2.1 Nouns

Nouns denote a person, place, object, or idea. Nouns occur only in compound forms:

(prefix) + (root) + root + (suffix) + ending

where the endings are –o for the singular and –oy for the plural inflection and where the components in parentheses are optional. Nouns which consist of only a noun root + ending are called fundamental nouns. Nouns which consist of a non-noun (adjective, verb, preposition) root + ending and/or have at least one of the optional components are called derived nouns.

Fundamental Nouns

cambro room cambroy rooms

pisko fish piskoy fish

viro man viroy men

femo woman femoy women

libro book libroy books

komputero computer komputeroy computers

Derived Nouns

bono good one bonoy good ones

piloto pilot pilotoy pilots

kurajo running kurajoy runnings

esperayto hope esperaytoy hopes

rilergajo rereading rilergajoy rereadings

fenestrivrato French door fenestrivratoy French doors

2.1.1 Nouns as Subjects and Objects

Note that in Ayola nouns are not inflected for case, as they are in some natural languages (German, Albanian, etc). In the following examples the noun viro maintains the same form as subject, object, and indirect object.

Viro enats la cambro. A man is in the room.

Myo vidats viro. I see a man.

Myo donits la libro alu viro. I gave the book to a man.

2.1.2 Nouns With and Without Articles

A noun may be preceded by no article, or by one of three articles. The noun may be accompanied by (a) modifying word(s) such as (a) preceding adjective(s) or a following link phrase or relative clause. The article is always placed at the beginning of the entire noun phrase.

Singular Nouns

A singular noun may be preceded by no article or by any of the three articles.

When preceded by no article, a singular noun refers to an indefinite person or thing. The English equivalent uses ‘a/an’.

djaro	a year
juna femo	a young woman
aplo jonu la tablo	an apple on the table
arboro kyo myo grimpits	a tree which I climbed

When preceded by the definite article la, a singular noun refers to a definite person or thing, i.e. one that can be singled out or pointed to. The English equivalent uses ‘the’.

la djaro	the year
la juna femo	the young woman
la aplo jonu la tablo	the apple on the table
la arboro kyo myo grimpits	the tree which I climbed

When preceded by the individual generic article le, a singular noun refers to a typical or generic person or thing, i.e. one representative of a large class. A statement made with a singular noun preceded by the generic article applies individually to the great majority of members of the class denoted by the noun, although not necessarily to every last one. A statement using le is therefore weaker than one using the universal quantifier caka (each) but is more compact, and it is very useful in Ayola just as it is in English. The English equivalent usually uses ‘a/an’ with the singular noun or no article with the plural noun. Sometimes ‘the’ with the singular noun may also be used.

Le djaro havats dec-dusa monatoy.	A/the year has twelve months. = Years have twelve months.
Le femo fondats le bela robo.	A woman loves a beautiful dress. = Women love a beautiful dress.
Le arboro foletcats enu le printempo.	A tree foliates in the spring. = Trees foliate in the spring.

When preceded by the collective generic article lo, a singular noun refers collectively to the entire class of persons or things denoted by the noun. Here are some examples showing both individual generic and collective generic meaning.

Le katso havats nawfa vivajoy.	A/the (the typical) cat has nine lives.
Lo katso kontrolintats la perognatay populaciono.	The cat (cats collectively) has (have) controlled the mouse population.
Le romano amits lo vino.	A (the typical) Roman loved wine (wines collectively).
Lo romano konstruktits multa akweduktoy.	The Romans (Romans collectively) built many aqueducts.
Le moderna telefono estats mutce pluse parva asu leyo je la dec- nawfta tcendjaro.	A/the (the typical) modern telephone is much smaller than (the typical) one of the nineteenth century.
Aleksander Greyam Bel inventits lo telefono.	Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone (telephones collectively).
Le komputero havats procesoro ce memorio.	A/the (the typical) computer has a processor and a memory.
Lo komputero candjwintats la mondo.	The computer (computers collectively) has (have) changed the world.

Note that the second sentence in each pair would not be correct with the individual generic form of the noun phrase. For example the typical cat alone has not controlled the mouse population. Only cats acting as a group have done so, etc.

Plural Nouns

A plural noun may be preceded by no article or by the definite article la. When preceded by no article, a plural noun refers to indefinite persons or things. The English equivalent also uses no article.

Dusa fratoy pentrits la hawso.	Two brothers painted the house.
Kwara forta viroy portits la barko.	Four strong men carried the boat.

With plural nouns there is an ambiguity, for it is unclear from the words alone whether noun phrases such as dusa fratoy and kwara forta viroy refer to persons or things individually or collectively. This more specific meaning may be clear from the context, just as it sometimes is in English. Alternatively, it may be stated explicitly by the use of the adverbs sepre (separately) or kune (together).

