Tag pronouns
On this page
How English approximates -r
Beginner used whole-stem -r in the same slot as the earlier word (he sits). The resume keeps the earlier word’s role letter, and the English for it depends on that slot:
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
/z/ … -r after /z/ | same subject again | he / she / it / they; that one |
/d/ … -r after /d/ | same object again | him / her / it / them; that one |
/b/ … -r after /b/ | same extra-noun argument | him / her / it / them as recipient, or as the relation’s argument |
/v/ … -r after /v/ | same action again | do so / do that |
/ɡ/ … -r after /ɡ/ | same property again | such / that / so |
/w/ … -r after /w/ | same degree or frame | that degree / frame again |
/h/ … -r after /h/ | same adverb again | thus / so / that way / then |
/th/ … -r after /th/ | same stance again | if so / in that case (a resumed if) |
/y/ vocative … -r | same addressee again | calling that person again |
/y/ interjection … -r | same exclamation again | repeating that call-out |
/x/ … -r after /x/ | same linker again | and so / likewise |
A few closed roots give -r a meaning of their own: the light end of a scale (thomar may, who knows, thagor plan-sketch). On those, -r is that meaning, not a resume. Every other closed root resumes with -r like any content root, so thoher after thohem is the same condition again:
zalazun vowurol thohem blerulal. zazozon vowurol thoher.z-Alazun | v-walk | [th-if | bl-rain] . z-Azozon | v-walk | th-←if
"Alazun walks if it rains. In that case, Azozon walks too."
For English too / also, resume the action. /v/ -r is the same action again, so a new subject with a resumed verb reads does so too. With the same subject, give the resumed verb a new object: sees a dog too.
zalazun vowurol. zazozon vowuror.z-Alazun | v-walk . z-Azozon | v-←walk
"Alazun walks. Azozon does too."
zazozon vayebel dogozel. zazozon vayeber dodozel.z-Azozon | v-see | d-cat . z-Azozon | v-←see | d-dog
"Azozon sees a cat. Azozon sees a dog too."
Compare with: English that pointing at a quoted title, proverb, or aside uses a role pointer (dwuder, that quote), not whole-stem -r.
Resume one sense (-rl / -rm)
Many roots carry both a concrete -l sense and an abstract -m sense (odozel dog, odozem loyalty), and both share one whole stem. Plain -r takes the most recent word with that stem, whichever sense it had. When both senses are in the conversation, pin the one you mean: -rl resumes the concrete sense, -rm the abstract sense. Everything else about a resume stays the same: the role letter, the whole stem, and the most recent match.
zazozon dodozel vayebel. zalazun dodozem vayebel. zazozon dodozerl vayebel. zalazun dodozerm vayebel.z-Azozon | d-dog | v-see . z-Alazun | d-loyalty | v-see . z-Azozon | d-←dog | v-see . z-Alazun | d-←loyalty | v-see
"Azozon sees a dog. Alazun sees loyalty. Azozon sees the dog. Alazun sees the loyalty."
Here plain dodozer would mean the loyalty, the most recent match. -rl reaches back past it to the dog.
Pinning is optional. Write plain -r when only one sense has come up, or when the latest one is the one you mean. A pinned resume with no earlier word of that sense falls back the way plain -r does: it means the one you both already know (zodozerm alone is the loyalty you both know). A name has no sense to pin, and only a content word or a compound takes -rl / -rm. A stand-in is a different word: it has a vowel and no root.
Cross-role recast
Sometimes you still mean that person or thing, but you need a different slot: the doing, the kind, the manner. Change only the first letter; keep the whole stem and -r. English then uses a longer phrase (do the same with him, of that kind) instead of he / him.
zazozon vehohel. zalazun vazozor.z-Azozon | v-sit . z-Alazun | v-←Azozon
"Azozon sits. Alazun does the same with Azozon."
