Verb Type 3 – “Oon” or “in” First Endings
In the last few lessons, you learned that Verb Type 3 has two basic forms: 1) “an” and 2) “oon” or “in” endings. In this lesson we will focus on verbs ending with “oon” and “in.” There are not many words with the “in” ending, you may think of it as an irregular ending.
Verbs ending with “oon” and “in”
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aabajitoon – to use something
gashkitoon – to be able to do something
atoon – to put something in a certain place
ozisidoon – to put something in place / arrange
mamoon – to pick something up
zaagijiwidoon – to take something outside
biindigadoon – to bring something inside
agoodoon – to hang something
biinitoon – to clean something
ozhitoon – to make / build something
nanaa’itoon – to fix / repair something
miijin – to eat something
izhiwidoon – to take something to a certain place
biidoon – to bring something
maajiidoon – to take something along / away
bimiwidoon – to carry along something
babaamiwidoon – to carry something
maawanjitoon – to collect something
gashkibidoon – to bundle something
meshkwadoon – to trade / exchange something
zaagitoon – to love / treasure something
More Inanimate Nouns (ni)
verb-type-3-oon-in-first-endings-2
waawaashkeshiwiiyaan(an) – deer meat
gookooshiwiiyaas(an) – pig meat
waagan(oon) – bell pepper
miin(an) – blueberry
manoomin(an) – rice, traditional great lakes grain
nibi – water
aniibiishaaboo – tea
waabooyaan(an) – blanket
bimiwanaan(an) – backpack
jiimaan(an) – canoe
ozhibii’iganatig(oon) – writing stick
migiskanaak(oon) – fishing pole
To make a noun plural, add the plural ending that is in parentheses. For example, a singular blueberry is “miin”, but plural blueberries are “miinan.” Liquids to do not have a plural form.
Remember that there are considerable variations of nouns across different regions, communities, or even sometimes between generations or genders. Find more inanimate nouns on Ojibwe People’s Dictionary.
The following chart can be used to learn the conjugations for verbs with “oon” and “in” endings. Pay close attention to when the verb matches the plural noun (in all forms except niinawind and giinawind). This means that you make the verb plural when there is a plural noun.
For example,
verb-type-3-oon-in-first-endings-3
Nindozhitoon bezhig biitoonigan. I make one sandwich.
Nindozhitoonan niizh biitooniganan. I make two sandwiches.
| Pronoun In Ojibwe | Pronoun In English | Single Statement *remove the “an” and conjugate * add (an) for plural sometimes |
| niin | I | ni + verb + n (an) nin (initial d,j,g,z,zh) nim (initial b) nind (initial vowel) |
| giin | you | gi + verb + n (an) gid (initial vowel) gim (initial b) |
| wiin | he / she | o + verb + n (an) |
| niinawind | just us | ni + verb + min nin (initial d,j,g,z,zh) nim (initial b) nind (initial vowel) |
| giinawind | all of us | gi + verb + min gid (initial vowel) gim (initial b) |
| giinawaa | you all | gi + verb + naawaa (n) gid (initial vowel) gim (initial b) |
| wiinawaa | them | o + verb + naawaa (n) |
Take a look at the following examples. Try to identify:
- 5 root verbs
- The pronoun prefixes and suffixes on each verb
- 2 plural nouns
- An example of past and future tense
verb-type-3-oon-in-first-endings-4
- Niwii-biinitoon giziibiigazhewonaagan waabang. I will clean the bathtub tomorrow.
- Ogii-nanaa’itoon ina mazinaatesijigan? Did he fix the television?
- Fiona omiijinan midaaswi-ashi-niizh okaadaakoon. Fiona eats twelve carrots.
- Ode’iminan ina gimaawanjitoonaawaan? Did you all collect the strawberries?
- O’ozhitoonaawaa wiigiwaam. They build a lodge.
Aanikanootan (Translate It)
Practice Translating the Following Sentences!
Root Verb: miijin
Note: The verb and both nouns are singular. As a speaker, you can make the choice to make the verb plural if there are two singular nouns correlating with the verb. When it comes to venison and rice, you could make this plural if there are different types of venison/rice or if you are eating at different times.
Root Verb: zaagijiwidoon
Note: Both the noun and the verb are singular.
Root Verb: biidoon
Note: Both the noun and the verb are plural.
Root Verb: agoodoon
Note: Both the noun and verb are singular.
Root Verb: biinitoon
Note: The noun is plural, but the verb does not become plural when the pronoun is niinawind.
Bizindan (Listen to It)
verb-type-3-oon-in-first-endings-6
Look at the conversation below. Do you recognize any new vocabulary?