| puamu | he dreams | puamun | dream |
| tapuetamᵘ | she believes something | tapuetamun | belief |
The nouns puamun and tapuetamun are derived from the verbs puamu and tapuetamᵘ by adding the suffix -(u)n. In Innu, nouns can often be created this way from verbs. This is called nominalisation.
Nominalisations can also be created in other ways, for example participles (kapiminuesht cook), or by adding other suffixes like –(i)kan and -akan:
| Verb | Noun | ||
| assimataimᵘ | he knits something | assimataikan | knitting |
| metueu | she plays | metuakan | toy |
For more information, please see Grammaire innue (Drapeau, 2014: pp. 377-379).
English and French tend to describe the world using nouns, while Innu is a more verb-centred language. This means that a lot of nominalisations in Innu may be influenced by English or French, especially in their translations. A note of caution: Not all nominalisations will be natural-sounding or acceptable to Innu speakers.