Grammar » 21 » Coming & Going

In this lesson we look at how to talk about going to or coming from a place.

You start with a noun root that desribes where are going to or coming from:

niuvipvik the school

You can then add a noun ending to the root:

-mi noun ending meaning, in or at
niuvipvimi in / at the store
   
-mut noun ending meaning, to
niuvipvimut to the store
   
-mit noun ending meaning, from
niuvipvimit from the store

To talk about going to a place, use the noun ending -mut with the verb root ai-:

niuvipvimut aivunga I am going to the store.
niuvipvimut aivuguk The two of us are going to the store
niuvipvimut aivugut We (3+) are going to the store.
niuvipvimut aivutit You are going to the store.
niuvipvimut aivusi You (3+) are going to the store.
niuvipvimut aijuk He/she is going to the store.
niuvipvimut aijok They (2) are going to the store.
niuvipvimut aijut They (3+) are going to the store.
 
To talk about coming from a place, use the noun ending -mit with the verb root pi- :
niuvipvimit pivunga I am coming from the store.
niuvipvimit pivuguk The two of us are coming from the store.
niuvipvimut pijut They are coming from the store.

The other option is to start with our noun root, add an affix to create a verb and follow it with a verb ending:

-liak- affix meaning, to go to...
kenaujakkuviliavunga I am going to the bank.
tujummiuviliavugut We (3+) are going to the hotel

In the third person (he/she/it or they) -liak-changes to -liat- and is followed by a verb ending that starts with t- :

ilinniaviliattuk He is going to the school.
katimmaviliattut They are going to the church.
 

ASKING QUESTIONS

We have already seen the question word nani? in other lessons. Here are some other question words that come up in this lesson:

nakit? from where?
namut? to where?
We can follow these words with the construction of pi + question ending to ask someone specifically:
Nakit piven? Where are you coming from?
Nakit pivitek? Where are you (2) coming from?
Nakit pivise? Where are you (3+) coming from?
Nakit pivâ / pijon? Where is he/she/it coming from?
Nakit pijok? Where are they (2) coming from?
Nakit pivât / pijon? Where are they (3+) coming from?

You can change the question word and have the same pattern:

Namut aiven? Where are you going?
Namut aivâ / aijon? Where is he/she going?