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 / she is not happy. |
Here are some more examples of how the negative is used:
| tukisijunga | I understand. |
| tukisinngittunga | I don't understand. |
| qaijugut | We are coming. |
| qainngittugut | We are not comilng. |