Index

* sos articolos determinativos (the definite articles)
* sos articolos indeterminados(the indefinite article)
* su genere 'e sos numenes (the noun gender)
* sas preposisciones (the prepositions)
* sas preposisciones articuladas (Prepositions with an article)
* sos aggettivos (the adjectives)
* sos aggettivos de calidade (adjectives of quality)
* cumparativos a cheppare (comparatives of equality)
* cumparativos de mannura (superlative comparatives)
* cumparativos de minuda (comparatives of minority)
* de pussessu (possessive pronouns)
* de mustra (demonstrative pronouns)
* aggettivos e pronumenes indefinidos (adjectives and the indefinite pronouns)
* sos aggettivos e pronumenes numerales (adjectives and the numerals)
* sos pronumenes pessonales (the personal pronouns)
* pronumenes pessonales accopiados (combinations of the clitic pronouns)
* pronumenes relativos (relative pronouns)
* pronumenes de pregunta (interrogative pronouns)
* sos verbos (the verbs)
 

Do you want to know how the Sardinian articles are? Yes!

I will tell you right away.

If you do not put an article in front of the noun, you do not understand wether it is masculine or feminine. The words that do not represent a figure whith a gender, have the articles established by the grammar so that you can tell one kind of noun from another. They can be from either of the two genders, that does not matter, but is has been established that every noun should be identifiable by gender.

For example domo (home, house) is neither an animal nor a person, so you cannot recognize it by its gender. If I see domo written in Sardinian I cannot tell wether this word is from the female or the masculine category, I can only see that with the help of the article. Therefore, I need this word
to be accompanied by an article.

Sa domo because sa is a feminine article I understand that domo is a feminine noun.

When you want to talk about something singular of the masculine gender, the article is su

Examples: su mare, su piseddu,s'omine, s'alvure (the sea, the boy,the man,the
tree)

Of the feminine gender the article is sa

Examples: sa domo, sa machina,sa femina, s'abba (the home/house, the car,the woman,the water)

Masculine plural: sos

Example: sos piseddos,sos omines,sos alvures,(the boys,the men,the trees,)

Feminine plural: sas

Example: sas feminas,sas machinas,sas criaduras (the women, the cars,the children)

In Sardinian we have only two indefinite articles: unu for the masculine, una for feminine.

Examples: un'omine (a man) if you talk about any man

paret unu caddu, currende (it looks like a horse, running) any horse

un'amiga sua (a girlfriend of hers) any girlfriend

una carrera manna (a big/wide street) any street.

The indefinite articles in Sardinian are bound to the prepositions cun (with) and in (in)

the preposition cun and the indefinite articles unu,una form

cundunu, cunduna

you use them to indicate whom or with what you are accompanied by (something indefinite)

bi so istadu cundunu 'e issos (I stayed with one of them)(there I have been with one of them)

est andadu cunduna femina (he has left with a woman )(he-is gone with a woman)

the preposition in (in) and the indefinite articles unu,una

l'an postu indunu logu cuadu (they have put him in a hidingplace)(him they have put in a place hidden)

l'an bidu induna carrera (they have seen him in a street)( him they have seen in a street)

The genders of nouns are masculine or feminine.

In Sardinian, the nouns that end in the vocal a, have an s added in the plural:

custa est fiza mia (this is my daughter), custas sun fizas mias (these are my daughters)

The nouns that end in u are masculine, the plural of these words is made by changing the u into an o and an s:

custu est fizu meu(this is my son)

custos sun fizos mios (these are my sons)

the nouns ending in e can be either masculine or feminine. To make the plural of these nouns you add an s:

su fiore est pro tene(the flower is for you)

sos fiores sun pro tene(the flowers are for you)

Fiore (flower) in Sardinian is masculine.

sa pedde de cussa 'acca est bianca e niedda (the skin of this cow is white
and blak). Pedde(skin/hide) is a feminine noun.

sas peddes fin remonidas (the hides were preserved)

The nouns ending in i are masculine nouns, in the plural they are added an s

su carreteri (the coachdriver) sos carreteris (the coachdrivers)

The prepositions are words that in front of nouns, pronouns, infinite verbs, adverbs, explain the function of these in the actual frase and put them in relation to the other words.

