Kabardian grammar

A Circassian noun can be in one of the following two states: singular or plural

Singular nouns have zero morpheme (no prefixes / suffixes), while plural nouns use the additional хэ morpheme, which is attached to the main form of the word. For example: singular: унэ "home", тхылъ "book", plural: унэ-хэ-р "homes", тхылъ-хэ-р "books".

Unlike English verbs, Circassian verbs use -х- or -я- morphemes to form their plural versions. The second morpheme is attached to the verb in front of the verb's root, and the first is attached after it. For example: ар макӏуэ "he is going", ахэр макӏуэ-х "they are going"; ар абы еджащ "he read it", ар ахэмэ я-джащ "he read them".

Circassian nouns usually have either definite or indefinite form. The idea behind this concept is close to the idea of definite/indefinite articles in English. The definite form of Circassian nouns have -р or -м (noun cases) formats at the end of the word. For example: щӏалэ "boy" – indefinite noun (has none of the definite formats) - it can be used in generalizations or when the boy is unknown to either the "speaker" or "listener" (a/an or zero article in English); щӏалэр, щӏалэм "the boy" – it is used when the mentioned boy is well known to both the "speaker" and "listener".

Kabardian also declines nouns into four different cases, each with corresponding suffixes: absolutive, ergative, instrumental, and invertive.

Has the suffix - р /r/ (e.g. щӏалэр [ɕʼaːɮar] 'the boy', щӏалэхэр [ɕʼaːɮaxar] ('the boys'), шыр [ʃər] 'the horse'). The absolutive case usually expresses subject in conjunction with intransitive verbs or direct object in conjunction with transitive verbs: For example:

In the following example, Щӏалэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the subject (the boy), and the sentence is in the absolutive form with an intransitive verb (кӏуащ);

щӏалэр	еджапӏэм	кӏуащ
щӏалэ-р	еджапӏэ-м	кӏу-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮar	jad͡ʒaːpʼam	kʷʼaːɕ]
the boy (abs.)	the school (erg.)	(s)he went
"the boy went to the school"

In the following example, джанэр is in the absolutive case, it points to the direct object (the shirt which is being laundred), and the sentence is in the ergative form (after the form of its subject - Бзылъфыгъэм) with a transitive verb (егыкӏы).

бзылъхугъэм	джанэр	егыкӏы
бзылъхугъ-эм	джанэ-р	егыкӏы
[bzəɬxʷəʁam	d͡ʒaːnar	jaɣət͡ʃʼə]
the woman (erg.)	the shirt (abs.)	(s)he laundries it
"the woman laundries the shirt"

Has the suffix -м /-m/ (e.g. щӏалэм [ɕʼaːɮam] 'the boy's', щӏалэхэмэ [ɕʼaːɮaxama] 'the boys'', шым [ʃəm] 'the horse's). This case has two roles: Ergative role and Oblique role.

• The Ergative role functions as subject in conjunction with transitive verbs.

лӏым	мафӏэр	йогъэкӏуасэ
лӏы-м	мафӏэ-р	йогъэкӏуасэ
[ɬʼəm	maːfʼar	jawʁakʷʼaːsa]
the man (erg.)	the fire (abs.)	(s)he extinguishes it
"the man extinguishes the fire"

• The Oblique role functions as indirect object with both transitive and intransitive verbs.

An example with an intransitive verb йоджэ "reads" and indirect object тхылъым "book".

щӏалэр	тхылъым	йоджэ
щӏалэ-р	тхылъ-ым	йоджэ
[ɕʼaːɮar	txəɬəm	jawd͡ʒa]
the boy (abs.)	the book (obl.)	(s)he reads
"the boy reads the book"
Litrary: "the boy is involved in reading the book"

An example with an transitive verb реты "gives" and indirect object пшъашъэм "girl".

