THE DESIGN OF INTERGLOSSA

and to clarify the terms used, viz., verboid, verboid qualifier, amplifier, and substantive cluster. Items (3), (4), (5), together make up the verboid cluster:

"The retiring president of the society will make clear to us his reasons for resignation."

The parts are:

(1)Subject substantive cluster The retiring president
(2)Substantive cluster qualifying the subject of the society
(3)Verboid qualifier will
(4)Key verboid make
(5)Amplifier clear
(6)Indirect Object substantive cluster to us
(7)Direct Object substantive cluster his reasons
(8)Substantive cluster qualifying the direct object for resignation

This paradigm illustrates Anglo-American word-order in an affirmative simple statement or principal clause. It also reproduces the essential pattern of Interglossa in any sentence or clause. The word-order of Interglossa does not change in questions, requests, commands and relative clauses. For adequate instruction concerning its word-order we have therefore to be more explicit about class (b) in the preceding section, and to say something about the relative clause.

In spoken English we often express interrogation, without change of word-order, by tone of voice or by tacking on eh? In some languages the use of an interrogative particle (e.g. Finnish ko) is the ordinary method of indicating interrogation, in writing as well as in speech. The English modal auxiliaries do (do you think so?) or will (will you give me some move?) respectively, have the same function in a question or in a request. In the same way, initial interrogative or imperative particles of Interglossa indicate that what follows is a question, request, or command, without change of the invariable word-pattern. This fixed pattern is equally characteristic of subordinate clauses and simple sentences, whether affirmative, interrogative or imperative.

The beginner has to get accustomed to the trick of preserving the word-order of an equivalent simple sentence in a relative clause. This will offer no difficulty to anyone who is familiar with colloquial Anglo-American. There is a single relative pronoun su for the subject. Like the English that it can stand for person or thing, singular or plural: