Lesson 1: Greetings and Polite Formulas
ta'n(i)si 
"Hello.", "Hi.", "How are you?", "How are things?" 
Literally: "How?" 
m'on~(a) na'ntaw. 
"Hi.", "Fine." (in response to ta'n(i)si.) 
ki'n~a ma'ka. 
"And you?" 

kinana'skomitin. 
"Thank you." (said to one person.) 
Literally: "I thank you." 
kinana'skomitina'wa'w. 
"Thank you." (said to more than one person.) 
Literally: "I thank you people." 

e'kosi. 
"That's how!", "That's the way!", also very commonly used for "Thank you." 

ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)n. 
"I'll see you again." (said to one person.) 
ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)na'wa'w. 
"I'll see you people again." 
ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)na'n. 
"We'll see you again." (said to one or more persons.) 
The last three sentences are probably the most commonly used equivalents of "Goodbye." 
Notes
Greetings and polite formulas are among the first expressions most people seek translations for in another language. But many of these expressions are peculiar to European culture and therefore have no close equivalents in Native North American languages. 

Lesson 2: Numbers One Through Ten (and zero)
mwac ke'kwa'n 
0 - zero 
Literally: not anything 
pe'yak 
1 - one 
n'iso 
2 - two 
nisto 
3 - three 
n'ew, ne'wo, ne'yo 
4 - four 
niya'nan 
5 - five 
n(i)kotwa'sik or kotwa'sik 
6 - six 
te'pakohp 
7 - seven 
ayina'new (dialects: e'na'ne'w) 
8 - eight 
ke'ka'c mita'taht 
9 - nine 
Literally: almost ten 
mita'taht (W. dialects: mita'yaht for mita'taht) 
10 - ten 
Extra Numbers (not from the instruction book)
nistosap 
13 - thirteen 
nisotanaw 
20 - twenty 
Lesson 3: Comments on the Weather
kimiwan 
it is raining 
mispon 
it is snowing 
min~o-kisika'w 
it's nice weather 
Literally: it's a good day 
n~o'tin 
it's windy 
n~ikwaskwan 
it's cloudy 
wa'se'skwan 
it's clear or sunny 
kisite'w 
it's hot (speaking of the weather or the temperature of the air) 
tahka'ya'w 
it's cold (speaking of the weather or the temperature of the air) 
kisina'w 
it's bitterly cold (speaking of the weather or the temperature of the air) 
Notes
These weather words, in Cree, are indicative verbs. An indicative verb can be used to make a statement, like the statements about the weather listed above. These verbs are also in the present tense, that is, they indicate events or situations occuring at the time of speaking, "in the present." 
Lesson 4: Further Comments on the Weather: Past, Present and Future

Note
Some of the phrases are available as QuickTime sound files. You will need the quicktime plug-in for your web-browser to listen to them on the page. You can also download the quicktime files by clicking on the "QT" when it appears next to a phrase. 

