Past tense is indicated by using the past forms of the pronominal possessive affixes.
bufau hrami.
| buf-au |
| body-1sg.p |
| hram-i |
| city-pred |
I was in the city.
ipfaumi buftasu.
| ipf-au-mi |
| eye-1sg.p-v |
| buf-tas-u |
| body-2pl.p-pat |
I saw you(pl).
In general, the possessive affixes of every noun phrase in a clause agree in tense. Sometimes, however, a non-agreeing suffix is used in an argument noun phrase:
ipfemi ipftucheŋgu.
| ipf-en-mi |
| eye-1sg.pres-v |
| ipf-tu-cheŋ-u |
| eye-3sg.p-man-pat |
I see what used to be the man's eye.
The use of ipftucheŋgu instead of the expected ipfetcheŋgu is an overt indicator that the relationship of the referent to the possessor was something in the past, thus carrying the derivative meaning that either the eye no longer belongs to the possessor (it has been forcefully detached), or else has been mangled to the point it is no longer recognizable as the man's eye.