Glosa1. What is
Glosa is a constructed international auxiliary language whose stated purpose is communication between people with different first languages — explicitly not the replacement of those languages.1
Its design is analytic, or isolating: lexical forms take no endings for gender, number, tense or part of speech. Grammatical relations are carried entirely by word order and separate function words.21
The lexicon is deliberately a posteriori, drawing heavily on Greek and Latin roots of the kind found in European scientific, medical and technical vocabulary.213 One caution worth stating plainly: the founders' claim that this makes the vocabulary globally familiar is a design rationale, not a tested empirical result across populations.
2. Where it came from
Lancelot Hogben published Interglossa: A Draft of an Auxiliary for a Democratic World Order in 1943, presenting it as an experimental auxiliary with isolating structure, controlled word order, and a lexicon built on internationally circulated scientific roots.3
The Glosa Education Organisation's own history reports that Ronald Clark found a copy of Interglossa around 1960, contacted Hogben, and was encouraged to develop the project; Wendy Ashby joined Clark in 1972.4
Glosa altered its precursor rather than simply reissuing it, so Interglossa and Glosa should be treated as related but distinct systems.
3. Word order
The Basic Reference recommends the sequence: subject (with its modifiers), negation, modal, main verb, indirect object, direct object — and states that subordinate clauses keep the same order.2
Because nothing is marked morphologically, this order is not stylistic preference but the actual grammar. Depart from it and the sentence loses its structure.
4. Sounds and spelling
Written Glosa uses the plain 26-letter Latin alphabet with no accents, and its spelling is phonetic: pronounce every letter. Double letters in a source word to one, and the Greek digraphs are simplified - CH becomes K, PH becomes F, RH becomes R, TH becomes T, and Y becomes I.2
Vowels have their 'continental' values, as in fAther, cafE, machIne, mOre, lUnar; a vowel pair is pronounced as two separate vowels, never slurred into a diphthong. Most consonants sound as in English, with these exceptions:2
| Letter | Value |
|---|---|
| c | always 'ch' as in church |
| g | always hard, as in go |
| j | the 'y' in yes |
| q | 'qu' as in quick |
| r | always sounded, trilled if possible |
| sc | the 'sh' sound (as in nescience) |
Stress is regular and needs no marking: it gently on the vowel before the last consonant of the word. Punctuation carries meaning too - a hyphen joins words that belong closely together (see word-building below), and a semicolon separates a main clause from a subordinate one.2
5. Nouns, number and numerals
u (also written u(n)) marks a singular noun phrase without distinguishing definite from indefinite — it covers both English 'a' and 'the'. marks more than one. Both can also serve as noun markers where the word's category would otherwise be unclear.12
Numerals precede the noun in cardinal use: 'three cats'. An ordinal-like construction places the numeral after the noun: u 'the third cat'.2
6. Pronouns
| Meaning | |
|---|---|
| mi | I (1sg) |
| tu | you (2sg) |
| fe | she (3sg feminine) |
| an | he (3sg masculine) |
| id | it (3sg inanimate) |
| na | we (1pl) |
| vi | you (2pl) |
| mu | they (3pl) |
There are no case-inflected forms — mi is both 'I' and 'me'. The reference also lists pe for an indefinite person, se for reflexive use, for self/own, and for reciprocal meaning.2
7. Tense, mood and negation
Time and aspect are carried by preverbal particles: nu (now), pa (past), fu (future), du (continuing/progressive). Combinations such as nu pa, pa fu and fu pa are also listed.12
Modality uses separate preverbal items: (ability), (possibility), (necessity), (obligation), (wanting).2
Sentential negation is ne. The reference distinguishes this from the prefix no-, which forms a lexical opposite rather than negating the clause — the difference between 'not cold' and 'hot'.12
8. Questions
Yes/no questions are introduced by qe. Content questions are built around qo.2
9. Attested sentences
Every sentence below was read directly in the cited project source; none has been generated for this page.
