Miskito/Grammar
From LING073
Nouns
Determiners/Articles
In Miskito, the determiner follows the noun rather than precedes it like in English. In Miskito, ba and na are used as articles interchangeably depending on the proximity of the noun. "Na" is used if the noun is closeby. For example,
- aras<n><det> ↔ aras ba if the horse is distant, or
- aras<n><det> ↔ aras na if the horse is nearby.
Plurals
The plural marker is "nani". To make a noun plural, "nani" should be used after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and the plural. For example,
- aras<n><pl><det> ↔ aras nani ba
- ilili<n><pl><det> ↔ ilili nani ba
- luhpia<n><pl><det> ↔ luhpia nani ba
Gender
Gender should be placed directly after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and gender. "waitna" is used for male, "mairin" is used for female, and "wainhka" is used for male (animal). For example,
- aras<n><f><det> ↔ aras mairin ba
- aras<n><m><det> ↔ aras wainhka ba
- tuktan<n><m><det> ↔ tuktan waitna ba