7o«j
•l. A
^^tcu:i^•p ^bJk ^v.A^
TRtJBNER'S COLLECTION
or
SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS
OP THE PRINCIPAL
ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.
IDITSD BT
REINHOLD EOST, LL.D., Ph.D.
XXI.
KHASSI.
By the Rev. H. ROBERTS.
TRUBNER'S COLLECTION OF SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS OF THE
PRIKCIPAL ASIATIC AHD EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.
EDITED BY REINHOLD EOST, LL.D., Ph.D.
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XXI. KHASSI. By the Rev. H. Roberts.
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Grammars of the folloicing are in 'preparation : —
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London : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRITBXER & CO., Ltd.
A
GEAMMAB
or THS
KHASSI LANGUAGE.
SUB-HIMALAYAN,
A
GRAMMAR
or THE
KHASSI LANGUAGE
FOR THE USB OF SCHOOLS, NATIVE STUDENTS,
OFFICERS AND ENGLISH RESIDENTS.
BT TBI
Rev. H. BOBERTS,
Formertf S*ad Matter qftk* Ckerrapooiy«$ Oovt, Normal School; Author of the
AMglo-Khatri DicHonarg^ and other SUmtntarg Vernacular Book$.
LONDON :
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TEIJBNER & CO., Ltd.
PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARINQ CROSS ROAD.
189L
The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.
m\
DEDICATED
TO ALL MY OLD STUDENTS AND PDPILS
» THE
KHASSI AND JAIXTIA HILLS,
IN MEMORY OF THE PAST, AND AS A TOKEN OF MY CONCERN
FOR THEIR FUTURE MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL
ADVANCEMENT ;
ALL, IN SHOBT, THAT IS CONVEYBD IN THAT BEAUTIFUL,
SUBLIME, AND COMFBEnEKSIVE WORD,
KHUBLEI!
THE AUTHOR.
260816
CONTENTS.
Introductory Remarks
KuAssi Grammar.
Introduction
1. Grammar defined.
2. Language.
3. Parts of Grammar.
rAei
xiii-xx
I. Ortuographt.
The Alphabet
Voweli
Semivowels
Diphthongs
Consonants
The letter h
Aspirates ...
Signs
Emphasis ...
II. Etymology.
The Parts of Speech
9
The Articles
9
Their use
... 10
Their forms
. . 10
The Noun.
Common ..
. . 11
Proper
. 11
Abstract
. 11
Number
... 14
The Noxm (eonHnued). paob
Cases 17
Gender 19
Diminutives 23
The Adjective.
Formation 24
Gender 27
Comparison .. ... 27
Numerals 30
Collective Num 34
Ordinals 36
The Pronoun.
Personal 38
Emphatic 41
Relative 41
Adjective 44
Distributive 44
Indefinite 45
Reflezivo 46
Interrogative 47
The Verb.
Classified 48
1. (1.) Intransitive ... 48
Transitive ... 49
mpersonal ... 49
(4.) Auxiliary ... 49
(1.) Causative ... 50
(2.) Frequentative ... 51
(3.) Inceptive ... 52
(4.) Reciprocal ... 52
(5.) Intensive ... ... 53
Eissinea
(1.) I'
(2.) Ti
h
CONTENTS.
Hoods and Tenses.
Auxiliaries of Mood
Auxiliaries of Tense
The Moods
The Tenses
The Conjugations.
Neuter — long, ' to be
Indicative...
Subjunctive
Imperative
Potential ...
Infinitive ...
Participle
54
55
57
59
61
63
64
67
68
70
71
Active.' — thoh. 71
Ex. of all the Moods and
Tenses 72-86
The Passive. — 'ieit, * to love.'
Ex. of all the Moods ... 86-92
Negative forms ... ... 92
Ex. for all the Moods,
&c.
Progressive Form
Active Voice ...
Passive Voice ...
Emphatic Form ...
Additional Kemarks
the Verb, &c., «S:c.
... 93
... 95
... 96
... 101
103, 104
on
104, 108
The Adverb 108
Adverbs of Time 110
,, of Manner ... 113
„ of Place ... 116
„ of Affirmation,
&c 118
Peculiarities of 119
The Preposition 119
Of Place 119
Of Time 120
Of Agency 121
Of Cause 121
Others 121
The Conjunction ...
Copulative
Disjunctive
Correlative
Examples
PAGE
.. 121
.. 122
.. 122
.. 123
.. 123
The Interjection ...
.. 124
III. Syntax.
Arrangement
The Simple Sentence ,
The Compound do.
The Complex do.
.. 126
.. 129
.. 129
.. 130
The Article.
Originally definite 131, 134
When repeated ... 26, 132, 137
When omitted ... 19, 134, 135
136,138
139, 140
Before Adjectives ... 133
With the Obj. Case ... 138
As a Possessive Pron. ... 139
Forms Abstract Nouns ... 140
The Noun.
The Nominative Case ... 140
Several Nom. connected 140
Number
.. 140
Gender
.. 144
Collective Nouns
.. 144
The Possessive Case
.. 145
The Objective Case
.. 146
Double Objectives
.. 146
Cognate Objectives
.. 146
The Dative Case...
.. 149
Instrumental Case
.. 150
Locative Case
.. 154
de Adjective
.. 151
Position ... ... 151, 152
ha, as pref. and conjunc-
tion ... ... ... 151
ha, omission of .« 25, 152
Adjective and the Article 152
CONTENTS.
The Adjective {continued).
Numerals ... ... ..^ 153
Adj. of quantity , position
of .„ « 154
Degrees of Comparison. » 155
Comparative 155
Superlative .^ ... 157
Superlative Absolute, 28, 158
Force of kham ... 29, 155, 156
Force of tarn .« 29, 159
Use of to 158, 203
Use of ban ia 208
The Pronoun.
Personal Pronouns ... 160
When omitted 162
Force of tna ... 40, 163
Emphatic Pronouns ... 163
Possessive Pronouns ... 165
Reflexive Pronouns ... 166
Belative Pronouns ... 167
Wrong use of do. 135, 169
Demonstratives 170
Distributives ... ... 170
Indefinite Pronouns: Ex.
of their use 173
Interrogative Pronouns :
Ex. of their use ... 174
Compoand Relatives: Ex.
of their use 175
The Verb.
Adjectives used as Verbs 176
A d verbs used as Verbs ... 176
Special forms 177
long and don ... 105, 178
The Passive Voice ... 179
The Pres. Indicative ... 181
The Imperfect 182
Future forms .^ ... 183
ynda and hyjida 186
PAGS
The Verb (cmitinued) .
Past, Perfect and Pluper-
fect ... .« ... 185
Interrogatives .« ... 186
Negatives .« ... .„ 188
The Imperative 188
Compound Sentences ) ion iqq
Complex Sentences j ^^^'^^"^
The Infinitive 193
6dii omitted 193
nang and xcan ... ... 194
Gerundial Form ... 196
The Participle 197
([aandta 197
with kaha 198
English Perf. Participle,
how rendered ... 199
The Adverb.
Position
... 199
Degrees of Compariso
n... 200
The Preposition.
When Adverbs ...
... 201
had and ia...
... 201
had, da, and na ...
... 202
ha and aha
150, 202
ha and ia
149, 203
jong and jing
165, 203
The Oonjonotion.
badf force and position, 203, 204
had and ruh .». ... 204
had and de 204
ruh, * even ' 204
ha, the use of 205
Correlatives and Disjunc-
tives, Ex. of .« ... 207
The Interjection 209
INTPtODUCTORY REMARKS.
The importance which the Khassi and Jaintia Hills have
of late years acquired, both as a frontier district and a
centre of administration, will, I trust, amply justify the
appearance of a complete and somewhat exhaustive
Grammar of the language of by far the most numerous
and powerful of the north-east frontier tribes. To
those who, in the daily discharge of their official duties,
come into personal contact with the natives, a practical
knowledge of their language is indispensable. For it
is the guide par excellence to a just appreciation of their
character and habits. The numerous visitors from the
extensive tea estates, to the salubrious and charming
climate of the hill sanitarium at Shillong, now so easy
of access from all parts, will also find in the Grammar a
useful companion.
We would particularly call attention to two prominent
features of the work : — Ist, Complete paradigms for the
conjugation of all Verbs^ based on native usage, the
U8U8 loquendi, properly so called, have been supplied ;
2nd, A detailed treatment of the Article; — subjects in
regard to which the Khassi Language possesses features
altogether its own, as compared with the other members
of the Sub-Himalayan group.
XIV INTEODUCTOEY REMARKS.
By tliis means the Kliassi youths (attending the Hill
Schools), numbering some thousands, maybe stimulated to
greater diligence not only in acquiring a more systematic
knowledge of their own language, but also in mastering
the corresponding forms in English ; as their prospects
of obtaining more remunerative posts in the various
Government departments, will mainly depend on their
success in this last direction. The time is not far distant,
no doubt, when a regular system of Competitive Exami-
nations will be introduced into the Hills.
The Khassis and Taintias occupy a strip of mountain
district between 70 and 90 miles in breadth, running
east and west, having the Assam Valley for its northern
boundary, and the Plain of Bengal, or Soormah
Valley, for its southern. It is situate in the very
centre of the Province of Assam — westward, as now
constituted under a Chief Commissioner. The number
of people speaking the language, under various modified
forms, may be roughly estimated at 250,000.
In this work, the dialect of Cherrapoonjee is taken as
the standard, because it is the purest, as universally
acknowledged by the natives, besides being more
amenable to systematical arrangement than the patois of
the smaller villages. Such ugly barbarisms as sngew
ioT sngow ; miew iov miciw ; sngoi for sngi ; massoi for
massi ; Jcong for jing ; lorn for lum ; loi for leit ; liar
for Ver ; mm for em ; he for em ; pi lai for Jchie leit ;
how hai lea foT Tchie leit; kynang fov tyngaj loi-ar-heh
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. XV
and War he for leit-lcdi ; ham klam and ri sKiar tha for
ivat kreiij and many others, shonld be avoided.
Tlie principle of word-building, or agglutination, enters
80 largely and unavoidably into every section throughout
the etymological portion of the Grammar, that a separate
chapter on that subject is deemed unnecessary. A list
oi foreign importations from the Bengali and Hindustani,
and through them from the Persian and Arabic, may
not be without interest to a certain class; and would
suggest a new method of mental training for the natives.
Such a list, to be complete, would also contain a number
of roots beyond all doubt identical in form with Hebrew
roots bearing identical meanings. However strange this
may at first appear, and without forgetting the usual
caution of philologists, such erratic instances of distant
affinity are not wanting ; instances which the presence
of Arabic words at second-hand will not always explain.
Thus, jJu. (sadak) is the Hebrew p"!^ (tzcdek), and the
KhsLSsi shida, 'straight,' 'upright*; ^ (?j.a$^) connects
naga, * a serpent,' with the Hebrew K^HJ (nakhash). But
no such connecting link is found for "^p^ (shcker) and
the Khassi shukor, * to deceive ' ; or between the Hebrew
yyif (shere) and the Khassi sJier, * a small fish,' or ' a
fry of small fish ' ; or between 1D2 {nekar) and dykar
or nykar in ki nykar, * strangers or foreigners.' The
short time that is necessary to master the principles of
this language will amply pay for the trouble.
The Khassis have no written language of their own.
XVI INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
and therefore no literature of any kind. Tliere are no
materials, so far as we know, from which to connect their
present with the past, or to trace out a history for them.
Although the country is studded with monolithic and
cromlechian monuments, of immense size, reminding us
of the Druidical remains of Stonehenge, Wales and
Brittany, none of these bear inscriptions. Tradition,
such as it is, connects them j^olitically with the Burmese,
to whose king, under the title of " Burm,'' they were up
to a comparatively recent date rendering homage, by
sending him an annual tribute in the shape of an axe, or
ddiu, as an emblem merely of submission.
Another tradition points out the north as the direction
from which they migrated, and Sylhet as the terminus of
their wanderings, from which they were ultimately
driven back into their present hill fastnesses, by a great
flood, after a more or less permanent and peaceful occu-
pation of that district. The peculiarities of Sylhet
Bengali, known as The Sylheti, so different from the more
classical Bengali of Dacca and Calcutta, are attributable
to this occupation ; and the peculiar structure of the
Sylheti lends some probability to the tradition. This
entire absence of native literature, however, suggests a
long period of isolation from the more civilized races ;
and to a certain class of thinkers it suggests a great
deal more.
The Khassi Language is a member of that heteroge-
neous group, sometimes called the Sub-Himalayan, of
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. XVU
which 80 little is known ; too little to enable philologists
to assign it any well-defined status in the large catalogue
of languages which go to make up the Turanian family.
The term Sub-Himalayan savours too much of the Great
Adelung's long since abandoned system of classifying
languages geographically. But whatever difiiculties may
still attend the attempt at a linguistic classification pure
and simple, the race aflBnity of the Khassis to the sur-
rounding Hill Tribes — Garos, Kookies, Nagas, Looshais,
Munipoories &c., and oven to the remoter Chinese, is un-
mistakeable. The Mongol physique in all its permanent
features is established beyond doubt. While the racial
affinity is evident, it is important however to state here,
that the percentage of words common to the Khassi and
the rest of these mountain dialects is extremely small ; so
small as to guarantee on that score no belief in their
racial affinity. Equally great also is the dissimilarity in
many other points of grammatical detail.
This apparent conflict between ethnology and language,
so much insisted on now-a-days by a certain school of
theorists, is nevertheless highly suggestive, and bespeaks
a long period of isolation (of the Khassis) not only from
some as yet unknown (perhaps undefinable) parent stock,
but also from those tribes even which have for many
centuries occupied districts contiguous to them.
What stage in linguistic development should we assign
to the Khassi Language ? We answer, that it is not so
absolutely monosyllabic, like the Chinese on the one hand,
b
XVlll INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
as to be devoid of genuine agglutinations. On the other
hand, it is too far removed from the so-called inflexional
stage to be classed under the agglutinate family in the
sense of terminational ; for its agglutinations are in no
sense terminational or inflexional as those terms are
understood and handled by Professor Max Miiller, to
whom philology is so much indebted.
If the Professor's comprehensive definition of an
agglutinate (i.e. Turanian) language is to be accepted as
a final test or basis of classification, the Khassi is neither
Turanian nor agglutinate. If we understand his defini-
tion rightly, it must be greatly modified to include the
Khassi, and some of the other adjacent dialects within
the extensive family, which his favourite term Turanian
is intended to embrace. According to Prof. Max Miiller,*
it is a distinctive characteristic of a Turanian language,
that it should be agglutinative, not only in the general
sense of gluing its words, of having its words coalescing,
but further, that the modifying root be terminational,
and thus approach the higher stage of inflexion.
In the Khassi, however, the modifying roots even in
agglutinates are without exception prepositive. A very
cursory perusal of the Grammar will substantiate our
position. Take, e.g. py7i (from pun, * to make '), or jjyl,
pycl, pyr in all Causative Yerbs ; ia of the Dative and
Accusative ; ia of Reciprocal Verbs ; la, la lah, Past
Auxiliaries ; yn of the Future Tense ; jing (* possession') of
* See Science of Language, vol. i. p. 323, fifth edition, 1866.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. XIX
Abstract Nouns, and many other examples equally easy
of comprehension ; these are all ghted and are all pre-
positive. Here we have a language, on the north-east
frontier of India, which has merged out of the purely
monosyllabic stage, but which cannot be brought under
the category of tcrminational^ much less the inflexional,
for it has no inflexions. Have we not hero an example
of an entirely new feature in the development of language?
Any how, we cannot see the applicability of Prof. Max
Miiller's definition to the Khassi. Take, e.g., the root
laitf * free ; * -pyl-lait, ' to make free ; ' jing-injl-hiit,
' freedom, or liberation. ' The modifying roots move, as it
were, backward, and not forward. Or can we detect here
an intermediaie stage between the purely monosyllabic
and the terminational ; or does this fact affect the validity
of Prof. Max Miiller's definition of a Turanian language ?
But if we give the term a^gglutinate a less rigid accepta-
tion, the Khassi Language could not be better described
than in terms applied by a recent writer on Language to
the Japanese*: — "It is an agglutinate dialect of extremely
simple structure, with no determinate flexion, the rela-
tions of case [gender], number and person are indicated
by separate particles [and] auxiliary words '* [only let
the student of Khassi bear in mind that these particles
are prepositive and not terminational]. " Combinations
of separate root words with considerable contraction
* Whitne/s Life and Growth of Language, p. 241. The words iu
brackets are our own.
h 2
XX INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
and mutilation [or obscuration] is very common.'^ Such,
generally speaking, is the Khassi Language.
Examples of that peculiarity called Harmonic Arrange-
ment or Harmonic 8eque7ice, so common in other primi-
tive forms of speech, are wanting ; nor are there any
duplications to form the plural ; ijliui-pliuij ' dust, dusty;'
2)hum-phum, ^ bushy ; ' lat-lat, * rippling, in ripples, a
ford ; ' phah phak, * violently ; ' ngur-oigur, nger-nger,
and many others, are onomatopoeian or imitative, and
intensive, rather than true plural forms.
Referring to onomatopoeias, the how-wow theory is
A / - strongly countenanced by the Khassi : hsew is 'a dog;^
^^^^( Jcwack is ^a duck; ' miciw is ^a cat;' ang is ^to gape/ &c.
The next generation may see the Comparative Grammar,
so much desired, giving an account of these numerous
erratic boulders (to borrow the language of geology), and
of their mutual relationship, if not of the parent stock
from which they have been transported and scattered
broadcast by force of events unknown. But special
Grammars must first of all issue.
KHASSI GEAMMAR
INTRODUCTION.
§ 1. Grammar is the science which teaches how to
speak and to write correctly in any language.
§ 2. Language (Ka Kiln) is composed of sentences, f
sentences of words, words of syllables, and syllables of
letters ; hence : —
§ 3. Tliis Grammar is divided into three main parts, - ^.\ti^^
viz., (1) Orthography, or that which treats of the letters of
the language ; (2) Etymology, or that which treats of the
various kinds of words, or Farts of Speech ; and (3) Syn-
tax (Ka Jing-j)\jn'{a'ryn'tih Ktin), or that which teaches
how words should be arranged into sentences, in order to
express complete thoughts (Ki Jingmut),
CHAPTER I.
Orthography.
§ 4. Op the Letters. — The Khassi Alphabet consists of
twenty-one letters only, viz.
ABKDEGNGHIJLMN
OPRSTIIWY
These letters are divided into three classes (Lai jaid),
( 1 ) Vowels f (2) Semivowels, and (3) Consonants.
2
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
§ 5. Of the Vowels {Ki Dak Jur). — The vowels are
six in number, viz. A, a; E, e; I, i; 0, o; Y, y; U, u*
These six vowels represent twelve simple sounds, five
long and seven short ; two are semivowels, and when com-
bined form thirteen proper diphthongs.
§ 6. The twelve simple vowel-sounds may be thus exem-
plified : —
a short like a in man ; as, tarn, too much ; fat^ again.
hdmy to eat; da, to protect.
pepf to fail ; en, to be quiet.
her, to fly ; her, to enclose.
ti/p, to know; sim, a bird.
ing, a house ; sim, a king.
lop, to prune ; sop, to cover.
oh, to hew ; or, to split.
lum, to gather ; sum, to bathe.
luni, a hill ; sum, to pierce.
hynta, a part ; yn, will.
synduk, a box ; shym, not. %
§ 7. The semivowels are : —
i, like y in ^yard;^ as idr, 'to spread ;^ iaid, ^to
walk '.' or the TT in ^f^TTl (kariya) ; as iap,
to die ',' iuh, ' to tread. ^
w, like w in ' war -/ as wad, ' to search ;^ ivan,
' to come ;^ or "^TT in "^^TTl {jdwa) ; —
a long
j^
a „ far;
e short
))
e „ set;
e long
ji
e „ were;
1 short
a
i „ pit;
i long
})
ee „ steep ;
short
)i
„pot;
long
3*
;, go ;
u short
3)
u „ put ;
r'* long
a
ao„ boot;v„j
y short
a
u „ fun ; ',
1/ short
)i
y ^Yv.une-,
* The anomaly of includiDg the w amoug the vowels should be done
away with.
ORTHOGKAPnY.
wir, ' astray f wang, ' widely •/ or 1^ in
&>^^ (parwdna) ; or oi in Fr. avoir (av-itdr).
§ 8. The diphthongs are compound vowel-sounds, and
may be exemplified thus : —
ai (short), like our vulgar ' ay ;' as pait, ' to break :'
or ^ in Wl¥t^ (dakait) ; as hait, ' a
plaintain/
di (long), like ^^t^ in Tt% (kdirja) ; as kdiy ' for
pleasure :' or ^Jl in <*..^.'J (ndih) ; as
Idif three / 'sdi, * a thread/
aw (shortXlike doo in Fr. aouter; as law, 'to take oft'/
or 'Tt'SU in'Tt^Hl (jawd); as Araw;, 'noisy /
or J I in v-jly (nawdb)»
dw (long), like ^^IT in "sff^TJl (jpaM^ci) ; as daw, * a
cause/ or Welsh II dw/ hand ;' — no English
equivalent.
ei, like ey in ' they / as leit, 'to go ; ' pelt,
* to wake up ; ' n^ei^, ' to believe ; ' not
like i in 'thine,' as some foreigners
pronounce it ; but like iJTT in C^ ijey).
ew, like A'S in Cf^TTt^ {dewani) or Welsh
tew, ' fat ' — no ex. in E — as thew, ' to
measure ; ' khew, ' wheat/
iti; (short), like the 'u' when simply pronounced; or
^ in iJ^^.*^ (diwani) } as «i?r, 'to pay/
ayntiw, * a flower/
iw; (long), like eu in ' feud,* or w in ' tune / as
hlw^ to ascend/
4 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
ie, — the nearest approacli to a true digrapli, but the
sound of the e is perceptible ; like the e muet
in Fr., having a short guttural sound after the
i;* as ieh, ' io let alone/
ai (short), like oi in ' voice/ or oy in \jS goyd ; as
soi, ^ to shave with an adze/
6i (long), like oy in 'joy/ or 'snr in ^ hJioy ; as
roi, to increase/
ui (short), like ooHj or ui in Fr. hruit, and S. Wales
llwydj 'pale/ as huit, *^ skill/
ui (long), like ou-i in Fr.fouille; as tiiid, 'to flow/
§ 9. The Consonants. — The fourteen simple consonants
present no difficulty. None of the intricacies of Oriental
alphabets encounter the student here. The natives having
no literature of any kind, a phonetic alphabet has been
formed for them, and it meets all the requirements of the
language.
The letter g, however, calls for a remark. All the words
containing this letter are foreign importations, from and
through the Bengali and Hindustani, such as gadda, ' an
ass / gora, ' a white man / godaiUj ' a store-room / gormij
* a kind of disease ;' gidi, * a shot / guda, ' a swelling / gall,
' abusive language / laganif ' a bridle / and a few others.
* Those versed in French will, perhaps, remember Voltaire's remark
on the e mute : " Son qui suhsiste encore apres le mot commence,
comme un clavecin qui resonne quand les doigts ne frapjpent plus
les touches'' — Diet. Philosophique.
ORTHOGRAPHY. 5
§ 10. The imperceptible h is represented by an apos-
trophe ('), and somewhat similar in its power to the s or v
of Persian and Hindustani grammars, that is the ^5^^^=^ ^^^
(ha-i'muhh'tafi) f when it comes between two vowels and
causes a hiatus, as in ilyJ (fce'tir), as distinguished from ^l^
(hehdr). See Sir W. Jones' Persian Grammar (Works,
vol. v., 8vo, 1807). The same remark applies to the final U
when preceded by a vowel, its power is that of a slight
guttural ; as rah, * to bear ;' pah, ' to utter a sound / lah,
' to be able.'
§ 11. h is never initial in Khassi before another con-
sonant. Such combinations as hi, km, hn, ht, hp, &c. are
unknown, and, however barbarous a tribe may be, we doubt ? ^q
whether such combinations do at all represent actual sounds
in any of its kindred dialects.
In the case of the Rookies, for instance, there is always
an abrupt y sound, either preceding or intervening, the A
serving as a kind of fulcrum. The Bengali 51 (hri) is
no exception.
§ 12. Thb Aspirated Letters. — These are b, k, d,j,p,
r, t, ng, 9. As in Bengali and Hindustani, the h sound is
merely combined or added to that of the preceding conso-
nant, and not amalgamated wUh it ; so differing materially
from our English notion of an aspirated letter — e.g., pli
do not make an /, but stand separate, as in * up-hill,'
without an hiatus.
hh, as hha, pron. h-ha, * good,' = ^ or l^
kh, as Md, pron. k-Ad, ' to give birth,' = ^ or l^f
i
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
dh (5f, 5J4>), as dhahj pron. d-Jiah, = 'a drum,-' jjUj
jVi (sfl,
12 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(3) Abstract Nouns are the names of states, actions, and
qualities. These are known chiefly by the prefix /m^- ; as,
kajingloiig, ' state ;^ from long, 'to be/
kajingidp, * death ;' from idp, 'to die.'
Jcajinglehj 'action/ from leh, 'to do.'
hajingher, 'flight;' from her, ' to fly.'
ha Jingh'ieit, 'foolishness;' from h'ieit, 'foolish.'
hajingkhd, 'birth ;' from hhd, 'to give birth.'
(a) Another way of forming abstract nouns is by pre-
fixing the feminine article ha to adjectives, as the neuter to
is used in Greek, and le in French : to Trovrjpov, * evil ;'
Viyifamey ' infamy ;' le beau, ' the beautiful ;' le sublime,
' the sublime ;' as —
ha babhd, ' the good ;' from babhd, ' good.'
ha basniw, * evil ;' from basniw, ' bad.'
ha Vymraan, ' wickedness ;' from b'ymman, ' wicked.'
Note. — These two forms cannot be used indiscriminately ;
the first corresponds to our abstracts in '-ness/ '-tion/ &c.,
and is more comprehensive ; while the second is less em-
phatic, and corresponds to our verbals in *-ing,' when the
root is a verb ; as ha Jingleh, ' action ;' ha baleh, ' doing ;'
from leh, ' to do.'
(b) A few words express abstract ideas without either
jing or ba ; as —
ha tylang, ' the winter ;' ha dur, ' shape.'
ha pynieng, ' height ;' ha pynhmng, ' width.'
ha lynter, ' length ;' ha thyma, ' war.'
THE NOUN. J 3
ka kam, * occupation * (J^) ; ka jwp, 'sin ' (^^).
ia huit, * talent ;* (jJW) ; ka akor, ' behaviour/
ka ndm^ * renown ' (•'t^) ; ka daw, * a cause/
ka hok (jf^), 'justice;' ku hor, 'power.*
(c) Some words, ori^nally abstracts, have become com-
mon nouns; as ka jing khang (lit. a shutting) 'a door;'
ka Jing sop (lit. a covering) 'a roof;' Jing die (lit. a
selling) 'merchandise, goods;' ka Jing thiah (lit. a lying)
' a bed.'
