, -xler, -xrer, -bler, -prer.

Verb Derivation with Verb Formants

NOUN	AUXILIARY VERB OR VERB STUB FORMANT	VERB
yav....innocence	der....to say	yavder....to acquit
yov....shame, guilt	aber....to apply, put on	yovaber....to shame, accuse
yov....shame, guilt	ober....to remove, take off	yovober....to excuse, exculpate
tof....clothes	aber....to apply, put on	tofaber....to dress, don
tof....clothes	ober....to remove, take off	tofober....to undress, strip
det....associate	ser....to be, become	detser....to associate
dat....friend	xer....to do, make	datxer....to befriend
san....form	ser....to be, become	sanser....to form (intransitive)
san....form	xer....to do, make	sanxer....to form (transitive)
tel....food	(b)ier....to take	telier....to eat, consume
tel....food	(b)uer....to give	teluer....to feed, nourish
if....pleasure	(b)ier....to take	ifier....to enjoy
if....pleasure	(b)uer....to give	ifuer....to please
taj....birth	ber....to put	tajber....to give birth
tej....life	per....to go	tejper....to come alive
tej....life	ber....to put	tejber....to bring to life
toj....death	per....to go	tojper....to drop dead
toj....death	ber....to put	tojber....to kill
tij....wakefulness	per....to go	tijper....to wake up
tij....wakefulness	ber....to put	tijber....to awaken
tuj....sleep	per....to go	tujper....to fall asleep
tuj....sleep	ber....to put	tujber....to put to sleep
tax....memory	(b)ier....to take	taxier....to recall
tax....memory	(b)uer....to give	taxuer....to remind
yev....justice	der....to say, tell	yevder....to judge
vyan....truth	der....to say, tell	vyander....to tell the truth
vyon....falsehood	der....to say, tell	vyonder....to tell a lie
il....liquid	aker....to gain	ilaker....to take on liquid
il....liquid	oker....to lose	iloker....to leak, lose liquid
il....liquid	(b)ier....to take	ilier....to soak up
il....liquid	(b)uer....to give	iluer....to pour, water
il....liquid	ikser....to get full	ilikser....to be soaked (intransitive)
il....liquid	ikxer....to fill up	ilikxer....to flood, soak (transitive)
il....liquid	ukser....to become empty	ilukser....to drain (intransitive)
il....liquid	ukxer....to empty	ilukxer....to flush (transitive)
il....liquid	ser....to be, become	ilser....to liquify, melt (intransitive)
il....liquid	xer....to do, make	ilxer....to liquify, melt (transitive)
il....liquid	aber....to apply, put on	ilaber....to wash (transitive)
il....liquid	aper....to get on	ilaper....to float (intransitive)
il....liquid	per....to go	ilper....to flow (intransitive)
il....liquid	zyaber....to spread	ilzyaber....to spray, shower (transitive)
il....liquid	zyober....to squeeze	ilzyober....to squirt (transitive)
il....liquid	pyexer....to strike	ilpyexer....to splash (with liquid)
il....liquid	yujer....to close	ilyujer....to plug

Note that verbs ending in -ser and -ier are intransitive (they take no object), while those ending in -xer and -uer are transitive. Also, -ier verbs are inchoative, while -uer verbs are benefactive or causative (making someone do something).

Forming Verbs from Adjectives With -xer and -ser

The verbs that are formed from adjectives fall mainly into two groups, the transitive group with -xer....to do, make, cause, and the intransitive group with -ser....to be, become.

The following chart shows how these verbs are formed:

Forming Verbs with Xer and Ser

ADJECTIVE	TRANSITIVE VERB	INTRANSITIVE VERB
aza....strong	azaxer....fortify, strengthen, make strong	azaser....get strong
oza....week	ozaxer....weaken	ozaser....grow weaker
kyia....heavy	kyiaxer....weigh down	kyiaser....grow heavy
kyua....light	kyuaxer....lighten, make lighter	kyuaser....get lighter
yana....together	yanaxer....bring together	yanaser....get together

The final adjective ending a is often dropped to form a verb with a slightly different meaning, usually somewhat more idiomatic. In some cases, dropping the a makes it clear that the verb is created from a noun rather than an adjective, as in the last example of the following chart:

Comparing Full and Stub Adjectives in Verb Formation

ADJECTIVE	TRANSITIVE VERB	INTRANSITIVE VERB
aga....big	agaxer....magnify	agaser....get big
	agxer....grow	agxer....grow up, mature
iga....fast	igaxer....accelerate	igaser....speed up
	igxer....rush	igser....hurry up
baka....healthy	bakaxer....make healthy	bakaser....get healthy
	bakxer....heal	bakser....heal
sana....formal	sanaxer....formalize	sanaser....become formal
	sanxer....form, shape	sanser....form, take shape

Forming Verbs of Gesture and Motion with -ber and -per

Verbs of gesture are formed with the transitive auxiliary verb ber....to put, while parallel verbs of motion are formed with the intransitive auxiliary verb per....to go. These verbs are usually paired and are often built from a prepositional base. If the prepositional base ends in b, the b is dropped. Here are some examples:

Verb Derivation with Ber and Per

PREPOSITON BASE	TRANSITIVE GESTURE VERB	INTRANSITIVE MOTION VERB
ab....on	aber....apply, put on	aper....mount, get on
eb....between	eber....block	eper....intervene
ob....off	ober....remove, take off	oper....dismount, get off
ib....away	iber....receive	iper....leave
ub....toward	uber....send	uper....come
yab....up	yaber....raise	yaper....rise
yeb....in oyeb....out	yeber....insert oyeber....take out	yeper....enter oyeper....exit
yob....down	yober....lower	yoper....descend
yib....far	yiber....take away	yiper....move away
yub....near	yuber....bring	yuper....approach
za....front	zaber....put up front	zaper....take the lead
zay....forward	zayber....advance	zayper....advance, go forward
ze....middle	zeber....balance	zeper....balance
zey....across	zeyber....take across, transfer	zeyper....cross, go over, transit
zo....behind	zober....hinder	zoper....trail, lag
zoy....back	zoyber....set back, return	zoyper....retreat, go back, return
iz....straight	izber....guide	izper....aim for
uz....crooked	uzber....divert	uzper....turn, diverge
zu....left	zuber....set to the left	zuper.... go left
yiz....beyond	yizber....take beyond	yizper....pass by
yuz....around	yuzber....take around	yuzper....go around

More elaborate verbs of gesture and motion can be formed by adding positional/directional ordinal vowels along with combinations of ser and xer, plus the intensifiers y, l and r. In this more complex scheme, the stem-initial p is a more semantically intense version of b. Also the verb endings -sler and -srer and more intense versions of the intransitive ending -ser, while -xler and -xrer and more intense version of the transitve ending -xer. Verbs ending in -ler and -rer are transitive voice by nature, -rer being more semantically intense. Prepositions can be prefixed to change the direction of the gestures or motions.

Creating More Elaborate Verbs

GESTURE VERB		MOTION VERB
INTRANSITIVE	TRANSITIVE	INTRANSITIVE	TRANSITIVE
--	ber....put beer....have beler....carry bexer....hold bexler....keep	per....go	--
baer....lean on	baler....press yanbaler....compress yobaler....depress, suppress yuzbaler....hug zoybaler....repress barer....crush	paer....hover
baser....gesticulate	baxer....make a gesture abaxer....caress, pat	paser....move	paxer....move
byaser....stand up	byaxer....set up, erect	pyaser....jump up	pyaxer....shoot, launch
basler....budge	baxler....rouse abaxler....stroke	paaser....get excited	paaxer....excite apaxler....sweep
basrer....shake	baxrer....shake abaxrer....rub		apaxrer....scrub
beser....stay	bexer....hold zoybexer....restrain yobexer....detain, hold down	peser....wait	pexer....trap pexler....capture pexrer....abduct
byeser....behave	byexer....hit	pyeser....run into, bump into	pyexer....strike, knock yonpyexer....break yopyexer....knock down epyexer....fight apyexer....attack ovpyexer....offend kunpyexer....sideswipe tuyapyexer....slap
besler....adhere	bexler....retain		pyexler....pound, beat apyexler....assault yonpexler....shatter, burst
		yanpyesrer....implode yonpyesler....explode	pyexler....blast, bomb
boser....calm down boyser....rest	boxer....quieten, quell	poser....stop poyser....pause	poxer....stop
byoser....hang	byoxer....hang	pyoser....fall yonpyoser....decay	pyoxer....drop, throw down yopyoxer....topple
biser....originate	bixer....pull yanbixer....contract yonbixer....distract yubixer....attract yibixer....distract oyebixer....extract yebixer....push in		pixer....catch
bisler....spring	bixler....yank bixrer....ravage		pixler....snatch pixrer....rape
buser....be destined	buxer....push, drive zyobuxer....squeeze yebuxer....expel abuxer....impose	apuser....assault	puxer....throw, thrust
byuser....bump into	byuxer....touch yanbyuxer....contact	pyuser....run into	pyuxer....crash
busler....swoop	buxler....shove	pusler....lunge, pounce	puxler....thrust zyapuxler....splatter

Yet more complex verbs can be generated by adding directional and positional prefixes to the above verbs. Let's just take the one verb baxer (and its intransitive partner baser) as our base verb and generate many others through prefixation of prepositional and other words as shown in the following chart:

Baxer Verbs

PREFIX	VERB
baxer....gesture, make a bodily motion
ab....on	abaxer....caress, pat, pet, stroke, rub
iz....straight	izbaxer....point
teb....head	tebaxer....nod
va....yes	vatebaxer....nod yes
vo....no	votebaxer....nod no
ve....maybe	vetebaxer....shrug
tuyab....hand	tuyabaxer....wave
tub....arm	tubaxer....flail, swing
teubab....tongue	teubabaxer....lick
teab....eye	teubaxer....wink
patub....wing	patubaxer....flap
tiyub....tail	tiyubaxer....wag
baser....gesticulate
ig-....fast	igbaser....jerk
zay....forward	igzaybaser....lurch
zoy....back	zoybaser....recoil
yob....down	yobaser....bow, bend down
ku-....side	kubaser....slide
ig-....fast	igkubaser....slip
iz....straight + uz....curved	uizbaser....sway, swagger, swish
zi....right + zu....left	zuibaser....wiggle, wobble, totter

Forming Frequentative Verbs

A frequentative verb, that is, one that involves an action done quickly multiple times in succession, can be formed by infixing the syllable eg- between the verb stem and verb ending. Here are some examples:

The -eg- Frequentative Infix

REGULAR VERB	FREQUENTATIVE VERB
paser....move	paseger....shake, shudder
pyaser....jump	pyaseger....bounce
paper....fly	papeger....flutter, flit
braser....shake	braseger....shudder, quiver, vibrate
teupixer....bite	teupixeger....nibble
ilzyaber....spray	ilzyabeger....sprinkle
pyexer....beat	pyexeger....batter, whip

Forming Hybrid Words

Expressions with alternating components like back-and-forth, up-and-down, etc. are formed in a peculiar, hybrid way. The following table shows this formation and how such words can be used, especially as prefixes on verbs:

Hybrid Words

ALTERNATING COMPONENTS	HYBRID EXPRESSION	EXAMPLES
yab....up + yob....down	yao(b)-....up-and-down	yaoper....fluctuate, yaopuser....bounce
a-....up, north, skyward + o-....down, south	ao-....vertical	aonada....vertical, aonab....column
za(y)....forth, north + zo(y)....back, south	zao(b)-....front-back/north-to-south	zaobaser....rock, zaomera....north/south
bu....to + bi....from	bui-....to-and-from	buipar....shuttle, buipop....round-trip
ab....on + ob....off	ao(b)-....on-and-off	aoper....get on and off
yuj-....closed + yij-....open	yuij-....open-and-shut	yuijbar....switch, igyuijer....blink
uj-....stop + ij-....start	uij-....stop-and-start	uijparpan....stop-and-go traffic
(a)yeb....in + oyeb....out	aoye(b)-....in-and-out	igaoyeper....run in-and-out
yub....near + yib....far	yui(b)-....near-and-far	yuipoper....travel near-and-far
ub....toward + ib....away	ui(b)-....toward-and-away	uipen....coming and going
hum....there + him....here	huim....here-and-there	huimkexer....search high-and-low (here-and-there)
hus....that + his....this	huis....this-and-that	huisyexer....do odd jobs, work at this-or-that
hyut....other person + hyit....same person	hyuit....one another	hyuitifer....love one another, hyuita....mutual, reciprocal

Here are some more examples:

More Hybrids

HYBRID WORD	ENGLISH GLOSS	ALTERNATING COMPONENTS
aogsen	fluctuation (in size)	ag- (big) + og- (little) + s- (become) + -en (-ing)
aonada	vertical	a- (up/north) + o- (down/south) + nad (line) + -a (adj.)
aopuys	hop-on-hop-off	a(p)- (on) + o(p)- (off) + puys- (hop)
buien	trading, swapping	bu- (give) + bi- (trake) + -en (-ing)
buip	traffic	bu- (to) + bi- (from) + p- (go)
buixar	spring	bux- (push) + bix (pull) + -ar (instrument)
buixek	tug-o-war	bux- (push) + bix- (pull) + ek (play)
buixnyem	drawer	bux- (push) + bix- (pull) + nyem (box)
byaosen	teetering, stumbling	byas- (stand) + byos- (fall) + -en (-ing)
diep	marine force	dip (sea force) + dep (land force)
duid	q&a, interview	dud (answer) + did (question)
eigpyexer	batter, whip	eg- (again) + ig- (fast) + pyexer (to hit)
gao	more-or-less	ga (more) + go (less)
glaojo	sooner or later	gla (very) + glo (slightly) + jo (after)
huimkexer	search here and there	hu- (that) + hi- (this) + -m (place) + kex (search) + -er (inf.)
huis	this-and-that	hu- (that) + hi- (this) + -s (thing)
hyuit	one another	hyu- (other) + hyi- (same) + -t (person)
kyaopen	fluctuation	kya- (mobile) + kyo (static) + -pen (going)
maluier	breathe	mal- (air) + u- (let out) + i- (take in) -er (inf.)
maojyex	double-shift work	maj (day) + moj (night) + yex (work)
maonig	flicker	man (light) + mon (dark) + ig- (fast)
maolza	black&white/gray	malza (white) + molza (black)
meil	mud	mel (soil) + mil (water)
memuiben	import-exports	mem (country) + ub- (send) + ib- (receive) + -en (-ing)
mial	vapor	mil (water) + mal (air)
mieg	reef	mi- (sea) + me- (land) + -g (stone)
miek	sand	mi- (sea) + me- (land) + -k (rocky substance)
miem	swamp	mim (sea) + mem (land)
mimpuin	dock	mim (sea) + pu- (arrive) + pi- (depart) + -m (place)
mimpyaos	surf	mim (sea) + pyas- (surge) + pyos- (sink)
mimuip	tide	mim (sea) + up- (come) + ip- (go)
peit	amphibian	pet (land animal) + pit (sea creature)
puim	kiss-and-ride zone	pu- (arrive) + pi- (depart) + -m (place)
puixek	baseball	pux- (pitch) + pix- (catch) + ek (play)
pyaos	wave	pyas- (surge) + pyos- (crest)
teabyuij	blink	teab (eye) + yuj- (close) + yij- (open)
tuijea	nodding off	tuj- (sleep) + tij (wake) -ea (-ing)
uijdal	stutter	uj- (finish) + ij- (start) + dal (speech)
uipeni	comings & goings	up- (come) + ip (go) + -en (-ing) + -i (pl.)
uiza	serpentine, snaky	uza (crooked) + iza (straight)
vao?	yes or no?	va (yes) + vo (no)
vaod	decision	va (yes) + vo (no) + d- (say)
yaobar	elevator	yab- (raise) + yob- (lower) + -ar (instrument)
yaobyuijar	piston	yab- (raise) + yob- (lower) + yuj- (close) + yij- (open ) + -ar (instrument)
yaoplas	oscillation	yap- (up) + yop- (down) + plas (shake)
yaopsim	seesaw	yap- (ascend) + yop- (descend) + sim (seat)
yaopus	bounce	ya(b)- (up) + yo(b)- (down) + pus (jump)
yaovdut	juror	yav- (innocent) + yov- (guilty) + d- (say) + -ut (agent)
yaoza	uneven, bumpy, serrated	yaza (convex) + yoza (concave)
yaozgoblar	saw	yaz (protrusion ) + yoz (indentation) + gobl- (cut) + -ar (instrument)
yaozil	wave	yaz (swell) + yoz (trough) + -il (liquid)
yuibteabar	bifocals	yub (near) + yib (far) + teab (eye) + -ar (instrument)
yuijar	valve, switch	yuj- (close) + yij- (open) + -ar (instrument)
zaobelur	ferry	za- (forth) + zo (back) + bel- (carry) + -ur (vehicle)
zaobyexar	swatter, bat	za (forth) + zo (back) + byex- (strike) + -ar (instrument)
zaodal	dialog	za- (forth) + zo (back) + dal (speech)
zaogoblar	saw	za (forth) + zo (back) + gobl (cut) + -ar (instrument)
zaokyax	alternation	za (forth) + zo (back) + kyax (change)
zaopasen	swinging	za- (forth) + zo- (back) + pasen (moving)
zaopsim	swing or rocker	zap- (go forth) + zap (go back) + sim (seat)
zuibasen	wiggling	zu- (left) + zi- (right) + bas- (move bodily) + -en (-ing)
zuibayx	wag	zu- (left) + zi- (right) + bayx- (slight body move)
zuibyoxea	dangling	zu (left) + zi (right) + byox- (hang down) + -ea (-ing)
zuiyafa	ambidextrous	zu- (left) + zi- (right) + yafa (capable)
zyaobas	throb	zya- (wide) + zyo- (narrow) + bas (bodily movement)

Mirad Grammar/Word Families

Word Order

Overall, Mirad is an SVO language, that is, the normal word order is Subject + Verb Predicate + Object, much like English and all of the Romance languages.