ki'-kimiwan 
it rained 
ki'-mispon 
it snowed 
wi'-mispon 
it's going to snow 
wi'-kisite'w 
it's going to be hot 
wi'-tahka'ya'w 
it's going to be cold 
wi'-min~o-ki'sika'w 
it's going to be nice weather 
ta-mispon QT 
it will snow 
tahka'ya'w anohc QT 
it's cold today 
anohc tahka'ya'w 
it's cold today 
kimiwan anohc 
it's raining today 
ki'-kimiwan anohc 
it rained today 
anohc wi'-mispon 
it's going to snow today 
ki'-kimiwan ota'hkosi'hk 
it rained yesterday 
wi'-n~otin wa'pahke' 
it's going to be windy tomorrow 
ta-kimiwan wa'pahke' 
it will rain tomorrow 
me'kwa'c mispon 
it's snowing right now 
mispon me'kwa'c 
it's snowing right now 
ke'ya'pic mispon 
it's still snowing 
ki'htwa'm ki'-mispon 
it snowed again 
ki'-mispon ki'htwa'm 
it snowed again 
ma'sko'c ta-mispon 
maybe it will snow 
anohc kisina'w 
it's bitterly cold today 
ota'hkosi'hk mina ki-kisina'w 
it was also bitterly cold yesterday 
New Words
Adverbs
anohc 
today 
ke'ya'pic 
still (referring to time) 
ki'htwa'm 
again 
ma'sko'c 
maybe, perhaps 
me'kwa'c 
right now, at present 
mi'na 
also 
ota'hkosi'hk 
yesterday 
wa'pahke' 
tomorrow 
Notes
ki'- is placed before indicative verbs to make statements referring to past time, that is, statements that describe situations or events that occurred before the time of speaking. We say ki'- forms the past tense of indicative verbs. 
wi'- (going to), and ta'- (will) are placed before indicative verbs to make statements referring to the future, that is, statements that describe situations or events that are going to occur, or will occur, after the time of speaking. We say wi'- and ta'- form future tenses of indicative verbs. 
Some speakers feel that ta- is too definite to be applied to anything as unpredictable as the weather, as one person said, "Only God could say ta-mispon." 
Adverbs are used with verbs to provide certain additional information about a situation. Most Cree adverbs usually precede the verb, but some of them can also follow it. 
Lesson 5: Affirmative and Negative
kimiwan na 
is it raining? 
ke'ya'pic na kimiwan 
is it still raining? 
ki'-kimiwan na ota'hhkosi'hk 
did it rain yesterday? 
e'he' 
yes 
mo'n~a 
no 
mwac (dialects: (na)mwac and (na)mo'n~a for mwac and mo'n~a) 
no 
mwac n(i)kiske'n~(ih)te'n 
i don't know, i don't know it 
mo'n~a n(i)kiske'n~(ih)te'n 
i don't know, i don't know it 
mo'n~a kimiwan 
it's not raining 
mwac kimiwan 
it's not raining 
mwac ohci-kimiwan ota'hhkosi'hk 
it didn't rain yesterday 
mwac ce'skwa kimiwan 
it's not raining yet 
mo'n~a ce'skwa kimiwan 
it's not raining yet 
ta'n(i)si e'si-ki'sika'k 
how is the weather? 
Literally: how is the day? 
ta'n(i)si ka'-isi-ki'sika'k 
how was the weather? 
Literally: how was the day? 
ta'n(i)si ka'-isi-ki'sika'k ota'hhkosi'hk 
how was the weather yesterday? 
New Adverbs
na 
indicator of a yes-or-no question 
mo'n~a or mwac 
not, no 
ce'skwa 
yet 
Notes
Yes-or-no questions are questions to which the answer may be 'yes' or 'no.' In Cree, yes-or-no questions are formed from statements by placing the word in question at the beginning of the sentence, and then putting na after the word (sentences 1 to 3). 
A situation is denied by using mwac or mo'n~a (not) with an indicative verb (sentences 1 to 3). 
When mwac or mo'n~a is used with a verb in the past tense, the prefix ki'- is changed to ohci- (sentence 11). 
Supplementary questions are questions formed with the words 'who?', 'what?', 'which?', 'when?', 'where?', 'why?' or 'how?' (sentences 14-16). How such questions are made up in Cree will be described later. 
Note: when i is followed by e', only the e' is pronounced sometimes. Thus ta'n(i)si e'si-ki'sika'k may be pronounced as ta'n(i)s e'si-ki'sika'k 
Lesson 6: Some useful commands
pi'htikwe' 
'Enter!', 'Go inside!' (said to one person) 
(Dialects: pi'htoke' or pi'htike' for pi'htikwe') 
pi'tikwe'k 
'Enter, you people!' 
(Dialects: pi'htoke'k or pi'htike'k for pi'htikwe'k) 
These words are used where English uses 'Come in!' to invite someone at the door into a building room. Otherwise, a more exact translation of 'Come in!' is pe'-pi'htikwe'. 
api 
'sit (down)!' (said to one person) 
apik 
'Sit (down), you people!' 
wan'awi' 
'Go out!', 'Go outside!' (said to one person) 
wan'awik 
'Go out(side), you people!' 
ki'we' 
'Go home!' (said to one person) 
ki'we'k 
'Go home, you people!' 
itwe' 
'Say it!' (said to one person) 
ki'htwa'm itwe' 
'Say it again!' (said to one person) 
ki'htwa'm itwe'k 
