Chapter 17 - The Genitive Case
Submitted July 12, 2004 Updated November 16, 2004 Status Incomplete | These are short lessons based off the Quenya Elvish (LotR) course on Ardalambion.com. Rather than 40 pages a chapter, I got them down to 4. I don't have all lessons like this yet. All material belongs to Tolkien and was compiled by that site.
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Chapter 17 - The Genitive Case
Chapter 17 - The Genitive Case
Cases help determine the relationship between the words in asentence.
The Genitive Case
In English: There only two cases in English,nominative and genetive. In the Nominative case, which we have already learned,the nouns or subjects in a sentence remain unchanged. In the genetive case, itis usually formed by adding a ‘s to the end of the subject to show ownership.“The woman’s horse”
It can alsobe used to show that the object is the source of the subject, “the architecht’sdrawing.”
In Quenya: The described English case in Elvish issplit between ownership and origination. The genetive case covers only origination,and possession will be covered in the next lesson. This would be more like theEnglish use of the preposition ‘of’
“Wings of trees” becomes “rámaraldaron” (leaves ^.^)
It can also show the relationship of place, as in Britain’s finest artists.[/ulist] Calaciryo mírifor "Calacirya's jewels = the jewels of Calacirya"
It also shows family relation or between the ruler and the ruled[/ulist] vanimálion nostari, "parents of beautiful children"
Indis i·Ciryamo "the Mariner's Wife"
Elwë, Aran Sindaron "Elwë [= Thingol], King of the Sindar [Grey-elves]"
The Genitive can also cover the abstract “of” / “about” relation[/ulist] Lairi Noldoron Arani “Poems about the Noldorin Kings”
How to form it:
Add ‘–o’ to the end of the subject noun Words already ending in ‘o’ will remain so. -a stems drop the ‘a’ and then add ‘–o’[/ulist]
Plurals are made by adding the ending ‘-on’ instead Quenta Silmarillion, "The History of the Silmarils" [/ulist][/ulist]
Duals are made by adding the ending ‘-to’ instead Nouns with duals in ‘u’ either add ‘-uo’ or more likely ‘-uto.’ It was not specified.[/ulist]
Think about how the Genitive works in these examples:
Rávion
i calaAlduo
Varda...ortanëmáryat Oiolossëo,"Varda...raised her hands from Oiolossë"
Vardotellumar"Varda's domes" (domes originating from Varda)
EärendilElenion Ancalima "Eärendil brightest of stars" (among the stars)
HíniIlúvataro "Childrenof Ilúvatar"
AmillëEruva lissëo"Mother of divine grace"
AranLestanórëo “King ofDoriath”
Heru iCormaron “Lord ofthe Rings”
nyarneni Eldo "I toldabout the Elf"
i Naucorquetir altë harmaron"the Dwarves speak of great treasures"
Whensomething is “full of” something- you also use the genitive case, as in this:
Tolkien rendered the phrase "full of grace" as quanta Eruanno "full of water" can be rendered quanta neno[/ulist]
It is alsolikely that the Genitive can act as the predicate of a sentence:
"the ring is Sauron's" could be rendered i corma ná Saurondo[/ulist]
Wordorder:
§ Asseen by the above examples, most of the words receiving the genitive end goafter the thing that they are relating to / possess. They usually only comefirst for poetic flow, so it is all right to put them that way.
Nórëo alcar "(the) land's glory"[/ulist]
§ aQuenya noun connecting with a following genitive is always determined, whetheror not the article i is used.
You can say I lambë Quendion "the language of the Elves" or i lambë Quendion[/ulist]
§ Thearticle can also appear in the middle of the phrase
Indis i·Ciryamo does mean "the Mariner's Wife"[/ulist]
A fewprepositions govern the genitive case. It is said that ú “without” isnormally followed by genitive, Tolkien mentioning the example ú calo“without light.” This calo would seem to be the genitive form of a noun cala“light.”
VOCABULARY
cainen "ten"
laman (lamn-) "animal" (the stem-form mayalso simply be laman-, but we will use lamn- here)
yulma "cup"
limpë "wine" (within Tolkien'smythos, limpë was some special drink of the Elves or of the Valar – butin the Etymologies, entry LIP, Tolkien also provided theparenthetical gloss "wine", and we will use the word in that sensehere)
rassë "horn" ("especiallyon living animal, but also applied to mountains" – Etym., entry RAS)
toron (torn-) "brother"
Menel "the firmament, sky, heaven,the heavens" (but the Quenya word is singular. It is apparently not used in areligious sense, but refers to the physical heavens only. Cf. Meneltarma"Pillar of Heaven" as the name of the central mountain in Númenor.The word Menel is capitalized and apparently treated as a proper name,hence not requiring any article.)
