The basic form of the Inuktut verb describes an action that happens once. If we want to describe an action that happens repeatedly or regulary, we need to add the affixes -vat- / -pat- or -qattaq-. These affixes have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.
| iqqanaijaqtunga | iqqanaijaqpattunga / iqqanaijaqattaqtunga |
| I am working right now. | I work (regular or repeated action). |
| Naggajjaumi iqqanaijaqpappit / iqqanaijaqattaqqit? | Qautamaat iqqanaijaqpattunga / iqqanaijaqattaqtunga. |
| Do you work on Mondays? (regular or repeated action) | I work every day. |
-vat- is added to verbs that end in a vowel. For verbs ending in a consonant, the affix changes to -pat- :
| tiituq- | Qautamaat tiituqpattunga. |
| to drink tea | I drink tea every day. |
| uqaala- | Qautamaat Ilisapimut uqaalavattunga. |
| to call someone | I call Ilisapi every day. |
In the South Qikiqtaaluk dialect, -pat- changes a k- or t- sound that comes before it to p- :
| pisuk- | pisuppattunga. |
| to walk | I walk often. |
| qungat- | Qungappappa? |
| to smile | Does he/she smile often? |
The affix -qattaq- can be added to verbs ending in vowels or consonants. When added to a root ending in a consonant, -qattaq- deletes the final consonant:
| pisuqattaqtunga | misuqattaqtuq |
| I walk often. | He/she often sews. |
| qungaqattaqtuq | Sinittiaqattaqtuq. |
| He/she smiles often. | He/she sleeps well (regular action). |