**grammars of world & minority languages**

# A Grammar of **Paraguayan Guarani**

A Grammar of

**Paraguayan Guarani**

**Bruno Estigarribia**

**Bruno Estigarribia**

**Cover design:** www.ironicitalics.com

The history of Guarani is a history of resilience. Paraguayan Guarani is a vibrant, modern language, mother tongue to millions of people in South America. It is the only indigenous language in the Americas spoken by a non-ethnically indigenous majority, and since 1992, it is also an official language of Paraguay alongside Spanish. This book provides the first comprehensive reference grammar of Modern Paraguayan Guarani written for an Englishlanguage audience. It is an accessible yet thorough and carefully substantiated description of the language's phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics. It also includes information about its centuries of documented history and its current sociolinguistic situation.

Examples come from literary sources and film, scholastic grammars, online newspapers, blogs and other publications, publicly accessible social media data, and the author's own fieldwork. They are specifically chosen to reflect the diversity of uses of modern-day Guarani, with the aim of providing a realistic picture of the current state of the language in

This book will benefit researchers and students of Guarani and Paraguay, such as linguists, anthropologists, ethnographers, sociologists, historians, or cultural studies and literature scholars. Typologically-oriented researchers and students of other Tupian and Amerindian languages will have reliable data for comparative purposes. Given the unique sociohistorical profile of Guarani, researchers in fields such as language contact, bilingualism, code-switching, language planning, language education, and literacy will find this book

Bruno Estigarribia is Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Department of Romance Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Affiliated Faculty in UNC's Program in American Indian and

twenty-first century Paraguay.

a valuable reference resource.

Indigenous Studies and Program in Global Studies.

**m** 

## A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani

#### GRAMMARS OF WORLD AND MINORITY LANGUAGES

#### *Series Editors* Lily Kahn and Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi

This series consists of accessible yet thorough open-access grammars of world and minority languages. The volumes are intended for a broad audience, including the scholarly community, students and the general public. The series is devoted to less commonly taught, regional, minority and endangered languages. Each volume includes a historical and sociolinguistic introduction to the language followed by sections on phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax and lexis, as well as additional material, such as text samples. The series aims to promote and support the study, teaching and, in some cases, revitalisation of languages worldwide.

Lily Kahn is Reader in Hebrew and Jewish Languages at UCL.

Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi is Principal Teaching Fellow in Finnish and Minority Languages at UCL and Senior Lecturer in Finno-Ugric Languages at Uppsala University, Sweden.

# A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani

Bruno Estigarribia

First published in 2020 by UCL Press University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT

Available to download free: www.uclpress.co.uk

Text © Bruno Estigarribia, 2020 Images © Author and copyright holders named in captions, 2020

Bruno Estigarribia has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library.

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Estigarribia, B. 2020. *A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani*. London, UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787352872

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ISBN: 978-1-78735-322-0 (Hbk) ISBN: 978-1-78735-292-6 (Pbk) ISBN: 978-1-78735-287-2 (PDF) DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787352872

## Contents







## List of figures


## Preface

The purpose of this work is to provide an up-to-date reference of the grammar of Modern Paraguayan Guarani that is comprehensive in scope yet accessible to non-linguists, primarily students and teachers, while remaining useful to foster further research by scholars of the language. It is not intended as a language course book, with lessons progressing in difficulty or with exercises for the reader. Rather, it is aimed at furnishing a systematic presentation of the main features of the grammar of Guarani as it is used today in speech, print and other visual and social media. Because of this, this grammar is not necessarily to be read chapter by chapter in order. The table of contents and the detailed index (together with the last section on grammatical paradigms and the glossary of technical terms at the end) can guide readers to the sections they are most interested in. Frequent cross-referencing of chapters and sections in the text further ensures that the reader can locate all the important information about a given grammatical item.

Consistent with this goal, my approach is resolutely descriptive: my aim is to give a representative picture of the language that a variety of speakers are likely to use and understand, and not necessarily to adjudicate between different linguistic forms, perceived sometimes as more or less "correct". This is, of course, a fundamental tenet of modern linguistics, but it is all the more crucial in the case of Paraguayan Guarani. Due to extensive contact with Spanish since the sixteenth century and to high rates of variable individual bilingualism and multilingualism, the occurrence of mostly non-mixed, "pure" Guarani in Paraguay is limited to colloquial use in monolingual-leaning rural areas, or conversely to formal academic contexts where the use of Guarani is required. When the 1992 Paraguayan constitution declared Guarani an official language, and concomitantly mandated full availability of public education in Guarani, the normative issue of whether to adopt the contact-influenced urban spoken Guarani, or a de-Hispanicized, restandardized form of the language became the subject of much (still ongoing) debate. This book does not aim to take sides on this issue. I will try to present general aspects of the grammar without attaching value judgments to them. My goal is to give as much useful information as possible, in an accessible and compact way, to facilitate further study and research on the language. Clearly, some of the issues treated here could (and should) be the object of deeper scrutiny, or at least argued for in more detail. But, given the goal of remaining accessible and useful to a broader audience, I will try to minimize linguistic explanation and analysis. Technical terms (useful for linguist readers) will be given in boldface with an accompanying explanation (and recapped in the **Glossary**).

The examples in this book come from a variety of sources, reflecting the diversity of individual and social functions a living language serves. Many examples come from creative works, such as novels, short stories, myths, poetry and film (a list is given under Data sources in the **References**). I have also consulted sources of **naturalistic data**, sometimes hailed as a gold standard for linguistic data because it is assumed to be truly representative and authentic, free of observer interference or goals that are extraneous to non-pre-planned speech or edited language. These include:

	- <sup>|</sup> social media content, such as posts and comments on Facebook, Twitter, blogs or publicly available videos and audio (for example, from YouTube)
	- <sup>|</sup> newspaper articles
	- <sup>|</sup> Vikipetã (Guarani Wikipedia) entries
	- <sup>|</sup> Bible translations and other religious texts from the internet

For particular aspects of the grammar without published analyses or whose published analyses I considered unsatisfactory, I have elicited controlled data from the following sources:


A few examples come from scholarly data; from published grammars and dictionaries of the language, research articles and textbooks (also listed in the **References**, under Academic works consulted). The use of examples from research or scholarly sources will be explicitly identified in footnotes. Finally, some examples were created by myself specifically for exemplification purposes (which I have generally avoided doing for the more subtle or debatable phenomena).

As a result of the use of such varied sources, the language represented in this work contains a high degree of variation, from more academic writing to more informal, colloquial styles. The conscious choice was made here not to avoid this variation by presenting an artificially standardized and homogeneous view of Guarani, but rather to expose readers to the most representative tableau of the Guarani they will encounter in real life, across different situations. This is most visible in the variable use of the letter <g˜>, which represents the nasal sound at the end of the English word 'ki**ng'** (International Phonetic Alphabet symbol: /ŋ/). Some very frequent words like *ko'ág˜a* 'now' or *g˜uahe˜* 'to arrive' can be found with spellings that mark the nasality of the word on a different letter, for example *ko'ãga* or *guahe˜*. Readers should bear in mind that this variation has been retained to facilitate their engagement with authentic written sources.

In fact, the standardization of Guarani is relatively recent and actually still vigorously under way. By way of example, the Paraguayan Academy of the Guarani Language (Guarani Ñe'e˜ Rerekuapave˜) published its first official grammar only very recently, in August of 2018. Because of this, many different orthographic conventions are found in written sources (including in social media data). Again, I felt it was important to reflect this natural variation in writing in this book, since such inconsistencies will be encountered by readers further continuing their study of the language. Occasionally I have chosen to modify naturally occurring examples to better conform to the orthography recommended in Estigarribia (2017), mainly in order to make the structure and/or pronunciation of some examples clearer.

Lastly, I will refer to the language as *Guarani* throughout, so a few clarifications are in order. First, although this is a name currently used by native speakers to refer to the language, the original **endonym** (that is, the name originally used inside the linguistic community of speakers) is *avañe'e˜* 'language of man'. Second, the spelling *Guaraní* is often found in the literature, following Spanish orthographic conventions, but I use *Guarani* here, in keeping with the modern standard rules of Guarani for written stress (see **2.2.2**). Third, and perhaps most importantly, *Guarani* is a term that encompasses many different varieties – including indigenous varieties such as Mbyá Guarani or Avá Guarani – that are different from Paraguayan Guarani. The use of *Guarani* to refer exclusively to the latter variety here is purely a matter of simplicity and should not be construed as a judgment on the relative worth of different Guarani languages.

## Acknowledgments

I am deeply indebted to the many individuals and organizations that have made the content and preparation of this book possible. First and foremost, this work would not have been possible without the support of the United States' National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH Fellowship Award #FEL-257415, January 2018 to December 2018). The University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies funded the early stages of this project through UNC's Institute for the Study of the Americas. I also received support from the Buchan Excellence Fund administered by my home department, Romance Studies, and from a Schwab Excellence Award from UNC's College of Arts and Sciences.

I want to also acknowledge the invaluable assistance with Guarani data of my colleagues Ernesto López Almada and Shaw Gynan, and of the participants of the Facebook groups Avañe'e˜ and Avañe'e˜ porã (Group for Guarani and Tupi-Guarani Studies). My colleague Justin Pinta provided careful reading and insightful comments on a first version of this manuscript. I would also like to thank Wolf Lustig, Alexandre Pereira Martins, Gilbert Ramirez and Kirill Tolpygo for generously working under time constraints to provide continuous access to Professor Lustig's outstanding Interactive Guarani Dictionary at a critical juncture in this project.1

I would like to thank my colleagues in the Department of Romance Studies at UNC Chapel Hill for their support and collegiality over the years. Special thanks go to my colleague Lamar Graham for some very timely discussions about the possible classifications of types of clauses.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge here the role of the foreign language course publisher ASSiMiL in teaching me for many years how to write to facilitate the self-study of a foreign language. Much of what I learned working for ASSiMiL a couple of decades ago permeates my approach here, especially in Chapters 1 and 2. I am, unfortunately,

<sup>1</sup> Dr Lustig's Interactive Guarani Dictionary can be accessed at http://www.unimainz.de/ cgi-bin/guarani2/dictionary.pl.

not as good as they are, so I will have to ask the reader to be patient with me.

I am forever indebted to the series editors, Dr Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi and Dr Lily Kahn, for giving me the opportunity to work on this grammar and publish it in such an important venue, and for making the process so enjoyable.

Finally, to my family, the absolute best thing that ever happened to me:

*down-home You honour your origins You are a daughter of your old Missouri and I am an urban product unrooted and rooted here and there.*

*But we met and when we met it was like coming home to us. Up and down went home Home is where we start and home is what we found.*

## Note on the presentation of language examples

Exemplifying a language's properties in the clearest and most informative way is crucial in any reference grammar. The need for full linguistic information (especially for linguist readers) needs to be balanced against the need to achieve readability and usability by a broad audience, readers who perhaps do not need as much detail as a linguist. For that reason, I have decided to treat language examples as follows:

	- <sup>|</sup> The first line is the example as found in a primary source or my own creation. It is in italics and is the same size font as the running text. The punctuation and spelling usually follow the format of the original source (for example, if an example is part of a longer sentence found in a source, no capitals or end-sentence punctuation may appear). Generally, whatever part of the example is the most relevant to what is being explained will appear in boldface.
	- <sup>|</sup> The fourth line contains a free, idiomatic translation into English. It is also in regular-sized font but enclosed in single quotation marks. Generally, I will underline the English part of the translation that corresponds to what is being exemplified (in boldface) in the Guarani line, to facilitate comparison.
	- <sup>|</sup> The second and third lines are mostly technical. They are both given in smaller font, so that readers not interested in details of how an example is constructed morphologically and syntactically can skip these lines easily and concentrate instead on the example on the first line and the free translation on the fourth. Nevertheless, I must note from the outset that trying to understand how a Guarani sentence relates to the English translation is difficult without the help of these two technical intermediate lines. This is because single Guarani words with many attached parts often correspond to multiple separate English words.

<sup>2</sup> For the Leipzig conventions, see https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules. php, accessed 22 December 2019.

## Technical abbreviations used




## 1 Introduction

### 1.1 Overview of the language

Modern Paraguayan Guarani (henceforth *Guarani*; ISO 639-3 code 'gug', **endonym** *avañe'e˜* 'language of men', from *ava* 'man, person; Guarani person', *ñe'e˜* 'language') is a member of the Tupi-Guarani family belonging to a posited Tupian stock comprising between 60 and 70 different languages. Tupian languages are found in the Americas from approximately 4° latitude in the North to 30° latitude in the South. The closest families to Tupi-Guarani are Aweti and Satere-Mawe, with other families in this stock being Arikemic, Monde, Mundurukuic, Purubora-Ramarama, Tuparic and Yuruna. Brazil has the largest concentration of Tupian languages, but they are also found in Argentina, Bolivia, French Guiana, Paraguay and Peru. The Tupi-Guarani family itself is the largest in the Tupian stock. It includes around 40–50 languages, present in all these countries. With its approximately 6 million speakers (extrapolating figures from the 2012 Paraguayan census, the 2014 Permanent Survey of Homes and the estimated number of Paraguayan expatriates), Guarani is the Tupi-Guarani language with the most speakers. It is, in fact, among the top three Amerindian languages by number of speakers, and the only one that is spoken by a large majority that is not exclusively indigenous (see **1.3**).

Despite extensive migration and the resulting geographical spread, the Tupi-Guarani family is morphologically and typologically remarkably consistent. The name of the family is derived from the denominations of the two language groups most prominent in the period of Portuguese and Spanish colonization of the area: the Tupinambá, who lived along the coast in the present-day Brazilian states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, whose extinct language is known as Tupinambá, Old Tupi, Brasilica language or Brasiliano, and who had contact mainly with Portuguese colonists; and the Guarani, who lived south of present-day São Paulo, whose language is referred to as Old Guarani, and who had contact mainly with Spanish colonists.

Guarani presents several traits characteristic of this family:

	- an opposition between **oral vowels** (that is, produced without nasalization, not allowing air to pass through the nose) and **nasal vowels** (that is, produced allowing the passage of air through the nose)
	- the presence of **nasal harmony** (the fact that sounds that are close to one another tend to all be oral or all be nasal)
	- **fixed stress** at the word level (most often at the end of a word).
	- most meanings are built into a word as parts of it, as affixes or other particles (**agglutinative** morphology)
	- remnants of an extensive **polysynthetic** behaviour; that is, the fact that most words are composed of many parts, each with its own meaning to contribute to the whole. This is often noticeable in the fact that what would otherwise be a whole sentence in English is a single word in polysynthetic languages
	- two first-person plural pronouns, one that includes the addressees and one that excludes them (**clusivity**)
	- specific prefixes that simultaneously represent a first-person agent acting on a second-person patient (**portmanteau person prefixes**)
	- two kinds of intransitive verb whose subjects look different, a phenomenon called **split intransitivity** (also called **active/stative split**)
	- a class of words that take different prefixes when they are in the same phrase with other words (**relational prefixes**)
	- three ways to indicate events where a participant makes another participant do something (three different **morphological causatives**)
	- instead of prepositions that come before a noun phrase, an extensive system of **postpositions** that come at the end of a noun phrase to indicate its relation to a predicate
	- verbs and other predicates are negated by a **circumfix**, that is, a negation that has two parts: a prefix that comes before the verb and a suffix that comes after
	- finally, nouns take suffixes that indicate past or future, among other interpretations (**nominal temporal-aspectual inflection**).

Guarani has, however, lost other Tupi-Guarani traits:


The latter two traits have clearly been lost due to contact with Spanish, which has also lent Guarani several grammatical morphemes (see **1.6**). The lexicon has also been influenced by Spanish, even in the most Guaranioriented registers, as attested by the numerous integrated loans (see **1.6**). However, these lexical borrowings stop well short of supplanting most of the lexical items of the language (**relexification**, common in creole languages, and actually very common in Correntinean Guarani, spoken in Corrientes, Argentina). In fact, most of the basic lexicon is still of Tupi-Guarani extraction.

## 1.2 Brief history since the European colonization of the region

The history of Guarani is a history of resilience. After centuries of colonization and linguistic pressure from Spanish, Guarani has become the only indigenous language in the Americas that has been adopted as a native language by a mostly non-indigenous population. Figure 1.1 shows the approximative original homeland of putative Proto-Tupian speakers (their **urheimat**), which is assumed to have been in the Madeira River basin between the Guaporé and Aripuanã rivers in today's Brazilian state of Rondônia. The Guaporé river marks part of the border between Bolivia and Brazil. In Bolivia it is known as the Iténez River. The Aripuanã River meets the larger Madeira at Novo Aripuanã, about 150 miles south of Manaus in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. This hypothesized urheimat is based on the fact that half of the languages in the Tupian stock are located there. Extensive migrations, depicted in Figure 1.2, enabled the Tupi-Guarani languages to cover a much larger area in South America.

**Figure 1.1** Putative Proto-Tupian homeland (Tupian Urheimat) *Source*: Author (created using Scribble Maps (scribblemaps.com), based on Google Maps data).

Because of its relevance in explaining Guarani's survival and flourishing under extreme colonizing pressures, Paraguay's linguistic history is reviewed in almost every publication on Guaraní. (A helpful summary can be found in Gómez Rendón 2017; see Suggested resources.) Asunción was founded on the eastern banks of the Paraguay River in 1537 and remained the only Spanish outpost in eastern South America for decades. Extremely isolated geographically, the Paraguayan territory has been marked by a predominantly mestizo population since the late sixteenth century. Due to a negligible influx of Spaniards after foundation, there were no European elites and mestizos quickly became part of the ruling classes. The relatively few Spanish males married Guarani women whose children spoke Guarani. Crucially, and contrary to other colonized

**Figure 1.2** Reconstructed migrations yielding the current Tupi-Guarani spread

**Note:** The smaller central white area is the Tupi early migration; the magenta area to its north-east, the second expansion; the larger number of black lines correspond to Tupi-Guarani later migratory waves; finally, the two small cyan lines represent a later Tupi-Guarani return to their homeland.

*Source*: Original figure from Walker *et al*. (2012), recoloured for colourblind accessibility.

territories in the Americas, these creole elites were Guarani-Spanish bilinguals, providing the indigenous language with a strong foothold in Paraguayan society. The general assumption is that Guarani survived in the non-indigenous population because Spain did not put in place a full administrative apparatus with its concomitant larger presence of Spanish speakers. The survival of Guarani was also fostered by the Jesuits (present in the area in the period 1609–1768), who evangelized in Guarani, and wrote its first textbooks, dictionaries and grammars – for example, the works of Jesuits Joseph de Anchieta (1595), Alonso de Aragona (1625/1629), Antonio Ruiz de Montoya (1639/1640) and Paulo Restivo (1729). This opinion, however, has been questioned by some scholars who claim that it is more likely that the Guarani from the Jesuit missions never joined the nascent urban society but rather returned to live in jungle areas, and that as a consequence, their Guarani (now lost) would have had little influence on the survival of modern Guarani.

Later, the identification of Guarani as the defining Paraguayan language (as opposed to Spanish) was cemented by its use as a nationalistic rallying cry during the formation of the modern Paraguayan state (1811–1842), and in the wars Paraguay fought against its non-Guaranispeaking neighbours: the catastrophic Triple Alliance War (1865–1870), when Paraguay came under attack from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and the Chaco War (1932–1935) against Bolivia. Hence, by the midtwentieth century, the majority of the Paraguayan population, crucially often including the dominant elites, was either bilingual in Guarani and Spanish or still monolingual in Guarani. In recognition of this longstanding attachment of Paraguayans to the original indigenous language, Guarani was first declared a national language in the 1967 Paraguayan constitution. In 1992, the new constitution further declared it an official language (Article 140), and mandated access to education in Guarani for Guarani-dominant children (Article 77). These almost five centuries of intense coexistence have changed the linguistic landscapes of both Guarani and Spanish in Paraguay, to yield the current language contact situation that I will summarize in **1.6**.

## 1.3 Sociolinguistic information

Paraguay's *Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos* (DGEEC, Paraguay's census and national statistics body)3 estimates Paraguay's total population as of 2018 at 7,052,983 (the most recent figures available at the time of writing). Considering that the 2012 census found that 46.3 per cent of homes used both Guarani and Spanish, and 34 per cent only Guarani, we can extrapolate to assume Guarani is spoken to some degree by around 80 per cent of the population; that is, between 5.5 and 6 million Paraguayans. Functionally monolingual or quasi-monolingual Guarani speakers may even form the majority of the population in rural areas. In urban areas there is a greater concentration of bilingual and Spanish monolingual speakers, although Guarani is spoken there by many Paraguayans, with varying degrees of fluency. To these figures one should add the between half a million to a million Paraguayan expatriates in Argentina, and thus arrive at a figure of 6 to 7 million speakers

<sup>3</sup> See http://www.dgeec.gov.py/.

of this particular variety. This probably makes Guarani the most widely spoken indigenous language in the Americas. Remember that here *Guarani* refers exclusively to Paraguayan Guarani. Quechua and Mayan are languages that are usually considered to have more than 6 or 7 million speakers, but that number is arrived at by collapsing many dialects that are actually not mutually intelligible. Whatever the actual numbers, one should rejoice in the fact that these three languages have such a vibrant presence in a modern world that has been rather hostile to them.

In its 1967 constitution Paraguay declared Guarani a national language, with Spanish remaining the official language of administration and schooling. This situation changed with the 1992 constitution when Guarani was finally recognized as an official language alongside Spanish. However, and in spite of the oft-repeated classification of Paraguay as bilingual, Paraguay is a multilingual country, with many Amerindian and non-Amerindian language families represented in its territory. Yet only Guarani and Spanish are official, and hence schooling is guaranteed only in those two languages.

Importantly, Guarani is the only indigenous official language of MERCOSUR, an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Bolivia (in the process of admission as of December 2019), Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (suspended as of December 2019). (A closely related variety, Correntinean Guarani, is co-official with Spanish in the province of Corrientes, Argentina.) Guarani is, therefore, not an endangered language, but shows rather exceptional vibrancy and viability. It is the only indigenous language of the Americas that has been widely adopted by speakers that are not of exclusive indigenous ancestry, namely, speakers of European or mixed Amerindian-European ancestry. Many of these speakers of mixed descent would consider themselves indigenous, since they are the descendants of the indigenous population and are in every other sense "locals". That is why I have refrained from saying that Guarani is mostly spoken by non-indigenous people. This can only be true if we considered indigenous solely the inhabitants belonging to ethnic Guarani tribes in Paraguay, although I do feel compelled to note that there are both linguistic and great socio-economic and cultural differences between these two types of indigenous Paraguayan populations.

Furthermore, the intergenerational transmission of Guarani is not threatened, since it is learned as a first language by many Paraguayan children and enjoys some measure of support from the Paraguayan state. It must be noted that although Guarani is in a disadvantageous position relative to the more overtly prestigious Spanish, it still enjoys considerable **covert prestige** (that is, speakers' positive evaluation of and orientation towards the language), with Paraguayans maintaining it as a means of constructing and supporting their national identity.

## 1.4 Basic pronunciation summary

At this point, it is useful to give a basic pronunciation summary to read the examples in the sections that follow (see **2** for more details):


<sup>4</sup> I understand that using Spanish (the colonizing language) to reference properties of Guarani (the autochthonous language) is problematic for a variety of reasons. However, this is dictated purely by practical considerations: Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world in terms of native speakers and is rather well known in English-speaking countries. Of course, the grammar of Guarani is independent of Spanish and should not be described by reference to it. The same goes for references to Portuguese (the other major European colonizing language in the Guarani-speaking region), and to other languages. They are provided here only to aid readers in grasping aspects of the pronunciation and grammar of Guarani.

## 1.5 Typological information

This section is mostly of use to researchers in linguistics. Other readers may skip directly to **1.6** and return to this section later, after having read a less succinct version of the phenomena mentioned here.

From the viewpoint of the system of sounds, Guarani is a language with a cross-linguistically moderately small inventory of 15 consonants, and a cross-linguistically large inventory of 12 vowels (for a very low resulting consonant/vowel ratio of 1.25). These should be understood as 15 consonant **phonemes** and 12 vowel **phonemes**; that is, sounds that, when exchanged, generate different words, and are not simply pronunciation variants (**allophones**). Phonemes are generally thought of as abstract mental categories, and are always represented between forward slashes, as in /a/, whereas the pronunciations associated with them or **phones** are represented between square brackets, as in [a]. See **2.1** for more explanation of the sounds and their **IPA** symbols (International Phonetic Alphabet).

Changing an oral vowel for a nasal vowel generates a different word (oral and nasal vowels are different phonemes; see **2.1.1**), so one needs to exercise care in pronouncing both sets of vowels correctly and distinctly. Voiced stops such as /b/, /d/, /ɡ/ are absent from the language, as is common in the Tupi-Guarani family; Guarani has instead the series of consonants /mb/, /n d/, /<sup>ŋ</sup> ɡ/, which begin with a brief nasal phase and end in an oral phase. I call these **nasal-oral stops**, but they are most commonly called **prenasalized**, or sometimes **postoralized**, in linguistics papers and grammars. If C represents any consonant and V any vowel, the permissible syllable structure is (C)(V)V(V), where the parentheses indicate optional sounds. (But see **2.2.1** for changes to this underlying structure in the pronunciation.) For single lexical words (that is, noun, verb, adjective or adverb **roots** with no added affixes), stress is nearly fixed, falling almost always on the last syllable (but see **2.2.2**). The language does not use tone to differentiate words. Lastly, like most other Tupi-Guarani languages, Guarani presents **nasal harmony**; that is, the tendency for sounds in a word to have the same nasal/non-nasal value as their neighbours (see **2.2.3**).

From the viewpoint of classical **morphological typology** (that is, the classification of languages in terms of how they form words and sentences), Guarani is a **concatenative** language; that is, it forms words by taking one (or occasionally two) roots and adding "parts" with additional meanings to it (these parts are called **morphemes**, although the roots are morphemes too), to form a linear chain. Think about how English, although mostly concatenative, occasionally has non-concatenative morphology. For example, the verb 'sing' forms its past tense, not by concatenating morphemes, but by changing the root's shape: 'sang'. This option does not exist in Guarani, which is fully concatenative.

We classify Guarani also as **agglutinative**, which means that the morphemes that make up a complex word can usually be neatly separated from one another and do not change shape unpredictably with different bases (a **base** is simply whatever you add a morpheme to: it can be a single root or a root plus other morphemes; for example, in the English sequence of derivations where the root 'act' can go to 'act-ion' and this in turn to 'act-ion-able', 'act' is the base of '-ion', and 'action' is the base of '-able'). The morphemes that are always added to some base because they cannot appear by themselves are **affixes** (when they attach to words, like English plural '-s' in 'cat-s' or English third-person singular '-s' in 'sing-s') or **clitics** (when they attach to whole phrases, like English genitive '='s' in 'my old friend's car'). Clitics do have some properties of independent words, but they are always pronounced attached to a host. For example, the English article 'the' is thought of as a word, but it can be considered a (pro)clitic, since it always needs a host to the right. English genitive '='s' is an enclitic, since it needs a host to its left. In the glosses, a dash (-) indicates the addition of an affix to a base, whereas an equals sign (=) indicates the addition of a clitic to a host. (This difference is only relevant to the more linguistically inclined readers and, in the examples, can generally be safely ignored by non-linguists.)

Even though Guarani is still considered by some authors a **polysynthetic** language, this is hard to justify. Indeed, what characterizes polysynthetic languages is the frequent occurrence of single words that include multiple roots and are equivalent to whole sentences in other languages, but polysynthesis has been much reduced since Old Guarani.

The following examples are given to clarify these concepts. Full analysis in constituent morphemes and glosses appears in smaller font on lines 2 and 3, to exemplify more clearly how the meanings of the different parts of the words/sentences make up the meaning of the whole.

#### Concatenation/agglutination

*Reporomoñombo'e*. re-poro-mo-ño-mbo'e 2sg.act-people-make1-recp-teach 'You (sg.) make people teach one another.' *ikakuaa'irunguekuérape* i-kakuaa+'iru˜-ngue=kuéra=pe 3.inact-grow.up+friend-post=pl=in 'to his/her/their childhood friends'5

*ojehepyme'*˜*ekuaágui* o-je-h-epy+me'e˜+kuaa=gui 3.act-agd-possm3-price+give+know=from 'because of knowing how to get paid (for it)'

Note how in all three examples one or two roots are "augmented" with morphemes to their left and right, as is typical of concatenation. Moreover, as is typical of agglutination, these morphemes have single identifiable meanings (unlike, for example, English '-s' in 'runs', which means third-person, singular and present at the same time).

Polysynthetic construction (noun/object incorporation)

*Ajepohéita*. a-je-po+(jo)héi-ta 1sg.act-agd-hand+wash-fut 'I will wash my hands.'

Note that in this example, the roots *po* 'hand' and *(jo)héi* 'wash' are joined and together with the remaining morphemes form a single word that is equivalent to a complete English sentence. We call it **noun incorporation** or **object incorporation** because the noun *po* forms a unit with the verb *johéi* to designate a single event (similar to 'hand-washing' in English). Polysynthetic Guarani constructions often have analytic paraphrases in the modern language that keep the words separate and are more frequently used by speakers.6

<sup>5</sup> Often a word or morpheme in Guarani does not make as many distinctions as the corresponding items in English. For example, here *i*- is third-person, but does not mark gender or number. In that case, the English translation will indicate all possible options separated by forward slashes. For naturalistic examples (that is, real examples found "in the wild"), the option that was intended in the context is usually kept in the translation.

<sup>6</sup> The following examples are from de Canese and Acosta Alcaraz (2007, 170).

Polysynthetic construction (noun/object incorporation)

*Ojurumboty*. o-juru+mboty 3.act-mouth+close 'S/he closes/closed his/her mouth.'

Analytic construction

*Omboty ijuru*. o-mboty i-juru 3.act-close 3.inact-mouth 'S/he closes/closed his/her mouth.'

Guarani does not have cases that identify the function of nouns as subject, object and so on. Instead, the function and interpretation of noun phrases is carried out by **postpositions** that are placed at the end of the noun, pronoun or noun phrase.

#### *Aha Luquegui Paraguaýpe*

a-ha Luque=gui Paraguay=pe 1sg.act-go Luque=from Asunción=in 'I go/went from Luque to Asunción' (=*gui* identifies a noun phrase as designating a location from where movement starts; =*pe* identifies a noun phrase as designating a location to where movement proceeds)

*Che aikuaa amo kuñáme*

che ai-kuaa amo kuña=me I 1sg.act-know dist.sg woman=in 'I know that woman' (=*pe* marks a human participant as direct object)

*Chemandu'áta nderehe*

che-mandu'a-ta nde=rehe 1sg.inact-remember-fut 2sg.inact=at 'I will remember you' (=*rehe* marks the object of the predicate *mandu'a*)

Postpositions appear with the noun phrases that depend on a predicate. This is called **dependent-marking**. Guarani also displays two other kinds of marking: **head-marking**, that is, grammatical marking directly on predicates, and **no marking**, that is, the absence of any affixes, clitics, particles or words to clarify the relationship between two words or phrases.

## Head-marking

The examples below show how the main participant in an event is referenced directly on a predicate. This is a case of head-marking because the verb is the **head** (or **nucleus**) of the predicate phrase, and it receives a prefix to mark its main participant.

*reho* re-ho 2sg.act-go 'you (sg.) go/went'

*ndekatupyry* nde-katupyry 2sg.inact-efficient 'you (sg.) are efficient'

#### No marking

The example below, showing a possessive phrase with a noun (*María*) as possessor, is a case of no marking because the relationship between the nouns is not marked explicitly on either of them. Note that there is no morpheme in the gloss that indicates the possessive relationship.

*María ajaka* María ajaka María basket 'María's basket'

A verb is **intransitive** if it only takes one participant or **argument**: its subject (often referred to as the **S argument)**. The two head-marking examples given above (repeated here for convenience) show two different intransitive verbs. Note that in each example the second-person singular subject is referenced with a different prefix: *re*- in the first example (from a series of **active**prefixes; see **4.1.1**), *nde*- in the second (from a series of **inactive** prefixes; see **4.1.2**). (To get an idea of how this works, imagine English used 'I go' but \*'me live', with the subjects of 'go' and 'live' taking different pronouns.)

*reho* re-ho 2sg.act-go 'you (sg.) go/went' *ndekatupyry* nde-katupyry 2sg.inact-efficient 'you (sg.) are efficient'

The examination of these patterns of subject (and object) marking is called **morphosyntactic alignment**. We say that Guarani is a **split intransitive** language, because intransitive predicates are "split" into two different classes, one that takes active prefixes for subjects, and the other that takes inactive prefixes for subjects (for this reason, such languages are sometimes called **active-stative** languages). Note again that no such thing occurs in English, as shown by the fact that both translations use the same second-person pronoun 'you'.

Furthermore, looking at transitive verbs this time, Guarani has properties of languages with **direct-inverse systems** (see **6**). The person prefixes *a*- and *che*- are both first-person, that is, they both refer to the speaker, meaning 'I'. The examples below illustrate that the prefix used on the predicate is active (*a*-) when the first-person agent acts on a third person (**direct** scenario), but that the prefix used is inactive (*che*-) when the first person is acted upon by a second- or third-person agent (**inverse** scenario). This would be the case if English speakers said 'I hit him' but \*'Me hit he', instead of 'He hit me'. Of course, this difference in pronoun use does not happen in English, but it is obligatory in Guarani, so the learner must be careful to pay attention to it.

**Direct** configuration: first-person agent acts on third-person patient

#### *ajuka ichupe*

a-juka ichupe 1sg.act-kill to.him/her 'I kill(ed) him/her'

**Inverse** configuration: first-person patient is acted upon by second- or third-person agent

### *chejuka (nde)* che-juka (nde)

1sg.inact-kill (you.sg) 'you kill(ed) me'

*chejuka (ha'e)* che-juka (ha'e) 1sg.inact-kill ((s)he) 's/he killed/kills me'

In Guarani neither subjects nor objects are obligatory in a sentence. They can be left out if they can be understood from the context (this is generally impossible in English). Sentences without a subject noun phrase or pronoun (**subject drop**) are extremely common in connected discourse. Sentences without an object noun phrase or object pronoun (**object drop**) also occur, albeit a little less frequently. Hence, the most frequent word order for sentences in Guarani is simply V (verb) or VO (verb-object). If a noun phrase or pronoun subject is used, it can come before or after the verb, since the order of phrases in a sentence is rather flexible (see **8**).

Finally, a note on **word classes** (also called **parts of speech**) is in order. We know lexical word classes such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs from English. In Guarani the main division is simply between **nouns** and **verbs** (although even this difference is not accepted by some scholars). Little evidence exists for recognizing a lexical category of **adjectives** different from nouns or verbs (see **3.3**), and even less for an **adverb** category (see **4.12**). In fact, it is very common for a root to function as a member of different word classes depending on the sentence context:

Root

*tuicha* (adjective) 'big, tall'; (adverb) 'much'

Adjectival use

*ko yvyra tuicha* ko yvyra tuicha this tree big 'this tall tree'

### Adverbial use

*Upéva tuicha orepytyvõ*. upe-va tuicha ore-pytyvõ med.sg-adjz big 1pl.inact.excl-help 'That helped us a lot.'

Verbal/Predicative use

*Che tuicha.* che tuicha I big 'I am big.'

Cases like these where a root can switch word classes without changes in form are called **conversion** or **zero derivation**. It is possible, in fact, to claim that Guarani only has roots that do not belong inherently to any part of speech, but can function as nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs depending on the sentence context. However, for the sake of clarity in exposition, in this work I will present two main lexical classes: nouns (including adjectives as their modifiers) and verbs (including adverbs as their modifiers).

## 1.6 Contact with Spanish and other languages

Guarani (as I mentioned in **1.3**) is spoken by between 5.5 and 6 million Paraguayans. Of particular importance for the learner or researcher is the fact that, due to a long history of language contact, today's Guarani can show varied degrees of mixing with Spanish. This depends both on the relative competence of the speaker in each language (that is, whether they are dominant in Guarani or in Spanish), as well as on which language is required by the specific communicative situation (Guarani historically has tended to be used in the private, intimate sphere, and Spanish in the public sphere).

Paraguayans have a name for this mixing: *Jopara* (meaning 'mixed'). They use this term to refer to any sentences that mix Guarani and Spanish, independently of whether they are mostly Guarani with Spanish elements or mostly Spanish mixed with Guarani elements. By way of an example, all four of the sentences below can be used in Paraguay today to convey the meaning 'help me please', going from Guaraniete (literally, 'true Guarani'; that is, as free of Spanish influence as possible) to Paraguayan Spanish. "Guarañol" usually refers to a Jopara mixture mostly based on Guarani, whereas "Castení" is an academic neologism that can be used to refer to a mostly Spanish-based Jopara. In the examples, Guarani is in regular font, and Spanish in boldface.

Guaraniete

*Chepytyvõmína*. che-pytyvõ-mi-na 1sg.inact-help-plead-req 'Help me, please.'

Guarañol

*Cheayudamína*. che-ayuda-mi-na 1sg.inact-help-plead-req 'Help me, please.'

#### Castení

#### *Ayudámena*.

ayuda=me-na help=me-req 'Help me, please.'

Paraguayan Spanish

#### *Ayudame, por favor.*

ayuda=me por favor help=me by favor 'Help me, please.'

In the course of the almost five centuries of contact between the languages, Guarani has adopted many Spanish words. A small sample (not exhaustive!) of Spanish loanwords in common use in Guarani is given in the table below. Some of these we call **integrated loanwords** because they function like native Guarani terms phonologically and in the lexicon and are often not recognized by speakers as foreign words. Other loans have a lesser degree of integration and/or are more easily recognized by speakers as being of Spanish origin (usually because they are more recent loans). In the examples in this book, loanwords will not be distinguished


in any way from Guarani patrimonial words (except in 16), because they occur naturally in Guarani discourse.

Conversely, Spanish has also been influenced by Guarani. Some of the Guarani grammatical morphemes in common use in today's Paraguayan Spanish are listed in the table below (again, not an exhaustive list!).


Points to note:

• Most numbers are also loans, since Spanish numbers are commonly used beyond 3 or 4. This applies to days of the week and names of the months as well (see **15.7**).

Although Paraguay is most often called a bilingual country, it is actually multilingual.7 Guarani is also in contact with languages other than Spanish, but current knowledge of the structural and sociolinguistic characteristics of these multilingual communities is cursory. Of the other languages spoken in Paraguay, Portuguese is the most widely used. Portuguese contact with local Tupi-Guarani languages was immediate upon the arrival of the Europeans to the coasts of modern-day Brazil. Both Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and government officials used Tupinambá as a sort of lingua franca (in Portuguese, *Lingua Geral*, 'general language') in the region. These contacts are reflected in the abundance of Old Tupi borrowings in Portuguese, Spanish and even English (for example, 'cougar', 'jaguar', 'manioc', 'maracas', 'tapioca'). According to the last Paraguayan national census (2012), almost 7 per cent of the population is Portuguese-speaking (mostly in the departments of Canindeyú and

<sup>7</sup> See statements to that effect on the website of the Foundation Yvy Marãe'y˜ at http://www. yvymaraey.org.

Alto Paraná, but also in Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá and Itapúa); 70 per cent of Portuguese speakers in Paraguay are trilingual Guarani-Portuguese-Spanish. German is another important language (especially in rural areas in the Chaco region, due to historical Mennonite settlements), with 0.7 per cent of households speaking it. Finally, 1.2 per cent of households speak other indigenous languages, mostly in rural areas. These indigenous languages are:


As previously mentioned, better data on the extent and types of multilingualism for these communities are unfortunately not available.

## 1.7 Guarani as a second or foreign language

Guarani is learned in Paraguay as a foreign language by many visitors or immigrants to the country (the US Missionaries and Peace Corps Volunteers, for example), and as a second language by Paraguayans who are Spanishdominant or Spanish-monolingual. There is important research on language attitudes and language planning in Paraguay, including teacher education, but there are no quantitative data on the populations of foreign- and second-language learners. Here, I will limit myself then to mentioning some places that offer courses on Guarani as a second or foreign language in Paraguay and in Argentina (there are also university courses in Brazil and Bolivia, but they teach varieties of Guarani that are different from Paraguayan):

Paraguay:


Argentina:


There are also some courses available online, but their quality varies greatly.

## 1.8 Pointers for students

Speaking a language involves four basic skills that, although interrelated, are somewhat independent of one another and therefore must each be practised using different techniques: spoken production, oral comprehension, written production and written comprehension. The table below shows which language-related activity mainly exercises each basic skill.


In what follows, I will try to give some general pointers for anybody trying to learn Guarani as a foreign language. First of all, one of the most important activities you can dedicate your time to when studying is listening to as much Guarani as you can. This exercises oral comprehension. Many of us foreign-language learners have had the experience of trying to strike up a conversation with a native speaker only to realize we cannot understand the answers. This is incredibly frustrating and generates avoidance on the part of the learner ('why am I going to make an effort speaking if I cannot understand what people are saying to me?'). I call this the "conversation guide effect". To avoid this, you must listen to as much naturally occurring language as you can. YouTube is a great place to start finding clips in your target language. Although there is very little (relatively speaking) in Guarani, look for content on the channels ayvuguarani, cafeterambarete, Guarani Ñe'e˜ or Paraguay TV. Pay attention to whether you are listening to native speakers or non-native speakers: YouTube contains many videos of non-Paraguayans (missionaries, researchers, and so on) speaking the language. Whereas their efforts are certainly commendable, and can help you in your learning, you should strive to hear natively spoken examples if at all possible.

To help with listening practice, a new app called ArandukApp was released in November 2018. It was created with the support of Paraguay's Secretariat of Linguistic Policy and contains short stories, myths, legends and poetry read by Guarani native speakers. I highly recommend it to begin to develop an ear for how the language sounds. When listening, do not only pay attention to the individual sounds: make an effort to recognize and remember the different intonation patterns. The pitch goes up or down in Guarani in ways that are different from both English and Spanish.

Reading is an activity that will increase your vocabulary and your ability to decode complex phrases and sentences (although not necessarily in real time, as is needed for oral comprehension in real dialogue). You can find many texts in Guarani online, for example, the newspaper *ABC* has a section called ABC Remiandu in Guarani.8 You can compare the texts of news articles in Guarani with the text in Spanish. There are also blogs on and in Guarani: Ñane Ñe'e˜ Guarani,9 David Galeano Olivera's blog Guarani Ñe'e˜,10 and even Facebook groups dedicated to the language, such as Avañe'e˜ and Avañe'e˜ porã (Group for Guarani and Tupi-Guarani Studies). You can also post questions to native speakers and researchers on those groups (although many of them read and understand Guarani and Spanish, but not English). You can practise writing on these blogs and Facebook pages too. You must beware, however: many

<sup>8</sup> See http://www.abc.com.py/especiales/remiandu/.

