Inuit grammar

The Inuit languages, like other Eskimo–Aleut languages, exhibit a regular agglutinative and heavily suffixing morphology. The languages are rich in suffixes, making words very long and potentially unique. For example, in Nunavut Inuktitut:

ex:

ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓐᓇᖖᒋᑦᑐᐊᓘᔪᖓ

tusaatsiarunnanngittualuujunga

ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓐᓇᖖᒋᑦᑐᐊᓘᔪᖓ

tusaatsiarunnanngittualuujunga

I can't hear very well.

This long word is composed of a root word tusaa- – to hear – followed by seven suffixes (a vowel-beginning suffix always erases the final consonant of the preceding consonant-ending suffix):

• -tsiaq-: "well"
• -junnaq- (or -gunnaq-): "be able to"
• -nngit-: negation
• -tu(q): indicative third-person singular (in fact a nominal form)
• -alu(k)-: augmentative ("very")
• -u-: "be"
• -junga: indicative first-person singular (itself composed of the indicative morpheme -ju- and the first person marker -nga)

Note the consonant sandhi (see Inuit phonology): The /q/ from -tsiaq- followed by the /j/ from -junnaq- becomes ‹r› [ʁ], a single consonant taking its point of articulation from /q/ and its manner of articulation from /j/. The /q/ from -junnaq- is assimilated into the /ŋŋ/ of -nngit-, because Inuktitut forbids triple length consonants, and because the morphophonological rules attached to -nngit- require it to delete any consonant that comes before it.

This sort of word construction is pervasive in Inuit languages and makes it very unlike English. In one large Inuktitut corpus – the Nunavut Hansard – 92% of all words appear only once, in contrast to a small percentage in most English corpora of similar size. This makes the application of Zipf's law quite difficult.

Furthermore, the notion of a part of speech can be somewhat complicated in Inuit languages. Fully inflected verbs can be interpreted as nouns. The word ilisaijuq can be interpreted as a fully inflected verb – "he studies" – but can also be interpreted as a noun: "student".

Because of the languages’ rich and complicated morphology, this article can present only a limited and unsystematic sample of its features. It is based largely on the Inuktitut dialects of north Baffin Island and central Nunavut. The morphology and syntax of Inuit language varies to some degree between dialects, but the basic principles will generally apply to all of them and to some degree to Yupik as well.

Verbs in main clauses

Inuktitut verbs fall into two major categories with different morphological properties: non-specific verbs and specific verbs. Many verbs belong in both categories, and can take either set of endings depending on the type of information about the verb's arguments that speakers intend to communicate. Others are restricted to one category or require a morphological change in order to move between categories.

Every fully inflected Inuktitut verb can act alone as a proposition. No other words are required to form a syntactically correct sentence.

This section will only cover two of the most common sets of endings for these two verb classes and a small selection of verbal modifiers. Inuktitut has a large and diverse set of verbal inflections, of which this article can only cover a small portion designed to give some sense of how the Inuktitut language works.

Non-specific verbs

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.

Non-specific indicative conjugation

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:

ex:

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ
Quviasuktunga

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ

quviasuk-

to be happy

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᑐᖓ

quviasuk- -tunga

{to be happy} 1SG

I am happy

ex:

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ
Anijuq

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᔪᖅ

-juq

3SG

ᐊᓂ ᔪᖅ

ani- -juq

{to go out} 3SG

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:

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖓ pisuktunga ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖓ pisuktunga I am walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᒃ pisuktuguk ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᒃ pisuktuguk we [two] are walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᑦ pisuktugut ᐱᓱᒃᑐᒍᑦ pisuktugut we [more than two] are walking
2nd person	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑎᑦ pisuktutit ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑎᑦ pisuktutit you [sing] are walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯᒃ pisuktusik ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯᒃ pisuktusik you [two] are walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯ pisuktusi ᐱᓱᒃᑐᓯ pisuktusi you [more than two] are walking
3rd person	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖅ pisuktuq ᐱᓱᒃᑐᖅ pisuktuq he/she/it is walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑑᒃ pisuktuuk ᐱᓱᒃᑑᒃ pisuktuuk they [two] are walking	ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑦ pisuktut ᐱᓱᒃᑐᑦ pisuktut they [more than two] are walking

