Nouns in D'ni are very similar to nouns in English. They name a person, place, thing, or idea; they can be singular and plural; and they do not have a gender or case as they do in other languages. A singular noun names just one of a thing, while a plural noun names more than one. In D'ni, as in English, the singular noun is the root word; to make it plural, we add the suffix -tE (-tē), the same way that in English we add -(e)s.

Examples:
ter (ter), tree, becomes tertE (tertē), trees
Kor (kor), book becomes  KortE (kortē), books

Some D'ni nouns only have plural forms. The same sorts of nouns exist in English, words like pants or scissors, which never occur in the singular and always end in -(e)s. In D'ni, these kinds of nouns will always have the -tE (-tē) suffix. The word DantE (dantē), for example, will always end in -tE (-tē), whether referring to just one pair or more than one pair of tweezers.

D'ni adjectives are also very similar to adjectives in English. They describe nouns and have only one form. That is, in order to agree with the noun they modify, they do not need to change to reflect singular and plural. The same adjective can modify both forms of the noun. The one significant departure from noun-adjective agreement in English is that, as in Latin based languages, adjectives always follow the noun they describe in D'ni; in English they can come before or after the noun, but usually fall before.

Examples:
terpara (ter para), great tree
tertEpara (tertē para), great trees
DantEprin (dantē prin), small tweezers

D'ni adjectives can do many things in addition to modifying nouns, things that we will learn more about in future lessons. For now, it is important to remember that adjectives do not need to change to agree with singular and plural nouns, and that they always come after the noun they modify.

(Site master's note: This rule isn't quite as unbending as the author describes. The adjective "garo", meaning large, great, mighty, or big, can appear before the noun it modifies. This is especially true in place names, where the adjective garo effectively becomes part of the noun.)

Lesson 6

Myst, the Myst logo, and all games and books in the Myst series are registered trademarks and copyrights of Cyan Worlds, Inc. Myst Online: Uru Live is the sole property of Cyan Worlds Inc. The concepts, settings, characters, art, and situations of the Myst series of games and books are copyright Cyan Worlds, Inc. with all rights reserved.

I make no claims to any such rights or to the intellectual properties of Cyan Worlds; nor do I intend to profit financially from their work. This web site is a fan work, and is meant solely for the amusement of myself and other fans of the Myst series of games and books.