-ip-: Without, Un- — Greenlandic Grammar

-ip- means "have none" after a noun, and "not, un-" after a verb for a quality. It removes the last consonant of the stem. Like "is cheap", the verbs it makes take -tsoq for "one that …".

After a Noun: Has None

"sled dog" loses its q, and its o becomes u: qimuttuip- "have no sled dogs".

Qimuttuitsut angumeraagit?
Did you catch the train on time? (qimuttuitsut "train": lit. the ones without sled dogs)

After a Verb: The Opposite

"is friendly" loses its r, and its e becomes i: "is unfriendly".

Ittukasima inussiarniitsumik pivaanga.
My stupid boss is rude to me. (inussiarniitsoq "an unfriendly one" + -mik: lit. treats me in an unfriendly way)

-ap- After a

After an a, with or without a consonant after it, the suffix is -ap-: "is pretty" gives "is ugly". -uminaap- "hard to do" is built the same way, from -uminar- "easy to do": "is easy to use", "is hard to use".

Assit kusanaatsut puuaqqami ilisiviup iluaniipput.
The ugly photos are in a box in the closet. (kusanaatsoq "an ugly one", plural -tsut)

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Greenlandic course

9 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 102. A few of them, with the words “-ip-: Without, Un-” is about in bold:

Biilii sukkaallutillu akikitsuaraapput.
She has a slow, cheap car.
Lesson 110

Comments

Loading comments…