12 
LADAKHI GRAMMAR. 
1 . For the direct object as in the Aryan languages, but not so often, 
as the dative •with la is often used instead of it. Examples: homo de 
thongspin, I saw that woman; Jchyis mila thams, the dog bit the man. 
2. The accusative stands with some postpositions. For instance, with 
dang, with; thsogse, like, etc. See under Postpositions. Examples : dri- 
dang , with the knife ; shanghhu thsogse , like a wolf. 
3. The accusative stands idiomatically in some absolute phrases of 
time and manner. Examples : ngamo, in the morning; phi dr o, in the even¬ 
ing ; nanning, last year; ruspa thonpo, as regards birth [he is] high. 
In many cases, however, the la of the dative may be added. Example: 
ngamola yong , come in the morning. 
Note 1.—The optional article bo, though it is used for all cases is especially 
found with the nominative and the accusative. If bo is used with a case, which has 
an ending, it takes the ending itself. Example: I mihos dezug zers, this man 
said so. 
Since bo emphasizes the word to which it is joined, r it forms an equivalent for 
the classical particle ni, which generally appears as ning or nig in Ladakhi. 
Note 2. —Use of ni, ning, nig in Ladakhi : The chief function of ni, etc., is 
that of distinguishing the subject from the predicate, if the predicate is not a verb. 
Example : ri thonpo in, is either * it is a high hill ’ or * the hill is high/ Bi ning 
thonpo in, can only mean * the hill is high/ See ni also under Reduplication of 
the Verb and under Conjunctions. 
The Genitive .—The genitive always stands before the word to which 
it relates. Example: rgyalpoi hhar, the castle of the king; dambai 
chos, the holy religion. 
As predicate the genitive sometimes stands by itself. Then the word 
to which it would belong as attribute is omitted. Example: thsasbo 
sahibbi innog , the garden is the Sahib’s, instead of thsasbo sahibbi nor 
innog, the garden is the Sahib’s property. 
1. Although the subjective, objective, and partitive genitive may occur 
occasionally in Ladakhi, the genitive generally expresses a “ possession.” 
A quality may be considered as a possession, and therefore an adjective 
takes the genitive as soon as it is placed before its substantive. Example : 
dambai chos, the holy religion = the religion of holiness. 
2. Most postpositions govern the genitive. Example : amai phila, for 
the mother; chui nangna, in the water j mii dunla, before the man. See 
Postpositions. 
3 . The sang of the comparative often governs the genitive. Ex¬ 
ample: thsangmai sang thonpo, higher than all. 
