A Grammar of Take
Introduction
Scope and Purpose
This grammar provides a systematic description of the Take language (the 2044th 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 Take.
Typological Profile
It has not just singular and plural, but also dual, and the VSO basic order, common globally but unusual in many families.Phonology
Phoneme Inventory
Consonants
Take has 11 consonant phonemes, forming a relatively small inventory.
It has a complete absence of affricates, a conspicuous absence of approximants, a strongly reduced sibilant system, a complete absence of uvular and pharyngeal consonants and an unusually restricted set of labial consonants.The table below presents the full inventory of consonant phonemes in Take. The chart lists all places and manners of articulation attested in the language.
| labial | alveolar | velar | glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stop | p b | d t | k | |
| nasal | m | n | ||
| fricative | s | x | h |
Vowels
Take has 5 vowel qualities. This places it within the broadly common range of mid-sized vowel inventories. The vowel chart shows the full set of contrasts employed in the language’s phonology.
It has a full range of vowel qualities even in reduced syllables.The table below presents the full inventory of vowel phonemes in Take. The system comprises the distinct vowel qualities listed in the chart.
| front | central | back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | i | u | |
| mid | e | o | |
| open | a |
Stress and Tones
Take 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
Take is normally written using the Latin alphabet, whose familiarity makes it straightforward for most readers. For clarity and precision, phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are also provided throughout this grammar.
Orthography
Here are the various components of the orthography:
Simple letters
| a /a/ | b /b/ | d /d/ | e /e/ |
| h /h/ | i /i/ | k /k/ | m /m/ |
| n /n/ | o /o/ | p /p/ | s /s/ |
| t /t/ | u /u/ |
Multi-letter combinations such as digraphs
| kh /x/ |
Diacritics
| ◌̀ /꜒꜖/ | ◌́ /꜖꜒/ | ◌̄ /꜒/ | ◌̠ /꜖/ |
Word Classes and Morphology
Number and Gender
Number
Take distinguishes singular, dual and plural.
Gender
Take does not have genders or noun classes.
The Nominal Phrase
Nominal phrases in Take can be exemplified by the following example:
Sìkhì bī hù mūsē tībú khù kha̠ sìníhīpa̠, su̠ nu̠me̠. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ bi꜒ hu꜒꜖ mu꜒se꜒ ti꜒bu꜖꜒ xu꜒꜖ xa꜖ si꜒꜖ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖, su꜖ nu꜖me꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST bi꜒ catch hu꜒꜖ woman mu꜒se꜒ COMIT ti꜒bu꜖꜒ knife xu꜒꜖ yon xa꜖ three si꜒꜖- plur ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse su꜖ RELPRON nu꜖me꜖ blind “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 Take consists of first, an optional prefix expressing case, comprising khé- /xe꜖꜒-/ ‘ACC’, nū- /nu꜒-/ ‘GEN’, hé- /he꜖꜒-/ ‘DAT’, bo̠- /bo꜖-/ ‘INS’, kō- /ko꜒-/ ‘VOC’, ka̠- /ka꜖-/ ‘ALL’, mu̠- /mu꜖-/ ‘LOC’, nù- /nu꜒꜖-/ ‘ABL’ and no̠- /no꜖-/ ‘PART’; second, an optional prefix expressing number, comprising pa̠- /pa꜖-/ ‘dual’ and sì- /si꜒꜖-/ ‘plur’; and finally, third, the root.
