Determiners

A type of word that describes the reference type of a noun. You could think of determiners as a special class of noun modifiers and the only ones that exist before the head noun.

[determiners][head noun] [modifiers]

Determiners involve something related to plurality (quantity), adequacy, or time. They are the fundamental attributes of nouns alongside what makes each noun unique.

Quantity

You can provide numerals as determiners and they allow you to specify the plurality or quantity of the nouns being referred to. Larger numbers are created by using the below method of assembling parts of a number:

Latin

Number	Hîsyêô
0	xûnyu
1	kut
2	dûî
3	niswî
4	nonkû
5	tîû
6	toû
7	xêtî
8	tukwos
9	eson
10	dus
11	ônsu
12	bole
13	telô
14	ziyôn
15	kînsê
16	ses
17	dus xêtî
18	dus tukwos
19	dus eson
20	dûî dus
21	dûî dus kut
22	dûî dus dûî
23	dûî dus niswî
100	fîyên
101	fîyên kut
234	dûî fîyên niswî dus nonkû
1000	elfû kut
1,000,000	elfû dûî
1,999	elfû kut, eson fîyên eson dus eson

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

Number	ɂ́ɟɀʇɽi
0	ɋ̃ʄɀʃ
1	ɔ̆ʃ
2	ʌʄɽɟ
3	ƨ́ȷʒɟ
4	ƨ̃ɔʄ
5	cɟɽʄ
6	cɽʄ
7	ɋʇcɟ
8	c̑ʃʒ́
9	ɽɿɐ̃
10	ʌ́ʃ
11	ɽ̃ıɐʃ
12	ʋʓɿ
13	cɿʓı
14	ⱴȷɀ̃ı
15	ɔ̃ɟɐʇ
16	ɐ́ɿ
17	ʌ́ʃ ɋʇcɟ
18	ʌ́ʃ c̑ʃʒ́
19	ʌ́ʃ ɽɿɐ̃
20	ʌʄɽɟ ʌ́ʃ
21	ʌʄɽɟ ʌ́ʃ ɔ̆ʃ
22	ʌʄɽɟ ʌ́ʃ ʌʄɽɟ
23	ʌʄɽɟ ʌ́ʃ ƨ́ȷʒɟ
100	ɤɟɀ̃ʇ
101	ɤɟɀ̃ʇ ɔ̆ʃ
234	ʌʄɽɟ ɤɟɀ̃ʇ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ʌ́ʃ ƨ̃ɔʄ
1000	ɽ͊ɿɤʄ ɔ̆ʃ
1,000,000	ɽ͊ɿɤʄ ʌʄɽɟ
1,999	ɽ͊ɿɤʄ ɔ̆ʃ, ɽɿɐ̃ ɤɟɀ̃ʇ ɽɿɐ̃ ʌ́ʃ ɽɿɐ̃

Add one of these before your noun and you have provided a quantity determiner (a cardinal number).

Latin

niswî sûtûô li cok sûn zomo. "Three friends are leaving the group."

nûs buswen niswî dus tîû êfun oxon xe bîek ni sûît ôfo. "We need 35 minutes to bake this cake."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨ́ȷʒɟ ɐʄcʄɽı ʓȷ ꞇ̑ ɐ̃ʄ ⱴƶ. "Three friends are leaving the group."

ƨ́ʄ ʋ́ʃʒ̃ɿ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ʌ́ʃ cɟɽʄ ɽʇɤ̃ʃ ɽɋ̃ ɋɿ ʋɟɽ̑ɿ ƨȷ ɐʄʒ̆ɟ ɽıɤ. "We need 35 minutes to bake this cake."

Providing a quantity determiner of "one" (kut) can be used as a kind of indefinite article. Like the English article "a" or "an".

Ordinal

Place a numeral word after the nucleus (before, in the midst, or after other modifiers) and it will represent a relative position of an item in a sequence (an ordinal number).

Latin

li nomû niswî xe sûn xîmol, û sûko noyo. "The third tree from the left is my favorite."

noyo li umo nonkû xe li cok. "I was the fourth person to leave."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ʓȷ ƨƶʄ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ɋɿ ɐ̃ʄ ɋɟƶ͊, ɽʄ ɐʄɔ ƨɀ. "The third tree from the left is my favorite."

ƨɀ ʓȷ ɽʃƶ ƨ̃ɔʄ ɋɿ ʓȷ ꞇ̑. "I was the fourth person to leave."

The position of the ordinal does cause a split in the grouping of nouns.

