Uyghur/Grammar
Part of Speech
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Uyghur has one set for first-person and third-person. The second person pronouns comes with 3 sets that depends on the formality and politeness. The usage of these pronouns depends on region—different regions have their own set of rules for the formality of each pronoun and the context in which it is used. The inflection of the pronouns depends on the number and cases.
These are all examples for the pronouns for the nominative case:
| Cases | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | مەن<prn><pers><p1><sg><nom> ↔ مەن | بىز<prn><pers><p1><pl><nom> ↔ بىز |
| 2nd Person (Informal) | سەن<prn><pers><p2><infml><sg><nom> ↔ سەن | سەن<prn><pers><p2><infml><pl><nom> ↔ سەنلەر |
| 2nd Person (Polite) | سىز<prn><pers><p2><pol><sg><nom> ↔ سىز | سىلەر<prn><pers><p2><pol><pl><nom> ↔ سىلەر |
| 2nd Person (Familiar) | سىلى<prn><pers><p2><fam><sg><nom> ↔ سىلى | - |
| 3rd Person | ئۇ<prn><pers><p3><sg><nom> ↔ ئۇ | ئۇلار<prn><pers><p3><pl><nom> ↔ ئۇلار |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Uyghur has several demonstrative pronouns that could be use as an emphasis or an intensifiers. The common usage is to refers to the distance from the speaker or the person/thing that is referred to. Demonstrative pronouns' inflection depends on the number and cases.
- بۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ بۇ bu "this" Visible person, object, or concept close to the speaker
- ئۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ ئۇ u "that" Visible person, object, or concept some distance from the speaker
- شۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ شۇ shu "that one" Used to clarify a distant, previously-mentioned object in the affirmative
- ﻣﺎۋۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ ﻣﺎۋۇ mawu "this one" concrete objects derived from bu
- ﺋﺎۋۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ ﺋﺎۋۇ awu that one (way over there) object distant from the speaker
- مۇشۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ مۇشۇ mushu "this one" clarifies something searched for (in a question)
- ئاشۇ<prn><dem><nom> ↔ ئاشۇ ashu "that one (over there)" a confirmation in a response to a question
Nouns
Uyghur nouns has ten cases which, except for the nominative case, all have suffixation after the possessive or plural suffixes.
| Case | Suffix | kün "day" | hawa "air" | chëlek "bucket" | kitab "book" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | -∅ | كۈن<n><nom> ↔ كۈن | ھاۋا<n><nom> ↔ ھاۋا | چېلەك<n><nom> ↔ چېلەك | كىتاب<n><nom> ↔ كىتاب |
| genitive | -ning | كۈن<n><gen> ↔ كۈننىڭ | ھاۋا<n><gen> ↔ ھاۋىنىڭ | چېلەك<n><gen> ↔ چېلەكنىڭ | كىتاب<n><gen> ↔ كىتابنىڭ |
| dative | -GA | كۈن<n><dat> ↔ كۈنگە | ھاۋا<n><dat> ↔ ھاۋىغا | چېلەك<n><dat> ↔ چېلەككە | كىتاب<n><dat> ↔ كىتابقا |