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

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᐊᓂᔪᖓ anijunga ᐊᓂᔪᖓ anijunga I have just gone out	ᐊᓂᔪᒍᒃ anijuguk ᐊᓂᔪᒍᒃ anijuguk we [two] have just gone out	ᐊᓂᔪᒍᑦ anijugut ᐊᓂᔪᒍᑦ anijugut we [more than two] have just gone out
2nd person	ᐊᓂᔪᑎᑦ anijutit ᐊᓂᔪᑎᑦ anijutit you [sing] have just gone out	ᐊᓂᔪᓯᒃ anijusik ᐊᓂᔪᓯᒃ anijusik you [two] have just gone out	ᐊᓂᔪᓯ anijusi ᐊᓂᔪᓯ anijusi you [more than two] have just gone out
3rd person	ᐊᓂᔪᖅ anijuq ᐊᓂᔪᖅ anijuq he/she/it has just gone out	ᐊᓂᔫᒃ anijuuk ᐊᓂᔫᒃ anijuuk they [two] have just gone out	ᐊᓂᔪᑦ anijut ᐊᓂᔪᑦ anijut they [more than two] have just gone out

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

Verb roots ending in a consonant

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᑐᖓ -tunga ᑐᖓ -tunga	ᑐᒍᒃ -tuguk ᑐᒍᒃ -tuguk	ᑐᒍᑦ -tugut ᑐᒍᑦ -tugut
2nd person	ᑐᑎᑦ -tutit ᑐᑎᑦ -tutit	ᑐᓯᒃ -tusik ᑐᓯᒃ -tusik	ᑐᓯ -tusi ᑐᓯ -tusi
3rd person	ᑐᖅ -tuq ᑐᖅ -tuq	ᑑᒃ -tuuk ᑑᒃ -tuuk	ᑐᑦ -tut ᑐᑦ -tut

Verb roots ending in a vowel

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᔪᖓ -junga ᔪᖓ -junga	ᔪᒍᒃ -juguk ᔪᒍᒃ -juguk	ᔪᒍᑦ -jugut ᔪᒍᑦ -jugut
2nd person	ᔪᑎᑦ -jutit ᔪᑎᑦ -jutit	ᔪᓯᒃ -jusik ᔪᓯᒃ -jusik	ᔪᓯ -jusi ᔪᓯ -jusi
3rd person	ᔪᖅ -juq ᔪᖅ -juq	ᔫᒃ -juuk ᔫᒃ -juuk	ᔪᑦ -jut ᔪᑦ -jut

Alternative form

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.

Verb roots ending in a consonant

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᐳᖓ -punga ᐳᖓ -punga	ᐳᒍᒃ -puguk ᐳᒍᒃ -puguk	ᐳᒍᑦ -pugut ᐳᒍᑦ -pugut
2nd person	ᐳᑎᑦ -putit ᐳᑎᑦ -putit	ᐳᓯᒃ -pusik ᐳᓯᒃ -pusik	ᐳᓯ -pusi ᐳᓯ -pusi
3rd person	ᐳᖅ -puq ᐳᖅ -puq	ᐴᒃ -puuk ᐴᒃ -puuk	ᐳᑦ -put ᐳᑦ -put

Verb roots ending in a vowel

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᕗᖓ -vunga ᕗᖓ -vunga	ᕗᒍᒃ -vuguk ᕗᒍᒃ -vuguk	ᕗᒍᑦ -vugut ᕗᒍᑦ -vugut
2nd person	ᕗᑎᑦ -vutit ᕗᑎᑦ -vutit	ᕗᓯᒃ -vusik ᕗᓯᒃ -vusik	ᕗᓯ -vusi ᕗᓯ -vusi
3rd person	ᕗᖅ -vuq ᕗᖅ -vuq	ᕘᒃ -vuuk ᕘᒃ -vuuk	ᕗᑦ -vut ᕗᑦ -vut

Interrogatives

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?

Verb roots ending in a consonant

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᐳᖓ -punga ᐳᖓ -punga	ᐱᓄᒃ -pinuk ᐱᓄᒃ -pinuk	ᐱᑕ -pita ᐱᑕ -pita
2nd person	ᐱᑦ -pit ᐱᑦ -pit	ᐱᓯᒃ -pisik ᐱᓯᒃ -pisik	ᐱᓯ -pisi ᐱᓯ -pisi
3rd person	ᐸ -pa ᐸ -pa	ᐸᒃ -pak ᐸᒃ -pak	ᐸᑦ -pat ᐸᑦ -pat

Verb roots ending in a vowel

	Singular	Dual	Plural
1st person	ᕗᖓ -vunga ᕗᖓ -vunga	ᕕᓄᒃ -vinuk ᕕᓄᒃ -vinuk	ᕕᑕ -vita ᕕᑕ -vita
2nd person	ᕕᑦ -vit ᕕᑦ -vit	ᕕᓯᒃ -visik ᕕᓯᒃ -visik	ᕕᓯ -visi ᕕᓯ -visi
3rd person	ᕙ -va ᕙ -va	ᕙᒃ -vak ᕙᒃ -vak	ᕙᑦ -vat ᕙᑦ -vat

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

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐱᑦ?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐱᑦ?

Quviasukpit?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐲᑦ?

Quviasukpiit?

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐲᑦ?

Quviasukpiit?

Are you happy?

ᐄ,

Ii,

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ.

quviasuktunga.

ᐄ, ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ.

Ii, quviasuktunga.

Yes, I'm happy.

Subjects

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

ex:

ᐲᑕ

Piita

ᐊᓂᔪᖅ.

anijuq.

ᐲᑕ ᐊᓂᔪᖅ.

Piita anijuq.

Peter just went out.

ex:

ᓗᐃ

Lui

ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖅ.

quviasuktuq.

ᓗᐃ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᖅ.

Lui quviasuktuq.

Louis is happy.

Objects

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

ex:

ᐲᑕᒥᒃ

Piitamik

ᑕᑯᕕᑦ?

takuvit?

ᐲᑕᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᕕᑦ?

Piitamik takuvit?

Do you see Peter?

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

Indefinite suffixes

Singular	ᒥᒃ -mik ᒥᒃ -mik	/m/ nasalises a preceding consonant
Dual	ᕐᓂᒃ -rnik ᕐᓂᒃ -rnik	deletes any preceding consonant and doubles the length of the preceding vowel
Plural	ᓂᒃ -nik ᓂᒃ -nik	/n/ nasalises a preceding consonant

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

Singular:	ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᒥᒃ Inuvinirmik ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. takujunga. ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. Inuvinirmik takujunga. I see a dead person.
Dual:	ᐃᓄᕕᓃᕐᓂᒃ Inuviniirnik ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. takujunga. ᐃᓄᕕᓃᕐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. Inuviniirnik takujunga. I see two dead people.
Plural:	ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ Inuvinirnik ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. takujunga. ᐃᓄᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖓ. Inuvinirnik takujunga. I see dead people.

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

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 indicative conjugation

Specific verb suffixes used after vowels:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᔭᕐᒪ -jarma ᔭᕐᒪ -jarma	ᔮᙵ -jaanga ᔮᙵ -jaanga
	2nd person	ᔭᒋᑦ -jagit ᔭᒋᑦ -jagit		ᔮᑎᑦ -jaatit ᔮᑎᑦ -jaatit
	3rd person	ᔭᕋ -jara ᔭᕋ -jara	ᔦᑦ -jait ᔦᑦ -jait	ᔭᖓ -janga ᔭᖓ -janga

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᑕᕐᒪ -tarma ᑕᕐᒪ -tarma	ᑖᙵ -taanga ᑖᙵ -taanga
	2nd person	ᑕᒋᑦ -tagit ᑕᒋᑦ -tagit		ᑖᑎᑦ -taatit ᑖᑎᑦ -taatit
	3rd person	ᑕᕋ -tara ᑕᕋ -tara	ᑌᑦ -tait ᑌᑦ -tait	ᑕᖓ -tanga ᑕᖓ -tanga

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

Alternative form

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:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᕙᕐᒪ -varma ᕙᕐᒪ -varma	ᕚᙵ -vaanga ᕚᙵ -vaanga
	2nd person	ᕙᒋᑦ -vagit ᕙᒋᑦ -vagit		ᕚᑎᑦ -vaatit ᕚᑎᑦ -vaatit
	3rd person	ᕙᕋ -vara ᕙᕋ -vara	ᕓᑦ -vait ᕓᑦ -vait	ᕙᖓ -vanga ᕙᖓ -vanga

