Grammar
Independent Dubitative Preterit (#10)
| ᒌᐦ ᐧᐋᐹᐦᑖᑯᐱᓐ᙮ | chiih waapaahtaakupin. | It was white before. | |
| ᒌᐦ ᐧᐋᐹᑯᐱᓐ᙮ | chiih waapaakupin. | It was white before. |
These forms are used when you know, when you infer that something happened, but you were not there to witness it. It is always used with the past preverb ᒌᐦ chiih. Some people use a short form without the -hta part.
In the following story, the narrator knows that the canoe tipped over, he did not witness the cause of this event. He makes the inference that the man and his wife, who were hunting ducks, shot at the same time and that this caused the canoe to tip over. The verb shoot is used in the IDP(#10) to indicate that inference.
| ᑭᔮᐦ ᓂᒌᐦ ᐹᐦᑎᐧᐋᐤ ᐊᐧᐋᓐ , ᐋᐅᒄ ᐆ ᒦᓐ ᒑᐧᑳᓐ ᒑ ᑎᐹᒋᒧᔮᓐ , ᒥᓯᐧᐋ ᓂᒌᐦ ᐃᔑ ᐧᐋᐧᐄᐦᑎᒫᑯᐧᐃᓈᓐ , ᐧᐋᐧᐋᒡ ᓂᐲᐦᒡ ᐋᐦ ᐃᔨᐦᑖᔮᐦᒡ ᐅᐦᒋ ᐊᓐ ᐹᔅᒋᓯᑭᓐ , ᔒᔒᐱᒡ ᐋ ᐧᐄᐦ ᐱᒦᐦᑭᐧᐃᒋᐦᒡᐦ᙮ ᐄᔨᔑᐱᒡ ᓂᑎᔑᐦᑳᑖᓈᓂᒡ ᓃᔮᓐ ᐅᒌ ᒫᑖᐹᐦᔮᒡ ᑯᔨᔥᑯᔒᐹᑎᒧᒡ ᑭᔮᐦ ᐋᐧᐋᔒᔑᒡ᙮ ᒫᓂᑖᐦ ᒫᒃ ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃᐦᒡ ᐧᑳᔑᓂᐦᑳᑖᐧᐋᑯᐱᓈ , ᐱᔮᓯᐅᒡ ᐄᔑᓂᐦᑳᑖᐧᐃᒡ ᐊᓂᔮᐦ ᐄᔨᔨᔑᑉᐦ᙮ ᐊᓂᔮ ᒫᒃ ᐋᐦ ᐱᒦᐦᑭᐧᐋᒡ , ᐋᔪᐧᐃᑯᓐᐦ ᐊᓂᔮᐦ ᔒᔒᑉᐦ , ᓂᐦᐋᐤ ᑖᐱᔥᑯᓐ ᒌᐦ ᐹᔅᒋᒑᐧᐋᐦᑖᑯᐱᓐ ᐧᐄᐤᐦ ᐆ ᒫᒃ ᓈᐹᐤ᙮ ᐋᑯᑎᐦ ᑳᐦ ᑯᑎᐱᔥᑭᐦᒡ ᐆᑎᔨᐤ᙮ ᐋᔪᐧᐃᒄ ᑳ ᐄᑖᒋᒧᑦ ᓯᐧᒫᓖ᙮ ᒋᒌᐦ ᐹᐦᑎᐧᐋᐧᐋᐤ ᑳᑭᔮᐦ᙮ |
| kiyaah nichiih paahtiwaau awaan, aaukw uu miin chaakwaan chaa tipaachimuyaan, misiwaa nichiih ishi waawiihtimaakuwinaan, waawaach nipiihch aah iyihtaayaahch uhchi an paaschisikin, shiishiipich aa wiih pimiihkiwichihchh. iiyishipich nitishihkaataanaanich niiyaan uchii maataapaahyaach kuyishkushiipaatimuch kiyaah aawaashiishich. maanitaah maak mistisiniihch kwaashinihkaataawaakupinaa, piyaasiuch iishinihkaataawich aniyaah iiyiyiship-h. aniyaa maak aah pimiihkiwaach, aayuwikunh aniyaah shiishiip-h, nihaau taapishkun chiih paaschichaawaahtaakupin wiiuh uu maak naapaau. aakutih kaah kutipishkihch uutiyiu. aayuwikw kaa iitaachimut simwaalii. chichiih paahtiwaawaau kaakiyaah. |
| (CD09Track01CouncilofElders2002..204) |
| I also heard someone, this is something else I will mention, we were warned about everything, even when we are on the water with a gun, when we are hunting for ducks. We call them iiyishipich, the ones who fly from inland, kuishkushiipaatimuch and aawaashiishich. In Mistissini they call these birds piyaasiuch. They were hunting for ducks, they must have shot at the same time, the man and his wife. This is when they caused the canoe to tip over. This story was told by Smally. I wonder if you had heard him. |
Link to Conjugation Tables