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
noun antecedent, /v/ … -r | the same action again, now involving that entity | do the same to / with it |
noun antecedent, /ɡ/ … -r | recast as kind | of that kind (not possession) |
verb antecedent, noun … -r | recast as event | that action / event: the same event, with its participants (that = what just happened; the doing, not the doer; role compounds name agent/place/patient/recipient) |
verb antecedent, /h/ … -r | recast as manner | by doing so / thereby |
adjective antecedent, noun … -r | recast as entity | the … one / that quality |
For English one (a black one, the red one) of a noun a role pointer reaches, write that pointer with -l and the new property on /ɡ/. For a noun no pointer reaches (a topic, a noun inside a quote, a hook landmark with no part consonant), write the unspecified dar something and resume the noun as a kind on /ɡ/, then add the new property. A resume on /d/ would be the same dog; dar with a /ɡ/ resume is another thing of the dog kind.
zazozon dodozel gerulol vayebel. zalazun dar godozer gubulel vayebel.z-Azozon | [d-dog | g-red] | v-see . z-Alazun | [d-something | g-←dog] | g-black | v-see
"Azozon sees a red dog. Alazun sees a black one."
Each other
For each other, join the people in /z/ and add hehom after the verb. The root is eho reciprocity: each one does it to the others. Do not write a resume in /d/ (dazozor would just mean Azozon again).
zazozon zalazun zal vayebel hehom.[z-Azozon | z-Alazun | z-and] | v-see | h-reciprocity
"Azozon and Alazun see each other."
With -l, hehol is strictly pairwise: every one of them does it to every other one. -m is the everyday each other / one another, where it only has to go both ways in general.
Compare with: thehom blarl on /th/ is if and only if (dependents). On /h/ with no /b/, the same root is each other.
Addressing several people
English you does not say whether you are talking to one person or several. Ageben does: one addressee is awa, and the listener root plus associative -x (awanx) names everyone this turn addresses. That is everyone the turn’s calls named, plus anyone you were already addressing. Inclusive shall we is still aya, and soft zayam hedges whether you really share the act.
zawanx vehohel.z-listener-x | v-sit
"You all sit."
Compare with: you and I is aya. Azozon and associates is name…-x (plurality).
Tag pronouns
English sometimes labels people to keep them apart: call the first one A, suppose A tells O. A tag is that label. You choose it, and it stays on the same referent however many others come and go. Write the role letter, w, a tag vowel, and an ending. The four vowels are four tags, named by the vowel's letter name: A, O, E, U. Assign a first, then o, then e, last u: the same assignment queue as digit vowels. That is a teaching default, not a ban: a skipped tag still names that letter. Tags do not measure how much person is in, and they are not how far a role pointer reaches. Roots start with a vowel, so a consonant right after the role letter, or after the l of a hosted bl- word, is always a marker: r starts a number word, and w followed by vowels and an ending is a tag (blwar completes the word before it, with a syllabic l). (cue: w ≈ we call it: the label you and the listener agree on)
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zodozel zwal | a phrase, then tag + -l in the same role: assign | a dog, call it A |
zwal | tag + -l with no phrase before it | someone A: a new referent with no name |
zwar / dwar / bwar | tag + -r: the one tagged A, in that role | A |
zwan / dwan / bwan | tag + -n: -r that needs a name | A, when A was assigned to a name |
zwam / dwam / bwam | tag + -m: A's part in the latest event A took part in | what A did |
zwarx / zwanx | -r or -n + -x | A and associates |
The other tags follow the same pattern: zwol / zwor / zwom, zwel / zwer / zwem, zwul / zwur / zwum.
zodozel zwal dugedel dwol vayebel. zogozel dwar vayebel. zwar vowurol.[z-dog | z-tag.A] | [d-cookie | d-tag.O] | v-see . z-cat | d-←tag.A | v-see . z-←tag.A | v-walk
"A dog (A) sees a cookie (O). A cat sees A. A walks."
