Grammatical Sketch of the Heve Language Part 3

FREQUENTATIVE VERB.

21. This verb signifies the frequent repet.i.tion of the same action, and is formed by adding the adverb tatze, peace-meal, as, I write often, tatze ne hiosgan.

COMPULSIVE VERB.

22. It is thus called because it signifies to cause or compel to do any thing, and is formed by taking away the last syllable of any verb and replacing it with tudem or tuden, which alone is conjugated, and has the perfect tudari, and future tudetze, as varuhtuden, I cause to sin; veruhtze being the future of varuuen.

APPLICATIVE VERB.

23. When the action is for, by, or through, ("para o por,") this verb is used, having its termination in dem or den, perfect, deri, and future, detze; as panauan, work; whence is formed panauiden, which is the applicative, so that to say, I work for you, the phrase is Nee eme panauiden; and the mother to express, My son has failed me, (died), says, No notzi muquideri; although in the place of this applicative the preposition betzeguai, for, is used likewise, or de, by; as, Christ died for us, Cristo tamo betzeguai, or tamode muqui.

CONTINUATIVE VERB.

24. This verb serves to continue the action, and is made from the future, omitting the tze and subst.i.tuting sem or sen, as nenersem, I am continually talking, from nehren, I speak; the future, nenertze; biquesen, I am thus singing, from biquen, I sing; future, bequetze, for which there appearing to be no perfect, the imperfect, biquesenru may be used, and the same is the case with the words that end in hon, as merihon, go running; nenerhon, be speaking; biquehon, be singing, of which the future termination is sintze, as nenersintze.

COMPLETIVE VERB.

25. This gives completeness to the signification of the word out of which it is made so full that nothing remains further, and is formed of the future taking away the final tze, and placing suam instead, as, baan, I eat; betze, I will eat; besuam, I eat until I have finished it all; todam, I leave; todetz, I will leave; todesuam, I leave forever,--at once. The penitent may say, Oquine haona no cananacemca todesuatze, Now, forevermore, I will leave my sins; the perfect being formed in coari, and the future in uatze.

ESTIMATIVE VERB.

26. This denotes the judgment that one forms of anything, as, denitzem, I judge it good; deni meaning good; hana Diosi denitzem, perhaps you esteem G.o.d? nee eme deosaritzem, I judge you happy; deosari meaning happy; nee eme naventzem, I consider you poor--pity you; naven meaning poor: and they form the perfect, tziui, and future tziuhtze.

CONVERSIVE VERB.

27. When a thing changes so as to pa.s.s from one to another form or quality, this verb is used. Earth, tevat; genitive, teuhte; accusative, teuhta, whence comes the verb teuhtuun, I make me earth,--as do the sticks become, and bodies that rot. So dohmetum, make man, explains the mystery of the incarnation, as, G.o.d the Son made himself man for us, Dios noquat tamode, or tamo, betzeguai dohmetui. So batuum, is made water, bat, water; nasortaan, I throw away; nasortuun, is thrown away, to become corruption; of which the perfect is tui, the future, tutze.

28. There are some _Compound Verbs_ which end in donon, signifying to go to do something, which appear to be formed from the future, omitting the last syllable tze, and subst.i.tuting donon, as amudonon, I go to hunt; amun being, I hunt; the future amutze; c.u.mandonon, I go to gather wood, from c.u.manan, I gather wood, future c.u.mantze; baudonon, I go to bring water, formed of bat, water; vun, the future of vtze, bring, and donon, which has the perfect doni, and future dontze.

29. The termination guan, is usually a sign of the _Active Verb_, as in motzguan, I begin: maguan, or mahuan, I plough, and is added by the natives to some Spanish words they use, such are perdonaroguan, I pardon; ayunaroguan, I fast; velaroguan, I watch. Some form the perfect in guari, and future in guatze; others the perfect in uhri, and future in uhtze, uitze, or in guatze.

30. To form _Compound Neuter Verbs_, the verb daan, I go, is frequently used, as bahutunan, I melt (active); bahutudaan, I melt, or am melting, the neuter, barinan, I soften; baricdaan, I go on to soften; ziconan, I break; zicocdaan, I break (neuter); the perfect being dai, the future, detze.

31. _Other Neuters_ are formed of active verbs ending in an by changing it into en, as seban, I freeze; seben, freeze; basan, I ripen; basen, ripen; sepan, cool; sepen, cool; nacuan, hurt; nacuen, hurt. To form the perfect, the en is changed into i; but the future, although it always ends in tze, differs, as will appear by the vocabulary.

32. In the same manner as of Active Verbs in an, _Neuter Verbs_ in en are made, so from other actives in an, neuters are made in un, as, busan, I awake another; busun, I awake me; tutzan, I quench; tucun, I quench me, in the perfect changing the un to i, and the future to tze.

PLURAL OF VERBS.

33. This language has the notable peculiarity of the verbs oftentimes differing greatly in the plural from the singular, as, vaquen, enter one; muume, enter many; voon, one to lay down; medaguame, lay down many; meran, one to run; voome, many to run; batemucun, to drown oneself; betecoome, many to drown themselves; batemean, drown one; batecodan, drown many.

34. There are many _Compound Active Verbs_ ending in puguan or puuan, which signify to pluck, as beguat, skin, genitive; beuhte, accusative; beuhta, whence beuhpuuan, tear off the skin is formed, and from mo, hair of the human head comes mopuuan, pluck the hair, etc.; sequat, flower, genitive, seuhte; accusative, seuhta gives seuhpuuan, to pluck flowers; nagua; root, genitive, nauhte; accusative, nauhta, when nauhpuuan, eradicate, is formed, their perfect being in uhri, their future in natze.

