Inanimate Verbs - Negatives and Questions

To make verbs negative, add hoow- to the beginning.
To make verbs into questions, add koo- to the beginning.

Example #1: (hyphens have been added to make things clearer. They are not used in ordinary writing)
Sounds will play when you move the mouse over the words - there is no need to click.

tóóyo3óó’                    it is cold (weather)
hoow-tóyo3oo             it is not cold
koo-tóyo3oo                is it cold?

bee’éé’                         it is red
hoow-be’éé                  it is not red
koo-be’éé                    is it red?

Arapaho verbs always change when hoow- and koo- are added.

Notice that the verb changed a little bit when hoow- and koo- were added. First the stop (‘) at the end is dropped. Also, the first vowel of the verb is shortened. When the first vowel is already short, that vowel and the -n- which will always follow it are dropped. This happens with all Arapaho verbs. Example #2:

honoosóó’                    (or honoosóóti') it is raining
hoow-oosóót                (or hoow-oosóó) it is not raining
koo-hoosóót                 (or koo-hoosóó) is it raining?

Some Arapaho verbs make additional changes when hoow- and koo- are added.
Notice in example #2 that some other things changed with the verb as well. There are several changes that only occur with certain types of verbs. For example, when a verb begins with h-, then the h- disappears after hoow-. Another example is:

heesítee’                       it is hot
hoow-(é)esítee              it is not hot
koo-hesítee                   is it hot?

One additional change of this type is the following:

benéecí’                       it is snowing
hoow-bééc                   it is not snowing
koo-bééc                     is it snowing?

When the ending of the verb is a short vowel plus the stop (‘), then both of these are dropped. Compare to example #1, where the long vowel isn’t dropped.
Exercise #1: make a negative sentence and a question sentence with each of the following verbs (remember, in Arapaho, a “sentence” is often just one single verb):

beniicé’                         it is summer
beníí’owúúni’                is is spring
heeséíse’                      it is windy
kooní’oosóó’                 it is sprinkling rain
nííhooyóó’                     it is yellow
ceenééteeyóó’              it is blue or green
woo’óteeyóó’                 it is black
nonoocóó’                     it is white
cee’éé’                          it is round or spherical
see’éé’                          it is flat

Exercise #2: correct the following sentences. Here’s an example:

sentence:  cee’éé’   núhu’  wo3ónohoe
corrected sentence:  hoowce’éé   núhu’ wo3ónohoe.  see’éé’   núhu’.

  1. Woo’óteeyóó’   wo3ónohoe (paper)
  2. Ceenééteeyóó’   bóoó (road)
  3. See’éé’   núhu’  ce’éiinox (bag).
  4. Nííhooyóó’   hóno’ (sky).
  5. Nonoocóó’   bee’íce’éé’ (apple).
    [Extra credit questions. The word “apple” in Arapaho has two parts. What does each part mean? What would a “nííhooníce’éé’” be?]
  6. Beniicéí’i (‘when its summer’),   beneecí’.
  7. Beniicéí’i,   tóóyo3óó’.

Answers:

Exercise #1

hoow-bííc
koo-bííc

hoow-bíío'wúún
koo-bíí'owúún

hoow-eséís
koo-heséís

hoow-koní'oosóó
koo-koní'oosóó

hoow-níhooyóó
koo-níhooyóó

hoow-cenééteeyóó
koo-cenééteeyóó

hoow-o'óteeyóó
koo-wo'óteeyóó

hoow-noocóó
koo-noocóó

hoow-ce'éé
koo-ce'éé

hoow-se'éé
koo-se'éé

Exercise #2

  1. hoowo'óteeyóó núhu' wo3ónohoe. nonoocóó' núhu'.
  2. hoowcenééteeyóó núhu' bóoó. woo'óteeyóó' núhu'.
  3. hoowse'éé núhu' ce'éiinox. cee'éé' núhu'.
  4. hoowníhooyóó núhu' hóno'. ceenééteeyóó' núhu'.
  5. hoowbe'éé núhu' bee'íce'éé'. bee'éé' nuhu'.
  6. bee'- = 'red', cee'ee' = 'round, spherical'
    niihoo- = 'yellow/orange', cee'ee' = 'round,spherical'
    nííhooníce'éé' = 'an orange (the fruit)'
  7. beniicéí'i, hoow-bééc. honoosóó'.
  8. beniicéí'i, hoow-tóyo3óó. heesítee'.