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The clause
How to read and write one Agazan clause: who does what, word shape, and default order.
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Beginner
You already write a citation: root + ending (odogal, owogal, azawan). In a sentence, put a role letter in front. That first letter says what the word is doing (who acts, the action, and so on). The root and ending stay the ones you already chose; only the first letter changes.
Who acts and the action
/z/ marks the subject (who acts). /v/ marks the verb (the action). Write role letter + root + ending as one word (zodogal from the citation odogal).
A period ends the statement. With only a subject and a verb, the order is Subject – Verb.
zodogal vowogal.z-dog | v-walk
"A dog walks."
A name you already cite with -n (azawan) keeps -n in the sentence:
zazawan vowogal.z-Azawan | v-walk
"Azawan walks."
Direct object (/d/)
The direct object is who or what the action is done to. Mark it with /d/. The usual order is Subject – Direct Object – Verb.
Because the first letter already says each word’s role, you may move those three words without changing who did what. Put first the piece you want to highlight: the person or thing you want heard first, or the new information. English often does that with stress; Agazan can do it with order.
zodogal dagadul vahahal.z-dog | d-cat | v-see
"A dog sees a cat."
Adjectives (/ɡ/)
An adjective names a property of a noun (blue). Mark it with /ɡ/ and put it right after the noun it describes. You can stack several adjectives after one noun.
zodogal gubuhel vowogal.[z-dog | g-blue] | v-walk
"A blue dog walks."
Extra detail on an adjective (/w/)
To say how strongly a property holds (very blue), add a word marked with /w/ immediately before the adjective. The /w/ word describes only the adjective right after it, not the noun.
zodogal welavam gubuhel vowogal.[z-dog | [w-very | g-blue]] | v-walk
"A very blue dog walks."
Adverbs (/h/)
An adverb says how, when, or where an action happens. Mark it with /h/. You may place it anywhere in the sentence, and several adverbs can sit next to each other (hadehum halahom hastily and quietly).
zodogal hadehum vowogal.z-dog | h-haste | v-walk
"A dog walks hastily."
Stance (/th/)
An adverb describes the action. A stance word describes how you, the speaker, stand toward the whole claim: how sure you are, how you know it, why it holds, or whether it is only imagined. Mark it with /th/. Like /h/, it may sit anywhere in the sentence. th counts as one letter (phonology).
zodogal thevegam vowogal.z-dog | th-doubt | v-walk
"I doubt a dog is walking."
The adverb describes the walking. The stance word describes your claim about it.
A stance is yours now, as you speak. To give a stance you held at another time (I was sure then), see stance as-of.
Extra nouns (/b/)
/b/ marks an extra noun: a person or thing beyond the subject and direct object. It has two jobs. You tell them apart by the word immediately before the /b/ word.
Hosted: completing a relation. Some words name a relation that needs another person or thing (like …). Put that word in /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/, then put the other noun in /b/ right after it. That relation word is the /b/ word’s host: a /b/ right after a /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/ word always completes that word. (cue: 🪞 mirror: the image is like the model.)
humum bazawan[h-like | b-Azawan]
"like Azawan"
A /w/ word still goes before the host, so the host and its /b/ stay side by side.
welavam humum bazawan[[w-very | h-like] | b-Azawan]
"very like Azawan"
zodogal vezebal humum bazawan.z-dog | v-sleep | [h-like | b-Azawan]
"A dog sleeps like Azawan."
Unhosted: who receives. A /b/ word anywhere else is the person who receives what the verb passes on: who gets the thing given, or who hears what is told. What is given or said is still /d/. A clause has at most one of these.
zazawan balahen vezebel.z-Azawan | b-Alahen | v-tell
"Azawan tells Alahen."
Compare with: humum balahen is like Alahen, because a /b/ right after /h/ completes it. To add a person who receives, keep that /b/ word away from a /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/ word: balahen hadehum, or after a finished pair (humum bazawan balahen).