'Say it again, you people!' 
pe'hka'c itwe' 
'Say it slowly!', 'Say it carefully!' (said to one) 
n(i)sihka'c itwe' 
' Say it slowly!' 
akihta'so 
'Count!' (to one) 
akihta'sok 
'Count, you people!' 
kawin'a api 
'Don't sit (down)!' (to one) 
kawin'a apik 
'Don't sit (down), you people!' 
kawin'a ki'we' 
'Don't go home.' (to one) 
kawin'a ce'skwa pe'-pi'htikwe' 
'Con't come in yet!' (to one) 
kawin'a pe'-pihtikwe' ce'skwa 
'Don't come in yet!' 
(E. dial. ka'n'a for kawin'a) 
awas 
'Go away!', 'Get away!' 
a'stam 
'Come here!' 
New Adverbs
kawin'a 
'don't' 
n(i)sihka'c 
'carefully, slowly' 
pe'hka'c 
'carefully, slowly' 
Notes
Words like 'go', 'go in', 'go out', 'sit', 'count' are verbs. 
In Cree, as in English, most verbs, when spoken alone, express commands. In Cree, however, these command-forms are singular, that is, they are only used in speaking to one person. 
In giving a command to more than one person, the plural command-form of a verb must be used. This is formed for many verbs, including those above, by adding -k. 
ka'win'a 'don't' is used in place of mo'n'a or mwac with command - forms. 
Note: when a or a' is followed by a or a', the two vowels are sometimes pronounced like on a'. Thus kawin'a api is sometimes pronounced as kawin'a'pi. 
awas and a'stam are not verbs in Cree, though they can be translated into English by commands containing verbs. 
Lesson 7: Let's
pi'htikwe'ta'n 
'Let's go in(side)', 'Let's enter!' 
(Dialects: pi'htoke'ta'n or pi'htike'ta'n for pi'htikwe'ta'n.) 
apita'n 
'Let's sit (down)!' 
akihta'sota'n 
'Let's count!' 
wan'awi'ta'n 
'Let's go out(side)!' 
ki'we'ta'n 
'Let's go home!' 
ki'htwa'm itwe'ta'n 
'Let's say it again!' 
kawin'a ki'we'ta'n 
'Let's not go home!' 
Notes
'Let's' is expressed with many verbs, including all those given in section 7, by the suffix -ta'n. 
Lesson 8: What is this or that?, Who is this or that?
ke'kwa'n o'ma 
'What is this?' 
ke'kwa'n anima 
'What is that?' 
ke'kwa'n ne'ma 
'What is that in the distance?' 
awe'na awa 
'Who is this?' 
awe'na ana 
'Who is that?' 
awe'na na'ha 
'Who is that in the distance?' 
wa'skahikan anima 
'That is a house.' 
wa'skahikan o'ma 
'this is a house.' 
iskwa'hte'm anima 
'That is a door.' 
masinahikan o'ma 
'This is a book.' 
na'pe'w ana 
'That is a man.' 
na'pe'w awa 
'This is a man.' 
iskwe'w ana 
'That is a woman.' 
atim na'ha 
'That is a dog in the distance.' 
pi'sim ana 
'That is the sun or the moon.' 
The Cree language acknowledges the similarity between the sun and the moon, namely, that they are the only heavenly bodies that appear to the unaided eye as discs rather than as pinpoints of light, by givinlg them one name. The distinction can be expressed if desired by using ki'sika'wi-pi'sim 'the sun', literally 'the daytime-pi'sim' and tipiska'wi-pi'sim 'the moon', literally 'the nighttime-pi'sim'. 
wacahkos ana 
'That is a star.' 
(Dialects: acahkos or aca'hk for wacahkos.) 
n(i)pa'pa' awa 
'This is my father.' 
nima'ma' ana 
'That is my mother.' 
Instead of n(i)pa'pa, some people use no'hta'wiy, and instead of nima'ma', some people use n(i)ka'wiy. Those who use them often consider no'hta'wiy and n(i)ka'wiy to be more correct, and consider n(i)pa'pa' and nima'ma' to be slang, but other speakers use only the latter two words. 
n(i)kosis awa 
'This is my son.' 
n(i)ta'nis na'ha 
'That's my daughter in the distance.' 
Mary ana 
'That's Mary.' 
ci'ma'n na o'ma 
'Is this a boat?' 
o'ma na ci'ma'n 
'Is this a boat?' 
New Words
Nouns:
aca'hk 
'a star' (in some dialects) 
acahkos 
'a star' (in some dialects) 
atim 
'a dog' 
ci'ma'n 
'a boat' 
iskwa'hte'm 
'a door' 
iskwe'w 
'a woman' 
ki'sika'wi - pi'sim 
the sun 
masinahikan 
'a book' 
na'pe'w 
'a man' 
n(i)ka'wiy 
'my mother' 
n(i)kosis 
'my son' 
nima'ma' 
'my mother' 
n(i)pa'pa' 
'my father' 
n(i)ta'nis 
'my daughter' 
no'hta'wiy 
'my father' 
pi'sim 
'the sun or moon' 
tipiska'wi - pi'sim 
'the moon' 
wacahkos 
'a star' (in some dialects) 
wa'skahikan 
'a house' 
Demonstrative pronouns:
awa, o'ma 
'this' 
ana, anima 
'that' 
na'ha, ne'ma 
'that in the distance' 
Interrogative pronouns:
awe'na 
'who?' 
ke'kwa'n 
'what?' 
Notes
Nouns are words like 'a star', 'a dog', 'a boat', 'a door', 'Mary', etc. Demonstrative pronouns are the words 'this' and 'that', and interrogative pronouns are 'who?' and 'what?' 
A Cree demonstrative pronoun can be placed after a noun to form a statement meaning 'This is...', 'That is...' (sentences 7-21) 
