FORMS.

Possessive Form.

§ 130. This form of the verb is used whenever possession or property is indicated, and is very important in the Dakota language. For the ways in which the possessive form is made, see § 40. 4.

The use of this form of the verb does not necessarily exclude the possessive pronoun, but renders it superfluous; as, nape yahdużaża, (hand thou-washest-thine-own) thou dost wash thy hands; ninape yahduźaża is also correct. The occurrence of the possessive pronoun does not render the possessive form of the verb the less necessary.

MOODS.

Imperative.

§ 131. 1. In prohibitions the imperative mood is often indicated by the adverb 'ihnuhan' placed before the verb, with 'kin' or 'kinhan,' 'ćin' or 'éinhan,' following: as, ihnuhaŋ hećanon kiŋ, do not do that; ihnuhan wićayadapi kiŋhaŋ, do not believe it. This is a stronger form than the common imperative.

2. When two verbs in the imperative mood are connected by conjunctions, the first is used without the sign; as, owinźa kiŋ ehdaku ka mani Wo, take up thy bed and walk.

Infinitive.

§ 132. 1. Verbs in the infinitive mood immediately precede those by which they are governed; as, ćaŋ kakse yahi, (wood to-cut thou-hast-come) thou hast come to cut wood; he ećon ćiśipi, I told you to do that.

2. The use of the infinitive mood in Dakota is limited, the finite verb being often used where the infinitive would be in English; as, mda waćin, (I-go I-desire)

I desire to go.

3. The infinitive mood cannot be used as a noun, as it sometimes is in English; that is, it cannot have any thing predicated of it, as in the phrases, "to see the sun is pleasant," "to walk is fatiguing." In such cases verbal nouns or gerunds are used; as, wi waŋyakapi kiŋ he oiyokipi, (sun seeing the that pleasant) the seeing of the sun is pleasant.

Subjunctive.

§ 133. What may be called the subjunctive mood is formed by the aid of conjunctions which follow the verb. (See § 43.)

1. a. Kinhaŋ and its derivatives, ćiŋhaŋ, kinahaŋ, and ćinahaŋ, usually refer to future time, future events only being considered as uncertain and contingent; as, yahi kiŋhan mde kta, if thou come, I will go.

But 'kinhan' does not always render the sense subjunctive, it being sometimes used as an adverb of time, especially when preceded by tohan; as, tohan yahi kiŋhaŋ mde kta, when thou comest, I will go.

G

b. When any thing past is spoken of as uncertain, 'hećiŋhan' is commonly used; as, hećanoŋ hećiŋhaŋ ećen ohdaka wo, if thou didst that, confess it.

2. The conjunctions esta, śta, keyaś, and keś, signifying though, although, are also used to form the subjunctive mood; as, oćićiyaka eśta wićayada śni, although I tell thee, thou dost not believe; hi ķeyaś kići mde kte śni, though he come, I will not go with him; amapa kes en ewaćaŋmi śni, though he struck me, I paid no

attention to it.

3. Unkans, if, usually relates to past time or to something already known, and is used to state what would have been the case if the thing mentioned had been different from what it is. It is usually followed by tuka, but; as, miyećićaźuzu uŋkaŋś ćiću kta tuka, (me-thou-hadst-paid if, I-thee-give would but) if thou hadst paid I would have given it to thee; suktaŋka mduha uŋkanś mde kta tuka, (horse I-had if, I-go would but) if I had a horse I would go.

me,

Optative, Potential, &c.

;

§ 134. The adverb tokiŋ, oh that! is used with verbs to express strong desire in which case an 'n' is suffixed to the verb; as, tokin mduhen, oh that I had it! § 135. The Dakotas have no way of expressing fully and forcibly the ideas of necessity and obligation. The place of the English words ought and must is partially supplied by the word iyećeća, fit, proper; as, ećanoŋ kta iyećeća, it is fit that thou shouldst do it.

§ 136. 1. The idea of ability or power is expressed by the help of the verb okihi, to be able, used after other verbs, which are either in the form of the infinitive or gerund; as, econ owakihi, (to-do I-able) I am able to do it, or I can do it; manipi kin owakihi, (walking the I-able) I can walk. Or they are put in a finite form; as, śuktaŋka mduza owakihi, (horse I-catch I-able) I can catch a horse.

2. Inability is expressed either by 'okihi' with the negative 'śni,' or 'okitpani;' as, mawani kta owakihi śni, or, mawani kta owakitpani, (I-walk will I-cannot) I cannot walk. Tóka' or 'tókadan,' followed by the negative 'śni,' is often used for the same purpose; as, tókadaŋ mawani śni, (any-way I-walk not) I cannot possibly walk.

