Grammar » 14 » To Have

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:

qarasaujaqaqqa? Does he/she have a computer?
ii, qarasaujalik. Yes, he/she has a computer.

 

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

qarasaujaqanngittuq He/she does not have a computer.