DLAB Word Order and Syntax Patterns 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Given: 'pela osta rana' = 'the cat sits here' and 'pela osta finu' = 'the cat sits there.' What element changes to indicate location?
- The verb form
- The subject marker
- The final word (Correct answer)
- The word order
Correct answer: The final word
The only difference between the two sentences is the final word: 'rana' (here) vs 'finu' (there). This shows that location is indicated by a sentence-final locative word, while the subject and verb remain unchanged.
Question 2: Language Q uses postpositions instead of prepositions. If 'on the table' in English becomes 'table the on' in Language Q, how would 'under the bridge' be expressed?
- under bridge the
- bridge the under (Correct answer)
- the under bridge
- bridge under the
Correct answer: bridge the under
In a postpositional language, the spatial relationship word (on, under, in) comes after the noun phrase rather than before it. Following the pattern 'table the on,' 'under the bridge' becomes 'bridge the under.'
Question 3: Analyze: 'iru me kana' = 'I eat rice,' 'iru me saba' = 'I eat fish,' 'iru te kana' = 'you eat rice.' What does 'me' represent?
- Rice
- I (Correct answer)
- Eat
- You
Correct answer: I
Comparing sentences 1 and 3, 'me' changes to 'te' when the subject changes from 'I' to 'you,' while 'kana' (rice) stays constant. This confirms 'me' means 'I' and 'te' means 'you.' The verb 'iru' means 'eat.'
Question 4: In a verb-initial language: 'Ran quickly fox the brown.' What is the standard word order of this language?
- VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) (Correct answer)
- VOS (Verb-Object-Subject)
- SOV (Subject-Object-Verb)
- SVO (Subject-Verb-Object)
Correct answer: VSO (Verb-Subject-Object)
The verb 'ran' comes first, followed by the adverb 'quickly,' then the subject 'fox the brown.' This is a VSO pattern where the verb precedes both the subject and any objects. Languages like Welsh and Classical Arabic use this order.
Question 5: Given: 'bo taka ni' = 'he walks slowly' and 'bo taka ri' = 'he walks fast.' Negation in this language adds 'za' before the verb. How do you say 'he does not walk slowly'?
- bo za taka ni (Correct answer)
- za bo taka ni
- bo taka za ni
- bo taka ni za
Correct answer: bo za taka ni
The rule states negation is marked by 'za' before the verb. Since 'taka' is the verb (walks), 'za' goes directly before it: 'bo za taka ni.' The subject stays first and the adverb stays last.
Question 6: In Language M, relative clauses come before the noun they modify. How would 'the book that is red' be structured?
- Book the red that is
- That is red the book (Correct answer)
- Red is that book the
- The that is red book
Correct answer: That is red the book
If relative clauses precede their head noun, 'that is red' must come before 'the book.' This prenominal relative clause pattern is found in Japanese, Korean, and Turkish, where modifying clauses always precede the noun.
DLAB Word Order and Syntax Patterns 2
Given: 'pela osta rana' = 'the cat sits here' and 'pela osta finu' = 'the cat sits there.' What element changes to indicate location?