ON THE ETHNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. oOo 



VERBS. 



The inflexion of the verb in Sk-qo'mic is effected partly by affixing particles and 

 partly by auxiliary verbs. These, in such sentences as we form in English with the 

 verhum suhstantlvum and a noun or adjective, are : present tense, w'«; past indefinite, 

 t-u'il ; perfect, t-i-uH ; future, Ek. 



VERBUM SUB3TANTIVUM. 



The Sk-qo'mic employ the regular verb of being characteristic of the Salish 

 dialects, the simplest and most constant form of which is v'll (see below under the 

 verbal inflections) ; but besides this regular form we find three others, v, no or niitl, 

 and i- (this latter is also seen in the Kwakiutl). Thus : e-fcin-Estu'i, ' I am sick ; ' 

 iJ-EskO'i, 'he is sick;' nStl tn Harry, 'it is Harry;' nttl 'n lam ti, 'thi.s is my 

 house ' ; ens-i, ' it is I,' in answer to question ' Who is that ? ' ens-i tiK tus, or simply 

 ens-i, ' I did,' or more literally, ' it is I,' in answer to question ' Who did it ? 



INTRANSITIVE VERBS. 

 Bick = F.slfO'i, or sk'O'i. 



Present Tense. 



le-tcin-ua-Esk'o'i, I am sick. 



e-tcuq-via-Esk'o'i, thou art sick. 

 Singulars e-ua-Esk'o'i (tai), he is sick (present). 



e-iia-Bsk-o'i (a'tli), she is sick (present). 



nE-e-iia-Esk-o'i, he is sick (absent). 

 /e-tcit-ua-Esk'o'i, or sk-uek'o'i, we are sick. 



e-tcap-ua-Esk'o'i, or sk-fiek'o'i, you are sick. 

 PluralJ e-wet-ua-Esk'o'i, or sk-uek'o'i, they are sick (present). 

 I nE-wet-ua-Esk-o'i, or sk'uek-o'i, they are sick (absent), 

 lor nE-e-wet-ua-Esk-o'i, or sk-uek-o'i, they are sick (absent). 



In ordinary speech the adjective or noun is not usually reduplicated for the plural. 

 In formal speech, however, the plural forms must never be omitted. 



These forms may be called the regular or classic forms. It is quite common, how- 

 ever, in ordinary speech to omit one or other or both of the auxiliary verbs c and 

 ji'ff, placing the pronoun and adjective in simple juxtaposition, thus: tcin-Esk-o'i, 

 tcuq-Esk-o'i, &c. 



In the third person of both numbers the form no'a or nau'a is quite commonly 

 used, thus: no'a Esk-o'i, 'he or she is sick;' no'a ye'yEk', 'it is snowing;' no'a 

 satsauq-wOt, ' they are happy ' (see other examples below). 



Past Indefinite Tense. I. 



:--tcin-t-ua-Esk'o'i, I was sick. 

 I e-tcuq-t-ua-Esk'o'i, thou wast sick. 

 o; 1 J e-t-ua-Esk'o'i (tai), he was sick (present). 



° ' I e-t-iia-Esk-o'i (a'tli), she was sick (present). . 



nE-e-t-ua-Esk o'i (tai), he was sick (absent). 

 ^nE-e-t-tia-Esk'o'i (a'tli), she was sick (absent). 

 /e-tcit-t-ua-Esk-o'i, or sk-wek-o'i, we were sick, 

 p, , J e-tcap-t-ua-Esk'o'i, or sk'wck-o'i, 5'ou were sick. 



I e-t-wet-iia-Esk-o'i, or sk-wek'o'i, they were sick (present). 

 InE-wct-t-iia-Esk'Oi, or sk-wek-o'i, they were sick (absent). 



Past Indefinite Tense. II. 

 nE-tcin-t-ua-Esko'i, I was sick, nE-tcit-t-tia-Esk-o'i, we were sick. 



The other persons follow regularl}-. 



The difference between these two tenses is that the former merely makes a state- 

 ment of a past sickness without implying anything of the present condition of the 

 patient, while the latter signifies that the persoij was sick but h?is since recovered, 

 and is liow well. 



