This chapter explains the most basic sentence forms in Ruwish. After introducing the pronouns, we look at two kinds of sentences, copular sentences and existential sentences, and at how to negate each of them.
1. Pronouns
The Ruwish pronouns are as follows.
| one | two or more | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | 我 / 私 | 我們 / 私們 |
| Second person | 尓 | 尓輩 |
| Third person | 他 (他男, 他女) | 他輩 (他男輩, 他女輩) |
| Non-human things | 斯 | 斯輩 |
Words for oneself
我 and 私 both mean “I”. 私 is a word for deliberately making oneself small. It is used when the speaker wants to make the relationship with the listener clear, or to admonish oneself. Which one to use is not a grammatical rule; the speaker chooses in each situation.
Words for the listener
尓 is the basic word for “you”.
Words for other people
他 means “he” or “she”. To show gender, use 他男 (he) or 他女 (she). It is common to write 他男 or 他女 only the first time, and simply 他 after that.
“She was tired, so she went to sleep.”
Words for non-human things
To refer to something that is not a person, use 斯 (this, that) instead of 他.
Words for plurals
To show two or more, Ruwish uses two words, 們 and 輩. 們 makes a plural that includes the speaker (我們 = we), and 輩 makes a plural that does not (尓輩 = you all, 他輩 = they).
2. Copular sentences
Sentences that state what the subject is or what it is like, such as “A is B” or “A is ...”, are called copular sentences. In copular sentences, three copular verbs are used for different purposes.
| Sentence type | Copular verb | Meaning | What follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equative sentence | 何 | A is B | noun |
| Naming sentence | 称 | A is called B | noun |
| Adjectival sentence | 很 | A is ... | adjective |
Equative sentences
To state what the subject is, use 何.
“This is an apple.”
To negate it, place 不 before 何.
“This is not an apple.”
Naming sentences
To state a name, use 称.
“My name is RUI.”
To negate it, place 不 before 称. A sentence with 称 negated means “it is not called an apple”, in other words, “it is not an apple”.
“This is not called an apple. (This is not an apple.)”
Adjectival sentences
To state a quality or state of the subject, use 很.
“This apple is big.”
To negate it, place 不 before 很.
“The apple is not dirty.”
3. Existential sentences
To state that something exists, use 在 or 見. Where it is goes after the verb.
“There are three apples on the table.”
見 is used when the speaker has seen and confirmed it with their own eyes. 在 is used to state that something exists without having seen it.
“There are three apples on the table (I can see them).”
Negation
To say “there is not a single one”, place 那 (any) before the subject, and use 不在.
“There are no apples at all.”