In English, when we want to give a reason for something, we add a clause to a sentence that usually begins with the word “because”:
We are leaving because we are tired.
In Inuktut the clause that is underlined above is usually represented in one word. This word has a special ending that lets us know who we are talking about:
| anijjaanngittunga niaqunngugama |
| I am not going out because I have a headache. |
Here is a list of these endings:
| niaqunngugama | because I have a headache |
| niaqunngugavit | because you (1) have a headache |
| niaqunngugami /niaqunngummat * | because he / she has a headache |
| niaqunngugannuk | because we (2) have headaches |
| niaqunngugatta | because we (3+) have headaches |
| niaqunngugatsik | because you (2) have headaches |
| niaqunngugatsi | because you (3+) have headaches |
| niaqunngugami /niaqunngummatik* | because they (2) have headaches |
| niaqunngugami /niaqunngummata* | because they (3+) have headaches |
* Notice in the third person (he/she/it/they) that there are two options:
The endings -gami and -gamik can only be used when we are talking about the same person in a sentence:
| Piita aullalaunngittuq qanimagami. |
| Peter didn’t travel because he (Peter) is sick. |
If thre is a change in who you are speaking about in the sentence, the endings -mmat, -mmatik and -mmata must be used:
| Piita aullalaunngittuq qiturnganga qanimammat. |
| Peter didn’t travel because his child is sick. |
The first m in these endings changes to r after a verb root ending in q-:
| Qailaunngittuq qiturnganga haakilaurmat. |
| Peter didn’t come because his child was playing hockey. |
All of the above endings can also be used to express the idea in English of 'when something happened...' :
| Tikiqqaummata niriqqaujugut. | When they arrived, we ate. |
| Aullalaugatta sinilaujut. | When we depated, they were sleeping. |
- Working with the endings above, the first letter of the endings that begin in g- changes to k-
- The endings above that begin with m- do not change. They delete the final -k of the stem:
| nuvak- | to have a cold |
| nuvakkama | because I have a cold |
| nuvakkannuk | because we (2) have colds |
| nuvakkatta | because we (3+) have colds |
| nuvakkavit | because you (1) have a cold |
| nuvakkatsik | because you (2) have colds |
| nuvakkatsi | because you (3+) have colds |
| nuvammat | because he / she has a cold |
| nuvammatik | because they (2) have colds |
| nuvammata | because they (3+) have colds |
Adding these affixes to stems ending in -t :
- The last letter of the root and the first letter of the affix both change to n-.
- The endings that begin in m- are unchanged. They delete the final -t of the root :
| tikit- | to arrive |
| tikinnama | because I arrived |
| tikinnannuk | because we (2) arrived |
| tikinnatta | because we (3+) arrived |
| tikinnavik | because you (1) arrived |
| tikinnatsik | because you (2) arrived |
| tikinnatsi | because you (3+) arrived |
| tikimmat | because he / she arrived |
| tikimmatik | because they (2) arrived |
| tikimmata | because they (3+) arrived |
Adding these affixes to roots ending in -q :
The last consonant of the stem is deleted and the affix begins with r:| nuvak + lauq- | to have had a cold |
| nuvalaurama | because I had a cold |
| nuvalaurannuk | because we (2) had colds |
| nuvalauratta | because we (3+) had colds |
| nuvalauravit | because you (1) had a cold |
| nuvalauratsik | because you (2) had colds |
| nuvalauratsi | because you (3+) had colds |
| nuvalaurmat | because he/she had a cold |
| nuvalaurmatik | because they (2) had colds |
| nuvalaurmata | because they (3+) had colds |