Name

Case

Use

Absolutive

(no change)

• Subject of intransitive verb

• Aŋun aqpattuq.
• The man is running.

• Object of transitive verb

• Akłam niġigaa iqaluk.
• The brown bear is eating the fish.

Relative

-m

-um

• (k stem-final and English words ending in consonant)
• (plural and dual forms identical to absolutive form)

• Subject of transitive verb

• Marshall-gum niġigaa siḷaavyait.
• Marshall is eating the pancakes.

• Possessor of possessed noun

• Aġnam paniat pisuaqtut.
• The woman’s daughters are walking.

Modalis

÷mik

-nik

÷nik

• Indefinite object of intransitive verb

• Qimmiaġruk tautuktuq ayuktamik.
• The puppy sees a ball.

• Means or Instrument

• Marissa-m avguġaa asiaqpak savigmik.
• Marissa is cutting fruit with a knife.

• Specification

• Adverb (limited)

• Qilamik!
• Hurry up!
• Pisuaqtuaqtugut ataramik.
• We go for walks all the time.

• “By oneself” (used with pronouns)

• Uvamnik piraġa.
• I did it myself.

Similaris

÷tun

+tun

÷titun

• Shows similarity between two nouns.

• “Like a...” “similar to...”
• Qimmiq nalaruq kitiuratun.
• The dog is laying down like a cat.

• “By itself”

Vialis

-kun

+kun

-tigun

• Mode of transportation

• Aullaqtuaq tinnutikun.
• He left by airplane.

• Through what area

• Nuurvikŋmuktuaŋa Qikiqtaġrukun.
• I went to Noorvik by way of Kotzebue.

• Circumstance

• Naŋirviŋmuktuat suaŋairrutikun.
• He went to the hospital on account of an illness.

• Time an action is performed

• Uvlaakun aniiqsuaqtuat miqłiqtut.
• The children played outside during the day.

Locative

÷mI

+nI

÷nI

• Location (place, space, time), “At…” “in…”

• Iñuuruq Fairbanks-mi.
• She lives in Fairbanks.
• Note: Location is static (doesn’t show any movement)

Terminalis

÷mun

+nun

÷nun

• Direction of action, “To…” “toward…”

• Pisuaqtut miŋuaqtuġviŋmun.
• They are walking toward the school.
• Tiŋŋun mitchuq mitchaaġviŋmun.
• The airplane landed on the runway.

• Note: Even though the translation is ‘on the runway,’ the sentence indicates motion is occuring. Therefore, the terminalis case is used, not the locative case.

• Subject of embedded verb

• Aŋutaiyaaq niġipkaġai iqaluit qimmiñun.
• The boy fed fish to the dogs.

Ablative

÷miñ

+niñ

÷nin

• Origin

• Tikitchuaŋa Nuurviŋmun Katyaagmiñ.
• I arrived at Noorvik from Kiana.

• Source of comparison

• Aquppiutaq mikiłhaaqtuq aglagviŋmiñ.
• The chair is smaller than the desk.

• Motion away from something

• Aniruq iglumiñ.
• She went out of the house.

Vocative

-ŋ

• (stem-final consonant is dropped, the remaining vowel is extended)

• Expression of endearment. “My dear…”

• Iġñiiŋ    “my dear son”
• Uyuġuuŋ “my dear niece/nephew”