The Potawatomi language contains many "particles," which are pieces of words that alter the meaning of a word. They usually take the form of a prefix or suffix attached to a word. Here are some common examples:
In Potawatomi, when you add the suffix -s or -es or -is or -os to a noun, it usually makes that noun smaller.
Gigyago - Girl |
Gigyagos - Little Girl |
| Gigabé - Boy | Gigabés - Little Boy |
With some nouns you can make them even smaller:
| Gigo - Fish | Gigos - Small Fish | Gigosés - Really Small Fish |
When you add the suffix -esh to a noun, it becomes a pejorative, which is something like "that darned ol' ___."
| Dabyan - Car | Dabyanesh - That darned ol' Car |
| Biskewagen - Coat | Biskewagenesh - That darned ol' Coat |
| Gazho - Cat | Gazhowesh - That darned ol' Cat |
The addition of a -k suffix does not always mean an animate plural. Sometimes it indicates a "locative," meaning at, on, to, or in something/somewhere.
| Dopwen - Table | Dopwenek - To the table, At the table |
| Taswen - Closet/Cupboard | Taswenek - To the closet, At the closet, In the closet |
The nouns in Potawatomi are either animate or inanimate, and an understanding of this is critical to understanding plurals. In general, animate nouns are pluralized with a -k sound at the end, and inanimate nouns are pluralized with an -n sound at the end.
Animate nouns:
| Kwé - Woman | Kwék - Women |
| Nene - Man | Nenwik - Men |
| Gigo - Fish | Gigoyek - Fish (plural) |
| Sen - Stone | Senik - Stones |
| Kek - Kettle | Kekok - Kettles |
Inanimate nouns:
| Waboyan - Blanket | Waboyanen - Blankets |
| Gokbenagen - Basket | Gokbenagnen - Baskets |
| Gokmedas - Sock | Gokmedasen - Socks |
| Mkesen - Shoe | Mkesnen - Shoes |
Although most adjectives in Potawatomi are actually verbs, there are a few cases where you can add an adjective prefix to a noun.
| Biskewagen - Coat | Mskwebiskewagen - Red Coat |
| Penojé - Baby | Wshkewpenojé - New Baby |
| Gigo - Fish | Kchegigo - Big Fish |
| Nawkwék - Noon | Gizhnawkwék - Afternoon |
Pronoun Particles are made by taking the first letter of the pronoun to use as a prefix, and then adding a pronoun-specific suffix. They can be used to indicate the subject in a sentence, or indicate possession. Here are 2 examples:
| Nin | N'os | My father |
| Gin | G'os | Your father |
| Win | W'osen | His/her father |
| Ninan | N'osnan | Our father (not yours) |
| Ginan | G'osnan | Our father (all of us) |
| Ginwa | G'oswa | Y'all's father |
| Winwa | W'oswa | Their father |
| Nin | Nmikjéwi | I work |
| Gin | Gmikjéwi | You work |
| Win | Mikjéwi | He/she works |
| Ninan | Nmikjéwimen | We (not you) work |
| Ginan | Gmikjéwimen | We (all) work |
| Ginwa | Gmikjéwim | Y'all work |
| Winwa | Mikjéwik | They work |
The tense of a sentence (past, present, future) is conveyed through the prefix attached to the verb. The Tense Marker is inserted between the Pronoun prefix and the verb for independent verbs:
| Present | Nde mikjéwi | I am working |
| Past | Ngi mikjéwi | I worked |
| Future | Nwi mikjéwi | I will work |
| Immediate Future | Nge mikjéwi | I am about to work |
| Future Conditional | Nda mikjéwi | I could/should/can work |
A verb is make negative by adding a -si to the end of the verb. A negative word, such as Cho (no) usually preceeds these verbs.
| Present | Cho nde mikjéwisi | I am not working |
| Past | Cho ngi mikjéwisi | I didn't work |
| Future | Cho nwi mikjéwisi | I will not work |
| Immediate Future | Cho nge mikjéwisi | I am not about to work |
| Future Conditional | Cho nda mikjéwisi | I couldn't/shouldn't/can't work |