-) (d) The form ka, with an adjective, is sometimes preferred
^ merely for the sake of euphony, as more agreeable to the
ear, and easier to pronounce ; as —
(1) Kahajing-ngdi, ' distance,' rarely Kajing Jing-ngdi.
Gi ^. Ka hajing-ngdi katno ha ing jong phi ?
/ _ , ' "What is the distance to your house V
|'"5^J (2) Kahajirhoh, * cough,* rather than Kajing-Jirhoh,
Kahajirhoh ka long ka dak ka ba sniw.
* A cough is a bad sign.' ^ "
ifl) Kabqjingif 'swimming,' never ka Jing-Jingi,
U nang-eh ha kahajingi,
* He is clever at swimminq*
(e) Sometimes the natives drop oflP the adj. pref. ha, and
prefix ka immediately to the root, to form abstracts; as —
ka shipd, * difficulties ;' ka dvk, ' poverty ;* ka duklid,
'affliction.'
ka sukf 'happiness;* ka sntw, * evil ;' ka Jiwbor,
'violence.' ^m or j|.
14 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
These forms are used when a native aims at being elo-
quent ; hut Jing is used when he is a careful and elegant
speaker.
Of the Number of Nouns.
§ 19. The singular is formed by merely prefixing the
singular article u, ha, or i ; as, u Idilur, 'a star;' u lum, *a
mountain ;' u Tiiddif ' a horse •/ u lok, ' a friend / ha huldi,
'a mare/ ha loh, 'a female -friend/ i huldi, ' a -pony -/ i
lohy ' a little dear.'
The plural is formed by prefixing hi, the pi. o^ u, ha, %
(§§ 15,16) : — hi kulai, * horses ;' hi loh, ' friends/ hi hhlur,
' stars / hi lum, ' mountains.*
§ 20. The Plural of Animate Objects. — (1) As hi is
the sign of the plural for both masculine and feminine nouns,
we refer the student to the sections on Gender, especially
§ 28, Remark 5, where it is shown that a word indicating
the gender is added; such as shinrang, 'male/ hynthei,
'female/ as —
hi 'laiig-hyntheij 'ewes,' or 'she-goats/
hi 'lang-shinrang, 'he-goats,' or 'rams.'
(2) In the same way with many diminutives ; while the
article i is suflBcient in the singular to mark smallness, or
endearment, some additional word or particle must be
added in the plural ; as —
i mdw, ' a pebble / hi mdw-riaj ' pebbles.'
i ing, * a little house / pi. hi ing-vit, ' huts.'
THE NOUN. 15
t hriw, * a dwarf/ pi. Jci ViM;-raicl, 'dwarfs/
t si'ar, ' a chicken ;* pi. A / khnn-siar, ' chickens/
i tynat, 'a sprig/ pi. ki 'na.i-rit, * sprigs/
(3) In some cases the plural is formed by prefixing hi to
a diflferent word ; as, u hriw, ' a man/ pi. hi 'rarigbah, ' men/
ka hriw, *a woman/ pi. hi hynthei, * women.'
Note, — Strictly speaking, hi hriw would mean * human
beings,' or men generally, male and female, in contra-
distinction to animals or things.
K%i-w^*^ § 21. Special pacts: — (1) Some singulars either very
seldom or never admit of a plural form ; as —
ka snam, * blood/ ha doh, * flesh / hajingduhy ' poverty.'
ka siiih, ' poison / u sldpy * rain / u dyndi, ' the moon.'
ka angi, ' the sun/
(2) Some of the above, as well as a few others, take the
plural, but with the meaning^either greatly modified or
entirely changed ; as—
kajingsarong, 'pride/ pi. kijingsarong, 'airs.'
ka ks'iaVf *gold,' pi. ki ktriar, 'gold ornaments/
ka rupd 0«J*;), 'silver/ pi. hi riqjd, 'silver ornaments.'
u sybdi, ' money,' pi. hi syhdi, ' shells/ ' cowries.'
ka ham (^t^j J^), ' work/ pi. hi ham^ 'actions.'
u 8oA, * fruit/ pi. hi soh, 'various fruits/
u hyndi, 'the moon,' (also a month), pi. hi dynai,month8,
ka sngi, ' the sun/ pi. ki sngi, 'days/
ka jinghhaii, 'trade/ pi. kijinghhaii, 'goods.'
u slap, ' rain,' pi. hi slap, ' the rainy season.'
16 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
kajingthdiOf 'creation/ 'making/ pi. Icijingthdw, ^orna-
ments.'
(3) Some singular forms have a plural meaning ; as —
ha spahj ' riches / u soh, * fruit in general.'
u shiiuh, * hair / u sh'iap, ' sand.'
u ksdin, ' grubs ;' ic skdin^ ' flies.'
u hruin, ' white ants ;' u hyhd, ' grain.'
u hrdi, ' millet;' u khdv), 'rice.'
u phlang^ ' grass ;' u skip, ' rain.'
Shniuh, ksdiuj shdin, sMapy kypd, klidw, sometimes take
the diminutive article to express ' one hair/ ' one grain/
&c., as i shn'iuh, i sh'iap, i Jchdw, i kyha, &c.
§ 22. Closely allied to those mentioned in last paragraph
are the Collective Nouns ; as —
ka kynliun, a flock^ a herd ; u hynriw, mankind ;
ka jdid, a tribe, clan, or class ; u shnong, a village
community.
ka ing, (lit. a house), a family ; u paithah, the people.
Each of these are used in the plural with ki also ; as ki kyn-
kun, ' flocks / kijdidy ' tribes, or clans/ ki ing, 'families.'
§ 23. Some collectives are formed by joining two words,
often (but not always) of a kindred meaning. These are
double forms, and comprehend a certain class of things
which go together in the ordinary routine of life or
business. The words which form these collectives are
names of objects or persons which suggest one another,
either by way of contrast, or of similarity. It is a kind of
THE NOUN. 17
Hendyadis ; as, ka ing-ka sem, (lit., * a house and enclo-
sure '), ' a house and appurtenances/
ki khun-ki ksiw, (lit. * children,' ' grandchildren ') =
posterity.
ka met'ka phdd, * the whole body.'
kajainkup-jain sem^ ' clothes,' * wearing apparel.'
kijing huh-jing sah, * furniture.'
kajingbdm-jing «a, * food.'
ka 8hnong-ka*thdw, ' a king's subjects.*
u tymen-u saUy ' the elders (of a village).
u rangbah-^angsan, * the elders * (of a village) .
ka jdid'ka sker, * relatives.'
ka kot ka aid, ' documents, deeds.'
ka ding-ka sieit, (lit. wood, bamboo) —timber (for
house building).
ka lum-ka wah, (mountain-river, or valley), 'the
whole country.*
ka lum-ka thovt ' highland and lowland.*
u ksuid-u khrei, ' daemons.'
u shnong'U 'raid, ' the people,' and many others.
Cases op Nouns.
8 24. Case shows the relation in which one Noun or
Pronoun stands in respect to another Noun or Pronoun.
In Khassi this relation is not expressed by any change in
the radical form of either Noun or Pronoun, such as we
find in Greek, Latin, or Bengali (see ^4), but by means
of the prepositions joiigf * of ;' /la, ' in,* ' to ;' la, * to ;* na,
' from/ &c. ; and according to the strict grammatical im-
c
18 KHASSI GRAMMAK.
port of the word, the Khassi language may be said to be
without * case.' The cases of other cultivated forms of
speech may, however, be expressed in Khassi as follows : —
1. Nominative — The noun in its simple form ; as,
U briw u la wan, * The man came, or is come.'
2. Accusative — The noun in its simple form with and
sometimes without ia, (See §§ 144, 145, 146.)
U la shem ia ^i hriw, ' He found the man.'
o. Dative {ha di), takes ha, or ia* 'to ;' as,
U la di ha nga ia ha kitah, ^ He gave me the book.'
4. Instrumental, takes da ' by ;' as,
TJ la phot ia la Im hti da lea wait, * He cut his hand
with an axe.'
5. Ablative {ha mih na), takes na, ' from/ as,
V Horn u la mih na la mg, ' Hom came out of his
house.'
G. Genitive, also called the Possessive {ha don), takes the
particle ^on^, 'of.' (See §§ 140, 141.)
Ka ing jong ha hymi, * His mother's house.''
7. Locative (ha deijaka), takes ha or sha, ' in, at, to ;' as,
Ka hymi ha don ha ing, 'His mother is at home.^
8. Vocative (ha hhot), takes Ah ! or Ko ! as.
Ah Blei ! ' O God V Ko Kypd ! ' My or our Father!'
1 * The Chinese yu or iu.
THE NOUN.
19
Example : — Briw, * man.'
Singular.
Nom. Ubriw, a man.
Ace. la u briw, a man.
Inst Da u hHwy by a man.
Dat. Ha, «Aa, or ia n briw,
to or for a man.
Abl. Na u briWf from a
man.
Gen. Jon (hardest)
haeh kham-tam, )
4. basniwy ha kham sniw, basniw-tam, \
(bad) (worse) ba kham-sniw-tam, v (worst).
ba aniw-kham-tam, j
Remarks.
1. Kliam is often used in the sense of ' rather/ or of the
English suffix ' -ish ;' as —
u kham runar, he is rather cruel.
u kham aniw, he is ratJier bad.
u kham bJid u briw, he is rather a good man.
u kham sniw u briw, he is ratJier a wicked man.
(2) Eh, besides as a sign of the superlative absolute, this
particle has often the signification of ' too/ as—
Shim ia kane, Em, ha ka sniw eh.
Take this. No, for it is too bad,
(3) Tam — which is probably the Bengali superlative
suffix ^^ (tam), still used (in Khassi) as an independent
word^I^t^ '^S^(gani-tam) = kydn'tam in Khassi, ' wisest^ —
often means ' more/ or * over / as, Phi la ai t^m, ' You
have given (something) over / To di tam ho ? * Give more,
30 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
will you ?* — and also * too much/ as, Phi la di tarn, may
mean ' You have given too much,'
§ 39. The following are exceptions to theToregoing rules :
(1) Some few are compared irregularly, as in reckoning
family precedence according to age —
ha dang l-hynnah, ha Wiam hadin, ha hhadduh.
(young) (younger) (youngest).
ha la san, ha la hham san, ha nynghong, or
(old) (older) ha shiwa ehj
(eldest).
' Old ' and ' young ' in general are regular —
ha rim, halcham rirrhj &c.
(old) (older).
(2) Some adjectives which express the possession of a
quality in a small degree, and begin with hyr (our *-ish^),
rarely admit of comparison; as, hyr* tern {Jbyr stem), yellowish;
hyrsdwj reddish; hyrthiang, sweetish, mellow; hyrjew,
sourish ; hyriong, blackish ; hyrlih, whitish ; hyrngut, dark-
ish, indistinct ; hyrng'ia^ng^ bitterish ; h^rthuh, greyish ;
hyrshem, to abut ; &c.
Numeral Adjectives.
§ 40. Numbers are either Cardinal or Ordinal.
(1) Of the Cardinal Numhers. — These are the chief or
principal numbers, and they state ' how many,' or ' how
much,' [katno ?). We shall give as many examples here as
THE ADJECTIVE.
31
will enable the student to master this portion of Khassi
Grammar : —
1. shif or wei (com.), *one;' and uwei (masc),
kawei (fem.), *one/
2. dr, two.
3. Idi, three.
4. saw, four.
5. san, five.
6. hinriWf six.
7. hinniew, seven.
8. phrd, eight.
9. khynddi, nine.
10. SHi-PHEW, ten.
11. hhad-tvei, eleven.
12. khad-dr, twelve.
13. khad'ldi, thirteen.
14. khad-sdw, fourteen.
15. khad-san, fifteen.
16. khad-hinriw, sixteen.
17. khad-hinniew fSevenieen,
18. kliad'phrd, eighteen.
19. khad'khynddi, nineteen.
20. AR-PHEW, twenty (lit. two-tens).
21. dr-pJiew-weij twenty-one.
22. dr-pheW'dr, twenty-two.
23. dr-phew-ldif twenty-three.
24. dr-phew'sdw, twenty-four.
25. dr-phew'SaTif twenty-five.
26. dr-phew-Mnriw, twenty-six.
27. dr-phew'hinniew, twenty-seven.
28. dr-phew-phrd, twenty-eight.*
29. dr-phew-khynddr , twenty-nine.f
30. LAi-PHEW= three tens, or thirty.
31. Idi'phew-wei, thirty-one.
32. Idi-pheW'dr, thirty-two.
• 28 is also expressed thus, lai-pheto-'ndr. ") g
, „ lai-phetC'*nawei. i
Ai
t 29
3^ KHASSI GRAMMAU.
33. Idi-pheio-ldiy thirty -three.
34. Idi-phew-sdw, thirty-four.
35. Idi'pliew-san, thirty-five.
36. Idi-phew-hinriw, thirty-six, &c.
40. sAw-PHEW=four tens, or forty.
41. sdw-pheiv-wci, forty-one.
42. sdw-phew-dr, forty -two, &e.
50. SAN-PHEW=five tens, or fifty.
51. san-jphew'weiy fifty -one.
52. san-phew-dvy fifty-two.
53. san-phew-ldij fifty-three.
58. san-phew-pJird, fifty-eight, or hinriw-phew-
'ndvy lit. six tens less two.
59. san-phew-hhynddi, fifty-nine, or hinriw-pJiew-
'naweij lit. six tens less one.
60. hinriw-phsiv, six tens, or sixty.
70. hinniew-pJienj J seven tens, or seventy.
80. phrd-pheiv, eight tens, or eighty.
90. Tchynddi-phew, nine tens, or ninety.
100. shi-spah, one hundred.
101. shi-spah-weiy one hundred and one.
200. dr-spah, two hundred.
300. Idi-spah, three hundred, &c.
900. hynddi-spah, nine hundred.
999. khynddi-spah-lchynddi-phew-hhyndai, nine
hundred ninety-nine.
Tlie principle of gluing together, or of collocating the
simpler to form the more complex numbers, is so steady and
THE ADJECTIVE. 33
SO regular, that they require only a little practice and
repetition to master.
1000. hajdr^ one * thousand/
This is a foreign importation from the Persian J ^^
hazdr, through the Bengali "^1^^ hajdr. They have not
utterly rejected their own shijihew-spak^ lit. one-ten-hundred.
Note 1. — Any multiple of ten minus one, or minus two
is often expressed thus :
\%^dr-phew''nar, contr. fr. dr-phew-duna-dr =iwo
ten8-less-two=eighteen.
19=dr'pJieW''naweif contr. fr. dr-pliew-duna-wei
=s two-tens-less-one = nineteen.
^S=zldi-pheW''ndr, contr. fr. Idi - phew ^d una -dr
=threG-teus-less-two= twenty-eight.
29=lai-phew~nawei, contr. fr. lat-pheiO'dHnorwei
s=s three-tens-less-one = twenty-nine.
Note 2. — ^The original force of kJiad, phew and spah,
which continually recur, may be ascertained either from
their use as independent words, or from analogy.
(1) Khcui was in an earlier stage Ue word for *ten.* The
examples under Not« 1 show that hhyndii (nine) is a
contraction of khad-duna-wei or A;/i?/?iiai=a ten-less-one;
hence fc^ar/-M;ei= ten-one = eleven, &c., &c.
(2) Phew, As * seven ' was with the Hebrews,^ so is
' ten ' with tlie Khassis, their ' perfect' or 'sacred ' number.
In one instance only do we find Ichad employed thus, viz.
in the compound 8ht-kJiad»dei, * a great deal.' But now we
hear ahi-phew-jaid^ ahi-phew-rulcom, 'ten kinds or ways,'
D
34 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
i.e. ^many kinds/ &c. ; also ha spali-ha phew, for 'abun-
dance of wealth.'
(3) Spah is undoubtedly a contraction of sJiijihew-
sMphew =ten times ten; and is by metonomy used for
' wealth/ ka spali.
Note 3. — SJii (one) more properly conveys the idea of
unity, or oneness : shisv^i, ' a whole day / shi-tyllij ^ a
whole ' of anything ; shi-ing, not only * one house/ but
also ^ a whole house or famil}^ / sld-sJinong, ' the whole
village.'
100_,000. shi lah, ' one lac ' = one hundred thousand, from
the Bengali «Tf^_, or Sanskrit (Hind. ^ i?«o), a quarter ; or kaha sdw-hynta,
the fourth part.
shi-teng (lit. one part), a half; or kaha sJd hynta,
the one part.
ka ha lai hynta, the one-third.
shiteng pdwa, the one-eighth , or ka ha pliroL-hynta.
Idi'pdway three quarters.
shi-tyngka-phiah, one rupee and a halC
dr-phtahf two rupees and a half.
Idi-pliiah, three rupees and a half.
§ 46. Meofures : —
shi'kham, a hand-breadth = four inches.
shi'tydah, a span = nine inches.
shi'prxth, a cubit = eighteen inches.
shi-kot, two cubits = thirty-six inches = a yard.
ehi'kynthi-kwdissia. mile {sic), or the space a man at
his usual pace traverses, while chewing one-
fourth of a betel-nut.
38
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
CHAPTER IV.
Pronouns.
§ 17. The Pronouns are of three kinds, viz. Personal,
Rehitive, and Adjective.
§48. The Personal Pronouns are — 1st pers., nga, ^Ij*
pi. ngi, 'we;' — 2nd pers., me (masc.), phd (fem.), Hhou ;'
pi. phiy ' you ;' — 3rd pers., u (masc.), * he ' or ' it,' ha (fem.),
'she' or 'it;' pi. ki, 'they/ i (dim. masc. or fem.), ' he,^
' she,' or ' it.'
Personal Pronouns Declined.
1st Person — Ngd, ' I.'
Singular.
N. nga,^ ' I.'
A. ia nga, ' me.'
T. da nga, ' by me.'
D. ia or ha nga, ' to me.'
Ab. na nga, 'from me.'
Gen. jong ngaj 'of me or my,
mine.'
Loc. ha or sha nga, 'at,
with, or in me.'
Yoc. Ah ma-nga ! ' Ah me!'
Plural.
N. ngi, or ma ngi, ' we.'
A. ia ngi J ' us.'
I. da ngi, ' by us.'
D. ia or ha ngi, * to us."*
Ab. na ngi, ' from us.'
Gen. jong ngi, ' of us,
our, or ours.'
Loc. ha or sha
'at.
with, or in us.'
Voc. Ah ngi ! ' Ah we ! '
Note. — In the valleys to the west, and in Jaintia to the
east, ma-i, ia-i, na-i, ' I, me, from me,' are used. For the
use of ma- before the pers. pronoun, see Syntax.
Note. — The locative ha nga, sha nga, &c., in all the pers.
pronouns, is equal to the French chez moi, chez nous, &c.
* The Chinese
THB PRONOUN.
39
2n(l Personal Pronoun.
Singular.
N. me, or ma-me (m.), phd,
or nia-phd (f.), ' thou.'
A. ia me (m.), ia phd (f.),
'thee'
I. da me (m.), da lyhd (f.),
' by thee.'
D. ia or Aa me (m.), la or Aa
phd (f.), 'to thee.'
Ab. na me (m.), 7ia 2>Aa (f.),
'from thee.'
Gen. yon^ wie (m.),Jonf^ phd
(f.),'ofthec, thine, thy.'
Loc. ha or sha me (m.), /la or
sha pha (f.), ' in, at, or
with thee.'
Voc. Ah me! (m.), Ah pha!
(f.),' Oh thou I'
Note, — Met phdf like the French ta, are used between
intimate friends, members of a family, or by a superior to
an inferior person. Ma-phi, like the English * you/ is used
in addressing a single individual.
Plural.
N. phi or ma-phi, 'you.'
A. iaphiy 'you.*
I. da phiy ' by you.'
D. ia or ha phi, ' to you.'
Ab. na phi, ' from you.'
Gren. jong phi, 'your,' &c.
Loc. ha or aha phi, 'in,
at, or with you.'
Voc. Ah phi ! ' Oh ye !'
Singular.
N. u, Tea, ' he, she, it.'
A. ia u (m.), ' him, it;' ia ha
(f.), 'her, it.'
3rd Personal Pronoun.
Plural.
N. hi, or ma-hi, ' they '
A. ia Id, ' them,'
40
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Singular.
I. da u (m.), ' by him or it;^
da lea (f.), 'by her
or it/
D. ia or ha u (m.), 'to
him, &c. ; ia or ha ha,
(f.), 'toher/&c.
Ab. na u, (m.), ^from him/
&c. ; na ha (f.), *from
her/ &c.
Gen. Jon^ u (m.), ' his, or
its;* jong ha (f.)j 'her
or its/
Log. /ia or sJia u (m.), 7ia
or sha ha (f.), ' in, at,
or with him/ &e.
Plural.
L da hi, 'by them.*
D. ia or Zta hi, ' to them.*
Ab. na hi, * from them.'
Gen. jong hi, 'their, theirs.'
Loc. ha, or sha hi, ' in, at
or with them.^
Note. 1. — It w^ill be seen from the above that the 3rd
personal pronoun is the article u, ha, hi, used alone.
Note 2. — 3Ia- should be used only in the nominative and
vocative cases, only before the pers. pronoun, and never
after any of the prepositions. Such forms as ia ma-u, ia
ma-nga, da ma-u, are seldom heard. It is used, however,
after the conjunction had (and), as had ma-nga, had ma-
me, had ma-phi, had ma-u^ &c. ; when had = ' with,^ the
ma- is dropped.
Note 3. — Ki (pi.) is often used honorifically for the sin-
gular u, or ha.
the peonoun. 41
The emphatic Personal Pronoun.
1. The emphatic pers. pronoun is formed by adding U,
which is our English * self/ Bengali ^t^, Hindustani
c->L I^at. -pse -met ; as,
U-hi or ma-u-hi, He himself.
Me-hi or ma-me-M, Thou thyself.
Ngd'hi or ma-nga hi, I myself.
For the force of ma- and hi, see Syntax, §§ 188,
197.
t. Sometimes lade is used with or without /u'; thus,
nga lade, ma-nga lade,
nga lade hi, ma-nga lade hi.
But besides emphasis, lade adds the subordinate
notion of ' alone,' or ' of one's own accord/ as is
sometimes the case with our English ' self :'
Nga hi, nga'n leit, I will go myself.
Nga lade hi nga'n leit, I will go myself.
Nga*n leit lade hi, I will go myself.
3. Hi, * self,' may be joined to any case of the noun or
pronoun. See Note 2, above.
Relative Pronouns.
§ 49. The Relative is formed by using the conjunctive
particle ha (that) after, or as a suffix to the article (used as a
pers. pronoun). It is this ba which constitutes the relation
with some antecedent. From the Syntax it will be observed,
that the article is always repeated before the verb, to
represent the subject, and to connect the subject with its
42
KHASSI GKAMMAR.
predicate. In the same way it is often repeated before
adjectives, or qualificatory clauses. As the adjective al-
most always requires ha to connect it with the noun, so in
many cases the ha gradually becomes detached from the
adjective itself and more intimately joined to the article,
and thus forms the Khassi relative :
u hriw u hasniw = ' a bad man/
u hriw uha sniw = ' a man who (is) bad/
(See Syntax, §§ 188, 189.)
§ 50. The relative pronouns are, according to the num-
ber of the articles, uha (masc), kaha (fem.), iha (dim. m.
and f.), ^ who, which, that/ — pi. of all, hiha. Read care-
fully § 198, where it is explained how these forms may in
the strictest sense be considered as both antecedents and
relatives.
§ 51. The Relatives are declined in the same way as the
simple personal pronouns : —
Singular.
N. uha (masc), Icaha (fem.)
iha (dim.), 'who,' &c.
A. ia uha (masc), ia Icaha
(fem.), ia iha (dim.),
* whom,' &c.
I. da u6a,&c., *by whom,' &c.
Gen. jong uha (masc), jong
Icaha (fem.), jong iha
(dim.), ' whose,^ &c.
Plural.
K hihaj ' who.-*
(for all genders.)
A. ia Mha, ' whom.^
(for all genders.)
I. da hiha, ' by whom/ &c.
(for all genders.)
G. jong hiha, * whose.''
(for all genders.)
THB PEONOUN. 43
Note. — On the (erroneous) use of the relative as a substi-
tute for the emphatic, or Greek Definite Article. See re-
marks under § 200.
§ 52. Compound Forms. — How to render such words
as * whoever/ ' whichever,' ' whomsoever/ &c. in Khassi : —
1. uiio-uno-Tuh'tiha (m.), whoever.
%a uno-uno-Tuh'uha, whomsoever.
'kano''kanO'ruh''kaha (fem.), whoever.
ia kano-Jcano-ruh-kaba, whomsoever.
ino^no-ruh'iba (dim.), whoever.
ia-ino-inO'^ih-iba, whomsoever.
2. uei'Uei-nih'uda (m.), whoever, whatever.
ha^-kaei'Tuh'kaba (f.), whoever, whatever.
iaei-iaei-ruh-ha (m.), whomsoever, whatever.
ia uei-uei-ruh'Uha (m.), whomsoever.
ia kaei'kaei-ruh'kaba (f.), whomsoever.
iei-iei-ruh'iba (dim.), whoever, whatever.
ia-iei'iet'nih'ba (dim.), whatever.
Other forms :
jaid'ba, (wtfvS) whoever, whatever.
jdr-ba, ((it^til) whoever, whatever.
Note 1. — Those which end in -no refer to persons; those
in -ei may refer to persons, but chiefly to things.
Note. 2. — See under Indefinite Pronouns, § 55 infra.
44 khassi grammar.
Adjective Pbonouns.
We shall explain the Adjective Pronouns under five
classes, viz. Demonstrative, Distributive, Indefinite, Reflexive
and Interrogative.
§ 53. The distinctive marks of the Demonstrative Pro-
notms are the suffixes -ne, -ta, -to,-taiy joined to each of the
articles : ' this/ takes -ne ; ' that' (in sight), takes -to ;
* that' (very far, but dimly visible), takes -tai ; * that' (out
of sight, or in contemplation), takes -ta.
(1) -ne — U7ie(m.),hane (f.),i7ie (dim.), 'this;' A:me/ these.'
(2) -to — uto (m.),lcato (f.),i7o (dim.), 'that;' A^i^o Hhose.'
(3) -ta — uta (m.), l:ata (f.), ita (dim.), 'that;' Icliaj
Hhose.'
(4) -tai — utai (m.), Icatai (f.), itai (dim.), 5 that ;' Jdtai,
' those.'
