structural:reformatting
Modal prefixes

The modal prefixes express modality. Some of them are generally combined with certain TAs; in other cases, the meaning of a modal prefix can depend on the TA.

E.g.: 𒅔𒅥 in-gu { Ø -i-n-gu} "He ate it."

E.g.: 𒉡𒌦𒅥 nu (- u) -un-gu { nu -i-n-gu} "He didn't eat it."

E.g.: 𒃶𒅁𒅥𒂊 ḫe -eb-gu -e { ḫa -ib-gu -e} "let him eat it!"; 𒄩𒀭𒅥 ḫa -an-gu "He ate it indeed."

E.g.: 𒂵𒀊𒅥 ga -ab-gu "Let me eat it!"

E.g.: 𒌦𒅥 u n-gu "If/when he eats it..."

E.g.: 𒈾𒀊𒅥𒂊 na -ab-gu -e "He must not eat it!"; 𒈾𒀭𒅥 na -an-gu "He ate it indeed."

E.g.: 𒁀𒊏𒀊𒅥𒂗 ba-ra -ab-gu -en "I certainly will not eat it!"; 𒁀𒊏𒀭𒅥 ba-ra -an-gu "He certainly didn't eat it."

E.g.: 𒉡𒍑𒌈𒅥𒂊 nu - uš - ib -gu -e " If only he would eat it!"

E.g.: 𒅆𒅔𒅥 ši -in-gu "So/correspondingly/accordingly(?), he ate it."

Although the modal prefixes are traditionally grouped together in one slot in the verbal chain, their behaviour suggests a certain difference in status: only nu- and ḫa- exhibit morphophonemic evidence of co-occurring with a following finite "conjugation prefix", while the others do not and hence seem to be mutually exclusive with it. For this reason, Jagersma separates the first two as " proclitics " and groups the others together with the finite prefix as (non-proclitic) "preformatives".