Notional and standing
English as if, it turns out, has left, and still mix imagining a scene, news against expectation, and how a claim stands now. Ageben keeps those apart: NOTIONAL for an imagined scene, MIRATIVE for news that ran against what you expected, RESIDUE and FORMER for how an outcome or a usual pattern stands, and already / still / not yet / no longer for a change compared with now. How you know a world-claim is in knowing.
On this page
Mirative (themem)
English it turns out, to my surprise, and so … after all say the news ran against what you expected. Put themem on the clause. This /th/ word is called MIRATIVE. It is not a channel: it says nothing about how you know, so add a channel beside it when you want to say that too.
zalazun themem vudurul.z-Alazun | th-MIRATIVE | v-departure
"Alazun left, it turns out."
The ending says how firm the expectation was that the news overturned. If you do not know, use -m.
| Ageben | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
themel | it overturns a firm expectation | astonishingly, I never expected that | -l ≈ the expectation was locked in |
themem | it runs against what you expected (default) | it turns out, surprisingly | -m ≈ the ordinary case |
themer | it runs against a loose expectation | oh, as it happens | -r ≈ a passing guess |
zalazun thugem themel vowurol.z-Alazun | th-LIVE | th-MIRATIVE.firm | v-walk
"Alazun is walking, I see it, and I never expected that."
MIRATIVE does not end a channel frame: a surprise inside a report is still part of the report.
The mirative says only that the news was unexpected, not whether it is good or bad. To say how it lands, add a feeling: the mirative after goyom says the stimulus was unexpected.
zewal wawethamar goyom themem.[z-present | [w-relatedness-met-any-term-INTERNAL-SURGING | g-stimulus]] | th-MIRATIVE
"I'm pleasantly surprised by the present."
With a holder, the surprise is the holder's:
zalazun themem theyomazozon vudurul.z-Alazun | th-MIRATIVE | th-CLUES-Azozon | v-departure
"I gather Alazun's leaving surprised Azozon." (the surprise is Azozon's)
Compare with: even on the including hook (wemem al) singles out the one unexpected member of a set. themem says the whole claim was unexpected. For surprisingly on one adjective (surprisingly tired), put the ordinary word wemem (amazement) on /w/ right before it, the same word that grades the hook in even:
zazozon wemem gadamul vowurol.[z-Azozon | [w-amazement | g-tired]] | v-walk
"Azozon walks, surprisingly tired."
Residue and former climate
English has left and used to tell mix two things: when the event happened, and how it stands now. Ageben places events in time with other tools: before / after / while, a clock or date, LIVE / MEMORY, or a forecast. Two /h/ words keep the books on how it stands. RESIDUE says the outcome of an event is still in effect now. FORMER says a usual pattern is not one you are claiming for now. Neither says when anything happened, so use them alongside a channel or a when-frame, never as a past or present tense.
RESIDUE (ara) says the result still counts: an unpaid tab, a door that is still shut. Without it, you make no claim that anything is left over (the event is over and done, or nothing remains from it). As a plain noun, zaram is debt. (cue: 💰 a debt still on the books)
zalazun haram vudurul.z-Alazun | h-RESIDUE | v-departure
"Alazun has left and is still gone."
zalazun thevum haram vudurul.z-Alazun | th-MEMORY | h-RESIDUE | v-departure
"I remember Alazun leaving, and Alazun is still gone."
zalazun thugem haram vudurul.z-Alazun | th-LIVE | h-RESIDUE | v-departure
"Alazun has left and is still gone, I can see it." (what is left over is in view)
Compare with: after (halam blohel) orders two events. haram does not say the leaving was earlier; it says the outcome is still in effect. LIVE is how you know, not what is left over. A result as a property can stay ordinary /ɡ/ (the door is shut) with no residue word.
FORMER (ela) says a usual pattern held, but you are not claiming it holds now: Azozon always sings as a past habit. Without it, always hual describes the pattern as it stands now. As a plain noun, zelam is emptiness. (cue: 🪹 the nesting season is over; a former climate, not today's weather)
zazozon hual vozuyel helam.z-Azozon | h-always | v-sing | h-FORMER
"Azozon always used to sing." (no claim about now)
zazozon hual vozuyel helam thevum.z-Azozon | h-always | v-sing | h-FORMER | th-MEMORY
"Azozon always used to sing, as I remember."
zazozon hual vozuyel helam thubom blral.z-Azozon | h-always | v-sing | h-FORMER | [th-PATTERN | bl-later]
"Going by the pattern, always singing will be something Azozon used to do."
Compare with: PATTERN thubom says how you know (from repeated cases); it does not say the pattern is over. helam is not a past tense either: it works with LIVE and in a forecast.