<sup>9</sup> See http://guaraniete.blogspot.com.

<sup>10</sup> See https://dgaleanolivera.wordpress.com.

native speakers are not formally educated in Guarani and therefore will not follow necessarily the standard orthographic conventions.

Talking is perhaps the hardest skill to practise. Most speakers of (Paraguayan) Guarani live in Paraguay or Argentina. It may be very hard for you to find a local conversation partner or native research consultant. On a trip to Paraguay you may also find that Paraguayans tend to speak Spanish to foreigners, not Guarani. That is why you must absolutely take advantage of any and all possibilities you have to speak, even if it is in front of a mirror at your home, reading and "acting" plays written in Guarani (there are many!), or shadowing videos or movies.

There is a Guarani/Jopara course on Duolingo, but I do not recommend it as your sole or even main go-to strategy. As of 2019 it was seemingly in a development phase and had many inconsistencies. Sure, it can be a low-key complement to your learning, but it will not magically teach you the language, and you have to take what you see there with a grain of salt (there are good reviews of Duolingo online by experienced language learners and tutors). The Guaranglish app can also be judiciously used as flashcards to support the limited goal of vocabulary learning. The more complete Peace Corps Guarani basic course is a little dated, but it is good, and it is also available online. Its main drawback is that it is in a more academic format, which requires a good amount of motivation and effort to follow. (See Suggested resources.)

Lastly, when you listen to Paraguayans speak, unless they are in an academic or formal context that requires the use of Guarani, you will most likely hear a version of *Jopara*, which is the Guarani-Spanish mixed variety in common use in Paraguay (see **1.6**). Jopara can have varying degrees of mixing with Spanish, going from mostly Guarani with some Spanish loans, to mostly Paraguayan Spanish with some Guarani words and particles mixed in. Although this reference grammar will eschew Jopara variants as much as possible, it is crucial to note that this mixed code has been part of the normal repertoire of Paraguayans probably since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and it is part of regular use of the language today. Therefore, many of the examples in this book that were taken from authentic sources will actually be in Jopara rather than academic Guarani (Guaraniete).

What is easier and what is more difficult for English-speaking learners of Guarani?

	- The order of the major constituents in a sentence tends to be (Subject)-Verb-Object(s), or (S)VO, similar to English, but it is also relatively free, similar to Spanish.
	- In comprehension, the real-time parsing of words with many parts/morphemes is a challenge at the beginning. However, the inherent regularity of agglutinative languages helps, the more practice the learner has with listening.
	- A good strategy for understanding agglutinating forms quickly is to try to learn the meaning of complex forms as a whole, without trying to analyse their parts. For example, learning that *oñembohasa* means 'it is/was translated' without trying each time to analyse it in real time into its constituent parts *o*-*ñe*-*mbo*-*h*-*asa* (3.act-agd-make1-possm3-pass; literally, 'it was made to pass/cross'). Too much early reliance on analysing forms fully reduces fluency and speed in understanding spoken language on the fly. It may also increase frustration in trying to use the language in conversational contexts.
	- Becoming fluent with a system of postpositions (found at the end of a noun phrase) instead of prepositions (found at the beginning of a noun phrase). See **4.4** and **5**.
	- Accurate pronunciation can be hard for an English speaker (although it is a bit easier for Spanish speakers). See especially **2.1** for the pronunciation of vowels and consonants.
	- In speech, attention must be paid to the two first-person plural pronouns and person prefixes, one that includes the addressees (**inclusive**), another that excludes them (**exclusive**). Languages that make this distinction are said to have the linguistic property of **clusivity** in the pronominal system. See **3.5.1** and **4.1**.

## 2 Phonology and orthography: the sound system and its written representation

In this chapter I present the sounds of Guarani, how they are pronounced, how they are represented in writing and their organization in a system of consonants and vowels that forms the distinct words in the language. The study of these properties is called **segmental phonology**, because consonants and vowels are the segments of the linear speech chain. I also briefly present some speech properties that involve entire syllables, words or phrases (**suprasegmental phonology**).

## 2.1 Sound inventory and pronunciation (segmental phonology)

### 2.1.1 Vowels and diphthongs

#### *Vowels*

Guarani has 6 oral vowels and 6 corresponding nasal vowels, for a total of 12 vowel sounds. This count abstracts away from variations in pronunciation due to the vowels' environment in a word or to individual speaker or regional differences. By convention, these abstractions (called **phonemes**) are always indicated by double slashes (//), while their pronunciation variants appear within square brackets ([ ]). The vowels themselves are represented with symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).11

<sup>11</sup> The IPA is available online at http://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ ipa-chart-with-sounds/.

Vowels are described according to three dimensions. First, the height of the vowel, determined by the height of the lower jaw, can be **close** (lower jaw in high position; for example, English 'b**ea**t', 'f**oo**l'), **mid** (lower jaw in mid position; for example, English 'br**ea**d', 'f**u**r') or **open** (lower jaw in low position; for example, English 'f**a**ther'). Vowels can also be called **high**, **mid** and **low** for this reason.

Second, the position of the tongue body is important. Vowels are **front** when the tongue is advanced in the mouth towards the teeth (for example, English 'b**ea**t', 'm**e**t'), **back** when the tongue body is retracted away from the teeth, towards the throat (for example, English 'f**oo**l', 'b**o**ss'), or **central** when the tongue is more neutral in the mouth, neither advanced nor retracted (for example, English 'f**u**r', '**a**go').

Third, **nasal** vowels have a lowered velum that allows the passage of air through the nose and gives these vowels their nasal quality (for example, English 'm**a**n'). **Oral** vowels do not allow the passage of air through the nose (for example, English 'b**a**d'). If you cannot hear the difference between the vowels in 'man' and 'bad' in English, do not worry; that is perfectly normal since English does not use the difference between those vowels to create different words. But if you lengthen both vowels and place your finger on the side of your nose, you will feel vibration during the vowel of 'man' but no vibration during the vowel of 'bad'. That is the difference between a nasal and an oral vowel.

The nasal vowels are otherwise identical in every respect to the oral vowels (that is, in the shape of the lips, the height of the lower jaw, the placement of the tongue, the relative tension of the articulators, their length). In the table below, the current official orthography is given between chevrons (<>).


The following pairs of words show that whether you have an oral or a nasal vowel in the stressed syllable of a word is crucial in Guarani. Indeed, such a difference changes the meaning of words. (We say, therefore, that the contrast between an oral vowel and a nasal vowel is **phonological**; that is, it serves to create different words as opposed to alternative pronunciations of the same word.) The pairs constructed below to show this are called **minimal pairs**, and the contrastive sounds in each pair are **phonemes** of Guarani.

*aka* 'quarrel' / *akã* 'head' *oke* 's/he sleeps' / *oke˜* 'door' *piri* 'fibre mat' / *pirı˜* 'chill, shiver' *kói* 'farm' / *kõi* 'pair; twin' *pytu* 'breath' / *pytu˜* 'dark' *aky* 'green; tender' / *aky˜* 'wet'

Some pointers for pronunciation:


#### *Diphthongs*

A **diphthong** is a sequence of two vowels that belong to the same syllable. When one of them is more closed than the other, it is pronounced as a semivowel or **glide** (it is shorter and carries less weight; think, for example, of <y> in the English word 'say'). Guarani is similar to English (and so, different from Spanish), in that adjacent vowels have a greater tendency to be pronounced in two separate syllables (**hiatus**). In the table below, diphthongs are illustrated with oral and nasal vowels where possible. The separation between syllables is indicated with a full point. Diphthongs given in parentheses are less frequent or rare.


Points to note:


### 2.1.2 Consonants

The following table shows the consonants of Guarani represented by their symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

By convention, the columns group the consonants with the same **place of articulation** (indicating where in the mouth the flow of air is modified by the tongue or lips). The rows group the consonants with the same **manner of articulation** (indicating how much the flow of air is modified by the tongue or lips, and how the air escapes). In each column, voiceless sounds are on the left, voiced sounds on the right.


In the table on p.31, I give the closest English equivalents for each consonant, to aid in pronunciation. (Alternative letter representations are given in parentheses.)



Points to note:


a difference: it will move more when you pronounce 'top' because of the added explosion of air at the end of *t*.) The only context in which the English pronunciation of voiceless stops approximates the ones in Guarani is after /s/ at the beginning of an English word.


<sup>12</sup> These pronunciations have no equivalent in English but can be heard online, for example, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced\_palatal\_stop and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Voiced\_palatal\_affricate.

[w]. The only frequent word where it appears before a vowel that is not /u/ is *óga* 'house', where it is pronounced like a very relaxed version of English <g>, akin to Spanish <g> in most dialects. Other, less frequent words where /ɰ/ appears before a vowel that is not /u/ are *techagi* 'neglect' and *techaga'u* 'nostalgia'.


There are no voiced stops /b/, /d/, /ɡ/ in the language. The nasal and nasal-oral (or prenasalized) segments are usually variants of each other, their appearance depending on what other nasal sounds may be in the word (see **2.2.3**). Typically, no consonants can end a syllable in Guarani, with the exception of nasals in cases of **resyllabification** (see **2.2.1**).

## 2.2 Suprasegmental phonology

**Suprasegmental** features involve entire syllables, words or phrases. These usually belong in the domain of the study of **prosody**. I will first describe the better-known prosodic characteristics of Guarani, namely syllable structure, stress placement in words and nasal harmony. Then, I will end with a sketch of further prosodic properties that have not been thoroughly investigated.

## 2.2.1 Syllable structure

Syllables in native Guarani words are overwhelmingly frequently formed by an initial consonant followed by a single vowel (put somewhat more technically but more succinctly, they are CV, that is, a consonantal **onset** plus a vowel **nucleus**). Other types of syllables found are V (syllable with a single vowel in the nucleus without a consonant onset), VV (syllable with a composite nucleus including one **focal** vowel and one **glide**), and CVV (syllable with consonant onset plus composite nucleus); CVVV (syllable with onset plus composite nucleus with two glides) are also found. No **codas** (consonants that end a syllable) are found in native words. Remember from **2.1.1** that a word's separation in syllables is customarily indicated with a full point in the phonetic transcription.


Points to note:


or another root is added. For example, *ára* 'time' without an initial < ' >, but *hi'ára* 'his/her/its time'.

• Although consonant codas did not exist in classical Guarani before contact with Spanish, they do exist today. First, the nasal-oral consonants produce codas in the pronunciation. For example, a word like *me.mby* 'child (of a woman)' is actually separated in syllables by speakers as *mem.by* (this is called **resyllabification**). Furthermore, some loanwords from Spanish have been integrated with codas: *ar.hel* 'unfriendly'.

#### 2.2.2 Stress

**Stress** is the relative prominence of a syllable with respect to others in the word, indicated by higher volume, higher pitch, longer duration or a combination of these (although Guarani does not seem to use duration for this). It is indicated in a phonetic transcription by a raised vertical line at the beginning of the stressed syllable: [ˈ].

Guarani morphemes can have their own stress or can be inherently unstressed. Knowing whether a given morpheme has inherent stress or not is very important, since it impacts on the pronunciation of words in which the morpheme in question is used. For that reason, in this book I will always indicate whether a morpheme is stressed or unstressed when first introduced.

Native Guarani lexical roots (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) always have inherent stress, in the vast majority of cases on the last vowel.

*a.sy* **'**pain' *mo.ro.tı˜* 'white' *ñan.du* 'spider' *gua.ta* 'to walk'

Prefixes are always unstressed. Suffixes and phrasal enclitics can be inherently stressed or inherently unstressed. The rule for stressing words with more than one morpheme is that the last inherently stressed morpheme will carry the word's primary stress. The examples below contain the root *guata* 'to walk', inherently stressed on its final syllable, the (unstressed) first-person active prefix *a*-, the inherently stressed suffixes -*se* 'want' and -*ve* 'more', the unstressed negation **circumfix** *nd*- *. . .* -*i* and the unstressed suffix -*ma* 'already'. Note how the stress seems to "move to the right" in each example that adds an inherently stressed suffix but stops moving when unstressed affixes are added.

*aguata* [a.ɰʷa.ˈta] a-guata 1sg.act-walk 'I walk(ed)'

*aguatase* [a.ɰʷa.ta.ˈse] a-guata-se 1sg.act-walk-want 'I want to walk'

*aguataseve* [a.ɰʷa.ta.se.ˈʋe] a-guata-se-ve 1sg.act-walk-want-more 'I want to walk more'

*ndaguatasevéi* [n da.ɰʷa.ta.se.ˈʋej ] nd-a-guata-se-ve-i neg-1sg.act-walk-want-more-neg 'I do not want to walk more'

*ndaguatasevéima* [n da.ɰʷa.ta.se.ˈʋej .ma] nd-a-guata-se-ve-i-ma neg-1sg.act-walk-want-more-neg-already 'I already do not want to walk more'

A few morphemes however, be they roots, suffixes (marked with a dash) or clitics (marked with an equal sign), are stressed on the penultimate syllable. Others can also be stressed on the antepenultimate syllable, albeit more rarely. Since these morphemes violate the common stress pattern, their stressed vowels are marked in the standard orthography with an acute stress mark (´) if the vowel is oral, or with a nasal tilde (˜) if the vowel is nasal (see **2.3.2**).


'below' =guýpe háime 'almost' -hára agentive nominalizer hikóni frequentative aspect hína progressive aspect jára 'master, lord, owner' káma 'scabies' karácha 'breast; nipple' káso 'short story' káva 'wasp' kéra 'sleep, dream' kuára 'hole' =kuéra plural 'character' lája liméta 'bottle' mamóne 'papaya' máramo 'never' máva 'who' ména 'husband' nahániri 'no' ne"íra 'yet' "house" óga okára 'countryside, interior; courtyard' póra 'spirit' syrýky 'all of a sudden' tãimbíra 'gingiva, gum' tajýra 'daughter' táva 'city, town' ta'ýra 'son' téra 'name' tëra 'or' túva 'father' týra 'breads to accompany a meal' 'stupid' výro 'handle' Ύνα yvága 'sky' yvypóra (ypóra) 'human being, person' (that is, 'spirit of the earth' or 'spirit of the water')

Points to note:


Native speakers of Guarani can pronounce and perceive one or several **secondary stresses** (underlined in the examples below) preceding the final primary stress (boldfaced). This often happens in words that are compounds of two roots, but not exclusively.

*pirapire* pira+pire fish+leather 'money'

*oñembopirapirevéta* o-ñe-mbo-pira+pire-ve-ta 3.act-agd-make1-fish+leather-more-fut 's/he will become richer'

*chepy'aiteguivéma* che-py'a-ite-guive-ma 1sg.inact-heart-very-since-already 'from the very core of my being'

#### 2.2.3 Nasal harmony

**Nasal harmony** (also often referred to as **nasal spread** or **nasalization**) is a very distinctive feature of Guarani and of Tupi-Guarani and Tupian languages more generally. This section gives a very basic understanding of nasal harmony, perforce glossing over many complications that arise in the application of these rules (the interested reader can refer to Estigarribia (2017)).

The main thing to know is that, in Guarani, when a nasal vowel or a nasal consonant appears in a root, it spreads nasalization to other sounds in the same morphological word. These nasal vowels and consonants are called **triggers** (boxed in the following examples for clarity). The affected sounds are called **targets** (boldfaced).

This nasal spread is very important for Guarani morphology. For example, the (non-exhaustive) table below shows that some prefixes and suffixes can have different forms (**allomorphs**) depending on whether and how they are affected by the spread of nasalization. (See **17.4** for a fuller table containing morphemes with consonant allomorphs conditioned by nasal harmony.)


Below I give some examples of these alternations, which are the main way in which students of the language first encounter nasal harmony. On the left I show the oral versions of the affixes, used when the root has no nasal sounds. On the right I show the nasal versions, used when the root has a nasal sound. For every example, a line of phonetic transcription is added that reflects the pronunciation.

Note in the examples that nasalization spreads to most sounds in the words, but that this is indicated by a change in spelling only for a few of them (<mb> → <m>; <nd> → <n>; <j> → <ñ>; sometimes <p> → <mb> or <m>, <k> → <ng> and <g> → <g˜> as well). Note also that voiceless sounds are **transparent**; that is, they are not affected by nasalization that spreads to the left, neither do they stop its spread (see [k] and [t] below in *kytı˜* [kı˜ˉtı˜], for example). Hence, although only the nasalization of nasal-oral segments to nasal segments is marked in the spelling, all segments except the voiceless stops are assumed to be pronounced as nasal.

*ndakarúi nase˜i* [ⁿda.ka.ˈɾuj ] [nã.ˈse˜˜j nd-a-karu-i n-a-se˜-i neg-1sg.act-eat(intransitive)-neg neg-1sg.act-go.out-neg 'I don't/didn't eat' 'I don't/didn't go out'

*ndaikuaái namondái* [ⁿdaj .kwa.ˈaj ] [nã.mõ.'n nd-ai-kuaa-i n-a-monda-i neg-1sg.act-know-neg neg-1sg.act-steal-neg 'I don't/didn't know' 'I don't/didn't steal'

*ojekuaa oñenupã* [o.ɟe.kwa.ˈa] [õ.ɲe˜.nu˜.ˈpã] o-je-kuaa o-ñe-nupã

*ojohayhu oñohenói* [o.ɟo.hai ˉ.ˈhu] [õ.ɲõ.he˜.ˈnõ˜j o-jo-h-ayhu o-ño-h-enói 3.act-recp-possm3-love 3.act-recp-possm3-call

*Ja'u ndeso'o. Ñakytı˜ neanana.* [ɟa.ˈʔu.n de.so.ˈʔo] [ɲã.kı˜ˉ ja-'u nde-so'o ña-kytı˜ 1pl.incl.act-eat 2sg.inact-meat 1pl.incl.act-cut 'Let's eat your meat.' ne-anana

]

daj ]

3.act-agd-know 3.act-agd-beat.up 'it is known' 's/he/it is punished'

] 'they love each other' 'they call each other'

> .'tı˜.ne˜.ã.nã.ˈnã] 2sg.inact-pineapple 'Let's cut your pineapple.'

*pendekotýpe peneakãme* [pe˜.n de.ko.ˈtı˜ ˉ.pe] [pe˜.ne˜.ã.ˈkã.me˜] pende-kotý=pe pene-akã=me 2pl.inact-room=in 2pl.inact-head=in 'in/to your (pl.) room(s)' 'in/to your (pl.) head(s)'

*jaguakuéra mitãnguéra* [ɟa.ɰʷa.ˈkwe.ɾa] [mı˜.tã.ˈ jagua=kuéra mitã=nguéra dog=pl child=pl 'dogs' 'children'

ŋ ɡwe.ɾa]

#### *jaha ñag˜uahe˜*

[ɟa.ˈha] [ɲã.ŋwã.ˈhe˜] ja-ha ña-g̃uahe˜ 1pl.incl.act-go 1pl.incl.act-arrive 'we (and you) go/went' 'we (and you) arrive(d)'

The examples above show that nasalization mostly works leftward; that is, **regressively**. This leftward spread of nasalization diminishes with distance from the trigger. It is difficult to give a hard and fast rule, but it is generally accepted that nasalization is not perceptible more than three syllables away from the trigger.

In Guarani nasalization also has a limited rightward, or **progressive**, spread to subsequent segments (usually the next syllable only), whether the subsequent syllable is part of the root or is an added oral suffix or enclitic. Voiceless sounds are not transparent to this kind of nasalization (they are affected by it).


Notably, nasal-oral consonants only trigger regressive nasal assimilation. This makes sense because the second half of a nasal-oral consonant, being oral, cannot spread nasality forward.

*nemembykuéra* [ne˜.me˜.mbiˉ.ˈkwe.ɾa] ne-memby=kuéra 2sg.inact-child.of.woman=pl 'your (sg.) children' (said to a woman; *memby* is the term used for 'child of a woman')

Even though roots are the most common sources of nasalization, prefixes containing nasal or nasal-oral consonants also create nasal spans to their left (that is, away from the direction of the root).

#### *ñañembotavy*

[ɲã.ɲe˜.mbo.ta.ˈʋi ˉ ] ña-ñe-mbo-tavy 1pl.incl.act-agd-make1-stupid 'we (and you) fool ourselves'

Exceptionally, the causative prefix *mbo*- can nasalize the first voiceless stop of a root and become nasalized to *mo*- in turn (see **6.6.1** and **17.4.2**).

*mongaru* (from the root *karu* 'eat (intransitive)') [mõ.<sup>ŋ</sup> ɡa.ˈɾu] mo-ngaru make1-eat(intransitive) 'feed'

Suffixes (whether stressed or unstressed) and enclitics do not create nasal spans to their left (that is, in the direction of the root). In the examples below, the suffixes -*mi* (diminutive, stressed), -*nte* ('only', unstressed), -*ma* ('already', unstressed) and -*na* (requestative, unstressed) all have nasal consonants, yet they do not cause nasalization of the roots they attach to or other suffixes to their left, as the following examples show:

*cherajymi* (not \**cherañymi*) [∫e.ɾa.ɟi ˉ .ˈmı˜] che-r-ajy-mi 1sg.inact-possm-daughter.of.man-dim 'my little daughter'

#### *imembýnte* (not \**imemýnte*)

[ı˜.me˜.ˈ mbiˉ . n te] i-memby-nte 3.inact-child.of.woman-only 'only her child'

#### *añandúma* (not \**añanúma*)

[ã.ɲã.ˈ n du.mã] a-ñandu-ma 1sg.act-feel-already 'I already feel/felt (it)'

#### *ehendúkena* (not \**ehenúngena*)

[e˜.he˜.ˈ n du.ke.nã] e-h-endu-ke-na imp-possm3-listen-force-req 'please, do listen'

Furthermore, regressive nasalization cannot cross a boundary between compound roots.

*jaikoporã* (not *\*ñaikoporã*) [ɟaj .ko.põ.ˈɾ̃ã] ja-iko+porã 1pl.incl.act-be+well 'we (and you) get along'

The learner should be aware that, under conditions that are not well understood, some speakers fail to use consistently the nasal variants expected from nasal harmony, especially in the case of suffixes and enclitics. For example, it is common to hear *mitakuéra* 'children', instead of *mitãnguéra.* Nasal harmony may be gradually disappearing, perhaps through contact with Spanish, but our current research is inconclusive.

To summarize, Guarani roots can be nasal (if they contain a stressed nasal vowel or a nasal consonant), nasal-oral (if they contain a nasal-oral consonant) or oral (if they do not contain any nasal segments). Excluding words with stressed nasal suffixes, all words are either oral (containing oral segments and voiceless stops), nasal (nasal segments and voiceless stops) or nasal-oral in that order (containing a nasal-oral consonant at the boundary between the nasal portion and the oral portion).

#### 2.2.4 Prosody sketch: practical considerations for pronunciation

In this section I have described syllable structure (**2.2.1**), stress (**2.2.2**) and nasal harmony (**2.2.3**). Here I will provide a rough sketch of other prosodic characteristics, which will unfortunately be largely impressionistic due to the lack of research in this area.

Guarani is a language with fixed stress and no lexical **tone** (that is, variations in pitch and pitch contour that can differentiate words, like in most varieties of Chinese, Thai, Punjabi, Norwegian, Navajo, and Yucatec Mayan, to name a few languages that use tone productively). The primary stress of roots almost always falls on the last syllable. In words of more than one morpheme it still tends towards the end, although this depends on the presence or absence of unstressed suffixes. Impressionistically, stressed syllables have noticeably more intensity/volume (more so than in English or Spanish) and a higher pitch than the rest of the word, but are not necessarily longer, and they often sound clipped, especially at the end of an **utterance**.

A language property that can influence the ease with which a foreign speaker and native speaker can understand one another is **rhythm**. The major difference between Guarani and English is that in English, vowels in unstressed syllables become reduced and therefore the stressed syllables are much more important in the rhythm of phrases. In Guarani, on the other hand, there is no vowel reduction in unstressed syllables. Each syllable must be pronounced with a full vowel and take the same time as a stressed syllable.

Declarative sentences (statements) have a final fall in pitch (like in English). It is often said that interrogative sentences have no special prosody in Guarani, and are pronounced with a final fall just like statements (in English they usually have a final rise in pitch). However, we do not have good phonetic studies to back this contention up (see **8.5**).

Inside sentences we can find notable **pitch rises** at the end of phrases, often accompanied by **lengthening** the duration of the vowel in the last syllable. These are present in the prosody used in conversation and are even more marked when speakers are reading. There can be vowel lengthening and rise-fall peaking contours during a hesitation or before a pause. Finally, some **fillers** used are *eeh*, *pero* and *bueno* (from Spanish). (Fillers are sounds or small words or phrases that are used during hesitations to signal that the speaker is not done talking. Common filler words in English are 'um', 'uh', 'er', 'like', 'you know'.) **Backchanneling** (that is, responses that are used mainly to signal the hearer's attention or agreement without interrupting a speaker's turn) can be accomplished by the use of *hmm*, much like in English or Spanish.

## 2.3 The alphabet or *achegety* and modern orthographic conventions in Paraguay

## 2.3.1 History of orthographic conventions

Before contact with Spanish (and Portuguese) Guarani was an oral language and had no written form. After the Spanish colonization, the Jesuit missionaries devised ad hoc writing systems based on the Roman alphabet, which allowed them to write the first grammars and dictionaries. Widespread standardization of the orthography first occurred in 1950, and the system proposed then is (with a few changes) the one that is in use today. Guarani is written horizontally, from left to right, like English. The Guarani **graphemes** (letters and letter combinations) are organized in an alphabet called *achegety*, from the names of the first three letters, *a*, *che*, *ge*, and the collective plural suffix -*ty* (*achegety*, then, means something like 'set of the *a*, *che*, *ge*'s').

A major advantage of this system is that each grapheme (be it a letter or a **digraph** composed of two letters) corresponds to one basic phone of the language (unlike in English). Two **diacritic marks** are used: the acute stress mark (´) to identify an oral vowel that bears the primary stress of a morphological word but is not the last vowel of that word; and the nasal tilde (˜) to identify phonologically nasal vowels (that is, vowels that are inherently nasal, not vowels that are nasal due to nasal harmony).

*Achegety***:** a – ã – ch – e – e˜ – g – g ̃ – h – i – ı˜ – j – k – l – m – mb – n – nd – ng – nt – ñ – o – õ – p – r – rr – s – t – u – u˜ – v – y – y˜ – '

When reciting the *achegety*, vowels are simply pronounced as they would be in a word. Consonant names end in /e/ (for example, <ch> /∫e/, <mb> /mbe/, <r> /ɾe/). The only exception is the grapheme <'> for the glottal stop, which is called *puso* (from *pu* 'sound' and *so* 'cut').

#### 2.3.2 Recommended orthography

Even though a standardized orthography now exists, the learner and/or researcher needs to be prepared to find many deviations from these conventions. Older texts use varying spellings, and even modern texts differ in their degree of adherence to the recommendations by the Paraguayan Academy of the Guarani Language which are not always completely systematic. The orthography used in this book generally follows the recommendations in Penner and Bobadilla de Cazal (2010) and Estigarribia (2017). Here, I list the main orthographic rules (noting aspects in which the orthography I have adopted in this book differs from the officially recommended one).

	- I have chosen to use the grapheme <g˜> even though its status as a necessary letter is debatable (in this, I depart from Penner and Bobadilla de Cazal (2010) and Estigarribia (2017) who do not recommend its use). This letter can only occur in nasal words and is therefore predictably nasal (see **2.2.3**): it represents [ŋ]. This can be thought of as a variant of /ɡ/ in nasal words and for this reason <g> is often used instead in texts. By way of an example, the word *hag̃uã* 'for' has a stressed nasal vowel *ã*. This vowel causes nasalization of the whole word, which is pronounced [hãŋw̃ã]. For this reason, it is also found spelled as *haguã* or even *hanguã* or *hag̃ua*. Similar spelling variants are found for some very frequent words, including *ko'ág̃a* 'now' (also found as *ko'ãga* or *ko'ag̃a*), the root *g̃uahe˜* 'arrive' (also spelled *guahe˜* or *guãhe˜*) and the postposition *g̃uarã* 'for' (also spelled *guarã*). The reader will find variation in the spelling of these words in this book, because I generally chose to maintain the orthography found in the original sources in the examples. This is important because any reader of Guarani will find different spellings of these words and needs to be able to recognize them as the same word.
	- Relatedly, the word *te˜ra* 'or' is also found as *térã* in texts.
	- Remember that modern orthographic norms require a morphological word (a root plus all attached affixes and particles) to bear a stress mark only when it is not stressed on its final vowel, or if it is, when it ends in a diphthong or triphthong with a glide at the end. The following are examples of roots with stress marked orthographically.

*ména* 'husband' *nahániri* 'no' *purahéi* 'song' *karáu* 'sprain, dislocation'

Since Guarani has both stress-bearing and non-stress-bearing suffixes and enclitics, stress in words with more than one morpheme falls (and is marked on) the last stress-bearing morpheme (if not nasal). The following are examples of stress marking for words with more than one morpheme:

nahendusevéima n-a-h-endu-se-ve-i-ma NEG-1SG.ACT-POSSM3-hear-want-more-NEG-already 'I already do not want to hear more'

chembopukákena che-mbo-puka-ke-na 1SG.INACT-MAKE1-laugh-FORCE-REQ 'please, do make me laugh'

	- · For each nasal morpheme, nasality is marked on the stressed syllable and no stress mark is used.

pora 'beautiful; good; well' karãu 'ibis' ne'ira 'not yet'

The same rule applies if the word is composed of more than one morpheme.

> osëta o-sẽ-ta 3.ACT-go.out-FUT 's/he/it will go out'

· Inherently nasal morphemes always keep their nasal marking, even if there is more than one in a word and even if they do not bear the primary accent of the morphological word.

mitakaria'y (stressed on 'y) mitã-karia'y child-young.man 'youngster'

mitapytã (stressed on the second tã) mitã-pytã child-red '(a) new-born'

*iporãite* (stressed on *te*) i-porã**-**ite 3.inact-beautiful-very 's/he/it is very beautiful' / 'great!'

	- Free personal pronouns and inactive person prefixes (see **3.5.1** and **4.1.2**) are almost always pronounced identically (they are **homophonous**) and hence, in the standard academic spelling, both are written separate from the predicate. In this book, I write the free personal pronouns as independent, separate words but attach the person prefixes to their base. This more accurately reflects the morphosyntactic differences of words versus prefixes. More generally, since prefixes are unstressed, they should be attached to their base. On the other hand, free pronouns, demonstratives and numerals, being generally able to be stressed, should be written separately from the noun or verb.

Personal pronoun:

*Che apuka.* che a-puka I 1sg.act-laugh 'I laugh.'

*Nde ndetuja*. nde nde-tuja you.sg 2sg.inact-old 'You, you are old.'

Person prefix:

*chenupã* (Academy orthography: *che nupã*) che-nupã 1sg.inact-hit 's/he/they hit me'

*Nde ndetuja*. nde nde-tuja you.sg 2sg.inact-old 'You, you are old.'

#### Demonstratives:

ko kururu kururu ko PROX.SG frog 'this frog'

#### umi mitã

umi mitã NPROX.PL child 'those children'

Numerals:

#### peteï añai

peteĩ añai one frontier 'a/one frontier'

#### mokõi mitā mokõi mitã child two 'two children'

#### mbohapy jakapu

mbohapy jakapu three explosion 'three explosions'

#### irundy yvu

irundv vuu four spring 'four springs (=water sources)'

	- · Traditionally, monosyllabic postpositions are written attached to the word they follow, and postpositions of more than one syllable separate from it:

```
Perúpe
Peru=pe
Peru=in
'to Pedro'
Peru rehe
```
Peru rehe Peru at 'at Pedro'

The reasons for this convention are not clear, since many bisyllabic postpositions have monosyllabic variants (for example, *rehe* = *re* 'at').

In this work, I will generally attach all postpositions to the word they follow. This, in practical terms, includes almost all grammatical particles that follow a noun or verb they modify. Writing all postpositions attached to their stem better reflects that they are part of the same phonological word (they are pronounced as a single word together with the base they attach to). Then it becomes possible to differentiate in writing, for example:


In the Academy's standard orthography, both members of these pairs are written *aha ramo* and *aha rire*. This does not represent accurately the fact that the pronunciations are different because the stress patterns are different, as indicated by the stress marks in the examples. (Note that this is not necessarily a big problem for native speakers, who can easily disambiguate by context.)

	- No spaces will be used between roots in a compound word.

uvãkangue uvã+kangue thigh+bone 'femur'

hyakuãvu hyakuã+vu smell+ferment 'strong smell'

arayvoty ára+yvoty day+flower '(the) spring' (literally, 'flower time')

avañe'ẽ ava+ñe'ẽ person+speak 'Guarani (language)'

karaiñe'ẽ karai+ñe'ẽ gentleman+speak 'Spanish (language)'

tovamokõi t-ova+mokõi npossm-face+two 'hypocrisy'

· Reduplications are rendered as one word or two words depending on the original source (they are marked with a tilde ~ in the gloss).

#### mokõimokõi

 mokõi~mokõi two~two 'in pairs; in groups of two; two for each' *overavera* or *overa vera* o-vera~vera 3.act-flash~flash 'it is flashing lightning'

#### *oñepyru˜ ombotambota*

o-ñepyru˜ o-mbota~mbota 3.act-begin 3.act-knock~knock 's/he began to knock and knock (on the door)'

◦ For compound words, nasal tildes are kept for each nasal morpheme, even though only one of the nasal vowels bears the primary stress:

*kuãiru˜* kuã+iru˜ finger+friend 'ring'

#### *mitãporã*

mitã+porã child+beautiful 'pretty child'

If stress falls on a non-nasal vowel, it is marked only if it is not the last syllable:

*mitãrusu* mitã+rusu child+grown 'adolescent'

*mitãnguéra* mitã=nguéra child=pl 'children'

	- The graphemes <l>, <ll>, <f>, <b>(do not confuse with the digraph <mb>!), <d> (do not confuse with the digraph <nd>!) do not belong to the Guarani *achegety*, but can be used for Spanish loans.

*léi* 'law' (from Spanish *ley*)

*llantenkokue* (from Spanish *llantén*) llanten+kokue broadleaf.plantain+farm 'farm broadleaf plantain'

*ofarrea hikuái* (from Spanish *farrear* 'to party') o-farrea hikuái 3.act-party they 'they party/partied'

*nde bobo* (from Spanish *bobo* 'silly') nde bobo you.sg dumb 'you idiot'

*oreajudami* (from Spanish *ayudar* 'to help') ore-ajuda-mi 1pl.excl.inact-help-plead 'help us a bit'

◦ Likewise, the grapheme <rr> can be used for Spanish loans when they conserve the **trill** pronunciation /r/:

*rréi* 'king' (from Spanish *rey* 'king')

*rrósa* 'rose' (from Spanish *rosa* 'rose')

*parrókia* 'parish' (from Spanish *parroquia* 'parish')

*karréta sã* (from Spanish *carreta* 'wagon') karréta sã cart rope 'cart rope'

◦ A dash can be used to separate a Spanish root, word or phrase from an attached Guarani morpheme (as long as the Spanish item is not an integrated loan). In the example below, the integrated loan *Hyãsia* 'France' could have been used (fully adapted as a Guarani word), but instead the Spanish word *Francia* was used. This **code-switch** can then be identified with a dash.

*Francia-pe* Francia=pe Francia=in 'in/to France'

	- Since most interrogative sentences contain one of a set of interrogative enclitic markers (=*pa*, =*piko* and, less frequently, others), a closing interrogative mark (?) is used only if none of these markers appear.

*Mba'e ere? Eremi jey pe ere vaekue?* mba'e ere ere-mi jey pe ere va'ekue what 2sg.act.say 2sg.act.say-plead again that 2sg.act.say past 'What did you say? Say again what you said?'

Sometimes an opening interrogative mark (¿) is used, similar to the convention for Spanish.

*¿Ha moõ rupi ñambopila?* ha moõ=rupi ña-mbo-pila and where=through 1pl.incl.act-make1-battery 'And where does one put the batteries?'

The inconsistencies found in the orthographic rendering of Guarani from different texts can be challenging unless one has a substantial familiarity with the language. To help learners and scholars engage with a broad range of materials, the following table summarizes the most common discrepancies between the orthography used in this book and that found in other sources.



## 3 Nominals

This chapter introduces Guarani nouns, their modifiers (for example, adjectives) and their determiners (for example, articles, numerals, quantifiers, demonstratives). We must note that whereas there is clear evidence for distinguishing a class of nouns separate from a class of verbs, most roots have very flexible behaviour, being able to function as different word classes depending on the sentence context in which they appear.

#### 3.1 Nouns

Nouns are often defined as words that identify people, places or things. As mentioned in **1.5**, most roots can function as different word classes, so that a word like *karu* can mean 'food' (and therefore would be a noun), but it can also mean 'to eat' (in which case it would be a verb), or 'gluttonous' (in which case it would be an adjective). It is therefore of utmost importance to try to define the class of nouns independently from what a particular root refers to, but rather based on what kinds of morphemes it can combine with and how it can function in a sentence. Guarani nouns do not have different declension classes. Since Guarani is an agglutinative language that does not mark gender or number obligatorily, nouns do not have extensive inflectional paradigms that can help identify them either.

Given this, we will consider a Guarani root to be a noun if it can:


**Noun phrases** are constituents of the sentence whose **head** (or **nucleus**; that is, the obligatory element that everything else in the phrase relates to) is a noun. Noun phrases in Guarani can consist of a single noun, or of a noun accompanied by **determiners** (demonstratives, numerals, and so on) and **modifiers** (adjectives, relative clauses). The noun can also appear with attached affixes or enclitics.

#### *Kuarahy overa ko'ãga*.

kuarahy o-vera ko'ãga sun 3.act-shine now 'The sun is shining now.'

#### *Pe karai ome'e˜ so'o itajýrape*.

pe karai o-me'e˜ so'o i-tajýra=pe that gentleman 3.act-give meat 3.inact-daughter.of.man=in 'That gentleman gives meat to his daughter.'

#### *Chegustaite la yvoty regueruva'ekue chéve*.

che-gusta-ite la yvoty re-gueru-va'e-kue chéve 1sg.inact-please-very det.sg flower 2sg.act-bring-adjz-post to.me 'I like a lot the flower that you brought (to) me.'

Generally, the order of the constituents of the noun phrase is as follows. Since all of the elements, except the head noun, are optional, they are indicated within parentheses.

(determiner/demonstrative/numeral/quantifier) + (possessor) + head noun + (modifying adjective) + (modifying relative clause)

Note in particular that the order **possessor**-**possessum** (that is, the noun that possesses comes before the noun that is possessed) and the order noun-relative clause are the same in Guarani as in English. The nounadjective order in Guarani, however, is the reverse to English.

*ko jagua ñarõ* (demonstrative + head noun + adjective) ko jagua ñarõ prox.sg dog ferocious 'this ferocious dog'

*mayma kuña oikuaáva* (quantifier + head noun + relative clause) mayma kuña oi-kuaa-va every woman 3.act-know-adjz 'all the women that know (it)'

*mitã'i po ky'a* (possessor + head noun + adjective) mitã-'i po ky'a child-dim hand dirty 'the small child's dirty hand(s)'

#### *Che areko ko'ã mbohapy kuatiañe'e˜ puku rehaiva'ekue*.

(demonstrative + numeral + head noun + adjective + relative clause) che a-reko ko'ã mbohapy kuatia+ñe'e˜ puku I 1sg.act-have prox.pl three paper+language long re-h-ai-va'e-kue 2sg.act-possm3-write-adjz-post 'I have these three letters that you wrote.'

#### 3.1.1 Plural marking

The marking of number, specifically plural number, is less frequent in Guarani than it is in English. Countable nouns can be made plural by the enclitic =*kuéra* (with nasal variant =*nguéra* if it attaches to a nasal word). This is usually done mostly for animate nouns (referring to people or animals) or when it is crucial to indicate plurality; otherwise, plural marking can generally be omitted.

#### *araikuéra ha mbyjakuéra*

arai=kuéra ha mbyja=kuéra cloud=pl and star=pl '(the) clouds and (the) stars'

#### *oremenarãnguéra te˜ra penerembirekorãnguéra*

ore-mena-rã=nguéra te˜ra pene-r-embireko-rã=nguéra 1pl.excl.inact-husband-dest=pl or 2pl.inact-possm-wife-dest=pl 'our fiancés or your fiancées'

*kuña mbarete* kuña mbarete woman strong '(a) strong woman' or 'strong women'

*Kuña imbarete*. kuña i-mbarete woman 3.inact-strong 'The woman is strong.' / 'Women are strong.'

Plural number is generally not marked when the noun is accompanied by a numeral or by a determiner that already indicates plurality, but it is sometimes used by speakers, even when not necessary.

*mokõi jyva* mokõi jyva two arm 'two arms' *ko'ã óga*

ko'ã óga prox.pl house 'these houses'

*heta mymba* h-eta mymba possm3-numerous domesticated.animal 'many (farm) animals'

#### *ko'ã ta'angakuéra*

ko'ã t-a'anga=kuéra prox.pl npossm-image=pl 'these images'

The stressed multitudinal plural enclitic =*eta* (the variant used when the previous vowel is closed) or =*ita* (the variant used when the previous vowel is mid or open) indicates a substantial number of the type of individual that is indicated by the noun. It can also be used to make uncountable nouns plural.

*panambieta* panambi=eta butterfly=multitude '(a great) many butterflies'

*kypy'yeta* kypy'y=eta younger.sister.of.a.woman=multitude '(a great) many younger sisters (of a woman)'

*yvoty morotı˜eta, yvoty pytãita* yvoty morotiı˜=eta yvoty pytã=ita flower white=multitude flower red=multitude '(a great) many white flowers, (a great) many red flowers'

*kambyeta* kamby=eta milk=multitude 'lots of milk'

Guarani has two collective plural suffixes that indicate a place where something is abundant: stressed -*ty* (-*ndy* with nasal bases) to indicate abundance of plants, minerals or objects in general, and stressed -*kua* to indicate abundance of animals and people. This latter, however, seems to survive mostly in place names (**toponyms**), and is not in general use in the modern language.


