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take the pronominal affix. Other nouns, a more distant notion of relation to which exists, are incapable of this affix. This appears to be the principle; but the application of it in particular is in some cases unintelligible, e.g. 'a man's bag,' is na tan̈a na; 'his basket,' non o gete; 'his bow' is na us una; 'his paddle,' non o wose.
This distinction is common to all Melanesian languages.
A second division of nouns is according to termination:—
1. Some have a termination marking a substantive in what may be called its nominative case, i. e. as it stands unaffected by connection with another word.
2. Others have no such termination.
These two classes of substantives again approach the division before mentioned, those (1) which have a special termination, being generally names of things which are relative to some other things ; those (2) which have not, being generally the names of things which have an absolute existence of their own. It will consequently be mostly the case that nouns which can also be used as verbs belong to the first class; the names of things as such not bearing use as verbs.
Of the second class, nouns with no special termination, it is unnecessary to say anything.
The first class may be divided according to the termination affixed to the radical word;—
a. If the radical ends in a vowel, i is affixed, and sometimes e; e.g. sasa-i, 'a name;' vava-e, 'a word;' tuqe-i 'a garden;' roro-i, 'a report.'
b. If the radical ends in a consonant the termination iu or ui (according to dialect) is affixed; e.g. tol-iu, 'an egg;' qat-ui, 'head;' qeteg-iu, 'beginning.'
This termination, as above stated, is an addition to the radical word; and it drops when, in what corresponds to the inflection of a possessive case, the pronoun is affixed, thus na-sasa-k, 'my name;' na-tuqe-ma, 'your garden.' It also drops in composition with another word; as, tol toa, 'a fowl's egg;' o qat qoe, 'a pig's head.'
