Week 10: Personal Indicators - I am feeling a certain way

Let’s learn how to add more to the feeling verbs we already know.

This is the complete personal Indicator chart:
I - ni, nin, nim, nind
You - gi, gid
S/he - (it is built in)
We (s/he and I) - ni-_______-min
We (you and I) - gi-_______-min
You all - gi-_______-m
They - -wag

Don't worry.  We're not going to go over all of this in one day and it's not as daunting as you may think.  We'll take this one day at a time.

We already know how to say she or he is feeling a certain way.

mino-ayaa - s/he is good, fine.
aakozi - s/he is sick.
minwendam - s/he is happy.
nishkaadizi - s/he is angry.
bakade - s/he is hungry.
debisinii - s/he is full.
agaji - s/he is shy.
maanendam - s/he is sad

Now let's learn how to say I am feeling a certain way.

To say I am feeling a certain way, you simply add ni, nin, nim, or nind to the beginning of the verb.  If a verb starts with a vowel, you will add "nind" to the front of the verb.  If the verb starts with the letter B or ZH, you will add "nim" to the front of the verb.  If the verb starts with the letter D, you will add "nin" to the front of the verb.  All the other consonants, you will add "ni" to the front of the verb.

The other rule is that the short vowels will be dropped from the end of the verb.  The long vowels will stay in place.

Let's start with mino-ayaa.  It starts with an "M" so we will add "ni" to the front of it.

Nimino-ayaa. - I am fine.

With aakozi, remember to add the "nind" because it starts with a vowel.  It also has a short vowel ending, so it must be dropped.

Nindaakoz. - I am sick.

With minwendam, it starts with an "M" so we will add an "ni" to the beginning.  Because it ends in an "M" we don't need to do anything with the ending.

Niminwendam. - I am happy.

With nishkaadizi, it starts with an "N" so we will add an "ni" to the beginning.  It also has a short vowel ending, so it must be dropped.

Ninishkaadiz. - I am angry.

Ok, now bakade starts with a "B" so we will add "nim" to the beginning.  Remember the "E" is a long vowel, so it stays.

Nimbakade. - I am hungry.

Debisinii, starts with a "D" so we will add "nin" to the beginning.  The "ii" ending is a long vowel so we leave it alone.

Nindebisinii. - I am full.

Agaji starts with a vowel.  So we need to add "nind" to the beginning.  It also ends in a short vowel, so that is dropped.

Nindagaj. - I am shy.

Maanendam starts with an "M" so we add "ni" to the beginning.  It ends with a consonant so we leave the ending alone.

Nimaanendam. - I am sad.

We hope it's starting to click for you.

So now you can answer this question:
Aaniin ezhi-ayaayan? - How are you?

Here's the complete list:
Nimino-ayaa. - I am fine.
Nindaakoz. - I am sick.
Niminwendam. - I am happy.
Ninishkaadiz. - I am angry.
Nimbakade. - I am hungry.
Nindebisinii. - I am full.
Nindagaj. - I am shy.
Nimaanendam. - I am sad.


The "Nish Hangout" crew did a segment on personal prefixes.  You can check that out if you need some verbal instruction.

Practice these verb changes with these games:
Flashcards, Study Stack, Study Table, Matching, Crossword, Word Scramble