ALPT B Grammar Content (B2)

ALPT B

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This page is a work and progress and things may be corrected, added or removed later.

NUMBERS

You will easily recognize Arusian numerals because they always have the root PEI, used for counting. A fun fact is that most Arusian numerals come from nouns. For example, KAU means insect, but PEI-KAU means six. Numbers are flexible and can either precede or follow the noun. Since they behave like nouns too, they need the SA copula between the noun and the numeral. Like most world's languages, it is also a base-10 system, so don't worry.

Roma-Sem	Semlek	Indo-Arabic
pei-vej	jev ,aP	0
pei-at or pei-ka	ak ,aP . Ta ,aP	1
pei-ta	at ,aP	2
pei-tef	fet ,aP	3
pei-kef or pei-pek	ceP ,aP . fek ,aP	4
pei-mei or pei-kam	mak ,aP . ,aM ,aP	5
pei-kau	oak ,aP	6
pei-aek	cea ,aP	7
pei-lei	,al ,aP	8
pei-ara	ara ,aP	9
pei-ta-mei	,aM at ,aP	10

To form numbers between 11 and 19, just add -DA-TA-MEI (literally PLUS TWO TIMES FIVE) after the 1-9 digits. For example:

• 19: pei-ara-da-ta-mei ,aM at ad ara ,aP

• 16: pei-kau-da-ta-mei ,aM at ad oak ,aP

• 13: pei-tef-da-ta-mei ,aM at ad fet ,aP

For numbers 20-90, add -TA-MEI after 2-9:

• 20: pei-ta-ta-mei ,aM at at ,aP

• 40: pei-kef-ta-mei ,aM at fek ,aP

• 90: pei-ara-ta-mei ,aM at ara ,aP

For numbers 21-99, you begin with the 1-9 digits, add -DA- and then add the multiples of 10:

• 93: pei-tef-da-ara-ta-mei ,aM at ara ad fet ,aP

• 44: pei-kef-da-kef-ta-mei ,aM at fek ad fek ,aP

• 33: pei-tef-da-tef-ta-mei ,aM at fet ad fet ,aP

100 is PEI-DEK and for 200-900 you add the digits 2-9 before DEK:

• 300: pei-tef-dek ced fet ,aP

• 500: pei-mei-dek ced ,aM ,aP

1000 is PEI-TA-MEI-DEK (2X5X100).

MEASURING AND COUNTING THINGS

To count things in Arusian, we can add the numeral either before or after the noun and you mustn't forget the SA copula between them. This group of words will behave like any other kind of clause in Arusian and will follow/require the rules of usage of U and WEI whenever needed.

mak ,aP as url

Lru sa pei-kam (Five dogs, the dog [is what is] five)

ced ,aM at ,aP as m.ov rmak led anF as jev

Vej sa Fna-del kamr vom sa pei-ta-mei-dek (Fenadel doesn't have 1000 people)

DATES

For days of the month, you just prefix TRA to the number (it means day). For full dates, such as 'February 17th', just add SA between the elements.

aulk urN as ,aM at ad cea art rGes u led anF rt ul as jev

Vej sa lu tr Fna-del u segr tra-17 sa nru-kluwa (I'm not going to Fenadel on February 17th)

,aa urN as ,aM at fet art rGes u esGek je as ura anF

Fna-aru sa ej kegse u segr tra-31 sa nru-ai (Arusia celebrates freedom on May 31th)

YEARS

Years in Arusian often use the GAU prefix before the numerals. For example, 2025 is GAU-2025. 'IN THE YEAR OF 2025' is U SEGR GAU-2025, behaving like any other type of adverb.

WEI IN PREDICATES (SPECIAL PRONOUN)

WEI is a pronoun that adds more information to a clause (what in English are noun phrases are actually clauses in Arusian. For example: big dog is 'the dog is the thing that is big' in Arusian, implying that it is a clause) belonging to a predicate/comment. It is similar to U, but, unlike it, it doesn't add information to a topic.

rjerd ,au suP ,au s,aeaua lev as u ,aav aulk as auj

Juwa sa kluwa-vai u sa vel auwayeis wei pus wei drejr (As for the white book, the woman [is the one that is] beautiful [which is the one that is] here bought [it])

This can be loosely translated as the English which or that when they refer back to clauses. Like in: The book is white, which I find interesting. While in English this is an emphatic way of speaking, in Arusian this structure is used all the time.

roauo ul as u ,aav aulk as auj

Juwa sa kluwa-vai u sa lu ouwauwr (I find the white book interesting).

suP ,au ,aav aulk as url ,r soad TuN

Nut dause lru sa kluwa-vai wei pus (The food was eaten by the white dog which is here).

he hs ha ov rmrt ,au sarTo m.ov ,r srt u led anF as ,aaF ,aaF

Fai-fai sa fna-del u trse vom otras wei trmr vo-Asei (The forest of Fenadel was visited by many Asian people/by many people which are Asian).

