Demostratives 2 is the 25th skill in the High Valyrian language course. It has 4 lessons.
Grammar Notes[]
Indefinite demonstratives[]
High Valyrian has a series of indefinite demonstratives that refer to exactly how many of something is being referred to. These are words like "any", "some", "every", "each", "all", etc.
The basic correspondences are as follows:
- Mir- = some, any
- Dōr- = none
- Tol- = other
- Olv- = many
- Tolv- = all
Various endings are applied to these basic roots to form adjectival and pronominal forms. Take care to distinguish between which forms are adjectival, and which are nominal, as the endings sometimes overlap.
The paucal and collective numbers[]
Though you have seen it previously, this is the first time you will need to deal with the paucal and collective numbers of High Valyrian. These numbers are counterparts to singular and plural, in a way. The best way to think of the number system is like this:
- Singular: Definite Singular (Exactly One)
- Collective: Definite Plural (All)
- Paucal: Indefinite Singular (A Small Number)
- Plural: Indefinite Plural (Many)
How exactly these numbers are formed and used will be taught in a future skill. The important thing to note for this skill is that four of the five words in lesson 3 are either paucal or collective. Paucals can be identified by a thematic final -n, while collectives can be identified by a thematic final -r.
For now, it's important to know two things about paucals and collectives:
- Paucals trigger plural subject agreement on the verb. Collectives trigger singular subject agreement on the verb.
- Paucals and collectives have their own unique case forms.
For the most part, paucals and collectives decline like borrowings (so they take -i in the accusative), but there are a few differences. Here's a full declension of olvȳn "much, many":
- Nominative: olvȳn
- Accusative: olvȳni
- Genitive: olvȳno
- Dative: olvȳnto
- Locative: olvȳnno
- Instrumental: olvȳsso
- Comitative: olvȳmmo
- Vocative: olvȳsso
Now here's a full declension of mirror "whatever":
- Nominative: mirror
- Accusative: mirrori
- Genitive: mirroro
- Dative: mirrorto
- Locative: mirrorro
- Instrumental: mirrorzo
- Comitative: mirrormo
- Vocative: mirrorzo
These forms are a little tricky, and they change depending on the theme vowel of the declension (so a dative for a lunar noun endings in -a would end in -ta), but given the meanings of the words in this lesson, you'll probably be using the nominative, accusative and genitive more than anything else, and those case forms are relatively simple.
Lessons[]
Lesson 1[]
- Dōre: not, none
- Tolie: other, another
- Tolvie: Every, each
- Olvie: Much, a lot ot
Lesson 2[]
- Tolvys: everyone, everybody
- Mirtys: Someone, somebody, anyone
- Tolys: Someone else
- Daorys: No one, nobody