Latin

noyo côûfon mokon sûît kut xôn onô. "You made the great first dessert."

noyo côûfon mokon sûît xôn kut onô. "You made the first great dessert."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨɀ ꞇıɽʄɤ̃ ƶɔ̃ ɐʄʒ̆ɟ ɔ̆ʃ ɋ̃ı ɽƨı. "You made the great first dessert."

ƨɀ ꞇıɽʄɤ̃ ƶɔ̃ ɐʄʒ̆ɟ ɋ̃ı ɔ̆ʃ ɽƨı. "You made the first great dessert."

Multiplier

Place a numeral word after (ônî) and use this as a modifier to represent the number of times something is to be multiplied.

Latin

boholon yûnyoû zinkon ônî dûî. "The closet has double doors."

nîo li kîôsô êto kôî tûu zoston ônî nonkû bi obunyun. "He's quite athletic and can do quadruple jumps with ease."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ʋɂʓ̃ ɀ̃ʄɀɽʄ ⱴ̃ȷɔ̃ ɽıƨɟ ʌʄɽɟ. "The closet has double doors."

ƨɟɽ ʓȷ ɔɟɽıɐı ɽʇc ɔıɽɟ cʄɽʃ ⱴ́c̃ ɽıƨɟ ƨ̃ɔʄ ʋȷ ɽʋ̃ʃɀ̃ʃ. "He's quite athletic and can do quadruple jumps with ease."

Adverbial

Place a numeral word after the manner/material thematic role marker (ônî) and you get adverbial numerals.

Latin

noyo bi ônî kut tôlkî mokon sî bîek botuk yê ônî mulô "I have only once eaten pizza"

nîmû bi ônî dûî kûu yôn sîkot hokôlî hôn lono xokôn. You should use your toothbrush twice a day.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨɀ ʋȷ ɽıƨɟ ɔ̆ʃ c͊ıɔɟ ƶɔ̃ ɐɟ ʋɟɽ̑ɿ ʋc̑ʃ ɀʇ ɽıƨɟ ƶʃʓi "I have only once eaten pizza"

ƨɟƶʄ ʋȷ ɽıƨɟ ʌʄɽɟ ɔʄɽʃ ɀ̃ı ɐɟɔ̆ ɂɔıʓɟ ɂ̃ı ʓƨ ɋɔ̃ı. You should use your toothbrush twice a day.

Distributive

You can make distributive numerals using xokôn. First, to indicate that a predicate is occurring multiple times with the specified details, you would tack on a xokôn at the end of a noun phrase. Here's a non-distributive action and contrasting distributive one:

Latin

umo Tom û umo Zil okôt niswî dibo. "Tom and Jill carried three boxes."

umo Tom û umo Zil okôt niswî dibo xokôn. "Tom and Jill carried three boxes each."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ɽʃƶ ‹cƶ› ɽʄ ɽʃƶ ‹ⱴ͊ȷ› ɽɔ̆ı ƨ́ȷʒɟ ʌȷʋ. "Tom and Jill carried three boxes."

ɽʃƶ ‹cƶ› ɽʄ ɽʃƶ ‹ⱴ͊ȷ› ɽɔ̆ı ƨ́ȷʒɟ ʌȷʋ ɋɔ̃ı. "Tom and Jill carried three boxes each."

In order to specify that something is double the degree of the associated noun-phrase. You prefix a quantity phrase with xokôn.

Latin

motûo wohî noyo bi xokôn dûî dîyondê hôn xe bi elentêt li êo infultîn ônî dûstu wokût. My mother was always doubly careful when winding the clock.

li sonkon û xe besol zinkon, ûn bi xokôn niswî hôn bitûn. It is important to lock the door, and triply so at night.

lolû nîmû oncêmon êo xokôn dûî tônkô hôn doho noyo. Your words feel doubly hurtful given my sacrifices.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƶcʄɽ ʒɂɟ ƨɀ ʋȷ ɋɔ̃ı ʌʄɽɟ ʌɟɀ̃ʌʇ ɂ̃ı ɋɿ ʋȷ ɽɿʓ̃ɿc̆ʇ ʓȷ ɽʇɽ ɽ̃ȷɤ͊ʃc̃ɟ ɽıƨɟ ʌ́ʄcʃ ʒɔ̆ʄ. My mother was always doubly careful when winding the clock.

ʓȷ ɐ̃ɔ̃ ɽʄ ɋɿ ʋɿɐ͊ ⱴ̃ȷɔ̃, ɽ̃ʄ ʋȷ ɋɔ̃ı ƨ́ȷʒɟ ɂ̃ı ʋȷc̃ʄ. It is important to lock the door, and triply so at night.

