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

Conjugation Tables

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.

Conjugation Tables

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

Conjugation Tables

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!

Conjugation Tables

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

Conjugation Tables

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

Conjugation Tables

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!

Conjugation Tables

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!

Conjugation Tables

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