The Basic Grammar of Ido/Word Composition

Ido is an agglutinative language, much like building blocks, with a clear structural composition: root, ending and affixes. Root The root is the core of the word. It conveys a meaning and cannot be split up. For example, in the word "pomo" (apple), "pom" is the root and "o" is the ending. Similarly, in the word "bela" (beautiful), "bel" is the root and "a" is the ending. Ending The ending indicates the part of speech and the form of a word. It includes: nouns and their number (singular or plural), adjectives, verbs and their tenses, and adverbs. Affixes Affixes are divided into prefixes and suffixes. They alter the meaning of a word by being added before or after the root. Indeed, many affixes can also function as roots. For example, in the word "desbela" (ugly), "des" is the prefix, "bel" is the root and "a" is the ending. Similarly, in the word "beligo" (beautification), "bel" is the root, "ig" is the suffix and "o" is the ending. Exercises Try to analyse the structure of the following words (prefix, root, suffix, ending): Grand-a (Big) Des-grand-a (Small) Des-grand-ig-o (Minimise) Answers * Grand: root ; a: ending Des: prefix ; grand: root ; a: ending Des: prefix ; grand: root ; ig: suffix ; o: ending