When they stand alone, they have no meaning. In Sardinian they are:

a,cun,or chin,dae,de,in pro,tra (to,with,from,from/of,in,for,between/among)

a, pro,dae,and in can operate also as conjunctions between two prepositions.

The prepositions a(to) indicates the direction of a movement or the place of an arrival

a babbu nadu bi l'asa? (did you tell it to daddy?)(to daddy tell it him you have?)

a cue amus de torrare tottu (all of us have to return there)(to there we-have to return all of us)

nadu bo l'aia chi a isse non lu deviazis mancu chircare(I had told you that you should not even look for him)(told you I had that to him not him you-should even search)

The preposition cun (with) indicates union and participation.

andabi cun Miali (go there with Michael)

bae cun fizu meu (go with my son)

est torradu cun muzere tua (he-has come back with your wife)

si nd'est andadu cun tottu sa robba sua(he-has left with all his belongings)

The preposition dae (from/of) serves to indicate an origin,a movement away from something or a removal.

dae te non mi l'isetaia unu cumpurtamentu simile (I did not expect a similar behaviour from jou)(from you not for me I-expected a behaviour similar)

dae cue m'est 'ennidu su colpu (the blow hit me from that direction)(from there to me has come the blow)

dae itte nde so 'essidu l'isco solu deo (only I know what I have lived through)(from what (of) I have come out that know only I)

The preposition de (from/of) serves to indicate a belongong or an identity.

de Pedru non b'at de si nde fidare meda (you cannot trust a lot in peter)(of Peter not you have to trust a lot)

de ue sun sos beighinos tuos? (where are your neighbours from?)(from where are the neighbours your?)

de abboighinare a giuanne non ti nde ses alu istracadu ? (have you not gotten tired of calling John yet ?)(of calling to John not you of that you are tired yet ?)

The preposition in (in) serves to indicate a position in space or in time, real or abstract.

in custa carrera cras faghen festa (in this street there is a party
tomorrow)(in this street tomorrow they make party)

The preposition pro (for/to) serves to indicate purpose or a reason.

custos dulches sun fattos pro esser manigados (these cookies are meant to be eaten)( these cookies are made to be eaten)

e pro cussu nois non nd'andamus( therefore we do not go)(and for that we do not go)

The preposition tra (between) serves to indicate separation or relation between persons or things.

non si podet faghere unu paragone tra frade tou e frade meu (you cannot compare your brother to mine)(not you can make a comparasion between brother your and brother my)

chi b'appat carchi cosa tra issos duos (that there should be something between the two of them)

In Sardinian the article can be combined with the following prepositions: a, cun, de, in (from/to, with, from/of, in).

The preposition a (from/to) with the definite article:

assu, assa assos, assas; but also: a su, a sa, a sos, a sas (from/to the...)

the second form is the most frequently used.

Examples: a su cumpanzu, a sa mama, a sos amigos, a sas sorres

to the friend, to the mother, to the friends, to the sisters

The preposition cun (with) with the definite article:

cussu, cussa, cussos, cussas; but also: cun su, cun sa, cun sos, cun sas (with the...)

the second form is the most frequently used.

Examples: cun su giometria, cun sa maestra, cun sos iscolanos, cun sas bidellas

with the geometry, with the teacher (woman), with the pupils, with the school clerks

The preposition de (from/of) with the definite article:

dessu, dessa, dessos, dessas; but also: de su, de sa, de sos, de sas. Also: 'e su, 'e sa, 'e sos, 'e sas (from/of the...). The second and the third forms are used the most.

Examples: cussa machina est de su frade 'e Mario (this car is of the brother of Mario) (= this car belongs to Mario's brother)

eo so subra 'e su lettu corcadu (I am lying on top of the bed) (I am on top of the bed stretched out)

sa littera chi l'est arrivida est de sa sorre (the letter that has arrived to him is from his sister)(the letter that him has come to is from the sister)

sa littera est subra 'e sa televisione (the letter is on top of the TV)

cussos trastis sun de sos beighinos (thoseutensilsbelong to the neighbours) (thoseutensilsare from the neighbours)

narali 'e sos pitzinnos (tell him about the children)(tell him of the children)

cussas bustas de s'arga chi an frundidu cue, sun de sas istranzas (the sacks of garbage they have thrown there are from the tourists)

sa tema 'e sas iscolanos no fit bene fattu (the pupils did not develop the subject properly) (the subject of the pupils was not well made)

The preposition in (in) and the denfenite article:

issu, issa, issos, issas; but also: in su, in sa, in sos, in sas (in the...)

the second form is the most frequently used.

