The Basic Grammar of Ido/Word Formation

Ido is like a game of building blocks: by putting together and combining affixes, endings and roots, you can change the meaning of a word and express complex and precise concepts in a single word. Compound words In Ido, specific meanings can be expressed by combining several roots. The structure is as follows: prefix + modifying roots + central root + suffix + ending. For example, "vaporo" (steam) + "navo" (ship) makes "vapornavo" (steamship). When the combination of two roots is difficult to pronounce, an ‘o’ can be inserted between them to link them together. For example, "dorm" (to sleep) + "chambro" (room) makes "dormochambro" (bedroom). If the preceding root is an adjective, the roots can also be linked by "a". For example, "sam" (same) + "temp" (time) gives "samatempe" (simultaneously). To make compound words easier to understand, you can add a hyphen "-" between the roots when writing them. For example, "vapornavo" can be written as "vapor-navo". The pronunciation remains the same, but the structure is clearer this way. If a compound word contains more than two roots, its precise meaning must be inferred from the context. Consequently, although Ido grammar allows for the formation of words of infinite length, it is generally not recommended to create compound words containing more than three roots. Conversion of Word Categories To transform a root into a different category of words, it is not enough simply to change the ending. You must also add an appropriate suffix to make the meaning clearer. We will explain this below. Convert to a Noun For adjectival roots converted into nouns, adding the ending "o" directly denotes "the person/thing…". If the adjective is to be converted into an abstract concept, the suffix "es" must be added, followed by the ending "o". For example, "libero" means "free person" or "free thing", whilst "libereso" refers to the concept of "freedom". For verb roots, adding the ending "o" expresses the action itself. Convert to an Adjective In Ido, turning a word into an adjective is not simply adding "a"; one must also take into account the type of adjective produced, which can be of two kinds: one describes a characteristic, the other a relationship. To say "having the characteristic of…", simply add an "a" at the end. For example, "Libera" means "possessing the characteristics of freedom". To express "regarding…" or "belonging to…", the suffix "al" must be added, followed by the ending "a". For example, "Liberala", which means "concerning freedom". For adjectives ending in "-al", the ending "a" may be omitted, mainly depending on the phonetic context. It should be noted that the position of the stress remains unchanged after the omission. For example, "Liberala" (Li-be-RA-la) is simplified to "Liberal" (Li-be-RAL). Convert to a Verb There are five suffixes that can be used to turn a noun or adjective root into a verb. SuffixExplanationExampleIGTo make...Bel-ig-ar: to beautifyIJTo become...Rich-ij-ar: to become richIFTo create, to produceInfant-if-ar: to procreateIZTo confer, to cover, to equipSal-iz-ar: to saltESKTo start to...Dorm-esk-ar: to go to sleep Category:Book:The Basic Grammar of Ido