Chapter 57 of 67
I. THE PRESENT.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language: chiefly in its latest stages with some account of its history and literature · Henry Jenner
I. THE PRESENT.
Singular.
CORNISH. BRETON.
1. [_mî_] _am bes_ [_bus_, _bues_, [_me_] _em euz_. _bues_].
2. [_tî_] _ath ĕs_ (_thues_). [_te_] _ec’h euz_.
3. m. [_ev_] _an jeves_ (for [_hen_] _en deuz_ or _deveuz_. _deves_).
3. f. [_hy_] _as teves_. [_he_] _e deuz_.
Plural.
1. [_ny_] _an bes_. [_nî_] _hon euz_.
2. [_why_] _as bes_. [_c’houi_] _hoch euz_.
3. [_y_] _as teves_. [_hî_] _ho deuz_ or _deveuz_.
This tense is formed on _us_, _eus_, _es_ (Breton _euz_), one of the forms of the third person singular of the verb substantive. To this is prefixed the verbal particle _a_, with the letter which is the third form of the personal pronoun, _’m_, _’th_, _’n_, _’s_, _’n_, _’s_, _’s_, with the peculiar addition of _jev_ and _tev_ to the third persons and _b_ to the others. The _’th_ of the second person singular is found written in this but not always in the other tenses, for it was probably often silent before _f_ by a sort of assimilation. Its effect is observable in the initial mutation. Of this tense the first, second, and third persons singular and the second person plural are found. But for the existence of the form _as bes_ [_bues_] for the last, one might suppose, with Williams, that the _b_ of _am bes_ was only the addition of a cognate letter to the _m_. But cf. the addition of _b_ to _oa_ and _oe_ of the same verb in Breton.