xwe’ít?

What did __ do? What happened?

Xwe’ít is a question word. It can mean ‘What did __ do?’, or ‘What happened?’. Elders sometime also use xwe’ít for ‘why’.

Pronunciation

Xwe’ít sounds like hwuh-EET, except that the first sound is the Halq’emeylem soft-x.

The apostrophe represents a catch in the throat (glottal stop). You will probably make this sound naturally when you say the word.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips

-ing form

Xwe’ít has a special ‘-ing’ form, which you use when asking about an ongoing situation.  The ‘-ing’ form has extra vowel length, like this: xwe’í:t – what is __ doing? What’s going on? What’s happening’ (Audio here.)

Examples

Here are some examples of how you can asking questions with xwe’ít and xwe’í:t

• Xwe’ít? – What happened? What did he do?
• Xwe’í:t? – What’s happening? What’s going on? What’s he doing?
• Xwe’í:t tútl’o? – What’s he doing?
• Chxw xwe’í:t? – What are you doing?