✨ Updated Dec 2025

18.1    Dialogue.

A.	’i ch ’a’lu tsukwsta’mut?	‘What are you doing?’
B.	’i tsun p’e’ yaay’us.	‘I’m working, of course.’
A.	stem ’a’lu kw’un’s yaay’us?	‘What are you working on?’
B.	’i tsun p’e’ they’qwul’s.pun’um tsun tse’ ’ukw’ sqewth ’i’ kw’ shewuq.	‘I’m digging.’‘I’m going to plant potatoes and carrots.’
A.	we’ tsun kwu’elh ts’ew’utham’een’.	‘Maybe I’ll help you then.
B.	m’i ch p’e’!	‘Come on!’

18.2    Vocabulary: verbs of work.

he’yum	‘bake bread’
qw’ulum	‘bake, cook’
ch’ekwxels	‘fry’
ts’uy’xels	‘dry’
shamus	‘half-dry/half-smoked’
shumels	‘smoke dry (some food)’
kw’ts’els	‘butcher, clean’
kw’lhels	‘pour’
qa’lum	‘get water’
qa’qa’	‘drink’
pqwe’um	‘break some off, take a little piece’
t’hwaalh	‘dig clams’
wuq’els	‘dig a hole, dig up’
thuyqwels	‘dig a hole, dig up’
wutth’els	‘pry’
we’wutth’ul’s	‘prying, digging’
pun’um	‘plant, sow’
suwq’	‘look for, search for’
mutth’els	‘mash’
tth’qw’els	‘punch, stab’
putenum	‘sail’
’iluqels	‘shop’     cf. ’iluqut ‘buy it’
’ulqels	‘shopping’
xul’um	‘write’
’ixels	‘sand’
t’umuw’ulh	‘adze a canoe’

18.3    Using ’u with objects.

Sometimes objects are preceded by the preposition ‘u.

ni’ qw’ulum ’u kwthu stseelhtun.	‘He cooked the fish.’
ni’ suwq’ ’u kwthu snuhwulhs.	‘He looked for his car.’

When the verb ends in the transitive suffix -ut, then you do not use a preposition.

ni’ qw’ulutus kwthu stseelhtun.	‘He cooked the fish.’
ni’ suwq’tus kwthu snuhwulhs.	‘He looked for his car.’

18.4    Pattern practice.

‘I looked for some salmon.’	ni’ tsun suwq’ ’ukw’ stseelhtun.
fried
shopped for
smoke-dried
baked
cleaned

18.5    Substitution drill.

Hint: keep an ear out for the transitive suffix. If the verb ends in the transitive suffix =ut then the use kwthu stseelhtun. But if the verb does not end in transitive suffix, then please use the preposition ’u before kwthu stseelhtun.

‘Did you buy the salmon?’	ni’ ’u ch ’iluqut kwthu stseelhtun?
ch’ukwxels
suwq’t
qw’ulut
qw’ulum
kw’its’ut
’iluqels
suwq’

18.6    Translation.

1. ni’ ’u ch wulh pun’um ’ukw’ sqewth?
2. ni’ tst wuqels ’ukw’ shewuq.
3. ni’ ’u tseep nem’ t’hwaalh?
4. ni’ wutth’els tthu John ’u tthu tth’ustun.
5. ni’ ’u ch he’yum?
6. Did you all look for some money?
7. Go fry some eggs!
8. Did you already mash the potatoes?
9. John wrote a letter.
10. Please pour some water!

18.7    Having people work.

Add =st(uhw) ‘causative’ to the above verbs to express the idea of ‘have someone do something’. Be sure to use the preposition ’u before the object being acted upon.

ni’ tsun qw’ulumstuhw lhu slheni’ ’u kwthu suplil.	‘I had the woman bake the bread.’
ni’ pun’umstam’shus ’u kwthu sqewth.	‘He had me plant the potatoes.’

