TARAWA. 



PRONOUNS. 



The personal pronouns, when used separately and independently of other words, are 

 as follows : 



yai, I yaira, we 



ygoe or uygoe, thou uygami or uykdmi, ye 



teua, he wakaki, they (masc.) 



nia, she ndkaki, they (fern.) 



There are three feminine pronouns of the third person singular. Nia is used in 

 s|-;ikini; "I' ;i person who is absent; niin or niyin, when she is present; and nitre or 

 mi/ i re in like in:<nner, but with a respectful signification. Kirby rendered it " that lady." 



The personal pronouns, when prefixed as nominatives to a verb, have a different form. 

 They are tin (or ia), I or we ; ko, thou ; e (or ia), he or they; ykam, ye; as, tia 

 naoria, I see it ; ko naoria, thou seest it ; e naoria teua or nia, he or she sees it ; tia 

 naoria yaira, we see it ; ykam naoria, ye see it ; e naoria u-dkaki or udkaki, they see it. 

 It will be remarked that in the first and third persons plural, the separate pronouns are 

 appended to the verb, in order to distinguish them from the singular. Ia is used in the 

 first person instead of tia before the preterite particle tiari, probably for euphony as, 

 /in i>; 1,1, I sew it ; ia tian iceia, I have sewed it. It is used also for the third person, 

 as, ia, mania an tapa ru, my knife is lost to me. 



The pronouns have still another form when affixed to verbs in the objective case. 

 They are ai, me ; ko (or go) thee ; ia, him, her, it, or them ; ara (ar or ir), us ; and 

 kami (or garni), you ; as, kapi, to tie ; kapeai, tie me ; kapfko (or kapego), tie thee ; 

 knjieia teua or nia or wakaki, &c., tie him, her, or them ; kapeara, tie us ; kapikami, 

 tie you. 



The possessive pronouns have also two forms, separate and affixed. The former, 

 which precede the noun, are as follows : 



au, my ara, our 



am? (qu. amu ?), thy ami, your 



ana, he ana, tcakaki (?), their 



As, au kara, my relation or kinsman ; am' kara, thy ; ana kn.rn, his ; ara kara, our 

 relation ; ami kara, your ; ana kara wakaki, nakiki, their, &c. The latter form is, 

 however, doubtful. 



The possessive pronouns, when postfixed to nouns, are nearly the same with the sepa- 

 rate class, merely dropping the initial vowel. They are u, my ; m? or mu, thy ; no, 

 his ; ra, our ; mi, your ; ia (?), their. The last is doubtful, and may have rather a 

 demonstrative meaning. The following examples will show the manner in which these 

 pronouns are united with a substantive. 



ica, canoe tdma, father 



watt, my canoe tamdu, my father 



111 



