76 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 191 



Fourth person is used when the subject of the action is obscure, as 

 when the speaker is teUing of something that he himself did not 

 observe. It is also used when the subject of the action is inferior 

 to the object, as when an animal is the subject and a human being the 

 object. 



Number. — Singular, dual, and plural number are recognized in 

 both the subject of intransitive verbs and in the subject and object 

 of transitive verbs. The dual and plm-al of transitive verb subjects 

 are normally expressed by suflBxation, while the absence of number 

 suffixes indicates singular subject: 



g^ku he hit him 



g^gu-na they two hit him 

 g^gu-nE they hit him 



Subject number of intransitive verbs may be indicated in a variety 

 of ways: 



1. By suflSixation as in the case of transitive verbs: 



zfkupAWA he chopped 



zfkupawa-na they two chopped 

 zfkupawa-nE they chopped 



2. By changes in the thematic adjunct (i.e., the vowel or vocalic 

 complex that ordinarily immediately follows the pronominal affix). 

 These changes are usually accompanied by other number markers but 

 may sometimes constitute the only indication of number: 



g-du-d^asi he fasted 

 g-u-'i'ij-dyasi they two fasted 

 g-u-w^-d^asi they fasted 



3. By the prefixation of different sets of pronominal allomorphs 

 together with suffixation and/or changes in the thematic adjunct: 



s-iskA / drank 



saz-askA we two drank 

 saz-askAtA we drank 



Object number of transitive verbs is indicated by changes in the 

 thematic adjunct: 



s-6-ku I hit him 



s-6-?e-ku I hit them two 

 s-6iy^-ku I hit them 



Tense. — Future and non-future tenses are recognized. Verbs 

 which include a pronominal affix are in the non-future tense. Future 

 tense is indicated by replacing the pronominal affix with a tense 

 marker. The pronominal element is then incorporated in a separate 

 word, the verbal auxiliary, which follows the verb: 



sd,izuwA / paid you ni-zuwA sdumA / will pay you 



siipE / ate nupE si / will eat 



