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Indef1nite
plural.
Definite
plural.
82 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
inf1ection may be added, as in dumu-dumu-ne, 'children " Gud. A
1, 3. Traces of this formation are found in late texts, as dingir gal­
gal, 'the great gods' (often).
§ 125. For the personal plural indefinite the personal suffix nl was
doubled, giving ni-ni which became ene (sel' § 159), often shortened to ne
especially after vowels '. Thus we have e dingir-e-ne-ge, •house of the
gods'; ursag dingir-ri-e-ne-ge 'champion of the gods' ; and lugal dingir-ri-ne-ge,
'lord of the gods', Cyl. A 10, 12.
labar-e-ne engar-rí-ne ... u-mu-tum 2, 'if the psalmists, the farmers ...
brought a sheep', SAK. 54 i) 1, 14.
Persons and objects after numerals have no inflection for number.
600 lu·nim-(ki) = '600 Elamites'. 5 gar = ' 5 biscuits '.
The plural suffix i8 identical with the possessivl' pl. suffix ene,
'their' (see p. 108); to avoid confusion the language generally employs
bi-ne for the possessive suffix.
Concerning the relative position of the plural and construct ending,
the construct comes last if the em phasis is upon possession by all the
members included in the plural. Thus we have enima dingir-ri-ne-ka,
'by the word of the gods' 3 ; gud dingir-rí-ne-ge, 'the oxen of the gods' ~ ;
and this is the ordinary syntax. \Vhen the genitive has the force of
describing the construct and is thus more logically connected with it
the construct ending precedes the plural. sal ud-bi-ta-ge-ne, 'women of
the former days' 5. sib udu-stg-ka-ge-ne, 'shepherds of the wool-bear­
ing sheep', NIK. 155 rey. 1. nu-sar d.ba-ú-ge-ne, 'the gardeners of
Bau', TSA. 42 rev.; DP.I06 V; 108 V.
§ 126. In the classical period the inflection for the definite plural is
1. ne because oi its association with ene had the force of a plural as a suffix
of both nouns and verbs, also as a verbal infix. Strictly speaking ne is but a va·
riant of ni and often occurs in the singular. (SAYCEwas the first to give this explanation
of e-ne.)
2. Sic! singular.
3. SAK. 54i) III 29.
4. Ibid., 1 23.
5. Ibid., III 20.