The Athapaskan languages frequently employ verb stems that refer not to a characteristic type of event, such as stand or give or fall, but to the class of object or objects conceived as participating in such an event, whether as actor or goal. Thus, in all the Apachean languages, there is no simple verb to give but a number of parallel verb themes consisting of a certain sequence of prefixes plus a classificatory verb stem. The sequence of prefixes is the same for each theme but the stem varies with the class of object referred to. To give (literally, to cause an object of such and such a class to move completively to someone) may be symbolized by the following formula: Oa*'-.* (N. Ipf.; N. Pf.).. -C [Act. tr., Mom.].' O stands for any one of a set of pronominal prefixes which refer to the person to whom the object is given. a'is a postposition meaning to, at, about. .-. symbolizes the paradigmatic elements (i.e., tense-modal prefixes, subject and object pronouns, number prefixes, and the like) necessary to the completion of a free verb form. The possible combinations and modifications of paradigmatic elements are rigidly determined by certain morphologic and phonologic rules. The symbols in parentheses, (N. Ipf.; N. Pf.), specify the class of paradigm required in the imperfective and perfective modes