"SGP's" gradually learning some languages log

[SGP]

Swahili: Passive verbs

Active verbs are turned into passive ones by adding -w- before the last letter of the verb stem.

Short explanation of the stem for those of you who are unfamiliar with this idea:
It is the root of a verb. For example, "kusoma" means to read and to study.
When removing the "ku-" suffix ("to" in English), the result is the root of this verb.
There are two things that can be done with it:
- adding some suffixes before it, or sometimes (at least with -je at the end of a question) even after it.
- using it as the imperative singular of that verb, because it is the very same as the stem.

In this post I use terms like: "-ita means to call". This is because this verb root is used to express the concept of calling. However, it isn't used as "to call" in isolation. That would be "kuita".

"-ita (to call) -> itwa (to be called)

-sema (to say/speak) -> -semwa (to be said/spoken)

-zungumza (to speak) -> -zungumzwa (to be spoken)

-pika (to cook) -> -pikwa (to be cooked)

-soma (to read) -> -somwa (to be read)

-ona (to see) -> -onwa (to be seen)".

[SGP]

Swahili: the subjunctive (a lot easier than the Spanish one )

"Afadhali ulale sasa.
(It is better if you sleep now.)"

"Ni vizuri/muhimu mtoto apige mswaki.
(It is good/important that the child brushes his/her teeth.)"

So here we have the verb stem, which is -lala and -piga. And the last vowel is changed to an "e". So it is -lale and -pige.

But this is for -a verb stems only. When there is a different vowel, it doesn't change because of the subjunctive.

[SGP]

Spanish learners and speakers:

I am currently looking for more Grammar Glue Words like que, mientras, pero and so on.

There is a not-so-small number of what I call Grammar Glue Words in Spanish. In standard grammar terminology, this is about conjunctions, and possibly about something else that I do not recall right now.

So I am looking for more of these. It isn't difficult at all to find a list containing them. But this inquiry (sort of) is about something else. It is about those words (of the type that has been described right now) that really are frequently used. As for the low-frequency ones, or the very specific ones that are used in poetry only for example (if they exist), they are excluded from my little query right now.

If you people mention some of those (High Freq Grammar Glue Words), what I intend to do is to produce some additional output. Like citing several example sentences. So even if only those often used words are being mentioned by you, this should suffice.

[SGP]

To the speakers and learners of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Swahili, Japanese, Esperanto, Dutch, and Afrikaans:

The last post was about my search for High Frequency Grammar Glue Words in Spanish. Like que, pero, mientras etc. Words like "and, while, but, nevertheless, during" and many more in English.

Then I said to myself, "Why should I limit my current query to Spanish only"? In the beginning, I planned to ask that question for one language only, then for another one after some time. But there is something that seems even better to me: asking it for all of my list's languages at once. It is possible that right now, there aren't any Spanish learners/speakers who could tell me some of the High Frequency Grammar Glue Words. But maybe it is different for Portuguese, Italian, or another language. And even if there are Spanish learners/speakers who do provide some, as I call it, input, I still wouldn't want to restrict this query to one language only.

So... I'd simply like asking those of you who learn any language on my list, or who simply speak it, for some of those words that are actually used and wide-spread. (Unlike the very uncommon ones that are semi-antique, purely poetical etc.). Words like "and, while, but, nevertheless, during, although, if only, unless", and many more.

Because I would prefer to keep your workload as little as possible, it is fully sufficient if you told me some of these words only. Even without additional explanations and so on. It would be up to me to carefully research some examples, possibly additional usage instructions too (i.e. grammar), and then to post it in this log.

[EDIT: There is a new post in this log about the Grammar Glue Words Quest. It explains why I am doing it, and something else too. Like why I really don't mind if you people provide me a short list only, and why I also really don't mind if it takes some time for me to look the examples up.

https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9263&p=121312#p121312 ]

[SGP]

Spanish and Portuguese:

Wondering about the exact role of el Portuñol / o Portunhol. Thinking about something like: how often is it really used in "real-world" situations? And how useful exactly is it?

French:

Silent letters and the presence of many accents are a reason for my slower progress (in comparison to Spanish).

[SGP]

Romanian: Not too far from Italian, but more distant than Spanish and Portuguese.
A Romance language with Slavonic influence. Amazing.

Afrikaans: As I mentioned a short time ago, I really like the way they say "giraffe". They simply call it a "camel horse". Wondering what its other secrets are. A language with European origin but African influence.

Dutch: Feels like another flavor of my native language to me, even if I cannot speak it that easily.

German: Feels like another flavor of Dutch to me.

[SGP]

Japanese:

Not labeling any language as Truly And Genuinely Difficult To Learn. But still, all other languages on my list are easier for me than Nihongo. This could partially be related to the country's history, being a rather isolated island for a long, long time. (It should go without saying that I do not intend to offend anyone, including, but not limited to, Japanese people).

[SGP]

Swahili:

Not a poet, and not aiming to be one.
But still feeling like occasionally thinking of some (own) Swahili rhymes.

African and Caribbean English:

While English isn't included on my learning list, I'd still like to advance with these two flavors of it. Or should I even consider them as one only? Caribbean English itself has been influenced by African English (dis no secret, "everybody" know ).

[SGP]

Comparing Italian and Romanian:

"Dove ha imparato lo spagnolo?
Unde aţi învăţat spaniola?"

"Sa anche il portoghese?
Ştiţi şi portugheza?"

"Sì, e so anche un po’ d’italiano.
Da, şi ştiu şi ceva italiană."

"Trovo che lo parla molto bene.
Mi se pare că vorbiţi foarte bine."

"Riesco a capirle bene.
Le pot înţelege bine."

[SGP]

Comparing Spanish and Portuguese:

"¿De qué color lo quiere?
Qual é a cor que deseja?"

"¿Negro, marrón o blanco?
Preto, castanho ou branco?"

"Naturalmente.
Com certeza."

"Una ración de patatas fritas con ketchup.
Uma dose de batatas fritas com ketchup."

"¿Te gusta también comer pimientos?
Também gostas de pimentão?"

"No me gusta la cebolla.
Eu não gosto de cebolas."