Page:A Concise Grammar of the Malagasy Language.djvu/22

 Mi-, Man-, and Màha-, are the three most common active prefixes.

Mi- (contracted into M- before i) forms chiefly intransitive verbs, but forms also a few transitive verbs when prefixed to a primary root.

Man- forms verbs of either kind, but chiefly transitive verbs. Man- and Mana- (a longer form) both seem contracted forms of the verb manaò, 'to do, or make,' used as a prefix.

Màha- (contracted into Mah- before a vowel) is a contracted form of the verb Mahày, 'to be able.' This is the most widely used prefix in the Malagasy language, as it may be added to almost any word or phrase.

Màha- is used to express (1) power to perform an action, (2) that which makes a thing what it is.

N.B.—Mana- and Maha- are often confounded; but their difierence is well shown by the following example, where the same root (tsàra, 'good') produces a verb with each of the prefixes:—

Mànatsàra, to do some action for the improvement of a thing; to render good; to make good.

Màhatsàra, possessing the power to make a thing good; possessing some quality showing or proving its intrinsic goodness.

a. If the root begins with a vowel or with the consonants d, g, j; simply apply the prefix, and make no change.