щӏалэм	мыӏэрысэр	пщащэм	реты
щӏалэ-м	мыӏэрыс-р	пщащэм	реты
[ɕʼaːɮam	məʔarəsər	pɕaːɕam	rajtə]
the boy (erg.)	the apple (abs.)	the girl (obl.)	(s)he gives it to
"the boy gives the apple to the girl"

The Ergative-Oblique case can also be used as an adverbial modifier. For example: Студентхэм махуэм ӏоху ящӏаш "The students have worked during the day" (махуэм – adverbial modifier of time); Щӏалэхэр мэзым кӏуахэщ "The boys went to the forest" (мэзым – adverbial modifier of place).

Indefinite nouns are marked by the affix -кӏэ : тхылъ-кӏэ, "by/with book", ӏэ-к1э "by/with hand". definite nouns express this case using the ergative affix -м in conjunction with the affix -кӏэ: уадэ-м-кӏэ "by/with the hammer", тхылъ-м-к1э "by/with the book".

сэ	къэрэндащкӏэ	сотхэ
сэ	къэрэндащ-кӏэ	сотхэ
[sa	qarandaːɕt͡ʃʼa	sawtxa]
I	pencil (ins.)	I write
"I write using a pencil"

щӏалэр	адыгэбзэкӏэ	мэпсалъэ
щӏалэ-р	адыгэбзэ-кӏэ	мэпсалъэ
[ɕʼaːɮar	aːdəɣabzat͡ʃʼa	mapsaːɬa]
boy (arg.)	using Circassian language (ins.)	(s)he is speaking
"The boy is speaking (using) Circassian language."

The Instrumental case can also mark the direction of action:

• • гъуэгу /ʁʷaɡʷ/ road → гъуэгумкӏэ /ʁʷaɡʷəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the road (direction).
  • унэ /wəna/ house → унэмкӏэ /wənamt͡ʃʼa/ from the house.
  • хы /xə/ sea → хымкӏэ /xəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the sea (direction).

дэ	къуажэмкӏэ	докӏуэ
дэ	къуажэ-мкӏэ	докӏуэ
[da	qʷaːʒamt͡ʃʼa	dawkʷʼa]
we	village (ins.)	we go
"we are going in the direction of the village"

Том,	нобэди	еджапӏэмкӏэ	ныщӏыхьэ
Том,	нобэди	еджапӏэ-мкӏэ	ныщӏыхьэ
[tom	nawbadi	jad͡ʒaːpʼamt͡ʃʼa	nəɕʼəħa]
Tom (name)	today	school (ins.)	stop by
"Tom, come to our school today"

Has the suffix -уэ /wa/, or -у /əw/ (e.g. щӏалу [ɕʼaːɮəw] 'boy'). The adverbial case usually expresses a transition into something, or definition (clarification, which often works like the English words -which, -who, -that... ) of a name. It points to the real (literal, not grammatical) subject in the sentence. For example:

лӏыр	профессорэу	хъуащ
лӏыр	профессор-эу	хъу-ащ
[ɬʼər	profesoraw	χʷaːɕ]
man (abs.)	professor (adv.)	(s)he became
"The man became a professor."

лӏыжьу	щысар	кӏуэжащ
лӏыжъ-у	щыс-а-р	кӏуэ-ж-ащ
[ɬʼəʑər	ɕəsaːr	kʷʼaʒaːɕ]
old man (adv.)	the one that sit	(s)he returned
"The old man who had sat there, left."

лӏыр	тхьэмаду	дзэм	къыхэкӏыжащ
лӏы-р	тхьэмад-у	дзэ-м	къыхэкӏыжащ
[ɬʼər	tħamaːdəw	d͡zam	qəxat͡ʃʼəʒaːɕ]
man (abs.)	leader (adv.)	army (obl.)	(s)he returned
"The man has returned from the army as an officer."

Kabardian is a pro-drop language. The subject and the object pronouns are sometimes omitted when verb conjugations reflect number and person.

