ADJECTIVES. 35 



§ 75. Final ' a ' or ' ai) ' of many adjectives is changed into ' e ' when followed 

 by certain particles, as, hiqda, do, kiq or 6ii), etc. : si6a, had, ^i6e hiqda, very had ; 

 wi6asta ^i6e 6ir), the had man. 



Number. 



^ 76. Adjectives have three numbers, the singular, dual, and plural. 



§ 77. The dual is formed from the singular by prefixing or inserting 'ui),' the 

 pronoun of the first person plural ; as, ksapa, wise ; wi6asta uqksapa, we two wise 

 men; waoqsida, merciful ; waoi)siur)da, we two merciful ones. 



§ 78. 1. The plural is formed by the addition of ' pi ' to the singular ; as, wa^te, 

 good ; wi6asta wastepi, good men. 



2. Another form of the plural which frequently occurs, especially in connexion 

 with animals and inanimate objects, is made by a reduplication of one of the 

 syllables. 



a. Sometimes the first syllable reduplicates ; as, ksapa, wise, plur. ksaksapa ; 

 taqka, great, plur. taqktaqka. 



h. In some cases the last syllable reduplicates ; as, wa^te, good, plur. wa^te^te. 



c. And sometimes a middle syllable is reduphcated ; as, taijkir) jai), great or large, 

 plur. taqkiqkiqyar). 



Comp 



arison. 



§ 79. Adjectives are not inflected to denote degrees of comparison, but are 

 increased or diminished in signification by means of adverbs. 



1. a. What may be called the comparative degree is formed by sai^pa, more ; as, 

 wa^te, good, saqpa waste, more good or hetter. When the name of the person or 

 thing, with which the comparison is made, immediately precedes, the preposition 

 'i' is employed to indicate the relation, and is prefixed to saqpa; as, wi6a^ta kiq 

 de isaqpa waste, this man is hetter than that. Sometimes ' sam iyeya,' which may 

 be translated more advanced, is used ; as, sam iyeya wa^te, more advanced good or 

 hetter. 



It is diflBcult to translate ' iyeya ' in tliis connexion, but it seems to convey the idea of passing on from 

 one degree to another. 



h. Often, too, comparison is made by saying that one is good and another is bad ; 

 as, de si6a, he waste, this is had, that is good, i. e. that is hetter than this. 



c. To diminish the signification of adjectives, ' kitaqna ' is often used ; as, taijka, 

 large, kitaqna taqka, somewhat large, that is, not very large. ~^- 



2. What may be called the superlative degree is formed by the use of ' iiina^ 

 'hiqca,' and 'iyotaq;' as, nina waste, or waste la.ir}6ii, very good; iyotaq wa^te, 

 best. 



