Editing Sardinian language (section)

===Syntax===
Distinctive syntax features include:
* A common occurrence of a [[Dislocation (syntax)|left-dislocated construction]]: {{lang|sc|cussa cantone apo cantadu}} ("That song I have sung": that is, "I've sung that song").
** In yes/no questions, fronting of a constituent (especially a predicative element) is required, though it is not specifically a question-formation process: {{lang|sc|Cumprendiu m'as?}} ("Understood me you have", that is, "Have you understood me?"), {{lang|sc|Mandicatu at?}} ("Eaten he/she has", that is "Has he/she eaten?"), {{lang|sc|Fatu l'at}} ("Done he/she has", that is "He/She's done it"), etc.
*Interrogative phrases might be constructed like [[echo questions]], with the interrogative marker remaining in underlying position: {{lang|sc|Sunt lòmpios cando?}} ("They arrived when?", that is, "when did they arrive?"), {{lang|sc|Juanne at pigadu olias cun chie?}} ("John has picked olives with whom?"), etc.
* Impersonal sentence constructions are commonly used to replace the passive voice, which is limited to the formal register: {{lang|sc|A Juanni ddu ant mortu}} rather than {{lang|sc|Juanni est istadu mortu}}.
* The use of {{lang|sc|non de}} + noun: {{lang|sc|non de abba, abbardente est}} ("not of water brandy it+is": that is, "It is not water, but brandy."); {{lang|sc|non de frades, parent inimigos}} ("Not of brothers, they seem enemies": that is, "Far from being brothers, they are like enemies").
* The use of {{lang|sc|ca}} (from {{lang|sc|quia}}) or {{lang|sc|chi}} as subordinate conjunctions: {{lang|sc|Ja nau ti l'apo ca est issa sa mere}} ("Already told I have you that is she the boss", that is "I've already told you that it's her the boss").
* Existential uses of {{lang|sc|àer}} / {{lang|sc|ài}} ("to have") and {{lang|sc|èsser}} / {{lang|sc|essi}} ("to be"): {{lang|sc|B'at prus de chentu persones inoghe!}} ("There is over a hundred people in here!"), {{lang|sc|Nci funt is pratus in mesa}} ("There are the plates on the table").
* {{lang|sc|Ite}} ("What") + adjective + {{lang|sc|chi}}: {{lang|sc|Ite bellu chi ses!}} ("What beautiful that (you) are!", that is "How beautiful you are!").
* Nominal syntagmas without having a head: {{lang|sc|Cussu ditzionariu de gregu est prus mannu de su de Efis}} ("That Greek dictionary is bigger than Efisio's"), {{lang|sc|Cudda machina est prus manna de sa de Juanne}} ("That car is bigger than John's").
* Extraposition of the lexical head: {{lang|sc|Imprestami su tou de ditzionàriu}} ("Please lend me your dictionary").
* {{lang|sc|Ancu}} + subjunctive as a way to express a (malevolent) wish on someone: {{lang|sc|Ancu ti falet unu lampu!}} ("May you be struck by lightning!").
* Prepositional accusative: {{lang|sc|Apo bidu a Maria}} ("I've seen Mary").
* Insertion of the affirmative particle {{lang|sc|ja}} / {{lang|sc|giai}}: {{lang|sc|Ja m'apo corcau}} ("I did go to bed").
** Use of the same particle to express [[Antiphrasis|antiphrastic]] formulas: {{lang|sc|Jai ses totu istudiatu, tue!}} ("You're so well educated!", that is, "You are so ignorant and full of yourself!").
* Reflexive use of intransitive verbs: {{lang|sc|Tziu Pascale si nch'est mortu}}<ref group=note>As opposed to the transitive use of ''morrer'' / ''morri a...'', which means "to kill" instead. E.g.: ''Pascale at mortu a tziu Bachis'' ("Pascal has killed uncle Bachisio").</ref> {{lang|sc|eris sero}} ("Uncle Pascal passed away yesterday"), {{lang|sc|Mi nch'apo dormiu pro una parica de oras}} ("I've slept for a couple of hours").
* Use of {{lang|sc|àer}} in reflexive sentences: {{lang|sc|Si at fertu a s'anca traballende}} ("He/She injured himself/herself while working").
* Combination of the perfective and progressive verb aspect: {{lang|sc|Est istadu traballende totu sa die}} ("He/She has been working all day").
* [[Progressive aspect|Continuous and progressive aspect]] of the verb, which is meant to indicate an effective situation rather than typical or habitual: {{lang|sc|Non ti so cumprendende}} ("I don't understand you").
* Relative lack of adverbs: with the exception of some localized words like the Nuorese {{lang|sc|mescamente}} ("especially"), as well as some recent loanwords from Italian, all the Sardinian dialects have a number of ways with which to express the meaning conferred to the adverbs by the other Romance languages (e.g. {{lang|sc|Luchia currit prus a lestru / acoitendi de Maria}}, "Lucy runs faster than Mary").
* The expression of the deontic modality through a periphrastic form, characterized by the verb "to want" in auxiliary position, a feature also common to Southern Corsican, Sicilian, [[Moroccan Arabic]] and Moroccan Berber, in addition to some non-standard varieties of English.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|pages=308–309}}</ref> (e.g. {{lang|sc|Su dinare bolet / cheret torradu}} "money has to be paid back").
* The {{lang|sc|condaghes}} seem to demonstrate that unlike other Romance languages, Old Sardinian may have had verb-initial word order, with optional topicalization into the beginning of the sentence.<ref name="Wolfe_in_Haug">{{cite book |last1=Wolfe |first1=Sam |editor1-last=Haug |editor1-first=Dag T. T. |title=Historical Linguistics 2013: Selected papers from the 21st International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Oslo, 5–9 August 2013. |date=2015 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |pages=303–324 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_GNCgAAQBAJ&q=Old+Sardinian&pg=PA303 |chapter=Medieval Sardinian: New evidence for syntactic change from Latin to Romance|isbn=978-90-272-6818-1 }}</ref> While verb-initial word order is also attested in other old Romance languages, such as Old Venetian, Old French, Old Neapolitan, Old Spanish, Old Sicilian and others, it has been argued that Old Sardinian was alone in licensing verb-initial word order (V1) as the generalized word order, while the others had V1 only as a marked alternative.<ref>Wolfe, Sam. [https://www.academia.edu/16130909 "Verb-initial orders in Old Romance: A comparative Account."] Revue roumaine de linguistique 60.2–3 (2015): 147–172.</ref>