Page:A handbook of the Cornish language; Chiefly in its latest stages with some account of its history and literature.djvu/143

 124 GRAMMAR Oma, osta, yua and their lengthened forms are used interrogatively or after certain conjunctions. In the early literature the lengthened forms were written ythof, assof, ossof, esof, and even, with double lengthen- ing, ythesaf, ythesef, ythesof. The first vowel is probably the obscure vowel (as u in until), and the stress accent is on the syllable that follows the verbal prefix, so that even the consonant of the prefix is a little uncertain. Williams makes it dh, but th seems more probable. In late Cornish the vowel of the prefix was usually dropped. The personal pronouns are generally added after this tense, so that it practically becomes : Thov vt, thos dt, yu ev (or ev yu), thon ny, though why, thens y (pronounced thenjy). Occasionally the impersonal form of this verb is used, mi yu, ti yu, ev yu, nj> yu, wh$ yu, j> yu. The negative is formed by adding nyns to the short form, nynsov or nynsoma, nynsos or nynsosta, nynsyu, etc. Similarly this tense may be compounded with mar, if, ken, though, may, that, into marsov, kensov, maythov. The s, which is sometimes altered to th, is probably the th of the verbal prefix. There are two other forms of the third person pre- sent, ema (or ma), plural emons (or mons), and es (older us), or esy or ejy (older usy, ugy). (a), ema, ma, emons, mons must, according to Lhuyd, always be used narratively, never negatively, interro- gatively (except after pie, where), or with relatives. They must always precede their subject. Thus : Ema 'n levar en ow chy, the book is in my house. Ema levar en ow chy, there is a book in my house. Nynsyw levar en ow chy, there is not a book in my house. Pleyu ' levar? 1 where. g the book ? Pie ma ' levar ? ) ' Yu 'n levar ubma ? is the book here ?