18.8    Pattern practice.

‘I had her cook some salmon.’	ni’ tsun qw’ulumstuhw ’ukw’ stseelhtun.
smoke-dry
fry
buy (shop for)
look for
clean
eat

18.9    Translation.

1. ni’ tsun qa’qa’stuhw kwthu sqwumey’ ’u kwthu qa’.
2. nem’ ch suwq’stuhw ’u kwthunu shtulalus.
3. kw’lhelsstuhw tsun tse’ ’ukw’ kapi.
4. he’yumstaam tse’ ’u lhun’ ten.
5. I had her write the book.
6. Have her shop for our food!
7. Have him mash the potatoes!
8. They had me fry the eggs.

18.10  Vocabulary: instruments.

skwuschus	‘adze’
sqw’qwum	‘axe’
tth’umeen	‘arrow’
tuxwa’ts	‘bow’
shhw’ixwuthut, ’axwtun	‘broom’
shyetl’q’uls	‘paintbrush’
skw’a’wus	‘bucket’
t’eets’	‘cross sticks (for smoking salmon)’
chqun	‘file’
s’unum	‘fish spear’
skwul’esh	‘gun’
shet	‘bullet’
humun	‘hammer’
tth’ustun	‘nail’
lhukw’tun	‘gaff hook’
’ukw’tun	‘hook’
shpeentun	‘drawknife’
’uyumun	‘loom’
p’utth’tun	‘needle’
swultun	‘net’
shxup’unup	‘rake’
peyts’tun	‘fishing rod’
xwi’lum’	‘rope, thread’
tth’um’qtun	‘scissors’
lupen	‘hoe, shovel’
shapul	‘shovel’
huy’tun	‘weapon, tool’
chikmun	‘knitting needle’
lhultun	‘bailer’
sq’umul’	‘paddle’

18.11  Pattern practice.

‘I used the axe.’	ni’ tsun hakwush kwthu sqw’qwum.
bow
paintbrush
gaff hook
net
scissors
shovel

18.12  Pattern practice.

‘Please may I borrow your scissors?’	tth’ihwum ’i ts’ala’ tsun ’u tun’  tth’um’qtun?
knitting needle
needle
gun
fishing rod
bucket
axe
paddle

18.13  Using ’u with instruments.

ni’ qw’aqwutus tthu spe’uth ’u tthu sqw’qwum.	‘He hit the bear with an axe.’
ni’ qw’aqwuthelum ’u kwthu ’axwtun.	‘She hit me with the broom.’
ni’ tsun lhuts’nuhw ’u kwthu shuptun.	‘I accidentally cut him with a knife.’

18.14  Pattern practice.

‘He managed to kill it with a gun.’	ni’ q’aynuhwus ’u kwthu skwulesh.
hammer
rake
hoe
shovel
gaff hook
axe
paddle

18.15  Translation.

1. ni’ tsun hakwush kwthu sqw’qwum kw’unus ni’ q’aayt kwthu ’ulhqi’.
2. nilh ’u ’un’ lhukw’tun tey’?
3. ni’ lukwnuhwus tthunu t’eluw’ ’u kwthu shapul/shqaqulum’.
4. ni’ ’untsu’ kwthun’ shxup’unup?
5. ’un’ stl’i’ ’u kw’un’s hakwush tthunu sqw’qwum?
6. Where is the bucket?
7. I want to borrow your scissors.
8. He hit the nail with a hammer.
9. Go get your fishing rod!
10. Please may I use your bow?

18.16  Reading lesson.

qux syaays tthu famu. tun’a netulh kws ’umut-s. yuwen’ kwus qa’lum. suw’ pun’ums ’u tthu sqewth. suw’ kw’tse’ls ’u tthu moosmus. suw’ shemuls ’u tthu kwushou.

’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ ts’ets’uw’ulhtun’ thu stalusth tthu famu ’uw’ yath. ni’ he’yum ’u kwthu suplil. suw’ ’ulhtunustuhwus tthu chukuns ’u tthu s’ulhtuns. suw’ wuq’els ’u tthu shewuq. yath ’uw’ yaay’us mukw’ skweyul.