No. 1. is close at hand, no. 2. is a little further, no. 3.
is further still, and no. 4 is the furthest of all.
§ 54. The Distributive Pronouns. — The idea of distri-
bution is expressed, (1) by the mere repetition of the pro-
noun; as,
uwei-uwei (m.), \
hawei-kawei (f.), >*each,' 'every,' 'one by one.'
iwei-iwei (dim.), j
(2) By prefixing mar^ probably the Hindustani jt {har)
in CJoLa {har-ek) ; see § 44, as,
mar-iiwei, or mar-uvjei-uweiy \
mar-kawei, ormar-kawei-kawei, > 'each,' 'one each.*
mar-iwei, or mar-iwei-iwei, J
THE PRONOUN. 45
(3) By placing -pa between the pronouns repeated, thus —
wei-pa-wei (com.), -
^ ' one by one/ 'each/
uwei-pa-uwei (m.]
Tcaivei-pa-hawei (f. ) ,
iwei-pa-iwei (dim.), ,
uwei'pa-hawei (m. & f.), 'one by one,' (both male
and female).
(4) Sometimes rnh also is added after the repetition :
uwei-uwei-rith (m.), 'each one,' 'every one.'
kawei-lcawei-ruh (f.), „ „ „ „
iei'tei-riih (dim.), „ „ „ „
Uweif kawei, often mean * either/ and when followed by
a negative mean 'neither.' See Syntax, § 195.
§ 55. The Indefinite Pronouns. — These are —
1. haroh, all.
2. baroh-dr, both.
3. haroh'uwei (m.), '\
haroh'kawei (f.), > the whole.
baroh-iwei (dim.),-)
4. wei'pat (com.) ^
uwei-pat (m.), _ I ^^otber.
kawei-pat (fem.)j
iwei-pat (dim.),
5. tino'uno-ruhf -j
kano-kano-ruh, > any one.
inO'ino-ruh, J
6. kino-kino-ruh, some.
7. kaei-kaei-ruh, something.
8. ei-ei-ruh, something.
9. bun, shihun, many, much.
46 KHASSI GEAMMAE.
10. hhyndiatf few.
11. Tcaito-lcatne, some^ more or less.
12. iLno-ruh-unOj somebody or another.
I'S. wei-nih-wei, somebody or another.
14. kaei-ruh-kaei, something or another.
15. Jcano-riih-Jcano, someone (fejii.), or another.
16. ino-ruh'inOf someone or another.
17. iei-riili-ieij something or another.
18. uno-uno-ruh-emj no one, nobody {m.)
19. hano-hano-ruh-em, no one^ nobody (fern.)
20. ino-ino-ruh-em, no one, nobody {dim.)
21. kino-kino'ruh'em, done {pi.)
22. Icaei-Jcaei-ruh-em, nothing.
23. ei-ei-ruh-em, nothing.
24. shi-kliad-deiy much.
25. Tchun-hhyndiatj very little.
§ 56. Reflexive Pronouns. — These always refer to the
nominative of the verb, like the Bengali '^'^ (apaii) and
the Hindustani iLl; [dpnd), and consist of la, ^his,' or some
combinations of la] as, Za, ' his ;^ la ha Jong, * my, thine,
his, your, our, their or one's own •/ lade, ^ (self), myself,
thyself, himself, herself, themselves, yourself, yourselves,
according to the number and person of the nominative : —
(1) Nga don la ka ing, * I have my house.^
(2) IJ don la ka ing, ^ He has his house.^
(3) U la pyllait ia la de, ' He liberated himself.'
(4) Nga don la ka jong ka ing, * I have my own house.^
(5) U don la ka jong ka ing, ' He has his own house.'
THE PRONOUNS. 47
See § 192 for a detailed explanation, and also o^ hi. The
ordinary possessive particle Jong would alone in the above
examples refer the house to some person other than that
represented by the nominative : thus —
Ka ing" jong u= ^^tJT ^^, ^ ^\, his house.
La ka iug='Tt'^ T|^,^ Uj), his own house.
§ 57. Interrogative Pronouns, — Ei ? who ? (common
gender)— wei? (m.), who? — kaei ? (fem.), who? — kiei?
(pi.), who? — kano ? which? — uno? who? — manoF who?
(com. gender), or who's there? — ino? (dim.), who? or
which ? — iano ? for or to whom ? — hano ? to whom ? —
yon^ 720 ? where ? (com. gender) —^0/1/7 haei? of which? —
jong kano? of which P—^/on^ kiei? (pi.), whose? — kino?
(pL), who P — aiuh ? what P— nario ? from whom ? — hadno ?
with whom P
J.J^^
CHAPER VI.
Of the Verb.
§ 58. The verb asserts something* of the subject ; either
what it does, or what it suffers ; or, thirdly, that it exists
in a certain state ; as —
(1) U ksew u wiar, The dog barks.
(2) U khla u kijrhuh, The tiger growls.
(3) La pyniap ia ka midw, The cat was killed.
(4) Yn sa khet ia ka ding. The tree will be cut down.
1^
48 KHASSI GEAMMAE.
(5) U Blei u lo7ig, Grod exists.
(6) U khynnali u tJiialij The lad sleeps.
Note. — The conjugation of the verb is very simple, and
what applies to one verb applies to all. , Although no
change whatever is effected in the radical form of the verb
itself, still,, by means of prepositions^ pronouns, and other
auxiliary particles of mood and tense, a regular system,
answering to that of conjugation in the more elaborated
class of languages, is formable. But before we come to
this, other important facts touching the verb should be
explained with more or less detail, ere the conjugation so
called can be rendered intelligible, especially to foreign
students of the dialect.
Classification of the Verbs.
§ 58. The Khassi verbs may be considered under two
aspects — 1st, in their relation to the other main parts of the
sentence ; 2ndly, as to their form.
The first principle of classification is applicable to all
languages, and in this respect is the more comprehensive.
The various terms used are descriptive of the relation in
which the verb stands to other members of the sentence ;
thus, (1) when an action or state is considered as not
passing over from the subject to an object, it is called an
Intransitive Verb ; as,
U ksar u da phet-nohj The fox is running away.
U myrsiang u IcynJcaWf The jackal yells.
Ka shnong ka dang-pluhj The village is still burning.
THE VERB. 49
(2) When the verb expresses an iiction as passing over,
from the subject to an object, it is called a Transitive
Verb; as, /^ '"^^
U ksar u la romj-noli ia ka siar, The fox carried off the
fowl.
Ka blang ka ham ia u khaw, The goat is eating the
rice.
U bysein u la puh ia u khynnah. The snake bit the boy.
(3) When the verb expresses an action indefinitely, i. e.,
without reference to any particular subject, it is called an
Impersonal Kerb; thus,
Ki iathtth, They say = the French on dit, ' there is a
rumour.'
Ka shit eh, It is very hot. Ka la rang, It is fine.
(4) When a particle is used to assist another verb by
indicating either the time or the manner in which an action
is performed, or in which any thing exists, it is called an
Auxiliary of Tense, or an Auxiliary of Mood ; as,
•^ U /a wan, He came.
^ Vn wan. He will come.
^Vn sa wan, He will come presently,
U dang wan, He h^&just come. ^^'> ^ .>T\)e:A^ */ w^-
U lah ba*n wan. He can come. -^^ ---^
vv^- U'n da wan. He would come.
Lada u'n wan. If he comes. '
U dei wan, He ought to come. He is due.
§ 59. The classification according to the/o7-m, which is
E
50 KHASSl GEAMMAR.
strictly etymological, is a key to one of the most prominent
features of the Khassi language ; thus,
(1) Causative Verbs take the prefix joy??, or, by assimila-
tion, p7/l, pi/r, pyd. Causative verbs, are of two classes,
according aspyn is prefixed to a transitive or to an intran-
sitive verb.
(a) Those formed from intransitiveswe shall call causative
verbs of the ^rsHntention; as,
laid, to walk ; pyn-iaid,A>o drive, to put agoing.
Jot, to perish ; pyn-jot,A,o destroy.
duh, to wa^nish.; pyn-duh, to annul, c^ ^i^ v^. ^
hap, to fall ; pyn-hdp, to fell. -^ ^ t
roi, to grow in size ; pyn-roi, to augment.
mih, to rise ; pyn-mihy to raise, to produce.
khihj to move ; pyn-lcMh, to agitate.
shdi, to shine ; pyn-shdi, to enlighten.
p)oi, to arrive ; pyn-poi, to send.
long, to be ; pyn-long, to create, to establish.
juh, to feel well at ease ; pyn-Juh, to tame, to subdue.
tingy to be afraid ; pyn-ting, to frighten, to terrify.
ngeitj to believe ; pyn-ngeity to persuade.
ihy to see ; pyn-ih, to show.
lait, to be at large ; pyl-lait, to deliver, to set fres.
{b) Causative verbs formed from transitive verbs, we
would call causative verbs of the second intention, when
the principal agent acts through an intermediaire or by
proxy (this important distinction is often overlooked by
foreigners) ; as.
THE VERB. 51
h'ia, to marry ; pyn-hiaf to give in marriage, v^^^ "^^^
bud, to follow ; pyn-bud, to send after.
ong, to say ; jpyn-ong^ to deliver a message.
thuhy to know; pyr-thnh, to imitate (another). ^^'
thied, to buy ; pyn-thied, to buy through another.
phah, to send; pyn-phah, to send for, or through
another.
len, to deny ; pyn^len, to deny through another.
kren, to speak; pyn-hren, to speak for, or through
anothei .
This is a very interesting feature of the language ; in-
stead of saying "speak forme,'' a Khassi would say "cause
me to speak through you :" pyn-ong, pyn-kreny and all this
doing a thing ' by proxy,' is implied in pyn.
Note 1. — Causative verbs of the first clasSy change in-
transitive verbs into transitive ; the second are a kind of
double tranaitives, for they imply two agents, one acting
upojiy or through, or for another, as the case may be.
Note 2. — The prefix /)yn- is most probably the same as Ij^
the verb pun, ' to make,' ' to pave the way.'
V (2) The second class according to the forni are the Fre-
queiitaiite Verbs, which represent an action or state as
repeated, continued, or persisted in. These take the prefix
iai-, or the particles dem, dup, nang, nhaity ksciw :
iai-leh, to do repeatedly ; iai-idm, to cry continually.
iai-duh, to have repeated losses ; (ftfw-i<;a?i, to comeoften.
dem-kylli, to persist in asking; dem-pdn, to apply
frequently.
E 2
52 KHASSI GRAMMAE.
dup'lehy to practise ; dup-nang, to exercise.
nang-hyllij to ask again ; nmig-wdd, to keep on searching.
shait-pang , to be always ill; shait-lcylli, to be in-
quisitive, &c.
hsdw-hdm (of the tiger, &c,), to be in the habit of
devouring (men).
(3) Inceptive Verbs, which denote both the beginning of
an action, and (often) a state of transition : man is the
particle used; as,
man-sniw^ to grow bad ; man-saw, to grow red.
man-'nwbhd, to grow rich ; man-stdd, to grow wise.
(4) Reciprocal Verbs embrace those by which the subject
and object are represented as mutually hothcause SLiideffectyOr
equally participating in any action or state; the particle is m.
ia-'ieity to love one another; ia-lehy to quarrel, to fight.
ia-kaj'ia (^tfwl) , to quarrel ; ia-Tcren, to converse.
ptamf to embrace, ia-piam, to embrace one another.
hop J to grasp, ia-kop, to raffle ; sohy to stick, ia-soh, to
unite.
n'ia, to reason ; ia-u'la, to dispute.
To this class we must consider a great number which
imply consent, or willingness merely to belong, such as :
ia-leit, to go together ; to go willingly.
ia-trei, to work together ; or willingly.
ia-mihj to rise together ; or with common consent.
The Turkish, also an important branch of the Turanian
stock, has a similar particle ich ; as, sev-mek, to love;
aevich-meky to love mutually.
THE VERB. 53
(5) Intemive Verbs take the prefix hyiij lyn, st/n, tj/n,
or by assimilation, kyl-, kyr-, kym ; lym-, »ym-y &c., &c.
Some of these verbs are scarcely distinguishable from the
causative verbs in pyn-^ and many of them have a middle
or subjective force ; as,
I'hrOf to call, to lure ; synkhro, to purr like a cat.
Via^, a wicker basket; synriah^ meton. to sneeze
(imitating^ water forced through a sieve) .
hynjoh, to over-reach; hynr'iah, to keep aloof.
^ (v^ ^^^^^ syniuid, to slip, to slide ; kynium, to grumble. \H^
hfjisnoh, to snore ; hya-mdw, lit. to use a stone as a
memorial, hence fig. to remember.
hyiirqh, to heap together, to make a wall (from rohy
to accumulate) ; hynfuh, to incite, to spur on.
kynvnn, to shake violently, to be agitated (from win,
to be agitated) ; kynud^ to hum.
lympat, to smash ; sympat, to thrash.
lynnidr, to weep ; tynruh, to poke.
/y?w/ieV, to thrust; lynngoh, to stare, to be astounded.
(tynshdr, to rule ; kynruh, to shake, to sift.
Remark 1. — Many of those in kyn- answer to Greek
verbs in -tfo), -ajo) ; and to our English verbs in -ize.
Remark 2. — Nouns, adjectives and adverbs have also
this prefix, showing the still very primitive stage; as,
kynran, 'a coward' (also a verb); tynjit, 'stinking';
iyndw, ' antler, tusk * ; kyning, ' still,' ' agape.'
54 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
THE MOODS AND TENSES.
We shall now explain with some detail the various
particles of Mood and Tense, before giving the conjuga-
tion of Khassi Verbs.
§ 60. Auxiliaries of Mood. — These are lah, nang^ dei,
da, iohf to, ihy di and ho (following the Verb) .
(1) Lah, Ho be able/ is the sign of the Potential
Mood; and, except in negative sentences, governs the
verb in the Infinitive with hc^n. It denotes possibility,
power or inclination ;
TJ lah ba'n leit-noh, He can go away.
^'n ym lah ba'n idid stet, He will not be able to walk
fast j or, Z7V ym lah iaid stet eh, He will not be
able to walk very fast.
(2) Nang, besides denoting ability in general, expresses
mental or intellectual ability, and should be used in pre-
ference to lah when the latter is meant, like ^Sl^ in
Bengali, and not ^tt?R. Permission or authority to do a
thing is expressed only by lah, but never by nang ; as,
f^o If nang thoh. He can write.
U nang trei. He can work.
U nang ha'n trei, He can work.
(3) lohj lit. * to have,^ like lah, often denotes j9ermimow
or the power to do something ; as,
Nga^n ioh leit, I will be able (or permitted) to go.
Nga'm ioh wan, I cannot come.
THE VERB. 55
U'm put ioh trei, He is not yet able to work. He can-
not (or, is not permitted to) work as yet.
(4) Dei, lit. * it binds/ * it is proper.' It is the Greek
Bel in all its secondary meanings. As an auxiliary it is
used impersonally with the Infinitive :
Ka del ha'n koiiguh ia V Blei, We ought to obey God.
Ka dei ba'n aait la ka ram. We ought to clear our debts.
(6) Da adds uncertainty, or softens an expression :
U'n da wan, He would come.
^0 ofiaba u da wan, Should he come.
\AJ da kren sh^i. He was speaking out.
Haba u da leit, nga'n da sngowbha eh, Should
he go, I should be much pleased.
§ 61. Auxiliaries of Tense. — These are la, lah, yn, sa,
nang, dang, da, wan.
(1) Xa is the sign of the past tense, mostly of the in-
definite, and sometimes of the present complete,
U briw u wan, The man comes.
U briw u la wan. The man has come.
(2) La lah is the sign of the present perfect {com'plete) ,
and sometimes of the past complete.
\AJ la lah wan u briw, The man has come (pres. comp.)
U briw u la lah wan, mynba nga la poi, The man had
come when I arrived (past complete).
(3) Yn, or after a vowel *n, is the sign of the future :
U briw u'tt wan shisha, The man will surely come.
Yn wan shisha u briw, The man will come surely.
66 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(4) 8a expresses the immediate future, either with or
without yn :
U kypa u^i sa kren, His father will speak.
Without yn the natives use sa, chiefly in narration, or
as a historical future :
Hadin kata u sa ai, Then he gave, lit. will give.
The natives always forget the true force of
this particle when they translate or ex-
press their sentiments in English.
(5) Nang is also used as an auxiliary of tense, showing
how principles now treated as essentially different, such as
mood and tense, are at root derived the one from the other.
As an auxiliary of tense, Istly. it expresses a continued
state or action :
U sim u nang iaid. The chief walks on.
U sim ruh u'n nang ia kren, The chief also will add
some words.
2ndly. The subordinate idea of simultaneity with some
other action or state is implied.
3rdly. Sometimes it expresses a state of progression :
U sim u nang pang. The chief is getting worse.
U soil u nang duna, The oranges are on the decrease.
Note. — To distinguish it from the mood auxiliary, ha'n
should follow it before the Infinitive. See § 60 (2).
(6) Dang, lit. ' still,' 'just,' is the sign of the present in-
complete, as well as of the simple present.
U dang idp, He is just dead. (Present.)
THE VERB. 57
U dang bdmjd, He is taking his food. (Incomplete.)
U dang pang, He is still unwell.
U dang lah ham, He has just taken his food.
(7) Da in many cases corresponds to our affix ' ing ' :
U briw u da trei minot eh. The man is working
very hard.
(8) Wan, lit. * to come/ is used in the complete tenses of
the progressive form (§ 69, Indicative ^food), and similar
to the use of venir in French :
U la wan thaw ing, He has been building a house.
U dang wan sum. He has just been bathing.
The Moods.
g 62. The Moods express the manner in wliicli an action
takes place : 1. The verb may express an action or state in
the form of an assertion. It is then said to be in the In-
dicative Mood; as,
U lum ujeroug eli. The mountain is very high.
U lum u^m dajeroiui rh. The mountain is not very
high.
2. An action or state may be expressed or supposed as
possible, under certain conditions ; the verb which expresses
those conditions is said to be in the Subjunctive Mood ; as,
£ada phi'm kren, nga'n kren, ma-nga hi, If yon do
not speak, I will speak myself.
Haha u da kren, nga'n ym ong ei-ei, If he should
speak, I will not say a word.
Uymda phi wan, ym don ba'n leit, Unlesn you come,
no one will go there.
58 KffASSI GRAMMAR.
3. When the verb expresses either duty, obligation,
power, permission, or ability, it is said to be in the Poten-
tial mood.
ZJ sniang %Cm nang Miihj The pig cannot move.
Ka dei ia ngi ha'n trei, We ought to work.
Ka lah ha un kylla pat, He may change (his mind)
again.
4. Verbs expressing commands in any form are said to
be in the Imperative Mood; as, leit, ' go ^ ; thohphi, ^ write'
or 'you write'; to leit noli, 'go away.' J'orm — Verb
alone, or with to, &c. before it ; and ho after it.
1st pers. sing, requires shah (permit), or ieh (let), or di
(give, allow), followed by the future tense ; as,
To shah nga*n wan sha phi f Let me come to you !
To ai nga'n wan ho I Let me come, will you ?
1st pers. plur. requires ia and the future tense ; as,
la, ngi'n ialeit-noh ! Let us be off! '
luf ngi*n ia trei-noh ! Let us work away !
3rd pers. sing, and plur. require diy shah, to di, with
the future tense ; as,
Ai ii'n trei. Let him work.
To shah h'un trei. Let him work.
To pMn shah hu'n wan mo ! You'll let him come,
won't you?
5. Actions or states expressed generally and indefinitely
are in the Infinitive Mood ; as,
Ba'n hren, ' to speak ' ; idp or ha'n idp, ' to die.'
Kaba Ttren, * speaking' ; kaha idp, 'dying.'
THE VERB. 69
The verb in its simple form without ha*n is an infinitive,
Umg,** to be * ; pang, * to be ill.' Ba'n iniplies, in a more
or less emphatic way, design or purpose.
Note. — The supjwsed distinction between ha^n the sign
of the infinitive and ba coupled with yji (will), in the form
ba'n (in comparatives), is a pure invention; both are identical.
6. The English participle in ' ing ' is easily distinguished
in Khassi from the infinitive or verbal noun in ' ing,' by
means of the particles CD
Plural.
1. Ngi la lah long, We
have or had been.
2, Phi la lah long, You
have or had been.
3. Ki la lah long. They
have or had been.
Future Complete.
A^o^e.— Although it belongs more properly to the
Syntax of the moods and tenses, we should here explain,
that the form of the Future Perfect 'ivill have been' depends
THE VERB. 63
on whether it comes in, in the Protasis, or Dependent
Clause, or in the Apodosis, or Principal clause of a com-
ponnd sentence.
{The Future Perfect or Complete in the Protasis.)
1. Haba nga^n da la lah long^ When I shall have been.
2. Raha me'n da la lah long. When thou wilt have
been.
3. Haha u'n da la lah long, When he will have been.
Plural.
1. Haha ngVn da la lah long. When we shall have been.
2. Haha phVn da la lah long, When you will httve been.
3. Haha ki'n da la lah long. When they will have been.
[The future Complete in the Apodosis.)
The simple form of the Present and Past Complete
will suffice when the Protasis has the verb in the
Future ; thus : —
Haha phi*n poi, nga la lah kren.
When you will arrive, I shall have spoken.
Haha phi'n poi, u hi lah kren.
When you will arrive, he will have spoken.
Haha phi' II poi (Frot,), nga la laJi thoh (Apodosis).
When yon (will) arrive, I will have written.
Haba phi'n poi, u la lah thoh.
When you (will) arrive, his will have written.
2iote. — The past complete form after a dependent
clause in the Future Tense has the force of the Future
Perfect.
64
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Subjunctive Mood.
Present {Supposition of a fact).
1. Lada nga long, If I am.
2. Lada me long, If thou
art.
3. Lada u long, If he is.
1. Lada ngi long, If we are.
2. Lada phi long, If you
are.
3. Lada hi long, If they are.
(Supposition with Uncertainty).
1. Haba ngd da long. If I
be.
2. Haha me da long, If thou
be.
3. Haha u da long. If he
be.
Past Indefinite.
(Unfulfilled Condition).
1. Haha ngi da long, If we
be.
2. Haha phi da long. If you
be.
3. Haha M da long, If they
be.
1. Lada nga la long. If I
was.
2. Lada me la long, If thou
wast.
3. Lada u la long, If he
was.
1. Lada ngi la long, If we
were.
2. Lada phi la long. If you
were.
3. Lada Jci la long, If they
were.
(Supposition with Uncertainty).
1. Haha nga da la long. If
I were.
2. Haha me da la long, If
thou wert.
3. Haba u da la long. If he
were.
1. Haba ngi da la loyig. If
I were.
2. Haba phi da la long. If
you were.
3. Haha hi da la long, If
they were.
THE VERB.
65
Pbksint and Past Complbtb.
{Supposition of a fact and Unfulfilled Condition.)
lah
1. Lada nga la lah
long, II* I have or
had
2. Lada me la lah long^
If thoa hast or
hadst
3. Lada u la lah long
If he has or had
1. Lada ngi la
long J If we
2. Lada phi la
long, If you
lah
'6m Lada hi la lah long,
If they
(Supposition with Uncertainty.)
1. Haha nga da la lah 1. Haha ngi da la lah ^
longy If I had been.
2. Haha me da la lah long,
If thou hadst been.
3. Haha u da la lah long, \ 3. Haha u da la. lah
If he had been. I long, If they
long, If we
2. Haha phi da la lah
long. If you
Simple Future.
{Suppontion of a Fact,)
1. Lada nga*n long, If I ' 1. Lada ngi'n long, If we
shall be. shall be.
2. Lada mi'n long. If thou 2. Lada phVn long, If you
wilt be.
3. Lada u*n long^ If he will
be.
will be.
3. Lada ki*n long, If they
will be.
66
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(Supposition with Uncertainty.)
1. Haba nga'n da long, If
I should be.
2. Haba me'n da long^ If
thou shouldst be.
3. Haba u'n da long, If he
should be.
1 . Haba ngi'n da long, If
we should be.
2. Haba phi^n da long. If
you should be.
3. Haba M'n da long, If
they should be.
FuTUKB Complete.
{Supposition of a Fact.)
Lada nga'n da la
long, If I shall
Lada me'n da la
long, If thoushalt
3. Lada u'n da la
long, If he shall
1,
2.
PI
O)
CD
>
1. Lada ngVn da
long. If we
2. Lada phi'n da <
long, If you
3. Lada hVn da
long, If they
la^
la
d
(D
O
o
I
la\
1. Haba nga n da
lah long, If
should
2. Haba rm'n da la
lah long, If thou
shouldst
3. Haba u'n da la lah
long] If he should
[Supposition with Uncertainty.
1
Haba ngi'n da la lah long.
If we should have beeu.
Haba phi'n da la lah
long. If you should
have been.
Haba hi'n da la lah
long. If they should
have been.
THB VERB.
67
Note. — When the form / should have been expresses
obligation or duty, it then refers to Past Time, and should
be rendered by ' dei ' with the infinitive. See § 60 (4),
also Potential Mood, p. 68.
Imperative Mood.
Present.
1. To (it nga^n long, Let
me be.
2. To long, or Long ma^in^
(mas.), Be thou.
To long ma-phd (fem.),
Be thou.
3. To di iinlong, Let him be.
To di ba u'n long. Let
him be.
Todi b'u*n long^ Let him
be.
To di ka'n long, Let her
or it be.
To di ba ka'n lomj. Let
her or it be.
L To di ngVn long. Let us
be.
T6 ngVn ia long^ Let us
be
2. To long-p/iif Be ye.
To ia long'jdii, Be ye.
To long-ma-phi, Be ye.
3. To di kVn long. Let them
be.
To di ha ki*n loiigy Let
them be.
To di yn lon^ ma-ki, Let
them be.
To di ha^n long ma-ki,
Let them be.
Note 1 — Instead of ' ai ' above, ' shah ' (to allow, to
suffer) may also be used, and is often used by the natives.
Note 2. — As commands, prayers, requests, &c., imply
futurity, the Khassis form their Imperative with the
future particle ' yn ' or 'n (ivill).
Note 3. — ' da' may precede * long ' in these examples.
P 2
68
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Potential Mood.
Present and Future.
(Possibility or
1. Nga lah ba'n long, I may
or can be.
2. Me lah ha'n long, Thou
may'st or can'st be.
3. U lah ba'n long, He may
or can be.
[Obligation or
1. Ka del ia nga ba'n long, 1.
I ought to be, or I
should be.
2. Ka del ia me ba'n long,
Thou ougbtest to be,
or Thou should'st be.
8. Ka dei ia u ba'n long.
He ought to be, or
He should be.
Past (Possibility
1. Ka lah, ba nga la long, 1.
I might be.
2. Ka lah, ba me la long, 2.
Thou mightest be.
