The interrogative pronouns are : —
Hunna or hunnak, “who?”
Hemanda or makanak, “what?”
| Inan or inan ike,
Inambe, |
“which?” |
Nekon a, “what kind?”
Verbs, in the Ainu language, have but one mood, namely, the indicative. The imperative and all the indirect or oblique moods, as well as the desiderative forms and all the tenses, are expressed by means of separate words. No verb, therefore, can be conjugated without the use of various auxiliaries.
These auxiliaries are, for the present tense, as follows:—
- (a.) Ruwe ne.
These words indicate that a subject is concluded, or a sentence finished. They therefore equal what is commonly called “the conclusive form.”
- (b.) Shiri ne.
Shiri is a verb meaning “to be doing.” When placed after other verbs, it indicates that the action is still going on.
- (c.) Kor’an.
Kor’an is short for koro an, and means “to be possessing.”
