32 ETYMOLOGY AND SYI^TAX. 



ki 1) ri, 



ki emi ri, )- let one see. 



ki emi ki 6 ri, 



ki o ri, 



1 . . -, r. , . rsee thou 

 ki iwo ki 6 ri 



ki 6 ri, ") 



ki 6r) ri, >let liim see. 



ki or) ki 6 ri, ) 

 3. a. Wlieu tlie verb with 'ki' is preceded by an objective, it may often be 

 rendered by an infinitive ; as, mo kj:)^ o ki o se e, Z called thee tlmt thou do it or to 

 do it ; mo kp6 nyii) ki 6 w6 8, Z called yo^t to look at it ; 6 bebe wa ki ;i wi, he 

 begged tis to tell ; 6 bebe wa ki d mAb wi, he legged iis not to tell. 

 . b. In tliis construction an objective of tbe third person plural is sometimes fol- 

 lowed by ki 6, that he ; as, d kpe woq ki 6 se e, ive called them to do it. 



OCCASIONAL PREFIX. 



§ 14G. The inseparable prefix 'i' (which is not to be confounded with i, Jte, and 

 i, not^ is attached to verbs for the following purposes : 



1. To denote what is permanently true or customary; as, li okpolokpo okan li 

 enu iso, in the ahmidance of the heart the mouth speciketh. 



2. It is frequently emphatic after ko, not ; as, nwoi) ko ide, they have not come. 

 It would seem that, since ' ko ' is immutably unaccented, the ' i ' is introduced to 

 supply the place of an emphatic accent on the negative. 



3. It appears to be sometimes merely euphonic. 



a. After 'ki' employed instead of ko, not ; as, ki i^e awodi, it is not a hawJc ■ 

 emi ki iloh ibe, I never go there. 



h. When the 'o' which usually follows the relative 'ti' (§ 9G, 1) is omitted; as, 

 eni ti iloh, lie toho went. 



Forms for the Passive Voice. 



§ 147. In Yoruba, as in many other African languages, there is, properly 

 speaking, no passive voice. Various forms of speech, however, supply its place. 



§ 148. 1. The most frequent form is the plural impersonal, employing the con- 

 tracted nominative d, theg ; as, d- ri mi, theg see me, for / am seen ; d ti ri mi, tliey 

 have seen me., for I have been seen ; d 6 ri mi, they will see me., for I shall be seen. 



2. Frequently, retaining this construction, the noun or pronoun denoting the 

 object is placed first; thus, emi li d ri (I it-is they see), lam seen. 



§ 149. Although the above substitute for the passive is applicable in all cases, 

 there are several other forms which may be used occasionally with good effect : 



1. All the compound active transitive verbs, as ba . . . die, to spoil, kpa . . . mo, to 

 conceal (§ 3Y, I), and a few other transitive verbs, may be used instead of passives ; 

 as, nwoq badie, they are spoiled ; awa kpamo, we are hid; 6 se li odiu mi, it was 

 done before me, lit. t?i my eye ; 6ke bo mole, tJie hills were covered over ; nilq:)a 

 oro Oluwa aiye ti da, by the word of the Lord the world wa-'^ made. 



