da-

Prefix

 * 1) prefix form of da, meaning there-

Prefix

 * 1)  Thematic prefix, referring to death. ► Navajo verbs with disjunct prefix da-.
 * 2)  Distributive plural marker, indicating that three or more subjects, objects or events are involved individually in the action denoted by the verb. In addition to verbs, it may also pluralize nouns, pronouns or postpositions. This prefix marks the boundary between disjunct (outer) and conjunct (inner) prefixes.
 * With subjects:
 * With objects:
 * With objects:
 * With objects:

Etymology
In Algonquin, this preverb has the form gada- when there is no prefix (gada-maajaa "he/she will leave", giga-maajaa "you will leave"). It is likely that gada- is the original form of this preverb, and the allomorphy between da- and ga- in other dialects is the result of a historical process of syncopation that deleted a metrically weak syllable. With no prefix, the syllable ga was weak and consequently was deleted (*gadá-maajaa > da-maajaa), but when a prefix was added, ga was in a strong position, and so da was deleted instead (*ningáda-maajaa > ninga-maajaa). The form ji- similarly appears as giji- in Algonquin. The initial change form ge- would be from *geda-, where the first syllable would have been strong because it contained a long vowel.

Preverb

 * 1) future tense marker
 * 2) * wiisiniwag — they eat
 * 3) * da-wiisiniwag — they will eat
 * 4) * ninga-wiisin — I will eat
 * 5) (some speakers) form of  used in the conjunct order

Usage notes

 * With a personal prefix, the form ga- is used.
 * For some speakers, the second-person form giga- contracts to ga-.
 * For some speakers, ga- and ge- become gad- and ged- before a vowel.

Prefix

 * 1) her object pronoun
 * 2) them

Prefix

 * 1) question marker

Pronoun

 * , its

Usage notes
The possessive prefix da- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as de-, di-, or do-.

Pronoun

 * , they
 * , he, she
 * , he, she

Usage notes
The prefix da- follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as de-, di-, or do-.