VERBS. 17 



2. The so-called absolute form of active verbs is made by prefixing ' vpa,' and 

 is conjugated in the same manner as the primitive verb, except that it cannot take an 

 objective noun or pronoun. The ' wa ' appears to be equivalent to the Enghsh 

 something : as, manoq, to steal, wamanor), to steal something; taspaqtaqka mawanor), 

 (apple I-stole) I stole an apple, wamawanoq, / stole something, i. e. / committed a 

 theft. 



3. When the agent acts on himself, the verb is put in the reflexive form. The 

 reflexive is formed in two ways : first, by incorporating the reflexive pronouns, 

 i^i, ni(Ji, mic^i, and ui]ki(^i ; as, wastei(^idaka, he loves himself. Secondly, verbs in 

 ' yu,' ' ya, and ' yo,' that make the possessive by changing ' y ' into ' hd,' prefix 

 to this form ' i ;' as, yu^ai^a, to wash any thing ; hdui;ai;a, to wash one's own, as 

 one's clothes ; ihdui;ai;a, to wash oneself. 



4. When the agent acts on his own, i. e. something belonging to himself, the verb 

 assumes the possessive form. This is made in two ways : first, by prefixing or 

 inserting the possessive pronoun ' ki ' (and in some cases ' k ' alone) ; as, wastedaka, 

 to love any thing ; 6ir)6a wa^tekidaka, he loves his child. Secondly, in verbs in 

 ' yu,' ' ya,' and ' yo^ the possessive form is made by changing ' y ' into ' hd ;' as, 

 yuha, to have or possess any thing ; hduha, to have one''s own; ^uktaqka wahduha, 

 / have my own horse. 



5. Another form of verbs is made by prefixing or inserting prepositions meaning 

 to and for. This may be called the dative form. 



a. When the action is done to another, the preposition ' ki ' is prefixed or 

 inserted ; as, kaga, to make any thing ; ki6aga, to make to one ; wowapi ki6aga, 

 (writing to-him-he-made) he wrote him a letter. This form is also used when the 

 action is done on something that belongs to another ; as, 6uqka kikte, (dog to-him-he- 

 killed) he killed his dog. 



b. When the thing is done for another, ' ki6i ' is used ; as, wowapi ki6i6aga, 

 (writing for-him-he-made^ he wrote a letter for him. In the plural, this sometimes 

 has a reciprocal force ; as, wowapi ki6i6agapi, they wrote letters to each other. 



6. In some verbs ' ki ' prefixed conveys the idea that the action takes effect 

 on the middle of the object ; as, baksa, to cut in two with a knife, as a stick ; 

 kibaksa, to cut in two in the middle. 



Person, 



§ 41. Dakota verbs have three persons, the first, second, and third. The third 

 person is represented by the verb in its simple form, and the second and first 

 persons by the addition of the personal pronouns. 



Number. 



§ 42. Dakota verbs have three numbers, the singular, dual, and plural. 



1. The dual number is only of the first person. It includes the person speaking 

 and the one spoken to, and is in form the same as the first person plural, but 

 without the termination 'pi;' as, waeteur)daka, we <mjo love him; mauijni, i«e two 

 walk. 



