Greenlandic Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Greenlandic grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Greenlandic and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Greenlandic and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Greenlandic.

Prepositions - Greenlandic
and aamma
above asulu
under malillugu
before itsaligami
after annguppoq
in front of saani
behind kingu
far from ungasiinnarmi
near qanippoq
in -mi, -ni
inside -ut
outside kinnga
with -mik, -nik
without silataani
about -soq, -eq
between ikiaq
but kisianni
for ilupaqut
from -mit, -nit
to -kkut, -tigut

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Greenlandic
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] Saveqarnanga nerivunga
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] Oqaluffiut eqqaani najugaqarpoq
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] Tassumannga angineruvoq
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] Qimmiartaatini nassarpaa
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] Ilagisinnaavinga?

Negation in Greenlandic

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Greenlandic
I understand you [affirmative form] Paasingilara
I don't understand you [negation + verb] Paasinngilara
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] Oqaaseq taanna eqqunngilaq
don't leave me [imperative negation] qimannannga
no problem [negation + noun] ajunngilaq

Negative Sentences - Greenlandic
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] Franskisut oqaluttanngilanga
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] Tysklandimukanngilaq
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] takusinnaanngilatigut
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] Skakkerumanngilaq?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] Kingusinaarnavianngilanga

Questions in Greenlandic

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Greenlandic
how? qanoq?
what? suna?
who? kikkut?
why? sooq?
where? sumi?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Greenlandic
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] Sumi najugaqapit?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] Kinamiutut oqaluttarpa?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] Qanoq akeqarpa?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] Ikiorsinnaavakkit?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] Qanoq ateqarpit?

Adverbs in Greenlandic

It's time to learn the adverbs in Greenlandic. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Greenlandic
now maanna
yesterday ippassaq
today ullumi
tonight unnugu
tomorrow aqagu
soon qilamik
quickly assut
slowly arriitsumik
together attarmik
very assut
almost ngajappoq
always tamatigut
usually pisarnertut
sometimes ilaanni
rarely akuttusuumik
never nikuu

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Greenlandic
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] Paasivinga?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] Nakorsamik pisariaqartitsivunga
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] silapparissuuvoq
I will always love you [verb + adverb] nuannariuarpagit
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] Tyskisut ilinniaqatigiissinnaavugut?

Pronouns in Greenlandic

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Greenlandic. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Greenlandic
I uanga
you illit
he una
she una
we uagut
they uku

Object Pronouns - Greenlandic
me uannut
you ilinnut
him uumunnga
her uumunnga
us uatsigut
them ukuut

Possessive Pronouns - Greenlandic
my -ra
your -ut
his -a
her -a
our -rput
their -at

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Greenlandic
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] Ikinngutigaakkit
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] Arriitsumik oqalulaalit
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] Pingasunik qimmeqarpoq
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] Tyskisut oqalusinnaavoq
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] Kingusinnaarnavianngilanga
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] Immummik iffiukkamillu

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Greenlandic
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] Qanoq ateqarpit?
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] Aningaasanik tunerusuppakkit
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] Allaffigaa
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] Ippassaq pulaarpaat
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] Ikiorsinnaavaatigut?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] Nerisassinik tunivaat

Possessive Pronouns - Greenlandic
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] Maya-mik ateqarpunga
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] Qatanngutit angut maani najugaqarpoq
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] Arnaata iggappaatigut
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] Atuarnermik nuannarisaqarpoq
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] Parisimukarusuppoq
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] Illuat ungasinngilaq

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Greenlandic
this is my house Tassa illora
that restaurant is far Neriniartarfik taanna ungaseqaaq
these apples are delicious Uku iipilit mamaqaat
those stars are shiny Ullorissat uisorilapput

I hope you learned a lot about the Greenlandic grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!