Sangi/Adjectives

=Sangi Adjectives=

Adjectival Structure
The structure of the adjective is similar to that of the noun, although there are fewer slots and it does not involve case or number in its structure. An overview of the adjectival complex would be;

Slot 1: Stem

Slot 2: Equative, comparative and superlative suffixes

Slot 3: Demonstrative and indefinite suffixes.

Slot 4: Predicate

Slot 1 – Stem
The stem can only undergo purely phonological changes dependent on the attached suffixes.

Slot 2 – Equative, Comparative and Superlative Suffixes
Unlike in English, all adjectives form there comparative and superlative forms with suffixes. Constructions of comparison like “..-er than” are also formed using suffixes as are the negatives of all forms.

-r – This is the comparative suffix and is used like the English -er and more, e.g. piþer – bigger.

-ss – This is the superlative suffix and is used like the English -est and most, e.g. smorlessi – smallest.

-ise – This is the equative suffix and is used like the English “as” or the sentence “of the same ...-ness”, e.g. toco piáise – the dog of the same blackness.

-m – This is the negative comparative suffix and is used like the English less, e.g. loŋem – less long. It should always be seen as different from the comparative of the negative of the adjective, e.g. loŋem vs. śor (shorter).

-mp – This is the negative superlative suffix and is used like the English least, e.g. sorlempi – least tall.

-era – This is the comparative suffix of comparison and is used like the English more than or -er than, e.g. piþera – bigger than.

-ema – This is the negative comparative suffix of comparison and means “less than”, e.g. Smorwema – less small than.

-essa – This is the superlative suffix of comparison and is used when comparing a noun to a group of nouns to a group with similar characteristics and can be translated as “..-est of them”, e.g. piþessa- the biggest (of them). If another noun is mentioned as the group it must take the partitive suffix.

-eima – This is the negative superlative suffix of comparison, e.g. smorweima – the least small (of them). This suffix follows the same rules as its positive.

-eisa – This is the equative suffix of comparison and is used closer to the similar use of “as...as” in English, e.g. Piþeisa “as big as.”

Slot 3 – Demonstrative and Indefinite Suffixes
The demonstrative suffixes are used in place of the words this, that and that over there and are -te, -ta and -tal respectively. The indefinite suffixes are -ni, -sa and -pe and represent the words any, some and every respectively.

Slot 4 – Predicate Suffix
The predicate suffix is -is (as it is in nouns) and is lost in conjugation. Like in nouns, a conjugated adjective takes the stative suffixes.