Lesson 8: Possessive

How to Use This Lesson

This lesson is divided into four sections. Please move through them in this order: Grammar, Vocabulary, Practice, Flashcards.

Do not try to memorize! Just read through the content attentively. The warm-ups and flashcards will bring the vocabulary back later!

GrammarVocabularyPracticeFlashcards

Before our lesson, let's watch this 1-minute video to practice some of what we've learned in context! There is a new word in the video, su, which means and.

Possessive

Remember the personal pronouns? Try to complete the table:

Oravia	English
	I
	you
	he/she/they (singular)
	we
	you (plural)
	they (plural)

The possessive is very simple, we just use the pronoun before the noun. Like this:

nim faibor = my spouse

But how about other words? For example, if I want to say it's my spouse's? In that case, we use de.

de faibor = spouse's

Or you could also say, de nim faibor. De is very versatile. It means of, from. For example, one could ask:

de cedom run?
↓       ↓    ↓              
from/of where you?

This means where are you from?. Can you guess the meaning of de cedom run faibor?

Now try to create a sentence using possessives, or 3 if you're up for a challenge!

The YA Cluster

Today we will learn a new cluster, YA! Take a look at these words.

Oravia	English
yasoi	fast
yalgai	small
yani	new
yamirli	old
yavuson	slow

What do you think the words in the YA cluster have in common?

These words are primarily used as adjectives, or characterists. This is not the only cluster with characteristics, we have another one coming up. The difference is that the YA cluster is about objective characteristics, that is, things that can be measured. The other cluster is about subjective characteristics, things like boring, or beautiful.

Recall words are flexible. The YA cluster is usually in the role of adjectives, but they can have other meanings as well. For example:

Oravia	English
yasoi	fast, speed
yalgai	small, little
yani	new, innovation
yamirli	old, age
yavuson	slow, slowly

The sentence tells you which role the word has. We will use these words in different roles in later lessons.

Recognize the Roots

Take another look at yani. Do you recognize any roots you've learned before?

🌍 Sound Connections

Gai means small and comes from English and French grain.

Here are other words with this root:
litegai = minute (clock time + small; hour is the big unit), just like yalgai = small (objective quality + small).

Matching Games

Time to practice! Match the Oravia words with their English meanings. Use sound-meaning associations as clues. For example, the subcluster sound tells you the category, even for words you haven't seen before.
If you don't remember or make a mistake, that's totally fine! We will have plenty of opportunities to practice. Right now just give it a try.
Click one word from each column to match them. The game will check automatically when you select both words.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

🎉 Lesson 8 Complete!

Use the Flashcards tab for another quick review.

Come back tomorrow for Lesson 9.