64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 40 



Before taking up the purely formal or relational elements, it seems 

 best to get an idea of the main body or core of the word to which 

 these relational elements are attached. The prefixes, though not 

 entering into the vital grammatical structure of the verb, are impor- 

 tant for the part they play in giving the whole verb-form its exact 

 material content. They may, therefore, with advantage be taken up 

 first. 



1, Verbal Prefioces (§ § 34-38) 



§ 34. GENEBAL REMARKS 



Verbal prefixes may be classified into four groups when regard is 

 mainly had to their function as determined largely by position with 

 respect to other prefixes: incorporated objects, adverbial (including 

 local) elements, incorporated instrumentals, and connective and 

 modal particles. These various prefixes are simply strung along as 

 particles in the same order in which they have been listed. Inasmuch 

 as the exact function of a prefix is to a considerable extent determined 

 by its position, it follows that the same prefix, phonetically speaking, 

 may appear with slightly variant meanings according as it is to be 

 interpreted as an object, local element, or instrument. Thus the 

 prefix ^- always has reference to the hand or to both hands; but the 

 exact nature of the reference depends partly on the form of the verb 

 and partly on the position of the prefix itself, so that ^- may be trans- 

 lated, according to the circumstances of the case, as 

 hand(s) : 



l-'pH^-no'^Vwa^n I warm my hands 



WITH THE hand: 



l-^o^dini'^n I hunt for it with the hand ( = I am feeling around 

 for it) 



m THE hand: , 



p'im-i-Jid'^gwagwa'^n I run with salmon in my hand 



In the first of these three examples the i- as object precedes the 

 incorporated instrumental p!i^ fire, so that the form means literally 

 r WARM MY hands WITH FIRE. In the third form the ^ as local ele- 

 ment follows the incorporated object p'im salmon. Such a triplicate 

 use is found only in the case of incorporated nouns, particularly such 

 as refer to parts of the body. These incorporated elements are to 

 be kept distinct from certain other elements that are used in an 



§ 34 



