Their derivation is from the same source as that of the prefixes :

1. Those of the first and second persons, are the corresponding euphonic letters, except that the second person singular takes k before it.

2. Those of the third person are derived from the several nominal prefixes, by eliding the final consonant of the monosyllabic ones, the remaining vowel taking its corresponding consonant (§ 41); and by eliding the initial vowel of the polysyllabic ones.

i. But the singular prefix of the first species, retains the final consonant, and elides the initial vowel:

ii. Whilst the plural prefixes of the second and sixth species, reject their consonant, and only retain the final vowel, which takes its corresponding consonant:

iii. And the plural prefixes of the third and fifth species, elide both the initial vowel and final consonant, as in the formation of the corresponding verbal prefixes. (Compare the verbal medials and the nominal prefixes in the tabular view of "Alliteral particles" § 304.)

273. The verbal medials are arranged as follow:

In

274. The verbal medials, as well as the verbal prefixes, owe their origin to the principle of Euphonic concord. conformity to this, they are employed as the formal medium of concordance between the verb and the noun or pronoun related to it, the prefixes indicating the form of the subject or nominative, and the medials that of the immediate object or accusative. As component parts of the verb, therefore,

they are the signs of person, species, and number, and hence a pronominal value is acquired by them.

In reference to the verbal prefixes, it may be necessary further to remark, that it is the present affirmative forms alone which constitute the formal sign of grammatical connexion. The aorist affirmative prefixes, as well as all negative ones, include something additional. Thus, nda consists of ndi, the sign of person, &c., and a, the sign of tense: andi consists of a, the sign of negation, and ndi, the sign of person, &c. : ndinga consists of ndi, the sign of person, &c., and nga the sign of negation: anda consists of a, the sign of negation, ndi, the sign of person, &c., and a, the sign of tense. See § 264.

REGULAR VERBS.

275. Regular verbs are all conjugated after the following model of TETA; the only variation being that some verbs inflect their roots, in the formation of the perfect tense and participle, and occasionally in that of others, in a different manner, according to rules which have already been sufficiently stated.

1. In the following paradigm of a Kafir verb, it is not necessary to give all the forms of the third person, throughout the several tenses of the different moods, as the others may be easily known from preceding examples, or from the manner of their formation. With regard to the participles, it will be sufficient to give the forms of the third person, only so far as any difference exists between them and the tenses of the Indicative mood.

2. It is not necessary, again, to give more than one form of the verbal root, in those cases where two or more forms are used; or more than one form of the prefix, in the two or three instances where variation is allowed; as a reference to the rules of formation, and to the verbal prefixes and auxiliary verbs, will be sufficient for all practical purposes.

3. Only one example, also, is given, of the several vowel prefixual forms of the contracted tenses, as an application of the rules already stated and exemplified in §§ 268-271, will readily show what other forms may be used. This remark is the more needful to be borne in mind, inasmuch as, whilst the consonantal prefixual forms of the tenses admit of only one contracted form, the vowel ones admit, in many cases, of three or four. In some instances, moreover,

contraction takes place in the vowel forms, where none occurs in the consonantal ones.

4. In the case of the Compound forms of the tenses, the first person singular of the full affirmative form will suffice for illustration, as their derivation is simple and uniform.

5. In the conjugation of a Kafir verb, the principal parts are first given, as a knowledge of these will facilitate the acquisition of the others.