Verbs: Present Tense (Indicative)

01

Now or Before

Greenlandic has no separate past tense. The same form tells what is happening now and what already happened, and the situation shows which.

• Angut nerivoq.

  The man is eating. (also: The man ate.)

• Pisiniarfissuarmukarpunga.

  I went to the shopping mall. (also: I am going to the shopping mall.)

02

Saying When

To make the time clear, add a word for it, such as ippassaq "yesterday" or massakkut "now".

• Ippassaq sulilerpunga.

  Yesterday I started working.

• Massakkut ingerlasariaqarpugut.

  We have to leave now.

03

The Six Endings

The ending changes with the person. Each ending has two shapes: the one with v comes after a stem that ends in a vowel, the one with p after a stem that ends in a consonant. The stem is the verb without its ending.

• "I": -vunga, -punga
• "you": -vutit, -putit
• "he, she, it": -voq, -poq
• "we": -vugut, -pugut
• "you" (several people): -vusi, -pusi
• "they": -pput, -put

After a vowel, "they" is -pput, with a double p rather than a v.

• Kaappunga.

  I'm hungry. (-punga "I")

• Napparsimavutit.

  You are sick. (-vutit "you")

• Tamassi kukkuvusi.

  You are both wrong. (-vusi "you all")

• Meeqqat bussimut ikipput.

  The children are getting on the bus. (-pput "they")

04

Finding the Stem

A stem that ends in a vowel, such as neri- "eat", takes the endings with v. A stem that ends in r, such as imer- "drink", keeps the r and takes the endings with p. Any other last consonant becomes p, so the dictionary form shows pp: kiappoq "is warm".

• Massakkut nerivunga.

  I am eating now. (neri- + -vunga)

• Imermik imerpunga, eqeernarpoq.

  I am drinking water. It is refreshing. (imer- + -punga)

• Peqqippunga.

  I am healthy. (pp: the stem ends in a consonant)

05

No Word Needed for "I" or "He"

The ending already says who is doing it, so the verb needs no word for "I" or "you" beside it: nerivunga alone is "I am eating". There is no word for "he" or "she" at all: nerivoq is "he is eating", "she is eating" or "it is eating", and only the situation tells which.

• Ilinniartuuvoq.

  She is a student.

• Ilinniartitsisuuvoq.

  He is a teacher. (the same ending as for "she")

06

Words for "I" and "You"

uanga "I", illit "you" and ilissi "you all" do exist. They are added only to stress the person, or to set two people against each other.

• Uanga isumaqarpunga nerisassat kimittuusariaqartut.

  I think food should be spicy. (uanga: "I, for my part")

• Ilissi nuannaarpusi. Uku nuannaanngillat.

  You (pl.) are happy. They are unhappy.

07

"Is Cold", "Is Small"

Much of what English says with "is" and a describing word is a single verb in Greenlandic, with the same endings as any other verb.

• Una imeq nillerpoq.

  This water is cold.

• Kiaguppunga.

  I'm hot.

08

Doing Something Regularly

The plain ending does not say that something happens regularly. For a habit, -tar- or -sar- "usually" goes before the ending.

• Kisianni qaqutiguinnaq nerisarpunga.

  But I don't eat often. (nerisar- "eat as a rule")

• Juulimi kuuk assut kissartarpoq.

  In July, the river becomes very warm. (every July)

09

Not

"Not" is the suffix -nngi-. It comes after suffixes such as "can" and "must", and after it the statement has endings of its own, the same for every kind of stem:

• "I": -nngilanga
• "you": -nngilatit
• "he, she, it": -nngilaq
• "we": -nngilugut
• "you" (several people): -nngilasi
• "they": -nngillat

• Napparsimanngilanga.

  I am not sick.

• Sila kianngilaq.

  The weather is not hot.

• Suliffeqanngilanga.

  I don't have a job. (suliffe-qa(r)- "have a job" + -nngilanga)