Examples: in su puddalzu b'at duos puddos (in the henhouse there are two roosters)

in sa tasca b'est su casu (in the saddlebag is the cheese)

in sos montes de su Gennargentu bi fiocada (in the mountains of Gennargentu it snows)

in sas coberturas betzas b'at nidos de rundines (inside the old roofs there are swallows' nests) (in the roofs old there are nests of swallows)

Based on the information that the adjectives give us, you divide them in two basic groups: qualifying adjectives and determining/ indicational adjectives.
 

The qualifying adjectives are joined to a noun in order to indicate a particular quality to it. As a general rule, the adjectives in Sardinian come after the noun and they follow its gender, except for the adjectives minore (little/small) and bette (big/huge).

Examples:

appo 'idu una femina 'etza (I have seen an old woman)

appo 'idu duos feminas betzas (I have seen two old women)

appo 'idu un'omine betzu (I have seen and old man)

appo 'idu duos omines betzos (I have seen two old men)

appo 'idu unu piseddu minore (I have seen a little boy)

appo 'idu duos piseddos minores (I have seen two small boys/ children)

appo 'idu una pisedda minore (I have seen a little girl)

appo 'idu duas piseddas minores (I have seen two little girls)

As it can be noticed, in the second example, minore remains invariable with the masculine gender as well as with the feminine and it maintains the same form in the singular and in the plural.

Bette (big/huge) has only one form for all occasions:

bette 'e omine! (what a huge man!)

bette 'e barveghe! (what a big sheep!)

bette 'e muntones! (what huge clouds!)

bette 'e puddas! (some big hens!)

As you can see from this example, bette follows a rule of its own. In fact, apart from being invariable, it does not come after the noun either but preceeds it instead. Not un omine bette but bette 'e omine! (huge of man!)

The qualifying adjectives also express a comparision between the qualities belogning to two or more persons or things to establish a measure that can be equal, minor or major: they are the comparative adjectives.

In Sardinian we have three ways of making a comparision of equality and one for the comparision of minor or major values.

Comparatives of equality: cantu 'e, comente 'e, che a

(as much as/equally, like, like)

Examples:

Pedru est forte cantu 'e Mario (Peter is as strong as Mario)

Pedru est forte coment 'e Mario (Peter is strong like Mario)

Pedru est forte che a Mario (Peter is strong like Mario)

To make the superlative comparative in Sardinian, you use the following forms:

pius de, pius che, de pius de

pius de: as a general rule, between the the adverb pius and the preposition de stands the qualificative adjective, but not always. It can also come before the adverb.

Examples: pius manna de, pius bellu de, pius pretzisu de, mannu pius de, bellu pius de, pretzisu pius de

bigger than, more beautiful than, more precise than, bigger more than, beautiful more than, precise more than

Su pius mannu de su logu (the greatest in the place)

Su ricamu sou est pius pretzisu de su tou (his work is more precise than yours)

Est mannu pius de tene (he is bigger than you)

Est bellu pius de isse (he is more handsome than him)

Pius che serves to make a comparision between two qualities:

Pius mannu che bellu (bigger than beautiful)

Su mulu est pius tontu che forte (the mule is more stupid than he is strong)

Su mele de s'attunzu est pius ranchidu che dulche (the autumn apple is more bitter than sweet)

De pius de:

Fizu meu at istudiadu de pius de su tou (my son has studied more than your son)

Isse de cuss'istoria nd'ischit de pius de onz'ateru (he know more about that story than anybody else) (he of that story of it knows more than anybody else)

The comparatives of minority in Sardinian have two different modes pius pagu de and de mancu de

pius pagu de, pius pagu che (lesser than...for all expressions) (more less than)

appo fizos pius pagu maccos de te (I have sons lesser mad than you)

est pius pagu cottu che cottu (it is more raw than cooked) (it is more less cooked than cooked)

est pius pagu basciu che lalgu (he is more short than he is tall) (he is more less short than tall)

