Introduction
Once you're comfortable with basic sentence structures, you may want to include one sentence in another. For example, "Did you know that [grandma died]?", where "Grandma died" is its own sentence, but is included in a larger sentence.
Embedding statements: -hé marker
The "-hé" marker can be used to embed one statement within another statement. "-hé" will be added to the last word in the internal sentence.
Examples
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi áya le wa. | I am beautiful. | áya = to be beautiful |
| Bíi lith le [áya lehé] wa. | I think that I am beautiful. | lith = to think |
| Bíi lith be [áya lehé] wa. | She thinks that I am beautiful. |
Embedding questions: -hée marker
This marker can be used to embed a question within a sentence. The external sentence can also be a question, or it can be a statement. "-hée" will be added to the last word in the internal sentence.
Examples
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi áya le wa. | I am beautiful. | |
| Bíi lith be [áya lehée]? | Do you think that I am beautiful? | |
| Bíi lothel ra le [áya lehée] wa. | I don't know whether I am beautiful or not. | lothel = to know |
Embedding relative clauses: -háa marker
A relative clause modifies a noun. With the statement and question embedding markers above, the internal sentences are relatively standalone ("the rain is cold." "do you think that [the rain is cold]?"). Here, however, the relative clause will modify the sentence as a whole.
Examples
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi an behid witheth wa. | He knows a woman. | |
| Bíi lalom with wa. | The woman sings. | |
| Bíi an behid [lalom witheháath] wa. | He knows a woman who sings. |
(Amberwind (2012), Láadan Lessons, p. 295)
Comparison
Note the difference between using "-hé" and "-háa":
| Láadan | English | Vocab words |
|---|---|---|
| Bíi dom le [hal withehé] wa. | I remember that [the woman works]. | dom = to remember |
| Bíi dom le [hal witheháa] wa. | I remember the [woman that works]. |