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A Grammar of Ebe

Introduction

Scope and Purpose

This grammar provides a systematic description of the Ebe language (the 209th 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 Ebe.

Typological Profile

It has has no interesting typological features.

Phonology

Phoneme Inventory

Consonants

Ebe has 19 consonant phonemes, a size that falls within a broadly average range.

It has a complete absence of affricates, an extensively developed liquid system, a wide range of approximant contrasts, a strongly reduced sibilant system and an unusually restricted set of labial consonants.

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

labialalveolarlateralpalatalvelarglottal
stopb d t k ɡ
nasalm n ɲ ŋ
trill/tap/flapɾ
fricativef s h
approximantʋ l j ɰ

Vowels

Ebe has 7 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 fully contrastive long–short vowel distinction across the system and a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.

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

frontcentralback
closei u
mide o
opena

Stress and Tones

Ebe has 4 lexical tones, but stress is not contrastive. Each syllable bears a lexically specified tone, and prominence is not independently marked by stress.

Phonological Processes

Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony does not exist in this language.

Writing System

Introduction

Ebe is an unwritten language. For that reason, all examples in this grammar are given exclusively in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which offers a precise and widely recognised means of recording its sounds.

Orthography

Ebeis an unwritten language, so it does not make any sense to discuss its orthography.

Word Classes and Morphology

Number and Gender

Number

Ebe does not have grammatical number.

Gender

Ebe does not have genders or noun classes.

The Nominal Phrase

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

[duː꜒ ʋo꜒꜖ ɲa꜒ʋa꜖ duː꜒ ʋeː꜖꜒fe꜖ to꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ hu꜒꜖ si꜖ ɾi꜖꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM o꜒꜖
woman ɲa꜒ʋa꜖
COMIT duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜖꜒fe꜖
knife to꜖꜒
catch miː꜒꜖
PAST hu꜒꜖
yon si꜖
three ɾi꜖꜒
blind ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒
mouse

“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 are no clitics in the nominal phrase.

The Noun

The noun in Ebe consists of an obligatory prefix expressing case, comprising ʋ- ‘NOM’, ŋ- ‘DAT’, l- ‘INS’, h- ‘VOC’, j- ‘ALL’, n- ‘LOC’, s- ‘ABL’ and ɰ- ‘PART’ followed by the root.

The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -loː꜒꜖ ‘little’ and -ŋa꜖ ‘big’

The Adjective

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

Numerals

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

Determiners

The determiner in Ebe stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.

Pronouns

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

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

[fiː꜖꜒]

fiː꜖꜒
love

“He (the boy) loves her (the girl).”

 (2)

But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:

[du꜖ fiː꜖꜒]

du꜖
3 fiː꜖꜒
love

“He loves her.”

 (3)

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

[fiː꜖꜒ du꜖]

fiː꜖꜒
love du꜖
3

“He loves her.”

 (4)

Proper Nouns

[duː꜒ ʋaː꜖꜒beː꜖꜒ɾo꜒ ɲi꜒꜖so꜒ duː꜒ ʋu꜖ki꜒saː꜒꜖]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜖꜒beː꜖꜒ɾo꜒
Abero ɲi꜒꜖so꜒
hate duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜖ki꜒saː꜒꜖
Ukisa

“Abero hates Ukisa.”

 (5)

Possession

[duː꜒ ʋai꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋiː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM ai꜖꜒
boy duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM iː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖
apple

“the boy’s apple”

 (6)

[du꜖ duː꜒ ʋiː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖]

du꜖
3 duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM iː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖
apple

“his (the boy’s) apple”

 (7)

[ko꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋiː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖]

ko꜒꜖
1excl duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM iː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖
apple

“my apple”

 (8)

[duː꜒ ʋaː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖ duː꜒ ʋe꜖꜒ ki꜖꜒ne꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ tai꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋa꜒di꜒꜖raː꜒ duː꜒ ʋau꜖꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖
hunter duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒
daughter ki꜖꜒ne꜖꜒
kiss miː꜒꜖
PAST tai꜖꜒
2 duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM a꜒di꜒꜖raː꜒
neighbour duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM au꜖꜒
son

