THE ESSENTIALS OF SINDARIN GRAMMAR

Writing

Sindarin uses an alphabet called Tengwar. It is designed to be written by pen from left to right.

The Tengwar


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.

28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
 t
p
c
-
d
b
g
gw
th
f
ch
-
dh
v
-
-
nn
mm
ng
-
n
m
o
w
r
rh
l

lh
s
y
-
-
h
chw
e
u

(always pronounced as 'k')
(not used in Sindarin)


(never pronounced like 'j')

(only voiceless as in 'thought', not as in 'the')
(always as in 'father')
(as in German 'Bach',[x])
(not used in Sindarin)
(voiced 'th' as in 'that')

(not used in Sindarin)
(not used in Sindarin)


(only like in 'sing')
(not used in Sindarin)


(as in 'road')

(trilled)
archaic, replaced by letter 25
(does not affect the vowel as in English 'bell', 'hill', which would
be transcribed in Sindarin more like beol, hiol)
archaic , replaced by letter 27

(a vowel like French 'u', [y])
(not used in Sindarin)
(not used in Sindarin)
(as in English)
(German 'ch' plus English 'w')
(as in 'pain')
(as in 'food')


Additional Symbols


37.
38.
39.
40.


41.

42.
 i (as in 'seem')
a (as in 'father')
examples of diphthongs with final i. (read: ai, ei, ui)
examples of diphthongs with final u. In some modes,
this tehta is not used and w (24) is written.
(read: aw, ew, iw)
examples of consonant combinations beginning with a nasal.
(read: nd, mb, ng)
examples of punctuation, approximately corresponding to: ,.


A mark like an acute accent is used to show long vowels in the Sindarin alphabet. The long vowels are of similar quality but different duration, though é and ó are pronounced tenser and 'closer' than the short vowels.
In single syllable words the long vowels are particularly long and in the literature a circumflex is sometimes used to denote this.
The accent is on the second to last syllable unless that syllable does not have a long vowel or more than one consonant following the vowel. In this case, the accent is on the preceding syllable (3rd from last).

Note on spelling
The final s is always written single and always doubled with a suffix.
The final aew is written and pronounced ae with the assumption that w will be restored when a suffix is added.
The oe is considered archaic and the standard e is used except in monosyllabic words.
The f and v maintain their English equivalents in all positions and ph is not used (as opposed to the literature where final f is pronounced as 'v').
Initial archaic ch is written and pronounced h except in the initial combination chw which is maintained to remind the reader of its difference from the Quenya aspirated hw. The ch is restored when a prefix is applied.
Initial w is always written and pronounced gw except after lenition.
Initial v does not occur in the dictionary and one should look under m instead. This was a late third age regional variation. The close association of m to v was a peculiarity of the Eldarin tongues due to the nasal 'v'(an 'm' that is pronounced with the lower lip touching the upper teeth).
lh and rh, the initial aspirated liquids are transliterated by l and r respectively, though are still aspirated in speech.
The archaic initial thl is (in the third age) written and pronounced as fl.
Final w after a consonant is written and pronounced as u, but is restored when suffixed by a vowel.
c is always used in place of k.

Sound Changes in Sindarin

Consonant Mutation
With the definite article, a definite preposition, or any prefix, certain initial consonants undergo changes (lenition). There are two types, regular lenition and nasal lenition. If the article or prefix ends in a nasal (n, m or ng) the nasal lenition occurs. The changes are (consonant-regular lenition,nasal lenition): p-b,f; t-d,th; c-g,ch; b-v,mb; d-dh,nd; g--,ng; m-v,m. When the nasal lenition occurs, the nasal in the article or prefix is dropped. Ex.: en+bar - e-mbar, the home (Sometimes one will find variant spellings such as em-bar, em-mbar.); in tíw - i thíw, the letters. The final nasals of the articles, prepositions, or prefixes will assimilate to the initial nasal of the following word. Ex.: en magol - em magol, e-magol, the sword.
With a suffix: nd-nn, mb-mm, ng-ng(pronounced as in English 'sing' only).
With a suffix beginning in r: n-dh, m-v, st-th, nt-th .
Vowel Harmony
With a final syllable which has been transformed to a syllable containing i, y or ai, or with a suffix which contains these vowels, preceding vowels undergo the following changes: a-e, o-e, u-e. Other vowels remain unchanged.
Proper Nouns
In translating the many Sindarin place and personal names, it is necessary to consider historical sound changes that differ from the formal changes discussed above. The following changes in consonants usually occur at the partition of Sindarin names: t-d, d-th, p-b, c-g, gw-w, m-v, s-h, th-s. In multisyllabic names (and sometimes in monosyllabic names), the final cosonants nd, mb, ld go to n, m, l respectively and the final ng is then pronounced as in 'sing'(not 'single' as usual). In compounds, the diphthongs simplify in the following manner: ai-í, au-ó, ae-á, oe-é. Ex: Círdan is from cair-tán, ship wright

