Declarative embedding: `mena`/`meno`

The declarative complementizer pair mena/meno is the workhorse of Phi's embedding system. It introduces statements that are known, believed, felt, said (as content), or otherwise reported.

The basic structure

The structure for declarative embedding is:

[Subject] mena [Embedded statement] meno [Main verb]

The embedded statement follows standard Phi word order (SOV). The main verb comes after meno.

Basic example:

mia mena shia to wepu meno shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(I understand that they left.)

Breaking this down: - mia: main clause subject (I) - mena: opens embedded statement - shia to wepu, embedded clause: they left - meno: closes embedded statement - shelomui: main verb (understand)

Sound symbolism

mena begins with the closed lips of m, turning inward. This is fitting for introducing content that exists within the mind as knowledge or belief. The nasal resonance of m and n creates continuity and grounding. The final a opens toward the embedded clause that follows.

meno shares the m and n, maintaining the acoustic signature. The shift from open a to rounded o signals closure, the vowel completing what the opener began.

Speaking mena feels like opening an inner door to let knowledge flow outward. Speaking meno feels like that door closing again, the reported content now contained and complete.

Verbs that take `mena`/`meno` clauses

Declarative embedding works with several categories of verbs:

Cognitive verbs (knowing, believing, understanding)

mia mena sorae sulae nai meno sano
1SG DECL.COMP sun warm be DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(I know that the sun is warm.)

shia mena pheralu so shua meno nohero
3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(They believe that rain will come.)

lo mia mena nophi shewo nai meno shelomui
PL 1SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(We understand that the story is true.)

thia mena mia to naphe meno remo
2SG DECL.COMP 1SG PST help DECL.COMP.CLOSE think
(You think that I helped.)

Perception verbs (seeing, hearing, feeling)

mia mena sorae phelora nai meno nila
1SG DECL.COMP sun beautiful be DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(I see that the sun is beautiful.)

shia mena lopia nuhewa meno hea
3SG DECL.COMP child weep DECL.COMP.CLOSE hear
(They hear that the child is weeping.)

mia mena nophi shewo nai meno phaelo
1SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel
(I feel that the story is true.)

Communication verbs (saying, reporting content)

shia mena thia to wepu meno to haolu
3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(They said that you left.)

melu mena mia so turema meno to haolu
friend DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(The friend said that I will return.)

The frame verb carries its own tense after the closer: the leaving and the saying are marked separately.

Note: mena/meno reports the content of what was said, not the exact words. For exact words, use shola/sholo (covered in Section 5).

Evaluative verbs (hoping, fearing, being glad)

mia mena thia towe nai meno kela
1SG DECL.COMP 2SG well be DECL.COMP.CLOSE rejoice
(I am glad that you are well.)

shia mena pheralu so shua meno sukima phaelo
3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE fear feel
(They fear that rain will come.)

With tense and aspect particles

The embedded clause can contain any tense or aspect marking:

Past tense (`to`)

mia mena shia to kamo meno shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST arrive DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(I understand that they arrived.)

shia mena thia to nila meno sano
3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST see DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(They know that you saw.)

Future tense (`so`)

mia mena sorae so shua meno nohero
1SG DECL.COMP sun FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(I believe that the sun will come.)

lo mia mena shia so turema meno kela
PL 1SG DECL.COMP 3SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE rejoice
(We are glad that they will return.)

Habitual aspect (`ro`)

mia mena melu ro naphe meno sano
1SG DECL.COMP friend HAB help DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(I know that the friend habitually helps.)

shia mena sorae ro shua meno nila
3SG DECL.COMP sun HAB come DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(They see that the sun habitually comes.)

Perfective aspect (`ki`)

mia mena shelu ki se kealo meno nila
1SG DECL.COMP book PFV PASS create DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(I see that the book has been created.)

With negation

Negation inside the embedded clause uses ma:

mia mena shia to ma wepu meno shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST NEG go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(I understand that they did not leave.)

shia mena pheralu so ma shua meno nohero
3SG DECL.COMP rain FUT NEG come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(They believe that rain will not come.)

Negation of the main verb:

mia mena shia to wepu meno ma shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE NEG understand
(I do not understand that they left.)

Both can occur:

mia mena shia to ma wepu meno ma shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST NEG go DECL.COMP.CLOSE NEG understand
(I do not understand that they did not leave.)

The meno makes clear which negation belongs to which clause.

With modality

Possibility (`po`)

mia mena shia po shua meno remo
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG POT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE think
(I think that they might come.)