Luisi est de mancu riccu de su frade (Luisi is poorer than his brother) (Luisi is of lesser wealth than his brother)

paret chi siat de mancu addinosu de prima (it seems that he is less mad than before) (it seems he is of lesser madness than before)

The adjectives and the possessive pronouns in the Sardinian language are the following:

 meu, tou, sou, nostru, bostru, issoro (my, your, his/her, our, your, their and mine, yours, his/her, ours, their)

mia (mea) tua, sua, nostra, bostra, issoro (my, your, his/her, our, yours, their and mine, yours, his/her, ours, their)

mios (meos), tuos, suos, nostros, bostros, issoro (my, your... etc.)

mias, tuas, suas, nostras, bostras, issoro

The possessive adjective always follow the noun it refers to and it is declined with the gender

Examples:

su tanchittu meu, sa domo mia (sa domo mea), sos cunzados mios (sos cunzados meos), est una cosa issoro (my ground, my house, my grounds, it is their business)
 

The adjective always follow the noun but the pronoun replaces it.

The pronouns are always followed by the determined article.

The determined article is left out when the possessive adjective accompany the name of origin except by issoro

Examples:

Su caddu meu curret pius de su tou (my horse runs faster than yours)

Su mere meu no est bravu chei su tou (my master is not as skillful as yours)

Sas rosas de su giardinu nostru non sun bellas chei sas issoro (the roses in our garden are not as beautiful as theirs) (the roses of the garden our not are beautiful as those their)

Bellos sos ojos suos non sun chei sos mios chi paren de craba (his eyes are beautiful, they are not like mine who look like goat's eyes)

Sas beighinas bostras non sunu un penitenzia chei sas nostras (your neighbours are not terrible like ours) (the neighbours [women] your not are a shame like the our)

babbu meu e su tou sun bessidos impare (my father and your [father] have gone out together)

The adjectives and the demonstrative pronouns indicate the position of a person or of an object in space, time and discourse in relation to listener and speaker. In Sardinian they are:

 custu, custa, custos, custas (this, these)

 indicating person(s) or object(s) close to the speaker in time and space
 

cussu, cussa, cussos, cussas (this, these or that, those, according to context)

to indicate person(s) or object(s) in time and space close to the listener
 

cuddu, cudda, cuddos, cuddas (that, those)

to indicate person(s) or object(s) distant from both speaker and listener in time and space.
 

Examples:

Custu liberu chi so leggende mi piaghe' meda (I like this book I am reading) (this book that I am reading me satisfy a lot)

Imprestami cussu giornalinu chi custu no mi piaghede (borrow me that comic book, I do not like this one) (borrow-me that comic book because this not me satisfy)

Custa carrera est piena 'e zente (this street is full of people)

Custos montijos sun pienos de mudeju (these mountains are full of ???)

Custas figurinas sun pius bellas de sas tuas (these statuettes are prettier than yours)

Cussu est su liberu chi ti at dadu sa mastra? (is this the book that the teacher gave to you?) (this is the book that to-you have given the teacher?)

Cussu liberu chi gighes in manu est chei custu, o nono? (the book that you have in your hand, is it like this one or not?) (this book that you-have in hand is like this or not?)

Cussa fromma 'e su casu est troppu salida (this kind of cheese is too salt)

Cussos sun sos benes chi nos at lassadu tia (these are the things that our aunt has left us) (these are the things that us has left aunt)

Cussas giannas chi m'as fattu no serran bene (these doors you made me doesn't close well)

Cuddu trabagliu chi mi devias dare? Ti nde ses ismentigadu? (the work that you promised me... have you forgotten about it?) (that work that you to-me should give? you about-it have forgotten?)

Tenta custu fiottu 'e sa robba ei cuddu (take care of this and of that heard)

Cudda semida no l'appo sighida finzas a sa fine (I have not followed that trace to the end) (that trace not I have followed until the end)

Cuddos istranzos chi devian bennere non sun bennidos pius (those guests who should have come did not show up) (those guests who should have come not did come anymore)

Arrivamus a cuddas domos e poi torramos insegus (we will arrive at those houses and then we will go back) (we-arrive at those houses and then we-return back)

Also e tottu and mantessi (the same) are demonstrative adjectives. With the personal pronoun they form myself, himself etc.

