Ojibwe Grammar - Number

Number

Number in Ojibwe is a simple singular/plural contrast. Nouns and pronouns can be either singular or plural, and verbs inflect for the number of their subject and object, although some nouns and verbs lack singular forms. Plural forms differ from word to word depending on the word's gender, root, and historical stress. By examining the plural form of the word, one can generally determine the word's gender and root. Animate plurals end in -g, while inanimate plural nouns (and obviative nouns) end in -n. The underlying form of a root determines the "linking vowel" — the vowel that appears before the plural suffix (-g or -n) but after the root itself.

Read more about this topic:  Ojibwe Grammar

Famous quotes containing the word number:

    It seems to me that there must be an ecological limit to the number of paper pushers the earth can sustain, and that human civilization will collapse when the number of, say, tax lawyers exceeds the world’s total population of farmers, weavers, fisherpersons, and pediatric nurses.
    Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)

    The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.
    Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)

    That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings.
    John Ruskin (1819–1900)