7 Allavvik

THE VERB -TAQAQ-

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

kaapitaqaqqa

Is there coffee?

 

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

kaapitaqaqqa?	ii, kaapitalik.
Is there coffee?	Yes, there is coffee.

 

Note that -talik is never used to make a negative sentence:

kaapitaqaqqa?	aagga, kaapitaqanngittuq
Is there coffee?	No, there is no coffee.

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

paippaaq + taqaq + qa =
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	pen
titiraut + i + qaq + tunga = titirautiqaqtunga	I have a pen

 

Now, watch what happens when we answer in the negative. 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?	ii, nulialik.
Does he have a wife?	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:

aaggaa, nuliaqanngittuq.

No, 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 Inuktitut, we use different endings to distinguish between two of something and more than two of something:

matu	matuuk	matuit
one door	(two) doors	(three) 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	uqaalautiik	illuuk
(two) tables	(two) telephones	(two) buildings

 

Here's some instructions on changing a noun from its singular form to the dual:

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

nuvuja	nuvujaak
cloud	(two) clouds

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

paippaamuurijjut	paippaamuurijjutiik
printer	(two) printers

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

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

remember: that in Inuktitut, 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:

nunannguaq	nunannguak
map	(two) maps

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

inuk	inuit
person	people

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	ilisaijiit
teacher	teachers (3+)

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

uqaalaut	uqaalautiit
telephone	telephones

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

iqaluk	iqaluit
fish	fish (3+)

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

uqaalautiralaaq	uqaalautiralaat
cell phone	cell phones (3+)