A Cree demonstrative pronoun can be placed after or before a noun, with na between the two, to make a yes-or-no question meaning 'Is this...?', 'Is that...?' (sentences 22,23) 
A Cree demonstrative pronoun can be placed after an interrogative pronoun to make a supplementary question, 'What is this?', etc. (sentences 1-6). 
Note that Cree has two words each for 'this', 'that', and 'that in the distance'. They are used as follows: 
awa, ana, and na'ha are used with all nouns that denote living things (sentences 11-14, 17-21) 
o'ma, anima, and ne'ma are used with most, but not quite all,nouns that denote non-living things (sentences 7-10, 22, 23) 
awa, ana, and na'ha are used with the remaining nouns even though those nouns name non-living things. Such nouns include waca'hkos and pi'sim in this wection (sentences 15-16) 
Nouns that are used with awa, ana, and na'ha, whether they refer to living or non-living things, are called animate nouns. Nouns that are used with o'ma, anima, and ne'ma are called inanimate nouns. 
(Few students at this point can resist the temptation to speculate that the Cree people use pi'sim and waca'hkos and the names of a few other non-living things with awa, ana, and na'ha, because, in fact, the Crees believe these items are in some sense alive. And many a Cree speaker will collaborate to some extent in this speculation. So it should be pointed out here that the origin of this use of awa, ana, and na'ha lies in the remote and hidden past; to modern Cree people it is merely a habit of speech, and they know perfectly well what is alive and what i'nt. Similarly, in French, la maison 'the house' is called Feminine because it takes la like lafille 'the girl', and lemagasin 'the store' is called masculine because it takes le like le garcon 'the boy, but the French don't think houses are girls and stores are boys.) 
The student can use the questions in sentences 1-6 to get the name of anything he can point at, and thereby increase his vocabylary of nouns, but he should be warned of on variation in usage. Many people use awe'na for persons and ke'kwa'n for everthing else, just as 'sho?' and 'what?' are used in English. Other people feel that awe'na should be used to ask about anything that is named with an animate noun, whether it is living or not. Of course, if the student doew not yet know the mane of a non-living thing, he cannot know if it is designated by an animate noun, so he must use ke'kwa'n. He may then have hsi question corrected before he gets his answer, if he happens to seek an animate noun from one of the latter group of speakers. 
Lesson 9: What are these or those? Who are these or those people?
ke'kwa'na o'ho 
'What are these?' 
ke'kwa'na ne'hi 
'What are those in the distance?' 
awe'nikik o'kok 
'Who are these people?' (Dialects: awe'niki for awe'nikik and o'ko for o'kok.) 
masinahikana anihi 
'Those are books.' 
iskwe'wak anikik 
'Those are women.' (Dialects: aniki for anikik.) 
na'pe'wak o'kok 
'These are men.' 
atimwak anikik 
'Those are dogs.' 
wacahkosak anikik 
'Those are stars.' 
wa'skahikana 
'Houses.' 
iskwa'hte'ma 
'Doors.' 
ci'ma'na 
'Boats.' 
pi'simwak 
'The sun and moon.' 
n(i)kos(i)sak 
'My sons.' 
n(i)ta'n(i)sak 
'My daughters.' 
A few additional useful nouns
na'pe'sis 
'a boy' 
na'pe's(i)sak 
'boys' 
iskwe'sis 
'a girl' 
iskwe's(i)sak 
'girls' 
'acimosis 
'a puppy, a little dog' 
acimos(i)sak 
'puppies, little dogs' 
ata'wikamik 
'a store' 
ata'wikamikwa 
'stores' 
ota'pa'na'sk 
'a sled, a car' 
ota'pa'na'skwak 
'sleds, cars' 
wasko 
'cloud' (Dialects: waskoy for wasko.) 
waskoya 
'clouds' 
nipiy 
'water' 
iskote'w 
'fire' 
asiniy 
'a stone' 
asiniyak 
'stones' 
mistik 
'a tree, a stick' 
mistikwak 
'trees' 
mistikwa 
'sticks' 
Notes
The nouns in section 9 were all singular nouns, that is, they refer to a single item or mass. To refer to more than one item, a suffix is added to a noun in both English and Cree. Such a suffix is called a plural suffix, and a noun with a plural suffix is called a plural noun. 
In English, the plural suffix is usually -s or -es (pronounced -s, -z or -iz). 
In Cree, the plural suffix is usually -ak or -a, use as follows: 
-ak is used with animate nouns (sentances 5-8, 12-14). 
-a is used with inanimate nouns (sentances 4, 9-11). 
Some nouns insert w before the plural suffixes, namely, atim, pi'sim, ata'wikamik, ota'pa'na'sk, and mistik among those given up to now. 
wasko adds y before -a. 
The plural demonstrative pronouns are:
animate 
inanimate


