8 



GEKDEB, KUMBEE, CASE. 



§ 14. The letter f h, when compovmd with <t y, becomes w /'j/, 

 which is pronounced in a peculiar way. If zh be taken to represent the 

 Persian ^ zli, the pronunciation of tMs compound can best be represented 

 by zlijy ; e.g. ?ITW, fit to he accepted, is pronounced (jrazhjya, the final ^ a 

 being retained in pronunciation, though usually inert, for the sake of 

 euphony. 



PART II. 



NOUNS, ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS. 



Chapter ii. 



pENDEF^, j\fUM.BER AND j^ASE. 



§ 15. The noun has two Genders, — Masculine and Feminine. Words 

 derived direct from the Sarnskrit, which were originally neuter, become 

 masculine in Maithili. 



There are two numbers, the Singular, and the Plm-al. 



§ 16. There are (counting the vocative) eight cases, — viz., Nominative 

 Accusative, Instrumental, Dative, Ablative, Grcnitive, Locative and Vocative. 



§ 17. The sroMiNATiTE has one invariable form, which is the same 

 before all kinds and before all tenses of verbs. The vulgar, however, capri- 

 cioiisly add the termination net or d to all nominatives, especially to 

 those of proper names. E.g. ^ y/^r/r or yZf«rim, a house ; ^"^iE^y/jw 

 or Itaglnid, a proper name : ^^\neni or ^f'T^T nenid, a gu'l. 



§ IS. The ACCUSATIVE is formed by adding the postposition ^ Jce to 

 the nommative. This postposition is however commonly dropped in writing 

 and conversation, when no ambiguity is likely to arise. It is forbidden, 

 however, to di'op this postposition in this way, in the case of the pronouns of 

 the first and second persons, for which special forms are provided. Through- 

 out the ensuing paradigms, the termination is always given, but it must be 

 understood, that, except in the cases above mentioned, it can optionally be 

 discarded. In different parts of Mithila the postposition is wi-itten # Jce, 

 ^he, kai, and ofit lea'. The oldest form, which is met with most 

 frequently in poetry, is hai, but the one most commonly used nowadays 

 is ^ he. 



§ 19. The HfSTETTMEisrTAX, denotes the instrument, means, cause, or 

 agent hj which a thing is done. It in no way corresponds to the so-called 

 agent in Hindi, which is used before the past tenses of transitive words. It 



