INFLEXION AND CONSTKUCTION OF WORDS. 



27 



VERBS. 

 Principles of Conjugation. 



§ 123. Througli all the variations of person, number, mode, and tense, the 

 Yoruba verbal root remains unchanged. 



§ 124. Person and number are denoted by the form of the personal pronoun 

 that represents the subject, as follows : 



emi ri, I see or saw. awa ri, we see or saw. 



iwo ri, thou seest or sawest. egyiq ri, ye see or saw. 



6q ri, lie sees or saw. nwoq ri, they see or saw. 



§ 125. The modes and tenses are indicated by auxihary particles placed before 

 the verb. The whole difficulty of the Yoruba verb lies in the position and meaning 

 of these particles ; and thus the intricacies usually found in the inflexions of the verb 

 ai-e here transferred* as it were, to the department of syntax. 



§ 126. There is but one conjugation, and no irregular verbs, in Yoruba; all verbs 

 being varied in the same manner. We will here give a synoptical view of the 

 various forms of the verb. 



AoRIST. 



Past. 



FuTUKE. 



INDICATIVE FORMS. 

 Simple. 



I Per/, emi ri, I see or saw. 



\ Impf. emi qri, I am or was seeing. 



j Perf. emi ti ri, I have or liad seen. 



\ Impf. emi ti qri or qti qri, I have or had been seeing. 



{ First, emi b ri or k ri, I shall or will see. 



\ Sec. emi 6 ti ri,* I shall or loill ha/ve seen. 



with ni or li o. 



( pf.,f j emi ni ri, I see or saw. 

 \ \ emi li o ri, I saw or see. 



emi ni qri, I am or was seeing. 

 emi li o ti ri, I have seen. 



\ . . . ^ . [ I shall ov will see. 

 ( emi ni yi o ri, ) 



emi ni yi 6 ti ri, I sliall or will have seen. 



OPTATIVE OR POTENTIAL FORMS. 



AoRisT. emi ma ri, I may or would see., or am seeing. 

 Past. emi ma ti ri, I might or woidd have seen. 

 Future, emi 6 ma ri, I may see or shall be seeing. 



This form is scarcely recognised by the Natives. 



