[It would thence seem that keh is the sign of the dual and thlang of the plural, and that the possessive pronouns are

[Extracted from John Eliot's " Indian Grammar," published in 1666.]

Of the Pronoun.

Because of the common and general use of the pronoun to be affixed unto both nouns, verbs, &c., that is the first part of speech to be handled.

Neen,

I,

Sing. Ken,

Neenawun or Kenawun, We,
Thou, Plur. Kenaau,
Noh, or Nagum, He,
Nahoh or Nagoh,
They.

Ye,

Interrogative of persons; howan, plur. howanig, who? Interrogative of things, uttiyeu, plur. uttiyeush, which?

Demonstrative of persons; yeuoh, plur. yeug, this, these. Demonstrative of things, yeu, or ne, plur. yeush, or nish, this, these.

The third person singular is affixed with such syllables as these, wut, wun, um, oo, &c., having respect to euphony; and sometimes the third person, especially of verbs, hath no affix.

These pronouns, neen and ken, when they are affixed, are contracted into ne, and ke, and varied in the vowel according to euphony, with the word it is affixed unto; as noo, koo, &c.

Of Nouns.

The variation of nouns is not by male and female; but according to the kind, as they signify either a living creature or a thing which is not a living creature.

In the animate form, the nouns make their plural in og; and in the inanimate, in ash.

The way of affixing nouns with the pronouns is by using the noun in all the three persons, both singular and plural.

Diminutive nouns are formed by adding, with a due euphony, es or enes to the primitive noun.

Nouns used in the possessive rank, are affixed with the pronoun, by adding the syllable eum, oom, or um, according to euphony. Num-Manittoom, my God.' (The author does not explain in which cases the syllable oom, &c. is added, as in this last instance, or in which it is omitted, as in the preceding examples.)

VOL. II.

28

Of Adnouns, (Adjectives.)

Adnouns have the animate and inanimate forms, and agree with the leading noun, in form, number, and person. The inanimate form of adnouns ends in i or e; the animate form in es or

esu.

Inanimate,

Animate,

Wompi, white;
Wompesu,

Plural, Wompiyeuash.
Wompesuog.

Put the affix (pronoun) to these, and they are verbs.

Numerals, like adnouns, receive the grammatical variation, according to the things numbered, animate or inanimate.

The numbers 6, 7, and 8, are formed from 1, 2, and 3, by adding tahshe, which has no meaning.

The adnoun is frequently compounded with the noun, and then usually they are contracted. And when the noun becomes a verb, the adnoun becomes an adverb.

Degrees of comparison are expressed by adding the words anue, more,' and nano, more and more.'

Of Verbs.

There are two sorts of verbs, substantive and active.

(The author seems to have designated as substantive verbs all those including the passive voice, in which we use the verb 'to be.' But he appears to have included our intransitive verbs, such as, 'I sleep,' I eat,' as belonging to the class of active verbs.)

The verb substantive is when any thing has the signification of the verb substantive (am, art, is, &c.) added to it. Our Indians have no complete distinct word for the verb substantive, as learned languages and our English tongue have, but a regular composition whereby many words are made verbs substantive. And these may be referred to three sorts, so far as

yet I see.

The first sort is made by adding to the word, with due euphony, any of the terminations, 0-00, a-oo, yeu-oo. And this, be the word a noun, as wosketompooo,' he is a man'; or adnoun, as, wompiyeuoo, it is white'; or the word an adverb, or the like, as, mattayeuooutch, let it be nay'; nuxyeuooutch, 'let it be yea.'

The second sort is when the animate adnoun is made the third of the verb and so formed as a verb, as wompesu, person

'white'; noowompes, I am white'; koowompes, thou art white'; wompesu,' he is white.'

Whatever is affirmed to be, or denied to be, may be verbs substantive.

The third sort are the verbs substantive passive, when the person affixed is the object of the act; as, noowadchanit, 'I am kept.'

The action, when doubled or frequented, is expressed by doubling the first syllable; as, mohmoeog, they oft meet.'

Active verbs have two forms, the simple and the suffix.

The suffix form active has five various formations. I think there be some more, but I have beat out no more. I call them concordances, because the chief weight and strength of the syntaxes of this language lies in this eminent manner of formation of nouns and verbs, with the pronoun persons.

1. When the object of the act is an animate noun; as, koowadchansh,' I keep thee.'

2. When animates are each other's object; as, noowadchanittimun, we keep each other'; which form wants the singular number.

3. The suffix animate and inanimate object; as, koowadchanumoush, 'I keep it for thy use.'

4. The suffix animate form social; as, kooweechewadchanumwomsh, 'I keep it with thee.'

5. When one acts in the room of another; as, koowadchanumwanshun, I keep it instead of thee.'

All these forms may be varied, according as they are affirmative, negative, and interrogative, and also in a causative form. The modes of action are the indicative; the imperative; the optative or wishing; the subjunctive or rather suppositive, as, 'if it be,'' when it is,' 'it being,' which last sense turns the mode into a participle; and the indefinite (infinitive) which is made of the indicative mode by adding the termination at and taking away the pronominal affix.

The potential mode is expressed by a word, commonly woh, signifying may, affixed to the indicative mode.

The times are two; present and past. The time to come is expressed by a word signifying futurity, added to the indicative mode; as, mos, pish, shall,' or 'will.'*

Verbs are often turned into nouns; and a frequent way is by

*The past tense indicative is generally formed by adding ap to the present.

adding onk. Every person of the verb that is susceptible of such a change may so be turned into a noun singular or plural. Adverbs are often turned into adnouns, specially when the verb is turned into a noun.

There are in the language ornamental superlative syllables of no signification, as, tit, tin, tinne.

DELAWARE.

[Extracted from Zeisberger's Grammar, translated by Mr. Du Ponceau.]

INDIANS have no declensions properly so called, there being no inflections for cases excepting the vocative expressed by the termination an, and by enk when coupled with the pronouns 'my,' 'our,' and the ablative or local, which designates locality, and is formed by the suffixes ink and unk, corresponding with 'in,' 'on,' 'out of.' The genitive is expressed by placing the noun in that sense before the nominative, sometimes by prefixing the inseparable pronoun of the third person w,his.' The dative and accusative are expressed by inflections in the verbs. Getanittowit n quitayala,' 'God I fear him.' (Mr. Du Ponceau discovered an article mo, as, m'hittuk, 'a tree,' or 'the trees.')

Substantives are generally combined with inseparable possessive pronouns prefixed, which are in the singular, k for the first, n for the plural, w or o for the third person. That in the third is often omitted both in the singular and in the plural. The singular and the plural of the noun may each be combined with either the singular or the plural of the pronoun; which variations are distinguished by distinct pronominal inflections. The plural inflection of the first person is the suffix na, of the second wa, of the third wall or wak. The duplication nana, wawa, wawall, distinguishes the double plural, or combination of both the noun and possessive pronoun in the plural (our fathers.') The termination naninga is employed in the double plural when speaking of a deceased person.

Substantives without the prefixed pronouns are generally inflected in the plural by suffix all for the inanimate, and ak for animate objects. Substantives derived from verbs take, in the plural, the termination ik.

Substantives combine themselves with almost every part of speech, but principally with the verb. Some are derived