o'kok 
o'ho 
'these'

anikik 
anihi 
'those'

ne'kik 
ne'hi 
'those in the distance'

(Dialects: o'ko, aniki, ne'ki for o'kok, anikik, ne'kik.) 
The interrogative pronouns also have plurals, unlike English: 
awe'niki(k) 
'who? (referring to more than one)', 'what people?' 
ke'kwa'na 
'what? (referring to more than one)', 'what things?' 
Remember, animate and inanimate are only grammatical terms indicating which demonstrative pronouns and plural suffixes a noun occurs with. Animate nouns include the names of some non-living things. 
Lesson 10: A few ailments and discomforts
n(i)kawacin 
'I'm cold.' 
kikawacin na 
'Are you cold?' 
ke'ya'pic na kikawacin 
'Are you still cold?' 
kawaciw 
'He is cold', 'She is cold' 
kawaciw na 
'Is he cold?', 'Is she cold?' 
n(i)kisison 
'I'm hot.' 
kikisison na 
'Are you hot?' 
kisisow 
'He or she is hot.' 
kisisow na 
'Is he or she hot?' 
n(i)ta'hkosin 
'I'm sick.' 
kita'hkosin na 
'Are you sick?' 
a'hkosiw 
'He or she is sick.' 
a'hkosiwak 
'They are sick.' 
n(i)to'takikomin 
'I have a cold.' (W. dialects: no'takikomin for n(i)to'takikomin.) 
kito'takikomin na 
'Do you have a cold?' (W. dialects: ko'takikomin for kito'takikomin.) 
otakikomiw 
'He or she has a cold.' 
nimin~o-aya'n 
'I am well (after an illness).', 'I have recovered.' 
kimin~o-aya'n na 
'Have you recovered?' 
min~o-aya'w 
'He or she has recovered.' 
min~o-aya'wak 
'They have recovered.' 
kiki'skwe'pa'n 
'You're drunk.' 
ki'skwe'pe'w 
'He or she is drunk.' 
ki'skwe'pe'wak 
'They are drunk.' 
New Verbs
kawaci 
'be cold' 
kisiso 
'be hot' 
a'hkosi 
'be sick' 
otakikomi 
'have a cold' 
min~o-aya' 
'be well (after and illness)', 'be recovered' 
ki'skwe'pe' 
'be drunk' 
Notes
In Cree, as in English, when a verb is used in some way other than to make a command, various additional words and affixes have to occur with it, and sometimes even the verb itself is changed. For example, in English, 'Go home!' is a command. Among the additions which are used with theis verb to make statements are the following: 
"I am ...-ing" in "I am going home."
"He is ...-ing" in "He is going home."
"I will ..." in "I will go home."
"He will ..." in "He will go home." 
And with 'go' changed to 'went': 
"I ..." in "I went home."
"He ..." in "He went home." 
Other additions make questions: 
"Is he ...-ing" in "Is he going home?"
"Will he ..." in "Will he go home?"
"Did he ..." in "Did he go home?" 
Similarly, in Cree, when a verb is used to make a statement or to ask a question, it must take certain additions and changes. 
Note in the English examples just above that the words and affixes added to the verb, and the change in the verb, give three kinds of information: 
The words 'I' and 'he' tell who is doing the going. These words are called personal pronouns. (The rest of the English personal pronouns are 'we', 'she', 'it', 'they' and 'you'.) All the other added words, the affixes, the change from 'go' to 'went', and even the very order of the words in some cases, either-- 
tell the time at which the going takes place, namely, in the past, present or future, or-- 
distinguish the statements from the questions. 
How some of this information is expressed in Cree has already been described, namely: 
* Indicative verbs are used to make statements and yes-or-no questions. 
* Yes-or-no questions are distinguished from statements by the addition of the word na. 
* ki'- (and ohci- after mwac or mo'n~a) indicates past time, and wi'- and ta- indicate future time. The absence of these tense prefixes indicates present time. 
(The student should review sections 3 through 6 if any of these statements are unclear.) 
