176 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



5. gu- or gA-. Future time is denoted b}^ a prefix gu- or gA-^ which 

 is sometimes used much as if it were an independent particle. 

 Besides its strictlj^ future function, it is employed in speak- 

 ing of an}^ event about to take place as well in the past as the 

 future. In the following simple examples it is often accom- 

 panied by the affix x- to become, which will be treated in § 15.7. 



wasa' At giigoneyt' whatever is going to happen {wasa' whatever; 



At indefinite object; ^?^- future; gona s,i&\n; -yt suffix [§ 20.2]) 

 an guyagu't when he was going to go with them {a indefinite 



pronoun; -n with; gu- future; ga- verbal prefix [§ 17.4]; ^7^. to 



go; -t purpose [§ 20.1]) 

 de dA'qde ye guxdusnl' yuM't daidedV they were going to take up 



the house-timbers {de now; dA'qde up to; ye thus; gu- future; 



X- to become; du- s- verbal prefixes [§ 17.3; § 18.1]; ni to take; 



yu demonstrative; lilt house; daldedV timbers) 

 hit a guxlaye'x gone't gAnayV the opposite side (clan) was going 



to build a house {hit house; a indefinite pronoun; gu- future; 



X- to become; la- verbal prefix [§ 18.4]; yex to build \x possibly 



a suffix]) 

 yd'doqioa gAxduta'ge they were going to make a hole in this one's 



mouth {ya demonstrative; do- his; q!a mouth [see § 3] ; gA- future; 



./'- to become; du- verbal prefix [§ 17.3]; tak to bore [?]; -e 



suffix) 



More often the future occurs in conjunction with an indefinite pre- 

 fix qo or ]t}'. The following examples illustrate this use, and also 

 show the peculiar manner in which it combines with the personal 

 pronominal prefixes. It will be seen that, instead of guxa in the 

 first person, we find qiva; instead of gu-i, in the second person, 

 ge. It would also seem that contractions of q and g to »/, and q 

 and g to g^ take place in the first and seciond persons plural. 



Future tense of the verb git to do 



Singular Plural 



1st per. yeqqwasgVt ye'qAxtusglt 



2d per. yeqge'sgit ye'gaxylsgl't 



3d per. yeqgica'sglt Aas qo' a ye'sgugasgl't 



Future tense of the verb geqj to throw down 



Singular Plural 



1st per. xa'tc ye'nde qqwage'q! uha'ntc ye'nde qAxtuge'q! 



2d per. va^tc ye'nde qgege'q! ylha'ntc ye'nde gAxytge'q! 



3d per. Ivutc ye'nde A'qgwa^e'q! hAstc ye'nde SAqgwage'q! 

 §15 