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Vom otras wei trmr vo-Asei is literally translated as 'the people [are the ones who are] many, which are Asian**, which which here refering back to the people [are the ones who are] many, which is a clause.

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Don't confuse U and WEI with relative pronouns because they refer back to clauses in Arusian, not nouns.

IF/ELSE

Arusian has no direct equivalent of the English structure IF/ELSE. However, the closest you can get is this:

• First you add the hypothesis, the action that, if or when it occurs, will lead to the second action happening.

• You add U KEYR between the first action and the action or event that results from it.

For the sense of ELSE (negative result), you add USU-VEJ SA to the beginning of the sentence.

Examples:

rmea ,at as ok ,armu as jev usu . ,r smea ok ,armu as ,at r,ak u arTo as as sarcet ,at

• [Tei tekras sasa otra] u keyr [tei sa umrei-ko aemse]. Usu-vej sa [umrei-ko sa tei aemr] (If you study a lot you will find a job. Else, you won't find a job)

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The literal translation of this sentence is: 'you studying a lot causes you to be the one for whom a job is found. Otherwise/If no job is the thing that you find'

This structure works best for this kind of situation: action one triggers action or even two. Else, it triggers a negative result.

s,auoN ,at as jev usu . rt ,at rGa ,at as cu ,aP r,ak u s,arcu ,at

• Tei ukreis u keyr pai-uk sa tei agr tei tr. Usu-vej sa tei nouweis (If you are sick you have to go to the hospital. Or else, you will die)

VOCATIVES

Vocatives are used when calling someone or drawing their attention. In Arusian, we prefix U to the name of the person we are calling.

aeak u

U-Kaya (Hey, Kaya! Oh, Kaya!)

suP u roa ,at as ul apeN . aeak u

U-Kaya. Nepa-lu sa tei auwr u pus (Hey, Kaya! Don't you see me here?)

saarara art as u sarGert ,at apeN . aeuj u

U-Juweya. Nepa-tei tregras u sa tra araraas (Juweya, Are You coming tomorrow?)

ul ,at ,r srt cal ,aaP . auaP u

U-Pauwa. Pai-lak trse tei-lu (Pauwa, we are going to the market)

oN ,aau as jev . sul arcet us u

U-su-tekra lus. Vej sa waai-no (My student, nothing is eternal)

FAUWR

The verb FAUWR in Arusian is used to express that something is in a certain state. One of the fixed usages of it is with U FAUWR for languges. Example:

med he l hg ha roaF u s,armes auj

• Juwa semreis u Fauwr Anglei-dem (The book was written in English).

In the examples below, it expresses the state in which something is:

roaF led arat as u sarjik u sarTo m.ov

Vom otras u kijras u sa tara-del fauwr (The capital is in a state of many people vandalizing)

roaF ,aP os as u s,auumu me,al

Leyem umuuweis u sa so-pei fauwr (They are greatly in a state of love)

roaF ,au suP arat as u deul as ,aaau

Uwaai sa luwed u sa tara pus wei fauwr (This city is in a state of being without order)

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WEI is used here because it is modifying a predicate element (a clause) that isn't the topic. The same for the sentence below.

,r soaF ,au s,aaau aul as led arat

Tara-del sa luwa waais wei fause (The capital is in a state of being without water)

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The difference between TRMR and FAUWR is that TRMR translates to 'to be a type of', while FAUWR means 'to be in the state of'.

IT HURTS VS SOMEONE HURTS ME

To say that some part of your body hurts, you can say LAREI PRMR + PART OF THE BODY. To say that someone hurts you, just use the verb PRMR. For the feeling of being hurt or being in trouble, PRMREIS is a good choice.

sul arak rmrP ,aral

Larei prmr kara lus (My head hurts)

rmrP ,at as ul

Lu sa tei prmr (You hurt me)

s,armrP ul

Lu prmreis (I'm in trouble)

U EDR...

U EDR introduces both the receiver of something and the person who benefits from something. EDR on its own is a verb meaning "to help". This is how Arusian expresses the concept of 'to/for'.