| Gloss | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Mi poesi. | I write poetry. | 18 Steps |
| Mi fu u bibli. | I will read the book. | 18 Steps |
| Mi pa u teatra. | I visited the theatre. | 18 Steps |
| Mi sko de Glosa. | I am learning Glosa. | 18 Steps |
| . Gratia. Penite. | Please. Thank you. Sorry. | 18 Steps |
| Fe ki ad urba. | She goes to town. | Basic Reference |
| Qe fe ki ad urba? | Is she going to town? | Basic Reference |
| Qo acide? | What is happening? | Basic Reference |
| Tu pa qo-pe? | Whom did you see? | Basic Reference |
| Qo-ka fe pa ki ad urba? | Why did she go to town? | Basic Reference |
| lave se | wash oneself | Basic Reference |
Sources: 18 Steps to Fluency in Euro-Glosa1 and the Glosa Basic Reference.2
Mi pa u and Mi fu u differ in one particle each. What do pa and fu do, and what does u do in both?
Show answer
pa marks past, fu marks future — both preverbal, with no change to the verb itself. u marks a singular noun phrase without distinguishing 'a' from 'the'.
Turn Fe ki ad urba ('She goes to town') into a yes/no question, and explain the mechanism.
Show answer
Qe fe ki ad urba? The particle qe is prefixed to the clause; word order is otherwise unchanged and no verb form is altered.
Glosa has both ne and no-. What is the difference?
Show answer
ne negates the sentence. no- is a prefix forming a lexical opposite — so 'not cold' (ne + cold) is not the same as the word meaning 'hot'.
10. Putting the pieces together
Everything so far — the fixed word order of §3, the u/ markers of §4, the pronouns of §5 and the preverbal particles of §6 — combines into ordinary sentences without a single ending changing. A statement is subject + (tense/modal) + verb + objects: Mi u 'I eat the bread'; Mi pa u 'I ate the bread'; Mi fu u 'I will eat the bread'; U du 'the cat is sleeping'. Possession needs no marker — juxtaposition does it: mi 'my house', an 'his mother'.
Negation puts ne before the verb (Mi feli ne ki in u 'my cat does not go into the water'); a modal such as , or also sits before the verb (Mi vora 'I want to eat', An 'he can see'). Questions are built with the two particles from §7: qe opens a yes/no question (Qe tu es ? 'are you well?'), and the qo- family asks for content (Qo es in u ? 'what is in the sky?', 'who', 'where', 'when').
11. Prepositions
Because Glosa never inflects, relationships that other languages show with case endings are carried entirely by prepositions placed before the noun. A working set, all attested in the reference and readers:25
| English | |
|---|---|
| in | in, inside |
| on, upon | |
| ad | to, towards |
| ab | from, away from |
| ex | out of |
| de | of, about, concerning |
| ko | with (together with) |
| for, on behalf of | |
| beside, next to | |
| below, beneath | |
| above, over | |
| between, among | |
| near, close to | |
| at, during (time) | |
| po | after |
| before |
12. Comparison
Comparison is done with separate words, not endings. ma means 'more / -er' and 'most / -est'; means 'less' and 'least'. Equality uses the frame ... de 'as ... as'.2
| English | |
|---|---|
| ma | bigger |
| mega | biggest |
| mega | less big |
| mega | least big |
| mega de | as big as |
The same two little words scale any quality: ma boni 'better', maxi boni 'best', ma 'faster'. Nothing about the base word changes - only the marker in front of it.2
13. Building words with the hyphen
With a deliberately small root stock, Glosa coins new vocabulary mainly by compounding: a hyphen joins two existing words that are closely associated in meaning, and the compound is read as a unit. Three productive endings mark people and gender - -pe 'person', -fe 'female', -an 'male'.25
| English | Built from | |
|---|---|---|
| doctor | medika 'medical' + pe 'person' | |
| medika-fe | female doctor | + fe 'female' |
| medika-an | male doctor | + an 'male' |
| di-mo | Sunday | di 'day' + mo 'one' |
| di-bi | Monday | di 'day' + bi 'two' |
This is why a small dictionary goes a long way: once you know the roots and the joining rule, thousands of compounds are transparent on sight.5
Reader A1 — Mi di (My day)
A first reader in the present and simple past. Read the Glosa aloud — it is spelled as it sounds — then check the subtitle.
