Let's break down the sentence: I see the stars. > Cenin i·ñ(g)îl. - See-I the-stars.
You will notice I put parentheses around the (g) you will see that some will write it as ñîl. I choose to write it from this note in PE23: *For i·mair, i·nuir written forms were sometimes i·mbair, i·nduir to distinguish such cases from those with original initial m, n; they were not needed in the case of nouns beginning with g-, since no words had radical initial ñ in Sindarin, but nonetheless i·ñuin, the stones, was sometimes spelled i·ñguin.
English | grammatical categorization | Sindarin | grammatical categorization |
---|---|---|---|
I | independent pronoun, 1st person singular – Subject of the sentence. | Cenin | verb, present tense, 1st person singular of cen- “to see, perceive, look” - Subject of the sentence. |
see | verb, present tense, 1st person singular – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | i·ñgîl | definite article plural-plural noun, - Proclitic, causing nasal mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "see." |
stars | plural noun – Direct object of the verb "see." |
Let's break down the sentence: You hear the bird's song. Rephrased: You hear the song of the bird > Lhassog e·lind en·aew. - Hear-you the-song [of] the bird.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
You | independent pronoun, 2nd person singular or plural – Subject of the sentence. | Lhassog | verb, present tense, 2nd person singular, familiar of ᴺS. lhassa- “to hear” - Subject of the sentence. |
hear | verb, present tense, 2nd person singular or plural – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | e·lind | definite article singular-singular noun - Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "hear." |
song | singular noun – Direct object of the verb "hear." | ||
of | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "of the bird," indicating possession or association. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | en·aew | definite article singular-singular noun - Proclitic, causing nasal mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Object of the preposition of the implied [of]. |
bird | singular noun, object of the preposition "of" – Indicates the entity to which the "song" belongs. |
Let's break down the sentence: You feel the warm sun on your face. > Felil Anor laug bo e·thîr lín. - Feel-you [the] sun warm on the-face your.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
You | independent pronoun, 2nd person singular or plural – Subject of the sentence. | Felil | verb, present tense, 2nd person singular, formal of ᴺS. fel- “to feel (a sensation or emotion)” - Subject of the sentence. |
feel | verb, present tense, 2nd person singular or plural – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | Anor | singular noun- Proper nouns cannot take a definite article. Direct object of the verb "feel." |
warm | adjective – Describes the noun "sun." | ||
sun | singular noun – Direct object of the verb "feel." | laug | adjective – Describes the noun "sun." Follows the noun it modifies. |
on | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "on your face," indicating location. | bo | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "on your face," indicating location. Causes soft mutation. |
your | possessive pronoun, 2nd person singular or plural – Modifies the noun "face," indicating possession. | e·thîr | singular noun – Object of the preposition "on." Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the possessed noun that follows. |
face | singular noun – Object of the preposition "on." | lín | possessive pronoun, 2nd person singular, formal – Modifies the noun "face," indicating possession. |
Let's break down the sentence: He/She smells the ground after rain. > Nosta e·dalaf ab ross. - Smells-he/she the-ground after rain.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
He/she | independent pronoun, 3rd person singular – Subject of the sentence. | Nosta | verb, present tense, 3nd person singular of ᴺS. nosta- “to smell” - Subject of the sentence. |
smells | verb, present tense, 3rd person singular – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | e·dalaf | definite article singular-singular noun - Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "smell." |
ground | singular noun – Direct object of the verb "smells." | ||
after | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "after rain," indicating time. | ab | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "after rain," indicating time. Causes soft mutation. |
rain | singular noun – Object of the preposition "after," referring to the event occurring before the action of smelling. | ross | singular noun – Object of the preposition "after," referring to the event occurring before the action of smelling. |
Let's break down the sentence: We taste the beer. > Cewib e·chîm. - Taste-we [we and you] the-beer.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
We | independent pronoun, 1st person plural – Subject of the sentence. | Cewib | verb, present tense, 3nd person plural, inclusive of caw- “to taste” - Subject of the sentence. |
taste | verb, present tense, 1st person plural – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | e·chîm. | definite article singular-singular noun - Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "hear." |
beer | singular noun – Direct object of the verb "taste." |
Let's break down the sentence: We watch the flowing river. > Tiriaf e·dhuin hiriol. - Watch-we [but not you] the-river flowing.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
We | independent pronoun, 1st person plural – Subject of the sentence. | Tiriaf | verb, present tense, 3nd person plural, exclusive of tiria- “to watch, gaze; to ward, guard” - Subject of the sentence. |
watch | verb, present tense, 1st person plural – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | e·dhuin | definite article singular-singular noun - Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "watch." |
flowing | active present participle – Functions as an adjective, describing the noun "river." | ||
river | singular noun – Direct object of the verb "watch." | hiriol | active present participle of siria- “to flow” – Functions as an adjective, describing the noun "river." |
Let's break down the sentence: You see the changing of the seasons. > Cenidh e·'wistad i·lórain. - See-you the-changing [of] the-seasons.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
You | independent pronoun, 2nd person singular or plural – Subject of the sentence. | Cenidh | verb, present tense, 2nd person plural, formal of cen- “to see, perceive, look” - Subject of the sentence. |
notice | verb, present tense, 2nd person singular or plural – Transitive verb that takes a direct object. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | e·'wistad | definite article singular-verbal noun/gerund - Proclitic, causing soft mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Direct object of the verb "watch." |
changing | verbal noun/gerund – Functions as a noun, referring to the process of change. | ||
of | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "of the seasons," indicating possession or association. | ||
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | i·lórain. | definite article plural-plural noun, - Proclitic, causing nasal mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. Object of the preposition of the implied [of]. |
seasons | plural noun – Object of the preposition "of," referring to the time periods undergoing change. |
Let's break down the sentence: They gaze at the distant mountains. > Tiriar n’ in·eryd chaeryn. - Gaze-they at the-mountains distant.
English | Sindarin | ||
---|---|---|---|
They | independent pronoun, 3rd person plural – Subject of the sentence. | Tiriar | verb, present tense, 3nd person plural, formal of tiria- “to watch, gaze; to ward, guard” - Subject of the sentence. |
gaze | verb, present tense, 3rd person plural – Intransitive verb, meaning it does not take a direct object. | ||
at | preposition – Introduces the prepositional phrase "at the distant mountains," indicating direction or focus. | n’ | preposition - Introduces the prepositional phrase "at the distant mountains," indicating direction or focus. Regularly elided to n’ before vowels. Causes soft mutation. |
the | definite article – Specifies the noun that follows. | in·eryd | definite article plural-plural noun, - Proclitic, causing nasal mutation of the initial consonant of the noun that follows. |
distant | adjective – Describes the noun "mountains," indicating their location as far away. | ||
mountains | plural noun – Object of the preposition "at," referring to what is being gazed at. | chaeryn | adjective – Describes the noun "mountains." Follows the noun it modifies. |