The noun displays the following derivational morphology: two prefixes, namely khō- /xo꜒-/ ‘little’ and khì- /xi꜒꜖-/ ‘big’
The Adjective
The adjective in Take stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Numerals
The numeral in Take stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Determiners
The determiner in Take stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
Pronouns
The pronoun in Take stands alone without any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
In Take, both subject and object pronouns are dropped unless they are stressed. Here is an example where neither of the pronouns are stressed:
Mù. [mu꜒꜖] mu꜒꜖ love “He (the boy) loves her (the girl).” | (2) |
But here, the word corresponding to he is stressed:
Mù ku̠. [mu꜒꜖ ku꜖] mu꜒꜖ love ku꜖ 3.sing “He loves her.” | (3) |
And here, it is the one translated as her that is stressed:
Mù ku̠. [mu꜒꜖ ku꜖] mu꜒꜖ love ku꜖ 3.sing “He loves her.” | (4) |
Proper Nouns
Na̠pēbo̠ Dāsi̠kà khéPa̠khēnō. [na꜖pe꜒bo꜖ da꜒si꜖ka꜒꜖ xe꜖꜒pa꜖xe꜒no꜒] na꜖pe꜒bo꜖ hate da꜒si꜖ka꜒꜖ Dasika xe꜖꜒- ACC pa꜖xe꜒no꜒ Pakheno “Dasika hates Pakheno.” | (5) |
Possession
péséma̠ nūkho̠ [pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ nu꜒xo꜖] pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ apple nu꜒- GEN xo꜖ boy “the boy’s apple” | (6) |
péséma̠ ku̠ [pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ ku꜖] pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ apple ku꜖ 3.sing “his (the boy’s) apple” | (7) |
péséma̠ há [pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ ha꜖꜒] pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ apple ha꜖꜒ 1excl.sing “my apple” | (8) |
Sìkhì kùma̠si̠ khā nūkàsāpá khéhì nūka̠mi̠hā du̠. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ku꜒꜖ma꜖si꜖ xa꜒ nu꜒ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒hi꜒꜖ nu꜒ka꜖mi꜖ha꜒ du꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ku꜒꜖ma꜖si꜖ kiss xa꜒ daughter nu꜒- GEN ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ hunter xe꜖꜒- ACC hi꜒꜖ son nu꜒- GEN ka꜖mi꜖ha꜒ neighbour du꜖ 2.sing “The hunter’s daughter kissed your neighbour’s son.” | (9) |
Derivation
Take has a few derivational processes. To illustrate this, let us start with a simple noun phrase:
nè pa̠pòmá [ne꜒꜖ pa꜖po꜒꜖ma꜖꜒] ne꜒꜖ a pa꜖po꜒꜖ma꜖꜒ lamb “a lamb” | (10) |
In the following, the word for little becomes an affix attached to lamb:
nè khōpa̠pòmá [ne꜒꜖ xo꜒pa꜖po꜒꜖ma꜖꜒] ne꜒꜖ a xo꜒- little pa꜖po꜒꜖ma꜖꜒ lamb “a little lamb” | (11) |
Compounding
Verbs
Inflectional Categories
The verbal phrase clitics in Take fall into two categories, proclitics and enclitics: first, a clitic expressing voice, comprising khōde̠ /xo꜒de꜖/ ‘passive’; second, a clitic expressing mode, comprising khīkī /xi꜒ki꜒/ ‘imperative’, mi̠hē /mi꜖he꜒/ ‘conditional’ and khāsà /xa꜒sa꜒꜖/ ‘optative’; third, a clitic expressing ta, comprising sìkhì /si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖/ ‘PAST’; fourth, a clitic expressing negation, comprising nīpá /ni꜒pa꜖꜒/ ‘NEG’; and finally, fifth, a clitic expressing question, comprising khu̠sí /xu꜖si꜖꜒/ ‘Q’.
The verb itself does not have any prefixes or suffixes attached to it.
The verb displays the following derivational morphology: two prefixes, namely dí- /di꜖꜒-/ ‘begin’ and bá- /ba꜖꜒-/ ‘stop’
Mù. [mu꜒꜖] mu꜒꜖ 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.
má mè kátí [ma꜖꜒ me꜒꜖ ka꜖꜒ti꜖꜒] ma꜖꜒ in me꜒꜖ surface ka꜖꜒ti꜖꜒ table “on the table” | (13) |
ki̠ bé tótàpā [ki꜖ be꜖꜒ to꜖꜒ta꜒꜖pa꜒] ki꜖ to be꜖꜒ inside to꜖꜒ta꜒꜖pa꜒ box “into the box” | (14) |
mūsē há [mu꜒se꜒ ha꜖꜒] mu꜒se꜒ COMIT ha꜖꜒ 1excl.sing “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.
