Dialogue: Where did you put the phone?
Vocabulary
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uqaalaut
ᐅᑳᓚᐅᑦ
telephone
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ailiruk
ᐊᐃᓕᕈᒃ
Go get it (command)
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Grammar
31. Double Verb Endings
So far, we have been using simple endings with verbs:
| takujunga |
| I 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. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| you |
takujarma/takuginnga You see me. |
takujait You see him. |
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| 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. |
32. Double Verb Endings: Asking Questions
In an earlier lesson, we introduced verb endings that involve both a subject and an object:
| takujara | qaujimajaanga |
| I see him/her. | He/she knows me. |
These are used to make simple statements. There are a corresponding set of affixes that are used to ask questions that indicate a subject and an object:
| qaujimavagit? | Do I know you? |
| qaujimavara? | Do I know him/her? |
| tukisivinnga? | Do you understand me? |
| tukisiviuk? | Do you understand him/her? |
| tusaavaanga? | Does he/she hear me? |
| tusaavaatit? | Does he/she hear you? |
| tusaavauk? | Does he/she hear him/her? |
If these affixes are added to a root ending in a vowel, they begin with the letter v:
| takuviuk? | Do you see him/her? |
If these affixes are added to a root ending in -q, they begin with the letter q:
| ikajuqqiuk? | Are you helping him/her? |
If they are added to a root ending in any other consonant, they switch the final consonant to -p and then begin with p-:
| malippiuk? | Are you following him/her? |