*avatity yvaty* avati-ty yva-ty corn-collective fruit-collective 'cornfield' 'orchard'

*aoty yvotyty* ao-ty yvoty-ty clothes-collective flower-collective 'a bunch of clothes, a set of clothes' 'garden, park'

*pety˜ ndy kuaaty* pety˜-ndy kuaa-ty tobacco-collective know-collective 'tobacco field' 'science'


### 3.1.2 Gender marking

Like English nouns, Guarani nouns do not have inherent gender. When necessary, gender can be marked by adding *kuña* 'woman' or *kuimba'e* 'man' to a noun.

#### *membykuña*

memby+kuña child.of.woman+woman 'daughter (of a woman)'

#### *jaguakuña*

jagua+kuña dog+woman 'female dog'

```
oı˜mboyve yvy ape'ári ava kuimba'e, ndaipóri avei ava kuña
oı˜=mboyve yvy ape='ári ava kuimba'e ndaipóri
there.is=before Earth surface=upon person man there.is.not
avei ava kuña
also person woman
'before there were men on the Earth, or women either'
```
Given the lack of obligatory number and gender marking, compared to other languages like English or Spanish, nouns in Guarani are largely invariable. However, in **3.1.3** I will introduce an important class that is an exception to this.

## 3.1.3 Relational (multiform) nominal roots

An interesting particularity of Tupi-Guarani languages is that they have lexical roots (by and large nouns, but also some verbs and adjectives) whose initial consonant changes. This change depends on whether they enter into a relation with another word in the sentence or with a prefix. I call these **relational roots**. (In traditional scholastic grammars one will find them called "oscillating roots", "triform roots", "aspirated roots" or "roots with varying initial".) The initial consonant of these roots is itself a prefix that varies between *t*-, *h*- and *r*-.

For nouns the *t*- form is used when the noun is not preceded by another noun that indicates its possessor. It is the **absolute** or **non-possessed** form (glossed in examples as npossm).

#### *tayhu váicha arandu, peteı˜ha tayhu*

t-ayhu váicha arandu peteı˜-ha t-ayhu npossm-love seems wisdom one-th npossm-love 'love (that is) like wisdom, first love'

#### *Ndepa nandegustái ko ta'anga*.

nde=pa na-nde-gusta-i ko t-a'anga you.sg=q neg-2sg.inact-please-neg prox.sg npossm-image 'You don't like this photo?'

### *añorairõ tymba ñarõndive*

a-ño-rairõ t-ymba ñarõ=ndive 1sg.act-recp-attack npossm-animal wild=with 'I fight/fought with wild animals'

The other two forms are used when the noun is a possessum (that is, understood as being possessed). The *h*- form (glossed in examples as possm3) functions like 'his', 'her', 'its' or 'their' in English; that is, it indicates a pronominal third-person possessor, singular or plural.

#### *Hesa iporãiterei*. h-esa i-porã-iterei possm3-eye 3.inact-beautiful-very.much

'His/Her/Its/Their eyes are really beautiful.'

#### Héra ha'e Susána.

h-éra Susána ha'e POSSM3-name be Susana 'Her name is Susana.'

#### Che aikuaa hembirekópe.

che ai-kuaa h-embireko=pe I 1SG.ACT-know POSSM3-wife=in 'Me, I know his wife.'

omombaretehaguã hetekuéra o-mo-mbarete=haguã h-ete=kuéra 3.ACT-MAKE1-strong=for 3.INACT-body=PL 'in order to make his/her/its/their body stronger'

The remaining form, the r- form (glossed possm in the examples), is used in all other cases. Notably, it is used with possessors that are full noun phrases and with first and second person inactive prefixes that indicate possession.

#### Lili rague

Lili r-ague Lili POSSM-hair 'Lili's hair'

Ndahejaséi cheretã. nd-a-h-eja-se-i che-r-etã NEG-1SG.ACT-POSSM3-leave-want-NEG 1SG.INACT-POSSM-country 'I do not want to leave my country.'

nderajy ratypy nde-r-ajy r-atypy 2SG.INACT-POSSM-daughter.of.man POSSM-cheek 'your daughter's cheeks' (said to a man)

Note how all three forms differ in use and meaning in the following example:

 Henda niko tayhu renda. h-enda niko t-ayhu r-enda POSSM3-place VERD NPOSSM-love POSSM-place '(I tell you) His/Her/Their place is the place of love.' Another particularly clear example of the importance of using these relational prefixes appropriately is provided by the name for the creator of the world in the Mbyá Guarani cosmogony and mythology, *Ñanderu Tenonde*, meaning 'Our Father, the first'. Note that the use of the *t*- non-relational prefix indicates that *tenonde* 'the first' is in apposition to *ñanderu* 'our father'. If *renonde* had been used, the interpretation would have been that -*enonde* 'front' functions as a modifier or a possessed noun.

*Ñanderu Tenonde* ñande-r-u t-enonde 1pl.incl.inact-possm-father npossm-front 'Our Father, the first'

*Ñanderu renonde* ñande-r-u r-enonde 1pl.incl.inact-possm-father possm-front 'Our Father's front' / 'in front of our father'

The following table summarizes the alternations for this most common pattern of relational nouns.


#### Points to note:


*óga/hóga/róga* 'house' (not *\*tóga*) *ovetã/hovetã/rovetã* 'window' (not \**tovetã*) *oke˜/hoke˜/roke˜* 'door' (not \**toke˜*)

• Some kinship terms have the following different paradigm, often called "biform", instead of the regular "triform" pattern:



*ho'o* h-o'o possm3-flesh 'his/her/its flesh'

*vaka ro'o* vaka r-o'o cow possm-flesh 'cow's meat; beef' *to'o* t-o'o npossm-flesh 'flesh (in a body)'

*so'o* so'o meat 'meat (for consumption)'

Similarly, for the root -*ymba*, the triform set denotes an animal in general, whereas the "extra", irregular form *mymba* denotes domesticated animals. Another example is the root -*enimbo.* The triform set is used when the creator of a thread is referenced or alluded to, or is understood to be relevant in the discourse (for example, a thread understood as a spider's thread); the "extra", irregular form *inimbo* does not reference the creator of the thread.

*henimbo* h-enimbo possm3-thread 'his/her/its thread'

*ñandu renimbo* ñandu r-enimbo spider possm3-thread '(a) spider's web'

*tenimbo* t-enimbo npossm-thread 'thread' (as created by someone or something)

*inimbo* inimbo thread 'thread' (without reference, even implicit, to the creator of the thread)

The difference between *tenimbo* and *inimbo* in the last series of examples is difficult to grasp. The reader may want to refer to **3.2.1.2.1**, where the difference between the prefix *t-embi*- and the suffix -*py* to form nouns is discussed, since there is a certain similarity to this case.

• The nouns related by the *r*- prefix are usually in a possessor-possessum relation, but this need not be the case, since the relationship can be different from what we consider strict possession. For example, the relationship can be "origin" or "source":

*hetyma ry'ái* h-etyma r-y'ái possm3-leg possm-sweat 'perspiration from his/her leg'

The relationship between the nouns can be "whole-part":

*tupa retyma* t-upa r-etyma npossm-bed possm-leg 'a/the bed's leg(s)'

The relationship between the nouns can also be "habitat":

*ka'aguy rymba te˜ra óga rymba* ka'aguy r-ymba te˜ra óga r-ymba forest possm-animal or house possm-animal 'forest animal(s) or house animal(s)'

In fact, for any relation that can be expressed by juxtaposition of nouns, if the second noun is relational, it will be marked by *r*-. For example, when a noun root is used as an adjective to modify another noun, it will appear with *r*-*.*

*yvága rovy* yvága r-ovy sky possm-blue '(a/the) blue sky'

*jasy renyhe˜* jasy r-enyhe˜ moon possm-full '(a/the) full moon' *kuñataı˜ rory* kuñataı˜ r-ory young.girl possm-joy '(a/the) joyous girl'

A fuller list of relational roots and morphemes is given in **17.5** for completeness and ease of reference.

## 3.1.4 Functions of noun phrases in a sentence

Noun phrases can have one of the following functions in a sentence:

## *Subject of a predicate*

Subjects require no special marking or special position in Guarani. They can come before or after the main verb.

#### *Tahyikuéra omanomba*.

tahyi=kuéra o-mano-mba ant=pl 3.act-die-all 'The ants all died.'

#### *Ñandejukapa pe ñati'u~*.

ñande-juka-pa pe ñati'u˜ 1pl.incl.inact-kill-all med.sg mosquito 'That mosquito will kill us all.'

#### *¿Mba'épa oguerekóne pe jagua iñapytu'u˜ me?* mba'e=pa o-guereko-ne pe jagua iñ-apytu'u˜=me what=q 3.act-have-dub med.sg dog 3.inact-mind=in 'What can that dog be thinking . . . ?' (literally, 'What does that dog have in its mind?')

#### *Direct object of a predicate*

Direct objects do not require special marking either, except when they refer to a human participant. In that case they are marked with the enclitic postposition =*pe/*=*me* (see **5.1**).

#### *Cheru ojukapáta tahyikuéra*.

che-r-u o-juka-pa-ta tahy´i=kuéra 1sg.inact-possm-father 3.act-kill-all-fut ant=pl 'My father will kill all the ants.'

*Cheru ohayhu chesýpe*.

che-r-u o-h-ayhu che-sy=pe 1sg.inact-possm-father 3.act-possm3-love 1sg.inact-mother=in 'My father loves my mother.'

#### *Complement of a postposition*

Relationships that are indicated in English by means of prepositions, are usually indicated in Guarani by **postpositions**; that is, morphemes coming after a noun phrase. The noun phrases in these cases are the complement of the postposition (see **5** for more details).

#### *Oñangareko hikuái nderógare*.

o-ñangareko hikuái nde-r-óga=re 3.act-take.care.of they 2sg.inact-possm-house=at 'They take care of your house.'

#### *Eho Peru jarýindive*.

e-ho Peru jarýi=ndive imp-go Peru grandmother=with 'Go (you.sg) with Pedro's grandmother.'

#### *Possessor*

Noun phrases without any special marking can refer to possessors of another noun that follows. The juxtaposition of noun phrases is enough to ensure this relationship (see **3.6**).

#### *ko auto tuja ovetã*

ko auto tuja ovetã prox.sg car old window 'this old car's window'

#### *tupão oke˜*

tupão oke˜ church door '(a/the) church door'

## 3.2 Forming nouns from other words

Languages have devices to form words that are linked to other words in the language in a family of words (think of English 'act' > 'action' > 'actionable', or 'dog' > 'doggie'). These devices are part of a language's **derivational morphology** (so called because the related words are derived from existing words). In this section I first look at how to convert a verb or adjective into a related noun (**nominalizations**). Then I show how to obtain **antonyms** (opposites) and **diminutives** of nouns.

#### 3.2.1 Nominalizations

In order to allow a phrase that is not nominal to fulfil one of the noun phrase functions shown in **3.1.4**, Guarani uses **nominalizations**. **Lexical nominalizations** are nouns derived from non-nominal words or expressions. **Sentential nominalizations** (that is, mechanisms to make a sentence function as a noun) create relative and complement clauses and will be examined in **12.2**.

Guarani only has two clearly defined lexical parts of speech, nouns and verbs, and a very small class of adjectives (see **3.3**), so nominalizations in Guarani are mostly obtained from verbs. These are called **deverbal nouns** and are obtained using suffixes (**3.2.1.1**) or prefixes (**3.2.1.2**), depending on the meaning of the resulting noun. There are many different nominalizers in Guarani, as we will see in the following sections.

#### *3.2.1.1 Nominalizing suffixes*

#### 3.2.1.1.1 General nominalizer -*ha*

This stressed nominalizing suffix (glossed nmlz) forms nouns out of verbal roots. Some of these are called **instrumental nominalizations**, because they designate the instrument used to accomplish the action expressed by the base verb.


It is important to note here that this suffix is also used as a subordinator (like English 'that'; see **12.2.2**):

#### *Ha'e ndoikomo'ãiha*.

ha'e nd-o-iko-mo'ã-i-ha I.say neg-3.act-be-neg.fut-neg-nmlz 'I say that there will not be (one).' *ha'e pee˜me ahániriha* ha'e pee˜me ahániri-ha I.say to.you.pl no-nmlz 'I tell you that no'

**Locative nominalizations** denote places or times where an event happens. They are obtained by adding the stressed suffix -*ha* (glossed nmlz. loc) to a base intransitive predicate (that is, a predicate that takes a subject but no object) that expresses the event.


There are nominalizations that designate the agent or instrument of an action indicated by the base transitive predicate (that is, a predicate that takes both a subject and an object). These are called **agentive nominalizations**, and use the stressed suffix -*ha* or -*hára* (both glossed as nmlz. ag). -*Hára* usually denotes professions, and -*ha* instruments or tools, but there are exceptions.



The combination of -*ha* with the suffix -*re* (an infrequently used mark of past tense for nouns; see **3.7**) gives a past agentive nominalizer -*hare*. The combination of -*ha* with the suffix -*rã*, which marks the future tense for nouns (see **3.7**), yields a future agentive nominalizer -*harã*.

## *hechahare*

h-echa-ha-re possm3-see-nmlz.ag-post 'witness' (literally, '(the) one who saw') *ñande Apohare* ñande-apo-ha-re 1pl.incl.inact-make-nmlz.ag-post 'our Maker' (literally, '(the) one who made us')

#### *óga apoharã*

óga apo-ha-rã house make-nmlz.ag-dest 'future house builder' / '(the) one who will make a/the house'

*hetaite xénte hechaharã ohova'ekue*

h-eta-ite xénte h-echa-ha-rã o-ho-va'ekue possm3-numerous-very people possm3-see-nmlz.ag-dest 3.act-go-past 'a great number of people went to see (it)' (literally, 'very many people that would be viewers went')

#### 3.2.1.1.2 Passive *-py*

Other nominalizations derived from transitive predicates designate the patient of an event (the participant that receives an action). These are called **passive nominalizations**, and use the stressed suffixes -*py/*-*pýra* (glossed as nmlz.pass), with the nasal forms -*mby/mbýra* used after nasal bases. The past passive nominalizer -*pyre* and the future passive nominalizer -*pyrã* are formed like their agentive counterparts above.

*hechapy* h-echa-py possm3-see-nmlz.pass 'visible'

*kañymby* kañy-mby hide-nmlz.pass 'hidden'

*gueroviapy / jeroviapy* guerovia-py / jerovia-py believe-nmlz.pass / believe-nmlz.pass 'belief' (literally, '(that which is) believed') These nominalizations can have noun or adjective uses:

#### Ehai haipyre pytyvõrãva

e-h-ai h-ai-py-re pytyvõ-rã-va IMP-POSSM3-Write POSSM3-Write-NMLZ.PASS-POST help-DEST-ADJZ 'Write help articles' (literally, 'Write a written thing that will be of help')

#### Kóva kuatia haipyre.

ko-va kuatia h-ai-py-re PROX.SG-ADJZ POSSM3-Write-NMLZ.PASS-POST "This is a written text."

#### Gueroviapy poravopyre.

guerovia-py poravo-py-re believe-NMLZ.PASS choose-NMLZ.PASS-POST 'Selected beliefs.'

#### Naneretã rembiapopyrã ñane-r-etã r-embi-apo-py-rã 1PL.INCL.INACT-POSSM-COUNTY POSSM-NMLZ.REL-Make-NMLZ.PASS-DEST 'Our government's projects' (literally, 'thing that will be the result of work')

#### 3.2.1.1.3 Adjectival -vo

The basic role of the unstressed suffix -va is to create adjectives (it is an adjectivizer). By extension, since relative clauses are clauses that function as adjectives modifying a noun, this suffix can create relative clauses. These functions are discussed more fully in 3.3 and 12.2.1. Here we show that -va can also function as a nominalizer to create the demonstrative pronouns kó(v)a 'this thing', pé(v)a 'that thing (around here)', upé(v)a 'that thing (over there)', and so on, obtained from the demonstrative determiners ko 'this', pe 'that (around here)' and upe 'that (over there)' (see 3.4.2). This permeability between adjective uses and noun uses is very typical of Guarani, and is another indication that there is not as large a difference between these two word classes as in English.

#### Umíva ojapo ko'ãva.

umi-va o-japo ko'ã-va NPROX.PL-ADJZ 3.ACT-make PROX.PL-ADJZ "Those (people) did these (things).'

*Kóva*, *ko arriéro, Perurima oje'eha, ko'ág˜a he'íta pee˜me añetetéva.* kó-va ko arriéro Perurima o-je'e-ha ko'ág˜a prox.sg-adjz prox.sg peasant Perurima 3.act-is.said-nmlz now he'i-ta pee˜me añete-te-va says-fut to.you.pl truth-very-adjz 'This one, this man that is called Perurima, he will now tell you (pl.) the very truth.'

*Ani ejapo péva!* ani e-japo pe-va neg.imp imp-make med.sg-adjz 'Don't do that!'

#### 3.2.1.1.4 Abstract *-kue*

Other nominalizations based on adjectives (**deadjectival nominalizations**) or even on other nouns (**denominal nominalizations**) use the suffix -*kue* to designate abstract qualities (-*ngue* is used with nasal bases).

*hepy* 'expensive' > *hepykue* 'cost' *ky'a* 'dirty' > *ky'akue* 'dirtiness' *kyra* 'fat' > *kyrakue* '(the) fat, grease, lard; obesity' *mbarete* 'strong' > *mbaretekue* 'strength' *puku* 'long' > *pukukue* 'length' *porã* 'beautiful' > *porãngue* 'beauty' *tuja* 'old' > *tujakue* 'old age' *ty'ái* 'sweat' > *ty'aikue* 'sacrifice' *vai* 'ugly' > *vaikue* 'ugliness'

This stressed suffix -*kue* can also be used to nominalize whole predicates (that is, not just a verb, but a verb plus person markers):

*okykue* (from *oky* 'it rains') o-ky-kue 3.act-rain-nmlz.abs 'rainfall'

*iñarandukue* (from *iñarandu* 's/he is educated') iñ-arandu-kue 3.inact-knowledge-nmlz.abs 'education'

iñakãpohyikue (from iñakãpohýi 'their heavy head' / 'they have heavy heads') iñ-akã+pohýi-kue 3.INACT-head+heavy-NMLZ.ABS 'the weight of their head'

The following examples serve as a summary of the different meanings of the nominalizing suffixes presented so far.

su'uha su'u-ha bite-NML7.AG 'something that bites'

su'ukue su'u-kue bite-NMLZ.ABS '(a/the) bite'

su'upy su'u-py bite-NMLZ.PASS 'edible'

#### su'upyrã

su'u-py-rã bite-NMLZ.PASS-DEST 'snack'

su'upyre su'u-py-re bite-NMLZ.PASS-POST 'bitten'

su'úva su'u-va bite-ad.iz. 'that is/was bitten'

## 3.2.1.2 Nominalizing prefixes

#### 3.2.1.2.1 Resultative/instrumental *t-embi-*

*T*-*embi*- is a nominalizing prefix that is used with transitive predicates. The resulting noun designates the object of the transitive predicate from which it is derived. The meaning is sometimes the result of the event (**resultative**), sometimes the instrument used to carry out an action (**instrumental**). Note that this prefix is relational/triform (hence glossed nmlz.rel), composed of a first segment that can be *t*-, *r*- or *h*-, and of the nominalizing part -*embi*- (or -*emi*- for nasal bases).

#### *tembi'u*

t-embi-'u npossm-nmlz.rel-ingest 'food' (literally, 'something that is ingested')

*temimbo'e* t-emi-mbo'e npossm-nmlz.rel-teach 'disciple' (literally, 'someone who is taught')

#### *tembiporu*

t-embi-poru npossm-nmlz.rel-use 'utensil, tool' (literally, 'something that is used')

#### *tembiapo*

t-embi-apo npossm-nmlz.rel-make 'work' (literally, 'something that is made')

#### *Ahechaga'u nerembi'u*.

a-h-echaga'u ne-r-embi-'u 1sg.act-possm3-nostalgia 2sg.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-ingest 'I miss your cooking.' (Literally, 'I miss your food.')

*Ko'ã ta'angakuéra Quino rembiapokue.* ko'ã t-a'anga=kuéra Quino r-embi-apo-kue prox.pl npossm-image=pl Quino possm-nmlz.rel-make-post 'These comics were made by Quino.' (Literally, 'These images are Quino's work.')

Notably, nouns derived by -embi- are generally already fixed in the language (lexicalized), and they sometimes have a meaning that is not directly derivable from the meaning of the parts (non-compositional meaning).


Lexicalized words usually appear in the dictionary as independent words, without any reference to their component parts. When their meaning is compositional, I will identify their parts in the gloss for completeness.

The two passive nominalizers for transitive predicates, the prefix -embi- and the suffix -py, are very similar. However, -embi- is used to link the verb and its result or object to the agent of the action, whereas -py is used when the sole focus is on the object or patient. That is why many nominalizations with -embi- have a "tool" or "means" reading that is similar to an agentive meaning. This is also why -embi- is a relational prefix as well: it needs to relate the passive noun to the agent. This difference in whether the nominalization is agent-oriented or patient-oriented is clear in the following example. Mombe'upy 'legend' designates something told without reference to who did the telling; rembihai '(written) work, writings', on the other hand, designates the result of someone's action of writing (Shakespeare's, in this case).

Peteï mombe'upy he'i Shakespeare rembihai ose''yva araresáre oñeñot y hague hendive . . .

peteî mombe'u-py he'i Shakespeare r-embi-h-ai one tell-NMLZ.PASS Says Shakespeare POSSM-NMLZ.REL-POSSM3-Write ára-r-esa=re o-sẽ-'ỹ-va o-ñe-ñotỹ-hague 3.ACT-go.out-PRIV-ADJZ day-POSSM-eye=at 3.ACT-AGD-bury-NMLZ.PAST hendive ... with.him/her

'A legend says that Shakespeare's unpublished works lie with him in his tomb . . . ' (more literally, 'A legend says that Shakespeare's writings that did not see the light of day were buried with him . . . ')

In other words, the use of tembi- or -py depends on the perspective adopted by the speaker with respect to what is designated by the nominalization: if the concept nominalized includes a role for the agent participant, then *-embi-* is appropriate. If no such role is conceptualized, then *-py* is appropriate. Such differences in conceptualization can perhaps be rendered in the translations as follows: *tembihai* '(someone's) writing; written (by someone)' versus *haipy* '(something) written'. Yet, although this difference may survive in current usage, as mentioned above many of these derived words are now lexicalized, and have developed specialized meanings.

Note that *-embi*- and -*py* can be combined in a single word:

#### *cherembiayhupy*

che-r-embi-ayhu-py 1sg.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-love-nmlz.pass 'my beloved' (literally, 'my loved by someone')

#### *tembiapoukapy*

t-embi-apo-uka-py npossm-nmlz.rel-make-make2-nmlz.pass 'commandment' (literally, 'made to do by someone')

#### *hemiñongatupy*

h-emi-ñongatu-py possm3-nmlz.rel-put.away-nmlz.pass 'their hidden things' (literally, 'been put away by someone')

#### 3.2.1.2.2 Reflexive/passive/impersonal *je-*

*Je*-/*ñe*- is another nominalizing prefix used with both transitive and intransitive predicates to express a person or animal's doing or state expressed by the root's meaning. This prefix has many uses, including as a marker of passive voice or reflexives (see **6.3**).

*jevy'a* je-vy'a agd-rejoice 'happiness'

*jeka'u* je-ka'u agd-get.drunk 'drunkenness' jeke ie-ke AGD-sleep '(a/the) sleep'

ñemopotĩ ñe-mo-potĩ AGD-MAKE1-Clean "(a) cleaning'

Ogutaiterei ichupe la ñembyepoti. o-guta-iterei ichupe la ñe-mby-epoti 3.ACT-please-very.much to.him/her DET.SG AGD-MAKE1-excrement 'S/he loves to clobber (people).'

. . . ohekávo je'upyrã hasývapeguarã o-h-eka-vo je-'u-py-rã h-asy-va=pe=guarã 3.ACT-POSSM3-seek-while AGD-ingest-NMLZ.PASS-DEST POSSM3-sickness-ADJZ=in=for

4 . . . looking for something to eat for the sick' (literally, je-'u-py-ra '(something) destined to be eaten')

#### 3.2.1.2.3 Reciprocal jo-

Jo-/ño-, on the other hand, marks reciprocal actions (like English 'each other' or 'one another'; see 6.4). When used as a nominalizing prefix, it expresses a mutual action derived from the root's meaning. An alternate form of this prefix is often ju-/ñu-, when the root begins in a vowel.

jopoi jo-poi RECP-let.go 'separation'

ñopytyvõ ño-pytyvõ RECP-help 'mutual help'

juasaha iu-asa-ha RECP-to.cross-nmLZ.LOC 'detour'

*Oı˜ joavy ha ñorairõ.* (also *juavy*) oı˜ jo-avy ha ño-rairõ there.is recp-err and recp-attack 'There are disagreements and fights.'

#### 3.2.1.2.4 Abstract *t-eko-*

A prefix with a more abstract meaning, *t*-*eko*- forms nouns designating qualities. As a noun, -*eko* is relational and means 'life, character, culture, essence'. Note in the translations the variety of suffixes that can fulfil a similar function in English.

*tekoiru˜* t-eko-iru˜ npossm-nmlz.qual-friend 'comradeship'

*tekoasy* t-eko-asy npossm-nmlz.qual-pain 'suffering'

*teko'avy* t-eko-'avy npossm-nmlz.qual-err 'immorality'

*tekoguata* t-eko-guata npossm-nmlz.qual-walk 'wandering; restless(ness)'

*tekoguapy* t-eko-guapy npossm-nmlz.qual-sit 'tranquillity'

*tekoayhu* t-eko-ayhu npossm-nmlz.qual-love 'friendship'

*tekombo'e* t-eko-mbo'e npossm-nmlz.qual-teach 'education'

#### 3.2.1.2.5 Abstract *mba'e-*

A final prefix, also used to form abstract nouns with a passive-like meaning, is *mba'e*-. Of note, *mba'e* is a noun that means 'thing', a meaning that is somewhat present in the uses of this item as a grammatical morpheme (see here, and also **3.5**, **4.10.3.3**, and **6.5**).

*mba'embyasy* mba'e-mby-asy nmlz.abs.p-make1-pain 'sadness'

*Mba'e*- often seems to refer to the abstract concept corresponding to the verbal root.

*chemba'epota, chemba'epochy* che-mba'e-pota che-mba'e-pochy 1sg.inact-nmlz.abs.p-desire 1sg.inact-nmlz.abs.p-anger 'my desire, my anger'

It is possible that *mba'e*- is specialized for the expression of abstract feelings or sensations. But note that the meaning 'sadness' can be conveyed by *mba'embyasy*, but also by *ñembyasy* and *temimbyasy*. Determining the exact differences in meaning and use of these different affixes requires further research on nominalizations.

#### *3.2.1.3 Noun compounds*

A **noun compound** is a word composed of two roots that functions as a noun. Usually, the first root is a noun, while the second root can be a noun, verb or modifier. Occasionally, it is the second root that is a noun. Composition is indicated in the glosses with a plus sign (+). This is a common way to form nouns in Guarani, which then become lexicalized. It is a strategy used to form academic neologisms as well. (See also **verb compounds** in **4.13**.)

Noun + noun compounds

*angiru˜* áng(a)+iru˜ soul+friend 'friend'

*ka'ay* ka'a+y mate.leaf+water 'mate' (*Ilex Paraguaiensis* infusion)

*pirapire* pira+pire fish+leather 'money'

*uvãkangue* uvã+kangue thigh+bone 'femur'

*hyakuãvu* hyakuã+vu smell+ferment 'strong smell'

*arayvoty* ára+yvoty day+flower '(the) spring' (literally, 'flower time')

*avañe'e˜* ava+ñe'e˜ person+speech 'Guarani (language)'

*pyao* py+ao foot+clothes 'sock(s)'

Noun + modifier

tovamokõi t-ova+mokõi npossm-face+two 'hypocrisy'

 mitãporã mitã+porã child+beautiful 'pretty child'

mitārusu mitã+rusu child+grown 'adolescent'

#### tyeguasu t-ye+guasu NPOSSM-belly+big 'pregnancy'

py'amirĩ py'a+mirĩ chest+small 'coward'

avatimirĩ avati+mirĩ corn+small 'wheat'

Noun + verb

py'aguapy py'a+guapy chest+sit 'peace'

*guatapu* guata+pu walk+noise 'sound of footsteps'

Keeping in mind that the difference between nouns and adjectives in Guarani is tenuous, there are also compounds that mostly function as adjectives (**adjective compounds**).

Noun + modifier

*nambisakã* nambi+sakã ear+transparent 'malnourished'

*hekomirı˜* h-eko+mirı˜ possm3-essence+small 'modest'

## 3.2.2 Nominal/adjectival negation

This section concerns itself with lexical negation; that is, how to obtain a noun that is in some sense the negation of another word. The negation of nouns when they function as predicates is treated jointly with the negation of verbs and sentences in **4.9**.

**Antonyms** are pairs of terms that are opposites of one another in some sense. Many antonyms are **privatives** (expressing the absence of a property), obtained by adding the stressed suffix -*'y˜* to a noun, adjective or verb.

```
kyhyje 'fear' > kyhyje'y˜ 'courage'
pore 'trace' > pore'y˜ 'absence'
vy'a 'joy' > vy'a'y˜ 'sadness'
hepy 'expensive' > hepy'y˜ 'cheap'
mendare 'married' > mendare'y˜ 'unmarried, bachelor'
poko 'to touch' > poko'y˜ha 'the spiritual, the immaterial'
po'a 'luck' > po'a'y˜ 'bad luck'
```
#### 3.2.3 Diminutives and attenuatives

Diminutives express a small size and are formed by the stressed suffixes -mi and -'i.

mitõ 'child' > mitãmi / mitã'i 'small child' óga 'house' > ogami 'little house' yvyra 'tree' > yvyra'i 'small tree'

As in many other languages, diminutives can be used to convey affection (think of English '-ie' in 'dogg-ie').

Eju cherendápe, cherajymi. che-r-enda=pe che-r-ajy-mi e-ju IMP-come 1sG.INACT-POSSM-place=in 1sG.INACT-POSSM-daughter.of.man-DIM 'Come by my side, my dear daughter.'

Attenuatives indicate that an action or property is less intense or less fully instantiated than in the prototypical case. In Guarani attenuatives are formed by the stressed suffixes -vy (for oral bases) or -ngy (for nasal bases).

puka 'laugh' > pukavy 'smile' pohýi 'heavy' > pohyivy 'somewhat heavy' hope 'eyelid' > hopevy 'to doze' hű'black' > hűngy 'blackish' he 'tasty' > hevy 'somewhat tasty' hovy 'blue' > hovyngy 'bluish' hasy 'it hurts' > hasyvy 'it hurts a little' juru 'mouth; open' > juruvy 'half-open' taku 'warmth' > takuvy 'lukewarm'

Note in the last example the use of the nasal -ngy allomorph in hovyngy, even though the base hovy is not nasal. This may be a case of dissimilation; that is, of trying to avoid identical or similar sounds close together. In this case, the object would have been to avoid the somewhat cacophonous \*hovyvy. However, the two variants -vy and -ngy seem to be in free variation; that is, speakers have a more or less free choice of which to use, regardless of the oral/nasal status of the base (see the next paragraph, where the root -echa is oral, and therefore so is ahecha 'I see', yet the word is ahecha-ngy, and an explanation in terms of dissimilation is impossible here).

Attenuatives are also used with predicates, as a kind of speaker evaluation to denote approximation or depreciation:

ahechangy a-h-echa-ngy 1SG.ACT-POSSM3-SEE-ATT 'I glimpse(d) (it)'

nerasêngy ne-r-ase-ngy 2SG.INACT-POSSM-CITY-ATT 'you are a crybaby'

## 3.3 Adjectival modifiers of the noun

Even though the examples with the nominalizing suffix -kue in 3.2.1.1.4 seem to single out an adjective category to which this suffix would apply, Guarani does not have a clear morphological class of adjectives. Most roots that can be used as adjectives do so without any specific marking that would distinguish them from verbs or nouns, and even suffixes like the adjectivizing series -va (unmarked for tense), -va'ekue (adjectivizing in the past) and -va'erã (adjectivizing in the future) yield both noun-like items as well as adjective-like items.

Hence, adjectival (or adjective-like) modifiers of the noun are identified by their semantics and the fact that they occur after the noun, but not by any specific endings or word make-up. This is clear in the examples below. On the left, each root that is exemplified is functioning as an adjective. This is contrasted to the uses on the right, where the same root functions as a verb/predicate, as a noun or even as an adverb.

'it opened'


'open window'




Often, when a relational root is used as an adjective, this is indicated by the appearance of the prefix r-:

tesa rovy (cf. hovy 'blue') t-esa r-ovy NPOSSM-eye POSSM-blue 'blue eye(s)'

korasõ rasy (cf. tasy 'pain') korasõ r-asy heart POSSM-pain 'aching heart'

ijuru renyhẽ (cf. tenyhẽ 'fullness') i-juru r-enyhẽ 3.INACT-mouth POSSM-full 'their mouths full'

The main Guarani adjectivizer is the unstressed suffix -va. (Although more frequently it is used as a suffix that forms relative clauses; see 12.2.1.)

hykuéva h-ykue-va POSSM3-juice-ADJZ 'juicy'

*hi'áva* hi'a-va bear.fruit-adjz 'fruitful; fertile'

*hi'á'y˜va* hi*'*a-'y˜-va bear.fruit-priv-adjz 'fruitless'

It can also be used to single out one or more items in a group (**set partitive** uses):

*omombe'u chupe peteı˜va* o-mombe'u chupe peteı˜-va 3.act-tell to.him/her one-adjz 'one of them told her'

*iñaranduka peteı˜vape umi mbohapy apytégui hérava . . .* iñ-aranduka peteı˜-va=pe umi mbohapy apyte=gui h-éra-va 3.inact-book one-adjz nprox.pl three centre=from possm3-name-adjz 'in one of his books from the trilogy called . . . '

*Ha opyhy mokõi pyao ombojo'a mokõivéva*.

ha o-pyhy mokõi py+ao o-mbo-jo'a mokõi-ve-va and 3.act-grab two foot+clothes 3.act-make1-fold two-more-adjz 'And he took two socks and put the two of them together (i.e., rolled them into a ball).'

## 3.4 Determiners

**Determiners** are morphemes that express whether a noun is definite/ indefinite, or the quantity of a noun, for example. They are similar to adjectives in that they also modify a noun, but there are two main differences. First, instead of generally attributing a quality to a noun, they indicate what members are being identified of the category the noun designates, if any. Second, in Guarani they come before the noun, unlike adjectives, which come after the noun (see **3.3**).

The most common types of determiners are definite/indefinite articles, quantifiers and demonstratives. It is important to bear in mind that the Guarani noun phrase does not require any determiners. Bare nouns are enough to form a grammatical noun phrase.

*Para ape hovy sakã asy*

para ape h-ovy sakã asy sea surface possm3-blue clear intense 'The sea was an intense light blue'

*taita pire cha' ı˜* taita pire cha'ı˜ grandfather skin wrinkle 'grandfather's wrinkles'

Bare nouns can have a **generic** interpretation; that is, they do not refer to specific individuals but rather to a kind or class of individuals. They are used often in sentences that refer to universal truths or make generalizations about a whole category of individuals.

#### *Kuña ikatupyry*.

kuña i-katupyry woman 3.inact-skilful 'Women are skilful.'

(Note: without a context to indicate what the interpretation should be, this can also mean 'the woman is skilful'.)

*Tejukuéra ojepire'óvo, ose˜ jevy ichupekuéra ipire pyahu*. teju=kuéra o-je-pire-'o-vo o-se˜ jevy lizard=pl 3.act-agd-skin-remove-while 3.act-go.out again ichupe=kuéra i-pire pyahu to.him/her=pl 3.inact-skin new 'Lizards, as they shed, grow new skins.'

When determiners appear, however, they do so before the noun they determine, as I will exemplify in the following sections.

#### 3.4.1 Articles

**Articles** are determiners indicating whether the noun they accompany has a definite or indefinite **referent**, or a new versus an already-known referent in discourse. Before contact with Spanish, Guarani did not have any definite or indefinite articles. Strictly speaking, modern Guarani does not have any articles. However, speakers very often employ *la* as a kind of article, usually for singular noun phrases (from the Spanish feminine singular definite article *la*). Likewise, *lo* is used usually for (collective) plural noun phrases (from the Spanish masculine plural definite article *los*).

*Ou la arriéro ha ovy'apa lo kuña*. o-u la arriéro ha o-vy'a-pa lo kuña 3.act-come det.sg peasant and 3.act-joy-all det.pl woman 'The man came and the women were all happy.'

*la hi'ýva ojagarra pya'e hag˜uáicha* la hi-'ýva o-jagarra pya'e hag˜ua-icha det.sg 3.inact-handle 3.act-grab fast for-as 'he grabbed its handle (i.e., of a whip) to (use it) fast'

*Jaha lo mitã*. ja-ha lo mitã 1pl.incl.act-go det.pl child 'Let's go boys!'

Even though *la* comes from a Spanish singular article, and is usually described as singular in Guarani grammars, it is often used with plural noun phrases as well.

*Peñatendévará lo kuñakaraikuéra, la penememby kuñáre* pe-ñatendé-va'e-rã lo kuña+karai=kuéra 2pl.act-pay.attention-adjz-dest det.pl woman+gentleman=pl la pene-memby+kuña=re det.sg 2pl.inact-child.of.woman+woman=at 'Ladies, you must pay attention to your daughters'

*la chesosiokuéra, la cheiru˜ nguéra* la che-sosio=kuéra la che-iru˜=nguéra det.sg 1sg.inact-mate=pl det.sg 1sg.inact-friend=pl 'my mates, my friends'

It is common for *la* to be found at the beginning of a relative clause marked with the relativizer -*va* (and it may even be used in the absence of the relativizer). Again, here *la* may be used in a plural noun phrase.

*He la ja'úva*. he la ja-'u-va tasty det.sg 1pl.incl.act-ingest-adjz 'What I and you are eating is tasty.'

*pórke la ápe oúvako ndoureíri hína* pórke la ápe o-u-va=ko because det.sg here 3.act-come-adjz=verd nd-o-u-rei-ri hína neg-3.act-come-in.vain-neg prog 'because those who come here do not come for no reason'

*¡Ndénteko la rembotuichaitereíva!* nde-nte=ko la re-mbo-tuicha-ite-rei-va you.sg-only=verd det.sg 2sg.act-make1-big-very-in.vain-adjz 'You are just exaggerating!' (Literally, 'Just things that you alone make really big for no reason!')

*Ojapo la chupekuéra ogustávante*. o-japo la chupe=kuéra o-gusta-va-nte 3.act-make det.sg to.him/her=pl 3.act-please-adjz-only 'They do only what pleases them.'

*emombe'úta mba'e la rehecha* e-mombe'u-ta mba'e la re-h-echa imp-tell-fut thing det.sg 2sg.act-possm3-see 'you will tell what you see'

Both *la* and *lo* are extremely common in speech, but their use is frowned upon in more academic or formal registers. Neither of them indicates gender, only number. Notably, they can co-occur with possessive prefixes (as in one of the examples above and also in **3.6**). Even though they come from Spanish definite articles, it is not clear that they are definite in Guarani, since they can occur with an indefinite, non-specific interpretation. In the example below, the speaker is not talking about a specific food or meal, but rather about anything, any small thing, to eat.

*ikatu hag˜uáicha oguereko la imba'e ho'umiva'erã* ikatu hag˜ua-icha o-guereko la i-mba'e be.able for-as 3.act-have det.sg 3.inact-thing ho-'u-mi-va'e-rã 3.act-ingest-dim-adjz-dest 'so that they would have a little something to eat'13

*Barbie oheka la forma oenamora hag˜ua Víctorpe*. Barbie o-h-eka la forma o-enamora Barbie 3.act-possm3-seek det.sg form 3.act-make.fall.in.love hag˜ua Víctor=pe for Víctor=in 'Barbie looks for a/the way to make Victor fall in love.'

Indefinite noun phrases can appear with the numeral *peteı˜* 'one':

#### *peteı˜ porandu iporãva*

peteı˜ porandu i-porã-va one question 3.inact-beautiful-adjz 'a beautiful question'

#### *Itúva ha isy oguereko peteı˜ jagua'i*.


#### *Ohójeko Perurima ohechamívo peteı˜ iñamígope*.

o-ho-jeko Perurima o-h-echa-mi-vo peteı˜ 3.act-go-it.is.said Perurima 3.act-possm3-see-used.to-while one iñ-amígo=pe 3.inact-friend=in 'They say that Perurima used to go visit a friend.'

Another indefinite determiner is *ambue* '(an)other'. The noun determined by *ambue* may be singular or plural. A plural interpretation is possible even for nouns without plural marking.

*ambue mba'e* ambue mba'e other thing 'another thing / the other thing / other things'

<sup>13</sup> Example from Gynan (2017, 101).

*Panambi hovy ha ambue mombe'urãnguéra* panambi h-ovy ha ambue mombe'u-rã=nguéra butterfly possm3-blue and other tell-dest=pl 'The blue butterfly and other stories'

*ombotove narcopolítica* . . . *ha ambue jepokuaa vai* o-mbo-tove narcopolítica ha ambue je-pokuaa vai 3.act-make1-not.be narcopolitics and other agd-habit bad 's/he repudiated narcopolitics . . . and other bad habits'

### 3.4.2 Demonstratives

**Demonstratives** are morphemes that help to identify a referent by locating it in space or time (this language function of ostension is more generally called **deixis**). The system of demonstratives in Guarani is much more extensive than that in English. English recognizes singular 'this' / plural 'these' (for things or events close to the speaker, or **proximal**) and singular 'that' / plural 'those' (for things or events not close to the speaker, or **distal**). Guarani, on the other hand, makes many more distinctions. For this reason, the glosses for demonstratives in the examples are very technical. Readers can return to the tables in this section until they become familiar with the system.

Guarani has two main sets of demonstratives. One set is used when the referent is present at the time of the utterance, for example because it is visible to speaker and addressee; another set is used when the referent is removed or absent.

Within the set used for present referents, Guarani further differentiates three different demonstratives according to distance: proximal to speaker, proximal to addressee (or **medial**) and distal to both speaker and addressee. This three-way distinction can be understood in English as 'this', 'that close to you'/'that here' and 'that (over) there'.


