Noun Phrases
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Agreement
Adjectives and determiners agree in noun class with the noun that they modify. Agreement is indicated on adjectives by initial consonant alternations, as well as prefixes. The following NPs show the adjective xoƈu 'thin' and the determiner agreeing with various nouns:
| Sg. Noun | Adjective | Det. | Pl. Noun | Adjective | Det. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| otew | oqoƈu | oxe | rew | xoƈu | we | ‘woman’ | ||
| ofiɗ | oxoƈu | ole | xapiɗ | xaqoƈu | axe | ‘butterfly’ | ||
| ojaf | oxoƈu | ole | acaf | aqoƈu | ake | ‘leg’ | ||
| xomb | xoƈu | le | aqomb | aqoƈu | ake | ‘turtle’ | ||
| xaarit | fanqoƈu | fe | qaarit | qoƈu | ke | ‘friend’ | ||
| nqoox | nqoƈu | ne | qoox | qoƈu | ke | ‘bull’ | ||
| ambeel | aqoƈu | ale | peel | qoƈu | ke | ‘lake’ | ||
| akoong | aqoƈu | ale | akoong | aqoƈu | ake | ‘gorilla’ | ||
| ondew | onqoƈu | onge | fondew | fonqoƈu | ne | ‘woman (dim.)’ | ||
| (g)andew | anqoƈu | ale | (g)andew | anqoƈu | ake | ‘woman (aug.)’ |
Noun-Adjective Order
Adjectives must follow the noun that they modify.
| muus | maak |
| cat | big |
'a big cat'
Multiple adjectives can modify a noun, and there are no restrictions on the ordering of these adjectives, even in the case of numerals.
| muus | maak | mayu | OR | muus | mayu | maak | |
| cats | big | many | cats | many | big |
'many big cats'
