i fairi nécë

the pale phantoms

The third line of the Markirya poem (MC/221). The first word is i “the”, followed by the plural of fairë “phantom” and the plural form of the adjective néca “pale” in agreement with the noun.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> i fair-i néc-ë = “✱the phantom-(plural) pale-(plural)”

Conceptual Development: In the first draft, the adjective/noun order was reversed: néka fairi, and the adjective was not in the plural (MC/222).