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The Sumerian phrase PN u3-na-a-du11, found at the begining of most letters, is equivalent to Akkadian ana PN qibima, “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.
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| Text ID | Adress | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P145582 AuOr 17-18, 218 01] | igi-zu-bar-ra u3 ur-dnun-gal | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P109327 Fs Gordon 1 131 1] | ur-ITI.E2-mu u3 ur-sukkal | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P111685 ITT 5, 6975] | ku3-nin-a-na u3 lugal-amar-ku3-ra | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P113910 MVN 3, 350] | lu2-dsuen u3 AN-sa6-ga | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P124593 OrAnt. 7, 169 01] | lu2-dutu u3 ur-dnansze-ra | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P107193 TCS 1, 19] | a-mu u3 ur-šu-ga-lam-ma-<ra> | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P145643 TCS 1, 50] | da-a-mu u3 ur-dlama-ra | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P145654 TCS 1, 68] | gu3-de2-a u3 ur-dlama-ra | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P145657 TCS 1, 72] | gu-du-du u3 lu2-dha-ia3 | ||
| [http://cdli.ucla.edu/P145660 TCS 1, 75] | hi-[li-mu] u3 […] | ||
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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