Verbs (Northern dialect)
Verbs in East Cree appear in various forms. Let us look at how these forms are organized in East Cree.
VTA (Verb Transitive Animate) Stems
Stems ending with -m, -n, -y
Verbs like ᑭᓂᐧᐋᐱᒫᐤ kiniwaapimaau ‘s/he looks at him/her/it’, ᐅᑎᓈᐤ utinaau ‘s/he takes him/her/it’, ᐧᐋᐱᐦᑎᔮᐤ waapihtiyaau ‘s/he shows it to him/her’ have a stem ending in m, n or y. The VTA consonant stems are regular when they end in m, n or y.
| ᑭᓂᐧᐋᐱᒫᐤ | kiniwaapim-aau | ‘s/he looks at him/her/it’ |
| ᐅᑎᓈᐤ | utin-aau | ‘s/he takes him/her/it’ |
| ᐋᐱᐦᑎᔮᐤ | waapihtiy-aau | ‘s/he shows it to him/her’ |
Stems ending with h
Many VTA stems end in h. For example, the verb ᓵᒋᐦᐋᐤ saachih-aau ‘s/he loves him/her’ has a stem ending in h.
Stems ending in h trigger a change in the inflection. The short i of the inflection lengthens after the h of the stem. When the inflection with a (normally) short i is added, the short i becomes a long ii.
- chi+saachih+itin = chi-saachih-iitin
Stems with alternate endings: -hw or -hu
Some VTA stems alternate their endings between hw and hu.
| ᐅᑖᒥᐦᐧᐋᐤ | ᓅᑖᒥᐦᐅᒄ |
| utaamihw-aau | nuutaamihu-kw |
| ‘s/he hits him/her/it’ | ‘s/he hits me’ |
Stems with alternate endings: -t or -sh
Some VTA stems alternate their endings between t and sh depending on the verb forms:
| ᓈᑖᐤ | ᓈᔥ |
| naat-aau | naash |
| ‘s/he goes to him/her’ | ‘go to him/her!’ |
| ᒋᓈᑎᑎᓐ | ᒋᓈᔑᓐ |
| chinaat-itin | chinaash-in |
| ‘I go to you’ | ‘you, come to me!’ |
Stems with alternate endings: -sw or -su
Some VTA stems alternate their endings between sw and su.
| ᐃᔅᐧᑳᐧᓵᐤ | ᓂᑎᔅᐧᑳᓱᒄ |
| iskwaasw-aau | nitiskwaasu-kw |
| ‘s/he burns him/her/it’ | ‘s/he burns me’ |
Stems with alternate endings: -shw or -shu
Some VTA stems alternate their endings between -shw and -shu.
| ᒫᑎ ᐧᔖ ᐤ | ᓂᒫᑎ ᔓ ᒄ |
| maatishw-aau | nimaatishu-kw |
| ‘s/he cuts him/her/it’ | ‘s/he cuts me’ |
Stems ending with -iw , -uw
Some VTA stems end in -iw.
| ᒥᔅᑭᐧᐋᐤ | miskiw-aau | ‘s/he finds him/her/it’ |
Some other VTA stems end in – uw.
| ᐃᑎᔑᐦᐊᒧᐧᐋᐤ | itishihamuw-aau | ‘s/he sends it to someone’ |
Such stems ending with -iw or -uw have a special behavior. When the stem and certain suffixes come together, a long aa replaces the iw or the uw.
| ᓂᑎᑎᔑᐦᐊᒧᐧᐋᐤ | ᓂᑎᑎᔑᐦᐊᒫᒄ |
| nititishihamuw-aau | nititishihamaa-kw |
| ‘I send it to him/her’ | ‘s/he sends it to me’ |
| ᓂᒥᔅᑭᐧᐋᐤ | ᓂᒥᔅᑳᒄ |
| nimiskiw-aau | nimiskaa-kw |
| ‘I find him/her/it’ | ‘s/he finds me’ |
| ᐋᐦ ᒥᔅᑭᐧᐃᔨᓐ | ᐋᐦ ᒥᔅᑳᑖᓐ |
| aah miskiw-iyin | aah miskaataan |
| ‘when you find me.’ | ‘when I find you.’ |
| ᒥᔅᑭᐧᐋᑖᐤ | ᒥᔅᑳᐦᒄ |
| miskiw-aataau | miskaahkw |
| ‘let’s find her!’ | ‘you-all find her!’ |
In the imperative, the final w is written as u:
(miskiwh –>)
| ᒥᔅᑭᐤᐦ | miskiuh | ‘find me!’ |
(miskiw –>)
| ᒥᔅᑭᐤ | miskiu | ‘find her!’ |
Irregular Stem paashiwaau
The verb paashiwaau has an irregular stem paashiw-. When the stem and certain suffixes come together, a long ii replaces the iw.
| ᐹᔑᐧᐋᐤ | paashiw-aau | ‘s/he brings him/her/it’ |
In the imperative, the final w is written as u:
(paashiw –>)
| ᐹᔑᐤ | paashiu | ‘bring him/her/it!’ |
 |
Cree Verb Stems |  |
Top |
