INTLEXION AND CONSTRUCTION OF WORDS. 39 



2. A simple verb, on the contrary, may govern tlie infinitive by means of ' li ' ; 

 as, 6 sd II atise e {lie fearedin-regard-to doing it)^ he feared to do it, instead of 6 

 sd ati^e 6. 



a. It should be observed that, althougli the use of ' li ' in such cases is not indis- 

 pensable, yet the people generally prefer it. Hence- we constantly hear such 

 expressions as, nwoq ro li atikpa S, theg thought to kill him ; awa kpedio li 

 atikole, ive assemUed to huild a house. 



h. In many cases the form with ' li ati,' and the simple form of the verb, may be 

 employed indifferently and interchangeably ; but when the infinitive is gerundive 

 in its nature, the form with ' li ati ' is preferable. Thus it is perfectly correct to say, 

 awa kped^o hole (instead of h atikole), we assemUed to luild a house; but it would 

 not be proper to say, nwog ro kpa S (instead of li atikpa), they tliovght to hill him., 

 because the precise meaning of the exjiression is, they thought of hillimg him. 



§ 169. Nouns formed by reduplication have much the same sense when employed 

 actively as those in 4' and 'ati.' Thus, igbo ko it6, atigb6 ko it6, gbigb6 ko 

 it6, hearing is not enough, are equivalent and equally proper forms of expression. 



§ lYO. In the form atima ri, to he seeing, the auxiliary particle takes the for- 

 mative prefix like a principal verb. A gerund or infinitive of this form denotes 

 continued or customary action ; as, atima Be eru ni isoro, to he a slave is hard; emi 

 qrono li atima gbo oro Oloruq, lam thinking to hear the word of God, i. e. to hecome 

 a hearer, or to maks a custom of hea/>'ing. 



§ 171. The infinitive passive is expressed : 



1. By the form in ' a ' ; as, 6hur) ari, a thing to be seen ; nwoq se agbara re akpa- 

 rur) {tJiey madepoxoer his a-destruction!^), tliey caused his poioer to he destroyed. 



2. By nouns in 'ati' preceded by 'li '; as, 6 kpe woij d^ade li atikpa, lie called 

 them out to he killed, or to Ml them. 



3. a. By reduplicated forms preceded by di, ni or li, or se, in the sense of to he ; 

 as, 6 mu wog di kpikpa, he caused them to he slain / 6 fi woq le se tit4, lie delivered 

 them up (fi . . . le) to he sold ; 6 fu woq li eraq ni di;id;^e (Jie gave them to have meat 

 to le eaten), he gam tliem Tneat to eat. 



h. ^ But the verb di, ni, or ^e is somethnes omitted ; ?^, Yoruba ^oro fifd, Yoruha 

 is difficult to speak, or he spoken ; mo r^ dgutaq kpikpa, I bought sheep to kill or he 

 killed. 



Participles. 



§ 172. The Yoruba language has no participial words except the verbal nouns just 

 noticed. The substitutes to be employed for participles depend on the nature of 

 the sentence. 



§ 173. Our Present Participle is represented, 



1. By a simple verb ; as, se gbogbo re bere nihinyi, do all of it beginning here. 

 ^ 2. By a verb with the prefix ' q ' ; as, A ri euia qdzoko lebd ona, we saw people 

 sitting by tlie road. 



3. By nigbati, when, with a verb and nominative ; as, nigbati 6 si yanu r#, 6 k6 



Akparni], which is destroyed, which is to be destroyed ; ari, lohich is seen or to be seen. A noun in ' a,' 

 wlien it denotes the object or recipient of an action, has no exact equivalent in English. See ' a ' in the 

 Dictionary. 



