Lesson 24: Complex Sentence Structure

Introduction

In previous lessons we have constructed many Sindarin sentences, but most have been simple sentences — a single clause with one verb, one subject, one object. Real Elvish speech and poetry, however, uses complex sentences: multiple clauses linked by conjunctions, relative pronouns, or participial phrases.

This lesson brings together everything learned so far and shows how Sindarin sentences can grow into rich, layered constructions. We will analyze real attested Tolkien texts and build our own complex sentences from the ground up.

1. Review: Basic Sindarin Word Order

Sindarin's default word order is VSO (Verb-Subject-Object):

Verb → Subject → Object
Tiron i aran i barad.
Watch  the king  the tower.
"The king watches the tower."

However, Sindarin shows considerable flexibility:

Fronting for emphasis (object or subject moved to beginning)
Topic-comment structure (old information first, new information last)
Participial phrases may precede or follow the main clause

Complex sentences add further layers: the main clause can embed subordinate clauses, relative clauses, temporal clauses, and participial constructions.

2. Coordinating Conjunctions

Before subordination, let us establish the coordinating conjunctions — words that join two independent clauses of equal weight:

Conjunction	Meaning	Mutation	Notes
a / ah	and	—	very common; ah before vowels
egor	or	—	attested
dan	but, yet, however	—	attested
ar	and (variant)	—	some N./S. variation

Examples:

Tiron a linnon = "I watch and I sing"
Tolen egor menen = "I come or I go"
Im cerin, dan boe dago = "I make (it), but (it is) necessary to slay"

The conjunction a is sometimes written ah before a word beginning with a vowel:

I aran ah i bess = "The king and the queen/woman"

3. Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses that cannot stand alone. The dependent clause relies on the main clause for its full meaning:

Conjunction	Meaning	Mutation on Following Word	Example
an	for, because	nasal mutation (in some uses)	linnon, an gelin
ce	if	—	ce tolen...
ab	after (temporal)	soft mutation	ab i linnant
no	before (temporal)	—	no i men
sui	as, like, as if	—	sui celeb
pan	when, since	soft mutation	pan tolen
nui	before (alternative)	—	ᴺS.

Conjunction an (because, for)

An introduces a causal clause explaining WHY the main action occurs:

Linnon, an gelin = "I sing, because I am glad"
- Main clause: Linnon (I sing)
- Causal clause: an gelin (an + gelin = because I-am-glad)
- Note: gelin = "I am glad" — gel- (to rejoice) + -in (1sg suffix)
Im heb estel, an boe ammen = "I keep hope, because it is necessary for us"
Tiron, an ú-iston = "I watch, because I do not know"

Conjunction sui (as, like)

Sui introduces comparative clauses:

Nâ maer sui celeb = "It is good as/like silver"
Linnon sui edhel = "I sing like an elf"
Na-chaered palan-díriel, sui aear tiriant = "(Having gazed far,) as the sea watching" (poetic)

Temporal Conjunctions ab and no

Ab i linnant, tolant = "After they sang, they came"
- ab (after) + i linnant (they sang) = temporal subordinate clause
- tolant = they came (main clause, past)
No i tôl, menon = "Before he comes, I go"
- no (before) + i tôl (he comes) = temporal subordinate clause

4. The Relative Clause with i

The most important and most used complex structure in Sindarin is the relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun i.

The Key Ambiguity: Article vs. Relative Pronoun

The definite article is i (singular). The relative pronoun "who/which/that" is also i. This is not a bug — it is a feature of Sindarin's design. Context disambiguates:

As article: i precedes a noun and triggers soft mutation:

i aran = "the king" (r does not mutate; but i varad = "the tower" with b→v)
i barad → i varad = "the tower"

As relative pronoun: i precedes a verb (or relative clause beginning with the subject then verb):

i aran i tirant = "the king who watched"
- First i = article (before noun aran)
- Second i = relative pronoun (before verb tirant)

Diagnostic: If i is followed immediately by a noun → it is the article. If i is followed by a verb or a second nominal phrase then a verb → it is the relative pronoun.

Subject Relative Clauses

The head noun is the subject of the relative clause:

Sindarin	English	Analysis
I edhel i linnant	"The elf who sang"	i edhel = the elf; i linnant = who sang
I aran i tirant	"The king who watched"	i aran = the king; i tirant = who watched
I elbereth i orthant i elenath	"Elbereth who kindled the stars"	orthant = 3sg past of ortha- (raise, kindle)

The relative clause verb agrees with the head noun (3sg if the head noun is singular), and the entire relative clause follows the head noun directly.