Examples:

Deo e tottu no mi nde fia abbistu (I did not notice it myself) (I myself not me of this I-had seen)

Tue e tottu mi l'ais nadu deris sero (you told me that yourself yesterday evening) (you yourself to-me that you-have told yesterday evening)

Issos e tottu si l'aian cuada sa robba (they have hidden the stolen heard themselves)

Su mere e tottu (the master himself), sos fizos e tottu (the same sons), isse mantessi (himself, or the man himself), issa mantessi (herself, or the woman herself), issos mantessis (themselves)

The indefinite adjectives are combined with the name of a person, an animal or an object to express a vague quantity or an imprecise quality. Some are just adjectives, others are both adjectives and pronouns, and others again are only pronouns.

atteru, attera, atteros, atteras (other - all forms)

atterunu, atteruna (another)

cantos, cantas (how many)

carchi (some)

onzi, donzi, cada (every)

nessunu (no-one)

paritzos, paritzas (quite many)

perunu, peruna (no-one)

tantos, tantas (a lot, many)

tzertu, tzerta (some, a particular)
 
 

attere (others)

s'atteru, s'attera (the other)

calicunu, calicuna, calecunu, calecuna (someone)

chiesisiata (whoever)

donzunu, donzuna, (everyone)

fulanu, bodade su tale, sa tale (the one who - the before mentioned)

ittesisiata (whatever, something)

nemos (no-one)

nessunu, nessuna (no-one)

niunu, niuna, niune, neunu (no-one)

nudda (nothing)

sa pessone (someone)

unu, una (one)
 
 

The numeral adjectives give a precise infomation of the quantity of the persons, animals or things they refer to.

According to the information they give us, they are divided into two categories: cardinales and ordinales (cardinal and ordinal numbers)
 
 

As in all languages, the cardinal numbers in Sardinian go from one to the eternal. These are the most important:
 

unu, una (one - according to gender)

duos, duas (two - according to gender)

tres, trese (three)

battoro (four)

chimbe (five)

sese (six)

sette (seven)

oto (eight)

noe (nine)

deghe (ten)

undighi (eleven)

doighi

treighi

battordighi

seighi

deghesette (seven-teen)

degheoto

deghennoe

vinti, binti (twenty)

vintunu, bintunu

trinta (thirty)

trintunu

baranta (fourty)

chimbanta (fifty)

sessanta (sixty)

settanta (seventy)

otanta (eighty)

nonanta (ninety)

chentu (one hundred)

chentu e unu (a hundred and one)

chentu e duos, duas

chentu e trese

dughentos, dughentas (two hundred)

dughentos e unu

dughentos e duos, duas

treghentos, treghenta (three hundred)

milli (one thousand)

milli e unu (one thousand and one)

milli e duos, duas

milli e chentu (one thousand one hundred)

milli e chentu e unu (one thousand one hundred and one)

duamiza (two thousand)

duamiza e unu
 
 

Real ordinal numbers are not found in the Sardinian language. if you want to to use an ordinal  construction of numbers, you use the the cardinals with the article su, sa and the preposition de, 'e (of)

sa 'e una, su 'e unu (sa de unu) (first) (the of one)

sa 'e duas, sa 'e duos (second) (the of two)

su 'e deghe (tenth) (the of ten)

su 'e chentu (hundreth) (the of hundred)
 

The personal pronouns indicate the persons participating in an communcative act, without specifying the first or last name.