Specific verb suffixes used after consonants:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᐸᕐᒪ -parma ᐸᕐᒪ -parma	ᐹᙵ -paanga ᐹᙵ -paanga
	2nd person	ᐸᒋᑦ -pagit ᐸᒋᑦ -pagit		ᐹᑎᑦ -paatit ᐹᑎᑦ -paatit
	3rd person	ᐸᕋ -para ᐸᕋ -para	ᐯᑦ -pait ᐯᑦ -pait	ᐸᖓ -panga ᐸᖓ -panga

Interrogatives

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:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᕕᖓ -vinga ᕕᖓ -vinga	ᕚᙵ -vaanga ᕚᙵ -vaanga
	2nd person	ᕙᒋᑦ -vagit ᕙᒋᑦ -vagit		ᕚᑎᑦ -vaatit ᕚᑎᑦ -vaatit
	3rd person	ᕕᒍ -vigu / / ᕙᕋ -vara ᕕᒍ / ᕙᕋ -vigu / -vara	ᕕᐅᒃ -viuk ᕕᐅᒃ -viuk	ᕙᐅᒃ -vauk ᕙᐅᒃ -vauk

After consonants:

		Subject
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Object	1st person		ᐱᖓ -pinga ᐱᖓ -pinga	ᐹᙵ -paanga ᐹᙵ -paanga
	2nd person	ᐸᒋᑦ -pagit ᐸᒋᑦ -pagit		ᐹᑎᑦ -paatit ᐹᑎᑦ -paatit
	3rd person	ᐱᒍ -pigu / / ᐸᕋ -para ᐱᒍ / ᐸᕋ -pigu / -para	ᐱᐅᒃ -piuk ᐱᐅᒃ -piuk	ᐸᐅᒃ -pauk ᐸᐅᒃ -pauk

Subjects

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

ex:

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ

Piitaup

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Piitaup takujaatit

Peter sees you

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

Singular	-up	/u/ disappears when it is preceded by a double vowel
Dual	-k	doubles the preceding vowel, if it is not already double
Plural	-it	/i/ disappears when it is preceded by a double vowel

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.

ᐸᓖᓯᐅᑉ

Paliisiup

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓯᐅᑉ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiup takujaatit

A policeman sees you.

ᐸᓖᓰᒃ

Paliisiik

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓰᒃ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiik takujaatit

Two policemen see you.

ᐸᓖᓰᑦ

Paliisiit

ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

takujaatit

ᐸᓖᓰᑦ ᑕᑯᔮᑎᑦ

Paliisiit takujaatit

Some policemen (more than two) see you.

Objects

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

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ

Piitaup

ᐸᓖᓯ

paliisi

ᑕᑯᐸᐅᒃ?

takuvauk?

ᐲᑕᐅᑉ ᐸᓖᓯ ᑕᑯᐸᐅᒃ?

Piitaup paliisi takuvauk?

Does Peter see the policeman?

ᐋᒃᑲ,

Aakka,

ᐸᓖᓯᓂᒃ

paliisinik

ᐲᑕ

Piita

ᑕᑯᔪᖅ.

takujuq.

ᐋᒃᑲ, ᐸᓖᓯᓂᒃ ᐲᑕ ᑕᑯᔪᖅ.

Aakka, paliisinik Piita takujuq.

No, Peter sees some policemen.

Changing verb classes

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:

Specific

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

Qukiqtara

ᕿᒻᒥᖅ

qimmiq

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ ᕿᒻᒥᖅ

Qukiqtara qimmiq

I just shot the dog.

Non-specific

ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ

Qukiqsijunga

ᕿᒻᒥᕐᒥᒃ

qimmirmik

ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ ᕿᒻᒥᕐᒥᒃ

Qukiqsijunga qimmirmik

I just shot a dog.

