INFLEXION AND CONSTRUCTION OF WORDS. 45 



0. When the governing vei'l) is an infinitive, depending on anotlier verL, the 

 objective is phvced between the two verbs ; as, ye mi kpe (cease me call), cease 

 calling me; 6 mo iwe ka (^he hwws book read), he hiows Iww to read; emi fe 

 babii ri (I want father see), I loant to see my father. 



§ 202. Tha 2Jossessive relation is expressed in the following ways: 



1. By ])lacing the two nouns in juxtaposition, the name of the possessor always 

 following that of the thing possessed ; as, iwe omo (hooh of cliild), the cldMs hooh; 

 ile babd, father'' s liouse ; ile eiye, a bird's nest; ebado okur), tlie shore of the sea, or 

 tlie sea-shore ; okpa irir), a staff of iron, or an iron staff: 



2. Less frequently, the relation between the two nouns is expressed, in the Ara- 

 maic manner, by the relative pronoun ti, iuIlo, which, placed between them, which 

 thus becomes equivalent to the preposition of ; as, ile ti babd (lionse of father), 

 fathers house ; Kristi ti Oluwa, the Christ of the Lord, or the Lord^s Christ. 



§ 203. The pronoun or i:)article ' ti ' is necessarily used in the following cases : 



1. When the first noun is omitted. 



a. In propositions where the relation of possession is predicated ; as, ti baba mi 

 ni (of father my it-is), it is my father\s ; agbara ti id^e ti Olorui) (poiver ivhich is 

 of God), the poxoer ivhich is God''s. 



b. In propositions where the possessive relation is simply indicated and not i:>j'e- 

 dicated, 1)ut where the name, of the thing possessed is not expressed ; as, nwoq se 

 ti 6risa (they do of idols), they do the work of idols, i. e. they serve idols ; awoq 

 N^asAra fe ti Olorui] (they Christian, love of God), Christians love the doctrine or 

 service of God. When a laborer was looking for a suitable stone, another said to 

 him in my hearing, gbe ti ese re (talce of foot thy), take the one at thy foot. The 

 following instance comes under the same category : ki ise Oloruq okii bikose ti 

 aj'e, he is not the God of the dead, hut of the living. 



2. When the names of the possessor and possessed might be mistaken for names 

 or epithets of the same person in apposition, the i-elation of possession must be 

 indicated by 'ti'; as, Kristi ti Oluwa, the LorcVs Christ; Atiba ti oba, Atiba the 

 servant of the hing. Atilxi oba, means Atiba the King — the present King of 

 Yoruba being named Atiba. 



Apposition. 



§ 204. 1. When nouns are in apposition, the princi])al word comes first; as, 

 Atiba oba, Atiba the king, or King Atiba ; Kurai l)ale, Kumi the governor. 



2. When a pronoun is in apposition with a noun, the pronoun comes first ; as, iwo 

 omo, thou child ; ei^yiij euia, ye people. 



3. If words in apposition be connected by a copula, the predicate usually comes 

 first ; as, emi li Oloruq (spirit is God), God is a spirit ; ologboi) li iwo (wise- 

 man art thou), thou art loise. 



ADJECTIVES. 



§ 205. The oflice oi pjredicative adjectives, i. e. of those which affirm or predicate 

 a quality, is performed : 



I. By simple verbs; as, Aina dara, Aina is good; 6 ti dara, he has been good; 