| English | |
|---|---|
| Mi es u . | I am a person. |
| Mi u mikro domi. | I have a small house. |
| Nu es u di. | Now it is a good day. |
| Mi u pani e u frukti. | I eat bread and fruit. |
| U es gluko. | The fruit is sweet. |
| Mi u kafa. | I drink coffee. |
| Mi habe . | I am happy. |
| U mikro es in mi domi. | A small cat is in my house. |
| U feli es . | The cat is yellow. |
| Mi u feli. | I love the cat. |
| U feli bibe u . | The cat drinks milk. |
| U feli du epi u sedi-mo. | The cat is sleeping on the chair. |
| mi ki ad u silva. | Today I go to a forest. |
| Mi feli ki ko mi. | My cat goes with me. |
| U es mega e kloro. | The forest is big and green. |
| Mi poli avi. | I see many birds. |
| avi kanta. | The birds sing. |
| U es boni. | The singing is good. |
| Mi habe hedo. | I am very happy. |
| U mega es para mi. | A big body of water is beside me. |
| Mi mi manu. | I wash my hands. |
| U aqa es . | The water is cold. |
| Mi feli ne ki in u aqa. | My cat does not go into the water. |
| Id habe de u aqa. | It is afraid of the water. |
| Mi ad mi feli. | I call to my cat. |
| Id ad mi. | It comes to me. |
| Mi u sito ad id. | I give food to it. |
| Id vora. Id habe hedo. | It eats. It is happy. |
| U veni. | Night comes. |
| U es in u urani. | The moon is in the sky. |
| Mi e mi feli ki ad . | My cat and I go home. |
| Na somni. | We sleep. |
| Nu-di pa es boni mi. | Today was good for me. |
| Mi feli es boni. Mi amo id. | My cat is good. I love it. |
| Mi domi es mikro, id es boni pro mi. | My house is small, but it is good for me. |
| Mi habe u , u aqa, e u feli. | I have food, water, and a cat. |
| In u mi bibe u kafa. | In the morning I drink coffee. |
| Po u mi ki ad u marketa. | After the coffee I go to the market. |
| Mi u pani e u lakti. | I buy bread and milk. |
| Mi e mi versi ad domi. | I pay and I return home. |
| Mi dona u lakti ad mi feli. | I give milk to my cat. |
| Id bibe u lakti. Id habe hedo. | It drinks the milk. It is happy. |
| Nu mi u bibli. | Now I read a book. |
| U es de plu astro. | The book is about the stars. |
| Mi amo lekto. | I love reading. |
| In u mi vora itera. | In the evening I eat again. |
| Po u vora, mi es fatiga. | After the meal, I am tired. |
| Mi somni in mi . | I sleep in my bed. |
| Nu-di es u di. | Today is a beautiful day. |
| Mi vide u in u urani. | I see the sun in the sky. |
| U heli es kali e . | The sun is beautiful and bright. |
| Mi habe boni ra in mi . | I have many good things in my life. |
| Mi amo mi domi e mi feli. | I love my house and my cat. |
| Mi habe u bio. | I have a calm life. |
| Mi pro nu-di. | I give thanks for today. |
| Mi habe u boni di. Mi habe mega hedo. | I have a good day. I am very happy. |
Practice A1: articles, word order and tense particles
Practice: u marks a singular noun (a/the); plu marks the plural; the verb takes no ending; nu/pa/fu/du sit before the verb for now/past/future/continuous.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Mi . (I eat a/the bread)
Hint: the singular noun marker
- 2.Mi . (I see the birds — more than one)
Hint: the plural marker
- 3.Mi vora u pani. (I ate the bread)
Hint: past-tense particle before the verb
- 4.Mi vora u pani. (I will eat the bread)
Hint: future-tense particle
- 5.U . (the cat is sleeping)
Hint: the continuous / -ing particle
- 6. es u di. (now it is a good day)
Hint: the 'now' particle
- 7.Mi feli. (I love the cat)
Hint: singular noun marker
- 8.Mi ki . (I go to home)
Hint: 'to/towards' before a vowel
- 9.Mi feli ki mi. (my cat goes with me)
Hint: the word for 'with'
- 10.Mi u . (I drink water)
Hint: the Glosa word for water
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built from GID 'Core' vocabulary (glosa.org/gid) and the word order and particles of the Glosa Basic Reference; cross-checked against §3-§8 of this guide. Glosa is analytic, so roots take no endings.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Reader A2 — Mi (My friend visits)
The same grammar with quoted speech, yes/no questions (qe), the past particle pa and the future particle fu, and the farewell .
