| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First | a i, me | atat we, us |
| Second | ni you | nitat you all |
| Third | ka he/she/they | katat they (all) |
Here are some examples using Manmino pronouns.
A sik. Ni sik. Ka sik.
I eat. You eat. She/He eats.
Atat sik. Nitat sik. Katat sik.
We eat. You all eat. They eat.
Manmino follows a Subject–Object–Verb word order. While English would construct a sentence such as: “I eat you”, Manmino would opt for “I you eat.” That being said, due to manmino’s use of a particle system, the word order can be more free. I’ll go more into this in a moment.
A ni sik. Nitat a sik. Ka atat sik.
I eat you. You all eat me. He eats us.
The Manmino particle -lu attaches to the object of a sentence, which is most frequently a noun (but can be a noun phrase, as well.) Due to this clarification, word order can become much more free. Word order loses its requirement for SOV grammar when particles supplement the information.
Ni-lu a sik. Sik a-lu nitat. Ka sik atat-lu.
I eat you. You all eat me. He eats us.
This pattern can continue on with all possible word orders.
Following the pattern of our object-marking particle, word order can be disregarded for simple constructions using -na. Rather than marking the object of a sentence, it marks the topic or subject. While we’re at it, let's introduce a new verb.
A-na ni wan. A-na sik wan.
I want you. I want to eat.
Both the particles -na and -lu are optional particles. One is only required when the word order defies standard SOV. Like many of the other optional particles you will learn about later, the particle can also be used for emphasis:
Sala, ni ka-lu sik.
No, you eat him.
Sala, ni-na ka sik.
No, you eat him.
Literary Note: I'd like to preemptively clarify something you may encounter in Manmino's online community. You will not always see a hyphen being used in written Manmino. This is particularly the case in conversational & textual Manmino, as dropping the hyphen is very common among those who are already proficient in the language.
I eat him.
They eat me.