13.171 Some, Several
- ᴹQ. uma adj. “some (when the identity is unknown); something or other”
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A singular indefinite adjective “some” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/105), also usuable pronominally to mean “something” (PE23/105). This adjective is specifically singular, as in uma elda “some (unknown) Elf”. An indefinite plural would use the partitive plural suffix -li: eldali “some Elves”.
Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings ma was the pronoun for “something”. However, I would retain uma for the adjective form, and also use it for a singular indefinite subject since ma might be confused with an interrogative: uma tíra me “something is watching us”, as opposed to ma tíra me which might be interpreted “what is watching us”.
- ᴹQ. uma- pref. “some, a, a certain”
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The prefix for singular “some” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/99), used in formations like ᴹQ. umallume “some time” and ᴹQ. umas(se) “*somewhere”. It is probably related to the interrogative root √MA, which is also the basis for (later) ma “something”. See the entry on correlatives for further discussion.
13.172 Any
- ᴺQ. ai(a)- pref. “any”
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For a long time, there was no clear way of expressing “any” in (Neo) Quenya. The closest equivalent was ai- in aiquen “if anybody, whoever” from the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/372). Based on the “anybody” gloss of this word, similar forms like ailumë “any time” and ainomë “any place” became reasonably well-accepted Neo-Quenya terms. However, these words are somewhat problematic, since ai means “supposing, suppose, maybe” in Quenya (PE22/97, 120, 138), and is thus an expression uncertainly rather than simple indeterminacy.
The document Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC), written by Tolkien in 1948, was first published in Parma Eldalamberon #23 in 2024 (PE23/96-112). This document include a form for “any” by Tolkien himself, first given as ᴹQ. imma, revised to amma then finally umma (PE23/99 note #24-25). Despite these revisions on one page, the rest of the document used imma- throughout in forms like ᴹQ. immane “anybody” and ᴹQ. immanome “any place”.
These 1948 forms are still problematic, however. Imma resembles later im- “same”, amma- resembles am- “up”, and umma resembles uma- “some”, also appearing in DRC. I feel that adopting any of these 1948 forms is likely to cause confusion, especially the final form umma-, which in speech would often be hard to distinguish from uma-.
As such, my current Neo-Quenya recommendation is to stick with the established Neo-Quenya prefix ai(a)- for Neo-Quenya forms expressing indeterminacy (“any”). If you are uncomfortable with this, revising DRC forms from imma- to umma- is a reasonable alternative that fits Tolkien’s last known preference for “any” words.
- Q. aiquen adj. “if anybody, whoever, [ᴺQ.] anybody”
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A word appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, translated “if anybody, whoever” (WJ/372). Its second element is quén “person”, and its initial element is probably ai indicating uncertainty (PE22/97, 120, 138).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would also use aiquen for “anybody, anyone”; see ᴺQ. ai(a)- “any-” for discussion.
- ᴹQ. imma adj. and pron. “any, any at all (in the world/existence); anything”
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An adjective for “any” appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC). On the page where this first appeared, this was revised to amma then to umma (PE23/99 note #24-25). Despite these revisions, the rest of the document used imma- throughout in forms like ᴹQ. immane “anybody” and ᴹQ. immanome “any place”. The adjective imma could also be used substantively to mean “anything” (PE23/104).