Lesson 22 - Open and Close

Baakinan waasenigan - Open the window.
Baakinan - Open it or them.
Baakinan izhgwaandem - Open the door.
Gibaan waasenigan - Close the window.
Gibaan - Close it or them.
Gibaan izhgwaandem - Close the door.
Gibaan waaseniganan - Close the windows.
Baakinamog izhgwaandem - Open the door you people.
Baakinamog waasenigan - Open the window you people.
Bi-gibaan izhgwaandem - Come close the door.
Ando-gibaan izhgwaandem - Go close the door.
Ando-gibaan izhgwaandem zhemag - Go close the door immediately.
Gego gibaanken izhgwaandem - Don't close the door.
Gego baakinankeg iniwe waaseniganan - Don't open those windows you people.
 
 

New Words:

baakin- - open it
gibaa- - close it
waasenigan(an) - window
izhgwaandem(an) - door
 
 

Note.

In English such statements like 'i see it', 'you close it', etc, consist of three words. In Ojibwe such statements are said using one word! And this word is a verb 'see', or 'close'.

As you already know, 'i', 'you', 'he', and other persons are just put inside verbs in Ojibwe, so you don't need to place them separately in a statement.

The same thing happens with 'it' in statements 'i see it', 'i open it', 'i close it', etc. 'It' could also be placed inside a verb in Ojibwe, so you don't need to say it separately.

These verbs, with 'it' embedded inside, form a separate verb category in Ojibwe. They are called - vti verbs, or verbs transitive inanimate.
This means that they describe an action, which is directed towards some inanimate thing, or 'it', e.g.: a door, a window, a boat, a house, etc.
When a person describes an action, which is directed towards any inanimate thing, he needs to use these verbs, even if a noun, indicating that thing is also used in a statement.

Commands for 'directed towards it' vti verbs are also formed with command suffixes, but these suffixes differ from those for verbs without 'it' inside:

baakinan waasenigan(an) - close the window(s).
A command to one person is just a suffix -an.

baakinamog waasenigan(an) - close the window(s) you people.

A command to more than one person is made by adding a suffix -amog to a verb.

Note, that when a verb ends in a- (e.g., gibaa-), the first -a in suffixes is dropped:

Gibaan waasenigan(an) - close the window(s).
Gibaamog waasenigan(an) - close the window(s) you people.

For prohibitive 'don't do' commands suffixes are different:

gego baakinanken - Don't open it/them.
gego gibaanken izhgwaandem(an) - Don't close the door(s).

For a prohibitive command to one person place a word gego before a verb and add a suffix -anken, or -nken if a verb ends in a-.

gego baakinankeg iniwe waaseniganan - Don't open those windows you people.
gego gibaankeg - Don't close it/them you people.

For a prohibitive command to more then one person place a word gego before a verb and add a suffix -ankeg, or -nkeg if a verb ends in a-.
 
 

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Grammar Note.

Verbs. There are four verb categories in Ojibwe. Each of them describes special type of action:
1) vai verbs (verb animate intravsitive) deal only with animate subject.
2) vti verbs (verb transitive inanimate) deal with animate subject and inanimate object.
3) vta verbs (verb transitive animate) deal with animate subject and animate object.
4) vii verbs (verb inanimate intransitive) deal with inanimate subject. So called "weather" verbs belong to this categoty.
Before this lesson we encountered mostly vai verbs.
Vti verbs (verb transitive inanimate). Verbs transitive inanimate (vti) - describe actions which are performed by animate subject and affect inanimate object. There are two classes of vti verbs depending on verb stem ending, consonant (class 1) or vowel (class 2).
Commands for vti.:

	Positive	Prohibitive
you singl:	(verb) -an/-n	gego (verb) -anken/-ken
you pl:	(verb) -amog/-og	gego (verb) -ankeg/-keg
we:	(verb) -andaa/-daa	gego (verb) -anzidaa/-sidaa

Two suffixes stand for two classes. The first suffix is for class 1 vti verbs, the second - for class 2.

 

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