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All of the
sentences we've worked with so far are affirmative statements. That is, they
all express something that is, or something that happens. What if, however, we
wanted to say that something is not, or doesn't happen? We would then be
constructing negative statements, which in English is accomplished by using the
words no or not.
Examples: |
Gehn is a great writer. (affirmative)
Gehn is not a great writer. (negative)
The master instructs. (affirmative)
The master does not instruct. (negative)
There is peace. (affirmative)
There is no peace. (negative) |
D'ni has a
similar, powerful little word that turns affirmative statements into negative
ones: ril (ril).
ril (ril) always comes immediately before the verb it negates; it is always adjacent to
the verb and no other word will ever intervene between the two. Where English
differentiates between constructions that use no and not, the D'ni ril (ril) covers all forms of negation.
English also
often uses the helping verb do in negative statements formed with not,
the second pair of statements above, for example. D'ni has no need for this
helping verb and it should never appear in English-to-D'ni translations. It may
be helpful to think about these kinds of sentences — The master does not instruct — in an archaic English form that eliminates the do/does — The master instructs not. Such rewriting may also help keep the negating
word and complicated verb tenses clear and distinct.
Examples: |
.gen ril Kenen erTseltan para (.gen ril kenen erthseltan para)
.renava ril SokUen (.renava ril shokūen)
.ril Kenen Sora (.ril kenen shora) |
Because ril is modifying the verb, we know that it's an adverb, and this means that it can
be applied to other elements of a sentence, too: adjectives, other adverbs,
phrases, etcetera. We'll soon learn about these other uses, but before we do so, it
is important to have a firm grasp on how verbs are negated and the changes in
meaning that result
Lesson 17
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