Editing Friulian language (section)

== Morphology ==
Friulian is quite different from Italian in its morphology; it is, in many respects, closer to [[French language|French]].

=== Nouns ===
In Friulian as in other [[Romance languages]], [[noun]]s are either [[grammatical gender|masculine or feminine]] (for example, "''il mûr''" ("the wall", masculine), "''la cjadree''" ("the chair", feminine).

==== Feminine ====
Most feminine nouns end in ''-e'', which is pronounced, unlike in Standard French:

* ''cjase'' = house (from Latin "casa, -ae" hut)
* ''lune'' = moon (from Latin "luna, -ae")
* ''scuele'' = school (from Latin "schola, -ae")

Some feminine nouns, however, end in a consonant, including those ending in ''-zion'', which are from [[Latin]].
* ''man'' = hand (from Latin "manŭs, -ūs" f)
* ''lezion'' = lesson (from Latin "lectio, -nis" f

Note that in some Friulian dialects the -e feminine ending is actually an -a or an -o, which characterize the dialect area of the language and are referred to as ''a/o-ending dialects'' (e.g. {{lang|fur|cjase}} is spelled as {{lang|fur|cjaso}} or {{lang|fur|cjasa -}} the latter being the oldest form of the feminine ending).

==== Masculine ====
Most masculine nouns end either in a consonant or in ''-i''.
* ''cjan'' = dog
* ''gjat'' = cat
* ''fradi'' = brother
* ''libri'' = book

A few masculine nouns end in ''-e'', including ''sisteme'' (system) and ''probleme'' (problem). They are usually words coming from [[Ancient Greek]]. However, because most masculine nouns end in a consonant, it is common to find the forms ''sistem'' and ''problem'' instead, more often in print than in speech.

There are also a number of masculine nouns borrowed intact from [[Italian language|Italian]], with a final ''-o'', like ''treno'' (train). Many of the words have been fully absorbed into the language and even form their plurals with the regular Friulian ''-s'' rather than the Italian [[desinence]] changing. Still, there are some purists, including those influential in Friulian publishing, who frown on such words and insist that the "proper" Friulian terms should be without the final ''-o''. Despite the fact that one almost always hears ''treno'', it is almost always written ''tren''.

=== Articles ===
The Friulian [[article (grammar)|definite article]] (which corresponds to "the" in English) is derived from the Latin ''ille'' and takes the following forms:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ [[Definite article]]s
! Number
! Masculine
! Feminine
|-
! Singular
| il
| la
|-
! Plural
| i
| lis
|}
Before a vowel, both ''il'' and ''la'' can be abbreviated to l' in the standard forms - for example ''il + arbul'' (the tree) becomes ''l'arbul.'' Yet, as far as the article ''la'' is concerned, modern grammar recommends that its non elided form should be preferred over the elided one: ''la acuile (the eagle)'' although in speech the two ''a'' sounds are pronounced as a single one. In the spoken language, various other articles are used.<ref>In Northern Friuli, ''el'' is used instead of ''il''. In Southern and Western Friuli, ''al'' is used instead of ''il''. In Northern Friuli, ''li'' or ''las'' is used instead of ''lis'' and ''le'' instead of ''la''.</ref>

The indefinite article in Friulian (which corresponds to ''a'' and ''an'' in English) derives from the Latin ''unus'' and varies according to gender:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ [[Indefinite article]]s
|-
! Masculine
| un
|-
! Feminine
| une
|}

A partitive article also exists: '''des''' for feminine and '''dai''' for masculine: {{lang|fur|des vacjis}} – ''some cows'' and ''dai libris'' - ''some books''

=== Adjectives ===
A Friulian [[adjective]] must agree in gender and number with the noun it qualifies. Most adjectives have four forms for singular (masculine and feminine) and plural (masculine and feminine):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Declension
|-
! Number
! Masculine
! Feminine
|-
! Singular
| brut
| brute
|-
! Plural
| bruts
| brutis
|}

(Like for nouns, for a/o-ending dialects the plural is simply obtained by adding an ''s -'' e.g. ''brute'' corresponds to ''bruta/bruto'' and its plural form ''brutis'' is ''brutas/brutos'').

