In Potawatomi, you can take a noun and turn it into a “locative.” The meaning of the “locative” form can range from “at the ____”, “in the ____”, “on the ___”,”near the ___”, “by the _____”, etc. There are other words that give specific locations.
Noun Locative
Dopwen (table) Dopwenek
Wawabmowen (mirror) Wawabmonek
Mbagen (bed) Mbagnek
Wigwam (house) Wigwamek
Dabyan (car) Dabyanek
Waséjgen (window) Waséjgenek
Taswen (closet or cabinet) Taswenek
Shkemot (bag) Shkemotek
Gokbenagen (basket) Gokbenagnek
Shkwadém (door) Shkwadémek
Mbes (lake) Mbesek
Zibi (river) Zibik
Mtegwaki (forest) Mtegwakik
Shkwengen (reservation) Shkwengenek
Odan (town) Odanek
Tkep (spring) Tkepik
Gtegan (garden) Gteganek
Negatives
Some words to express “no” in Potawatomi are:
No Cho
No way Cho wi
Impossible Chomamda
Not yet Chomshe
Never Cho wika
Nothing Cho gégo
No one Cho weye
Nowhere (anywhere) Cho ngoji
When using this word with verbs, use a “si” with the verb if the verb itself is negative (to express don’t or not).
Examples:
Cho ngi wisnesi No, I didn’t eat
Chomshe ngi wisnesi No, I didn’t eat yet
Chomamda nwi byasi ngom I can’t come today (it’s impossible)
Cho gégo ngi zhechkési I didn’t do anything
Cho weye gi nibwesi ibe No one stood there
Cho ngoji ngi zhyasi I didn’t go anywhere
For verbs that have a suffix (we, y’all, and they), the “si” goes before the suffix.
Cho ngi wisnesimen No, we (-) didn’t eat
Chomshe ngi majisimen We (-) haven’t left yet
Chomamda gwi nim’edisimen We (+) can’t dance (it’s impossible)
Chomamda gwi bmadgésim You all can’t swim (it’s impossible)
Cho wika migadisik They never fight
Types of Verbs
Animate Action Verbs – Independent Indicative
Simply put, this is the one subject, one verb sentence. I go, I walk, I run. This basic pattern is one that you will need to recognize as we go forward.
Independent Indicative Verbs – The Short Form
Nin (I) N + verb
Gin (you) G + verb
Win (he/she) verb
Ninan (we – ) N + verb + men
Ginan (we + ) G + verb + men
Ginwa (you pl.) G + verb + m
Winwa (they) verb + k
Verbs that end in “é” are the most common and the easiest to work with:
Ngiwé I go home
Ggiwé You go home
Giwé He/she goes home
Ngiwémen We (-) go home
Ggiwémen We (+) go home
Ggiwém You (pl.) go home
Giwék They go home
“I” verbs are formed in this example:
Nmikchéwi I work
Gmikchéwi You work
Mikchéwi He/she works
Nmikchéwimen We (-) work
Gmikchéwimen We (+) work
Gmikchéwim You (pl.) work
Mikchéwik They work
“O” verbs are formed as in this example:
Nked I say
Gked You say
Kedo He/she says
Nkedmen We (-) say
Gkedmen We (+) say
Gkedom You say (pl)
Kedwik They say
Here are some irregular verbs:
Nzhya I go
Gzhya You go
Zhyé He/she goes
Nzhyamen We (-) go
Gzhyamen We (+) go
Gzhyam You (pl.) go
Zhyék They go
Nbya I come
Gbya You come
Byé He/she comes
Nbyamen We (-) come
Gbyamen We (+) come
Gbyam You (pl) come
Byék They come
Ndodma I smoke
Gdodma You smoke
Wdemé He/she smokes
Ndodmamen We (-) smoke
Gdodmamen We (+) smoke
Gdodmam You (pl.) smoke
Wdemék They smoke
Nwisen I eat
Gwisen You eat
Wisne He/she eats
Nwisnemen We (-) eat
Gwisnemen We (+) eat
Gwisnem You (pl.) eat
Wisnik They eat
Njibtep I sit
Gjibtep You sit
Jibtebe He/she sits
Njibtebmen We (-) sit
Gjibtebmen We (+) sit
Gjibtebem You (pl) sit
Jibtebwak They sit
Nnibwe I stand
Gnibwe You stand
Nibwe He/she stands
Nnibwemen We (-) stand
Gnibwemen We (+) stand
Gnibwem You (pl.) stand
Nibwek They stand
Nbos I ride
Gbos You ride
Bose He/she rides
Nbosmen We (-) ride
Gbosmen We (+) ride
Gbosem You (pl.) ride
Boswik They ride
Additional suffixes…
-wak, -wek, and –wik often appear at the end of Win and Winwa verb forms.
Animate Descriptive Verbs
These are often a surprise to learners, because most of these verbs would be considered adjectives in English. They are verbs of being in a state of something. Here are some examples of Verbs that describe the state of being of an Animate Subject:
- Bkedé To be Hungry
- Gashknabagwé To be Thirsty
- Mbiwé To be Wet
- Kébigwé To be Blind
- Dépseni To be Full (of food)
- Bigéje To be Cold
- Wizhge To be Strong (physical)
- Mgegeno To be Large
- Gachiye To be Small
- Békadze To be Calm/Patient
- Zegze To be Afraid
- Yabyétze To be Lazy
- Bmadze To be Alive
- Zhewébze To happen to someone
- Gkadze To be Rich
- Gdemagze To be Poor
- Ninoze To be Weak
- Mishkweze To be Strong (emotional/spiritual)
- Minwewze To be Ambitious/Hardworking
- Mamkaze To be Surprised
- Kyébatze To be Naughty/Foolish
- Ntagze To be Sad
- Shkadze To be Angry
- Nodagwze To be Noisy
- Akwadze To be Anxious
Verbs 1 – 9 are formed more like Animate Action Verbs, while verbs 10-25, ending with –ze, have their own unique conjugation pattern.
