80. We often find mention of a ياࢨ مُتکلِّم, a ي of the first person, in the native Grammars; as in قِبْله کاهِي, my place of worship; meaning my father. Where ي is supposed to have this power; so, خُدا يگانِي, my only deity; مُشْفِقِي, my friend, خُدَاونْدِي, my Lord, &c.
OF NUMBERS, اعْداد.
81. The Persian plural is formed by adding اَن or هَا to the singular: but these terminations are not wholly arbitrary; on the contrary, they are regulated with great precision. The names of animals generally form their plural in اَن, as,
| گُرْگ | gurg, | the wolf. | گُرْگان | gurgāṅ, | wolves. |
| پلنْگ | palaṅg, | the tiger. | پلنْگان | palaṅgān, | tigers. |
82. But, words which signify things without life, make their plurals by adding the syllable ها; as,
| بال | bāl, | the wing. | بَالْها | balha, wings. | |
| ساحِل | sāhil, | the shore. | ساحِلْها | sāhilhā, | shores. |
Both these plurals occur in the following elegant distich:
شب تارِیکُ و بِیِم مَوْجُ و گِرْدابي چُنِین هائل
کُجا داننْد حالِ ما سبُکْبارانِ ساحِلْها
The night is dark; the fear of the waves, and a whirlpool, so dreadful! How should those, who bear light burdens on the shore, know our situation?
