3 Suvit?

The Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin) dialects of Inuktut are fairly precise in how they deal with tenses. Affixes are added to verbs that indicate that an event will happen in the immediate future, later the same day or farther in the future.

The Immediate Future

To talk about event that will happen later the same day, isert the affix -niaq- between the verb root and the ending:

suvit?	What are you doing?
suniaqqit?	What will you be doing?
nirijunga	I am eating.
niriniaqtunga.	I will be eating.

When -niaq- is added to a root that ends in q-, the q changes to r.

kaapituq + niaq + tunga =
kaapiturniaqtunga.	I will be drinking coffee.

When -niaq- is added to a root ending in t- , it changes the t to n :

pisut + niaq + tuq =
pisunniaqtuq	He / she is going to walk.

 

In Iqaluit, -langa- is the affix that is most commonly used for an event in the immediate future.  -langa- can be attached directly to a root that ends in a vowel.  When attached to a root ending in a consonant, it deletes the final consonant:

ullumi aullalangajut

They are going to depart today.

 

Events farther in the Future

-laaq- is an affix used for events that will be happening the next day or further into the future. Let’s compare the following pairs of words:

iqqanaijarniaqtunga	I am going to work (later that day).
iqqanaijalaaqtunga	I will be working (sometime in the future).
katimaniaqtugut	We are going to have a meeting (later the same day).
katimalaaqtugut	We will be having a meeting (tomorrow or farther in the future)

If -laaq- is added to a stem that ends in a consonant, it deletes the last consonant.

aullaq + laaq + tuq =
aullalaaqtuq	He / she will leave town.

-rataaq- is an affix that is used to describe actions that have happened in the immediate past (within the hour).

isirataaqtuq	He / she just came in.
tikirataaqtugut	We just arrived.

-qqau- is an affix that is used to describe actions that have happened earlier in the day.

uqaalaqqaujuq	He / she called earlier.
angirraqqaujunga	I went home (earlier that day).

 

-lauq- is used to describe actions that have happened yesterday or in the not too distant past.

ippatsaq tuttulialauqtuq	Yesterday, he went caribou hunting.
taqqiulauqtumi qikalauqtuq	Last month she went on holidays.

Note that when any of the above affixes are added to a root ending in a consonant, they delete the final consonant.

aullaq + rataaq + tuq =
aullarataaqtuq	She just left (departed) a few minutes ago.
tikit + qqau + juq =
tikiqqaujuq	He arrived earlier.
malik + lauq + tut =
malilauqtut	They followed (yesterday or earlier).

 

Important: Inuktut speakers don't always use these affixes to talk about events in the past. At times you have to rely on context of the conversation to know whether a verb like "nirijuq" refers to an event right now or in the past.

tikippit?	Did you arrive/make it here OK?
tikippunga	I arrived/made it here OK.