• Both subject and object are mentioned :

щӏалэм	пщащэр	елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м	пщащэ-р	елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam	pɕaːɕar	jaɬaʁʷə]
the boy (erg.)	the girl (abs.)	(s)he is seeing
"the boy is seeing the girl"

• If the direct object is not mentioned :

щӏалэм	елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м	елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam	jaɬaʁʷə]
the boy (erg.)	(s)he is seeing
"the boy is seeing him/her/it"

• If the subject is not mentioned :

пщащэр	елъэгъу
пщащэ-р	елъэгъу
[pɕaːɕar	jaɬaʁʷə]
the girl (abs.)	(s)he is seeing
"(s)he is seeing the girl"

• If both subject and object are not mentioned :

елъэгъу

елъэгъу

[jaɬaʁʷə]

(s)he is seeing

"(s)he is seeing him/her/it"

In Kabardian, if a noun is accompanied by an adjective, the adjective is always placed right after the noun and also gets the grammatical role suffixes instead of the noun.

• Absolutive case

пщэщэ	дахэр	макӏуэ
[pɕaɕa	daːxar	maːkʷʼa]
girl	the pretty (abs.)	(s)he is going
"the pretty girl is going"

• Ergative case

щӏалэ	кӏыхьэм	ешхы	мыӏэрысэ
[ɕʼaːɮa	t͡ʃʼəħam	jaʃxə	məʔarəsa]
boy	the long (erg.)	he is eating a/the	the apple (abs.)
"the long boy is eating the apple"

• Instrumental case

къэрэндащ	папцӏэмкӏэ	сотхэ
[qarandaːɕ	papt͡sʼamt͡ʃʼa	sawtxa]
pencil	sharp (ins.)	I am writing
"I am writing with (using) the sharp pencil"

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that does a specific verb (or something happened to him/it) can be represented with the verb word with the additional suffix -э (a) (for present tense -рэ (-ra)). For example:

• макӏуэ /maːkʷ'a/ - he is going → кӏуэрэ /maːkʷ'ara/ - the person that's going
• машхэх /maːʃxax/ - they are eating → шхэхэрэ /maːʃxaxara/ - the people that are eating.
• мэлэжьащ /malaʑaːɕ/ - he worked → лэжьар /malaʑaːɕa/ - the person that worked.
• лӏэнущ /ɬʼanəwɕ/ - he will die → лӏэнур /ɬʼanəwr/ - the person that will die.

кӏуэрэр	сикъуэш
кӏуэ-рэр	си-къуэш
[kʷʼarar	səjʃ]
the person that is going (abs.)	my brother
"the person that is going is my brother"

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that have a specific adjective can be presented with the adjective word with the additional noun case suffix (absolutive, ergative, etc.) For example:

• дахэ /daːxa/ - pretty → дахэр /daːxar/ - the pretty person (absolutive case).
• ӏэфӏ /ʔafʼə/ - tasty → ӏэфӏэр /ʔafʼar / - the tasty ones (absolutive case).
• щӏыӏэ /ɕʼəʔa/ - cold → щӏыӏэм /ɕʼəʔam/ - in the cold (ergative case).

щӏалэр	хуабэм	хэт
щӏалэ-р	хуабэ-м	хэт
[ɕʼaːɮar	xʷaːbam	xat]
the boy (abs.)	the heat (erg.)	(s)he is standing in
"The boy is standing in the heat"

The demonstratives can be used to express different things like:

Location: адэ "there", модэ "there", мыдэ "here".

Similarity: апхуэд "like that", мопхуэд "like", мыпхуэд "like this".

In Kabardian, personal pronouns are only expressed in first person, second person in singular and plural forms.

