The prefix for singular “some” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/99), used in formations like ᴹQ. umallume “some time” and ᴹQ. umas(se) “✱somewhere”. It is probably related to the interrogative root √MA, which is also the basis for (later) ma “something”. See the entry on correlatives for further discussion.
Qenya
-(u)ma
suffix. some, a, a certain
-ma
suffix. instrumental
-nen
suffix. instrumental
atar·(u)ma
a certain father
eane sasse maire ma
*there was a rose
e·kestane ma leqente tana
he asked if you (had) said that
kala
noun. light
kalina
adjective. light
ma
adverb. interrogative particle
ma le·qente tana
did you say that?
mat-
verb. to eat
má
noun. hand
má Archaic
noun. land, region
má
what; when
o-
prefix. together
taura
adjective. mighty
tekil
noun. pen
tyulma
noun. mast
uma-
prefix. some, a, a certain
ve
preposition. with
wa-
prefix. together
@@@ ma may be indefinite marker = English “a”