Phi practice Complementizers and embedded clauses in Phi

Reading 4 of 10

Part 3

Declarative embedding: tha/tho

The declarative complementizer pair tha/tho is the workhorse of Phi's embedding system. It introduces statements that are known, believed, felt, said (as content), or otherwise reported.

01The basic structure

The structure for declarative embedding is:

[Subject] tha [Embedded statement] tho [Main verb]

The embedded statement follows standard Phi word order (SOV). The main verb comes after tho.

Basic example:

mia tha shia to wepu tho shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(I understand that they left.)

Breaking this down: - mia: main clause subject (I) - tha: opens embedded statement - shia to wepu, embedded clause: they left - tho: closes embedded statement - shelomu: main verb (understand)

02Sound symbolism

tha begins with the tongue tip against the upper teeth and a thin breath drawn over it, a sound made so far forward in the mouth that a listener can nearly watch it happen. Phi's commonest frame opens on its most visible consonant, which is a fair beginning for a word whose business is making one person's thought available to another. The final a drops the jaw wide and the embedded thought walks in.

tho opens on that same dental breath, so the two sound like one word in two states and only their endings part them. The lips round, the jaw comes back up, and the thought now has an edge on either side of it.

Speaking tha feels like opening an inner door to let knowledge come out. Speaking tho feels like the same door shutting on the same hinge, the reported content now held and complete.

03Verbs that take tha/tho clauses

Declarative embedding works with several categories of verbs:

Cognitive verbs (knowing, believing, understanding)

mia tha sileta sulae nai tho sano

1SG DECL.COMP sun warm be DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(I know that the sun is warm.)

shia tha pheralu so shua tho nohero

3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(They believe that rain will come.)

lo mia tha nophi shewo nai tho shelomu

PL 1SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(We understand that the story is true.)

thia tha mia to naphe tho remo

2SG DECL.COMP 1SG PST help DECL.COMP.CLOSE think

(You think that I helped.)

Perception verbs (seeing, hearing, feeling)

mia tha sileta mioru nai tho nila

1SG DECL.COMP sun beautiful be DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(I see that the sun is beautiful.)

shia tha lopia nuhewa tho hea

3SG DECL.COMP child weep DECL.COMP.CLOSE hear

(They hear that the child is weeping.)

mia tha nophi shewo nai tho phaelo

1SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel

(I feel that the story is true.)

Communication verbs (saying, reporting content)

shia tha thia to wepu tho to haolu

3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(They said that you left.)

melu tha mia so turema tho to haolu

friend DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(The friend said that I will return.)

The frame verb carries its own tense after the closer: the leaving and the saying are marked separately.

Note: tha/tho reports the content of what was said, not the exact words. For exact words, use sha/sho (covered in Section 5).

Evaluative verbs (hoping, fearing, being glad)

mia tha thia towe nai tho kela

1SG DECL.COMP 2SG well be DECL.COMP.CLOSE rejoice

(I am glad that you are well.)

shia tha pheralu so shua tho sukima phaelo

3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE fear feel

(They fear that rain will come.)

This is the pair at its warmest work. Gladness and fear are rarely about bare facts; they are about facts held by someone. The frame hands the main verb a whole state of affairs to rejoice over or dread, and the closer keeps the feeling's object exactly as large as the speaker meant it.

04With tense and aspect particles

The embedded clause can contain any tense or aspect marking:

Past tense (to)

mia tha shia to kamo tho shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST arrive DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(I understand that they arrived.)

shia tha thia to nila tho sano

3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST see DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(They know that you saw.)

Future tense (so)

mia tha sileta so shua tho nohero

1SG DECL.COMP sun FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(I believe that the sun will come.)

lo mia tha shia so turema tho kela

PL 1SG DECL.COMP 3SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE rejoice

(We are glad that they will return.)

Habitual aspect (ro)

mia tha melu ro naphe tho sano

1SG DECL.COMP friend HAB help DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(I know that the friend habitually helps.)

shia tha sileta ro shua tho nila

3SG DECL.COMP sun HAB come DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(They see that the sun habitually comes.)

Perfective aspect (ki)

mia tha shelu ki se kealo tho nila

1SG DECL.COMP book PFV PASS create DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(I see that the book has been created.)

05With negation

Negation inside the embedded clause uses ma:

mia tha shia to ma wepu tho shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST NEG go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(I understand that they did not leave.)

shia tha pheralu so ma shua tho nohero

3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT NEG come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(They believe that rain will not come.)

Negation of the main verb:

mia tha shia to wepu tho ma shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE NEG understand

(I do not understand that they left.)