сэ	тхылъым	седжащ
сэ	тхылъы-м	се-дж-ащ
[sa	txəɬəm	sajd͡ʒaːɕ]
I	the book (erg.)	(s)he read
"I read the book"

дэркӏэ	мы	шхыныр	лъапӏэ
дэр-кӏэ	мы	шхыны-р	лъапӏэ
[dart͡ʃʼa	mə	ʃxənər	ɬaːpʼa]
For us (ins.)	this	the food (abs.)	expensive
"This food is expensive for us"

Demonstrative pronouns are мы "this", мо "that", а "that". There is a contradistinction between 'мы' and 'мо' on how far the referred object is. The pronoun 'а' is neutral on this matter. Third person pronouns are expressed as demonstrative pronouns.

мыбы	щӏакхъуэ	йошхы
мыбы	щӏакхъуэ	йо-шхы
[məbə	ɕʼaːqχʷa	jawʃx]
This (erg.)	a bread	(s)he eats
"This person/animal eats bread"

мыбыкӏэ	щӏалэр	къакӏуэ
мыбы0кӏэ	щӏалэ0р	къа-кӏуэ
[məbət͡ʼa	ɕʼaːɮar	qaːkʷʼa]
This way (ins.)	the boy (abs.)	(s)he is coming
"The boy is coming from this way"

си	унэ	фыкъакӏуэ
си	унэ	фы-къа-кӏуэ
[səj	wəna	fəqaːkʷʼa]
my	house	come (plural)
"Come to my house"

ди	машинэкӏэ	къалэм	докӏуэ
ди	машинэ-кӏэ	къалэм	до-кӏуэ
[dəj	maːʃinat͡ʃʼa	qaːɮam	dawkʷʼa]
Our	using the car (ins.)	the city (erg.)	we are going
"we are going to the city with our car"

In Kabardian whole one - зыгоруэ, Serves for indication of all notions corresponding to English words "someone", "something", "someone", "something", "sometime", "somewhere", etc. Зыгуэрэ changes either as noun – in number and in cases:

Verbs in Kabardian can be transitive or intransitive.

In a sentence with a transitive verb, nouns in the absolutive case (marked as -р) play the role of direct object. In the sentences of this type the noun in the subject's position is in the ergative case (marked as -м):

Щӏалэм письмэр йотхы "The boy is writing the letter";

Пхъащӏэм уадэр къыщтащ "The carpenter took out the hammer";

Хьэм тхьак1умкӏыхьэр къыубытащ "The dog has caught the hares".

In these sentences the verbs етхы "is writing", къыщтащ "took out", къыубытащ "has caught" are transitive verbs, and the nouns письмэр "letter", уадэр "hammer", тхьак1умк1ыхьэр "hare" are in the absolutive case (suffix -р) and express direct object in the sentences, while the nouns щӏалэм "boy", пхъащӏэм "carpenter", хьэм "dog" are subjects expressed in the ergative case.

In a sentence with an intransitive verb, there is no direct object, and the real subject is usually expressed by a noun in the absolutive case.

Жэмахъуэр щыт "The shepherd is standing (there)";

Пэсакӏуэр макӏуэ "The security guard is going";

Лӏыр мэжей "The man is sleeping".

In these sentences with intransitive verbs, nouns that play role of subject are expressed in the absolutive case: жэмахъуэ-р "shepherd", пэсакӏуэ-р "guard", лӏы-р "man".

There are verbs in the Kabardian language that in different contexts and situations can be used both as transitive and intransitive. For example:

Абджыр мэкъутэ "The glass is being broken",

Щӏалэм абджыр йокъутэ "The boy is breaking the glass".

In the first sentence the verb мэкъутэ "is being broken" is used as an intransitive verb that creates an absolutive construction. In the second sentence the verb йо-къутэ "is breaking" creates an ergative construction. Both of the verbs are formed from the verb къутэ-н "to break".

In the Kabardian language, intransitive verbs can have indirect objects in a sentence. The indirect objects are expressed by a noun in the oblique case (which is also marked as -м). For example:

Щӏалэр пщащэм йоплъ "The boy looking at the girl",

Лӏыр жыгым щӏэлъ "The man lays under the tree".

Щӏалэр тхылъым йоджэ "The boy reads the book".

