Mizo grammar
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Mizo grammar is the grammar of the
Word order
Mizo declarative word order is
Sava
bird
ka
I
hmu
see
I see a bird
Thing
firewood
a
he
pû
carries
He carries firewood
Nouns
There is no grammatical gender in Mizo language, although some animals, birds etc. have names which contain one of the suffixes -nu, which means female, or -pa which means male. Examples include chingpirinu (a type of big owl), kawrnu (a type of cicada), thangfènpa (a nocturnal bird).[1]
Non-derived nouns
Mizo is an
- vạwk, 'pig'
- ịp, 'bag/sack'
- tláng, 'mountain'
- sǎm, 'hair'
- ár, 'chicken'
- lụi, 'river'
Derived nouns
The most common form of noun is that of derived, morphologically complex, poly-syllabic nouns. Most
sa
animal
+
mak
strange
=
samak
rhinoceros
fa
offspring
+
nu
female
=
fanu
daughter
sual
wicked
+
na
-ness
=
sualna
wickedness
mâwl
stupid
+
na
-ness
=
mâwlna
stupidity
Pluralisation
Nouns are pluralised by the addition of one of the suffixes -te, -ho, -teho and -hote. However, a non-pluralised noun can have the sense of a pluralised noun, and
Sava
bird/s
tam
many
deuh
very
ka
I
hmu
see
I see a lot of birds
Here sava is not pluralised to savate or savaho; rather, sava functions as a plural.
Declension of nouns
Nouns are declined into cases as follows (here we show the tones in accordance with the usage in Mizo Wiktionary, which is an extension of the common usage in Mizo newspapers such as Vanglaini and monthlies such as Lengzem chanchinbu):[2]
Nominative | Genitive | Accusative | Ergative | Instrumental |
---|---|---|---|---|
nụlá the/a girl |
nụla the/a girl's |
nụlá the/a girl |
nụláịn (by) the/a girl |
nụláin using/with a girl |
tǔi water |
tǔi | tǔi | tuiịn | tuiin |
Thangạ (a proper noun) |
Thanga | Thangạ | Thangȧ'n | Thangạ-in/Thangạ hmangin |
Nominalisation
Verb | Adjective | Nominalisation by -na | Nominalisation by -zia' |
---|---|---|---|
kal | kạlna | ||
süal | sùalna | ||
süal | sùalzìa | ||
vùa | vûakna |
When -na is suffixed to a transitive verb then the resulting noun means either the instrument with which the action described by the verb is achieved, or the object/sufferer of the action or the point of action of the verb. For example, vùa means to beat/strike with a stick, and vûakna means a whip, an object with which one can beat, or a point or place where the beating takes place, a point where something is beaten.
When -na is suffixed to an intransitive verb, then the resulting noun means a place etc. through which the action can take place. For example, kal means to go, kalna means where something/someone goes or can go, way, path. For example:
A kalna kan hre lo | → | We do not know where he went/where he has gone. |
Hei chu a kalna dik a ni lo tawp mai! | → | This is definitely not the right way. |
When -zia is suffixed to an adjective, the resulting noun means the condition of having the quality described by the adjective. For example, süal means evil, sùalzìa' means sinfulness, evilness.
Agentiviser
The suffix -tu in Mizo ṭawng is equivalent to the suffix -er or -or in English, as in:[1]: 137
püan " ṭhui
to sew a cloth
→
püanṭhuitu
tailor
véng
to protect
→
véngtû
protector
Pronouns
Forms
All Mizo
nominative | genitive | accusative | ergative | |
---|---|---|---|---|
clitic forms | ka, 'I' | ka, 'my, mine' | mi, min, 'me' | keima'n, 'by me' |
kan, 'we' | kan, 'our, ours' | min, 'us' | keimahnin, 'by us' | |
i, 'you (singular)' | i, 'your, yours' | che, 'you' | nangma'n, 'by you' | |
in, 'you (plural)' | in, 'your, yours' | che u, 'you' | nangmahnin, 'by you' | |
a, 'he, she, it' | a, 'his, hers, its' | amah, 'him, her, it' | ama'n, 'by him, by her, by it' | |
an, 'they' | an, 'their, theirs' | anmahni, 'them' | anmahni'n, 'by them' | |
free forms | kei, 'I' | keima, 'my, mine' | keimah, 'me' | keima'n, 'by me' |
keimah, 'we' | keima, 'our, ours' | keimah, keimah min, 'us' | keima'n, 'by us' | |
keini, 'you (singular)' | keini, 'your, yours' | keini min, 'you' | keini'n, 'by you' | |
keimahni, 'you (plural)' | keimahni, 'your, yours' | keimahni min, 'you' | keimahni'n, 'by you' | |
anni, 'he, she, it' | anni, 'his, hers, its' | anni, 'him, her, it' | anni'n, 'by him, by her, by it' | |
anmahni, 'they' | anmahni, 'their, theirs' | anmahni, 'them' | anmahni'n, 'by them' |
The free form is mostly used for emphasis, and has to be used in conjunction with either the clitic form or an appropriate pronominal particle, as shown in the following examples:
- Kei (=I free form) ka (=I clitic form)lo tel ve kher a ngai em?. This is a somewhat emphatic way of saying Ka lo tel ve kher a ngai em?
- Nangni (=you pl., free form) in (you pl., clitic form) zo tawh em? This is a somewhat emphatic way of saying Nangni in zo tawh em?
- Ani (he/she) a (s/he) kal ve chuan a ṭha lo vang.
The clitic form is also used as a genitive form of the pronoun.
Adjectives
Attributive
Mizo adjectives (Mizo: hrilhfiahna), when used attributively, follow the nouns they describe, as follows:
naupang
child
fel
good
a good child
lehkhabu
book
chhiartlâk
readable
a readable book
hmasawnna
development
chhenfâkawm
sustainable
sustainable development
artui
egg
pum ruk
six
six eggs
Predicative
When used predicatively, Mizo adjectives are syntactically verbs,[1]: 107 being usually preceded by the subject pronoun clitics, as in:
A
fel
S/he or it is good
A
ṭha
it is good
In these two sentences, a is the subject pronoun clitic, and the adjectives fel and ṭha function as verbs (syntactically).
Adjective sequences
When adjectives follow each other, the preferred order is the following:[1]
- color
- quality or opinion
- size
- shape
as in
- Puan sen (color) mawi (quality) hlai (size) bial (shape) deuh.
Quantifiers
The most common
varak
duck
zawng zawng
all
All the ducks
kan
we
zà
all
All of us
Verbs
Occurrence
Verbs (Mizo: thiltih) and verb phrases occur last in a sentence. Since adjectives can function as verbs, it is common in sentences to have no true verb, as in:
- A fel vek mai ang
- A dik vêl vek!
In these two sentences, the adjectives fel and dik function syntactically as verbs, and there are no other verbs in either of them.
Tense
Mizo verbs are not conjugated by changing the
- ang (for forming simple future),
- tawh (for forming past perfect),
- mék (for forming progressive tenses, present and past),
- dáwn (for forming simple future),
- dáwn mék (for forming near future),
etc.
Adverbs
Occurrence
Adverbs usually follow the verbs or adjectives they describe.
Notes and references
- Others:
- Dokhuma, James, Mizo ṭawng kalphung
- Zoppen club, Mizo ṭawng thumal thar, 2011.
- SCERT, Mizo grammar and composition, cl XI & XII textbooks.