3. Ka lah, ba u la long. He 3.
might be.
O
o
Poiver.)
Ngi lah ba'n long
We
Phi lah ba'n long.
You
Ki lah ba'n long,
They
Duty),
Ka dei ia ngi ba'n long.
We ought to be, or
We should be.
Ka dei ia phi ba'n long,
You ought to be, or
You should be.
Ka dei ia hi ba'n long,
They ought to be, or
They should be.
or Power.)
Ka lah, ba ngi la long
We might be.
Ka lah, ba phi la long,
You might be.
Ka lah^ ba ki la long.
They might be.
THE VERB.
{Obligation, Necessity or Duty.)
1. Ka la del ia nga ha'n
long, I ought to have
been.
2. Ka la dei ia me ha'n
long, Thou should'st
have been.
3. Ka la dei ia u ha'n long.
He should have been.
1. Ka la dei ia ugi ha'n
long, We ought to
have been.
2. Ka la dei ia phi ha'n
long. You should have
been.
3. Ka la dei ia hi ha*n
long, They should have
been.
Future {Possibility or Prohahility) , see Present.
1. Ka lah, ha nga*n long, or Lehse nga*n long, I may
be.
2. Ka lah, da mi*n long, or Lehse me*n long, Thou
may'st be.
3. Ka lah, ha u'n long, or Lehse u'n long. He may be.
Plurau
1. Ka lah, ha ngi'n long, or Leiute ngi'n long. We may
be.
2. Ka lah, ha phin long, or Lehse phi*n long. You may
be.
3. Ka lah, ha IcVn long, or Lehse ki'n long. They may
be.
Note.— Ka lah, it is possible ; Lehse, perhaps.
(Possihility with Uncertainty.)
1. Ngan da lah ha'n long,
I could or might be.
1. Ngi'n da lah ha'n long,
We could or might be.
70 KHASSI GRAMMAE.
2. Plii'n da I ah ha*n longy
You could or might be.
3. Kin da lah ba'n long^
They could or might
be.
2. Me^n da lah ha'n long.
Thou could'st or
might' st be.
3. JTn da lah ha^n loug, He
could or might be.
Present Complete.
(Possibility and Probahility.)
1 . Ka lah, ba nga la lah long, I may have been.
2. Ka lah, ba m4 la lah long, Thou may'st have been.
3. Ka lah, ba n la lah long, He may have been.
Plural.
1. Ka lah, da ngi la lah long, We may have been.
2. Ka lahi ba phi la lah long. You may have been.
3. Ka lahy ba hi la lah loiig^ They may have been.
Past Complete.
1. Nga'n da la lah ba'n long, I might have been.
2. Me'n da la lah ba'n long, Thou might'st have been
3. TT^i da la lah ba'n long. He might have been.
Plural.
1. Ngi'n da la lah ba^n long. We might have been.
2. Phi'n da la lah ba^n long. You might have been.
3. Ki'n da la lah ban long. They might have been.
Infinitive Mood.
Present {only).
Long, or Ba^n long, to be.
Kaba long, being, to be (our Infinitive in ' ing ').
Past [is questionable).
Ba'n la long, to have been. See § 226.
THE VERB. 71
Participle.
ba long ^
da long J being. See § 62, 6.
ia long J
ba la long, having been.
Note, — By substituting any other verb for ' long/ whe-
ther Transitive or Intransitive, the conjugation, according
to the foregoing model, will universally apply ; thus,
Thoh, to write ; Thaw, to make ; Kren, to speak.
Present Indic. — Nga thoh, I write.
Nga da thoh, I am writing.
Past Indef. — Nga la thoh, I wrote, or I have written.
FoTUBE Indep. — Nga'n thoh, I will write.
Nga'n sa thoh, I will write (soon).
Nga sa thoh (narrative, after a depen-
dent clause in the Perfect tense).
Past & Pres. Complete. — Nga la lah thoh, I have or
had written.
Future Complete. — Nga*n da la lah thoh, I will have
written (after a conditional sentence).
Present Subj. — Lada nga thoh, If I write.
„ . . . f Lada nga da thoh. If I should write.
Uncertainty {
{ Haba nga da thoh, If I should write.
Past Subj. — Lada nga la thoh. If I wrote.
Pees. & Past Comp. — Lada nga la lah thoh, If I have
or had written.
Imperative. — To di ba nga'n thoh, Let me write.
Potential. — Nga lah ba'n thoh, 1 can write.
72 KHASSI GBAMMAB.
Obligation. — Ka dei ia nga ha!n thoh, I ought to write.
Future. — Ka lah ha nga^n thohj I may write.
Lehse nga'n thoh, I may write.
Possibility, — Nga'n da lah ban thoh, I might write.
Complete, — Nga'n da la lah ban thohj I might have
written.
The Negative Form.
§ 65. As the position and form of the negative par-
ticles in conjugating the verb is peculiar, and of great
importance in Khassi, we give here an example of their
use, that applies to all verbs used negatively. The
principal particle of negation is ym, or after a vowel 'm,
' not, no.' Shym is used in the past tense only to add
emphasis to the usual particle ym or 'm, as well as put
(yet) ; thus,
Tm shym or 'm shym, ' surely not, decidedly not,' that
is, DID not, and ym put or 'm put, ' not yet.'
When these forms are employed, besides a simple
negation, an emphatic contradiction is also implied, U
la wan mo ? E'm^ u^m shym wan, "He came, did he not ? "
"No ! he did yiot come.'' — TJ la ur u hriw ? Wm um
shym ur. " Did the man fall ? '' " No ! he did not fall.''
Indicative Mood.
Present.
1. Nga'm da thoh,'\ I do not
Nga^m thoh, J write.
2. Ife'm da thohy^'hou dost
Me'm thoh, j not write.
1. Ngi'm da thoh,") "We do not
Ngi'm thoh, J write.
2. Phi'm da thohXYou do
Phi'm thoh, J not write.
THE VERB.
73
8. lJ*m da ihohy^ He does
TPm thoh, f not write.
S.Ki*mdathohA They do
Ki'm thoh, I not write.
Past.
1. Nga*m shym thohy I did
not write.
2. Me*m shym thoh, Thou
didst not \VTite.
3. U*m shym thoh, He did
not write.
1. Ng'Cm sJiijm thoh. We
did not write.
2. Phi*m .shym fhoh, You
did not write.
3. Ki'm s/iym thohj They
did not write.
PUTURB,
1. Nga'n ym thoh, I will i 1. Ngi*n ym thoh, We will
not write.
2. JUe*u ym thoh, Thou wilt
not write.
3. U'i> II m fhoh, He will
not write.
not write.
2. PhVn ym thoh. You will
not write.
3. Ki^n ym thoh. They will
not write.
PRBSEirr COMFLBTE.
1. Ng%*m shym la thoh,
We have
2. PhVm shym la thoh,
You have
3. KVm shym la thoh.
They have
Past Complete.
1. Nga*m shym la lah thoh, 1, Ng€m shym la lah thoh,
I had not written. We had not written.
1. Ngdm shym la thoh, ^
I have
2. Mk*m shym la thoh,
Thou hast
3. I/'»j shym la thoh.
He has
74
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
2. M^'m shym la lah thoh,
Thou hadstnot written.
3. U'm shym la loJi tholi,
He had not written.
2. Phi' hi shym la lah thoh,
You had not written.
3. Ki'm shym la lah thoh,
Thev had not written.
Subjunctive Mood.
Present.
1. Lada nga'm thoh, If 1 do
not write.
2. Lada me'm thoh, If thou
dost not write.
3. Lada u'm thoh, If he
does not write.
1. Lada tigi*m thoh, If we
do not write.
2. Lada phim thoh. If you
do not write.
3. Lada hi'm thoh. If they
do not write.
( Uncertainty.)
1. Haha ngam da thoh, If I
do not write.
2. Saba mfm da thoh, If
thou do not write.
Haha v!m da thoh, If he
do not write.
3
1. Haha ngi'm da thoh. If
we do not write.
2. Haha jphi'm da thoh. If
you do not write.
3. Haba hi'm da thoh, If
they do not write.
Past.
1. Lada nga'm shym thoh,
If I did not write.
2. Lada me'm shym thoh,
If thou didst not write.
3. Lada v!m ^hym thoh, If
he did not write.
1. Lada ngi'm shym thoh,
If we did not write.
2. Lada phi'm shym thoh.
If you did not write.
3. Lada hi'm shym thoh. If
they did not write.
THE VERB.
75
Future.
1. Lada nga!n ym thoh, If
I shall not write.
2. Lada me*n ym thoh, If
thou wilt not write.
3. Lada u*it ym thoh, If he
will not write.
1. Lada nyi'm ym thoh, If
we will not write.
2. Lada phi'n ym thoh, If
you will not write.
3. Lada ki'n ym thoh, If
they will not write.
(Uncertainty.)
1. Haba nga'a ym da thoh,
If I were not to write.
2. Haha mi^n ym da thoh, If
thou wert not to write.
3. Haba u'n ym da thoh. If
he were not to write.
1. Haha ng{*n ym da thoh,
If we were not to write.
2. Haha'phin ym da thoh, If
you were not to write.
3. Haha hi'n ym da thoh, If
they were not to write.
Present Complete. — Lada nga'm shym la thoh, ^'c.
If I have not written.
{Uncertainty) — Haha nga*m shym da la thoh, Sfc,
If I have not written.
Past Complete. — Lada nga'm shym la lah thoh, 8fc.,
If I had not written.
{Uncertainty), — Haha nga*m shym da la lah tJwh, If I
had not written.
Potential Mood.
Present— 3f.lY, CAN, &c.
{Power denied.)
Nga'm lah thoh, I may
or can not write.
Ngi'm lah thoh. We may
or can not write.
76
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
2. MS'm lah thoh, Thou
mayest, &c., not write.
3. U'm lah thoh. He may
or can not write.
2. Phi^m lah thoh, You
may, &c., not write.
3. Kim lah thoh, They
may, or can not write.
May.
{Supposed denial.)
1. Ka lah ha nga'm thohj
I may not write.
2. Ka lah ha me'm thoh,
Thou may'st not write.
3. Ka lah ha u'm thoh, He
may not write.
Or,
1. Leh' nga'm thoh, I may
not write.
2. LeW me'm thoh, Thou
may'st not write.
3. Zeh^ u'm thoh, He may
not write.
Note,
1. Ka lah ha ngi'm thoh^
We may not write.
2. Ka lah ha phi'm tlwh,
You may not write.
3. Ka lah ha TiVm thoh,
They may not write.
1. Leh' ngi'm thoh. We may
not write.
2. Leh' phi'm thoh, You
may not write.
3. Leh, Id'm thoh. They
may not write.
Leh\ contr. of lehse, perhaps. See Note, p. 69.
Must, Ought, Should [Ohligation.)
1. Ka'm dei ia nga ha'n 1. Ka*m dei ia ngi ha'n
thoh, I ought or should
not write.
Ka'm dei ia me ha'n
thoh, Thou oughtest or
shouldst not write.
thoh. We ought or
should not write.
2. Ka'm dei ia phi ha'n
thoh, You ought, or
should not write.
THE VERB.
77
3. Ka'm dei ia u ba^n thoh.
He ought or should
not write.
Would (Volition denied.)
3. Ka'm dei ia ki ba*n thoh.
They ought or should
not write.
1. Nga'n ym da thoh, I
would not write.
2. M^'n ym da thoh, Thou
would'st not write.
3. U*n ym da thoh, He
would not write.
1. Ngi'n ym da thoh, We
would not write.
2. Phi'n ym da thoh, You
would not write.
3. Ki'n ym da thoh, They
would not write.
PiiKSENT Complete.
1. Ka lah ha nga'm ahym 1. Ka lah ha nyi^m shym
thoh, I may have not
written.
2. Ka lah ba m€m ahym
thoh. Thou may'st have
not written.
;{. Ka lah ba u*m tthym thoh,
He may have not writ-
ten.
Or,
1. Ka lah ba nga*m shym
la thoh,
*i. Ka lah ba m^*m shym la
thoh.
3. Ka hill I'll li^ni ahym la
thoh.
thoh, We may have not
written.
2. Ka lah ba phi'm shym
thoh. You may have
not written.
3. Ka lah ba ki' m sjujni
thoh. They may have
not written.
1. Ka lah ba ngi*m shym la
thoh,
2. Ka lah ba phi*m shym la
thoh,
3. Ka lah ba ki'm ahym la
thoh.
78
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Or,
1. .Leh',nga^mshymlathoh. 1. Leh' ngi^mshym la thoh.
2. Leh',mem shymla tlioh. 2. Leh' phi^m shymlathoh.
3. Leh' u'm shym la thoh. 3. Leh, hi^m shym la thoh.
Lit. — Perhaps I have not written ; I may have not
written.
Past Indefinite.
Could, Might (Power denied.)
1. Nga'm shym lah hahi
thoh, I could or might
not write.
2. M^'m shym lah ha'n
thoh, Thou could^st
or mightest not write.
3. ITm shym lah ha'n thoh.
He could or might not
write.
1. Ngi^m shym lah ha'n
thoh, We could or
might not write.
2. Phi'm shym lah ba'n
thoh. You could or
might not write.
3. Ki'm shym lah ha!n thoh,
They could or might
not write.
Note. — The form '^ Nga^m la lah ba'n thoh *'
" Me^m la lah ha'n thoh ''
would seem technically correct, but is seldom used by the
natives in assertions ; though it is used in interrogatives,
thus,
Nga'm la lah ha*n thoh f Was I not able to write ?
Past Indefinite. {Swpjyosed negation.)
1. Ka lah, ha nga'm shym 1. Ka lah, ha ngi'm shym
thoh, I might not thoh. We might not
write. 1 write.
2. Ka lah, ha me^m shym | 2. Ka lah, ha 'phVm shym
THE VERB. 79
thoh, Thou mightest 1 thohy You might not
not write. ' write.
3. Ka lah, ba ki'm shym
thoh, They might not
write.
3. Ka lah, ha u'm shym
thoh. He might not
write.
Note, — All this form is like that for the Peesent Com-
plete, which in English also is closely allied in meaning
to this Past Indefinite. I might write sometimes con-
veys the same meaning as / may have written.
Past Complbti.
Could (Power denied,)
1. Nga*n ym da la lah ha*n tlioh, I could not have
written.
2. Me'n ym da la lah ha'n thohf Thou could'st not
have written.
3. IPn ym da la lah ba'n thoh, He could not have written.
PLURAL.
1. Ngi'n ym da la lah ha'n thoh, We could not have
written.
2. Phi*n ym da la lah ha'n thoh. You could not have
written.
3. Ki'n ym da la lah ha'n thoh^ They could not have
written.
{Power asserted negatively,)
1. Nga'71 da la lah ha'n ym thoh, I could have not
written.
2. Mi*7i da la lah ba*n ym thoh, Thou could'st have not
written.
80 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
3. U'n da la lah ha'n ym thoh, He could have not
written, or I might have not written. Thou
mightest have not written, , -n- , ^
TV ••.!>' /- V) building a house.
U n lai thaw (tng) ''
THE VERB. 97
FoTDEE Complete. —
TTn da la dang thdiv (ing)')'Ke will, or, shall have been
U'n da la nang thaw (tng) ) buildinjjf (a house).
Present Complete. — U wan thaw {ing), He has been
building (a house) — lit., He is come (from) build-
ing a house.
U wan tlioh {ding), He has been cutting (wood).
Past Complete. — TJ la lah wan thaw {ing), He had
been building (a house).
Note 1. — This construction with wan (to come) is very
peculiar, but quite idiomatic^ and very extensive. When
the phrase is used in this sense^ some such questions as
" Where has he been ? ** " What are you doing here ? "
are either expressed or understood. — Ans., Nga la wan
tluxw ing, I have been building a house ; or Nga la wan
thoh ding, I have been cutting wood, lit., I have come
(from) cutting wood.
Note 2. — The context may give it another meaning,
when it is taken word for word, Nga la wan thaw ing,
I have come to build a house. But ba'n should in this
case be used before tJidw, to avoid ambiguity ; thus, Nga
la wan ba*n tlidw ing, or Nga la wan ha*n thoh ding.
Subjunctive.
r Lada u dang thaw (ing). If he is building (a
I house).
' ] Haha u da dang tlmw [ing), If he be building
( (a house).
Past.
98 KflASSI GEAMMAR.
Lada u nang thaw {ing)y I£ lie is going on
building (a house).
\ Haha u da nang thaw {ing), If lie be going
^ on building (a house).
Lada u la dang thaw (ing), If he was building
(a house).
Haba u da la dang thaw [ing), If he were build-
ing (a house).
Future. — Kaha u^n da dang thaw (ing), If he should be
building (a house).
Present Complete. — Lada u la wan thaw (ing), If he
has been building (a house).
Past Complete. — Lada u la lah wan thaw (ing). If he
had been building (a house).
Future Complete. — Lada un da la dang thaw (ing),
If he should have been building (a house).
Potential.
Present. — Ka lah, ha nga dang thaw {ing), I may be
building (a house).
Ka lah, ha nga nang thdv) (ing)^ I may be
going on building (a house).
Past. — Ka luh, ha u la dang thaw (ing), He might be
building (a house).
Ka lah, ha u la nang thaw {ing). He might be
going on building (a house).
Future. — Ka lah, ha nga'n dang thaw (ing), I might be
building (a house). Only in Complex Sent.
THE VERB. 09
Ka lah, ha nga'n nang thaw {ing), I might be
going on building (a house). In Complex Sent.
Present Cohplete. — Ka lah, ba nga la wan thaw (ing),
I may have been building (a house).
Past Complete. — Ka lah^ ha nga la lah ivan tJidw (ing),
I might have been building (a house).
Note, — The student will read again our remark on wan
on page 97, § 69, Indicative Mood, after Pres, and
Fa^t Complete, which is also applicable here.
Imperative.
Presknt. — To, da nang thdic (ing). Go on building (a
house).
To ai ba nga'n nang thaw (ing), Let me go
on building (a house).
To ai ba u*n nang thaw (ing), Let him go
on building (a house).
See note under § 64, Imperative Mood, which shows
that this form is also Future,
Infinitive.
Ba'n dang thaw (ing). To be building (a house).
Ba'n nang thaw (ing). To go on building (a house).
Ba*n iai-thdw (ing). To continue building (a house).
Infinitive in ing.
Kaha dang thaw (ing),
Kaba nang thaw {ing),
Kaba iai thaw (incf).
H 2
100 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Participle.
This is expressed in Kliassi by a sentence introduced
by a conjunction ha (because), so giving it a personal
force.
Present Complete. — Ba (ii) la wan thaw [ing). Having
been building (a house.)
Ba {u) la wan hhymihy Having
been seeing.
The pronoun inserted in brackets may be of any person,
according to the circumstances or the sense of the con-
text.
Examples.
(1) Ba (u) la WAN shong-hulaiy u sngow thait ehy Having
been riding, he is very tired.
(2) Ba (nga) la wan khymih ia ka ing, nga'm shym
lah loh ih ia phi, Having been seeing the house,
I was not able to see you.
(3) Ba nga la leit Miymih ia la u hypd, ha ing ka la
long suda, Having been visiting my father, the
(or my) house was empty.
Note 1 . — It will be observed from the above, that the
form is only a substitute for our Participle, rather than
an identical participial form.
Note 2. — The verb leit (to go) is also used like wan as
an auxiliary to express an action in progression in past
time, with this difference, that wan implies the actual
presence of the person concerned, and leit that he is
absent, as —
THE VERB. 101
(1) Mynha u idp, u la lelt thaw ing (absent). When he
died, he had been building a house.
(2) Mynha u idp, u la wan thaw ing (present). When
he died, he had been building a house.
PASSIVE VOICE.
Indicative Mood.
Present. — Dang thaw ia {ka ing), (The house) is being
built.
Future. — Yn dang thaw ia {ka ing), (The house) will
be building.
Yn nang thaw ia {ka ing), They will go on
building (the house), or (The house) will be going
on building.
Past.— ia dang thaw ia {ka ing), (The house) was
being built.
Complete. — La lak nang thaw la (ka ing), (The house)
has been building.
Subjunctive Mood.
Present. — Lada dang thaw ia {ka ing). If (the house)
is being built.
Uncertainty : — Haha da dang thaw ia {ka- ing).
If (the house) be building.
B-oba da nang thaw ia {ka ing). If (the house)- be
going on building.
102 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Future. — Lada ijn nayig thaw ia (ka ing), If (the house)
will be building.
Haha'n da dang thaw ia ( ha ing), If (the house)
should be building.
Past, Fact. — Lada la dang thaw ia {ha ing), If (the
house) was building.
Uncertainty : — Haha da la dang thaw ia (ka ing), If
(the house) were building.
Past Complete. — Lada la lah nang thaw ia (ka ing).
If the house had been building.
Potential Mood.
Present. — Ka lah, ha hi dang thaw ia (ka ing). The
house may be building.
Lehse, ha dang thaw ia (ka ing). Perhaps
the house is being built, or The house may be
building.
Future. — Ka lah, ha ki'n da nang thaw ia (ka ing),
Lehse, yn nang thaw ia {ka ing).
The house might be building.
!Ka lah, ha ki la dang thaw ia (ka ing)y
Ka lah, ha la nang thaw ia (ka ing),
Lehse, ha la nang thaw ia (ka ing).
The house might be building.
( Ka lah, ha ki la lah nang thaw ia {ka ing).
Complete. — I Ka lah, ha la lah nang thaw ia (ka ing),
I Lehse, ha la lah nang thaw ia {ka ing),
The house may or might have been building.
THE VBEB. 103
Ka dei, ha hi da nang thaw ia (ka
Ought, Should. — ' tng),
I Ka deif ha yn nang thaw ia (ka ing) ,
ITie honse should or ought to be building.
Complete. — Ka la dei, ha ki la nang thiiw ia {ka ing),
The house should or ought to have been building.
Note, — We do not know of any other mode of express-
ing the Progressive Potential in Khassi. Ki (they)
is used indefinitely, like our ' they ' in ' they say/ i.e. ' it
is said ; * or the French on in on dit, on parle, &c.
See § 58, 3. The force of ka in ka lah (it is possible)
has already been explained and illustrated in the various
paradigms.
EMPHATIC FORM.
§ 70. There is no auxiliary verb in Khassi that cor-
responds to our English ' do.' Emphasis is expressed
by means of such adverbs as shisha [Beng. jfsy^ '.ac**']
(truly), kein (of course), shym (not), put (yet), jiw
(ever) ; or by laying particular stress on the word or
words to be emphasized.
Indicative Mood.
Present.— iVf/a ieit shisha, lit.,I love indekd=I do love.
Nga'm ieit shisha, lit., I love not indeed=I
do not love.
Past. — Nga la ieit shisha (ia phi), lit., I loved (you)
INDEED=I did love (you).
Nga'm shtm ieit (ia phi), 1 did not love (you).
Nga'm Jiw la ieit (ia u), I never did love (him).
104 KHASSI GEAMMAE.
FuTUEE. — Nga*n 'ieit shisha (iaphi)y I will love (you).
Kga'n ym wit shuh (ia u), I will love (him)
NO.MOEE.
§ 71. These emphatic particles are often employed to-
gether ; such as shym and shuh. put and shym, jiw and
shuhy thus : —
JJ^m SHYM wan shuh, lit., He did not come AGAiN=He
never came.
U'm PUT shy7n wan, lit.. He has not yet come = He has
not come.
TTm JIW ivan shuh, lit., He nevee comes again = He
never comes.
§ 72. Shym and ^wi are used exclusively in negative
sentences, and the former expresses past time ; jiw and
shuhsive not necessarily negative, as maintained by some.
(There is a ' shuh ' which answers to our ' stop ! ^ ' keep
away ! ' ' hands off ! ') These are always emphatic but not
necessarily negative. The literal meaning of shuh is
' again,' ' any move.'
Phi^n wan shuh ? Will you come again ?
Phi^n ym wan shuh ? You will not come again ?
Ai soh shuh ia nga. Give me moee fruit.
Wat wan shuh shane. Do not come here ant moee.
Additional Eemaeks on the Yeebs, Moods, and
Tenses.
§ 73. The verbs long and don should be distinguished.
Long expresses existence generally and absolutely, as
when we speak of God.
THE VBRB. 105
TJ Blei U long, God is, or God exists.
Or ' to become/ as when we speak of plants taking root —
Kijinthung Tci la long, The plants have taken root.
Ka jingiaseug ka la long, The meeting has taken
place, or has commenced.
Or. it is used very commonly as a descriptive verb —
Ka Ktvi ha long Blei, The Word is God.
JJ Blei TJ long TJ babhd, God is good.
On the other hand, don denotes either simply ' to be ' —
TJ Priw u don ha ing. The man is in the house.
TJ Blei TJ don. There is a God.
Or, don is often used transitively, for ' to have ' —
U aim u don hun spah. The king has much wealth.
From the above examples it will be observed, that the
distinction between these two verbs of existence does
not exactly correspond to that between ^\Qq and ^tj\f^
in Bengali, the latter being defective ; for long^ unlike
iB^7{, is regularly used as a descriptive, while don is
exclusively confined to expressing the idea of simple
existence (to be) and that of possession (to have).
§ 74. The form for the Past Indefinite with la
simply, is often used to express the Present Complete,
as —
Qtiest, Phi la thoh ? for Phi la lah thoh ? Have you
written '{
Ans. Ilaoid, nga la thoh mynhynnin^ Yes, I wrote
yesterday.
Or, Haoid, nga la thoh, Yes, I have written.
106 KHASSI GRAMMAR. 7
§ 75. The form la lah is the Present Complete when
used in a simple sentence complete in itself, as —
Nga la lah tJioh ia ha shitti, I have written the letter.
But in a compound or complex sentence, with the sub-
ordinate sentence or clause in the past tense, la lah
has the force of the Past Complete, as —
Nga la lah thoh ia ha shitti, mynha u la poi, I had
written the letter, when he arrived.
§ 76. Sentences introduced by lada (*if' ) are supposi-
tions of a factj but those introduced by haba followed
by da are suppositions of an uncertainty. After the
former class of subordinate clauses, the Past Indefinite
form of the Indicative has often the force of the Past
Complete of the Potential Mood, thus —
Lada nga la lah don hangta, u la kren ia ha hashisha,
If I had been there, he would have spohen the
truth.
The principal clause or apodosis here might be written
thus —
l/'n da la lah hren ia ha hashisha, He would have
spoken the truth.
Doubt in either of the clauses would require the form
with da, thus —
Lada nga la lah don hangta, u^n da la hren shdi, If I
had been there, he might have spoken plainly.
Haba nga da la lah don hangta, ha lah ha u'n da la hren
slidi, If I had been or were there, he might have
spoken plainly.