The subject and object consist of nouns or pronouns with or without modifiers. The verb predicate consists of a conjugated verb form with or without adverbial modifiers, which may precede or follow based on considerations below.

The Subject

A subject is the entity that is responsible for the action or state in the verb predicate. That entity consists of modified or unmodified zero or more nouns or pronouns. The subject can be a noun phrase, which can include modifiers like deictic adjectives, quantifiers, or descriptive adjectives preceding a noun or nouns heading up a prepositional phrase.

Some rules:

• Modifiers of a noun or noun phrase precede that noun or noun phrase:
• Deictic adjectives and possessive pronouns come in first place among the modifiers:

Hia via toyb....this beautiful woman

Ha aa dresiun....the first letter

Yata ifwa twed hu toja zojub....our beloved father who died last year

• Quantifiers come after any deictic adjectives or possessive pronouns, but before the noun they modify:

Hua ewa pati....those two birds

Hya ha gla jubi....all the many days

Iyta gla yafoni....her many abilities

• Prepositions precede their complement:

Za ata tam....in front of my house

• Prepositional phrase modifiers follow the noun they modify:

ha domep zo yata tam....the street behind our house

saxam yub bi et....a factory near you

• Relative clause modifiers follow the noun or noun phrase they modify:

Hos at voy teste....the thing (that) I don't understand

Ha glo doymi ho zoybese....the few towns that remain

• A subject noun can consist of a clause, infinitive, or gerund:

Van it upo se vala.....That he will come is certain.

Ser yiva se ser iva.....To be free is to be happy.

Hia uvteuden yefe poser.....This weeping must stop.

• The subject can consist of a pronoun or linked pronouns:

Et ay at....You and I

Anay et....Only you

Glati....many people

• Adverbs often precede what they modify, but this rule is somewhat loose.

gey et....even you

deuzen fiay....singing well

voy aken....not winning

Prepositional Phrases

In Mirad, prepositional phrases consist of a simple or complex (= multi-word) preposition followed by a complement. Some examples:

• be moj....at night (simple)
• ja utyal....before supper (simple)
• yeb bu ha tam....into the house (complex)

Use of Simple Prepositions

Mirad has the following simple prepositions, which, except for ogel, are monosyllabic, and stand directly before their substantive complement:

Simple Prepositions

ab....on	eb....between	ob....off	ib....away from	ub....toward
ayb....above	eyb....among	oyb....under
	be....at		bi....of, from	bu....to
bay....with	bey....by, via	boy....without	byi....from the start of	byu...up to
za....in front of	ze....in the middle of	zo....behind	zi....at the right of	zu....at the left of
zya....throughout	zye....through
ja....before	je....during	jo....after	ji....since	ju....until
gab....plus		gob....minus
gal....times	gel....like ogel....unlike	gol....divided by
gar....to the power of		gor....to the root (negative power) of
ay....and	ey....or	oy....but
av....for ayv....about		ov....against oyv....opposite
	vyel....about, than, as

Examples:

• boy uvteuden....without moaning
• av hyea tesdud....for whatever reason
• ewa gal ewa....two times two
• poper zya Europam.....to travel all over Europe.
• iwa gar se yuwa....three squared is nine
• yekea dyes vyel(or: ayv) Mirad....looking for a book about Mirad

The preposition be (at) is used as an all-purpose locator:

• be ha mimkum....at the beach
• be ha domep....in the street
• be ha meb....on the mountain
• be Fransam....in France

The preposition be is used in many idioms, where ha (the) is omitted:

• be dropek bay....at war with
• be obem bi....at the bottom of ( = at bottom of)
• be nem bi....in place of, instead of, in lieur of
• be tam bi....chez, at the house of
• be zam bi....in front of
• be sinibar....on television
• be dud bu....in response to
• be tam....at home

The preposition bi can be used for from, indicating origin, or of, denoting possession or origin.

Examples:

• Ata twed zoypa bi yex gwa.....My father returned from work early.
• Ha yabtom bi London se humep.....The tower of London is that way.
• His se ha dyes bi hua twob.....This is that man's book ( = the book of that man).

The proposition to (to) can often be omitted after a verb where the to-ness is embedded in the verb. This omission is possible only when the verb is followed immediately by the object of destination:

Examples:

• Buu at hua drar....Give me that pencil (or: Buu hua drar bu at.)
• Pu tam!....Go home! (but: Pu izay bu tam!)
• At peye zedom.....I am going downtown. (or: At peye bu zedom.)

The preposition vyel is used for two purposes:

• about, concerning, relative to as in Hia dyes vyel moltun se yika.....This book about physics is difficult.
• than, as after comparative adjectives as in ga aga vyel huas....bigger than that one.

Do not confuse bay and bey, both of which can sometimes be translated by with in English.

• bay denotes accompaniment as in Duven et po bay at?....Will you be going with me?
• bey denotes means as in It pyexa at bey muf.....He hit me with ( = by means of) a stick.

Use of Complex Prepositions

The above simple prepositions can be used with adverbs to form more complex prepositions. The following chart shows adverbs which ban be joined with simple prepositions to create complex prepositions:

Complex Prepositions

ADVERB	+ bi	+ be	+ bu	OTHER
yab up	yab bi ha sem up from the table	yab be ha abmas up on the roof	yab bu ha abtem up to the attic	yab ayb ha mays up over the fence
yob down	yob bi ha abmas down from the roof	yob be ha mimkum down at the beach	yob bu he obtim down to the cellar	yob oyb ha sem down under the table
yeb in	yeb bi ha mamil in from the rain	yeb be ha tam inside the house	yeb bu ata tim into my room	yeb av vafil in for wine
oyeb out	oyeb bi ha miltim out of/from the bathroom	oyeb be ha abzamas...out on the balcony	oyeb bu ha mesabab out to the porch	oyeb av etyal out for lunch
yub near	yub bi yata tam near(by) our house	yub be eta kun near at your side	yub bu ha ujnod near to the endpoint..	yub bay tod near with family
yib far	yib bi him far from here	yib be mom far out in space	yib bu ha byum far to the goal	yib yob bu ha obem far down to the bottom
yuz around	yuz bi ha mir around the world	yuz be ha zom around in the back	yuz bu ha zam around to the front	yuz boy tof around without clothes
yiz beyond	yiz bi Meir beyond earth		yiz bu hyua kum beyond to the other side
yez along	yez bi ha mas flush with the wall			yez kum bi at alongside me
yan together				yan bay yat together with us
yon apart	yon bi hus apart from that
zay forward, ahead	zay bi at be ha pesnad ahead of me in line		zay bu eta byun ahead to your goal
zoy back, backward	zoy bi yex back from work	zoy be tam back at home	zoy bu tistam back to school	zoy av gas back for more
zey across	zey bi ha aybmep across the bridge	zey be ha ogela kum across on the other side	zey bu ha ogela kum across to the other side	zey ov yat opposite us
iz directly, straight	iz bi yex straight from work	iz be ha zenod right at the midpoint	iz bu sum right to bed	iz yub bi him right near here

Using Prepositions as Clausal Conjunctions

Some simple and complex prepositions can introduce a dependent clause, but must be followed by the positive particle van. This rule does not apply to ay (and), ey (or) and oy (but), because they are already properly conjunctions. This chart shows some examples:

Prepositions as Clausal Conjunctions

PREPOSITION	CLAUSAL CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
ja before	ja van	It tojo ja van et puo. He will die before you arrive.
je during	je van while	Je van et tuxeya, at tujeya. While you were studying, I was sleeping.
jo after	jo van	Yit xo ifonpop ja van yit tadso. They will go on a honeymoon after they get married.
av for	av van so that av von lest...not, so that...not	Egxu av van et su jwabwa. Rehearse so that you will be prepared. Yexu jestay av von et ujoku. Study hard so you won't fail.
ov against	(gey) ov van (even) though, despite the fact that	It igpa gey ov van it ta van it so gwaa. He (or she) ran even though he knew (that) he would be late.

Note that av van and av von are followed by a clause where the predicate verb is in the hypothetical mood (-u), reminiscent of the subjunctive in the Romance languages.

The Predicate

The predicate consists of a verb, its modifiers, and its objects.

Rules

• The adverbs vay (indeed), vey (possibly, may), and voy (not) usually precede the verb:

Yata tam voy osexwa.....Our house was not destroyed.

Vey mamilo.....It may rain.

Et se vay fia deuzut.....You are really a fine singer.

• Other adverbs and come either before or after the verb, depending on emphasis.

Dalu yug!....Speak softly!

Et dale gra ig.....You speak too fast.

It glaxag ake.....He often wins.

Glaxag it ake.....Often he wins.

It ake glaxag.....He wins often.

• Yes-no questions are formed by preceding the verb predicate with Duven...?, which means Say whether..., Is it true that..., without any word order change in the verb predicate:

Duven it gaj tejeye?....Is (it true that) he still living?

Duven et te ha dud?....Do you know the answer?

• Questions words requiring fill-in-the-blank words like When?, Where?, Who?, etc. start out with the question word, followed by the verb predicate in unchanged word order:

Duhoj et taja?....When were you born?

Duhoyen et se?....How are you?

Duhos se eta dyun?....What is your name?

Duhom et tambee?....Where do you live?

Duhot kobia ata dyes?....Who stole my book?

• Question words that are adverbs, as well as pronominal question words that are the subject of a stative predicate, can appear at the end of a sentence:

Et taja duhoj?....When were you born?

Et se duhoyen?....How are you?

Eta dyun se duhos?....What is your name?

Et tambee duhom?....Where do you live?

• Verbs can be serial:

It deuze, daze, ay duzare.....He sings, dances, and plays an instrument.

Eku ey pilu!....Play or get lost!

Iyt eka oy oka.....She played but lost.

• Verb predicates can have an implied, unexpressed subject:

Mamilo.....(It) is going to rain.

Upu!....(You) come!

Se ama him.....(It) is hot here.

Voy se yeva jayevder hes.....(It) is not fair to prejudge someone.

Von (et) jwosu.....Don't (you) be late.

Predicate Types

Predicate types, i.e. illocutions, refer to how the verb, predicate, clause, or sentence is expressed, There are three predicate types in Mirad:

• Declarative
• Interrogative
• Imperative / Hortative

These predicate types, in turn, can be:

• Negative, or
• Affirmative, or
• Combinations of these.

A simple, non-negative statement is affirmative declarative, such as Ha meir yuzpe ha maar.....The earth goes around the sun.

The following sections discuss non-declarative and non-affirmative predicate types.

Making Predicates Interrogative

To make a declarative predicate or sentence into a question, simply begin it with the Yes/No Question Introducer Duven....Say whether.../Is it true that...? or any other interrogative pronoun or adverb such as Duhos?....What?, Duhot?....Who(m)?, or Duhom?....where?. Note that the Du in Duven means Say.../ Tell me..., so Duven...? really is a command meaning Say whether.... The word ven without the du is a conditional complementizer and just means if or whether. The part of the sentence after Duven is a simple declarative statement in the normal word order. The same is true for the words following other interrogative words, such as Duhos?....What? and Duhom?....Where?. In other words, there is no inversion of word order in questions as there often is in English, Spanish, and many other languages.

Making Predicates Interrogative

DECLARATIVE	INTERROGATIVE
Et se tadxwa. You are married.	Duven et se tadxwa? Are you married? (= Say whether you are married.)
Ha mari se manika. The stars are bright.	Duven ha mari se manika? Are the stars bright? (= Say whether the stars are bright.)
Hut aka. That guy won.	Duhot aka? Who won?
Iyt aka glas. She won a lot.	Duhoglas iyt aka? How much did she win?
It paye. He has gone.	Duhom it paye? Where has he gone?

Note that the question words introduce the sentence and do not alter the word order as seen in the declarative. Also, a declarative sentence can be made interrogative simply by adding a question mark at the end in writing or raising the voice inflection at the end in speaking, eg:

• Et tambese ha yubem?
  You live in the neighborhood?

The yes-no tag vao can be placed at the end of a declaration to make it a question, eg.:

• Et tambese ha yubem, vao?
  You live in the neighborhood, right?

Yes/no questions such as the above and those introduced with Duven usually are answered with va
yes, ve
maybe, or vo
no or their equivalents.

"Yes-or-no Questions"

YES-NO QUESTION	ANSWER
Duven eta dyun se John? Is your name John?	Vo, se Bill. No, it's Bill.
Duven eta apet aka? Did your horse win?	Va. Atas vay aka. Yes. Mine won indeed.
Duven et texe van ha maalyen gafiso hijub? Do you think the weather will improve today?	Ve. Maybe.
Fe per bay at? Wanna go with me?	Vey zajub. Maybe tomorrow.
Et tadso, vao? You're going to get married, right?	Vey va, vey vo. Maybe yes, maybe no.

Affirming/ Doubting / Negating Declarations

The following set of interjections and adverbs can be used to affirm, cast doubt on, or negate declarations:

Affirming, Doubting, Negative Declarations

	INTERJECTION	ADVERB	PROPOSITION
AFFIRMATIVE	va yes	vay indeed, really	Va. At vay yantexe Yes, I indeed/do/really agree.
DUBITATIVE	ve maybe, perhaps	vey possibly, may...	Ve. At vey po. Maybe. I may/possibly will go.
NEGATIVE	vo no	voy not	Vo. At voy su iva. No. I would not be happy.

Mixing Them Up

The above interrogative words and the words of affirmation / doubt / negation can be used in various combinations, for example:

• Duven et voy se tadxwa?....Aren't you married?
• Duhasav iyt se voy tadxwa?....Why isn't she married?
• Vey voy mamilo.....It may not rain.
• At vay voy tadso iyt.....I will certainly not marry her.
• Et peyo, vao?....You will go, right?
• Vo. Hus vey vay se vyoa.....No. That may indeed be wrong.
• Et te ha dud, vao?....You know the answer, don't you? (=right?)

Note that the particles of affirmation/doubt/negation usually precede the verb, but can just as easily follow it.

• At voy te. ....I don't know.
• At te voy. ....I don't know. [Lit: I know not.]

Note that vao? is a particle meaning yes or no?, right?, n'est-ce pas?

Imperative and Hortative Expressions

An imperative expression is a command. In Mirad, a verb in the tenseless hypothetical mood ending in -u without a subject is assumed to an imperative referring implicitly to you. For example:

• Ipu !....Go away!
• Tiju !....Wake up!
• Su fiat !....Be a good person!

Hortative expressions, i.e. urging or wishing expressions like Let's go. or May he win., use the hypothetical form of the verb with the clause introduced by the positive complementizer van....that, may, let. In Arabic and some other languages, this is called the jussive mood.

• Van yat fadilu.....Let's pray. (Lit: That we would pray.)
• Van weti aku hia ifek.....May you guys win this game.
• Van ha edeb yagteju.....Long live the king. (Lit. That the king would long-live.)
• At ojfe van wit piu.....I wish he'd leave. (Lit.I wish that he would leave.)

The negative version of imperative and hortative expressions is introduced with the negative complementizer von....don't, lest, let's not. If there is no subject pronoun, you is understood.

• Von (et) dalu at huyen.....Don't (you) speak to me that way.
• Von yit oku.....May they not lose.
• Yit fiyake von yet oku.....We hope (that) you will not will.
• Von yat toxu it.....Let's not forget him.

Complementizers

Van, ven, von, and ho are complementizers.