The Cree personal prounouns still have to be presented. When used with a verb to express the one who does something or is something, the Cree personal pronouns are all affixes. The affixes that are used with a verb to make a statement or ask a yes-or-no question are called indicative personal affixes, because a verb wwith an indicative personal affix is an indicative verb. 
The following indicative personal affixes are illustrated in the sentences: 
ni- ... - n "I"
ki- ... -n "you(singular)", that is "you" in speaking to only one person
-w "he" or "she"
-wak "they (animate)" 
Before a vowel, t is inserted after ni- and ki- (sentences 10, 11), and o is replaced by o' after this t (sentences 14, 15). (In the western dialects o is replaced by o' and nit- and kit- are then replaced by n- and k- (sentences 14, 15).) 
Verbs ending in e' change the e' to a' before -n (sentence 21). 
Lesson 11: At home and away
n(i)ki'wa'n 
'I am going home.', 'I am on the way home.' 
kiki'wa'n na 
'Are you going home?', 'Are you on the way home?' 
ki'we'w 
'He or she is going home.', 'He or she is on the way home.' 
ki'we'w na 
'Is he or she going home?', 'Is he or she on the way home?' 
ki'we'wak 
'They are going home.', 'They are on the way home.' 
n(i)ki'-ki'wa'n 
'I went home.' 
ki'ki'we'w 
'He or she went home.' 
ki'htwa'm ki'-ki'we'w 
'He or she went home again.' 
mwac ohci-ki'we'w 
'He or she didn't go home.' 
niwi'-ki'wa'n 
'I'm going to go home.', 'I want to go home.' 
se'ma'k na kiwi'-ki'wa'n 
'Are you going to go home right now?', 'Do you want to go home immediately?' 
wi'-ki'we'w 
'He or she is going to go home.', 'He or she wants to go home.' 
mwac we'ki'we'w 
'He or she doesn't want to go home' 
kiki'-apin na ota'hkosi'hk 
'Were you in yesterday?', 'Were you at home yesterday?' 
ki'-apiw ota'hkosi'hk 
'He or she was in yesterday.' 
ota'hkosi'hk ki'-apiw 
'He or she was in yesterday.' 
ka-apin na anohc 
'Will you be in today?' 
n(i)ka-apin 
'I'll be in.' 
kitatoska'n na 
'Are you working?' 
n(i)tatoska'n 
'I'm working.' 
ke'ya'pic atoske'w 
'He or she is still working.' 
mwac n(i)to'hci-atoska'n ota'hkosi'hk 
'I didn't work yesterday.' 
(W. dialects: no'hci- for n(i)to'hci-.) 
mwac n(i)ka-atoska'n wa'pahke' 
'I won't work tomorrow.' 
nino'hte'-atoska'n 
'I want to work.' 
no'hte'-atoske'w 
'He or she want's to work.' 
ta-atoske'w 
'He or she will work.' 
niwi'-ma'ci'n 
'I'm going to go hunting.', 'I want to go hunting.' 
kiwi'ma'ci'n na 
'Are you going to go hunting.', 'Do you want to go hunting?' 
wa'pahke' na ta-ma'ci'wak 
'Will they go hunting tomorrow?' 
n(i)kosis ki'ki'we'w 
'My son went home.' 
ki'ki'we'w n(i)ta'nis 
'My daughter went home.' 
n(i)pa'pa' ki'-apiw ota'hkosi'hk 
'My father was in yesterday.' 
ota'hkosi'hk n(i)pa'pa' ki'-apiw 
'My father was in yesterday.' 
wa'pahke' na anikik na'pe'wak ta-ma'ci'wak 
'Will those men hunt tomorrow?', 'Is it tomorrow that those men will hunt?' 
anikik na na'pe'wak ta-ma'ci'wak wa'pahke' 
'Will those men hunt tomorrow?', 'Is it tomorrow that those men will hunt?' 
otakikomiwak na o'kok iskwe's(i)sak 
'Do these girls have colds?' 
o'kok iskwe's(i)sak otakikomiwak 
'These girls have colds.' 
New Words
Verbs:
api 
'sit; be in, be at home' 
atoske' 
'work' 
ma'ci' 
'hunt, go hunting' 
Adverbs:
se'ma'k 
'right now, immediately' 
Notes
ni- and ki- in the indicative personal affixes go before the tense prefixes ki'-, ohci-, and wi'- (sentences 6, 10, 11, 14, 22, 27, 28). ni- and ki- plus ohci- yield n(i)to'chi- and kito'chi- (W. dialects no'hci- and ko'hci-.) (sentence 23). 
ni- plus ta- results in n(i)ka- (sentences 18, 24). 
ki- plus ta- results in ka- (sentence 17). 