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

 (9)

Derivation

Ebe has a few derivational processes. To illustrate this, let us start with a simple noun phrase:

[ʋe꜖꜒ŋe꜒꜖tu꜒꜖]

ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒ŋe꜒꜖tu꜒꜖
lamb

“a lamb”

 (10)

In the following, the word for little becomes an affix attached to lamb:

[ʋe꜖꜒ŋe꜒꜖tu꜒꜖loː꜒꜖]

ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒ŋe꜒꜖tu꜒꜖
lamb -loː꜒꜖
little

“a little lamb”

 (11)

Compounding

Verbs

Inflectional Categories

All verbal phrase clitics in Ebe are enclitics (placed finally), and there are three types: first, a clitic expressing ta, comprising miː꜒꜖ ‘PAST’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising haː꜒꜖ ‘imperative’, ju꜒꜖ ‘conditional’ and ŋi꜖꜒ ‘optative’; and finally, third, a clitic expressing voice, comprising meː꜖ ‘passive’.

In addition, the verb is structured like this: first, an optional prefix expressing negation, comprising ri꜖- ‘NEG’; second, the root; and finally, third, an optional suffix expressing question, comprising -fe꜖ ‘Q’.

The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two suffixes, namely -ɲi꜒꜖ ‘begin’ and -bo꜖꜒ ‘stop’

[fiː꜖꜒]

fiː꜖꜒
love

“I love you.”

 (12)

Adverbs Minor Classes

Adpositions

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

[ŋai꜖ duː꜒ ʋu꜖꜒taː꜖ ʋai꜒꜖ɰeː꜖]

ŋai꜖
in duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜖꜒taː꜖
table ʋ-
NOM ai꜒꜖ɰeː꜖
surface

“on the table”

 (13)

[ɲai꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋau꜖꜒te꜖ɾi꜒꜖ ʋai꜒꜖he꜖]

ɲai꜖꜒
to duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM au꜖꜒te꜖ɾi꜒꜖
box ʋ-
NOM ai꜒꜖he꜖
inside

“into the box”

 (14)

[ɲa꜒ʋa꜖ ko꜒꜖]

ɲa꜒ʋa꜖
COMIT ko꜒꜖
1excl

“with me”

 (15)

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.

Ebe employs Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) as its basic word order. The subject is followed by the verb, with the object occurring in post-verbal position. This ordering is widely attested across the world’s languages.

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

[duː꜒ ʋe꜖꜒ɰaː꜖꜒fe꜒꜖ ɰoː꜒꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋaː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒ɰaː꜖꜒fe꜒꜖
jaguar ɰoː꜒꜖
kill miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖
hunter

“The jaguar killed the hunter.”

 (16)

[duː꜒ ʋu꜖꜒ni꜖nu꜒ ka꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋaː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖ duː꜒ ʋe꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋu꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜖꜒ni꜖nu꜒
lion ka꜖
eat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖
hunter duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒
daughter duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜒
dog

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

 (17)

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 Ebe 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-final: the possessor precedes the possessed noun. For example, Ebe expresses “the child’s toy” with the equivalent of “child toy”. This ordering is found in many SOV and postpositional languages and aligns with a broader tendency towards modifier-first structures.

[tai꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋau꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋau꜖ duː꜒ ʋaː꜖]

tai꜖꜒
2 duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM au꜖꜒
son duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM au꜖
friend duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜖
book

“your son’s friend’s book”

 (18)

Case Marking

Ebe does not use case marking to distinguish the core participants of the clause. There is therefore no regular nominative, accusative, ergative, active or stative marking on subjects and objects. Instead, the roles of the participants are identified by other means, cf. the examples below.

[duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒ ɡo꜖꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒
cat ɡo꜖꜒
sleep

“The cat is sleeping.”

 (19)

[duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒ ɲoː꜒꜖]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒
cat ɲoː꜒꜖
run

“The cat is running.”

 (20)

[duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒ faː꜒riː꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒
cat faː꜒riː꜖꜒
chase duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒
mouse

“The cat is chasing the mouse.”

 (21)

[duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒ to꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒
cat to꜖꜒
catch miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒
mouse

“The cat caught the mouse.”