The Article

The definite article is en and in in the plural. Ex.: e-ngaladh, the tree; i-ngelaidh, the trees; en él, the star; in élin, the stars. The definite article can also be used before the verb to form the relative conjunction (+pronoun). Ex.: i chuinar, those that live; e chuina, one that lives. As an adjective clause, only i is used. Ex.: e-ndan i guina, the man who lives. In archaic literature one will find i as the singular definite article. Ex.: i'aladh, the tree.
Sindarin does not have an indefinite article. With no article, the noun is considered indefinite. Ex.: galadh, a tree; élin, some stars.

The Noun

The plural is formed in -in except with certain final syllables where an internal vowel change occurs as follows: a-ai(e before two consonants), e-i, o-y, o-oe(ar.), aw & au-ui, ei & ai-í, . Ex.: adan (man), edain; gwend (girl), gwind; onod (ent), enyd; caw (top), cui; auth (battle), uith; pein (plank), pín; múl (slave), múlin; cón (captain), cónin; cirith (pass), cirthin. Irregular plural forms are given in the dictionary. They are indicated by square brackets.
The collective plural is formed in -ath (-iath after a syllable containing i, y or ai and ending in a single consonant). -rim,-oth (with bad conotation) are often used for animate nouns. Ex.: adadhrim, all men; in giliath, all the stars.
The dual plural no longer existed in the Sindarin of the third age, but the archaic form was still seen in a few words such as: Orgaladhad, Day of the Two Trees (Tuesday).
Sindarin has no grammatical gender.
Sindarin does not have a system of cases as does Quenya but uses prepositions. A peculiarity of Sindarin is that each preposition has two forms, being either definite or indefinite. The definite form causes consonant mutation in the following noun. These definite forms are included in the dictionary.
An important aspect is the construct, which replaces the use of the genitive. By placing a noun immediately after another, the second noun modifies the first as a genitive. Ex.: Ennyn Durin, Doors of Durin; e-mbereth en adan, the wife of the man.

The Adjective

The adjective follows the noun it modifies and agrees in general number.
The plural is formed like the noun, but only when the change is internal, otherwise the form is not differentiated from the singular. Ex.: e find calen, the green ridge; i finnin celin, the green ridges; i finnath celin, all of the green ridges.
The superlative is formed in -wain. Ex.: iarwain, eldest.
The cardinal numbers are: er, one; tad, two; neled, three; canad, four; leben, five; eneg, six; odog, seven; toloth, eight; neder, nine; caen, ten; rasad, twelve, dozen; host, 144; meneg, 1000. The numbers are base ten. -chaen or -gaen indicate units of ten. Ex.: nelchaen, thirty.
The ordinal numbers are formed in -ui. Ex.: erui, first; lefnui, fifth.
Some dialects use -en. Ex.: eren, first; edwen, second.
A fraction is per, a half.

The Pronoun

pronounsubj.subj. suff.dir. obj.indir. obj.prep. (an-)poss.poss. suff.
Iim-nninennianimnín-n
youich*-(e)chcin*engi*anich*cín*-(e)ch*
heho-honhonoanon*hon*-
shehe-henheneanen*hen*-
itha-hanhanaanan*han*-
wemín-(a)mmín*ammenammenvín-m*
you(pl.)le*-l*lín*leallen*lín-l*
they (m.)huin-huin*huin*anuin*huin*-
they (f.)hín-hín*hín*anín*hín*-
they (n.)hein-hainhein*anein*hain*-

* forms have been guessed and are merely recommended. This has been done to provide these necessary pronouns as information on the subject is sparse.

There are forms for subject, direct object and indirect object. There is also a preposition form which is compounded to any preposition. It is given here for the preposition an, though it is not known if this form is consistent for other prepositions (but probably similar). The possessives have a full form and a suffix form, but rules for their use are not known. The possessive follows the noun it modifies. Ex.: bar nín, my home; raich vín, our wagons.
The object pronoun precedes the verb unless the verb is imperative, in which case the object pronoun follows the verb.
The demonstrative pronouns are hé(this){--hin like tó/tuin} with plural hin(these) and tó(that) with plural tuin(those). These can follow the noun as an adjective, but the noun requires the definite article. Ex.: e-ngaladh tó, that tree; i-ngelaidh hin, these trees.