ulya- "to pour" (transitivepast tense ulyanë, intransitive ullë)
sírë "river"
cilya "cleft, gorge" (also cirya,as in Calacirya "Pass of Light" or "Light-cleft",which name actually appears as Calacilya in some texts – but since ciryaalso means "ship", we will use cilya here)
anto "mouth" (possiblyrepresenting earlier amatô, amto; if so it likely comes from thesame root as the verb mat- "to eat")
ú preposition "without" (normally followedby genitive)
EXERCISES
1.Translate into English:
A. Hirnentë i firin ohtaro macil.
B. Menelo eleni sílar.
C. Tirnen i nisso hendu.
D. Cenuvantë Aran Atanion ar ilyënórion.
E. Coa ú talamion umë anwa coa.
F. I tário úmië torni merir turëAmbaro lier.
G. I rassi i lamnion nar altë.
H. I cainen rávi lintavë manter i roccohrávë.
2.Translate into Quenya:
I. The birds of heaven will see tenwarriors between the great rivers.
J. The king's thrall poured wine intothe biggest of the cups. ("Biggest, greatest" = analta. Timeto repeat Lesson Five, where we discussed superlatives?)
K. The Elf's brother gathered(together) the ten books about stars.
L. The great river of the land pouredinto a gorge.
M. A man without a mouth cannotspeak.
N. I have seen the greatest of allmountains under the sky.
O. I want to find a land withoutgreat animals like lions.
P. You will see an animal withouthorns (dual: a couple of horns)
Answers!
1.
A. Theyfound the dead warrior's sword. (Genitive of formerpossessor.)
B. Thestars of heaven are shining. (Genitive of location: thestars are in heaven.)
C. Iwatched the woman's eyes (dual). (Partitive genitive: thewoman's eyes are physically part of her.)
D. Theyshall see the King of Men and (of) all lands. (Genitive describingthe relationship between a ruler and the ruled – people or territory.)
E. Ahouse without floors is not a real house. (The preposition ú"without" is followed by genitive, hence ú talamion inQuenya.)
F. Thequeen's evil brothers want to rule the peoples of the world. (Itário úmië torni: genitive of family relationship. Ambaro lier:genitive of location – the peoples are in the world.)
G. Thehorns of the animals are big. (Partitive genitive, as inExercise C above.)
H. Theten lions quickly ate the flesh of the horse. (I rocco hrávë"the horse's flesh" – genitive of source, the fleshcoming from the horse. Notice that the noun rocco "horse" isunchanged in the genitive singular, since it ends in -o already.)
2.
I. Meneloaiwi [or, (i) aiwi Menelo] cenuvar cainen ohtari imbë ialtë síri. (Menelo aiwi "the birds of heaven" –genitive of location.)
J. Iarano mól [or, (i) mól i arano] ulyanë limpë mir (i)analta i yulmaron [or, mir i yulmaron analta]. (Iarano mól "the king's thrall" – genitive denoting therelationship between the ruler and the ruled, or various relationships betweenpeople in general. Notice ulyanë as the past tense "poured" inthe transitive sense. [I] analta i yulmaron or i yulmaronanalta: "the biggest of the cups", partitive genitive – thebiggest cup being one of all the cups mentioned. Cf. Tolkien's elenionancalma "brightest of [/among] stars".)
K. IEldo toron [or, (i) toron i Eldo] hostanë (i)cainen parmar elenion. (IEldo toron "the Elf's brother": genitive of family relationship.Notice that when the genitive ending -o is added to a noun like endingin -a, like Elda, it displaces this final vowel. (I)cainen parmar elenion "the ten books about stars": the genitivebeing used in the sense "about, concerning". Perhaps the word order elenioncainen parmar is also possible, but it feels less natural.)
L. (I)alta sírë i nórëo [or, i nórëo alta sírë] ullë mir cilya. ([I]alta sírë i nórëo " the great river of the land" – genitive oflocation. Notice ullë as the past tense "poured" in theintransitive sense; contrast transitive ulyanë in Exercise J above.)
M. Nérú anto umë polë quetë. (The preposition ú is followed bygenitive, but here it the genitive ending is "invisible", since thenoun anto "mouth" ends in -o already.)
N. Ecénien(i) analta ilyë orontion nu Menel.(Partitive genitive; cf. Exercise J above.)
O. Merinhirë nórë ú altë lamnion ve rávi. (The preposition ú isfollowed by genitive; hence lamnion here.)
P. Cenuval(yë)laman ú rasseto. (Genitive after ú; rasseto dualgenitive of rassë "horn". If dual forms denoting body-parts alwaystake the ending -u – cf. Tolkien's peu "pair of lips"or hendu "two eyes" – perhaps the dual of rassë shouldrather be rassu, the genitive of which is perhaps rassuo.Tolkien's intentions cannot be reconstructed with full certainty. Unlike lipsor eyes, horns do not necessarily come in pairs, so it is unclearwhether a fossilized form like rassu rather than rasset is justifiable.)
