SVO Word Order


When you start with the subject you need to use the corresponding pronoun after the verb. This means that the pronoun must immediately follow the subject in the form of a suffix.

Example sentences

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Suffixes

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The demonstrative suffixes occur much more frequently than the demonstrative words do in English because the demonstrative suffixes in MacZ are generally required in all the cases where English requires 'the'. MacZ does not have a word for the, but instead requires the demonstrative suffixes whenever 'the' would be required in English (and even in some places where English doesn't use 'the'). As a result, this often means that MacZ must specify the location of an entity that is left unspecified in English. In other words, -ni, -nà', and -á, which specify a location with respect to the speaker, are often simply translated as 'the' in English, which doesn't specify a location.

Example Sentences

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Lesson 3

Word Orders

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Another diagnostic feature of Macuiltianguis Zapotec is the lack of verb-final basic word orders. It has been observed that the area is surrounded by SOV languages, with Macuiltianguis Zapotec, non-OV orders such as VSO, VOS, and SVO dominate Macuiltianguis Zapotec.
In MacZ, declarative sentences—those sentences that make a statement (as opposed to a question or a command)—have a basic word order of Verb Subject Object (VSO); the verb comes before the subject which in turn precedes any object that is present in the sentence. (Other word orders are possible in MacZ, though their grammar is more complex.


Lesson 2
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