Lesson 4

Model Sentences

Gíist uu k'adíigang?
Who (sg.) is going to sleep?

Hláa uu k'adíigang.
I'm the one who is going to sleep.

Gíisgaay uu k'asdláang?
Who (pl.) is going to sleep?

Jaatgáay isgyáan gaagáay uu k'asdláang.
The women and the children are the ones going to sleep.

Vocabulary

Question Words
`gíisgaay`	who (pl.)?

Conjunctions
`isgyáan`	and

Strong-A Pronouns
`hláa`	I
`dáa`	you
`'láa`	he/she
`t'aláng`	we
`daláng`	y'all
`tl'áa`	people (in general)

Verbal Nouns
`gaagáay`	the children
`jaatgáay`	the women
`íihlaants'daay`	the men

Intransitive-A Verbs
`k'adíigang`	going to sleep (sg.)
`k'asdláang`	going to sleep (pl.)

Notes

1) In Lesson Two we learned that there are four sets of pronouns in Haida, and we learned the forms for the set of Weak-A pronouns. In this lesson, we learn our second set of pronouns, the Strong-A pronouns. The Strong-A pronouns are used when we want to put a pronoun into focus position, followed by the focus marker «uu». Compare these two sentences:

Hl k'adíigang.

I am going to sleep.

Hláa uu k'adíigang.

I am the one who is going to sleep.

When we put the pronoun into focus position in the sentence, we have to switch from using the Weak-A pronouns to using the Strong-A pronouns. It would not be correct to say «Hl uu k'adíigang», with a Weak-A pronoun where a Strong-A pronoun should be. Likewise, we can't say «Hláa k'adíigang», because that sentence requires a Weak-A pronoun and not a Strong-A pronoun.

The rule to remember is this:

If the pronoun occurs immediately before the verb, use the Weak form.
Otherwise, use the Strong form.

Here is a comparison of the two sets of pronouns we have learned so far.

	Weak-A	Strong-A
I	`hl`	`hláa`
you	`dáng`	`dáa`
he/she	`hal`	`'láa`
we	`t'aláng`	`t'aláng`
y'all	`daláng`	`daláng`
people	`tl'`	`tl'áa`

Note that for «t'aláng» and «daláng», the pronoun stays the same in both the Weak-A and Strong-A forms. All the other pronouns, however, do change their forms.

2) The new sentence pattern for this lesson -- using the Strong-A pronouns in focus position -- is Pattern 1B + Subject Focus (or 1B-SF, for short). We can summarize the pattern like this:

Sentence Pattern 1B + Subject Focus
Subject	Focus Marker	Predicate
Strong-A Pronoun	`uu`	Intransitive-A Verb

Here are some more examples of Pattern 1B-SF, using the Intransitive-A verb «kúugaagang» "cooking".

Subject	Focus Marker	Predicate
`Hláa`	`uu`	`kúugaagang.`	I am the one cooking.
`Dáa`	`uu`	`kúugaagang.`	You are the one cooking.
`'Láa`	`uu`	`kúugaagang.`	He/she is the one cooking.
`T'aláng`	`uu`	`kúugaagang.`	We are the ones cooking.
`Daláng`	`uu`	`kúugaagang.`	Y'all are the ones cooking.

Note that the pronoun «tl'/tl'áa» typically does not occur in focus position (for the same reasons that we don't usually say "People are the ones cooking." in English).

Look at the following pairs of sentences -- the first built following Pattern 1B, the second following Pattern 1B-SF -- and watch how the pronoun changes (or doesn't change) between the two.

1B	`Hl`		`gatáagang.`	I am eating.
1B-SF	`Hláa`	`uu`	`gatáagang.`	I am the one eating.

1B	`Dáng`		`gatáagang.`	You are eating.
1B-SF	`Dáa`	`uu`	`gatáagang.`	You are the one eating.

1B	`Hal`		`gatáagang.`	He/she is eating.
1B-SF	`'Láa`	`uu`	`gatáagang.`	He/she is the one eating.

1B	`T'aláng`		`gatáagang.`	We are eating.
1B-SF	`T'aláng`	`uu`	`gatáagang.`	We are the ones eating.

1B	`Daláng`		`gatáagang.`	Y'all are eating.
1B-SF	`Daláng`	`uu`	`gatáagang.`	Y'all the ones eating.

3) The question word «gíisgaay» means "who?", just like the question word «gíist» that we learned in Lesson Three. The difference is that «gíisgaay» is used when asking a question about several people, while «gíist» is used when you're just asking about one person. In other words, «gíist» is singular, and «gíisgaay» is plural.

For example, if you were listening to the radio and a song came on that was being sung by one woman, you might ask:

Gíist uu k'ajúugang?

Who (one person) is singing?.

But if the song was clearly being sung by a group of people, you would ask:

Gíisgaay uu k'ajúugang?

Who (two or more people) is singing

If you have a verb that is specifically singular or specifically plural, be sure to choose the appropriate question word. For example, you can ask:

Gíist uu kats'áang?

Who (sg.) is coming in (sg.)? .

Gíisgaay uu ists'áang?

Who (pl.) is coming in (pl.)?

But you wouldn't ask:

Gíist uu ists'áang?

Who (sg.) is coming in (pl.)?

Gíisgaay uu kats'áang?

Who (pl.) is coming in (sg.)?

4) The conjunction «isgyáan» means "and". It can be used to join together two nouns, coming in between those nouns, just like in English.

Noun	Conjunction	Noun
`díi aw`	`isgyáan`	`díi náan`	my mother and my grandmother
`díi chan`	`isgyáan`	`gaagáay`	my grandfather and the children
`nang jáadaas`	`isgyáan`	`Lenny`	the woman and Lenny

Using What You Know

Complete each of the following exercises before moving on to Lesson Five.

	Drill Type	Instructions
Exercise 4-A	Vocabulary Match	Choose the English translation that best matches the Haida word.
Exercise 4-B	Vocabulary Match	Choose the Haida translation that best matches the English word.
Exercise 4-C	Sentence Match	Choose the English translation that best matches the Haida sentence.
Exercise 4-D	Sentence Match	Choose the Haida translation that best matches the English sentence.
Exercise 4-E	Fill in the Blank	Provide the missing word to compete the Haida sentence.
Exercise 4-F	Translation	Provide the English translation of the Haida sentence.
Exercise 4-G	Translation	Provide the Haida translation of the English sentence.

Lesson 5 <> Lesson Index <> Haida Language Mainpage
Last Updated: 15 April 2004