Describing the subject
Everything after ri says something about the subject. It does not have to be a verb — which is why Pikotika has no word for ‘is’.
Four things that can follow ri
| What follows | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a verb | Eko ri komi. | I'm eating. |
| an adjective | Tu ri konten. | You are happy. |
| a noun | Tis ri arpoaku. | This is tea. |
| a prepositional phrase | Eko ri in tisroko. | I'm here. |
English needs am, are, is in three of those four. Pikotika needs nothing: ri has already said ‘here comes what I'm telling you about the subject’, and a linking verb would only say it twice.
Roots don't have a part of speech
The same root is a noun in one slot and a verb in another. Nothing is derived and nothing changes form; position and context do the work.
This is just like the word work in English, which can act as both a noun and a verb. In practice, we are almost never confused about which is meant.| Root | As a thing | As an action |
|---|---|---|
| komi | food | eat |
| tika | speech, a word | say, speak |
| vin | the end | finish, close |
| opus | work, a job | work |
The road is closed.
Moto ri vin.The man is sick.
Viro ri mara.With a direct object, or without
Add a and a direct object (target of the verb) when there is one. The rest of the sentence is unchanged.
I don't eat fish.
Eko ri non komi a akupeste.What does the label say?
Nomen ri tika a ker?Try it yourself
Can you guess what these sentences mean?
- Tis ri por tu.
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‘This is for you.’ A prepositional phrase and nothing else — no verb in the sentence at all.
- Akupeste ri nova.
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‘The fish is fresh.’ nova is ‘new, fresh’; the sentence is subject + adjective.
- Tis ri rason.
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‘That explains it’ — literally this RI reason. A bare noun does the describing.