Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/481

 the object possessed, and the former those of the possessor. The demonstratives are pen, ten, this ; apen, apui, these ; ua, one, united with neb, all, to express every one; tennu, each ; ari, another ; akh, who or which, inter- rogative ; ma, the relative who or which. The verb to be, when rendered by pu, is declara- tory, and equivalent to the impersonal it is or was, following the nominative case. It is generally omitted after the pronoun anuTc, I. When rendered by ar, it is often placed at the commencement of sentences, but also at the close, and either precedes or follows the nominative case. The substantive verb au is nearly an equivalent of the English verb to be. Auenti and autu express being or having been. Other forms of the verb to be are au and $  (kheper), the latter generally in the sense of coming into existence or happening. The imperfect is formed by the introduction of I or I **~ -~w (an), between the verbal root and the nominative case, and the infinitive by prefixing r. The active particle enti, being, is often used for the relative form who is and who are, and also for it is and that; it is declined with the articles pa, pui, ta, tui, and t prefixed. The Egyptian verb is con- jugated by prefixes, affixes, and auxiliary, abstract, or substantive verbs accompanied by prepositions. The passive form is less fre- quently used than the active, and chiefly in the past participle. The moods are the indicative, subjunctive, optative, imperative, and infinitive ; the tenses are the same as in other languages. The present tense is formed by affixing the noun or pronoun in the nomi- native case to the verbal root, as mer-a, I love (masc.), mer-t, I love (fern.) ; mer-lc, thou lovest (masc.), mer-t, thou lovest (fern.) ; mer-f, he loves; mer-s, she loves; mer-nen, we love; trier-ten, ye love; mer-sen or su, they love. The distinction between the perfect and the imperfect is not always strictly observed, and LJ both tenses are formed by prefixing B ** I (ha), to stand, often accompanied by the affix (n) or (nri), and also by placing EGYPT (LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE) 473 between the auxiliary and the verb "I* (her), about, on the point of, or (tu). The perfect tense can also be formed by the usual affix, as <>_ (ar), to make, ^^ (arna), I made, which are pronouns preceded by AJames500 (talk), ^J, or * (n), or by the auxiliary ^ "V (au), which serves also to express the future tense. The preposition  (r) before the verbal root and after the auxiliary is, however, the usual form of the future, which is the same as the infinitive with the verb to be. * "V or * ^ (tu or ut) forms the past participle. The simplest mode of forming the imperative is by prefixing the interjections A! Oh! ovHai! to the subject. Am, amma, ma, generally used for the optative, and aJchi, equally used for the imperative, and the prepositions 1 ,  (ar, r), placed after the verb and be- fore the subject, have the same force. The regular form of the subjunctive is hardly dis- tinguishable from the infinitive ; it has the pre- position A*"*^ (n) prefixed to the verb, and is only determined by the context. The opta- tive mood is formed by prefixing %k I 1 (mat). The infinitive is often given by the verbal root alone, but generally by placing the root of one verb before another, with occasion- ally the preposition  (r), to, in. The participle is formed by affixing the verbal root to the sub- ject instead of prefixing it, and can be declined by adding the usual terminations; it can also be formed by prefixing $ * (nt), or by affix- ing |, A, the homophones of ta, as .^^ ** (mert), loved. The passive voice is conjugated the same as the active, but giving the verbal root the form of the past participle before the affix pronouns. The forms of tau or ra are sup- posed to be prefixed to verbs to give them an impulsive or causative sense, which is also ef- fected by prefixing fl or <* (*) to nouns and verbs. The prepositions are either simple or compound. The former generally consist of one phonetic character or group ; the latter of a preposition united with a noun. Both classes are prefixed to their objects, which in- clude also verbs and sentences. **, l, and 5 (n) are used at different periods for the genitive, dative, and ablative cases; they have the sense of by and to ; 1 XJ or I 5 (an) indicates by means of; L ( w ) an( * ^ 3 homophones convey the meaning of in the condition of, as, in, for, throughout, by means of, to, from, with ; <=^> (r), to, for, with, by, from, over, in, as far as, as, &c., and, after an adjective, than ; * (her), or its fuller form y <=>, signifies by means of, for, in favor of, against, beyond, in the moment of, and by; o, or the fuller form a <=> (kar), stands for under, at the time of, to, at, for, and with. The compound prepositions are some- times followed by the prefix form of the geni- tive. Adverbs of negation are always placed be- fore the verb or adjective to which they belong.