The Genitive Case
In English: There only two cases in English,nominative and genetive. In the Nominative case, which we have already learned,the nouns or subjects in a sentence remain unchanged. In the genetive case, itis usually formed by adding a ‘s to the end of the subject to show ownership.“The woman’s horse”
It can alsobe used to show that the object is the source of the subject, “the architecht’sdrawing.”
In Quenya: The described English case in Elvish issplit between ownership and origination. The genetive case covers only origination,and possession will be covered in the next lesson. This would be more like theEnglish use of the preposition ‘of’
“Wings of trees” becomes “rámaraldaron” (leaves ^.^)
It can also show the relationship of place, as in Britain’s finest artists.[/ulist] Calaciryo mírifor "Calacirya's jewels = the jewels of Calacirya"
It also shows family relation or between the ruler and the ruled[/ulist] vanimálion nostari, "parents of beautiful children"
Indis i·Ciryamo "the Mariner's Wife"
Elwë, Aran Sindaron "Elwë [= Thingol], King of the Sindar [Grey-elves]"
The Genitive can also cover the abstract “of” / “about” relation[/ulist] Lairi Noldoron Arani “Poems about the Noldorin Kings”
How to form it:
Add ‘–o’ to the end of the subject noun Words already ending in ‘o’ will remain so. -a stems drop the ‘a’ and then add ‘–o’[/ulist]
Plurals are made by adding the ending ‘-on’ instead Quenta Silmarillion, "The History of the Silmarils" [/ulist][/ulist]
Duals are made by adding the ending ‘-to’ instead Nouns with duals in ‘u’ either add ‘-uo’ or more likely ‘-uto.’ It was not specified.[/ulist]
Think about how the Genitive works in these examples:
Rávion
i calaAlduo
Varda...ortanëmáryat Oiolossëo,"Varda...raised her hands from Oiolossë"
Vardotellumar"Varda's domes" (domes originating from Varda)
EärendilElenion Ancalima "Eärendil brightest of stars" (among the stars)
HíniIlúvataro "Childrenof Ilúvatar"
AmillëEruva lissëo"Mother of divine grace"
AranLestanórëo “King ofDoriath”
Heru iCormaron “Lord ofthe Rings”
nyarneni Eldo "I toldabout the Elf"
i Naucorquetir altë harmaron"the Dwarves speak of great treasures"
Whensomething is “full of” something- you also use the genitive case, as in this:
Tolkien rendered the phrase "full of grace" as quanta Eruanno "full of water" can be rendered quanta neno[/ulist]
It is alsolikely that the Genitive can act as the predicate of a sentence:
"the ring is Sauron's" could be rendered i corma ná Saurondo[/ulist]
Wordorder:
§ Asseen by the above examples, most of the words receiving the genitive end goafter the thing that they are relating to / possess. They usually only comefirst for poetic flow, so it is all right to put them that way.
Nórëo alcar "(the) land's glory"[/ulist]
§ aQuenya noun connecting with a following genitive is always determined, whetheror not the article i is used.
You can say I lambë Quendion "the language of the Elves" or i lambë Quendion[/ulist]
§ Thearticle can also appear in the middle of the phrase
Indis i·Ciryamo does mean "the Mariner's Wife"[/ulist]
A fewprepositions govern the genitive case. It is said that ú “without” isnormally followed by genitive, Tolkien mentioning the example ú calo“without light.” This calo would seem to be the genitive form of a noun cala“light.”
VOCABULARY
cainen "ten"
laman (lamn-) "animal" (the stem-form mayalso simply be laman-, but we will use lamn- here)
yulma "cup"
limpë "wine" (within Tolkien'smythos, limpë was some special drink of the Elves or of the Valar – butin the Etymologies, entry LIP, Tolkien also provided theparenthetical gloss "wine", and we will use the word in that sensehere)
rassë "horn" ("especiallyon living animal, but also applied to mountains" – Etym., entry RAS)
toron (torn-) "brother"
Menel "the firmament, sky, heaven,the heavens" (but the Quenya word is singular. It is apparently not used in areligious sense, but refers to the physical heavens only. Cf. Meneltarma"Pillar of Heaven" as the name of the central mountain in Númenor.The word Menel is capitalized and apparently treated as a proper name,hence not requiring any article.)
