Eastern Lombard grammar
Eastern Lombard grammar reflects the main features of Romance languages: the word order of Eastern Lombard is usually SVO, nouns are inflected in number, adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns, verbs are conjugated in tenses, aspects and moods and agree with the subject in number and person. The case system is present only for the weak form of the pronoun.
Eastern Lombard has always been a spoken language and, in spite of sporadic attempts to fix the main features in a written grammar, a unique canonical variety has never prevailed over the others. The present day situation sees a large number of varieties, roughly identifiable by the area where a particular variety is spoken. Varieties differ mainly in phonology, syntax and word choice.
This grammar is based on the Brescian variety and, although local differences can be found, the basic principles are generally valid for the other varieties.
Nouns
Nouns in Eastern Lombard have two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.Singular
Masculine
Masculine singular nouns generally end with a consonant:• gat, cat
• òm, man
but can often end with a stressed vowel: this usually happens where a historical -n has been dropped.
• cà, dog
• pà, bread
• carbù, coal
Feminine
Feminine singular nouns generally end with -a:• gàta, female cat
• fónna, woman
but can occasionally end with a consonant:
• néf, snow
Note that, in some varieties, the final -a represents an /ɔ/ sound, that can make feminine words sound like they end in *-o.
Plural
Masculine
Masculine plural nouns follow particular rules depending on the ending of the singular form of the noun.If the singular ends with a stressed vowel, the word does not change in the plural:
• el cà → i cà
If the singular ends with -c, -j, -m, -p, -r or -s, the plural remains identical to the singular:
• el sac → i sac
• el ventàj → i ventàj
• el póm → i póm
• el cóp → i cóp
• el pér → i pér
• el ciós → i ciós
If the singular ends with -t, the plural will end with -cc :
• el gat → i gacc
If the singular ends with -n, the plural will end with -gn :
• el àzen → i àzegn
If the singular ends with -l, the plural will end with -j:
• el caàl → ''i caàj''
Feminine
Feminine plural nouns generally end with -e:• la gàta → le gàte
• la fónna → le fónne
When the singular ends with a consonant, the plural follows the rules applied to masculine nouns.
Article
All the articles in Eastern Lombard agree in number and gender with the corresponding noun. Articles can be definite and indefinite. Indefinite articles are used only with singular nouns. However, to indicate an indefinite number of objects, Lombard exploits something similar to the partitive in French, but because the partitive system is much less developed in Lombard, this class of articles is included in the indefinite system.Definite Article
Note:El is the form used for the singular definite article in the Brescian variety but in other dialects the forms ol or al are preferred.- The most widespread form for the feminine plural article in Eastern Lombard is le but in the area of Bergamo le is replaced by the form i that is the plural masculine form.
Bergamasque 'i fómne'
Note that speakers that use one form may not find correct the other.
- When el is followed by a vowel, it becomes l, like in:
- When
Indefinite Article
Bresciano:Bergamasque:
Modifiers
Adjectives
In Eastern Lombard, adjectives with qualificative function usually go after the noun they modify, and agree with it in number and gender.Plural of adjectives is formed observing the same rules of nouns. So we have:
'n òm pesèn / du òm pesègn
'na fómna pesèna / dò fómne pesène
Although, in general, if compared with the Italian tongue, Eastern Lombard is less permissive under this aspect, some common adjectives like bèl, bröt, gran, bù, brào can also be placed before the noun. In this case the meaning can take on a different nuance, e.g.:
en bröt òm
''en òm bröt''
Superlative
Eastern Lombard expresses an extreme degree or absolute state of something by means of the absolute superlative, that corresponds to the English form very + adjective.Differently from Italian, Spanish and other Romance languages, Eastern Lombard lacks a counterpart of the form adjective+issimo and also lacks a cognate for the Italian molto. In the Brescian variety, the most widespread form is adjective + fés, e.g.:
l'è bèl fés
'na maöla dólsa fés
Although, the adverb fés cannot be used if the adjective is placed before the noun. In that case the superlative form is obtained by the adverb gran placed before the adjective, e.g.:
du gran bèj caàj
l'è 'n gran brào barbér
Another way to express a high degree of something is to reinforce it by means of a second adjective+ét/ènt, for example:
só ché mis gosét
la padèla l'è calda sbrojéta
the second element is very frequently a repetition of the first adjective, i.e.:
'na máchina nöa nöènta
ghè za ciar ciarènt
''del dutùr ghéra zó pjé pjenènt''
Demonstrative adjectives
Eastern Lombard makes a two-way distinction of demonstrative: the proximal form for the singular masculine is chèsto, while the distal form is chèl. This is the declension for the two forms:- An alternative form is chès·cc, pronounced, but the schwa is very reduced and hardly pronounced.
chèsto pà or chèsto pà chè or chèl pà chè;
chèl pà or chèl pà là.