Some examples of these **co-present** demonstratives:

*ko jagua* ko jagua prox.sg dog 'this dog'

*pe tape puku* pe t-ape puku med.sg npossm-road long 'that long road (here)'

*upe panambi hovy* upe panambi h-ovy med.sg butterfly possm3-blue 'that blue butterfly'

*amo táva* amo táva dist.sg town 'that town (over there)'

*ko'ã ta'anga* ko'ã t-a'anga prox.pl npossm-image 'these pictures'

*umi guyra* umi guyra nprox.pl bird 'those birds'

Within the set used for referents removed from the communicative situation, or non-co-present, the paradigm again differentiates between three different demonstratives: a pair that refers to distant persons known to both speaker and addressee, a pair that refers to distant events known to both speaker and addressee, and a pair that refers to individuals or events that the speaker has no direct knowledge of.


It is important to show removed or non-co-present demonstratives in their full context to help the reader grasp their usage:

*Che, ako Éfesope, añorairõ rire ramo tymba ñarõ ndive yvypóra rehehápente, mba'épa iporã vaerã mo'ã chéve?* Che ako Éfeso=pe a-ño-rairõ rire ramo I dist.ev Ephesus=in 1sg.act-recp-attack after if t-ymba ñarõ=ndive yvypóra=rehehápe=nte mba'e=pa npossm-animal wild=with person=for.the.sake.of=only what=q

i-porã-vae-rã-mo'ã chéve 3.inact-good-adjz-dest-almost to.me

'Having fought with wild beasts in that Ephesus for the sake of humans, what of good will I gain?'

#### *Peteı˜ kuña ndojaho'íri ramo iñakã, ojogua ku kuña oñemyakã perõvaekuépe*.

peteı˜ kuña nd-o-jaho'i-ri ramo iñ-akã o-jogua one woman neg-3.act-cover-neg when 3.inact-head 3.act-resemble ku kuña o-ñe-my-akã perõ-vae-kué=pe dist.per woman 3.act-agd-make1-head hairless-adjz-post=in 'If a woman does not cover her head, it is the same as if this woman had made her head bald.'

*Akãrapu'ã ningo umi viajes espaciales kuéra, ndaha'éi nde ru almacen.* akãrapu'ã=ningo umi viajes espaciales=kuéra nda-ha'e-i progress=verd nprox.pl trips spatial=pl neg-be-neg nde-r-u almacen 2sg.inact-possm-father grocery.store 'Progress is (those) space trips, not your dad's grocery store.'

*Ndépa rerovia aipo Papá Noel*. nde=pa re-rovia aipo Papá Noel you.sg=q 2sg.act-believe dist.ind Santa.Claus 'Do you believe in that guy Santa Claus?'

*Indivíduoko umi ohekáva aipo "certificado médico" ani hag˜ua oho odefende tetã*. indivíduo=ko umi o-h-eka-va aipo certificado individual=verd nprox.pl 3.act-possm3-seek-adjz dist.ind certificate médico ani=hag˜ua o-ho o-defende t-etã medical neg.imp=for 3.act-go 3.act-defend npossm-country '"Individuals" are those who look for a "medical certificate" so as not to

go defend the country.'

*Aipo* is often associated with something heard but not seen:

*(Upe jave oñehendu peteı˜ mbokapu mombyrymi*.*)* -*Jesu* . . . *aipo mbokapu* . . .

upe jave o-ñe-h-endu peteı˜ mbo-kapu mombyry-mi med.sg during 3.act-agd-possm3-hear one make1-shot far-dim Jesu aipo mbo-kapu Jesus dist.ind make1-shot '(At that moment, a shot is heard not very far.) -Jesus . . . that shot … '

As shown in the tables above, singular demonstratives show the finestgrained distinctions. In the plural, only *umi* is used, except when the referent is both present and proximal to the speaker (like English 'these'), in which case *ã* or *ko'ã* are used.

The demonstratives *upe* and *umi* are mostly used to convey the meanings 'in this way', 'in that way' or 'thus' (**notional deixis**, also called **modal deixis**). *Upe* and *umi* are also very common in storytelling, because the referents of most nouns in narration are in an imagined universe of discourse. However, *pe* is attested as well in this sort of non-co-present use:

```
ou mboyvekuri la españolkuéra ojapo pe cacerío la karaikuéra
o-u mboyve=kuri la español=kuéra o-japo pe
3.act-come before=dir.past dem.sg Spaniard=pl 3.act-make med.sg
cacerío la karai=kuéra
hunt dem.sg gentleman=pl
'before the Spaniards came men hunted'14
```
<sup>14</sup> Example from Gynan (2017, 101).

Of these demonstratives, pe, upe and umi in particular are often used as if they were definite articles. In fact, demonstratives often appear in contexts where English would have simply a definite article. One can find examples like the following in narrations:

#### Adrián ha Karolina oñani pya'e oñeha'avo ani upe yvyku'i yrembe'ypegua oipy hapypa ichupekuéra.

Adrián ha Karolina o-ñani pya'e o-ñe-h-a'ã-vo Adrián and Carolina 3.ACT-run fast 3.ACT-AGD-POSSM3-attempt-while ani upe yvyku'i y+r-embe'y=pegua NEG.IMP MED.SG sand water+POSSM-edge=from oi-py+h-apy-pa ichupe=kuéra 3.ACT-foot+POSSM3-hot-all to.him/her=PL 'Adrián and Carolina ran fast trying to prevent the sand from the riverbank from burning their feet.'

Umi yvyra hoguekúiva'ekue . . . umi yvyra h-ogue+kúi-va'e-kue NPROX.PL tree POSSM3-leaf+get.detached-ADJZ-POST 'The trees that have lost their leaves . . . '

Ku is used for a non-present referent, when not only the speaker but also the hearer both have direct knowledge of the referent. That is, when the referent is in the common ground.

Chemandu'a nemichîramo, pyhare ahendúramo ku pombéro opiã.

ne-michî=ramo che-mandu'a pyhare a-h-endu=ramo 1SG.INACT-remember 2SG.INACT-little=when night 1 1SG.ACT-POSSM3-hear=when pombéro o-piã ku DIST.PER pombero 3.ACT-cheep

'I remember when you were little, when I would hear that pombero cheep at night'. (The pombero is a mythical figure, also called "Lord of the night".)

Ako is used under the same conditions. It seems to refer primarily to events, but it can also refer to individuals in a way similar to ku.

*Ojejukáguive ako karai Arce, ahendúvo mbokapu aimo'ãjevýma oime ojejukáva*.

o-je-juka=guive ako karai Arce a-h-endu-vo 3.act-agd-kill=since dist.ev gentleman Arce 1sg.act-possm3-hear-while mbo-kapu a-imo'ã-jevy-ma o-ime make1-burst 1sg.act-think-again-already 3.act-be.located o-je-juka-va

3.act-agd-kill-adjz

'Since that Mr Arce was killed, whenever I hear shots, I already think again there is someone being killed.'

If the hearer has no previous knowledge of the referent, *pe* or *upe* can be used.

*Pe doctorpe aju adenuncia*

pe doctor=pe a-ju a-denuncia med.sg doctor=in 1sg.act-come 1sg.act-report 'I went to that doctor to file a complaint.'

Finally, in contrast to standard English, demonstratives can co-occur with possessive prefixes.

#### *ehupi pe ndeao*

e-hupi pe nde-ao imp-lift med.sg 2sg.inact-clothes 'pick up your clothes (there).'

*Ko che iru˜ niko oike ka'aguy marã'y˜me* . . . ko che-iru˜ niko o-ike ka'aguy marã'y˜=me . . . prox.sg 1sg.inact-friend verd 3.act-enter forest spotless=in 'This friend of mine is indeed entering into the virgin forest . . . ' (literally, 'this my friend is indeed entering into the virgin forest. . . ')

3.4.3 Numerals and quantifiers

Before contact with Spanish, Guarani had four **cardinal numerals**: *peteı˜* '1', *mokõi* '2', *mbohapy* '3' and *irundy* '4'. In the twentieth century, several complementary academic systems were created to extend the numeral set. The one I present briefly here is usually attributed to Professor Reinaldo Decoud Larrosa.

The first extension is the use of po 'hand' for the number 5, and pa for '10'. This latter is derived by the deletion of the first vowel (apheresis) of opa 'end, totality, complete', because 10 is the end number of the modern decimal system.

The rest of the numbers are obtained by deleting the first syllable of a number and combining it with po and pa. For example, pote? (po+teï, the latter being the shortened form of peteï '1') is '6', and pokõi (po+kõi, the latter being the shortened form of mokõi '2') is '7'. Sa, short form of rasa 'very', is '100', and su, short form of guasu 'big', is '1,000'.


As of today, this system is purely of academic use. In the colloquial language, Spanish numerals are in common use beyond *irundy* '4'.

*Hepykue oñeimo'ã ohupyty amo 14*.*200 sua dólar*.

h-epy-kue o-ñe-imo'ã o-h-upyty amo possm3-expensive-nmlz.abs 3.act-agd-think 3.act-possm3-achievement dist.sg 14.200 sua dólar 14.200 million dollar 'The cost is estimated to have reached 14,200 million dollars.'

To talk about age, English uses the verb 'to be'. Guarani, on the other hand, uses *(gue)reko* 'to have', with the word *ary* 'year':


In a more colloquial register, the Spanish borrowing *año* 'year' is generally used (in the example below, accompanied with some phonetic simplifications such as the omission of /v/ in *mbovy* 'how many' or the simplification of the second-person singular person prefix from *re*- to *e*-):

*Mboy año ereko?* mboy año e-reko how.many year 2sg.act-have 'How old are you?'

As mentioned in **3.1.1**, there is no plural number agreement with cardinal determiners.

*mbohapy ovecha* mbohapy ovecha three sheep 'three sheep'

*jopara katu mokõi ñe'e˜ onáva ojuehe* jopara katu mokõi ñe'e˜ o-na-va ojuehe Jopara just two language 3.act-stick-adjz at.each.other 'Jopara, on the other hand, is two languages mixed between themselves' Cardinal numbers figure in the neologisms used for the names of the days of the week and months of the year (see **15.7**). Occasionally, the times of the day can be given using these academic numerals.

#### *arapokõi ha arateı˜ jave poteı˜ aravo guive poapy aravo peve*

ára+pokõi ha ara+teı˜ jave poteı˜ aravo guive poapy aravo peve day+seven and day+one during six hour since eight hour until 'during Saturdays and Sundays from six to eight'

**Ordinal numbers** are formed with the ordinal stressed suffix -*ha* and are placed after the head noun. (Do not confuse with the nominalizer -*ha* in **3.2.1.1.1**.)

#### *káso peteı˜ha*

káso peteı˜-ha short.story one-th 'the first short story'

#### *Pe Tupã remimbou mokõiha ombopu ituru*. pe Tupã r-emi-mbo-u mokõi-ha o-mbo-pu med.sg God possm-nmlz.rel-make1-come two-th 3.act-make1-sound i-turu 3.inact-trumpet 'The second messenger of God (=angel) sounded his trumpet.'

*Pe ovecha ra'y ojokávo séllo mbohapyha, ahendu pe oikovéva mbohapyha he'i ramo: "Eju!"*.

pe ovecha r-a'y o-joka-vo sello mbohapy-ha med.sg sheep possm-son 3.act-break-while seal three-th a-h-endu pe o-iko-ve-va mbohapyha he'i 1sg.act-possm3-hear med.sg 3.act-be-more-adjz three says ramo e-ju recently imp-come

'As the Lamb broke the third seal, I immediately heard the third that was living say: "Come!".'

**Distributives** (that is, 'X *number* each') can be formed by **reduplication** (doubling) of the cardinal number (marked with the tilde ~ in the gloss). Of note, the sentence below is ambiguous between a meaning where each of three persons drank one glass and a meaning where each person drank three glasses. Perhaps for this reason, it is common to use Spanish distributives in the spoken language (for example, uno a uno 'one by one').

#### Ha'ekuéra ho'u mbohapy kagua peteĩteĩ.

ha'e=kuéra ho-'u mbohapy kagua peteî ~ teî s/he=PL 3.ACT-ingest three drinking-glass one~one 'They drank three glasses each.'/"They drank each one of three glasses.'

mokõimokõi tapicha oikékuri pýpe mokõi~mokõi t-apicha o-ike-kuri pýpe two~two NPOSSM-fellow.man 3.ACT-enter-DIR.PAST inside 'People entered inside in twos / two by two.'

Quantifiers more generally indicate some non-exact quantity (or zero) of the noun they accompany, when they function as noun determiners (but see 9 for a more general overview of quantification).

#### upe opa jaguarehe jahecháva

opa jagua=rehe ja-h-echa-va upe MED.SG all dog=at 1PL.INCL.ACT-POSSM3-SEE-AJDZ 'that which we (and you) can see in all dogs'

#### opavave mitã'i ha mitãkuña'íicha

opavave mitã-'i ha mitã+kuña-'i-icha all child-DIM and child+woman-DIM-as 'like all little boys and little girls'

#### ¡Nda'opavavéi itítuloko oho tetã ambuépe!

nda-'opavave-i i-título=ko o-ho t-etã ambue=pe neg-all-neg 3.INACT-diploma=VERD 3.ACT-go NPOSSM-country other=in 'Not everyone who has a (college) diploma goes to another country!'

atýra so'okangue atýra so'o+kangue heap meat+bone 'a lot of bones'

mayma yvypóra mayma yvypóra every person 'every human being'

#### *maymáva hasývapeguarã*

maymáva h-asy-va=pe=guarã every possm3-sickness-adjz=in=for 'for each patient / for all patients'

#### *Ko'ã ñembohasa ojejapo ñe'e˜joapy ñavo rupírehe*.

ko'ã ñe-mbo-h-asa o-je-japo ñe'e˜+joapy ñavo=rupi=rehe prox.pl agd-make1-possm3-pass 3.act-agd-make speech+union each=through=at 'These translations are made for each sentence.'

*oı˜ heta tape'i*

oı˜ h-eta t-ape-'i there.is possm3-numerous npossm-road-dim 'there are many passages'

#### *opaichagua pira*

opa-icha=gua pira all-as=from fish 'all sorts of fish'

#### *mbovy guyra*

mbovy guyra few bird 'few birds'

#### *oñorairõ hikuái oimerae˜ mba'erehe*

o-ño-rairõ hikuái oimerae˜ mba'e=rehe 3.act-recp-attack they any thing=because 'they fought for any reason'

#### *mba'evéichagua jeporavo'y˜re*

mba'eve-icha=gua je-poravo='y˜re nothing-as=from agd-choose=without 'without any (form of) discrimination'

Note that *heta* is a relational root. It can be used in a compound word with another root. It can also have predicative uses with the meaning 'to be numerous'. In both these cases, the *r*- prefix is used.

*avareta* ava+r-eta person+possm-numerous 'a multitude of people'

*ñandereta* ñande-r-eta 1pl.incl.inact-possm-numerous 'we (and you) are numerous / there are many of us'

Plural agreement is possible, but optional, with many of these quantifiers.

*mayma yvypóra* mayma yvypóra every person 'every human being'

## *maymáva tapichakuéra*

maymáva t-apicha=kuéra every npossm-fellow.man=pl 'all the people / every fellow man'

## 3.5 Pronouns

## 3.5.1 Personal pronouns

Having an explicit subject in a sentence is not obligatory in Guarani, since the prefixes that accompany a verb are enough to identify it in many cases. Free-standing personal pronoun forms (that is, not prefixed to the verb) do exist, but are used only when a contrast with other participants in the event or insistence on the subject is needed.

*Ndefelínte che aipota.* nde-feli-nte che ai-pota 2sg.inact-happy-only I 1sg.act-want 'I, I only want you (to be) happy.'

*Ha'e oikuaa che ko imba'eva.* ha'e oi-kuaa che=ko i-mba'e-va s/he 3.act-know I=verd 3.inact-thing-adjz 'She knows I am (truly) hers.'

Ağa jasypahápe, nde reñomongetáta hendive. áğa jasy+pa-ha=pe nde re-ño-mongeta-ta hendive now moon+end-NMLZ=in you.SG 2SG.ACT-RECP-converse-FUT with.him 'But at the end of the month, you (not me) will discuss it with him.'

The free-standing personal pronoun forms are given in the table below. Different forms are used for different grammatical functions in the sentence: subject, indirect object, direct object (marked only for humans and sometimes animals), separative (also known as ablative) and oblique object (an object marked with a special postposition). The reason the table below has no free-standing direct object pronouns for first and second person will be explained in 4.2.


Points to note:

· The third person pronouns are very commonly found as chupe, chupekuéra, chugui, chuguikuéra, without the initial i.

Egueru chéve . . . e-gueru chéve IMP-bring to.me 'Bring (to) me . . . '

#### Eremína ichupe nde.

ere-mi-na ichupe nde 2SG.Say-PLEAD-REQ to.him/her you.sG 'You tell him/her.'

#### *Atı˜ma pendehegui amba'ejerure haguã.*

a-tı˜-ma pendehegui a-mba'e-jerure haguã 1sg.act-feel.shame-already from.you.pl 1sg.act-thing-petition for 'It already makes me ashamed to be asking things from you.'

*chemandu'áta hese* che-mandu'a-ta hese 1sg.inact-remembrance-fut at.him/her 'I will remember him/her.'

*María Pytyvõhára, eñembo'e orerehe*. María Pytyvõ-hára e-ñembo'e ore=rehe María help-nmlz.ag imp-prayer we.not.you=at 'Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.'

It is important to realize that Guarani has two forms for first-person plural pronouns (and verbal prefixes as well). In English, if I say to someone (to the **addressees** of my speech), 'we need to go', those people may not know whether by 'we' I mean myself and them or myself and some other people but not them. In Guarani this is always unambiguously clear. There is an **inclusive** form (*ñande*) that is used to refer to the speaker and other people including whoever is being addressed, and an **exclusive** form (*ore*) that is used to refer to the speaker and other people in the speaker's group, but excluding whoever is being addressed. (This language property is called **clusivity**.) For example, the first sentence below would be used by a student addressing other students, whereas the second sentence would be used by a student addressing, say, teachers:

#### *Ñande jaestudia porã.*

ñande ja-estudia porã we&you 1pl.incl.act-study well 'We (and you) studied well.'

#### *Ore roestudia porã.*

ore ro-estudia porã we.not.you 1pl.excl.act-study well 'We (excluding you) studied well.'

Another example is given by the following sentence, from a blog post by a Paraguayan, writing for Paraguayans:

#### *Mba'erã jay'u terere ñande Paraguaigua?*

mba'e-rã ja-y+'u terere ñande Paraguai=gua what-dest 1pl.incl.act-water+ingest terere we&you Paraguay=from 'Why do we Paraguayans drink terere?' (Terere is a chilled infusion made with mate (*Ilex Paraguayensis*) leaves.)

If the writer of the blog had been addressing non-Paraguayans, the question would have been:

*Mba'erã roy'u terere ore Paraguaigua?* mba'e-rã ro-y+'u terere ore Paraguai=gua what-dest 1pl.excl.act-water+ingest terere we.not.you Paraguay=from 'Why do we Paraguayans drink terere?'

The following example can also clarify this point. Clearly, Mary Help of Christians is going to pray for a group that includes the speaker, but not for herself. Therefore, when addressing Mary, the speaker uses *orerehe* to exclude Mary from the group being prayed for.

*María Pytyvõhára, eñembo'e orerehe*. María Pytyvõ-hára e-ñembo*'*e ore=rehe María help-nmlz.ag imp-prayer we.not.you=at 'Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.'

The third-person forms *(i)chupe* and *(i)chupekuéra* are used for both direct objects and indirect objects. The first- and second-person indirect object forms cannot be used for direct objects, since some special marking is required when the direct object is first- or second-person, as shown in the examples below (see **4.2**).

*Rohayhu*. ro-h-ayhu 1.act>2sg-possm3-love 'I/We love you (sg.).'

*Pohayhu*. po-h-ayhu 1.act>2pl-possm3-love 'I/We love you (pl.).' Even though the postposition =gui 'from' is unstressed when used with nouns or phrases, the separative personal pronouns are stressed on this last syllable gui.

He'i avei cherecomendataha iñirũnguérape ojogua hağuã cheheguínte la chipa.

he'i avei che-recomenda-ta-ha iñ-irű=nguéra=pe says also 1sg.INACT-recommend-FUT-NMLZ 3.INACT-friend=PL=in o-jogua=hağuã chehegui-nte la chipa 3.ACT-buy=for from.me-only DET.SG chipa 'He also said that he would recommend me to his friends so that they would buy chipa only from me.'

Animo'ãkena avave ohekýi ndehegui neñe'ẽ.

ani-mo'a-ke-na avave o-h-ekýi ndehegui NEG-NEG.FUT-FORCE-REQ nobody 3.ACT-POSSM3-take.away from.you.sG ne-ñeˈẽ 2SG.INACT-language "That/Let nobody ever take your language from you.'

Because they are independent words, these personal pronouns are never subject to pronunciation changes based on nasal harmony, unlike person prefixes (for the nasal variants of person-marking prefixes see 3.6 and 4.1.2).

Further, these pronouns have reflexive forms; that is, object pronouns used prototypically when a subject performs an action unto itself (cf. the English pronouns ending in '-self', '-selves').


ha'e avei chejupe . . . ha'e avei chejupe I.say also to.myself 'I also said to myself . . . '

Ojeguereko hetaiterei gente omba'apóva ijehegui. gente o o-mba'apo-va o-je-guereko h-eta-iterei 3.ACT-AGD-have POSSM3-numerous-very.much people 3.ACT-work-ADJZ ijehegui from.him/herself 'A great number of people are found that work by themselves (i.e., without a commercial licence).'

Peñatendéke pendejehe ha entéro ovecha atýre. pe-ñatende-ke pendejehe ha entéro ovecha aty=re 2PL.ACT-pay.attention-FORCE at.yourselves and whole sheep group=at 'Look out for yourselves and for the entire flock.'

The forms chete, ndete, and so on, being subject forms, are not truly reflexive. They have an emphatic use similar to the English forms in '-self'.

#### chete ajapova'ekue

chete a-japo-va'e-kue I.myself 1SG.ACT-make-ADJZ-POST 'I myself did it'

#### Jehova ningo oheja ñandete jadesidi.

Jehova=ningo o-h-eja ñandete ja-desidi Jehovah=VERD 3.ACT-POSSM3-leave we.ourselves 1PL.INCL.ACT-decide 'But Jehovah lets us decide ourselves.'

This emphatic import is most often reinforced by the emphatic particle voi. The particle voi can sometimes carry by itself the emphatic meaning.


*Ore voi rohecha va'ekue ore resa tee rupi Jesucristo pokatu*. ore=voi ro-h-echa-va'e-kue we.not.you=emph 1pl.excl.act-possm3-see-adjz-post ore-r-esa-tee=rupi Jesucristo pokatu 1pl.excl.inact-possm3-eye-one's.own=through Jesus.Christ might 'We ourselves saw with our own eyes the might of Jesus Christ.'

## 3.5.2 Interrogative pronouns

**Interrogative pronouns** are used to ask a question whose answer is not simply 'yes' or 'no'; for example, in English, 'what' (non-human subject or object), 'who' (human subject or object), 'whom' (human object) or 'whose' (possessive). For ease of exposition, I present them in this section together with other **interrogative words** that are not pronouns but can be determiners or pro-adverbials (a kind of "pronoun for adverbs").


Points to note:

	- *Mba'éicha* 'how' is composed of *mba'e* 'thing' and -*icha* 'as' (literally, 'like what?').
	- *Mba'erã* 'what for' is *mba'e* 'thing' plus nominal destinative aspect -*rã* (literally, 'for what?').
	- *Mba'ére* 'why' is *mba'e* 'thing' plus =*re* 'at' (literally, 'because of what?').
	- *Mba'égui* 'why' is *mba'e* 'thing' plus =*gui* 'from' (literally, 'from what?').
	- *Araka'epeve* 'until when' is *araka'e* 'when' plus =*peve* 'until'.

#### Mba'éichapa reiko.

mba'é-icha=pa re-iko what-as=Q 2SG.ACT-be 'How are you?'

#### Mba'épa iporã vaerã mo'a chéve.

mba'e=pa i-porã-vae-rã-mo'ã chéve 3.INACT-good-ADJZ-DEST-ALMOST to.me what=0 'What of good will I gain?'

#### Mba'e ere?

mba'e ere what 2SG.ACT.Say 'What did you say?'

#### Mba'e carrérata piko upéva.

mba'e carréra-ta=piko upe-va what career-FuT=Q MED.SG-ADJZ 'What career would that be?'

#### Moõpa reime.

moõ=pa re-ime where=Q 2SG.ACT-be.located 'Where are you?'

#### ¿Ha moõ rupi ñambopila?

ha moõ=rupi ña-mbo-pila and where=through 1PL.INCL.ACT-MAKE1-battery 'And where does one put the batteries?'

#### moõguipa jaju, mávapa ñande ha moõgotopa jaha

moõ=gui=pa ja-ju máva=pa ñande ha where=from=Q IPL.INCL.ACT-come who=Q we&you and moõ=goto=pa ja-ha where=toward=Q = 1PL.INCL.ACT-go 'Where do we come from, who are we, and where do we go?' *Nde piko moõgua.* nde=piko moõ=gua you.sg=q where=from 'Where are you from?'

*Nde piko moõgui reju.* nde=piko moõ=gui re-ju you.sg=q where=from 2sg.act-come 'Where are you coming from?'

*Araka'épa og˜uahe˜ Marta.* araka'e=pa o-g˜uahe˜ Marta when=q 3.act-arrive Marta 'When did Marta arrive?'

#### *Mba'erã jay*'*u terere ñande Paraguaigua?*

mba'e-rã ja-y+'u terere ñande Paraguai=gua what-dest 1pl.incl.act-water+ingest terere we&you Paraguay=from 'Why do we Paraguayans drink terere?'

#### *mba'éguipa remaña péicha ndesýre*

mba'e=gui=pa re-maña pe-icha nde-sy=re what=from=q 2sg.act-look.at med.sg-as 2sg.inact-mother=at 'why are you looking at your mother like that?'

#### *Mboy peime?*

mboy pe-ime how.many 2pl.act-be.located 'How many are you?'

#### 3.5.3 Indefinite and negative pronouns

**Indefinite pronouns** refer to non-specific objects, people, events or places. **Negative pronouns** are indefinite pronouns that include negation. Most negative pronouns carry the ending -*ve* (except *ni peteı˜*, calqued from the Spanish *ni uno* 'not even one'). As with many of the interrogatives in **3.5.2**, several of these can function as pronouns or as determiners of a noun.



#### Ndaipotái mba'eve.

nd-ai-pota-i mba'eve NEG-1SG.ACT-want-NEG nothing 'I don't want anything.' (Literally, 'I don't want nothing'; for double negation, see 4.9.)

#### Avave ndoikuaái cheréra.

avave nd-oi-kuaa-i che-r-éra nobody NEG-3.ACT-know-NEG 1SG.INACT-POSSM-name 'Nobody knows my name.' (Literally, 'Nobody doesn't know my name.')

#### Ndahaséi mamove nendie.

nd-a-ha-se-i mamove ne=ndie NEG-1SG.ACT-go-want-NEG nowhere 2SG.INACT=with 'I don't want to go anywhere with you.' (Literally, 'I don't want to go nowhere with you.')

Mokõive tajýra opyta hye guasu itúvagui. mokõive t-ajýra o-pyta h-ye+guasu NPOSSM-daughter.of.man 3.ACT-stay POSSM3-belly+big both i-t-úva=gui 3.INACT-NPOSSM-father=from 'Both daughters got pregnant by their father.'

#### jeroviapy, jepokuaa, ñe'ẽ ha ambuéva

jerovia-py je-pokuaa ha ambuéva believe-NMLZ.PASS AGD-habit language and other 'beliefs, customs, language, and other things'

#### Aporanduse ndéve peteĩ mba'e.

a-porandu-se ndéve peteĩ mba'e 1SG.ACT-question-want to.you one thing 'I want to ask you something.'

There are also adverbial proforms (pronouns replace nouns; proforms replace other word classes; adverbial proforms replace time, space and manner adverbials):


*Araka'eve ndaikatúi ake nderógape.* araka*'*eve nda-ikatu-i a-ke nde-r-óga=pe never neg-be.able-neg 1sg.act-sleep 2sg.inact-possm-house=in 'I can never sleep in your house.'

*máramo soja nome'e˜i "kamby" . . . mba'eveichavéramo nome'e˜i kamby* máramo soja n-o-me'e˜-i kamby mba'eveichavéramo never soy neg-3.act-give-neg milk in.absolutely.no.way n-o-me'e˜-i kamby neg-3.act-give-neg milk 'Never does soy give (=produce) "milk" . . . in absolutely no way does it give milk'

*Mba'evéicharamo ndahamo'ãi!* mba'evéicharamo nd-a-ha-mo'ã-i in.no.way neg-1sg.act-go-fut.neg-neg

'I will not go, absolutely not!'

### 3.5.4 Demonstrative pronouns

**Demonstrative pronouns** identify what the speaker is referring to directly by giving information about the location of this referent in space or time (deictic information), without the help of a noun. These pronouns are formed straightforwardly by adding the unstressed suffix -*va* (which creates adjectives or nouns) to the demonstrative determiners.

#### *Kóva peteı˜ hu'y.*

ko-va peteı˜ hu'y prox.sg-adjz one arrow 'This is an arrow.'

#### *Ojehecha péva ndaikatumo'ãiha.*

o-je-h-echa pe-va nda-ikatu-mo'ã-i-ha 3.act-agd-possm3-see med.sg-adjz neg-be.able-fut.neg-neg-nmlz 'One can see that that is not possible.'

#### *Ndorojapói upéva*.

ndo-ro-japo-i upe-va neg-1pl.excl.act-make-neg med.sg-adjz 'We didn't do that.'

#### *Ava rógapa amóva*.

ava r-óga=pa amo-va person possm-house=q dist.sg-adjz 'Whose house is that (over there)?'

#### *Umíva ndereka.*

umi-va nde-r-eka nprox.pl-adjz 2sg.inact-possm-seek 'Those ones are looking for you (sg.).'

In colloquial speech, the /v/ of this suffix is very often elided yielding the forms *kóa*, *péa*, *umía*, and so on.

#### *Auto tujango kóa!*

auto tuja=ngo ko-va car old=verd prox.sg-adjz 'But this is an old car!'

#### *Péa niko ñande rekove.*

pe-va=niko ñande-r-ekove med.sg-adjz=verd 1pl.incl.inact-possm-life 'This is our life.'

*Upéicha umía rojuga*. upe-icha umi-va ro-juga med.sg-as nprox.pl-adjz 1pl.excl.act-play 'We played those sorts of things.'

#### 3.5.5 Possessive pronouns

**Possessive pronouns** replace a noun and identify its referent by who its owner or possessor is. They are equivalent to the English pronouns 'mine', 'yours', 'ours', and so on. The morphological structure of these possessive pronouns takes advantage of the syntax of possession by juxtaposition (see **3.6**). They are composed of a person prefix from the inactive series (see **4.1.2**) plus *mba'e* 'thing'; literally, they mean 'my thing', 'your thing', and so on.


#### *ko ñe'e˜ ñanemba'e*

ko ñe'e˜ ñane-mba'e prox.sg language 1pl.incl.inact-thing 'this language is ours'

#### *Hi'ã chéve chemba'e péva*.

hi*'*ã chéve che-mba'e pe-va seems to.me 1sg.inact-thing med.sg-adjz 'It seems to me that that is mine.'

#### *Jeporavo penemba'énte ha ndaha'éi avavemba'e*.

je-poravo pene-mba'e-nte ha nda-ha'e-i avave-mba'e agd-choice 2pl.inact-thing-only and neg-be-neg nobody-thing 'The choice is yours (pl.) and nobody else's.'

#### *Avamba'épa pe ao ky'a.*

ava-mba*'*e=pa pe ao ky*'*a person-thing=q med.sg clothes dirty 'Whose are those dirty clothes?'

#### 3.6 Possessive noun phrases

Possessive noun phrases indicate a relation of possession between nouns. The order is generally **possessor-possessum**. The possessive relation is indicated by simple juxtaposition with no extra marking in the case of a possessor that is a full noun phrase (see the examples with kinship terms below), or by a possessive prefix in the case of a pronominal possessor. If the possessum is a relational root (see **3.1.3**), then it is additionally marked with the corresponding prefix.

*Maria ajaka* María ajaka María basket 'Maria's basket'

*cheajaka* che-ajaka 1sg.inact-basket 'my basket'

*nderesa* nde-r-esa 1sg.inact-possm-eye 'your eye(s)'

*hóga* h-óga possm3-house 'his/her/their house'

*membykuña ména* memby+kuña ména child.of.woman+woman husband 'a woman's son-in-law' (literally, 'husband of female child')

*membykuimba'e ra'y* memby+kuimba'e r-a'y child.of.woman+man possm-son.of.father 'a man's grandson'

*Kili kamisa jyva votõ kuára* kili kamisa jyva votõ kuára Aquilino shirt sleeve button hole 'the buttonhole of Aquilino's shirt sleeve'

The inverted order **possessum-possessor** is found when the so-called "possessor" actually expresses what something is made of or where it comes from:

*kuairu˜ mbokaja* kua+iru˜ mbokaja finger+friend coconut.palm 'coconut ring' (i.e., a ring made of coconut)

*chipa so'o* chipa so'o chipa meat 'meat chipa' (i.e., a chipa filled with meat)

*pohã ka'aguy* pohã ka'aguy medicine forest 'medicine of the forest'15

Possessive prefixes are used when the possessor can be referenced and identified simply by person and number. In reality, these are not exclusively used to mark possession. Rather, they are the inactive person prefixes that are used more generally to refer to the subject of some intransitive verbs, a function that will be explained in **4.1.2.** Note that, as a result of nasal harmony (see **2.2.3**), these prefixes have variants for non-nasal and for nasal bases.


Points to note:

• For non-nasal bases and third-person possessors, *i*- is used with consonant-initial bases, *ij*- with bases beginning with an unstressed vowel and *hi'*- with those beginning with a stressed vowel:

*ipo* i-po possm3-hand 'his/her/their hand(s)'

<sup>15</sup> Example from Palacios Alcaine (1999, 41).

ijao ij-ao POSSM3-clothes 'his/her/their clothes'

hiꞌáva hi-'áva POSSM3-hair 'his/her/their hair'

· For nasal bases, iñ- is used unless the base begins with a nasal or nasal-oral consonant:

iñakã iñ-akã POSSM3-head 'his/her/their head(s)'

inambi i-nambi POSSM3-ear 'his/her/their ear(s)'

imbarakaja i-mbarakaja POSSM3-cat 'his/her/their cat(s)'

· The borrowed determiners la and lo often coexist with possessive prefixes (see 3.4.1):

la ndepo la nde-po DET.SG 2SG.INACT-hand 'your (sg.) hand(s)'

lo ñanemba'e teete lo ñane-mba'e tee-te DET.PL 1PL.INCL.INACT-thing one's.own-very 'our very own things'

· The stressed postposition =gua 'from' encodes a generic relation of belonging to, provenance from a place or time, or sometimes the material something is made of:

*Che niko paraguaigua, paraguaygua*. che=niko paraguái=gua paraguay=gua I=verd Paraguay=from Asunción=from 'I am from Paraguay, from Asunción.'

*jagua ogagua* jagua óga=gua dog house=from 'dog of the house'

• Exclusive possession (as in English 'my own') is expressed with the stressed suffix -*tee*:

*Che ahai cheñe'e˜teeme*. che a-h-ai che-ñe'e˜-tee=me I 1sg.act-possm3-write 1sg.inact-language-one's.own=in 'I write in my own language.'

*Chemba'etee*. che-mba'e-tee 1sg.inact-thing-one's.own 'It is my own thing. / It is truly my thing.'

## 3.7 Nominal temporal-aspectual markers

As we will see in **4.10.1**, the marking of **tense** on verbs allows a speaker to place an event within a timeline. Marking **aspect**, on the other hand, allows a speaker to give information about how an event unfolds (see **4.10.2**). In Guarani, however, it is not only verbs that can have tense or aspect information. In fact, Guarani often marks nouns and noun phrases with this temporal-aspectual information. For example, when you say in English 'I will build a house', the house does not exist and cannot be technically called such until it is built in the future (this is called an **effected object**, an object that comes into existence as a result of the action described by the verb). In Guarani, in this case the noun phrase must bear a suffix that indicates this future tense or what we can call **prospective aspect** (expressing that an event occurs subsequent to another one). Likewise, when you say in English 'look, that was my car', the relation of possession indicated by 'my car' is not true in the present, but in the past. In this case, in Guarani the noun phrase must bear a suffix indicating past tense or **post-stative aspect** (expressing that an event has ceased to occur at the time of another event).

These two tense/aspect suffixes for noun phrases are the stressed nominal suffix -*kue* (post-stative, post) and the stressed nominal suffix -*rã* (destinative, dest). -*Kue* (-*ngue* with nasal bases) indicates that the noun phrase expresses a property that was true at a prior time but has ceased to be true at the time of speech. (Do not confuse this tense/ aspect suffix with the homophonous abstract nominalizer -*kue*; see **3.2.1.1.4**.)

*cherogakue* che-r-óga-kue 1sg.inact-possm-house-post 'my former house'

#### *akãngue*

akã-ngue head-post 'a decapitated head of a dead person or animal' (Literally, 'something that used to be a head')

```
vaka akãngue yvyguy
```
vaka akã-ngue yvy=guy cow head-post earth=under 'buried cow head' (a way of cooking a cow's head for food)

```
Ko'ã ta'angakuéra Quino rembiapokue.
```
ko'ã t-a'anga=kuéra Quino r-embi-apo-kue these npossm-image=pl Quino possm-nmlz.rel-make-post 'These comics were made by Quino.' (Literally, 'These images are Quino's work.')

There is a rare stressed suffix -*re* that is used instead of -*kue* to indicate this post-stative aspect/past tense for nouns and adjectives. It is much more frequently used in combination with -*ha* to yield a past agentive nominalizer (see **3.2.1.1.1**) or with -*py* to yield a past passive nominalizer (see **3.2.1.1.2**).

*menare* ména-re husband-post 'ex-husband' *mendare* menda-re marry-post 'married'

*Chakore* cháko-re Chaco.region-post 'veteran of the Chaco War'

*mokõi Lópe ra'yre* mokõi Lópe r-a'y-re two López possm-son.of.man-post 'two of López's former boys (i.e., former soldiers)'

On the other hand, -*rã* indicates that the noun phrase denotes a property that will be true in some future time. Most often, it is not necessary to indicate this in the English equivalent sentences, but it is obligatory in Guarani. In particular, as stated above, -*rã* is required for objects that come into being as a result of the event described by the verb (**effected objects**), and also in prospective contexts with non-specific objects (with verbs like 'make', 'build', 'look for', 'find' or 'buy', for example).

#### *cherogarã*

che-r-óga-rã 1sg.inact-possm-house-dest 'my future house'

#### *ajapo orerembi'urã*

a-japo ore-r-embi-'u-rã 1sg.act-make 1pl.excl.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-ingest-dest 'I am making our food' (i.e., the food does not exist before the end of its making)

#### *Ikatu pejogua chuguikuéra y ha penerembi'urã*

ikatu pe-jogua chugui=kuéra y ha be.able 2pl.act-buy from.him/her=pl water and pene-r-embi-'u-rã 2pl.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-ingest-dest

'You can buy from them water and your food' (i.e., what will be your food after you buy it from them)

#### *. . . ojapo Ñanderu Tenonde ava ayvurã*.

o-japo ñande-r-u t-enonde ava ayvu-rã 3.act-make 1pl.incl.inact-possm-father npossm-front person word-dest ' . . . Our Father the First made the foundation of the human language.' (Literally, *ava ayvurã* 'that which was destined to be the human word'.)

#### *Tomasa oipota ojuhu peteı˜ iñiru˜rã neporãva*

Tomasa oi-pota o-juhu peteı˜ iñ-iru˜-rã ne-porã-va Tomasa 3.act-want 3.act-find one 3.inact-friend-dest sup-beautiful-sup 'Tomasa wanted him to find a very beautiful partner' (i.e., a non-specific someone who will be a very beautiful partner)

#### *Mitãnguéra ningo hína ñaneretã raperã*.

mitã=nguéra ningo hína ñane-r-etã r-ape-rã child=pl verd prog 1pl.incl.inact-possm-country possm-road-dest 'Children are the road-to-be (i.e., the future) of our country.'

These markers are used when the individual designated by the noun does not exist in the present time, or the property designated is not true at the present time, for any reason. For example, *cherogakue* 'my former house' can be used either because I do not own the house anymore, or because I do not live there anymore, or because the thing denoted is physically not a house anymore. Likewise, *cherogarã* 'my future house' is appropriate when referring to an existing house that I will live in (but do not live in currently), or even in reference to materials that will be used in the construction of a house for me.

Note that the semantic contribution of the destinative -*rã* is often similar to the opposition of specific referents/non-specific referents in English:

#### *ojuhuse peteı˜ iñiru˜ neporãva*

o-juhu-se peteı˜ iñ-iru˜ ne-porã-va 3.act-find-want one 3.inact-friend sup-beautiful-sup 's/he wants to find a (specific) friend (of his/hers) who is beautiful'

#### *ojuhuse peteı˜ iñiru˜rã neporãva*

o-juhu-se peteı˜ iñ-iru˜-rã ne-porã-va 3.act-find-want one 3.inact-friend-dest sup-beautiful-sup 's/he wants to find a friend who will be beautiful' (i.e., (a non-specific) beautiful somebody who will be his/her friend)

The combination of the destinative -*rã* followed by the post-stative -*kue* has a **frustrative** interpretation.

*cherogarãngue* che-r-óga-rã-ngue 1sg.inact-possm-house-dest-post 'my former future house' (i.e., something that, in the past, was going to be my future house)

#### *Ñande jajapóne hutisiakuéra rembiaporãngue*.

ñande ja-japo-ne hutisia=kuéra r-embi-apo-rã-ngue we&you 1pl.incl.act-make-dub justice=pl possm-nmlz.rel-make-dest-post 'We will do the work that justice will not do.' (Literally, 'the work that was for justice to do'.)

Although it is a logical possibility, these two suffixes can never be combined in the reverse order (for example, the form *\*cherogakuerã* to mean something like 'my future former house' does not exist).

## 4 Verbs

I noted in **1.5** and **3** that most Guarani roots have very flexible behaviour: many can behave like nouns or verbs depending on the sentence context. For this reason, it is difficult to define "verb" as something that expresses an action, and one has to resort to specific morphological properties. Thus, in Guarani, verbs are defined as a class of roots that can:


Verbs can be divided according to the number and kinds of arguments they take mainly into **intransitive** (taking only a subject) and **transitive**

**Figure 4.1** Main classes of verbs. *Source*: Author.

(taking a subject and a direct object). A few verbs are **ditransitive** (taking a subject, a direct object and an indirect object). Others also take two arguments like transitives, one a subject and the other an oblique object marked with a postposition (**postpositional complement verbs**). Within the intransitive class, some verbs are **active** and others **inactive**, depending on the shape of the person prefixes that accompany them.

