Pular grammar

Nouns and their articles

Since the articles of nouns vary significantly, it is probably better to learn each Pular noun with its appropriate articles. It is also useful to learn the plural and singular forms of Pular nouns together because no simple rules are apparent for going from the singular form to the plural form. This may sound like a daunting task, but a few generalizations can be made.

Plural and singular forms of most fruits and vegetables

The nouns of most fruits and vegetables follow a similar pattern when changing from singular to plural. These nouns have a root form, which perhaps was imported from other languages. The singular form of these nouns is obtained by adding re to the root, and nden is usually the definitive article. By contrast, the plural form is obtained by adding je to the root, and dhen is the definitive article for the plural form. The table below provides examples to demonstrate this pattern.

Possessive adjectives

Note that unlike in English, in Pular the possessive adjective comes after the noun. In the table above, "jungo" is a noun that means hand. Similar to English, the possessive adjective does not vary with the genre or number of what is possessed. It varies only with the noun that possesses. For example:

Object pronouns

lan, ma, te, mo, men, en, on, bhe.

Interrogative keywords

ko hombo, ko hondhun, ko hombhe, ko honno, ko honto, ko ... hondhi, ko ... njelo, ko ... jelu

Subject pronouns

mi, a, o, men, en, on, bhe, dhe, dhi

Demonstrative adjectives

Pular has many demonstrative adjectives, which are keywords that indicate the location of a "noun" with respect to the speaker. However, they are usually derived from the definitive articles described above. Here is a partial list:

oo, bhee (plural = these people), dhii(plural), dhee(plural), [ngal, ngol, ngii, ngoo, nguu, nduu, ndee, ndii, dhan, mbaa, kun, etc...] The English equivalent of these adjective demonstratives are: this, these, that, and those.

Indefinite pronouns

Note that this is a partial list.

See the table below for some expressions using indefinite pronouns.

Others__location

dhoo, gaa, dhaa, too, gadha, gaanin

Various verb types

Pular verbs are mainly distinguished by the endings of their infinitive forms. These endings include: ugol, agol, egol, angol, ingol, orgol and maybe others. The most common ending is probably ugol. Please see the table below for examples.

The future form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the future, simply replace the ugol ending with ay. For example, soodugol turns into sooday. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol", which means to buy.

Although the verb does not vary with the subject, it does vary with the object. That is when the object is the singular form of you, the "ay" ending becomes "e". The table below shows some examples of how the future form of "ugol" verbs varies with the object.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the future, simply replace the agol ending with oto. For example, fubbagolturns into fubboto. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "fubbagol", which means to swim.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the future, simply replace the egol ending with ete. For example, weelegolturns into weelete. Note however that this form does not always make sense if the subject is I (mi). For example, "mi sokete" sounds more like "I will have you jailed" than "I will be jailed". The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be hungry.

4)Verbs ending in "angol", "ingol" or "orgol", : To express the affirmative form of these verbs in the future, simply replace the gol ending with ay. For example, jangangol turns into janganay; yaggingol into yagginay; and okkorgol into okkoray. Similar to above, the verb does not vary when the subject varies.

The terminated past form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the ugol ending with uno. For example, soodugol turns into sooduno. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol".

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

Although the verb does not vary with the subject, it does vary with the object. That is when the object is either me or you(singular), the "ugol" verb can vary. The table below shows some examples of how the Terminated Past form of "ugol" verbs varies with the object. The chosen verb is "wallugol", which means to help.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ino. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhino. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "terminated past" form, simply replace the egol ending with ano. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminano. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Terminated Past form.

The simple past form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the ugol ending with ii. For example, soodugol turns into soodii. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "gnaamugol", which means to eat.

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ike. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhike. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the egol ending with aama. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminaama. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

The past participle form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the affirmative form of ugol verbs in the "past participle" form, simply replace the ugol ending with i. For example, nawnugol turns into nawni. Note that the past participle form of the verb behaves as an adjective and is preceded by the verb to be conjugated in the present. The table below provides more examples using the verb "ronkugol", which means to be tired.

Here are some simple sentences where "ugol" verbs are converted to the Past Participle form and used as adjectives.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the affirmative form of agol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the agol ending with ike. For example, joodhagol turns into joodhike. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "immgagol", which means to get up.

Here are some simple sentences where "agol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the affirmative form of egol verbs in the "simple past" form, simply replace the egol ending with aama. For example, lamminegol turns into lamminaama. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "weelegol", which means to be(get) hungry.

Here are some simple sentences where "egol" verbs are conjugated in the Simple Past form.

The future, negative form of various verb types

1)Verbs ending in "ugol": To express the negative form of ugol verbs in the future, simply replace the ugol ending with ataa. For example, soodugol turns into soodataa. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "soodugol", which means to buy.

2)Verbs ending in "agol": To express the negative form of agol verbs in the future, simply replace the agol ending with ataako. For example, fubbagol turns into fubbataako. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "fubbagol", which means to swim.

3)Verbs ending in "egol": To express the negative form of egol verbs in the future, simply replace the egol ending with ataake. For example, janfegol turns into fubbataake. Note that the verb does not vary with the subject. The table below provides more examples using the verb "janfegol", which means to be cheated.

Adjectives and adverbs

The word "very" in English takes many different forms in Pular depending on what adjective is being emphasized. Here are a few examples:

However, in general, most of these Pular adverbs could be replaced with moyyha to emphasize the adjective. But the style would be lost. The table below contains additional examples with their appropriate adverbs.

Making Comparisons

Contrasting ideas

Cause and effect

Time clauses

Relative clauses

Relative clauses in Pular are often used to give more details about a noun or an idea within a sentence. Thus they play a similar role in English. They are often associated with the following relative pronouns:

Please see the table below for examples that demonstrate the use of relative clauses.

Conditional clauses