THK VERB. 107
The native student should pay particular attention to
the essential difference between a subjunctive with lada,
and one introduced by haba-da, when writing, translating,
or conversing in English. The comparatively small
progress which they have hitherto made in speaking and
writing correct English, is mainly due to lack of diligence
in rendering and distinguishing the various moods, e.g.
(1) Lada u'ti wan, If he comes, or If he will come.
(2) Haba u da wan, Should he come^ or If he should
come.
§ 77. The y in shym (not) should be pronounced like
the French u in w»e, or like the y in Tyndal. See § 6, and
Prefatory Remarks to the " Anglo-Khassi Dictionary "
page iv.
5 78. When the particle dang follows the other
auxiliaries la or la lah in the various tense formations, it
should be itself considered as an auxiliary. But when
daug precedes these auxiliaries, it is a simple adverb,
meaning 'just ; ' as —
(1) U la dang tJuiiv ia ha ing (progressive form). He
was building the house.
(2) TJ dang lah thaw ia l:a ing (used adverbially), He
YiS&juBi finished the house.
V dang la kren mynta Jia nga, He has just spoken
(now) to me.
§ 79. The verb ioh (to have) is often used as an
auxiliary instead of lah (to be able) to express some
forms of the Potential Mood, as —
108 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(1) Nga'n ioh ivaUj I shall come=I will be able to
come.
(2) Ngam ioh wan, I stall not come=I cannot come.
(3j U*n ym ioh wan. He shall not come ; equal to
U'n ym lah wan, He will not be able to come.
CHAPTER VII.
The Adverb.
§ 80. Definition. — Adverbs qualify attributes, that is,
Verbs, Adjectives, or other Adverbs, as — U saheb u la hylli
hyniah eh. The gentleman enquired ve^^y minutely. Here
byniah qualifies the verb l^ylli, and eh (very) the adverb
byniah.
Examples.
(1) Qualifying Verbs. — U la poi mynta. He arrived
to-day.
U thiah lihop. He sleeps soundly.
U kren shcii, He speaks distinctly.
(2) Qualifying Adj. — Kane ka long khain eh, This is
very coarse.
U long ba la iaroh hylleng, He
is universally loraised.
Kane ka kam ka long sniw naduh-
haduhy This business is wrong
altogether. Lit., This busi.
ness is wrong from one end
to the other.
THE ADVERB. 109
(3) Qualifying Adv. — U i^id kham jem, He walks more
easily.
U briw u la iaid stet katta. The
man walked so fast.
Ka la kren adykar khynduit, She
spoke guardedly rather,
§ 81. The Khassi language is very rich in Adverbs,
and in the case of those mentioned under Classes 2 and 3,
they may be considered, many of them, to belong to the
untranslatables of the language. When the highest or
lowest degree of any quality is often expressed in English
by the generic adverb ' very,' the Khassis never want a
specific which at once suggests the object or quality
meant. Thus ' very yellow * is rendered ' stem lymied-
LTMiED ; * 'very red' =sdw hain-hain. When the adverb
dik-dik (faintly) is used with the verb padia (to beat), it
is at once known that it refers to the heart beating
faintly near death ; when the adjective sngdid (fat) is
qualified by lykoi (sleeky), it refers to very small animals
of their class ; hjkui, to short-legged beasts, such as the
pig ; lykhur4ykhur is applied only to fat babies ; lykhung
(motionless) with ngat (to fall), always refers to cows or
oxen falling, when about to be slaughtered ; lybuit with
li/nykhidd (naked), refers to aged persons devoid of cloth-
ing ; iyhait, on the other hand, always refers to children,
and means in all these cases ' very ' or ' entirely ' or
' stark * naked. Again, a great number of adverbs are
used with the verb siwh (to hang) according to the size,
no
KHASSI GRAMMAE.
shape or manner, all of whicli are suggested by the ad-
verb used. Thus snoh-lyjdn would imply that the object
is hanging down loosely. In the same way a great
number of adverbs follow the verb Ichih (to move), as khih
doi'doij Miih doh-doh, hhih mop'moj), hhih hrib krlb.
1. Adverbs of Time.
§ 82. (] ) Adverbs denoting past time mostly take the
prefix myn-y ' ago.'
myntay to-day, now.
mynstep, in the morning.
mynhynne, just now.
mynhynnin, yesterday.
mynm'ieity at night.
wynnore, a short time ago.
mynno f when ?
myimo-mynnOy formerly.
mynno-mynno-ruhy ever.
myn-ar'ia, two days ago.
mynariew, a fortnight ago.
mynsngi, noon, at noon.
mynweij in former times.
myniimwei, the year before
last.
myn-sawia, four days ago.
myn-shisngij day before
yesterday.
mynhata, then.
mynshiwaj formerly, be-
fore.
mynhyndai, in old times.
mynltulong, in the remote
past.
mynnynghong, at first.
mynsynia, at midnight.
myndang, while, when.
7nyn-dang-long, at the be-
ginning.
mynpyrhem, in the hot
season.
mynl^uVf in the wet season.
mynsynraiy in summer.
myntylang, in winter.
mynhynne-inynm'ieit, last
night.
THE ADVERB.
HI
mynhynne-mynsngi, at noon
to-day.
mynhynne-mynatep, this
morning.
mynhynnin-mynsngi, -mid*
mynhynnin-mynmieit, yes-
ternight.
mynshi'sneniy a year ago.
myndr-snem, two years
ago.
day yesterday. ^-^ ^ ci£^ ^1*^
(2) Adverbs denoting futurity take the prefix la,
as —
lano ? when ?
lawei, in future, next year.
lano-lanOf at some future
time.
lano-lano-ruh, ever.
lashai, to-morrow.
laa'itf just now, in the even-
ing.
lashihit, presently.
lashisngi, day after to-mor-
row.
With the negative em—lanO'lano-ruh-im, 'never.'
(3) La sometimes expresses past time^ but with a
different meaning to that of mijrif as —
la arsngi, since two days.
la mynweif since last year.
la katta ruh, after so long.
la arain, twice gone.
(4) Adverbs denoting repetition take man =' every/
(fr. ' man ' to grow, arise, or become), as —
man ha sngi, daily.
man ta iew, weekly.
man-bynai,
man
hynai, ") ,_ ,
-^ ' . [monthly.
u oynai, )
man ha mieity nightly.
man ha step, every morn-
ing.
man ha snem^ yearly.
112
KHASSI GEAMMAR.
Ha la is used in the same
ha la Jca sngi, everj day.
ha la shitaieWf every week.
ha la hyndi, every month.
ha la Jca'rta, always, per-
petually, for ever, eter-
nally.
(5) Other Adverbs of time :-
shen, soon.
shen-shen, very soon.
shen-shen.j in rapid succes-
sion.
shuhj again, any more.
artaty at the same time.
liumne, presently, now.
humne-kumne^ immediately,
in close succession.
katta, so long, after so
long.
hloi, soon.
Idoi-kloi, very soon, in rapid
succession.
h'iang, again, once more.
katto-lcatne, for a while.
katha, as long as, whilst.
hun-siriy often.
dang J yet, still, just.
dakf at once.
way, as —
ha la ha snem, yearly.
ha la mieit, nightly.
ha la ha step, every morn-
ing.
iai-, prefix denoting repeti-
tion or persistence.
haha, when, after (lit., in
that).
haha-dei, sometimes, occa-
sionally,
haha-dei-badei, no^ and
then.
eh, often (lit., very).
hadln, after, afterwards.
haduh, until.
haduh-hatno ? How long ?
hynda (historical), when,
after.
haduh lano ? until when ?
ha shiwa, before.
hahynda, until.
hamar, when (simulta-
neity.)
poh-ia, immaturely, before
the time.
shiwddj once.
THE ADVERB.
113
8h%8intokhaty once in a way.
shi'Syndonf at once, with-
out delay.
shiphang, firstly, in or for a
short time.
shi'hyntin, once.
satla, at all.
ym-satia, not at all.
shisin, once.
junom, ever, everlastingly.
jiw, ever, habitually.
jindei, continually.
jcmg-jang, very soon.
mynsynia-mynangi, night
and day, incessantly.
lajan-mxeit, in the evening.
naduhf since.
naduh'haduh, always.
nadin, after.
nang-^ prefix denoting si-
multaneity.
pat, again.
pat'pa-pat, again and
again.
2. Adverbs
adyhii'y prudently, care-
fully.
ariatin, doubtingly.
roit-roit, in quick succes-
sion.
roit-pa-roit, repeatedly.
ruing, back on same day.
putsngi, every alternate
day.
sa kattO'katne, after a while.
hcM'oh'shi-lcatta, all along.
haroh'Shi'lynti, all along.
hai'o1i-«hi'hjnter, all along.
ha teng, sometimes.
ha teng^ha teng, .now and
then.
ynda - hadin - pat, after-
wards.
ryngkat, at the same time.
-sin, suflBx= times.
ahir^riy once.
arain, twice.
laiifin, thrice, &c., &c.
.wad, snffixs times.
arwdd, twice, &c.
hdbadei, sometimes.
hahadei'badei, occasionally.
OF Manner.
bhd, well.
bhtik, suddenly.
hhuk-bhdk, confusedly.
I
114
KHASSI GIJAMMAE.
h'iang, rightly, justly.
hein, scornfully.
hrop, unexpectedly.
hrein-hrein, in spots.
byniahj exactingly.
hynnudy scrupulously, a-
grumbling.
¥ymman, wickedly.
hiriah, jokingly,
hahj briskly.
halei ? why ? • ym-halei ?
why not ?
hor, forcibly, by force.
hdw-Mw, noisily.
kein, of course.
khong-khong, peevishly, an-
grily.
L ^^ vj A khrujpy lowly, humbly.
khop, soundly.
khrdw, proudly, haughtily.
khram, with a crash.
khong-pong, headlong.
khdk, closely, tightly.
J^ /y^ t^^^-Jshnang J purposely.
-t*^ katba-kyndiih, at random.
khyndiat, rather.
kylldirij in a round-about
way, evasively.
kylldiri' kyrjdw, wander-
ingly.
kynjoh, ambitiously, take-
all, arrogantly.
kynthiap, humbly, lowly.
kynhrum-kynbraMf topsy-
turvy.
kynrum-kynrarrif topsy-
turvy.
kyntmk, nimbly.
kynneng, motionless.
kynjahy lonely, desolately.
kymang, agape, expect-
antly.
kyntung, conspicuously.
kynshiriang, elegantly , with
airs, gaudily, gracefully.
kynjaiy happily, cosily.
kyrhdi, abundantly.
kiimno ? how ?
kumno-kumno-ruhy anyhow.
kumno-ruh-kumnOf some-
how or another.
kumne, thus, in this way.
kumta, so, in that way.
kw'iah-kwmh, weakly.
dang shu . . . , scarcely,
hardly.
THE ADVEBB.
116
doi'doi, dingle-dangle.
dik'dik, faintly.
dob'doh, loosely.
dor, distortedly.
ddw-ddw, noisily.
duh-sngiy at a loss.
duh ei, to no purpose.
de, too.
da Tcumweif otherwise.
da-let-lei-ruh, on any ac-
count.
da-lo'de-hiy of one's own
accord.
ei, freely, gratuitously.
ehf very, harshly, hard,
greatly.
hdr-hdr, pleasantly.
hdin-lidin, like crimson.
hlr-hkr, pleasantly.
Am, sweetly.
hir-hlr, eagerly.
hi, alone, by oneself.
hok (ja.), rightly, justly.
hor-hoTf awfully.
hun, soothingly.
ta-, pref. den. mutually.
Jdr-jdr, quietly, secretly.
jir-jir, quietly, secretly.
jiHy almost.
jindei, entirely.
jem, mildly, smoothly.
joit, suddenly, nimbly, up.
jai, calmly, quietly.
jew'sew, surly, bitterly. j -^ '^
-liny to the brim.
Zm, on the back.
*lety amiss, unintentionally.
lang, together.
Idin-ldiiif wavingly.
leiig, all round, conspicu-
ously.
mian-micm, slowly, softly.
mop-mop, with a twitch.
marweif alone.
markylUangj mutually.
mar-ryngkat, together.
noh'Ci, in vain, to nothing.
niun, poorly.
ngeng, heavily.
ngur-ngur, indistinctly.
nger-nger, indistinctly.
ngir-ngir, indistinctly.
nget-ngct, )
ngoi-ngoi, weakly.
phar, entirely, quite. r> uk
I 2
116
KHASSI GEAMMAR.
phit, entirely, in a mass.
phah'phah, violently.
poll, lowly, humbly, meanly.
jyrak, precisely, to the mark.
puh-hdi, wastefully.
pahuh-hdi, wastefully.
-phdi, backwards.
pyrsJiah, against, in opposi-
tion.
Q'ity lowly, liumbly.
riang-r'ia7ig , in a row, or-
derly, seriatim.
ryngmang, unexpectedly,
from no apparent cause.
rynghang, ajar.
rynjungf in a cluster or
bunch.
rynghhat, suddenly.
sa hhyudiat, nearly, almost,
within a little.
sah, straightway.
sa, discontentedly.
sdm, keenly.
saklaty evidently.
saVia, discontentedly.
sah, permanently.
sliikhadeiy exceedingly.
sMem,fast,firmly, positively
shalai, deceitfully.
shdi, clearly, distinctly.
soit, suddenly, abruptly.
slait, closely.
slak, tightly.
shu, merely, only.
stdd, wisely, prudently.
stet, quickly.
sniw, badly, wickedly, ill.
ter-terj in order.
tain-tain, violently, harshly.
than, prodigally, liberally.
tem-tem, lazily.
war, entirely.
wang, wide open.
tarn, too much.
s'am, grudgingly.
Note. — The prefix -ia has the force of our suffix
many cases, as ia-rykhie, ' laughiugly.'
3. Adverbs op Place.
■ly in
arsut, downwards.
artet, upwards.
dadin, backwards.
din, backwards.
hyrtiang, backwards,
hylleng, everywhere.
THE ADYfiRB.
117
kyrphangy apart.
kyrphongf behind.
Ha, in.
Eaei ? Where ?
haei-haei-i-uhy anywhere.
haei-ruh-haei, somewhere
(unknown).
haei-haei-ruh-^m, nowhere.
Kangno? {ha-kano?) where?
hangnchh,-ruh, anywhere.
hangno-h.-Tuh-emf nowhere.
hangno'1'uh'hangno, some-
where (unknown).
hangne-had-shawci, here
and there.
hawei'bad-shawet, in all di-
rections.
ha kyndong, aside.
ha khymaty in front, before.
haloTf above.
li'iJ;rn'hf, aside (and be-
yond).
hangne (ha-kane), here.
hangta (ha-kata), there.
hangtai (ha-katai)t there.
hangto (ha-katojy there.
hakyrphong, behind.
ha shiwa, before, in front.
JuLsyndah, beside.
hajan, near.
lajan, almost.
lyngeh, sidewise.
marjarif close to.
markhap, near, adjacent.
mar-rijngkat, equal, to-
gether.
mar-pyrshah, over against.
mar-pyrdiht half-way.
mar-pyddeng^m the middle.
mar-khymat, before ; face
to face.
naei ? where from ?
naei-naei-ruh, whenceso-
ever.
naei-naev-ruh-emt from no-
here.
naei'i'uh'naeif from some-
where.
nangne, hence.
n(niijfii, thence (na-kata).
nuiKjtdi, thence {7ia-katai).
nangto, thence [na-kato),
nangno ? Where from ?
nangno-n-ruh, whence -
soever.
nangno-ruh-nangno, from
somewhere.
nalor, from above.
118
KHASSI GEAMMAE.
napoli, f rombelo w or within .
nahar (fr. B. ^"ffs^, or H.
?{>!j), from without.
iiohy away, ofp.
"pyrshiiig J side-long.
-pyllup, with face down-
wards.
sha, to (motion).
shaei ? where to.
shaci-shaei-riihy anywhere.
shaeishaei-rnh -('m, no-
where.
shaei-ruh-shaei, somewhere.
shalor, above.
shahar, out, abroad.
sha lyugam, abroad (fo-
reign).
sha nongivci, from home.
shadin, behind, after.
sha sliiwciy in the front,
ahead.
sha-lyndetj aside, beyond.
sha hiavj aside, alongside.
sawdong, round about.
shane (sha-hane),here.
shano f [sha-hano ?) Where
to?
shano-shano-ruh,?in.jYfh.QYe,
shano- shano -ruh- em, no-
where.
shano -ruh' shano, some-
where.
shata, yonder (out of sight).
shatai, yonder (at a great
distance) .
shatOj yonder (in sight).
shathij to the south, that
is, downwards, because
the south is towards the
plains.
sharum, below, underneath.
sybah, backwards.
Note. — For the force of the Adverbs composed of hatttj
hatai, hato, &c., see under the Demonstrative Pronouns.
4. Adveebs of Affiemation and Negation, &c.
Kein, of course.
du, really, indeed.
adSi perchance,
wi, indeed.
em, no, not.
se, indeed, to be sure.
ym, not.
ym . . . dalei ? Why not ?
THE PREPOSITION. 119
haoid, yes.
niuma, rery well, all right.
leJtse, perhaps.
da-lei'lei-ruh-em^ on no ac-
count.
koit, all right.
shisha (Is^) , certainly.
ym , . , heit ? Why not ?
ym . . . sat'ia, not at all.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Preposition.
§ 83. Prepositions are words placed before nouns or
pronouns to show the relation in which they stand to
some other word in the sentence, as —
Ka ingjong nga. The house op me=MY house.
U briw halor ing, The man on the house.
It will be observed that many of the words to be here
registered as Prepositions have already been classed
under the Adverbs. The distinction rests on this, that
the Prepositions always precede and govern some Noun
or its equivalent, expressed or understood.
§ 84. Classification. — Like Adverbs, Prepositions ex-
press relations of Place and Time; they also express
Agency, Cause, Intention, Opposition, &c.
Prepositions of Place.
ha, in^ to.
hadin, after, behind.
haduh, up to, to, as far as.
hawei, elsewhere.
hajan, near.
halor, above, on, upon.
120
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
hapJiang, by or at the side
(oQ.
hamar, about, near.
haphrang, before, in front
(of).
hapoh, witbin, in.
hapyddeng, between, in the
middle.
harud, at or by the side
(oO-
harum, below.
hashiwa, before.
ha khymat, before.
hajerong, on the top (of).
ha hyrphong, behind.
hylleng, about.
jan, near.
na, from.
nahar, out of, from outside.
najan, from near.
napoh, from within.
nalor, from the top of, be-
sides.
Prepositions of Time.
nadin, after, from behind.
naduhf from.
lynghah, through.
lyndet, beyond.
shaphang, towards.
sharum, below.
narud, from the side.
narud'Sharud, athwart.
mar-khymatj before, oppo-
site.
mar-pyrshah, opposite, over
against.
mar-Jan, close to.
pynhhiang, across.
pyrshah, opposite, against.
narum, from below.
sha, to (motion to).
shabar, outside.
shalor, on the top.
shaneng, on the top.
sha shiliang, across.
shapohy within.
naduh, since.
hapyddeng, during.
haduh, until.
jin, about.
ha, at.
hamar, about.
ia, during.
humba, about, thereabout.
THE CONJUNCTION. 121
The prefix myn, noticed under the Adverbs, was origi-
nally a preposition denoting time — i«, as myn-step=:m the
morning.
Prepositions op Agency.
bad, with. da, by, through, by means of.
Denoting Cause.
namar, because, for.
7iamar jong, for the sake of,
on account of.
na ha hynta Jong, for the
sake of.
ia, for, to.
Other Relations.
khlem, without, except.
ha kajakajonij, instead of.
pyrshah, against
kathorkum, according to.
shaphang, coDcerning.
jong, of.
ia, against.
khnang ia, for.
CHAPTER IX.
The Conjunction.
§ 85. Conjunctions join words, clauses, or sentences,
Ma-n bad ma-phi. He and you.
Nga la wan, namar ba phi la wan, I came because
you came.
122
KHASSI GEAMMAE.
§ 86, Classification. — Conjunctions are either Co^pula-
live, Disjunctivej or Correlative,
§ 87. The Cojpulative Conjunctions not only gram-
matically connect words or sentences, but also tlie mean-
ing which, those words and sentences convey.
ha, that, because, since.
hady and.
Jcat, as, so, like.
hatha, like as, as.
Tiunij like.
Jtumha, as.
humta, so.
Jcumjuhj likewise, so, as.
de, also, even.
ia, than.
leh'f perhaps.
lehse, perhaps.
lada, if.
la', though, although.
mynha, whilst.
mynha humtaj in the mean-
nangta, hence.
nalor hane, besides, more-
over.
namar Tcata, therefore.
naha, since, whereas.
jpat, further, again.
ynda, after.
ynda himta, after that.
ynda hadin, subsequently.
ynda hadin pat, after,
again.
te, then, but.
tadynda, until, till after.
tang ha, only that ....
ynda slem, after a long
while.
while.
§ 88. Disjunctive Conjunctions, whilst they grammati-
cally connect words or sentences, logically disjoin them.
Vymda, except, save.
lane, either, or.
•726, or.
Vymne, nor.
la^, though.
pynhan, yet, nevertheless.
THE CONJUNCTION.
123
how-
la* JcatnO'katno-ruh,
ever so much.
hinreif but.
le, but.
tangy except, only.
§ 89. Correlative Corijunctions aro those which suggest,
or answer to, one another, as —
la'kata ruh, yet, still.
la*himta ruh, yet, still.
la* kumnO'humnO'ruh, any-
how.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(1)
(2
(3)
(4)
(5)
hatha
kumha. .
kumha. .
(4) katta
lane
lymne . .
had
la'
ym tang
la' ...
kumta 1
kumta )
kumjnh
ha
lane
hjmne
had
pynhan
hinrei
ne
as
as
so ...
so ...
either
neither
both
though
not only
whether
so.
so.
that.
as.
or.
nor.
and.
yet.
but.
or.
Examples.
Katha u la nang pynih, kumta hi ka la jia, As he
was explaining, so indeed it happened.
Kumha phi la ong, kumta hi ka long. As you said,
so indeed it is.
Kumha phi pynih, kumjnh ruh nga hi nga sngow.
As you show, so indeed I feel myself.
Ka la shit katta, ha u'm lah shong shuh, It was
so hot, THAT he could no longer stay.
U Sim u'n pyddiang lane iaphi, lane u kypa jong
124 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
phi, The king will receive either you or your
father.
Lane u'n ih-sih ia uwei, lane u'n ieit ia uwei pat,
He will EITHER hate the one, or love the
other.
(6) U^m ihthuh lymne ia phi, lymne ia u kypa jong phi.
He knows neither you, nor your father.
(7) Ngi^n ialeit, had marU, had ma-nga de. We will
go, both he AND I.
(8) La* u'm don tyngka hi, pynhan u nang pynlut.
Although he has no money himself, yet he
goes on spending.
(9) Ym tang ba u sniw, hinrei ba u'm tip ei-ei, Not
ONLY because he is bad, but also because he
knows nothing.
(10) La' u long sim, ne u 'riw kyrduh, nga'm sngow
pher, Whether he be a king, or a poor man,
it makes no difference to me.
CHAPTER X.
The Interjection.
§ 90. Interjections are words which express some
passion, such as joy, grief, admiration, encourage-
ment, warning, &c.
THE INTERJECTION.
125
Adur ! Ow ! Oh ! Ah !
Adur-ha^n shot ! Away !
Adi! Oh, dear! Oh,
my !
Ado ! Ho-ho !
Ade ! May be !
Kdw ! Harrah !
Ko! My! He!
Ko I6k ! My friend !
Giw ! Tush I
Lih ! Friend !
Khuhlei ! Adieu ! Wel-
come ! God bless you !
God speed !
Map ianya ! Excuse me !
Waw ! Oh, heaven I
Shi! Ofie!
Shish ! Pooh !
Shisha! Indeed ! True !
Sngdp ! Listen !
Id ! Let us be off !
Sumar ! Take care !
T6 ! All right !
Wdw Met ! Oh, mother !
JiC L-O^y^jlir -^^2^ /P
126
PART III.
SYNTAX.
Introductory Remarks on Arrangement.
§ 91. The Nominative, which may be a noun or a pro-
noun {%ty ha, M), generally jj^'ececZes the verb, as —
JJ hriwy u la idm, The man (he) wept.
Ka ing, ha la hyllon, The house (it) fell.
Ka wah, ha'n ryngdd, The river (it) will dry up.
§ 92. For the sake of emphasis, however, the nomina-
tive ohen follows its verb, as —
U la idm, or La idm u briw, The man wept.
La wan u briw. The man came.
§ 93. In interrogative sentences emphasis is marked
more by the tone of the voice than by the arrangement
of the parts.
U kulai u la iap ? Is the horse dead ?
U hulai u la iap ? Is the hoese dead ?
La kyllon ka ing ? Has the house fallen ?
La kyllon ka ing ? Has the house fallen ?
§ 94. The Object generally /oZZoiys the verb.
U Sim u la leit siat sim, The king is gone a bird-
shooting.
SYNTAX. 127
U Sim u siat sim, The king shoots birds.
U Sim u puh hjhd, The bird pecks grain.
Ka samla ka kit dijig, The lass (she) carries wood.
§ 95. For the sake of emphasis the object sometimes
precedes the verb, as —
la u 8oh, u la lah die, He has sold the oranges.
la la ka kyrai, u'm ieit. He does not love his own
MOTHER.
§ 96. Adjectives follow the nouns they qualify, as —
Ka massi basngdid, A fat cow.
U lum hajerong, A high mountain.
U khynnah basian, A cunning boy.
U khun batipsngif A good child.
U briw bahohj u leit ia U Blei, A righteous man
loves God.
U kalai u kit ia n briw bahehf The horse carries a
BIG man.
^ § 97. When the adjective seems to precede the noun,
it in reality follows the pronoun (« or la) which stands
for the noun, according to the rule given. Such phrases
are always elliptical sentences having the verb long
(is) understood, as —
U babhd u briw — lit.. He (is) good, the man = He is
a good man.
U baheh u knlai — lit., It (ia) BIG, the horse = It is a
BIO horse.
128 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
The adjectives in such phrases are always emphatic.
See § 35, Note 4, and § 110 (2).
§ 98. Except when emphasis requires a different
arrangement. Adverbs /oZZow the words they modify :
U la iap mynta. He died to-day.
U^n wan las^itj He will come in the evening.
U sim u la her no\ The bird is flown away.
Ka jain ka la iong ngain, The cloth has become jet
black,
U soh u byrthiang hhyndiat, The fruit is a little
sweetish.
Interrogative Adverbs may either precede or follow
the verb :
Na-ei phi wan ? >.
T^, . . 9 i- Where do you come from ?
