Forming plural nouns in North Sami requires learning a simple suffix and a rule about consonants.

The most basic way to make a word plural is by adding the letter -t to the end of the noun.

However, you must also pay attention to how the middle consonants change before adding that suffix.

I’ll explain exactly how to form these basic plurals below.

Adding the plural -t suffix

The nominative plural form marks the subject of a sentence when there’s more than one person, place, or thing.

In North Sami, you create this plural form by attaching a -t to the end of the word.

If a word belongs to a specific group that doesn’t undergo consonant changes, you simply attach the -t to the final vowel.

When a word ends in a consonant, an extra vowel is added before the -t so that it’s easy to pronounce.

Here are examples of North Sami nouns in sentences using the plural -t suffix.

Changing the middle consonants (consonant gradation)

You can’t always just add a -t to the dictionary form of a noun.

Most North Sami words undergo a process called consonant gradation.

This means the consonants in the middle of the word become “weaker” when you form the plural.

The dictionary form (singular) uses the strong consonant grade.

The plural form uses the weak consonant grade before the -t is added.

For example, a double consonant like ss will weaken to a single s.

Here are some common examples of consonant gradation in plural nouns.

Plural rules for three noun types

North Sami nouns are divided into three groups based on their syllable structure.

Understanding these three groups makes it much easier to know when to weaken a consonant.

Even-syllable nouns have two syllables in their dictionary form.

For even-syllable nouns, you must weaken the middle consonant and then add -t.

Odd-syllable nouns usually have three syllables in their dictionary form.

For odd-syllable nouns, the middle consonants don’t change grade, and you just add -t (or -at if it ends in a consonant).

Contract nouns are special words that usually end in a consonant or have a specific changing vowel.

These contract nouns actually get longer in the plural and use the strong consonant grade.

Here’s a summary table showing one example of each noun type.