| accusative | -ni | كۈن<n><acc> ↔ كۈننى | ھاۋا<n><acc> ↔ ھاۋىنى | چېلەك<n><acc> ↔ چېلەكنى | كىتاب<n><acc> ↔ كىتابنى |
| locative | -DA | كۈن<n><loc> ↔ كۈندە | ھاۋا<n><loc> ↔ ھاۋىدا | چېلەك<n><loc> ↔ چېلەكتە | كىتاب<n><loc> ↔ كىتابتا |
| ablative | -Din | كۈن<n><abl> ↔ كۈندىن | ھاۋا<n><abl> ↔ ھاۋىدىن | چېلەك<n><abl> ↔ چېلەكتىن | كىتاب<n><abl> ↔ كىتابتىن |
| locative-
qualitative |
-Diki | كۈن<n><loc><attr> ↔ كۈندىكى | ھاۋا<n><loc><attr> ↔ ھاۋىدىكى | چېلەك<n><loc><attr> ↔ چېلەكتىكى | كىتاب<n><loc><attr> ↔ كىتابتىكى |
| limitative | غىچە | كۈن<n><lim> ↔ كۈنگىچە | ھاۋا<n><lim> ↔ ھاۋىغىچە | چېلەك<n><lim> ↔ چېلەككىچە | كىتاب<n><lim> ↔ كىتابقىچە |
| similitude | دەك | كۈن<n><sim> ↔ كۈندەك | ھاۋا<n><sim> ↔ ھاۋىدەك | چېلەك<n><sim> ↔ چېلەكتەك | كىتاب<n><sim> ↔ كىتابتەك |
| equivalence | -che/chilik | كۈن<n><equ> ↔ كۈنچىلىك | ھاۋا<n><equ> ↔ ھاۋىچىلىك | چېلەك<n><equ> ↔ چېلەكچىلىك | كىتاب<n><equ> ↔ كىتابچىلىك |
Possessive Suffixes
Uyghur has possessive suffixes that indicate person. Similarly, the first and third person pronouns has one set each, while the second person has three sets that depends on context.
- ئۆي<n><p2><pos><sg> ↔ ئۆيىڭىز
- ئۆي<n><p2><pos><pl> ↔ ئۆيلىرىڭىز
Plurals
Most Uyghur nouns can be pluralized by adding the suffix لار or لﻪر to the end of the noun stem before the case suffixes.
- ئۆي<n><pl><nom> ↔ ئۆيلﻪر
- سۆز<n><pl><nom> ↔ سۆزلﻪر
- كۈن<n><pl><nom> ↔ كۈنلﻪر
- باغ<n><pl><nom> ↔ باغلار
Adjective
Degree
There are multiple degrees that could be altered depending on the adjective.
- NOTE: Could not find the tag for each of the degrees.
| Name | Affix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive degree | none | كىچىك<adj> ↔ كىچىك (small) |
| Decreasing degree | -rAK | كىچىك<adj><comp> ↔ كىچىكرەك (a bit small) |
| Emphatic degree | first syllable+p- | كىچىك<adj><emp> ↔ كىپكىچىك (extremely small) |
| Endearing degree | -GinA | كىچىك<adj><endr> ↔ كىچىككىنە (delightfully small) |
Reduplication
Reduplication is used to a large number of objects of the same type, or that the adjective refers to actions that has a certain quality described by the adjective and it is repeated many times.
- NOTE: <p> is not present in the apertium's list of symbols
- يېڭى<adj><p><adj> ↔ يېڭى-يېڭى
- يورۇق<adj><p><adj> ↔ يورۇق-يورۇق
Nominalization
Sometimes, the adjective could turns into nouns without any alteration based on its position in a sentence.
- سوغۇق <adj><subt><sg> ↔ سوغۇق
Verbs
Future-Present
This is the tense used to express simple actions taken in the present or future, as well as habitual actions.
- كۆر<v><aor><p1><sg> ↔ كۆرىمەن
- كۆر<v><aor><p1><pl> ↔ كۆرىمىز
- كۆر<v><aor><p2><pol> ↔ كۆرىسىز
- كۆر<v><aor><p2><pl> ↔ كۆرىسىلەر
- كۆر<v><aor><p2><infml> ↔ كۆرىسەن
- كۆر<v><aor><p3> ↔ كۆرىدۇ
Present continuous
The present continuous tense expresses actions that are currently ongoing.
