Of the Mosquito language, which is understood throughout the whole Mosquito Coast, and of which I here give a few grammatical remarks, Mr Squier remarks that "it is not deficient in euphony, although defective in grammatical power."[XII'-2] There is but one article, the numeral adjective kumi, one, used also for a and an. The adjectives are few in number, having no uniform termination, and are discovered only by their signification, except when participles, when they always terminate in ra or n. Adjectives form the comparative by adding kara to the positive and the superlative by adding poli except in two words, uia and silpe, which have distinct words for each degree of comparison, thus;—silpe, small; uria, smaller; katara, smallest; uia, much; kara, more; poli, most. Comparison is usually formed in the manner following;—yamne, good; yamne kara, better; yamne poli, best; konra, strong; konra kara, stronger; konra poli, strongest.
In composition, to express excess or diminution, comparison is sometimes formed in this manner;—Jan almuk, Samuel almuk apia: John is old, Samuel is not old.
ADJECTIVES.
| Old | almuk | Bad | saura |
| Every | bane | Green | sane |
| Tight, close | bitne | Black | sixa |
| Spotted | bulne | Small | silpe |
| Greedy | slabla | Transparent | slilong |
| Dull | dimdim | Slippery | swokswaka |
| Circular | iwit | Sour | swane |
| Less | kausa | Damp | tauske |
| More | kara | Great | tara |
| Hot | lapta | Thin, flat | tanta |
| Rich | lela-kera | Thick | twotne |
| Round | marbra | Poor | umpira |
| Sharp | mata | Much | uia |
| White | pine | Smaller | uria |
| Red | paune | Weary | wet |
| Most, very | poli | Heavy | wira |
| Grey, light blue etc. | popotne | Chief | wita |
| New | raiaka | Good | yamne |
THE PERFECT TENSE USED AS AN ADJECTIVE.
| Dry | lawan | Angry | palan, or luan |
| Lazy | shringwan | Fearful | sibrin |
| Slack, loose | langwan | Sore | latwan |
| Wet | buswan | Sick, troubled | warban |
| Dirty | klaklan | Dead | pruan |
| Generous | kupia-pine |
The gender is commonly marked by adding waikna for the male and mairen for the female, or, for beasts, wainatka for the male, and mairen, as before, for the female. Thus;—lupia waikna, a son; lupia mairen, a daughter; bip wainatka, a bull; bip mairen, a cow. In nouns relating to the human species the plural is formed by adding nani to the singular; as;—waikna, a man; waikna nani, men; yapte, mother; yapte nani, mothers. Other nouns have the plural the same as the singular, although sometimes a plural is formed by adding ra to the singular;—inska, a fish; inskara, fishes.
There are four cases, distinguished by their terminations, the nominative, dative, accusative, and ablative.
DECLENSION OF THE WORD AIZE, FATHER.