Restrictors and spans cheat sheet

A quick look at restrictors and spans. Nothing here is new: each row links to the section that teaches it. Stage: B Beginner, I Intermediate, A Advanced.

When a claim counts

List the occasions (times or cases) in the adverb slot /h/, then end with a restrictor. The occasion words and the restrictor are one unit. Put the same restrictor on /w/ right before an adjective to limit only that adjective; /h/ limits the whole clause.

The core words

Job	Example	English	Stage
Only when	zazozon vowurol herulal hal.	Azozon walks only when it rains.	B
Never: no occasion, closed	zalazun vowurol hal.	Alazun never walks.	B
Always	zahelan vozuyel hual.	Ahelan always sings.	B
Usually: open	zahelan vozuyel huam.	Ahelan usually sings.	B
Always except	zazozon vowurol herulal hual.	Azozon always walks except when it rains.	B
Sometimes	zalazun veruvol har.	Alazun runs sometimes.	B
Anytime	zahelan vowurol her.	Ahelan walks anytime. (whichever time you pick)	B
Some other time	zahelan vowurol hur.	Ahelan walks at some other time.	B
When and at other times too: open	zazozon vezuvel herulal hanurul ham.	Azozon sleeps when it rains and at night, among other times.	B
Only the adjective	zazozon wal guzemel.	Azozon is never sleepy.	B
Only the adjective, listed	zazozon werulal wal guzemel.	Azozon is sleepy only when it rains.	B
A habit, on an adjective	zalazun wual guzemel.	Alazun is always sleepy.	B

Two manner adverbs in a row, with no restrictor, both describe the walk: zazozon vowurol hadurom halozum. quickly and quietly (only when / never).

Which restrictor

The vowel picks the reading and the ending says how open the list is: -l closed, -m open, -r an unspecified member. The same map works on /w/ (wal, wam, wual, and so on).

Ageben	Use	English (with occasions)	English (bare)	Stage
hal / ham	listed times	only when… / when…, among others	never / never, as far as I know	B
hel / hem	one exclusive menu	either when A or when B (not both)		I
hael / haem	any of the listed times	when A and/or when B		I
hul / hum	invert the list	not when…		I
hual / huam	every time minus the list	always except when…	always / usually	B
huel / huem	any leftover time minus the list	anytime except when…		I

Ranked

Ageben	Use	English	Stage
hol / hom	priority	preferably when A ≻ when B	I
haol / haom	in order	first when A, then when B	I
hoel / hoem	equal frequency	equally when A and when B	I
huol / huom	last-first	as a last resort when A	I

With several occasions before huol, the last listed is the first choice.

Some member, unlisted

-r points at some time without saying which, so nothing needs to come before it.

Ageben	Use	English (with occasions)	English (bare)	Stage
har	some member of the listed times	sometimes among these	sometimes	B
her	some member of a one-choice menu	anytime among these	anytime	B
hur	a leftover occasion	some time other than these	some other time	B
hor	the first-ranked occasion	at whichever ranks first	at the preferred time	I

Job	Example	English	Stage
Either, not both	zazozon vowurol herulal hanurul hel.	Azozon walks either when it rains or at night. (not both)	I
And/or	zalazun vezuvel herulal hozulal hael.	Alazun sleeps when it rains and/or when it snows.	I
Preferably	zazozon vowurol hebeham hanurul hol.	preferably on weekends, or else at night	I
Last resort	zazozon vowurol herulal huol.	When it rains, Azozon walks only as a last resort.	I
When's best?	yel hor zayan vowurol.	When's best for us to walk?	I
On an adjective, one of two	zazozon werulal wanurul wel guzemel.	sleepy either when it rains or at night (not both)	I
A whole clause as the occasion: blarl	zahelan vozuyel thohem blarl zazozon vowurol.	Ahelan sings if Azozon walks.	I

Use a restrictor when each occasion is a word; use blarl when the occasion is a full clause. To ask when?, see When?.

Setting a chunk apart

A span is a role letter and a pair of brackets. The letter is the role of the whole chunk in the sentence. A span is written only: speech has no word for its edges.

Which bracket

Bracket	Inside is	Use	Example	Stage
[…]	Ageben	cite: what someone said, a title	zazozon d[azozon] vezuyol.	B
<…>	not Ageben	opaque: a foreign word, code, a name	zazozon d<kimchi> vayebel.	B
th(…)	Ageben	aside: a side comment; g(…) on a noun, w(…) on the next word, h(…) on the action	zazozon vowurol th(hugowul).	B
{ … }	Ageben	scope island: a binder inside reaches only that chunk	zazozon { hogugem zodozel gerulol } vayebel.	I

When the lexicon has a matching root, write the ordinary word, not a span. An aside holds the same speech act as the outer sentence and never goes under /y/, /z/, /d/, /b/, or /v/.

