Idiom Neutral is similar to Interlingua's. Writing and pronunciation Twenty-two letters of the Latin script are used to write Neutral; the letters q, w, x, and z do not occur. The five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) are pronounced roughly as in Spanish. Vowels which appear next to each other are pronounced separately, not as a diphthong. The consonants have the same values as in English, except that c is pronounced like English ch in church, g is always like the g in gate, and j is pronounced as the s in measure. The combination sh is pronounced like English sh. The stress falls on the vowel that precedes the last consonant. If no vowel precedes the last consonant (e.g. via way) the stress is on the first vowel. In a few cases the vowel at the end of a word is stressed; these vowels are marked with an acute accent (e.g. idé idea). Such accents are the only diacritics used in writing Neutral words. Nouns and adjectives Unlike Esperanto and Ido, nouns can end in any letter. There is no inflection for case. The plural is formed by adding the letter i at the end of the word. Adjectives can also end in any letter. They normally appear after the nouns they modify and do not agree in number with their nouns, e.g. kaset grand big box, kaseti grand big boxes. Comparison of adjectives (and adverbs) is with plu ... ka (more ... than), tale ... kuale (as ... as) and leplu (most, -est). Verbs Verbs are conjugated as follows. Examples are shown for the verb amar to love in the active voice; the endings do not change for person or number, except in the imperative. Infinitive: amar to love Present: mi am I love Imperfect: mi amav I loved, I was loving Future: mi amero I shall love Present perfect: mi av amed I have loved Pluperfect: mi avav amed I had loved Future perfect: mi avero amed I shall have loved Conditional: mi amerio I would love Past conditional: mi averio amed I would have loved Imperative second person singular: ama! Love! Imperative second person plural: amate! Love! Imperative first person plural: amam! Let's love! Active participle: amant loving Passive participle: amed loved The passive voice is formed with the verb esar to be and the passive participle: mi es amed I am loved, mi averio