Role letters
The role letters you have used so far:
| Agazan | Use | Cue |
|---|---|---|
/z/ | subject (who acts) | z ≈ star (who the sentence is about) |
/d/ | direct object (who is acted on) | d ≈ done to (sound of acted on) |
/b/ | extra noun: recipient of the verb, or the piece after a relation word | b ≈ bolted on (the extra piece) |
/v/ | verb (the action) | v ≈ verb (the English name for the job starts with it) |
/ɡ/ | adjective (a property of the noun) | ɡ ≈ grade (a rating of the noun) |
/w/ | extra detail on the next /ɡ/, /h/, or /th/ word | w ≈ with (stuck to that host) |
/h/ | adverb (how / when / where) | h starts how / when / where |
/th/ | stance (how sure, how known, why, as if) | th ≈ think (your stance on the claim) |
Translation practice
Short drills for Beginner. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a bank
Roots used here:
| English | Agazan | Same root as | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan | ||
| Alahen | alahen | ||
| Ahaben | ahaben | ||
| money | amol | ||
| angry | anegel | ||
| very | welavam | ||
| sleepy | ezebul | ||
| sit | vehahel | ehahel chair | 🪑: taking a seat |
| stand | vazadol | azadol stand | 🧍: staying in place |
| see | vahahal | ahahal eye | 👁️: seeing is what an eye does |
| tell | vezebel | ezebel speech | 💬: saying it to someone |
| write | varadal | aradal write | ✍️: putting words on the page |
| sneak | vezevul | ezevul sneak | 🥷: moving unseen |
| doubt | thevegam | evegal think | 🤔: thinking it over shows doubt |
| haste | hadehum | adehul dash | 💨: a burst of speed |
| like | humum | umul mirror | 🪞: the image is of the model |
English → Agazan
1. Azawan sits.
Show answer
zazawan vehahel.
z-Azawan | v-sit
2. Ahaben sees Azawan.
Show answer
zahaben dazawan vahahal.
z-Ahaben | d-Azawan | v-see
3. A very angry Alahen stands.
Show answer
zalahen welavam ganegel vazadol.
[z-Alahen | [w-very | g-angry]] | v-stand
4. Azawan writes hastily.
Show answer
zazawan varadal hadehum.
z-Azawan | v-write | h-haste
5. Azawan tells Alahen.
Show answer
zazawan balahen vezebel.
z-Azawan | b-Alahen | v-tell
6. I doubt that Ahaben is sitting.
Show answer
zahaben thevegam vehahel.
z-Ahaben | th-doubt | v-sit
Agazan → English
1. zahaben vazadol.
Show answer
z-Ahaben | v-stand
Ahaben stands.
2. zazawan dahaben vahahal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | d-Ahaben | v-see
Azawan sees Ahaben.
3. zahaben gezebul damol vahahal.
Show answer
[z-Ahaben | g-sleepy] | d-money | v-see
Sleepy Ahaben sees money.
4. zalahen vezevul humum bazawan.
Show answer
z-Alahen | v-sneak | [h-like | b-Azawan]
Alahen sneaks like Azawan.
Intermediate
Reminder:
Intermediate sections assume you have read the beginner sections of every page.
Adjectives before the noun (gl-)
English puts the adjective before the noun (a blue dog). Agazan can too: add l as the second letter (/ɡ/ + l + root + ending), and that adjective describes the next noun instead of the one before it. This lets you choose the order for meter or emphasis, and it frees the spot after the noun for another adjective. (cue: l ≈ lean: the word leans toward the noun ahead.)
glubuhel zodogal.[gl-blue | z-dog]
"a blue dog"
A /b/ word still follows that adjective, and a /w/ word still sits immediately before it (welavam glubuhel zodogal = a very blue dog). This extra l goes only on adjectives (/ɡ/).
Complex chaining
A relation adjective with its hosted /b/ (the same as Azawan, gugol + /b/) works as one unit after a noun. You can keep chaining: a plain adjective after that pair describes the extra noun, not the first noun, and a /w/ word that grades the relation sits immediately before the /ɡ/ word. (cue: 🪙 coin: two faces of one thing.)
zodogal welavam gugol bazawan.z-dog | [[w-very | g-SAME] | b-Azawan]
"a dog the very same as Azawan"
zodogal gugol bazawan gubuhel.z-dog | [g-SAME | [b-Azawan | g-blue]]
"a dog the same as blue Azawan"
The same holds after an /h/ host: an adjective after its /b/ describes that extra noun.
zodogal vezebal humum bazawan gubuhel.z-dog | v-sleep | [h-like | [b-Azawan | g-blue]]
"A dog sleeps like blue Azawan."
