verb phrases, oblique arguments and adverbs come before the verb. Case system Wappo has a rich case system which uses suffixes to mark cases. In the examples below, the words relevant to the case being discussed are in boldface. The accusative case is unmarked. Patients, arguments of transitive verbs that are patient-like, all subjects in dependent clauses and single arguments in copulas take the accusative case. The nominative case is marked with the suffix -i. Words functioning as initiators, agents, experiencers of transitive verbs and the single argument of an intransitive verb take the nominative case. If the noun stem to which this suffix is added happens to ends with a vowel, the stem-final vowel is dropped or changed. Otherwise, adding the nominative suffix does not change the stem. The examples below illustrate the contrast. pol'eʔ "boy" → pol'eʔi "boys" k'ešu "deer (singular)" → k'eši "deer (plural)" The dative case, which is used to indicate the recipient or direction, is marked with -thu. The benefactive case is marked with -ma. It is used to mark whom the action benefits. The instrumental case, used with intensive reflexives and instruments, is marked with -thiʔ. The comitative case is marked with -k'a and is used to indicate accompaniment. The genitive case is marked with -meʔ. It can only be used in constructions with alienable possession. (Inalienable possession is expressed through the juxtaposition of the two relevant nouns.) Wappo also has a locative case, which is marked with suffixes such as -pi "away from" and -cawoh "on top of". Questions Yes-no questions To mark yes-no questions, a question particle, /hVʔ/, is added after the verb. It does not have to directly follow the verb. The particle's vowel harmonizes with the vowel that precedes it. In all of the examples blow, the question word is glossed as "Q" and is also in boldface. The particle is usually at the end of the sentence, but as the example below demonstrates, it is not always sentence-final. Its location depends on the composition of the verb phrase. Question-word questions Question words are usually located clause-initially. Question words can also get case inflection, except in cases of inalienable possession, where no suffix is added. Question words can also be used as indefinite pronouns. Language contact and influence Language contact with Spanish has influenced Wappo's sound structure and vocabulary. As listed above in the consonant section, /f/, /d/, /g/, /r/