The basic constituent order of Take is Verb–Subject–Object (VSO). Clauses begin with the verb, followed by the subject, with the object in final position. This pattern is attested among various verb-initial languages.
The following examples illustrate the basic, unmarked, constituent order in Take.
Sìkhì ho̠ nòpèsú khékàsāpá. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ho꜖ no꜒꜖pe꜒꜖su꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ho꜖ kill no꜒꜖pe꜒꜖su꜖꜒ jaguar xe꜖꜒- ACC ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ hunter “The jaguar killed the hunter.” | (16) |
Sìkhì kē be̠dēha̠ khésù nūkhā nūkàsāpá. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ke꜒ be꜖de꜒ha꜖ xe꜖꜒su꜒꜖ nu꜒xa꜒ nu꜒ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ke꜒ eat be꜖de꜒ha꜖ lion xe꜖꜒- ACC su꜒꜖ dog nu꜒- GEN xa꜒ daughter nu꜒- GEN ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ hunter “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 Take 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, Take 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.
buke nūpā nūhì du̠ [buke nu꜒pa꜒ nu꜒hi꜒꜖ du꜖] buke book nu꜒- GEN pa꜒ friend nu꜒- GEN hi꜒꜖ son du꜖ 2.sing “your son’s friend’s book” | (18) |
Case Marking
Take uses nominative–accusative case marking. The subject of an intransitive verb and the subject of a transitive verb are treated alike and take the nominative case, while the object of a transitive verb is marked with the accusative case. This is the familiar pattern from many European languages: the grammar groups together the participants that function as subjects and marks the participant affected by a transitive action separately.
Pō khú. [po꜒ xu꜖꜒] po꜒ sleep xu꜖꜒ cat “The cat is sleeping.” | (19) |
Mā khú. [ma꜒ xu꜖꜒] ma꜒ run xu꜖꜒ cat “The cat is running.” | (20) |
Hùkhàkí khú khéníhīpa̠. [hu꜒꜖xa꜒꜖ki꜖꜒ xu꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖] hu꜒꜖xa꜒꜖ki꜖꜒ chase xu꜖꜒ cat xe꜖꜒- ACC ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse “The cat is chasing the mouse.” | (21) |
Sìkhì bī khú khéníhīpa̠. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ bi꜒ xu꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST bi꜒ catch xu꜖꜒ cat xe꜖꜒- ACC ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse “The cat caught the mouse.” | (22) |
Conjunctions
Here is an example of a conjunction.
