1st. Whether their subjects are animate, or inanimate; 2d. Whether their objects are animate, or inanimate; 3d. Whether they are transitive, or intransitive; 4th. Whether they are active, or passive, or reflective; 5th. Whether the expression is common, or emphatic.
They also express by their forms all of the distinctions of mood and tense, person and number, found in the English, and form their participles, and are changed into verbal or participial nouns; and these modifications are for, the most part regular in form.
I. Verbs with inanimate subjects correspond to English impersonal or neuter verbs, but are much more extensively used. They are usually formed by adding the impersonal pronoun, maw-got—it; as,
Animate Subject. Inanimate Subject
Sing-Au-nou-kee, he works. Au-nou-ke-maw-got, it works.
Ke-au-nou-ke, he worked. Ke-an-non-ke-maw-got, it worked.
Au-non-ke-wog, they work. Au-nou-ke-maw-go-toun, things work
Ke-au-nou-ke-wog, they worked. Ke-an-nou-ke-maw-go-toun, things worked.
Standing trees, as well as all living creatures and personified things, are regarded as animate.
II, III. The distinctions for animate and inanimate objects, and for transitive and intransitive, are illustrated by the following:
Singular—I kill, Thou killest, etc. Intransitive. Transitive. Pers. Animate Object Inanimate Object. 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay Ne-ne-saw Ne-ne-ton 2 Ke-ne-taw-gay Ke-ne-saw Ke-ne-toun 3 Ne-taw-gay O-ne-sawn, or son O-ne-toun
Plural—We kill, You kill, etc. 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay-me Ne-ne-saw-naw Ne-ne-tou-naw 2 Ke-ne-taw-gaym Ke-ne-saw-waw Ke-ne-tou-naw-waw 3 Ne-taw-gay-wog O-ne-saw-wawn or won O-ne-tou-naw-waw
Singular—I see, Thou seest, etc. 1 Ne-waub Ne-waub-maw Ne-waub-don, or dawn 2 Ke-waub Ke-waub-maw Ke-waub-don, or dawn 3 Wau-be O-waub-mon or mawn O-waub-don, or dawn