Drow Grammar

 

I. PLURALIZATION

Withstanding irregular forms, a plural is completed by "en" if it ends in a consonant or "n" if it ends in a vowel.

Singular

Plural

Jabbress (Mistress)

Jabbressen (Mistresses)

Velve (Blade)

Velven (Blades)

II. POSSESSIVE CASE

Coincidentally, the possessive case in the Drow language is very similar to the Common Tongue used by most races. The possessive case is completed with "'s" except if the word ends in "s" where upon "'" is added.

 Sarn lil velg'larn's inthen
{Beware the assassin's schemes}

Nindil zhah lil Valsharess' elgluth
{That is the Valsharess' whip}

III. VERBS

A verb has different forms depending on its number (singular or plural); person (first, second, third); voice (active, passive); tense (present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect); and mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive).

 NUMBER: Withstanding irregular verbs, the singular form is completed with "ar".  

Singular

Plural

Lil sargtlin elggar The warrior kills)

Lil sargtlinen elgg (The warriors kill)

Uss jaluk elar (One male dies)

Draa jaluken el (Two males die)

 PERSON: Verbs usually have a different form only in the third person singular of the present tense. Withstanding irregular verbs, the third person singular of the present tense is completed with "e".

Usstan belbau(I give)

Dos belbau(You give)

Uk belbaue(He gives)

Usstan luth(I cast)

Dos luth(You cast)

Il luthe(She casts)

VOICE: A passive verb is a combination of a "be" verb and a past participle.

Active
L'Yathrin harventhe ukt karliik (The Yathrin severs his head)

Passive
Ukt karliik zhahus harventhus a'lil Yathrin (His head was severed by the Yathrin)

TENSE: Withstanding irregular verbs, the past tense is completed with "us".

 

Active Voice

Passive Voice

Present Tense

Uk phlithe (He hates)

Uk zhah phlithus (He is hated)

Past Tense

Usstan phlithus (I hated)

Usstan zhahus phlithus (I was hated)

Future Tense

Dos orn phlith (You will hate)

Dos orn tlu phlithus (You will be hated)

Present Perfect

Dos inbal phlithus (You have hated)

Dos inbal tlus phlithus (You have been hated)

Past Perfect

Il inbalus phlithus (She had hated)

Il inbalus tlus phlithus (She had been hated)

Future Perfect

Usstan zhal inbal phlithus (I shall have hated)

Usstan zhal inbal tlus phlithus (I shall have been hated)

 MOOD: The mood of the verb indicates the tone in which the statement is made. The common "-ing" ending found in many verbs of the indicative mood is completed with "-in". There are no other endings for the imperative or subjunctive moods.

Indicative
Udos phuul raldarin l'waess da'fol rivvin.
(We are stripping the skin from some humans)

 IV. ADJECTIVES

Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative. Withstanding irregular forms, the comparative form is completed with "ur" while the superlative is completed with "url". The common "-ful" suffix for many adjectives is indicated by "'urn".

Positive

Comparative

Superlative

Olath (Dark)

Olathur (Darker)

Olathurl (Darkest)

Ssin'urn (Beautiful)

Mzild ssin'urn (More beautiful)

Mzilst ssin'urn (Most beautiful)

V. ADVERBS

Averbs, like adjectives, have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative. Withstanding irregular forms, the comparative form is completed with "ur" while the superlative is completed with "url". The common "-ly" suffix for many adverbs is indicated by "ne" (or "e" if ending in "n").

Positive

Comparative

Superlative

Al (Well)

Alur (Better)

Alurl (Best)

Ssin'urne (Beautifully)

Mzild ssin'urne (More beautifully)

Mzilst ssin'urne (Most beautifully)