Lesson 15 of 18 · Unit 6: Reading real Ojibwe
The C Form
Beyond the chart: the form behind who, what, when, where and why — read from the course's own table.
By the end of this lesson you'll be introduced to
- The course's second formation system — beyond the chart
- Where C forms live: inside who / what / when / where / why questions, and inside nouns
- The documented vowel table, and the changed markers Gaa- and Waa-
- Two irregular claims the sources leave unconnected — shown honestly
This is a reading lesson: the evidence here is thinner than the chart's, and the lesson is shaped to exactly what the materials support.
What the C Form is for
The second system
What the C Form is for
NewThe notes define it in one line: the C Form is used for participles and for who, what, when, where, why and how questions — formed by conjugating the B Form you know and changing its first vowel.
The notes' starting verb
Bimise
it flies
The C Form, living as a noun
Bemiseg
airplane
One vowel changed, and a verb became the everyday word for airplane — “that which flies”. That is what a participle is.
This is the notes' own worked example. The dictionary entry for the base verb is one the materials describe inconsistently, so nothing here grades you on that word — the derived word, a verified headword, carries the story.
Try it
The C Form starts from a form you already know. Which one?
The documented vowel table
Read it — don't run it
The documented vowel table
NewSeven mappings, exactly as the notes give them:
- A → E
- AA → AYAA
- I → E
- II → AA
- O → WE
- OO → WAA
- E → AYE
Applies to: documented C formsThis is a recognition lesson. The class notes give this table with a single worked example, so this course asks you to read documented C forms — it never asks you to build a new one, and it never builds one itself.
The longer write-up's own worked participles — quoted with attribution
bimisemagad → bemisemagak
Anton Treuer, SPPS Ojibwe Curriculum, Spring 2009, p.14
miikawaadad → maakawaadak
Anton Treuer, SPPS Ojibwe Curriculum, Spring 2009, p.14
babakaanitaagwad → bebakaanitaagwakin
Anton Treuer, SPPS Ojibwe Curriculum, Spring 2009, p.14
The class notes work one example; these come from the verification write-up behind the chart, shown here so you can see the table land more than once — attributed, because the course itself never taught them.
Try it
Reading the table: a first vowel A becomes…
Markers you know, vowels changed
Gii- and Wii- return
Markers you know, vowels changed
ReviewThe vowel change reaches the tense markers too: Gaa- is your past marker Gii- in C Form shape, and Waa- is Wii-. A third piece, wenji-, is the changed shape of Onji- — it opens the course's why-questions.
- Gaa-← Gii-
Conjunct ("C Form") vowel-changed form of Gii-
Awegonen gaa-miikawaadak?
What was beautiful?
- Waa-← Wii-
Conjunct ("C Form") vowel-changed form of Wii-
Aaniindi waa-zoogipong?
Where will it snow?
- Onji-
For a certain reason," "from a certain place
Aaniin wenji-gisinaag?
Why is it cold?
Try it
You spot “gaa-” inside a documented question. Which marker is it, changed?
The questions this unlocks
Ask something real
The questions this unlocks
NewYou have been reading these question families since “Asking Where” — now the pieces inside them have names. Here are documented questions the course writes, each carrying a changed marker:
Aaniin wenji-gisinaag?
Why is cold?
Aaniindi gaa-ateg?
Where was it (put)?
Aaniindi waa-soogipong?
Where will it snow?
Aaniindi waa-wiisiniyan?
Where do you want to eat?
And the who-word itself: Awenen — who.
Try it
What is this documented question asking?
Aaniin wenji-gisinaag?
Your turn — no wrong answer
Awenen
who
These are questions to ask, not answers to give — pick the one you'd most want to ask today.
Each is documented, and each is now readable to you.
Two claims the sources leave unconnected
Around the future and modal markers, this course's two documents say two different things — and neither mentions the other:
The class notes say
An irregular initial change in which the future and modal markers become Ge-. Stated without any example sentence. (Class notes, 2024-11-22.)
The verification write-up says
Names a different exception: verbs beginning da/daa that describe location or numbers take en- prefixed instead of changing their initial vowel, with one worked example. (SPPS p.13.)
Two different documents make two different statements about irregular changes in this area, and neither connects them. This course shows both, side by side, and merges nothing — neither is ever a graded answer.
One nearby exception IS clean: both documents name the same irregular change for the directional preverb (bi- → ba-) — a straightforward corroboration, recorded as such.
Words from these class days
New- View entry →Aaniin apii
what time, when
- View entry →AwenenGrammar Word
who
- View entry →BemisegNoun
airplane
- View entry →BimiseVerb
it flies
Needs review — the sources give more than one meaning for this word.
- View entry →GiiwedinongNoun
North
- View entry →Ningaabi'anongNoun
West
- View entry →Onji-Other
the reason for, for a certain reason, from a certain place
- View entry →Oshkibagi-ziibi / oshkibagi-ziibiing
in St. Paul
- View entry →Waabanong (wendaabang)Noun
East
- View entry →ZhaawanongNoun
South
Seen before
ReviewCheck your understanding
You don't need a perfect score — finishing is what completes the lesson.
Preparing your questions…
Finish this lesson
Work through the lesson's activities, then mark it complete. Your quiz score doesn't have to be perfect.
- Name what the C Form builds on — not yet done
- Read the vowel table — not yet done
- Recognise a changed marker — not yet done
- Pick a question to ask — not yet done
- Finish Check your understanding — not yet done
Source
This lesson draws on four class days (one a verbatim duplicate of its neighbour, kept as provenance). The vowel table and its one worked example are the notes' own; the additional participles are quoted from Anton Treuer, SPPS Ojibwe Curriculum, Spring 2009 with page attributions, because the course itself never taught them. The two irregular claims are displayed exactly as recorded and remain unmerged and unscored. Every Ojibwe string on this page comes from the materials cited above.
More from this stretch
This lesson covers several class days from the original course. The extra vocabulary and documented examples those days brought are here — try each example before its English shows.
Class day: November 14
New vocabulary this day (6)
Examples from this day
Aaniin apii waa-gichi-mino-giizhigak?
What does it say?
Aaniin wenji-gisinaag?
What does it say?
Aaniindi enangokaag?
What does it say?
Aaniindi eteg?
What does it say?
Aaniindi gaa-ateg?
What does it say?
Aaniindi wendaanimak?
What does it say?
Aaniindi?
What does it say?
Aniibiishaaboo maagizhaa nibi?
What does it say?
Class day: November 15
Review dayThis class's notes are word-for-word identical to Nov 14's.
Examples from this day
Aaniin apii waa-gichi-mino-giizhigak?
What does it say?
Aaniin wenji-gisinaag?
What does it say?
Aaniindi enangokaag?
What does it say?
Aaniindi eteg?
What does it say?
Aaniindi gaa-ateg?
What does it say?
Aaniindi wendaanimak?
What does it say?
Aaniindi?
What does it say?
Aniibiishaaboo maagizhaa nibi?
What does it say?
From memory
You've met all of these. Place each one from memory before peeking.
Aabadasinok
What does it say?
Aabawaasinok
What does it say?
Aaniin apii
What does it say?
Aaniish apii
What does it say?
Class day: November 22
Examples from this day
Aaniin apii waa-mino-giizhigak?
What does it say?
Aaniin apii waa-tibikak?
What does it say?
Aaniindi eteg?
What does it say?
Aaniindi waa-soogipong?
What does it say?
Aaniindi waa-wiisiniyan?
What does it say?
Aaniindi?
What does it say?
Aniibiishaaboo maagizhaa nibi?
What does it say?
Aniibiishaaboo niwii-minikwen.
What does it say?