VERB Write! Learn! Look around! Jump! Say it! Tell! Finish! Try! Bathe! Open it!

Close it! Leave! Make it! Cook (meal)!

Present Command Future Command hohwelvga hohwelanvi hadehloqwa hadehloqwavi hiktenaga hiktenolvi tahltaduga tahltadinvsvi hniwi hniwesvi hihnohvla hihnohehlvi hisgwada hisgwadvi hanehlda hanehltanvi hadawoja hadawovi hisdui hisduisvi hisduhvga hisduhnvi hahnigi hahnigisvi hohlvna hohlvhnvi hadasdayvhvga hadasdayvhnvi

Syllabary

Dont Form Dont write! Dont learn! Dont look around! Dont jump! Dont say it! Dont tell! Dont finish! Dont try! Dont bathe! Dont open it! Dont close it! Dont leave! Dont make it! Dont cook (meal)!

Dont Form 1 Dont Form 2 hesdi johwelanvi hesdi ji-hohwelani hesdi jadehloqwavi hesdi ji-hadehloqwai hesdi jaktenolvi hesdi ji-hiktenoli hesdi dijahltadinvsvi hesdi ji-dehahltadinvsi hesdi nijawesvi hesdi ji-hiwesi hesdi jahnohehlvi hesdi ji-hihnohehli hesdi jasgwadvi hesdi ji-hisgwadi hesdi janehltanvi hesdi ji-hanehltani hesdi jadawovi hesdi ji-hadawoi hesdi jasduisvi hesdi ji-hisduisi hesdi jasduhnvi hesdi ji-hisduhni hesdi jahnigisvi hesdi ji-hahnigisi hesdi johlvhnvi hesdi ji-hohlvni hesdi jadasdayvhnvi hesdi ji-hadasdayvhni

Syllabary

Use it! Drive! Ride! Sing! Shop! Run! Help! Help (him)! Laugh! Pay! Pay (him)! Play (with it)! Stop! Stop (it)! Talk (to him)!

hvhda hvhtanvi hihiluga hihilinolvi hakilvda hakilvtanvi tihnogi dehihnogisvi hadananesvhvga hadananesvhnvi hadanawsda hadanawstanvi halsdela halsdelvhvi hisdela hisdelvhvi jayetsa jayetsvi hakwiya hakwiyvhvi hiyagwiyvsi hikwiyvelvi tanehlda tanehltanvi halehwisda halehwistanvi halehwisdohda halehwisdohtanvi tahlinohvla tahlinohehlvi

Dont use it! Dont drive! Dont ride! Dont sing! Dont shop! Dont run! Dont help! Dont help (him)! Dont laugh! Dont pay! Dont pay (him)! Dont play with that! Dont stop! Dont stop (it)! Dont talk (to him)!

hesdi jvhtanvi hesdi ji-hvhtani hesdi jahilinolvi hesdi ji-hihilinoli hesdi jakilvtanvi hesdi ji-hakilvtani hesdi dijahnogisvi hesdi ji-dehihnogisi hesdi jadananesvhnvi hesdi ji-hadananesvhni hesdi jadanawstanvi hesdi ji-hadanawstani hesdi jalsdelvhvi hesdi ji-halsdelvhi hesdi jasdelvhvi hesdi ji-hisdelvhi hesdi jayetsvi hesdi ji-jayetsi hesdi jakwiyvhvi hesdi ji-hakwiyvhi hesdi jakwiyvelvi hesdi ji-hikwiyveli hesdi dijanehltanvi hesdi ji-dehanehltani hesdi jalehwistanvi hesdi ji-halehwistani hesdi jalehwisdohtanvi hesdi ji-halehwisdohtani hesdi dijahlinohehlvi hesdi ji-dehahlinohehli

*This chart shows the forms for saying dont as a command in Cherokee. Columns one, two, and three give the verbs in their command form. Column One is the verb in English, Column Two has the verbs in Cherokee phonetics, and Column Three has them in the Syllabary. Columns four through six give the verb in the dont form. Column Four has the dont verb in English, Column Five in English phonetics, and Column Six in the Syllabary. Note that Column One (the command verb in English) has only one form, but Columns Two and Three (the command verb in Cherokee) have two verbs given in each box. This is because you have two different command forms in Cherokee, one for a command now and one for a command in the future. So it is different in Cherokee to say go now versus go later. The form on top in the box is the present command form, and the form on bottom is the future command form. In all verbs, the future command form will end in /-vi/. For Columns five and six, you will also notice that there are two verb forms for the dont commands in Cherokee. The dont commands in Cherokee mean the SAME thing; the only difference is one of choice. Saying dont as a command in Cherokee does not matter if it is now or in the future. Cherokee just has two equal, but different, ways you can say dont with verbs. Now lets look at making these two forms. Again, there are two ways you can express the concept of dont in Cherokee, and both ways work just as well so you can use whichever one you want. Heres what you do: Method 1: Use the verb form that is the Remote Past. If you arent sure what form this is, just find the one that would go in a stat ement like You did it yesterday with the verb in the place of did. So if your verb is buy then make the sentence You bought it yesterday. For us here in Oklahoma, that sentence would be /Svhi jigesvi jahwasvi/ Yesterday it was you bought it. Some speakers will make the form /ji-jahwasvi/ as their verb. That beginning /ji-/ you see is a marker saying this action took place at a specific time in the past. I mention it because if you ask a speaker how to say You <VERB> yesterday then you will probabl y get the /ji-/ on the verb. For what were doing here, just take that off of the verb. We want what we call the base form which only has the verb without anything on it. So now we have /jahwasvi/. If the verb has the pronoun marker /ja-/ or /j-/ meaning You (to one person), then all you have to do is put /hesdi/ or /hlesdi/ before it. /hesdi jahwasvi/ Dont buy it! Method 2: But there is another way you can make this form, but it is more complicated. You are using basically the same form, but there are changes you need to make to the form. This is harder because you need to know your two basic verb forms, Set A or Set B. If the verb is Set B, this is a little easier. If its Set A, its not as easy, but its not hard if you understand what you need to do. Lets do this for Set B first and then Set A next.

For verbs in Set B, those that will have /ja-/ as You, then this is what you do. Take the verb /jahwasvi/ and put /ji-/ on the front. Note that this is NOT the same /ji-/ that was mentioned earlier (this is why Cherokee is going to cause me an aneurysm some day). This /ji-/ is a different prefix. Now you have /ji-jahwasvi/. But we still have one more thing to do. IF we use /ji-/ on these verbs, the ending has to be /-i/ and not /-vi/. So we have to make the verb /ji-jahwas-i/. Now, we just put /hesdi/ or /hlesdi/ on it, and were done. /hesdi ji-jahwasi/ Dont buy it This verb, buy, is easier because we do not have to switch our pronoun marker /j-/ that means You (one person). Other verbs will require us to switch from /j-/ or /ja-/ to /hi-/ or /h-/. You will use the /hi-/ or /h-/ form when the verb has /h-/ in present tense. These are Set A verbs. Lets go through this with a Set A verb. For verbs in Set A, those that begin with /hi-/ or /h-/ in present tense, this is what you do. The easiest thing to do is find out what the form is for the Future Command on this verb. Well use the verb leave for this. To say Leave tomorrow it will be something like /sinale hahnigisvi/. Take the verb, /hahnigisvi/ and put /ji-/ on front. Then replace the /-vi/ at the end with just /-i/. Then put /hesdi/ or /hlesdi/ on it. /hesdi ji-hahnigis-i/ Dont leave Lets do a few more verbs so you can see how this works in detail. Lets try the verb go next. Method 1: Step 1: Put the verb in a yesterday statement. You went yesterday /svhi jigesvi jenvsvi/ Step 2: Since the verb begins with the marker that means You (one person), /j-/, all we have to do is put /hesdi/ or /hlesdi/ on it. /hesdi jenvsvi/ Dont go Method 2: Step 1: Put the verb in a tomorrow command statement. Go tomorrow /sinale henvsvi/ Step 2: Now we change the ending from /-vi/ to just /-i/. /henvs-i/ Step 3: Next we put /ji-/ on the front of the verb. /ji-h-envs-i/ Step 4: Finally, we put /hesdi/ or /hlesdi/ at the beginning. /hesdi jihenvsi/ Dont go

Examples: Dont Quit /Svhi jigesvi jasuligojvi/ You quit yesterday /jasuligojvi/ You quit /hesdi jasuligojvi/ Dont quit OR /hi-suligoj-i/ /hesdi ji-hisuligoji/ Dont quit Dont start /Svhi jigesvi jalenvhvi/ You started yesterday /jalenvhvi/ You started /hesdi jalenvhvi/ Dont start OR /h-alenvh-i/ /hesdi ji-halenvhi/ Dont start In most cases, the easiest form to use will be Method 1 since it often has fewer changes, however, it is important to know how this works with both methods. In terms of any significant difference, I have found that some speakers will use Form 1 (the top form) for future dont commands and Form 2 for immediate dont commands.