The feminine is formed in several ways from the masculine:
* in most cases, all that is needed is -e (short: ''curt'', ''curte'')
* if the final letter is a -c, the feminine can end with -cje, -gje, -che, -ghe (little: pôc, pôcje)
* if the final letter is a -f, the feminine can end with -ve (new: ''gnûf, gnove'')
* if the final letter is a -p, the feminine can end with -be (sour: ''garp, garbe'')
* if the final letter is a -t, the feminine can end with -de (green: ''vert, verde'')

=== Plurals ===
To form the plural of masculine and feminine nouns ending in -e, the -e is changed to -is (whilst a/o-ending dialects simply add an s)
* {{lang|fur|taule}}, {{lang|fur|taulis}} = table, tables
* {{lang|fur|cjase}}, {{lang|fur|cjasis}} = house, houses
* {{lang|fur|lune}}, {{lang|fur|lunis}} = moon, moons
* {{lang|fur|scuele}}, {{lang|fur|scuelis}} = school, schools
* {{lang|fur|sisteme}}, {{lang|fur|sistemis}} = system, systems
* {{lang|fur|manece}}, {{lang|fur|manecis}} = glove, gloves
* {{lang|fur|gnece}}, {{lang|fur|gnecis}} = niece, nieces

The plural of almost all other nouns is just -s. It is always pronounced as voiceless [s], as in [[English language|English]] ''cats'', never as voiced [z], as in ''dogs''.
* {{lang|fur|man}}, {{lang|fur|mans}} = hand, hands
* {{lang|fur|lezion}}, {{lang|fur|lezions}} = lesson, lessons
* {{lang|fur|cjan}}, {{lang|fur|cjans}} = dog, dogs
* {{lang|fur|gjat}}, {{lang|fur|gjats}} = cat, cats
* {{lang|fur|fradi}}, {{lang|fur|fradis}} = brother, brothers
* {{lang|fur|libri}}, {{lang|fur|libris}} = book, books
* {{lang|fur|tren}}, {{lang|fur|trens}} = train, trains
* {{lang|fur|braç}}, {{lang|fur|braçs}} = arm, arms (from Latin "bracchium")
* {{lang|fur|guant}}, {{lang|fur|guants}} = glove, gloves (compare English "gauntlet")

In some Friulian dialects, there are many words whose final consonant becomes silent when the -s is added. The words include just about all those whose singular form ends in -t. The plural of {{lang|fur|gjat}}, for example, is written as {{lang|fur|gjats}} but is pronounced in much of Friuli as if it were {{lang|fur|gjas}}. The plural of {{lang|fur|plat}} 'dish', though written as {{lang|fur|plats}}, is often pronounced as {{lang|fur|plas}}. Other words in this category include ''clâf'' (key) and ''clap'' (stone), whose plural forms, clâfs and claps, are often pronounced with no f or p, respectively (clâs, clas) so the longer a in the former is all that distinguishes it from the latter. A final -ç, which is pronounced either as the [[English language|English]] "-ch" (in central Friulian) or as "-s", is pluralized in writing as -çs, regardless of whether the pluralized pronunciation is "-s" or "-ts" (it varies according to dialect): messaç / messaçs (message).

==== Exceptions ====
Masculine nouns ending in -l or -li form their plurals by palatalising final -l or -li to -i.
* {{lang|fur|cjaval}}, {{lang|fur|cjavai}} = horse, horses (from Latin "caballus")
* {{lang|fur|fîl}}, {{lang|fur|fîi}} = string, strings (from Latin "filum")
* {{lang|fur|cjapiel}}, {{lang|fur|cjapiei}} = hat, hats
* {{lang|fur|cjaveli}}, {{lang|fur|cjavei}} = hair, hairs
* {{lang|fur|voli}}, {{lang|fur|voi}} = eye, eyes
* {{lang|fur|zenoli}}, {{lang|fur|zenoi}} = knee, knees (from Latin "genu")
Notice how these very often correspond to French nouns that form an irregular plural in -''x'': ''cheval-chevaux, chapeau-chapeaux, cheveu-cheveux, oeil-yeux, genou-genoux''.

