here. “They come here.” b. Fricative—no prefix c. I PAST sheep get “I got a sheep.” d. sheep I PAST IP-get. “It was a sheep that I got.” Alternatively, the future prefix is used with verbs that apply a future time reference. In conjunction with certain verb prefixes, the auxiliaries and are also used. It also differs from the first prefix in that it uses a distinct tone and it appears on all verbs, not just those beginning with voiceless stops. Just as with the intransitive prefix, the future prefix uses a nasal attached to a verb that is not preceded by a direct object. As an example: a. I FUT FP-come. “I will come.” Adjectives Supyire does not include many adjectives, since most adjectives can be represented by the use of stative verbs instead. However, a small group of adjectives do exist. Adjectives are created in two ways in Supyire: either by compounding or by using derived adjectives. The following are examples of adjectival roots and root compounding: a. Root: ("hot") b. (“hot wind”) Syntax Sentence structure Although almost all Niger–Congo languages have a sentence structure that follows the subject–verb–object pattern, Supyire and other Senufo languages do not follow in this way. Instead, these languages are verb-final and most often are subject–object–verb. The following examples provide evidence for this sentence structure: a. “He went to chop the trees” DS G1S NARR IP-go go PROG tree-DEF.G4 chop-IMPV b. “A mosquito sat on him” A mosquito-G3S NARR IP-sit G1S on Number system The number system of the Supyire people is unique. Values exist for numbers 1-5, 10, 20, 80, and 400. The numbers 6-9 are formed using a combination of the prefix , meaning five, and shortened versions of the values 1-4. For example, the word for “six” is , “five and one”. After ten, a distinct prefix is associated with the teens, twenties, thirties, and so on. The word for 80, , is formally and etymologically identical to the word for 'chicken'. This identity is inexplicable to speakers; Carlson (1994) supposes it to relate to a historical price of a chicken. All Supyire numbers use gender 1 except for “four hundred”, which uses gender 3. Because of obvious confusion with this number system and close contact with neighboring Bambara people, the Supyire have been slowly disregarding this system. Like other languages in this region, numerals that refer to money (in