ulya- "to pour" (transitivepast tense ulyanë, intransitive ullë)
sírë "river"
cilya "cleft, gorge" (also cirya,as in Calacirya "Pass of Light" or "Light-cleft",which name actually appears as Calacilya in some texts – but since ciryaalso means "ship", we will use cilya here)
anto "mouth" (possiblyrepresenting earlier amatô, amto; if so it likely comes from thesame root as the verb mat- "to eat")
ú preposition "without" (normally followedby genitive)
EXERCISES
1.Translate into English:
A. Hirnentë i firin ohtaro macil.
B. Menelo eleni sílar.
C. Tirnen i nisso hendu.
D. Cenuvantë Aran Atanion ar ilyënórion.
E. Coa ú talamion umë anwa coa.
F. I tário úmië torni merir turëAmbaro lier.
G. I rassi i lamnion nar altë.
H. I cainen rávi lintavë manter i roccohrávë.
2.Translate into Quenya:
I. The birds of heaven will see tenwarriors between the great rivers.
J. The king's thrall poured wine intothe biggest of the cups. ("Biggest, greatest" = analta. Timeto repeat Lesson Five, where we discussed superlatives?)
K. The Elf's brother gathered(together) the ten books about stars.
L. The great river of the land pouredinto a gorge.
M. A man without a mouth cannotspeak.
N. I have seen the greatest of allmountains under the sky.
O. I want to find a land withoutgreat animals like lions.
P. You will see an animal withouthorns (dual: a couple of horns)
Answers!
1.
A. Theyfound the dead warrior's sword. (Genitive of formerpossessor.)
B. Thestars of heaven are shining. (Genitive of location: thestars are in heaven.)
C. Iwatched the woman's eyes (dual). (Partitive genitive: thewoman's eyes are physically part of her.)
D. Theyshall see the King of Men and (of) all lands. (Genitive describingthe relationship between a ruler and the ruled – people or territory.)
E. Ahouse without floors is not a real house. (The preposition ú"without" is followed by genitive, hence ú talamion inQuenya.)
F. Thequeen's evil brothers want to rule the peoples of the world. (Itário úmië torni: genitive of family relationship. Ambaro lier:genitive of location – the peoples are in the world.)
G. Thehorns of the animals are big. (Partitive genitive, as inExercise C above.)
H. Theten lions quickly ate the flesh of the horse. (I rocco hrávë"the horse's flesh" – genitive of source, the fleshcoming from the horse. Notice that the noun rocco "horse" isunchanged in the genitive singular, since it ends in -o already.)
2.
I. Meneloaiwi [or, (i) aiwi Menelo] cenuvar cainen ohtari imbë ialtë síri. (Menelo aiwi "the birds of heaven" –genitive of location.)
J. Iarano mól [or, (i) mól i arano] ulyanë limpë mir (i)analta i yulmaron [or, mir i yulmaron analta]. (Iarano mól "the king's thrall" – genitive denoting therelationship between the ruler and the ruled, or various relationships betweenpeople in general. Notice ulyanë as the past tense "poured" inthe transitive sense. [I] analta i yulmaron or i yulmaronanalta: "the biggest of the cups", partitive genitive – thebiggest cup being one of all the cups mentioned. Cf. Tolkien's elenionancalma "brightest of [/among] stars".)
K. IEldo toron [or, (i) toron i Eldo] hostanë (i)cainen parmar elenion. (IEldo toron "the Elf's brother": genitive of family relationship.Notice that when the genitive ending -o is added to a noun like endingin -a, like Elda, it displaces this final vowel. (I)cainen parmar elenion "the ten books about stars": the genitivebeing used in the sense "about, concerning". Perhaps the word order elenioncainen parmar is also possible, but it feels less natural.)
L. (I)alta sírë i nórëo [or, i nórëo alta sírë] ullë mir cilya. ([I]alta sírë i nórëo " the great river of the land" – genitive oflocation. Notice ullë as the past tense "poured" in theintransitive sense; contrast transitive ulyanë in Exercise J above.)
M. Nérú anto umë polë quetë. (The preposition ú is followed bygenitive, but here it the genitive ending is "invisible", since thenoun anto "mouth" ends in -o already.)
N. Ecénien(i) analta ilyë orontion nu Menel.(Partitive genitive; cf. Exercise J above.)
O. Merinhirë nórë ú altë lamnion ve rávi. (The preposition ú isfollowed by genitive; hence lamnion here.)
P. Cenuval(yë)laman ú rasseto. (Genitive after ú; rasseto dualgenitive of rassë "horn". If dual forms denoting body-parts alwaystake the ending -u – cf. Tolkien's peu "pair of lips"or hendu "two eyes" – perhaps the dual of rassë shouldrather be rassu, the genitive of which is perhaps rassuo.Tolkien's intentions cannot be reconstructed with full certainty. Unlike lipsor eyes, horns do not necessarily come in pairs, so it is unclearwhether a fossilized form like rassu rather than rasset is justifiable.)
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