They indicate:
 

eo, deo (I) (the speaker)

tue (you) (the listener)

isse, issa (he, she) (the person spoken about)

nois (we) (the speakers)

bois (you) (the listeners)

issos, issas (they) (the persons spoken about)
 
 

Tonic o strong forms:

mie,mene,megus (me)

tie,tene,tegus (you)

isse, issu, issa (him, her,(it) )

nois, bois, issos, ( us,you,them)

The tonic forms mie and tie change according to the preposition they can be paired with:

ammie ( to me)

ammie no mi nd'importat nudda (it doesn't matter to me)( to me not to-me of .this matters nothing)

dae mene (dae ammie), (from/ by me)

dae mene, dae ammie non bazis a bider unu soddu (you won't get a penny out of me)(from me not
you-are going to see one coin)

de mene (of me)

in mene non b'at maliscia (there is no evil in me)(in me not there is (there have) evil)

pro mene (pro ammie) (for me)

pro mene, pro ammie podides faghere tottu su chi cherides (you can do what you like for me)(for me
you-can do all what you-want)

tra mene (between/among me...)

tra mene e tene non b'at pius paraulas (there are no more words between you and me) (between me and
you not there have more words)

cun megus- chin megus (with me)

cun megus- chin megus benzende bi sese? (are you coming with me?) (with me coming there you-are?)

tie, tegus, tene (you)

attie (to you)

attie non ti lu naro (I am not going to tell you) (to you not to-you that I-tell)

dae tene (from/by you)

deo non cherzo intendere nudda dae tene (I will not hear another word from you) (I not want to hear
nothing from you)

de tene (of you)

no appo bisonzu de tene (I don't need you) (not I have need of you)

in tene (in you)

in tene non bi fatto pius contu (I do not count on you anymore) (in you not there I-make more count)

pro tene (for you)

innoghe b'at unu paccu pro tene. A ti lu leo? (there is a package for you here. Are you picking it up?)
(here there is (there have) a package for you. To-you it you-take?)

tra tene (between/among you...)

itte as a esser pessende tra tene e tene (what are you thingking to yourself?) (what do-you-have to be
thingking between you and you?)

cun tegus- chin tegus (with you)

cun tegus- chin tegus non bi'enzo pius (I am not coming with you anymore) (with you not there I-come
more)
 
 

In Sardinian the clitic or weak form of the personal pronoun usually preceed the the verb even in its
infinite form, there are, however exceptions.

In the imperative and in the gerundium they come after the verb.

mi (me)

ti (te)

lu, la, li, si (him, her.....)

nos (us)

bos (you)

los, las, lis, si (them....)

Examples:

Mi deves giamare (you must call me) (me you-must call)

Giamademi cando venini (call-me [you in the plural] when they come)

Giamendemi non perdides nudda (you will not lose anything by calling me) (calling-me not you-lose
nothing)

mi (to/for me,dative form)

mi lu,mi la,mi nde,mi nche,mi che (to/for me that(masculine), to /for me that(feminine), to/for me thereof
(partitive)

ti (to/for jou, dative form)

ti lu,ti la,ti nde,ti nche, ti che

li

bi lu,bi la (him that/it)

lu, la

nde lu,nde la,nche lu, nche la ( thereof to/for him, thereof for /to her, thereof for/to him,thereof for/to
here)
 
 

si

si lu, si la, si nde, si nche

nos

nollu, nolla, nonde, nonche

bos

bollu, bolla, bonde, bonche

lis

bi lu, bi la, nde lis, nche lis

los, las

nde los, che los, nde las, che las

si

si lu, si la, si nde, si che

The relative pronoun, a part from substituting a word, has the funktion of putting in relation two subordinated propositions so that the second is combined to the first.

In Sardinian, we have only one relative pronoun chi (who, which, that). It is used for both the masculine and the feminine gender, for the singular and the plural, and as a subject and an obejct.

Examples:
In cussa buttega podes agatare tottu su chi ses chirchende.(In that shop you can find all what you are looking for) (in that shop you-can find all that which you-are seeking)

Cussa pisedda chi est faeddende est sorre mia. (The girl who is talking is my sister.) (That girl who is talking is sister my.)

Cuss'omine chi ses faeddende est babbu meu. (The man you are talking to is my father.) (That man who you-are talking is father my.)

The interrogative pronouns introduce a question. The question could be for information about identity, quality or quantity of someone or something. In Sardinian they are:

chie, cale, cantu, itte (who/what, which, how much, what)

Examples:

Chie fizis giamende? (Who are you calling?)

Cale est su meu? (Which one is mine?) (Which is the mine?)

Cantu ti devo? (How much do I owe you?)

Itt' est chi fis nende ? (What was it you were saying?) (What it-was that you-were saying?)

Itte fis nende? (What did you say?) (What you-were saying?)