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

Specific

ᐃᓕᕋᒋᔭᕋ

Iliragijara

ᐃᓕᓭᔨ

ilisaiji

ᐃᓕᕋᒋᔭᕋ ᐃᓕᓭᔨ

Iliragijara ilisaiji

I'm intimidated by the teacher

Non-specific

ᐃᓕᕋᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Ilirasuktunga

ᐃᓕᓭᔨᒥᒃ

ilisaijimik

ᐃᓕᕋᓱᒃᑐᖓ ᐃᓕᓭᔨᒥᒃ

Ilirasuktunga ilisaijimik

I'm intimidated by a teacher

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

ex:

ᑯᑉᐱᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Kuppiasuktunga

ᑯᑉᐱᐊᓱᒃᑐᖓ

Kuppiasuktunga

I'm afraid

Reflexive verbs

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.

Specific

ᓇᓄᖅ

Nanuq

ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

qukiqtara

ᓇᓄᖅ ᖁᑭᖅᑕᕋ

Nanuq qukiqtara

I just shot the polar bear

Non-specific

ᓇᓄᕐᒥᒃ

Nanurmik

ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ

qukiqsijunga

ᓇᓄᕐᒥᒃ ᖁᑭᖅᓯᔪᖓ

Nanurmik qukiqsijunga

I just shot a polar bear

Reflexive

ᖁᑭᖅᑐᖓ

Qukiqtunga

ᖁᑭᖅᑐᖓ

Qukiqtunga

I just shot myself

Verbs in secondary clauses

A verb that has been fully inflected as described above is a complete proposition able to stand on its own. However, when clauses are linked in Inuktitut, a number of other morphosyntactic phenomena come into play.

First, many secondary structures use other classes of verb suffixes than those used in main clauses. This article cannot cover the whole of Inuktitut morphology, especially since each class of inflexion has its own set of non-specific and specific endings and they vary significantly from dialect to dialect. The examples below are based on the North Baffin dialect.

Fourth person inflection

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:

ex:

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᒐᒪ
Aullaqtuq taqagama.

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ

aullaq-

to leave

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑕᖃ

taqa-

to be tired

ᒐᒪ

-gama

3SG NSP CAUS

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ ᑐᖅ ᑕᖃ ᒐᒪ

aullaq- -tuq taqa- -gama

{to leave} {3SG NSP} {to be tired} {3SG NSP CAUS}

He₁ is leaving because he₁ is tired

ex:

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᖃᖕᒪᑦ
Aullaqtuq taqangmat.

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ

aullaq-

to leave

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑕᖃ

taqa-

to be tired

ᖕᒪᑦ

-ngmat

3SG.OBV NSP CAUS

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅ ᑐᖅ ᑕᖃ ᖕᒪᑦ

aullaq- -tuq taqa- -ngmat

{to leave} {3SG NSP} {to be tired} {3SG.OBV NSP CAUS}

He₁ is leaving because he₂ is tired

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

Causative

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:

ex:

ᖃᓐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᙯᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qannirmat qainngittunga

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᒪᑦ

-mat

4 NSP CAUS

ᙯ

qai-

to come

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᒪᑦ ᙯ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -mat qai- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} {4 NSP CAUS} {to come} {not} {1SG NSP}

Because it is snowing, I am not coming.

Conditional & subjunctive

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:

ex:

ᙯᒍᕕᑦ ᓂᕆᓂᐊᖅᐱᑦ?
Qaiguvit niriniaqpit?

ᙯ

qai-

to come

ᒍᕕᑦ

-guvit

2SG NSP COND

ᓂᕆ

niri-

to eat

ᓂᐊᖅ

-niaq-

FUT

ᐱᑦ

-pit

2SG NSP INTERR

ᙯ ᒍᕕᑦ ᓂᕆ ᓂᐊᖅ ᐱᑦ

qai- -guvit niri- -niaq- -pit

{to come} {2SG NSP COND} {to eat} {FUT} {2SG NSP INTERR}

If you come, will you eat?

ex:

ᖃᓐᓂᖅᐸᑦ ᐊᓂᓇᔭᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qanniqpat aninajanngittunga

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᐸᑦ

-pat

4SG NSP COND

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᓇᔭᖅ

-najaq-

COND

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG NSP

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᐸᑦ ᐊᓂ ᓇᔭᖅ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -pat ani- -najaq- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} {4SG NSP COND} {to go out} {COND} {not} {1SG NSP}

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

Frequentative

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:

ex:

ᑳᒃᑳᖓᒥ ᓂᕆᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᖅ
Kaakkaangami niriqattaqtuq

ᑳᒃ

kaak-

to be hungry

ᑳᖓᒥ

-kaangami

3SG NSP FREQ

ᓂᕆ

niri-

to eat

ᖃᑦᑕᖅ

-qattaq-

usually

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG NSP

ᑳᒃ ᑳᖓᒥ ᓂᕆ ᖃᑦᑕᖅ ᑐᖅ

kaak- -kaangami niri- -qattaq- -tuq

{to be hungry} {3SG NSP FREQ} {to eat} {usually} {3SG NSP}

When he's hungry, he eats.

