Grammar » 44 » Comparing People and Things
To compare people or things in English, we use two affixes that we add directly to an adjective:
In Inuktut, you do more or less the same thing:
takijuq |
takiniqsaq |
takilaaq |
tall |
taller |
tallest |
|
|
|
angijuq |
anginiqsaq |
angilaaq |
big |
bigger |
biggest |
Note that the ending
–juq / -tuq is dropped from the basic form of the adjective before adding
-niqsaq or
-laaq.
When
–niqsaq is added to a stem ending in
-t, it changes the final
t to
n:
naittuq |
nainniqsaq |
short |
shorter |
When –laaq is added to a stem ending in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:
naittuq |
nailaaq |
short |
the shortest |
In a full sentence, we normally would follow the words above with the verb
-u / -ngu (
to be) and the subject ending:
angilaangujuq |
angilaangujunga |
It is the biggest. |
I am the biggest. |
To make a comparison, we then tack on the affix
-mit to the person or thing to which a comparison is being made:
Ilisapimit takiniqsaujunga. |
Amaruq qimmirmit anginiqsaq. |
I am taller than Ilisapi |
The wolf is bigger than the dog. |
Note that in the last sentence above, when comparing an object in the third person, you have the option of dropping the -ujuq ending. The context makes the meaning of the sentence clear.
Keep in mind that when using personal pronouns to make comparisons, they don't follow a regular pattern:
uvanga |
me |
uvannit |
than me |
Uvannit takiniqsaujutit. |
You are taller than me. |
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|
ivvit |
you |
ilinnit |
than you |
Kinali ilinnit takiniqsauva? |
And who is taller than you? |
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|
ilissik |
the two of you |
ilissinnit |
than the two of you |
Ilissinnit nainniqsaujuguk. |
We two are shorter than the two of you. |