ʓʓʄ ƨɟƶʄ ɽ̃ꞇʇƶ̃ ɽʇɽ ɋɔ̃ı ʌʄɽɟ c̃ıɔı ɂ̃ı ʌɂ ƨɀ. Your words feel doubly hurtful given my sacrifices.

Fractional

Latin

noyo ke dôstoc niswî fun niswî dus tîû îcwon noyo. I will receive three thirty-fifths of my inheritance.

fîkî yê sobûnî et onô li sî nîôk lon niswî ûn fun niswî. The disease rate has increased by 3 and one-third.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨɀ ɔɿ ʌ́ıc̄ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ɤ̃ʃ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ʌ́ʃ cɟɽʄ ɽ̄ɟʒ̃ ƨɀ. I will receive three thirty-fifths of my inheritance.

ɤɟɔɟ ɀʇ ɐʋʄƨɟ ɽ̆ɿ ɽƨı ʓȷ ɐɟ ƨɟɽ̑ı ʓ̃ ƨ́ȷʒɟ ɽ̃ʄ ɤ̃ʃ ƨ́ȷʒɟ. The disease rate has increased by 3 and one-third.

Relative

Relative determiners provide relativistic information about the head phrase that they are attached to. They can be relative quantities which are like the above numerical quantities but with a non-exact non-finite understanding of what the exact numerical quantity the noun actually is.

Latin

total/all: môî sûtûô noyo sûko kontol doî osyen. All my friends like classical music

highest/most: ôfo li numûno yê eswen sonkon en môî. This is the most important example.

high/many: li êto tolîko bêsu yê xe côûfon. "There are many different ways to cook a meal."

higher/more: li eswen tolîko yê xe tûu ôfo, en fos noyo kôî tûek tô kut. "There are more ways to xe this than I can count."

lower/fewer: li mênûs umo hoî ôfo bi îbûdû. "There are less people here now."

low/some: yoûtî umo sûko kon mûhoyon. "Some people like camping."

lowest/least: noyo bi tôlkî yûnyoû zôtêstô oxon xe cifû mênûs cino yê niwos en môî. I can only afford to pay the least of the bills.

zero/none: xûnyu yê dûî umo li sumon. No two people are the same.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

total/all: ƶıɽɟ ɐʄcʄɽı ƨɀ ɐʄɔ ɔ̃c͊ ʌɽɟ ɽ́ɀ̃ɿ. All my friends like classical music

highest/most: ɽıɤ ʓȷ ƨʃƶʄƨ ɀʇ ɽ́ɿʒ̃ɿ ɐ̃ɔ̃ ɽ̃ɿ ƶıɽɟ. This is the most important example.

high/many: ʓȷ ɽʇc cʓɟɔ ʋʇɐʃ ɀʇ ɋɿ ꞇıɽʄɤ̃. "There are many different ways to cook a meal."

higher/more: ʓȷ ɽ́ɿʒ̃ɿ cʓɟɔ ɀʇ ɋɿ cʄɽʃ ɽıɤ, ɽ̃ɿ ɤ́ ƨɀ ɔıɽɟ cʄɽ̑ɿ cı ɔ̆ʃ. "There are more ways to xe this than I can count."

lower/fewer: ʓȷ ƶʇƨ́ʄ ɽʃƶ ɂɽɟ ɽıɤ ʋȷ ɽɟʋʄʌʄ. "There are less people here now."

low/some: ɀɽʄcɟ ɽʃƶ ɐʄɔ ɔ̃ ƶʄɂɀ̃. "Some people like camping."

lowest/least: ƨɀ ʋȷ c͊ıɔɟ ɀ̃ʄɀɽʄ ⱴıćʇcı ɽɋ̃ ɋɿ ꞇȷɤʄ ƶʇƨ́ʄ ꞇȷƨ ɀʇ ƨȷʒ́ ɽ̃ɿ ƶıɽɟ. I can only afford to pay the least of the bills.

zero/none: ɋ̃ʄɀʃ ɀʇ ʌʄɽɟ ɽʃƶ ʓȷ ɐʃƶ̃. No two people are the same.

There's also the universal classifications of "every" and "each". The former is used for speaking of a group as a whole and the latter is used for speaking of each individual within a group.

Latin

kûu li gufis yê fos nîmû xûsten xokôn xolu bi xôn. Make sure you wash each bowl well.

bînton lono onô li nô bi cên hoî xokôn lono hêlxun ûn li nô bi sêl hoî xokôn bitûn. The sun comes up each morning and sets each night.

môî umo xe hoî kûncên onô, dî sî totsi ûn hokûxi. Every person in the room stood and cheered.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ɔʄɽʃ ʓȷ ꜿʃɤ́ȷ ɀʇ ɤ́ ƨɟƶʄ ɋ́ʄc̃ɿ ɋɔ̃ı ɋʓʃ ʋȷ ɋ̃ı. Make sure you wash each bowl well.