Dubitative

The dubitative suffixes express uncertainty or disbelief about a proposition:

ex:

ᓈᓚᖕᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ ᓇᓗᔪᖓ
Naalangmangaarmitit nalujunga

ᓈᓚᒃ

naalak-

to listen

ᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ

-mangaarmitit

3.SBJ 2.OBJ SP DUB

ᓇᓗ

nalu-

to not know

ᔪᖓ

-junga

1 NSP

ᓈᓚᒃ ᒪᙶᕐᒥᑎᑦ ᓇᓗ ᔪᖓ

naalak- -mangaarmitit nalu- -junga

{to listen} {3.SBJ 2.OBJ SP DUB} {to not know} {1 NSP}

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

Verb modifiers

In addition to root verb morphemes and inflexions to indicate the number and person of the arguments, Inuktitut has a large inventory of morphemes that modify the verb and may be placed between the root morpheme and inflexions, or at the end of the inflected verb. In pedagogic and linguistic literature on Inuktitut, these infix morphemes are often called verb chunks. These modifiers indicate tense, aspect, manner and a variety of functions that in English require auxiliary verbs, adverbs, or other structures.

This section can only list a small selection of the many verb chunks, in order to give a sense for how the system works:

Modifiers of manner

ᙱᑦ -nngit- ᙱᑦ -nngit-	negates the verb	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.		ᖁᕕᐊᓱᙱᑦᑐᖓ quviasunngittunga ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ quviasuk- to be happy ᙱᑦ -nngit- not ᑐᖓ -tunga 1SG ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ quviasuk- -nngit- -tunga {to be happy} not 1SG 'I am not happy.' ᓴᓇᙱᑦᑐᖅ sananngittuq ᓴᓇ sana- to work, to be employed ᙱᑦ -nngit- not ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG ᓴᓇ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖅ sana- -nngit- -tuq {to work, to be employed} not 3SG He doesn't work. (= He is unemployed.)
ᓗᐊᖅ -luaq- ᓗᐊᖅ -luaq-	excessively	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.		ᓴᓇᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ sanaluaqtuq ᓴᓇ sana- to work, to be employed ᓗᐊᖅ -luaq- excessively ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG ᓴᓇ ᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ sana- -luaq- -tuq {to work, to be employed} excessively 3SG He works too much. ᓯᓂᓗᐊᖅᑐᑎᑦ siniluaqtutit ᓯᓂᒃ sinik- to sleep ᓗᐊᖅ -luaq- excessively ᑐᑎᑦ -tutit 2SG ᓯᓂᒃ ᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᑎᑦ sinik- -luaq- -tutit {to sleep} excessively 2SG You sleep too much.
-galuaq-	although, but	This suffix undergoes consonant sandhi, depending on the preceding letter context
		...(Any Vowel)	ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq- ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq-	ᐊᓂᒐᓗᐊᖅᑐᖓ anigaluaqtunga ᐊᓂ ani- to go out ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq- although ᑐᖓ -tunga 1SG ᐊᓂ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖓ ani- -galuaq- -tunga {to go out} although 1SG Even though I just went out...
		...k	ᑲᓗᐊᖅ -kaluaq- ᑲᓗᐊᖅ -kaluaq- changes the g into k g + k = kk	ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ quviasukkaluaqtuq ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ quviasuk- to be happy ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq- although ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ quviasuk- -galuaq- -tuq {to be happy} although 3SG Although she is happy...
		...t	ᑲᓗᐊᖅ -kaluaq- ᑲᓗᐊᖅ -kaluaq- changes the t into k t + k = kk	ᖃᓐᓂᙱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ qanninngikkaluaqtuq ᖃᓐᓂᖅ qanniq- to snow ᙱᑦ -nngit- not ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq- although ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᙱᑦ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ qanniq- -nngit- -galuaq- -tuq {to snow} not although 3SG Although it isn't snowing...
		...q	ᕋᓗᐊᖅ -raluaq- ᕋᓗᐊᖅ -raluaq- deletes the q q + g = r	ᖃᓐᓂᕋᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ qanniraluaqtuq ᖃᓐᓂᖅ qanniq- to snow ᒐᓗᐊᖅ -galuaq- although ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ qanniq- -galuaq- -tuq {to snow} although 3SG Although it is snowing...