3. The word 'pića' is suffixed to verbs to denote possibility or that the thing can be done; as, econpića, it can be done; wanyagpića, it can be seen. But it more frequently occurs with the negative 'śni;' as, kahpića śni, it cannot be made.

TENSES.

§ 137. Notwithstanding the Dakota verb has but two distinct forms of tense, there is no difficulty in expressing, by the help of adverbs, etc., all the varieties of time found in other languages.

Aorist Tense.

§ 138. 1. The aorist is used to denote present time, and generally needs no mark to show that the present is referred to, that being usually determined by attendant circumstances or by the context; as, tiyata yaŋka, nakaha wanmdaka, he is at the house, I have just seen him.

2. When necessary the adverb dehan, now, or hinahiŋ, yet, is used to indicate present time; as, dehan tiyata yanka, he is now at the house; hinahin den un, he is

here yet.

3. The aorist is used in general propositions, which apply equally to present, past, and future; as, śićeća waskuyeća waśtedapi, children love fruit.

§ 139. 1. The predominant use of the aorist is to denote past time, it being always used in the narration of past events; as, ećamoŋ, I have done it; he duśtaŋ, thou hast finished that.

2. a. By the help of the adverb wanna, now, the aorist expresses perfect or finished time; as, waŋna yuśtaŋpi, they have now finished it; wanna oćićiyaka, I have now told thee.

b. In a narrative of past events, 'wanna' together with the aorist makes what is called the pluperfect tense; as, waŋna yuśtaŋpi hehan wai, they had finished it when I arrived.

3. The aorist used with tuka, but, expresses what is sometimes called the imperfect tense; as, hen wauŋ tuka, (there I-was but am not now) I was there.

§ 140. Before naćeća, perhaps, the aorist tense is sometimes used for the future; as, hećoŋ maśipi kiŋhaŋ, ećamoŋ naćeća, if they tell me to do that, I shall probably do it.

Future Tense.

§ 141. 1. The sign of the future tense is usually 'kta.' It may be used with verbs, adjectives, nouns, or pronouns; as, mani kta, he will walk; he waśte kta, that will be good; he tinta kta, that will be prairie; he miye kta, that will be I.

2. The future tense is often used in narrating past events respecting something that was future at the time mentioned; as, waŋna upi kta hehan wai, they were about to come when I arrived there.

3. The future tense is used to denote that a thing would have taken place if something had not prevented. In this case it is commonly followed by 'tuka,' whether the reason is stated or not; as, wau kta tuka, I would have come; upi kta tuka wićawakiśića, they would have come but I forbade them.

4. The future tense with the adverb 'hinća,' is used to indicate a desire, purpose, or determination to do a thing; as, mde kte hiŋća, (I-go will very) I want to go; ećoŋ kte hinća ećon, (do will very did) he did it because he wished to do it, or he did it intentionally.

5. The future tense is often used where the infinitive mood would be in English; as, wau kta owakitpani, (I-come shall, I-unable) I am unable to come; ṭeyapi kta akitapi, they sought to kill him.

6. The future tense is sometimes used for the aorist, as in German, when there is uncertainty about the thing spoken of; as, tinwićakte kiŋ hee kta, (murderer the that-be will) that is the murderer, the idea being, that he will be found to be the murderer.

7. When two verbs in the future tense are connected by a conjunction, the first may be either with or without the sign; as, nihiŋnićiyapi kta ka yaćeyapi kta, or nihiŋnićiyapi ka yaćeyapi kta, you will be troubled and weep.

§ 142. Nun' or 'non' is sometimes used instead of 'kta,' as the sign of the future tense, in interrogative sentences, and also when something future is spoken of as uncertain; as, mda nuŋ he, shall I go? token ećoŋpi nuŋ taŋiŋ śni, they knew not what they should do.

§ 143. Before the verbs 'ećin' and 'epća,' 'ke' sometimes marks the future tense of the first person; as, mda ke epća, I will go thought I.

§ 144. In interrogative sentences' hin' is sometimes used for ‘kta he,' denoting the future tense; as, wau hin, shall I come?

AUXILIARY VERBS.

§ 145. There are several verbs, which are used with others as auxiliaries, such as, 'iyeya,' 'kiya,' and 'ya' or 'yaŋ.'

§ 146. 1. 'Iyeya,' when used with other verbs, expresses the additional ideas of completion and suddenness; as, yuśtan iyeya, he made a finish of it; kaksa iyeya, he cut it off suddenly. In this way 'iyeya' is often used to give force and animation to the style.

2. Verbs used with 'iyeya,' if capable of contraction, are contracted; as, kaptuza, to split, kaptuś iyeya, he split it open.

