Lesson 6 – Making sentences (Pronouns)

The first step to making a sentence in Arabana is to learn about pronouns.

Pronouns are words which stand for people, animals or things.

Singular pronouns refer to one person. Singular pronouns in English include ‘I, me, you, he, she, it’. In Arabana the singular pronouns change form depending on how they are used in a sentence, so you’ll need to learn the different forms and how to pick the right one for your sentence.

Let’s learn four different forms of the singular pronouns in Arabana: nominative, ergative, accusative and possessive.

Nominative Pronouns

Nominative pronouns are used in sentences which have a subject (a person or thing which is doing the action of the sentence) and a verb (the action of the sentence), or a subject and an adjective (describing word).

antha

anpa

you

uka

he/she/it

Sentence examples

Antha yukarnda.

I am walking.

Anpa yanhirnda.

You are talking.

Uka thikaka.

He returned.

Antha ngurku.

I am good.

Uka parra-parra.

She is tall.

Ergative pronouns

Ergative pronouns are used in sentences which have a subject (a person or thing doing the action), a verb (the action of the sentence) and an object (a person or thing that is receiving the action of the sentence). The Ergative is used as the subject of this type of sentence.

athu

antu

you

ukaru

he/she/it

Sentence examples

Athu tyalpa tharnirnda.

I'm eating food.

tyalpa means non-meat food and tharnirnda means eating

Antu kutha punthaka.

You drank some water.

kutha means water and punthaka means drank

Ukaru kira thawirnda.

He is throwing a boomerang.

kira means boomerang and thawirnda means throwing

Accusative pronouns

Accusative pronouns are used in sentences which have a subject (a person or thing doing the action), a verb (the action of the sentence) and an object (a person or thing that is receiving the action of the sentence). The Accusative is used as the object of this type of sentence.

anha

unanha, ananha, unha

you

ukanha, kunha

him, her, it

Sentence examples

Madla-ru anha purrthaka.

The dog bit me.

madla means dog and purrthaka means bit

Athu unanha anti nhanhinhanga.

I'll see you later.

anti means soon/later and nhanhinhanga means will see

Lhuka-ru ukanha pirdarnda.

Mum is smacking him.

lhuka means mum and pirdarnda means hitting/smacking

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to show that something belongs to someone/something.

anthunha

my, mine

ankunha

your, yours

ukakunha

his, hers, its

NOTE: Some words like body parts, shadows, footprints and family members will not necessarily use the possessive pronoun, instead they might take one of the other pronouns such as the nominative as they are obviously possessed by the speaker.

Sentence examples

Anthunha madla yukarnda.

My dog is going.