Complementizers

TYPE	COMPLEMENTIZERS	MEANING	MIRAD EXAMPLE	ENGLISH EQUIVALENT
Interrogative	duven...?	Is it true that...? Tell (me) whether... (yes/no question introducer)	Duven eta dyun se John?	Is (it true that) your name is John?
Conditional	ven	if, whether	Ven et te, du has. At utdide ven it upo.	If you know, say so. I wonder whether he'll come.
Anti-Conditional	oven	unless	Oven et yexe, et voy ako.	Unless you work, you will not win.
Positive/Hortative	van	that, so that, let, may	At ta van it upo. Van yat dilo. Van et su iva. At xa has van et fitexu at.	I knew (that) he would come. Let's pray. Let you be happy. I did it so you'd think well of me.
Negative/Prohibitive	von	Don't, let...not, lest	Von teaxu at. Von yat su uva. At pio von et futipsu.	Don't look at me. Let's not be sad. I will leave lest you get angry.
Relative	ho	who, whom, that, which	Ha toybi ho ifaye et... Ha toyb ho et ife. Koxon ho at yofe lonyafxer.	The women who have loved you. The woman (whom) you love. A problem (that/which) I cannot solve.

Subjunctive Clauses

The hypothetical mood is also used in subjunctive clauses. A subjunctive clause is one in which an action or state is desired, requested, required, or wanted in some other way by the actor in the main clause. Positive subjunctive clauses are introduced with the positive complementizer van....that, let's, so that. Here are some examples:

• Ha edweb dira van at tyoibu za it.....The king demanded that I kneel before him.
• Se igefwa van et upu gwa ig.....It is urgent that you come as soon as possible.
• Durwa van hyat dolu.....It was ordered that everyone be silent.

A negative subjunctive clause is introduced with the negative complementizer von....don't, lest.

• Biksu von et pyosu.....Be careful lest you fall / that you not fall.

The conditional complementizer ven....if, whether can introduce a clause in the subjunctive, indicating an unreal condition, as in the following examples:

• At sexu tam ven at su nasika.....I would build a house if I were (= would be) rich.
• Duhas et xu ven et beu ga nas?....What would you do if you had (= would have) more money?

Many of the above sentences could be rephrased with an infinitive in order to avoid the subjunctive:

• Ha edweb dira at tyoiber za it.....The king demanded me to kneel before him.
• Se igefwa av et uper gwa ig.....It is urgent for you to come as soon as possible.
• Hyat durwa doler.....Everyone was ordered to be silent.
• Biksu voy pyoser.....Be careful not to fall.

If-Then Conditional Clauses

A conditional clause is introduced with the conditional complementizer ven....if, whether. The if-clause can be a real tense or a hypothetical. If the if-clause is hypothetical, the then-clause is also hypothetical. Here are the possible variations:

If-then Conditional Clauses

IF-CLAUSE	THEN-CLAUSE
PRESENT INDICATIVE	PRESENT INDICATIVE
Ven ot yexe jestay, If one works hard,	ot akxe. one succeeds.
PAST INDICATIVE	PAST INDICATIVE
Ven et ta, If you knew,	et dola. you kept quiet.
FUTURE INDICATIVE	FUTURE INDICATIVE
Ven et pio, If you leave,	at so uva. I will be sad.
PRESENT HYPOTHETICAL	PRESENT HYPOTHETICAL
Ven at su nyaza, If I were rich, Ven et teetu, If you would listen,	at nuxbiu aga tam. I would buy a new house. et testu. you would understand.
PAST HYPOTHETICAL	PAST HYPOTHETICAL
Ven at tayu, If I had known,	at dudayu hyuyen. I would have responded differently.

Note that in English, when the then-clause is future tense, the if-clause is present; This is not the case in Mirad, where both clauses are in the future. In Mirad, the formula is "If you WILL leave, I WILL be sad." In English, the formula "I didn't know whether he WOULD x" is translated in Mirad as "I didn't know whether he WILL x." Relative tenses do not exist in Mirad.

If/Whether Subordinate Clauses

Here are some examples of sentences where the main clause contains some verb of knowing, questioning, wondering, guessing followed by a subordinate clause introduced by the conditional complementizer ven....whether / if. Note that the tenses in Mirad are somewhat different in that there is no relative shifting of time as in English.

If-whether Subordinate Clauses

MAIN CLAUSE	IF / WHETHER SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
PRESENT INDICATIVE	PRESENT INDICATIVE
At utdide I wonder	ven it te ha vyan. if / whether he knows the truth.
PRESENT INDICATIVE	PAST INDICATIVE
At voy te I don't know	ven yit aka ey oka. if / whether they won or lost.
PRESENT INDICATIVE	FUTURE INDICATIVE
At voy te I don't know	ven et ujako. if / whether you will succeed.
PRESENT INDICATIVE	PRESENT HYPOTHETICAL
At utdide I wonder	ven et yantexu. if / whether you would agree.
PAST INDICATIVE	PRESENT INDICATIVE
At voy ta I didn't know	ven wit se taduwa. if / whether he was [Mirad: is] married.
PAST INDICATIVE	PAST INDICATIVE
At dida I asked	ven iyt teata hia dezun. if / whether she had seen [Mirad: saw] this play.
PAST INDICATIVE	FUTURE INDICATIVE
At voy ta I didn't know	ven it upo if / whether he would [Mirad: will] come.
PAST INDICATIVE	PRESENT HYPOTHETICAL
At dida I asked	ven it fu per bay at. if / whether he might like to go with me.
PAST INDICATIVE	PAST HYPOTHETICAL
At dida I asked	ven it fayu per bay at. if / whether he might have liked to go with me.

The negative conditional complementizer oven....unless is used in main-subordinate clause structures in the same way as the above.

Negative Conditional Complementizer

MAIN CLAUSE	IF / WHETHER SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
PRESENT INDICATIVE	PRESENT INDICATIVE
Ot voy ujake One does not succeed	oven ot yexe jestay. unless one works hard.
FUTURE INDICATIVE	PRESENT INDICATIVE
Et voy teato at You won't see me	oven et upo. unless you come (= will come).

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are of two types:

• Bound relative clauses qualify an explicit element (usually a noun or phrase) appearing in the main clause, and refer back to that element by means of the relative complementizer ho (example: "The boy who laughed was expelled."), and:
• Free relative clauses, which do not have an explicit antecedent external to themselves. Instead, the relative clause itself takes the place of an argument in the matrix clause. For example, in the English sentence I like what I see, the clause what I see is a free relative clause, because it has no antecedent, but itself serves as the object of the verb like in the main clause. (An alternative analysis is that the free relative clause has zero as its antecedent.) In Mirad, relative deictic pronouns or adverbs having the prefix ho, as shown in the chart below, are used to introduce the free relative clause.

Bound Relative Clauses

The invariable relative complementizer ho is used to introduce a bound relative clause and refer back to an element in the main clause. Here are some examples:

• Ha tob, ho tadsa ewa jabi jay, bayse awa tud.....The man, who got married two years ago, has one child.
• Ha toyb ho ako ibo aga nazun.....The woman who wins will receive a big prize.
• Hia pati ho at pixa magelwo himaj.....These birds (that/which) I caught will be cooked this evening.
• Biu hyea jotul ho et fu.....Take any dessert (that) you'd like.
• Ha apet ho at bua it ha afeb apeda bay if.....The horse I gave the apple to neighed with pleasure. (= ...that I gave him the apple...)
• Iyt trua at bu ha yexeb ho iyt yexaya oyb it ji gla jabi.....She introduced me to the boss under whom she had worked for many years. (Lit: ...that she had worked under him...)

In cases where the antecedent in the matrix clause needs to be very clear, ho can be replaced with a relative pronoun specifying the gender or number of the antecedent, for example:

• Ata tedi ay yita tuyd, hoyt at yuxa be ha aj,.......My parents and their daughter, whom (f.s. referring to the daughter) I helped in the past, ...
• Ata tedi ay yita tuyd, hoti at yuxa be ha aj,.......My parents and their daughter, whom (pl.) referring to both the parents and their daughter) I helped in the past, ...
• Ata tedi ay yita tuyd, ho at yuxa iyt be ha aj,... (Here the relative complementizer ho is used but is followed up later with a resumptive feminine personal pronoun. For consistence in the language, this latter method is best.)

Note that in cases where the relative clause ends in a preposition governing the man clause antecedent, a resumptive pronoun is added agreeing in gender, number, and animacy with the main clause antecedent. This type of construction occurs in the last two example sentences above. So, the English relative clause for whom I sang would be expressed in Mirad as that I sang for her/him/it/them depending on the gender, number, and animacy of the antecedent in the main clause.

• Ha toybi ho at deuza av yiyt fida ata yafi.....The ladies for whom I sang (= that I sang for them) praised my abilities.

Bound relative clauses beginning with whose are expressed in Mirad as hota (which person's) or hoyita (which persons'), depending on the number of the explicit antecedent in the main clause.

• Ha ekuyt hota tyoyab yonpyexwa yofa eker hijeb.....The female player whose foot was broken was unable to play this season.
• Ata yubati, hoyita tam se jay ga aga vyel yatas, agaxa yita puram gajod.....Our neighbors, whose (= which persons') house is already bigger than ours, enlarged their garage again.

If no preposition governing the antecedent is involved, but the relative clause takes the place of an objective case element, supplying a pronoun referring back to the antecedent noun (resumptive pronoun) is optional:

• Ha dyesi ho at dyea hasi zamaj sa hyasi fia.....The books (which) I read (them) last evening were all good.

Free Relative Clauses

Free relative clauses are introduced by a relative deictic pronoun or adverb as shown in the charts below. Note that if the deictic pronoun is one other than a relative pronoun or adverb, then it is followed by the relative complementizer ho. For example, Hos at te.......What I know does not need the relative complementizer ho, because it is already embedded in the relative pronoun hos. The use of ho with other deictic words in a relative clause is optional.

Free Relative Clauses

RELATIVE PRONOUNS	MIRAD....ENGLISH	EXAMPLE
Thing(s)	hos....what/that which/the thing that hosi....what/those which/the things that hyes (ho)....whatever/anything that hyesi (ho)....whatever/anything that/any things that hyas (ho)....everything that/all that hyasi (ho)....all (things) that hyos (ho)....nothing (that) hyosi (ho)....none of the things (that) hoas....which one hoasi....which ones	Hos at da se vyaa.....What I said is true. Hosi it xa futipxa at.....What/the things he did angered me. At xo hyes (ho) et do.....I will do whatever/anything you say. Et voy teeta hyesi (ho) at deuza.....You didn't hear any of the things I sang. Hyas (ho) at fe se poos.....All I want is peace. At akxa hyas (ho) at fa.....I achieved all (that) I wanted. At akxa hyasi (ho) at fa.....I achieved all the things (that) I wanted. At testa hyos (ho) et da.....I understood nothing you said. Hyosi (ho) et iyfe ifue at.....None of the things you like appeal to me. At te voy hoas at gwafe.....I don't know which one I like best. At te hoasi at gwofe.....I know which ones I like least.
Person(s)	hot....who//the person (who) hoti....the ones who hyet (ho)....whoever/anybody who/that hyeti ho....whoever/any people that/who hyat (ho)....everyone that/everybody who hyati (ho)....all those who hyot (ho)....nobody (that/who) hyoti (ho)....no ones (that/who) hota....whose hoata....which one hoati....which ones	Hot et teata pia.....The one you saw left. Hoti at tye yantexe.....Those (people) I know agree. At teapo hyet (ho) at fe.....I will visit whomever I wish. Et voy teata hyeti (ho) at teata.....You didn't see any of the ones I saw. Hyot (ho) at ijtyea sa fiyena.....Everyone I met was nice. At fida hyoti (ho) at yeyfa.....I praised all the people I was supposed to. At testa hyot (ho) at teeta.....I understood nobody I heard. Hoti et ijtyaxa sa fuyena.....The ones you introduced were ill-mannered. At te voy hota ifpot his se.....I don't know whose pet this is. At te voy hoat at gwafe.....I don't know which one (person) I like best. At te hoati at gwofe.....I know which ones (people) I like least.
RELATIVE ADVERBS	MIRAD....ENGLISH	EXAMPLE
Place	hom....where hyem (ho)....wherever hyam (ho)....everywhere bi hom....from where, whence bu hom....to where, whither	Yat tambese hom ha maalyen se yugra.....We live where the weather is mild. At fu per hyem (ho) et po.....I'd like to go wherever you go. Hyam (ho) et pe, su bikaya.....Everywhere you go, be careful. Ha dom hom at byise se gla oga.....The town where I come from is very small. Ha memi hom at popeyo se gle jiba.....The countries where I am going to be traveling are quite distant.
Time	hoj....when hyej (ho)....whenever hyaj (ho)....everywhere	Du at hoj et puo.....Tell me when you arrive. Hyej (ho) iyt se iva, iyt deuze.....Whenever/anytime she is happy, she sings. Hyaj (ho) at yabteaxe, et yobteaxe.....Every time I look up, you look down.
Manner/Kind	hoyen....how, in what way, as hyeyen (ho)....however, in any way, in whatever manner hyiyen (ho)....just as, the same way as	At utdide hoyen it xa hus.....I wonder how he did it. Hyeyen (ho) xwa se kos.....However it happened is a mystery. Xu has hyiyen (geyen) (ho) at xe has.....Do it the same way as I do it.
Degree	hogla....how, to what extent hyigla ( ~ ge) ho....as, to the same degree as	Et hyoj to hogla iva at se.....You'll never know how happy I am. At yofe poper hogla (= ge) yib ho et yafe.....I cannot travel as far as you can.
Quantity	hogla....how much, how many hyegla (ho)....however much, however many hyigla (= ge) (ho)....as much/many as	Duven et te hogla nas it ayse?....Do you know how much money he has? Yet dida yat hyegla tami (ho) yat sexa.....You guys asked us however many houses we built. Et nixo hogla ~ ge nas at xe.....You will earn as much money as I do.
Reason	hosav....why, for what reason hyesav (ho)....why ever, for whatever reason	Duven et te hosav it xa hus.....Do you know why he did that? Yat voy teste hyesav (ho) et xu hus.....We don't understand why ever you'd do that.

The ho complementizer in free relative clauses can be omitted in conversation if there is no loss of meaning. For example, At fe per hyem et pe.....I want to go wherever you go. or Xu geyen at de.....Do as (= the same way (that)) I say.

If the relative clause is restrictive (i.e. it cannot be omitted without violating the meaning of the sentence), then no commas are used, but if it is non-restrictive (i.e. it provides new information that can be omitted), then it is surrounded by commas, just as in English.

• RESTRICTIVE: Ha mar ho yata mer yuzpe dyunwe ha maar.....The star that our planet goes around is called the sun.
• NON-RESTRICTIVE: Ha amar, ho yata mer yuzpe, se vay haway hea mar.....The sun, which our planet goes around, is really only a (= some) star.

Indirect and Direct Discourse

As in English, Mirad has both indirect discourse and direct discourse. Indirect discourse is when you know or say that something happened, whereas direct discourse is when you directly quote what someone has said.

Indirect Discourse

Sentences that have a main clause of communication or knowledge, followed by a subordinate clause with an indirect indication of what was said or known, use the positive complementizer van (that, the fact that) to introduce the subordinate clause. The tense in the subordinate clause is a true tense, not a relative tense. Unlike in English, where the that can often be omitted, the Mirad van complementizer can never be omitted.

• At ta van et upo.....I knew that you would (= will) come.
• Ata ted da van it yexe hya ita tej gel mufyegut.....My father said that he had worked (= he worked) all his life as a plumber.
• Se vyaa van at gra tele.....It is true that I eat too much.
• At jada van et puo jwa.....I predicted that you would (= you will) arrive early.

The conditional complementizer ven....if, whether and the negative complementizer von....lest, don't, that...not are discussed in later sections.

Direct Discourse

Direct discourse works as in English, except that a colon (:) is used instead of a comma. Double quotes are used to surround the directly quoted part of the sentence.

• Iyt da: "At voy fe per."....She said, "I don't want to go."
• At dida it: "Duhot so eta aadezut?".....I asked him, "Who will be your lead actor?"

The Object

The object in a sentence can be noun or noun phrase, a pronoun, an infinitive, a gerund, a prepositional phrase, or a clause. Sometimes, an object consists of both a direct object and an indirect object.

Rules:

• Transitive verbs can take a direct object:

Ha yepet teupixa at.....The dog bit me.

Yovobu hoti fyuxe et.....Forgive those who hurt you.

Biu hia yibdren.....Take this telegram.

• Some transitive verbs can take both a direct and indirect object. Many common transitive verbs imply a directional proposition, and so that preposition need not be expressed in the indirect object, but in such cases the indirect object comes before the direct object:

Buu at hua nyem.....Give (to) me that box.

Du it doler.....Tell (to) him to be quiet.

Xu at ha avun bi pier.....Do (to) me the favor of leaving.

• Stative intransitive verbs like ser (to be) can be followed by a complement consisting of a noun, pronoun, adjective, infinitive, gerund, or clause.

