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
ma
adverb. interrogative particle
ma le·qente tana
did you say that?
má
noun. hand
má Archaic
noun. land, region
má
what; when
tyulma
noun. mast
uma-
prefix. some, a, a certain
ve
preposition. with
@@@ ma may be indefinite marker = English “a”