 (22)

Conjunctions

Here is an example of a conjunction.

[duː꜒ ʋaː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖ ɰoː꜒꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋe꜖꜒ɰaː꜖꜒fe꜒꜖ bi꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋu꜖tu꜖seː꜖ bi꜖꜒ duː꜒ ʋu꜖꜒ni꜖nu꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM aː꜒ɰu꜖sa꜖
hunter ɰoː꜒꜖
kill miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM e꜖꜒ɰaː꜖꜒fe꜒꜖
jaguar bi꜖꜒
and duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜖tu꜖seː꜖
tiger bi꜖꜒
and duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM u꜖꜒ni꜖nu꜒
lion

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

 (23)

Modifiers and Determiners

The ordering of demonstratives, articles (if present), and other modifiers in Ebe 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

Ebe forms relative clauses by placing the relative clause after the noun it modifies. The clause follows the internal word order of ordinary finite clauses. A dedicated relativising marker introduces the clause and identifies the relationship between the head noun and its role inside the relative clause.

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

[ɡu꜖da꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒]

ɡu꜖da꜖
pat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒
cat

“I patted the cat.”

 (24)

We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:

[ɡu꜖da꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒, ɰi꜖ to꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒]

ɡu꜖da꜖
pat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒,
cat ɰi꜖
RELPRON to꜖꜒
catch miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒
mouse

“I patted the cat that caught the mouse.”

 (25)

Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:

[ɡu꜖da꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒, ɰi꜖ to꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒, ɰi꜖ ka꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋoː꜒luː꜒꜖fa꜒]

ɡu꜖da꜖
pat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒,
cat ɰi꜖
RELPRON to꜖꜒
catch miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒,
mouse ɰi꜖
RELPRON ka꜖
eat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM oː꜒luː꜒꜖fa꜒
cheese

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

 (26)

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

[ɡu꜖da꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋi꜖꜒, ɰi꜖ to꜖꜒ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋeː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒, ɰi꜖ ka꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋoː꜒luː꜒꜖fa꜒, ɰi꜖ toː꜒ miː꜒꜖ ko꜒꜖]

ɡu꜖da꜖
pat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM i꜖꜒,
cat ɰi꜖
RELPRON to꜖꜒
catch miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM eː꜒꜖bi꜖꜒ɰiː꜒,
mouse ɰi꜖
RELPRON ka꜖
eat miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM oː꜒luː꜒꜖fa꜒,
cheese ɰi꜖
RELPRON toː꜒
buy miː꜒꜖
PAST ko꜒꜖
1excl

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

 (27)

Complementation Strategies

Ebe 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:

[duː꜒ ʋai꜖꜒ ɲau꜒ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋuː꜒ ʋiː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖ ɲoː꜖꜒si꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋa꜖ka꜖de꜒꜖]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM ai꜖꜒
boy ɲau꜒
give miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM uː꜒
girl ʋ-
NOM iː꜖je꜒ʋu꜖
apple ɲoː꜖꜒si꜖
surprise miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM a꜖ka꜖de꜒꜖
teacher

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

 (28)

Quotes

Ebe 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:

[duː꜒ ʋai꜖꜒ lu꜖ miː꜒꜖ duː꜒ ʋuː꜒ ko꜒꜖ fiː꜖꜒ tai꜖꜒]

duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM ai꜖꜒
boy lu꜖
tell miː꜒꜖
PAST duː꜒
the ʋ-
NOM uː꜒
girl ko꜒꜖
1excl fiː꜖꜒
love tai꜖꜒
2

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

 (29)

How to cite this grammar

Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Ebe. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 30 May 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3Q5NA

In BibTeX format:

@misc{LC-3Q5NA,
  year         = 2026,
  author       = {{Language Creator}},
  title        = {A Grammar of {Ebe}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3Q5NA}},
  note         = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.91, on 30 May 2026}
}

Supplementary Materials

A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Ebe / Ebe–English) accompany this grammar. The complete work – comprising the grammar, dictionary and texts – may also be downloaded in ODT or DOCX format.

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https://languagecreator.org/grammar/3Q5NA

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