Pronouns
Pronouns are classified in personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns and relative pronouns.Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns decline in number and person. For the third person, gender represents a further distinction.Notes:
Examples of use of the pronouns:Tonic form can be used as subject at the beginning of the sentence or as indirect object after a preposition.
Demonstrative PronounsDemonstrative pronouns are identical in form with the demonstrative adjectives. Of course, they occur without a noun and they agree in number and gender with the referent.Demonstrative pronouns are almost always used with the deictic particle ché or là. However, while with demonstrative adjectives chèl can be used in combination with ché, demonstrative pronouns do not accept the expression *chèl ché. So: chèsto s·cèt ché -> chèsto ché chèl s·cèt là -> chèl là chèl s·cèt ché -> no corresponding expression. In pronoun resolution, strong preference is given to animate entities rather to inanimate entities. VerbsOne of the first descriptions of the verb declension of Eastern Lombard verbs is included in the small dictionary edited in 1951 by Stefano PinelliNon finite MoodInfinitiveAccording to the infinitive form, verbs are classified in two classes:The first class includes the verbs ending in -à: Parlà Cantà Nà The second class includes the verbs with the infinitive ending in -ì or -er. Note that almost all the verbs of this second class can present two infinitive forms, one ending in -ì and the other ending in -er. For example: Lizì = Lèzer Scriì = Scrìer Patì = Patéser The form in -ì is mandatory when an enclitic pronoun is added: Gó de lizìl while the form in -er is generally preferred when the infinitive has no enclitic pronouns attached: Gó de lèzer Bergamasque instead alternates the form in -í with a form identical to the 3rd singular of present indicative mood. Gó de lès – compare with: Lü 'l lès el giornàl therefore the two forms of the infinitive are: Lezì = Lès Scriì = Scrif ''Corì = Cór'' Past ParticiplePast participle is used in the compound tenses present perfect and past perfect.The regular past participle is made adding an -t after the infinitive form. Verbs of the second class use the form ending in -ì. For example: Parlà + t => Parlàt Cantà + t => Cantàt Scriì + t => Scriìt Patì + t => ''Patìt'' Indicative MoodPresent TensesThere are two present tenses in Eastern Lombard:A simple present and a present progressive: Simple PresentThe Simple Present, is conjugated as follows:First class I sing.: cànte II sing.: càntet III sing.: cànta I plur.: cantóm II plur.: cantìf III plur.: cànta Second class I sing.: córe II sing.: córet III sing.: cór I plur.: coróm II plur.: curìf III plur.: cór The paradigms above are presented without the corresponding pronouns. II person singular and III personal singular and plural cannot be separated by their clitic pronoun. The following paradigm is presented with either the personal pronoun and the clitic pronoun: mé cànte té ta càntet lü el cànta lé la cànta nóter cantóm vóter cantìf lur i cànta lùre le cànta The first person plural can also be conjugated with the clitic pronoun en + III sing. nóter cantóm = nóter en cànta This form can be prevalent or even exclusive in certain varieties. Another local way to conjugate the I person plural is nóter càntem where the clitic pronoun seems to have shifted and merged with the declension. Interrogative form of the verbA feature which Lombard tongue shares with French is the interrogative conjugation of the verb. This form is much better preserved in Eastern Lombard than in Western Lombard, where superstratum effects by Italian are stronger. The analogy with French tongue holds at a syntactical level, i.e. interrogative form means a verb–subject order. A difference consists in the fact that subject particles are enclitic and agglutinate with the verb. Internal Sandhi phenomena may take place as well canta-la? turns into càntela?.So, eastern Lombard verbs have a distinct conjugation paradigm for the interrogative function, where clitic pronouns shift after the verb and solder with it: First class I sing.: càntej? that corresponds to sing? II sing.: càntet? that corresponds to sing? III sing.masc.: càntel? that corresponds to sing? III sing.fem.: càntela? that corresponds to sing? I plur.: cantómej that corresponds to sing? II plur.: cantìf that corresponds to sing? III plur.masc.: càntej? that corresponds to sing? III plur.fem.: càntele? that corresponds to sing? It is worthwhile noting that some Camunic dialects show a periphrastic interrogative form, with syntax similar to English tongue:
Negative form of the verbThe negative form is obtained by adding the negation particle mìa after the verb:I sing.: cànte mìa that corresponds to don't sing II sing.: càntet mìa III sing.: cànta mìa I plur.: cantóm mìa II plur.: cantìf mìa III plur.: ''cànta mìa'' Present ProgressiveThe Present progressive, that is formed with the simple present of the verb véser + dré a + infinitive :First class I sing.: só dré a cantà II sing.: sét dré a cantà III sing.: è dré a cantà I plur.: sóm dré a cantà II plur.: sìf dré a cantà III plur.: è dré a cantà Second class I sing.: só dré a córer II sing.: sét dré a córer III sing.: è dré a córer I plur.: sóm dré a córer II plur.: sìf dré a córer III plur.: ''è dré a córer'' Past TensesThere are four past tenses. A simple past and three compound pasts :ImperfectThe Imperfect tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action, is conjugated as follows:First class I sing.: cantàe II sing.: cantàet III sing.: cantàa I plur.: cantàem II plur.: cantàef III plur.: cantàa Second class I sing.: curìe II sing.: curìet III sing.: curìa I plur.: curìem II plur.: curìef III plur.: ''curìa'' Past ProgressiveThe Past Progressive stresses the fact that the action was continuous in the past. This tense is formed with the imperfect of the verb véser + dré a + the infinitive:I sing.: sére dré a cantà II sing.: séret dré a cantà III sing.: éra dré a cantà I plur.: sérem dré a cantà II plur.: séref dré a cantà III plur.: ''éra dré a cantà'' Present PerfectThe Present Perfect is used for every past action without strong connotation on the aspect of the verb, otherwise speakers prefer Imperfect or Past Progressive tenses. Notably, Lombard does not have a Preterite.The Present Perfect is formed with the present of the verb ìga + the past participle or with the present of the verb véser + the past participle: Example from cantà, with auxiliary verb ìga: I sing.: gó cantàt II sing.: ghét cantàt III sing.: ga cantàt I plur.: góm cantàt II plur.: ghif cantàt III plur.: ga cantàt Example from sta, with auxiliary verb véser: I sing.: só stat II sing.: sét stat III sing.: è stat I plur.: sóm stacc II plur.: sìf stacc III plur.: ''è stacc'' Past PerfectThe Past Perfect expresses that the action was completed in the past before some other event.This tense is formed with the Imperfect of the verb ìga + the past participle or with the Imperfect of the verb véser + the past participle : I sing.: ghìe cantàt II sing.: ghìet cantàt III sing.: ghìa cantàt I plur.: ghìem cantàt II plur.: ghìef cantàt III plur.: ghìa cantàt I sing.: sére stat II sing.: séret stat III sing.: éra stat I plur.: sérem stacc II plur.: séref stacc III plur.: ''éra stacc'' Future TensesThere are three future tenses. A simple future and two compound futures :Simple FutureThe Simple Future, is conjugated as follows:First class I sing.: cantaró II sing.: cantarét III sing.: cantarà I plur.: cantaróm II plur.: cantarìf III plur.: cantarà Second class I sing.: coraró II sing.: corarét III sing.: corarà I plur.: coraróm II plur.: corarìf III plur.: ''corarà'' Future ProgressiveThe Future Progressive is formed with the simple future of the verb véser + dré a + the infinitive:I sing.: saró dré a cantà II sing.: sarét dré a cantà III sing.: sarà dré a cantà I plur.: saróm dré a cantà II plur.: sarìf dré a cantà III plur.: ''sarà dré a cantà'' Future PerfectThe Future Perfect is formed with the simple future of the auxiliary verb ìga + the past participle or with the simple future of vèser + the past participle :I sing.: garó cantàt II sing.: garét cantàt III sing.: garà cantàt I plur.: garóm cantàt II plur.: garif cantàt III plur.: garà cantàt I sing.: saró stat II sing.: sarét stat III sing.: sarà stat I plur.: saróm stacc II plur.: sarìf stacc III plur.: ''sarà stacc'' Subjunctive and Conditional moodsSubjunctive and conditional moods are used to form the hypothetical sentences and to express desire.The paradigms for a regular verb are the following: person subjunctive present subjunctive past conditional I sing. II sing. III sing. I plur. II plur. III plur. càntes