ZEM, ZEN.

35. Estimative Verbs it has already been said end in tzem, but there are other verbs of that termination that signify certain pa.s.sion, failing, or quality, as, hisumtzem, I am hungry; veractzem, I am thirsty; vrutzen, I am hot; vtetzen, I am cold, which form their perfects in tziui, the futures in tziuhtze.

TAAN.

36. _The Particle_ taan compounded with a substantive, signifies to do, as, siburtaan, to make girdles composed of sibura, band; zantaan, to make arrows, zamat signifying arrow; vacotaan, to make bow, from vacotzi, that instrument; but when it is component of the verb it signifies, I say that I wish, thus from nosquen, I return, nosquitaan is made, signifying, I say that I wish to return, and from panauan, labor, is panauataan, I say that I wish to labor.

ENI, MANI, HABI,

Being the English substantive verb AM.

37. Such is the condition of this part of speech: yonder is a man, anat sei dor _eni_, and if he live there, or is there standing, anat catzi, etc., which catzi is used only for persons. Yonder is water, anat, or aguat bat _mani_, yonder is gra.s.s, anat dosa _habi_, and also may be said, bat eni, dosa eni, but bat habi, dosa mani would not be correct. Further than this the substantive verb am appears not to show itself clearly: thus that utterance of G.o.d, I am that I am, has no corresponding words in the tongue: it could seemingly be made somewhat intelligible in this wise: Nee uehva nee, which word for word means, I greatly I, and am is not expressed though understood. So in asking, Who is it, the answer is, Nee, and not I with the verb. This method of speaking should be regarded: to say the house of Pedro was my house, it should be, Pevroque qui no quiru, of which qui means house, and Pevroque qui, house of Pedro. The verb was, does not now exist in it apart, but in expression it appears, or nearly so, in the substantive qui, which is put in the imperfect by the termination of that tense, ru being added, as, quiru, was house; no quiru, was my house. The same is otherwise said: Pevroque qui no guaguaru, the house of Pedro was mine; the guagua, if alone, signifies, is mine.

MAGUAN.

38. There are several _Compound Verbs_ that end in maguan, which signify, to throw something to another, as, ermaguan, to throw blood (erat) on him; dosmaguan, to throw gra.s.s (dosat) on him; teuhmaguan, to throw dirt (tevat) on him; sitorimaguan, to throw honey (sitori) on him, which form the perfect in guari, the future in guatze.

TADEN.

39 The _Particle_ taden, the terminal of several verbs, expresses the like or dislike the good or evil appearance of anything according to the name or adverb to which it is joined, as, neve sodota nanactaden, or hidenatoden, I do not like this bower; tamide naven tamo tademe, we find ourselves poor; nee deosari no taden, I find myself fortunate, the perfect being found in taderi, the future in tadetze.

MUCUN.

40. Of the Verb _Mucun_, I die, compounds such as these are made: vrumucun, I die of heat; vrucoome, they die of heat; hisu-mucun, I die of hunger; hisumcoome, they die of hunger; varotmucun, I die of thirst; varo-coome, they die of thirst; c.u.memucun, I die of envy; c.u.mecoame, they die of envy. Vrutzen is, I have heat; hisumtzen, I have hunger; veractzen, I have thirst; c.u.men, I have envy. The reason of changing mucun to form the plural may be seen in section 36.

NEOQUEN.

41. Neoquen, means I command, and observe this method as respects its use: Nee uneoquen, and I command to bring; nee nerta neoquen, and I command, to pray; nee ouit neoquen, and I command to call. Vtze is the future of vun, I bring; nertatze, I pray, the future of nertaan: ouictze the future of ouican, I call; so that the tze is taken from the future, and neoquen is placed in its stead. Notice, likewise, this method: Nap ca istutandauh, It is commanded not to lie.

So far of the verbs, which as well other parts of speech all the Indians use with nicety and elegance. For their conjugation, a single exemplar has been given; but their perfects and futures being differently formed, which are the roots whence the other tenses spring, they have been placed in the vocabulary added to the verbs, a knowledge of which will suffice to form all the other times.

PARTICIPLE.

42. The verbs become participles without undergoing change of form, as, hiosguam, I write, or he that writes, is the present participle; hiosguari, I have written, or he that has written; hiosguatze, I will write, or he that will, is the preterite (future?) participle. The same in its proportion is to be understood of the pa.s.sive voice.

The _Present Participle_ is of the second declension, forming the genitive in te, thus Nominative, hiosguan; Genitive, hiosgnante, etc. The imperfect participle is of the same declension, with the difference that the mark of the imperfect, ru, is the final, as, Nom.

hiosguamru, Gen. hiosguamteru, etc.

The _Perfect Participle_ is of the first declension, having its genitive in que, as, Nom. hiosguari, Gen. hiosguarique.

_Pluperfect Participle_ is declined like the perfect, observing what has been said of the imperfect, as, Nom. hiosguariru, Gen.

hiosguariqueru, etc.

The _Future Participle_ belongs to the second declension, the genitive ending in te, preceded by n or m, as, Nom. hiosguatze, Gen.

hiosguatzente.

The plural, it appears, should be declined in the same manner as the singular in respect of its termination in te or que.