Page:A Concise Grammar of the Malagasy Language.djvu/43

 Izàho is more emphatic than àho, and is generally used when the predicate follows, while àho usually follows its predicate. There are some exceptions to this rule, especially the verb hòy ('say, says, said'), which usually takes izàho 'say I.'

Isìka includes both the speaker and the person spoken to, while ìzahày excludes the person addressed; or, isìka, 'we,' (and you), ìzahày, 'we,' (but not you).

The separate forms for the possessive case are used in two ways:—

(1) as predicates; as, àhy nỳ vòla, 'the money is mine'.

(2) for any case, with the article prefixed (the noun being understood); as, ènto nỳ anào, 'being thine' (lit. the of thee).

The inseparable or suffixed forms may denote—

(1) A possessive case; as, nỳ vòlako, 'my money'.

(2) An ablative case, showing the agent of a passive or a relative verb; as, vòasàsako, 'washed by me'. They are less often used with adjectives in this instrumental sense; as, fìry nỳ òlona izày èfa hèndrinào? 'How many are the people who have become wise through you'?

(3) An indirect objective case, after verbs, adjectives, prepositions, &c. In these cases the suffixed pronoun is