Phi wan na-ei f ) ^
Shano phi leit ? -v -rn.7-, . «
^ f Where are you going f
Phi leit shano ? )
Haei phi shong ? -v
Phi sliong haei ? j ^^^''^ ^° ^""^ ^'^^ '
But when the adverb is to be emphasized, it should'
precede the verb and the nominative, thus —
Mynta u la iap. It was to-day he died.
La^sit u'n wan. It is in the evening he will come.
§ 99. Some adverbs have become mere suJffixes, used
only as integral parts of certain verbs, or classes of
verbs, as —
ieug'joit, To rise suddenly.
mih-soit, To move off.
SYNTAX. 129
leh-meng, To act arrogantly.
thiah-Ai/top, To sleep soundly.
ahong'kJiop, To sit down.
Of the Various Kinds of Sentences,
§ 100. The Simple Sentence has only one finite verb.
(1) This verb may be intransitive, and the sentence
will then consist of only a Subject and Predicate.
U Sim u her, The bird flies.
U sim u synshar, The king rales.
Ka mynsim ha lajdh. The, or, my breath is gone.
(2) Or the verb may be transitive, when the sentence
consists of a Subject, Predicate, and an Object.
U hsew u bam doh, The dog eats flesh.
TJ khld u la hem briw, The tiger has seized a man.
§ 101. The Compound Sentence consists of two or
more simple sentences, connected by conjunctions, which
are co-ordinate to each other.
U ksew u wi'ar baroh shi miet, bad ka miaw ka pah,
The dog barks all the night long, and the cat
mews.
U sim-tung u symphuid ia ki khun, te u sir u bdm
ia ki. The blackbird caresses its young, but the
stag devours them.
U khynnah u kynplom ia ka um, bad ki'm lah khwdi.
The lad disturbs the water, so they cannot fish.
K
180 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
§ 102. The parts of a Compound Sentence in the lan-
guage of divination are not connected by a conjunction.
Nga nohj nga iveng (ia u Ichdw), I cast {and) I pick
up again (the rice).
Nga pyntang, nga py^ismdi, I consecrate (these)
{and) swear (by them).
§ 103. In a Complex Sentence, one or more of the
simple sentences it may contain, are dependent on the
Principal Clause ; and this dependence is marked by the
connecting conjunction, such as namary ' because,^ ha,
'that,' 'because,' naha^ ' since,' &c., &c.
Ka paw biang ha me la sniw-eh, It is clear enough
THAT you have become very bad.
La tei pat ia ka ing ha la kyllon. The house that
fell down is rebuilt.
Ki mrad ki la ih bein ia ka ksew, ha ka la die ia ka
ktung. The beasts despised the dog, because it
sold vetches.
Kumta u Blei u la thaw ia u briw jin arwad laiwad,
ha u ksuid u shu dem wan pra thiaw, So God had
to create man several times, because the demon
kept coming to destroy him.
Naduh ha phi wan, nga la pang eh. Since you came
I have been very ill.
U la wan -kai sha ngi, hadin ha phi la mih noh. He
came to see us after you went away.
§ 104. AVhen the verbs in the various clauses of a
THE ARTICLE. 181
Complex Sentence have the same subject, the subject
is expressed only in the principal clause ; as,
Haba dang lah thaw la ka ing, kumno ngi'n
thied ia kane ? Now that we have just finished
a house of our own, how can we buy this one ?
CHAPTER I.
The Article.
§ 105. There is every reason to believe that the
Article in Khassi was originally strictly definite. For, —
(1) It is often used without a noun expressed, in
which case it has the force of a Demonstrative as well as
that of a simple Personal Pronoun ; as,
U la wan mynta. He came to-day.
Ka la iap mynhynnin. She died yesterday,
(2) The Demonstratives are formed from the articles,
u, ka, hi; as,
Une u'm lah kren, This (man) cannot speak.
Katai ka'm lah kren. That (woman) cannot speak,
(3) The article is often omitted when mdefiniteness is
to be expressed ; as,
Vm, ym don. There is no water.
U sfm u iaid lum, The chief roams on (the) mountain.
§ 106. The determinate sense of the article has in
many instances, however, disappeared.
Ka Wiling la rong-noh ia ka doh.
K 2
132 KHASSI GRAMMAE.
This may be rendered either definitely or indefinitely,
according to the circumstances at the time ; thus,
A kite carried away the meat, or The kite carried
away the meat.
Z7 hriw la ijyniap ia la u hypd, A man killed his own
father, or The man killed his own father.
It appears that the Khassis formerly (as they still often
do) used the adjunct uwei, or kawei, ' one/ after the noun
to express indefiniteness ; thus,
U briw nwei u la pyniap ia la u kypa.
But in many instances this word is now dropped, except
when indefiniteness is to be particularly pointed at ; as,
TJ sim uwei u dang idp, A king is just dead.
U sim uwei-ruh-uwei u dang-idp, Some king or
another has just died.
Hence the want of grammatical distinction between the
definite and indefinite forms.
§ 107. The article is therefore generally used before
the nominative, and again repeated before the verb.
(1) ZJkhun It lah ba'n ih-sih ia la u kypa, The son
(he) may hate his own father.
(2) Ka sniang, ka la thar ia ka jain. The sow (it) has
torn the cloth.
(3) Ka miaw ka pah, The cat (it) mewls.
Note. — The article thus repeated has often the force of a
Personal Pronoun used demonstratively ; hence the effect
of the repetition is to render the article definite in this
construction.
THE ARTICLE. 133
§ 108. Before and after certain Intransitive Verbs the
article is omitted, when the noun is indefinite ; as,
Don 8oh shihun ha hyper, There is much fruit in the
garden.
Briw ym don ha ing, There is no one at home.
Ym ih don phan, shuh ha lew, There are no potatoes
at all in the market it seems.
§ 109. When the article is not repeated before the
verb, whatever be the arrangement, the noun may be
taken indefinitely ; as.
La idp ka massi, A cow is dead.
La ur u briw, A man fell.
Tn poi hi nong hitnong, Coolies will arrive.
But when the article is repeated before the verb the
Doun should be definite.
Ka la iap ha massi, The cow is dead.
U laur u briw. The man fell.
Ki'n poi hi nong hitnong. The coolies will come.
§ 110. The Article before Adjectives. (1) When
the adjective follows its noun, the article may be either
repeated or omitted before it.
(1) U mrdd u barunar, •> ^ ^^^^ ^^^^^
TJ mrdd barunar, J
(2) U h^ew u badait eh, ")
Uksewladaileh. ) A snappish dog.
(2) When the adjective precedes its noun it always
takes the article, and the noun is definite. But the
134 KHASSI GEAMMAE.
adjective itself is predicative and empliatic, the verb
(long) being understood ; as,
U barimar u Lsew, The dog (is) fierce, It (is) a fierce
dog.
TJ hadait u Jcsew, The dog (is) snappish. It (is) a
snappish dog.
Note. — When the form ha dait u Jcsew, ha runar u
Jcsew occurs, ha is then a conjunction meaning because.
(See Chapter III., §§ 156, 157.)
111. Before the names of prominent objects, and
monadic nouns, the article is definite, whether it be
repeated or not.
(1) La ijJiaJi wad u Sim ia pJii, The king has sent
for you.
(2) Yn long Jca iew la sJidi, The market will be
to-morrow.
(3) Yn sa ing Jca JcJildw la sJiihit, The jungle will be
on fire presently.
(4) Ka sngi Jca la miJi la slem, The sun is up long ago.
(5) U la wan JcJiein-Jcsuid u lyngdoh, The priest is
come to consult the demons.
§ 112. When the article is omitted either before the
nominative or the objective case, the noun in both cases
is used indefinitely ; as,
(1) Sim u'm long, He is not a king.
Klildw don Jiang ne. There is jungle here.
But U sim u don Jiangne, The king is here.
THE ABTICLE. 135
Ka hhldw ha long hangne, The jungle is here.
(2) U la pynlong sim ia iig&, He made me a kino.
U saheb u niew briw ia nga, The gentleman con-
siders me A MAN.
Ka rukom ka shnong ka pynlong mrdd ia u
khynnah, The habits of the village make an
ANIMAL of the lad.
§ 113. When a noun forming the predicate refers the
nominative to a class indefinitely, the article is then
omitted before the predicate ; as,
Ka Ktin ka la long Blei, The Word was God. (Jo. i. 1)
Kaktin jongM^ka longjm^«/u'«/ia, Thy word is truth.
U Blei u longjing'itit, God is love.
Kata ba la khd na ka doh, ka long doh, That which
is bom of the flesh is flesh.
Sote 1. — This important rule has been overlooked in
the Khassi version of the New Testament, if not recently
revised. In the first example, taken from Jo. l 1, the
attribute of Divinity only is asserted of Christ ; although,
as stated in the preceding clause, not identical with the
Father, 6 ©co?, tJie Qod.
Note 2. — In this version the Khassi article is treated
as if never definite ; for, to emphasize such words as
6 6(6^, 6 \6yo<;, to ^w?, v dXrjOeuif rj ^(orj, &c., the relative
pronoun is added as a substitute for the Greek article
wherever it occurs in the original. This is certainly not
sanctioned by either grammar or usage. In doubtful cases^
136 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
the use of the Dem. Pronoun would be more in harmony
with the genius of the language^ without departing too
much from literal exactness.
Note 3. — Ktin (word), like jjarole in French, is feminine,
and therefore should have been KaKtin, and not UKtiii,
as an equivalent of 6 X0709, although that is masculine in
Greek. The French version has la Parole (fem.), not le
Parole. We cannot change the grammar of a language,
— Emperors have failed.
§ 114, When identity with the subject is to be as-
serted, the predicate should take the article.
Nga long Jca jingshisha, I am the truth.
Nga long ha lynti, I am the way.
Kajingim ha la long ha jingshdi hi hriWj The life
was the light of men.
§ 115. Certain nouns in apposition, not intended to
mark something specific or individual, but an ordinary
title of the person or thing, do not take the Article ; as,
TJ Borsing sim, King Borsing.
U Wat Sirdar, Sirdar Wat.
U Ksan Wadar, Councillor Ksan.
§ 116. All plural nouns, except those used collectively,
take the article plural hi, and are therefore often used
indefinitely; as,
Don hi briw ha ing. There are people in the house.
La lap hi sn'iang ha lynti. Pigs died on the road.
THE ARTICLE. 137
La iap-op K massi ha kane ka wah, Some cows were
drowned in this river.
Ki nongot ki long hi angel, The reapers are angels.
§ 117. The article should be repeated in the following
cases : —
(1) Before a verb in the j^resent tense when it follows
its nominative ; as,
U Ichloi u Tisdw bam ia ki massi, The tiger is con-
tinually devouring the cows.
Ka hhih-ahoh ha saphriang, The fever is spreading.
(2) When the verb is in the future tense ; as,
Ka tew Sohra ka'n long la shdi, The Cherra market
will be to-morrow.
U hypa u'n phah ktin la shai, His father will send
word to-morrow.
(3) Before verbs used negatively ; as,
Ka'm treh la kymi, His mother is not willing.
U lum u*m da jerong eh, The mountain is not very
high.
(4) Before such auxiliary verbs as da, lah, dang, nang,
jiw, 8fc. ; as,
TJ Sim u dang lah thaw ing. The king has just built
a house.
U khynnah u lah ha'n pule. The lad can read.
U samla u da nang slidd b'iang eh, The youth can
dance very well
Note, — The construction which omits the repeated
138 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
article is inelegant, though sometimes heard in ordinary
conversation.
The Article and the Objective Case.
§ 118. When the noun in the objective case is
governed by the preposition ia the article is to be taken
definitely; as,
U Sijphai It la s'iat ia u hriwy The Sepoy has shot the
man.
Ka huh lea dang hytah ia lea ling, The porpoise has
just touched the boat.
§ 119. When the object of the verb is not governed by
ia the article is often indefinite ; as,
Z7 hynda u la pynjot ha ing hakhlaw, The rhinoceros
destroyed a house in the jungle.
Ka dingim ha la thar ijathar u sniang. The bear
mangled a pig.
§ 120. The article is often omitted before a noun in
the objective case.
(1) When it is used indefinitely; as,
U Hat u la leit wad hlang, Hat is gone in quest of a
GOAT.
U Riang u wan pan synduh, Riang is come to ask
for a BOX.
(2) When it is used collectively —
U Lorshai u'n wallam soh ia ngi, Lorshai will bring
in SOME FRUIT.
THE AETICLE. 139
Ki nong kitnong, ki kit briw mynta, The cooliea
carry men to-day.
§ 121. After prepositions, the article is of ten omitted,
but the noun is definite ; as. Ha iiig, In the house.
U sim u la her-noh na ru, The bird is flown from
THE CAGE.
U sniang u rih hapoh sem, The pig is hiding in the
STY.
U iaid-kai halor Um, He is walking on the mountain.
§ 122. The article has sometimes the force of the
possessive pronoun ; as,
(1) Ka kymi ka'm shah ia kata. His mother does
not allow that.
(2) U Said u dang w^d ia u khun hangne, Sdid is
stiil searching for his son here.
(3) U'm don jaka ba'n buh ia ka khlih. He has not
where to lay his head.
This is identical with a well-known Greek idiom :
ovK ex€t TTOu TTjp Ke(f>a\rjv kTuvtj. — Matt. viii. 20.
§ 123. TJie Article before Adjectives not joined to a
Substantive. — The article, when prefixed to an adjective
not joined to a substantive, converts it to a noun
substantive; as,
ba *riwbhd, rich; u ba 'riwbhd, a rich man.
b'ymnian, bad ; u b'ymman, a bad man.
ki b'ymman, bad men or people ; the wicked.
ka 'riwbhd, a rich woman.
140
KHASSI GEAMMAE.
§ 124. The feminine article A;a when so used, forms
abstract nouns ; as,
ha hymman, evil, wickedness.
Jca hasmw, badness, wickedness.
lea bahoh, justice, righteousness.
ka habhd, goodness.
Note. — For other modes of forming abstracts, see
§18, (3).
§ 125. The article is often omitted before nouns
connected by had, ' and,' or had . . . bad, ' both . . .
and,' whether they be in the nominative or the objective
case I as,
(1) Ki la wan haroh, sJdnrang had hynthei, They all
came, male and female.
(2) Ki la wan, had shinrang had hynthei, They
came, both male and female.
(3) Ki la ioh la ha spah jong u hypd aroh, bad hri
bad hhyndew. They have had all their father's
property, both groves and land.
CHAPTER II.
The Noun.
§ 126. The Nominative. — When three or more nomi-
natives form the subject to one verb, the conjunctive
THE NOUN. . * 141
particle bad, * and/ should only be used between the two
last; as,
(1) Ki ksiar, hi jain, bad ha hhyndew, hVn hap ba^
roh ha u hhun hhadduh, The gold ornaments, the
clothes, and the land will all go to the youngest
son.
(2) U Sim, hi shnong, bad hi dyhJihr, hi'n ia sylla
lang la shdi, nga sngow. The chief, the villagers,
and the Bengalis will hold a consultation to-
morrow, I hear.
§ 127. When the verb has several nominatives
connected by bad, it will require the prefix ia to express
mutual or joint action ; as,
(1) U Jom bad Ka Bonmai hi la ia riiai ha shnong,
Jom and Bonmai sang in the village.
(2) U Borsing had U Bamsiag hi la ia sngowthuh,
Borsing and Ramsing have agreed.
§ 128. When a noun is nominative to several verbs,
the article should be repeated before each.
(1) TJ Said u pang, u hhrew, had u piaw eh. Said is
ill, weak and very peevish.
(2) Ka ma^si ha sngdid, bad ha hhrdw shisha. The
cow is both fat and big indeed.
(3) JJ Sirdar, u beh mrdd, u slat sim, had u hhwdi,
The Sirdar hunts, shoots birds, and goes a-fishing.
§ 129. The nominative is as often expressed as it is
142 ' KHASSI GKAMMAE.
omitted in the imperative mood, when it should follow
the verb ; as,
(1) Khie leit noh. phi, Go (you) away.
(2) Wat shah ia kata me, Do (thou) not permit it.
(3) Khymih shane, phi, Look here, (you).
§ 130. Number. — Two or more nominatives connected
by had, ' and,^ require the article representing them be-
fore the verb to be in the plural, that is hi, ' they ' ; as,
(1) Ka shnong bad ka khlaw hi iadei ia u sim.
The village and the jungle (they) belong to the
chief.
(2) U Waddr had u hhun, hi la idp. The councillor
and his son are dead.
(3) JJ nonghihai had hi hhynnahj hi*m put hloi, The
teacher and the children are not yet ready.
§ 131. When the second of two singular nominatives
comprehends the first, although connected by had, ' and,'
the verb should take the singular article of the second ;
as,
Ka shnong had ha muluh haroh, ha la honguh ia u
sim, The village and the whole state has sub-
mitted to the king.
§ 132. Nominatives of different numbers connected
by had, require a plural article before the verb ; as,
Z7 hsevj had hi langhrot hi la ngam rynghat, The dog
and the sheep sank together.
§ 133. When the plural nominative is only a secondary
THE NOUN. 143
element, the article of the principal nominative only will
precede the verb ; as,
(1) U nonghikai bad ki khynnah u la wan, The
teacher with the children has come.
(2) U sim bad ki montri, u la poi. The chief with
his counsellors has arrived.
§ 134. When singular nominatives are separated by
lane, 'or,* ne, 'or,' I ymne, ' nor/ the verb takes the
singular article ; as,
(1) Ka massi lane ka blang ka la pynpr^h ia ka jing-
ker, Either the cow or the goat destroyed the
enclosure.
(2) Lymne ka massi, lymne ka blang ha'm shym
pynprah ia ka jingker. Neither the cow nor the
goat has destroyed the enclosure.
§ 135. When nominatives of different numbers are
separated by lane, ne, or lymnCy the plural nominative
should come last, and the verb will take the plural arti-
cle; as,
(1) TJ kulai lane M nong kitnong, ki'n kit ia ka mem,
The pony or the coolies will carry the lady.
(2) U mynthyna lane ki hlang ki la khlaw ia kiphdn,
Either the gyal or the goats have dug up the
potatoes.
§ 136. Collective nouns which convey the idea of
unity or oneness take the singular article ; as,
144 KHASSI GEAMMAK.
Xa muluk baroh lea la, khih-wiiij The whole state
was disturbed.
U soh u'm kynrei ha kane ka snem. The orange is
not plentiful this year.
U paitbah u wan nguh ia u sim. The people have
come to pay their respects to the king.
§ 137. Collective nouns which imply plurality take
the plural article ; as,
Ki bynriw M'm jiw iamut kajuh, Men never think
alike.
Ki paitbah hyllin hi la hud ia U Jisii, Great
multitudes followed Jesus.
§ 138. Gender. — When two or more singular nomi-
natives of dififerent genders are separated by la7ie, 7ie, or
lymnef the verb (which should always in this case either
precede or immediately follow the first nominative) takes
the article and therefore the gender of that first nomi-
native ; as,
(1) Kan iathuh ia phi ha kymi, lane u kypa, Either
his mother or his father will tell you.
(2) Ka ding'im Tian bam ia ka blang lane u khla.
Either the bear or the tiger will devour the goat.
Or the verb in this case may remain anarthrous ; as,
Yn ham ha dingim lane u Tchld ia ha hlang.
La thaw u kypd ia ha ing, lane ha hidw.
The house was built either by his father or his
grandmother.
THE NOUN. 145
§ 139. Certain collective nouns take both genders,
as —
ka muhik=ti district, a province, a country. Or,
n mulu1c= the people who form the community in
general.
Ka 8hno)ig=\it., a village, a collection of houses ;
then the village ip the sense of ' inhabitants ' ; or
the village community.
u shnong^ the body of the people, the citizens.
FemarJc. — The feminine form includes all classes, both
male and female. The masculine either the male portion,
or has an implied reference to the superstitious notion,
as in u shnoufjf of a presiding demon, who is thought
to dwell mystically in thn people , and of whose ' voice *
and will, the people are an expression in all joint actions.
§ 140. The Possessive Case. — The particle jong pre-
ceding a noun places it in the Genitive or Possessive
Case, as —
Ka ing jong u sim, The chiefs house.
Ka hjpir jong kl hnw, Other people's garden.
Ka mynsim jong nga. My spirit,
§ 141. The particle yom/ (of) is often omitted, as —
Ka-Ktin u Tilei, The Word of God.
Ka Mynsim u Blci, The Spirit of God.
Ka ing Id hriw, Other people's house.
Ka ing nga, My house.
This mode of expressing possession by mere juxta-
h
146 KHASSl Gl^AMMAli.
position of nouns should be avoided when it would cause
ambiguity ; e.g. u soh ]jhi would be inadmissible, as it is
also the name of a particular fruit. Euphony also
(which has great influence on the Khassi language) would
often require the form with jong.
§ 142, la is the Khassi reflexive possessive pronoun
always referring back to the subject, as —
JJ la Icit sha la ing^ He went to his (own) house.
JJBlei U ladi ia la U Khun, God gave His (own) Son.
Remark. — Those acquainted with Bengali, &c., will see
that this particle la in Khassi is equivalent to the Bengali
^^, and the Hinduslani 'oul {dpnd). See § 6(3.
§ 143. Various prepositions and phrases often require
the possessive with, jong after them, as, shaphang, 'con-
cerning,^ nalor, * besides/ hamar, ' about/ namar, ' on
account of,' 7ia ha hynta, ' for the sake,' &c.
TJ kren shaphang jong phiy He speaks of you.
Nalor jong phi ym don shuh, Beside you there is no
one.
U sngowsih namav jong nga, He is vexed on my ac-
count.
U la idp na ka hynta jong ngi, He died for our sake.
§ 144. Tlie Objective Case. — Nouns and their sub-
stitutes ill the objective case generally take ia before them
after transitive verbs, as —
U klila u kem niat ia ka miaw, The tiger seized the
cat.
THE NOUN. 147
U kobiraj u la pynjem la ka jiiigpaug, The doctor
has eased the pain.
See §§118, 119, 120.
§ 145. The objective particle ta is never used before
anarthrous nouns ; hence it is often dispensed with in the
objective case, as —
U Miet u pyniap massi, Miet kills beef.
U Ronsing u shoh hriw, Ronsing is beating people.
§ 146. When objectives are anarthrous they are used
indefinitely, and are generally plural —
U Sim u'n &i hriw mynta. The chief will give men
to-day.
Ka tymen ka kit smr, The old woman carries fowls.
See § 118.
§ 147. When the objective case precedes the verb, the
sentence is then emphatic —
la ka massi u la pyniap y He has killed the cow,
la ka tyngka u la shcin, He has found the money.
§ 148. In many instances the objective has become,
as it were, a part of the verb, such as —
khwdi'doh'kfui, to fish, lit. to hook fish.
tong-unif to draw water,
tong'sMr, to catch small fish or sprats.
riam-sim, to catch (birds).
khoit'Soh, to gather (fruit).
thoh'ding, to cut wood.
pynmih-sminif to bleed, lit. to cause blood to come out.
r, 2
148 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
§ 149. Some verbs are followed by two objectives, one
being a more exact definition of the other, and without
the article. It is the accusative of closer deHnition of
classic authors, as —
U Hakim u la kynnoh nongtuh ia nga, The judge
accused me (of being) a thief =The judge called
me A THIEF.
U Shnong u'n sa thung sim ia u syrdar, The village
will appoint the sirdar king.
U Blei u pynlong 'riw-khuid ia ki bangeit, God
makes saints of believers.
Remark. — Closely allied to these are those accusatives
which often follow certain adjectives, as —
U nonghikai u khraw ka jingstdd, The teacher is
eminent (for his) learning.
U long u ba da heh noh ka rynieng, He is very big
as to his stature.
§ 150. Cognate Accusatives are somewhat numerous
in Khassi, but difficult to translate literally.
phah-jingphaliy to send something (that should be
sent).
wdd-jingivdd, to search for something.
kit-jingkit, to carry burdens.
•wan-jingwan, to return from a journey.
leit-jingleit, to go on a journey.
thied-jingthied, to buy goods.
die-jingdie^ to sell goods.
THE NOUN. 149
dihr-jimjdih, to drink something.
hdm-jitKjhdm, to eat something.
These accusatives are all used in a very general and
indefinite sense.
§ 151. The objective may be a sentence introduced
by ba (that), or a verb in the inBnitive mood, as —
(1) U Sim u la adoiig ba*n idm-hriw la ahdi, The chief
has forbidden to mourn to-morrow.
(2) Nga tip ha phi ieit ia nya, I know that you love
me.
Ki ong ba ka la hi^^\K hiar sha thor mynhynne, He went down to the
plains this morning.
G, ^^Av, -^*y/^' Ki la ia wan-ruing bad u phan, They returned the
same day with potatoes.
Remark. — The article was originally a Demonstrative
Pronoun, of which character the Personal Pronouns of
the third person still often partake.
§ 173. The article thus employed must agree in
number and gender with the noun it represents in a
sentence.
3) U nonghikai jong ngi, tt hikai bha eh, Our teacher
teaches very well.
Ia. ^Uk\o Ka4ng-massi ha la pluh noh, The cowhouse (it) is
burnt down.
§ J 74. Two or more nominatives, though of different
THE PEONODN. 161
genders, connected by bad (and) require the pronoun to
be in the plural ; as,
^ U Saheb bad ka mem ki long Phareng,* The''^'^^**
gentleman and his wife (they) are English.
6 U ksew bad ka mi^w, ki iadat, The dog and the cat
(thky) are fighting.
§ 175. When these nominatives are personal pronouns,
one of which is in the first person, the personal pronoun
which will represent them as the direct nominative (in
apposition) of the verb, should be in the first / r.v //
plural; as,
(1.) Ma-nga bad ma-phi, ngi*n ia leit-kdi sha shnong, '^^^q ^
I and you, (we) will go on a visit to the village.
(2.) Ma-u bad ma-nga, ngi'n ia leit noh ryngkat. He
and I, (wb) will go away together.
(3.) Ngi'n ia iap lem, ma-nga bad ma-ki, Both I and
they, (we) will die together.
§ 176. When the personal pronouns thus connected
by bad are of the second and third person, singular or
plural, the pronoun which represents them should bo in
the second peri Note here that ma-u
fi^ U la ong mau hi u Sim. J is used honorifically .
M 2
fsi^
164 KHASSI GEAMMAE.
0^^ PMn ong hi ma-jjhi f Will you say yourself?
In the same way M may be used when the nominative
is a personal pronoun, and ma-u, Sfc, may be added
honorifically, or for the sake of euphony
i\ UyO^ TJ la ong U.
J] la ong hi ma-u. > He himself said.
U la ong ma-u hi. .
The student would do well to write out these forms
with other verbs such as waiiy ' to come/ fcren, ' to speak/
sngoWj ^to hear/
§ 181. The much disputed idiom 'It is me' in
English should be rendered as follows in Khassi :
' Ka long ma-nga. It is me. French, C^ed moi.
