VERBS.
Ottawa and Chippewa verbs are changed in their conjugations, to indicate—
1st. Whether their subjects are animate, or inanimate; 2d. Whether their objects are animate, or inanimate; 3d. Whether they are transitive, or intransitive; 4th. Whether they are active, or passive, or reflective; 5th. Whether the expression is common, or emphatic.
They also express by their forms all of the distinctions of mood and tense, person and number, found in the English, and form their participles, and are changed into verbal or participial nouns; and these modifications are for, the most part regular in form.
I. Verbs with inanimate subjects correspond to English impersonal or neuter verbs, but are much more extensively used. They are usually formed by adding the impersonal pronoun, maw-got—it; as,
Animate Subject. Inanimate Subject
Sing-Au-nou-kee, he works. Au-nou-ke-maw-got, it works.
Ke-au-nou-ke, he worked. Ke-an-non-ke-maw-got, it worked.
Au-non-ke-wog, they work. Au-nou-ke-maw-go-toun, things work
Ke-au-nou-ke-wog, they worked. Ke-an-nou-ke-maw-go-toun, things worked.
Standing trees, as well as all living creatures and personified things, are regarded as animate.
II, III. The distinctions for animate and inanimate objects, and for transitive and intransitive, are illustrated by the following:
Singular—I kill, Thou killest, etc. Intransitive. Transitive. Pers. Animate Object Inanimate Object. 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay Ne-ne-saw Ne-ne-ton 2 Ke-ne-taw-gay Ke-ne-saw Ke-ne-toun 3 Ne-taw-gay O-ne-sawn, or son O-ne-toun
Plural—We kill, You kill, etc. 1 Ne-ne-taw-gay-me Ne-ne-saw-naw Ne-ne-tou-naw 2 Ke-ne-taw-gaym Ke-ne-saw-waw Ke-ne-tou-naw-waw 3 Ne-taw-gay-wog O-ne-saw-wawn or won O-ne-tou-naw-waw
Singular—I see, Thou seest, etc. 1 Ne-waub Ne-waub-maw Ne-waub-don, or dawn 2 Ke-waub Ke-waub-maw Ke-waub-don, or dawn 3 Wau-be O-waub-mon or mawn O-waub-don, or dawn
Plural—We see, You see, etc. 1 Ne-waub-me Ne-waub-maw-naw Ne-waub-daw-naw 2 Ke-wau-bem Ke-waub-maw-waw Ke-waub-daw-naw-wan 3 Wau-be-wog O-Waub-naw-won O-waub-daw-naw-wan
IV. What is denominated the reflective form of the verb, is where the subject and the object are the same person or thing; as, in English, He hates himself. The passive and reflective forms are illustrated in the verb, To See, thus:
Passive. Reflective.
Ne-wob-me-go, I am seen. Ne-wau-baw-dis, I see myself.
Ke-wob-me-go, thou art seen. Ke-wau-baw-dis, thou seest thyself.
Wob-maw, he is seen. Wau-baw-de-so, he sees himself.
Ne-wob-me-go-me, we are seen, Ne-wau-baw-de-so-me, we see ourselves
Ko-wob-me-gom, you are seen. Ke-wan-baw-de-som, you see yourselves
Wob-maw-wag, they are seen. Wau-baw-de-so-wag, they see themselves
V. The emphatic form repeats the first part of the pronoun; as, Ne- waub, I see; Nin-ne-waub, I do see (literally, I myself see).
Intransitive.
Common Form—I eat, etc. Emphatic Form—I do eat, etc.
1 Ne-we-sin Nin-ne-we-sin 2 Ke-we-sin Kin-ke-we-sin 3 We-se-ne Win-we-we-sin
Transitive—Animate Object
1 Ne-daw-mwaw Nin-ne-daw-mwaw 2 Ke-daw-mwaw Kin-ke-daw-mwaw 3 O-daw-mwaw Win-o-daw-mwaw
Transitive—Inanimate Object.
1 Ne-me-djin Nin-ne-me-djin 2 Ke-me-djin Kin-ke-me-djin 3 O-me-djin Win-o-me-djin
The object is frequently placed before the verb—always when in answer to a question. Thus, the answer to the question, What is he eating? would be, Ke-goon-yan o-daw-mwawn—Fish he is eating.
Nouns are formed from verbs by adding "win"; as, waub, to see, wau-be- win, sight; paw-pe, to laugh, paw-pe-win, laughter; au-no-ke, to work, au-no-ke-win, labor.
NOTE.—A verb susceptible of both the transitive and intransitive office, and of both animate and inanimate subjects, as for instance, the verb To Blow, may have no less than fifteen forms for the indicative present third person singular. The intransitive may be both animate and inanimate as to subject, and the former both common and emphatic; the transitive would have the same, multiplied by animate and inanimate objects; and the passive and reflective would each have inanimate, and common and emphatic animate—fifteen. Double these for the plural, and we have thirty forms; and that multiplied by the sixteen tenses of the indicative, potential and subjunctive moods gives 480 forms of third person. The first and second persons have the same, minus the inanimate subject, or 20 each for each tense, making 640 more, or 1120 all together in those three moods. The imperative singular and plural, and the infinitive present and past, and the participles, add 25. Then there is the additional form for the first person plural treated under "Pronouns," running through all the sixteen tenses, common and emphatic, animate and inanimate and intransitive, 96 more—making the astonishing number of 1241 forms of a single verb!— EDITOR.
Conjugation of the Verb To Be.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Pers. Singular. Plural.
Present Tense—I am, etc. 1 Ne-daw-yaw Ne-daw-yaw-me 2 Ke-daw-yaw Ke-daw-yaw-me 3 Aw-yaw Aw-yaw-waug or wog
Imperfect Tense—I was, etc. 1 Ne-ge-au-yaw Ne-ge-au-yaw-me 2 Ke-ge-au-yaw Ke-ge-au-yawm 3 Ke-au-yaw Ke-au-yaw-wog
Perfect Tense—I have been, etc. 1 Au-zhe-gwaw ne-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ne-ge-au-yaw-me 2 Au-zhe-gwaw ke-ge-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ke-ge-au-yawm 3 Au-zhe-gwaw ke-au-yaw Au-zhe-gwaw ke-au-yaw-wog
Pluperfect Tense—I had been, etc. 1 Ne-ge-au-yaw-naw-baw Ne-ge-au-me-naw-baw 2 Ke-ge-au-yaw-naw-baw Ke-ge-au-me-naw-baw 3 Ke-au-yaw-baw Ke-au-yaw-baw-neg
Future Tense—I shall or will be, etc. 1 Ne-gaw-au-yaw Ne-gaw-au-yaw-me 2 Ke-gaw-au-yaw Ke-gaw-au-yawm 3 Taw-au-yaw Taw-au-yaw-wag