438 GRAMMAR OF THE KLAMATH LANGUAGE. 



The dual is used, when the verb has two, tliree, sometimes four subjects; 

 Tlie plural is in use when the verb lias over three or four, or a multitude 

 of subjects. 



Perhaps the term dual is not quite appropriately selected for a grani- 

 matic number which points to very few ; but in the majority of cases when 

 this form is employed two subjects only are meant. Those wishing to con- 

 vey the idea that not more than two are meant, have to add to the subject 

 the numeral lapi, lap two, or lapiak two only, or lapuk hofh. 



1. Didributive reduplication is the means to show plurality in the ma- 

 jority of intransitive verbs. It is used wherever more than one subject 

 governs the verb, and thus exactly corresponds to the plural of verbs in 

 European languages. 



tidsh nil tchia I live contented; ti'dsh nat tchitchia we live contented. 

 shiwaga a ktana the girl is sleeping ; shiwaga or shishuaga a ktakta the 

 girls are sleeping. 



2. Change of prefix only is chiefly resorted to in verbs which are trans- 

 itives and intransitives simultaneously: 



kshalala to he or lie near the fire ; pi. ihlla. 

 kshikla to he or lie within; pi. I'kla. 

 kshutila to he or lie tmderneath ; pi. i-utila. 



3. Change of radical syllable without change of suffix occurs extensively 

 in verbs embodying the ideas of standing, sitting, lying, running, and leap- 

 ing, falling and rolling down, hiding, going, coming. A majority of these 

 verbs have three numbers — singular, dual, and plural — each one marked by 

 a special radix, mostly formed from pronominal roots, which are distinctly 

 recognizable as such, and also enter into the formation of prefixes. In some 

 of the verbs the two dialects difl'er considerably in the formation of their 

 duals and plurals. The new terms introduced in the list below, which are 

 not found in the Dictionary, are all taken from the Modoc dialect, and most 

 of them are intelligible to the Klamath Lake Indians as well, and used by 

 them. It will he seen that the distributive form of some verb representing 

 one of the three numbers is sometimes used as the dual or plural of that 

 verb. The radix hu-, which forms the largest number of verbs in this list 