His se fis.....This is a good thing.

His se gla fia.....This is very good.

Ha akut sa et.....The winner was you.

Se fia aker.....It is good to win.

Se uva van iyt pia.....It is sad that she left.

Wit tease fia yexut.....He looks like a good worker.

• Dynamic intransitive verbs do not take an object:

At yexa hum je ewa jabi.....I worked there for two years.

Yat teje yukomay.....We live comfortably.

Hia voli agse ug.....These plants grow slowly.

• Verbs of communication can take an entire clause as a direct object in addition to an indirect object, the recipient of the communication:

At ta van et upo.....I knew (that) you would come.

Duven et te hoa tam se itas?....Do you know which house is his?

At da it hom et tambese.....I told him where you live.

Tuu at hoj et puo.....Inform me when you arrive.

It voy da ven et upo.....He did not say whether he would be coming.

At jwatua von it jwosu.....I warned him not to be late (= lest he be late).

• Verbs of motion and communication, which have an inherent directional component implied, do not need a preposition before their object. In cases where there is both an indirect and direct object, the indirect object comes before the direct object, otherwise a preposition is necessary:

At peye ha nam.....I'm going to the store. ( = I'm going the store.)

Pu tam!....Go home!

Et yefu der iyt hus.....You should tell her that.

Ha twob zoyda at: "Va."....The man replied to me, "Yes." ( = replied me)

At byise Ferom.....I come from France. ( = I originate France)

Nusbiu at dyes. (or) Nusbiu dyes av at.....Buy me a book (or) Buy a book for me.

How to Say "No Matter What"

The expression toxu....forget is often used in idioms where English uses no matter. An alternative is the use of the indeterminent deictic determiners (those that begin with hye-) meaning whatever, wherever, etc. Here are some examples:

• Toxu hos et de, at voy vatexe is.....Whatever you say, I don't believe it.
• Hyes et de, at voy vatexe is....." "

• Et kaxo yikani toxu hom et po.....You will encounter difficulties no matter where you go.
• Et kaxo yikani hyem et po....." " " "

• Toxu hogla et dio, iyt voy do va.....No matter how much you ask, she won't say yes.
• Hyegla et dio, iyt voy do va....." " " "

• Et ifio toxu hoa dom et teapo.....You will enjoy no matter what city you visit.
• Et ifio hyea dom et teapo....." " " "

A Summary of Negators

As in most natural languages, Mirad has a variety of ways to negate elements of a sentence. This section is meant to clarify when and how these negators are applied:

Negating a Predicate

The adverb voy is used to negate a declarative or interrogative predicate. The voy adverb and precede or follow the verb:

• At te.....I know.  →  At voy te.....I don't know.
• Duven et te?....Do you know?  →  Duven et voy te?....Don't you know?

The negative subordinate conjunction von is used to negate an imperative, subjunctive, or jussive predicate. The positive conjunction van gets replaced by von:

• Upu him!....Come here!  →  Von upu him!....Don't come here!
• Van et ujaku!....May you succeed.  →  Von et ujaku!....May you not succeed!

The conditional subordinate conjunction ven (if) can be negated to form oven meaning unless:

• Ven wit tojo, it voy ako ha doteuzen.....If he dies, he will not win the election.  →  Oven wit tojo, it ako ha doteuzen.....Unless he dies, he will win the election.
• At po ven et voy ofxo at.....I will go if you don't forbid me.  →  At voy po oven et afxo at.....I won't go unless you permit me.

The various negative deictic adverbs can be used to negate a predicate:

• Et te.....You know.  →  Et te hyoj.....You never know.
• At se iva.....I am content.  →  At se hyoyen iva.....I am in no way content.
• Et se vyaka.....You are right.  →  Et se hyogla vyaka.....You are not at all right.

Negating an Adjective

The prefix o- is used to negate the semantics of an adjective (including verbal adjectives). The o- changes to ol- if the adjective already begins with the letter o.

• eva....neutral  →  oeva....non-neutral
• vyaa....true  →  ovyaa....untrue
• twa....known  →  otwa....unknown
• ovufekyea....offensive  →  olovufekyea....unoffensive

Sometimes the prefix lo- is need to negate an adjective is negating it with o- causes ambiguity:

• fwa....wanted  →  lofwa....unwanted (because prefixing o- would yield ofwa which already means forbidden.)

The prefix lyo- is a stronger negator for adjectives:

• dota....social  →  lyodota....barbarian
• fibyena....polite  →  lyofibyena....callous, rude

Positive adjectives ending in -ika or -aya can be changed to -uka or -oya to make them negative:

• yufika....fearful  →  yufuka....fearless
• mekaya....dusty  →  mekoya....dust-free

Positive adjectives ending in -yaf(w)a (able/possible) can be switched to -yof(w)a (unable/impossible):

• yonsaunxyafwa....distinguishable  →  yonsaunxyofwa....indistinguishable
• teatyafa....able to see  →  teatyofa....blind

Negating the Semantics of a Verb

The prefixes o- and lo- are used to negate or reverse the semantics of a verb. The latter prefix is usually expressed in English with de- or dis- or un-.

• bexer....to have/hold  →  obexer....to lack
• bexer....to have/hold  →  lobexer....to leave/abandon/give up
• teater....to see  →  oteater....fail to see/overlook
• teater....to see  →  loteater....to disregard
• teazexer....to focus  →  oteazexer....to fail to focus
• teazexer....to focus  →  loteazexer....to blur
• boxer....to quieten  →  loboxer....to disquieten

Note the difference between:

• odabtunxwa....unpoliticized
• lodabtunxwa....depoliticized

Note also the following opposites:

• ayser....to have  →  oyser....to lack
• kaxer....to find  →  koxer....to lose
• paxer....to move  →  poxer....to stop
• aker....to win  →  oker....to lose
• fixer....to do well  →  fuxer....to do poorly

In the above cases, the ordinal vowel does the job in contrasting the meaning of the verbs (a vs. o and i vs. u). This is a factor of the way vocabulary is constructed in Mirad.

Expressing pro-, anti-, and a- (neutral)

Words expressing a favorable slant take the prefix av-; those with an opposing stance take ov-, while those with a neutral or absent stance take ev-:

• avdopreka....pro-war
• ovdopreka....anti-war
• odopa....un-military
• evdopa....neutral militarily
• evdofina....amoral
• odofina....immoral
• odata....unfriendly
• ovdata....hostile

The av, ov, and ev morphemes can be suffixed as well:

• agdovyab....constitution  →  agdovyabova....anti-constitutional
• doyux....welfare  →  doyuxava....pro-welfare
• fyatez....religion  →  fyatezeva....areligious

The Use of -okya to Express a Loss

Some adjectives expressing the loss of something can end in -okya (having lost):

• tad....spouse  →  tadokya....widowed
• ifon....love  →  ifonokya....lovelorn
• ted....parent  →  tedokya....orphaned
• tep....mind  →  tepokya....crazy
• nas....money  →  nasokya....bankrupt/broke
• mep....way  →  mepokya....lost
• izbex....control  →  izbexokya....out of control
• tayeb....hair  →  tayeboyka....bald

The Use of the prefix oy- to Express Privation

Some nouns can be negated by prefixing oy- (a stub for boy meaning without) and then converting the noun to an adjective with the suffix -a:

• tof....clothes  →  oytofa....naked
• teus....taste  →  oyteusa....insipid
• pos....stop  →  oyposa....nonstop
• tob....time  →  oyjoba....eternal
• dab....government  →  oydaba....anarchic
• mil....water  →  oymila....anhydrous

Article One of the Declaration of Human Rights

Article One of the Declaration of Human Rights is often used to show how various invented international auxiliary languages compare with one another in written form. Here is the Mirad version of Article One, followed by the English version:

Declaration of Human Rights Article One

ENGLISH	MIRAD
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.	Hya tobi taje yiva ay gea be utfiz ay doyivi. Yit bulwe texyaf ay tyaf ay yeyfe hyuitaxler tidyenay.

Anaysis:

1	hya	all   <   hya- [distributive deictic determiner]   +
2	tobi	human beings   <   tob....human being [singular noun]   +   -i [plural suffix]
3	taje	are born   <   taj-....be born [stem])  +   -e [present simple tense marker]
4	yiva	free   <   yiv- [stem]   +   -a [adjectival suffix]
5	ay	and [positive conjunction]
6	gea	equal   <   ge- [stem]   +   -a [adjectival suffix]
7	be	at, in [preposition]
8	utfiz	dignity   <   ut....self [pronoun]  +   fiz....merit [noun]
9	doyivi	rights   <   do(t)-....society   +   yiv....freedom, right [noun]  +  -i [plural suffix]
10	yit	they/them   <   yit [3d person plural animate pronoun]
11	bulwe	are endowed   <   bul-....endow [verb stem]   +   -w [passive]   +   -e [present]
12	texyaf	reason   <   tex-....think   +   yaf....ability, faculty
13	tyaf	conscience   <   t-....know   +   yaf....ability, faculty
14	yeyfe	should   <   yeyf-....(have a) duty [verb stem]   +   -e [indicative simple present tense]
15	hyuitaxler	treat one another   <   hyuit (comb. of hyut....other person   +   hyit....same person)   +   axl-....act [verb stem]   +   -er [verbal infinitive marker]
16	tidyenay	in a brotherly way   <   tid....sibling [noun]   +   -yen....manner   +   -ay....-ly [adverbial suffix]

Lord's Prayer

Word-for-word analysis:

The Lord's Prayer

ENGLISH	MIRAD
Our Father, who art in Heaven,	Hey yata Twed, ho se be Totmir,
Hallowed by thy name.	van eta dyun fyadwu.
Thy kingdom come.	Van eta edob upu.
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.	Van eta fon xwu be Imer hoyen xwe be Totmir.
Give us this day our daily bread,	Buu yat hijub yata hyajuba povel,
and forgive us our trespasses	ay yovobu yat bi yata fuxeyni
as we forgive those who trespass against us.	hoyen yat yovobe hoti fuxe yat.
And lead us not into temptation,	Ay von izbu yat ub yekuen,
But deliver us from evil.	oy yivxu yat bi fyox.
Amen.	Xwu huus.

1	Hey	O! [vocative particle]
2	yata	our < yat [1st pl animate pronoun] we + -a [adjective suffix]
3	Twed	Father < ted....parent + infix -w- [masculine]
4	ho	who [invariable relative complementizer meaning who(m), that, which]
5	se	am,is,are < s-[present stem of verb ser....to be] + -e [simple present tense suffix]
6	be	in [preposition of general location at]
7	Totmir	Heaven < tot....god + mir....world
8	van	let/may/that [positive complementizer introducing a fact or wish; see 32]
9	eta	your, thy < et [2d sing animate pronoun] you + -a [adjective suffix]
10	dyun	name [noun < verb stem dyu-....to call]
11	fyadwu	be blessed < fya- holy + d- [stem of verb say / call] + -w- [passive] + -u [hypothetical/imperative/subjunctive mood]
12	edob	kingdom < e- [2nd level of scalar noun base dob....state]
13	upu	come < u(b)34- toward + p [stem of verb to go] + -u [hypothetical/imperative/subjunctive mood]
14	fwas	will < f- [stem of verb to want] + -w- [passive voice] + -a [adjective] + -s [inanimate nominalizer thing] = wanted thing
15	xwu	be done < x- [stem of verb to do] + -w- [passive voice] + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
16	Imer	earth < -i- [3d level of scalar noun mer....planet] = third planet from the sun
17	hoyen	as < ho [relative determiner prefix] + -yen [suffix = manner] hoyen = (which manner that)
18	xwe	(it) is done < x- [stem of verb to do] + -w- [passive voice] + -e [present simple tense]
19	Buu	Give < bu- [stem of verb to give] + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
20	yat	(to) us < yat we, us
21	hijub	today, this day < hi- [proximate determiner this] + jub....day
22	yata	our < yat [1st pl pron we/us] + -a [adjective suffix]
23	hyajuba	daily < hya- [distributive determiner every] + jub....day + -a [adjective suffix]
24	povel	bread [ < povob....cereal with ob (plant) -> el (food)]
25	ay	and [positive conjunction] ( ey [intermediate] = or, oy [negative] = but)
26	yovobu	forgive < yov....guilt, shame + ob [preposition off and stem of verb to remove] + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
27	bi	from [preposition meaning of, from; opp: bu....to]
28	fuxeyni	bad deeds [noun] < fu-....bad + x-....do + -eyn [gerundive] + -i [plural suffix]
29	yovobe	forgive < yov....guilt, shame + ob [proposition off and stem of verb to remove] + -e [present]
30	hoti	those who < ho- [relative deictic determiner] + -t....person + -i [plural suffix]
31	fuxe	offend < fu....bad + -x-....do + -e [present]
32	von	lest, so not, don't [negative complementizer; van [positive] that/so that/let; ven [intermediate] if, whether]
33	izbu	lead, guide < iz....direct, straight + b- [stem of verb put] + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
34	ub	toward [preposition; opp. ib....away]
35	yekuen	temptation < yek- [stem of verb try] + -u- [causative formant] + -en [present gerund -ing] = causing (someone) to try (something)
36	oy	but [negative conjunction; see 25]
37	yivxu	deliver, free, liberate < yiv-....free + -x-....do, make + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
38	fyox	evil < fyo-....profane, evil + x....doing
39	xwu	be < s- [stem of verb to be] + -u [hyp./imper./subj.]
40	huus	such < huu- [deictic determiner such] + -s....thing

Tower of Babel

ENGLISH	MIRAD
The Tower of Babel	Ha Yabtom bi Babel
Then, all earthly humans had a single language and a common vocabulary.	Huj, hya imertobi bexa ana dalzeyn ay yansauna dunyan.
While people were migrating from the east, they discovered a plain in the region of Shenear and they settled there.	Je van tobi emuipeya byi ha zimerem, yit yokkaxa zyimem be ha meam "Xenear" ay yit tamkyoxa hum.
The people said to one another, "Come on, let's mold some bricks and fire them." Thus, they had bricks for building stones and tar for mortar.	Ha tobi hyuitda: "Upu, van yat sanxu hegla mefi ay magxu isi." Huyen, yit bexa mefi av sexmegi ay megyel av sexyanul.
Then, the people said, "Come on, let's build our own city with a tower reaching the sky. In that way, we will be famous and that will prevent us from being scattered all over the earth."	Johus, ha tobi da: "Upu, van yat sexu yauta dom bay yabtom pyusea ha mam. Huyen, yat so yibtrawa ay hus jaebo yata yonzyaben bu hyami bi ha imer."
The Eternal one came down from the sky to see the city with the tower the people of earth had constructed.	Ha Hyajeseat yopa bi ha mam av teater ho dom bay ho yabtom ha imerati sexaya.
Then, the Eternal One said, "Behold, they make up one people, all of whom have a common language. This is only their first accomplishment. After this, anything they plan will be realizable."	Johus, ha Hyajeseat da, "Teaxu: Yit sanse ana tyod, ho hyati bexe yansauna dalyen. His se anay yita aa xal. Johis, hyes yit ojtexo so vyamxyafwa.
Come, let us go down there to confuse their language so they won't understand one another anymore."	Upu, van yat yopu hum av yanmulxer yita dalzeyn von yit hyuittestu gaj."
Then the Eternal one scattered the men far from there to all parts of the earth, and they halted construction of the city and tower.	Johus ha Hyajeseat yonzyaba ha tobi yib bi hum ub hyami bi ha imer, ay yit poxa ha sexen bi ha dom ay yabtom.
That is why this place was named Babel, i.e. "Confusion". It is where the Eternal One mixed up the languages of all humans and scattered them all over the earth.	Hus se hosav him dyunxwa Babel, be hyua duni: "Yanmulx". Se hom ha Hyajeseat vyonapxa ha dalzeyni bi hya imerati ay yonzyaba yit bu hyami bi ha imer.

