- 牛個角比之鹿個角短 nieu kú‘ koh ’pí tsz lók kú‘ koh ’tön, the horns of oxen are short compared with those of deer.
- 羊咾牛個皮有多許用頭拉 yáng lau nieu kú‘ bí ’yeu tú hau‘ yúng‘ deu ’lá, the skin of sheep and oxen has many uses.
- 鷄個聲氣最响 kí kú‘ sáng k’í‘ tsûe‘ ’h’iáng, the cock crows very loud.
Obs. i. Thus substance precedes accident or attribute, and the whole its part.
Obs. ii In English this order is reversed, when the particle of is employed; e.g. affairs of the nation is in our dialect, 國家個事體 kók kiá kú‘ zz‘ ’t’í. When a possessive case is formed with ’s, the order agrees with that of the Chinese; e.g. the emperor’s palace, 皇帝個宮殿 wong tí‘ kú‘ kóng díen‘.
Obs. iii. 個 kú‘ is omitted in some instances where it would incommode the rhythmus; e.g. 外國人總要來帮助此地咸豐皇帝 ngá‘ koh niun ’tsóng yau‘ lé póng ’zú ’t’sz dí‘ Yan fóng wong tí‘, foreigners must come and assist Hien Fung, the emperor of this country; 一向嘸沒興旺辰光 ih h’iang‘ m meh h’iung wong‘ zun kwong, it has never had a time of prosperity.
337. Adjectives precede their substantives with or without 個 kú‘.
- 大地方 tú‘ tí‘ fong, a large place.
- 西國 sí kóh, western nations.
- 黑天 huk tíen, black sky.
- 晒拉旺日頭裏 só ’lá yong‘ nyih deu ’lí, dry it in the hot sun.
- 利害個物事 lí‘ hé kú‘ meh zz‘, a dangerous thing.
Obs. Numbers take the auxiliary word (Part II. section 4.) appropriated to the substantive they precede, between them and the substantive. An adjective if needed, is inserted after the auxiliary, e.g. 一座大房子 ih zû‘ dú‘ vong ’tsz, a large house; 匹匹白馬 sz‘ p’ih báh ’mó, four white horses.
338. Transitive verbs precede their objects.
- 生火 sáng ’hú, light a fire.
- 染布 ’níen pú‘, dye cloth.
- 買紅紙頭做帖子, ’má hóng ’tsz deu tsú‘ t’ih ’tsz, buy red paper to make cards.
Obs. i. If there is a dative and accusative, the latter comes next to the verb. For examples, see Art. [236] and [133].