Inuit grammar

Non-specific verbs are verbs that either are intransitive (they have no direct object), or have an indefinite noun as their object. In English, an indefinite noun is marked by the lack of the article the or, if the noun is singular (and countable) the article a(n). In Inuktitut, when it is the object of a verb, it is distinguished by the use of a non-specific verb and particular suffix described below. A definite noun, in contrast, requires the use of a specific verb when it is the object of a verb.

As a general rule, a correctly formed Inuktitut verb must start with a root and end with a suffix that indicates the grammatical person of its subject:

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ
Quviasuktunga.

I am happy

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ
Anijuq.

he/she/it has just now gone out.

The indicative is the simplest form of the verb in Inuktitut, and for state verbs - verbs indicating a condition or a situation - this form indicates the present tense: The condition or situation is presently the case. For action verbs, it indicates that the action has recently been completed, mixing tense and aspect. Inuktitut verbs are divided into state verbs and action verbs. However, the distinction may not match how non-Inuktitut speakers would categorise verbs. For example, the verb root pisuk-, meaning "to be walking" - is a state verb in Inuktitut.

pisuktunga - I am walking. (right now)

When the verb root ends in a consonant, the suffixes that indicate the grammatical person all begin with t. For example, pisuk- - to be walking - is conjugated as follows:

Verb roots that end in a vowel have suffixes that start with a j. For example, ani- - to go out:

Note that Inuktitut has a fully productive dual number, present in all three persons.

There is an alternative form of the above conjugation which is used in different ways and to different degrees depending on dialect. Instead of starting with t after a consonant and j after a vowel, this form starts with p after a consonant and v after a vowel. The exact difference varies from dialect to dialect. In western dialects, including Inuinnaqtun and Inupiatun, only the t/j forms are ever used for statements and the p/v form is rarely if ever heard. In Greenland, only the p/v form is used. In the central and eastern Canadian dialects, both forms are used.

There are additional p/v forms used in Nunavut to indicate interrogative statements - asking questions - although they may indicate other subtle distinctions of aspect. When they are used to ask questions, the last vowel may be doubled to indirectly indicate rising pitch. So, the question "Are we there yet?" can be written as Tikippita? (tikip- - to arrive, and for -pita see the table below) but may also be written as Tikippitaa?

This way, one can very compactly pose and answer simple yes/no questions:

The subject of a non-specific verb has no special morphological mark:

The object of a non-specific verb must end in a suffix that indicates its syntactic role:

The object of a non-specific verb takes one of the suffixes below, depending on its number:

An example using the verb taku- - to see - and inuviniq - dead person:

To say "I see the dead person" or "I see the dead people" requires a specific verb, which is described in the section below.

Specific verbs - verbs whose objects are definite as opposed to indefinite - take suffixes that indicate the grammatical person of both the subject and the object, but not their grammatical number.

Specific verb suffixes used after vowels:

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:

Note that the suffixes in this table cannot be used for reflexive verbs. That will be discussed separately.

As with non-specific verbs, specific verbs have an alternate v/p form used to the exclusion of j/t forms in Greenland, to some extent interchangeably in Nunavut, and not at all in the west:

Specific verb suffixes used after vowels:

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:

The specific interrogative is also sometimes used to indicate conditional forms or other aspects. It overlaps heavily with the v/p alternative form described above:

After vowels:

After consonants:

The subject of a specific verb requires a specific suffix to indicate its syntactic role:

The subject of a specific verb takes the following suffixes, depending on its grammatical number:

All of the suffixes above delete any consonant that immediately precedes them. For example, qajaq becomes qajaup in the singular, qajaak in the dual, and qajait in the plural when it is the subject of a specific verb.

So, as an example:

The object of a specific verb needs no particular suffix at all. Thus, we can contrast Inuviniq takujara - I see the dead person - with the table for non-specific verbs above. Continuing the example from above:

Some verbs are automatically both specific and non-specific verbs, depending only on which suffixes they receive. The verb taku- - to see - is one example. However, other verbs require an additional suffix to shift classes.

Many action verbs that specifically involve an actor performing an action on another are specific verbs that take the suffix -si- in order to become non-specific verbs:

Many verbs of emotion alternate between the suffixes -suk- and -gi- to change whether or not they are specific:

This is important when attributing an emotion to a person without designating the cause. To do so, Inuktitut always uses the non-specific form:

A reflexive verb is a verb which must have both an object and a subject, but where, in some context, both the object and the subject are identical. In Inuktitut, this situation is expressed by using a specific verb but by affixing a non-specific ending to it.

In secondary clauses, third person inflexions must make a distinction between instances where the two clauses have the same subject and those where the subject is different. In English, the sentence "He is leaving because he is tired" is ambiguous unless you know whether or not the two "he"s refer to different people. In Inuktitut, in contrast, this situation is clearly marked:

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᒐᒪ
Aullaqtuq taqagama.

He₁ is leaving because he₁ is tired

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᖕᒪᑦ
Aullaqtuq taqangmat.

He₁ is leaving because he₂ is tired

The set of suffixes used to indicate the other third person is sometimes called the third person different, but is also often called the fourth person. This additional grammatical person is a pervasive feature of Inuktitut.

The causative is used to link propositions that follow logically. It is much more broadly used in Inuktitut than similar structures are in English. The causative is one of the most important ways of connecting two clauses in Inuktitut:

ᖃᓐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᙯᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qannirmat qainngittunga

Because it is snowing, I am not coming.

This structure has a meaning closer to an "if... then..."' sentence in English than the kind of structure usually referred to as "conditional". It generally involves using an additional marker of the future tense or the conditional mood in the main clause:

ᙯᒍᕕᑦ ᓂᕆᓂᐊᖅᐱᑦ?
Qaiguvit niriniaqpit?

If you come, will you eat?

ᖃᓐᓂᖅᐸᑦ ᐊᓂᓇᔭᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qanniqpat aninajanngittunga

If it were snowing, I wouldn't go out.

The frequentative endings indicate that two propositions routinely occur together. In English, this is expressed with words like usually, often, generally and whenever. It generally involves using an additional marker in the main clause to indicate frequency:

ᑳᒃᑳᖓᒥ ᓂᕆᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᖅ
Kaakkaangami niriqattaqtuq

When he's hungry, he eats.

The dubitative suffixes express uncertainty or disbelief about a proposition:

ᓈᓚᖕᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ ᓇᓗᔪᖓ
Naalangmangaarmitit nalujunga

I don't know whether or not she listens to you.

ᙱᑦ
-nngit- - negates the verb

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

ᓗᐊᖅ
-luaq- - excessively

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

-galuaq- - although, but

N.B.: This suffix undergoes consonant sandhi:

Consequently one can say:

While Indo-European languages tend to make tense distinctions in terms of before or after some reference event, Inuktitut makes a number of somewhat fuzzy distinctions depending on how far into the past or the future the event took place. In English, this distinction requires additional words to place the event in time, but in Inuktitut the tense marker itself carries much of that information.

ᓛᖅ
-laaq- - future, tomorrow or later

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

ᓂᐊᖅ
-niaq- - later today

N.B.: This suffix nasalises a preceding consonant.

ᓕᖅ
-liq- - in process, right now

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant. When applied to a state verb, it emphasises that the state holds at the present moment. For action verbs, it means that the action is taking place right now, instead of having just finished.

ᕋᑖᖅ
-rataaq- - immediate past, a moment ago, no more than a few seconds

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

ᖅᑲᐅ
-qqau- - just now, a few minutes ago

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

ᓚᐅᖅ
-lauq- - more remote past, yesterday or earlier, up to perhaps a year

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.

ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ
-lauqsima- - remote past, several years or more ago

N.B.: This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.