Rihan sentence order is either Subject-Verb-Object or Verb-Object-Subject. Even though both the subject (the nominative case) and the object (the accusative case) decline in the same manner, it is still easy to tell which noun is the subject and which is the object because of this set order.
| aihsa | adj. | young |
| bhudt | n. | boy |
| ecraser | n. | field |
| færre | v. | to hit |
| ghan | n. | ball |
| h'rau (+D) | prep. | in |
| hrræ | adv. | quickly |
| Jhan | n. | John |
| mneani | adj. | red |
Færre ghan Jhan.
John hits the ball.
but
Færre Jhan ghan.
The ball hits John.
Indirect Objects
Indirect objects can be placed either before or after the direct object, depending on what the speaker or writer wishes to emphasize. Whichever comes after the verb is the object being emphasized:
Jhan færre bhudtevha ghan. (Emphasizes the boy.)
Færre bhudtevha ghan Jhan. (Emphasizes the ball.)
Færre ghan bhudtevha Jhan. (Emphasizes the boy.)
John hits the ball to the boy.
An alternate but less correct translation: John hits the boy the ball.
Note that the indirect object in Rihan can often be translated into English as either an indirect object or a prepositional phrase.
Adjectives are placed directly after the noun the modify:
John hits the red ball to the young boy.
Adverbs are placed directly after the verb the modify:
John quickly hits the red ball to the young boy.
Prepositional phrases are placed after the part of speech that they modify:
John quickly hits the red ball to the young boy in the field.
The boy is in the field.
John quickly hits the red ball in the field to the young boy.
The ball is in the field.
Comparisons
To express a concept such as "x is (adjective) than y", Rihan uses the construction (adjective) aou'nel x y'hel.
Big is better than small.
In a statement where the comparison isn't between two nouns but between a noun and a concept, Rihan uses the construction (adjective) aou'nel, fvah (concept).
Their sensors are better than we thought.
Lit. Better than, what thought from-sensors theirs we.
Questions
Questions in Rihan can be formed in three ways. The simplest is to add the adverb ie, "yes," to a statement, positive or negative, e.g. Ahr'viduus lloann, "They are happy," would become Ahr'viduus lloann, ie?, "They are happy, yes?"
The second way is by using the particle -difv. This particle can only be used in a question containing a verb, as it is attached to the verb. The statement "you understand" in Rihan is ssuaj hwi. To ask, "do you understand?" one would affix -difv to the verb, resulting in Ssuaj-difv hwi?,"Do you understand?"
The third way is similar to the Chinese method of forming questions - giving two options, positive and negative, to the speaker. This is used in the same situations as the -difv, and the meaning is identical; usage depends entirely on the preferences of the speaker. To form a question in this way, the verb is repeated twice - once in the positive indicative form, and once in the negative indicative form in the appropriate tense and aspect. The above question, "Do you understand?", in this form would be rendered as Ssuaj ssuajkhe (hwi)?.