Grammatical markings on a word are called “Inflection”. Verb forms vary depending on the person and number (singular or plural) of the subject and sometimes those of the object, as well as the order, the mood and the tense.

The variations between the different singular and plural person inflections are indicated in the following table, along with their abbreviations in column 3:

 

TABLE OF PERSON INFLECTIONS
1. Pronoun 2. Meaning in English 3. Person 4. Verb Form 5. Translation
niń me 1s nitatussen I work
tshiń you [singular] 2s tshitatussen you work
uiń him/her 3s atusseu s/he works
tshiń/tshińuau you [singular or plural] 2
neńua that one, the other one 4 atusseńua s/he [obviative] works; they [obviative] work
neńua that one, the other one (one further) 5, 6 atusseńua s/he [obviative] works; they [obviative] work
nińan we, but not you 1p (1pe) nitatussenan we work (but not you)
tshińanu me and you [singular or plural], or us and you [singular or plural] 21p (1pi) tshitatussenan we work (you included)
tshińuau you [plural] 2p tshitatussenau you [plural] work
uińuau them 3p atusseuat they work
auen/auenitshenat
people, it X atussenanu people work, there is working going on
auenńua people, it (other) X’ atussenanuńu people [obviative] work, there [obviative] is working going on
tshekuan it 0s pashteu it [inanimate] is dry
tshekuana they 0p pashteua they [inanimate] are dry
tshekuanńu it (other) 0’s pashteńu it [obviative, inanimate] is dry
tshekuanńua they (others) 0’p pashteńua they [obviative, inanaimate] are dry

REMARKS AND EXPLANATIONS

Column 1 indicates the personal pronoun corresponding with each verb person, except the 4th person (the obviative) for which there is no personal pronoun, but which can correspond to a demonstrative in the obviative (neńua). These pronouns are not necessary for conjugating a verb, unlike in French.

Column 2 gives the corresponding meaning of each person.

Column 3 presents the notations used in conjugations (paradigms) to indicate the subject’s person, or those of the subject and complement in the case of TA (transitive animate) verbs, as in example (1) that follows:

EXAMPLE (1) OF THE VERB ‘SEE SOMEONE’, TA VERB CONJUGATED TO A FEW PERSON INFLECTIONS
2s→1s tshuapamin you (sg) see me 2nd person singular subject
1st person singular complement
1s→2s tshuapamitin I see you (sg) 1st person singular subject
2nd person singular complement
2→1p tshuapaminan you (sg) see us or you (pl) see us 2nd person singular or plural subject
1st person plural (exclusive, 1p) complement
2s→3s tshuapamau you (sg) see him 1st person singular subject
3rd person singular complement
1s→3p nuapamauat I see them 1st person singular subject
3rd person plural complement

The notation in Column 3 can be explained as follows:

  • 1s, 2s, 3s are singular person inflections.
  • 1p, 21p, 2p, 3p, are plural person inflections.
  • Some of the person inflections in Column 3 of the table are specific to Innu (and to Algonquian languages).
    • In English, we can mean either that the interlocutor is included (you and me and the others) or that the interlocutor is excluded (me and others, but not you). Innu expresses this difference between tshińanu and nińan. 21p (or 1pi) corresponds to what we call the 1st person plural inclusive, including both me or us and you (sg.) and you (pl.) (speaker and interlocutor). It translates as we in English but as the prefix tshi- shows, from the point of view of the Innu language, tshiń (2) includes niń (1). The 21p notation reflects this as well (2+1). The 1p (or 1pe) notation corresponds to the 1st person plural inclusive, so-called because it excludes the interlocutor. It translates as we in English.
    • The 4 notation, or 4st person, is called obviative. It is used when there is more than one 3rd person as the verb’s subject or complement: this other 3rd person is the 4th person. In Innu, a distinct singular or plural obviative form (4s, 4p) only exists with certain II verbs. Otherwise, the form can either denote the singular or the plural, which is why we have the 4 notation.
      • If there is already a 4th person, it is possible to have a 5th person (person 5) or even a 6th person.
      • The X indicates that the agent of the verb has been removed. X is found with Indefinites and Passives.
EXAMPLE (2) OF THE VERB ‘TO SEE SOMEONE’ USING OBVIATIVES
3p→4 uapameuat they see someone else 3rd person plural subject
4th person singular complement
3p→5 uapamimeuat they see someone else (e.g. someone’s brother) 3rd person plural subject
5th person singular complement
4→5 uapameńua someone else sees someone else 4th person plural subject
5th person singular complement
4→6 uapamimeńua someone else sees someone else 4e person plural subject
6th person singular complement
X→4 uapamakanńua someone/people see someone else / someone else is seen 4th person [patient]

The person is marked by suffixes on verbs of all conjugations, and by prefixes in conjugations of the Independent Order.

The ends of verbs (or suffixes) give information on the person, order, mood, and tense. In the case of the conjunct and imperative orders, as there are no person prefixes, the endings indicate the person.