Editing Maltese language (section)

==Grammar==
Maltese grammar is fundamentally derived from [[Varieties of Arabic|Arabic]], although [[Romance languages|Latin]] and [[English language|English]] noun pluralisation patterns are also used on borrowed words.

===Adjectives and adverbs===
[[Adjective]]s follow [[noun]]s. There are no separately formed native [[adverb]]s, and word order is fairly flexible. Both nouns and adjectives of [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] origin take the definite article (for example, {{lang|mt|It-tifel il-kbir}}, lit. "The boy the elder"="The elder boy"). This rule does not apply to adjectives of Romance origin.

===Nouns===
Nouns are pluralised and also have a [[dual grammatical number|dual]] marker. Semitic plurals are complex; if they are regular, they are marked by ''-iet''/''-ijiet'', e.g., ''art'', ''artijiet'' "lands (territorial possessions or property)" (cf. Arabic ''-at'' and Hebrew ''-ot''/''-oth'') or ''-in'' (cf. Arabic ''-īn'' and Hebrew ''-im''). If irregular, they fall in the ''pluralis fractus'' ([[broken plural]]) category, in which a word is pluralised by internal vowel changes: ''ktieb'', ''kotba'' " book", "books"; ''raġel'', ''irġiel'' "man", "men".

Words of Romance origin are usually pluralised in two manners: addition of ''-i'' or ''-jiet''. For example, ''lingwa'', ''lingwi'' "languages", from Sicilian ''lingua'', ''lingui''.

Words of English origin are pluralised by adding either an "-s" or "-jiet", for example, ''friġġ'', ''friġis'' from the word ''fridge''. Some words can be pluralised with either of the suffixes to denote the plural. A few words borrowed from English can amalgamate both suffixes, like ''brikksa'' from the English ''brick'', which can adopt either collective form ''brikks'' or the plural form ''brikksiet''.

====Derivation====

As in [[Arabic]], nouns are often derived by changing, adding or removing the vowels within a [[triliteral root]]. These are some of the patterns used for nouns:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/TeachYourselfMalteseJosephAquilina/page/n49/ | title=Teach Yourself Maltese Joseph Aquilina }}</ref>

* CaCiC – ''xadin'' (monkey), ''sadid'' (rust)
* CCiC – ''żbib'' (raisin)
* CaCCa – ''baqra'' (cow), ''basla'' (onion)
* CeCCa – ''werqa'' (leaf), ''xewqa'' (wish)
* CoCCa – ''borka'' (wild duck), ''forka'' (gallows)
* CaCC – ''qalb'' (heart), ''sajd'' (fishing)
* CeCC – ''kelb'' (dog), ''xemx'' (sun)
* CCuCija – ''tfulija'' (childhood), ''xbubija'' (maidenhood)
* CCuCa – ''rtuba'' (softness), ''bjuda'' (whiteness)
* CaCCaC – ''tallab'' (beggar), ''bajjad'' (whitewasher)

The so-called mimated nouns use the [[prefix]] ''m-'' in addition to [[vowel]] changes. This pattern can be used to indicate [[Location (geography)|place]] [[name]]s, [[tool]]s, [[abstraction]]s, etc. These are some of the patterns used for mimated nouns:

* ma-CCeC – ''marden'' (spindle)
* mi-CCeC – ''minkeb'' (elbow), ''miżwed'' (pod)
* mu-CCaC – ''musmar'' (nail), ''munqar'' (beak)

===Article===
The [[proclitic]] ''il-'' is the [[definite article]], equivalent to "the" in English and "al-" in Arabic.

The Maltese article becomes ''l-'' before or after a vowel.
* ''l-omm'' (the mother)
* ''rajna l-Papa'' (we saw the Pope)
* ''il-missier'' (the father)

The Maltese article [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilates]] to a following non-ġ [[coronal consonant]] (called ''konsonanti xemxin'' "[[sun letter|sun consonants]]"), namely:
* Ċ ''iċ-ċikkulata'' (the chocolate)
* D ''id-dar'' (the house)
* N ''in-nar'' (the fire)
* R ''ir-razzett'' (the farm)
* S ''is-serrieq'' (the saw)
* T ''it-tifel'' (the child)
* X ''ix-xemx'' (the sun)
* Ż ''iż-żarbuna'' (the shoe)
* Z ''iz-zalzett'' (the sausage)

===Verbs===
Verbs show the Semitic [[triliteral]] pattern, in which a verb is [[grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] with [[Prefix (linguistics)|prefixes]], [[suffix]]es, and [[infix]]es (for example ''ktibna'', Arabic ''katabna'', Hebrew ''kathabhnu'' (Modern Hebrew: katavnu) "we wrote"). An example is the Semitic root X-M-X ('sun'), for example ''xemx'' (sun), ''xmux'' (suns), ''xemxi'' (sunny), ''xemxata'' (sunstroke), ''nixxemmex'' (I sunbathe), ''ma xxemmixtx'' (I didn't sunbathe), ''tixmix'' (the act of sunbathing). 

Maltese also features the [[agglutination]] of verb suffixes indicating direction of action, for example ''agħmilhomli'' "make them for me"← ''agħmel'' "make" in the imperative + ''hom'' from ''huma'' "them" + ''li'' suffix indicating first person singular and ''ħasletielu'' "she washed it for him"←''ħaslet'' "she washed" from the verb ''ħasel'' "to wash" + ''ie'' the object + ''lu'' suffix indicating third person masculine singular.

The two [[grammatical tense|tenses]] are present and perfect. The Maltese verb system incorporates Romance verbs and adds Maltese suffixes and prefixes to them, for example; ''iddeċidejna'' "we decided" ← ''(i)ddeċieda'' "decide", a Romance verb + ''-ejna'', a Maltese first person plural perfect marker.