Except the third person, singular, they are of both genders. In speaking, the abbreviated form is used, except where for emphasis the longer is chosen. In composition they usually retain their first vowel, but this is entirely a question of euphony. The methods of their employment with nouns will be seen in the following examples: _üssiquahü_, a house. dássiqua, my house. bússiqua, thy house. lüssiqua, his house. tüssiqua, her, its house. wássiqua, our house. hüssiqua, your house. nássiqua, their house. _uju_, mother. daiju, my mother. buju, thy mother. luju, his mother. tuju, her mother. waijunattu, our mother. hujuattu, your mother. naijattu, their mother. waijunuti, our mothers. hujunuti, your mothers. naijunuti, their mothers. Many of these forms suffer elision in speaking. _Itti_ father, _datti_ my father, _wattínatti_ our father, contracted to _wattínti_ (_watti_ rarely used). When thus construed with pronouns, most nouns undergo some change of form, usually by adding an affix; _báru_ an axe, _dábarun_ my axe, _iulí_ tobacco, _dajulite_ my tobacco. ADJECTIVES. The verb is the primitive part of speech in American tongues. To the aboriginal man every person and object presents itself as either doing or suffering something, every quality and attribute as something which is taking place or existing. His philosophy is that of the extreme idealists or the extreme materialists, who alike maintain that nothing _is_, beyond the cognizance of our senses. Therefore his adjectives are all verbal participles, indicating a state of existence. Thus _üssatu_ good, is from _üssân_ to be good, and means the condition of being good, a good woman or thing, _üssati_ a good man. Some adjectives, principally those from present participles, have the masculine and neuter terminations _i_ and _u_ in the singular, and in the plural _i_ for both genders. Adjectives from the past participles end in the singular in _issia_ or _üssia_, in the plural in _annu_. When the masculine ends in _illi_, the neuter takes _urru_, as _wadikilli_, _wadikurru_, long.