Sìkhì ho̠ kàsāpá khésìnòpèsú mó khésìmóba̠pé mó khésìbe̠dēha̠. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ho꜖ ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒si꜒꜖no꜒꜖pe꜒꜖su꜖꜒ mo꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒si꜒꜖mo꜖꜒ba꜖pe꜖꜒ mo꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒si꜒꜖be꜖de꜒ha꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ho꜖ kill ka꜒꜖sa꜒pa꜖꜒ hunter xe꜖꜒- ACC si꜒꜖- plur no꜒꜖pe꜒꜖su꜖꜒ jaguar mo꜖꜒ and xe꜖꜒- ACC si꜒꜖- plur mo꜖꜒ba꜖pe꜖꜒ tiger mo꜖꜒ and xe꜖꜒- ACC si꜒꜖- plur be꜖de꜒ha꜖ 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 Take 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
Take 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:
Sìkhì dēbíkí khékhú. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ xe꜖꜒xu꜖꜒] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ pat xe꜖꜒- ACC xu꜖꜒ cat “I patted the cat.” | (24) |
We can now add a relative clause modifying the noun:
Sìkhì dēbíkí khú, su̠ sìkhì bī khéníhīpa̠. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ xu꜖꜒, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ bi꜒ xe꜖꜒ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ pat xu꜖꜒ cat su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST bi꜒ catch xe꜖꜒- ACC ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse “I patted the cat that caught the mouse.” | (25) |
Relative clauses may themselves contain other relative clauses:
Sìkhì dēbíkí khú, su̠ sìkhì bī níhīpa̠, su̠ sìkhì kē khédókēmì. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ xu꜖꜒, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ bi꜒ ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ke꜒ xe꜖꜒do꜖꜒ke꜒mi꜒꜖] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ pat xu꜖꜒ cat su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST bi꜒ catch ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ke꜒ eat xe꜖꜒- ACC do꜖꜒ke꜒mi꜒꜖ cheese “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese.” | (26) |
Finally, here is an example containing several layers of embedding:
Sìkhì dēbíkí khú, su̠ sìkhì bī níhīpa̠, su̠ sìkhì kē dókēmì, su̠ sìkhì ni̠ há. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ xu꜖꜒, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ bi꜒ ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ke꜒ do꜖꜒ke꜒mi꜒꜖, su꜖ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ni꜖ ha꜖꜒] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST de꜒bi꜖꜒ki꜖꜒ pat xu꜖꜒ cat su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST bi꜒ catch ni꜖꜒hi꜒pa꜖ mouse su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ke꜒ eat do꜖꜒ke꜒mi꜒꜖ cheese su꜖ RELPRON si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ni꜖ buy ha꜖꜒ 1excl.sing “I patted the cat that caught the mouse that ate the cheese that I bought.” | (27) |
Complementation Strategies
Take 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:
Sìkhì báta̠khá sìkhì pú nè khépéséma̠ hédí kho̠ hédisese. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ba꜖꜒ta꜖xa꜖꜒ si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ pu꜖꜒ ne꜒꜖ xe꜖꜒pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ he꜖꜒di꜖꜒ xo꜖ he꜖꜒disese] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ba꜖꜒ta꜖xa꜖꜒ surprise si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST pu꜖꜒ give ne꜒꜖ a xe꜖꜒- ACC pe꜖꜒se꜖꜒ma꜖ apple he꜖꜒- DAT di꜖꜒ girl xo꜖ boy he꜖꜒- DAT disese teacher “It surprised the teacher that the boy had given the girl an apple.” | (28) |
Quotes
Take 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:
Sìkhì ké kho̠ mù du̠ há hédí. [si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ ke꜖꜒ xo꜖ mu꜒꜖ du꜖ ha꜖꜒ he꜖꜒di꜖꜒] si꜒꜖xi꜒꜖ PAST ke꜖꜒ tell xo꜖ boy mu꜒꜖ love du꜖ 2.sing ha꜖꜒ 1excl.sing he꜖꜒- DAT di꜖꜒ girl “The boy told the girl that he loved her.” | (29) |
How to cite this grammar
Language Creator. 2026. A Grammar of Take. Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 11 November 2026. https://languagecreator.org/grammar/73FH6
In BibTeX format:
@misc{LC-73FH6,
year = 2026,
author = {{Language Creator}},
title = {A Grammar of {Take}},
howpublished = {\url{https://languagecreator.org/grammar/73FH6}},
note = {Generated by the Language Creator, version 0.93, on 11 November 2026}
}
Supplementary Materials
A collection of illustrative texts and a bilingual dictionary (English–Take / Take–English) accompany this grammar. The complete work – comprising the grammar, dictionary and texts – may also be downloaded in ODT or DOCX format.
Readers are encouraged to share observations or corrections via the feedback form. The present page may be accessed directly at:
https://languagecreator.org/grammar/73FH6
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