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THE VERB 167
ation of the future singular e and the late plural ending mes. in-pad­
e-mes (damú), 'they will swear', II R. 33 no· 2, 5. Compare su-ba-an­
ti-(g)-mes, 'they have received', and ni-lal-e-mes, 'they wil1 pay', in the
same text, TH.-DANGIN, Lett. et contrats, no. 8211. 9.15.
The rule for the plural observed in grammatical texts appears to
have been often violated in practice. Thus we have in-si-sam-e-ne,
'they have bought' '. i-im-nag-nag-ne nu-mu-un-ne-si-sig-es,' Though
they drank yet it satiated them not' 2. mu-na-sü-e-ne,' they have ap­
pointed him' 3.
§ 225. The regular conjugation, as we have seen, has no means of The plural.
indicating either the person or the number of the subject, by means of
the prefixes. To indicate the person we should have expected the per-
sonal pronouns to have been suffixed, but such a method would have
made the verbal form identical with the dependent conjugation (§ 184).
The regular conjugation remained, therefore, absolutely destitute of
indication of persono
To indicate the plural the nominal inflection ene would naturally
be employed. But in case of the plural of verbs another inflection es
arose correctly employed only for past tenses (§ 224), whereas ene (ne after
vowels) ordinarily appears only in the present and future. This distinction
appears in the classical inscriptions ; nam-ság-ga' mu-tar-ri-és-a su na­
mu-da-ni-bal-e-ne, 'The destiny which they have decreed may they not
change". dingir-gal-gal si7'-bur-la-(ki)-a-ge-ne gú-ma-si-si-ne, 'The
great gods of Lagash will assemble there". im-da-su-ub-ba-as, 'they
hastened' 7. su-ba-ti-és,' they have received' 8. sib udu-slg-1w-ge-ne
azag bi-gar-ri-és, 'The shepherds of the wool-bearing sheep ...
1. TH.·DANGlN, Lettres et Contrats, 233, 6.
2. RADAU, Miscel., no 6 obv. 6.
3. OBI. 87 1I 25.
4. Dative after the compound verb su-bal (§204).
5. OBI. 87 III 32-4.
6. Gud. Cyl. A 10,28·9.
7. SBP. 314, 30.
8. NIK. 317 col. 11.