A study into the nature of Inuktitut - an introduction

The morpho-syntactic rules of the Inuit-Yupik language, unified across the board in this respect, are different from SVO or OSV languages, say, English or French. Inuktut (the Inuit language) has this syntax for the intransitive predicate:

pisuk                   +       tunga                              pisuktunga

to walk                        (or verb-ing)+I               to walk I am                   I am walking/I walk

The pattern looks like this: infinitive verb + default (progressive) present tense/aspect + subject of the predicate in the indicative mood.

To this, one may insert non-present adverbial tenses (more on proximity of temporality later).

pisuk                   +        lauq+tunga                        pisulauqtunga

to walk                         past I                                  to walk I did                I was walking/I walked

or,

pisuk                   +          niaq+tunga                        pisungniaqtunga

to walk                           future I                              to walk I will              I will be walking/ I will                                                                                                                         walk

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In my next installment, I will explain the use of other subject pronominal endings (person and number) that go with the intransitive, indicative mood using different adverbial morphemes (such as manner, frequency, degree, movement and direction, etc.).