Consequently one can say:

ex:

ᖃᓐᓂᓗᐊᙱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᓂᙱᑦᑐᖓ
Qanniluanngikkaluaqtuq aninngittunga.

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ

qanniq-

to snow

ᓗᐊᖅ

-luaq-

excessively

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᒐᓗᐊᖅ

-galuaq-

although

ᑐᖅ

-tuq

3SG

ᐊᓂ

ani-

to go out

ᙱᑦ

-nngit-

not

ᑐᖓ

-tunga

1SG

ᖃᓐᓂᖅ ᓗᐊᖅ ᙱᑦ ᒐᓗᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ ᐊᓂ ᙱᑦ ᑐᖓ

qanniq- -luaq- -nngit- -galuaq- -tuq ani- -nngit- -tunga

{to snow} excessively not although 3SG {to go out} not 1SG

Even though it's not snowing a great deal, I'm not going out.

Modifiers of tense

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- ᓛᖅ -laaq-	future, tomorrow or later	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.	ᐅᖃᓛᖅᑕᕋ uqalaaqtara ᐅᖃᖅ uqaq- to talk ᓛᖅ -laaq- later, after today ᑕᕋ -tara 1.SBJ 3.OBJ SP ᐅᖃᖅ ᓛᖅ ᑕᕋ uqaq- -laaq- -tara {to talk} {later, after today} {1.SBJ 3.OBJ SP} I'll talk to him some other time.
ᓂᐊᖅ -niaq- ᓂᐊᖅ -niaq-	later today	This suffix nasalises a preceding consonant.	ᑎᑭᒻᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ tikimniaqtuq ᑎᑭᑉ tikip- to arrive ᓂᐊᖅ -niaq- later today ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG NSP ᑎᑭᑉ ᓂᐊᖅ ᑐᖅ tikip- -niaq- -tuq {to arrive} {later today} {3SG NSP} He is arriving later.
ᓕᖅ -liq- ᓕᖅ -liq-	in process, right now	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.	ᖃᖓᑕᓲ ᒥᓕᖅᑐᖅ qangatasuu miliqtuq ᖃᖓᑕᓲ qangatasuu airplane ᒥᓪ mil- to land, to touch down ᓕᖅ -liq- right now ᑐᖅ -tuq 3SG NSP ᖃᖓᑕᓲ ᒥᓪ ᓕᖅ ᑐᖅ qangatasuu mil- -liq- -tuq airplane {to land, to touch down} {right now} {3SG NSP} The airplane is landing.
ᕋᑖᖅ -rataaq- ᕋᑖᖅ -rataaq-	immediate past, a moment ago, no more than a few seconds	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.	ᐃᓱᒪᕋᑖᖅᑐᖓ isumarataaqtunga ᐃᓱᒪ isuma- to think ᕋᑖᖅ -rataaq- just a moment ago ᑐᖓ -tunga 1SG NSP ᐃᓱᒪ ᕋᑖᖅ ᑐᖓ isuma- -rataaq- -tunga {to think} {just a moment ago} {1SG NSP} I was just thinking
ᖅᑲᐅ -qqau- ᖅᑲᐅ -qqau-	just now, a few minutes ago	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.	ᑐᓵᖅᑲᐅᙱᑦᑕᒋᑦ tusaaqqaunngittagit ᑐᓵ tusaa- to hear ᖅᑲᐅ -qqau- just now ᙱᑦ -nngit- not ᑕᒋᑦ -tagit 1.SBJ 2.OBJ SP ᑐᓵ ᖅᑲᐅ ᙱᑦ ᑕᒋᑦ tusaa- -qqau- -nngit- -tagit {to hear} {just now} not {1.SBJ 2.OBJ SP} 'I didn't hear you just now'
ᓚᐅᖅ -lauq- ᓚᐅᖅ -lauq-	more remote past, yesterday or earlier, up to perhaps a year	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.	ᐃᒡᓗᒥᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖓ Iglumik niuvialauqtunga ᐃᒡᓗ iglu house ᒥᒃ -mik ACC.SG ᓂᐅᕕᐊᖅ niuviaq- to purchase ᓚᐅᖅ -lauq- recently, in the last year ᑐᖓ -tunga 1SG NSP ᐃᒡᓗ ᒥᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᖅ ᓚᐅᖅ ᑐᖓ iglu -mik niuviaq- -lauq- -tunga house ACC.SG {to purchase} {recently, in the last year} {1SG NSP} 'I bought a house recently'
ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ -lauqsima- ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ -lauqsima-	remote past, several years or more ago	This suffix deletes a preceding consonant.	ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑐᒻᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓭᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖓ Inuktitummik ilisailauqsimajunga ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ inuktitut inuktitut ᒥᒃ -mik ACC.SG ᐃᓕᓭ ilisai- to study ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ -lauqsima- some years ago ᔪᖓ -junga 1SG NSP ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓭ ᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪ ᔪᖓ inuktitut -mik ilisai- -lauqsima- -junga inuktitut ACC.SG {to study} {some years ago} {1SG NSP} I studied Inuktitut some time ago.