In these sentences with intransitive verbs, nouns that play role of indirect object are expressed in the oblique case: пщащэ-м "girl", жыгы-м "tree", тхылъы-м "book".

Intransitive verbs can be turned into transitive with the causative affix -гъэ- (meaning "to force, to make"). For example:

Ар мажэ "He is running", but Абы ар е-гъа-жэ "He forces him to run",

Ар матхэ "He is writing", but Абы ар е-гъа-тхэ "He makes him to write".

The verbs in the first sentences мажэ "is running", матхэ "is writing" are intransitive, and the verbs in the second sentences егъажэ "forces ... to run", егъатхэ "makes ... to write" are already transitive.

Kabardian verbs can be either dynamic or static.

Dynamic verbs express (process of) actions that are taking place (natural role of verbs in English):

Сэ сэжэ "I am running";

Сэ сэкӏуэ "I am going",

Сэ сэлъэгъу "I am seeing",

Сэ жысоӏэ "I am saying".

Static verbs express states or results of actions:

Сэ сыщыт "I am standing",

Сэ сыщылъ "I am lying.",

Сэ сыпхъащӏ "I am a carpenter",

Сэ сытракторист "I am a tractor-driver".

Kabardian verbs have different forms to express different person. These forms are, mostly, created with specific prefixes. Here is how it looks like in singular:

сэ-тхэ "I write",

уэ-тхэ "You write",

ма-тхэ "writes";

and in plural:

дэ-тхэ "We write",

фэ-тхэ "You write",

ма-тхэ-х "They write".

Imperative mood of second person in singular has no additional affixes: щтэ "take", кӏуэ "go", тхы "write"; in plural the affix -фы is added in front of the verbs: фы-къак1у "you (plural) go", фы-тхы "you (plural) write", фы-щтэ "you (plural) take".

Conditional mood is expressed with suffix -мэ: сы-к1уэ-мэ "if I go", сы-жэ-мэ "if I run", с-щ1э-мэ "if I do".

Concessive mood is expressed with suffix -ми: сы-к1уэ-ми "even if I go", сы-жэ-ми "even if I run", с-щ1э-ми "even if I do".

Affirmative form is expressed with the affix -къэ: ма-кӏуэ-къэ "isn't he is going?", мэ-гыщӏэ-къэ "isn't he washing?".

Present participles in the Circassian language are formed from the appropriate dynamic verbs with the suffix -рэ:

кӏуэ-рэ-р "one that's walking",

жэ-рэ-р "one that's running".

Participles can also be created from static verbs. In this case no additional morphological modifications are required. For example: щысыр "sitting", щылъыр "lying". In the past and future tenses participles have no special morphological attributes, in other words, their form is identical to the main form of the verb. The forms of participles in different grammatical cases are equal to the forms of the appropriate verbs. The same is also true for their time-tenses.

Masdar (a form of verb close to gerund) in the Kabardian language is expressed with the suffix -н:

тхы-н "a write (writing)",

жэ-н "a run (running)",

щтэ-н "a take (taking)",

псэлъэ-н "a talk (talking)",

дзы-н "a throw (throwing)".

Masdar has grammatical cases:

Absolutive жэны-р,

Ergative жэны-м,

Instrumental жэны-м-кӏэ,

Adverbial жэн-у

and different forms for different person:

сы-жэн "I will run",

у-жэн "you will run",

жэн "he will run".

In the Adyghe language negative form of a word is expressed with different morphemes (prefixes, suffixes). In participles, adverbial participles, masdars, imperative, interrogative and other forms of verbs their negative from is expressed with the prefix -мы, which, usually, goes before the root morpheme, that describes the main meaning:

у-мы-тх "you don't write",

у-мы-кӏу "you don't go",

сы-къы-пхуэ-мы-щэмэ "if you can't bring me",

у-къа-мы-гъа-к1уэмэ "if you aren't forced to come".

