•"•:*»» ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



32. dam, superessive. above, over, on. 



unvai'niGdam on thy petate 



vn'idam in the road 



to'vaudaM above the heavens 



go.su'didam in the river 



ka'viad&w on horseback 



inka'mad&iD in my bed 



33. Iio' i In', ko'vui. at the edge of. 



su'diko'va\ at the edge of the water 



va'vaiko'vt-a' at the edge of the clitl' 



Many of the postpositions carry an accent of a higher pitch than 

 the stem, as nos. 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 32. Others, such as 17, 18, 

 19, 20, 24 are generally separated from the stem by an appreciable 

 pause. This latter phenomenon intimates that these may be in 

 reality etymologically independent words serving morphologically as 

 postpositions. This possibility is furthered by evidences of compo- 

 sition in these and other examples. Thus 17 and 18 of kindred 

 meaning commence with the element a, possibly an indefinite de- 

 monstrative (cf. locative adverbs); 18 and 30 of like significance and 

 possibly 32 contain a final /// , possibly the true postpositional 

 element; 27, 29 and 30 of kindred meaning and 28 as well com- 

 mence' with the clement vwo. 



The Verb 

 i\ arsis of the verbal complei 



As common in American languages, the Tepecano verb expresses 

 in itself all the main points of the sentence as regards tense, mode, 

 and suhjectival and objectival relations. The accompanying nouns, 

 pronouns, adjectives and adverbs serve to qualify and explain the 

 statement made by the verb. 



The essential elements of the verbal complex are the pronominal 

 subject and the verb stem. The former always stands at or near 

 the beginning of the complex, the latter ;it or near the end. It is 

 therefore possible to divide the verbal complex into three component 

 parts which may lie termed initial, medial and final, each possessing 

 its peculiar elements. 



The initial elements consist of the pronominal subject and the 

 sign of the preterit. The final elements comprise the pronominal 

 object, the verb stem and various tense-mode suffixes. Between 



