Page:A Manchu grammar, with analysed texts.djvu/25



5.

Manchu adverbs are either primitive or derived from nouns, pronouns, numerals or verbs.

1. Primitive Adverbs are indeclinable words like inu yes, coro after to-morrow, etc., of which there are a great number.

2. Nouns are transformed into Adverbs by the affix i: an-i according to custom; de: doron de solemnly; ci: daci from the beginning, naturally; dari: biyadari monthly. Many adjectives, especially those ending in saka, cuka, cuke may be used as Adverbs.

3. The Pronouns furnish a great number of Adverbs: aide where?, aibaci wherefrom?, etc.

4. Most of the Numerals may be used as Adverbs. To the Ordinal Numerals de is added: jaide secondly. Others are formed by adding geri, nggeri, jergi, mudan, mari: emgeri once; ilanggeri thrice; emu mudan, emu mari once. Leme forms multiplicative Adverbs: tumenleme 10000 fold.

5. The verbal forms in me (arame), mbime (arambime), leme, lame preceded by the verb in the Future Tense (araralame) may all be used as adverbial expressions.

6. Many Adverbs are formed by adding the negation akū: erin akū never; hercun akū unexpectedly.

6.

These are either simple or compound.

1. The Simple Postpositions are the case affixes i, de, ci: i with, with the help of: suhe i with the axe; de in, at, on, towards, upon, to: hoton de in or to the town; ci from, out of: boo ci from the house.

2. The Compound Postpositions follow the noun without any case affix or are preceded by i, de, be, or ci: omoi jakade near the pond; alin de isitala as far as the mountain; fafun be dahame in accordance with the law; julge ci ebsi from antiquity.

7.

Beside several postpositions being used as Conjunctions like jakade when, because, isitala as soon as, turgunde as, because, etc., there are primitive Conjunctions like uthai therefore, damu but, and derivatives of verbs like cohome consequently, tuwame with regard to, oci (from ombi) if, ocibe although, ofi because, of nouns like fonde at the time when, bade when, of pronouns like aibe......aibe as well as, and of numerals like emgeri......emgeri now... ..now.

8.

There is a great variety of Interjections in Manchu: ai ah, ara alas, yaha ah, adada bravo, cibse hush, takasu stop, cu off, etc. A number of onomatopoetic interjections are used as verbs when followed by sembi (to speak): kab snap, kab sembi to snap at; kanggūr kinggur helter-skelter, with sembi to fall with a great noise.

The position of words in a sentence is governed by the general rule, that every word precedes that by which it is governed. Thus the genitive stands before the noun on which it depends, e.g. boo i ejen the master of the house.

The adjective, participle, or demonstrative pronoun precedes its noun, e.g. nikan mudan the Chinese pronunciation; mutere baita a thing which can be done; tere niyalma that man.

The object stands before its governing verb, e.g. bithe arambi I write a letter.