Grammar » 31. Double Verb Endings

So far, we have been using simple endings with verbs:

takujunga
I see.
-junga indicates the subject of the sentence, or who does the seeing. It doesn’t indicate the object of the sentence, or what we see.

In English, if we want to talk about what we see, we would add a pronoun to the sentence to indicate an object:

I see her.

In Inuktitut, we use verb endings that indicate both the subject and the object of the sentence:

single verb ending double verb ending
takujunga takujara
I see. I see her.
   
maliktunga maliktakka
I follow. I follow them.
   
tusaajuq tusaajaatit
He/she hears. He/she hears you.

Here are the simplest forms of these affixes:

  me you him/her/it
I  

takujagit/takugikkit

I see you.

takujara

I see him.
you

takujarma/takuginnga

You see me.		  

takujait

You see him.
he / she

takujaanga/takugaanga

He/she sees me.

takujaatit/takugaatit

He/she sees you.

takujanga

He/she sees him/her.

The basic form of these affixes begins with a j- when added to a root that ends in a vowel. If these affixes are added to roots that end in a consonant, the -j changes to t-:

maliktara ikajuqtaanga
I am following him/her He/she helps me.

ALTERNATES

Be aware that in the South Qikiqtaaluk region, you may hear or see the following alternate endings:

takugikkit I see you.
takuginnga You see me.
takugaanga He/she sees me.
takugaatit He/she sees you.

These endings vary depending on the last consonant of the root they are added to:

after Q:
ikajuq- ikajuraanga
to help He/she helps me.

 

after T:
tukisinngit- tukisinngikkaanga
to not understand He/she doesn't understand me.