A Tour Through Pinuyo (I): Word Types

Nouns usually have circular boxes (exceptions will be shown later).		gold
Articles are not written.		a/the tree
Plurals are formed by adding a '+' sign after the logogram (inside the box).		deeds
Adjectives have rounded rectangular boxes and are connected to the noun. Connections can be made by a single line, if the space would be to small to join the boxes directly. The location of the adjective with respect to the noun is irrelevant.	red	the green book
Cardinals are formed using the rules outlined on the alphabet page and behave like adjectives. Ordinals are formed from cardinals by placing an accent mark to the top right of the cardinal. They, too, behave like adjectives.	five cars	the 23rd question

Interrogative pronouns are treated as nouns.	who?	what?
Personal pronouns are treated as nouns. Second person and third person pronouns take a plural with '+'.		they
Proper names are treated as nouns.		Bobo
Pronunciation hints can be added to proper names. They are then placed in an extended noun box.		David

The genitive case is indicated by placing the noun in an isosceles triangle. The orientation of the triangle with respect to the noun is irrelevant, as long as the top angle is pointing towards the noun it belongs to.		the leaves of the tree
The possessive pronouns are indicated in the same way as the genitive.		my tree
Genitives may be "chained" (as most constructs).		the leaves of your tree
The quantitative case is formed with an arrowhead-shaped box.	six liters of water	six slices of bread
		nine bottles of wine

Verbs in the indicative mood have rectangular boxes.		(someone) speaks
A hexagonal box, pointed north-south indicates subjunctive/imperative mood.		(someone) go!
Adverbs of degree and focus are placed in hexagonal boxes, pointed east-west. Adverbs of manner are placed in hexagonal boxes with two curly corners on the outside. Adverbs of time and place will be shown later.	also	thoroughly
When adverbs are connected to a verb, this is preferably in one of the NE, SE, SW or NW quandrants (the N, S, E and W quadrants are reserved for other purposes, as we will see later). Adverbs connect to adjectives in any position.	there is no speaking (i.e. no one speaks)	(someone) reads fast
Adverbs that show the flow of the discourse are called discursives and are placed in a downward-pointing pentagon.		furthermore

Using a triangular box with curly corners, a verb can be transformed into a noun denoting a person who usually or professionally performs the indicated action. Compare this to using the same logogram in a noun box, in which case it has a predefined meaning.	a theft	a thief

The vocative case is indicated by placing the noun in an octagon.		Bobo!
Interjections are placed in a hexagram.		hurray!
Vocatives may be combined with interjections at any side. A vocative combined with an imperative must touch it at its north side, for reasons which we will see later.	Hello, mother!	Listen, father!

Back to the Main page.

Take a Tour I: Word Types
Take a Tour II: Building Sentences
Take a Tour III: Joining Sentences I
Take a Tour IV: Joining Sentences II
Take a Tour V: Verb Tense, Aspect and Mood
Take a Tour VI: Participles
Vocabulary
Alphabet (Pronunciation hints)
The Babel text
A thank you to Helmi

Author: René Uittenbogaard.