204 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [ VOL. 1 . 



structure of the iterative or the objective verbs. Its distinctive ele- 

 ment is iiCB, sometimes inflected into ne, which occasionally slightly 

 modifies the desinential radical. So /nue-dces-kes means " I attach " 

 (viz. to a rope hanging down), and demands a singular complement, 

 while Inve-nce-doeskoez has the same signification, but must follow a 

 plural complement. In like manner m-ke-skes, " I write " (lit. indefinite- 

 on-I draw), points to a single sign or cluster of signs as the result of 

 my action. By altering it into (B-ke-ne-sk(£z we obtain a verb like- 

 wise signifying " I write," but imp' /mg many words or pages as its 

 complement. This form is applicable only to a limited number of 

 verbs. 



The last form on our list is the impersonal. It renders the verb 

 impersonal both in structure and in meaning, and yet it cannot be 

 assimilated to the regular impersonal verbs, because it is a mere tran- 

 sient modification of verbs which are of themselves personal. Its use 

 is limited to a few verbs, as (£t-7ii, " he says," which can be transformed 

 into Invot-ni ; ne-ceten, "he does," into ne-Jiwoten ; cetqa, "he is affected," 

 into Jmtqa, etc., the exact translation of which latter terms is impossi- 

 ble either in English or in French. Hwotni is almost the equivalent of 

 '' 071 dit" but is still more indefinite in meaning, and I confess my in- 

 ability to find in either Latin, French or English synonyms of ne-hwoten 

 and Jmtqa. 



Besides the above modificative forms, there are in Dene what I may 

 call double or composite forms ; that is, a verb is liable to be affected 

 by two or more forms simultaneously. Thus in te-na-nms-tzih (from 

 te-noes-zmn), we have both the iterative and the usitative combined ; 

 while na-il-dmk is simply the verb mscJifit modified by three forms : the 

 iterative (/7a), the potential (//) and the usitative {chceh). 



All these forms, whether simple or complex, affect the structure of the 

 verb in a transient or accidental manner, none of them — except, of course, 

 the affirmative — being necessary to its existence. Should we now wish to 

 classify the Den^ verbs on the basis of the peculiarities of their terminal 

 roots considered as normal desinences, we will find five principal groups 

 of verbal terms, including objective, locomotive and instrumentative verbs, 

 together with verbs of rest, which are in turn divided into verbs of station 

 and verbs of cubation. I beg to be excused from enumerating the well- 

 nigh numberless desinential forms assumable by each of these groups.* I 

 shall confine myself to the following brief remarks : — 



*To give an idea of their number, it may suffice to state that each locomotive verb is modifiable 

 by no less than 78 desinential variations, which are in turn multipliable by the number of prefixes 

 successively assumed by the verb. 