3. Iyeya' is often used with prepositions and adverbs, sometimes with and sometimes without their taking the verbal prefixes; as, pamahen iyeya, to push into; yuhukun iyeya, to put down; ohna iyeya and mahen iyeya, to put into any thing.

§ 147. Kiya' is used with verbs as a causative suffix; as, ećoŋkiya, to cause to do; kaħkiya, to cause to make; naziŋkiya, to cause to stand. The pronouns are inserted before the causative.

6

§ 148. Ya or 'yan' is a suffix which occurs so frequently, and whose use is sometimes so different from that of any English verb, that it demands a special notice.

1. a. It is used as a causative suffix; as, ecoŋya, to cause to do; maniya, to cause to walk. In this case it always has a noun or pronoun for its object expressed or understood; as, mani mayayapi, you cause me to walk.

b. 'Ya' used with adjectives makes of them active verbs; as, saya, to dye or paint red; samya, to blacken.

2. a. It is used with words denoting relationship, where in English we should employ a possessive pronoun, and seems to have the force of to have, or have for; as, he atewaya, (that father-I-have) that is my father; Ateunyanpi maħpiya ekta nanke bin, (father-we-have heaven in thou-art the) our Father who art in heaven.

b. 'Ya' with nouns shows what use a thing is put to; as, de iśanwaya, this I have for a knife; he tiyopayaya, that thou usest for a door.

3. When the pronouns 'ma,' 'ni,' and 'un,' are used without the pronoun 'ya' following, 'ya' becomes 'yan;' as, atemayan, he has me for father; ateuŋyaŋpi, our father. But when 'ya,' thou or you, follows, the vowel is not nasalized; as, atemayaya, thou hast me for father; ateuŋyayapi, you call us father.

VERBS OF REPETITION.

Reduplicated Verbs.

In

§ 149. 1. The reduplication of a syllable in Dakota verbs is very common. intransitive verbs it simply indicates a repetition of the action; as, ipsića, to jump, ipsipsića, to hop or jump repeatedly; iha, to laugh, ihaha, to laugh often. In transitive verbs it either indicates that the action is repeated on the same object, or that it is performed upon several objects; as, yahitaka, to bite, yaħtahtaka, to bite often; baksa, to cut a stick in two, baksaksa, to cut a stick in two often, or to cut several sticks in two. Verbs of one syllable are rarely reduplicated.

2. There are some verbs whose meaning almost necessarily implies a repetition of the action and which therefore are generally used in their reduplicated form ; as, yuhuhuza, to shake; panini, to jog; kapsiņpsinta, to whip; yuśiņśin, to tickle; nasunsun, to struggle, etc.

3. Verbs signifying to be are repeated to denote continuance; as, den maŋka maŋke, I continue to stay here; hen dukaŋ dukaŋpi, you reside there.

§ 150. The use of a reduplicated form of a verb in its proper place is very important. It is as much a violation of the rules of the Dakota language to use a simple for the reduplicated form, as to use the singular for the plural number.

Verbs with the Suffixes 's'a' and 'ka.'

§ 151. 'S'a' is suffixed to verbs to denote frequency of action or habit; as, yahi s'a, thou comest often; iyatonśr.i s'a, thou dost tell lies habitually, i. e. thou art a liar; wamanoŋ s'a, one who steals ofien, i. e. a thief.

6

§ 152. Ka' has sometimes the same signification with 's'a;' as, waoka, a good hunter. But sometimes it does not produce any perceptible difference in the meaning of the verb; as, wasteda and wastedaka, to love any thing.

§ 153. When the verb, to which 'ka' or 's'a' is suffixed, takes the plural form, the suffix usually follows the plural termination; as, waopika, marksmen; ećoŋpi s'a, doers. But in the verb 'da,' to esteem, ‘ka' may either precede or follow the plural termination; as, wastedakapi and wastedapika.

SUBSTANTIVE VERBS.

§ 154. The verbs 'un,' 'ounyan,' 'yanka,' 'yukan,' and 'hiyeya,' all signify to be, but when used, they must be accompanied by other verbs, adverbs, participles, or prepositions, descriptive of the place or manner of being; as, mani wauŋ, I am walking; ti mahen maŋka, I am in the house; héćiya yakoŋpi, they are there; en maun, it is in me.

§ 155. The verb 'ee' occurs without a word descriptive of the mode or place of existence; but it is confined to the third person, and is used rather to declare the identity than the existence of a thing. Yukan' is used to declare that there is, and wanića, that there is none; as, Wakaŋtaŋka yukan, there is a God; Wakantaŋka wanića, there is no God.