(2)
CIRCASSIAN.
In the Absné dialect ab=father, ácĕ=horse; ab ácĕ=father's horse, (verbally, father horse). Here position does the work of an inflection.
The use of prepositions is as limited as that of inflections, sara s-ab ácĕ ist`ap I my-father horse give, or giving am; abna amus`w izbt=wood bear see-did=I saw a bear in the wood; awinĕ wi as`wkĕ=(in) house two doors; ácĕ sis`lit=(on) horse mount I-did.
Hence, declension begins with the formation of the plural number. This consists in the addition of the syllable k`wa.
| Acĕ=horse; | ácĕ-k`wa=horses. |
| Atsla=tree; | astla-k`wa=trees. |
| Awinĕ=house; | awinĕ-k`wa=houses. |
In the pronouns there is as little inflection as in the substantives and adjectives, i. e. there are no forms corresponding to mihi, nobis, &c.
1. When the pronoun signifies possession, it takes an inseparable form, is incorporated with the substantive that agrees with it, and is s- for the first, w- for the second, and i- for the third, person singular. Then for the plural it is h- for the first person, s`- for the second, r- for the third: ab=father;
| S-ab=my father; | h-ab=our father. |
| W-ab=thy father; | s`-ab=your father. |
| T-ab=his (her) father; | r-ab=their father. |
2. When the pronoun is governed by a verb, it is similarly incorporated.