Object Relative Clauses

When the head noun is the object of the relative clause's verb:

Sindarin	English	Analysis
I galadh i cenin	"The tree that I see"	galadh = obj. of cenin
I lind i linnon	"The song that I sing"	lind = song, obj. of linnon
I corf i agor	"The ring that he made"	corf = ring, obj. of agor (past)

In object relative clauses, the word order within the relative clause may shift. The head noun's understood role (object) is implicit.

5. Attested Relative Clause: Guren Bêd Enni

From Tolkien's The Road Goes Ever On (the Sindarin song set to music), we have one of the richest attested Sindarin sentences:

Guren bêd enni

Word-by-word:

Guren = "my heart" — gûr (heart, inner mind) + -en (1sg possessive suffix) → guren = "my heart" (subject)
bêd = "tells, speaks" — present 3sg of ped- (to speak, say); with vowel lengthening (e → ê) in 3sg
enni = "to me" — dative of 1sg pronoun; an (to) + ni (me) → enni

Translation: "My heart tells me (it)"

Full sentence in context:

The fuller passage (Ae Adar Nín or I Chír Dithen — context matters) includes: A Elbereth Gilthoniel, i·gûr in edhellen cerin... (ᴺS. expansion). For the attested portion, Guren bêd enni is the key phrase.

Grammatical observation: The word order is Subject-Verb-Indirect Object (SVO rather than VSO). This shows that Sindarin can use SVO when the subject is topicalized or when it is a pronoun/possessive noun that serves as the sentence's topic. The heart (guren) is the topic — it is what is being commented on — so it comes first.

6. Participial Phrases as Subordinate Clauses

Sindarin has a very important perfective participle formed with the suffix -iel (feminine) or -iel/-iant (general). This participle functions like a subordinate clause: "having done X" or "after doing X."

The -iel Perfective Participle

Formation: verb stem + -iel (sometimes -ant + -iel for weak verbs)

Verb	Participle	Translation
tir- (watch)	tiriel	"having watched"
linn- (sing)	linniel	"having sung"
díra- (gaze)	díriel	"having gazed"
palan-díra- (gaze afar)	palan-díriel	"having gazed far away"
na-chaered (look to distance)	na-chaered	"at a distance" (prefixed form)

Fully Attested: Na-chaered palan-díriel

This construction comes directly from Tolkien's Sindarin poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel:

Na-chaered palan-díriel / o galadhremmin ennorath

Analysis:

Na-chaered = "to/at a great distance" — na- (prefix: to, toward, as regards) + chaered (distance, remoteness; caered after lenition of c→ch)
palan-díriel = "having gazed far away" — palan- (far, wide, to a distance) + díriel (perfective participle of díra-, to gaze, to peer)
o = from (preposition)
galadhremmin = "tree-tangled" — galadh (tree) + remmin (woven, entangled; adjective from remm-)
ennorath = "Middle-earth" — en (of the, gen. pl.) + norath (plural of nor, land)? Actually ennor = Middle-earth + -ath collective plural

Translation: "Having gazed far away from tree-tangled Middle-earth"

This participial phrase functions as an adverbial temporal clause: "After/while gazing far away from Middle-earth..." It precedes the main clause Fanuilos, le linnathon ("Fanuilos, I will sing to thee").

Full Text Analysis: A Elbereth Gilthoniel (Selected)

Na-chaered palan-díriel
o galadhremmin ennorath,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
nef aear, sí nef aearon!

Line by line:

Na-chaered palan-díriel = "Having gazed far away / at a great distance" (participial phrase / temporal clause)
o galadhremmin ennorath = "from tree-tangled Middle-earth" (prepositional phrase modifying palan-díriel)
Fanuilos, le linnathon = "Fanuilos [White Lady], to thee I will sing" (main clause: Fanuilos = vocative; le = to thee; linnathon = I will sing)
nef aear, sí nef aearon! = "on this side of the sea, here on this side of the great ocean!" (nef = on this side of; aear = sea; sí = here/now; aearon = great ocean)

Grammatical structure:

[Temporal participial clause] → [from-phrase]
[Main clause: Vocative + indirect object + verb]
[Locative elaboration + emphatic elaboration]

This is a genuinely complex, multi-clause Sindarin sentence with:

A participial (perfective) phrase functioning as a temporal adverbial
A prepositional phrase nested within the participial phrase
A main clause with vocative address and dative pronoun
Two parallel locative phrases that amplify and escalate the spatial meaning

7. Genitive Chains

Sindarin can build long possessive/genitive chains. The genitive particle en links nouns in possession chains:

Sindarin	English
I aran en Gondor	"The king of Gondor"
I aran en Gondor en Edain	"The king of Gondor of Men" = "The king of Gondor, (who is king) of Men"
I sarch en·Aran	"The grave of the King"
Echad i·Sedryn	"Camp of the Faithful" — attested (HoME)

Note: en triggers soft mutation on the following noun (or can take a mutated form):

en + Gondor → en Nondor? No — place names often resist mutation
In common speech: en + barad → en varad (of the tower)

Attested: Sarch nia·Hîn Húrin = "Grave of the Children of Húrin" — nia- = ni + i-a (of the-this); complex genitive construction.

