INFLEXION AND CONSTKUOTION OF WORDS. X9 



Remarks on the Nominatives. 



§ 78. The primary forms of these pronouns may be employed on all occasions, 

 the use of the contracted forms being optional. 



§ 79. The close and open forms are employed instead of the primary forms 

 merely for the sake of euphony. 



1. The rules to be observed in their use are as follows; 



a. When the first vowel of the following verb is a close vowel, viz. e, i, o, or u, 

 the close form of the pronoun must be employed ; as, mo se, I did ; o ri, tlioit seest. 



b. "When the first vowel of the verb is an open vowel, viz. e or o, the open form 

 of the nominative pronoun is employed ; as, mo fe, Ilove ; o mo, lie hnmos. This 

 rule, however, is often neglected in practice. 



c. Before the neuter vowel ' a,' the open or close form of the pronoun is used 

 indifferently; as, mo tk or mo t^, I sell. 



2. There are two peculiarities to be noted in reference to the use of the close and 

 open forms. 



a. None of them can be employed as nominatives to verbs in the future tense. 

 For instance, it is correct to say either,'emi 6 ri, or i) 6 ri, I slmll see j but mo 6 ri 

 is inadmissible. 



i. Before the particle k6 or k6, Twt^ 6 or 6, A^, is uniformly omitted : as, k6 ri, 

 Jie does not see ; k5 mb, he does not Tcnow. But 6r) or 6q is used with that par- 

 ticle ; as, 6r] kd m6, lie does not hnow. 



§ 80. 1. The citative forms, mi, 7", and i, he^ are rarely used; but they are 

 sometimes emploj^ed in repeating what has been said, with the suppression of the 

 verb of saying, asking, or replying; as, mi, nibo, Z (enquired) cohere? i, lohuq, lie 

 (replied) yonder ; mi, ho, /(answered) 6 ; this word '6' being the usual reply to 

 a salutation, which is aspirated in the above example for the sake of euphony. 



2. The pronouns of this form are never employed in negative or interrogative 

 sentences ; neither is there any analogous contracted form for the second person 

 singular or for the plural. 



§ 81. The pereonal pronoun 'q' appeai-s to be a modification of 'emi.' The 

 manner in which it is formed is seen in the subjunctive phrase, ki emi ri, that I see^ 

 which is frequently contracted to ki em' ri, and ki 'm' ri ; and is still more fre- 

 quently pronounced ki q ri. Although we have classed ' q •' along with ' yi ' in the 

 future form, its use is not confined to the future tense. It is employed as follows : 



1. In the future tense, instead of ' emi ' ; as, q 6 ri, I shall see. 



2. In negative propositions, before k6 or k5, 7wt ; as, q ko ri {I not see), I do not 

 see ; q k() 16h (^I not go), I do or will not go. It is especially employed to express 

 refusal ; as, q ko 6e e, I 'will not do it; emi ko se 6, suggests the idea of denial, / 

 did not do it. 



§ 82. The use of the demonstrative yi, this or that, as a pronoun of the third 

 person, is confined to the future tense. 



1. It is employed instead of 6q, lie, she, it; as, yi 6 de, lie will come. 



2. It is often used pleonastically after other nominatives, either singular or plural. 

 a. In affirmative sentences it is generally preceded by ni, to he ; as, babd ni yi 6 



ri {father it-is tJiat will see), father will see ; awa ni yi 6 mh {we it-is that toill 

 hnow), we toill hnmn. 



