Chapter 11 Nouns and their world
Plural marking with lo
Unquantified plurality
Phi does not require every noun to state number. A bare noun can be interpreted from context. When a noun phrase has no numeral or quantifier and explicit plurality matters, the Slot 2 particle lo stands immediately before the noun phrase it pluralizes:
lo melu
PL friend
"friends"
lo shiro
PL tree
"trees"
lo nophi
PL story
"stories"
Lo marks more than one without giving an exact count or relative quantity.
mia lo melu nila.
1SG PL friend see.
Numerals and quantifiers replace lo
A numeral or quantifier already supplies quantity information, so lo is prohibited in the same noun phrase. This is not an optional redundancy distinction: one noun phrase takes one quantity marker.
| Correct | Incorrect | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
wi melu | *wi lo melu | two friends |
ta shao nophi | *ta shao lo nophi | exactly three stories |
sheloi melu | *sheloi lo melu | many friends |
phina shiro | *phina lo shiro | few trees |
theula melu | *theula lo melu | all friends |
mawha melu | *mawha lo melu | no friends |
Inside the numeral system, ta shao nophi is exactly three stories, while bare shao nophi is approximately a three-group of stories. Neither combines with lo.
Classifiers do not change the rule
A classifier is optional and does not license an additional plural marker:
ta shao himo melu
one three-group HUM.CLF friend
The alternatives are:
ta shao melu: exactly three friends, no classifier.ta shao himo melu: exactly three friends, with the human classifier.lo melu: friends, explicitly plural but unquantified.melu: friend or friends, with number left to context.
Singular and zero
Exact singularity takes ta; no separate singular article is needed:
ta melu
one friend
"one friend"
Exact numerical zero takes mu, while the quantifier none is mawha. Both exclude lo:
mu melu
zero friend
mawha melu
NONE friend
Quantity choices
| Expression | Claim |
|---|---|
melu | friend or friends; number unstated |
lo melu | more than one friend; no count |
ta melu | exactly one friend |
wi melu | exactly two friends |
ta shao melu | exactly three friends |
shao melu | friends on approximately a three-group scale |
soli melu | some friends; relative size unstated |
sheloi melu | contextually many friends |
Exact, approximate, quantified, and unquantified forms make different claims; knowledge and context decide which claim the moment supports.
Noun phrase order
The number-related alternatives are [numeral] ([classifier]) [noun], [quantifier] [noun], wia ([classifier]) [noun], or lo [noun] for an unquantified plural. Other modifiers keep the canonical order summarized in Part VII, using only semantically compatible elements; numeral and quantifier are alternative quantity strategies, and an ordinary quantifier does not take a classifier. A possessor precedes the phrase it owns.
| Phi | Components | English |
|---|---|---|
shelu | N | book or books |
mioru shelu | ADJ + N | beautiful book |
mia shelu | POSS + N | my book |
wi shelu | NUM + N | two books |
wi themo shelu | NUM + CLF + N | two books, classified as objects |
mia ha serao shelu | POSS + DEM + ADJ + N | this old book of mine |
theula melu | QUANT + N | all friends |
Modifiers precede what they modify, and only unquantified plurality uses lo.