Grammar » 8 » Past Tense Affixes

When talking about events that have happened in the past, it is essential to understand an important difference between English and Iñupiaq.

In English if one is talking about an event in the past, one almost always makes a change to the verb to indicate this. Below are just a few of the ways we do this in English    
        

present	past
He sleeps.	He slept.
She eats.	She ate.
We are hunting.	We were hunting.

In many cases in Iñupiaq, it is not required to make changes to the verb to indicates that something has happened in the past, especially if something has just happened:

Niġiruq.	He is eating.
Niġiruq.	He ate.

In conversation, there will often be clues to whether niġiruq refers to an event that is happening now or one that has already happened. A couple of examples:

Akkupak niġiruq.	She/he is eating right now.
Uvlaaq niġiruq.	She/he ate this morning.

However, we have a way to emphasize that something happened in the past, that is frequently used, but not required. Adding a after +tu or +ru in the person ending is used to describe things that happened in the past. You don't usually use this for something that has just happened (such as something having just dropped).     

Niġiruŋa.	I am eating.
Niġiruaŋa.	I ate.
Tikitchutin.	You are arriving.
Tikitchuatin.	You arrived.
Savaktuŋa.	I am working.
Savaktuaŋa.	I worked.

 

 

Another way Iñupiaq speakers indicate the past tense is by demonstrating that an action has been “completed” using the postbase +ŋa :

Aniŋaruŋa.	I was born.
Qaiŋaruŋa.	completed action: I came and I am no longer coming)