Infixes are used in Nunavut’s eastern dialects to mark an event as past, present or future:
| –lauqsima– distant past |
Aullalauqsimajuq 2010–ngutillugu. He/she travelled in 2010. |
| –lauq– past (yesterday or earlier) |
Ippaksaq aullalauqtuq. He/she left yesterday. |
| –qqau past (earlier today) |
Ullaaq aullaqqaujuq. He/she left this morning. |
| –liq– immediate present |
Aullaliqtuq. He/she is leaving right now. |
| –sima– present (the state one is in as the result of an action/event) |
Maanna aullaqsimajuq. He/she is out of town right now. |
| –niaq– future (later today) |
Unnuksaq aullarniaqtuq. He/she is departing this afternoon. |
| –laaq– future (tomorrow or later) |
Qaukpat aullalaaqtuq. He/she is departing tomorrow. |
| –jjaanngit– future (negative) |
Aullajjaanngittuq. He/she will not be coming. |
There are other affixes related to the passage of time:
| –saali– to do something ahead of time/early |
siniksaalijut. He/she went to sleep early. |
| –nasaaq– to do something late |
makinnasaaqtuq. He/she got up late. |
Passive Voice
The passive voice is used when one wants to emphasize the person at the receiving end of an action. The person performing the action is unimportant and does not need to be mentioned.
The affix –jau– / –tau– changes a verb from the active to the passive voice:
Ningiup Kaugjagjuk ikajuqtanga. (active voice)
The old woman helps Kaugjagjuk.
Kaugjagjuk ikajuqtaujuq. (passive voice)
Kaugjagjuk was helped.
Ikajuqtaujunnalaunngittuuk. (passive voice)
The two of them could not be helped.
If the person performing the action is mentioned in a passive sentence, the noun takes the ending -mut / -nut:
Kaugjagjuk ikajuqtaujuq ningiurmut.
Kaugjagjuk was helped by the old woman.
The affix -sima-
The affix –sima– is used to describe the state resulting from a completed action:
Matusimajuq.
It is closed.
Iglu salummaqsaqsimajuq.
The house has been cleaned.
Uqsualukkuviit tatasimajut.
The tanks are filled.