Ergativity in Inuktitut

Inuktitut marks the subject of a non-specific verb and the object of a specific verb in the same way – the absence of a specific morphological marker – and marks the subject of a specific verb and the object of a non-specific verb with particular morphological elements. This kind of morphosyntactic structure is often called an ergative structure. However, ergativity in its most clearly defined instances is primarily about transitive and intransitive verbs. This dichotomy is not identical to the specific/non-specific verb distinction in Inuktitut, since Inuktitut usage is also concerned with the definiteness of the objects of verb,

Consequently, the application of the notion of ergativity to Inuktitut, and to many other languages, is somewhat controversial. Regardless, by analogy with more conventionally ergative languages, the -up, -k, -it endings described above are often called ergative suffixes which are taken to be indicative of the ergative case, while the -mik, -rnik, -nik endings (see Non-specific verbs – Objects) are called accusative. This usage is often seen in linguistics literature describing Inuktitut, and sometimes in pedagogic literature and dictionaries, but remains a quite foreign vocabulary to most Inuit.

See also

• Greenlandic grammar

References

• Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats, Mick Mallon. [covers Inuktitut nominal morphology omitted from this article]
• Introductory Inuktitut and Introductory Inuktitut Reference Grammar, Mick Mallon, 1991. ISBN 0-7717-0230-2 and ISBN 0-7717-0235-3
• Inuktitut: A multi-dialectal outline dictionary (with an Aivilingmiutaq base), Alex Spalding, 1998. ISBN 1-896204-29-5
• Inuktitut: a Grammar of North Baffin Dialects, Alex Spalding, 1992. ISBN 0-920063-43-8
• Arctic Languages: An Awakening, ed: Dirmid R. F. Collis. ISBN 92-3-102661-5 Available in PDF via the UNESCO website.
• Textbook Let's Learn Eskimo (2nd Ed.), Donald H. Webster, 1968. Fairbanks, Alaska.

Although as many of the examples as possible are novel or extracted from Inuktitut texts, some of the examples in this article are drawn from Introductory Inuktitut and Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats.

External links

Dictionaries and lexica

• Inuktut Grammar Dictionary
• Tusaalanga: Learn Inuktut On-line
• Inuktitut – English Dictionary
• Interactive IñupiaQ Dictionary
• Oqaasileriffik Language database

Webpages

• A Brief History of Inuktitut Writing Culture
• Our Language, Our Selves Archived 2005-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
• Alt.folklore.urban on Eskimo words for snow.
• Arctic Languages: An Awakening, ed: Dirmid R. F. Collis. ISBN 92-3-102661-5 Available in PDF via the UNESCO website (chapter with Inuit grammar).

SP:specific NSP:non-specific 4:fourth person 4SG:fourth person, singular