In verbs the negative meaning can also be expressed with the suffix -къым, which usually goes after the suffixes of time-tenses. For example:

сы-тэджыр-къым "I am not getting up",

сы-тэ-джа-къым "I have not got up",

сы-тэджыну-къым "I will not get up".

In Kabardian, the positional prefixes are expressing being in different positions and places and can also express the direction of the verb. Here is the positional conjugation of some dynamic verbs, showing how the prefix changes the indicated direction of the verb:

Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:

Examples:

щыт - [someone or something] stands (as a pose);

Iут - [someone or something] stands (behind);

щIэт - [someone or something] stands (under)

тет - [someone or something] stands (above)

дэт - [someone or something] stands (between), etc.

The following suffixes are added to nouns:

The following suffixes are added to adjectives:

Мы	джанэр	уэркӏэ	иныӏуэ
[mə	d͡ʒaːnar	wart͡ʃʼa	jənəʔʷa]
this	shirt	for you	slightly big
"This shirt is slightly big for you"

Мы	сурэтыр	дэхэдэд
[mə	səwratər	daxadad]
this	painting	very beautiful'
"This painting is very beautiful"

To indicate a thought or an opinion of someone, the prefix фӏэ~ (fʼa~) is added to the adjective. This can also be used on nouns but it is very uncommon. For example:

• дахэ "pretty" → фӏэдах "it's pretty for him.
• дэхагъ "as pretty" → фӏэдэхащ "it was pretty for him.
• ӏэфӏ "tasty" → фӏэӏэфӏ "it is tasty for him.
• плъыжьы "red" → фӏэплъыжь "it is red for him.

щӏалэхэмэ	яфӏэдахкъым	си	джанэ
щӏалэ-хэ-мэ	я-фӏэ-дахэ-къым	си	джанэ
[t͡ʃaːlaxama	jaːʃʷadaːxap	si	d͡ʒaːna]
the boys (erg.)	it was not pretty for them	my	shirt
"my shirt was not beautiful for the boys."

The suffix ~гъэ (~ʁa) is appended to indicate a measure of a certain adjective. Usually it is used for measurable adjectives like length, height, weight, size, strength and speed but it can be used on any adjective such as good, tasty, beauty, etc. This suffix can be used to scale adjectives, for instance, the word ӏэфӏы-гъэ (from the adjective ӏэфӏы "tasty") can be used to express different levels/qualities of tastiness. This suffix turns the adjective to a noun.

• кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ - long → кӏыхьэгъэ /t͡ʃʼaħəʁa/ - length.
• ӏэтыгъэ /ʔatəʁa/ - high → ӏэтыгъагъэ /ʔatəʁaːʁa/ - height.
• псынщӏэ /psənɕʼa/ - fast → псынщӏагъэ /psənɕʼaːʁa/ - speed.
• хуабэ /xʷaːba/ - hot → хуабагъэ /xʷabaːʁa/ - heat.
• ӏувы /ʔʷəvə/ - wide → ӏувыгъэ /ʔʷəvəʁa/ - width.
• дахэ /daːxa/ - beautiful → дэхагъэ /daxaːʁa/ - beauty.
• ӏэфӏы /ʔafʼə/ - tasty → ӏэфӏыгъэ /ʔafʼəʁa/ - level of tastiness.
• дэгъу /daʁʷə/ - good → дэгъугъэ /daʁʷəʁa/ - level of goodness.

пхъэм	и	ӏувыгъэ	65	сантиметр
[pχam	jə	jəʔʷəvəʁa	65	saːntimetr]
the wood (erg.)	its	width	65	centimeters
"The wood's width is 65 centimeters"

щӏалэм	лъэщыгъэ	хэлъ
[ɕʼaːɮam	ɬaɕəʁa	xaɬ]
boy (erg.)	strength	it is laying in
"The boy has strength in him."

