is often _ts_. Ex. tsivu and sivu; su(le) and tsu(le
grass. Also in the future suffix _t_ or _ts_. Ex. _nati_ or _natsi_,
I will eat.

II. Elision.

A great number of Fuyuge words terminate in an open syllable of which
the vowel is generally _e_. This syllable is usually omitted at the end
of a phrase, and nearly always when the following word commences with
a consonant. But if the following word begins with a vowel the final
_e_ only falls away. Thus the complete form of a word is rarely used,
except to avoid confusion, or for the sake of emphasis. The following
are examples:

_ovo(le),_ pig: _ovol' ovoge,_ boar, _ovo momombe,_ sow.

_ifa(ne),_ beautiful: _ifa ta,_ very fine, _ifan' aka,_ less fine.

_da(le),_ who? _nu da?_ who art thou? _dal' aua?_ who is this?

_i(nde),_ to give: _ne i,_ give me, _ne ind' u,_ give it to me.

_-a(le)_, with: _andal' a?_ with what? _indiv' al' ongai_, cut with
the knife.

_a(le),_ here: _a mo ma?_ must I put it here? _al' itatsi,_ he will
sleep here.

_u(ne),_ and: _kitoval' u kene,_ black parroquet and white, _amb'
un' ale,_ banana and sugar cane.

Note (1). The _b_ in an elision sometimes changes to _p._ Ex. _obe,_
bud, _op'indie,_ to bud.

(2). Sometimes two syllables are elided: Ex. _taume, tame,_ from which
comes _ovo ta,_ a tame pig, and _ovo taum' ifa,_ the tame pig is good.

(3). Words which do not end in _e,_ rarely elide a final vowel, and
never the last syllable. Ex. _kuku,_ tobacco, _kuk' oko nei,_ give me
a little tobacco; _na,_ I, _nu,_ thee, _ongo_ at the foot of, _na n'
ong' ando,_ I am at thy feet; _umbubi, wash, umbub' u,_ wash him.

(4). Some verbs in _-ri_ or _-li_ however often omit this
syllable. Ex. _ivo(ri)_ to wipe, _na ga kodig' ivo,_ I have wiped the
plates; _tsimi(li),_ to lick, _ama tsimi,_ lick the salt; _itu(lili)_
to split, _ol' itu,_ split the wood.

In the grammar and vocabulary the syllable which may be elided is
enclosed in a bracket, and in compound words and phrases the elision
is marked with an apostrophe, as in the preceding examples.

III. Vowel Changes.

1. A final _o_ sometimes changes to _u_ if the word following begins
with a vowel.

Ex. _oko,_ some, a little, _kuk' oku ind' uno,_ give him some tobacco
to smoke.

2. An initial _o,_ on the other hand, sometimes changes to _u_ when
the preceding word begins with _a._

Ex. _ongo,_ under; _na_ ungo ando, remain at my feet.

3. The final _a_ of the word _na,_ I, be