Before verbs a kind of double reflexive is sometimes used; thus:—
Yaikota yai-raige; “he killed himself.”
The various forms of the first and second persons mentioned above in Sect. I, may be termed nominatives. The following examples will illustrate this:—
- Kuani tanebo ku ek ruwe ne, I have just come (i.e. come for the first time.)
- Eani e arapa ya? “have you been?”
- Eani nepka e ye ya? “did you say something?”
- Ku oman, “I am going.”
The following is an example of the longer form of a pronoun used without the corresponding short one, e.g.:—
- Eani nekon a ramu ya? “what do you think?”
The first person, moreover, has forms corresponding to the English objective case. They are:—
En, “me.”
E, “you.”
Un, “us.”
I, “us.”
Echi, “ye.” e.g.:—
| Nei guru en kik, “he struck me.” Kamui un kara, “God made us.” I omap, “he loves us.” |
In the second person the objective case is rendered by e for the singular, and echi for the plural; never by the longer forms given in Section I; e.g.:—
- Seta e kuba, “the dog will bite you.”
- Kuani echi uitek ash, “I will employ you” (plural).
The action of the first person upon the second is indicated by placing the objective of the person before the verb, and the word ash after it; thus:—
- Kuani echi kik ash, “I will beat you” (plural).