Word-for-word analysis:

• ha....the [definite determiner]
• yabtom....tower < yab-....high + tom....building
• bi....of, from [preposition; opp: bu....to]
• Babel [proper name]
• huj....then < hu- [distal determiner that] + j [stub for job....time]
• hya....all [distributive determiner]
• imertobi....people of earth < imer....earth [ = planet 3] + tob....human + -i [plural marker]
• bexa....had < bex- [verb stem of to have/hold] + -a [past tense]
• ana....a single < a(n)-....one + -a [adjective marker]
• dalzeyn....language < dal....speech + zeyn medium
• ay....and [positive conjunction; opp: oy....but]
• yansauna....common < yan-....together + saun....type + -a [adjective marker]
• dunyan....vocabulary < dun'....word + -yan....collection

• je van....while < je....during + van [positive complementizer] that
• tobi....men, people < tob [noun] person/man/human + -i [plural marker]
• emuipeya....were migrating < em....place + ui-....hither-thither + p-...go + -ey- [progressive aspect] + -a [past tense]
• byi....since, starting with [preposition; opp: byu....up to]
• zimerem....east < zi- = right/east + mer....planet + -em....location
• yit....they, them < yit [3d plur animate pronoun]
• yokkaxa....discovered < yok....surprise + kax- [stem of verb find] + -a [past simple tense marker]
• zyimem....a plain < zyi-....flat + mem....land
• tamkyoxa....settled < tam = home + kyox-....fix + -a [past tense marker]
• hum....there < hu- [distal determiner that] + -m' [suffix of place]

• hyuitda....said to one another < hyuit < hyui-....one-another + -t [person suffix] + d- [stem of verb say,tell] + -a [past tense maker]
• van....that < [positive complementizer that, let, so that]
• yat....we, us [1st plur anim pron]
• sanxu....form, mold < san....form + -x-....do/make/-ify + -u [hypothetical/imperative/subjunctive]
• hegla....some < he- [indefinite determiner prefix some] + -gla [determiner suffix quantity/amount/degree]
• mefi....bricks < mef [noun] brick + -i [plural marker]
• magxu....fire, burn < mag- = fire + -x-....do/make/-ify + -u [hypothetical/imperative/subjunctive]
• isi....they, them < isi [inanimate 3p plur pronoun]
• huyen....thus, so < hu- [distal determiner prefix that] + -yen [determiner suffix manner]
• av....for [preposition; opp: ov....against]
• sexmegi....building stones < sex- [stem of verb to build] + meg....stone + -i [plural marker]
• megyel....tar, pitch, asphalt < meg....stone + -yel [suffix viscous liquid]
• sexyanul....mortar < sex- [stem of verb to build] + yan = together + -ul....substance

• johus....then, next < jo....after + hu-....that + -s....thing
• da....said, told < d [stem of verb say/tell] + -a [past simple tense marker]
• upu....come! < u(b) [preposition] toward + p- [stem of verb go] + -u [imperative]
• sexu....build < sex [stem of verb build] + -u [subjunctive] > van yat sexu = let us build
• yauta....our own < yat = we/us + ut = self + -a [adjective marker]
• dom....city
• bay....with (preposition; opp: boy....without]
• yabtom....tower < yab- = high + tom....building
• pyusea....reaching < pyus- reach + -e- [progressive] + -a [adjective marker]
• mam....sky
• so....will be < s- = [stem of verb to be] + -o [future simple tense]
• yibtrawa....famous < yib....far + tra- [perfect stem of verb know/recognize] + -w- [passive voice] + -a [adjective marker]
• jaebo....will prevent < ja- before + eb- between, block + -o [future tense marker]
• yata....our < yat = we/us + -a [adjective marker]
• yonzyaben....dispersal < yon....apart + zya- wide + b- = [stem of verb to put] + -e- [progressive] + -n (nominalizer) = -en [gerund] -ing
• bu....to [preposition; opp: bi....from]
• hyami....all places, all parts < [distributive determiner prefix hya- all] + [suffix -m....place + -i [plural marker]
• bi....of, from [preposition; opp: bu....to]

• Hyajeseat....Everlasting One < hya- = ever/all + jes-....to last + -ea [active present participle ending] + [suffix -t....person]
• yopa....descended < yo(b)- = down + p- [stem of verb to go] + -a [past tense marker]
• av....for [preposition; opp: ov....against]
• teater....to see < tea(b)- = eye + t-....know + -er [infinitive ending]
• ha....the [def. deictic determiner = def. art.]
• dom....city
• ho....that, which, who [relative complementizer]
• sexaya....had built < sex- [stem of verb to build] + -ay- [perfect active aspect/voice marker] + -a [past tense marker]

• teaxu....look! < tea(b)-....eye + x- do/make/-ify + -u [imperative]
• yit....they
• sanse....form/constitute < san....form + s- [stem of verb be/become/-ize + -e [present tense marker'
• tyod....a people
• hyati....all of them < hya- [distributive determiner prefix all] + [suffix -t....person) + -i [plural marker]
• bexe....has, have < bays- [stem of verb to have] + -e [present tense marker]
• his....this < [proximal determiner prefix hi-....this] + [suffix -t....thing]
• anay....only < a(n)-....one + --ay [adverb ending -ly]
• yita....their < yit [3d plur pronoun] they + -a [adjective marker]
• aa....first < a-....one + -a [adjective marker]
• xal....accomplishment deriv. of x- [stem of verb to do]
• johis....then, next < jo....after + his [proximal inanimate determiner] this
• hyes....whatever < [indiscriminate determiner prefix hye- = any/whichever
• ojtexo....will plan, envisage < oj-....future + tex-- [stem of verb to think] + -o [future tense marker]
• so....will be < s- [stem of verb to be/become] + -o [future tense marker]
• vyamxyafwa....realizable < vyam- = real + x- [verb formant do/make/-ize] + -yaf-....able + -w- [pass voice] + -a [adjectival suffix] > possible to be made real

• yopu....descend < yo(b)-....down + p- [verb formant to go] + -u [subjunctive marker] > van yat yopu hum....let us go down there
• yanmulxer....mix up, confuse < yan-....together + mul....stuff + [verb formant x- do/make/-ify] + -er [infinitive suffix]
• von....lest, don't, so that not [negative complementizer;
• yit....they
• hyuittestu....hyuit....one another + tes....meaning + t- [stem of verb know] + -u [subjunctive mood suffix]so they will not understand one another
• gaj....further, anymore < ga-....more + -j....time (short for job....time)

• Johus....then
• ha Hyajeseat....the Everlasting One
• yonzyaba....scattered < yon....apart + zya....wide + [verb formant b-....put] + -a [past tense marker]
• ha tobi....the men
• yib....far [adverb]
• bi hum....from there
• ub [preposition] toward; opp: ib away]
• hyami....all parts < hya-....all + -m....place + -i [plural marker]
• bi ha meir....of the earth
• ay....and
• yit....they
• poxa....stopped < po-....still + [verb formant x-....do/make/-ify] + -a [past tense marker]
• sexen....building < sex- [stem of verb to build] + -e- [present tense marker] + -n [abstract noun]
• bi ha dom ay yabtom.....of the city and tower.

• se....is, are < s-- [stem of verb to be] + -e [present tense marker]
• hosav....the reason why < [relative determiner prefix ho-....which] + [stub sav....reason]
• him....here, this place < [proximal determiner prefix hi- this] + [place suffix -m]
• dyunxwa....was/were named < dyun....name + [verb formant x- do/make/=ify] + -w- [passive infix] + -a [past tense marker]
• be hyua duni....in other words, i.e. < be [preposition] in, at hyua [adjective] other duni [plural noun] duni....words
• hom....the place where < + [relative prefix ho- + place suffix -m]
• vyonapxa....messed up, confused < vyo-....wrong/false + nap....order + [verb formant x- do/make] + -a [past tense marker]

Interlinguistics

The following text is from the Wikipedia article on Interlinguistics:

Interlinguistics

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Ebdalzeyntun, gel tun bi exdrawa dalzeyni, esaye ji ga vyel awa sojab gel ansauna sub bi dalzeyntun av ha tix bi kyasauna teasgoni bi dalzeyna ebtuien.	Interlinguistics, as the science of planned languages, has existed for more than a century as a specific branch of linguistics for the study of various aspects of linguistic communication.
Ebdalzeyntun se tixnad sanaxwa bey Otto Jesperson be 1931 (aro yusila) gel ha tun bi ebdalzeyni, be hyua duni: byux dalzeyni sankyaxwa av ebdooba ebtuien.	Interlinguistics is a discipline formalized by Otto Jespersen in 1931 as the science of interlanguages, i.e. contact languages tailored for international communication.
Be ga yubaja jobi, ha syun bi tix bi ebdalzeyntun doytxwa bay dalzeyn exdren, ha iblen bi texnapi uxler jatexway ha sexyen ay ex bi tejea dalzeyn. Be hia yuzkason, ebdalzeyni ase oybanyan bi exdrawa dalzeyni, be hyua duni: oegla kyeoni bi dalzeyn exdren.	In more recent times, the object of study of interlinguistics was put into relation with language planning, the collection of strategies to deliberately influence the structure and function of a living language. In this framework, interlanguages become a subset of planned languages, i.e. extreme cases of language planning.
Ebdalzeyntun ijnay teasia gel sub bi tixi kyoyuxwa bu ha syemben bi vyabi av gabyuxea dalzeyni, oy zye hisa sojabyaga ajdin his testwaye bey ogela asaxuti ga ay ga zyaay gel ebtixnada sub bi tun ho yebayse kyasauna teasgoni bi ebtuien, dalzeyn exdren, ay egonxen, gladalzeynin ay mirzyaxen, dalzeyna vyabyen, ebtestuen, dotdalzeyntun, ebteza ebtuien, ha ajdin bi dalzeyn saxen ay drenyan drawa be exdrawa dalzeyni (ebdooba gabyuxea dalzeyni = gabdali gab sexwa dalzeyni = sexdali, vyomdina tuza dalzeyni = tuzdali, yiva dalzeyni, dalyanmulxi, yankdalzeyni, ay sexwa dalzeyni be ha ebneaf ay hyua syini gabwa.)	Interlinguistics first appeared as a branch of studies devoted to the establishment of norms for auxiliary languages, but over its century-long history it has been understood by different authors more and more broadly as an interdisciplinary branch of science which includes various aspects of communication, language planning and standardization, multilingualism and globalisation, language policy, translation, sociolinguistics, intercultural communication, the history of language creation and literature written in planned languages (international auxiliary languages : auxlangs as well as constructed languages : conlangs, fictional artistic languages : artlangs, lingua francas, pidgins, creoles and constructed languages in the internet and other topics were added.)

The North Wind and the Sun

The following is the English text of a fable called "The North Wind and the Sun", followed by a translation in Mirad:

The North Wind and the Sun

ENGLISH	MIRAD
The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes.	Ha Zamera Map ay ha Amar yontexda vyel hoat se ha gwa yafat, ay yantexda van hot yafo anapay tafober popea twob yefu delwer ha akut.
The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do.	Ha Amera Map anapay yeka ita yaf ay maipxwa bay hya ita azan, oy ha ga aza ita mapyuxi, ha ga azbixway ha Poput nidyuzba ita koxof, ju van, ujay, lobuea hya fiyak bi aklan, ha Map dia ha Amar teater hos it yafu xer.
The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth.	Ha Amar igbyenay mansa bay hya ita ayman.
The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path.	Gwa jwa van ha poput tayosa ita fitipa naudi it oba awa taf jo ga awas, ay ujay, gle aklawa bey aman, tofopa ay milyepa be miap ho yeztaseya be ita mep.
The moral: Persuasion is better than force.	Ha dofindin: Texuen se ga fia vyel yafluen.

Proverbs

The following are some famous proverbs translated into Mirad:

Proverbs

PROVERB	LANGUAGE	MIRAD
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.	English	Ibesen iflonikxe ha tiib ga azay.
Actions speak louder than words.	English	Axleyni dale ga azay vyel duni.
A picture is worth a thousand words.	English	Sin naze amlo duni.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.	English	Von sagdu eta gafapayti ja van yit patijbwo.
Don't judge a book by its cover.	English	Von yevdu dyes bey isa abaun.
The early bird gets the worm.	English	Ha jwaa pat pixe ha peyet.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it.	English	Et yafe izber ekpet bu mil, oy et yofe tiluxer it has.
Fruit of a tree falls near its roots.	Turkish	Feb bi fab pyose yub bi isa fyobi.
A fool dreams of wealth; a wise man, of happiness.	Turkish	Vyotuwat tujeaze nyaz; vyatuwat, ivan.
Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir.	French	Se ga fia jaeber vyel byeker.
Qui court deux lièvres à la fois, n'en prend aucun.	French	Hat hu zojoigpe ewa yupoti hyij ibe hyowat.
Übung macht den Meister.	German	Xetyen saxe ha tyeneb.
Anfangen ist leicht, Beharren ist Kunst.	German	Ijen se yuka, jetxen se tuz.
Η γλώσσα κόκαλα δεν έχει, αλλά κόκαλα τσακίζει.	Greek	Ha teubab ayse hogla taibi oy is myekxe taibi.
Veni, vidi, vici.	Latin	At upa, at teata, at akra.
Carpe diem.	Latin	Biru ha jub.
Non ducor, duco.	Latin	At voy izbwe, at izbe.
Far d'una mosca un elefante.	Italian	Saxer elpot bi dipelat.
事实胜于雄辩。 (Shìshí shèng yú xióngbiàn)	Chinese	Xeyni akle viduni.
Thùng rỗng kêu to. (Empty barrels make loud noises.)	Vietnamese	Uka faosyebi saxe xeusagi.

Genesis

Genesis, the Biblical Story of Creation

ENGLISH	MIRAD
The Beginning	Ha Ij
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.	Be ha ij Tot saxa ha mami ay ha imer.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.	Huj ha imer sa sanoya ay uka. Mon sa ayb ha abem bi ha yobyagan, ay ha Top bi Tot paeya ayb ha mili.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.	Ay Tot da: "Van esu man" ay man esa.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.	Tot teata van ha man se fia, ay it yonxa ha man bi ha mon.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.	Tot dyua ha man "maj" ay ha mon it dyua "moj." Ay esa moj, ay esa maj, ha aa jub.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”	Ay Tot da: "Van esu aybuz eb ha mili av yonxer mil bi mil."
So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.	Johus Tot saxa ha aybuz ay yonxa ha mil oyb ha aybuz bi ha mil ayb has. Ay sa huyen.
God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.	Ay Tot dyua ha aybuz "mam." Ay esa moj ay esa maj -- ha ea jub.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.	Ay Tot da: "Van ha mil oyb ha mam yanxwu bu awa nem, ay van uma mel teasiu." Ay sa huyen.
God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.	Tot dyua ha uma mel "mem," ay ha yonxwa mili it dyua "mimi." Ay Tot teata van is se fia.
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.	Johus, Tot da: "Van ha mem nuxu fobyan: veebbea fobi ay fabi be ha mem ho tajbe febi bay yeba veebi joupea isa kyasauna sauni."

The Colors of the Rainbow

Ha Volzi bi ha Mamiluz

The Colors of the Rainbow

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Hoj ha amarman pyexe mamilzyuyni be ha mal, isi alxe gel zyefnid ay sanxe mamiluz.	When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow.
Ha mamiluz se golen bi malza man bu gla via volzi.	The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors.
Hisi bie ha san bi yaga zyua uzun, bay isa mep yab ayb, ay isa ewa uji teaseay yiz ha mamnad.	These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon.
Ese, dwa bey tezdin, magilea elsyeb bi aulk be awa uj.	There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end.'
Yot teaxe, oy hyot hyej kaxe is.	People look, but no one ever finds it.
Hoj het kexe hes yiz bi ita pyuxyaf, ita dati de van it kexeye av "ha elsyeb bi aulk be ha uj bi ha mamiluz."	When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for "the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
Zya ha sojabi, yot testuaye ha mamiluz be kyasauna byeni.	Throughout the centuries, people have explained the rainbow in various ways.
Heti vabiaye is gel fyateaz oy tapa testuun.	Some have accepted it as a miracle without physical explanation.
Av ha Hebrati, is sa siun van eso hyogla mora yimi gaj.	To the Hebrews, it was a token that there would be no more universal floods.
Ha Gerocamati ajyenay tepsinieya van is sa siun bi ha toti av jader dropek ey kyia mamil.	The Greeks used to imagine that it was a sign from the gods to foretell war or heavy rain.
Ha Zamergonati yevtexa ha mamiluz gel zeymep ho ha toti aybzeypa bi imer bu yita taam be ha mam.	The Norsemen considered the rainbow as a bridge over which the gods passed from earth to their home in the sky.
Hyuti yekaye testuer ha teakyes tapay.	Others have tried to explain the phenomenon physically.
Aristotelis texa van ha mamiluz uxwe bey zoykixen bi ha amarnaudi bey ha mamil.	Aristotle thought that the rainbow was caused by reflection of the sun’s rays by the rain.
Ji huj moltuti kaxaye van is voy se zoykixen, oy zoyyonxen bey ha mamilzyuyni ho uxe ha mamiluzi.	Since then physicists have found that it is not reflection, but refraction by the raindrops which causes the rainbows.
Gla yikla teyeni vyel ha mamiluz sanxwaye.	Many complicated ideas about the rainbow have been formed.
Ha ogelan be ha mamiluz yuvse gla bu ha agan bi ha zyuyni, ay ha zyaan bi ha volzbwa neyef agase je van ha nag bi ha zyuyni agase.	The difference in the rainbow depends considerably upon the size of the drops, and the width of the colored band increases as the size of the drops increases.
Ha xuna anoga mamiluz teaxiwa dwe ser ha ix bi ayben bi glea uzuni.	The actual primary rainbow observed is said to be the effect of super-imposition of a number of bows.
Ven ha alz bi ha enapa uzun pyose ayb ha ulz bi ha anapas, ha ix se xuer uzun bay oegay zyaa ilza neyef, hosav alza vay ulza man hoj yanmulxwa sanxe ilz.	If the red of the second bow falls upon the green of the first, the result is to produce a bow with an abnormally wide yellow band, since red and green light when mixed form yellow.
His se glakaxwa saun bi uzun, hias teaxuea aagay alz ay ilz, bay gro ey hyoglo ulz ey yolz.	This is a very common type of bow, one showing mainly red and yellow, with little or no green or blue.