Both can occur:

mia tha shia to ma wepu tho ma shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST NEG go DECL.COMP.CLOSE NEG understand

(I do not understand that they did not leave.)

The tho makes clear which negation belongs to which clause.

06With modality

Possibility (po)

mia tha shia po shua tho remo

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG POT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE think

(I think that they might come.)

Necessity (na)

shia tha lo mia na wepu tho to haolu

3SG DECL.COMP PL 1SG NEC go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(They said that we must leave.)

07Complex embedded clauses

The embedded clause can contain its own subject, object, and modifiers:

With transitive verbs

mia tha shia shelu kealo tho nila

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG book create DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(I see that they create books.)

shia tha melu thia to naphe tho sano

3SG DECL.COMP friend 2SG PST help DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(They know that the friend helped you.)

With ditransitive verbs

mia tha shia wei melu shelu loa tho nila

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG DAT friend book give DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(I see that they give the friend a book.)

With adverbials

mia tha shia to reshi wepu tho phaelo

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST fast go DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel

(I feel that they left quickly.)

With prepositional phrases

shia tha melu mua womu nai tho sano

3SG DECL.COMP friend LOC home be DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(They know that the friend is at home.)

08Embedded clauses with nai (copula)

Many embedded statements are copular sentences using nai:

mia tha sileta mioru nai tho nila

1SG DECL.COMP sun beautiful be DECL.COMP.CLOSE see

(I see that the sun is beautiful.)

shia tha nophi shewo nai tho nohero

3SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(They believe that the story is true.)

lo mia tha melu welao nai tho phaelo

PL 1SG DECL.COMP friend good be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel

(We feel that the friend is good.)

Remember: in copular sentences, the predicate comes before nai.

09Main clause variations

The main clause can have various structures while still containing an embedded clause:

Question about the embedded content

wa thia tha shia to wepu tho sano

Q 2SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE know

(Do you know that they left?)

Imperative with embedded content

no tha shia to wepu tho remo

IMP DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE think

(Consider that they left!)

10Topic-drop with tha/tho

When the subject of the main clause is clear from context, it can be dropped:

Full form:

mia tha shia to wepu tho shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(I understand that they left.)

With topic-drop:

tha shia to wepu tho shelomu

DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

((I) understand that they left.)

The embedded clause structure remains intact. Only the main clause subject is dropped. Topic-drop is never required; repeating the subject is always available when two referents might compete (see the manual, ch13).

11Extended examples in context

A conversation about belief

wa thia tha pheralu so shua tho nohero

Q 2SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(Do you believe that rain will come?)

mia tha pheralu so shua tho nohero

1SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(I believe that rain will come.)

mia tha pheralu so ma shua tho remo. sileta ha nai

1SG DECL.COMP rain FUT NEG come DECL.COMP.CLOSE think. sun PROX be

(I think that rain will not come. The sun is here.)

Reporting what someone said

shia tha thia so turema tho to haolu

3SG DECL.COMP 2SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(They said that you will return.)

mia tha mia so turema tho to ma haolu

1SG DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST NEG speak

(I did not say that I will return.)

shia tha mia tha mia so turema tho to haolu tho nohero

3SG DECL.COMP 1SG DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe

(They believe that I said that I will return.)

Nested understanding

mia tha thia tha shia towe nai tho phaelo tho shelomu

1SG DECL.COMP 2SG DECL.COMP 3SG well be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand

(I understand that you feel that they are well.)

12Contrast with quotative (sha/sho)

The distinction matters: tha/tho reports content, while sha/sho preserves exact words.

Content reporting (tha/tho):

shia tha thia to wepu tho to haolu

3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(They said that you left.)

Here, "you" refers to whoever the main clause speaker is addressing. The pronouns shift.

Exact quotation (sha/sho):

shia sha mia wepu sho to haolu

3SG QUOT.COMP 1SG go QUOT.COMP.CLOSE PST speak

(They said: "I am leaving.")

Here, "I" is the original speaker's own word, preserved verbatim. The pronouns remain as originally spoken.

More on this distinction in Section 5.

13Summary

tha/tho provides Phi's primary mechanism for embedding statements: what we know, believe, feel, perceive, and report. The pair creates unambiguous structure:

  • tha opens: "here begins reported content"
  • tho closes: "here ends reported content"
  • Main verb follows: clear parsing, no ambiguity

The system works with every tense, aspect, mood, and negation marker, and clauses can be as simple or complex as meaning requires. Section 6 takes the nesting as deep as working memory will follow.