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A Grammar of Qit

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Qit language (the 1278th one produced by the Language Creator), outlining its sound system, word formation and syntactic structure, with the aim of presenting a coherent account of the language as an integrated whole. Attention has been paid to both regular patterns and minor irregularities, as these together define the internal balance of the language.

The grammar is accompanied by a bilingual dictionary and a collection of illustrative texts, offering material for further study and comparison. The examples have been selected to demonstrate typical constructions and to give a sense of the language in extended use. The description is intended as a reference work for linguists and language enthusiasts alike, and as a foundation for any future research, teaching or creative adaptation of Qit.

Typological Profile

It has a highly marked collection of glottal, uvular, pharyngeal or epiglottal contrasts, the highly uncommon basic word order OVS, four genders, a small but genuine set of click consonants and ergative case marking, i.e., the object of a transitive verb is marked the same as the subject of an intransitive one,.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Qit has a large consonant inventory, comprising 43 phonemes.

It has a richly developed retroflex subsystem, a highly marked collection of glottal, uvular, pharyngeal or epiglottal contrasts, an exceptionally dense sibilant inventory, an extensive set of dental articulations and a strikingly small set of lateral and rhotic consonants.

The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Qit. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.

labialdentalphar. dentalalveolarphar. alveolarpostalveolarpalatalretroflexvelarlab. velaruvularlab. uvularglottal
stopb d t dˤ tˤ ɖ ʈ k ɡ kʷ ɡʷ q qʷ ʔ
ejective stopkʼ kʷʼ qʼ qʷʼ
nasalm n nˤ ɲ ɳ ŋ ŋʷ ɴ ɴʷ
trill/tap/flapɽ
fricativef s sˤ ʃ ʂ h
approximantw j
affricatet͡ʃ
implosiveɓ
clickᵏǀ ᵏǀˤ
click, nasalᵑǀ ᵑǀˤ

Vowels

Qit has 8 vowel qualities, forming a relatively large inventory. The system distinguishes several vowel categories, as indicated in the chart, offering a wide range of vocalic contrasts.

It has a strikingly compressed height system with only two vowel heights, a modest but genuine inventory of nasal vowels, a triangular vowel system with few low vowels, a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables and occasional ghost vowels that surface only weakly.

The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Qit. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.

front unroundedfront roundedcentralback
closei y u
opena

Stress and Tones

Qit has neither phonemic stress nor lexical tone. Prosodic prominence and pitch variation are determined by pragmatic and discourse factors rather than by lexical contrasts.

Phonological Processes

Vowel Harmony

The language employs vowel harmony. To be specific, the following vowels change to match the first vowel of the root: /u/ becomes /y/.

Writing System

Introduction

Qit is normally written using the Devanagari abugida, the script employed for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and several other Indo-Aryan languages. This grammar also makes systematic use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to present an exact account of pronunciation.

Devanagari’s syllabic structure differs markedly from the IPA’s segmental approach, so the two notations complement one another: the script shows the organisation of syllables, while the IPA supplies detail on individual sounds.

Orthography

Here are the various components of the orthography:

Simple letters

अ /a/अः /a̰/आ /aː/इ /i/
इः /ḭ/ई /iː/उ /u/उः /ṵ/
ऊ /uː/क् /k/ग् /ɡ/ङ् /ŋ, ɴ/
च् /t͡ʃ/ञ् /ɲ/ट् /ʈ/ड् /ɖ/
ण् /ɳ/त् /t/त़् /tˤ/द् /d/
द़् /dˤ/न् /n/ऩ् /nˤ/ब् /b/
भ् /ɓ/म् /m/य् /j/ऱ् /ɽ/
व् /w/श् /ʃ/ष् /ʂ/स् /s/
स़् /sˤ/ह् /h/ऽ /ʔ/क़ /kʼ/
क़् /q/फ़् /f/

Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs

क्त् /ᵏǀ/क्त़् /ᵏǀˤ/क्व् /kʷ/
ग्व् /ɡʷ/ङ्त् /ᵑǀ/ङ्त़् /ᵑǀˤ/
ङ्व् /ŋʷ, ɴʷ/य्उ /y/य्उः /y̰/
य्ऊ /yː/क़व् /kʼʷ/क़्व् /qʷ/
क़्ऽ /qʼ/क़्ऽव् /qʼʷ/

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Qit does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Qit has the following genders:

Gender cl.1 – for instance: क्तःडिःङ्व् ‘seed’, क्वचीग्व् ‘wild boar’, गङ्विङ्व् ‘teacher’, गाव् ‘tongue’, ग्व्युःऩ् ‘mouth’, टःत् ‘girl’, डिङुस् ‘lion’, नःञ् ‘eye’, ऩक् ‘woman’, निङाक् ‘jaguar’, बग्व् ‘wife’, युऱिःक़् ‘lamb’, ऱिक़ ‘child’, वीण् ‘human being’, शूग्व् ‘bird’, षस़िफ़् ‘court’, षिभाग्व् ‘louse’, हक़्व् ‘nose’, क़विश्युग् ‘worm’, क़्वान् ‘daughter’.

Gender cl.2 – for instance: काङ्व् ‘face’, किनिङ् ‘fat’, क्त़िशय् ‘snow’, क्त़्युःस़् ‘city’, क्वभक्व् ‘school’, गःहुक़् ‘stick’, ग्विश् ‘land’, ङ्व्युःश् ‘stone’, ङ्व्युञ् ‘hair’, ङ्व्यूद़् ‘fire’, टिञिक़् ‘God’, डदःश् ‘fog’, डिषिन् ‘urine’, तफ़ष् ‘lake’, ब्युश् ‘wind’, वःव्युऱ् ‘mountain’, षग्व्युक़्ऽव् ‘ice’, सीऱ् ‘rain’, सुङ्व्यूश् ‘umbrella’, स्यूग्व् ‘earth’.

Gender cl.3 – for instance: क्त़ुक़्ऽयुःस़् ‘grass’, क्तिमिक़ ‘bosom’, ग्व्युःक़्ऽ ‘tooth’, ङ्त़णीक़्ऽव् ‘flower’, ञाक़्व् ‘tree’, ञुत़् ‘bone’, ञूस़् ‘blood’, ड्युङ्व् ‘knife’, त़ःसास् ‘bark’, ऩीङ् ‘leaf’, बत़् ‘day’, भिऩव् ‘belly’, भुक्युङ् ‘ash’, मुस़ब् ‘neck’, ऱिञाङ् ‘net’, ऱिऽ ‘heart’, शदुऽ ‘mortar’, क़उण् ‘fruit’, क़वःक् ‘night’, फ़िसिक़व् ‘machine’.

Gender cl.4 – for instance: किण् ‘idea’, क्त्यूञ् ‘meat’, क्वःऽ ‘sky’, ग्विष् ‘language’, ङुभाक़व् ‘slime’, ङ्युण् ‘colour’, टित़् ‘foot’, डद़ीङ्व् ‘dialect’, त़ङफ़् ‘penis’, द्युड् ‘south’, बियक़्ऽव् ‘tail’, भफ़िःस़् ‘restaurant’, यडुन् ‘embrace’, शिस् ‘west’, सिभ् ‘sound’, क़अम् ‘back’, क़इक़्ऽ ‘name’, क़व्युक्व् ‘sun’, क़ूङ्व् ‘egg’, क़्व्युङ्व् ‘manner’.

The Nominal Phrase

Nominal phrases in Qit can be exemplified by the following example:

गुऱ क़्विग्विःग्वुटु यू द़ू दः ऩुद ऩकिःत द़ु ड्युङ्विग्वि ञु किक़युः।

[ɡuɽa qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu juː dˤuː da̰ nˤuda nˤakḭta dˤu ɖyɴʷiɡʷi ɲu kikʼy̰]

ɡu
blind -ɽ
PRES -a
POS qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS juː
three dˤ-
cl.1 uː
yon da̰
3.cl.4.POSS nˤu
catch -d
PAST -a
POS nˤak
woman -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the ɖyɴʷ
knife -iɡʷi
LOC ɲ-
cl.3 u
the kikʼy̰
COMIT

“The woman with the knife caught those three blind mice.”

 (1)

In the following, we shall look at the various components in more details.

There is one type of clitic in the nominal phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing possessor. a clitic expressing possessor, comprising डि /ɖi/ ‘1incl’, भिः /ɓḭ/ ‘1excl’, ग्विः /ɡʷḭ/ ‘2’, फ़िः /fḭ/ ‘3.cl.1’, ऩ /nˤa/ ‘3.cl.2’, चः /t͡ʃa̰/ ‘3.cl.3’ and दः /da̰/ ‘3.cl.4’.