Because a second relation after the pair would attach to the extra noun, you cannot put two relation adjectives after the same first noun. To keep both on that noun in one clause, put one before the noun with gl-; its /b/ still follows it. Otherwise use another sentence.
glugol bazawan zodogal gugol balahen.[[gl-SAME | b-Azawan] | z-dog] | [g-SAME | b-Alahen]
"a dog the same as Azawan, the same as Alahen"
A verb can take several /h/ or /th/ units. Each plain word counts as one unit, and so does a host with its /b/ (plus any /w/ before it).
Compare with: a hook followed by /b/ means in / at / for, not the person who receives.
How much: degree words on /w/
Beginner used welavam very before an adjective. The same /w/ slot takes a few stock degree words, and each one works before an adverb as well as an adjective.
| Agazan | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|
welavam | very | 🐘: big, as a degree |
wohahal | extremely / overwhelmingly | 🌊: an ocean of it |
wamazam | slightly / a bit | 🐁: small, as a degree |
wadeham | quite / fairly | 🔉: medium volume, not loud or soft |
wahahom | completely / totally / entirely / fully | 💯: a hundred is the whole |
zodogal welavam hadehum vowogal.z-dog | [w-very | h-haste] | v-walk
"A dog walks very hastily."
zodogal wohahal gubuhel vowogal.[z-dog | [w-ocean | g-blue]] | v-walk
"An extremely blue dog walks."
zodogal wamazam gubuhel vowogal.[z-dog | [w-small | g-blue]] | v-walk
"A slightly blue dog walks."
zodogal wadeham gubuhel vowogal.[z-dog | [w-quite | g-blue]] | v-walk
"A fairly blue dog walks."
Two stock adverbs work on /h/ directly on the verb. Use habedem kind of / sort of to hedge the action itself, and herobem for again.
| Agazan | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|
habedem | kind of / sort of | 📈: some degree, not a full one |
herobem | again | 🔁: the same thing once more |
zazawan habedem vowogal.z-Azawan | h-kind-of | v-walk
"Azawan kind of walks."
zodogal herobem varahal.z-dog | h-again | v-run
"The dog runs again."
Leaving out who acts
English uses the passive (The cat was seen, Mistakes were made) to avoid naming who acted. Agazan simply leaves out the /z/ word. The verb and its object stay the same, and the sentence says nothing about who did it.
dazawan vahahal.d-Azawan | v-see
"Azawan was seen."
Compare with: zunan someone says that somebody did it, without saying who. With no subject at all, the sentence does not mention a doer. A missing subject never means the topic: to make the topic the doer, write zozan.
Translation practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a waiting room
Roots used here:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| ticket | edegal |
| blue | ubuhel |
| red | eredal |
| same | gugol |
| sit | vehahel |
| stand | vazadol |
| see | vahahal |
| tell | vezebel |
| very | welavam |
| train | edehal |
| dog | odogal |
| sleep | ezebal |
| haste | hadehum |
English → Agazan
1. A very red train stands. (adjective before the noun)
Show answer
welavam gleredal zedehal vazadol.
[[w-very | gl-red] | z-train] | v-stand
2. Azawan the same as blue Ahaben stands.
Show answer
zazawan gugol bahaben gubuhel vazadol.
[z-Azawan | [g-SAME | [b-Ahaben | g-blue]]] | v-stand
3. A very blue train sits.
Show answer
zedehal welavam gubuhel vehahel.
[z-train | [w-very | g-blue]] | v-sit
4. A red train sees a blue ticket.
Show answer
zedehal geredal gubuhel dedegal vahahal.
[z-train | g-red | g-blue] | d-ticket | v-see
5. Ahaben tells Alahen hastily.
Show answer
zahaben balahen hadehum vezebel.
z-Ahaben | b-Alahen | h-haste | v-tell
6. Azawan was seen.
Show answer
dazawan vahahal.
d-Azawan | v-see
Agazan → English
1. glubuhel zedehal vazadol.
Show answer
[gl-blue | z-train] | v-stand
A blue train stands.
2. zahaben gugol balahen geredal vazadol.
Show answer
[z-Ahaben | [g-SAME | [b-Alahen | g-red]]] | v-stand
Ahaben the same as red Alahen stands.
3. dedegal vahahal.
Show answer
d-ticket | v-see
A ticket was seen.
4. zodogal welavam humum bazawan vezebal.
Show answer
z-dog | [[w-very | h-like] | b-Azawan] | v-sleep
A dog sleeps very like Azawan.
5. zedehal welavam geredal vehahel.
Show answer
[z-train | [w-very | g-red]] | v-sit
A very red train sits.
