Level 2 PDF

1. The 4 Basic Colours

In this lesson, you will learn vocabulary related to the four basic colors: red, black, white, and yellow. You will also practice naming objects you see and asking questions about them to another person

1.1. Invariable Form

Color adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they accompany. However, for the four basic colors, it is common to use neutral adjectives that can be applied to both animate and inanimate nouns. This only works for these four basic colors; adjectives for other colors change depending on whether the noun is animate or inanimate and according to agreement with singular or plural nouns. These formulations are equivalent to saying: it’s red, it’s black...

Pqeyu or Mehqeyu	Red	Pqeyu cikon / the apple is red
Mokoseweyu	Black	Mokoseweyu muwin / the bear is black
Wapeyu	White	Wapeyu wast / he snow is white
Wisaweyu	Yellow	Wisaweyu kisuhs / the sun is yellow

Dialogues – important reminder: « wen » ou « keq »:

Question:  Wen mokoseweyit ? / Who is black? (A)
Answer:     Muwin mokoseweyu. / The bear is black.
Question:  Keq pqeyik ? or Keq mehqeyik ? / What is red?
Answer:     Tuwihput pqeyu. or Tuwihput mehqeyu. / The table is red.

1.2. Dialogue: « Do you see? I see. »

To ask a question about a person, an animal, or any other animate object, you should use the following form:

Knomiya not Polansewe ?	Knomiya not cikon ?	Knomiya not muwin ?
Do you see Francis?	Do you see the apple?	Do you see the bear?

[ Remember the reminder: « not not wen not not » = « he/she is who he/she is » and « nit nit keq nit nit » = « it is what it is » ]

To ask the same question about an inanimate object, you should use the following form

Knomihtun nit kahpe ?	Knomihtun nit ksap ?	Knomihtun nit saht ?
Do you see the coffee?	Do you see the soup?	Do you see the blueberry?

Dialogue (animate)

Question:  Knomiya not Polansewe ? / Do you see Francis?
Answers:    Aha, nomiya not Polansewe. / Yes, I see Francis
        Ontama, ma-te nomiyaw* Polansewe. / No, I don’t see Francis.
* Negative forms: You may have noticed that when the answer to a question is in the negative form, the verb slightly changes its ending includes a «w.» Here are some examples:

Dialogue (inanimate)

Question:  Knomihtun nit ksap ? / Do you see the soup?
Answers:    Aha, nomihtun nit ksap. / Yes, I see the soup.
        Ontama, ma-te nomihtuwon* ksap. / No, I don’t see the soup.
* Negative forms: You may have noticed that when the answer to a question is in the negative form, the verb slightly changes its ending includes a «w». Here are some examples:

- Key Notion -
Positive Form	Negative Form
Nomihtun / See (I)	Ma-te nomihtuwon / Don’t see (I)
Nomiya / See (A)	Ma-te nomiyaw / Don’t see (A)
Nulomols / Feeling good	Ma-te nulomolsiw / Not feeling good
Nkoti-maha / Want to eat	Ma-te nkoti-mahaw / Don’t want to eat