Page:Handbook of the Swatow vernacular.djvu/58

 入來 jíp--lâi, come in, 覔着 tshūe--tiéh, found, 來了 lái--lō, has come, 掠着了 liáh--tiéh-lō, has been caught, 站起來, khiã--khí-lâi, stand up.

&ldquo;The use of hyphens, though most essential, is yet difficult to regulate by any stringent law, and much must be left to discretion.&rdquo;



Substantives and Adjectives are not declined: the same word expresses both the singular and the plural. Pronouns hove a plural form.

The distinctions of moods, tenses, numbers and persons are shown by the addition of certain auxiliary verbs or particles, as follows:&mdash;






 * 我來
 * Uá lâi
 * I come.


 * 爾去
 * Lṳ́ khṳ̀
 * You go.


 * 伊要
 * I àiⁿ
 * He wants.


 * 阮勿
 * Ún màiⁿ
 * We don't want.


 * 恁是我個朋友
 * Nín sĩ uá kâi phêng-iú
 * You are my friends.


 * 因. 伊人是外人
 * In or i--nâng sĩ gūa-nâng
 * They are outsiders.