ʋ̃ɟc̃ ʓƨ ɽƨı ʓȷ ƨı ʋȷ ꞇ̃ʇ ɂɽɟ ɋɔ̃ı ʓƨ ɂ͊ʇɋ̃ʃ ɽ̃ʄ ʓȷ ƨı ʋȷ ɐ͊ʇ ɂɽɟ ɋɔ̃ı ʋȷc̃ʄ. The sun comes up each morning and sets each night.

ƶıɽɟ ɽʃƶ ɋɿ ɂɽɟ ɔ̃ʄꞇ̃ʇ ɽƨı, ʌɟ ɐɟ c̆ɐȷ ɽ̃ʄ ɂɔʄɋȷ. Every person in the room stood and cheered.

Interplay with location and duration prepositions

Using these with the location/time preposition (hoî) and the distance/duration preposition (lon) has subtle differences in interpretations.

Latin

nûs ke nîltûgu xe li nô bi fîkî, hoî 5 mônbili xokôn. "We will stop running at 5 miles"

nîmû ke dôstoc îskô hoî môî 5 mônbili xokôn. "You will get a drink every 5 miles"

ke li ônî nô fîkî bêsu hoî xokôn 5 mônbili xokôn. "There will be a different runner each 5 miles"

nûs ke li nô bi fîkî lon 5 mônbili xokôn. "We will run for 5 miles"

ke li ônî nô fîkî bêsu lon môî 5 mônbili xokôn. "There will be a different runner for every 5 mile stretch"

nîmû ke dôstoc îskô dîzel lon xokôn 5 mônbili xokôn. "You get another drink for each 5 mile stretch"

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨ́ʄ ɔɿ ƨ͊ɟcʄꜿʃ ɋɿ ʓȷ ƨı ʋȷ ɤɟɔɟ, ɂɽɟ 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "We will stop running at 5 miles"

ƨɟƶʄ ɔɿ ʌ́ıc̄ ɽ́ɟɔı ɂɽɟ ƶıɽɟ 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "You will get a drink every 5 miles"

ɔɿ ʓȷ ɽıƨɟ ƨı ɤɟɔɟ ʋʇɐʃ ɂɽɟ ɋɔ̃ı 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "There will be a different runner each 5 miles"

ƨ́ʄ ɔɿ ʓȷ ƨı ʋȷ ɤɟɔɟ ʓ̃ 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "We will run for 5 miles"

ɔɿ ʓȷ ɽıƨɟ ƨı ɤɟɔɟ ʋʇɐʃ ʓ̃ ƶıɽɟ 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "There will be a different runner for every 5 mile stretch"

ƨɟƶʄ ɔɿ ʌ́ıc̄ ɽ́ɟɔı ʌɟⱴ͊ɿ ʓ̃ ɋɔ̃ı 5 ƶ̃ıʋȷʓȷ ɋɔ̃ı. "You get another drink for each 5 mile stretch"

Lastly, there are relative quantities that refer to the speakers feelings that the quantity is an adequate amount for their purposes.

Latin

noyo bi ôhêl îskô sî zôtêstô îskô kîkôlô ûlzo hoî lono ôfo. "I've already had enough coffee today."

nîmû mokon sî odigon bîek sûît hoî kôndodû onô. "You ate too much cake at the party."

nîo moskûl li bûzôk môfî hôn xe hobîyô mût nîo wohî. "He lacks the courage to tell her."

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

ƨɀ ʋȷ ɽıɂ͊ʇ ɽ́ɟɔı ɐɟ ⱴıćʇcı ɽ́ɟɔı ɔɟɔıʓı ɽ͊ʄⱴ ɂɽɟ ʓƨ ɽıɤ. "I've already had enough coffee today."

ƨɟƶʄ ƶɔ̃ ɐɟ ɽcȷɔ̃ ʋɟɽ̑ɿ ɐʄʒ̆ɟ ɂɽɟ ɔ̃ıʌʌʄ ɽƨı. "You ate too much cake at the party."

ƨɟɽ ƶ́ɔ͊ʄ ʓȷ ʋʄⱴ̑ı ƶıɤɟ ɂ̃ı ɋɿ ɂʋɟɀı ƶ̆ʄ ƨɟɽ ʒɂɟ. "He lacks the courage to tell her."