Grammar
VII — Verb Intransitive Inanimate
An inanimate subject and no object -- e.g. colors, weather, and other states of things rather than people or animals.
This lesson follows the published VII conjugation chart by Anton Treuer (Oshkaabewis Native Journal, 1997) and this course's own materials -- not generic or invented grammar content.
VII — Verb Intransitive Inanimate
Ojibwe verbs fall into four classes, sorted by whether the verb takes an object and by grammatical animacy. VII — Verb Intransitive Inanimate — is the class for verbs with no object and a grammatically inanimate subject.
VII verbs cover weather, time, colors, and other qualities of things — in Ojibwe these are verbs, not adjectives the way English does it: Gisinaa (be cold), Gimiwan (rain), Onizhishin (be nice), Mino-giizhigad (be a nice day).
How VII verbs are identified
- ●The subject must be grammatically inanimate — a noun class in Ojibwe grammar, taught alongside VII in the same class sessions.
- ●The verb is intransitive: it has a subject but no object.
- ●Many VII stems carry the +magad extension (documented in class notes) to explicitly mark the verb as inanimate, e.g. Giizhiitaa + magad = Giizhiitaamagad ("it is ready").
- ●VII verbs commonly describe weather, time/calendar, and the qualities of things.
Breaking down a VII word
A VII word can carry a tense/mode prefix before the stem, and a plural or negation suffix after it.
Hover or tap a piece above for its explanation, and follow “Learn more” back to this lesson.
Conjugation patterns by stem ending
The published VII conjugation chart groups VII stems into three types based on their final sound, each with its own plural, negative, and dependent (“B Form”) pattern.
VIIs ending in a vowel
Example: Ate “be put somewhere”
| Singular (A Form) | it is put somewhere | |
| Plural (A Form, +wan) | they are put somewhere | |
| Negative singular (+sinoon) | . | It is not put somewhere. |
| Negative plural (+sinoon+in) | . | They are not put somewhere. |
| B Form ("when/that," +g) | when it is put somewhere | |
| Negative B Form (+sinok) | when it is not put somewhere |
VIIs ending in D
Example: Aabadad “be used”
| Singular (A Form) | it is used | |
| Plural (A Form, +oon) | they are used | |
| Negative singular (-d, +sinoon) | . | It is not used. |
| Negative plural (-d, +sinoon+in) | . | They are not used. |
| B Form (-d, +k) | when it is used | |
| Negative B Form (-d, +sinok) | when it is not used |
VIIs ending in N
Example: Onizhishin “be nice”
| Singular (A Form) | it is nice | |
| Plural (A Form, +oon) | they are nice | |
| Negative singular (+zinoon) | . | It is not nice. |
| Negative plural (+zinoon+in) | . | They are not nice. |
| B Form (+g) | when it is nice | |
| Negative B Form (+zinok) | when it is not nice |
Tense/mode prefixes with a VII example
| Form | Ojibwe | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | . | It is cold. |
| Past (Gii-) | . | It was cold. |
| Desiderative (Wii-) | . | It's going to be cold. |
| Future (Da-) | . | It will be cold. |
| Modal (Daa-) | . | It could be cold. |
These forms apply the documented tense-prefix rule (prefix attaches directly before the stem) to the independently documented word "Gisinaa" -- a mechanical rule application, not a guess.
More VII words from the dictionary
Every VII word this course documents is in the dictionary, tagged VII.
Aabadad
be used
Aabadasinok
when it's not used
Aabawaa
be warm weather
Aabawaasinok
when it's not warm
Aabitose-giizhigad
be Wednesday
Aagawaateshkaa
be shadow, shade
Aanakwad
be cloudy
Aanjigaade
change
Aanjiwebad
weather changes
Aate
be extinguished
Adite
be ripe
Agoode
hang
Real example sentences
Drill sentences from the actual class notes, showing VII forms (including negation and the B Form) in context. Highlighted pieces carry the same colors as the breakdowns above — tap one to see what it does; unmarked words simply haven't been analyzed by a source.
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They are echoing.
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It will be thick fog.
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They will be ready.
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It will rain.
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It shall be cold.
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It will start snowing.
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They could be used.
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It could happen.
Practice
Question 1 of 4
Which of these describes what a VII verb's subject must be?
Quiz
Finish this quiz to mark the VII Verbs lesson complete on your dashboard.
Question 1 of 5
VII stands for: