20 



ETTMOLOGY ATO) SYNTAX. 



lu these examples we have probably the full original construction of ' yi ' in the 

 future, from which the liriefer modes of expression — awa 6 ri, and awa o mo — 

 are formed by ellipsis. 



1). In negative future propositions, ' yi ' is always placed between ki, no% and the 

 auxiliary 6 or o ; as, emi ki yi 6 ri {I not tliat -sludl see)^ I shall not see; nwoq ki 

 yi 6 mo, tliey will not Jenow. 



§ 83! The pronoun ' d ' is employed before verbs in the future tense, as a substitute 

 both for yi, he, and 6 or o, will; as, A lu mi, he will strike me; d f6 8, he will 

 hreak it. 



§ 84. Awoq, they, is not employed as the direct subject of a proposition, except 

 occasionally in the Egba dialect. Its use is restricted to two cases, in both of which 

 nwoq is inadmissible : 



1. Before ti, who or xohich, it is employed as the subject of a proposition ; as, 

 awoq ti o de {they who he came), they vjho came ; awoq ti eba ona, tlmj tvhich (fell 

 by) tJie road side (Luke 8. 12). 



2. Before nouns, to indicate plurality ; as, awoq agba kped^o {they elder met), 

 the elders ivere asseiMed; 5na awoq elese, tlie way of sinners. 



§ 85. The use of the contracted plural forms, d, 6, d, is optional, and differs in no 

 respect from that of the full forms, except that d, they, is used impersonally to form 

 a substitute for passive verbs. (§ 147.) 



OBJECTIVES. 



§ 8G. The personal pronouns wben employed as the object of a proposition, 

 whether governed by verbs or prepositions, take the following forms : 



Komni'ks on the Objectives. 



§ 87. The primary forms, which are the same as in the nominative, are used in 

 the following cases : 



1. When two objective pronouns are connected by a conjunction; as, 6 dd iwo 

 ati emi, he made tliee and me ; d mo oi) ati awoq, we hnoio him and them. In this 

 case awoq Is preferable to nwoq. 



2. When an objective pronoun is connected with 'nd,' having the sense of self ; 

 as, nwoq k6 ri oq nd, they did not see himself; 6 kpe awoq nd, he called themselves. 

 Here again awor) is preferable to nwoi). 



3. When an objective pronoun begins a sentence ; as, iwo ni mo ri (thee it-ts I 

 sain), I sail) thee ; awoq or nwoq ni d kpe, ive called them. 



