1032 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



in Greenlandic wo<i in the same modes in which Classes III and IV 

 add poq. 



A consideration of the endings of the conjugated verb proves that 

 most of them coincide, partially at least, with the possessive suffixes 

 of nouns. The etymological researches strengthen this hypothesis 

 concerning the common origin of these elements. Only some few 

 of the personal verb-endings deviate absolutely from the present sys- 

 tem of possessive suffixes of nouns. They may be elements of a foreign 

 origin or obsolete suffixes. 



Of a neutral character, lacking any mark of personality, is the ending 

 of the third person singular -oq^ {-poq, -woq)^ dual -uk., plural -ut^ which 

 quite agrees with the common absolutive ending of the noun; and in 

 so far we might speak of an absolutive of the verb, but it should 

 be noted that we find no corresponding suffixless relative (-w^) in the 

 conjugation of the finite verb. On the other hand, we find, in the 

 system of verb conjugation, not one set, but two or three sets, of 

 absolutive possessive endings, and another set of relative possessive 

 endings. 



The modal suffixes are inseparable from the personal endings; but 

 they may be, and really often are, severed from the base by the 

 insertion of other suffixes. Many of these infixes are of a modal 

 character; but since they do not affect the endings of the words, we 

 shall not treat them here. 



The only indication of tense in the simple forms of the Eskimo verb 

 is expressed by modes x and xi (see § 32). As for the other modes, 

 the past tense may sometimes be expressed by infixing -aluar{poq)^ 

 -sima{'uwq)\ and the future tense, by infixing ssa {-ssawoq, in the third 

 person singular contracted to -ssooq)^ or -um,a{woq), -umaaT{poq). 



§31. SYNOPSIS OF POSSESSIVE ENDINGS OF NOUNS (N.) AND 



VERBS (V.) ' 



The paradigms in the next following sections are confined to the 

 West Greenland dialect, 



1 The dual endings are left out here (cf. § 26). The Roman numerals refer to the modes (see § 32). 



§31 



