Grammatical markings on a word are called “Inflection”. Verb forms vary depending on the person and number (singular or plural) of the subject and sometimes those of the object, as well as the order, the mood and the tense.

The variations between the different singular and plural person inflections are indicated in the following table, along with their abbreviations in column 3:

 

TABLE OF PERSON INFLECTIONS

1. Pronoun		2. Meaning in English	3. Person	4. Verb Form	5. Translation
niń		me	1s	nitatussen	I work
tshiń		you [singular]	2s	tshitatussen	you work
uiń		him/her	3s	atusseu	s/he works
tshiń/tshińuau		you [singular or plural]	2
neńua		that one, the other one	4	atusseńua	s/he [obviative] works; they [obviative] work
neńua		that one, the other one (one further)	5, 6	atusseńua	s/he [obviative] works; they [obviative] work
nińan		we, but not you	1p (1pe)	nitatussenan	we work (but not you)
tshińanu		me and you [singular or plural], or us and you [singular or plural]	21p (1pi)	tshitatussenan	we work (you included)
tshińuau		you [plural]	2p	tshitatussenau	you [plural] work
uińuau		them	3p	atusseuat	they work
auen/auenitshenat		people, it	X	atussenanu	people work, there is working going on
auenńua		people, it (other)	X’	atussenanuńu	people [obviative] work, there [obviative] is working going on
tshekuan		it	0s	pashteu	it [inanimate] is dry
tshekuana		they	0p	pashteua	they [inanimate] are dry
tshekuanńu		it (other)	0’s	pashteńu	it [obviative, inanimate] is dry
tshekuanńua		they (others)	0’p	pashteńua	they [obviative, inanaimate] are dry

REMARKS AND EXPLANATIONS

Column 1 indicates the personal pronoun corresponding with each verb person, except the 4^th person (the obviative) for which there is no personal pronoun, but which can correspond to a demonstrative in the obviative (neńua). These pronouns are not necessary for conjugating a verb, unlike in French.

Column 2 gives the corresponding meaning of each person.

Column 3 presents the notations used in conjugations (paradigms) to indicate the subject’s person, or those of the subject and complement in the case of TA (transitive animate) verbs, as in example (1) that follows:

EXAMPLE (1) OF THE VERB ‘SEE SOMEONE’, TA VERB CONJUGATED TO A FEW PERSON INFLECTIONS

2s→1s	tshuapamin	you (sg) see me	2nd person singular subject 1st person singular complement
1s→2s	tshuapamitin	I see you (sg)	1st person singular subject 2nd person singular complement
2→1p	tshuapaminan	you (sg) see us or you (pl) see us	2nd person singular or plural subject 1st person plural (exclusive, 1p) complement
2s→3s	tshuapamau	you (sg) see him	1st person singular subject 3rd person singular complement
1s→3p	nuapamauat	I see them	1st person singular subject 3rd person plural complement

• For more information about the conjugation of TA verbs, see Verb Classes, VTA Stems, as well as the complete conjugation guide.

The notation in Column 3 can be explained as follows:

• 1s, 2s, 3s are singular person inflections.
• 1p, 21p, 2p, 3p, are plural person inflections.
• Some of the person inflections in Column 3 of the table are specific to Innu (and to Algonquian languages).
  • In English, we can mean either that the interlocutor is included (you and me and the others) or that the interlocutor is excluded (me and others, but not you). Innu expresses this difference between tshińanu and nińan. 21p (or 1pi) corresponds to what we call the 1^st person plural inclusive, including both me or us and you (sg.) and you (pl.) (speaker and interlocutor). It translates as we in English but as the prefix tshi- shows, from the point of view of the Innu language, tshiń (2) includes niń (1). The 21p notation reflects this as well (2+1). The 1p (or 1pe) notation corresponds to the 1^st person plural inclusive, so-called because it excludes the interlocutor. It translates as we in English.
  • The 4 notation, or 4^st person, is called obviative. It is used when there is more than one 3^rd person as the verb’s subject or complement: this other 3^rd person is the 4^th person. In Innu, a distinct singular or plural obviative form (4s, 4p) only exists with certain II verbs. Otherwise, the form can either denote the singular or the plural, which is why we have the 4 notation.
    • If there is already a 4^th person, it is possible to have a 5^th person (person 5) or even a 6^th person.
    • The X indicates that the agent of the verb has been removed. X is found with Indefinites and Passives.

EXAMPLE (2) OF THE VERB ‘TO SEE SOMEONE’ USING OBVIATIVES

3p→4	uapameuat	they see someone else	3rd person plural subject 4th person singular complement
3p→5	uapamimeuat	they see someone else (e.g. someone’s brother)	3rd person plural subject 5th person singular complement
4→5	uapameńua	someone else sees someone else	4th person plural subject 5th person singular complement
4→6	uapamimeńua	someone else sees someone else	4e person plural subject 6th person singular complement
X→4	uapamakanńua	someone/people see someone else / someone else is seen	4th person [patient]

The person is marked by suffixes on verbs of all conjugations, and by prefixes in conjugations of the Independent Order.

The ends of verbs (or suffixes) give information on the person, order, mood, and tense. In the case of the conjunct and imperative orders, as there are no person prefixes, the endings indicate the person.