Necessity (`na`)

shia mena lo mia na wepu meno to haolu
3SG DECL.COMP PL 1SG NEC go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(They said that we must leave.)

Complex embedded clauses

The embedded clause can contain its own subject, object, and modifiers:

With transitive verbs

mia mena shia shelu kealo meno nila
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG book create DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(I see that they create books.)

shia mena melu thia to naphe meno sano
3SG DECL.COMP friend 2SG PST help DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(They know that the friend helped you.)

With ditransitive verbs

mia mena shia wei melu shelu loa meno nila
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG DAT friend book give DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(I see that they give the friend a book.)

With adverbials

mia mena shia to reshi wepu meno phaelo
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST fast go DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel
(I feel that they left quickly.)

With prepositional phrases

shia mena melu mua womu nai meno sano
3SG DECL.COMP friend LOC home be DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(They know that the friend is at home.)

Embedded clauses with `nai` (copula)

Many embedded statements are copular sentences using nai:

mia mena sorae phelora nai meno nila
1SG DECL.COMP sun beautiful be DECL.COMP.CLOSE see
(I see that the sun is beautiful.)

shia mena nophi shewo nai meno nohero
3SG DECL.COMP story true be DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(They believe that the story is true.)

lo mia mena melu welao nai meno phaelo
PL 1SG DECL.COMP friend good be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel
(We feel that the friend is good.)

Remember: in copular sentences, the predicate comes before nai.

Main clause variations

The main clause can have various structures while still containing an embedded clause:

Question about the embedded content

wa thia mena shia to wepu meno sano
Q 2SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE know
(Do you know that they left?)

Imperative with embedded content

no mena shia to wepu meno remo
IMP DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE think
(Consider that they left!)

Focused embedded content

ko focuses the element it precedes, so to focus the embedded clause, ko stands before mena:

mia ko mena shia to wepu meno shelomui
1SG FOC DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(It is that they left that I understand.)

Topic-drop with `mena`/`meno`

When the subject of the main clause is clear from context, it can be dropped:

Full form:

mia mena shia to wepu meno shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(I understand that they left.)

With topic-drop:

mena shia to wepu meno shelomui
DECL.COMP 3SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
((I) understand that they left.)

The embedded clause structure remains intact. Only the main clause subject is dropped.

Extended examples in context

A conversation about belief

wa thia mena pheralu so shua meno nohero
Q 2SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(Do you believe that rain will come?)

mia mena pheralu so shua meno nohero
1SG DECL.COMP rain FUT come DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(I believe that rain will come.)

mia mena pheralu so ma shua meno remo. sorae ha nai
1SG DECL.COMP rain FUT NEG come DECL.COMP.CLOSE think. sun PROX be
(I think that rain will not come. The sun is here.)

Reporting what someone said

shia mena thia so turema meno to haolu
3SG DECL.COMP 2SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(They said that you will return.)

mia mena mia so turema meno to ma haolu
1SG DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST NEG speak
(I did not say that I will return.)

shia mena mia mena mia so turema meno to haolu meno nohero
3SG DECL.COMP 1SG DECL.COMP 1SG FUT return DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak DECL.COMP.CLOSE believe
(They believe that I said that I will return.)

Nested understanding

mia mena thia mena shia towe nai meno phaelo meno shelomui
1SG DECL.COMP 2SG DECL.COMP 3SG well be DECL.COMP.CLOSE feel DECL.COMP.CLOSE understand
(I understand that you feel that they are well.)

Contrast with quotative (`shola`/`sholo`)

The distinction matters: mena/meno reports content, while shola/sholo preserves exact words.

Content reporting (mena/meno):

shia mena thia to wepu meno to haolu
3SG DECL.COMP 2SG PST go DECL.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(They said that you left.)

Here, "you" refers to whoever the main clause speaker is addressing. The pronouns shift.

Exact quotation (shola/sholo):

shia shola mia wepu sholo to haolu
3SG QUOT.COMP 1SG go QUOT.COMP.CLOSE PST speak
(They said: "I am leaving.")

Here, "I" is the original speaker's own word, preserved verbatim. The pronouns remain as originally spoken.

Summary

mena/meno provides Phi's primary mechanism for embedding statements: what we know, believe, feel, perceive, and report. The pair creates unambiguous structure:

mena opens: "here begins reported content"
meno closes: "here ends reported content"
Main verb follows: clear parsing, no ambiguity

The system works with all tense, aspect, mood, and negation markers. Clauses can be as simple or complex as meaning requires. Nesting is unlimited.

Next: Interrogative embedding with wela/welo

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Declarative embedding: mena/meno