The suffix ~гъакӏэ (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) is appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the state of being the adjective", in contract to the suffix ~гъэ which is used to measure and scale the adjective. Some examples:

• кӏыхьэ /t͡ʃʼaħə/ - long → кӏыхьэгъакӏэ /t͡ʃʼaħəʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ - lengthiness; longness.
• псынщӏэ /psənɕʼa/ - fast → псынщӏэгъакӏэ /psənɕʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ - speediness.
• кӏуащӏэ /kʷʼaːɕʼa/ - strong → кӏуэщӏэгъакӏэ /kʷʼaɕʼaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ - strongness.
• лъэщ /ɬaɕ/ - strong → лъэщыгъакӏэ /ɬaɕəʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ - strongness.
• дахэ /daːxa/ - pretty → дэхэгъакӏэ /daxaʁaːt͡ʃʼa/ - prettiness.

сэ	мыӏэрысэм	и	ӏэфӏыгъакӏэ	сыкъегъатхъэ
сэ	мыӏэрыс-эм	и	ӏэфӏы-гъакӏэ	сы-къ-е-гъа-тхъэ
[sa	məʔarəsəm	jə	ʔaʃʷʼəʁaːt͡ʃʼa	səqajʁaːtχa]
I	apple (erg.)	its tastiness	I enjoy it
"I enjoy the apple's tastiness."

• адэ - "there" (invisible).
• модэ - "there" (visible).
• мыдэ - "here".

модэкӏэ	тучаныр	ӏут
модэ-кӏэ	тучан-ыр	ӏут
[modat͡ʃʼa	tut͡ʃaːnər	ʔʷərt]
over there (ins.)	shop (abs.)	it is standing
"The shop is placed over there."

адэ	щӏалэр	кӏуащ
адэ	щӏалэ-р	кӏу-ащ
[aːda	ɕʼaːɮar	kʷʼaːɕ]
there	boy (abs.)	(S)he went
"The boy went there."

• нобэ - "today".
• дыгъуасэ - "yesterday".
• пщэдей - "tomorrow".
• мыгъэ - "this year".
• иджы - "now".
• иджыри - "still"
• иджыпсту - "right now".
• пщэдджыжьым - "at morning".
• шэджагъуэм - "at noon".
• жэщым - "in the night".
• зэманым - "in the past".
• етӏанэ - "afterwards"

• мащӏэ - "few".
• тӏэкӏу - "a bit".
• тӏэкӏурэ - "few times, for a short period of time".
• куэд "a lot".
• куэдрэ "a lot of times, for a long period of time".
• ӏаджэ "many".

щӏалэм	ахъщэ	куэд	иӏ
щӏалэ-м	ахъщэ	куэд	иӏ
[ɕʼaːɮam	aːχɕa	kʷad	jəʔ]
boy (erg.)	money	a lot	(s)he has
"The boy has a lot of money."

жэщым	лӏыр	тӏэкӏурэ	макӏуэ
жэщы-м	лӏы-р	тӏэкӏурэ	макӏуэ
ʒaɕəm	ɬʼər	tʼakʷʼra	maːkʷʼa]
night (erg.)	man (abs.)	short period of time	(s)he went
"In the night, the man goes for a small period of time."

Adverbs of this group are formed from the appropriate qualitative adjectives using the suffix ~у /~w/. Adverbs in this group describe the manner in which the verb was done.

• къабзэ "clean" → къабзу "cleanly"
• жыжьэ "far" → жыжьу "far",
• псынщӏэ "quick" → псынщӏэу "quickly",
• дахэ "beautiful" → даху "beautifully",
• благъэ "near" → благъу "nearly".
• лъэщ "powerful" → лъэщу "powerfully".
• щабэ "soft" → щабу "softly"
• быдэ "firm" → быду "firmly"

щӏалэр	жыжьу	жащ
щӏалэ-р	жыжь-у	ж-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮar	ʒəʑəw	ʒaːɕ]
boy (abs.)	far (adv)	(s)he ran
"The boy ran far."

