Cree Verbs

Verbs are words used to talk about actions, states, and events in relation to things and beings. Many concepts that are nouns in English are verbs in Cree, like the time of day the days of the week, the seasons of the year, the weather…

The structure of the Cree verbs is complex: it must include a verb stem with person suffixes; it may also include a person prefix, other suffixes and preverbs.

Person
prefix
Preverbs Verb stem Suffixes (theme, person, obviative, plural)
ᒌ ᐐ ᐙᐸᐦᑦ ᐁᓐ
ni chii wii waapaht en
I past want see it
 
ᒌ ᐐ ᐙᐸᒻ ᐁᐅᒡ
ni chii wii waapam e u ch
I past want see them

Cree verbs fall into several classes depending on two important differences: transitivity and gender.