| English | |
|---|---|
| Mi pa veni ad mi domi. | My friend came to my house. |
| An : "Saluta! Qe tu es ?" | He says: "Hello! Are you well?" |
| Mi dice: "Ja, mi es boni. E tu?" | I say: "Yes, I am well. And you?" |
| An es boni . | He is well too. |
| Mi dona u sito ad mi ami. | I want to give food to my friend. |
| Mi dice: "Qe tu volu ?" | I say: "Do you want to eat?" |
| An dice: "Ja. Mi volu vora u ." | He says: "Yes. I want to eat fruit." |
| Mi u rubi frukti ad an. | I give a red fruit to him. |
| An vora. An dice: "! Id es gluko." | He eats. He says: "Thanks! It is sweet." |
| Na bi vora simul. | The two of us eat together. |
| An volu de mi landa. | He wants to learn about my land. |
| Mi dice: "Mi es . Id habe poli planta." | I say: "My land is big. It has many plants." |
| Na ki ad u in u di. | We go to a forest during the day. |
| Mi ami u mega dendro. | My friend sees a big tree. |
| An dice: " dendro es kali!" | He says: "This tree is beautiful!" |
| Mi dice: "Vero. Mi u-ci loka." | I say: "True. I love this ." |
| U avi es epi u dendro. | A blue bird is on the tree. |
| U kanta. | The bird sings. |
| Mi ami hedo de u kanta. | My friend is happy from the singing. |
| pa. U heli ki kata. | Time passed. The sun goes down. |
| Mi dice: "U fu veni. Vale!" | I say: "Night will come. Goodbye!" |
| Mi ami dice: "Gratia! Mi ki ad mi ." | My friend says: "Thanks! I go to my house." |
| An ki ab. | He goes away. |
| Mi ki ad mi domi. Mi habe . | I go to my house. I am happy. |
| In u noktu mi boni. | At night I sleep well. |
| mi volu vide mi ami itera. | Tomorrow I want to see my friend again. |
| Fu-di na bi fu ki ad u . | Tomorrow the two of us will go to the market. |
| Na fu poli sito. | We will buy much food. |
| Na fu versi ad mi domi. | We will return to my house. |
| Na fu kuko u vora. | We will cook a meal. |
| Mi ami fu dice: "Tu kuko boni!" | My friend will say: "You cook well!" |
| Na fu u . Na fu ridi simul. | We will drink wine. We will laugh together. |
| Na fu dice de ra. | We will talk about many things. |
| U tem ko u ami es boni tem. | Time with a friend is good time. |
| U ami es pro mi. | A friend is important to me. |
| In tem, u ami auxi mi. | In all times, a friend helps me. |
| E mi mi ami plus. | And I help my friend too. |
| Mi es grati mi ami. | I am grateful for my friends. |
| U-ci es u boni mode de . | This is a good way of life. |
| Mi habe hedo in mi bio. | I have happiness in my life. |
| Na bi es plu boni ami in panto tem. | The two of us are good friends for all time. |
| Mi ; na fu vide itera in fu-di. | I hope we will see each other again tomorrow. |
| U ami es u boni ra in mi bio. | A friend is a good thing in my life. |
Practice A2: negation, questions and modals
Practice: ne negates the clause and sits before the verb; qe opens a yes/no question; qo asks 'what'; modal words (volu, pote, nece) sit before the main verb.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Mi ki in u . (my cat does NOT go in the water)
Hint: the negation word, before the verb
- 2. tu es ? (are you well?)
Hint: opens a yes/no question
- 3. es in u ? (what is in the sky?)
Hint: the 'what' question word
- 4.Mi u frukti. (I WANT to eat fruit)
Hint: the modal 'want', before the verb
- 5.An oligo . (he CAN see only a few stars)
Hint: the modal 'can/able'
- 6.Qe tu vora? (do you want to eat?)
Hint: modal 'want'
- 7.Mi u rubi frukti an. (I give a red fruit to him)
Hint: 'to' before a vowel
- 8.-pe pa ? (who came?)
