Tuttuliaqtuq

ABOVE, BESIDE, UNDERNEATH...

Let’s start with this sentence:

Piita illuup sanianiittuq. Piita is beside the house.

This is a complex structure, but not a difficult one. Let’s break it down:

1. There is the subject of the sentence. In this case it is Piita. Nothing special happens to the subject. We can change the subject and have a very similar sentence:

Qimmiq illuup sanianiittuq. The dog is beside the house.

2. There is the object that the subject is positioned around. In our sentence, it is illu or house. If this object is singular, it takes the ending –up. Remember that –up deletes final consonants:

qajaq + up = Piita qajaup sanianiittuq. Piita is beside the kayak.

3. There is the element that tells us where the subject is located:

Piita illuup sanianiittuq.

There are several common words we could use here. Observe:

sania beside
qulaa above
qaanga
on top of
ataa under
tungaa in front of (general)
sivuraa
at the front of (something that has a front and a back)
ungataa on the far side of
tunua
at the back of (something that has a front and a back)

4. There is the verb –niit:

Piita illuup sanianiittuq

-niit is a close relative of the affix –miit meaning to be at or in something:

Piita namiippa? illumiittuq. illuup sanianiittuq.
Where is Peter? He is in the house. He is beside the house.
5. There is the verb ending. The verb ending must always match the subject of the sentence:
Piita illuup sanianiittuq Peter is beside the house.
Qimmiik illuup sanianiittuuk. The two dogs are beside the house.
Timmiat illuup sanianiitut.
 The birds are beside the house.

 

We could also say:

umiap sanianiittunga. I am beside the boat.
nunasiutiup qaanganiittutit. You are on top of the car.
illuup tunuaniittuguk. We two are behind (at the back of) the house.