Complex adjectivals

Like Simple adjectivals, complex adjectivals come in two flavours. So-called "relative" formations, and "postpositional" formations.

"Relative" formations

Many aspectual adjectivals can in fact be interpreted as Qohenje relative formations built from intransitive verbals... Or in other words, there is no significant structural difference in Qohenje between aspectual adjectivals and so-called relative constructions, better labelled as complex adjectivals. In an exact analog to the aspectual adjectivals, whole clauses may become qualifiers upon the removal of their auxiliary (i.e. once rendered non-finite), e.g. from

we can derive the qualified nominal phrase

 

In such formations, the TR nominal is invariably the head. To make into the head of the above construction, we would need to use passive ordering on the phrase. So, imagining once again a derivational process, from the notionally passive,

we can form

This kind of formation is very versatile in Qohenje, and is often used to create structures that require various constructions in English translations:

 

Some derivational examples:

Qohenje can form "restrictive relative" (complex adjectival) structures on any matrix nominals, with the condition that the relativised nominal become the TR of the relative structure. This often requires passive ordering, or else circumstantial voice modification.

If we take two simple clauses,

relativizing the second and embedding it into the first, we get

 

If we begin with a clause in which the nominal to be qualified is not the TR...

... we have to modify the syntactic structure of the second clause to get "the boy" into TR position, using passive ordering.

and then the embedding will work:

 

Relativisations are possible on any matrix nominal, as long as the qualified nominal becomes the TR. Hence:

Relativizing the second structure into the first is only possible as follows,

 

This last example contains a relative formation derived from a passive-ordered circumstantial voice. A literal translation would give something like "The boys have struck the men with the about-talked by-me stones." Note that the complex adjectival in this example lacks the specific past tense in the independent phrase which has become a completed aspect in the embedded structure, as no tense specification is possible within such detemporalized adjectival constructions.

Such constructions are often better translated using participial phrases, as noted above,

 

Note the important distinction in Qohenje between this last example, and a formation like,

In the second case, the AB LM case clitic indicates that it was the whole process that was being watched, not specifically the men, (which is the implication of the AN LM case clitic in the previous example). Some other distinctions of this nature:

 

 

And indeed, although rather obscure, the following formation (with the IN LM clitic ) is also comprehensible:

 

Postpositional formations

If relative formations are the (complex) analog of (simple) aspectual adjectivals, postpositional formations are the (complex) analog of (simple) ATT adjectivals.

As explained in the section on the Attributive form, ATT lexemes can take LM arguments, forming what are normally treated as postpositional structures:

 

 

 

Such structures themselves can qualify a nominal, and in such formations the qualified nominal may optionally take case marking to show its relation to the ATT form, but does not have to,

 

The unmarked version makes no particular comment regarding the energetic relationship of the head nominal to the rest of the relation.

The difference between such structures and the complex "relative" adjectivals shown above lies in the impossibility of the LM argument to bear case marking, as well as the ATT form which still adheres to its head nominal in writing, with the absence of a cejhan (but not so with regard to its LM argument).

The use of clitics on complex adjectivals disambiguates cases of postpositional adnominals versus sentential postpositional phrases:

 

The presence of the LM clitic clearly shows the structure of the second example, where the entire phrase is the LM. This is also clear from the fact that the nominal is unmarked. Case marking on the head nominal allows three further possibilities for this kind of construction:

 

Such complex attributive adjectivals may appear equally on other nominals in the clause: