Mergian: Difference between revisions

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=== Negation ===

Negation in Mergian is done with the negative particle ''ni''. It has two additional forms, ''nin'' and ''nit''. ''Nin'' is a contraction of the Old Mergian ''ni ain'' "not one" and ''~~nit~~'' is a contraction of ''ni þed'' "not it". ~~The~~

Negation in Mergian is done with the negative particle ''ni''. It has two additional forms, ''nin'' and ''nit''. ''Nin'' is a contraction of the Old Mergian ''ni ain'' "not one" and ''nid'' is a contraction of ''ni þed'' "not it". ''Ni'' can be used before any part of speech, but its usage is restricted with nouns and verbs. ''Nin'' is used with nouns and verbs and ''nid'' is used only with verbs or as a standalone word.

For verbs, the negative particle used changes depending on the transitivity of the verb and the presence of compliments.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+

|-

!

! Intransitive

! Transitive

|-

! Has a direct object

| rowspan=2 | ni

| nin

|-

! Has no object

| nid

|}

''nin'' and ''nid'' should follow the verb and precede the object, but ''ni'' should come before. One exception is that, transitive verbs whose object can be inferred due to common usage do not take ''nit'' when the object is missing.

Consider the examples

* ''Ig veð nit'' "I don't know" (lit. "I know not it")

* ''Ig veð nin risti hisi edde Migea'' "I do not know anyone/a person named Micah" (lit. "I know not one person who is called Micah")

* ''Ig ni rougeage'' "I do not smoke [cigarettes]" (lit. "I do not smoke")

=== Interrogatives ===

@@ Line 1,060: / Line 1,060: @@
 === Negation ===
-Negation in Mergian is done with the negative particle ''ni''. It has two additional forms, ''nin'' and ''nit''. ''Nin'' is a contraction of the Old Mergian ''ni ain'' "not one" and ''nit'' is a contraction of ''ni þed'' "not it". The
+Negation in Mergian is done with the negative particle ''ni''. It has two additional forms, ''nin'' and ''nit''. ''Nin'' is a contraction of the Old Mergian ''ni ain'' "not one" and ''nid'' is a contraction of ''ni þed'' "not it". ''Ni'' can be used before any part of speech, but its usage is restricted with nouns and verbs. ''Nin'' is used with nouns and verbs and ''nid'' is used only with verbs or as a standalone word.
+For verbs, the negative particle used changes depending on the transitivity of the verb and the presence of compliments.
+{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
+|+
+|-
+!
+! Intransitive
+! Transitive
+|-
+! Has a direct object
+| rowspan=2 | ni
+| nin
+|-
+! Has no object
+| nid
+|}
+''nin'' and ''nid'' should follow the verb and precede the object, but ''ni'' should come before. One exception is that, transitive verbs whose object can be inferred due to common usage do not take ''nit'' when the object is missing.
+Consider the examples
+* ''Ig veð nit'' "I don't know" (lit. "I know not it")
+* ''Ig veð nin risti hisi edde Migea'' "I do not know anyone/a person named Micah" (lit. "I know not one person who is called Micah")
+* ''Ig ni rougeage'' "I do not smoke [cigarettes]" (lit. "I do not smoke")
 === Interrogatives ===