Note that api has two meanings, 'sit' (section 6) and 'be at home, be in.' 
Note that wi'- has two meanings, 'going to' and 'want to'. To avoid ambiguity the prefix no'hte'- can be used in place of wi'- in the meaning 'want to' (sentences 24, 25). 

In Cree, as in English, a noun can be used with a verb in a sentence where the noun tells the one who does something or is something, and the verb tells what the noun does or is (sentences 30-37). A noun used in this way is called the subject of the verb. Thus, in sentences 30-37, 'my son', 'my daughter', 'my father', 'those men' and 'these girls' are subjects of 'went home', 'was in', 'will hunt' and 'have colds'. 
In Cree, such sentences are different from their English translations in the following two ways: 
In English, the subject noun generally comes before the verb. In Cree you say first whichever you think of first, or whichever you feel contains the most important or novel information. 
In Cree, the verb must have a personal pronoun affix: 'he or she' when the subject is animate singular, 'it' when the subject is inanimate singular, 'they (animate)' when the subject is animate plural, and 'they (inanimate)' when the subject is inainmate plural. hen the subject is inainmate plural. 
Accordingly, literal translations of sentences 30-37 are: 
* 'My son, he went home.' 
* 'My daughter, she went home.' 
* 'My father, he was in yesterday.' 
* 'Those men, will they hunt tomorrow?' 
* 'These girls, do they have colds?' 
* 'These girls, they have colds.' 

A Cree demonstrative pronoun can be placed before a noun; the meaning is the same as wehn an English demonstrative pronoun precedes a noun, for example: 
awa na'pe'w 
'this man' 
ana na'pe'w 
'that man' 
o'kok iskwe's(i)sak 
'these girls' (sentences 36, 37) 
anikik na'pe'wak 
'those men' (sentences 34, 35)