Grammar overview

Sentence structure

Toaq word order is "verb, subject, object".

Verbs are in the falling tone . Pronouns are in the rising tone .

Guaı jí.
I work.

Dua jí hóq.
I know it.

Verbs can be preceded by tense, aspect, and polarity (negation) words.

Sentences can end with a speech act particle whose tone is lexical (i.e. part of the word):

da for a statement, móq for a question, ba for a wish, nha for a promise…

The default is da if there are no question words, and móq if there are.

Jıa guaı jí nha.
I'll work. [promise]

Sentences can start with a complementizer in the falling tone :

ꝡa is declarative (like English that), ma makes a polar question (like English whether), tıo makes a degree question.

In English it seems weird to have a complementizer in the main clause (*That I'll work.) but in Toaq it's fine.

Ꝡa guaı jí.
I work.

Ma chum guaı súq?
Are you working?

Tıo foı súq móq?
How bored are you?

Placing these complementizers in is how you start a subclause:

Dua jí, wä guaı súq.
I know that you work.

Bu dua jí, mä guaı súq.
I don't know whether you work.

Nouns that aren't pronouns

In Toaq, nouns and verbs and adjectives are all the same part of speech, called verbs.

Kato jí.
I am-a-cat.

Jara nháo.
I run.

Nuı jí.
I am-small.

We can make noun phrases (really, determiner phrases) by combining a determiner (particle in ) with a verb.

sá kato
some that are-cats, i.e. some cat(s)

tú jara
each that runs, i.e. each runner

báq nuı
kind that is-small, i.e. small things in general

This always binds a "variable" that can be accessed by repeating the verb itself in the rising tone .

Dua tú poq wä suao póq.
Each person knows that they are important.