Marks before the bracket

Mark	Use	English	Example	Stage
(none)	exact	verbatim wording	d[azozon]	B
~	paraphrase	the gist	d~[zazozon vozuyel]	B
@	proper	a work known by that title	d@[onuren alazun]	B
~@	proper, loosely remembered	something like that title	d~@[onuren alazun]	B
^@	one thing under the name	an iPhone / a copy of	d^@[onuren alazun]	I
~^@	one copy, title roughly	a copy of something like	d~^@[onuren alazun]	I

A one-word name is an ordinary -n word (donuren), not a span.

Which slot

Ageben	Use	English	Stage
/d/	object	said / wrote / saw “…”	B
/z/	subject	a foreign name as the subject	B
/b/	extra party	a foreign name as the recipient	B
/v/	verb	echo the act as wording; a loan verb	B
/ɡ/	adjective	a loan adjective; an aside on the noun	B
/w/	extra detail	a loan degree word; an aside on the next word	B
/h/	adverb	a loan adverb; an aside on the action	B
/th/	stance	an aside on the sentence	B

Job	Example	English	Stage
Quote a sentence	zalazun d~[zazozon vozuyel] varuyol.	Alazun wrote something like “Azozon sings.”	B
A title of several words	zahelan d@[onuren alazun] vozuyel.	Ahelan sang Onuren Alazun.	B
A cite as the verb	yul zalazun v[vezohul].	Don't say “stop,” Alazun.	B
A loan verb	zalazun v<google> dazozon.	Alazun googled Azozon.	B
A loan adjective	zodozel g<rouge> vowurol.	A rouge dog walks.	B
A quoted question	zazozon d[yel zalazun vowurol] vezuyol.	Azozon said, “Does Alazun walk?”	I
Point back at a quote	zalazun d[azozon] vezuyol. zahelan dwuder varuyol.	Alazun said “Azozon.” Ahelan wrote that down.	I
Topic from a title	x@[onuren alazun] dalen vozuyel.	Now, about Onuren Alazun: it is sung.	I
An aside as a clause	zazozon vowurol th(zalazun vezuvel).	Azozon walks (Alazun is asleep).	B
An aside on a noun	zazozon g(zazozor vowurol) vozuyel.	Azozon, who walks, sings.	B
An aside on one word	zodozel w(zazozon vezuyol) gerulol vowurol.	A (so Azozon says) red dog walks.	B
An aside before the noun	gl(gerulol) zodozel gamezem vowurol.	The small dog (it is red) walks.	I
A loan adjective before the noun	gl<rouge> zodozel vowurol.	A rouge dog walks.	I
A loan degree word	zodozel w<molto> gobulol vowurol.	A molto blue dog walks.	B
Aside inside a cite	zazozon d[ th(hugowul) azozon ] vezuyol.	Azozon said “(quietly) Azozon.”	A

Calls and mentions

Job	Example	English	Stage
Call a foreign name	y@<Sam>	Sam!	B
Name of uncertain spelling	y~@<Sam>	Sam? (not sure of the name)	B
Foreign interjection	y<Wow>	Wow!	B
A word as spelling: glegol	glegol z[odoze] gamezem.	The word “odoze” is small.	I
A name as spelling: glegon	zazozon glegon d[onuren] vuyugum.	Azozon dislikes the name “onuren.”	I

Writing the close

Writing	Use	English	Stage
d[…]	close one span, whole	the matching closer	A
d[…#]	editorial: cut off or faulty	trailing off	A
d[…|]	close all open spans	sweep everything	A

Scope islands

Braces { … } group one chunk so a binder inside reaches only it. The edges are a short break in speech. A tone mark right before the brace colors the whole island.

Rule	Detail	Stage
Binder required	a scope-taking /h/ or /th/, or a join, inside; a hook is never a binder	I
At most one phrase	a noun phrase, verb phrase, or /ɡ/ stack, with its own detail	I
One island per clause	islands do not nest	I
Hosts keep their /b/	host and hosted /b/ are both inside or both outside	I
No role letter	on the edges	I
Empty { }	has no reading	I

Placement	Reading	Stage
/h/ or /th/ inside	frames that chunk	I
/h/ or /th/ outside	ordinary floating word: frames the verb or clause	I
Join inside	joins only the interior conjuncts	I
Join outside	ordinary lookback; the edges do not filter it	I

Job	Example	English	Stage
A possibility, on one chunk	zazozon { hogugem zodozel gerulol } vayebel.	Azozon saw what was possibly a red dog.	I
A join, on one pair	zazozon { zalazun zal } zam vowurol.	Azozon and (just Alazun) walk.	I
A recipient first, then the binder	zazozon { balazun hogugem } vezuyol.	Azozon talks, possibly to Alazun.	I

Don't mix up

This	vs	That
hal only when (a closed list)		ham among other times (an open list)
hual always (every time)		har sometimes (some time)
her anytime (any one will do)		hual always (at all times)
hur some other time (a leftover occasion)		huel anytime except when… (leftover times in general)
herulal hal only when it rains (a restrictor list)		thohem blarl if a whole sentence (a dependent)
d[azozon] what was said (a cite)		donuren the one-word name (an ordinary -n word)
d@[onuren alazun] the work (a proper span)		glegon the name as spelling (a mention)
th(…) an aside (a comment)		{ … } a scope island (a chunk for a binder)