Advanced
Word order and English emphasis
Beginner showed that you may reorder the words of a clause, because the first letters already say who did what. The first content word is what you highlight: what you want heard first, or the new information. First position only highlights within one sentence; what the whole talk is about is the topic, set by an /x/ word. Opening /y/ words, a topic /x/ word, and a linker come before the clause itself and do not count: in xazawan dagadul zalahen vahahal. the highlighted word is dagadul, not xazawan.
English usually keeps subject–verb–object order and uses extra wording, the passive, or spoken stress for that job. When you translate, keep the same highlight in English. Copy Agazan order into English only when that English is also a natural way to put that piece first (Hastily, Azawan walks). Keep a stand-in darl / barl last in its slot, and move the other words around it.
zazawan dagadul vahahal.z-Azawan | d-cat | v-see
"Azawan sees a cat."
Same roles, object first:
dagadul zazawan vahahal.d-cat | z-Azawan | v-see
"It's a cat that Azawan sees."
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zazawan dagadul vahahal. | subject first | Azawan sees a cat. |
&zazawan dagadul vahahal. | subject, contrasted | It was Azawan who saw the cat. |
dagadul zazawan vahahal. | object first | It's a cat that Azawan sees. |
vahahal zazawan dagadul. | verb first | What Azawan does is see a cat. |
hadehum zazawan vowogal. | adverb first | Hastily, Azawan walks. |
Object-first English It's a cat that Azawan sees (or A cat is what Azawan sees) still names Azawan as the one who sees. A cat is seen hides who sees unless you add by Azawan. Use the longer English when you only want to highlight the object.
Compare with: order highlights one piece within this sentence and is gone at the period. The topic carries across sentences and is set only by an /x/ word, never by what comes first.
The subject is already first by default, so order cannot single it out. To say it was Azawan (not someone else) who…, put the contrastive focus mark & on the subject.
Starting a sentence audibly
In writing, the period shows where one sentence ends and the next begins. In speech, a listener may miss that pause, especially in singing or with free word order. When that could happen, begin the next sentence with a word that can only start one: yes / no, the name of the person you address, or the statement word yal.
Translation practice
Short drills for Advanced. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a circus
Roots used here:
| English | Agazan | Same root as |
|---|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan | |
| Alahen | alahen | |
| Ahaben | ahaben | |
| balloon | abevul | |
| trumpet | adawol | |
| drum | adavol | |
| mask | amazol | |
| package | abegol | |
| see | vahahal | ahahal eye |
| tell | vezebel | ezebel speech |
| sit | vehahel | ehahel chair |
| sneak | vezevul | ezevul sneak |
| punch | vabahel | abahel punch |
| haste | hadehum | adehul dash |
English → Agazan
1. Hastily, Azawan sees a balloon.
Show answer
hadehum zazawan dabevul vahahal.
h-haste | z-Azawan | d-balloon | v-see
2. It's a balloon that Ahaben sees.
Show answer
dabevul zahaben vahahal.
d-balloon | z-Ahaben | v-see
3. What Azawan does is tell Alahen.
Show answer
vezebel zazawan balahen.
v-tell | z-Azawan | b-Alahen
4. Hastily, Alahen sneaks.
Show answer
hadehum zalahen vezevul.
h-haste | z-Alahen | v-sneak
5. It's a drum that Alahen punches.
Show answer
dadavol zalahen vabahel.
d-drum | z-Alahen | v-punch
6. What Alahen does is punch Ahaben.
Show answer
vabahel zalahen dahaben.
v-punch | z-Alahen | d-Ahaben
Agazan → English
1. dadawol zahaben vahahal.
Show answer
d-trumpet | z-Ahaben | v-see
It's a trumpet that Ahaben sees.
2. hadehum zahaben vehahel.
Show answer
h-haste | z-Ahaben | v-sit
Hastily, Ahaben sits.
3. vezebel zalahen bahaben.
Show answer
v-tell | z-Alahen | b-Ahaben
What Alahen does is tell Ahaben.
4. dabegol zalahen vahahal.
Show answer
d-package | z-Alahen | v-see
It's a package that Alahen sees.
5. damazol zalahen vabahel.
Show answer
d-mask | z-Alahen | v-punch
It's a mask that Alahen punches.
6. dahaben zalahen hadehum vabahel.
Show answer
d-Ahaben | z-Alahen | h-haste | v-punch
It's Ahaben that Alahen punches hastily.