Reference desk
Quick Reference Grammar
One page of the whole system. Details: documents/grammar/; authority order: /canon.md.
Notation: the diagrams use square brackets to show the span of a slot, constituent, clause, or understood gap. The marks are editorial; Phi speakers pronounce only their contents, and ordinary romanized or Tengwar writing omits them. Parentheses inside a template mark optional material.
The organizing principle
Every element that modifies, specifies, or relates comes BEFORE what it affects. Everything below is this principle applied.
Sentence templates
| Pattern | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Intransitive | S V | mia nulae. (I sleep.) |
| Transitive | S O V | mia nophi kealo. (I create a story.) |
| Copular | S PRED nai | shelira mioru nai. (The forest is beautiful.) |
| With adverbial | S [Adv] O V | mia nosa nophi kealo. (I now create a story.) |
| Question | wa + statement | wa thia towe nai. (Are you well?) |
| Imperative | no + predicate | no lumani naphe. (Help the family.) |
| Conditional | lu A. B | lu thia naphe. mia towe phaelo. (If you help, I feel well.) |
| Wish | su + statement | su sila towe nai. (May the community be well.) |
| Need not | S lila V ralu nai | thia lila wepu ralu nai. (You need not go.) |
Phi uses periods only: no commas, question marks, or exclamation marks. Punctuation is spoken (wa, sha…sho, kona, the closers, ne), and pauses are free. Source material outside a Phi passage retains the script, punctuation, and case of its own medium. Topic-drop: an established subject may be omitted.
The three slots
[Slot 0] [Subject] [Object] [Slot 1 stack] [Verb]. Slot 2 attaches directly before the word it modifies.
| Slot | Function | Particles |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Sentence frame (first) | wa Q · no IMP · lu/lu he COND/IRR · su OPT · pi POL (pi comes first when combined) |
| 1 | Before the verb, fixed order T > A > V > E > M > N, one per rank (voice may pair as se ka) | Tense to PST, so FUT · Aspect ki PFV, si IPFV, pa INCH, te CESS, ro HAB · Voice se PASS, ka CAUS · Evidential hi DIR, ke INFER, ti REP, ho ASSUM · Modal po POT, na NEC · Negation ma |
| 2 | Before the word modified | lo PL · nu ORD · ko FOC · mo CMPR (mo ko SUPL) · ru INTS · la ATTEN · pe SUFF · wo EXC · we ALSO · li RESTR · ha PROX, ra DIST · ne NAME · honorifics sa/ni/le |
Clause frames (openers need their closers)
| Frame | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
tha … tho | S tha [clause] tho V | that-clause (reported content) |
pha … pho | S pha [clause] pho V | embedded yes/no question |
sha … sho | S sha [quote] sho V | direct quotation (exact words) |
whu … + NOUN | [whu clause] NOUN | relative clause (no closer; the head noun bounds it) |
ne NAME | before one name atom | listed content word or productive two-, three-, or four-syllable onym |
kona [ne] NAME | extra-clausal | vocative address |
Embedded clauses carry their own tense, and clause frames nest in matched pairs. sha ... sho quotes grammatical Phi speech. Foreign wording, source-script names, source-form exact values and records, identifiers, formulas, and other unassimilated material remain outside Phi syntax in the surrounding medium; exact integers from 0 through 242 may also be rendered with internal Phi numerals when adequate.
Noun phrase order
Slot order: [Quantifier] [Demonstrative] [Number or lo] [Classifier] [Adjective] [Noun]. Quantity strategies are alternatives: an ordinary quantifier does not combine with a number, lo, or classifier; a numeral may take an optional classifier; lo marks only unquantified plurality.
ha wi himo mioru melu: these two beautiful friends (as humans).
Possessor first: sila nophi (the community's story). No articles.
Numbers
Base: mu 0 · ta 1 · wi 2. Scale units: shao 3 · phoi 9 · lau 27 · rei 81.
Compose biggest-first: 5 = ta shao wi; 14 = ta phoi ta shao wi. Each scale appears at most once with ta or wi; omitted places are zero. Exact range: 0-242, ending at wi rei wi lau wi phoi wi shao wi; larger exact values remain source material outside the Phi passage. A bare scale unit marks approximate magnitude without a fixed rounding interval. Never lo with a number or quantifier.
Quantifiers: theula all · sheloi many · soli some · phina few · wheli any · theli each · henoi enough · shelami most · mawha none. Ask quantity: wia.
Classifiers after numerals or wia: himo people · lipha non-human living · themo detached or crafted objects · nophe abstractions, time, and events. Always optional; ordinary quantifiers do not take them.
Arithmetic: [operand 1] nela [operand 2] [operation]. [result] kelai. Operations: sholei + · leiro − · welura × · phanoi ÷. Equality: [quantity 1] nela [quantity 2] kelai. Comparison uses the same mandatory nela boundary with sharoi > or thenoi <.
Prepositions (always before their object)
mua in/at · mue out of · lue from · kau to (goal) · muo into · wea toward · wei to (DAT) · thue through · leo above · phou below · nia on · pai near · woe far · noe behind · neo in front · thei between · thoa among · roa around · sio beside · sheo than · phea as · whuo without · nua with (COM) · roe with (INS) · tei until · sui during · phei away
Conjunctions
Coordinating: nela and · thona but · sola or. Subordinating: pheo after · phoe before · lao because · shai although · lila for (purpose). Every subordinator opens dependent material before the main clause: [relator dependent clause] [main clause].
Pronouns and question words
mia 1SG · thia 2SG · shia 3SG (lo mia we, lo thia you-all, lo shia they) · miso REFL · wiso RECP.
sua who · hina what · weno when · kua where · misa why · thela how · wia how many.