The morphology of the elements of the nominal phrase, i.e., nouns, numerals and pronouns, is described below, as is the way that possession is expressed in Qit.

The Noun

The noun in Qit consists of the root followed by an obligatory suffix expressing case, comprising -उटु /-uʈu/ ‘ABS’, -इःत /-ḭta/ ‘ERG’, -इक़ि /-iqi/ ‘DAT’, -इःमि /-ḭmi/ ‘INS’, -उग /-uɡa/ ‘VOC’, -अःङ /-a̰ŋa/ ‘ALL’, -इग्वि /-iɡʷi/ ‘LOC’, -अऩु /-anˤu/ ‘ABL’ and -अम /-ama/ ‘PART’.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: 11 suffixes, namely -अग् /-aɡ/ ‘little’, -उट् /-uʈ/ ‘big’, -इःस् /-ḭs/ ‘old’, -इद़् /-idˤ/ ‘new’, -अफ़् /-af/ ‘good’, -उण् /-uɳ/ ‘bad’, -उणु /-uɳu/ ‘have’, -अति /-ati/ ‘use’, -इमि /-imi/ ‘see’, -अऽअ /-aʔa/ ‘make’ and -उक़ु /-uqu/ ‘break’

The Adjective

The adjective in Qit stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Numerals

The numeral in Qit stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Determiners

In Qit, the determiner has the following structure: an obligatory prefix expressing gender, comprising द़्- /dˤ-/ ‘cl.1’, द्- /d-/ ‘cl.2’, ञ्- /ɲ-/ ‘cl.3’ and ण्- /ɳ-/ ‘cl.4’ followed by the root.

Pronouns

The pronoun in Qit stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

In Qit, both subject and object pronouns are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:

विःऱ द़ु।

[wḭɽa dˤu]

wḭ
love -ɽ
PRES -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

विःऱ द़ु सी।

[wḭɽa dˤu siː]

wḭ
love -ɽ
PRES -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ siː
3.cl.2

“He loves her.”

 (3)

And here, it is the one translated as her that is stressed:

क़वि विःऱ द़ु।

[kʼʷi wḭɽa dˤu]

kʼʷi
3.cl.1 wḭ
love -ɽ
PRES -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

मिक़्ऽइदुटु द़ु टिभीऱ द़ु ङकिणिःत दु।

[miqʼiduʈu dˤu ʈiɓiːɽa dˤu ŋakiɳḭta du]

miqʼid
Miqid -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the ʈiɓiː
hate -ɽ
PRES -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ ŋakiɳ
Nagakin -ḭta
ERG d-
cl.2 u
the

“Nagakin hates Miqid.”

 (5)

Possession

टिक़्ऽव्युक़्व्युट्यु दु ऩ मुङ्वुटु दु

[ʈiqʼʷyqʷyʈy du nˤa muŋʷuʈu du]

ʈiqʼʷyqʷ
apple -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the nˤa
3.cl.2.POSS muŋʷ
boy -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)
टिक़्ऽव्युक़्व्युट्यु दु ऩ सी

[ʈiqʼʷyqʷyʈy du nˤa siː]

ʈiqʼʷyqʷ
apple -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the nˤa
3.cl.2.POSS siː
3.cl.2

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)
टिक़्ऽव्युक़्व्युट्यु दु भिः

[ʈiqʼʷyqʷyʈy du ɓḭ]

ʈiqʼʷyqʷ
apple -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the ɓḭ
1excl.POSS

“my apple”

 (8)
न्यूव्युट्यु दु फ़िः तुत़िःक़उटु द़ु ग्विः हुक़वद क़्वानिःत द़ु ऩ तक़्ऽव्युःट्युट्यु दु।

[nyːwyʈy du fḭ tutˤḭkʼuʈu dˤu ɡʷḭ hukʼʷada qʷaːnḭta dˤu nˤa taqʼʷy̰ʈyʈy du]

nyːw
son -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the fḭ
3.cl.1.POSS tutˤḭkʼ
neighbour -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the ɡʷḭ
2.POSS hukʼʷa
kiss -d
PAST -a
POS qʷaːn
daughter -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤa
3.cl.2.POSS taqʼʷy̰ʈ
hunter -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the

“The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.”

