42 ETYMOLOGY AND SYNTAX. 



1. In the perfect aorist, 6 or 6, Ae, she, it, or that, often follows ' ni ' ; as, emi li o 

 ri (I Oris that saw), I saw • eijyir) li o m5 {ye it-is that Tcnetv), yehnew. But 

 when this tense refers to present time, the relative pronoun is generally omitted ; 

 as, emi ni ri (I it-is see), I see ; eijyii) ni mo {ye it-is hiow), ye hioiv. 



2. In the future tense 'ni' is followed by yi, he, she, it, or that ; as, emi ni yi 6 

 ri (/ it-is that will see), I shall see ; eqyiq ni yi 8 m6 {ye it-is that will know), ye 

 will Tinow. 



• 



gbe. 



§ 186. Gbe, to dwell, abide, takes the place of mb^ in the imperative and sub- 

 junctive; as, gbe ib^, le there; die ki 6 gbe {make that lie he), let him he, or let 

 him alone. 



§ 187. This verb is often pleonastic after adverbs of place; as, ni ile ti 6 gbe 

 yfh, in the house where he was ; nihinyi nwoq gbe kii, here they died. 



dl. 



§ 188. Di, to hecome, maybe rendered by the verb to he, when change of state is 

 implied ; as, iwo 6 di omo buburu, tJwu toilt he a had child ; 6 di arugb6, he is 

 getting old ; di atoqbi, to he horn again ; 6 di eni egki) {lie hecame one of contempt), 

 lie was despised. 



se. 



§ 189. The verb se, to do, to act, may be rendered as a substantive verb in seve- 

 ral cases, as follows ; 



1. When it has for its object a noun which denotes one who acts in some capa- 

 city or fills a station ; as, nwor) se woli, they were prophets, i. e. they acted as pro- 

 phets or performed the work of prophets ; iwo ni q^e babd mi, thou art my father ; 

 eni ti ise akobi, he who is first-born ; okpo li 6q se, she is a widow ; yi 6 se krm fu 

 gyiq, it will he a sign to you. 



2. The verb ' se ' (and sometimes ' die ') is used with a negative instead of ' ni ' ; 

 as, oba li 6q, he is a hing ; ki i^e oba, he is not a Mng. 



3. It is also frequently employed to express the relation of ownership ; as, yi 6 

 ^e ti r^, it shall he thine. 



§ 190. In the imperative with the negative mdh, not, ' s4 ' is frequently used pleo- 

 nastically, like the English do ; as, mdh se loh, do not go. It is sometimes used in 

 the same manner in connexion with other negatives to express a refusal ; as, emi d 

 se 16h, I will not go. 



idze. 



§ 191 . Die appears to be another form for ' se ' ; at least the use of the two verbs 

 is very similar. Die is employed as follows : 



1. To express being or acting in the capacity of an officer; as, o die bale {lie 

 acts governor), he is governor ;. tali o fi mi die onidadio ? who made nie to he 

 judge f i. e. who made me a judge? 



2. Die is the only word employed in the sense oitohe'va. connexion with num- 

 bers ; as, 6 die ogota {it makes sixty), it is sixty. 