De Accidentibus Rerum

This passage is the first part of an educational Latin-English lesson book by John Amos Comenius from 1633 found in [Linguarum Reserata]. It is translated as "on the accidence of things", but should properly be translated in modern English as "on the inflection of substantives", because it has to do with nouns and adjectives and their various forms and agreements.

Caput 1 Dé accidentibus rérum	On the accidence of things	Ayv ha sankyaxen bi sunduni
Deus est æternus Mundus temporárius Angelus immortális. Homó mortális	God is eternal, The world temporary. An angel is immortal, Man is mortal.	Tot se hyajoba. Ha mir se joba. Tat se otojua. Tob se tojua.
Corpus vísibile Spiritus invísibilis. Anima itidem	The body is visible, The spirit is invisible, The soul also.	Ha tab se teatyafwa. Ha top se teatyofwa. Ha toop geyen.
Cælum est suprémum Aër medius Terra ínfima Núbés est remóta Nebula propinqua	Heaven is the highest, The air in the middle, The earth the lowest. A cloud is far away, A mist near.	Ha mam se yabra. Ha mal se eba. Ha meir se obra. Maf se yiba. Mif se yuba.
Locus est magnum aut parvus. Tempus longum aut breve Alea láta vel angusta Domus ampla vel arcta Montés sunt altí Vallés profundæ Collés elevatí Casa est humilis Turris excelsa Abiés prócéra	A place is great or small, Time is long or short. A courtyard is wide or narrow, A house large or narrow. Mountains are high. Valleys deep Hills are raised A cottage is humble A tower lofty A fir tree tall	Nem se aga ey oga. Job se yaga ey yoga. Zetam se zyaa ey zyoa. Tam se nigaga ey nigoga. Yazmeli se yaba. Yozmeli se yoba. Yazmeli se yub bi ha mam. Tamog se yub bi ha mem. Yabtom se yabaga. Abpifab se yabaga.
Fluvius brevis aut profundus Filum est tenue (subtíle), Fúnis crassus. Arundó est cava Lignum solidum Forámen est vacuum (ináne) Camínus plénus fúmí	A river is shallow or deep A thread is slender (thin), A rope thick. A reed is hollow, Wood solid. An opening is empty A chimney full of smoke	Mip se yoboga ey yobaga. Nif se gyoa. Nyif se gyaa. muvyeg se zyega. Faob se gyia. Yij se uka. Movuf se ika bi mov.
Línea est recta vel curva Superficiés aspera vel lævis Pondus grave aut leve. Numerus pár vel impár.	A line is straight or curved A surface rough or smooth. A weight is heavy or light A number is even or odd	Nad se iza ey uza. Ned se yigfa ey yugfa. Kyis se kyia ey kyua. Sag se euna ey oleuna.
Globus est rotundus Columna teres Mensa quadráta X habet fórmam crucis Pávó est fórmósus Simia défórmis	A sphere is round A column is cylindrical A table is squared X has the form of a cross A peacock is beautiful An ape misshapen.	Zyunid se zyua Myuf se mufyega. Sem se unkuna. Xu bayse san bi xus. Pafapat se via. Homsimpyot se vua.
Colórés	Colours	Volzi
Créta est alba Tabula nigra Cinnabaris rubra Sulphur luteum Grámen viride Firmámentum cæruleum Vitrum est pellúcidum Asser opacus Aqua turbida vel clára	Chalk is white A board is black Vermilion is red Sulphur yellow Grass green The firmament blue Glass is transparent A plank opaque Water troubled or clear	Meyag se malza. Drof se molza. Hegelk se alza. Solk se ilza. Vab se ulza. Mam se yolza. Zyev se vyida. Faof se vyuda. Mil se vyifa ey vyufa.
Sapórés	Flavours	Teusi
Mel est dulce: sícut et saccharum Fel amárum Acétum acidum Sál salsum Piper ácre Immátúrum pómum acerbum vel austérum	Honey is sweet as is sugar Bile bitter Vinegar is tart Salt is salty Pepper sharp An unripe fruit is sharp or harsh	appelatil se yugza ay geyen level. Tikibil se yigaza. Yigvafil se yigza. Mimol se mimolaya. Sifol giza. Ojwefa feb se giza ey yigra.
Odórés	Smells	Teisi
Odor est suávis foetor téter	A smell is sweet A stink unsavoury	Fiteis se fiteisa. Futeis se futeisa.
Aliæ quálitátés	Other qualities	Hyua fini.
Lutum est húmidum Pulvis siccus Ossa dúra Caró mollis Glaciés lúbrica Prúna calida et candens Carbó frígidus et áter Nós incédimus vestítí Indí núdí	Mud is moist Dust dry Bones hard Flesh soft Ice slippery A hot coal is hot and glowing A dead coal cold and black We go about clothed Indians nude	Meil se ima. Mek se uma. Taibi se yiga. Taob se yuga. Yom se kipyea. Ama moog se ama ey mazea. Tuja moog se oma ay moza. Yat oyepe tofwa. Initi oyepe otofwa.
Únicornis est ferum animal Vacca mánsuétum (cicur). Leó sævum Ovis míte	A unicorn is a fierce beast A cow gentle (tame) A lion is cruel A sheep quiet	Anteyufyet se yigra pyot. Bopeyt se yugra pet. Lefanpyot se frua. Ovbopet se obosa.

Gettysburgh Address

Gettysburgh Address

English	Mirad
The Gettysburgh Address	Ha Dodal bi Gettysburgh
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.	Uwa eloni ay yewa jabi jay yata twedi zayaysupa be hia yanmel ejna doob tyunxwa be yivan ay dobuwa bu ha duun van hya tobi saxwa gea.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.	Hij yat se eybxwa be aga dita dropek yekuea ven hua doob, ey hyea doob huuyen tyunxwa ay huuyen dobuwa, yafe yagjeser.
We are met on a great battle-field of that war.	Yat se nyanupya be agala dopekem bi hua dropek.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.	Yat upaye dobuer gon bi hua dopekem gel ujponem av hoti bua yita teji him av van hua doob teju.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.	Se hyagla vyanaba ay vyala van yat xu his.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground.	Oy be ga zyaa tes, yat yofe doduer--yat yofe fyabuer---yat yofe fyaaxer---hia mel.
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.	Hoa yifa tobi, tejea ay tojya, yekra him, fyabuaye is yib ayb yata ukza yafon gaber ey gober.
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.	Ha mir glo tepio ay igtaxo hos yat de him, oy is yafe toxer hyoj hos yit xa him.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.	Se av yat ha tejeati gajwa dobuwer him bu ha oujbwa yex ho hoti ebyexa him zaybaye byuhij huugla fizay zaybaye.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.	Se gajwa av yat ser him dobuwa bu ha agala yexun besea za yat--van bi hia fizuwa tojati yat biu gaxwa fyabuen ub hua avson hos av bua ha ujna ika nid bi fyabuen av is--van yat him vafe azay van hia tojati von tojayu boy fyin--van hia doob, oyb Tot, baysu ejna taj bi yivan--ay van dab bi ha tyod, bey ha tyod, av ha tyod, von loteasu bi ha imer.

Lesson 1: What is this?

In this lesson, you will learn how to ask what an object is and to reply correctly. You will also learn how to say the plural of nouns and to describe them with adjectives.

Dialog

Dialog 1

MIRAD	ENGLISH
1. Duhos1se his?	What is this?
2. His se drar.	This is a pencil.
3. Hus se duhos?	What is that?
4. Hus se dresem.	That's a desk.
5. Hua dresem se aga.	That desk is big.
6. Hia drar se oga.	This pencil is small.
7. Duhos se aga?	What is big?
8. Hua dresem se aga.	That desk is big.
9. Duhos se oga?	What is small?
10. Hia drar se oga.	This pencil is small.
11. Duhoa drari se oga?	Which pencils are small?
12. Hia drari se oga.	These pencils are small.
13. Ha dresemi se aga. Ha drari se oga.	The desks are big. The pencils are small.
14. Hua drari se oga. Husi se oga.	Those pencils are small. Those are small.

Note 1: duhos is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: du-HOS. See the chapter on Stress.

Determiners

In the above dialog, you see words that begin with the letter h or duh. These are a special type of word called determiners, or more specifically deictic determiners. These are words which point out the context of something, for example, where something is located relative to the speaker. Such determiners can be pronouns or adjectives modifying a noun that follows. The h is pronounced just as in American English. The chart below show the deictic (pointing) determiners used in the dialog:

Dialog 1 Determiners

CATEGORY	PRONOUN	ADJECTIVE
Interrogative	duhos...?....what (thing)...?	duhoa...?....Which (thing)...?
Definite	has....it, the thing	ha....the
Proximate	his....this, this thing	hia....this, these
Distal	hus....that. that thing	hua....that, those

Deictic ("pointing") determiners always contain the consonant h and are followed by a vowel that indicates whether it is proximate (near the speaker), distal (away from the speaker), and other categories that will be learned later. The final letter, if s signals that the determiner is a pronoun referring to a thing. If the final consonant ends in a t, it means that the determiner refers to a person, such as this person. If the final consonant is a, it means that the determiner is an adjective that modifies the following noun. In fact, all adjectives in Mirad end in -a.

This may seem a little confusing to the learner at first, because in English, this as a pronoun (this [ = thing]) is not distinguished from this as an adjective (this [desk]). The two are distinguished in Mirad: (his (this [pronoun]) vs. hia drar (this [adjective] pencil).

Mirad students who speak Latin-based languages like French and Spanish need to know that adjectives in Mirad do not agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. So, hia (this) and hua (that) do not change form no matter what the object or person they modify. The same applies to descriptive adjectives like aga (big) and oga (small). They remain constant.

Another matter that Latin-based language speakers need to realize is that adjectives in Mirad come BEFORE the noun they modify. Furthermore, deictic determiners acting as adjectives precede any descriptive adjectives. So, these¹ small² desks would be expressed in Mirad as hia¹ oga² dresemi.

Interrogative determiners (question words) begin with duho, which literally means say which. An interrogative is really a kind of imperative like Tell me your name, Tell me which place (where?), or Tell me which person (who?). Du is an imperative of the verb der....say, tell, and means tell (me), say! This is followed by the relative determiner ho....which. Duhom? (where?) is literally Tell (me) which place. Duhoj? (when?) is literally Tell (me) which time. Another way to think of it is Fill in the blank for place, person, time, etc.

Pluralizing Nouns and Pronoun Determiners

Common nouns, which always end in a consonant, are made plural by suffixing the vowel i. Dresem = a desk, dresemi = desks; drar = a pencil, drari = pencils.

The Mirad pronoun determiners has, his, and hus are also pluralized by suffixing the vowel i. For example, Hisi se oga.....These are small.

Determiners and adjectives modifying a noun do not change form, i.e. they do not agree in number as in English and Latin-based languages, eg. hua drar....that pencil vs. hua drari....those pencils. This includes the definite adjectival determiner ha....the, which never changes form.

Dialog 1 Pluralizing Nouns

SINGULAR	PLURAL
duhoa drar?....which pencil?	duhoa drari?....which pencils?
hia dresem....this desk	hia dresemi....these desks
hua drar....that pencil	hua drari....those pencils
hua aga dresem....that big desk	hua aga dresemi....those big desks
hua oga drar....that little pencil	hua oga drari....those little pencils
ha drar....the pencil	ha drari....the pencils
Duhos?....What (thing)?	Duhosi?....What (things)?
His.....This (thing).	Hisi.....These (things)
Hus.....That (thing).	Husi.....Those (things)
Has....It.	Hasi.....They (= the things)

Modifying Nouns with Articles

In Mirad, there is no equivalent of the English indefinite article a or an. This article is left unexpressed. So aga drar means a big pencil. oga drari means little pencils.

The equivalent of the definite article the, however, is rendered by the adjectival deictic determiner ha. So, the desk and the desks are expressed by Mirad ha dresem and ha dresemi. Again, ha does not change form when modify a singular or plural noun. The definite article ha (which is really the definite adjectival deictic determiner, is used exactly as the English article the (which is quite different from the use of the definite article in many other languages).

Adjective Opposites

Note that aga and oga are opposite in meaning. The stem vowels a and o spell the difference. If the stem vowel of a descriptive adjective is a, then its opposite will be o and the adjective with a will be the positive, greater, or better of the two values. In fact, there is an "in-between" values represented by the vowel e, as in the chart below:

Dialog 1 Three-Way Descriptive Adjectives

POSITIVE	INTERMEDIATE	NEGATIVE
aga....big	ega....normal	oga....small
aza....strong	eza....moderate	oza....weak

Verb to be in the Present

The verb form used in the above dialog is se, which is the simple present tense form of the verb infinitive ser meaning to be. The form se is used with singular or plural subjects and therefore means am, is or are. Mirad does not normally make a distinction between the being of essence and the being of circumstance as does Spanish with ser and estar. (And, by the way, the similarity in form between the ser of Mirad and the ser of Spanish is purely coincidental. Vocabulary in Mirad is a priori, that is, created from scratch and not based on any existing human language.)

Word Composition

The nouns drar....pencil and dresem share a root in common, dr- < drer....to write.

The ending -ar of drar is a stub suffix from sar....implement, tool. The ending -sem means table, so dresem literally means writing table. Many words in Mirad are built up from root morphemes in this fashion.

Even determiners you have learned so far are formed this way. Duhos...?....What...? is composed of du....tell (me) + ho....which + -s, a stub suffix from sun....thing. The determiner hus....that is composed of hu-....that + -s....thing.

Lesson 1 Vocabulary

Nouns

• drar....pencil
• dresem....desk

Pronouns

• duhos? / his / hus / has....what? / this (thing) / that (thing) / it (the thing)

Adjectives

• duhoa? / hia / hua / ha....which? / this / that / the
• aga / ega / oga....big / normal / little
• aza / eza / oza....strong / moderate / weak

Verbs

• ser....to be

• se....is / am / are (simple present tense)

Quiz

In this quiz, fill in the blanks with the correct Mirad word. (Note: upper/lower case is significant.)

1. (What) se drar?. Drar se (a tool).

2. Ha dresem se (big). Ha drari se (little).

3. (This) se aga. (That) se oga.

Lesson 2: Who are you?

In this lesson you will learn how to ask and respond about people.

Dialog

Dialog: Asking About People

MIRAD	ENGLISH
Hay, duhot et se?	Hello, who are you? (Lit. ...you are who?)
At se eta tuxut.	I'm your teacher.
Ay et se ata tixut.	And you're my student.
Va. Et se ata fia tixut.	Yes. You are my good student.
Duhot se hut be ha dresem?	Who is that (person) at the desk?
Hut se gay tixut.	That (person) is also a student.
Duhos se ita dyun?	What is his/her name.
Ita dyun se John. Duhos se eta dyun, hey dut?	His name is John. What's your name, (oh) sir?
Ata dyun se Anderson. Ay eta dyun?	My name is Mr. Anderson. And your name?
Se Mary.	It's Mary.
Hus se via dyun.	That's a beautiful name.

Note: duhot? is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: du-HOT. It literally means Say which person, i.e. who?.

Animate Determiners and Personal Pronouns

In the last lesson, you learned the question word duhos? meaning what? and referring to a thing. In this lesson, we introduced the interrogative animate pronominal deictic determiner duhot?, which means who? or whom, referring to a person. Duhot is short for du hoa tob, say which person. Here is a chart of possible answers, i.e. pronominal deictic determiners and personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives:

Singular Animate Pronouns and Determiners

TYPE	PRONOUN	POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
interrogative determiner	duhot...?....who(m)?	duhota...?....whose...?
proximal determiner	hit....this person	hita....this person's
distal determiner	hut....that person	huta....that person's
1st person singular pronoun	at....I (or) me	ata....my
2nd person singular pronoun	et....you	eta....your
3rd person singular pronoun	it....he (or) she, him (or) her	ita....his (or) her

Notice that duhot differs from duhos in the final consonant. Pronouns ending in -t refer to persons, while those ending in s refer to things. They can be pluralized by suffixing i: Duhoti?....Who?, Which persons? and Duhosi?....What (things)?.