The last zwar is still the dog, though the cat is the newer doer. zwuzer would pick the cat. The tag vowel is only the label you chose. How far a role pointer reaches is a different job.
- Assign. A tag with -l right after a phrase in the same role names that phrase: a noun with its
/ɡ/describers, a name, a resume, or a role pointer. With no phrase before it, it brings in someone new. - Recall. A tag with -r is the ordinary whole-stem resume:
zwarresumeszwal, so it picks the latest word with that stem, which is the one that assigned the tag. - Named recall. A tag with -n is -r for a tag assigned to a -n word (
zazozon zwal, thenzwan). It picks the same referent aszwar; it adds the claim that A is a name. If A was assigned to a kind (zodozel zwal), to a placeholder (zwalalone), or to a group that is not all names,zwanis not a sentence, and it does not fall back to -r.zwanis always the tag and never a name, as no root begins withw. - Reassign. A newer
zwaltakes A over, by the same rule. - Tag later. A tag can go on a resume:
dodozer dwolis the dog, call it O. - Lists. Inside a join fence, each tag names the item right before it:
zodozel zwal zogozel zwol zamis a dog (A) and a cat (O). After the join word, a tag names the whole group:zodozel zogozel zam zwalis a dog and a cat, call them A. A new tag listed with something else goes first:zwal zodozel zamis A and a dog. - No fallback. An ordinary -r can mean the one you both know. A tag -r or -m with no assignment earlier in the conversation is not a sentence.
With no phrase to tag, a tag holds a placeholder, as in suppose A tells O:
zwal vezuyol bwol. zwor dugedel vagedal.z-tag.A | v-tell | b-tag.O . z-←tag.O | d-cookie | v-eat
"A talks to O. O eats a cookie."
A tag with -m is a share: A's part in the latest earlier sentence where A filled a part, in whatever role. zwuzem picks the event by role; zwam picks it by who.
zazozon zwal dalazun vabuvul. zahelan dwam vayebel.[z-Azozon | z-tag.A] | d-Alazun | v-punch . z-Ahelan | d-←tag.A.part | v-see
"Azozon (A) punches Alazun. Ahelan sees what A did."
Tags fill /z/, /d/, and /b/ only. To call someone, use their name (yalazun). A word that is already a pronoun with one fixed form takes no tag: the special pronouns, the generic pronoun, a topic pronoun, and a tag itself. A resume and a role pointer do take one, because a tag keeps them fixed while they would otherwise follow the latest match. -x goes only on -r and -n: a share is a part, not a group of people, and to tag a group, tag its phrase (zodozelx zwal).
A tag lasts until it is assigned again or the conversation ends with a goodbye. Distance does not blur it, so placeholder reasoning can run through other sentences and back. A tag assigned inside a dependent holds after it, because the dependent is the same talk. A quote keeps its own tags.
Two tags at once
A stacked vowel names two tags together. There are six stacks, one for each pair of tags. The everyday pair is the first two: zwaor is A and O. The others are zwaer A and E, zwoer O and E, zwuar U and A, zwuor U and O, and zwuer U and E. Each pair has this one spelling, whichever tag you name first.
| Ageben | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
zwaor | pair + -r: both, together | A and O |
zwaom | pair + -m: their parts in the latest earlier event both took part in | what A and O did |
zwaorx | pair -r + -x | A, O, and associates |
zodozel zwal zogozel zwol zam vowurol. zwaor veruvol. zazozon dwaom vayebel.[[z-dog | z-tag.A] | [z-cat | z-tag.O] | z-and.open] | v-walk . z-←tag.A+O | v-run . z-Azozon | d-←tag.A+O.part | v-see
"A dog (A) and a cat (O) walk. A and O run. Azozon sees what A and O did."
Both tags must already be assigned. A pair never assigns: to tag two things, tag each one (zodozel zwal zogozel zwol zam), or tag the group as one (zodozel zogozel zam zwal).