щӏалэм	шхыныр	дэгъу	ищӏащ
щӏалэ-м	шхын-ыр	дэгъу-у	ищӏ-ащ
[ɕʼaːɮam	ʃxənər	daʁʷəw	jəɕʼaːɕ]
the boy (erg.)	food (abs.)	excellently	(s)he done it
"The boy done the food excellently."

пщащэр	даху	матхэ
пщащэ-р	дах-у	матхэ
[pɕaːɕar	daːxəw	maːtxa]
the girl (abs.)	beautifully	(s)he writes
"The girl writes beautifully."

Among simple Circassian conjunctions are:

• ыкӏи - "and".
• е - "or".
• ауэ - "but".

Сэ	сыкӏуащ	къалэм,	ауэ	къэзгъэзэжакъым
[sa	səkʷʼaːɕ	qaːɮam	aːwa	qazʁazaʒaːqəm]
I	I went	city (erg.)	but	I didn't return
"I went to the city, but I haven't returned."

• арщхьэк1э - "because".
• aт1э - "in spite of".
• хьэмэ - "or".
• сыту - "as".
• щхьэк1э - "though".
• сыт щхьэк1э - "because (of) / why".
• папщ1э - "for".
• папщ1эк1э - "as".
• щыгъуэ - "when".
• зэ-зэ - "first…then".
• е-е - "either-or".
• къудейуэ - "as soon as".
• ару - "just".
• пэтми - "although".
• щытмэ - "if".
• ипкъ итк1э - "therefore".
• къыхэк1к1э - "because / that’s why".

• Except апэрэ/япэрэ - first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For

example: ятIунэрэ - second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ - third (jaːɕənara), яплIынэрэ - fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).

first - Япэ [jaːpa]

second - ЕтIуанэ [jatʼaːna]

third - Ещанэ [jaɕaːna]

firth - Еянэ [jajaːna]

tenth - ЕпщIанэ [japɕʼaːna]

eleventh - ЕпщыкIузанэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəzaːna]

sixteenth. - ЕпщыкIуханэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəxaːna]

Зырыз - in ones, one by one

ТIурытI - in twos, two by two

Щырыщ - in threes, three by three

ПлIырыплI - in fours, four by four

Тхурытху - in fives, five by five

Хырых - in sixes, six by six

Блырыбл - in sevens, seven by seven

Ири - in eights, eight by eight

Бгъурыбгъу - in nines, nine by nine

ПщIырыпщI - in tens, ten by ten

half (1÷2) - Ныкъуэ [nəqʷa]

one third (1÷3) - щанэ [ɕaːna]

two thirds (2÷3) - щанитӏу [ɕaːnitʷʼ] (1÷3 × 2)

one fourth (1÷4) - плӀанэ [pɬʼaːna]

two fourths (2÷4) - плӀанитӏу [pɬʼaːnitʷʼ] (1÷4 × 2)

three fourths (3÷4) - плӀанищ [pɬʼaːniɕ] (1÷4 × 3)

one fifth (1÷5) - тфанэ [tfaːna]

one sixth (1÷6) - ханэ [xaːna]

one seventh (1÷7) - бланэ [blaːna]

one eighth (1÷8) - янэ [jaːna]

one ninth (1÷9) - бгъуанэ [bʁʷaːna]

one tenth (1÷10) - пщӀанэ [pʃʼaːna]

one eleventh (1÷11) - пщӀыкӏузанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼəzaːna]

one twelfth (1÷12) - пщӀыкӏутӏуанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼaːna]

one twentieth (1÷20) - тӏощӏанэ [tʷʼaɕʼaːna]

one hundredth (1÷100) - щанэ [ɕaːna]

• Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва: РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G. Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow, RGGU, 2009) (in Russian) ISBN 978-5-7281-1075-0
• Kabardian Verbal Affixes: Collected, arranged and edited by Amjad Jaimoukha : .
• Ranko Matasović, A short grammar of east Circassian (Kabardian) : .