7 Allavvik

The affix -taqaq- is used to express the English there is / there are. It is added to the end of nouns and must be followed by a subject ending:

kaapitaqaqqa?

Is there coffee?

When we want to say "there is...", Inuktut speakers avoid the construction -taqaqtuq, and use the affix -talik instead:

ii, kaapitalik.

Yes, there is coffee.

Note that -talik is never used to make a negative sentence. Instead -taqaq- + -nngit + tuq is used.

kaapitaqanngittuq

There is no coffee.

-taqaq- deletes final consonants of any nouns it is added to:

paippaaq	paper
paippaataqaqqa?	Is there any paper?
ii, paippaatalik	Yes, there is paper.
aagga, paippaataqanngittuq	No, there is no paper.

 

If you want to talk about having something in your possession, you add the affix -qaq- directly to the end of a noun:

ulu + qaq + qit? =
uluqaqqit?	Do you have an ulu?
ulu + qaq + tunga =
uluqaqtunga	I have an ulu.

When -qaq- is added to a noun ending in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:

umik + qaq + qa =
umiqaqqa?	Does he have a beard?

 

Watch out for singular nouns that end in -t.  Many of them add an -i before being put together with affixes:

titiraut + i + qaq + tunga =
titirautiqaqtunga	I have a pen.

 

If you want to talk about not having something, remember that both -qaq- and -nngit- delete any consonant that appears immediately before them:

umik + qaq + nngit + tuq =
umiqanngittuq	He doesn't have a beard.

When we want to say "he or she has something", Inuktitut speakers avoid the construction ...qaqtuq, and use the affix -lik instead:

nuliaqaqqa?	Does he have a wife?
ii, nulialik.	Yes, he has a wife.

 

Note that when –lik is added to a root ending in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:

nuliaq + lik = nulialik

 

Note, too, that -lik is not used to make a negative sentence:

nuliaqanngittuq

He does not have a wife.

 

 

In English, when we want to talk about more than one of something, we usually add an s to the end of a noun:

one door

two doors

three doors

In Inuktut, we use different endings to distinguish between two of something and more than two of something:

matu	one door
matuuk	(two) doors
matuit	(3+) doors

The dual form is used to talk about two of a particular object. You can recognize the dual form as any noun that ends in a double vowel, followed by a -k.

saak	(two) tables
uqaalautiik	(two) telephones
illuuk	(two) buildings

 

Here's how to change a noun from its singular form to the dual:

• if the object ends in a vowel, double the last vowel and add -k:

nuvuja	cloud
nuvujaak	(two) clouds

 

• if the object ends in a -t, add the ending -iik:

uqaalaut	phone
uqaalautiik	(two) phones

 

• if it ends in any consonant other than -t, delete the last consonant, double the last vowel, and add -k:

kamik	skin boot
kamiik	(two) skin boots
qarasaujaq	computer
qarasaujaak	(two) computers

Remember that in Inuktut, you almost never put together more than two vowels in a row. So if you drop the final consonant and find you already have two vowels, just add -k:

qarasaujaralaaq	laptop
qarasaujaralaak	(two) laptops

In Inuktut, the plural is used to talk about more than two of any noun:

inuk	person
inuit	people (3+)

The plural form always ends in -t. Here are some instructions on changing a noun from its singular form to the plural:

if the noun ends in a vowel, add -it:

ilisaiji	teacher
ilisaijiit	teachers (3+)

If the noun ends in t, just add -iit:

uqaalaut	telephone
uqaalautiit	telephones (3+)

If the object ends in any other consonant, delete the last consonant, and add -it:

iqaluk	fish (1)
iqaluit	fish (3+)

If you delete the last consonant, and find that you already have two vowels, just add -t:

uqaalautiralaaq	cell phone
uqaalautiralaat	cell phones (3+)