Compare with: zwaor says in one word what a list of zwar and zwor closed by zam says.
Compare with: a name already resumes from anywhere (zazozor), and two people rarely share a name. Reach for a tag when the referent has no name, when its stem is a long compound, when two of the same kind are in play, or when a role pointer would pick someone newer.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a rooftop garden
New words:
| English | Ageben | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| harvest | vogelam | 🌾 from grain: bringing the crop in |
| red | erulol | 🔴 |
| reciprocity | hehom | ↔️ from east-west: each one to the others |
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| Azozon | azozon |
| Alazun | alazun |
| Ahelan | ahelan |
| listener | awan |
| pour | vowuvul |
| tomato | odedel |
| watermelon | owodel |
| like | hewem |
| see | vayebel |
| scream | veyamul |
English → Ageben
1. Alazun pours. Azozon does too.
Show answer
zalazun vowuvul. zazozon vowuvur.
z-Alazun | v-pour . z-Azozon | v-←pour
2. A tomato is red. So is a watermelon.
Show answer
zodedel gerulol. zowodel gerulor.
z-tomato | g-red . z-watermelon | g-←red
3. Azozon and Alazun see each other.
Show answer
zazozon zalazun zal vayebel hehom.
[z-Azozon | z-Alazun | z-and] | v-see | h-reciprocity
4. Ahelan (A) pours. Alazun (O) harvests. A sees O.
Show answer
zahelan zwal vowuvul. zalazun zwol vogelam. zwar dwor vayebel.
[z-Ahelan | z-tag.A] | v-pour . [z-Alazun | z-tag.O] | v-harvest . z-←tag.A | d-←tag.O | v-see
5. Azozon (A) and Alazun (O) harvest. A and O scream.
Show answer
zazozon zwal zalazun zwol zam vogelam. zwaor veyamul.
[[z-Azozon | z-tag.A] | [z-Alazun | z-tag.O] | z-and.open] | v-harvest . z-←tag.A+O | v-scream
Ageben → English
1. zalazun hewem blazozon vowuvul. zahelan hewer vogelam.
Show answer
z-Alazun | [h-like | bl-Azozon] | v-pour . z-Ahelan | h-←like | v-harvest
Alazun pours like Azozon. Ahelan harvests that way.
2. zazozon vogelam. zalazun vazozor.
Show answer
z-Azozon | v-harvest . z-Alazun | v-←Azozon
Azozon harvests. Alazun does the same with Azozon.
3. zawanx vogelam.
Show answer
z-listener-x | v-harvest
You all harvest.
4. zazozon veyamul. zalazun veyamur.
Show answer
z-Azozon | v-scream . z-Alazun | v-←scream
Azozon screams. Alazun does too.
Pick one
1. Azozon (A) pours. Alazun (O) harvests. O screams. zazozon zwal vowuvul. zalazun zwol vogelam. zwor veyamul. or zazozon zwal vowuvul. zalazun zwol vogelam. zwar veyamul.
Show answer
zazozon zwal vowuvul. zalazun zwol vogelam. zwor veyamul.
[z-Azozon | z-tag.A] | v-pour . [z-Alazun | z-tag.O] | v-harvest . z-←tag.O | v-scream
The tag vowel picks the referent: o is Alazun, whoever acted last.
2. You all scream. zawanx veyamul. or zawan veyamul.
Show answer
zawanx veyamul.
z-listener-x | v-scream
-x on the listener names everyone this turn addresses; zawan is one listener.
Fix it
1. Azozon (A) pours. Alazun harvests. A screams. zazozon zwal vowuvul. zalazun vogelam. zwuzer veyamul.
Show answer
zazozon zwal vowuvul. zalazun vogelam. zwar veyamul.
[z-Azozon | z-tag.A] | v-pour . z-Alazun | v-harvest . z-←tag.A | v-scream
A tag stays on A; zwuzer is the latest doer, Alazun.