## 4.1 Intransitive verbs

**Intransitive** predicates take only a subject and do not take any objects. In Guarani they belong to either an **active** class (prototypically, events under the control of an active, agent-like instigator) or an **inactive** class (prototypically, events that are not under the control of the single participant, who instead receives or experiences somewhat passively the action). The subject of active predicates is expressed with an active prefix from the *a*- set below, whereas the subject of inactive predicates is expressed with an inactive prefix from the *che*- set below. (I will explain the special 1>2sg and 1>2pl active prefixes in **4.2**.)




Guarani inactive prefixes


Points to note:

• As said in **3.6**, the inactive prefixes are not specifically for subjects, but also refer to possessors.

#### 4.1.1 Active verbs

As was mentioned in **4.1**, **active** verbs are prototypically actions under the control of a volitional, animate agent, but this is by no means a necessary condition. Verb roots like *ke* 'sleep' or *g˜uahe˜* 'arrive' are grammatically active even though they are not semantically active (at least not clearly). (Readers should be aware that this class is not called *active* but *areal* in traditional grammars, because the first-person singular prefix is *a*-. Some transitive verbs in this class are referred to as *aireal* verbs, because the first-person singular prefix is *ai*-. See **4.2**.)

The examples below show one verb with each of the person prefixes. Notably, the base form of verbs in Guarani can have present or past meanings, depending on context.

#### *aguata*

a-guata 1sg.act-walk 'I walk(ed)'

#### *remba'apo*

re-mba'apo 2sg.act-work 'you (sg.) work(ed)'

*oke* o-ke 3.act-sleep 's/he/it/they sleep(s)/slept'

*japuka* ja-puka 1pl.incl.act-laugh 'we (and you) laugh(ed)'

#### *rosapukái*

ro-sapukái 1pl.excl.act-yell 'we (excluding you) yell(ed)'

#### *pepurahéi*

pe-purahéi 2pl.act-sing 'you (pl.) sing/sang'

#### *og˜uahe˜ (hikuái)*

o-g˜uahe˜ (hikuái) 3.act-arrive (they) 'they arrive(d)'

There are several differences between this conjugation system and what we know from English. First, remember that Guarani has two first-person plural prefixes, one **inclusive** if the prefix includes the speaker(s) and the addressee(s), and one **exclusive** if the addresse(s) are not included in the prefix. The same is true, as we saw in **3.5.1**, for personal pronouns, and generally, anywhere else Guarani uses a first-person plural pronoun.

Second, all prefixes become nasalized with nasal bases, but this only causes a change in spelling for prefixes containing the consonants /ʝ/ <j> and /n d/ <nd>, which alternate with /ɲ/ <ñ> and /n/ <n>. So for active verbs that means the only orthographic alternation is *ja*-*/ña*- for the first-person plural inclusive:


Third, the form *o*- is not marked for number: there are no distinct third-person singular and third-person plural person prefixes. Rather, when it needs to be indicated unambiguously that a third-person subject is plural, a special subject pronoun, *hikuái* 'they', is used. Note that the use of *hikuái* is not obligatory to indicate a third-person plural, but it is used specially to avoid ambiguity. Also, pay attention to its uncommon placement: it is always postverbal; that is, it must always come after the verb, never before.

*oikuaa hikuái* oi-kuaa hikuái 3.act-know they 'they know/knew'

*Mba'éretepa imombyry hikuái kuaatykuéragui*. mba'ére-te=pa i-mombyry hikuái kuaa-ty=kuéra=gui why-very=q 3.inact-far they know-collective=pl=from 'Why are/were they cut off from the sciences?'

4.1.2 Inactive verbs

**Inactive** (or **stative**) verbs represent, prototypically, events that are not actions but rather states, or events that happen to a participant that has no control or volition. Strictly speaking, these "verbs" are in reality noun/ adjective roots that function as predicates in a sentence when they are prefixed with inactive person markers (see **1.5**). (Remember also from **1.5** that the fact that Guarani has two different types of intransitive predicates is known as **split intransitivity**, or as **active/stative** split.)

*chemandu'a* che-mandu'a 1sg.inact-remembrance 'I remember(ed)'

*chevare'a* che-vare'a 1sg.inact-hunger 'I am/was hungry'

*nderesarái* nde-r-esarái 2sg.inact-possm-oblivion 'you (sg.) forget/forgot'

*nemandu'a* ne-mandu'a sg.inact-remembrance 'you (sg.) remember(ed)'

#### *iporã* i-porã 3.inact-beautiful 's/he/it is/was pretty'

*ñandekatupyry* ñande-katupyry 1pl.incl.inact-skilful 'we (and you) are/were smart'

*ñandejapu* ñande-japu 1pl.incl.inact-falsehood 'we (and you) tell/told lies'

*ñanerase˜* ñane-r-ase˜ 1pl.incl.inact-possm-cry 'we (and you) cry/cried' *oreare* ore-are 1pl.excl.inact-lateness 'we (excluding you) are late'

#### *pendeyvate*

pende-yvate 2pl.inact-high 'you (pl.) are tall'

#### *penememby*

pene-memby 2pl.inact-child.of.woman 'you (pl.) have children' (said to a woman; *memby* is the term used for 'child of a woman')

We can see from the above examples that for inactive verbs there are more oral/nasal alternations: *nde*-*/ne*- for second-person singular, *ñande*-*/ ñane* for first-person plural inclusive and *pende*-*/pene*- for second-person plural: that is, all prefixes containing the consonant /n d/ <nd>, which alternates with /n/ <n>. Like *o*- for active verbs, the third-person inactive *i*- can be either singular or plural.

A last word of caution to readers: first, this class is not called *inactive* but *chendal* in traditional grammars, because the first-person singular prefix for this class is *che*-; second, whether an intransitive verb is active (areal) or inactive (chendal) is unpredictable from its meaning. Even though the subjects of most active intransitive verbs are semantically active (that is, they are agents that initiate and control the action), and most subjects of inactive intransitive verbs are not active (they usually suffer or experience an event), there are many common exceptions. Therefore, when each verb is learned, it must be memorized with its accompanying prefix set.

## 4.2 Transitive verbs

**Transitive** verbs take two arguments, a subject and a direct object. Prototypically, the subject is the **agent** in control of the action and the direct object is the **patient** that experiences the effects of the action. When the direct object is a noun phrase that refers to a human participant, it is marked with the postposition *=pe* 'in'. If the direct object refers to an animal or a thing, it has no special marking (but see **5.1** and **5.2** for more explanation and some exceptions).

#### *Mario ohayhu ijaryisýpe*.

Mario o-h-ayhu i-jarýi+sy=pe Mario 3.act-possm3-love 3.inact-grandmother+mother=in 'Mario loves his great-grandmother.'

*Ko'ág˜a remongarúta nerymba guéi*.

ko'ág˜a re-mo-ngaru-ta ne-r-ymba guéi now 2sg.act-make1-eat(intransitive)-fut 2sg.inact-possm-animal ox 'Now you (sg.) will feed your ox.'

#### *Che ha nde jajoguáta juky*.


The order need not be subject-verb-object as normally found in English (see chapter **8** for more on word order in sentences). The order verbobject-subject shown in the next two examples is particularly common as an alternative:

*ojukapáta lo mitãme la fanatismo* o-juka-pa-ta lo mitã=me la fanatismo 3.act-kill-all-fut det.pl child=in det.sg fanaticism 'fanaticism will destroy the boys'

*opilla chupe la sakritan* o-pilla chupe la sakritan 3.act-nab to.him/her det.sg sacristan 'the sacristan nabbed him'

For some transitive verbs, the active prefixes have an added -*i*, and for this reason, they are called *aireales* in the traditional terminology. The set of aireal prefixes is as follows:


Guarani active subject prefixes (aireal verbs)

Some examples with verbs in this aireal class:

#### *Aipytyvõ ichupe*.

ai-pytyvõ ichupe 1sg.act-help to.him/her 'I help(ed) him/her.'

#### *Ndépa reikuaa cheréra*.

nde=pa rei-kuaa che-r-éra you.sg=q 2sg.act-know 1sg.inact-possm-name 'Do you (sg.) know my name?'

#### *Kola akói oinupã imbarakaja*.

Kola akói oi-nupã i-mbarakaja Kola always 3.act-beat 3.inact-cat 'Kola always punishes his cat.'

#### *Roikoteve˜ pirapire*.

roi-koteve˜ pira+pire 1pl.excl.act-need fish+skin 'We need money.'

This -*i* is part of the prefix and not part of the root because it (generally) disappears when other prefixes are added:

*aporopytyvõ* a-poro-pytyvõ 1sg.act-people-help 'I help (people)'

*ñepytyvõ* ñe-pytyvõ agd-help 'help (noun)'

*ñopytyvõ* ño-pytyvõ recp-help 'mutual help'

*Oresy orenupã*. ore-sy ore-nupã 1pl.excl.inact-mother 1pl.excl.inact-beat 'Our mother beats us.'

#### *ñenupã* ñe-nupã agd-beat '(a/the) torture'

Importantly, several common verbs have a root that begins with *i* but they are not from the aireal class. These are *iko* 'to be, to live, to exist', *ime* 'to be located', *ikove* 'to live', *ike* 'to enter', *imo'ã* 'to think', *ity* 'to throw'.

Transitive verbs in Guarani present three complications from the viewpoint of a speaker of English. The first one is that it seems safe to assume that the person prefix represents the subject of the verb. Yet, this prefix sometimes obligatorily represents the direct object of the verb, instead of the subject. The second one is that there are special subject prefixes when the subject is first-person and the direct object is secondperson. The third one is that relational verbs change their prefix to *h*- or *r*- depending on the person prefix used before them. I will explain each one of these unexpected properties in turn.

First, the choice of a verb prefix for transitive verbs always depends on the relative importance of subject and object, with the first person being more important than the second, and the second more important than the third (the so-called **person hierarchy**, often schematized as 1 > 2 > 3). Notably, when the direct object is higher in the person hierarchy than the subject, it is the object that must be marked on the verb, and this is done by an inactive person prefix. Another way of saying this is that the person prefix always refers to the participant that is higher in the person hierarchy, and does so with an active prefix if this highest participant is the agent (also when both participants are third-person), and with an inactive prefix if the highest participant is the patient. (Incidentally, this is the reason I am calling the prefixes active and inactive: active prefixes refer to the agent of transitive verbs, inactive prefixes to the patient.)

ainupã ichupe (1sG subject > 3 object: active prefix) ai-nupã ichupe 1SG.ACT-beat to.him/her 'I beat him/her'

chenupã ha'e (1sG object > 3 subject: inactive prefix) che-nupã ha'e 1SG.INACT-beat s/he 's/he beat me'

agueru pakova (1sG subject > 3 object: active prefix) a-gueru pakova 1SG.ACT-bring banana 'I bring bananas'

ha'e chegueru (1sG object > 3 subject: inactive prefix) ha'e che-gueru s/he 1SG.ACT-bring 's/he brings/brought me'

Chegueru reiete. (1sG object > 3 subject: inactive prefix) che-gueru rei-ete 1SG.ACT-bring in.vain-very 'They brought me for nothing.'

Ehendu nderúpe, ndereru ypy va'ekue. (2sG object > 3 subject: inactive prefix) e-h-endu nde-r-u=pe nde-reru уру IMP-POSSM3-hear 2SG.INACT-POSSM-father=in 2SG.INACT-bring beginning va'ekue PAST 'Listen to your father that brought you at the beginning'

```
aagradeceterei peëme orevisitahaguére ikatuhağuáicha peikuaami la
situación (1PL object > 2PL subject: inactive prefix)
a-agradece-terei
                       peñme
                                  ore-visita-hague=re
1SG.ACT-thank-very.much to.you.PL IPL.EXCL.INACT-visit-NMLZ.PAST=at
ikatu=hağua-icha pei-kuaa-mi
                                    la
                                            situación
be.able=for-as
                 2PL.ACT-know-DIM DET.SG situation
'I thank you very much for visiting us so that you will know the situation
a little'
```
Therefore, whereas the active prefixes are indeed subject prefixes exclusively, the inactive prefixes can be subject prefixes (with intransitive inactive verbs), but are markers of a patient that is high in the person hierarchy with transitive verbs.

Interestingly, when the subject is second-person plural and the direct object is first-person singular, the active prefix pe- for the agent can apparently also be used together with the inactive prefix che- for the patient. In the first example below, che- marks the first-person singular direct object and pe- marks the second-person plural subject (see also the fourth example). In all the other cases, if the subject must be indicated, it is done with a free personal pronoun (see the second and third examples below).

Ma'eravoi piko pechegueru la sapy'aiterã. (1sG object > 2PL subject) ma'erã=voi=piko piko pe-che-gueru la sapy'a-ite-rã what.for=EMPH=Q 2PL.ACT-1SG.INACT-bring DET.SG a.little.while-very-DEST 'What for then did you (pl.) bring me for such a short time?'

Ma'erãvoi piko nde chegueru la sapy'aiterã. (1sG object > 2sG subject) ma'erã=voi=piko nde che-gueru la sapy'a-ite-ra what.for=EMPH=Q you.sg 1sG.INACT-bring DET.SG a.little.while-very-DEST 'What for then did you (sg.) bring me for such a short time?'

Ma'erãvoi piko pende oregueru la sapy'aiterã. (1PL object > 2PL subject) ma'erã=voi=piko la sapy'a-ite-rã what.for=EMPH=Q you.PL 1PL.EXCL.INACT-bring DET.SG a.little.while-very-DEST 'What for then did you (pl.) bring us for such a short time?'

#### Aguyjetaite pecherendurehe.

pe-che-r-endu=rehe aguyje=ta-ite thanks=multitude-very 2SG.ACT-1SG.INACT-POSSM-listen=at 'Many thanks for (your) listening to me.'

The second complication occurs when a transitive verb has a first-person singular or plural subject and a second-person singular or plural direct object. In this case, a single prefix is used for both participants: the **portmanteau** prefix *ro*- encodes both a first-person (singular or plural) subject and a second-person singular object simultaneously; the portmanteau prefix *po*- encodes both a first-person (singular or plural) subject and a second-person plural object simultaneously.

*rohayhu* (never *\*ahayhu ndéve*) ro-h-ayhu 1>2sg-possm3-love 'I/we love you (sg.)'

*pohayhu* (never *\*ahayhu pendéve*) po-h-ayhu 1>2pl-possm3-love 'I/we love you (pl.)'

*¡Roha'arõhína cheru!* ro-h-a'arõ=hína che-r-u 1>2sg-possm3-wait=prog 1sg.inact-possm-father 'I was waiting for you (sg.), dad!'

*Rogueromandu'áta*. ro-guero-mandu'a-ta 1>2sg-make.soc-remember-fut 'I will remember you (sg.) (in the sense of 'commemorate' or 'memorialize').'

*Pohendu hína Capiataguive*. po-h-endu=hína Capiata=guive 1>2pl-possm3-listen=prog Capiata=since 'I am listening to you (pl.) from Capiata.'

*Ajegueraha pojuhu hag˜ua*. a-je-gueraha po-juhu hag˜ua 1sg.act-agd-carry 1>2pl-find for 'I am/was brought to meet you (pl.).'

The reader must pay attention to the fact that the 1 > 2sg form *ro*- is homophonous with the prefix for the first-person plural exclusive *ro*-: *rohayhu* most frequently means 'I/we love you (sg.)' but it could also mean 'we (excluding you) love' in some contexts.

The third and last complication is that if the verbal root is relational, it takes the prefix *h*- with active, imperative and portmanteau person prefixes, and the prefix *r*- with inactive person prefixes (see **4.6** for more details).

*ahendu ichupe* a-h-endu ichupe 1sg.act-possm3-listen to.him/her 'I listen to him/her'

*rohendu* ro-h-endu 1>2sg-possm3-listen 'I listen to you'

*nde cherendu* nde che-r-endu you.sg 1sg.inact-possm-listen 'you listen to me'

*ha'e nerendu* ha'e ne-r-endu s/he 2sg.inact-possm-listen 's/he listens to you'

Putting all these observations together in a table, the person prefix marking on transitive verbs is as follows:


Points to note:

• The dark grey cells are combinations of persons that are not readily expressible. If prompted to say something like that, speakers can usually find a periphrastic formulation, for example:

*che amombe'úta ñandéve* che a-mombe'u-ta ñandéve I 1sg.act-tell-fut to.us&you 'I will tell us (something)'


## 4.3 Ditransitive verbs

When a verb requires a subject and two objects, one direct and one indirect, it is called **ditransitive**. These are usually verbs that refer to an event of transfer of something concrete or abstract. They are often verbs of communication or verbs of giving. The indirect object is often human or animal (that is, **animate**), because it is the recipient of the transfer. It is marked with *=pe/=me* 'in' if it is a noun phrase; otherwise it is a direct object pronoun. The direct object is the thing transferred (often **inanimate**), and it has no special marking.

*Amombe'úta ndéve la ojehuva'ekue.* a-mombe'u-ta ndéve la o-jehu-va'e-kue 1sg.act-tell-fut to.you.sg det.sg 3.act-happen-adjz-post 'I will tell you what happened.'

*Cheresarái nda'éi pee˜me peteı˜ mba'e.*

che-r-esarái nd-a'e-i pee˜me peteı˜ mba'e 1sg.inact-possm-oblivion neg-say-neg to.you.pl one thing 'I forgot to tell you something.'

*Tome'e˜ ñanembo'ehárape iñaranduka.* t-o-me'e˜ ñane-mbo'e-hára=pe iñ-aranduka opt-3.act-give 1pl.incl.inact-teach-nmlz.ag=in 3.inact-book 'Let him/her give his/her book to our teacher.'

If the direct object (the thing transferred) is human, although it would be usually also marked with *=pe/=me*, it remains unmarked in order to avoid ambiguity in deciding which is the person transferred and which is the recipient of the transfer.

```
Ome'e˜ ita'ýra Ñandejárape.
o-me'e˜ i-t-a'ýra ñande-jára=pe
3.act-give 3.inact-npossm-son.of.father 1pl.incl.inact-lord=in
'He gave his son to our Lord.'16
```
## 4.4 Postpositional complement verbs

Transitive verbs are not the only verbs that take two arguments. Some other verbs (in their vast majority active) require a subject and another complement which is a phrase headed by a **postposition** (see **5**). Each particular verb specifies and requires (that is, **governs**) a given postposition. The three postpositions that can be required are *=re(he)* 'at', *=ndi(ve)* 'with' and *=gui* 'from'. The portmanteau prefixes *ro*- and *po*- are never used with these verbs.

The majority of postpositional complement verbs require the unstressed postposition *=re(he)*:

#### *aikoteve˜ nderehe*

```
ai-koteve˜ nde=rehe
1sg.act-need 2sg.inact=at
'I need you'
```
<sup>16</sup> Example from Melià *et al*. (1997, 48).

#### *chemandu'áta hese*

che-mandu'a-ta hese 1sg.inact-remembrance-fut at.him/her 'I will remember him/her'

#### *mba'éguipa remaña péicha ndesýre*

mba'e=gui=pa re-maña pe-icha nde-sy=re what=from=q 2sg.act-look.at med.sg-as 2sg.inact-mother=at 'why are you looking at your mother like that?'

#### *ha'e oma'e˜ pe tapére*

ha'e o-ma'e˜ pe t-ape=re s/he 3.act-look.at med.sg npossm-road=at 's/he looks at that road'

#### *ombokapu hikuái mitãmíre*

o-mbo-kapu hikuái mitã-mi=re 3.act-make1-shot they child-dim=at 'they shot the little boy'

#### *amendase nderehe*

a-menda-se nde=rehe 1sg.act-marry-want 2sg.inact=at 'I want to marry you'

#### *ani rendyvu cherehe*

ani re-ndyvu che=rehe neg.imp 2sg.act-spit 1sg.inact=at 'do not spit at me'

#### *Ñandejára oñangareko maymáre*

ñande-jára o-ñangareko mayma=re 1pl.incl.inact-lord 3.act-take.care.of every=at 'Our Lord takes care of everyone'

#### *ha'e opoko cherehe*

ha'e o-poko che=rehe s/he 3.act-touch 1sg.inact=at 's/he touched me'

*hesaho sapy'a aguaráre*

h-esaho sapy'a aguara=re possm3-notice suddenly fox=at 's/he suddenly noticed a fox'

#### *ajojái nderehe*

a-jojái nde=rehe 1sg.act-taunt 2sg.inact=at 'I make fun of you'

#### *oja hese*

o-ja hese 3.act-stick at.him/her 's/he/it stuck to him/her/it'

#### *ajopy ichupe chejehe*

a-jopy ichupe chejehe 1sg.act-press to.him/her at.myself 'I pressed him/her against me/myself.'

#### *ani rejahéi ndesýre*

ani re-jahéi nde-sy=re neg.imp 2sg.act-offend 2sg.inact-mother=at 'do not scorn your mother'

#### *Ani repena cherehe!*

ani re-pena che=rehe neg.imp 2sg.act-worry 1sg.inact=at 'Don't worry about me!'

#### *Cherehe nereñembohorymo'ãi.*

che=rehe ne-re-ñe-mbo-h-ory-mo'ã-i 1sg.inact=at neg-2sg.act-agd-make1-possm3-joy-neg.fut-neg 'You will not make fun of me.'

The word *aguyje* 'thanks' also requires *=rehe* to express the reason that thanks are being given and *=pe/=me* for whoever is being thanked:

Aguyje peeme cherenduhaguére ha chepytyvõhaguére. aguvje peñme che-r-endu-hague=re ha thanks to.you.PL 1SG.INACT-POSSM-listen-NMLZ.PAST=at and che-pytyvõ-hague=re 1SG.INACT-help-NMLZ.PAST=at "Thanks to you for listening to me and for helping me."

A few verbs that require a complement headed by the unstressed postposition =gui 'from' are shown in the following examples.

#### okañy chehegui chekyse

o-kañy chehegui che-kyse 3.ACT-become.lost from.me 1SG.INACT-knife 'I lost my knife'

#### Epoi chehegui, he'i oka'úva.

chehegui he'i o-ka'u-va e-poi IMP-set.free from.me says 3.ACT-get.drunk-ADJZ 'Let go of me, said the drunk person.'

#### ani nderesarái ndeypykuéragui

nde-r-esarái ani nde-ypy=kuéra=gui NEG 2SG.INACT-POSSM-oblivion 2SG.INACT-origin=PL=from 'do not forget your ancestors'

#### añepyrúta chekorapýgui

a-ñepyru-ta che-korapy=gui 1sg.AcT-begin-FUT 1sg.INACT-yard=from 'I will begin with my yard'

Other roots with a more adjectival/adverbial meaning also require =gui:

#### ko kagua henyhẽ ýgui ko kagua h-enyhẽ y=gui PROX.SG drinking.glass POSSM3-full water=from 'this glass is full of water'

Umi mba'eporã imombyry chuguikuéra. umi mba'e+porã i-mombyry chugui=kuéra NPROX.PL thing+beautiful 3.INACT-far from.him/her=PL 'Such beautiful things are far from them.'

#### *orekuerái nemembýgui*

ore-kuerái ne-memby=gui 1pl.excl.inact-annoyance 2sg.inact-child.of.woman=from 'we are fed up with your child'

*Chekuerái che maı˜na po'a'y˜ ha mboriahúgui, ha atı˜ma pendehegui amba'ejerure haguã.*

che-kuerái che-maı˜na po'a-'y˜ ha mboriahu=gui ha 1sg.inact-annoyance 1sg.inact-godmother luck-priv and poverty=from and a-tı˜-ma pendehegui a-mba'e-jerure haguã 1sg.act-feel.shame-already from.you.pl 1sg.act-thing-petition for 'Godmother, I am fed up with the bad luck and the poverty, and I already feel shame coming to you to ask for things.'

**Reciprocal** or **symmetric verbs** are those verbs where the same action that applies to the object applies to the subject in the reverse direction. Think about English verbs used with 'one another' or 'each other'. In Guarani these verbs require the unstressed enclitic *=ndi(ve)* 'with'. Several of these verbs are a combination of the reciprocal prefix *jo*-*/ño*- (*ju*-*/ñu*before a vowel) and a verbal root. The pronoun *oñondive* means 'with each other'.

#### *Aikoporã hendive*. *Roikoporã oñondive*.

a-iko+porã hendive ro-iko+porã oñondive 1sg.act-be+good with.him/her 1pl.excl.act-be+good with.each.other 'I get along with him/her. We get along.'

#### *Aikovai nendive*. *Jaikovai oñondive*.

a-iko+vai ne=ndive ja-iko+vai oñondive 1sg.act-be+bad 2sg.inact=with 1pl.incl.act-be+bad with.each.other 'I do not get along with you. We (and you) do not get along.'

#### *Rejuasápa nderúndive*. *Pejuasápa oñondive*.

re-juasa=pa nde-r-u=ndive pe-juasa=pa 2sg.act-run.into=q 2sg.inact-possm-father=with 2pl.act-run.into=q oñondive with.each.other 'Did you run into your father? Did you run into each other?'

#### Oñorairõ hembirekóndive. Oñorairõ oñondive.

o-ño-rairõ h-embireko=ndive o-ño-rairõ oñondive 3.ACT-RECP-attack POSSM3-wife=with 3.ACT-RECP-attack with.each.other 'He fights with his wife. They fight with one another.'

There are other predicates that require =ndi(ve) but are not symmetric:

#### Reñemyrõ pa'índive.

re-ñemyrõ pa'i=ndive 2SG.ACT-take.offence priest=with 'You feel resentful towards the priest.' (But this does not entail that the priest feels resentful towards you.)

Cherajy ipochy isýndi.

che-r-ajy i-pochy i-sy=ndi 1SG.INACT-POSSM-daughter.of.man 3.INACT-anger 3.INACT-mother=with 'My daughter is angry at her mom.' (But this does not entail that the mother is angry at my daughter.)

Only one verb requires the postposition =pe/=me: the very common verb ñe'e 'to speak' when it means 'to speak (in) a language'. It requires =rehe with the meaning 'to speak about someone'.

#### Reñe'ẽpiko guaraníme têra karaiñe'ẽme.

guarani=me tera karai+ñe'ẽ=me re-ñe'ẽ=piko 2sG.AcT-speak=Q Guarani=in or gentleman+language=in 'Do you speak (in) Guarani or (in) Spanish?'

Oñe'ẽ cherehe. o-ñe'ẽ che=rehe 3.ACT-speak 1SG.INACT=at 'S/he spoke about me.'

### 4.5 Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs are those that have different forms of the root and/or the person prefixes (that is, different allomorphs of the root or prefixes).

Three Guarani verbs have changes in the root: ho 'to go', ju 'to come' and 'e 'to say' (in boldface, the deviations from the assumed basic shape of the root).


Points to note:


Other irregular verbs only show different forms of the person prefix in the first-person singular (*ha*- instead of *a*-) and in the third person (*ho*instead of *o*-), just like *'e* 'to say'. I give all forms here and apply boldface to the irregular (or unexpected) allomorphs.


Points to note:

• The second-person singular imperative forms are irregular because they add *h* at the beginning: *he'u* 'eat (something)', *hey'u* 'drink water', *he'yta* 'swim', *he'a* 'fall'.


## 4.6 Relational (multiform) verbs

As was mentioned in **3.1.3**, some verbal roots require the use of relational prefixes. The prefix *h*- (for the third-person pronominal possessor) is the one used with active prefixes, portmanteau person prefixes and imperative prefixes. The prefix *r*- (for all other cases of possession) is used with inactive person prefixes. The non-possessed prefix *t*- yields a nominal interpretation. I exemplify with the root -*ayhu* 'to love'.

*ahayhu ichupe* a-h-ayhu ichupe 1sg.act-possm3-love to.him/her 'I love him/her'

*rohayhu* ro-h-ayhu 1>2sg-possm3-love 'I love you'

*ehayhu* e-h-ayhu imp-possm3-love 'love (2sg imperative)'

*nde cherayhu* nde che-r-ayhu you.sg 1sg.inact-possm-love 'you love me'

peteîha tayhu peteĩ-ha t-ayhu one-тн npossm-love 'first love'

Except for the change in their initial consonant prefix, these verbs behave in all other respects like any other verb. Some more examples:

#### oheka ho'úva'erã umi tapýiha rupi

o-h-eka ho-'u-va'erã umi tapýi-ha=rupi 3.ACT-POSSM3-seek 3.ACT-ingest-must NPROX.PL native.dwelling-NMLZ.LOC =around 's/he looked for something to eat around those huts'

#### Mávapa chereka hína.

máva=pa che-r-eka hína who=Q 1SG.INACT-POSSM-seek PROG 'Who is looking for me?'

#### Oï heta la gente pero che rohetümita.

oĩ h-eta la gente pero che ro-h-etũ-mi-ta there.is POSSM3-numerous DET.SG people but I 1>2SG-POSSM3-kiss-DIM-FUT 'There are a lot of people but I will kiss you a little.'

#### Ahasénte nendive ha uperire cheretű.

ne=ndive ha a-ha-se-nte che-r-etű 1SG.ACT-go-want-only 2SG.INACT=with and MED.SG=after 1SG.INACT-POSSM-kiss 'I want to go with you and then you kiss me.'

Some of these predicates are relational because they are compounds containing a relational root. I indicate the original relational root in the list below. (See 17.5 for a fuller list.)

#### Intransitive relational predicates


Transitive relational predicates


## 4.7 Verbs with increments

Some transitive verbs have an increment immediately prefixed to the root that has no discernible meaning (this is called sometimes a linking element or an **interfix**). This increment is -*gue*- with all person prefixes that end in *o* (be it active, inactive or portmanteau prefixes), and -*re*- with inactive person prefixes that end in *e*. Below, I boldface the interfixes for the forms that have them.



Points to note:

• Other common verbs in this class are *raha* 'to carry', *reko* 'to have', *rovia* 'to believe'.

*rogueraha* ro-gueraha 1pl.excl.act-carry 'we carry/carried'

*ndereraha* nde-reraha 2sg.inact-carry 's/he/it/they carry/carried you (sg.)'

• Speakers sometimes use the -*gue*- increment with prefixes not ending in *o*:

*Ma'e˜rãvoi piko pe chegueru la sapy'aiterã*. ma*'*e˜rã=voi=piko pe-che-gueru la what.for=emph=q 2pl.act-1sg.inact-bring det.sg sapy*'*a-ite-rã a.little.while-very-dest 'What for then did you (pl.) bring me for such a short time?' *Agueru ndéve yva.* a-gueru ndéve yva 1sg.act-bring to.you.sg fruit 'I bring you (sg.) fruit.'

In fact, the -*gue*- interfix is often used by speakers for the whole verbal paradigm: *aguereko* 'I have', *reguereko* 'you (sg.) have', *oguereko* 's/he/it has', and so on.


*cheeraha* che-eraha 1sg.inact-carry 'you take me (somewhere)'

• The interfix -*re*- is also required by the nominalizing prefix -*embi*-:

*tembireru* t-embi-reru npossm-nmlz.rel-bring '(a) thing brought'

*tembireraha* t-embi-reraha npossm-nmlz.rel-carry '(a) thing sent'

## 4.8 Verbs with loss of initial consonant

Some verbal roots that begin with *j*- (when oral) or *ñ*- (when nasal) elide this first segment in the forms with personal inactive prefixes ending in *e* (the deletion of the beginning of a word is called **apheresis**). Some verbs in this class are *japi* 'to throw; to injure by shooting', *ja'o* 'to offend', *japo* 'to make', *javy* 'to err', *ñakã'o* 'to decapitate', *ñandu* 'to visit', *ñapı˜* 'to peel'.

```
Ha'epa neandúta? (cf. ñandu 'to visit')
ha'e=pa ne-andu-ta
s/he=q 2sg.inact-visit-fut
'Will s/he visit you?'
```

```
Nde cheapi. (cf. japi 'to throw')
nde che-api
you.sg 1sg.inact-throw
'You throw/threw me.'
```
This happens because the initial *j/ñ* was originally a third-person object prefix *i*- (the same one that survives as a vowel in aireal verbs; see **4.1.1**). Hence, when an inactive pronoun for the object was added, the object *i*would have had to disappear. This pattern became fossilized in the modern language so that the reason for this loss of the initial segment is not recognized anymore by speakers. For this reason, sometimes the initial segment is conserved by speakers in forms that should lose it:

```
Che aporandu ndéve ndépa cheñandúta.
```
che a-porandu ndéve nde=pa che-ñandu-ta I 1sg.act-question to.you you.sg=q 1sg.inact-visit-fut 'I am asking you if you will come to visit me.'17

Interestingly, some borrowed verbs from Spanish that begin with *a* add an initial *j/ñ* (another instance of **epenthesis**) possibly by analogy with this class of verbs and to avoid having two vowels in a sequence.

*Ojagarra jey México*-*pe narcotráfico omomyakãva "El Chapo" Guzmán*. o-jagarra jey México=pe narcotráfico o-mo-myakã-va 3.act-grab again Mexico=in drug.trafficking 3act-make1-head.something-adjz "El Chapo" Guzmán El Chapo Guzmán 'They recaptured the drug trafficking head "El Chapo" Guzmán in Mexico.' (From Spanish *agarrar* 'to grab'.)

<sup>17</sup> Example from Gynan and López Almada (2014, 210).

Peñatendeporãke cherehe porque ni che voi naentendeporãi ko


'Pay attention to me well because I myself don't even understand what I will tell you.' (From Spanish atender 'to pay attention; to tend'.)

## 4.9 Verbal negation

The negation of all predicates, whether verbs or nouns, is accomplished by adding simultaneously the prefix nd- and the unstressed suffix -i. This has the effect of surrounding the predicate with the negation, and for that reason, the negation affix is called a circumfix. This circumfix has four main variants whose distribution is quite complex. The form of the prefix part depends mainly on whether the base being negated is oral or nasal. The form of the suffix part depends on whether the base ends in the front high vowels i or i, or not. In the table below, I exemplify the main cases with the following active verbs:



So, if the base is oral, the prefix part begins with the nasal-oral consonant nd-, whereas if the base is nasal, the prefix part begins with the nasal consonant n-. The suffix part is -i, unless the base ends in -i or -ï, in which case it is -ri. There are, however, two further constraints on the prefix part of the negation. For active person prefixes beginning in a vowel (the firstperson singular active *a*- and the third-person active *o*-), the prefix part is *n(d)*-. When the active person prefix begins in a consonant, a **helping** (or **epenthetic) vowel** is added that is identical with the person prefix's vowel (**vowel harmony**), except arbitrarily for the second-person plural active prefix *pe*-, which adds *n(d)a*-, with the non-harmonic vowel *a*.

Nominal predicates are also negated with this same circumfix.

*ndachepochýi*, *ndachevare'ái* nda-che-pochy-i nda-che-vare'a-i neg-1sg.inact-anger-neg neg-1sg.inact-hunger-neg 'I am not angry, I am not hungry'

#### *nda'itarovái hikuái*

nda-'i-tarova-i hikuái neg-3.inact-crazy-neg they 'they are not crazy'

*napeneporãi* na-pene-porã-i neg-2pl.inact-beautiful-neg 'you are not beautiful'

Note that in these cases, and any other cases when the person prefix is inactive, the prefix part of the negation is always *nda*- for oral bases and *na*- for nasal bases.

The negative circumfix always encloses the whole word or group of words that is being negated. So, in some cases the negation will surround a single verb, but in other cases it will surround a single word that is not a predicate (a pronoun, for example), or even a whole predicate with its complements.

*Ndajapói*. nd-a-japo-i neg-1sg.act-make-neg 'I didn't do it.'

*Ndachéi la ajapóva*. nda-che-i la a-japo-va neg-I-neg det.sg 1sg.act-make-adjz 'It wasn't me who did it.'

Ndacheplatahetái. nda-che-pláta-h-eta-i NEG-I-money-POSSM3-numerous-NEG 'I don't have a lot of money.' (The negation of che 'I' + pláta 'money' + heta 'much'.)

Ndaikuaasevéima mba'eve examengui. nd-ai-kuaa-se-ve-i-ma mba'eve examen=gui NEG-1SG.ACT-know-want-more-NEG-already nothing exam=from 'I already don't want to know anything else about the exam.' (The negation of ai-kuaa-se-ve 'I want to know more'.)

Guarani has double negation (also called negative concord); that is, a negated predicate requires any indefinite words to appear as negative:

Ndaipotái mba'eve, ndajaposéi mba'eve. nd-ai-pota-i mba'eve nd-a-japo-se-i mba'eve NEG-1SG.ACT-want-NEG nothing NEG-1SG.ACT-make-want-NEG nothing 'I don't want anything, I don't want to do anything.' (Literally, 'I don't want nothing, I don't want to do nothing.')

Ne'ira 'yet' is the only negative word that co-occurs with predicates in the affirmative; that is, non-negated predicates:

ne'íra reikuaa neˈíɾa rei-kuaa 2SG.ACT-know not.vet 'you don't know yet'

The negation of the future tense (see 4.10.1) uses the suffix -mo'a instead of -ta.

namba'apomo'ai n-a-mba'apo-mo'ã-i NEG-1SG.ACT-WOrk-NEG.FUT-NEG 'I will not work'

Ndaikatumo'ãi gueteri reiko yvagape. nda-ikatu-mo'ã-i gueteri re-iko yvága=pe NEG-be.able-NEG.FUT-NEG still 2SG.ACT-be sky=in 'You will not be able to live in heaven yet.'

*Cherehe nereñembohorymo'ãi*. che=rehe ne-re-ñe-mbo-h-ory-mo'ã-i 1sg.inact=at neg-2sg.act-agd-make1-possm3-joy-neg.fut-neg 'You will not make fun of me.'

It is useful to end this section mentioning here the word *nahániri* (also *ahániri*) meaning 'no' (and its counterpart *hee˜* meaning 'yes').

*Nahániri, ndaipotái*. nahániri nd-ai-pota-i no neg-1sg.act-want-neg 'No, I don't want to/it.'

## 4.10 Expressing properties of events: tense, aspect, mood/modality, evidentiality

When languages express events, they usually convey information about when the event happened, how it happened and the speaker's own perspective of the event. These kinds of information are commonly known as **tense**, **aspect**, **mood** (or **modality**) and **evidentiality**. Here I introduce and define markers for each one of the first three of these categories in separate sections as it is customary (see **7** for more on evidentiality). However, the reader should be aware that it is seldom clear whether a given marker should be considered to express basically a tense, an aspect, a mood or an evidential, since these properties tend to cluster or be conveyed together. This is a research domain that is still the subject of much debate in the literature on Guarani.

#### 4.10.1 Tense

**Tense** refers to the way in which a speaker situates the expressed event in time with respect to a reference point. As I pointed out in **4.1.1**, Guarani predicates in their bare form are non-future; that is, they can be interpreted as past or present depending on the context. This means that past is not obligatorily marked on Guarani predicates, but marking future is obligatory (contrary to English, where 'I am coming' can mean now in the present or sometime in the future). Generally, ensuring present or past interpretations of bare forms depends on the appearance of co-occurring past time expressions.

Reñe'ẽ heta. re-ñeˈẽ h-eta 2SG.ACT-talk POSSM3-numerous 'You talk(ed) a lot.'

Ko'árape ñamomaitei ñandesykuérape.

ko-'ára=pe ña-mo-maitei PROX.SG-day=in 1PL.INCL.ACT-MAKE1-hello 1PL.INCL.INACT-mother=PL=in 'Today, let's greet our mothers.'

ñande-sy=kuéra=pe

Upe ára, ou peteî kuimba'e . . . peteĩ kuimba'e ára upe MED.SG day 3.ACT-come one man 'That day, a man came . . . '

The meaning of the verb is an important factor favouring a past or a present interpretation. If the event described by the verb has a natural endpoint (that is, the verb is said to be telic), it is naturally more compatible with past interpretations. In the first example below, the notion of -'a 'fall' includes implicitly that there is an endpoint to the fall. In the second example, the notion of -upyty 'achievement' includes implicitly an endpoint that is reached. Finally, in the third example, the notion of mbokapu 'to shoot' includes implicitly the endpoint when the shot hits the target. Therefore, use of these verbs in their bare form (with no explicit marking of tense) is naturally interpreted as conveying past tense.

```
Ha'e oñe'ẽ aja chéve, ho'a cherehe pytũha ha'a yvýpe.
ha'e                                                                                                                                                                          
                                    aja                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                  pytű ha
s/he 3.ACT-speak while to.me 3.ACT-fall 1sG.INACT=at dark and
ha-'a
                         yvy=pe
1SG.ACT-fall
                       earth=in
'While s/he was talking to me, a darkness fell on me and I fell to the
earth.'
```

```
Hepykue oñeimo'a ohupyty amo 14.200 sua dólar.
```


## *He'i chéve la che iru˜: ¡Embokapúna hese!, ha*

*ambokapu mante*.

he'i chéve la che-iru˜ e-mbo-kapu-na hese ha says to.me det.sg 1sg.inact-friend imp-make1-shot-req at.him/her and a-mbo-kapu mante 1sg.act-make1-shot only 'My friend said to me "shoot him!" And I just shot (him).'

On the other hand, predicates without a natural endpoint (that is, **atelic** predicates), such as activities or states, are naturally interpreted as present in the absence of other cues. This is especially true if the verbs describe events that are interpreted to last in time (**durative**).

*Chejegustaha ojeroky porãiterei*. che-je-gusta-ha o-jeroky porã-iterei 1sg.inact-agd-please-nmlz 3.act-dance good-very.much 'My crush dances very well.'

*Jasy opurahéi chéve ha che apurahéi ndéve*. jasy o-purahéi chéve ha che a-purahéi ndéve moon 3.act-sing to.me and I 1sg.act-sing to.you.sg 'The moon sings to me and I sing to you.'

*Ndajeroviái voi hese*. nd-a-jerovia-i=voi hese neg-1sg.act-believe-neg=emph at.him/her 'I do not believe him/her.'

Basic future tense interpretations can be obtained by marking predicates with the unstressed suffix *-ta*. The negation of this future uses the stressed suffix -*mo'ã* (together with the circumfixal negation we saw in **4.9**).

*Ndejukáta!* nde-juka-ta 2sg.inact-kill-fut 'S/he/They will kill you!'

*Ko'e˜ro amba'apóta*. ko'e˜ro a-mba'apo-ta tomorrow 1sg.act-work-fut 'I will work tomorrow.'