càntes cànte cantómes cantìghes cànte cantèse cantèset cantès cantèsem cantèsef cantès cantarèse cantarèset cantarès cantarèsem cantarèsef ''cantarès'' Imperative moodImperative mood has only one tense and three persons.The paradigm is the following: person I class verbs II class verbs II sing. I plur. II plur. cànta cantóm cantì scrìf scrióm scriì Imperative can also bring an enclitic pronoun to specify the object of the action or toward who it is directed. In this case the conjugation for the II singular person can be slightly different. So we have: cànta! but càntela! where -la is the enclitic pronoun indicating the object. càntega! where -ga indicates toward who is directed the action. and for the II class verbs: scrìf! but scrìel! ''scrìem!'' Phrasal verbsEastern Lombard makes a large use of phrasal verbs, i.e. a combination of a verb and an adverb of place. The meaning of the resulting form often significantly differs from the basic verb meaning. Here are some examples:catà catà fò catà sö catà sa catà zó tö tö dré tö sö tö dét tö fò tö zó leà leà fò leà sö Note that the adverbial particle always comes immediately after the group verb + enclitic pronouns, e.g.: te ghét de laàl zó ''càtemej sö, per pjazér'' Auxiliary verbsEastern Lombard has two auxiliary verbs: véser and ìga and are used in the same way as in Italian.The verb Véser (to be)Besides being used as copula or to express existence, Véser is also an auxiliary verb, contrary to the use of the English Present Perfect.The forms in the present tense are irregular: I sing.: só II sing.: sét III sing.: è I plur.: sóm II plur.: sìf III plur.: ''è'' The verb Ìga (to have)The peculiarity of the verb ìga in Eastern Lombard is that it is always bound to a pronominal particle. The infinitive form, for example, is ìga, where the particle -ga is a 1st person plural pronoun.When a different pronoun is needed, the particle -ga is replaced with the proper pronoun, for example: L'è bèl a ìga i sólcc but La dis de ìl vést The same occurs in the conjugated forms, with the exception that the pronominal particle comes before the verb instead of after. For example: Gó du gacc but L'ó ést The complete conjugation for the indicative present is: I sing.: gó II sing.: ghét III sing.: ga I plur.: góm II plur.: ghìf III plur.: ga Certain varieties drop the pronominal particle when conjugated as auxiliary verb, thus, in that case, the correct expressions are: Gó öna moér e du s·cècc'' but Ó biìt tròp'' Convergence of the imperfectThe imperfect conjugation of the auxiliary verbs seems to confuse and interchange the inflections.Etymologically the two auxiliary verbs should be conjugated as follows: véser: I sing.: sére II sing.: séret III sing.: éra I plur.: sérem II plur.: séref III plur.: éra ìga: I sing.: ghìe II sing.: ghìet III sing.: ghìa I plur.: ghìem II plur.: ghìef III plur.: ghìa But, beside these forms, the followings can often be found: véser: I sing.: sìe II sing.: sìet III sing.: ìa I plur.: sìem II plur.: sìef III plur.: ìa ìga: I sing.: ghére II sing.: ghéret III sing.: ghéra I plur.: ghérem II plur.: ghéref III plur.: ghéra Therefore, the following sentences can be found with no apparent preference: El ghìa fat sö 'na ca. El ghéra fat sö 'na ca. Both meaning ''He had built a house.'' NegationIn Eastern Lombard, negation is generally expressed with the form mìa after the verb.el tò s·cèt el stüdia mìa l'Inglés. In the case of a compound tense, the negation occurs after the auxiliary. só mìa nàt a scöla. Differently from Italian where the negative sentence pattern contemplates and requires the use of redundant negative particles, Eastern Lombard doesn't. Thus, when an indefinite pronoun with negative value is already present in the sentence, the particle mìa is usually dropped. ghéra niènt de fa. Compare with the Italian: non c'era niente da fare. mé gó ést nüsü . In Italian would be rendered with: io non ho visto nessuno . el ga mài lauràt. Italian: non ha mai lavorato. The forms: ghéra mìa niènt de fa and mé gó mìa ést nüsü are tolerated while the form el ga mìa mài lauràt is not. A less common way to express negation is the use of the particle nó before the verb or before the proclitic subject pronoun. This form has almost everywhere been replaced by the use of mìa. It seems to have crystallized uniquely in few expressions like: mé nó crède! gne nó 'l va, gne nó 'l vé.. |