Ka long ma-phij It is you. ,, C'est vous.
Ka long ma-u. It is him. „ G'est lui.
Remarks. — Mand ma-u hi, ma-ka hi, &c., are analogous
to and even identical with ^-s^ and tjl (c£p) in Bengali
and Hindustani.
^srtf^ ^^ ^^^ frprt^ I myself answered.
^Ji V^ {Jt^ ^ myself said.
§ 182. The Possessive Pronoun. — The usual particle of
possession jong is often omitted in certain set phrases, as
Ka ing nga, Ka ing jphi, Ka ing u, for Ka ing jong nga, 8^c.
My house, Your house, &c. But the rule is to employ
jong before personal pronouns.
THE PRONOUN. 165
Ka wait jong phi ha la luin eh, Your cleaver (daw) is
very blunt.
Ka ing jong n ha sa noh sha riat, His house will fall
over the precipice presently.
The omission oijoiig before nouns is both regular and
elegant. (See § 141.)
§ 183. The article has sometimes the force of a
possessive pronoun. (See § 122.)
«U. U saheb u la khein ha hyjat, The gentleman has broken
HIS leg.
^W Phi la khein ha byniat, You have broken your tooth.
§ 1 84. When the article separates the possessive from
the object possessed, then the clause is an assertion ; as,
• ( Ka ing, ha jong nga, The house (is) mine.
Ka jong nga, ha ing. Mine (is) the house.
The prefix yiwjr of abstract nouns is only another form
of this jong, ' of.'
§ 185. The reflexives la, la ha jong, la ujong, la hi, la ha
jong hi, la tijong hi, which all mean, ' his,' ' her,' * its,' &c.,
'his own,' 'her own,' ' its own,' &c., refer to the nominative
of the principal verb, and differ essentially from the con-
struction with ^on^. When hi is added to la, la ha, la u,
la ha jong, ^c, it is equivalent to our word ' own ' in
English and to ^^, ^' {dpan, dpna) in Bengali and
Hindustani, and the Latin suus, sua, suum ; as,
o^t U la die-noh la ka ing, He sold his houso.
166 KHASSI aRAMMAR.
Ka la^thei la ka mg. She has built her house.
Ka kymi jong phi ka pynjot ia la ka ing hi, Your
"^^^'*^' mother is ruining HER OWN family.
Nga la khein ia la ka kyjat, I have broken my leg.
(/^, Nga la Miein ia la haJHng ka kyjat, I have broken my
f^^ own leg. ^^
Remark, — lijong had been used here, the possessive
would refer to some person other than that represented
by the nominative.
§ 186. The absolute possessives, ' mine/ ' thine,' ' his/
' her,' ' yours/ ' ours,' &c., formed by prefixing the
proper article of the thing possessed before the ordinary
possessive case of the personal pronoun, is a very common
construction in Khassi ; as,
Kane ka long ka jong nga, This is mine.
Kane ka dei ka jong nga, This is mine, or, belongs to
me,
OvM [Shaphang kata ka mg, ka long ka jong phi, As to that
j house, it is yours.
Ka kyper ka'm jiw ia dei ka jong phi. The garden
was never yours.
§ 187. The reflexive 'self is also rendered in Khassi
by lade or lade hi.
U la shukor ia lade, He deceived himself.
Ka la khein duh ia lade, She gave herself up for lost.
Phi la riam bieit ia lade. You have foolishly entangled
YOURSELF.
THE PRONOUN. 167
(1.) Prepositional clauses are made reflexive by means
of la :
U la pheb da Za kamon hi, He went away of his own
accord.
U la leit noh sha la kaj ing, He went away to his own
home.
(2.) Sometimes, as in English^ this construction may
be ambiguous ; as,
U Daroga u la kem ia u briw ha la ing hi, The Inspector
arrested the man in his own house.
To 4i noh ia nga la ka jong. Give me my own. Might
=Give me your own.
(3.) When the verb is transitive, the emphatic ht,
* self,' when it refers to the subject should follow the
latter or the verb, and the object when it refers to it.
U Sim hi, u la pyniap ia u nongtuh, The chief him-
self killed the thief.
U Sim u la pyniap ia a nongtuh hi, The chief killed
the VERY thief.
§ 188. The Mtlative Pronoun, — The true relative
pronoun in Khassi is the conjunctive particle ha,
originally signifying that, hecansc, since. The forms
n6a, kaba, kiba, commonly called relatives, are in
reality both antecedent and relative, for (1) ha is often
and elegantly used alone ; (2) the compound forms
kaba, uba^ &c., may also be the subject of a principal
sentence.
168 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(1.) Nga ihthuh ia ubriw ba phi la mudui, I know the
man whom you have sued.
The Relative here is evidently ba.
(2.) Kaba la jia sha shnong, ka mih na ka jingshun.
What happened in the village, arises from
enmity.
From this example it is evident that haba contains the
antecedent Im and the relative ba. So that uba, Icaba,
&c., in all cases mean 'that which/ 'he who/ &c.
Another proof that the article was originally a
demonstrative.
§ 189. The article prefixed to ba in the formation of
the relative in many sentences is only the article
repeated according to the rule already explained ; as,
Ka samla, haba wan mynhynnin, ka la iap. The girl
THAT came yesterday is dead.
§ 190. The relative generally follows immediately its
antecedent ; as,
Ka lyngkha, ba nga la bet, ka sei soh biang, The field
which I sowed, bears fruit well.
U lum, uba paw hangta, u jerong eh, The mountain
WHICH appears there is very high.
Caution. — Care, however, should be taken not to con-
found the relative ba with the conjunction ba^ though
originally identical.
THE PRONOUN. 169
(1.) Nga tip ba phi la leh ia kata, I know that you
have done that.
(2.) Nga ihthuh ia phi, ba la leh ia kata, I know you
who have done that.
§ 191. When the relative is in the accusative case,
it often takes ia before it ; as,
(1.) Nga sngowthuh bha ia kaha phi ong, I under-
stand well WHAT you say.
{2.yNga wan thang ia u hriw, ia uha la pyniap, &c., I
have been burning the man who was killed, &c.
Remarli 1. — The Khassi language being devoid of
inflection, in the strict sense of that word, it cannot
have what Greek grammarians call attraction. We
have, however, several instances in the version of the
New Testament, of this peculiarity of Greek grammar
being introduced.
When the relative in the original, though itself the sub-
ject of its own verb, agrees, for example, in the accusative
case with its antecedent, or is in the genitive by attrac-
tion, the relative in Khassi, in order to preserve a literal
(?) rendering, is put in the same case ; but contrary to
usage. John v. 23, ia a case in point; and when
rendered into English would translate *'whom hath
sent him." The verse should be rendered thus : —
U'm burom ia u kypa uba la phab ia u, He honoureth
pot the Father which hath sent him.
170 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Remarh 2. — To use the so-called relatives u-ha, ha-ha,
hi-ba, which signify 'he who/ 'she who/ &c., as
substitutes for the Greek article is unwarrantable both
by grammar and practice.
§ 192. The Demonstrative Pro:nouns. — The article
has often the force of a demonstrative ; as,
U briw u la lah poi. The man has arrived.
Nga'm ioh ih ia ka ing, I do not see the house.
§ 193. The demonstratives are formed from the
simple article by the addition of suffixes to denote near-
ness or remoteness ; as, ha-ne, u-ne, hi-ne, in which -7ie
denotes 'here' (this, these) ; Jca-ta, u-tay hi-taj where -ta
denotes ' there ' entirely out of sight ; but -to, -taij
different degrees of distance, to within sight, as hito,
kitai. (See § 53.)
§ 194. The demonstratives, like nouns, always require
the article to follow them in a sentence :
(1.) Tito u kulai u la dykhoh, That horse is lame.
(2.) Ine i s'iar i la sydang khd-pylleng, This chicken has
commenced laying eggs.
(3.) Lehse kita^ kiba poi mynsngi, ki-tip baroh,
Perhaps those who arrived at mid-day, know all.
(4.) Nga'm sngowthuh ia kine ki ktm jong phi, I do
not understand these words of yours.
§ 195. The Distributives. —We shall here merely give
THE PRONOUN. 171
examples of their use. For mode of their formation, see
§ 64.
(1.) Uwei-uwei u'n ioh la ka bainong. Each will have
his wages.
Nga'n pyllait ia ki kynthei kawei-kawei, I will
let go the women, one by onb.
(2.) Distribution is expressed by mar, ' each.'
Ki nongtrei kVn ioh mar-shi tyngka. The workmen
will have one rupee each.
Ki nongtrei ki la ioh mar shi tyngka-tyngkay The
workmen received one rupee each.
Ki la hud ia ka met idp mar amgut-amgut, They
followed the corpse two-by-two.
(3.) By the insertion of -pa-.
Ngi'n ia bud ia -phi uwei-pa-uwei, (masc), We
will follow you ONE-BY-ONB.
Ki kynthei ki la iakren kawei-pa^kawei, (fem.),
The women spoke one-by-onk.
Ki la ia kylli ia ki uwei-pa-kawci, (masc. and
fem.), They asked them one-by-one, (both male
and female.)
(4.) ruh (also) appended.
Vwei-uwei-ruh u*n ioh ia kren bad nga, Each one
will be allowed to speak with me.
Ki'n die ia ki ing kawei-kawci-ru/i kyrpliang.
They will sell the houses one by one, separately
172 KHASSI QRAMMAE.
(5.) Another mode with na — sha.
Ki la ia wad ia u briw na Tcawei-sha kawei pat ka
ing, They searched for the man feom one house
TO ANOTHER.
(6.) ^'Either " is expressed by uwei na, lit.=' one of '
(masc), 'hawei na^ (fern.), and 'neither' by these
followed by a negative ('m).
U Saheb u'n ai kam ia iiwei na kine ki samla,
The gentleman will give employment to either
of these youths.
TJwei ruh na kine, u'n ym sngowbha ba'n leit,
Neither of these will like to go.
Bemarh. — It will be seen from the above that the idea
of individual distribution is conveyed by reduplication
of either noun or pronoun, with or without mar (each).
Ki siphai ki la ia bysut arngut-arnguty The soldiers
entered two-by-two.
Ngi'n ia ai jubab marwei-marwei. We will reply
INDIVIDUALLY, Or ONE-BY-ONE.
Ngi'n ia thaw la lea ing-ka mg, We will build every
ONE his own house.
Ngi'n ia trei ha la ka kam-ka kam. We will work
EACH at his own occupation.
§ 196. Our ' each ' is also expressed in Khassi by the
indef. pronoun uwei or kawei, or iwei,
Ki kynthei ki'n ioh ar tyngka kawei, The women
will receive two rupees eac^.
THE PRONOUN. 173
§ 197. The Indefinite Pronmins, for a list of which see
under § 55, may be illustrated by the following
examples : —
Ki la sngowsih eh baroh ha ing, They were all very
much displeased at home.
Ki khynnah ki la sngow bukhoh eh baroh dr, The
lads were both very much disappointed.
La ing ka ing baroh kawei, The whole house was
burnt.
U la win u lum baroh uwei. The whole mountain
shook.
Uwei-pat u'n bujli ia u, Another will take his place.
Uno-uno-Tuh u da lah ba'n leh ia kata, Ant one
could do that.
Uno-ruh-uno u lah ba'n leh ia kata, Somebody or
ANOTHER may do that.
KinO'hino^uh ki'n ik wan wdd id u ksew, Some
(persons) will come after the dog.
Kino -ruh-Jcino ki'n ia wan wdd ia u ksew, Some
PERSONS OR OTHER will como after the dog.
La poi shane tcei-ruh-viei mynhynne mynstep,
Somebody or another came here this morning.
La jia ei-ruh-ei, nga'm tip shuh. Something has
happened, I don't know at all what.
Uwei a la kren, te uwei pat u la batai, One spoke,
and the other explained.
Ki ba'n wdd ia u ksew rub don kein, Some (people)
will come after the dog also of course.
174 KHASSl GRAMMAR.
Tang hhyndiat ki wan ia seng mynta, Only a few
came to the meeting to-day.
Bun ki la wan ia seng mynhynnin, Many came to
the meeting yesterday.
Nga'm don soh, to ai hatto-hatne ho, 1 have no
oranges, do give me some, will you ?
Ei-ei-ruh-em nga'm lah ong shuh, I can say nothing
at all.
Ei-ei-ruh- em ym don ha ing. There is nothing in the
house.
Contrary to other languages, we have in the two last
examples, two negatives used to express a negation.
§ 198. The Interrogative Pronouns are underlined in
the following examples.
El ba kren ? Who speaks ?
Ei ba iathuh ? Who said ?
TJei ba'n leit wad briw ? Who will go for coolies ?
Mano ? Who is there ?
Kaei phi ong ? What do you say ?
Kiel ba'n kit jongkit ? Who are (to be) the
coolies ?
Aiuh phi kren ? or, Phi kren aiuh ? What do you
say?
Phi kren shaphang aiuh ? What are you talking
about ?
Yn kren U Sim. Uno ? The king will speak.
Who?
THE VERB. 176
T6 shim ia kane. Kano? Take this, will you.
Which ?
Kane ka jojig no ? Whose is this ?
lano phi la ia kren baroh shi katta ? Op whom were
you speaking all that while ?
Hano phi la (\\ ia kata ka kitab ? To whom did you
give that book ?
Nang-no phi la ioh ia kane ha ing ? From or Of
whom did you get this house ?
Nga'n leit lah shemphang aiuh ia kata baroh ?
What can I know of all that business ?
Da-el phi'n th^w ia la ka ing ? With or Of what
will you build your house ?
Kum haei long kata ka ling-tydem ? What sort (of
a thing) is that steamboat? (See § 215.)
§ 199. The Compound Relatives, — We shall give here
a few examples, merely to illustrate the list given under
§52.
Uno-uno-ruh uha ngeit, u'n ioh jingim. Whosoever
believeth will have life.
Jar uha ngeit u'n ioh jingim b'ym jiw-kut. Whoso-
ever believeth will have life eternal.
Ia u kulai| la' u long u jonguo-jongno ruh, yn die
noh, The horse, whosb-soever it is, will be sold.
UnO'Uno-ru/t, uha ka dohniid jong u ka sniw, yn
long sniw kakam jong u ruh, Whoever has a bad
heart, will also have bad actions.
Ba unO'Uno-ruh ha phi shania, ia uta phi'n ieit kein ;
176 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Uho-uno-ruh ha uha phi shania, ia uta phi'n ieit
kein. In whomsoever you trust, him you will love
of course.
Ia kaei-haei-ruh ha me leh, to leh katba me lah.
Whatever thou doest, do with all thy might.
Jaid ha kylla jingmut shibun, ym lah shania ha u.
Whoever changes his mind often, (he) cannot be
trusted.
Note. — From the above examples it will be observed
that the compound relative is formed by combining the
indefinite 'pronouns with the simple relative ha, or with
uha, haha, &c.
CHAPTER V.
The Verb.
§ 200. The verb ' to be/ or long, is often omitted or
understood in Khassi ; as —
U lum Rah-leng u^m da jerong ehj Rableng mountain
(is) not very high.
Ka sngi lea 'kham Ichrdw shihun ia V Byndi, The sun
(is) much larger than the moon.
JJ khynnah u tipsngi eh naduh ha u shong shur, The
lad (is) very well behaved since he is at school.
Note. — This feature might perhaps be explained by
maintaining that the adjectives as well as the adverbs
THE VERB. 177
become iu monosyllabic languages virtually verbs by
construction.
§ 201. Voice, — Some verbs, originally intransitive,
are often used transitively, but with a change of
meaning; as,
(I.) Mih=* to rise/ 'to spring,' or ' to accrue.'
(Intransitive).
U phlang a la mih kloi eh ha kane ka snem, The
grass has sprung up very early this spring.
Ka sngi ka mih ha mih-'ngi, The sun rises in the east.
Mih (transitive) =* to produce,' ' to yield.'
Kane ka lyngkhd ka mih phan shibun, This field
yields a good crop of potatoes.
Una a lum u mih dewiong shikkadei. This hill
YIELDS a great deal of coal.
(2.) ie)iff (intransitive) =* to stand.'
U khynnah u ieng ha rud lynti. The lad is standing
on the road-side.
long (transitive) = * to possess/ * to guurautec'
U Montri jong u sim hi u*n icmj shi hajar tyngka,
The king's chief adviser will himself guarantee
1000 Rs.
(3.) Do« (intransitive) =' to bo.'
Nga'm shym don hajan mynkata, 1 was not near at
that time.
N
178 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Don (transitive) = ^ to have/ ' to possess/
U Saheb u don lai ngut ki kliun, The gentleman has
three children.
(4.) sngow (intransitive) =* to feel/ oVf ^ to be.'
Nga sngowhhd shibun eh, I am very much pleased.
U sngow suk shibun eh, He feels very happy.
Sngow (transitive) =' to hear/
U tymen u'm sngow safia ia phi, The old man does
not HEAR you at all.
U kypa jong nga u sngow-ipsing dik-dik. My father
FEELS acute pain.
Man has the meaning of ' to become.'
Ka samla ka'm man bha satia, The girt does not im-
prove at all.
Or, like mih=' to yield/ or, ' to produce.'
Ih when compounded with an adjective or
adverb ; as,
{h-mat=^ to be probable.' and ' to see.'
ih-sih=^ to be ugly, hateful, &c.,' and ^ to hate.' "
ih-hein=' to be despicable/ and ' to despise.'
ih-hha — ' to be handsome,' aad Ho take a fancy to.'
§ 202. The verbs long and don, ' to be.'
These two verbs are often confounded by foreigners.
The distinction does not in all points correspond with that
between -s^ and va|{;-^ in Bengali. Long signifies exist-
ence, generally and absolutely, don simply Ho be ' under
certain limited conditions; as,
THE VERB. 179
U Blei Ulong, God is, or, God exists.
U Blei U don hangne, God is here.
Uta u briw u shu long, That man exists merely.
Uta u briw u don, That man is present.
In all descriptive phrases long signifies ' is/ but don
never; as,
U Sim u long runar, The chief is cruel.
U Sim u long bymman eh, The chief is very wicked.
Don in all such cases is inadmissible.
Long as bearing the meaning of ' to become/ is used of
plants, for ' to take root ; ' of assemblies, for ' to take
place ; * as,
TJ symhai u'm lonq Raiia, Tlie seeds do not take root
at all.
Ka dyrbar ka*m shym long, The council never took
place.
Bon signifies *to have,' for ex. see § 201 (3).
Compare the following Bengali forms : —
the passive voice.
§ 203. Read again § 07 When the agent, or
material, or the instrument with which an action is done,
is expressed, it should be governed by da or had.
N 2
J 80
KHASSI GEAMMAE.
1. Present. Bang thaw ia ha ing, The house is being
built.
Sometimes the indefinite ki (they) is used as a
nominative.
Ki dang thaw ia ha ing da hi ding, They are build-
ing the house with or of wood.
2. Past. La thaw ia ha ing da hi it, The house was
built of bricks.
La thoh ia ha shitti da U Jarhhd, The letter
was written by U Jarka.
La lah pyniap ia ha massi da U Miet, The
cow was killed by U Miet.
La dang lah pyniap ia ha massi, The cow
had just been killed.
3. Future. Yn thaw ia ha ing, The house will be built.
Tn sa thaw tng, Houses will be built
shortly.
Lano yn thaw ia ha ing ? When will the
house be built ?
Lano yn thoh ia ha shitti ? When will the
letter be written ?
Ynda la lah thaw ia hata ka ing, ngi^n die
ia hane. After that house has been built,
we will sell this one.
Hahadang lah-thdw ia hane ha ing, humno yn
thied ia hawei ? When this house has just
been built, how can another be bought ?
THE VERB. 181
PRESENT INDICATIVE.
§ 204. Continued state or action is expressed both by
the simple verb, and by the particles dcL, dang, and nang ;
as,
U khynnah u irei mi not bad la ki kot, The boy is
working hard with his books.
U khynnah u da trei bad la ki kot, The boy is
working with his books.
U khynnah u dang trei ha lyngkha, The lad is
(still) working in the field.
U khynnah u nang idid sha shiwa ia ngi, The lad is
going on before us.
Note. — Da is our English " ing ; " dang and nang were
originally adverbs ; dang connects present action or state
with the pa^t; nang connects the present with the future ;
as mere tense auxiliaries. This distinction is important
to notice.
§ 205. In narration, the present of apodosu expresses
past time ; as,
Mynba nga don hangta, u da hhd eh. When I was
there, he was very good.
Haba ngi la ia shem bad u saheb, u da kren eh, When
we met with the gentleman, he was speaking
harshly.
Hynda ngi la pynih ia u, u*m don ei-ei ba'n ia thuh.
182 KUASSI GRAMMAR.
After we had explained to him, he had nothing
to say.
Ha kaba lashai U Joan, u ioh-ih ia U Jisu, ba u
wan, The next day, John seeth Jesus coming, &c.
John i. 29.
Ha kito ki sngi te, U wcmi U Joan, not la wan ; In
those days cometh John, &c.
§ 206. In the active voice only, the present expresses
future time, sometimes ; as,
Nga wan pat, had nga^n pyddiang ia phi, I am
coming again, and I will receive you.
The Imperfect Tense.
§ 207. In narration the past imperfect is often ex-
pressed by the present with da ; as,
U'niang thliw u da pyniap bun briw mynwei. The
small-pox USED to kill a great many formerly.
Ki shakri ki la iawan bad ki da iarap ia u. The
servants came, and they were helping him.
Ha khymih ki angel ki la wan bad ki da iarap ia u,
Behold angels came, and they were helping him.
Matt. iv. 11 (see also Matt. xiii. 8, where the same
construction would apply with more elegance).
§ 208. An inchoative act, that is, something commenced
but not actually carried out, should be expressed by the
past imperfect with dang ; take, e.g., Heb. xi. 17.
THE VERB. 183
Uta uha la lah ioh ia ka jingkular, u J a damj
hinngia-noh ia la u khtin, He that had received
the promises, was ofpbrinq his own son, i.e. was in
the yerj act of offering his son Isaac when the
angel came to prevent him.
This distinction should be carefully observed, as it
suggests at once to the native reader the true state of
things under which Abraham acted, as well as the
nature of his obedience to the Divine command. The
first part of the verse says that he had offered his son,
that is, in principle, and the latter part explains the
apparent inconsistency " that he was (in the act of)
offering."
The Future.
§ 209. To the ordinary form with yn (will) the
particle sa is added when certainty, or nearness of a
future or contemplated action is to be expressed ; as,
XTn sa wan khot ia phi, He will come to call you soon.
U'n aa leit khet soh. He will soon go to gather
oranges.
But sa without yuj in narration, implies a close
succession of events :
Ynda u la thdw ia la kaing, u sa leit shong hi, After
he has built his house, he will go to live there
himself ; Or, After he had finished his house, he
went to live there himself.
184 KHASSI GRAMMAE.
The latter rendering is equally correct. It is with this
particle of narration sa that the natives blunder so often
and so inexcusably, when they always render the future
form in Khassi by the future in English.
§ 210. The Future is used to express a command ;
aS;
Phi*n leit shi syndon, Go at once.
Phi'n ym leit da lei-lei, Don't go by any means.
§ 211. The verb leit (to go) is used as an auxiliary to
express what is about to take place, or likely to take
place ; not unlike fjueXXo) in Greek grammar, and aller or
va in French.
U dang leit thaw ing, He is GOiNa to build a
house.
Phi leit iap noh, You will surely die.
§ 212. The Future Perfect is rarely used in compound
sentences ; as,
U la lah pyndep ia la ka kam la shai, He will have
finished his business to-morrow.
IJ'n la lah 2^yndep, &c., might be used as well.
Haba u'n poi hangne la shai, u la lah ioh-ih ia u,
When he comes here to-morrow, he will have
SEEN him.
IVn la lah ioh-ih, &c., might be used.
THE VERB. 185
§ 213. Ynda, usually translated * when,' ' after/ is
strictly a particle of the future tense, and, like haha, with
a past tense gives the true Future Perfect in Khassi ;
as,
YjkUi u la idp, ncjan, ioh bun spah, When he will
have died, I will have much wealth.
This is evident from such sentences as the following : —
Nga'n da la lah don hangta, haba phi'n poi, I will
have been there, when you shall arrive. For
Nga*n da = N(ja yn da. Also Ynda khymih.
Note. — Here lies the true distinction between ynda
and hynda. The former refers to the future, and the latter
to past time. Hence also the principal sentence follow-
ing that introduced by ynda should always refer to the
future.
The Past, Perfect, and Pluperfect.
§ 214. (1.) The form with la — the past indefinite or
aorist has often the force of the present and past com-
plete.
La wan u khynnah ? U ta wan, Has the boy
come ? He has come.
Nga la thoh ia ka shitti, I have written the letter.
Katba U la poi sha ing, ka la iap, As soon as he
had arrived, she died.
(2.) The form with la lah — the present complete i^w&Qdi
also for the pa^t complete.
186 KHASSI GEAMMAR.
Nga la lah thoh ia ha sJdlii, I have written the
letter. {Present complete.)
In compound sentences, having the accessory clause in
the past, la lah is past complete.
Haba u la shong ha Ing, ka shitti ka la lah poi,
When he sat down in the house, the letter had
ARRIVED.
The simple past in the principal clause would require
another construction ; thus —
Mynba u shong ha ing, ka shitti ka la po i, When he
was sitting in the house, the letter arrived.
Interrogatives.
§ 215. Questions are indicated (1.) by means of
particles, see § 198 ; or (2) by the tone of the voice.
(1.) We shall illustrate this rule by means of particles
not exemplified under pronouns, such as haei ? where ?
hangno ? where ? shaei ? where ? shano ? where ?
halei ? why ? humno ? how ? See § 82 in extenbo.
Lano phi'n leit ? When will you go ?
U wan shane halei ? Why does he come here ?
Ei ba kylli ? Who is it that asks ?
Kylli mano ? Who asks ?
Kumno nga'n tip ? How will I know ?
Hato, humno phi kren ia kata ka ktin ? Pray,
how do you speak so ?
THE VERB. 187
(2.) By the tone of the voice.
Phi'n leit noh mynta ? Will you go away now ?
Ka hukum ka long pop ? Is the law sin ?
(3.) YHien an affirmative reply is expected, mo (is it
not ?) is added.
Phi'n wan pat la shai, mo ? You will come back
to-morrow, will you not ?
Nga'n shem ia phi ha iew, mo f I will find you
in the market, won't I ?
(4.) But mo is also used ironically, to signify the
extreme absurdity or improbability of what is apparently
assented to in the question : —
Q^€8t^on. Phi la kren bein ia u kypd jong nga,
You have spoken disparagingly of my
father.
