BOAS] HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 297 



In the group of inseparable modal proclitics must also be classed 

 the plural prefixes qa- and /-, which will be discussed in §§ 43-45. 



The pronominal subjects of some forms of the transitive verb — and 

 of some forms of the intransitive verb as well — are also proclitics. 

 They consist each of a single consonant, and have the tendency to 

 amalgamate with the preceding word. 



Suffixes are few in number. They are partl}^ modal in character, 

 signifying ideas like passive, elimination of object of the transitive 

 verb, causative. A second group expresses certainty and uncertainty 

 and the source of information. By a peculiar treatment, consisting 

 partly in the use of suffixes, the modes of the verb are difl'erentiated. 

 Still another group indicates presence and absence; these take the place 

 to a great extent of demonstrative pronouns. The objective and pos- 

 sessive pronouns are also formed b}^ means of suffixes. Most remark- 

 able among the suffixes are the connectives which express the relations 

 between adjective and noun, adverb and verb, subject and object, 

 predicate and object, preposition and object, and conjunction and the 

 following word. There are only a few classes of these connectives, b}'^ 

 means of which practically all s3^ntactic relations are expressed that 

 are not expressed by means of particles. 



Reduplication serves primarily the purpose of forming the plural. 

 A number of particles require reduplicated forms of the following 

 verb. Among these are the particles indicating imitation, genuine, 

 ACTION DONE WHILE IN MOTION. The progressive is indicated by a 

 different kind of reduplication. 



Nouns are classified from two points of view, according to form, 

 and as special human individuals and common nouns. The selection 

 of verbal stems and of numerals accompanying the noun is determined 

 by a classification according to form, while there is no grammatical 

 differentiation in the noun itself. The classes of the numeral are 

 formed partly by independent stems, but largely by suffixes or by 

 contraction of the numeral and a classifying noun. In syntactic con- 

 struction a sharp division is made between special human individuals — 

 including personal and personal demonstrative pronouns, some terms 

 of relationship, and proper names — and other nouns. 



Plurality is ordinarily expressed both in the noun and in the verb. 

 It would seem that the primary idea of these forms is that of distri- 

 bution, but at present this idea is clearly implied in only one of the 

 man}' methods of forming the plural. The multiplicity of the methods 



§6 



