Nouns in Jaffad do not inflect. Their function in the sentence is determined by word order and the use of prepositions.
Number
Nouns in Jaffad are not marked for number. If necessary, number can be indicated by a specific numeral, and adjective indicating general quantity, or context within the discourse.
qhukhoaɫ / ralya qhukhoaɫ
man / two man
“man / two men”
jettʼo qhukhoaɫ fad
break man stone
“the man breaks a stone/stones”
qunge fad
one stone
“one stone”
Function
Nouns in Jaffad can perform different roles in a sentence. This is marked by word order and preposition use. The subject of an intransitive verb follows the verb. The agent of a transitive verb follows the verb and is followed by the patient of that verb. All other roles within the sentence are indicated by prepositions.
xuttʼuʼku fad
break-past stone
“The stone broke.”
ngeuttheku fad qhukhoaɫ
strike-past stone man
“The stones struck the man.”
Indirect Object
The indirect object of a sentence, which indicates the recipient or goal of the action, is marked by the preposition hat, meaning “to, for.”
nyajoku qhukhoaɫ fad hat fe
give-past man stone to dog
“A man gave the dog a stone.”
sunɗyaku qhukhoaɫ mosunɗya hat havae
sing-past man song to woman
“The man sang a woman a song.”
Genitive Constructions
In Jaffad, two nouns may be placed in relation to each other with the preposition jak, meaning “of.” This typically has a genitive meaning. This includes, but is not limited to, possession, composition, participation in action, origin, reference, description, compounding, and apposition.
ɓumpe jak fe
house of dog
“the house of the dog / the dog’s house”
ɓumpe jak fad
house of stone
a house of stone
Modifiers
The order of a noun phrase in Jaffad is: dem num n adj gen
boj guwrɓen fe nyagha
dem three dog big
those three big dogs
ɠan ɓumpe jak fad
some house gen stone
some houses of stone
Noun Predication
When a sentence is used to equate two nouns in Jaffad, the noun predicate follows the subject of the sentence. Although no verb is necessary, tense is typically indicated with an auxiliary verb occupying the position of the main verb. The perfect auxiliary is used both to indicate perfect aspect, i.e. “had been,” as well as past tense, i.e. “was.” The imperfect auxiliary is used to indicate present tense, i.e. “is.”
fad zomba
stone tool
“The stone is a tool.”
lye fad zomba
impf stone tool
“The stone is a tool (currently).”