Hint: qo + pe = 'what person' = who
- 9.An es boni . (he is well too/also)
Hint: the word for 'also'
- 10. frukti es . (this fruit is sweet)
Hint: the Glosa word for 'sweet'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built from GID 'Core' vocabulary (glosa.org/gid) and the word order and particles of the Glosa Basic Reference; cross-checked against §3-§8 of this guide. Glosa is analytic, so roots take no endings.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
14. A longer reader and where lives
Glosa is an auxiliary language rather than a community vernacular, so it has no native literature, films or music of its own; its cultural material is instead the body of learning texts produced by the Glosa Education Organisation and its correspondents since the 1970s. The Glosa Internet Dictionary (GID) — with its three nested levels, Centra (core, under 2000 words), and — is the practical centre of the language, and the 18 Steps course the Basic Reference are the standard way in. The list below is where to go to read and hear more.
- 18 Steps to Fluency in Euro-Glosa (3rd ed.)Beginner — The creators' own graded course — the natural next step after this page.
- Glosa Basic ReferenceBeginner–Intermediate — Word order, pronouns, particles and question formation — the grammar this guide's readers follow.
- Glosa Internet Dictionary — 'Core' (Centra) listAll levels — The Glosa-1000 core vocabulary; the exact source of this guide's 700-word SRS deck.
- Glosa Vocabulary hub (GID: Centra / Basi / Mega)Reference — All dictionary levels and the multilingual Glosa-1000 word lists.
- Interglossa (1943) — Hogben's original draftReference — The precursor system; related to Glosa but distinct (see §2).
- Glosa Education OrganisationReference — The maintaining body: history, texts and contact for the Glosa community.
Reader B1 — (The stars)
A longer connected narrative using the demonstratives / , the plural plu, modal , the cause words and so, and reported speech across several turns.
| English | |
|---|---|
| U mikro eko in u civita. | A little person lives in a big city. |
| U habe poli homi. | The city has many people. |
| homi ki rapidi plu via. | The people move quickly on the roads. |
| mikro homi sko poli ra. | This little person wants to learn many things. |
| An ad an : "Qo es in u urani in u noktu?" | He says to his mother: "What is in the sky at night?" |
| Matri dice: "U es in u . E plu mikro lumi." | Mother says: "The moon is in the sky. And little stars shine." |
| U mikro homi volu plu astro. | The little one wants to see the stars. |
| u civita es tro foto. | But the city is too bright. |
| So, an vide oligo astro . | So he can see only a few stars. |
| Matri dice: ". Na fu ki ad u loka de homi." | Mother says: "Come. We will go to a with no people." |
| Na bi veni ad u in u noktu. | The two of them come to a forest at night. |
| U-ci loka es tro . Nuli es ci. | This place is very dark. There is no light here. |
| U mikro homi vide u urani. An vide astro! | The little one looks at the sky. He sees many stars! |
| An dice: "U-ci es mega! U-ci es !" | He says: "This is huge! This is beautiful!" |
| Matri dice: "Vero. U urani es mega. Na es mikro id." | Mother says: "True. The sky is vast. We are small beneath it." |
| U mikro homi sensi; u urani es mega, sed an ne . | The little one feels the sky is vast, but he is not afraid. |
| An habe . An u munda holo. | He is happy. He loves the whole world. |
| U mikro homi dice: "Mi volu plu astro ." | The little one says: "I want to learn all the stars." |
| Matri dice: "Tu pote. Sko in poli ." | Mother says: "You can. Learn over much time." |
| "Poli homi de pa vide plu astro tu." | "Many people of the past saw the stars like you." |
| "Mu pa sko ad plu homi. Tu es u homi." | "They gave knowledge to new people. You are a new person." |
| U mikro homi matri. An du vide plu astro. | The little one listens to mother. He keeps looking at the stars. |
| Tem pa. U mikro homi matri. | Time passed. The little one sleeps beside mother. |
| Matri fero u mikro homi ad . | Mother carries the little one home. |
| , u mikro homi dice de plu astro ad plu . | The next day, the little one talks about the stars to friends. |
| An dice poli. An volu; plu homi vide plu astro. | He talks a lot. He wants people to see the stars. |
| u-ci , u mikro homi gene u homi de mega sko. | Because of this night, the little one becomes a person of great knowledge. |
| In poli , u mikro homi u mega homi. | Over many years, the little one becomes a great person. |
| An plu neo homi de plu astro. | He teaches new people about the stars. |
| Plu homi audi an. Mu amo plu astro . | People listen to him. They love the stars too. |
| An fu amo u urani in panto tem. | He will love the sky for all time. |
