HARRINGTON— TAOS PERSONAL PRONOUN 



denoting animate plural in their singular and an animate singular 

 or an inanimate plural postfix in their plural. When nouns of these 

 classes are used the prefixed pronoun agrees with the formal number 

 and gender of the noun, and consideration of these usages in the tabu- 

 lations below would introduce only unnecessary complexity. 



Verbs are formally divided into two classes, those indicating mo- 

 tion (including action) and those indicating position. Verbs of the 

 first class may be either transitive or intransitive. Those of the second 

 class are generally intransitive, but when they are transitive in mean- 

 ing they must be preceded by pronouns which are not used with 

 regular transitive verbs, namely, series II and vi. 



A. PREFIXED PERSONAL PRONOUNS 



Gender is distinguished as follows: First and second persons are 

 always animate. The third person may be animate or inanimate; but 

 when used as the first member of the pronominal compound in series 

 II and in or as the first or second member in series iv must always be 

 animate. In series II, III, and iv the gender of the thing possessed or 

 object is always distinguished when the noun referred to is plural, but 

 the same form is used with both genders in the singular. 



It is number that the prefixed pronoun distinguishes most thor- 

 oughly. In series I, v, and vi number is distinguished perfectly. A 

 persistent attempt to distinguish the number of all members of the 

 pronominal compound is discernible in the other series. Singular, dual, 

 and three plus plural numbers are indicated more or less consistently 

 by the subjective pronouns, by the first members of prefixed pronom- 

 inal compounds in all series, and by the second members in series iv. 

 Singular and two plus plural number of the thing possessed or object 

 are partially distinguished. Final -m— indicates the animate plural, 

 and final -u- the inanimate plural of the thing possessed or object. 

 Singular number of the thing possessed or object cannot be indicated 

 in the dual and plural forms of the pronominal compounds of series 

 II and IV, with the exception of the first person pronouns of series II, 

 because these dual and plural forms must end in either the plural — m— 

 or -u—, and the animate plural form in -m— is used not only for the 

 animate plural but also for the animate and inanimate singular of the 

 thing possessed or object. The number of the thing possessed in series 

 II or direct object in series IV can be distinguished perfectly only when 

 the first member of the compound in series II or both the first and 

 second members in series iv are singular. 



Series i indicates the subject of verbs used intransitively or pas- 

 sively ; series n possessor and gender and number of possessed ; series 



[143] 



