THE NEGATIVE
In English we often use the word not to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one:
I am tired
| I am not tired
|
In Inuktitut, to express the negative, we often insert the affix −nngit− just before the subject of the verb:
| taqa + nngit + tunga = | taqanngittunga | I am not tired. |
| qai + qqau + nngit + tut = | qaiqqaunngittut | They did not come. |
When
-nngit- is added to a root that ends in a consonant (
q,k,t), it deletes the final consonant:
| quviasuk + nngit + tuq = | quviasunngittuq | He is not happy. |
Here are some more examples of how the negative is used:
| iqqanaijaqtuq | He is working. | iqqanaijanngittuq
| He is not working.
|
| naammattuq | It is O.K. | naammanngittuq | It’s not O.K. |
| tukisijunga | I understand. | tukisinngittunga | I don’t understand. |
| qaijugut | We 3 are coming | qainngittugut | We 3 are not coming. |