Ko'ẽro namba'apomo'ãi. ko'ẽro n-a-mba'apo-mo'ã-i tomorrow NEG-1SG.ACT-WOrk-NEG.FUT-NEG 'I will not work tomorrow.'

Ndajapomoˈãvéima péicha . . . añeñanduvaiˈʃre ajapo jave hína. nd-a-japo-mo'ã-ve-i-ma pe-icha NEG-1SG.ACT-make-NEG.FUT-more-NEG-already MED.SG-as a-ñe-ñandu-vai='ỹre a-japo iave hína 1SG.ACT-AGD-feel-bad=without 1SG.ACT-make while PROG 'I will not do it like that anymore . . . without feeling bad while I do it.'

The unstressed suffix -ta does not always indicate future. It can also be used as a marker of conjecture or lack of knowledge (this is called an epistemic reading; that is, an interpretation that indicates the knowledge state of the speaker):

Mba'e carrérata piko upéva. mba'e carréra-ta=piko upe-va what career-FuT=0 MED.SG-ADJZ 'What career would that be?'

The stressed suffix -mo'a can sometimes have a frustrative reading of the type 'event X was going to happen (but it didn't)' (see 4.10.2).

ohomo'ñ o-ho-mo'ã 3.ACT-go-ALMOST 's/he was about to go but didn't.'18

Jajotopárire javy'avévaerãmo'a. ja-jo-topa=rire ja-vy'a-ve-vae-rã-mo'a 1PL.INCL.ACT-RECP-meet-if 1PL.INCL.ACT-joy-more-ADJZ-DEST-ALMOST 'If we had met, we would have rejoiced more.'19

Uncertain or doubtful futures are marked with the dubitative future unstressed suffix -ne. The negation of this dubitative future is chéne 'perhaps not', which comes after the negative form of the verb.

<sup>18</sup> Example from Liuzzi (2006, 63).

<sup>19</sup> Example from Cadogan (1970, 38).

*Ko'e˜ro amba'apóne*. ko'e˜ro a-mba'apo-ne tomorrow 1sg.act-work-dub 'Tomorrow I will work perhaps.'

*Name'e˜i chéne*. n-a-me'e˜-i chéne neg-1sg.act-give-neg perhaps.not 'I may not give (it to him/her).'

Note that this suffix more broadly indicates uncertainty or probability independently of any possible future tense interpretation. It is a means to indicate possibility or necessity, either of an action or state (**deontic modality**) or of an item of knowledge (**epistemic modality**).

*Péichaneko che avei raka'e . . .* pe-icha-ne=ko che avei raka'e med.sg-as-dub=verd I also long.inf 'Probably I was like that too (back then) . . . '

*Amóvane ndereka*. amo-va-ne nde-r-eka dist.sg-adjz-dub 2sg.inact-possm-seek 'Surely that is the one looking for you.'20

The meaning 'about to (do something)' (**immediate future** tense) is conveyed by the stressed suffix -*pota* (*-mbota* with nasal bases).

#### *jahapota*

ja-ha-pota 1pl.incl.act-go-about.to 'we are about to go'

#### *Cheiru˜ omanombota hína*.

che-iru˜ o-mano-mbota hína 1sg.inact-friend 3.act-die-about.to prog 'My friend is about to die.'

<sup>20</sup> Example from Liuzzi (2006, 83).

*Japytu˜ mbapotaitémavoi ha he'i chupe Perurima: . . .* ja-pytu˜-mba-pota-ité-ma=voi ha he'i chupe already-dark-completely-about.to-very-already=emph and says to.him/her Perurima Perurima 'It is already about to become completely dark and Perurima says to him: . . . '

Finally, futures that include a meaning of obligation use the stressed suffix *-va'erã*. This suffix is often phonetically reduced: it can be pronounced as *-vaerã*, *-varã* or *-'arã*. The last example below shows that this suffix can be used to convey a "future in the past" or an obligation in the past.

*Rejuva'erã cherógape*.

re-ju-va'erã che-r-óga=pe 2sg.act-come-must 1sg.inact-possm-house=in 'You must come to my house.'

*¡He'u'arã!* he-'u-'arã imp-ingest-must 'You have to eat it!'

*Ojapova'erã peteı˜ purahéi*. o-japo-va'erã peteı˜ purahéi 3.act-make-must one song 'S/he had to compose a song.'

Even though marking past tense for Guarani verbs is not required, there are ways to do it explicitly. The particle -*va'ekue* and its phonological reduction -*(')akue* convey a past tense meaning (with perhaps a preference for remote past, not recent past, interpretations).

#### *Ahava'ekue la Chákope*.

a-ha-va'ekue la Cháko=pe 1sg.act-go-past det.sg Chaco=in 'I went to the Chaco (at some point in the, perhaps distant, past).'

*Naimo'ãiva'ekue rejuhu otro cherekoviarã*. n-a-imo'ã-i-va'ekue re-juhu otro neg-1sg.act-think-neg-past 2sg.act-find another che-r-ekovia-rã 1sg.inact-possm-replacement-dest 'I didn't think you would find another to replace me.' *Ha'eningo heñói'akue táva Caballerope*. ha'e=ningo h-eñói-'akue táva Caballero=pe s/he=verd possm3-sprout-past town Caballero=in 'He was born in the town of Caballero.'

#### 4.10.2 Aspect

**Aspect** is how language encodes the internal properties of events – whether they last or are instantaneous, whether they go to completion or not, and so on – independent of their location in time. Guarani has several aspect markers, which are sometimes difficult to differentiate from tenses. What is important for the reader is to understand how each marker differs from others and how they contribute to the meaning of a sentence.

Two markers serve to highlight the end or full development of an event (what is usually called **perfect** or **perfective aspect** in grammars). The unstressed suffix *-ma* (most often equivalent to the English word 'already') is a **completive aspect** marker. In the spoken language, it is sometimes used in conjunction with the prefix *ja-*, probably a borrowing of Spanish 'ya' meaning 'already', creating a circumfix that envelops the whole predicate. (Do not confuse this prefix *ja-* with the first-person plural inclusive active prefix *ja-*; see **4.1**.)

#### *og˜uahe˜ma*

o-g˜uahe˜-ma 3.act-arrive-already 's/he has already arrived'

#### *jaohóma*

ja-o-ho-ma already-3.act-go-already 's/he already went'

#### *jandoikovéima*

ja-nd-o-iko-ve-i-ma already-neg-3.act-be-more-neg-already 'it doesn't function anymore'

#### *Ore jarohótama, che patrón*.

ore ja-ro-ho-ta-ma che-patrón we.not.you already-1pl.excl.act-go-fut-already 1sg.inact-boss 'We will already be leaving, boss.'

*Ko'ãga peikuaáma mba'érepa ndaguerekóiri peteı˜ Mac!*

ko'ãga pei-kuaa-ma mba'ére=pa nd-a-guereko-iri peteı˜ Mac now 2pl.act-know-already why=q neg-1sg.act-have-neg one Mac 'Now you (pl.) already know why I don't have a Mac!'

*. . . enseguida peañamechu˜ omoı˜ chupe esposa, ha aeropuértope jaohóma*. enseguida peañamechu˜ o-moı˜ chupe esposa ha immediately good.grief 3.act-put to.him/her handcuff and aeropuérto=pe ja-o-ho-ma airport=in already-3.act-go-already ' . . . immediately for God's sake they put handcuffs on him, and they went already to the airport.'

Another perfective aspect marker intimately related to the completive is the stressed suffix *-pa/-mba*, which emphasizes that the event applies to (and sometime exhausts) the whole object or subject (**totalitive aspect**). This is derived from the verbal root *pa* that means 'to finish' (for example, *opa* 'it is finished').

#### *akarupa* a-karu-pa 1sg.act-eat(intransitive)-all 'I am (totally) finished eating'; 'I ate all'

*Tahyikuéra omanomba*. tahýi=kuéra o-mano-mba ant=pl 3.act-die-all 'The ants all died.'

Several other aspect markers are used when the speaker wants to highlight that an event is continuing or not fully completed, and when the endpoint is absent or not important (**imperfective aspect**). The most common is the particle *hína* which expresses the **continuous/progressive** aspect. It can often be translated by the English progressive in '-ing', but it sometimes has no equivalent in English, especially when one is talking about a habitual action or a lasting state. It can be attached to the predicate or have freer placement in the sentence.

#### *rehai hína*

re-h-ai hína 2sg.act-possm3-write prog 'you (sg.) are writing'

*peguata hína* pe-guata hína 2pl.act-walk prog 'you (pl.) are walking'

#### *¡Roha'arõhína cheru!*

ro-h-a'arõ=hína che-r-u 1>2sg-possm3-wait=prog 1sg.inact-possm-father 'I was waiting for you, dad!'

#### *Pohendu hína Capiataguive*.

po-h-endu=hína Capiata=guive 1>2pl-possm3-listen=prog Capiata=since 'I am listening to you (pl.) from Capiata.'

#### *Cheiru˜ omanombota hína*.

che-iru˜ o-mano-mbota hína 1sg.inact-friend 3.act-die-about.to prog 'My friend is about to die.'

#### *pórke la ápe oúvako ndoureíri hína*

pórke la ápe o-u-va=ko nd-o-u-rei-ri hína because det.sg here 3.act-come-adjz=verd neg-3.act-come-in.vain-neg prog 'because those who come here do not come for no reason'

#### *Mitãnguéra ningo hína ñaneretã raperã*.

mitã=nguéra ningo hína ñane-r-etã r-ape-rã child=pl verd prog 1pl.incl.inact-possm-country possm-road-dest 'Children are the road-to-be (i.e., the future) of our country.'

*Hína* can appear in the sentence at a variable distance from the predicate it modifies.

#### *Ha oiméne ndahetái ko'a gotyo hína hendarãkuéra*.

ha o-ime-ne nda-h-eta-i ko'a gotyo hína and 3.act-be.located-dub neg-possm3-numerous-neg here towards prog h-enda-rã=kuéra possm3-place-dest=pl 'Well, it may be that around here they don't have a lot of room.'

Although in today's colloquial use it most frequently appears as the fixed form *hína*, in more traditional Guarani registers, *-ína* behaves like a verbal root and takes active person prefixes that agree with the subject of the predicate. It is sometimes written separate from the predicate, sometimes attached to it.

#### *rehai reína*

re-h-ai re-ína 2sg.act-possm3-write 2sg.act-prog 'you (sg.) are writing'

#### *peguata peína*

pe-guata pe-ína 2pl.act-walk 2pl.act-prog 'you (pl.) are walking'

*Ko jasypoapy jave ningo jagueromandu'a ñaína heta ára iñimportánteva*. ko jasy+poapy jave ningo ja-guero-mandu'a dem.sg moon+eight while verd 1pl.incl.act-make.soc-remember ña-ína h-eta ára iñ-importánte-va 1pl.incl-act-prog possm3-numerous day 3.inact-important-adjz 'During this August we are commemorating many important dates.'

*Vy'apave˜ ka'ay árare*. *Mamópa rekay'u reína*.

vy'a-pave˜ ka'a+y ára=re mamó=pa joy-supreme mate.leaf+water day=at where=q re-ka+y+'u re-ína 2sg.act-mate.leaf+water+ingest 2sg.act-prog 'Happy mate day. Where are you drinking mate?' (Mate = *Ilex Paraguaiensis* infusion.)

#### *Anína reñembotavyreína*.

ani-na re-ñe-mbo-tavy-re-ína neg-req 2sg.act-agd-make1-stupid-2sg.act-prog 'Please don't be playing dumb.'

It is important to note that *hína* has uses that do not seem to express the progressive aspect, but rather emphasis (see **7.1** for examples).

To express that an event recurs intermittently speakers use *hikóni* (**intermittent aspect**). This is often not directly translated in English.

#### *omba'apo hikóni*

o-mba'apo hikóni 3.act-work interm 's/he is (out and about) working' (the assumption is that the person referenced is not working continuously)

#### Aiko hikóni nderekávo.

a-iko hikóni nde-r-eka-vo 1SG.ACT-be INTERM 2SG.INACT-POSSM-seek-while 'I am looking for you.' (In the sense that I have been repeatedly looking.)

Ha'ekuéra omombe'u oréve mba'éichapa ohasa asy hikóni umi ermáno Alemaniaygua.

ha'e=kuéra o-mombe'u oréve mba'éicha=pa o-h-asa s/he=PL 3.ACT-tell to.us.not.you how=Q 3.ACT-POSSM3-pass asy hikóni umi ermáno Alemania=ygua pain INTERM NPROX.PL brother Germany=from "They would tell us the troubles that were affecting our German brothers." (From time to time, or on occasion.)

Habitual aspect is marked with the stressed suffix -mi for past habits, and with the unstressed suffix -va for non-past habits. (Do not confuse this latter with the adjectivizer -va; see 3.3.)

ajapomi a-japo-mi 1SG.ACT-make-used.to 'I used to make'

ajapóva a-japo-va 1SG.ACT-make-in.the.habit 'I am in the habit of making'

Py'ýi ahami penderógape. a-ha-mi pende-r-óga=pe ру'ўі often 1sg.AcT-go-used.to 2PL.INACT-POSSM-house=in 'I used to go to your house often.'

Py'ýi aháva penderógape. pv¹ўі a-ha-va pende-r-óga=pe often 1SG.ACT-go-in.the.habit 2PL.INACT-POSSM-house=in 'I go to your house often.'

The particle jepi can also mark habitual present or past action.

Apu'a jepi voiete. a-pu'ã jepi voi-ete 1SG.ACT-get.up usually early-very 'I usually get up very early.'

Ymavépa reho py'ýi jepi tupa'ópe. yma-ve=pa re-ho pyˈÿi jepi tupa'o=pe before-more=Q 2sG.ACT-go often usually church=in 'Did you use to go frequently to church before?'

The iterative aspect (which conveys the repetition of an action) can be expressed with the stressed affix -je(v)y, which gives the idea of a single repetition. As an independent word, jevy means 'time' in the sense of 'occasion'. As a verb, it means 'to return'. It can also be used as an adverb with the meaning 'again'. As is common in many frequent words, the labiodental approximant /v/ is most often elided.

omoañetejey o-mo-añete-jevy 3.ACT-MAKE1-true-again 's/he reaffirms'

Ikatúpa rombojerokymi jey. ikatu=pa ro-mbo-jeroky-mi jevy be.able=Q 1>2sG-MAKE1-dance-DIM again 'Can I get you to dance again?'

Ipu jeýma. i-pu jevy-ma 3.INACT-sound again-already 'It (=the music) sounds again already.'

nerendápe ajujevy ne-r-enda=pe a-ju-jevy 2SG.INACT-POSSM-place=in 1SG.ACT-come-again 'I return by your side' (literally, 'I come again by your side')

To clearly express reiteration with more than a single repetition, speakers use the reduplication -jevyvy:

*romomarandujevyvy va'ekue* ro-mo-marandu-jevy~vy va'ekue 1>2sg-make1-warning-again~again past 'I warned you several times'

This is a particular case of a more generic means of expressing iteration via reduplication of a predicate, which does not require the use of *jevy*. This kind of reduplication most frequently doubles the last syllable or the last two syllables of the predicate.

#### *jajepohéipohéi*

ja-je-po+héi~po+héi 1pl.incl.act-agd-hand+wash~hand+wash 'we wash our hands over and over'

#### *oguatavérõ oguatave hikuái*

o-guata-ve=rõ o-guata-ve hikuái 3.act-walk-more=when 3.act-walk-more they 'when they walked more and walked more'

A kind of **quasi-eventive aspect** (sometimes called "incompletive", marking the fact that an event almost happened, but didn't) can be conveyed by the stressed suffix -*mo'ã*.

## *Ha'amo'ã*.

ha-'a-mo'ã 1sg.act-fall-almost 'I almost fell.'

#### *Rohenoimo'ã ndekatu reju*.

ro-h-enói-mo'ã nde=katu re-ju 1>2sg-possm3-call-almost you.sg=just 2sg.act-come 'I was about to call you but you (just) came.'

Other aspectual nuances can be conveyed by the use of **serial verb constructions**. These constructions contain a lexical verb followed by another lexical verb that has an auxiliary-like function and is the one responsible for conveying the aspectual meaning. Serial verb constructions are a special type of subordination by juxtaposition (see **12.2.2**) in which the predicates are understood to have the same subject and to denote a single event. The auxiliary-like verb is suffixed with the unstressed simultaneity marker *-vo* 'while'.

*ijapu oikóvo* i-japu o-iko-vo 3.inact-falsehood 3.act-be-while 's/he keeps on lying' (**protractive aspect**) or 's/he goes around lying' (**frequentative aspect**)

*Cherecharõ aguahe˜ ahávo umi cherapicha rógarupi . . .* che-r-echa=rõ a-guahe˜ a-ha-vo umi 1sg.inact-possm-see=when 1sg.act-arrive 1sg.act-go-while nprox.pl che-r-apicha r-óga=rupi 1sg.inact-possm-fellow.man possm-house=around 'When I am seen when I am arriving at people's houses . . . ' (a kind of **imminent prospective** reading)

### 4.10.3 Mood and modality

The expression of speaker intent or speaker attitudes, as well as the expression of the possibility, necessity, reality or desirability of an event, is called **modality**. **Mood** refers to the different linguistic means and the different categories a language uses for expressing modality.

#### *4.10.3.1 Expressing commands*

#### 4.10.3.1.1 Basic imperative mood

The basic imperative in Guarani is used for second-person addressees, singular or plural. Forming the imperative is very simple, since it is almost always indicated by the same person prefixes used in the basic indicative mood (for first- and third-person imperatives, see **4.10.3.4.2**). The only difference between the imperative and the indicative mood is that for active and transitive verbs the imperative does have a dedicated second-person singular form: *e-*. The rest of the persons use the same active and inactive prefixes as the indicative to express the highest participant in the person hierarchy. Therefore, it is important to be aware that, except for the second-person singular imperative forms for active predicates, all other forms are ambiguous between an imperative and an indicative reading. The context in which they are used is sufficient to know which meaning is intended.

Active and transitive verbs





Inactive verbs



Verbs that are relational roots take the *h-* prefix with the second-person singular imperative *e-* prefix (as they do with any active person prefixes).

*Ehendu!* e-h-endu imp-possm3-listen 'Listen!' (you.sg addressee) *Ehasa ko raya ha ehecha mba'e ajapo nderehe*.

e-h-asa ko raya ha e-h-echa mba'e a-japo imp-possm3-pass prox.sg line and imp-possm3-see what 1sg.act-make nde=rehe 2sg.inact=at 'Cross this line and see what I do to you.'

*Upéicharamo ehenói Ñandejárape*. upe-icha=ramo e-h-enói ñande-jára=pe med.sg-as=if imp-possm3-call 1pl.incl.inact-lord-in 'Then, call our Lord.'

There are some cases where the imperative is not different from the indicative even in the second-person singular. First, the irregular verb meaning 'to say' (*ha'e*, *ere*, *he'i*, *ja'e*, *ro'e*, *peje*) has second-person imperative forms identical in both cases to the indicative forms:


Second, in the spoken colloquial language, *e-* is often used for the second singular active person prefix instead of *re-*. This makes the second singular imperative and indicative identical, therefore effectively making the indicative and imperative moods indistinguishable in all persons:

*Apete. Ehechápa?* ape-te e-h-echa=pa here-very 2sg.act-possm3-see=q 'Right here. See?'

*Mboy año ereko?* mboy año e-reko how.many year 2sg.act-have 'How old are you?'

4.10.3.1.2 Imperative modalizers

It is common for the basic imperative to be combined with suffixes that express further nuances of force, coercion, mitigation or politeness (we can call these **imperative modalizers**):


These nuances are difficult to convey accurately in the English translations. The translations will attempt to convey a feel for the use of these suffixes, even though their meaning would not necessarily be expressed that way by an English speaker. Moreover, sometimes the usual descriptions of their meanings given here do not seem to coincide very well with the general thrust of the sentence. This makes learning the use of these suffixes particularly challenging for a non-native speaker.

*emba'apóke* e-mba'apo-ke imp-work-force 'work (I command you)'

*ehechána* e-h-echa-na imp-possm3-see-req 'look, please'

*ehendumi* e-h-endu-mi imp-possm3-listen-plead 'please listen just a minute'

*eguatápy* e-guata-py imp-walk-urg 'walk then!'

#### *Peñatendéke pendejehe ha entéro ovecha atýre*.

pe-ñatende-ke pendejehe ha entéro ovecha aty=re 2pl.act-pay.attention-force at.yourselves and whole sheep group=at 'Do look out for yourselves and for the entire flock.'

*He'i chéve la che iru˜ : ¡Embokapúna hese!, ha ambokapu mante*. he'i chéve la che-iru˜ e-mbo-kapu-na hese ha says to.me det.sg 1sg.inact-friend imp-make1-shot-req at.him/her and a-mbo-kapu mante 1sg.act-make1-shot only 'My friend said to me "shoot him!" And I just shot (him).'

*Eremi upe ñu'au˜ renda ha toroñaka'ouka mandi voi*. ere-mi upe ñu'au˜ r-enda ha imp.2sg.act.say-plead med.sg skin.mole possm-place and to-ro-ñaka'o-uka mandi voi opt-1>2sg-decapitate-make2 once.and.for.all emph 'Now tell me please where this mole is so they may chop your head off once and for all.'

All these imperative modalizing suffixes can be stacked together, yielding nuances of meaning that are extremely difficult to render. In fact, even native speakers often cannot verbalize the differences between the diverse combinations.

#### *ejumína*

e-ju-mi-na imp-come-plead-req 'will you come please?'

*emombe'úkena* e-mombe'ú-ke-na imp-tell-force-req 'come on, tell us please'

*peguapymíkena* pe-guapy-mi-ke-na 2pl.act-sit-plead-force-req 'please do sit, you all'

*jahapákena* ja-ha-pa-ke-na 1pl.incl.act-go-all-force-req 'come on please, let's all go!' *Emombe'umína chéve rejapova'erã ko'e˜ro*. e-mombe'u-mi-na chéve re-japo-va'e-rã ko'e˜ro imp-tell-plead-req to.me 2sg.act-make-adjz-dest tomorrow 'Please tell me what you will do tomorrow.'

*Pehkrivíkena ñandéve pee˜ mitã pyahu Paraguái membýva kuénto ha novéla guaraníme*. p-ehkriví-ke-na ñandéve pee˜ mitã pyahu Paraguái 2pl.act-write-force-req to.us&you you.pl child new Paraguay memby-va kuénto ha novéla guarani=me child.of.woman-adjz short.story and novel Guarani=in 'You, new children of Paraguay, write us short stories and novels in Guarani.'

*Ndepacienciamíkena cherehe*. nde-paciencia-mi-ke-na che=rehe 2sg.inact-patience-plead-force-req 1sg.inact=at 'Be patient with me.'

All of these imperative modalizers can be attached to non-verbal predicates. In fact, they can be attached to many different word classes. This is evidence that imperative modalizers can have freer placement in the clause than one would expect from their use as verb suffixes. Their behaviour is sometimes more like that of a 'floating' particle, often coming in the second position in the sentence (after the first phrase).

*Ndepya'éke!* nde-pya'e-ke 2sg.inact-fast-force 'Be quick!'

*Animo'ãkena avave ohekýi ndehegui neñe'e˜* ani-mo'ã-ke-na avave o-h-ekýi ndehegui neg-neg.fut-force-req nobody 3.act-possm3-take.away from.you.sg ne-ñe'e˜ 2sg.inact-language 'That/Let nobody ever take your language from you'

*ejedehána nde la cántogui, mágiantena ejapo* e-je-deha-na nde la cánto=gui magia-nte-na e-japo imp-agd-leave-req you.sg dem.sg singing=from magic-only-req imp-make 'forget the singing, please, do only magic'

*Amo kotýpena pemoı˜mi*. amo koty=pe-na pe-moı˜-mi dist.sg room=in-req 2pl.act-put-plead 'Please, put it in that room.'

#### *Araka'evékena ani jajavy ha ñaimo'ã Guarani ikatuha ombyai ñanecastellanope*.

araka'eve-ke-na ani ja-javy ha ña-imo'ã never-force-req neg.imp 1pl.incl.act-err and 1pl.incl.act-think Guarani ikatu-ha o-mby-ai ñane-castellano=pe Guarani be.able-nmlz 3.act-make1-bad 1pl.incl.inact-Spanish=in 'Let's never make the mistake of thinking that Guarani can ruin our Spanish.'

#### 4.10.3.1.3 Prohibitive mood

Negated imperatives are also called **prohibitives**. They are different from both the non-negative imperative forms and the negative declarative forms. The word *ani* is placed in front of the predicate to be negated, while the predicate itself is marked with the unstressed suffix *-t(e)i*.

#### *Ani rehótei*.

ani re-ho-tei neg.imp 2sg.act-go-neg.imp 'Do not go.'

#### *Ani erétei . . . Ndarekopáiko hína!*

Ani ere-tei nd-a-reko-pa-i=ko neg.imp imp.2sg.act.say-neg.imp neg-1sg.act-have-all-neg=verd hína prog 'Don't say (that) . . . I don't have everything!'

#### *Ani pejúti peje chéve la ndaipóri kuña iporãva mba'e hína porque peikuaa porã la oı˜ha*.

ani pe-ju-ti peje chéve la neg.imp 2pl.act-come-neg.imp 2pl.act-say to.me det.sg ndaipóri kuña i-porã-va mba'e hína porque there.is.not woman 3.inact-pretty-adjz thing prog because pei-kuaa+porã la oı˜-ha 2pl.act-know+good det.sg there.is-nmlz 'Don't come and say to me that there are no women that are pretty and so on because you know well that there are.'

The suffix part *-t(e)i* is in fact optional. It is often left out.

*ani reho* ani re-ho neg.imp 2sg.act-go 'do not go'

*Ani repoko cherehe ha'e niko ndéve*. ani re-poko che=rehe ha'e niko ndéve neg.imp 2sg.act-touch 1sg.inact=at I.say verd to.you.sg 'I did tell you not to touch me.'

*Ani rejepy'apy chekarai*. ani re-je-py'a+py che-karai neg.imp 2sg.act-agd-chest+press 1sg.inact-gentleman 'Don't worry, mister.'

In line with what we saw above in terms of their free placement, imperative modalizers may attach to *ani* and not to the predicate.

*anína upéichati* ani-na upe-icha-ti neg.imp-req med.sg-as-neg.imp 'please don't (do that)'

*Aníkena peimo'ã ko'ã mba'e ñanohe˜ta peteı˜ syrýkype*. ani-ke-na pe-imo'ã ko'ã mba'e neg.imp-force-req 2pl.act-think prox.pl thing ña-nohe˜-ta peteı˜ syrýky=pe 1pl.incl.act-take.out-fut one all.of.a.sudden=in 'Do not think that these things will be achieved all of a sudden.'

Another way, albeit less frequent, in which Guarani expresses the negation of imperatives (and optatives; see **4.10.3.4.2**) is via the privative stressed suffix -*'y˜* . This suffix means, more generally, 'without' (see **3.2.2** for its use to create antonyms, **5.4** for its use as the postposition 'without' and **12.2.1** for its use to negate relative clauses).

*eju'y˜na* e-ju-'y˜-na imp-come-priv-req 'please don't come'

#### *4.10.3.2 Expressing possibility and ability*

Possibility is expressed by the morpheme *ikatu* which does not vary according to person or number (for this reason, I will gloss it 'be.able').

#### *ikatu japurahéi*

ikatu ja-purahéi be.able 1pl.incl.act-sing 'we (including you) can sing'

#### *ikatu apurahéi*

ikatu a-purahéi be.able 1sg.act-sing 'I can sing'

#### *Ikatu pejogua chuguikuéra y ha penerembi'urã*. ikatu pe-jogua chugui=kuéra y ha be.able 2pl.act-buy from.him/her=pl water and pene-r-embi-'u-rã 2pl.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-ingest-dest 'You can buy from them water and your food.'

#### *Ikatúpa rombojerokymi jey*.

ikatu=pa ro-mbo-jeroky-mi jevy be.able=q 1>2sg-make1-dance-dim again 'Can I get you to dance again?'

The negation of this morpheme uses the regular predicate negation circumfix. The word that results, *ndaikatúi*, is often pronounced *ndikatúi* in the spoken colloquial language.

#### *ndaikatúi roho*

nda-ikatu-i ro-ho neg-be.able-neg 1pl.excl.act-go 'we (excluding you) cannot go'

#### *ndaikatúi jaha*

nda-ikatu-i ja-ha neg-be.able-neg 1pl.incl.act-go 'we (including you) cannot go'

#### *Araka'eve ndaikatúi ake nderógape*.

araka'eve nda-ikatu-i a-ke nde-r-óga=pe never neg-be.able-neg 1sg.act-sleep 2sg.inact-possm-house=in 'I can never sleep in your house.'

Even though *ikatu* is invariable, it sometimes appears with person markers in speech, and is thereby used as a main verb meaning 'to be able to', under conditions not well understood.

*ndoroikatuvéima roguata* ndo-ro-ikatu-ve-i-ma ro-guata neg-1pl.excl.act-be.able-more-neg-already 1pl.excl.act-walk 'we were already not able to walk anymore'

Physical or cognitive ability can be expressed by the (aireal) verb *kuaa* 'to know', which in this modal use behaves as a stressed predicate suffix.

#### *ojapikuaa ha ojapiporã*

o-japi-kuaa ha o-japi+porã 3.act-injure.by.shooting-know and 3.act-injure.by.shooting+good 's/he can shoot and s/he shoots well'

#### *añe'e˜kuaa guaraníme*

a-ñe'e˜-kuaa guarani=me 1sg.act-speak-know Guarani=in 'I can speak Guarani'

*Carlos omboguatakuaa kóche, traytor katu nomboguatakuaái*. Carlos o-mbo-guata-kuaa kóche traytor katu Carlos 3.act-make1-walk-know car tractor just n-o-mbo-guata-kuaa-i neg-3.act-make1-walk-know-neg 'Carlos can drive a car, but a tractor he cannot drive.'

#### *Ha'e ho'yta porã, iñamígo katu ndo'ytakuaái*.

ha'e ho-'yta porã iñ-amígo katu nd-o-'yta-kuaa-i s/he 3.act-swim good 3.inact-friend just neg-3.act-swim-know-neg 'S/he swims well, but her/his friend cannot swim.'21

<sup>21</sup> Example from Ortiz et al. (1991, 118).

#### *4.10.3.3 Expressing obligation and permission*

Obligation is conveyed by the stressed suffix *-va'erã/-vaerã* (see **4.10.1**) or by the free morpheme *tekoteve˜* 'be necessary'. Like *ikatu* 'be able', this latter does not vary with person and number (and I will therefore gloss it 'be.necessary').

#### Roha'arõ**va'erã** anga.

ro-h-a'arõ-va'erã anga 1pl.excl.act-possm3-wait-must poor.thing 'Unfortunately, we must wait.'

#### *Añetépiko apu'ãva'erã*.

añete=piko a-pu'ã-va'erã true=q 1sg.act-get.up-must 'Do I really have to get up?'

#### *Tekoteve˜ aha ko'ãga*.

tekoteve˜ a-ha ko'ãga be.necessary 1sg.act-go now 'I have to go now.'

#### *Tekoteve˜ rejujevy ko'e˜ro*.

tekoteve˜ re-ju-jevy ko'e˜ro be.necessary 2sg.act-come-again tomorrow

'You have to come back tomorrow.' (The word for 'tomorrow' is most often found as *ko'e˜rõ* in written texts; the spelling chosen here, *ko'e˜ro*, is less common, but has the advantage of signalling clearly that stress falls on the penultimate vowel, not on the last vowel.)

The verb 'to need (something)' is the active verb *koteve˜* (aireal). It is used with the postposition =*rehe* 'at' when the meaning is that of needing a person.

#### *aikoteve˜ nderehe*

ai-koteve˜ nde=rehe 1sg.act-need 2sg.inact=at 'I need you'

#### *Pe mbarakaja oikoteve˜ tembi'u*.

pe mbarakaja oi-koteve˜ t-embi-'u med.sg cat 3.act-need npossm-nmlz.rel-ingest 'That cat needs food.'

*Ñande ikatu ñaikoteve˜ avei ambue árape*. ñande ikatu ñai-koteve˜ avei ambue ára=pe we&you be.able 1pl.incl.act-need also other day=in 'We may need (them) too another day.'

The expression of permission is carried out with the unstressed suffix -*mba'e* (from the word *mba'e* 'thing') or with the second-position clitic *katu* 'just'.

#### *terehómba'e*

te-re-ho-mba'e opt-2sg.act-go-thing 'go, then'

*ehókatu* e-ho=katu imp-go=just 'go ahead, go' / 'just go'

#### *4.10.3.4 Expressing desire and volition*

#### 4.10.3.4.1 Volitive mood

The **volitive mood** expresses wants and desires. The stressed volitive suffix -*se* is used when the person that wants an event to happen is also the subject, agent or experiencer of that desired event. Sentences with *-se* are equivalent to English sentences with two clauses, one with the verb 'want', the other with the desired predicate as a to-infinitive, and identical subjects in both clauses. However, in Guarani there is only one clause in this construction, since the equivalent of the English verb 'want' is just a verb suffix.

*ahase* a-ha-se 1sg.act-go-want 'I want to go'

#### *Oikuaase nderéra*.

oi-kuaa-se nde-r-éra 3.act-know-want 2sg.inact-possm-name 'S/he wants to know your name.'

*Ha chendive piko reñorairõse avei*. ha che=ndive=piko re-ño-rairõ-se avei and 1sg.inact=with =q 2sg.act-recp-attack-want also 'And with me you want to fight too?'

*Remomba'aposevépa ichupekuéra*. re-mo-mba'apo-se-ve=pa ichupe=kuéra 2sg.act-make1-work-want-more=q to.him/her=pl 'Do you want to make them work more?'

If the experiencer of the desire or want is different from the agent or experiencer of the event wanted, Guarani uses the (aireal) verb *pota* 'want', in a construction now more similar to the English one. In one clause there is the verb *pota* 'want' with the prefix corresponding to the participant experiencing the wanting, and in the other clause there is the verb expressing the event desired with its own person prefix. What is different is that, whereas in English the second verb (expressing the event desired) is in the to-infinitive form and its subject is actually the object of the first verb (for example, 'I want him to go', not \*'I want he to go'), in Guarani the second verb is marked with a person prefix like any other verb. There is therefore no indication that the second verb is subordinated to the first.

#### *Aipota oho*.

ai-pota o-ho 1sg.act-want 3.act-go 'I want him/her to go.' (Literally, 'I want s/he goes.')

#### *Aipota repromete chéve cherayhutaha*.

ai-pota re-promete chéve che-r-ayhu-ta-ha 1sg.act-want 2sg.act-promise to.me 1sg.inact-possm-love-fut-nmlz 'I want you to promise me that you will love me.'

The difference between these two forms for expressing desires can be shown with the following contrasting pair. The use of *oipota* in the first example below makes it clear that Tomasa wanted somebody else to find a very beautiful partner; whereas the use of *-se* in the second example makes it clear that Tomasa herself wanted to find a beautiful partner.

*Tomasa oipota ojuhu peteı˜ iñiru˜ rã neporãva*. Tomasa oi-pota o-juhu peteı˜ iñ-iru˜-rã Tomasa 3.act-want 3.act-find one 3.inact-friend-dest ne-porã-va sup-beautiful-sup 'Tomasa wanted him to find a very beautiful partner.'

*Tomasa ojuhuse peteı˜ iñiru˜ rã neporãva* Tomasa o-juhu-se peteı˜ iñ-iru˜-rã ne-porã-va Tomasa 3.act-find-want one 3.inact-friend-dest sup-beautiful-sup 'Tomasa wanted to find a very beautiful partner'.

The verb *pota* is not only used to talk about wanting other events to occur, but also about wanting things.

#### *Roipota orepláta*.

roi-pota ore-pláta 1pl.excl.act-want 1pl.excl.inact-money 'We want our money.'

#### *Ha mba'epiko reipota, che áma!*

ha mba'e=piko rei-pota che-áma And what=q 2sg.act-want 1sg.inact-lady 'And what do you want, my love?'

#### *Ndoipotaimi la oñembojarúa akue*.

nd-oi-pota-i-mi la o-ñe-mbo-jaru-va akue neg-3.act-want-neg-used.to det.sg 3.act-make1-prank-adjz past 'They didn't want to be made fun of.'

#### 4.10.3.4.2 Hortative and optative mood

The first-person plural **hortative**, similar to English 'let's', is used to exhort a group including oneself to carry out an action. It is conveyed simply by using the first-person inclusive plural prefix.

#### *jaike*

ja-ike 1pl.incl.act-enter 'let's go in'

*ñaha'arõ* ña-h-a'arõ 1pl.incl.act-possm3-wait 'let's wait'

*Jaha lo mitã*. ja-ha lo mitã 1pl.incl.act-go det.pl child 'Let's go, boys!'

*Japukami ha upekuévo, ñambohory ñande rekove . . .* ja-puka-mi ha upe-kue-vo 1pl.incl.act-laugh-dim and med.sg-post-while ña-mbo-h-ory ñande-r-ekove … 1pl.incl.act-make1-possm3-joy 1pl.incl.inact-possm-life 'Let's laugh a little and while we're at it let's brighten up our life . . . '

The **optative mood** is used to indicate wishes and hopes and it is marked by the prefix *t-*, followed by person markers. It is often translated in English by the auxiliary verbs 'let' or 'may'. For inactive person prefixes, the helping vowel *-a-* is added to avoid a clash of two consonants. For active person prefixes, a helping vowel is inserted which is identical to the vowel in the person marker (**vowel harmony**), except in the secondperson plural, which inserts *-a-* (we saw that exactly the same happens with the negation prefix; see **4.9**).

*tamba'apo* t-a-mba'apo opt-1sg.act-work 'I have decided to work'

*torokaru* to-ro-karu opt-1pl.excl.act-eat(intransitive) 'let's eat' or 'that we eat' (but excluding the addressee)

*tapeho* ta-pe-ho opt-2pl.act-go '(I wish that/may) you (pl.) go'

*Tereg˜uahe˜ porãite!* (also written *Tereguahe˜porãite!*) te-re-g˜uahe˜ porã-ite opt-2sg.act-arrive good-very 'Welcome!' (One addressee.)

*Tapeg˜uahe˜ porãite!* (also written *Tapeguahe˜porãite!*) ta-pe-g˜uahe˜ porã-ite opt-2pl.act-arrive good-very 'Welcome!' (Multiple addressees)

#### *Ñandejára tanderovasa*.

ñande-jára ta-nde-r-ovasa 1pl.incl.inact-lord opt-2sg.inact-possm-bless 'God bless you.' (One addressee.)

*Ñandejára tapenderovasa*. ñande-jára ta-pende-r-ovasa 1pl.incl.inact-lord opt-2pl.inact-possm-bless 'God bless you.' (Multiple addressees.)

*taoreañuamba nemborayhu* ta-ore-añua-mba ne-mbo-r-ayhu opt-1pl.excl.inact-embrace-all 2sg.inact-make1-possm-love '(that/may) your love embrace us all'

The optative mood is often found in the verb of a subordinate clause that is an order or mandate (see also **12.2.2**). In the first clause of the following example, the subordinate verb *tou* is marked with the optative because it is an order that will be verbally given for someone to come. In the second clause, the subordinate verb *tahechauka* is marked with the optative to convey a sense of purpose or goal.

*Peje chupe tou, tahechaukámandivoi pee˜me*. peje chupe t-o-u 2pl.act.say to.him/her opt-3.act-come t-a-h-echa-uka=mandi=voi pee˜me opt-1sg.act-possm3-see-make2=once.and.for.all=emph to.you.pl 'Tell him to come, so I can make you see once and for all.'

Both the hortative mood prefix and the optative mood prefix can co-occur with imperative modalizers.

*jaháke* ja-ha-ke 1pl.incl.act-go-force 'come on, let's go!'

*topu'ãkena ñaneánga* t-o-pu'ã-ke-na ñane-ánga opt-3.act-get.up-force-req 1pl.incl.inact-soul 'let/may our soul rise'

The optative can occur with non-verbal predicates.

*ta'upéichakena!* ta-'upe-icha-ke-na opt-med.sg-as-force-req 'I hope so!' / 'Let/may it be so!'

The negation of optative forms is accomplished via the stressed privative suffix *-'y˜*.

*tou'y˜* t-o-u-'y˜ opt-3.act-come-priv 'may he not come' / 'I don't want him to come'.

Voice markers (which will be presented in more detail below in **6**) can also co-occur with the optative.

*toñembojeroviákena nderéra* t-o-ñe-mbo-jerovia-ke-na nde-r-éra opt-3.act-agd-make1-believe-force-req 2sg.inact-possm-name 'hallowed be thy name' (literally, 'be your name made belief')

Finally, there is a **desiderative** affix *-nga'u* (unstressed), that can be translated as 'hopefully', 'I wish that' or 'if only'.

*Rehechánga'u*. re-h-echa-nga'u 2sg.act-possm3-see-des 'I wish you saw (it).'

#### 4.10.3.5 Expressing negative evaluations

Like many other Amazonian languages, Guarani can express a kind of **frustrative** modality with the stressed suffix *-rei* 'in vain', which conveys a negative evaluation of an action, or its fruitlessness. It is often found accompanied by the particle mante, meaning 'only'.

Mba'eichaitépa ñande mbopochy ñamba'aporeíro. mba'eicha-ite=pa ñande mbo-pochy ña-mba'apo-rei=rõ how-very=q we&you MAKE1-anger 1 1PL.INCL.ACT-work-in.vain=if 'How very frustrating it is if we work in vain!'

Upéi katu ohejarei mante hikuái . . . upéi katu o-h-eja-rei mante hikuái then just 3.ACT-POSSM3-leave-in.vain only they 'And then they just abandoned him . . . '

Gua'u is used for simulated, non-realized actions, or actions with a concealed or non-serious intent. In this use, it can convey the notion that an event is fake or in jest. Somewhat more broadly, it can also express the speaker's evaluation of an action. This particle does not necessarily attach to a predicate but has freer placement in the sentence.

Mba'e la ojapo la idivertídovea péicha, ikatu, ofarrea, oho omongeta gua'u algun kuñápe?

mba'e la o-japo la i-divertído-ve-va what DET.SG 3.ACT-make DET.SG 3.INACT-fun-more-ADJZ pe-icha ikatu o-ho - ho o-mongeta gua'u MED.SG-as be.able 3.ACT-party 3.ACT-go 3.ACT-converse fake algun kuña=pe woman=in some 'What did they do that was more fun like, maybe, party, go talk so to speak with some woman?'

```
La Prinsésa okémavoi ha pe arriéro nambisakã upéichante avei;
Perurimákatu ikerambu gua'u.
```
la arriéro prinsésa o-ke-ma=voi ha pe DET.SG princess 3.ACT-sleep-already=EMPH and MED.SG peasant upe-icha-nte avei Perurima=katu i-kerambu nambi+sakã ear+transparent MED.sG-as-only also Perurima=just 3.INACT-snore gua'u fake

'The Princess already slept and so did the malnourished man; Perurimá just faked snoring.'

