Elvish
lesson five : articles and genitives
As i veth-en-Amar sui istam han, a mathon brand. (It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.)
articles
The first thing you need to know is that there are no words in Sindarin for the indefinite articles 'a' and 'an'. In other words, 'Edhel' can mean 'Elf' or 'an Elf' depending on context. On the other hand, the definite article 'the' does have a Sindarin equivalent -- 'i'. Use this when you are referring to a specific thing. For example:
i adar : the father
i orch : the orc
i ion : the son
Note that certain consonants undergo a mutation known as lenition when following the definite article. Lenition and other mutations will be covered in future lessons. All the exercises in this lesson will not change.
When you use the definite article with a plural noun, it changes to 'in', as in:
in edair : the fathers
in yrch : the orcs
in yn : the sons
Finally, with some prepositions, an 'in' can be appended to mimic the definite article. As in: na --> to nan --> to the. For example:
na Edhel : to (an) Elf
nan Edhel: to the Elf
genitives
A genitival relationship is one that shows possession, as in 'Doors of Durin' or 'end of the world'. So when someone tells you that your genitives are showing, don't check your pants -- they're not being dirty.
There are three forms of genitival relationships in Sindarin: one involves proper nouns, one involves indefinite nouns, and the third involves definite nouns. *creepy Mr. Roger's voice* Let's go to the Land of Make Believe where King Elessar will show us the difference. Trolley?
When you are showing possession with a proper noun, the construction is to place the proper noun immediately following the common noun. Examples:
Ennyn Durin : Doors of Durin
Lam Erestor : Erestor's tongue
When both nouns are common and indefinite, that is, not using the definite article 'the', the construction is similar. The two nouns are put together with no intervening word. Examples:
cam melethron : hand of a lover
gûr maethor : heart of a warrior
Finally, when the second noun in a genitival relationship is definite (end of the world), the two words are separated by the genitival marker 'en' meaning 'of the'. Examples:
tôr-en-adar : brother of the father (uncle)
hîr-en-glad : lord of the wood
If the definite noun in this type of relationship is plural, the marker 'in' is used instead.
Note that 'en' and 'in' also cause consonant mutations to the words following them. So don't go just sticking words together -- yet. Vowels never mutate, so you're safe messing with those. Once we cover lenition and mutations, you can genitive to your heart's content. You won't go blind, I promise.
Conclusion
- There are no words for 'a' and 'an' -- use context to determine their placement.
- The definite article 'the' is 'i' in the singular and 'in' in the plural -- both cause mutations to be discussed later.
- Genitival relationships with proper nouns and indefinite common nouns are conveyed with word order alone.
- Genitival relationships with definite common nouns are marked with 'en' in the singular and 'in' in the plural -- again, both cause mutations to be discussed later
