Gavári Grammar

Overview

Gavári is designed to be direct and regular. Verbs do not change according to the subject. Tense and mood are shown with separate markers, plural nouns use a productive suffix, and meaning is usually built through straightforward word order and compounds.

Basic word order

The normal sentence order is Subject · Verb · Object.

Mi suri fai.

No verb conjugation

The main verb keeps the same form with every subject.

Mi kailo · Ti kailo · Lin kailo

No required article

Gavári does not require a separate word for English a, an, or the.

fale = a house / the house

Productive word building

Gavári uses compounds and productive affixes such as -lan, -wa, and sa’-.

amun → amunlan · kala → sa’kala

Basic Word Order

Core pattern

Subject · Verb · Object

The normal sentence order is subject first, then the verb, then the object or complement.

Mi kailo fanu.

I eat food.

Yona haluo hona.

She likes water.

Min tavo kala.

We have money.

Io wero carlan.

He sees the cars.

Mi suri fai hanu fale.

I read a book in the house.

Mi pa gavo sap nuai.

I went to the store.

Mi kimo’a lo sap ti.

I give it to you.

Min fa maruvi sap gavári apono.

We will return to the island tomorrow.

Pronouns

Gavári	English
mi	I; me; my; mine
ti	you; your; yours
io	he; him; his
yona	she; her; hers
lo	it; its
min	we; us; our; ours
tin	you all
lin	they; them; their; theirs

One form, several grammatical jobs

Gavári pronouns do not require separate subject, object, and possessive forms. Position and context show the intended meaning.

Mi wero ti.

I see you.

Ti wero mi.

You see me.

Mi fai.

My book.

Lin amun.

Their friend.

Verb Markers

Marker	Function	Example	Meaning
—	present / general	Mi kailo.	I eat.
pa	past	Mi pa kailo.	I ate.
fa	future	Mi fa kailo.	I will eat.
wa	conditional	Mi wa kailo.	I would eat.

Placement

The marker comes directly before the main verb: Mi pa gavo sap nuai.

The verb itself never changes

suri → pa suri → fa suri → wa suri. The marker carries the tense or mood while the verb remains unchanged.

Full example

Mi pa tua mi fai, mi fa suri lo noran, onu mi wa malu maluna mo lo.

I found my book, I will read it tonight, and I would write a text about it.

Negation

Use noa before the verb

The negative word noa is placed before the verb or verbal expression.

Mi noa kailo.

Mi noa tavo kala.

I do not have money.

Mi noa polno gavo.

I cannot go.

Ti noa delo gavo.

You should not go.

noa vs. sa’-

noa negates a verb or statement. sa’- attaches primarily to a noun and creates a descriptive word meaning “without” or “lacking.”

Mi noa tavo kala.

I do not have money.

Mi navo sa’kala.

I am without money / I am broke.

Question Words

Gavári	English
wohanu	what
wohu	which
lam	where
kalu	how
kap	why
nagu	when

Lam ti navo?

Where are you?

Wohanu ti wivo?

What do you want?

Kap ti noa gavo?

Why are you not going?

Nagu lin fa maruvi?

When will they return?

Yes / no questions

The yes/no question pattern is still being standardized in the canonical grammar. This guide avoids inventing a rule before it is fixed.

Prepositions

Word	Core meaning	Typical use
sap	to; toward	Definite destination, recipient, or target
ke	in; on; at	General location; also introduces some subordinate clauses
hanu	inside	Physical location within something
lanu	outside	Location outside something
mo	of; about; from	Source, relation, or topic
talu	with	Accompaniment
sa’talu	without	Absence of accompaniment
voi	near	Close spatial relation
pei	far from	Distant spatial relation
te’lo	between	Position between two things
mori	among	Position within a group
la’doa	beside; next to	Adjacent position
havi	behind	Position at the rear
verai	in front of	Position before something
nuloi	through	Movement through an area
tarai	across	Movement from one side to another
peloi	around	Movement or position surrounding something
canora	against	Contact, opposition, or opposing position

Mi pa gavo sap nuai.

I went to the store.

Mi navo hanu fale.

I am inside the house.

Mi muko sap mi amun.

I speak to my friend.

Mi kimo’a lo sap ti.

I give it to you.

Mi pa’kui la’doa kolao.

I wait beside the road.

Mi gavo nuloi nara sap nuhena.

I go through the forest to the river.

Possession

Personal pronouns can appear directly before a noun to show possession. A separate possessive form is not required.

mi fai

my book

ti fale

your house

io car

his car

lin amun

their friend

Possessive meaning comes from position

The same pronoun can also function as a subject or object. Context and word order determine the intended meaning.

Plural Nouns

Add -lan

The productive plural suffix is -lan.

amun → amunlan

Singular	Plural	English
amun	amunlan	friend / friends
car	carlan	car / cars
conuah	conuahlan	child / children
skolu	skolulan	school / schools

Word Formation

Gavári uses a small set of productive affixes to create related meanings from existing roots.

sa’- · without / lacking

Attach sa’- primarily to a noun to create a descriptive word meaning “without,” “lacking,” or “not possessing” that thing.

kala → sa’kala

-lan · plural

Attach -lan to a noun to indicate more than one.

amun → amunlan

-wa · condition adjective

-wa is productive in weather and condition vocabulary.

rual → rualwa

sa’talu · without

talu means “with,” while sa’talu is the established opposite.

talu ↔ sa’talu

sa’kala

without money; broke

sa’fale

without a home; homeless

sa’hona

without water; waterless

sa’vahri

without a job; jobless

rualwa

rainy

sneulwa

snowy

Compounds

Gavári frequently creates new meanings by combining existing words. A hyphen keeps the parts easy to recognize. Some compounds remain transparent, while others become lexicalized and develop a more specific dictionary meaning.

fale + faru

↓

fale-faru

big house

hona + muia

↓

hona-muia

lake

pesta + fale

↓

pesta-fale

neighborhood

duku + panu

↓

duku-panu

volcano

Literal meaning vs. lexical meaning

duku-panu literally means “ash hill,” but its established lexical meaning is “volcano.” hona-muia literally suggests “much water,” while its established meaning is “lake.”

Mini Conversation

A

Salo! Hello!

B

Salo! Hello!

A

Lam ti navo? Where are you?

B

Mi navo hanu fale. I am in the house.

A

Ti fa gavo sap ma’loka apono? Will you go to the town tomorrow?

B

Mi fa gavo talu mi amun. I will go with my friend.