The Verb

The present indicative stem of the verb is given in the dictionary. By adding a subject pronoun suffix to this stem, the present tense is signified. However in the 3rd person present (without a subject suffix) -o- goes to -a and -i- is dropped and any vowel harmonizing caused by the -i- is cancelled. Ex.: Edhel peda, An elf speaks; En adan dár (--deri-), The man stops. Some 3rd person forms are given in the dictionary (unmarked within brackets). The 3rd person plural is formed in -ar, -ir. Ex.: Edhil pedar, Some elves speak; In edain derir, The men stop.
The past is formed in -ant(-anne- with a suffix). Certain final consonants will merge with this suffix to show the past. These endings change as follows: (present stem-3rd person past/past stem) d-nt/nne-, g-nc/nge-, b-mp/mme-. Ex.: E naug han hant, The dwarf threw it; Seld olthant, A girl dreamed. Irregular forms are given in the dictionary in brackets marked with 'p.'. If the pronoun stem is given, it indicates that only the suffixed forms are irregular and the 3rd person past is regular. The displayed 3rd person past indicates all forms are irregular.
The near past is formed in -i with the root vowel lenghthened (if possible). Ex.: annin, I (just) gave; E naug han hédi, The dwarf threw it.
Note: The use of the near past represents an action which still influences (or is connected with) the present. The past represents an action which has become in a sense 'historical'.
The future is formed in -atho-(-atha). Ex.: En ae linnatha, The bird will sing; Galathon, I will grow.
The imperative is formed in -o (replacing the stem vowel). Ex.: pedo, speak!; eglerio, give praise!; daro, stop!.
The infinitive is formed in -ad. Ex.: Aníron awarthad. I want to leave.
The passive past participle is formed in -en. Ex.: e mbend bauglen, the oppressed man.
The active present participle is formed in -l,-el (following -i stems). Ex.: nediol, counting(a.); tiriel, watching(a.).
The active past participle is formed in -nniel* {past+near past participle}, with the same consonant merging rules as the past tense. Ex.: mengiel, having slain; tirniel, having watched.
The active near past participle is formed in -iel with the root vowel lengthened. Ex.: nédiel, having (just) counted; tíriel, having (just) watched.
The negative is formed in ú- in all tenses. Ex.: úchebin, I do not keep; úbatho thár, Don't trample the grass!

Word Formation

Enhancements
on noun:
-on(great in size or importance), aear(sea)-aearon, ocean;
-ing(dimunitive), golv(branch)-golving, stick, twig;
g-(before l-, intensive), los(white)-glos, dazziling white;
-(i)as(collective, intensive), ramb(wall)-rammas, great wall;
-rim(collective), nogoth(dwarf)-nogothrim, dwarf-folk;
-os(masculine), aen(god)-aenos, male god;
-il(feminine), aen(god)-aenil, goddess.
Nouns
on verb:
-(d)ir(agent,man), ranni-(wander)-randir, wanderer,pilgrim;
-or(agent), mago-(slay)-magor, slayer,swordsman;
-ion[pl.-yn](masc. agent), presto-(disturb)-prestion, pest;
-ien(fem. agent), lútho-(enchant)-lúthien, enchantress;
-as(object), lútho-(enchant)-lúthas, an enchanted thing;
-en(masc. object), hervo-(marry)-herven, husband;
-es(fem. object), hervo-(marry)-herves, wife;
-il,-ol(instrument), mago-(slay)-magol,megil, sword;
-eth,-ed(gerund), pedo-(speak)-pedeth, speaking, speech;
-ad(gerund), nedi-(count)-nediad, counting, account;
-(i)an(object), neitho-(deprive)-neithian, deprived one.
on adjective:
-on(agent), thaur(abhorrent)-thauron, he who is abhorrent;
-úr(intensive agent), beleg(strong)-belegúr, a mighty one;
-as(noun, -ness), bal(divine)-balas, divinity.
on noun:
-ron(masc. agent), sod(commitment)-sodron, a committed one;
-ril(fem. agent), meleth(love)-melethril, lover.
-ail(genitive agent), Gondorail, inhabitant of Gondor.
Adjectives
on noun:
-en(basic, instrumental), bras(heat)-brassen, hot,with heat;
-ren(basic, like), ang(iron)-angren, like iron;
-eb(-ous,-y), aglar(glory)-aglareb, glorious;
-ui(-ful,-y), fán(cloud)-fanui, cloudy, with many clouds;
-on(made of), celeb(silver)-celevon, made of silver.
on verb:
-rial(-able), athrado-(cross)-athradrial, traversable.
Causatives
-tho-,-to-, giri-(shudder)-girtho-, freeze, cause to shudder;
-io-, per(half)-perio-, halve.


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