A definite and declarative sentence (may be a copulative sentence) begins with the declarative particle "ko". If the sentence is topicalized (agent topic, only in non-present sentences) the particle nā begins the sentence (past tense) or the mā (future, imperfective) followed by the agent/subject. In these cases the word order changes to SVO. These agent topicalizing particles can contract with singular personal pronouns and vary according to the possessive classes: "nāku" can be thought of as meaning "as for me" and behave like an emphatic or dative pronoun.