In English we often use the word not to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one:
| It is sunny. | It is not sunny. |
In Inuktut, to express the negative, we often insert the affix −nngit− just before the verb ending:
| nuvuja + nngit + tuq = | |
| nuvujanngittuq | It is not cloudy. |
| qanniq + qqau + nngit + tuq = | |
| qanniqqaunngittuq | It did not snow earlier. |
When -nngit- is added to a root that ends in a consonant (q-, k-,-t-), it deletes the final consonant:
| silalut + nngit + tuq = | |
| silalunngittuq | It is not raining. |
| qanniq + lauq + nngit + tuq = | |
| Ippatsaq qannilaunngittuq | It did not snow yesterday. |
Here are some more examples of how the negative is used:
| iqqanaijaqtut | They are working. |
| iqqanaijanngittut | They are not working. |
| naammaktuq | 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. |