Vocabulary
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uqaalaut
ᐅᑳᓚᐅᑦ
telephone
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ailiruk
ᐊᐃᓕᕈᒃ
Go get it (command)
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Grammar
42 » Transitive 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. These are known as transitive verb endings.
| takujunga (basic verb ending) | I see. |
| takujara (transitive verb ending) | I see her. |
| maliktunga | I follow. |
| maliktakka | I follow them. |
| tusaajuq | She hears. |
| tusaajaatit | She hears you. |
Here are the simplest forms of the transitive verb endings:
| Where I am doing the action: | |
| takujagit | I see you. |
| takugikkit (alternate S.Qikiqtaaluk ending) | I see you. |
| takujara | I see him / her / it. |
| Where you are doing the action: | |
| takujarma | You see me. |
| takuginnga (alternate S.Qikiqtaaluk ending) | You see me. |
| takujait | You see him. |
| Where he/she/it is doing the action: | |
| takujaanga | She sees me. |
| takugaanga (alternate S.Qikiqtaaluk ending) | She sees me. |
| takujaatit | She sees you. |
| takugaatit (alternate S.Qikiqtaaluk ending) | She sees you. |
| takujanga | She sees him. |
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 | I am following him. |
| ikajuqtaanga | 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 a root ending in q-, the endings start with r-
| ikajuq- | to help |
| ikajuraanga | He is helping me. |
| ikajurikkit | I am helping you. |
After a root ending in k- or t-, the endings start with kk-
| tukisinngit- | to not understand |
| tukisinngikkaanga | She isn’t understanding me. |
| tukisinngikkinnga | You aren’t understanding me. |
43 » Transitive Verb Endings for Questions
In this grammar note, we look at transitive verb endings for asking questions. These involve both a subject (the person performing an action) and an object (the person or thing on the receiving end of the action):
| tukisivit? (basic verb ending) | Do you understand? |
| tukisivinnga? (transitive verb ending) | Do you understand me? |
Here are the simplest forms of these endings:
| 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 -k or -t, they switch the final consonant to -p and then begin with p-:
| malik- | to follow |
| malippiuk? | Are you following him/her? |