462 APPENDIX. 



possessive is dm. The sound of ?*, in tlie tliird declension, is that 

 of i in pin, and the sound of m, in the fifth declension, is that of 

 u in bull. The latter will be uniformly represented by oo. 



The possessive declensions run throughout both the animate 

 and inanimate classes of nouns, with some exceptions in the latter, 

 as knife, bowl, paddle, &c. 



Inanimate nouns are thus declined. 



Those words which form exceptions from this declension, take 

 the separable pronouns before them as follows: — 



Mokoman, A Knife. 



Ni mokoman, My Knife. 



Ki mokoman, Tby Knife. 



mokoman, His Knife, &c. 



Animate substantives are declined precisely in the same manner 

 as inanimate, except in the third person, which takes to the pos- 

 sessive inflections, aim, eem, im^ 6m, oom, the objective particle un, 

 denoting the compound inflection of this person, both in the 

 singular and plural, aimun, eemun, imun, 6mun, oomun, and the 

 variation of the first vowel sound, dmun. Thus, to furnish an 

 example of the second declension, ^^'i^Juh] a bison, changes its 

 forms to 711771, hizhik-im, my bison — ke hizMk-im^ thy bison, hiz- 

 hik-imun, his bison, or bisons. 



The cause of this double inflection in the third person, may be 

 left for future inquiry. But we may add further examples in aid 

 of it. We cannot simply say, " The chief has killed a bear," or, 

 to reverse the object upon which the energy of the verb is ex- 

 erted, "The bear has killed a chief." But, ogimd ogi nissdn muk- 

 wym, literally, " Chief he has has killed him bear," or, mukvjah ogi 