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p1><sg> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىمەن
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p1><pl> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىمىز
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p2><pl> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىسىلەر
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p2><sg><pol> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىسىز
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p2><sg><infml> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىسەن
- ئىشلە<v><pres><impf><p3> ↔ ئىشلەۋاتىدۇ
Simple past
The affirmative of the simple, definite past tense (<ifi>) is formed with the verbal suffix -DI and the appropriate person endings, which agree with the subject of the sentence.
| Cases | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | -DIm دﯨﻢ | -Duq دۇق |
| 2nd Person (Informal/Intimate) | -DIng دﯨڭ or دۇڭ or دۈڭ | -DInglar دﯨڭﻼر or دۇڭﻼر or دۈڭﻼر |
| 2nd Person (Polite/Formal) | -DIngiz دﯨڭﯩﺰ | - DIngIzlAr دﯨڭﯩﺰﻻر (Although -DInglar is more commonly used) |
| 3rd Person | -DI دى | -DI دى |
Vowel harmony rules:
- D → t, if the verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant (p t k q sh etc.)
- D → d if the verb stem ends in a voiced consonant (b d g gh j etc.)
- I → i if the last syllable of the verb stem ends in an unrounded vowel (a e ë i): tim, ting, tingiz, tuq, tinglar, ti, or dim, ding, dingiz, duq, dinglar, di.
- I → u if the last vowel of the verb stem if is back and rounded (o, u): dum, dung, dunglar (or tum, tung etc.)
- I → ü if the last vowel of the verb stem is front and rounded (ö, ü): düm, düng, dünglar (or tüm, düng etc.)
- First person plural -duq never varies. (see Lesson 4, in Present-Future -Am-duq
Example: ﻛۆر "kur" - see
- كۆر<v><ifi><p1><sg> ↔ ﻛۆردۈم
- كۆر<v><ifi><p1><pl> ↔ ﻛۆردۇق
- كۆر<v><ifi><p2><sg><pol> ↔ ﻛۆردۈڭ
- كۆر<v><ifi><p2><pl> ↔ ﻛۆردۈڭﻼر (The plural form is the same for both pol and infml)
- كۆر<v><ifi><p2><sg><infml> ↔ ﻛۆردﯨڭﯩﺰ
- كۆر<v><ifi><p3> ↔ ﻛۆردى
Copulas
Copulas are used to link the subject of a sentence to the clause corresponding to it. In Uyghur, some sentences do not require the use of copulas. For example, the phrase بۇ كىتاب (this is a book), does not need a copula because the future-present tense does not necessitate it. Uyghur copulas can convey a lot of information about a phrase, such as mood or tense.
Mood-tense copulas
| Mood | Direct judgement | Indirect judgement | Hearsay | Subjective assessment | Objective assessment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tense | Present | Past | Present/Past | Present | Past | Present | Past | Present/Past |
| 1sg | -men | -dim | -ikenmen | -dikenmen | -dikenmishmen | -durmen | bolghiydim | bolsam kërek |
| 1pl | -miz | iduq | ikenmiz | -dekmiz | ikenmishmiz | -durmiz | bolghiyduq | bolsaq kërek |
| 2sg informal | -sen | iding | ikensen | -deksen | ikenmishsen | -dursen | bolghiyding | bolsang kërek |
| 2sg polite | -siz | idingiz | ikensiz | -deksiz | ikenmishsiz | -dursiz | bolghiydingiz | bolsingiz kërek |
| 2sg respectful | -la | idile | ikenla | -dekla | ikenmishla | -durla | bolghiydile | bolsila kërek |
| 2pl | -siler | idinglar | ikensiler | -deksiler | ikenmishsiler | -dursiler | bolghiydinglar | bolsanglar kërek |
| 3sg/pl | -Dur | idi | iken | -deng | ikenmish | -dur | bolghiydi | bolsa kërek |
These copulas can differ between regions, the forms given in the table are those used in Northern Xinjiang.
Negative judgement copula
The negative copula, ئەمەس, does not inflect for person or tense. For example, بۇ كىتاب ئەمەس means "This is not a book."