 (9)

Derivation

युऱिःक़ुटु

[juɽḭquʈu]

juɽḭq
lamb -uʈu
ABS

“a lamb”

 (10)
युऱिःक़गुटु

[juɽḭqaɡuʈu]

juɽḭq
lamb -aɡ
little -uʈu
ABS

“a little lamb”

 (11)
युऱिःक़गुणुद।

[juɽḭqaɡuɳuda]

juɽḭq
lamb -aɡ
little -uɳu
have -d
PAST -a
POS

“She had a little lamb.”

 (12)

This doesn’t affect all adjectives and verbs. Compare, for instance the previous example with this one, where black and love do not undergo affixation:

ष्युऱ युऱिःक़ुटु दः विःद।

[ʂyɽa juɽḭquʈu da̰ wḭda]

ʂy
black -ɽ
PRES -a
POS juɽḭq
lamb -uʈu
ABS da̰
3.cl.4.POSS wḭ
love -d
PAST -a
POS

“She loved a black lamb.”

 (13)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

The verbal phrase clitics in Qit fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing mode, comprising स़ु /sˤu/ ‘imperative’, बिः /bḭ/ ‘conditional’ and ङ्त़ुः /ᵑǀˤṵ/ ‘optative’; second, a clitic expressing voice, comprising बुः /bṵ/ ‘passive’; third, a clitic expressing subj, comprising ङुः /ɴṵ/ ‘1incl’, मि /mi/ ‘1excl’, क़वः /kʼʷa̰/ ‘2’, द़ु /dˤu/ ‘3.cl.2’, दि /di/ ‘3.cl.3’ and कः /ka̰/ ‘3.cl.4’; and finally, fourth, a clitic expressing question, comprising भुः /ɓṵ/ ‘Q’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, the root; second, an obligatory suffix expressing ta, comprising -ऱ् /-ɽ/ ‘PRES’ and -द् /-d/ ‘PAST’; and finally, third, an obligatory suffix expressing negation, comprising -उः /-ṵ/ ‘NEG’ and -अ /-a/ ‘POS’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: five suffixes, namely -णि /-ɳi/ ‘begin’, -ग्व /-ɡʷa/ ‘stop’, -क़्व /-qʷa/ ‘continue’, -ङ्वु /-ŋʷu/ ‘try’ and -ऱ /-ɽa/ ‘start’

विःऱ मि।

[wḭɽa mi]

wḭ
love -ɽ
PRES -a
POS mi
1excl.SUBJ

“I love you.”

 (14)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

There is one type of clitic in the adpositional phrase, namely an enclitic (placed finally), expressing root.

षक़ुटु बीभुटु दु टा

[ʂaquʈu biːɓuʈu du ʈaː]

ʂaq
surface -uʈu
ABS biːɓ
table -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the ʈaː
in

“on the table”

 (15)
ग्विऩुटु तिग्विङुटु णु श्यू

[ɡʷinˤuʈu tiɡʷiɴuʈu ɳu ʃyː]

ɡʷinˤ
inside -uʈu
ABS tiɡʷiɴ
box -uʈu
ABS ɳ-
cl.4 u
the ʃyː
to

“into the box”

 (16)
क़्व किक़युः

[qʷa kikʼy̰]

qʷa
1excl kikʼy̰
COMIT

“with me”

 (17)

Syntax

Basic Clause Structure

Constituent Order

Constituent order describes the typical arrangement of the subject (S), verb (V) and object (O) in simple declarative clauses. It is a fundamental parameter in grammatical description and forms one of the clearest ways of characterising the overall structure of a language’s clause system.

Qit has Object–Verb–Subject (OVS) as its basic constituent order. Clauses begin with the object, followed by the verb, with the subject in final position. This is a rare but attested configuration in the world’s languages.

The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Qit.

तक़्ऽव्युःट्युट्यु दु कूद निङाकिःत द़ु।

[taqʼʷy̰ʈyʈy du kuːda niɴaːkḭta dˤu]

taqʼʷy̰ʈ
hunter -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the kuː
kill -d
PAST -a
POS niɴaːk
jaguar -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (18)
ङिटुटु द़ु फ़िः क़्वानुटु द़ु ऩ तक़्ऽव्युःट्युट्यु दु दद डिङुसिःत द़ु।

[ɴiʈuʈu dˤu fḭ qʷaːnuʈu dˤu nˤa taqʼʷy̰ʈyʈy du dada ɖiɴusḭta dˤu]

ɴiʈ
dog -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the fḭ
3.cl.1.POSS qʷaːn
daughter -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤa
3.cl.2.POSS taqʼʷy̰ʈ
hunter -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the da
eat -d
PAST -a
POS ɖiɴus
lion -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The lion ate the hunter’s daughter’s dog.”