Practice B1: demonstratives, plurals and connected text
Practice: u-ci 'this' and u-la 'that' point out a noun; plu makes any noun plural; de marks 'of/about'; kausa and so link cause to result; possession is shown by simple juxtaposition (mi domi).. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1. es . (THIS tree is beautiful)
Hint: the demonstrative 'this'
- 2.Mi loka. (I love this )
Hint: 'this' before the noun
- 3.An sko mi . (he wants to learn ABOUT my land)
Hint: 'of / about'
- 4.Mi volu plu astro . (I want to learn ALL the stars)
Hint: the word for 'all/every'
- 5.An . (he sees the stars — many)
Hint: plural marker
- 6. u-ci , an u de mega sko. (BECAUSE OF this night…)
Hint: the word for 'because (of)'
- 7.U es tro foto. , an vide oligo astro. (…SO he can see few)
Hint: the linking word 'so/thus'
- 8.'his mother' = an (possession by juxtaposition)
Hint: an + noun = his …; the word for 'mother'
- 9.Na es mikro id. (we are small BENEATH it)
Hint: the word for 'below/beneath'
- 10.Matri u mikro homi ad . (mother CARRIES the child home)
Hint: the verb 'carry/bear'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built from GID 'Core' vocabulary (glosa.org/gid) and the word order and particles of the Glosa Basic Reference; cross-checked against §3-§8 of this guide. Glosa is analytic, so roots take no endings.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
15. Numbers, dates and telling the time
's numerals are single roots: mo 1, bi 2, 3, 4, pen 5, six 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. They stand before the noun for counting ( 'three cats') and combine with other roots to build dates and clock times.2
| English | |
|---|---|
| Qo ? Id es pen horo. | What time is it? It's 5 o'clock. |
| minuta po tri horo | nine minutes past three |
| bi-pen minuta six horo | twenty-five minutes to six |
| Fe dek anua. | She is ten years old. |
| retro meno | three months ago |
| Na pa ki a Roma tri. | We went to Rome in March. |
Notice how the pieces reuse everything already learned: po 'after' and 'before' from the preposition set do the work of English 'past' and 'to', and the day- and month-names are number compounds (di-mo 'Sunday', tri 'the third month, March').2
Practice B2: sounds, stress and comparison
Practice: Spelling is phonetic; c = 'ch', g is hard, j = 'y', sc = 'sh'; stress falls on the vowel before the last consonant; ma/maxi and mei/mini compare, iso...de means 'as...as'.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.The letter c is always pronounced like English (as in 'church').
Hint: a two-letter English sound
- 2.The letter j is pronounced like the English in 'yes'.
Hint: a single English letter
- 3.The pair sc is pronounced like English (the 'sh' sound).
Hint: as in 'ship'
- 4.Stress falls on the vowel before the last of the word.
Hint: not a vowel
- 5.'bigger' = .
Hint: the 'more / -er' word
- 6.'biggest' = mega.
Hint: the 'most / -est' word
- 7.'less big' = mega.
Hint: the 'less' word
- 8.'as big as' = mega .
Hint: completes the iso ... ? frame
- 9.'better' = ma .
Hint: 'more good'; the word for 'good'
- 10.Greek TH in a source word becomes in spelling.
Hint: a single plain consonant
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the alphabet, pronunciation, stress and comparison rules of the Glosa Basic Reference; cross-checked against the Sounds and Comparison sections of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Practice B2: prepositions
Practice: Glosa marks relationships with prepositions before the noun: in, epi, ad, ab, ex, de, ko, pro, para, po, pre.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Mi ki urba. (I go TO town)
Hint: 'to / towards'
- 2.U es u . (the cat is ON the chair)
Hint: 'on / upon'
- 3.Mi es u . (I am IN the house)
Hint: 'in / inside'
- 4.U es . (a book ABOUT the stars)
Hint: 'of / about'
- 5.Mi ki mi . (I go WITH my friend)
Hint: 'with'
- 6.U es tu. (a gift FOR you)
Hint: 'for / on behalf of'
- 7.Fe mi. (she stands BESIDE me)
Hint: 'beside / next to'
- 8.Na . (we come AFTER three o'clock)
Hint: 'after' (also 'past' in clock times)
- 9.Na veni tri horo. (we come BEFORE three o'clock)
Hint: 'before' (also 'to' in clock times)
- 10.Id veni u . (it comes OUT OF the forest)
Hint: 'out of'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the preposition set of the Glosa Basic Reference and grammar page; cross-checked against the Prepositions section of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Practice B2: word-building and numbers
Practice: The hyphen joins closely-linked words into compounds; -pe 'person', -fe 'female', -an 'male'; numerals mo/bi/tri.../deka build counts, dates and times.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.'doctor' = medika-. (person)
Hint: the ending meaning 'person'
- 2.'female doctor' = medika-.
