Lesson9

Gekinawaabid 10

VAI Verb Sentence Modifiers - Locatives and Particles

A. INTRODUCTORY NOTES:

In Lesson 5 under the Important Note, it was mentioned that VAI Verb sentences can be "modified" (changed) by adding words or short phrases. We saw this in the Lesson 5 example, "Big Bear eats quickly in the forest." The words in purple here are additions to the sentence which do not affect the quality of the verb; in other words, the verb is still "Intransitive." There is nothing here that indicates that the Verb is "transferring" any of its meaning to an object, as in the sentence, "Big Bear eats fish." Here you can directly see that the Verb "eats" is directly in contact with the "fish" (noun - direct object), whereas, in the first sentence, "quickly" simply tells you "how" (adverb) the bear is eating and "in the forest" (adverb) tells you where. Sometimes, these words or phrases are either "Locatives" or "Particles." Each is discussed and applied below. If needed, review the discussion in of Verbs in Lesson 5.

LOCATIVES

Locatives, with the root of the word indicating "location," are words that can indicate where the action of the Verb is taking place. It does not affect the "Intransitive" nature of the VAI Verb, although at times, it does seem to. For example, in the sentence, "Man is going to town," it does seem that the "town" is receiving the action. However, this is the unique nature of the Particle that allows it to selectively use certain Verbs and certain Nouns in combination to relate a very specific relationship. Usually, Locatives will indicate the following prepositional functions: "to something, in something," and "by something."

To create a Locative, we add certain endings to Inanimate Nouns (usually, but not always). The endings used depend on the Noun itself. Observe the table below:

Inanimate Noun	Ends in...	Action Taken...	Result (to, at, in)
oodena (town)	short vowel	Double the short vowel (a, i, o) and add the suffix "ng."	*oodenaang*
aakoziiwigamig (hospital)	g	Add the suffix "ong."	*aakoziiwigamig*ong
zaaga'igan (lake)	anything else	Add the suffix "ing."	*zaaga'igan*ing

Locative Example: The man is lying comfortably in the hospital. Inini minoshin aakoziiwigamigong.

* Whereas the suffixes above do not always work, they are accurate for most Inanimate Nouns. To always be sure, you can check the dictionary where the Locative is listed after the Noun as "loc." Click here to see the sample dictionary page.

PARTICLES

Like Locatives, Particles are also interesting words that add "flavor" and variety to your sentences without altering the characteristics of the Verb being utilized. However, unlike Locatives, Particles are not created from other words per se by adding an affix. Particles are words in and of themselves. Some are conjunctions, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, prepositional phrases, and pronouns. THEY ARE USED ONLY AS THEY EXIST. THEY MAY NOT BE CHANGED IN ANY WAY, AND THEY NEVER INCLUDE A PERSONAL PRONOUN, TENSE MARKER, OR OTHER WORD INFLECTION.

Zhaaganaashiimowin	Ojibwemowin
always	apane
sometimes	ayaangodinong
now	azhigwa
every day	endaso-giizhik
never	gaawiin wiikaa
all night	gabe-dibik
in the morning	gigizheb
often	moozhag
in the middle of the road	naawikana
seldom (not often)	wiikaa

Particle Example: Now, the man is lying comfortably in the hospital. Azhigwa inini minoshin aakoziiwigamigong.

A Word on Word Order: The actual placement of the Nouns, Verbs and Modifiers will vary from region to region. This is one of those areas that one needs to be familiar with the particular dialect that you wish to use. For this site, we will stick fairly closely to the word order shown above.

B. VOCABULARY:

Once again we will begin with Nouns: This time Inanimate Nouns (ni). Practice saying each word and its plural.

Zhaaganaashiimowin	Ojibwemowin	Plural Suffix
library	agindaasoowigamig	-oon
school	gikinoo'amaadiiwigamig	-oon
road	miikana	-n
town	oodena	-wan
swamp	waabashkiki	-wan
house	waakaa'igan	-an
restaurant	wiisiniwigamig	-oon
lake	zaaga'igan	-iin
Canada	Zhaaganaashiiwaki	no plural

Remember, Inanimate Nouns all have plural suffixes that end in "n."

And now, let us add in our new VAI Verbs.

Zhaaganaashiimowin	Ojibwemowin
to read	agindaas(o)
to be stuck	baataashin
to harvest rice	bawa'am
to run along	bimibatoo
to go to a certain place	izhaa
to cook	jiibaakwe
to leave; depart	maajaa
to visit people	*mawadishiwe*
to fish (with a hook and line)	wewebanaabii
to help people	*wiidookage*

C. OJIBWE SENTENCES:

Just as a reminder: To make a simple sentence, place the Noun first, in its correct form, Singular or Plural, then put the Verb, which is conjugated to reflect the Noun. This time, follow the example above for the placement of Locatives and Particles.

