In Inuktut, as in English, we can ask questions in the negative:
| qailai'navit? | Aren’t you coming? |
There are two affixes you need to ask a question in the negative:
1. The affix -lai is added to the verb root.
2. -lai is followed by a because ending. This gives the question politeness.
| qai- | to come |
| qai + lai’ + nama = | |
| qailai'nama? | Am I not coming? |
| qailai'navit? | Are you not coming? |
| qailai'mat? | Is he not coming? |
| qailai'namnuk? | Are the two of us not coming? |
| qailai'naptik? | Are the two of you not coming? |
| qailai'manik? | Are the two of them not coming? |
| qailai'napta? | Are we (3+) not coming? |
| qailai'naphi? | Are you (3+) not coming? |
| qailai'mata? | Are they (3+) not coming? |
Watch out for the following:
If you answer no, to a negative question in Inuktut, you are disagreeing with what the person has implied with their question. If you answer yes, you are confirming what they have asked.
If someone, for example asks:
| qailai'navit? | Aren't you coming. |
an Inuktut speaker would answer with yes if he/she is not coming:
| ii, qailaittunga. |
and he/she would answer with no if he/she is in fact coming:
| iiqi, qainiaqtunga. |
In English we would do the opposite. We would say “no, I am not coming” or “yes, I am coming”.