 (19)

The language has a fixed constituent order, and major phrases normally appear in a predictable position in the clause. Movement for discourse reasons is highly restricted: topics and foci are expressed not by rearranging elements, but through dedicated constructions such as clefts, focus clauses or topic–comment frames. Constituents remain continuous, and both the relative order of phrases and the internal structure of each phrase are stable. As a result, significant deviations from the basic word order are ungrammatical, and discourse structure is managed through these specialised constructions rather than through word-order variation.

Noun Phrases

Structure and Order

The internal structure of noun phrases in Qit reveals typologically significant preferences in the ordering of nominal constituents. This includes the position of adjectives, numerals, and possessors relative to the noun, each of which can offer clues to the overall headedness of the language.

Possessive constructions are head-initial: the possessed noun precedes the possessor. For instance, Qit expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “toy child”. This structure is typologically rarer and often co-occurs with verb-initial syntax or with grammatical marking on the noun.

श्युच्युट्यु ञु फ़िः शीञुटु द़ु ऩ न्यूव्युट्यु दु ग्विः

[ʃyt͡ʃyʈy ɲu fḭ ʃiːɲuʈu dˤu nˤa nyːwyʈy du ɡʷḭ]

ʃyt͡ʃ
book -uʈu
ABS ɲ-
cl.3 u
the fḭ
3.cl.1.POSS ʃiːɲ
friend -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤa
3.cl.2.POSS nyːw
son -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the ɡʷḭ
2.POSS

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (20)

Case Marking

Qit uses ergative–absolutive case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the absolutive case, while the subject of a transitive verb is marked with the ergative case. From the point of view of such a system, this is a perfectly natural way to organise the clause: the absolutive marks the participant most directly involved in the event or state, while the ergative marks the additional participant that causes or controls a transitive event.

ब्युःऱ शुणुटु द़ु।

[by̰ɽa ʃuɳuʈu dˤu]

by̰
sleep -ɽ
PRES -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (21)
नीऱ शुणुटु द़ु।

[niːɽa ʃuɳuʈu dˤu]

niː
run -ɽ
PRES -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The cat is running.”

 (22)
क़्विग्विःग्वुटु द़ु ऩुचऱ शुणिःत द़ु।

[qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu dˤu nˤut͡ʃaɽa ʃuɳḭta dˤu]

qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤut͡ʃa
chase -ɽ
PRES -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (23)
क़्विग्विःग्वुटु द़ु ऩुद शुणिःत द़ु।

[qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu dˤu nˤuda ʃuɳḭta dˤu]

qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤu
catch -d
PAST -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -ḭta
ERG dˤ-
cl.1 u
the

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (24)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

निङाकुटु द़ु मू ऱिऱःणुटु द़ु मू डिङुसुटु द़ु कूद द़ु तक़्ऽव्युःटिःत दु।

[niɴaːkuʈu dˤu muː ɽiɽa̰ɳuʈu dˤu muː ɖiɴusuʈu dˤu kuːda dˤu taqʼʷy̰ʈḭta du]

niɴaːk
jaguar -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the muː
and ɽiɽa̰ɳ
tiger -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the muː
and ɖiɴus
lion -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the kuː
kill -d
PAST -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ taqʼʷy̰ʈ
hunter -ḭta
ERG d-
cl.2 u
the

“The hunter killed the jaguars, the tigers and the lions.”

 (25)

Modifiers and Determiners

The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Qit provides further insight into the structure of the noun phrase. These elements frequently exhibit fixed positions and may reveal whether the language favours head-initial or head-final patterns.

Complex Sentences

Relative Clauses

Qit forms relative clauses by using a head-internal strategy. The head noun appears inside the clause itself, occupying its regular syntactic position. The entire clause functions as a modifier, and its external syntactic behaviour is identical to that of a noun-modifying phrase.

To illustrate how relative clauses work, let us begin with a simple sentence:

शुणुटु द़ु क़्ऽवक़्ऽविद मि।

[ʃuɳuʈu dˤu qʼʷaqʼʷida mi]

ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the qʼʷaqʼʷi
pat -d
PAST -a
POS mi
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat.”