8. Embedded Questions

An embedded (indirect) question is a question that functions as a noun clause: "I know [what he sees]," "I wonder [whether she comes]."

In Sindarin, embedded questions are introduced by ma (whether/what) or the relative i:

Sindarin	English
Ú-iston ma cenitham	"I do not know whether we will see"
Iston ma nâ	"I know what it is"
Govanneg i aron i tolen	"You met the lord that/who I come (to see)"

9. Word Order Flexibility: Fronting for Emphasis

While VSO is the default, Sindarin allows fronting (moving an element to sentence-initial position) for emphasis or topic marking:

Fronting the Object (OVS order):

I varad tiron = "The tower — I watch it" (emphatic; the tower is being talked about)
- Compare neutral VSO: Tiron i varad = "I watch the tower"

Fronting a Temporal/Locative Phrase:

Sí linnon = "Now I sing" (sí fronted for emphasis)
Erin Muil, cenitham = "On the Emyn Muil, we will see" (place fronted)

Fronting the Subject (for contrast):

I aran — nâ beleg = "The king — he is great" (topic-comment; subject fronted, predicate follows)

10. Complete Structural Analysis: A Multi-Clause Passage

Let us build and analyze a fully complex Sindarin passage using all structures from this lesson:

Na-chaered palan-díriel o galadhremmin ennorath,
linnon an gelin, an nâ maer i aear.
I galadh i cenin nâ sui celeb.
Cuio i Pheriannath anann!

Sentence 1: Na-chaered palan-díriel o galadhremmin ennorath

Type: Participial phrase (temporal clause) + prepositional phrase
"Having gazed far away from tree-tangled Middle-earth"

Sentence 2: linnon an gelin, an nâ maer i aear

Main clause: linnon (I sing)
Causal clause 1: an gelin (because I-am-glad)
Causal clause 2: an nâ maer i aear (because the sea is good)
"I sing, because I am glad, because the sea is good"

Sentence 3: I galadh i cenin nâ sui celeb

Subject: i galadh (the tree) — with article
Relative clause: i cenin (that I see) — relative i + 1sg present verb
Predicate: nâ sui celeb (is like silver) — copula + comparative
"The tree that I see is like silver"

Sentence 4: Cuio i Pheriannath anann!

Type: Optative imperative (wish/blessing) — see Lesson 21
"Long may the Halflings live!"

11. Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Combine these two simple sentences into one complex sentence using an (because):

"I come." + "I am glad."

Exercise 2: Add a relative clause to identify which elf you mean:

"The elf watched the tower." (Add: "who sang last night")
Use i as relative pronoun; ᴺS. "last night" = i fuin ennas (the night/darkness there)

Exercise 3: Translate into Sindarin using a participial phrase:

"Having sung, I went to the tower."
(Use linniel = having sung; menon erin varad = I went to the tower)

Exercise 4: Front the object for emphasis:

Neutral: Tiron i galadh (I watch the tree)
Emphatic (THE TREE is what I watch):

Exercise 5: Translate this complex sentence:

"I do not know whether the king will come, but I sing because it is good."

Answer Key

Tolen, an gelin = "I come, because I am glad"
I edhel i linnant i vuin, tirant i varad = "The elf who sang last night watched the tower" (Or with fronted relative head: I edhel i linnant i fuin, tirant i varad)
Linniel, menon erin varad = "Having sung, I went to the tower"
I galadh tiron = "The tree — I watch (it)" (object fronted, emphasis on galadh)
Ú-iston ma tolitha i aran, dan linnon an nâ vaer = "I do not know whether the king will come, but I sing because it is good"

12. Key Vocabulary from This Lesson

Sindarin	English	Status
a / ah	and	attested
an	for, because	attested
dan	but	attested
egor	or	attested
sui	as, like	attested
ab	after (temporal)	attested
-iel	perfective participle suffix	attested
palan-díriel	having gazed afar	attested (LotR poem)
na-chaered	at a distance	attested (LotR poem)
galadhremmin	tree-tangled	attested (LotR poem)
ennorath	Middle-earth (lands of the middle)	attested
nef	on this side of	attested
sí	here, now	attested
guren	my heart	attested
bêd	tells (3sg pres. of ped-)	attested
enni	to me	attested

Next lesson: Lesson 25 — Negation