Sepre dusa fratoy pentrits la hawso.	Separately two brothers painted the house.
Kune kwara forta viroy portits la barko.	Together four strong men carried the boat.

sepre and kune are also used to clarify the meanings of plural pronouns, which have the same ambiguity (see Chapter 2.2 Pronouns).

When preceded by the definite article la, a plural noun refers to definite persons or things. The English equivalent uses ‘the’.

La dusa fratoy pentrits la hawso.	The two brothers painted the house.
La kwara forta viroy portits la barko.	The four strong men carried the boat.

The same ambiguity of meaning (individual vs. collective) applies in the case of plural nouns with the definite article as it did in the case of plural nouns with no article. As above, sepre and kune may be used to clarify the meaning.

Sepre la dusa fratoy pentrits la hawso.	Separately the two brothers painted the house.
Kune la kwara forta viroy portits la barko.	Together the four strong men carried the boat.

Translation of English Noun Phrases Into Ayola

Table 2.1-1 is a reference table for the translation of English noun phrases into Ayola. There are five possible English forms and six possible interpretations, but there is some duplication so that there are twelve possible cases in all. The important step in the translation is to check the original English form with its possible English paraphrases ( - indicates no paraphrase), determine which one matches the intended meaning, and obtain the proper Ayola translation.

Table 2.1-1 Translation of English Noun Phrases in Ayola

The following English sentences along with their paraphrases and Ayola translations exemplify each case:

	Water is on the table. (=Some water is on the table.)	Vodo onats la tablo.
	Water boils at one hundred Celsius. (=The typical bit of water boils at one hundred Celsius.)	Le vodo boylats atu tcena celsiusoy.
	Water sustains life. (=Water (collectively) sustains life (living things collectively).)	Lo vodo sustenats lo vivo.
	A book is on the table. (=Some book is on the table.)	Libro onats la tablo.
	A year has twelve months. (=The typical year has twelve months.)	Le djaro havats dec-dusa monatoy.
	The guitar is on the table. (-)	La gitaro onats la tablo.
	The guitar has six strings. (=The typical guitar has six strings.)	Le gitaro havats sesa kordoy.
	The computer has changed the world. (=Computers collectively have changed the world.)	Lo komputero candjwintats la mondo.
	Clouds cover the sky. (=Some clouds cover the sky.)	Nuboy kovrats la tcielo.
	Children love to swim. (=The typical child loves to swim.)	Le bambino fondats nadare.
	Computers have changed the world. (=Computers collectively have changed the world.)	Lo komputero candjwintats la mondo.
	The men went to New York. (-)	La viroy ganits alu Nu York.

Caution in Translating Into Ayola Generic Forms

The actions denoted by some verbs cannot apply either individually or collectively to the large class of objects denoted by generic forms. For instance, consider the following English sentence and a possible Ayola translation using an individual generic form:

*Manwél tokats le gitaro.

Manuel plays the guitar.

This Ayola translation is evidently incorrect when the active verb is changed to a passive verb:

* Le gitaro getokats byu Manwél.

*The typical guitar is played by Manuel.

Because Manuel never plays most guitars, the above sentence does not make sense.

Now consider another possible translation using a collective generic form:

*Manwél tokats lo gitaro.

Manuel plays the guitar (guitars collectively).

This translation is also incorrect. The collective entity of guitars can do some things, such as excite people, and have some things done to it such as be loved, but it cannot be played by one person. The correct way to translate the original English sentence is to add a helping verb, e.g. povare:

Manwél povats tokare le gitaro.

Manuel can play the typical guitar.

2.1.3 Nouns Derived from Other Parts of Speech

Nouns can be derived from other nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adjectives.

Nouns Derived from Nouns

Complex nouns may be derived from simple nouns by:

1. applying one of the following prefixes where applicable

Table 2.1-2 Prefixes for Nouns Derived from Nouns

Prefix	Meaning	Simple Noun	English	Derived Noun	English
non-	non-	metalo	metal	nonmetalo	nonmetal
infer-	under- (inferior)	hundo	dog	inferhundo	underdog
super-	super- (superior)	viro	man	superviro	superman
bo-	-in-law	patro	father	bopatro	father-in-law

2. applying one of the following suffixes where applicable

Table 2.1-3 Suffixes for Nouns Derived from Nouns

Suffix	Meaning	Simple Noun	English	Derived Noun	English
-ayt-	state abstraction	matro	mother	matrayto	motherhood (state)
-ets-	property/quality abstraction	matro	mother	matretso	motherhood (property/quality)
-ag-	collection	matro	mother	matrago	motherhood (mothers collectively)
-an-	member of	komiteo	committee	komiteano	committee member
-ik-	art or science of	lingo	language	lingiko	linguistics
-ism-	doctrine, theory, religion	naciono	nation	nacionismo	nationalism
-ist-	practitioner, adherent	naciono	nation	nacionisto	nationalist

Nouns Derived from Verbs

Simple derived nouns are derived from verbs by changing the part of speech ending

from -are to -o. This derived noun denotes the doer or agent of the verb.

