Table of the chief Active Prefixes.
For the signs of causality and reciprocity look up and down the Table: for the simple forms, look across it.
| simple. | causative. | reciprocal. | causative reciprocal. | reciprocal causative. |
| Mi- | m-amp-i- | ... ... | ... ... | m-ifamp-i-. |
| Miha- (progressive verbs.) | m-amp-iha- | ... ... | ... ... | m-ifamp-iha-. |
| Maha- (potential verbs.) | m-amp-aha- | ... ... | ... ... | m-ifamp-aha-. |
| Ma- | m-amp-a- | m-if-a | ... ... | m-ifamp-a-. |
| Man- | m-amp-an- | m-if-an | m-ampif-an- | m-ifamp-an-. |
| Mana- | m-amp-ana- | m-if-ana | m-ampif-ana- | m-ifamp-ana-. |
| Manka | m-amp-anka- | m-if-anka- | m-ampif-anka- | m-ifamp-anka-. |
Notice (1) that amp is the sign of causality, and if of reciprocity; and (2) that the causative-reciprocal sign ampif, and the reciprocal-causative sign ifamp, are only combinations of these two.
Tafa-, prefixed to a root, gives the idea of completeness, but differs slightly from our perfect tense, in that it may be used of something altogether past; in this respect it resembles rather the pluperfect of some languages. Père Webber says, (1) that tàfa gives the right answer to an intransitive imperative (as, Mìpetràka hianaò, sit down; tàfapètraka àho, I am seated); and (2) that while the prefix vòa implies the operation of an external agent, tàfa usually implies internal agency. Sometimes, however, these two prefixes seem interchangeable.