Feminine nouns ending in -l have regular plurals.
* ''piel'', ''piels'' = skin, skins
* ''val'', ''vals'' (in northern Friulian also "tal", "tals") = valley, valleys

Masculine nouns ending in -st form their plurals by palatalising the final -t to -cj
* ''cavalarist'', ''cavalariscj'' = military horseman, military horsemen
* ''test'', ''tescj'' = text, texts

Some masculine nouns ending in -t form their plurals by palatalising the final -t to -cj:
* {{lang|fur|dint}}, {{lang|fur|dincj}} = tooth, teeth (from Latin "dens, -tis")
* {{lang|fur|dut}}, {{lang|fur|ducj}} = all (of one thing), all (of several things) (from Latin "totus")

Nouns ending in "s" do not change spelling in the plural, but some speakers may pronounce the plural -s differently from the singular -s.
* ''vues'' = bone, bones
* ''pes'' = fish (singular or plural) (from Latin "piscis")
* ''mês'' = month, months (from Latin "mensis")

The plural of ''an'' (year) has several forms depending on dialect, including ''ain'', ''ains'', ''agn'' and ''agns''. Regardless of pronunciation, the written form is ''agns''.

The same happens for the adjective ''bon'' (good), as its plural is {{lang|fur|bogns}}.

=== Clitic subject pronouns ===
A feature of Friulian are the clitic [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] [[pronoun]]s. Known in Friulian as ''pleonastics'', they are never stressed; they are used together with the verb to express the subject and can be found before the [[verb]] in [[Sentence (linguistics)#Classification by purpose|declarative sentences]] or immediately after it in case of [[Question|interrogative]] or vocative (''optative'') sentences.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Weak pronouns
|-
!
! Declaration
! Question
! Invocation
|-
! I
| o
| -(i)o
| -(i)o
|-
! You (singular)
| tu
| -tu
| -tu
|-
! He
| al
| -(i)al
| -(i)al
|-
! She
| e
| -(i)e
| -(i)e
|-
! We
| o
| -o
| -o
|-
! You (plural)
| o
| -o
| -o
|-
! They
| -a
| -o
| -o
|}

An example: ''jo o lavori'' means "I work"; ''lavorio?'' means "Do I work?", while ''lavorassio'' means "I wish I worked".

=== Verbs ===
* Friulian verbal [[infinitive]]s have one of four endings, -â, -ê, -i, -î; removing the ending gives the root, used to form the other forms (''fevelâ'', to speak; root ''fevel-''), but in the case of irregular verbs, the root changes. They are common (''jessi'', to be; ''vê'', to have; ''podê'', to be able to). Verbs are frequently used in combination with adverbs to restrict the meaning.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Verbs, present, declarative form
|-
! Person
! ''fevelâ'' (to speak)
! ''lâ'' (to go)
! ''jessi'' (to be)
!''vê'' (to have)
|-
! Jo o
| feveli
| voi
| soi
|ai
|-
! Tu tu
| fevelis
| vâs
| sês
|âs
|-
! Lui al
| fevele
| va
| è
|à
|-
!Jê e
|fevele
|va
|je
|à
|-
! Nô o
| fevelìn
| lin
| sin
|vin
|-
! Vô o
| fevelais
| lais, vais
| sês
|vês
|-
! Lôr a
| fevelin
| van
| son
|àn
|}

=== Adverbs ===
An adjective can be made into an [[adverb]] by adding -mentri to the ending of the feminine singular form of the adjective (''lente'' becomes ''lentementri'', slowly), but it can sometimes<ref>Such is the case of FriulIan adjectives deriving from Latin adjectives of the second class.</ref> lose the -e of the adjective (''facile'' becomes ''facilmentri'', easily). It is more common in the written language; in the spoken language people frequently use other forms or locutions (''a planc'' for slowly).