Verb	English	Simple Derived Noun	English
kurare	to run	kuro	runner
amare	to love	amo	lover
donare	to give	dono	giver
pilotare	to pilot	piloto	pilot
gwidare	to guide	gwido	guide
atraktare	to attract	atrakto	attractor, attraction

Complex nouns may be derived from verbs by applying one of the following suffixes where applicable:

Table 2.1-4 Suffixes for Nouns Derived from Verbs

Nouns Derived from Prepositions

Simple derived nouns are derived from prepositions by changing the part of speech ending from -u to -o. This derived noun denotes the subject of the prepositional relation.

Preposition	English	Simple Derived Noun	English
postu	after	posto	one after
underu	under	undero	one under
medu	by means of	medo	means
kunu	with (in the company of)	kuno	accompanying one

Nouns Derived from Adjectives

Simple derived nouns are derived from adjectives by changing the part of speech ending

from -a to -o. This derived noun denotes the person or thing described by the adjective.

Adjective	English	Simple Derived Noun	English
bona	good	bono	good one
frida	cold	frido	cold one
bela	beautiful	belo	beautiful one, beauty (concrete)

Complex nouns may be derived from adjectives by applying one of the following suffixes where applicable:

Table 2.1-5 Suffixes for Nouns Derived from Adjectives

Suffix	Meaning	Adjective	English	Complex Derived Noun	English
-ayt-	state abstraction	bona	good	bonayto	goodness (state)
-ets-	state/property abstraction	bona	good	bonetso	goodness (property)
-ens-	degree abstraction	longa	long	longenso	length
-ism-	doctrine, theory, religion	ideala	ideal	idealismo	idealism
-ist-	practitioner, adherent	ideala	ideal	idealisto	idealist

Exercises

Exercise 1

First, decide which Ayola article you would use for each set of underlined word(s). Write either la (definite), le (individual generic), lo (collective generic), or no article (indefinite) in the first blank space. Secondly, determine if the underlined word is singular or plural by writing –o or –oy in the second blank space.

1. She went to the museum today. __________ __________

2. I like cats. __________ __________

3. She would like some candy. __________ __________

4. Do you enjoy movies? __________ __________

5. I hate classical music. __________ __________

6. Where is the shampoo? __________ __________

7. I would like a haircut. __________ __________

8. The water in the lake is unclean. __________ __________

__________ __________

9. There are clothes in the closet. __________ __________

__________ __________

10. Funny movies are the ones I like best. __________ __________

11. An attentive student is always helpful. __________ __________

12. Monday is the busiest day for me. __________ __________

13. The cheetah runs extremely fast. __________ __________

14. Summer is my favorite season of the year. __________ __________

__________ __________

Exercise 2

Translate the English nouns into Ayola complex derived nouns by adding the correct prefixes and/or suffixes to the nouns provided.

1. non-believer (kreydo)

2. sister-in-law (sestro)

3. superstore (magazeno)

4. brotherhood (frato)

5. inferior city (urbo)

6. father-in-law (patro)

7. church member (kirko)

8. nationalism (naciono)

9. dentistry (dento)

10. linguist (lingo)

11. shopping mall (butiko)

Exercise 3

Translate the following English nouns into Ayola simple derived nouns by adding the correct word ending to the root of the simple verb provided.

1. writer (skribare)

2. climber (grimpare)

3. diver (plondjare)

4. swimmer (nadare)

5. traveler (viadjare)

6. dancer (dansare)

7. helper (helpare)

8. runner (kurare)

9. teacher (instruktare)

Exercise 4

Translate the English nouns into Ayola complex nouns by adding the correct suffix to the noun or verb provided.

1. state of happiness (felitca)

2. degree of happiness (felitca)

3. paint (pentrare)

4. book collection (libro)

5. piece of writing (skribare)

Exercise 5

Translate the simple nouns in boldface in the sentences below by deriving them from the adjectives and prepositions given in parenthesis.

1. I am looking for an intelligent one. (inteligenta)

2. Does he have the means to solve his own problems? (medu)

3. She doesn’t want to find a bad one. (mala)

4. There are still some hot ones in the oven. (varma)

5. Her beauty exceeded that of all others. (bela)

6. Which do you want – the one before or after? The one after. (postu)

7. What is the length of your hair? (longa)

8. Do you want the books that are on or off the table? I want the ones which are on. (onu)