Page:A grammar of the Teloogoo language.djvu/158

92 The negative verb has one only, indefinite as to time. These verbal participles require the addition of some personal termination, or of some tense of another verb, in order to distinguish number and person. They can never be used as adjectives, or substantives, like the English participles, in such phrases as, the sounding shore, by promising, in speaking, &c. &c. they must almost invariably be followed by a personal termination, or be governed by some tense of a verb; as in the phrases, frowning she speaks, pleased he departed, wondering he stands. The words frowning, pleased, and wondering, represent the Teloogoo verbal participle; and the words speaks, departed, and stands, the Teloogoo governing verb.

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In the affirmative verb, there are three relative participles; the present, the past, and the indefinite; in the negative verb the indefinite only. They admit of no personal teminations, they can precede no verb, and are termed relative participles, because the power of the English relative pronoun who, which, that, is inherent in them: they therefore always refer to some noun or pronoun with which they agree, as adjectives: thus, a tree which grows, a horse that leaps, would be expressed in Teloogoo by the relative participles; viz. a growing tree, a leaping horse. In order that the reader may recollect that our relative pronouns are inherent in this part of the Teloogoo verb, the relative that (selected, as agreeing promiscuously with all genders) will be prefixed to it in English; thus, that leaps, that grows, &c.

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The verbal nouns are declinable substantives, expressing the action itself which is signified by the verb. Those terminating in follow the rules for the second declension; and those ending in any other syllable, are declined like nouns of the third declension.

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The origin of every part of the Teloogoo verb may be traced to that crude form of it termed the root; which is sometimes also an abstract noun, and, in the common dialect, is often the 2d person singular of the affirmative imperative. It always ends in ; thus,