Noun number
editNouns are inflected with suffixes to be singular or plural, depending on their grammatical gender classifications (animate or inanimate).[1]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Animate | -wa | -iksi |
| Inanimate | -yi | -istsi |
Examples:
póósa ‘cat’
póósiksi ‘cats’
í’ksisakoyi ‘meat’
í’ksisakoistsi ‘meats’
Possession
editTo denote possession of a noun, certain prefixes and suffixes are added.[2]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (inclusive) | n-/nit- | n-/nit-…-in:a:n |
| 1st (exclusive) | k-/kit-...-in:o:n | |
| 2nd | k-/kit- | k-/kit-...-oa:wa |
| 3rd | w-/ot- | w-/ot-…-oa:wa |
Example:
ookóówayi 'home' → kookóówayi 'your (singular) home'
Inflection of intransitive verbs
editIntransitive verbs in Blackfoot are inflected with prefixes and/or suffixes to distinguish person.[3]
Two first-person plurals exist in Blackfoot: ‘we’ including the addressee, and ‘we’ excluding the addressee (i.e. “us and you” and “us but not you”).[4]
Blackfoot distinguishes between second-person plural and singular.[5]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (inclusive) | nit- | -'pa |
| 1st (exclusive) | -nit-...-hpinaːn | |
| 2nd | kit- | kit-...-hpoaːwa |
| 3rd | -wa | kit-...-yaːwa |
Examples:
áakitapoo’pa ookóówaawayi ‘we (including you) go to their house’
nitáakitapoohpinnaan ookóówaawayi ‘we (not including you) go to their house’