1004 



Grammatical construction of the Ho language. [No. 106. 



Perfect tense. 



Aing, Um, Ay6, 

 &c. &c. &c. 



' Kajikedingia. 



Kajiked'mia. 



Kajikedaia. 



Kajikede'lia. 

 <{ Kajiked'lingia. )■ 



Kajiked'bena. 



Kajikedpea. 



Kajikedkingia 

 , Kajiked'koa. 



/, thou, he, 



Sfc. Sfc. 8(c. 



f spoke to myself. 

 I spoke to thee. 

 I spoke to him. 



spoke to ourselves. 

 \ spoke to us two. 

 I spoke to you two. 

 I spoke to you. 

 I spoke to them two. 

 \^spoke to them. 



Examples of this construction, especially in the Imperative mood, 

 will be given in the Vocabulary, so need not be further dwelt on here. 



It is scarcely possible to reduce the verb **to 6e" to conjugation, 

 unless we suppose the varied forms in which it is used as inflections 

 of separate verbs, wanting in many tenses. For " to 5e" is expressed 

 by different verbs, according to its allusion to time, a person, or a 

 thing ; and again as whether it relate to mere existence or nature of 

 existence. lii short, there is no auxiliary verb " to 6e" which can be 

 independently conjugated. The unchangable word " minna," or 

 " minnakana," is applicable in the present tense alone, to denote a state 

 of existence, as " Eeng, um, ayo, &c. minna, or minnakana," / am, 

 thou art, he is, &c. But in past and future tenses some other verb 

 denoting presence^ as the verb *' to come,^* *' to reside'^ &c. must be 

 employed. 



But the verb " to be" when implying the nature of existence, can be 

 rendered in the past and future tenses, as well as the present, by 

 adding to the participle or adjective, od in the future, and iena in the 

 past, as "eeng laga akanna," lam tired ; " eeng lagaoa," I shall be tired; 

 *' eeng l^giena," / have become tired; *' eeng renga akanna, or renga 

 akannaing," / am hungry ; "eeng rengaoa or rengaoing," / shall be 

 hungry ; " eeng rengaiena," / was hungry. Od and iena, it is to be 

 remembered, are inflections of the future and past tenses in all neuter 

 verbs. 



Again the verb " to be^ can be simply represented in the future and 

 past tenses, when speaking of a thing, by the word " hobawa," it shall 

 or will be, and " hobiena," it has been ; also in the present, " hobow- 

 tanna," it is. This mode of expression commonly refers to the success 



