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:
nuliaqaqqa? | Does he have a wife? |
ii, nulialik. | 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:
nuliaqanngittuq | He does not have a wife. |