Page:Comprehensive Volapük Grammar.djvu/21

In expressing dates, the order is year, month, day; thus —

Balmil jöltum züls telul balsezülid (or, telul 19, 1890).

February nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety (or, February 19, 1890).

Complements of time, measure, weight, etc., are expressed by the nominative; thus —

Oblibobs is dels fol, We shall stay here four days.

Melavegam älevelom vigs tel, The voyage lasted two weeks.

Paun de kaf kostom sentabs kils, A pound of coffee costs thirty cents.

Duration of time may be expressed also by the use of the preposition du (during); as —

Oblibob in London du muls fol.

I shall remain in London four months.

Or by the accusative case —

Oblibob in London mulis fol.

CONSTRUCTION.

Of Volapük is very similar to that of English, the order being —

1st. The subject, followed by its modifiers in the order of their importance.
2d. The verb, followed by its qualifiers.
3d. The object, followed by its modifiers.
4th. The direct precedes the indirect object, unless the latter is a single pronoun.
5th. Adverbs of time are placed immediately after the verb.
6th. Except when the conjunction das introduces it, a subordinate clause may either precede or follow the principal clause.
7th. A noun in the possessive case follows the governing noun.

Examples in Construction.

Simple affirmative.	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	Fat löfom soni.
		(the) Father loves (the) son.

Affirmative with modifiers.	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	Fat gudik givom ofen bukis gletik sone omik.
		(the) Father good gives often books large (to) son his.