Adjectives
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This page is about Kunwok adjectives.
- Adjectives carry prefixes to agree with the gender of the noun, e.g. manmak manme good food, bininj nakimuk big man
- Sometimes the choice of adjective reveals a non-default gender, e.g. manwalarr kundulk tall tree
- We can use adjectives predicatively, in a pronoun-adjective, noun-adjective, or a pronoun-noun-adjective construction:
nga-mak
I-good
I'm healthy
kundulk-yahwurd
tree-small
a small tree
ka-bolk-rohrok
it-country-similar
it's a similar place
- Tense marker -ni can also attach to the end of the adjectival construction:
nungka keb-kimuk-ni
he nose-big-PAST
he had a big nose
| Adjective | Intransitive Verb | Transitive Verb | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| -bang | -bangmen | be cheeky/violent/toxic/poisonous, become violent/aggressive | |
| -buk | -bukmen | -bukwon | be dry, become dry, make dry |
| -kerlk | -kerlkmen | -kerlkwon | be soft, become soft, make soft |
| -kerrenge | -kerrengemen | -kerrengewon? | be new, become new, make new |
| -kih | -kihmen | -kihwon | be wet, become wet, make wet |
| -kimuk | -kimukmen | -kimukwon | be big, become big, make big |
| -kuyeng | -kuyengmen | -kuyengwon | be long, become long, make long |
| -mak | -makmen | -makmiwon | be good, become good, make good |
| -rayek | -rayekmen | -rayekwon | be hard, become hard, make hard (strong, hard-working) |
| -walarr | -walarrmen | -walarrwon | be tall, become tall, make tall |
| -warre | -warremen | -warrewon | be bad, become bad, make bad (no good, sick) |
| -worrk | -worrkmen | -worrkmiwon | to be full, to become full, to fill someone (food) |
| -yahwurd | -yahwurdmen | -yahwurdwon | be small, become small, make small |
| -yirrek | -yirrekmen? | -yirrekmiwon | be slippery, become slippery, make slippery (slimy, greasy) |
Examples
- ngaldjenkelk she soft-tongued one
- ngayarlkuyengwon I'm making the string longer
- manme nganwarrewong the food made me sick
- kundalk kakerrngemen the grass is new (after burning)
- kabolkkihminj the place got wet
- kunmadj kabukmen kore kundung the clothes are drying in the sun
Notes
- the verbs mean relative or absolute (e.g. soft, softer), use context
- the intransitive verbs follow conjugation 11, and transitive verbs follow conjugation 3c.
- possible other adjectives: wern many, wid wrong, mok sore, rohrok similar, barrkid different, buyika other, bele clean, bulerri dirty
- sometimes there's an extra -mi-, such as makmiwon (not makwon).
