On looking at these five adjectives it will be noticed that the first of them alone has the accent on the second syllable; hence we may deduce the following Rule, to help us to know the class to which any adjective beginning with m- may belong:—
If the accent is on the second syllable, it belongs to the first class, and begins with ma- uncontracted.
If the accent is on the first syllable, ma- either has its a suppressed (as in màrina), or its a forms a diphthong with the i or o of the root-word of the adjective (as in maìnty).
Imperative and Optative Moods of Adjectives.
Any adjective can be made imperative or optative by following the rules given for active verbs or those for root-passives; and either the meaning of the adjective, or else the context, will determine whether a command or a wish is intended to be expressed. As, mazòto, 'diligent'; màzotòa, 'be diligent': faìngana, 'quick'; faingàla, 'be quick.'
Construction of Adjectives.
The following adjectives, and some others, have a quasi-transitive sense, and govern a direct accusative as their complement; as, fèno àzy nỳ tràno, 'the house is full of them'. In English we require a preposition in such cases, in Malagasy no preposition.
