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.


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Last Updated: 15 April 2004


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