CAUSATIVE VERBS

In Arusian, the concept of causing someone to do something is expressed by the verb KOR (which carries some uncertainty about whether the person will do the action or not) or the verb KEYR (which implies the person will definitely do the action someone caused them to do).

roa ,at rok ul as ,aav oaea

Ayau-vai sa lu kor tei auwr (I made you watch the movie)

roa ,at r,ak ul as ,aav oaea

Ayau-vai sa lu keyr tei auwr (I made you watch the movie - and the action definitely happened)

DISCOURSE MARKERS: ALU AND UKEI

Both ALU and UKEI are discourse markers and modify the tone of the sentence and/or add additional meaning to them. ALU is like English 'so, thus, therefore', while UKEI expresses surprise or shock. In Roma-sem, you always write a dash between the particle and the first word of the sentence.

rmak aul ,al as a,u sarTo aul as jev ula

Alu-vej sa luwa otras wei sa lei-luwa kamr (Therefore, a river doesn't have a lot of water)

ruo ,at as us ,acu

Ukei-su sa tei ouwr (You liked it?!)

MORE USEFUL ADVERBS AND SENTENCE MODIFIERS

Expression	Example (Roma-Sem)	English
sasa tuwek (immediately)	Marei kouwas sasa tuwek	Act immediately!
Geyei sa... (it seems to...)	Geyei sa vej sa so leyemr lu	It seems she doesn't love me
Vej sa...wei deyayeis (it's impossible to...)	Vej sa tu das wei tumr vai wei deyayeis	It's impossible to go faster than light
Vreyek sayr... (Things like...)	Vreyek sayr tek u sa lu veyor	I don't like things like school/related to school
Vreyek keyor... (Things like...)	Lu ouwr vreyek keyor kluwa otras	I like colorful-like things
Tuwa-kej (for example)	Tuwa-kej. "Tei sa lu auwr"	For example: I see you
U sa tuwa-kej (for example)	Vom delr su auwas u sa tuwa-kej	People can see, for example
Paai sa... (still)	Paai sa lu semr grau das	I'm still writing more messages
Umu-lo sa... fauwr	Umu-lo sa tei fauwr	You are far away
...u pa(ai)s	Juwa jekreis u sa lu semr u paais	I'm still writing a new book
sasa kayau(accidentally, by mistake)	Lu gauweis sasa kayau	I fell accidentally

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Vej sa tu das wei tumr vai wei deyayeis is literally translated as 'NEGATOR more speed which compares to light which is impossible'.

...U + PLACE + PAISE

Another way to convey location in Arusian is by using U + PLACE + PAISE. The difference is that this structure draws more attention to the place where the action happens than U PAYR. Also, this one is more formal.

,r s,aaP led anF as cet ,aaP umu as u rcet ,at as jaN apeN

Nepa-naj sa tei tekr u sa umu-pai-tek sa Fna-del paise (Aren't you studying Astronomy at Fenadel's University?)

TEI EDRAS U SA... (THANK YOU FOR...)

This is the sentence structure for saying that someone feels thankful/grateful for an action they did or for something.

sul ho he d he hf roa ,at as u sarde ,at

Tei edras u sa tei auwr videyo lus (Thanks for watching my video!)

,aP ul as -jeM rt ,at as u sarde ,at

Tei edras u sa tei tr mez sa lu-pei (Thanks for coming to our house!)

TEI SA [X] KEYELR U SA [Y] (X IS SORRY FOR Y)

This is the sentence structure for saying that someone feels sorry for an action they did or for something.

url rde ,au rce,ad ul as TuN as jev as u rle,ak ul as ,at

Tei sa lu keyelr u sa vej sa nut sa lu deyekr wei edr lru (I'm sorry for not giving the dog food)

rmak os as Ges as jev as u rle,ak os as ,at

Tei sa so keyelr u sa vej sa seg sa so kamr (He is sorry for not having time)

CAPITALIZATION RULES (ROMA-SEM)

In Semlek we don't capitalize letters because there's no difference between regular and capital letters. However, this will be shown visually in Roma-sem, usually for proper nouns, such as place, city and country names, personal names and brands.

PITCH ACCENT IN ARUSIAN

Arusian has a simple system of pitch accent in which some syllables and words are said with a higher pitch than the others. For example, U always has a high pitch.

TO RECEIVE

To express that you receive something from someone, you use the verb TEYEDR. The concept of "FROM" is often expressed with the verb MR.

sos ,aas rM u rde,at a,u sul am as ce,ad

Deyek sa ma lus wei teyedr u mr sai sos (My mom received a gift from her sister)

ced ,aM at at ad ,aM at at ad mak oag as u sarde,at ul as jev

Vej sa lu teyedras u sa gau-2025 (I didn't receive anything in 2025)

ced ,aM at at ad ,aM at at ad mak oag as u sarde,at ul as jev

WRITING BOOK DIALOGUES

In Arusian, dialogues are usually written this way: we first write what the character said and, in a sentence adjacent to it, you add a dialogue tag.

sauoM ,ad auul . . -jeM rt ul ruo ul

! Lu ouwr lu tr mez ! Luuwa-dei mouwas ("I want to go home," Luuwa said)

Notice that when ! is used for emphasis, it usually surrounds the sentence and is separated by a space.

