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doing" in such a way as to represent something like a passive participle. "The word spoken by the Prophet," o vavae amon o Prophet me vava, i. e. "The word, it was the Prophets doing (that) spoke it." At the end of a book, "Printed by A. Lobu, H. Silter, and others," "Namora A. Lobu, H. Silter, &c., me qisan̈," "The doing of A. L., H. S., &c. (who) printed it."
Nok and mok are used very indifferently, and yet mok is more correct where a thing is not regarded as a mere possession, but in a sense a product Mok o vavae is more natural for 'my word,' and nok o gasal for 'my knife.'
VII. PREPOSITIONS.
The simple Prepositions in Mota are nine—a, i, ape, mun, sur, nan, goro, nia, ama.
Some of these, compounded or constructed with adverbs and nouns, form many prepositions in ordinary use whose force depends on the simple preposition in them. There is another, ta, which can hardly be counted with these.
1. A is a preposition of simple local force, "at." The Mota idiom is to say "at" when we should say "from." Thus, "I saw the ship from the cliff," na me ilo o aka a mate nua—I saw the ship at the cliff, i.e., I was there when I saw the ship; "that came from Mota," O gene me mule ma a Mota—came hither at Mota, the locality of its coming.
2. I a preposition of motion to. This is of motion completed. Ni me mule i taun, "He has gone to town and has arrived."
3. Ape gives the sense of place with relation to something else, by, alongside of, against; and thence in reference, or regard to, concerning, because of. Ipe with the sense of motion is used, but very rarely. "He is standing by the fence," Ni we tira ape geara. "The plank leans against the house," O irav we pesinag ape-
