The Sumerian phrase PN u3-na-a-du11, found at the begining of most letters, is equivalent to Akkadian ana PN qibî-ma, “say to PN”. When there are more than one recipient the dative pre-fix of the verbal-chain will mostly take the plural form. However, this is not entirely consistent. A Sumerian noun u3-na-a-du11 (norminalized or frozen verb) is attested as a word for a physical letter.
| Text ID | Adress | -na- / -ne- |
| AuOr 17-18, 218 01 | igi-zu-bar-ra u3 ur-dnun-gal | u3-ne-a-du11 |
| Fs Gordon 1 131 1 | ur-ITI.E2-mu u3 ur-sukkal | u3-na-a-du11 |
| ITT 5, 6975 | ku3-nin-a-na u3 lugal-amar-ku3-ra | u3-ne-a-du11 |
| MVN 3, 350 | lu2-dsuen u3 AN-sa6-ga | u3-na-a-du11 |
| OrAnt. 7, 169 01 | lu2-dutu u3 ur-dnansze-ra | u3-ne-a-du11 |
| TCS 1, 19 | a-mu u3 ur-šu-ga-lam-ma-<ra> | u3-na-du11 |
| TCS 1, 50 | da-a-mu u3 ur-dlama-ra | u3-ne-a-du11 |
| TCS 1, 68 | gu3-de2-a u3 ur-dlama-ra | u3-na-a-du11 |
| TCS 1, 72 | gu-du-du u3 lu2-dha-ia3 | u3-na-a-du11 |
| TCS 1, 75 | hi-[li-mu] u3 […] | u3-na-a-[du11] |
When there is only a single recipient, the verbal form is exclusively written with the –na- prefix. This strongly suggests that the –na- / -ne- variation still had meaning during the Ur III period (indicating singular versus plural dative object).
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