Lesson Twenty-EightDemonstratives
Demonstratives are words which make a noun more important or more precise. In English, when I say 'I want this shirt, not that one' the words 'this' and 'that' are demonstratives because they demonstrate more clearly the difference between the two shirts.
In Arapaho, the common demonstratives are:
| nehe' | this (anim sing) |
| nuhu' | this (anim pl, inan) |
| neh'eeno | this here (emphatic) |
| nuh'uuno | this here (emphatic) |
| hinee | that, those |
| híni' or hi'in | that, those (already mentioned) |
You can use these forms with a noun, or on their own:
| nonoocoo' nuhu' wo3onohoe | this paper is white |
| benee3eise' nehe' | this one is big |
Notice also the difference between these two sentences:
| bee'ee' nuhu' | this one is red |
| nuhu' bee'ee' | the one/this one which is red (or 'the red one') |
The sentences are the answers to two different questions. If some asks you,
'what color is this one?', you would answer bee'ee' nuhu', 'this one is red.' But if someone points at several things of different colors and asks you 'which one do you want?', you might answer nuhu' bee'ee' 'the one that is red.'
If you want to say, 'this is a....', you combine nehe' or nuhu' with neneenit or nenee':
| nuhu' nenee' bee'ice'ee' | this is an apple |
| nuhu' nenee' niihoonice'ee' | this is an orange |
| nuhu' nenee' wo3onohoe | this is a piece of paper |
| nehe' neneenit touku3eihii | this one/this guy is a sheriff |
| nehe' neneenit neyei3eibeihii | this one/he/she is a teacher |
| nehe' neneenit neito'ei | this one/he/she is my relative |
You can make these plural as well:
| nuhu' nenei'i bee'ice'ei'i | these are apples |
| nuhu' nenee3i' neyei3eibeihiiho' | these ones/they are teachers |
No exercises are available for this section yet, but you can: