Absentative Pronouns

Observation
ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮ Click here to hear this word aniyaa nuuhkum. My late grandmother.

The absentative pronoun is made up of the demonstrative pronoun uu or ᐊᓐ an plus a suffix. The ᐆᔮ uuyaa set is used for living humans who are unexpectedly absent, while the ᐊᓂᔮ aniyaa set is used primarily for deceased people. This ᐆᔮ uuyaa set is not used in Mistissini. The ᐊᓂᔦᓀ aniyene set is only used Inland to talk about inanimate missing objects.

Proximate Obviative
singular plural singular plural
Animate Proximal Click here to hear this word ᐆᔮ Click here to hear this word ᐆᔦᐦᑳ Click here to hear this word ᐆᔮᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐆᔮᐦ
uuyaa uuyehkaa uuyaah uuyaah
Click here to hear this word ᐆᔦᐦᑳᐦ
uuyehkaah
Animate Distal Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔮ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓂᒡ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔮᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔮᐦ
aniyaa aniyehkaanaanich aniyaah aniyaah
Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔮᓈ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳ
aniyaanaa aniyehkaa aniyehkaah aniyehkaah
Inanimate Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᓀ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓐᐦ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ Click here to hear this word ᐊᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓐᐦ
(Inland) aniyene aniyehkaanaanh aniyeneyuu aniyehkaanaanh

Examples:

ᓂᒋᔅᒋᓰᑐᑕᐧᐋᐤ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮ Click here to hear this word nichischisiitutawaau aniyaa nuuhkum. I remember my late grandmother.
ᐁ ᐄᔑ ᑖᓂᑌᐦ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓂᑕᐧᐋᔑᔒᒻ᙮ Click here to hear this word e iishi taaniteh aniyaa nitawaashishiim. I wonder where my (lost) child is?
ᒋᔅᒋᓰᑐᑕᐧᐋᐤ ᐊᓂᔮ ᓅᐦᑯᒻ᙮ chischisiitutaweu aniyaanaah uhkumh. He remembers his late grandmother.
ᓂᒥᐦᑖᑌᓐ ᐊᓂᔦᓀ ᓂᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓐ᙮ Click here to hear this word nimihtaaten aniyene nimasinahiikan. I miss my late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)
ᒥᐦᑖᑕᒻ ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ ᐅᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓐ᙮ Click here to hear this word mihtaatam aniyeneyuu umasinahiikan. He misses his (own) late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)
ᒥᐦᑖᑕᐧᒣᐤ ᐊᓂᔦᓀᔫ ᐅᐦᑖᐧᐄᐦ ᐅᒪᓯᓇᐦᐄᑲᓂᔫ᙮ Click here to hear this word mihtaatamweu aniyeneyuu uhtaawiih umasinahiikaniyuu. He misses his father’s late book. (the book is gone, was lost, or burned…)

Note that the ᐅᔦᐦᑳᐦ uyehkaah form marks plurality of the possessor in the obviative (for example ‘their late mother’, as opposed to ‘her late mother’). To talk about objects that just disappeared (when you expect them to be there but they are not), there is another absentative pronoun ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔮᓈ eukwaaniyaanaa.

ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔮᓈ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᔅ᙮ Click here to hear this word eukwaaniyaanaa nitastis. My mitten has disappeared!
ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓈ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᔅ᙮ Click here to hear this word eukwaanaa nitastis. My mitten is gone!
ᐁᐅᐧᑳᓂᔦᐦᑳᓈᓂᒡ ᓂᑕᔅᑎᓯᒡ᙮ Click here to hear this word eukwaaniyekaanaanich nitastisich. My mittens have disappeared!