bac grammar notes

Roots

All nouns and verbs in bac are based on a root paradigm. This has the form C1VC2. For the word |Wos|, |W| is C1, |o| is V and |s| is C2. For the word |gahret|, |g| is C1, |e| is V and |t| is C2. For an irregular form such as |wso|, a lengthened form |ta.wso.t| is formed. |t| is C1, |o| is V and |t| is C2. Only the parts subject to phonetic change need be included. This should be borne in mind in what follows, as these are the parts of the root that mutate.

Verbs

Verbs have an initial capital

In this passage, two aspects and three tenses are used:

--CVC marks the simple aspect. It represents an event (this is sometimes called the perfective)
--CVnC marks the continuous aspect. It represents an ongoing state or action (this is sometimes called the imperfective)
--CVyC marks the future
--CVwC marks the past.
In bac the 'present' tense (unmarked) is the usual tense or narrative. This corresponds to the English past. Therefore, the bac past tense can be equivalent to the English pluperfect.

Verbs also have mood:

--The indicative CVC is used for narrative.
--In this passage the subjunctive ChVC is used after modal particles.
--The optative is used in this passage to express need (it can also express desire)
Verbs also have a frequentative aspect and a complex system of topic agreement, but these aren't used here.

Nouns

The noun comes in three strengths:
1 CnVC
2 CVC
3 ChVC
--1 is used when the noun is the topic of a sentence and is definite
--2 is used when the noun is the topic of a sentence and is indefinite, or when it is not the topic of the sentence and is definite
--3 is used when the noun is not the topic of a sentence and is indefinite.

Nouns also have number and tense, and can form augmentative and diminutive forms, but these aren't used here.

Sentence Form

The basic form of a sentence is:
[initial comment] [topic/s] [verb] [verbal complement]
In fact, many sentences have more than one verb in them (the following verbs are considered part of the verbal complement).

The topic/s are in form 1 or 2 of the noun, whilst if a noun or a clause is embedded as an initial comment or in the verbal complement, all nouns should be in form 2 or 3. any noun which defines another noun is in form 2 or 3.

Apposition

Apposition is frequent in bac. The particle -a is attached to the initial noun and the noun apposed to it follows. If the first noun is the topic, the second will be in the 1 or 2 form; if it's not the topic, the second will be in the 2 or 3 form. The choice in each case depends whether the apposed noun is definite. The following are particular cases of this: