Page:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu/375

 THE DIALECT OF "W. ArSTBALIA. 5o

beaten lately'; lit., ' (some one) beat me lately.' But the ablative of the cause or instrument may also be used to form a passive voice; thus, ganya gidjial d tan nag a, 'I am pierced by a spear.'

The substantive verh. — There does not appear to be any copula; it is certainly not used in such sentences as ganya yulap, 'I am hungry'; ginni kotyelara, 'thou art thin'; bal windo, 'he is old'; galata gwabba, 'we are good'; n'yurag djul, 'you are wicked'; balgun mindait, 'they are sick.'

5. Adverbs.

The adverb is placed before the verb ; useful adverbs are : —

After (behind) — golan-ga Never — yuatjil

Again — garro No — yuada

Already — gori Not — bart ; bru ; yuada

Always — dowir Now — yaii

Before (in front) — gwaicagat Perhaps^gabbain

Close to ; near — barduk So — winnirak

Continually — kalyagal So many — winnir

Enough — belak That way — wunno

Formerly — karamb Tlien — garro

Here — n'yal There (j)rox.) — yellinya

How many — namman „ (remote) — boko ; bokoja

Immediately — gwaic; ilak Where — winji; winjal; yan

Thus — wanno-ic Yes — qua

More — gatti-gatti Yonder — bokoja

6. Prepositions.

These are few in number : —

After {clat.) — golag On (upon) — gadja

Among (2Mrtitive) — manda To ak or -al

„ (mixed with) — kardagor With (in company with) —

By (affix) al „ gambarn (takes the ace);

In (within) — bura „ barduk (takes the dat.)

Of ak Without— bru

In use, they are all post-jjositions, and are always placed after the noun or pronoun. Gradj a is used of one thing lying on another, but never of anything lying on the ground.

7. Interrogation, Affirmation, Negation.

A question is asked by putting kannah at the end of the sen- tence ; as, n'yundo tonka, kannah, 'do you hear"? An answer may be given by qua, ' yes,' or by affixing -bak to the word used in reply ; as, yallanait, 'what is that'? burnu-bak, 'it is a tree.' If the reply is negative, put bart or bru after verbs, and yuada after adjectives.

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