38 ETYMOLOGY AND SYNTAX. 



forms arises from two causes : fii'st, from the use of synonymous words, as ' o ' and 

 ' iwo '; and, secondly, from redundant words, as ' ki o ' and ' 6e.' 

 § 163. On the use of the above forms observe : 



1. That 'ma' denotes continuance (§ 137, 3). 



2. 'Ki' denotes that, and ki 6, that he (§ 144, 2) ; so that the forms with 'ki' 

 are analogous to the French construction, qioHl voie, qxOil iie voie pas. 



3. ' Mdh ' means Twt^ and is employed instead of ' ko ' in the Imperative and in 

 some other connexions. 



4. The verb 6e, to cfo, is frequently employed pleonastically after mdh, not ; as, 

 mdh ^e 16h, do not go^ instead of mdh loh. 



INFINITIVE MODE. 



§ 164. The Infinitive Active is regularly and usually expressed by the simple 

 verb or root ; as, emi fe ri, / desire to see ; 6 qgbero loh, he is thinhing to go i 6 

 dSgmo woq 6e e, it pleased th&m to do it. Frequently, however, a substitute for 

 the infinitive is formed by the verbal nouns treated of in the following sections. 



Verbal Nouns. 



§ 165. The following are the forms of the verbal nouns which correspond to our 

 infinitives and gerunds or participles. 



iri, to see / a seeing. 



ari, to he seen ; tlmt which is seen. 



atiri, to see or to he seen ; a seeing. 



riri, to see or to he seen / a seeing. 



atima ri, to he seeing ; a continued seeing. 

 § 166. The form in ' i ' is employed as a gerund ; 



1. In the nominative ; as, isode k6 ye fu oloko, hunting is not suitable for a 

 farmer. 



2. In the objective ; as, nwoq k6 fe isode, they are not fond of hunting^ or they 

 do not love to hu/nt. 



§ 16V. The form with ' ati ' prefixed is employed as a gerund or infinitive : 



1. In the nominative ; as, atigbo ko ito, to hear or hearing is not enough. 



2. In the objective, in which case it is frequently equivalent to a simple infini- 

 tive ; as, 6 k6rira atisise, he liatedtoorlcing or toworh ; d ma d:§;e atiye, toe eat to live. 



§ 168. The preposition li, in^ in regard to., is frequently inserted between the 

 gerund or infinitive in ' ati ' and the verb on which it depends ; as, 6 ko li ati^i^e, 

 he refused to wor\ instead of 6 k5 atisise. The insertion or omission of 'li' is not 

 always optional : 



1. When the governing verb is composed of a verb and noun, as beru (ba eru), 

 to he afraid^ ' li ' is omitted, because the gerund in ' ati ' sustains the relation of 

 a genitive to the noun contained in the verb ; as, 6 beru atise e {lie tnet-thefear 

 of doing it)., he was afraid to do it ; 6 mura (mu ara) atisiig (Jie tooh-himself to- 

 sleep or sleeping').^ lie prepared to sleep / nwoq wona (wd 6na) atiw6 ile {fliey sought- 

 Orroad of -entering or .to-enter tlie-lioiise)^ they endeavored to enter the house. 



