An Adjective of Relation

Level 5

Prodott Malti, kittieba Maltija and prodotti Maltin show masculine, feminine and plural agreement.

How It Works

A relational adjective links a referent to something such as a place of origin or an affiliation. Malti means ‘of, from or relating to Malta’. It continues an inherited Arabic relational adjective, traditionally called a nisba. Its surface relationship with Malta involves -i, but this lexical relationship is not a universal formation rule for place names.

Learn the complete paradigm: masculine singular Malti, feminine singular Maltija, plural Maltin. Compare prodott Malti, ‘a Maltese product’, with prodotti Maltin, ‘Maltese products’. A female writer is kittieba Maltija.

Attributive placement is normally after the noun. In il-prodotti Maltin, the noun bears the article while the adjective does not. Article repetition is separate from obligatory gender and number agreement. Final -i alone does not identify one adjective paradigm.

Examples (3)

  1. Dan huwa prodott Malti.

    This is a Maltese product.

    Malti agrees with masculine singular prodott.

  2. Din hija kittieba Maltija.

    This is a Maltese female writer.

    Maltija agrees with the feminine singular writer.

  3. Il-prodotti Maltin jinsabu fil-ħanut.

    The Maltese products are in the shop.

    The adjective and verb both have plural agreement.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

An Adjective of RelationLevel 5

Learn This First

Introduce the relation to Malta separately from the agreement supplied by product or writer. Treat the inherited nisba as an established lexical paradigm whose formation cannot be transferred automatically to every place name.