OUTLINE GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY. 335 
12. There is no separate form for the plural; 
but it is expressed by the addition of such words 
as maro } many; vitsy, few; roa } two, &c., to the 
noun. 
13. The most common form of the possessive 
case is the affix ho to the noun— e.g ., tranoko , 
my house; damosiko, my shoulder; zanako , my 
son. Ao, your—as trananao, your house ; areo , 
yours, plural, as tranonareo , &c. 
14. The initial letter of the present tense of 
the verb is m, milaza (I tell); of the past, n, 
nilaza (I told); of the future, li , hilaza (I will 
tell). 
15. The French pronunciation of the vowels is 
that which is followed in speaking or reading the 
Malagasy as nearly as possible. 
16. Nearly all the names of persons, places, 
and rivers in Madagascar have a particular sig¬ 
nification ; as Andevoranto , slave-market, from 
andevo, a slave, and ranto , trade-—the old slave- 
market of the east coast; Matitandna , the dead 
hand (two chiefs having quarrelled, according to 
the old legend, and having grasped hands over this 
stream, one plucked off the hand of the other and 
cast it into the river); Ambohimalaza , the famous 
town, formerly a great trading-place of the Hovas. 
In speaking, it is always well to be careful to 
pronounce the vowels correctly, neglect of this 
rule often producing great confusion and mis- 
