INFLEXION AND CONSTRUCTION OF WORDS. 43 



3. Sometimes ' d^e,' like ' ^e,' appears to mean simply to he ; as, emi 5 mo eni 

 ti i d^e or i se (I not Tcnoto Mm who Tie is)^ I do not hnow who he is. 



§ 1 92. In expressing refusal, ' d^e ' is more frequently used pleonastically than ' se ' 

 (§ 190) ; as, emi o dze 16h, I will not go. 



Pleonastic Use of Verbs. 



§ 193. In addition to the pleonastic uses of verbs which have already been 

 spoken of, the following are worthy of notice : 



Verbs of going and coming are much employed pleonastically after verbs of 

 motion to or from a place, and this gives peculiar definiteness to the language ; as, 

 6 gbe e lati oko 16h, he tooh it from the farm — to some place at a distance from the 

 speaker (which fact is indicated by 16h, to go or going) ; 6 gbe e lati oko wdh, he 

 tooh it from the farm — and brought it hither (which is indicated by wdh, to come or 

 coming). So, 6 kpada 16h (Ae returned going~)., he went hach ; 6 kpada de (lie 

 returned coming), he came bach. And so, lati isisiyi 16h (^from now going)., hence- 

 forth. 



§ 194. After verbs of giving, ni or li, to h-a^e., is always added ; as, bu mi li omi, 

 give me water ; Oloruq li o fil woq li agbara, God gave them potoer. 



NOUNS. 



§ 195. Yoruba nouns are not varied in form to express gender, number, or case ; 

 or in other words, they exhibit no traces of inflexion. 



Oender. 



§ 196. Gender is distinguished only where there is an actual difference of sex, as 

 follows : 



1. By using different words ; as, ako, a he-animal, a male, abo, a she-ani- 

 mal, a female ; akuko, a cock, agbeb5, a hen- oko, a he-goat, ake, a she-goat; 

 6koi]ri, a man, 6biri, a woman; babd, a father, iya, a mother ; and a few 

 others. 



2. By adding to a common term one of the above general expressions in appo- 

 sition. 



a. In the case of animals, by prefixing ako, male, and okib, female ; as, ako malii, 

 a hull, ab6 malu, a cow ; ako e^iq, a horse, ab6 e^ii), a mare. 



h. In the case of persons, by appending the words 6kor)ri, man, and 6biri, 

 woman ; as, om6koi)ri (omo dkoqri, child man), a man-child, a boy, om6biri (omo 

 6biri), a woman-child, a girl ; iwofa 6kor|ri, a bond-man, iwofa obiri, a bond- 

 woman; egb6r) dkoqri, an elder brother, egboq 6biri, an elder sister ; aburo 6kor)ri, 

 a younger brother, aburo obiri, a younger sister. 



3. By compounding two or more words in construction ; as, bale (oba il^, lord 

 of house), the master of a house, or father of a family ; iyale (iya, mother, mis- 

 tress, ile, house), the mistress of a house, or mother of a family ; balogui) (oba, 

 lord, li, as to, oguq, war), a general; iyal^e (iya, mistress, li, as to, dse, coohing), 

 a female cook. 