Do not write helam right before hual: that spot holds the restrictor's list of occasions (always except when …). Put hual first (bare always) and FORMER after the verb, where a channel goes on a general claim.
| Ageben | Use | English | Same root as | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
haram | outcome still in effect | still counts / residue | aram debt | 💰: unpaid balance still on the books |
helam | usual pattern not claimed for now | former climate | elam emptiness | 🪹: the nesting season is over |
Put RESIDUE and FORMER on /h/, anywhere in the sentence: like an intention adverb, each covers the whole clause. Use /w/ only when the word applies to the one /ɡ/ adjective right after it. Both always end in -m.
Notional (as-if framing)
To talk about a scene that is only imagined (imagine …, as if …, for the sake of argument), keep the ordinary verb and add eyu plus an ending on /th/. This word is called NOTIONAL. The sentence now describes an imagined scene and makes no claim that it happens, so a pretend walk still uses the ordinary verb walk. (cue: 🎭 theater: a stage mask)
zazozon theyum vowurol.z-Azozon | th-NOTIONAL | v-walk
"Imagine Azozon walking."
For could be, use: MAY.
NOTIONAL carries forward like a channel, so a story you make up, or a supposition you reason through, runs over several sentences. Once upon a time is NOTIONAL on the first sentence. It also ends a channel frame: from there on, the imagined scene carries.
zazozon theyum vowurol. zazozon vehohel. zazozon vozuyel.z-Azozon | th-NOTIONAL | v-walk . z-Azozon | v-sit . z-Azozon | v-sing
"Imagine Azozon walking. Azozon sits down. Azozon sings."
A legend that people pass on as true is not NOTIONAL: it is REPORTED, often with a hand count.
NOTIONAL takes a holder the same way a channel does: theyum plus azozon is theyumazozon.
zalazun theyumazozon vudurul.z-Alazun | th-NOTIONAL-Azozon | v-departure
"Imagine it as Azozon sees it: Alazun left."
Compare with: walks like a duck is a real walk; only its manner matches the model (simile hewem). Tells on behalf of Alazun is a real telling, and Azozon is still the teller (proxy hanem).
Hold endings (NOTIONAL)
The ending on NOTIONAL says what the imagining is for: with -l you rehearse a scene to prepare for doing it, with -m you picture it with no further purpose (the default), and with -r you toy with a what if for the moment. The three run on the same settled-to-passing scale as time horizon, like the endings on PLAN. With -n, the word is an ordinary name.
| Ageben | Use | English | Same root as | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
theyul | rehearse a possible scene to prepare for action | let’s practice… / try acting as if… | eyul theater | 🎭: practice a scene |
theyum | imagine a scene without a further purpose (default) | imagine… / as if… | eyul theater | 🎭: picture a scene |
theyur | toy with a possibility or assumption, for now | suppose… / what if…? | eyul theater | 🎭: try on a mask for a moment |
When you are not sure, use theyum.
zahelan theyul vozuyel.z-Ahelan | th-NOTIONAL-rehearse | v-sing
"Ahelan practices singing." (an imagined run-through, to prepare)
zazozon theyur varuyol.z-Azozon | th-NOTIONAL-suppose | v-write
"Suppose Azozon writes."
To reason from a premise you do not grant, suppose it with theyur. The frame carries, so every step after it stays supposed. To keep what you found, state the link with its own channel, which ends the supposition:
zazozon theyur gwozeduyol. xahol zazozon veduyol. zazozon veduyol thanam thohem blarl zazozon gwozeduyol.z-Azozon | th-NOTIONAL-suppose | g-role-agent-teach . x-it-follows | z-Azozon | v-teach . z-Azozon | v-teach | th-DEDUCED | [th-if | bl-that-clause] | [z-Azozon | g-role-agent-teach]
"Suppose Azozon is a teacher. Then Azozon teaches. So if Azozon is a teacher, it follows that Azozon teaches."
Channels as comparison bars
English sleepier than usual and bigger than it looks compare against an expectation. Put the channel right before the rank word (zol / zuol / zoel) as the comparison's bar. The bar is then what that channel led you to expect, not how you know the claim. After the comparison, the same word is the claim's channel again.
zazozon thubom zol guzemel.[z-Azozon | th-PATTERN | z-rank/more | g-sleepy]
"Azozon is sleepier than usual."
zazozon zol guzemel thubom.[z-Azozon | z-rank/more | g-sleepy] | th-PATTERN
"Azozon is the sleepiest, going by the pattern."
| Channel as the bar | Ranks against | English |
|---|---|---|
LIVE thugem | how it looks | than it looks |
MEMORY thevum | how you remember it | than I remember |
PATTERN thubom | the trail of cases | than usual |
CLUES theyom | what was worked out | than calculated |
REPORTED thebam | what was said or written | than advertised / than the stories say |
INTUITION thabem | your gut expectation | than I expected |
FORMER helam | how it used to be | than it used to be |
NOTIONAL theyum | the imagined case | than imagined |
MAY and MIRATIVE give no expected value to compare against, so neither can be a bar. Than scheduled ranks against a plan: that is the PLAN bar (thagom).