A NOTE ABOUT PREPOSTIIONS AS REPRESENTED IN LOCATIVES: One of the most difficult parts of speech to learn to use correctly are Prepositions. The example I always use in teaching them follows: You are a foreigner with very weak English skills coming to America for the first time. As you are seated waiting for your flight, the flight attendant comes up a graciously asks you, "Would you like to get 'on' the plane now?" Of course, you recoil in thinking that during the flight, you thought that you would be 'in' the airplane. Enough said. How one culture uses prepositions may differ for another. Keep that in mind as you learn the sentences below.

Write the following sentences using the Vocabulary Lists above and your knowledge of Personal Pronouns and VAI Verb endings from previous lessons.

1. In the morning, he harvests (is harvesting) wild rice.		*1. Gigizheb bawa'am.*
2. Seldom, do we (incl) go to the house in the woods.		**2. Wiikaa gidizhaamin waakaa'iganing megwaayaak.**
3. Now, they are not leaving to Canada.		3. Azhigwa gaawiin maajaasiiwag Zhaaganaashiiwakiing.
4. Everyday, I visit people in town.		*4. Endaso-giizhik nimawadishiwe oodenaang.*
5. All night, we (ex) read (are reading) in the library.		*5. Gabe-dibik nindagindaasomin agindaasoowigamigong.*
6. Sometimes, you (all) run (are running) in the middle of the road.		6. Ayaangodinong bimibatoom naawikana.
7. Always, you are stuck in the swamp.		7. Apane gibaataashin waabashkikiing.
8. I never fish (with a hook and line) in (at) the lake.		8. Gaawiin wiika niwewebanaabii zaaga'iganing.
9. Often, she cooks (is cooking) in (at) the restaurant.		9. Moozhag jiibaakwe wiisiniwigamigong.
10. Sometimes, we (inc) help people in (at) school.		10. Ayaangodinong giwiidookagemin gikinoo'amaadiiwigamigong.

Answer Box

D. TRANSLATIONS:

Were you able to write them all correctly? If not, go back and study the tables above (Top). If you did well, now let's go back the other direction. Write down the translations of the following sentences.

1. Gigizheb *mawadishiwewag gikinoo'amaadiiwigamigong.*		1. In the morning, they visit people in (at) school.
2. Gaawiin wiikaa nimbawa'aamin.		2. Never, do we (ex) harvest wild rice.
3. Azhigwa nimaajaa gikinoo'amaadiiwigamigong.		3. Now, I am departing to (for) school.
4. Endaso-giizhik izhaa wiisiniwigamigong.		4. Everyday, he goes to the restaurant.
5. Ayaangodinong gidagindaasom waakaa'iganing.		5. Sometimes, you all read in the house.
6. Gaawiin giwewebanaabiisiimin waabashkikiing.		6. We (in) are not fishing in the swamp.
7. Moozhag nimbimibatoo miikanaang.		6. Often, I am running (run) in the road.
*8. Apane gabe-dibik wiidookagewag agindaasoowigamigong.*		8. Always all night, they help people in (at) the library.

E. REVIEW:

Answer Box

Again, we will do some review. The sentences below will use VAI1, VAI2, VAI3 Verbs, Negation, and Particles and Locatives. Let's see how well you can do. As always, finish the exercise then check your responses.

1. Often, she laughs (is laughing) in the library.		*1. Apane baapi agindaasoowigamigong.*
2. I fall (am falling) down hard on the road.		2. Nimbakiteshin miikanaang.
3. All night, we (in) dream (are dreaming).		*3. Gabe-dibik gidinaabandaamin. gabe-dibik.*
4. Sometimes, you are not angry.		4. Ayaangodinong gaawiin ginishkendanzii.
5. Every day, students work (are working).		*5. Endaso-giizhik gikinoo'amaaganag anokiiwag.*
6. Always, you (all) talk.		6. Apane gigaagiigidom.
7. Fox drinks (is drinking) in the lake.		7. Waagosh minikwe zaaga'iganing.
8. Now, we (ex) are not fine.		8. Azhigwa gaawiin nimino-ayaasiimin.

F. CONTINUED STUDY:

Continue to to look through the dictionary or one of the Internet link sites to find a few more VAI1, VAI2, and VAI3 Verbs with which to practice. There is a page of VAI2 and VAI3 Verbs on the resources page. Include some other Nouns of your choice as well. Lesson 11 will increase your sentence power by adding the Past and Future Tenses.

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