*. . . mokõi tahachi oñekytı˜gua'u ombotavypotávo huvichápe . . .* mokõi tahachi o-ñe-kytı˜-gua'u o-mbo-tavy-pota-vo two soldier 3.act-agd-cut=fake 3.act-make1-stupid-about.to-while h-uvicha=pe possm3-boss=in ' . . . two soldiers that faked being injured and were about to fool their superior . . . '

*Anga* expresses speaker commiseration for an event participant. This particle also has somewhat free placement in a sentence.

*Jairo heta anga osufri okakuaa aja*. Jairo h-eta anga o-sufri o-kakuaa aja Jairo possm3-numerous poor.thing 3.act-suffer 3.act-grow.up while 'Jairo suffered a lot growing up, poor thing.'

*Ajevérõ niko, ko mitã poriahu rerekóva ápe mba'eve vera ivaíva anga ndojapói*.

ajevérõ niko ko mitã poriahu re-reko-va ápe as.a.result verd prox.sg child poor 2sg.act-have-adjz here mba'eve vera i-vai-va anga nd-o-japo-i nothing completely 3.inact-bad-adjz poor.thing neg-3.act-make-neg 'And so this indigent child you have here has done absolutely nothing bad, poor soul.'

## 4.11 Verbalizations

The process of turning roots of different classes into verbs is called **verbalization**. Guarani only has one dedicated verbalizer, the stressed suffix *-'o*, which turns a noun into a verb. The resulting meaning is often that of a 'removal' of the object denoted by the base noun.

*pire'o* pire-'o skin-remove 'to skin'

*nambi'o* nambi-'o ear-remove 'to cut (an animal's) ears' *ñakã'o* ñakã-'o head-remove 'to decapitate' (The noun root for 'head' is *akã* – *ñaka* being the form the root takes as a verb with the loss of the initial consonant or apheresis; see **4.8**.)

*juru'o* juru-'o mouth-remove 'to open'

*hogue'o* h-ogue-'o possm3-leaf-remove 'to strip the leaves off, to defoliate'

*ky'o* ky-'o louse-remove 'to delouse'

*kyra'o* kyra-'o grease-remove 'to degrease'

*Kañõ rendyvu oñakã'o Florentín Oviedo kavaju*. kañõ r-endyvu o-ñakã-'o Florentín Oviedo kavaju cannon possm-spit 3.act-head-remove Florentín Oviedo horse 'The cannon's spit decapitated Florentín Oviedo's horse.'

The prefix *mbo-* (and its allomorphs *mby-*, *mbu-*, *mo-*, *my-*, *mu-*) can also have verbalizing uses. (It is more generally a prefix that turns intransitive verbs into transitive verbs; see **6.6.1**.)

*mbokatupyry* mbo-katupyry make1-skillful 'to teach, to train' (literally, 'to make skillful') *moaguı˜* mo-aguı˜ make1-close.by 'to bring closer' (literally, 'to make close')

*muangekói* mu-angekói make1-annoyance 'to annoy' (literally, 'to make annoyed')

*myaky˜* my-aky˜ make1-wet(adjective) 'to wet' (literally, 'to make wet')

*mbyaku* mby-aku make1-hot 'to heat up' (literally, 'to make hot')

Although the distribution of the different prefix forms is variable, *mbu*and *mby-* tend to occur with relational roots and roots that begin with *a*. If an *a*-initial root is nasal the forms are *mu-* and *my-*.

Some verbs can be derived from other verbs to obtain a sort of opposite or reversed meaning. *Jeheko-* is composed of the passive *je-* (see **6.3**) plus the abstract nominalizer for qualities *t-eko-* (see **3.2.1.2.4**).

*mbo'e* 'to teach' ~ *jehekombo'e* 'to be trained; to learn' *jopy* 'to press against' ~ *jehekojopy* 'to subjugate; to persecute; to exploit' *mosã* 'to tie' ~ *mosãso* 'to untie' (with the help of the verbal root *so* 'to become detached')

## 4.12 Modifiers of the verb

Guarani **adverbs** are generally indicators of time or space, or are unmarked roots that can fulfil an adverbial function.

*Eju ko'ág˜a!* e-ju ko'ág˜a imp-come now 'Come now!'

*Eju ko'ápe!* e-ju ko'ápe imp-come here 'Come here!'

#### *Eju pya'e!*

e-ju pya'e imp-come fast 'Come quickly!'

*tuicha ñanepytyvõta* tuicha ñane-pytyvõ-ta big 1pl.incl.inact-help-fut 'it will help us greatly'

#### *noñe'e˜i mbegue*

n-o-ñe'e˜-i mbegue neg-3.act-speak-neg slow 's/he doesn't speak slowly'

*Kuarahy overa asy*. kuarahy o-vera asy sun 3.act-shine pain

'The sun shines intensely.'

Time adverbs or time expressions are often the only indication of whether a predicate should be interpreted as past or present.

#### *Aháma kuehe pe mbo'ehaópe*.

a-ha-ma kuehe pe mbo'ehao=pe 1sg.act-go-already yesterday med.sg school=in 'I already went to school yesterday.'

#### *Ymavépa reho py'y˜i jepi tupa'ópe*.

yma-ve=pa re-ho py'y˜i jepi tupa'o=pe before-more=q 2sg.act-go often usually church=in 'Did you use to go frequently to church before?'

*Mba'e la ndekaria'y tiempo ijuntopa ndehermanokuérandi pejuga*. mba'e la nde-karia'y tiempo i-junto-pa what det.sg 2sg.inact-young.man time 3.inact-together-all nde-hermano=kuéra=ndi pe-juga 2sg.inact-sibling=pl=with 2pl.act-play 'What did you all play together, you and your siblings, when you were a young man?'

The roots *porã* 'good', *vai* 'bad' and *kuaa* 'to know' very often form a word unit with the predicate when used adverbially. This is not always consistently reflected by the spelling in texts, however.

*Neremba'apoporãi*. ne-re-mba'apo+porã-i neg-2sg.act-work+good-neg 'You don't work well.'

*¡Nemomaranduvaipa hína hikuái!* ne-mo-marandu-vai-pa hína hikuái 2sg.inact-make1-warning-bad-all prog they 'You are completely ill-informed!' (Literally, 'They are informing you all wrong!')

## 4.13 Verb compounds

A **verb compound** is a word composed of two roots that functions as a verb. One of the roots is a verb, the other a noun or adjective. (See also **noun compounds** in **3.2.1.3**.)

```
Noun + verb
```
*hepyme'e˜* h-epy+me'e˜ possm3-price+give 'to pay'

*y'u* y+'u water+ingest 'to drink'

*py'apy* py'a+py chest+press 'to worry'

*pokyty* po+kyty hand+rub 'to rub (with one's hands); to fondle'

Verb + adjective

*kehe'e˜* ke+he'e˜ sleep+sweet/salty 'to sleep deeply'

*karuhe* karu+he eat(intransitive)+tasty 'to eat with pleasure'

*guatapokã* guata+pokã walk+scarce 'to walk with slow, long strides'

## 5 Postpositions

The marking of how noun phrases are related by their meaning and their function to a predicate is accomplished in Guarani by means of **postpositions**; that is, particles that occur at the end of the noun phrase they modify (unlike prepositions, which precede the noun phrase they modify). All Guarani postpositions are pronounced forming a unit with the noun phrase to their left and are therefore **enclitics**, not independent words (hence, I render them using an equals sign = in glosses and in the text). Some also show alternations in shape (primarily nasalization) due to the sounds in the preceding word they attach to, which is another indication that they are not independent words.

As mentioned before, the current orthographic recommendation by the Paraguayan Academy is to attach only monosyllabic postpositions to the preceding word. Postpositions with more than one syllable are written as independent words. In this work, I have generally chosen to attach all postpositions to the preceding word in keeping with their common enclitic status (unless the original orthography of the example departs from this and is maintained to facilitate recognition of other examples that use the same conventions).

### 5.1 Postpositions marking a predicate's complements

By far the most frequent postposition is =*pe* (and its nasal allomorph =*me*). Its basic meaning is **locative**, translated as 'in, on, at, to' (see **5.2**). A very important use of this postposition is to indicate that a human noun phrase that accompanies a verb is its direct object. Animals are sometimes marked with =*pe* in this case as well, especially if they are important to humans or personified in some way. Inanimate direct objects (that is, things, places, events) are unmarked.

Oha'arõ tapiaite imembykuérape. o-h-a'arõ tapia-ite i-memby=kuéra=pe 3.ACT-POSSM3-wait always-very 3.INACT-child.of.woman=PL=in 'She always waited for her children.' (Note: 'wait' takes a direct object in Guarani, hence, marked with =pe when it is human.)

Cinco motivo rehayhu hağua jaguakuérape. cinco motivo re-h-ayhu=hagua jagua=kuéra=pe five reason 2SG.ACT-POSSM3-love=for dog=PL=in 'Five reasons to love dogs.'

Cheru ojukapáta tahyikuéra. che-r-u o-juka-pa-ta tahýi=kuéra 1SG.INACT-POSSM-father 3.ACT-kill-all-FUT ant=PL 'My father will kill all the ants.'

The locative =pe/=me also marks indirect objects in ditransitive constructions (these indirect objects are recipients of verbs of transfer or communication, for example).

Ame eta kóva chesýpe.

a-me'ẽ-ta ko-va che-sy=pe PROX.SG-ADJZ 1SG.INACT-mother=in 1SG.ACT-give-FUT 'I will give this to my mother.'

Tome'ẽ ñanembo'ehárape iñaranduka. t-o-me'ẽ ñane-mbo'e-hára=pe iñ-aranduka OPT-3.ACT-give 1PL.INCL.INACT-teach-NMLZ.AG=in 3.INACT-book 'Let him/her give his/her book to our teacher.'

Amombe'úta ndéve la ojehuva'ekue

a-mombe'u-ta ndéve la o-jehu-va'e-kue 1SG.ACT-tell-FUT to.you.SG DET.SG 3.ACT-happen-ADJZ-POST 'I will tell (to) you what happened'

In 4.4, I showed some verbs that require their complements to bear specific postpositions; for example, =rehe 'at' or =gui 'from' (=hegui in construction with personal pronouns).

*Chemandu'áta nderehe, nanderesaráiri chehegui*.

che-mandu'a-ta nde=rehe na-nde-r-esarái-ri 1sg.inact-remembrance-fut 2sg.inact=at neg-2sg.inact-possm-oblivion-neg chehegui from.me 'I will remember you, do not forget me.'

*Natekoteve˜i amomandu'a Jesús omano peteı˜ korasõ destrozado reheve*.

na-tekoteve˜-i a-mo-mandu'a Jesús o-mano neg-be.necessary-neg 1sg.inact-make1-remembrance Jesus 3.act-die peteı˜ korasõ destrozado reheve one heart destroyed with 'I do not need to remind (you) that Jesus died of a broken heart.'

#### *Chekuerái che maı˜na po'a'y˜ ha mboriahúgui, ha atı˜ma pendehegui amba'ejerure haguã*.

che-kuerái che-maı˜na po'a-'y˜ ha mboriahu=gui 1sg.inact-annoyance 1sg.inact-godmother luck-priv and poverty=from ha a-tı˜-ma pendehegui a-mba'e-jerure haguã and 1sg.act-feel.shame-already from.you.pl 1sg.act-thing-petition for 'Godmother, I am fed up with the bad luck and the poverty, and I already feel shame coming to you to ask for things.'

Arguments that express the **beneficiary** of an action are marked with =*pe* in combination with the postposition =*guarã* 'for'.

#### *Ajapo chesýpeguarã*.

a-japo che-sy=pe=guarã 1sg.act-make 1sg.inact-mother=in=for 'I made (it) for my mother.'

*Ohaiva'erã hikuai mbo'ehárapeguarã* o-h-ai-va'erã hikuái mbo'e-hára=pe=guarã 3.act-possm3-write-must they teach-nmlz.ag=in=for 'They will have to write it for the teacher'

Recipient- and beneficiary-marking =*pe* becomes =*ve* in combination with personal pronouns: *chéve*, *ndéve*, and so on (see **3.5.**1.) These pronouns ending in =*ve* do not have the same distribution as the more general =*pe*-marked phrases: they are never locative, for example, hence 'in/inside you' is rendered by *ndepýpe*, never by *ndéve*.

*Ame'e˜ ko ryguasu ndéve*.

a-me'e˜ ko ryguasu ndéve 1sg.act-give prox.sg hen to.you.sg 'I gave you this hen.'

*Ahai ko kuatia ndéve*. a-h-ai ko kuatia ndéve 1sg.act-possm3-write prox.sg text to.you.sg 'I wrote you this letter.'

## 5.2 Postpositions of place

The following (non-exhaustive) table lists the most common spatial postpositions (and their variants if they have them).


Points to note:


*pýpe* 'inside', from *py* 'foot' *rendápe* 'next to', from *-enda* 'place' (relational) *renondépe* 'facing', from *-enonde* 'front' (relational)

#### *Amaña cherúrehe cállepe*. *Ko'ág˜a ohasahína orekorapýrupi*. *Oúkuri merkádogui ha oikéta orerógape*.

a-maña che-r-u=rehe cálle=pe ko'ág˜a 1sg.act-look.at 1sg.inact-possm-father=at street=in now o-h-asa=hína ore-korapy=rupi o-u-kuri 3.act-possm3-pass=prog 1pl.excl.inact-yard=through 3.act-come-dir.past merkádo=gui ha o-ike-ta ore-r-óga=pe market=from and 3.act-enter-fut 1pl.excl.inact-possm-house=in 'I look at my father in the street. Now he is walking through our yard. He just came back from the market and will enter into our house.'

#### *Jaháta ñandetávagotyo kavaju'ári*.

ja-ha-ta ñande-táva=gotyo kavaju='ári 1pl.incl.act-go-fut 1pl.incl.inact-town=towards horse=upon 'We will go towards our town on horses.'

## *ojuhu hikuái juky iñasãiva hóga jerére*

o-juhu hikuái juky iñ-asãi-va h-óga jerére 3.act-find they salt 3.inact-extended-adjz possm3-house around 'they found salt that spread all around their houses'

## 5.3 Postpositions of time


(*continue*)


mayma oguerekóva 15 ary guive 40 peve mayma o o-guereko-va 15 ary=guive 40=peve every 3.ACT-have-ADJZ 15 year=since 40=until 'everybody from 15 to 40 years of age'

nahesakãi aja ha'eha culpable

na-h-esakã-i ha'e-ha aja culpable NEG-POSSM3-transparency-NEG during be-NMLZ guilty 'while/as long as it isn't clear that s/he is guilty'

Ka'aguýre apytávo ka'aruete ro'y jave.

ka'aguy=re a-pyta-vo ka'aru-ete r-o'y jave 1SG.ACT-stay-while dusk-very POSSM-cold while forest=at 'Stopping by the woods on a cold evening.'

Teñói mboyve ñeñangareko omoporã tyeguasu ñemohu'ã.

t-eñói mboyve o-mo-porã t-ye+guasu NPOSSM-sprout before AGD-take.care.of 3.ACT-MAKE1-good NPOSSM-belly+big ñe-mo-h-u'a

AGD-MAKE1-POSSM3-SUMmit

'Before the birth, taking care of oneself improves pregnancy outcomes.'

Mba'épa oikóta ndehegui rekakuaarire. mba'e=pa o-iko-ta ndehegui re-kakuaa=rire what=Q 3.ACT-be-FUT from.you.sG 2SG.ACT-grow.up=after 'What will you be after you grow up?'

Ohenduparire mburuvicha guasúpe, oho meme hapére. o-h-endu-pa=rire mburuvicha guasu=pe o-ho meme 3.ACT-POSSM3-listen-all=after leader big=in 3.ACT-go all h-ape=re POSSM3-road=at 'After they all heard the king, they all went their way.'

Michĩ vove ojehero "mitã". michĩ vove o-je-h-ero mitã little during 3.ACT-AGD-POSSM3-dub child 'When (they are) little, they are called "child".'

## 5.4 Other postpositions


Points to note:


#### Ejumína chendie.

che=ndive e-ju-mi-na IMP-come-PLEAD-REQ 1SG.INACT=with 'Please come with me.'

#### Ndesy ipora yvotýicha.

nde-sy i-porã yvoty-icha 2SG.INACT-mother 3.INACT-beautiful flower-as 'Your mother is beautiful like a flower.'

Cheru almacénpe chedeprovechovégui.

che-r-u almacén=pe che-deprovecho-ve=gui 1sg.INACT-POSSM-father grocery.store=in 1sG.INACT-profitable-more=because.of 'Because I am more useful in my father's grocery store.'

#### Peñeha'arõta torypópe.

pe-ñe-h-a'arõ-ta t-ory=pópe 2PL.ACT-AGD-POSSM3-Wait-FUT NPOSSM-joy=with 'We await you with joy.' (Literally, 'You are awaited with joy'.)

Maino omongaru Ňanderu Tenondépe eirete marangatúrehe. maino o-mo-ngaru ñande-r-u hummingbird 3.ACT-MAKE1-eat(intransitive) 1PL.INCL.INACT-POSSM-father t-enonde=pe eirete marangatu=rehe NPOSSM-front=in honey wise=with 'Maino (the hummingbird) fed Our Father the First with the royal honey.'

#### upéva ojehúrõ

upe-va o-jehu=rõ MED.SG-ADJZ 3.ACT-happen=if 'if that happens'

omomarandu chupe iñe'ẽ pyrusu guasúpe outaha o-mo-marandu chupe i-ñe'ẽ pyrusu guasu=pe 3.ACT-MAKE1-warning to.him/her 3.INACT-speak large big=in o-u-ta-ha 3.ACT-come-FUT-NMLZ 'he told him with his big commanding voice that he would return'

#### Cheru rupi che aikove.

che-r-u rupi che a-ikove 1SG.INACT-POSSM-father through I 1SG.ACT-live 'I live because of my father.'

ndaha'éi la gérra káusa katuete nda-ha'e-i la gérra katuete NEG-be-NEG DET.SG war be because.of surely 'it isn't necessarily because of the war' (i.e., 'the war isn't necessarily to blame')

Mba'asy ñemonguera pohã ñana rupive . . . mba'+asy ñe-mo-nguera pohã ñana rupive thing+pain AGD-MAKE1-get.healthy medicine herb by.means.of "The cure of illnesses by means of medicinal plants . . . '

#### nderehe'ý ndavy'ái

nde=rehe'ỹ nd-a-vy'a-i 2SG.INACT=without NEG-1SG.ACT-joy-NEG 'without you I am not happy'

#### pemoĩ opa mba'e Ñandejára pópe peneñembo'épe

opa mba'e ñande-jára po=pe pene-ñembo'e=pe pe-moï 2PL.ACT-put all thing thing 1PL.INCL.INACT-lord hand=in 2PL.INACT-prayer=in 'put all things in the hands of Our Lord by means of your prayers'

#### Kururúicha, typychápe oñemose.

kururu-icha typycha=pe o-ñe-mo-sẽ frog-as broom=in 3.ACT-AGD-MAKE1-go.out 'He was kicked out with a broom like a frog.'

#### Mayma yvypóra ou ko yvy ári iñapytĩ ÿre ha peteïcha tekoruvicharenda; ha ikatu rupi oikuaa añetéva ha añete'y va.

mayma yvypóra oo-u ko yvy=ári iñ-apytí = ' every person 3.ACT-come PROX.SG earth=upon 3.INACT-link=without ha peteĩ-cha t-eko-r-uvicha-r-enda ha ikatu and one-as NPOSSM-NMLZ.QUAL-POSSM-boss-POSSM-place and be.able rupi oi-kuaa añeté-va ha añete-'y-va through 3.ACT-know true-ADJZ and true-PRIV-ADJZ 'All human beings come upon this Earth without ties (i.e., free) and in

possession of equal dignity; and because of that they can know what is true and what is untrue.'

## 6 Voice

The term **voice** is generally known to speakers of English to refer to the active voice (when the subject of a verb is the actual agent of an action) and the passive voice (when the subject of the verb is the patient that receives or is affected by an action). Guarani has more voices than English; therefore, I use the term here to refer to how Guarani:


Voices are mostly marked via prefixes in Guarani.

## 6.1 Active voice

The **active voice** is defined by the verb taking one of the person prefixes of the active set (see **4.1.1**). This can be for the only argument of an intransitive predicate (symbolized S) or for the agent argument of a transitive predicate (symbolized A).

Intransitive predicates: the active person prefix marks the S (subject) argument

*aguata* a-guata 1sg.act-walk 'I walk(ed)' *japuka* ja-puka 1pl.incl.act-laugh 'we laugh(ed)'

*reñani* re-ñani 2sg.act-run 'you (sg.) run/ran'

Transitive predicates: the active person prefix marks the A (agent) argument

*peinupã ichupe* pei-nupã ichupe 2pl.act-hit to.him/her 'you (pl.) hit him/her'

*jahecha ichupekuéra* ja-h-echa ichupe=kuéra 1pl.incl.act-possm3-see to.him/her=pl 'we see them'

We must note that, although the active voice is generally conceptualized as the basic or canonical voice assignment, in Guarani it can only be used if:


## 6.2 Inactive voice

I will call the **inactive voice**:

• the expression of the only argument (S) of an intransitive predicate with one of the prefixes of the inactive set (see **4.1.2**)

· or the expression of the patient argument (symbolized P) of a transitive verb with one of the prefixes of the inactive set. In this case, the agent argument (A) can optionally be expressed with a subject pronoun.

Intransitive predicates: the inactive person prefix marks the S (subject) argument

cheatia

che-atĩa 1SG.INACT-SNEEZE 'I sneez(ed)'

neporã ne-porã 2SG.INACT-beautiful 'you are beautiful'

Transitive predicates: the inactive person prefix marks the P (patient) argument

orenupã ore-nupã 1PL.EXCL.INACT-hit 'we are hit' / 's/he/they/you hit us'

upéva chepytyvõ upe-va che-pytyvõ MED.SG-ADJZ 1SG.INACT-help 'that helps/helped me'

The inactive voice with adjectives or nouns expresses a predication; that is, the attribution of a quality or state to the subject. This can be accomplished directly by prefixing the noun or adjective with an inactive person prefix, without the use of a copular verb (such as English 'to be') (see 8.2).

ndetuja nde-tuja 2SG.INACT-old 'you are old' *ipochy* i-pochy 3.inact-anger 's/he is angry'

An active intransitive verb that usually expresses an event that progresses in time can take instead an inactive prefix to express a continuing state.

*akaru* vs. *chekaru* a-karu che-karu 1sg.act-eat(intransitive) 1sg.inact-eat(intransitive) 'I eat' vs. 'I am a big eater'

*ndekaruvai* nde-karu-vai 2sg.inact-eat(intransitive)-bad 'you have bad table manners' / 'you eat indiscriminately' (literally, 'you eat badly') (Note: the expression *karuvai* should be used with care because it can also refer to somebody who has sex with a putatively sexually undesirable person.)

This malleability of Guarani roots and the importance of the speaker's choice of active versus inactive voice is particularly clear in the following example:

```
Upéi katu aju che, yvypóraicha ajuva'ekue, akaru ha ha'úva vino, ha peje 
cherehe, chekaru ha cheka'uha.
```
Upéi katu a-ju che yvypóra-icha a-ju-va'ekue then just 1sg.act-come I person-as 1sg.act-come-past a-karu ha ha-'u-va vino ha peje 1sg.act-eat(intransitive) and 1sg.act-drink-adjz wine and 2pl.act.say che=rehe che-karu ha che-ka'u-ha 1sg.inact=at 1sg.inact-eat(intransitive) and 1sg.inact-get.drunk-nmlz 'And then I came, I came like a person, eating and drinking wine, and you said to me that I am a glutton and a drunk.'

Remember from **4.2** that using inactive prefixes (that is, using the inactive voice) is obligatory when the patient participant (P) is higher in the 1 > 2 > 3 person hierarchy than the agent participant (A).

*Chegueru reiete.* (1sg object > 3 subject) che-gueru rei-ete 1sg.act-bring in.vain-very 'They brought me for nothing.'

*Ehendu nderúpe, ndereru ypy va'ekue*. (2sg object > 3 subject) e-h-endu nde-r-u=pe nde-reru ypy va'ekue imp-possm3-hear 2sg.inact-possm-father=in 2sg.inact-bring beginning past 'Listen to your father that brought you at the beginning.'

Even though this voice looks like a traditional passive (and is often translated as such), the A (agent) argument can still appear as an independent subject pronoun, or the second-person plural, as an active person prefix. This is not usually true of passives, which is why I am calling this voice inactive.

*ndejukáta hikuái* nde-juka-ta hikuái 2sg.inact-kill-fut they 'they will kill you'

*Aguyjetaite pecherendurehe.* aguyje=ta-ite pe-che-r-endu=rehe thanks=multitude-very 2sg.act-1sg.inact-possm-listen=at 'Many thanks for (your) listening to me.'

The active and inactive voices are expressed by the person prefixes in each respective class. The remaining voices we will see next have dedicated voice prefixes, with the exception of the causative for transitive verbs which uses a suffix. Of note, all verb forms with a voice marker take active prefixes in their conjugation.

## 6.3 Passive/reflexive/impersonal voice

Passive, reflexive and impersonal interpretations are expressed in Guarani with the same prefix *je-/ñe-*. This voice prefix is used in the following cases:

• with intransitive verbs to eliminate the subject and achieve an impersonal or a generic meaning

• with transitive verbs to indicate that an action is performed upon the subject by a non-specified agent (passive meaning) or by the subject itself (reflexive meaning).

It is difficult to give a single name to this voice given its many functions. Yet, since all these uses have in common that they demote the agent participant (A), either by eliminating or by turning it into a patient, I have been calling it the **agent-demoting voice** and glossing it agd.

6.3.1 With intransitive verbs: generic and impersonal interpretations

When used with an intransitive verb (a verb that takes only a subject), the prefix *je-/ñe-* requires conjugation with the third-person singular active prefix *o-* and is interpreted as an event without an agent (impersonal) or with a unspecified agent (generic). In impersonal readings, the third-person singular verb prefix is just a dummy subject without meaning (much like English 'it rains'). Intended generic and impersonal meanings are often very similar.

Generic/impersonal meanings

*ojejeroky* o-je-jeroky 3.act-agd-dance 'there is dancing' (literally, 'it is danced'; impersonal meaning)

*ojejapo* o-je-japo 3.act-agd-make 'one makes / it is made' (generic/impersonal reading)

```
Mba'éichapa ojejapóne ojejeroky hag˜ua oje'a'y˜re
mba'éicha=pa o-je-japo-ne o-je-jeroky hag˜ua o-je-'a='y˜re
how=q 3.act-agd-make-dub 3.act-agd-dance for 3.act-agd-fall=without
'What does one have to do to dance without falling?' (generic reading)
```
*Ojejapóma he'íva léi 1328/98* o-je-japo-ma he'í-va léi 1328/98 3.act-agd-make-already says-adjz law 1328/98 'What law 1328/98 says has already been done' (impersonal reading) *Mba'éichapa oje'e ko ñe'e˜ avañe'e˜me* mba'éicha=pa o-je-'e ko ñe'e˜ ava+ñe'e˜=me how=q 3.act-agd-say prox.sg word person+language=in 'How does one say this word in Guarani?' (generic reading)

This prefix also functions as a nominalizer (mostly with active intransitive verbs; see **3.2.1.2.2**):

*jeka'u* (from active intransitive *ka'u* 'to get drunk') je-ka'u agd-get.drunk 'drunkenness'

*ñemano* (from active intransitive *mano* 'to die') ñe-mano agd-die 'death'

However, inactive intransitive verbs and transitive verbs can also be nominalized this way:

*ñemandu'a* (from inactive intransitive *mandu'a* 'to remember; memory') ñe-mandu'a agd-remember 'remembrance'

*ñemondo* (from transitive *mondo* 'to send') ñe-mondo agd-send 'shipment, commission'

6.3.2 With transitive verbs: passive and reflexive interpretations

When used with a transitive verb (a verb that takes both a subject and an object), the prefix *je-/ñe-*conveys one of two meanings:


Passive/reflexive meanings

*rejejapi* re-je-japi 2sg.act-agd-injure.by.shooting 'you were shot' / 'you shot yourself'

*oñekytı˜* o-ñe-kytı˜ 3.act-agd-cut 's/he was cut' / 's/he cut him/herself'

Out of context, these forms are ambiguous between a passive and a reflexive reading. This ambiguity results in part from the fact that sentences with a *je-* marked transitive verb cannot express overtly the agent participant (A). A sentence like English 'You were shot by a soldier' where 'a soldier' is the agent of the shooting is not possible using this voice in Guarani. (One has to use an inactive prefix instead: *tahachi ndeapi* 'a soldier shot you'.) However, in context, it is usually clear which interpretation is intended. In the following example, it is clear that somebody else is waiting for the people addressed, not themselves. The interpretation must be passive.

*Peñeha'arõta torypópe*. pe-ñe-h-a'arõ-ta t-ory=pópe 2pl.act-agd-possm3-wait-fut npossm-joy=with 'We await you with joy.' (Literally, 'you will be awaited with joy'.)

In the next example, little children do not call themselves "child", but other people call them that. Again, the interpretation must be passive.

*Michı˜ vove ojehero "mitã".* michı˜ vove o-je-h-ero mitã little during 3.act-agd-possm3-dub child 'When (they are) little, they are called "child".'

Finally, in the following example, it is clear that the speakers are washing their own hands over and over (reflexive interpretation), not having their hands washed by somebody else (although that interpretation is certainly possible).

*jajepohéipohéi* ja-je-po+héi~po+héi 1pl.incl.act-agd-hand+wash~hand+wash 'we wash our hands over and over'

Aireal verbs normally lose the final *i* of the person prefix in the agentdemoting voice, but forms that conserve it are also heard in the modern language (there is variation in how speakers say these verb forms). However, *i* appears next to the root in this case, not with the active prefix, which indicates that speakers treat it now as part of the root. That is, you may hear either of the forms *ojepuru* or *ojeipuru* presented below, but never \**oijepuru*.

*oipuru* oi-puru 3.act-use 's/he uses (it)'

*ojepuru*/*ojeipuru* o-je-(i)puru 3.act-agd-use 'it is used'

Another example is given below with the aireal verb *pytyvõ* 'to help':


Finally, remember that the agent-demoting prefix is also present in the derivation of reflexive pronouns (see **3.5.1**) and as a nominalizer to convert predicates into nouns (see **3.2.1.2.2**).

## 6.4 Reciprocal voice

The **reciprocal voice** is used when a plural subject is composed of individuals that are agents of an action and simultaneously patients thereof (equivalent to English predicates with 'each other' or 'one another'). It employs the prefix jo-/ño-. A plural subject is obviously required in this voice

Reciprocal meanings

jajohayhu ja-jo-h-ayhu 1PL.INCL.ACT-RECP-POSSM3-love 'you and I love each other' / 'we love one another'

roñonupã ro-ño-nupã 1PL.EXCL.ACT-RECP-beat.up 's/he and I beat each other up' / 'we beat one another up'

Jajotopárire javy'avévaerãmo'a. ja-jo-topa=rire ja-vy'a-ve-vae-rã-mo'a 1PL.INCL.ACT-RECP-meet-if 'If we had met (one another), we would have rejoiced more.'

Ápe ñandekuéra jajosu'upareíta. ñande=kuéra ja-jo-su'u-pa-rei-ta ápe here we&you=PL = 1PL.INCL.ACT-RECP-bite-all-in.vain-FUT 'Here we and you will bite each other to no avail.'

 Mokõi kuña ikatu oñohetũ. ikatu o-ño-h-etũ mokõi woman be.able 3.ACT-RECP-POSSM3-kiss two "Two women can kiss (one another)."

The reciprocal voice can involve more than two individuals, in which case it is interpreted as indicating that each individual acts upon all other individuals, and is acted upon by the other individuals.

Opavave oñoañuava'erã hermanokuéraicha. opavave o-ño-añua-va'erã hermano=kuéra-icha 3.ACT-RECP-embrace-must brother=PL-as all 'Everyone should embrace one another as brothers.'

The reciprocal prefix can also function to convert predicates into nouns with a reciprocal meaning. See 3.2.1.2.3.

## 6.5 Antipassive voice

Just as the passive voice leaves out the agent subject of a transitive verb (and expresses the patient as subject), the **antipassive voice** leaves out the direct object of a transitive verb (hence the name **antipassive**). When this voice is used, the direct object that is left out is understood as a generic or unspecified object. The antipassive voice uses the prefix *poro-* (glossed people) when the direct object is to be understood as human and *mba'e-* (glossed thing) when the direct object is to be understood as non-human (referring to either animals or things). Some speakers may use the prefix *po-* instead of *poro-*. Importantly, this voice cannot be used with verbs that take an object marked with a postposition (**4.4**). It is only used with transitive verbs that take a direct object.

#### Antipassive meanings

*roporombo'e* ro-poro-mbo'e 1pl.excl.act-people-teach 'we teach/taught (people)'

*pemba'ejogua* pe-mba'e-jogua 2pl.act-thing-buy 'you buy/bought (things)' / 'you are/were shopping'

### *Ñañeha'ãke japorohayhu.*

ña-ñe-h-a'ã-ke ja-poro-h-ayhu 1pl.incl.act-agd-possm3-attempt-force 1pl.incl.act-people-possm3-love 'Let's strive to love people.'

#### *Aju aporombo'évo.*

a-ju a-poro-mbo'e-vo 1sg.act-come 1sg.act-people-teach-while 'I came to teach (everyone / the people).'22

#### *Amba'eporandusemi ndéve.*

a-mba'e-porandu-se-mi ndéve 1sg.act-thing-question-want-dim to.you 'I would like to ask you something.'

<sup>22</sup> Example from Melià *et al*. (1997, 123).

*Péicha omba'emombe'úmi ta'ýrape Mbatovigua ypykue.*

pe-icha o-mba'e-mombe'u-mi t-a'ýra=pe Mbatovi=gua med.sg-as 3.act-thing-tell-used.to npossm-son.of.father=in Mbatovi=from ypy-kue origin-post

'Those were the stories the elders from Mbatovi used to tell their sons.' (Literally, 'Thus used to recount (things) the elders from Mbatovi to their sons.')

*Guaranikuéra omba'ejuka ha oipirakutu.* guarani=kuéra o-mba'e-juka ha oi-pira+kutu guarani=pl 3.act-thing-kill and 3.act-fish-pierce 'The Guarani hunted (animals) and fished.'

*Mbokapı˜ ha'e peteı˜ mboka ojeipuruha oporoñongatu téra oporojuka hag˜ua*. mbokapı˜ ha'e peteı˜ mboka o-jei-puru-ha o-poro-ñongatu rifle be one firearm 3.act-agd-use-nmlz.ag 3.act-people-protect téra o-poro-juka hag˜ua or 3.act-people-kill for 'A rifle is a firearm that is used to protect (people) or to kill (people).'

#### *Peñepyru˜ pemba'emombe'u.*

pe-ñepyru˜ pe-mba'e-mombe'u 2pl.act-begin 2pl.act-thing-tell 'Begin to write stories.' (Literally, 'Begin to tell (things)'.)

#### *Atı˜ma pendehegui amba'ejerure haguã.*

a-tı˜-ma pendehegui a-mba'e-jerure haguã 1sg.act-feel.shame-already from.you.pl 1sg.act-thing-petition for 'It already makes me ashamed to be asking things from you.'

A subordinate verb inflected with the antipassive voice prefix may not need a person prefix.

*Upe ñe'e˜mbohasa oñeme'e˜ poropytyvõ hag˜uáichante avañe'e˜ jekuaápe.* upe ñe'e˜+mbo-h-asa o-ñe-me'e˜ poro-pytyvõ=hag˜ua-icha-nte med.sg language+make1-possm3-pass 3.act-agd-give people-help=for-as-only

ava+ñe'e˜ je-kuaa=pe person+language agd-know=in 'The translations are given only to aid (people, readers) in the understanding of Guarani.'

## 6.6 Causative voice

The **causative voices** are the only voices in Guarani that can add an argument to a verb. Causative constructions are derived from base events by creating a more complex event. In this more complex event a new participant, the **causer**, makes the former subject of the base event (the **causee**) perform the action indicated by the base event. Such causatives are often equivalent to English expressions such as 'make someone do something', 'get someone to do something' or 'have someone do something'. For example, taking the base event expressed by 'she runs' a causative construction could be 'I make her run.'

In Guarani there are three causatives. The **intransitive causative** and the **sociative causative** apply to intransitive verbs and yield a transitive verb with two participants. The **transitive causative** applies to a transitive verb and yields an event with three participants: in addition to the causer that instigates the causee's action, there is also an **affectee** that receives or is affected by the causee's action.

Since causative events involve several different participants, I will give some schematic representations here to facilitate the reader's understanding of each participant's involvement and how they are represented in causative sentences. In the schemas, C designates the causer, the causee will be A or S (since they are made to perform actions) and the affectee will be P (since they are affected by or receive an action).

### 6.6.1 Causative voice for intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs take the prefix *mbo-/mo-* (glossed make1) to form a transitive causative verb, in which the subject participant (the **causer**) makes the object participant (the **causee**, animate or inanimate) do something, undergo a process or enter a state. This causative can be used indistinctly whether the base event is expressed by an active or an inactive root. The causer is marked with an active person prefix, while the causee is marked as a direct object. This is the most frequently used causative in Guarani.

The schemas below show how the participant marked by a person prefix for an intransitive verb becomes a cause marked as a direct object in the causativized transitive verb.

Source intransitive verb

Active person prefix Inactive person prefix

Derived causative verb

Active person prefix Direct object marking

*ambopuka ichupe* (from *a-puka* 'I laugh') a-mbo-puka ichupe 1sg.act-make1-laugh to.him/her 'I make him/her laugh'

*amomba'apo pohãnoharakuérape* (from *a-mba'apo* 'I work') a-mo-mba'apo pohãno-hara=kuéra=pe 1sg.act-make1-work cure-nmlz.ag=pl=in 'I make the doctors work'

*ambojapu cherajýpe* (from *che-japu* 'I lie (=tell lies)') a-mbo-japu che-r-ajy=pe 1sg.act-make1-falsehood 1sg.inact-possm-daughter.of.man=in 'I make my daughter tell lies'

*amokane'õ maymávape* (from *che-kane'õ* 'I am tired') a-mo-kane'õ maymáva=pe 1sg.act-make1-tired every=in 'I make everybody tired'

*Pembojere peneánga tesapegotyo* (from *a-jere* 'I turn (intransitive)') pe-mbo-jere pene-ánga t-esape=gotyo 2pl.act-make1-turn(intransitive) 2pl.inact-soul npossm-light=towards 'Turn your soul to the light.' (Literally, 'Make your soul turn to the light'.) *Ñamboguata ñandejagua.* (from *a-guata* 'I walk') ña-mbo-guata ñande-jagua 1pl.incl.act-make1-walk 1pl.incl.inact-dog 'We make our dog walk.'

*Remomba'aposevépa ichupekuéra.* (from *a-mba'apo* 'I work') re-mo-mba'apo-se-ve=pa ichupe=kuéra 2sg.act-make1-work-want-more=q to.him/her=pl 'Do you want to make them work more?'

This causative is extremely frequent, since it can be used with virtually any predicate. As we can see from the examples, both active and inactive roots can be made into a causative this way. The causative versions of inactive roots often have the general meaning of 'causing someone to be in a particular state'.

```
ombotavy maymávape (from che-tavy 'I am stupid')
o-mbo-tavy maymáva=pe
3.act-make1-stupid every=in
's/he/they fool(s) everybody' (literally, 's/he/they make(s) everybody 
a fool')
```
Since *mbo*- prefixed verbs are transitive, they take inactive prefixes if the causee is higher in the person hierarchy than the causer:

#### *Chembovy'a ahecha ko orden del díape.*

che-mbo-vy'a a-h-echa ko orden del día=pe 1sg.inact-make1-joy 1sg.act-possm3-see prox.sg order of.the day=in 'It made me happy to see this order of the day.'

#### *Kane'õ ñandembojavy.*

kane'õ ñande-mbo-javy tiredness 1pl.incl.inact-make1-err 'Tiredness makes us make mistakes.'

As stated in **4.11**, the prefix variants *m(b)u-* and *m(b)y-* tend to occur with relational roots and roots that begin in *a*. However, with some relational roots *mbo-/mo-* and the *h-* variant are used.

*mbohéra* (from *t-éra* '(a) name') mbo-h-éra make1-possm3-name 'to name (someone something)'

```
mohenda (from t-enda '(a) place')
mo-h-enda
make1-possm3-place
'to place (something somewhere)'
```
A small complication in the use of this causative is that several oral roots beginning with a voiceless stop /p/, /t/ or /k/ form it in an irregular way. Even though the roots are oral, they take the nasal variant of the causative prefix (*mo-*) and at the same time change their own initial stop consonant into the corresponding nasal-oral consonant with an identical place of articulation. It is not possible to predict which roots show this behaviour: they must be learned by heart. (See a fuller list of these roots in **17.4.2**.)

*karu* 'to eat (intransitive)' > *mongaru* 'to make (someone) eat' (not *\*mbokaru*) *kakuaa* 'to grow (intransitive)' > *mongakuaa* 'to raise' (not \**mbokakuaa*) *kyra* 'fat, grease' > *mongyra* 'to fatten' (not \**mbokyra*) *pe* 'flat' > *mombe* 'to lay flat' (not \**mbope*) *páy* 'to wake up (intransitive)' > *mombáy* 'to wake someone up' (not \**mbopáy*) *tyky* '(a) drop' > *mondyky* 'to make drip; to distil' (not \**mbotyky*)

#### 6.6.2 Sociative causative

When the causer not only instigates an action but also performs the action together with the causee, the sociative causative prefix *ro-* or *guero-* is used (glossed make.soc). (For the conditions governing the use of the variants *ro-* or *guero-* see **4.7**.) Contrast the following examples:

*ñamboguata ñandejagua* ña-mbo-guata ñande-jagua 1pl.incl.act-make1-walk 1pl.incl.inact-dog 'we make our dog walk' (but we ourselves do not walk)

*jagueroguata ñandejagua* ja-guero-guata ñande-jagua 1pl.incl.act-make.soc-walk 1pl.incl.inact-dog 'we walk our dog' (and we ourselves walk together with it) However, unlike the intransitive causative, this voice is not really productive: it cannot be used with all intransitive verbs or nominal roots, and often it does not have a sociative causative meaning, but rather a different conventionalized meaning. Many of these verbs that have lexicalized meanings are psychological verbs of emotion or feelings (**psych-verbs**). In the example below, the speaker is afraid but she is not making her child afraid, neither is her child necessarily independently afraid.

```
Che roguerokyhyje chememby. (From akyhyje 'I am afraid')
che ro-guero-kyhyje che-memby
I 1>2sg-make.soc-fear 1sg.inact-child.of.woman
'I am afraid for you, my child.'23
```
Likewise, in the first example below, the person whose feelings are reported is ashamed of their mother but they are not making their mother ashamed, neither is their mother necessarily independently ashamed. This is even clearer in the second example below, since a language cannot be made to feel shame: only the people speaking it can feel shame.