 (26)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

क़्विग्विःग्वुटु द़ु ऩुद शुणुटु द़ु दः क़्ऽवक़्ऽविद मि।

[qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu dˤu nˤuda ʃuɳuʈu dˤu da̰ qʼʷaqʼʷida mi]

qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the nˤu
catch -d
PAST -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS qʼʷaqʼʷi
pat -d
PAST -a
POS mi
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (27)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

ञुक़उगुटु दु दद क़्विग्विःग्वुटु द़ु दः ऩुद शुणुटु द़ु दः क़्ऽवक़्ऽविद मि।

[ɲukʼuɡuʈu du dada qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu dˤu da̰ nˤuda ʃuɳuʈu dˤu da̰ qʼʷaqʼʷida mi]

ɲukʼuɡ
cheese -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the da
eat -d
PAST -a
POS qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS nˤu
catch -d
PAST -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS qʼʷaqʼʷi
pat -d
PAST -a
POS mi
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.”

 (28)

Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:

ञुक़उगुटु दु णुद क़्व दः दद क़्विग्विःग्वुटु द़ु दः ऩुद शुणुटु द़ु दः क़्ऽवक़्ऽविद मि।

[ɲukʼuɡuʈu du ɳuda qʷa da̰ dada qʷiɡʷḭɡʷuʈu dˤu da̰ nˤuda ʃuɳuʈu dˤu da̰ qʼʷaqʼʷida mi]

ɲukʼuɡ
cheese -uʈu
ABS d-
cl.2 u
the ɳu
buy -d
PAST -a
POS qʷa
1excl da̰
3.cl.4.POSS da
eat -d
PAST -a
POS qʷiɡʷḭɡʷ
mouse -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS nˤu
catch -d
PAST -a
POS ʃuɳ
cat -uʈu
ABS dˤ-
cl.1 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS qʼʷaqʼʷi
pat -d
PAST -a
POS mi
1excl.SUBJ

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.”

 (29)

Complementation Strategies

Qit forms complement clauses by nominalising the embedded verb. The nominalised form lacks finite verbal categories and behaves as a noun phrase. Subjects of nominalised clauses occur in the genitive case, and the nominalised verb establishes the semantic content of the complement.

The following example illustrate how complement clauses function:

गङ्विङ्विक़ि द़ु क्त़िञिद कः टिक़्ऽव्युक़्व्युट्यु टःतिक़ि द़ु भाद मुङ्विःत दु दः।

[ɡaɴʷiŋʷiqi dˤu ᵏǀˤiɲida ka̰ ʈiqʼʷyqʷyʈy ʈa̰tiqi dˤu ɓaːda muŋʷḭta du da̰]

ɡaɴʷiŋʷ
teacher -iqi
DAT dˤ-
cl.1 u
the ᵏǀˤiɲi
surprise -d
PAST -a
POS ka̰
3.cl.4.SUBJ ʈiqʼʷyqʷ
apple -uʈu
ABS ʈa̰t
girl -iqi
DAT dˤ-
cl.1 u
the ɓaː
give -d
PAST -a
POS muŋʷ
boy -ḭta
ERG d-
cl.2 u
the da̰
3.cl.4.POSS

“It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.”

 (30)

Quotes

Qit employs a quotative particle to mark direct and indirect speech. The quotative follows the reported phrase and identifies the preceding expression as quoted or reported. The same construction is also used to express reported thoughts.

Here is an example of how quotations are expressed:

ञ विःऱ क़्व दः टःतिक़ि द़ु वद द़ु मुङ्विःत दु।

[ɲa wḭɽa qʷa da̰ ʈa̰tiqi dˤu wada dˤu muŋʷḭta du]

ɲa
2 wḭ
love -ɽ
PRES -a
POS qʷa
1excl da̰
3.cl.4.POSS ʈa̰t
girl -iqi
DAT dˤ-
cl.1 u
the wa
tell -d
PAST -a
POS dˤu
3.cl.2.SUBJ muŋʷ
boy -ḭta
ERG d-
cl.2 u
the

“The boy told the girl that he loved her.”

 (31)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Qit. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 26 August 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/2K44S

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-2K44S,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Qit}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/2K44S}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.92, on 26 August 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

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