Possessive Adjectives

A possessive adjective is formed from the pronoun by the addition of the adjectival ending -a. So, at (I/me) becomes ata (my).

Duhota?....Whose?

hata....the person's, his/her

hita....this person's, his/her

huta....that peron's, his/her

ata....my

eta....your

ita....his/her

Gender in Mirad

Mirad is a gender-neutral language. If gender is to be expressed, it is done so with the use of the markers w and y. To make it....his/her specifically refer to a male, insert w before the root vowel. Thus, wit means he/him and wita means his.

Similarly, to make a pronoun or possessive adjective refer to a female, insert y after the root vowel. Thus, iyt means she/her and iyta means her.

Determiners can be genderized, too. Huyt means that female, she/her while hwita means this male's/his. The letter combination in Mirad hw is pronounced exactly as wh in English what.

Table of Pronouns in Mirad Showing Gender-marking

Here is a table of pronouns with gender marked. Note that the plural personal pronouns begin in a y and cannot be masculinized. The corresponding masculine plural deictic pronouns can be used instead. The plurals of deictic pronouns end in the usual noun plural marker -i.

Personal and Deictic Pronouns with Gender Expressed

	SINGULAR NEUTRAL PRONOUN	SINGULAR FEMININE PRONOUN	SINGULAR MASCULINE PRONOUN	PLURAL NEUTRAL PRONOUN	PLURAL FEMININE PRONOUN	PLURAL MASCULINE PRONOUN
1st Person	at I/me	ayt I/me (female)	wat I/me (male)	yat we/us (f. or m.)	yayt we/us (females)	[same as yat]
2nd Person	et you	eyt you (female)	wet you (male)	yet you all	yeyt you all (female)	[same as yet]
3rd Person	it he/she/him/her	iyt she/her	wit he/him	yit they/them	yiyt they/them (f.)	[same as yit]
3rd Person Definite Deictic	hat he/she/him/her/the person	hayt she/her/the female	hwat he/him/the guy	hati they/them	hayti they/them/the females	hwati they/them, the males
3rd Person Proximal Deictic	hit he/she/him/her/this person	hiyt she/her/this female	hwit he/him/this guy	hiti they/them	hiyti they/them/these females	hwiti they/them/these males
3rd Person Distal Deictic	hut he/she/him/her/that person	huyt she/her/that female	hwut he/him/that guy	huti they/them	huyti they/them/those females	hwuti they/them/those males
3rd Person Interrogative Deictic	duhot? who(m)?	duhoyt? who(m)?/which female?	duhwot? who(m)?/which male?	duhoti? who(m)?/which persons?	duhoyti? who(m)?/which females	duhwoti? who(m)?/which males?

Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives end in the vowel -a. There are usually two sets of semantically opposing adjectives: Those with a three-way opposition like aga (big) - ega (normal) - oga (small) and those with a two-way opposition like via (beautiful) - vua (ugly). The vowels a and i are positive, while the vowels o and u are negative. The vowel e is in-between.

The descriptive adjective via (beautiful), because of the i-vowel stem, is a positive attribute. Changing i to u yields vua (ugly).

Here are some examples in sentences:

• Hus se vua dyun.....That is an ugly name.
• Eta dyun se vua.....Your name is ugly.

Likewise, fia (good) can be easily transformed to fua (bad).

• Ata tuxut se fia.....My teacher is good.
• Hit se fua tixut.....This is a bad student.
• Hia tuxut se fia ay fua.....This teacher is good and bad.

Knowing the above, try filling in the blanks below:

• Iga means slow, so uga means ________.
• Vaa means affirmative and vea means possible, so voa means _________.
• Fua means bad, so fia means ___________.
• Afwa means allowed, so ofwa means ___________.

Three-way Scaling of Words

As learned in the last lesson, adjectives and other words with an a vowel stem can be part of a three-way scale, as shown in this chart:

Three-way Scaling

POSITIVE	INTERMEDIATE	NEGATIVE
va....yes	ve....maybe	vo....no
aga....big	ega....normal	oga....small
ay....and, also	ey....or, else	oy....but
hay...hello	hey...hey, oh	hoy...goodbye.

So, since you know that va means yes from this lesson's dialog, you now no how to say maybe and no.

• Eta dyun se John, va?....Your name is John, yes?
• Vo. Ata dyun se Bill.....No. My name is Bill.
• Hua tuxut sefia, va?....That teacher is good, right?
• Ve. It se fia ay fua.....Maybe. He (or she) is good and bad.
• Hia dresem se oga oy fia.....This desk is small but good.
• Hit se via ay hut se vua.....This person is nice-looking and that one is ugly.
• Via ey vua, hia tuxut se fia.....Beautiful or ugly, this teacher is good.

When addressing a senior male, use hey Dut (oh, Mr.). Hey is a vocative interjection. Similar, use hay for hello and hoy for goodbye. Notice that these greetings have the a - e - i three-way scaling. Dut means sir, mister (the female version being Duyt (Ms., Ma'am, Madam, Mrs., etc.).

• Hey Dut Johnson, .......Hey Mr. Johnson.
• Hey Duyt Johnson, hay!....Mrs. Johnson, hi!
• Va. Hoy!....Yes. Goodbye!

The Definite Article ha

The definite article ha (the) is really just another adjectival deictic determiner. It is used exactly as in English. Unlike in the Romance languages and other languages, ha is invariable in its adjective form and there is no agreement in gender or number with the noun it modifies. In fact, this is true of all adjectives in Mirad.

• Ha dresem se aga.....The desk is big.
• Ha dresemi se aga.....The desks are big.
• Ha aga dresemi se via.....The big desks are beautiful.

This adjectival deictic determiner can be made into an animate and inanimate pronoun by suffixing -t or -s, as shown in the following chart:

Definite article ha as a deictic determiner

TYPE	ADJECTIVE	ANIMATE PRONOUN	INANIMATE PRONOUN
Definite	ha....the	hat....the person, he, she	has....the thing, it
Proximate	hia....this	hit....this person, he, she	his...this thing, this
Distal	hua....that	hut....that person, he, she	hus....that thing, that

Examples:

• Hat be hua dresem se Joe.....The one at that desk is Joe.
• Hat se ata tuxut.....He is my teacher.

In fact, -s and -t can be suffixed to most any noun to mean an X thing or an X person, eg.:

• Ha tuxut se ha agat be ha dresem.....The teacher is the big fellow at the desk.
• Agas ey ogas?....A big one or a small one?

The thing -s and person -t suffixes are really abbreviated stubs of the words sun (thing) and tob (person).

The Preposition be

You will notice the phrase in the dialog be ha dresem, which means at the desk. The preposition be comes before its object and indicates general location or position. It can have various translations, though, as shown here:

• be ha dresem....at the desk
• be ha mimkum....at the shore
• be abem bi ha tam....on top of the house
• It se be sinibar....he is on television
• be nem bi his....in place of (= instead of) this

Lesson 2 Vocabulary

Nouns

• tixut / tuxut....student/teacher
• dut / duyt....sir, mister, Mr./Mrs., Miss, Ms., Madam, Ma'am
• dyun....name

Pronouns

• at / et / it / yat / yet / yit....I (or) me/you/he (or) him, she (or) her / we (or) us / you / they (or) them
• duhot? / hat / hit / hut / duhoti? / hati / hiti /huti ....who(m)?, the person / this person / that person / who (pl) / the persons / these persons / those persons

Adjectives

• fia / fua....good/bad
• via / vua....beautiful/ugly
• duhota? / hata / hita / huta....whose? / the person's / this person's / that person's
• ata / eta / ita / yata / yeta / yita....my / your / his (or) her / our / your / their

Interjections

• va / ve / vo....yes / maybe / no
• hay / hey / hoy....hello /hey /goodbye

Conjunctions

• ay / ey / oy....and /or /but

• gay / gey / goy....also / even / except

Prepositions

• be....at (a general preposition indicating location)

Quiz

In this quiz, fill in the blanks with the correct Mirad word. (Note: upper/lower case is significant.)

1. (The) tuxut se (pretty).

2. (No), hia tuxut se (ugly), oy (good).

3. (That) tixut se (also) fia.

4. (Whose) dyun se (this)?

5. (Hello), (what) se (your) dyun?

Lesson 3: Where do you live?

In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate verbs in the basic tenses.

Dialog 3: Verbs in the Simple Active Indicative Tenses

SPEAKER	MIRAD	ENGLISH
Maria	Hay, Joe! Duhoyen se hyas?	Hi, Joe! How is everything?
Joe	Hyas se fia, Maria.	Everything is fine, Maria.
Maria	Duhom et tambese hij?	Where do you live now?
Joe	At tambese zedom hij. Ja his, at tambesa ha yuzdom.	I live downtown now. Before this, I lived in the suburbs.
Maria	Huj, et sa gla yib bi him. Hij, et tambese gla yub.	Then, you were very far from here. Now, you live very close by.
Joe	Va. Duhos et xe av yex hij?	Yes. What do you do for work now?
Maria	At yexe be tolnam yub bi him. At so hum ju ha uj bi ha jeb.	At work at a grocery store near here. I will be there until the end of the season.
Joe	Su baka. Yexu jestay. At hoydo et hij.	Be well. Work hard. I will say goodbye to you now.
Maria	Hoy. Upu ha tolnam hej.	Bye. Come to the grocery store some time.

Grammar Notes

Conjugating Simple Active Verbs

You've seen some uses of the verb ser (to be) in the previous lessons. In this dialog, you see that same verb used in other tenses, aspects, and moods beside the simple present active indicative (is/am/are). In this lesson, you are going to learn that by changing the er ending of the infinitive to one of the vowels a, e, o, and u, you can conjugate any verb in three simple, active tenses plus one other tenseless form that can act as a conditional or imperative. The following chart shows these tenses (first the simple aspect tenses) and how ending are suffixed to the verb stem:

Conjugation in the Simple Active Tenses

ASPECT	VOICE	MOOD	TENSE	ser....to be s-	xer ....to do x-	uper...to come up-
Simple	Active	Indicative	Present	at se....I am	at xe....I do	at upe....I come
Simple	Active	Indicative	Past	at sa....I was	at xa....I did	at upa....I came
Simple	Active	Indicative	Future	at so....I will be	at xo....I will do	at upo....I will come
Simple	Active	Hypothetical	(Conditional)1 (Imperative)1	at su....I would be su!....Be!	at xu....I would do Xu!...Do!	at upu....I would come Upu!....Come!

Note 1: These are TENSELESS forms.

These are called simple aspect tenses and refer to habitual states and actions. In the dialog, the verb form xeye is in the progressive aspect (I am in doing something, as oppposed to I do something as a habitual action), which will be discussed in a later lesson.

Verb forms do not change for person and number:

• At xe....I do
• Et xe....you do
• It xe....he does

The plural pronouns begin with a y:

• Yat xe....We do
• Yet xe....You (pl.) do
• Yit xe....They (pl.) does

Notice that the verb form does not change from person to person or from singular to plural.

Take note also, that the above pronouns are genderless. So it xe can mean he does or she does. The singular pronouns can be marked for specific gender, but we'll get to that in a later lesson. Also, be aware that these personal pronouns do not change form whether they are the subject or object of a verb.

The Conditional and Imperative

If the verb form ends in -u, it is in the tenseless hypothetical mood. It can act as a conditional verb form or an imperative verb form. It acts as a conditional if the subject is present and it is functioning in a main clause:

• Hus su fia.....That would be good.

If the -u verb form has no subject, it can usually be interpreted as a command (= imperative):

• Su baka!....Be well!
• Xu has hij!....Do it now!

Omitting Prepositions after Certain Verbs

Certain verbs contain inherent positionality or directionality and therefore can be followed by an direct object without a preposition. This is done in English a lot with expressions like go home or come this way or live downtown (instead of go to home or come toward this way or live in downtown). Here are some common examples of this omission:

• Upu ha nam hej.....Come (to) the store sometime.
• At tambese zedom.....I live (in) the downtown.
• Du at eta dyun.....Tell (to) me your name.

Quiz on Simple Active Verbs

Fill in the blanks with the Mirad equivalents of the underlined English verb forms: (Note: upper/lower case is significant.)

1. At hum.....I will be there.

2. eta yex hij.....Do your work now.

3. Duhom et ?....Where did you live? ( = Say where you live)

4. Hot bay et.....Who will come with you?

5. Duhos et hij?....What do you do now? ( = Say what you do now?)

6. Hus fia.....That would be good.

Deictic Adverbs

In the dialog, you see words like hoyen? (how), hij (now), and him (here). These are called deictic adverbs, because they point to the context of manner, time and place. This chart shows a few of these forms, which are correlated:

Correlative Deictic Adverbs

TYPE	PLACE	TIME	MANNER
Interrogative	duhom?....where?	duhoj?....when?	duhoyen?....how?
Indefinite	hem....somewhere	hej....sometime	heyen....somehow
Proximal	him....here	hij....now	hiyen....this way
Distal	hum....there	huj....then	huyen....that way

There are quite a few more types that can be correlated this way, but you will learn them in future lessons.

Examples of usage:

• Duhom yit se?....Where are they?
• Yit tambesa him.....They lived here.
• Yat tambeso hem.....We will live somewhere.
• Ha tuxut upo hum.....The teacher will come there.
• Upu hij!....Come now!
• Duhoj et upo?....When will you come?
• Duhoyen et xeye?....How are you doing?
• At tambesa hum.....I lived there.

A complete list of deictic adverbs can be found in the chapter on Determiners.

Quiz on Deictic Adverbs

Fill in the following blanks with deictic adverb equivalents underlined in English:

1. et tambese?....Where do you live?

2. et xeye?....How are you doing?

3. Upu !....Come here!

4. Yat upo zedom .....We will come downtown sometime.

5. At xo has .....I will do it somehow.

Forming Adverbs

Adverbs can be formed from descriptive adjectives by adding -y to the end of the adjective:

• jesta....diligent --> jestay....diligently (or hard as in to work hard)
• baka....healthy --> bakay....healthily
• fia....good --> fiay....well
• fua....bad --> fuay....poorly
• via....beautiful --> viay....beautifully

There are words in Mirad that are inherent adverbs and do not required a change of form, such as:

• yub....near
• yib....far
• gla....very
• duhom?....where (and all of the other deictic adverbs)

The adverbs yub and yib can be used in the following prepositional phrases, using bi (of, from):

• yub bi ha dom....near the city
• yib bi ha tolnam....far from the grocery store

These two adverbs can also be converted to adjectives with the suffixation of -a:

• ha yuba tam....the nearby house
• hua yiba nam....that faraway store

These two adjectival derivatives and be further adverbialized to produce two words with special meanings:

• It se yubay him.....He (or she) is almost (=nearly) here.
• Hus voy se yibay fia.....That is not remotely good.

Lesson 3 Vocabulary

Nouns:

• zedom....downtown (ze = middle + dom = city)
• yizdom....suburb (yiz = beyond + dom = city)
• yex....work
• tam....house
• jeb....season
• tolnam....grocery store (tol = foodstuffs + nam = store)
• uj....end (vs. ij = beginning)

Adjectives:

• baka....healthy, well (vs. boka....ill)
• jesta....diligent

Verbs:

• xer....to do
• tambeser....to live, reside (tam = house + beser = to stay)
• yexer....to work
• uper....to come
• hoyder....to say goodbye (hoy = bye + der = to say)

Adverbs:

• jestay....diligently, earnestly
• yub....near, nearby (yubay....almost)
• yib....far, far away (yibay....remotely)
• gla....very (vs. glo....not very)
• duhom?....where?
• duhoj?....when?
• duhoyen?....how?
• hem....somewhere
• hej....sometime
• heyen....somehow

Pronouns:

• hyas....everything (vs. hyos....nothing; see Determiners).

Prepositions and conjunctions:

• bi....of, from (vs. bu....to)
• ja....before (je....during, jo....after)

• ja his....before this (jo his....after this)

• ju....until (vs. ji....since)
• av....for (vs. ov....against)

• av hus (or: husav) ....for that (reason), so

Lesson 4: Where Are You Going?

In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate verbs in the progressive tenses and to ask yes-or-no questions. You'll also learn about comparison of adjectives and some new pronouns.

Dialog

Dialog 4: Where are you going?

MIRAD	ENGLISH
1. Duhom et peye?	Where are you going?
2. At peye tam.	I'm going home.
3. Duven et peyo bey pur?	Will you be going by car? (Lit. Say whether you will be going...)
4. Vo. At tyoyapo. Ata tam voy se yib bi him.	No. I'll walk. My house is not far from here.
5. At pepeya humep. Apu ha pur bay at.	I was going that way. Get in the car with me.
6. Hway! Hus su ga iga.	Thanks! That would be faster.
7. Hwey. Duven et ifie enzyukparen?	Don't mention it. Do you enjoy bicycling?
8. Gla. At enzyukpareya hijwamaj.	Very much so. I was cycling this morning.
9. Hiy eta tam. Duven hus se eta enzyukpar be ha zadeym?	Here's your house. Is that your bicycle in the front yard?
10. Vo. Atas se be ha zodeym. Huas bewe ata dat.	No. Mine is in the backyard. That one belongs to my friend.
11. Hua enzyuk se go via vyel etas	That bike is less good-looking than yours.
12. Ve. Hway av ha pepuen, datif.	Maybe. Thanks for the lift, buddy.