COMPARATIVE

There are two common sentence formulæ for comparing two nouns in Arusian: the first one is [X] characteristic U TUMR [Y] and the second one is [X] characteristic U SA [Y] TUMSE. The difference between them is the emphasis and the formality.

Tuk aul rmut u s,auumu led anF

Fna-del umuuweis u tumr Luwa-kut (Fenadel is bigger than Luwa-kut)

,r smut aul ol as u Tuk as aul ,al

Lei-luwa sa kut u sa lo-luwa tumse (A river is smaller than a sea/ocean)

,r smut ul as ,au s,aaaN m.ov rmrt ,at

Tei trmr vom naais wei sa lu tumse (You're a worse person than me)

,r smut ul as ,au s,aaaN m.ov rmrt ,at

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In this case WEI is used because VOM NAAIS is the predicate of TUMR.

TO BE HAPPY FOR

To express that you're happy for someone, you can use the structure [X] JUUWEIS U EDR [Y] if the receiver of someone's happiness is a noun and [X] JUUWEIS U SA [Y] if you are stating that someone is happy about a fact. LRAYEIS can also be used as a synonym for JUUWEIS.

sus aM rde u s,auuj ,ad auaP

Pauwa dei juuweis u edr ma sus (Pauwa is happy for her mother)

sul -jeM rt ,at as u s,auuj ul

Lu juuweis u sa tei tr mez lus (I'm happy because you came to my house)

,r sde ,au s,at cuP as u s,auuj ul

Lu juuweis u sa puk teis wei edse (I'm happy for your children)

You can also express this, in a more formal way:

roauj ul as ,at

Tei sa lu juwauwr (I'm happy for you)

rcer ul as ,at

Tei sa lu rekr (I'm proud for you)

rcer os as u sos anF

Fna sos u sa so rekr (He is proud of his country)

REKR means 'to be proud, to be patriotic'.

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WEI is used here because PUK TEIS is a clause that is not the topic. Also, EDSE is an alternate form of EDR that focuses on the receiver/benefactor of the happiness felt. It can also sound more formal and polite and the choice between them will depend on the social situation. You will learn more soon about how formality is shaped by the word order choice.

FAUWR + NOUN (ANALYTIC INTRANSITIVE VERBS)

To achieve this, we use FAUWR with a bare root and they are often synonymous with the intransitive passive verbs (those ending with ~REIS or ~EIS).

umu roaF url

Lru fauwr umu (The dog is in a state of being large/big)

oad roaF TuN

Nut fauwr dau (The food is in a state of being eaten)

WORD ORDER AS A MARKER OF SOCIAL STATUS

Word order in Arusian isn't just a matter of preference. It also conveys formality and the degree of respect toward the listener(s). Here we will give you a brief explanation of how this works and in which contexts you will use each word order.

Order	Roma-sem	Anglei-dem	Contexts
SVO	Kaya-dei dauwr nut u payr pai-nut.	Kaya eats food at the restaurant	Familiar, childish, friendly, informal
OSV/Topicalization	Nut sa Kaya-dei dauwr u payr pai-nut	Kaya eats food at the restaurant OR As for food, Kaya eats it at the restaurant	Perfect for most situations, usually sounds neutral and formal
Verb Initial	Er-dauwa-nut sa Kaya-dei payr pai-nut (focus on what's eaten)	Kaya eateth the food at the restaurant (will be taught in next level)	Highly formal, usually used with the elder and extremely important people
Verb Initial	Er-paya-pai-nut sa Kaya-dei dauwr nut (focus on location)	At the restaurant, Kaya is eating food (will be taught in next level)	Highly formal, usually used with the elder and extremely important people

WORD BUILDING

Words in Arusian can be built by joining two or more roots (usually separated orthographically by a dash in Roma-sem). The placement of the roots follows some straightforward rules:

• Roots ending in vowels go first.
• UMU ugually goes first.
• Monosyllabic roots go first.
• SU and SO obviously go first.
• Intransitive verbs will also go first.

Roma-sem	Semlek	English
UMU-LEI (big path)	,al umu	road
LEI-LUWA (path water)	aul ,al	river