Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/296

 260 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD. and the various persons are formed by substituting, for the n, the various abbreviations, as indicated in the above table for the three moods. There are, both in the indicative and the subjunctive, four primitive tenses; present (sometimes used as a preterite,) an imperfect, a future, and a mixed tense partaking of the past and future (' 1 had to give.') The last three tenses are formed in both moods, by respectively inserting before the final n, or other pronominal termination, the particles vu, a, avu. Four secondary tenses are formed from the four primitive by inserting before the pronominal termination of the present, and in the three other tenses, before the three last-mentioned parti- cles respectively, the particle uye, which implies a continuation of action. The shades of difference between these tenses are so nice, that they must be fully acquired only by usage, and some have no precise equivalent in our languages. On account of the equivocal character of the present, a ninth tense has been added in the indicative, by the insertion of the particle que be- fore the pronominal termination ; which gives it the character of a positive present. (' I do give,' or ' am giving.') Elun, I love, loved, Eluguen, I do love. Indicative, 1st p. sing. Subjunctive, 1st p. sing. Gerunds. primary, secondary, primary, secondary, Present, elun, eluuyen, elu li, elu uye li, eluum elunmo. Preterite, eluvun, elu uye vun, elu vuli, elu uye vuli, eluvuurn, Future, elu an, elu uye an, elu ali, elu uye ali, eluaum, Mixed, elu avun, elu uye avun, elu avuli, elu uye avuli, eluavuum, Infinitive, elun, eluvun, &c. Partic. act. elu lu, eluvulu, elualu, eluavulu, &c. 2dpers. sing, imperat. eluche. Partic. pass, eluel, eluvuel, eluael, eluavuel, &c. [Father Febres, having arranged his Grammar according to the principles of that of the Latin language, has distributed what he calls the Infinitive un- der the four heads of Infinitive, Participle present, and Past, and Gerunds. With respect to the participles and perhaps to the gerund, this answers well; as there are, in the Chilian language, inflections corresponding with and equivalent to those of the Latin and of the Spanish languages. But, as to the infinitive proper, it appears to me that he only means to say, that what is expressed in our languages by the infinitive, may be rendered in Chilian by the first person of the several tenses of the indicative. And most of the ex- amples he gives, correspond rather with participles than with the infiuitive. This he renders, not by an inflection, but by a combination with the other verb, which governs the accusative. Let him however speak for himself.] The infinitive is identic with the first person singular of ev- ery tense of the indicative, prefixing the acting possessive pro- noun, Elun, ' I give ' ; incheni elun, * that which I give ' ; tami eluvun, ' that which thou didst give.' Prepositions prefixed, or inserted, will also convert the indie-