Nbekté I am hungry
Gbekté You are hungry
Bkedé He/she is hungry
Nbektémen We (-) are hungry
Gbektémen We (+) are hungry
Gbektém You all are hungry
Bkedék They are hungry
Ngashknabagwé I am thirsty
Ggashknabagwé You are thirsty
Gashknabagwé He/she is thirsty
Ngashknabagwémen We (-) are thirsty
Ggashknabagwémen We (+) are thirsty
Ggashknabagwém You all are thirsty
Gashknabagwék They are thirsty
Nbigéj I am cold
Gbigéj You are cold
Bigéje He/she is cold
Nbigéjmen We (-) are cold
Gbigéjmen We (+) are cold
Gbigéjem You all are cold
Bigéjek They are cold
Ngachi I am small
Ggachi You are small
Gachiye He/she is small
Ngachimen We (-) are small
Ggachimen We (+) are small
Ggachim You all are small
Gachiyek They are small
When the first sound in a double consonant is muted, that means that they are blended together so the second sound is prominent. If a word ending with a vowel comes before that word, you hear both sounds clearly.
Nbmades I am alive
Gbmades You are alive
Bmadze He/she is alive
Nbmadsemen We (-) are alive
Gbmadsemen We (+) are alive
Gbmadsim You all are alive
Gbmadzik They are alive
Nshkades I am angry
Gshkades You are angry
Shkadze He/she is angry
Nshkadsemen We (-) are angry
Gshkadsemen We (+) are angry
Gshkadsim You all are angry
Shkadzik They are angry
Ntages I am sad
Gtages You are sad
Tagze He/she is sad
Ntagsemen We (-) are sad
Gtagsemen We (+) are sad
Gtagsim You all are sad
Gtagzik They are sad
Ngedmages I am poor
Gedmages You are poor
Gdemagze He/she is poor
Ngedmagsemen We (-) are poor
Ggedmagsemen We (+) are poor
Ggedmagsim You all are poor
Gdemagzik They are poor
Other orders…
Negatives
Cho ntagzesi I’m not sad
Cho nshkadzesi I’m not angry
Cho she yabyétzesi o He/she is really not lazy
Cho ngekadzesimen We (-) are not rich
Cho gi kyébatzesik gnijansek Your children were not naughty
Participles
Bémadzet The living one
Bémadsejek The living ones (people)
Békadzet The calm one
Békadsejek The calm ones
Békdét The hungry one
Békdéjek The hungry ones
Kyébatzet The naughty ones
Kyébatsejek The naughty ones
Conjuncts
Gi migadiwik gi bémadsejek égi nshkadsewat
Those people were fighting that were angry
Gi nshkadzik gi bémadsejek égi migadiwat
Those people were angry who were fighting
Odanek nwi zhyamen éwi kyébatsiygo
We (-) will go to town to be naughty
Bmadgé o gigabé égmegishek éwi wizhget
That boy swims everyday to be strong (physically)
Conjugation of verbs ending in -wé and yé
Giwé – to go home
Wébiwé – to run away
Mnekwé – to drink
Giskonyé – to get undressed
Biskonyé – to get dressed
Ngiwé N + giwé I go home
Ggiwé G + giwé You go home
Giwé Giwé He/she goes home
Ngiwémen N + giwé + men We– go home
Ggiwémen G + giwé + men We+ go home
Ggiwém G + giwé + m Y’all go home
Giwék giwé + k They go home
Nwébiwé N + wébiwé I run away
Gwébiwé G + wébiwé You run away
Wébiwé Wébiwé He/she runs away
Nwébiwémen N + webiwé + men We- run away
Gwébiwémen G + wébiwé + men We+ run away
Gwébiwém G + wébiwé + m Y’all run away
Wébiwék wébiwé + k They run away
Ngiskonyé N + giskonyé I get dressed
Ggiskonyé G + giskonyé You get dressed
Giskonyé giskonyé He/she gets dressed
Ngiskonyémen N + giskonyé + men We- get dressed
Ggiskonyémen G + giskonyé + men We+ get dressed
Ggiskonyém G + giskonyé + m Y’all get dressed
Giskonyék giskonyé + k They get dressed
What do these mean?
Nmnekwé
Biskonyék
Nwébiwémen
Ggiskonyémen
Ggiwém ne?
Mnekwék
Gbiskonyé ne?
Nmnekwémen
Wébiwék gi nemoshek
Gmnekwé ne?
Ggiwémen
Answers:
Nmnekwé I am drinking/I drink
Biskonyék They are getting dressed/they get dressed
Nwébiwémen We- are running away/we- run away
Ggiskonyémen We+ are getting undressed/we+ get dressed
Ggiwém ne? Are y’all going home?/do y’all go home?
Mnekwék They are drinking/they drink
Gbiskonyé ne? Are you getting dressed?/do you get dressed?
Nmnekwémen We- are drinking/we- drink
Wébiwék gi nemoshek Those dogs are running away
Those dogs run away
Gmnekwé ne? Are you drinking?/do you drink?
Ggiwémen We+ are going home/we+ go home
Neaseno 