Grammar Notes

Progressive Aspect Verbs

In the above dialog, you will notice that there are some verbs in a tense other than one of the simple tenses you learned in the last lesson, namely the progressive tenses. The tenses in the progressive aspect refer to states and actions that go over a period of time. When we way "I am walking home", that refers to an ongoing action, not a habit. This is pretty easy for English speakers, because English tenses have the same opposition of simple vs. progressive aspect.

The progressive tenses are formed with the infix ey between the verb stem and suffix. Here is a chart showing the new set of tenses (active voice only):

Progressive Aspect Tenses

ASPECT	VOICE	MOOD	TENSE	EXAMPLE
Progressive	Active	Indicative	Present	at peye....I am going
Progressive	Active	Indicative	Past	at peya....I was going
Progressive	Active	Indicative	Future	at peyo....I will be going
Progressive	Active	Hypothetical	Atemporal	at peyu....I would be going

Examples:

• At peye tam.....I am going home.
• Et seye fua.....You are being bad.
• Duven et tambeseyo Ferom ojo huj?....Will you be living in France by then?
• At tyoyapeyu, oy se gra yiba.....I would be walking, but it's too far.

Note the difference between the simple and the progressive aspect in the following two sentences:

• Ha tixut tyoyape tistam hyajub.....The student walks to school every day. (SIMPLE ASPECT)
• Ha tixut tyoyapeye tistam hijub.....The student is walking to school today. (Progressive ASPECT )

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

First of all, there is a set of 'quantitative determiners' built on the basic word ga meaning more. They are shown in the chart below. Some of them are used in the comparison of adjectives and adverbs.

Dialog 1 Quantitative Determiners

TYPE	POSITIVE	INTERMEDIATE	NEGATIVE
Comparative	ga....more	ge....equally, as	go....less
Absolute	gla....very	gle....rather, quite	glo....not very
Execessive	gra....too	gre....enough	gro....insufficiently
Superlative	gwa....most	gwe....just the right degree	gwo....least

These words can be used, among other things, to modify adjectives and adverbs for degree. In the comparative construction, the word than or as in English is translated by the preposition vyel in Mirad:

• ga via vyel x....more beautiful than x
• ga igay vyel x....more quickly than x
• ge fia vyel x....as good as x
• ge fiay vyel x....as well as x
• go fia vyel....less good than x
• go fiay vyel....not a well as x
• gra iga....too fast
• gre fia....good enough
• ha gwa fia tuxut bi ha tistam....the best teacher in the school ( = of the school)
• It dala gwe.....He spoke just enough.

Creating Yes-No Questions

A yes-no question is usually introduced by the particle duven, which literally means say whether.... This does not involve inverting the subject and predicate.

• Duven et se yata tuxut?....Are you our teacher?
• Duven et tyoyape tistam?....Do you walk to school?
• Duven yit yexeya bay et?....Were they working with you?

Sometimes, Duven...? can be omitted and a question is implied by a rising intonation of voice or a question mark in writing.

• Et upeye bay at?....(Are) you coming with me?

The answer to any of the questions could be va yes, ve maybe, or vo no.

Note: voy means not and is used to negate a predicate:

• Yata voy se eta dati.....We are not your friends.
• Voy at.....Not I.

Similarly, vay means indeed, certainly and modifies the predicate verb:

• Yet se vay ata dati.....You are really my friends.

Vey is in-between, and means may, possibly as a predicate modifier:

• At vey upo.....I may come.
• Hia tuxut se vey ga fia vyel hua tuxut.....This teacher is possibly better than that teacher.

Pronominalizing Adjectives

Possessive adjectives like my, his, etc. and deictic adjectives like this, that, etc. can be pronominalized as shown in the following chart:

Dialog 1 Pronominalized Possessive and Deictic Adjectives

ADJECTIVE	SINGULAR PRONOUN	PLURAL PRONOUN
ata....my	atas....mine	atasi....mine
eta....your	etas....yours	etasi....yours
ita....his/her	itas....his/hers	itasi....his/hers
yata....our	yatas....ours	yatasi....ours
yeta....your	yetas....yours	yetasi....yours
yita....their	yitas....theirs	yitasi....theirs
duha....which	duhas....which one	duhasi....which ones
hia....this	hias....this one	hiasi....these (ones)
hua....my	huas....that one	huasi....those (ones)

Examples:

• Hias se etas. (pronounced etás). Huas se atas.....This one is yours. That one is mine.
• Huasi se etasi. Huasi se atasi.....Those are yours. Those are mine.
• Duven hua tam se etas?....Is that house yours?
• Yatasi se ga aga vyel yetasi.....Ours are bigger than yours.

All the pronouns in the above chart refer to possessed or specified things. Change the s to t to make them refer to possessed or specified people:

• Hiati sa fia vyel huati.....These (people) were better than those (ones).
• Yatati.....Our own (people) ( = Sinn Fein, in Irish)

Vocabulary

Nouns:

• par....vehicle, usually small and unmotorized, like a cart or wagon

• enzyukpar....bicycle    ( < en-....double + zyuk....wheel + par....small vehicle)
• enzyukpar....bike
• inzyukpar....tricycle (in-....triple)
• unzyukpar....wagon (un-....quadruple)

• pir....electric vehicle

• enzyukpir....scooter

• pur....car, motor vehicle

• enzyukpur....motorcycle

• tistam....school    ( < tis....learning + tam....house )
• datif....buddy    ( dat....friend + -if....affection)
• zadeym....front yard    ( < za....front + deym....garden )
• zodeym....back yard    ( < zo....back )
• jwamaj....morning    ( < jwa....early + maj....day vs. moj....night)

Verbs:

• per....go    (to)

• aper....get on, board, mount    ( < a(b)....on + per....go)

• aper pur....get in a car

• tyoyaper....walk    (to)    ( < tyoya(b)....foot + per )
• enzyukper....bike    (to)    ( < enzyuk + per)
• peper....ride    (on land)

• pepuer....give a ride/lift to    (verbs ending in -uer or causative)
• pepuen....a lift, a ride    (gerunds end in -en)

• ifier....like, enjoy, be pleased    ( < if....pleasure + (b)ier....take, get)
• ayser....have    ( < (b)ay....with + ser....be)
• ayswer....belong (to) (passive voice of ayser)

Determiners/Adverbs:

• humep....that way/direction    ( mep....road, way )
• hyajub....every day    (hya-....every + jub....day
• hijub....today    (hi-....this + jub....day
• hijwamaj....this morning    (hi-....this + jwa....early + maj....daylight)

Prepositions:

• bay....with, in the company of
• bey....by, by means of
• boy....without

Pronouns

• atas....mine, etas....yours, etc.
• duhoas?....which one?, hias....this one, etc.

Quiz

Fill in the following blanks with the Mirad equivalent of the underlined English:

1. At tam hoj et yibdalara at.....I was walking home when you telephoned me.

2. Ha tuxut zo ita dresem.....The teacher is working behind his desk.

3. Duven et tistam zajub?....Will you be coming to school tomorrow?

4. Hot hua enzyuk?....Who is getting on that bicycle?

5. se ga iga vyel .....Mine are faster than yours.

6. Ata dresem se aga vyel .....My desk is less big than yours.

7. Yata tuxut yexe ga jestay .....Our teacher works harder than yours (pl.).

Lesson 5: How old are you?

In this lesson, you will learn how to count and deal with numbers. You will also learn to conjugate verbs in the perfect aspect.

Dialog

Dialog 4 between Bob and Mary: How old are you?

SPEAKER	MIRAD	ENGLISH
M	Et se duhojaga?	How old are you?
B	At se ulo (jabi) jaga.	I'm forty years old.
M	Hwiy! Et se elo jabi gajaga vyel at.	Wow! You are twenty years older than I.
B	At te, oy et gay agso ig.	I know, but you too will grow quickly.
M	Hus se vyaa. Et tambesaye hia dom ji duhogla jabi?	That is true. For how many years have you been living (= you have lived) in this city?
B	At voy te vyavay, oy at saye him ji gla jabi.	I don't know exactly, but I've been here for many years.
M	Et ayse hogla tudi?	How many children do you have?
B	At ayse iwa twudi ay awa tuyd. Yit se eb iwa ay yowa jabi jaga.	I have three sons and one daughter. They are between three and five years old.
M	Av hus, et sayo tadxwa gwoy ji yawa jabi, vao?	So, you will have been married for at least six years, right?
B	Vay, yewa. Yata aa tud taja ewa jabi jo ha tadien	Actually, seven. Our first child was born two years after the marriage.
M.	Hyay. At oztasaye. Sa fia daler bay et. Hoy.	Great. I have gotten tired. It was good talking with you. Bye.

Grammar Notes

Perfect Aspect Verbs

In the past lessons, you learned the simple and progressive aspect tenses of the verb. Here you will learn the perfect aspect, which act just as the perfect tenses in English (I have studied, I had studied, I will have studied, and I would have studied). The sign of the perfect aspect is the infix ay (as opposed to ey, the infix for the progressive aspect tenses).

Here is a chart showing the new set of tenses (active voice only):

Perfect Aspect Tenses

ASPECT / VOICE / MOOD / TENSE	INFINITIVE = ser...to be STEM+INFIX = s+ay-
Perfect Active Indicative Present	at saye....I have been
Perfect Active Indicative Past	at saya....I had been
Perfect Active Indicative Future	at sayo....I will have been
Perfect Active Hypothetical (Conditional)	at sayu....I would have been

Examples:

• At tambesaye him ji glaj.....I have lived here for a long time.
• Et saye fua.....You have been bad.
• At voy tayu hus.....I would not have known that.
• At jay tajayu haj hu et pyua ela jabi jaga.....I had been born already when you reached twenty-one years of age.
• Be ata tajjub, at tejayo ilyo jabi.....On my birthday, I will have lived thirty-five years.

Counting and Telling One's Age

A full explanation of numbers and counting can be found in the chapter on Numbers. The units, when counting, end in -wa. The teens end in -lo, -la, -le, -li, etc. The hundreds in so, -sa, -se, etc.

The question for asking someone's age is usually Duhojaga et se?....How old are you?

The answer is usually phrased as At se x-number (jabi) (jaga).....I am x-number (years) (old) where either word in the parentheses can be omitted. The Mirad word jabi means years and jaga means old or of age. So, to say I am forty-two years old, you would say At se ule jabi jaga or just At se ule., or At se ule jaga.

The word jaga can just be the adjective old, the opposite being joga....young. Jag as a noun means age. An old person is jagat, while a youth is jogat.

The "dimension" jag (age) can be prefixed with all the h- deictic prefixes and all the quantitative prefixes like ga, go, or gla. For example:

• duhojaga?....how old?
• hijaga....this old
• hujaga....that old
• hejaga....somewhat old
• gajaga (vyel)....older (than)
• gejaga (vyel)....as old (as)
• gojaga (vyel)....less old (than)
• gwajaga....eldest
• grajaga....too old
• grojaga....minor
• glajaga....very old

All of the above terms and others can be pronominalized animately or inanimately:

• Grojagati voy upo.....Minors (=too young persons) will not come.
• Hujagasi se vua.....Things that old are ugly.

The word joga, when referring to things can be translated as new:

• At ayse jogas av et.....I have something new for you.

When joga applies to people, it means young:

• Hijuba jogati te glos.....The youth of today know little.

Adding Gender to Nouns

Nouns do not have inherent gender in Mirad. For example, tad simply means spouse (husband or wife).

To make a gender-neutral noun masculine or male, insert a w just before the stem vowel.

• tad....spouse becomes twad....husband

Similarly, to make a gender-neutral noun feminine or female, insert a y just after the stem vowel or vowel cluster:

• tad....spouse becomes tayd....wife (tayd is pronounced exactly like Am. Eng. tide)

Other examples:

• tud....child

• twud....son
• tuyd....daughter

• tob....person, human being

• twob....man
• toyb....woman

Singular personal pronouns can be genderized similarly:

• it....he or she, him or her

• wit....he or him
• iyt....she or her

• at....I or me (gender unspoken)

• wat....I or me, being a male
• ayt....I or me, being a female

• et....you

• wet....you, being a male
• eyt....you, being a female

The plural personal pronouns yat, yet, and yit stay gender-neutral.

Deictic pronouns can be genderized unless the deictic prefix begins in hy-:

• hut....that person, he or she, him or her
• hwut*....that guy, he or him
• huyti....those gals, they (being females)

* The hw is pronounced as Am. Eng. wh in where.

Quantitative Deictic Determiners

Determiners specifying quantity and answering the question duhogla (how much) are show in the following chart:

Quantitative Deictic Determiners

CATEGORY	ADVERBIAL / ADJECTIVAL DETERMINER	INANIMATE SINGULAR PRONOUN	INANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN	ANIMATE PLURAL PRONOUN
Interrogative	duhogla? how?/how much?/how many?	duhoglas? how much?	duhoglasi? how many	duhoglati? how many (people)?
Relative	hogla how...as/as much...as/as many...as	hoglas as much as	hoglasi as many as	haglati as many (people) as
Definite	hagla how/as much/as many	haglas as much	haglasi as many	haglati as many (people)
Indefinite	hegla somewhat/some/some	heglas some	heglasi some	heglati some (people)
Proximal	higla this/this much/this many	higlas this much	higlasi this many	higlati this many (people)
Distal	hugla that/that much/that many	huglas that much	huglasi that many huyglasi so many	huglati that many (people)
Intensive	huugla so very, so much, so many	huuglas so much	huuglasi so many	huuglati so many (people)
Distributive	hyagla totally/all/all	hyaglas all of it	hyaglasi all of them	hyaglati all of them
Indeterminate	hyegla however/any/any	hyeglas any of it	hyeglasi any of them	hyeglati any number of them
Negative	hyogla none	hyoglas none of it	hyoglasi none of them	hyoglati none of them
Identical	hyigla as/as much/as many, equally	hyiglas the same amount	hyiglasi the same number	hyiglati as many (people)
Non-Identical	hyugla not as much/not as much/not as many	hyuglas a different amount	hyuglasi a different number of things	hyuglati a different number of people

Examples:

• At se huugla iva van et upa.....I am so happy that you came.
• Hyagla ata tixuti se fia. Hyoglati se fua.....All of my students are good. None of them are bad.
• Yat ayse higla drari.....We have this many pencils.
• At ta hyigla dudi vyel et.....I knew as many answers as you.
• Duhoglati te eta tajjub?....How many people know your birthday?

Vocabulary

Nouns:

• jag....age
• taj....birth    (tej....life, toj....death)

• tajjub....birthday

• tadien....marriage   ( < tad....spouse, twad....husband, tayd....wife)
• tud....child    (twud....son, tuyd....daughter)

Adjectives:

• iva....happy    (vs. uva....sad
• jaga....old    (vs. joga....young

Verbs:

• ter....know    (a fact)
• tajer....to be born    (tejer....live, tojer....die)
• ayser....to have    (vs. oyser....to lack)

Determiners/Adverbs:

• duhogla?....how (many/much)    ( du....say + ho-....which + gla....much, many, very )
• duhojaga?....how old    (du....say + ho-....which + jag....age
• jay....already
• gay....also    (gey....even)
• glaj....a long time    (vs. gloj....a short while)
• gaj....more, further, still    (vs. goj....no longer)
• gway....mostly    (vs. gwoy....at least)

Prepositions:

• ji....since    ( ju....until)
• ja....before   ( je....during, jo....after)

Pronouns:

• jogat....youth
• jogas....something new
• jagat....old person

Interjections:

• hwiy.......wow!    (hwuy.......woe!, yikes! )

Quiz

Fill in the following blanks with the Mirad equivalent of the underlined English:

1 Yat him av ser bay yeta tudi.....We have come here to be with your children.

2 Et duhogla tixuti be hia tistam?....How many students have you taught at this school?

3 Duven et eta tamyex?....Have you done your homework?

4 Ha gwajaga tixut be ata tistam se .....The oldest student at my school is nineteen years old.

5 Eta tuxut tuxaye be hia tistam ?....How many years has your teacher taught at this school?

6 bi yet te ata dyun?....How many of you know my name?

7 Gla jagati jabi ja van et taja.....Many old people had lived years before you were born.

8 Iva tajjub! Et se hij?....Happy Birthday! How old are you now?

9 Eta tuyd . Se uva jub.....Your daughter has died. It is such a sad day.