1.2.4 Adjectives (adj.) and Adverbs (adv.)

Orc illustration

Adjectives are words that describe other things, generally nouns. Adverbs describe or modify the action of the entire sentence and can be viewed as modifying the verb. One notable feature of Sindarin adjectives is that they generally appear after the nouns they modify. Here is a sample of Sindarin adjectives and adverbs with their meanings:

Note ¹: “tond”, and “anuir” are Neo-Sindarin. “tond” a loan word from Noldorin and “anuir” created by Elaran from an “to, for” + uir “eternity”.

Adjectives usually come before the noun they modify, but adverbs can be placed more freely. For example:

Note ²: en-Edhel thalion. “The strong elf.” and en-Aew luin. “The blue bird.” are both ambiguous. They can both mean “The elf is strong.” and “The bird is blue.” This applies to any adjective standing in this situation if it cannot overtly show lenition.

1.2.4.1 Plural Adjectives

Sindarin adjectives inflect for number to agree with their noun: en-Edhel thalion “The strong elf” → in-Edhil thelyn “The strong elves”. More examples:

1.2.4.2 “To Be” Statements

In English, “to be” statements are phrased with some form of the verb “to be” as in “you are wise”, “Elrond [is] an elf. In linguistics a word like “is” or “are” are called a “copula”, which is a simply a small linking word connecting the subject (you, Elrond) to its predicate (wise, an Elf). The Elvish languages are notable in that they do not normally use a copula word in such sentences: the subject and predicate are simply placed next to each other with no joining word (in linguistics this is referred to as a “zero copula”). In other words, the verb “to be” in Elvish languages is frequently optional, and this seems to be true of Sindarin as well.

Based on examples like these, it has become a popular notion in Neo-Sindarin that the copula na- is not merely “optional” as it is in Quenya but is in fact almost never used. Based on this theory, many Neo-Sindarin writers use an independent pronoun together with its predicate for “to be” statements that use pronouns:

Not much can be said for certain about “to be” statement in Sindarin, but it is recommended to use the following for Neo-Sindarin writing:

Other examples:

The same construction can be used to equate two nouns, as well as nouns modified by adjectives:

Note ¹: The English phrase “The elves are sleeping” superficially resembles a “to be” sentence in English, but it isn’t. Here the “are” is a helping verb for the present continuous formation “are sleeping”. Therefore, its Sindarin translation uses the present tense, en·Edhil lerir., and not the “to be” construction described above.

1.2.4.3 Adverbs

English, adverbs modify the entire phrase and typically follow the verb: i·edhel lôr anuir. “The elf sleeps forever.” The adverb may appear elsewhere in the sentence, however:

Note ¹: There are some Neo-Sindarin writers that believe it is better to use sí (for both “here” and “now”). This may be contentious.

It is generally assumed that, like English, Sindarin adverbs can modify adjectives and when they do, they precede those adjectives: Megil vae·vell. “A well-loved sword.” or Mae vell e·Vegil. “The sword [is] well loved.”. Here the adverb causes the adjective to be lenited; this is independent of the lenition of the adjective or adjectival phrase when it modifies a noun attributively.

One peculiar feature of Sindarin is that adjectives may sometimes function as adverbs, in which case they follow the verb: en·Orch nôr lim. “The orc is running swift (= swiftly)”. This is subtly different from en·Orch lim nôr. “The swift orc is running” which of course is ambiguous, so perhaps you could also say Nôr en·Orch lim.

1.2.4.4 Section Summary

Click the phrase to reveal the answer. Uses CEA 1969 definite articles e/en & in.

Exercise 1.3

Translate the following into English:
  1. in·Edain thelyn ristar e·daur hí. - The strong men cut the forest now.
  2. Nîn en·orch. - An orc is wet (lit.) Wet is the orc.
  3. Aew luin lôr. - A blue bird sleeps.
  4. en·Aran dîr e·Garas anuir. - The king watches the city forever.
  5. Riston en·orch lim. - I cut the swift orc.
  6. in·Edhil dirir i·ñil aglareb. - The elves watch the glorious star.

Translate the following into Sindarin:
  1. He is a tall dwarf. - Te hadhod dond.
  2. The birds go far. - in·Aew menir chae.
  3. The dead orcs are blue (lit.) Blue is the dead orc. - Luin in·yrch ñyrth.
  4. The captain sleeps well. - e·Chothron lôr vae.
  5. The well loved king eats. - en·Aran vae·vell vâd.
  6. The orc is dead now. - e·Orch gorth hí.
1.2.5 Febith (Prepositions) →