Hint: the ending meaning 'female'
- 3.'male doctor' = medika-.
Hint: the ending meaning 'male'
- 4.New words are mainly built by joining roots with a .
Hint: the punctuation mark that joins them
- 5.'three cats' = .
Hint: the numeral 3
- 6.'5 o'clock' = pen .
Hint: the word for 'hour / o'clock'
- 7.The numeral 'one' is .
Hint: seen in di-mo 'Sunday'
- 8.The numeral 'two' is .
Hint: seen in di-bi 'Monday'
- 9.The numeral 'ten' is .
Hint: as in dek anua 'ten years'
- 10.'Sunday' = di-. (day + one)
Hint: day + the numeral 1
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the compounding rule and numerals of the Glosa Basic Reference and grammar page; cross-checked against the Word-building and Numbers sections of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
16. Where to go next
- 18 Steps to Fluency in Euro-Glosa (3rd ed.)Beginner — The creators' own course; source of most sentence examples above
- Glosa Basic ReferenceBeginner–Intermediate — Word order, pronouns, particles, question formation — the grammatical backbone of this page
- Glosa VocabularyAll levels — The project's lexicon
- Interglossa (1943) — Hogben's original draftReference — The precursor; related to Glosa but a distinct system
Honest limitations
This is an orientation, not a course. Almost everything here rests on the project's own publications — 18 Steps, the Basic Reference and the Glosa Education Organisation's history — so the account of Glosa's design and origins is largely self-reported and has not been checked against independent scholarship. The sources give no modern corpus analysis of how productive or ambiguous the lexical-category flexibility actually is in use, so that design rule is reported as stated rather than as demonstrated. No speaker numbers are given: none could be sourced. The three exercises above are built from attested sentences and attested rules, but the questions themselves are editorial.
Notes & Bibliography
- 18 Steps to Fluency in Euro-Glosa: The Interlanguage for Europe and the World, 3rd ed. — Glosa's analytic design, the a posteriori Greek/Latin lexicon, the u/plu noun markers, the preverbal tense particles nu/pa/fu/du, the ne vs no- distinction, and the sentence examples Mi grafo poesi, Mi fu lekto u bibli, Mi pa visita u teatra, Mi gene sko de Glosa, and Place/Gratia/Penite. [source] ↩
- Glosa Basic Reference — recommended word order (subject, negation, modal, verb, indirect object, direct object) including in subordinate clauses; the pronoun set mi/tu/fe/an/id/na/vi/mu plus pe, se, auto, alelo; numeral placement (tri feli vs u feli tri); modal particles pote/posi/nece/debi/volu; question particles qe and qo; and the examples Fe ki ad urba, Qe fe ki ad urba?, Qo acide?, Tu pa vide qo-pe?, Qo-ka fe pa ki ad urba? and lave se. [source] ↩
- Lancelot Hogben, Interglossa: A Draft of an Auxiliary for a Democratic World Order (1943) — the precursor project, presented as an isolating auxiliary with controlled word order and a lexicon of internationally circulated scientific roots. [source] ↩
- History Behind Glosa (Glosa Education Organisation) — Ronald Clark's discovery of Interglossa around 1960, contact with and encouragement from Hogben, and Wendy Ashby joining the project in 1972. Self-reported project history. [source] ↩
- Glosa grammar (glosa.org/en/gramm.htm) - the isolating design, the preposition set (place, time and relationship prepositions), and word formation by hyphen-compounding of unchanged roots, including the -pe/-fe/-an person markers. [source] ↩