Answer, Nga la kren bein ia u kypd jong phi mo ?
I have spoken disparagingly of your father
have I ?
(5.) An affirmative reply is given by means of a
negative question, thus : —
Phi'n wan ? Balei ym wan ? Will you come ?
Why not ?
Phi'm kloi ? Balei ym kloi ? Aren't you ready ?
Why not ?
(6.) A negative reply is given by means of an
affirmative question : —
188 « KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Ei ha shong hangne ? Who lives here ?
Nga'n hit tip shano ? How can I know? I don't
KNOW.
Phi leh hymmariy You do wickedly.
Nga leh bymman Mo ? I do wickedly do I ?
Of Negatives, (See § 65.)
§ 216. Put and satia are used only with negative
verbs, also shym {with verbs in the past tense).
U'm wan satia, He never comes.
Nga'm tip satia, I do not know at all.
Ki'm put poi, They have not yet come.
Ki^m-put shym sngow, They have not yet heard.
Other particles are often used with negative verbs, but
they are not necessarily and exclusively negatives as
some have maintained, § 72 : —
U'm wan shuh, He will not come again.
U'm tip shuh, He does not know at all.
JJ'm Jiw wan shuh, He never comes again.
. U'm shym wan shuh. He never came again.
U'm shym shong shuh, He never stopped any
longer.
The Imperative.
§ 217. The particles of command are to, ho, and Mde
with hit, ^ to go ; ' as.
To wan pat Moi sha la ing I Eeturn home soon.
THE VERB. 189
To leit hylli ia la u kypd ! Go and ask your
father.
To pan bor na u aim ho ! Ask permission from the
chief, will you !
Ky Uriah ho ! Stand on one side, will you !
8ngdp ho ! Listen, or, Silence, will you !
Khie leit wad ia ka tyngkd ho ! Go for the money,
will you !
Khie leit noh shi syndon ho ! Be off at once, will you !
§ 218. In prohibitions u;a< (the Hin. o-e) is employed,
when the prohibition is strong, direct and decisive.
Wat wan shuh shane ! Never come here again.
Wat put wan shane ! Don't come here as yet.
Wat da kylli lushia-eh katta, Don't be so inquisitive.
§ 219. Our English ' let ' is expressed in Oassi by
id or tti, ' to give/ or shah, ' allow,* and ieh, * let alone,'
with the verb in the future ; as.
Id ngi*n ia leit noh ! Let us be going !
To di, ngi'n ia mih noh ! Let us be away !
To shah, nga'n wan pat ! Let me come back !
To ieh mynta ! Let alone for the present !
§ 220. After to, khie, the present participle with da
is often employed ; as,
To khicy da kylli l/iang ho ! Go, and ask again, will
you !
To leit, da wad biung ho ! Go, and search again,
will vou !
190 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Of the Moods and Tenses in Compound Sentences.
§ 221. Dependent clauses may form (1.) the subject of
the principal verb ; as,
Ba u la iap, ha long Tea ha sngow sih shibun eh, That
he is dead, is a very sad affair indeed.
Ba u'n leit noh, ka long kaha shisha hi, That he will
go away, is true enough.
(2.) The object of the principal verb ; as,
Nga tip, ha u la hham koit mynkata, I know that he
was better then.
U la ioh-ih, ha it'm lah shuh pgndep (pres. for past),
He saw, that he was not able to fulfil.
U la ioh ih, ha u^n ym lah pyndep shuh (fut.). He
saw, that he would not be able to fulfil at all.
Nga la ioh-ih, ha u la khaweit shihun, I saw, that he
was very much frightened.
Z7 Sim u la lah ioh-sngow, ha phi pang eh, The chief
had heard, that you are very ill.
Z7 Syrclar u la tharai, ha phi'n da wan hi (future).
The Sirdar thought that you would come yourself.
Sometimes the conjunctive ha is omitted; as,
U la tharai, phi'n wan hi. He thought, you would
come yourself.
TJ la tharai, phi'yi da la ivan hi, He thought, you
would have come yourself.
THE VERB. 191
§ 222. Of conditional and dependent clauses, that is,
such as are introduced by /"/'. 'if,' la*, 'though,'
hdha/ if/ ynda, * when ' (fut.), haba, ' when ' (past) ; we
distinguish (a) Those which suppose a fact. These take
the present, or past indie, in both members ; as,
Lada u hren, ngajiw shah-shkor ia u, If he speaks,
I always listen to him.
Lada u la kren shdi, nga rah nga la ioh sngow, If he
spoke out, I also (must have) heard him.
(b) Those which suppose a thing a^ possible or probable.
These take the future indie, in both clauses.
Lada u*n kren, nga ruh, nga*n shah shkor, If he will
speak, I also, will listen.
Lada u'n ym kren, nga ruh nga'n ym kren, If he will
or does not speak, I also will not speak.
(c) Those which imply uncertainty. These are
introduced by haba and require the auxiliary of
contingency da before the verb in the future in both
members, the Protasis as well as Apodosis.
Ilaha u*n da kren shdi, nga'n da tip kumno ba*n leh,
Were he to speak out, I would know what to do.
Haba u'n da leh bhd, u kypa u'n da sngow snk,
Were he to -conduct himself properly, his father
would feel happy.
((?) Those which imply that something has not been
fulfilled or come to pass. These are introduced by lada
192 KHASSI GEAMMAR.
-with the past perfect indicative in the conditional clause
or protasis, and the future perfect in the principal
clause or apodosis.
Lada u la lah kren, nga'n ym da la lah honguh ? If
he had spoken, would I not have obeyed ?
Lada u la lah honguh, nga^yi da la lah ioh-sngow,
If he had submitted, I would have heard.
This class will equally admit of the simple perfect in
the principal clause or apodosis ; thus,
Lada u la lah honguh, nga ruh nga la lah ioh-sngow,
If he had submitted, I also would have heard.
Lada u la lah iap, phi'm shym la lah ioh-sngow ma-
phi ? If he were dead, would you not have heard ?
Lada u la lah thaw ing hangta, nga'n ym d% la lah
leit shong da lei-lei sha Sohra^ If he had built his
house there, I would not have gone to Cherra
to live on any account.
Lada u la lah leit noh, ha lah ha nga*u da la lah leit
noh ma-nga hi ruhy If he had gone away, it is
possible that I would have gone away myself as
well ; or, I might have gone, &c.
Lada u la leit noh, nga la pep noh, If he had gone,
I would have remained.
Lada u la hren, nga la iathuh 'shisha ha phi, If he
had spoken, I would certainly have told you.
(e) The force of the present tense in a subordinate clause
will depend on the tense of the principal sentence ; as,
THE VEBB. 193
U la lah wan thoh shitti mynba nga ioh-ih ia u.
(Here the present ioh-ih should be rendered by a
past tense, to correspond with the 1st clause.) He
had been writing a letter when I saw him.
On the force of wan in the above, see §§ 69, 225.
§ 223. Intentional clauses, or sentences expressing
purpose, are introduced by ba, ' that,' ' in order that,'
or by khnang ha, ' in order that ; ' as,
U la ong ia kata haroh, ha*n phCn ioh Up, He said
all that, in order that yon may know.
TJ la ong ia kata haroh, khnang ha phi*n ioh tip, He
said all that, in order that you may know.
U la ong ia kata baroh, ba phi'n da ioh tip. He said
all that, that you might know.
U la ong ia kata baroh khnang ba phi'n da ioh tip.
He said all that, in order that you might know.
Note. — For the force of ioh, see § 79.
The Infinitive.
§ 224. One verb jjoverns another in the Infinitive
Mood. The sign of the infinitive ha'n is often omitted;
as,
U wan kylli hiang shapJiang kata ; U wan ha*n kylli
h'iang sh-kata, He comes to make further inquiries
about that matter.
U knlai ii dang h'iar sha'wah ha'n dih urn, The
horse is just going down to the river, to drink.
194 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
U hh/nnah une, u wan pule hot, This lad is come to
study. (Lit., to read books.)
Z7 Syrdar to la leit di dyrlchat, The Sirdar is gone to
lodge a suit.
U nang thoh, or U nang ha'n thoh, He is able to
write, or He can write.
U nang iaid, or JJ nang ha^n laid, He is able to
walk, or He can walk.
Note. — We have already explained under § 61 that
nang is employed as an auxiliary of tense. In the above
sentences it may be taken either as a principal verb (to
be able) governing its infinitive, or as an auxiliary of
mood [potential). He can, &c.
§ 225. We would here again refer the student to our
remarks on wan (' to come/) under § 69, as an auxiliary of
tense in the present perfect progressive. This construc-
tion is analogous to, if not identical with, the French
idiom with Venir de, lit., to come from.
French. — II vlent de hatir une maison. He has (just)
been building a house.
Khassi. — Ulalah wan thawing, He has been building, &c.
U la lah wan thaw ing, mynba ngaioh-ih ia
u, He had been building a house, when
I saw him.
In this construction with wan the infinitive participle
ha^n is not understood, that would give another meaning.
& 226. The infinitive has only one, viz., the present
THE VERB. 195
form, and its tense in any particular sentence is
determined by that of the governing verb ; thus,
Ka ilei ia nga ba'n leit noh (present), I ought, or
shonld go away.
Ka la dei ia nga ba'n leit noh (past), I ought to,
or, should have gone away. (Lit., It was proper
for me to go away.)
In some cases the English past infinitive cannot be
rendered except by a dependent clause.
Ki ong ba u la leh ia kata shisJia, He is said to have
done that surely. Lit., They say, that he has
done that, &c.)
Ki ngeit haroh, ha a la don ha ieic mynta, lit., It is
believed by all that he was in the market to-day.
He is believed to have been in the market to-day.
§ 227. The infinitive {with or without its object) may
1)0 either the subject or the object of the principal verb ;
as,
Ba*n ngeit ia kata ka eh shibun (subject), To believe
that is very difficult.
U la ong ia phi ba'n leit- noh (object). Ho told you
to go away.
IPn. da 8ngowbhd ba'n pynngeit ia phi, He would
like to persuade you.
§ 228. Our verbal noun in ing is formed by prefixing
the feminine article ka to the (verbal) adjectives formed
from verbs ; thus,
o 2
196 KHASSl GKAMMAR.
bam, V. to eat ; babdm, eating ; kaba bam, to eat or
the verbal noun ' eating/ = fea'?2- bdm.
idm, V, to weep ; ba idm, weeping.
II briw baidm, a weeping man (adjective).
haba idm jong u briw, the weeping of the man
(infinitive).
It briw babdm, a voracious man.
Jcaba bdm jong u briw, the man's eating.
In many cases the verb in its simple form will have the
same meaning, but in others euphony demands the form
with kaba.
Kaba pule kot ka pynshai ia ka mynsim, Reading
enlightens the mind.
But, U la wan ia ka ba'n pule kot, He came to read
(purpose).
§ 229. The infinitive of purpose, or our gerundial
infinitive is-used in lieu of the form explained under § 223
(with ba) that is, the form ia ka ba'n; as,
Don bun ing ia ka ba'n wdi shane. There are many
houses FOR HIKE here.
U la khreh ia ka ba'n di tyngka, He is prepared to
ADVANCE money.
U pynsngow-is^nei da kabaiam. He excites pity, by
weeping.
THE PARTICIPLE. 197
The Participle.
§ 230. The present participle in trig differs from the
infinitive in tug in that it agrees with a substantive like
an adjective ; for which reason it is sometimes called a
verbal adjective.
The verbal adjective, or the participle in * ing ' in
English, when employed (1.) as a primary predicate is ex-
pressed by prefixing da to the verb, with the article ; as,
U idm, He weeps. U da idm. He (is) weeping.
U thoh, He writes. U da thoh. He (is) writing.
U la idm, He wept. U da\& iam, He was weeping.
U la thoh, He wrote. U da la thoh, Ho was writing.
The particle da in this construction conveys the idea
of simultaneity as well as relation to some other verb.
Ka dohnud jong ngi ka'm shym da la ing mo
hapoh jong ngi? Was not our heart burning
within us f Luke xziv. 32.
(2.) But when this participle in English is a secondary
predicate, or as an adjunct to the principal verb, da is
prefixed withjut the article ; as,
U la hikai ia ki, da ong, He (Jesus) taught them^
SATING, Matt. v. 2.
U la kren, da idm, He spoke, weeping.
U la leit noh da idm. He went away, weeping.
(3.) This is also rendered by prefixing \a to the verb
used as an adjunct, or secondary predicate.
U khynnah u la wan ia-pM, The lad came running.
198 KIIASSI GRAMMAE.
(4.) When employed as an attribute, descriptive or
causal, is rendered by a subordinate clause in Khassi,
introduced by an adverb ; as,
U lakob Jiamar ha u sa iap u la kyrkM ia la ki
khun uwei-uwei-ruh, Heb. xi. 21, Jacobs dying,
blessed each of his sons.
U kypa, ha u mut sniw, u la phet noh. The father,
SUSPECTING, escaped.
Note. — When these and other prepositions are used
with the form kaha, such as da kaha idm, ' by weeping/
na kaha sngowsih, ' from grieving,^ ia ka ha'n thied,
*for buying,' we have a true gerundial infinitive, ex-
pressing ' means,' * purpose,^ fitness/ &c.
Da kaha iai pynneh, phi'n hikai shen, By persever-
ing you will soon learn.
Da kaha kren shinva, pM'n pynngeit ia u, By speak-
ing plainly, you will convince him.
§ 231. The English perfect participle (as an attrihute)
is rendered in Khassi either (1.) by the simple verb with
the adverb ynda, ' after ; ' as,
Ynda thoh la ka shitti, u la iam eh, Having written
his letter, he wept much.
Ynda kJiot ia nga sha la ing, ii la siw haroh. Having
CALLED me to his house, he paid all.
Or, (2.) by a subordinate clause introduced by hynda.
Hynda v. la khot ia nga sha la ing, u la siw baroh.
Hynda u la thoh ia la ka shitti, u la iam eh.
THE ADVERB. 199
§ 232. We here give a few examples of English
sentences, with the perfect participle rendered into
Khassi, as models to follow : —
(I.) I saw the letter written, Nga la ioh-ih ia ka
shitti, kynda la thoh.
(2.) I saw the letter being written, Nga la ioh-ih ia
ka shitti, haba dang tho/t.
(3.) I heard the order being read, Nga la ioh-sngow ia
ka hukum haba ki dang pule ia ka.
(4.) The work done in this place is immense, Ka kam
ba la leh shane ka long ka bakhraw eh.
(5.) The beasts shot this year are very few, Ki rardd
ba lat^iat ha kano ka snem ki khyndiat eh.
(6.) He saw the hoase being painted, U la ioh-ih ia ka
ing haba hi dang nidd rong ia ka.
(7.) Whatsoever we have heard done at Cherra, do
also here, la kaei-kaei-ruh ba ngi la ioh sngow
ba la leh ha Sohra, leh kumjuh hangne.
CHAPTER VI.
Adverbs.
§ 233. For the usual position of the adverb, see § 98
and examples there given ; the following are exceptions
to the general rule, Ihanif ' rather,' shait, * briskly,'
' constantly,' Jcsaw, ' frequently,* jiw, * ever,* put, ' yet/
200 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
shyrriy 'not/ Most of these were originally used as
independent verbs, to govern tlie now principal verb in
the infinitive, e.g. jiw, lit. means * to be in the habit,' so
hsdwj shait, ' to be strong/ ^ to be fond of .^
Wmjiw wan, He never comes, lit., He is not used
to come.
U jiw leit, He makes a habit to go, = He is in the
habit of going.
U shait bam doh. He is always eating flesh meat.
U shait iam. He is always crying.
U khla u Jcsdiv bam briw, The tiger often devours
men.
U'm shym sngowthuh. He did not understand.
U sim u hham sngowsih. The chief is somewhat
offended.
§ 234. By mere juxtaposition, a feature characteristic
of the Turanian languages, most verbs and adjectives,
and even nouns, are converted into adverbs ; as,
U nongbylla u tre\'shito7n, The labourer works hard.
U khynnah u hikai-hhd, The boy learns well.
U Saheb u iaid -mm^i, The gentleman walks slowly.
U Mabajon u die-duh, The merchant sells at a loss.
§ 235. Adverbs have degrees of comparison like
adjectives.
U 'riw-ling u trei hham mlnot bad la ki jar, The
boatman works more diligently at his nets.
THE PREPOSITION, 201
U 'riw-ling u trei Jcham minot tarn bad ki jar, The
boatman works most diligently at the nets.
TJ Wiw-ling u trei minot tarn eh had ki jdr^ The
boatman works host diliqently of all with the
nets.
CHAPTER VII.
Of Prepositions.
§ 236. Prepositions are distinguished from adverbs in
that they govern nouns or their substitutes.
Ki iatrei naduh mynhynnin, They are working since
yesterday.
Nga'm tip ei-ei shaphang kata^ I know nothing
ABOUT that matter.
§ 237; Some prepositions, when they do not govern
and stand alone, are adverbs.
Ka kyper ka don ar phew pruh pynkiang. The garden
is twenty cubits broadways.
Ka ing ka la pyddang sha neug. The house is
cracked above.
§ 238. The following prepositions require special
notice :
(1.) had (lit., and) ' with.'
Nga'n ia kren had phi, I will speak with you.
(2.) had used for ia, ' against.'
U ialeh had nga, He fights WITH me.
202
KHASSl GRAMMAR.
(3.) had to express the material cause, * of.'
U la tei la ka ing had u maw^ He built his house
with, or OF stone.
Da expresses the instrumental cause.
U nongbjlla u la khet ia ka ding da ka sydi, The
labourer cut down the tree with an axe.
U la thaw la ka ing da ka, surkhi, He built his
house WITH mortar.
La pyniap ia u sniang da i speh, The pig was killed
WITH a pointed bamboo.
Na expresses the origin or source from which.
Kane ka kam ka long na ka jingshtin suda, This
business arises entirely from enmity.
U la siw na lade, He paid feom his own pocket.
Sha, ^ to,' that is ' motion to.^
Nga'n leit sha shnong, I will go to the village.
Ea, ' in,' or ^ at,^ and sometimes * to ^ and ^ with.'
Me'n shong ha ing, Thou wilt stay at home. ^
U la ai ia ka kitab ha phi, He gave you the bqok.
Ka kitab ka don ha nga. The book is with me.
U la buh ia ka dud ha lug, He put the milk in
the house.
Note. — Sha is used by natives where we would expect
ha, but then the relative position of the speaker is
taken into consideration.
U shong sha la ing, He sits in his house.
U'm don sha shnong. He is not in the village.
THE CONJUNCTION. 203
la, ' to/ ' for/ ' against/ implies direct and immediate
relation. Hence its being the sign of the dative and
of the accusative case as well.
U la di ia ka kitab ia nga (see ex. under ^a), He
gave the book to me, that is, to be mine.
To pynkren ia nga ho ? Speak for me, will you ?
§ 239. After verbs of giving, promising, speaking,
&c., ia implies that what is given, said, &c., is in the
interest of, or about, the person addressed.
V la kren eh ia phi, He spoke harshly op you.
U la Jcular ia nga ia hda^ He promised me that.
Ha in these instances would imply only a local relation.
U la kren ha nga, = He spoke to, and not of, me.
§ 240. Jong is very probably the same as the abstract
jingt both denoting possession. In some districts Jtn^; is
used instead oijong as a particle of possession.
Jing nga for Jong tjr7a=of mc = my.
r
^
CHAPTER VIII.
Of Conjunctions.
§ 241. Bad, 'and/ either connects words and clauses
following in succession or separated from each other by
the principal verb ; as,
(1.) Ki la dic-noh ia ka ing had kijingluh, Tliey sold
the house and the furnilurc.
204
KHASSI GRAMMAR.
(2.) U Salieh had ka mem hi laia wan-kdi, The gentle-
man and his wife came for a walk.
Note. — In these examples the words connected are co-
ordinate.
i^rJAj^^ (1 .) Z7 Saheh u la wan-kdij bad ka mem de. The gentle-
man came for a walk, with his lady.
(2.) Ka ing ka la ing-duh-nohj bad ki jingbuli, The
house went on fire, and the furniture.
Note, — Here bad merely adds a second particular to
the main object of the sentence.
§ 242. Ruh, de, and ruh de are post-positive conjunc-
tions. They difier from had in the same way that 'and'
and ' also ' are to be distinguished.
U Miet u la pyniap ia ka massi, bad u sniang ruh,
Miet killed the cow, and the pig also.
Nga'n leit kliymih ia u kypa jong phi lashai^ bad u
para ruh de, I will go to see your father to-
morrow, and your brother also.
Hermann's rule on the Greek re . . . Kal applies to
had and ruh, &c., that bad connects ideas, while r^ih and
de merely add some subordinate idea.
(2.) But ruh (lit., also, too) has the force of our ' even.'
Nga'm sliym kren shikyntin rnh, I did not say one
word EVEN.
Ba^n ang la ka shintur i-uh, ym nud, One dares not
open his mouth even.
THE CONJUNCTION. 205
Bad haduh mynta ruh, u'm pub la ieh noh, And up
to the present even, he has not left (it) off.
(3.) fVad, ' even/ is used prcpositlaely, either alone or
with ruh.
Wad haduh mynta riih, u'm put ieh noh, Even up
to the present, he has not left (it) off.
(4.) Hinrei, 'but/ pynbatif 'yet/ 'notwithstanding/
putet, ' nevertheless/ are used post-positively sometimes.
Nga'm jiw la don hangta hinrel, But, I have never
been there, or, I never was there.
This is a mode of giving an emphatic denial or contra-
diction.
Nga la sng^p jar, u sngowsili p^nban, I kept silent ;
he is offended notwithstanding.
U la ong ba phi'n ym wan ; phi la wan j^ynbatif He
told you not to come ; yet you have come.
§ 243. ' Both . . . and ' are expressed by bad . . .
bad; as,
Ngi la ioh-ih ia u, bad ma-nga bad ma-phi, Both I
and you, saw him.
Ngi la thied bar oh, bad ing bad jtngbuh, We bought
all, both house and furniture.
§ 244. Ba, * that,' has various functions.
(1.) To introduce apposition and object clauses.
Ka long kaba ifhishahi, ha u laduh ti/iigka, It is
quite true, that he has lost money.
206 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
Nga tip eh, ha phi la duh tj/nglca, I kuow well that
you have lost money.
(2.) To express purpose ; as,
U hit sha Lahaii hau^ii ioh hrenhadu Icyngi, He
goes to Shillong, that he may speak with his
his uncle.
Note, — £i^Ma?igf, * purposely/ is often used before ha;
thus,
TJ leit hhnang had u*n ioh ia hren hadu hypa.
U leit hhnang ha'n ioh ia hren had u hypa,
(3.) To express the cause or reason of an action;
as,
U phah shim dawdi ha-pang eh u hhun, He sends for
medicine, because his child is very ill.
Ba iCm tip humno ha'n leh, ngan leit lem, Since he
does not know how to proceed, I will go with him.
§ 245. Certain prepositions and adverbs used con-
junctively take ha, such as naduh, haduh, namar, hamar.
U'n ieit ia mi haduh h'ynda idp ; or, haduh ha u'n
da idp, He will love thee, till death.
Tr7i ih-sih ia me ha Vynda idp, He will hate you till
death.
Naduh ba phi wan, ym don ba kren baJ nga. Since
you have come, no one speaks with me.
U'm kren shut, iiamar ha phi la ai clyrkhat, He
never speaks, because you have lodged a suit.
THE CONJUNCTION. 207
La die-noh ia ka massi, hamar ha phi dang ia-kvea,
The cow was sold whilst you were talking
together.
Na ka hynta ha phVn 'riwhhd, u ley pa u'm put die
ia ka hrif In order to make you rich, your father
has not yet sold the grove.
§ 246. ' Though . . . yet * are rendered by la . , ,
pynhan.
La' phi'm ieit shibun ia nga, phi la iarap pynhan.
Though yon do not love me much, yet you have
helped me.
' Whether ... or ' by /a* . . . lane.
La* ka long ma-nga lane ma-phi, phi'n wan kumjuh,
Whbtheb it is me or you, you will come all the
same.
La* phi'n Ieit ne dm, ka'm iaph6r ei-ei, Whether you
go or not, it makes no difference whatever.
'As ... so' by kumha . . . kumta, or kumha . . .
hiimjuh.
Kumha phi hei kumta phi'n at. As you sow, so must
you reap.
' Not only . . . but also ' by ym tang . . . hinrei ruh,
Ka kyp6r ka'm long tang ka ba ih-tynnad hinrei
ka ba don kam ruh, The garden is not only
beautiful, but useful.
Uta u briw u long ym tang u bastdd, hinrei u ba bhfi
ruh, That man is not only learned, but also good.
208 KHASSI GRAMMAR.
' So . . . that ' by katta . . . bci.
Nga'm long u hasniw katta ha nga'n leit tuh, I am
not so bad that I would go and pilfer.
§ 247. ' Neither . . . nor,' as a strengthened negative,
is rendered by lymne . . . lymne,
U'm shym ong ei-ei, lymne ia kaba bha lymne ia
kaba sniw, He said nothing, neither good nor
bad.
' Neither . . . nor ' is rendered by lane . . . lane,
with ym,
Nga'm ihthuh, lane ia phi lane ia u, I do not know
either you or him,=I know neither you nor him.
' Either ... or ' is rendered by lane alone or lane
. . . lane.
Yn ioh ka hri u Narain lane ka para j ong u, Either
Narain or his sister will have the grove.
Lane ma-nga lane ma phi yn ioh ia ka hri, Either I
or you will have the grove,
§ 248. Ja when used as a conjunction signifies ' than';
as,
U kypa jong nga u kham khraw ia nga, My father
is greater than I. — John.
Sometimes ha^n is prefixed j thus,
TJ Sim u la di kham hun ia nga, ba^n ia phi, The
chief gave me more than (he gave) to you.
THE INTEIUECTION. 209
Ba*n ia kane, bha kato, That is better tuan this,
lit., THAN this good that.
Ba*ti ia kaba'n leit shatai, kham bha ba'n shong
shaue, IUthee than go there, it is better to stay
here.
CHAPTER IX.
The Interjections.
§ 249. Ynnai dei is often used for " What's the use ! '*
Phi*7i shim ia une m soh ? Ynnai phi ! Will you
take these oranges V What's the use !
leh, ' Let alone ! ' * Leave it there ! *
To thied ia kane ka jaiii ahi tyny/ca. leh ! Buy this
cloth (for) a rupee. Mo, leave it there.
ERRATA.
Page 5, line 2, ajUr ' and ' read • is.*
Page 6, line 2, Sf>^ ^ read V
LOVDOW :
PBIVTBD UT GILBERT AND BITIirGTOir, hV.,
ST. JOBB'h HOV8B, CLBRXEBWBLL BOAD, B.C.
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