VTA (Verb Transitive Animate) Stems

• Stems ending with -m, -n, -y
• Stems ending with -h
• Stems with alternate endings: -hw or -hu
• Stems with alternate endings: -t or -sh
• Stems with alternate endings: -sw or -su
• Stems with alternate endings: -shw or -shu
• Stems ending with -iw , -uw
• Irregular Stem paashiwaau

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.

• chi+saachih+itin = chi-saachih–iitin

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