A verb like pikupańu has the stem pikupańi-. Stems ending in -pańi are a sub-class of short i stems. In the conjunct, they are conjugated like short i verbs (they take a t in the 3rd person), unlike n verbs (which take a k in the 3rd person). The i drops when an ending beginning with n is added.
II VERBS with -pańi STEMS
pikupańu
it is broken
pikupańńu
[hers/his] is broken
kupańu
it falls
apu kupańit
it doesn’t fall
papańu
it arrives
apu papańit
it doesn’t arrive
ishpańu
there is enough
apu ishpańit
there is not enough
ashapańu
it moves backwards
ashapańipan
it moved backwards
akuapańu
it is washed ashore
akuapańńu
[her boat] is washed ashore
nakapańu
it stops
nakapańitshe
it must have stopped
pakupańu
it dries out
apu pakupańnit
[his stream] did not dry up
ńikupańu
the weather is overcast
ńikupańipan
the weather was overcast
uemapańu
it is past
uemapańitshe
it must have passed
NOTES ON SPELLING
When conjugating these verbs, it’s important to identify suffixes beginning with n, because the resulting verb form will be written with double nn: kupańnu[hers/his] falls, apu ashapańnit[her vehicle] doesn’t back up.
The double n: ńn results from the following rule: (ń+i+n=ńn). Short vowels are dropped between homorganic consonants (that have the same place of articulation).
II verbs with -pańi stems often have identical VAI forms, as can be seen in the dictionary. However, unlike VAIs, which are conjugated as n-stem verbs, in the conjunct VIIs are conjugated like short i verbs (which take a t in the 3rd person), rather than as n-stems (which take a k in the 3rd person).
The n of -pańi is an l in Pessamit and Mashteuiatsh, which is indicated with an accent on the n: ń.
