As in other Algonquian languages, in Innu there are three orders: Independent, Conjunct and Imperative.
Within each, there are several conjugations (also called verb paradigms). These distinguish tenses and moods like the Indicative, the Perceptive (or Subjective), the Indirect (or Dubitative), and the Irrealis (or Unrealized).
Conjugation Numbering for Cree-Innu-Naskapi
# | Abbreviation | Conjugation Name |
01 | IIPr | Independent Indicative Present |
02 | IIPr-P | Independent (Indicative Present) Perceptive |
03 | IIPa | Independent Indicative Past |
04 | IIP-S | Independent Indicative Preterit – Perceptive |
05 | IIdrPr | Independent Indirect Present |
06 | IDR-PR-S | Independent Indirect Present – Perceptive |
07 | IIdrPa | Independent Indirect Past |
08 | IDR-PS-S | Independent Indirect Past – Perceptive |
09 | IDPr | Independent Deductive Present |
10 | IDPa | Independent Deductive Past |
# | Abbreviation | Conjugation Name |
11 | CIPr | Conjunct Indicative Present |
12a | CS | Conjunct Subjunctive |
12b | CS | Conjunct Subjunctive (Changed Form) – Iterative |
13 | CIP | Conjunct Indicative Preterit |
14a | CIn | Conjunct Indirect |
14b | CInIt | Conjunct Indirect (Changed Form) – Iterative |
15 | CDP2 | Conjunct Dubitative Preterit 2 |
16 | CIr | Conjunct Irrealis (or Unrealized) |
# | Abbreviation | Conjugation Name |
17a | ImpIPr | Imperative Indicative Present (Immediate) |
17b | ImpIF | Imperative Indicative Future (Delayed) |
17c | ImpIdr | Imperative Indirect |
(Conjugations with a strike-through do not exist in Innu but can be found in other languages of the Cree-Innu family.)