Differences

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--- en:grammar:word_order [2022-05-08 10:35] – Rewrite, since 'o' is now optional and 'i' is a likewise optional subject marker christian
+++ en:grammar:word_order [2022-05-09 11:59] (current) – [The subject and object markers] christian
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 **Mi li da buku a Tom.** – I gave the book to Tom. / I gave Tom the book.
-//Note:// Among the world's languages, subject-object-verb (SOV) is somewhat more frequent (41%) than SVO (35%), but both are very common (WALS 81). SVO is used by eight of our ten source languages (all except for Hindi and Japanese) and by most creole languages (APiCS 1), therefore we prefer it. The object preposition (or marker) is taken from Japanese – without it, some sentences could be ambiguous because of [[word formation#spaced compounds]] and because all of Lugamun's verbs are also nouns and many words are both nouns and adjectives.
+//Note:// Among the world's languages, subject-object-verb (SOV) is somewhat more frequent (41%) than SVO (35%), but both are very common (WALS 81). SVO is used by eight of our ten source languages (all except for Hindi and Japanese) and by most creole languages (APiCS 1), therefore we prefer it.
 ===== The subject and object markers =====
@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 **I mi li da o buku a Tom.**
-But such usage is are, because the sentence is clear also without the **i** and the **o**.
+But such usage is rare, because the sentence is clear without the **i** and the **o**.
 However, the object marker //must// be used if you place a prepositional phrase between the verb and the object. For example, you could also say:
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 In such longish sentences, the **o** helps to clarify their structure, making it easier for the reader or listener to make sense of them. Using it is therefore helpful, though the sentence remains legal without it.
-The markers **i** and **o** also allow varying the word order, deviating from the usual SVO order. The various [[verb phrases#verb markers]] that allow unambiguously marking the beginning of the verb phrase can be useful for the same purpose. This will be discussed later.
+The markers **i** and **o** also allow varying the word order, deviating from the usual SVO order. The various [[verb phrases#verb markers]] that permit unambiguously marking the beginning of the verb phrase can be useful for the same purpose. This will be discussed later.