A holder on a comparison bar names whose expectation you rank against. Inside the fence the seam covers only the bar: the ranking itself is still your claim.
zazozon thabemalazun zol guzemel.[z-Azozon | th-INTUITION-Alazun | z-rank/more | g-sleepy]
"Azozon is sleepier than Alazun expected."
Channels after uom
English contrary to what I was told and against my gut say the event went against what a source led you to expect. Put the channel after the hook uom (contrary to), the same way as a ban or a plan (contrary to a stance). The pair names what the event goes against; the channel then says nothing about how you know the claim.
zazozon vowurol uom thebam.z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-REPORTED]
"Azozon walks, contrary to what I was told."
zazozon vowurol uom thabem.z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-INTUITION]
"Azozon walks, against my gut."
After uom | Goes against | English |
|---|---|---|
LIVE thugem | how it looks | contrary to appearances |
MEMORY thevum | how you remember it | contrary to what I remember |
PATTERN thubom | the trail of cases | contrary to habit / unusually |
CLUES theyom | what was worked out | contrary to my calculations |
REPORTED thebam | what was said or written | contrary to what I was told / contrary to legend |
INTUITION thabem | your gut expectation | against my gut |
Off schedule goes against a plan: uom thagom (contrary to a stance). MIRATIVE already says the claim ran against what you expected, so it does not follow uom. MAY, NOTIONAL, RESIDUE, and FORMER do not either: none of them is something the event could go against.
A holder on a channel after uom names whose view the event goes against. The seam covers only that pair: the event is still your claim.
zazozon vowurol uom thebamalazun.z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-REPORTED-Alazun]
"Azozon walks, contrary to what I hear Alazun thinks."
Compare with: zazozon themem vowurol. says the walking surprised you. zazozon vowurol uom thabem. says your gut expected otherwise, whether or not the news surprised you.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a magic show
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| rabbit | arozel | 🐇 |
| NOTIONAL | theyum | 🎭 from theater: an imagined scene |
| RESIDUE | haram | 💰 from money: a debt left standing |
| FORMER | helam | 🪹 from empty nest: what used to be |
| MIRATIVE | themem | 😮 from surprise: it turns out |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| departure | vudurul |
| sing | vozuyel |
| see | vayebel |
| walk | vowurol |
| gray | agulel |
| sleepy | uzemel |
| CLUES | theyom |
English → Ageben
1. I can see that the rabbit has left and is still gone.
Show answer
zarozel thugem haram vudurul.
z-rabbit | th-LIVE | h-RESIDUE | v-departure
2. I gather Alazun's singing surprised Azozon. (the surprise is Azozon's)
Show answer
zalazun themem theyomazozon vozuyel.
z-Alazun | th-MIRATIVE | th-CLUES-Azozon | v-sing
3. Imagine the rabbit walking.
Show answer
zarozel theyum vowurol.
z-rabbit | th-NOTIONAL | v-walk
4. The rabbit is sleepier than usual.
Show answer
zarozel thubom zol guzemel.
[z-rabbit | th-PATTERN | z-rank/more | g-sleepy]
5. Ahelan sings, contrary to what I was told.
Show answer
zahelan vozuyel uom thebam.
z-Ahelan | v-sing | [contrary-to | th-REPORTED]
Ageben → English
1. zalazun helam zol gagulel.
Show answer
[z-Alazun | h-FORMER | z-rank/more | g-gray]
Alazun is grayer than Alazun used to be.
2. zalazun theyum darozel vayebel.
Show answer
z-Alazun | th-NOTIONAL | d-rabbit | v-see
Imagine Alazun seeing a rabbit.
3. zazozon vowurol uom thabem.
Show answer
z-Azozon | v-walk | [contrary-to | th-INTUITION]
Azozon walks, against my gut.
Pick one
1. Ahelan practices singing. zahelan theyul vozuyel. or zahelan theyum vozuyel.
Show answer
zahelan theyul vozuyel.
z-Ahelan | th-NOTIONAL-rehearse | v-sing
NOTIONAL with -l is a rehearsal; -m only imagines the singing.
Fix it
1. Imagine Ahelan leaving. zahelan thomam vudurul.
Show answer
zahelan theyum vudurul.
z-Ahelan | th-NOTIONAL | v-departure
thomam is could be; an imagined scene is theyum.
See also
- How you know: knowing.md
- Rank bars: comparatives.md
- Contrary to a stance: sakes.md