*Ha'e o(gue)rotı˜ isýpe.* (From *atı˜* 'I am ashamed'.) ha'e o-(gue)ro-tı˜ i-sy=pe s/he 3.act-make.soc-feel.shame 3.inact-mother=in 'S/he is ashamed of his/her mother.'

*tapicha iñe'e˜ guaraníva oguerotı˜ iñe'e˜* t-apicha i-ñe'e˜ guarani-va o-guero-tı˜ npossm-fellow.man 3.inact-language Guarani-adjz 3.act-make.soc-feel.shame i-ñe'e˜ 3.inact-language 'the people whose language is Guarani are ashamed of their language'

Finally, in the example below, no participant is necessarily screaming, even though that is the meaning of the root *sapukái* 'to scream'. *Guerosapukái* in this sentence does not have a meaning composed of the sociative causative meaning + 'scream'. Rather, it has the conventionalized, non-compositional meaning 'to repudiate'.

#### *Oguerosapukái aty ñomongeta ojapóva Abdo-Ortiz.*

o-guerosapukái aty ño-mongeta o-japo-va Abdo-Ortiz 3.act-repudiate group recp-converse 3.act-make-adjz Abdo-Ortiz 'They repudiate the meeting between Abdo and Ortiz.'

<sup>23</sup> Example from Ortiz *et al*. (1995, 72).

*Guerokyhyje* can also have the meaning 'to warn'.

*Salud oguerokyhyje impacto ojapóva karu vai.* salud o-guero-kyhyje impacto o-japo-va karu vai health 3.act-make.soc-fear impact 3.act-make-adjz eat(intransitive) bad '(The Ministry of) Health warns of the impact that bad eating has.'

*Guerohory* means 'to congratulate' or 'to celebrate'.

*Roguerohory guarani jeporu umi ndoikekatuirihápe.* ro-guero-h-ory guarani je-poru umi 1pl.excl.act-make.soc-possm3-joy Guarani agd-use nprox.pl nd-o-ike-katu-iri-há=pe neg-3.act-enter-be.able-neg-nmlz.loc=in 'We celebrate the use of Guarani in places where it is not (commonly) used.'

Note that relational roots appear with the *h-* prefix in the sociative causative voice.

*t-ory* 'happiness' > *(gue)rohory* 'to congratulate'

### 6.6.3 Causative voice for transitive verbs

The third and last causative is the stressed causative suffix *–uka* (glossed make2), used with transitive verbs. Of all the voice markers, this is the only one that is a suffix, not a prefix. When added to a transitive verb it yields a ditransitive verb with three arguments: in addition to the **causer** (the initiator of the causation event) and the **causee** (the participant who is instigated or made to act), since the base event already contains an affected participant, the derived verb expresses an **affectee** (the participant affected by the causee's action). The causer is marked as an active subject, the affectee as a direct object and the causee as an indirect object (when it appears in the sentence; it is often omitted). Note that the active prefix marks the initiator of the causation event; it is, as it were, the agent of *-uka*, not the agent of the actual verb or predicate.

*Source transitive verb*

*Derived ditransitive verb*

*pehechauka* (from *-echa* 'to see') pe-h-echa-uka 2pl.act-possm3-see-make2 'you show' (literally, 'you make someone see something')

#### *Ajapouka cheaorã*

a-japo-uka che-ao-rã 1sg.act-make-make2 1sg.inact-clothes-dest 'I am having clothes made for me' (by someone not mentioned)

*Acosta ha'e pe ojukaukava'ekue periodista-pe* Acosta ha'e pe o-juka-uka-va'ekue periodista-pe Acosta be med.sg 3.act-kill-make2-past journalist=in 'It was Acosta who had the journalist killed' (by someone not mentioned)

#### *Reiporukána chéve viru*

rei-poru-ka-na chéve viru 2sg.act-use-make2-req to.me money 'Please lend me money' (literally, 'Please let/make me use money')

Forms like *reiporuka* 'you lend' (from *poru* 'to use') above show that this causative can also be lexicalized with a specific conventionalized meaning, not derivable from the meaning of the parts (that is, a noncompositional meaning).

This suffix has the variants *-ka* (when the verb it attaches to ends in *u* as *poru* above) and *-yka* (when the verb ends in a different vowel).

*oipysoyka ipepo* oi-pyso-yka i-pepo 3.act-extend-make2 3.inact-wing 's/he makes it extend its wings' The intransitive prefix and the stressed transitive suffix can be stacked, turning a base intransitive verb into a ditransitive verb. Thus, from *karu* 'to eat (intransitive)':

*ndesy omongaruka chemitãme* nde-sy o-mo-ngaru-ka che-mitã=me 2sg.inact-mother 3.act-make1-eat(intransitive)-make2 1sg.inact-child=in 'your mother has my child fed' (literally, 'your mother has my child made to eat')

Lastly, the reader must bear in mind that this voice is often not the preferred means to express this kind of causation. For instance, if it is understood that the causer gave a verbal direction or command to the causee, then the verb *he'i* 's/he said' is often used. By way of example, compare the use of this *uka* causative in the translation of the Gospel of Luke in the Tupi-Guarani language Kaiwá (very closely related to Paraguayan Guarani) with the Paraguayan Guarani version that uses *he'i*.

Kaiwá

#### *Augusto ohai uka kwatia.*

Augusto o-h-ai uka kwatia Augusto 3.act-possm3-write make2 text 'Augusto had a text written' (referring to a census)

#### Paraguayan Guarani

*Augusto he'i oñemoı˜ haguã kuatiáre opavave réra.* Augusto he'i o-ñe-moı˜ haguã kuatia=re opavave r-éra Augusto says 3.act-agd-put for text=at all possm-name 'Augusto said to prepare a writing with everyone's name'

## 7 Evidentiality

In Guarani it is important for speakers to indicate the origin and strength of the evidence they possess to back the content of their statements. This is done by means of **evidential** markers. Given that English does not have a category of evidentials, these markers and their contributions to the meaning of the sentence in which they appear are difficult to translate. In fact, in most cases English speakers would simply not use anything equivalent. Guarani sentences without evidential markers are usually grammatical, but they may sound odd or incomplete to a native speaker. Even though I present evidential markers in a common section here, they actually do not belong to a unified paradigm, and sometimes can even co-occur rather freely, as the examples below show.

## 7.1 Emphatic and veridical markers

When speakers wish to convey an emphatic assertion they can use the stressed verbal particle *voi* (often found as a second-position enclitic; that is, coming at the end of the first phrase in a sentence).

*Iporã voi*. i-porã voi 3.inact-beautiful emph 'It is (certainly) beautiful.'

*Oguereko voi peteı˜ topadora'i neporãva*. o-guereko voi peteı˜ topadora-'i ne-porã-va 3.act-have emph one bulldozer-dim sup-good-sup 'He (certainly) had a very good little bulldozer.'

*Peje chupe tou, tahechaukámandivoi pee˜me*. peje chupe t-o-u 2pl.act.say to.him/her opt-3.act-come t-a-h-echa-uka=mandi=voi pee˜me opt-1sg.act-possm3-see-make2-once.and.for.all=emph to.you.pl 'Tell him to come, so I can show you once and for all.'

*Japytu˜mbapotaitémavoi*. ja-pytu˜*-*mba-pota-ité-ma=voi already-dark-all-about.to-very-already=emph 'It is (certainly) already about to become completely dark.'

Another common emphatic marker is the second-position clitic =*niko* (often pronounced *nio*), which conveys both emphasis and speaker knowledge of the truth of the assertion (glossed verd for **veridical emphatic**). Given its basic emphatic and veridical value, this marker can furthermore be used to signal a contrast to some belief held by the hearer, or an intent to convince the hearer of the truth of the assertion. This marker has three other variants that the speaker is free to choose (they are in free variation): =*ko*, =*ngo* and =*ningo*. Being a second-position clitic, it attaches to the first word or whole phrase in the sentence.

#### *Ani repoko cherehe ha'e niko ndéve*.

ani re-poko che=rehe ha'e niko ndéve neg.imp 2sg.act-touch 1sg.inact=at I.say verd to.you.sg 'I did tell you not to touch me.'

#### *¡Ndénteko la rembotuichaitereíva!*

nde-nte=ko la re-mbo-tuicha-ite-rei-va you.sg-only=verd det.sg 2sg.act-make1-big-very-in.vain-adjz 'You are just exaggerating!' (Literally, 'Just things that you alone make really big for no reason!')

#### *Auto tujango kóa!*

auto tuja=ngo ko-va car old=verd prox.sg-adjz 'But this is an old car!'

#### *Jehova ningo oheja ñandete jadesidi*. Jehova=ningo o-heja ñandete ja-desidi Jehovah=verd 3.act-leave we.ourselves 1pl.incl.act-decide 'Jehovah indeed lets us decide ourselves.'

*Ha upéicharõ ningo jaiko ovakávo!* ha upe-icha=rõ=ningo ja-iko ovakávo and med.sg-as=if=verd 1pl.incl.act-be upside.down 'But then, we live upside down!'

Although this function is not well studied, the aspect marker *hína* (see **4.10.2**) seems to have an emphatic function similar to those of *voi* or *niko*:

*Ndaikatumo'ãi aha ka'api porque aháta hína apractica partidorã*. nda-ikatu-mo'ã-i a-ha ka'api porque a-ha-ta hína neg-be.able-neg.fut-neg 1sg.act-go mow because 1sg.act-go-fut prog a-practica partido-rã 1sg.act-practise match-dest 'I will not be able to go mow because I will go practise for the game.'

## 7.2 Markers of hearsay

**Hearsay** is a very important cross-linguistic category of evidentials, marking that the speaker's evidence for the assertion is from a thirdparty report, not first-hand evidence. These evidentials often correspond to English expressions such as 'they say', 'it is said', and so on. Guarani has several hearsay markers: *ndaje*, *ñandeko*, *jeko* and -*je*. *Ndaje* and *jeko*, and to some extent *ñandeko*, are generally second-position clitics, but they can all appear occasionally in other positions in the clause. The remaining one, -*je*, is an unstressed verb suffix.

*Jaipuru jevýta ndaje umi céntimo ha níkel 1 guarani*.

jai-puru-jevy-ta=ndaje umi céntimo ha níkel 1 guarani 1pl.incl.act-use-again-fut=it.is.said nprox.pl cent and nickel 1 guarani 'We will use again the cents and the nickel worth 1 guarani.' (Literally, 'It is said that we will use again . . .')

*Oı˜mbariréma oı˜va'erã yvy apére ñandeko oiko kóa ko mba'e*.

oı˜-mba=rire-ma oı˜-va'erã yvy ape=re ñandeko o-iko there.is-all=after-already there.is-must earth surface=at it.is.said 3.act-be ko-va ko mba'e prox.sg-adjz prox.sg thing 'They say that after everything that had to be was already on the face of the Earth this thing happened.'

*Peteı˜ jey jeko Perurima ojavykymi peteı˜ Ermána de Karida* . . .

peteı˜ jey jeko Perurima o-javyky-mi peteı˜ ermána de karida one time it.is.said Perurima 3.act-grope-used.to one sister of charity 'One time, Perurimá had an affair with a Sister of Charity . . .' (literally, 'They say that one time . . .')

*Ohójeko Perurima ohechamívo peteı˜ iñamígope*. o-ho-jeko Perurima o-h-echa-mi-vo peteı˜ iñ-amígo=pe 3.act-go-it.is.said Perurima 3.act-possm3-see-used.to-while one 3.inact-friend=in 'They say that Perurima used to go visit a friend.'

*Ohenoiukáje Perurima peteı˜ pyharépe Añáme osena haguã hendive* . . . o-h-enói-uka-je Perurima peteı˜ pyhare=pe Aña=me 3.act-possm3-call-make2-it.is.said Perurima one night=in devil=in o-sena haguã hendive 3.act-dinner for with.him/her 'One night, Perurimá had the devil called to have dinner with him . . .' (literally, 'They say that one night . . .')

As we can see from the examples above, these markers are very common in narrations, legends, and so on, especially at the beginning when providing the setting for the story.

## 7.3 Markers of direct evidence

I use the term **direct evidence** for those cases where the speaker's basis for an assertion is having directly witnessed the relevant event, first-hand. The clearest marker of this kind is the unstressed particle *kuri*. Like *ndaje* and the other hearsay markers identified in **7.2**, *kuri* has a rather free distribution in the clause, although it often appears after the predicate. It is frequently used and interpreted as a recent past tense marker, but only when the speaker has direct evidence of the event asserted.

*Upe ka'aru nomýiri, te'onguetýicha kuri*.

upe ka'aru n-o-mýi-ri t-e'ongue-ty-icha kuri med.sg afternoon neg-3.act-move-neg npossm- corpse-collective-as dir.past 'The afternoon was still like a cemetery.'

. . . *Vera he'i voi kuri oikótaha*. Vera he'i voi kuri o-iko-ta-ha Vera says emph dir.past 3.act-be-fut-nmlz '. . . Vera did say there will be (gas).' (Journalist report in the context of gas shortages)

*Che ha'éma kuri mokoı˜ orehermano ouhague do año ante*. che ha'é-ma kuri mokoı˜ ore-hermano o-u-hague I I.say-already dir.past two 1pl.excl.inact-brother 3.act-come-nmlz.past do año ante two year before 'I already said that two of our brothers came two years before.'

In **7.4** we will see that *kuri* occurs in contrast to another evidential, *ra'e*, in question-answer pairs.

## 7.4 Markers of reasoned evidence

I use the term **reasoned evidence** for those cases where the speaker's basis for an assertion is the result of an internal reasoning process. These markers have freer placement in the clause than the hearsay markers.

*Ra'e* indicates a recent realization through inference, often with an indication of surprise or counterexpectation (this is called **mirative**).

*EBY oipytyvõ radio maúpe ra′e*. EBY oi-pytyvõ radio mau=pe ra'e EBY 3.act-help radio fake=in recent.inf '(It turned out that) The EBY helped illegal radio stations.' (EBY stands for *Entidad Binacional Yacyretá* 'Binational entity for the management of the dam Yacyretá'.)

*Ndevaléngo ra'e*. nde-vale=ngo ra'e 2sg.inact-be.worth=verd recent.inf 'It turned out that you were good (i.e., you were worth it), in the end.'

*Ikatu te'onguety voi ra'e*. ikatu t-e'ongue-ty voi ra'e be.able npossm-corpse-collective emph recent.inf 'It was, perhaps, a cemetery.'

*Ohechakuaa ramo hikuái ho'aha mitãkuña'i aña poguýpe ra'e*. o-h-echa+kuaa ramo hikuái ho-'a-ha mitã+kuña-'i 3.act-possm3-see+know when they 3.act-fall-nmlz child+woman-dim aña po=guy=pe ra'e devil hand=under=in recent.inf 'Only then did they realize that they had fallen into the hands of a bad girl.'

*¿Cherupiko ndohejaira'e hetã pytaguáre?* che-r-u=piko nd-o-h-eja-i=ra'e 1sg.inact-possm-father=q neg-3.act-possm3-leave-neg=recent.inf h-etã pytagua=re possm3-country abroad=at 'Didn't my father leave his country to go abroad?'

*Froilán jerure ndaje oguahe˜ tárdema ra'e*. Froilán jerure ndaje o-guahe˜ tárde-ma ra'e Froilán petition it.is.said 3.act-arrive late-already recent.inf 'They say that Froilán's petition was already late.'

*Ra'e* often co-occurs with the marker of uncertainty or wonderment *mbo* in the complex marker *mbora'e*, which reinforces its surprise value. It can also be combined with the form *nipo* of the uncertainty marker in *nipo ra'e*, to reinforce an implied counterexpectation.

*Hãã, ava kuimba'e mbora'e!*

hãã ava+kuimba'e mbo=ra'e ah person+man uncertain=recent.inf 'Ah, a man!'

*omano nipo ra'e*

o-mano nipo ra'e 3.act-die uncertain recent.inf 'It turned out that (contrary to what I thought/even though I doubted it) s/he died.'

*Pee˜ nipo ra'e penderesarái Ñande Ru Tenondégui*. pee˜ nipo ra*'*e pende-r-esarái you.pl uncertain recent.inf 2pl.inact-possm-oblivion ñande-r-u t-enonde=gui 1pl.incl.inact-possm-father npossm-front=from 'It so happens that you have forgotten Our Father the First.' Raka'e, on the other hand, signals a longer chain of reasoning, often with a distant past value.

Ko ógape ndaje oiko raka'e che taitachu. ko óga=pe PROX.SG house=in it.is.said 3.ACT-be LONG.INF 1SG.INACT-great.grandfather 'They say that my great-grandfather lived in this house.'

Ñoraĩrõguasúpe omano raka'e heta kuimba'e ñaneretãme. ño-raïrõ+guasu=pe o-mano h-eta RECP-attack+big=in 3.ACT-die LONG.INF POSSM3-numerous kuimba'e ñane-r-etã=me man 1PL.INCL.INACT-POSSM-country=in 'In the Great War there died many men in our country.'

(Context: a man finds his son-in-law killed in the forest, having disobeyed his advice not to go back there) Mba'érepiko nerehendúiraka'e cheñe'ẽ. mba'ére=piko ne-re-h-endu-i=raka'e che-ñe'ẽ NEG-2SG.ACT-POSSM3-listen-NEG=LONG.INF 1SG.INACT-word why=Q 'Why did you not listen to my words?' (The man realizes at that moment that the son-in-law must not have listened to his warnings.)

These two markers of reasoned evidence can be used in interrogative sentences as well as in declarative sentences. In question-answer pairs, ra'e often signals the questioner's lack of evidence, while kuri signals direct evidence for the respondent's answer.

```
mba'e=pa ere
                                           ra'e 
                                                                che                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                   nahániri
what=0
                   2SG.ACT.SAY RECENT.INF I I I I.Say DIR.PAST no
'-What did you say? -I said "no".'
```
As several of the examples in this section show, the emphatic, hearsay and reasoning markers can be combined:

Norairõ Guasu rapekuevoi niko raka'e. ño-rairõ guasu r-ape-kue=voi niko raka'e RECP-attack big POSSM-road-POST=EMPH VERD LONG.INF 'Because it had been once the Great War's road.'

## 8 Basic clauses

## 8.1 Word order in simple clauses

A **clause** is a group of words including a predicate (either a verb, or a noun/adjective/adverb with an inactive person prefix) with its arguments and adverbial modifiers. A clause can be understood as a simple sentence, with no sentences subordinated to it or coordinated with it. The most basic clause in Guarani is composed of a single predicate, with no noun phrases to accompany it. This is because both **subject drop** and **object drop** (that is, not expressing the subject and/or object by means of an independent, overt noun phrase) are allowed and very common.

*Ahecháma*. (Object drop; subject expressed only by a prefix, object not expressed.) a-h-echa-ma 1sg.act-possm3-see-already 'I saw (him/her/it) already.'

*Cherecháma*. (Subject drop; object expressed only by a prefix, subject not expressed.) che-r-echa-ma 1sg.inact-possm-see-already 'They/You saw me already.' / 'I have already been seen.'

It is more common to leave out subject noun phrases than it is to leave out object noun phrases. When an object referring to a human participant is present as a noun phrase, it most frequently appears after the verb (VO order).

*Ahecháma ichupe*. a-h-echa-ma ichupe 1sg.act-possm3-see-already to.him/her 'I already saw him/her.'

The position of subject noun phrases, when they appear in the sentence, is variable. They can appear before or after the verb so both SV and VS orders are commonly attested.

*Chavuku ou jey yvýpe*. (SV) Chavuku o-u jevy yvy=pe Chavuku 3.act-come again earth=in 'Chavuku returned to Earth.'

*Opuka ha oñembohorýnte ha'e*. (VS) o-puka ha o-ñe-mbo-h-ory-nte ha'e 3.act-laugh and 3.act-agd-make1-possm3-joy-only s/he 'S/he laughed and just enjoyed himself/herself.'

In the sections that follow I present some basic clause types.

## 8.2 Predicative and equative clauses

**Equative clauses** establish that two noun phrases refer to the same person, object, place or event. **Predicative clauses** assign some property to a referent. In English, both of these usually require a form of the verb 'to be'. In Guarani juxtaposition alone suffices to establish these relationships.

*Oreretã mburuvicha Mario Abdo Benítez* (equative clause) ore-r-etã mburuvicha Mario Abdo Benítez 1pl.excl.inact-possm-country leader Mario Abdo Benítez 'The president of our country is Mario Abdo Benítez'

*Ndesy orembo'ehára* (equative clause) nde-sy ore-mbo'e-hára 2sg.inact-mother 1pl.excl.inact-teach-nmlz.ag 'Your mother is our teacher'

*Ndesy mbo'ehára* (predicative clause) nde-sy mbo'e-hára 2sg.inact-mother teach-nmlz.ag 'Your mother is a teacher'

*Che chekane'õ* (predicative clause) che che-kane'õ I 1sg.inact-tiredness 'I am tired'

*Pe karia'y hekomirı˜*. pe karia'y h-eko+mirı˜ med.sg young.man possm3-essence+small 'This young man is modest.'

Since these sentences have no verb, they have the same structure as possessive phrases (see **3.6**). Although written examples out of context may seem unclear, in speech, prosody can be used to disambiguate the intended meaning. For example, if the structure is equative or predicative (not possessive), the speaker can introduce a prosodic boundary (a slight pause or an intonation change) between subject and predicate, thus signalling that they are two independent intonational phrases. Equative and predicative sentences can have emphatic or evidential markers, which also clarifies their predicational structure, because these markers often set the subject apart from the predicate.

*Ndesýngo mbo'ehára*. nde-sy=ngo mbo'e-hára 2sg.inact-mother=verd teach-nmlz.ag 'But your mother is a teacher!'

*Ndetía ndaje iporã*. nde-tía ndaje i-porã 2sg.inact-aunt it.is.said 3.inact-beautiful 'Your aunt is pretty (they say).'

## 8.3 Location and existence clauses

Guarani uses a specific copular verb to express the location of a person or thing: -*ime* 'to be located'. *Oı˜* can also be used with this location meaning in the third person.

*Aime ko'ápe*. a-ime ko'ápe 1sg.act-be.located here 'I am here.'

*Moõpa reime*. moõ=pa re-ime where=q 2sg.act-be.located 'Where are you?'

*¿Moõ ñaime ñande?* moõ ña-ime ñande where 1pl.incl.act-be.located we&you 'Where are we?'

*Oı˜pa nderajy*. oı˜=pa nde-r-ajy there.is=q 2sg.inact-possm-daughter.of.man 'Is your daughter here?' (Said to a man.)

The third-person forms *oime* or *oı˜* can both be used in impersonal sentences with the meanings 'there is' or 'there are':

*Oı˜ pa pakova*. oı˜=pa pakova there.is=q banana 'Are there bananas?'

*Hetave mba'asy oı˜ añete*.

h-eta-ve mba'+asy oı˜ añete possm3-numerous-more thing+pain there.is true 'There are in truth many more illnesses.'

*Ojejukáguive ako karai Arce, ahendúvo mbokapu aimo'ãjevýma oime ojejukáva*. o-je-juka=guive ako karai Arce 3.act-agd-kill=since dist.ev gentleman Arce a-h-endu-vo mbo-kapu a-imo'ã-jevy-ma 1sg.act-possm3-hear-while make1-burst 1sg.act-think-again-already o-ime o-je-juka-va 3.act-be.located 3.act-agd-kill-adjz 'Since that Mr Arce was killed, whenever I hear shots, I already think again there is someone being killed.'

The root *-iko* is used for the general meaning of 'existing, being alive' or for 'to be (in a certain physical or psychological state)', or very often, for 'to live (in a place)'.

*Edelio oikove gueteri*. Edelio o-iko-ve gueteri Edelio 3.act-be-more still 'Edelio is still alive.'

*-Mba'éichapa reiko*. *-Aiko porã*. mba'éicha=pa re-iko a-iko porã how=q 2sg.act-be 1sg.act-be good '-How are you? -I am well.'

*Peiko kokuépe*.

pe-iko kokue=pe 2pl.act-be countryside=in 'You live in the countryside.'

*Che ndaikói gueteri Paraguáipe*.

che nd-a-iko-i gueteri Paraguái=pe I neg-1sg.act-be-neg still Paraguay=in 'I don't live in Paraguay yet.'

Finally, the word *ha'e* can also be used as a copula. Note that it does not vary by person (which is the same as *ikatu* or *tekoteve˜*, for example). Pay attention to not confuse this use of *ha'e* with other uses where it means 's/ he says', 's/he' or 'and' (this latter is uncommon in the modern language: *ha* is almost exclusively used today to mean 'and').

*Che ha'e nderecháva.* che ha'e nde-r-echa-va I be 2sg.inact-possm-see-adjz 'I am the one who saw you.'

*Ñande ha'e pe jajapóva ñamoambue haguã pe ñande ha'eva*. ñande ha'e pe ja-japo-va we&you be med.sg 1pl.incl.act-make-adjz ña-mo-ambue=haguã pe ñande ha'e-va 1pl.incl.act-make1-other=for med.sg we&you be-adjz 'We are what we do to change what we are.'

*Ndaha'ei ne rãi ahecháva, yvága voi ahecha nde rehe ama'e˜rõ*. nda-ha'e-i ne-r-ãi a-h-echa-va yvága neg-be-neg 2sg.inact-possm-tooth 1sg.act-possm3-see-adjz sky voi a-h-echa nde=rehe a-ma'e˜=rõ emph 1sg.act-possm3-see 2sg.inact=at 1sg.act-look.at=when 'What I see isn't your teeth, it is the sky that I see when I look at you.'

## 8.4 Sentences expressing possession

8.4.1 Non-verbal possessive sentences

Guarani does not need a possessive verb (like English 'to have') or any other verb to express possession in many cases. Verbless sentences are most common when talking about possession of a body part, kinship terms or others where possession is viewed as obligatory or noncontingent (these cases are called **inalienable possession**). In those cases, the possessor is expressed by an inactive person prefix attached to the possessum. The whole complex functions as a predicate which accepts the attachment of further affixes or clitics to modify it.

*Ipepo*. (Inalienable possession of body part.) i-pepo 3.inact-wing 'It has wings.'

*Panambi ipepo*. (Inalienable possession of body part.) panambi i-pepo butterfly 3.inact-wing 'Butterflies have wings. / The butterfly has wings.'

*Che chemembyse*. (Inalienable possession: kinship.) che che-memby-se I 1sg.inact-child.of.woman-want 'I want to have a child.' (Said by a woman; *memby* is the term used for 'child of a woman'.)24

*Nañandevirumo'ãi.* (Alienable possession.) na-ñande-viru-mo'ã-i neg-1pl.incl.inact-money-neg.fut-neg 'We will not have any money.'

<sup>24</sup> Example from Velázquez-Castillo (1996, 66).

Although no verb is present, these sentences are usually not ambiguous between a predicative and a possessive reading: *Che chememby* can only mean 'I have a child' because 'I am my child' does not (usually) make sense; likewise *nde chememby* usually means 'you are my child' because 'you have my child' would normally be an instance of alienable possession and it would require a possessive verb (see **8.4.2**).

In verbless sentences, numerals are used outside the predicate, before or after:

*-Mbovýpa ndejyva. -Chejyva mokõi*. mbovy=pa nde-jyva che-jyva mokõi how.many=q 2sg.inact-arm 1sg.inact-arm two '-How many arms do you have? -I have two arms.'

*Che ningo viúda, areko 28 áño ha mokõi chememby*. che ningo viúda a-reko 28 áño ha mokõi I verd widow 1sg.act-have 28 year and two che-memby 1sg.inact-child.of.woman 'I am a widow, I am 28 years old and I have two children.'

*Che chememby peteı˜ mitãkuimba'e, ha dos día rire ha'e avei imemby peteı˜ mitãkuimba'e*.

che che-memby peteı˜ mitã+kuimba'e ha dos día rire I 1sg.inact-child.of.woman one child+man and two day after ha'e avei i-memby peteı˜ mitã+kuimba'e s/he also 3.inact-child.of.woman one child+man 'I had a son, and two days later she had a son too.'

#### 8.4.2 Verbal possessive sentences

Generally mostly used for transient or contingent possession (**alienable possession**), in these constructions the possessor is animate, it is the clausal subject, and the possessum is the object of the verb *reko* ('to have'; verb with increments *-gue-* and *-re-*).

#### *Cheru oguereko mbohapy kavaju*.

che-r-u o-guereko mbohapy kavaju 1sg.inact-possm-father 3.act-have three horse 'My father has three horses.'

Vy'apavẽ ñame'ẽva'ekue anónte jareko. vy'a-pavẽ ña-me'ẽ-va'ekue año-nte ja-reko joy-supreme 1PL.INCL.ACT-give-PAST alone-only 1PL.INCL.ACT-have 'We only have the happiness we have given (others).'

Cherereko porã che-rereko porã 1SG.INACT-have good 'She took good care of me' (literally, 'had me well')

Ndererekovéima pe mborayhu rerekova'ekue iñepyrűrã. (The original example has the non-standard spelling vaekue, reflecting the common pronunciation.) nde-re-reko-ve-i-ma mbo-r-ayhu pe NEG-2SG.ACT-have-more-NEG-already MED.SG MAKE1-POSSM-love re-reko-va'ekue i-ñepyrű-rã 2SG.ACT-have-PAST 3.INACT-begin-DEST 'You do not have anymore that love that you had to begin.'

As mentioned in 3.4.3, the age of someone is expressed with the verb reko. Contrast in the next example the use of reko and verbless possession.

Che ningo viúda, areko 28 áño ha mokõi chememby. che ningo viúda a a-reko 28 áño ha mokõi T VERD widow 1sg.ACT-have 28 year and two che-memby 1SG.INACT-child.of.woman 'I am a widow, I am 28 years old and I have two children.'

## 8.5 Questions

A yes/no question is an interrogative sentence that expects a "yes" or "no" answer. (As mentioned above in 4.9, hee is 'yes' and (n)ahániri is 'no'.) Unlike in English, in Guarani these interrogatives do not have special question intonation or different word order. Instead, we know that something is a question from the appearance of =pa and =piko (often pronounced =pio, sometimes =iko) in second position in the sentence. These clitics attach to the first phrase in the sentence, which is usually the element that is the focus of the question. The difference between =pa and =piko is not clear from the extant literature. Traditional grammars mention other interrogative particles such as *pipo* or *tiko*, but the only two in very general use in the modern language are *=pa* and *=piko*.

Although written usage varies, many sources recommend not writing question marks where interrogatives are identified by the use of a particle.

#### *Ndépa Pablo*.

nde=pa Pablo you.sg=q Pablo 'Are you Pablo?'

*Chepy'apiko oporohayhu*. che-py'a=piko o-poro-h-ayhu 1sg.inact-heart=q 3.act-people-possm3-love 'Does my heart love (others)?'

#### *Añetépiko apu'ãva'erã*.

añete=piko a-puã-va'erã true=q 1sg.act-get.up-must 'Do I really have to get up?'

Questions in subordinate clauses (sometimes called **indirect questions**) are formed exactly the same way as main clause questions. There is no difference in interrogative clitics, verb forms or word order.

#### *Eporandu chupe oı˜pa itúva.*

e-porandu chupe oı˜=pa i-túva imp-question to.him/her there.is=q 3.inact-father 'Ask him/her if his/her father is there.'

*Ndaikuaái oimépa ambue tembiapopyre ohechauka porãvéva.* nd-ai-kuaa-i o-ime=pa ambue neg-1sg.act-know-neg 3.act-be.located=q other t-embi-apo-py-re o-h-echa-uka npossm-nmlz.rel-make-nmlz.pass-post 3.act-possm3-see-make2 porã-ve-va good-more-adjz 'I don't know whether there is another work that shows (it) better.'

An **open question** is a question that cannot be answered by "yes" or "no". It contains an interrogative word or phrase that must be answered with a content phrase. One of the interrogative clitics usually appears with the interrogative word, but they are often left out.

#### *Mba'épiko jajapóta*.

mba'é=piko ja-japo-ta what=q 1pl.incl.act-make-fut 'What are we going to do?'

#### *Moõpa rehose*.

moõ=pa re-ho-se where=q 2sg.act-go-want 'Where do you want to go?'

#### *Mávandipa repytáta*.

máva=ndi=pa re-pyta-ta who=with=q 2sg.act-stay-fut 'With whom are you going to stay?

#### *Ndaikuaái araka'épa og˜uahe˜ta*.

nd-ai-kuaa-i araka'e=pa o-g˜uahe˜-ta neg-1sg.act-know-neg when=q 3.act-arrive-fut 'I don't know when s/he will arrive.'

If an interrogative particle is absent, at least closing question marks should be used. Actual usage varies here, since closing question marks are sometimes used even when an interrogative particle appears. Some writers also use opening question marks as in Spanish.

*¿Moõ ñaime ñande?* moõ ña-ime ñande where 1pl.incl.act-be.located we&you 'Where are we?'

*¿Cherupiko ndohejaira'e hetã pytaguáre?* che-r-u=piko nd-o-h-eja-i=ra'e 1sg.inact-possm-father=q neg-3.act-possm3-leave-neg=recent.inf h-etã pytagua=re possm3-country abroad=at 'Didn't my father leave his country to go abroad?

The interrogative dubitative particle =(ni)mbo/=(ni)po conveys a general sense of wonderment, doubtfulness or internal uncertainty.

Mba'éichambo ha'éta ndéve . . . mba'éicha=mbo ha'e-ta ndéve how=uncertain I.say-fut to.you.sg 'How do I say this to you . . . . ?'

Mba'émbo ojehu chéve ko árape . . . mba'e=mbo chéve ko o-jehu ára=pe what=UNCERTAIN 3.ACT-happen to.me PROX.SG day=in 'I wonder what is happening to me today . . . ?'

These interrogative particles can also have exclamative uses. Piko can appear by itself to show surprise.

Atopasetépa ko Remígiarehe aína a-topa-se-te=pa=ko Remígia=rehe a-ína 1SG.ACT-meet-want-very=Q=VERD Remigia=at 1SG.ACT-PROG 'I am so desiring meeting Remígia!"25

Rejujeyvoípiko! re-ju-jevy=voi=piko 2SG.ACT-come-again=EMPH=Q 'You came back??!!'


Finally, I said above that yes/no questions do not have special question intonation in Guarani, but that they have the same intonation of declaratives. While this seems to be largely true (specific studies of question intonation do not exist), special prosody can sometimes be discerned impressionistically at the interrogative particle (lengthening of the vowel, rise in pitch), but this seems to be a more general feature of prosodic phrasing in both interrogatives and declaratives (see 2.2.4).

<sup>25</sup> Example from Melià et al. (1997, 131).

## 9 Quantification

In **3.4.3**, I presented examples of quantifiers that are placed before a noun and function as its determiner. But more generally, quantification can be expressed in other positions in the sentence. For example, *mbyte(re)* 'centre; half (of); average' always comes after the noun:

*umi mymba ruguy mbyte* umi mymba r-uguy mbyte nprox.pl domesticated.animal possm-blood half 'half of those animals' blood'

*okykue mbyte*

o-ky-kue mbyte 3.act-rain-nmlz.abs half 'average rainfall'

*Ko'ãva rapykuéri oho Hosaías ha Judagua myakãhárakuéra mbytere*. ko'ã-va r-apykuéri o-ho Hosaías ha Juda=gua prox.pl-adjz possm-behind 3.act-go Hoshaiah and Judah=from my-akã-hára=kuéra mbytere make1-head-nmlz.ag=pl half 'And after them there went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah.'

A quantifier can head its own noun phrase without the presence of a noun to modify (that is, it can behave like a pronoun).

*Maitei opavavépe*. maitei opavave=pe greetings all=in 'Greetings to all.'

Quantification can also be expressed outside of the noun phrase, in other positions in the sentence.

*iñakãrague mbovy* iñ-akã-r-ague mbovy 3.inact-head-possm-hair few 's/he has few hairs' (literally, 'his/her hairs are few')

*ñanderapicha okaraguakuéra heta oı˜ ovendepáma ijyvy* ñande-r-apicha okára=gua=kuéra h-eta 1pl.incl.inact-possm-fellow.man countryside=from=pl possm3-numerous oı˜ o-vende-pa-ma ij-yvy there.is 3.act-sell-all-already 3.inact-earth 'many of our small farmers have already sold all their land'26

The meaning of 'all' (**universal quantification**) can be applied to the subject by adding the stressed suffix -*pa* (see **4.10.2**) or the stressed suffix -*joa* to the predicate, or by using the stressed particle *meme*. (The reader must take care not to confuse this stressed suffix *-pa* with the unstressed interrogative clitic *=pa*; see **3.5.2** and **8.5**.)

*ohopa hikuái* o-ho-pa hikuái 3.act-go-all they 'they all went'

*okarujoa hikuái* o-karu-joa hikuái 3.act-eat(intransitive)-all they 'they are all eating / they all ate'

*umi hénte okorrejoa upérupi oikuaa'y˜re omanotaha* umi hénte o-korre-joa upe=rupi nprox.pl people 3.act-run-all med.sg=around oi-kuaa='y˜re o-mano-ta-ha 3.act-know=without 3.act-die-fut-nmlz 'those people all running around not knowing that they would die'

<sup>26</sup> Example from Gynan (2017, 94).

*Susana membykuéra ikyra meme* Susana memby=kuéra i-kyra meme Susana child.of.woman=pl 3.inact-fat continuously 'Susana's children are all fat'

*Ág˜a katu ndaha'éi péichagua meme umi jaikóva yvy ape ári*. ág˜a katu nda-ha'é-i pe-icha=gua meme umi now just neg-be-neg med.sg-as=from continuously nprox.pl ja-iko-va yvy ape ári 1pl.incl.act-be-adjz earth surface upon 'But not all of those who live upon this Earth are like that.'

*Ohendupa rire mburuvicha guasúpe, oho meme hapére*. o-h-endu-pa rire mburuvicha guasu=pe o-ho 3.act-possm3-listen-all after leader big=in 3.act-go meme h-ape=re continuously 3.INACT-road=at 'After they all heard the king, they all went their way.'

The suffix -*pa* is not only for subjects, but can also apply the meaning 'all' to the verb's object, whether it is expressed with an object noun phrase or an inactive person prefix:

*ha'upáta ko tembi'u* ha-'u-pa-ta ko t-embi-'u 1sg.act-ingest-all-fut prox.sg npossm-nmlz.rel-ingest 'I will eat all this food'

*Karai ma'e˜rã ojoguapa ko'ã yvy*. karai ma'e˜rã o-jogua-pa ko'ã yvy gentleman whatshisname 3.act-buy-all prox.pl earth 'Some guy bought all these lands.'

*Ñandejukapa pe ñati'u˜*. ñande-juka-pa pe ñati'u˜ 1pl.incl.inact-kill-all med.sg mosquito 'That mosquito will kill us all.'

Note that the particle *meme* is more generally an adverb meaning 'continuously', 'frequently' or 'always'.

ogueru meme o-gueru meme 3.ACT-bring frequently 's/he brings (it) often'

#### Sapy'arãicha meme jeko oúvante ou.

sapy'a-rã-icha meme jeko o-u-va-nte 0-11 a.little.while-DEST-as continuously it.is.said 3.ACT-come-ADJZ-only 3.ACT-come 'They say that all who came, came as if for a little while.'

Mba'érepa jajepy'apy ha ñañangareko meme va'erã ñandejehe? mba'ére=pa ja-je-py'a+py ha ña-ñangareko why=Q 1PL.INCL.ACT-AGD-chest+press and iPL.INCL.ACT-take.care.of meme va'erã nandejehe continuously must ourselves 'Why do we always have to worry about and take care of ourselves?'

A different morphological process can express several types of quantification: reduplication. It is often the predicate that is reduplicated but not exclusively (see 3.4.3 and 4.10.2 for other uses of reduplication).

Indefinite quantification ('some', 'a few')

#### ohecha iñapysẽpysẽ óga

o-h-echa iñ-apysẽ~pysẽ óga 3.INACT-stick.out~stick.out house 3 ACT-POSSM3-SEE 's/he saw a few houses poking up'

Universal quantification ('all')

Chupekuéra ndoipy'apýi mba'eve, ikyrakyra ha hesãijoa. chupe=kuéra nd-oi-py'a+py-i mba'eve i-kyra~kyra to.him/her=PL NEG-3.ACT-chest+press-NEG nothing 3.INACT-fat~fat ha h-esãi-joa POSSM3-health-all and 'Nothing worries them, they are all fat and all healthy.'

#### ojehetepysopyso

o-je-h-ete+pyso~pyso 3.ACT-AGD-POSSM3-body+extend~extend 's/he stretches all his/her body'

Distributivity over a predicate argument

*ha'ekuéra hoy'u mbohapy kagua peteı˜teı˜* ha'e=kuéra ho-y+'u mbohapy kagua peteı˜~teı˜ s/he=pl 3.act-water+ingest three glass one~one 'They drank three glasses each one.'

(Note that this sentence is ambiguous between two possible readings of the reduplicated quantifier *peteı˜teı˜*: one in which each person drank one glass, so three people drank three glasses total, and a second in which each person drank three glasses.)

The Spanish words *algúno* 'some', *entéro* 'all', *la majoría/la mayoría* 'most', *unos kuánto/unoh kuánto* 'several' and *la mita(d)* 'half' are all attested quantifier borrowings in Guarani. Although common in the spoken language, these uses tend to be avoided in formal/academic styles or in writing.

## 10 Degree expressions

**Degree expressions** establish the degree to which a quality or property is present, either absolutely or by comparison between different people, things or events.

## 10.1 Comparatives

In comparisons of equality, most commonly, Guarani marks the "yardstick" or **standard of comparison** with the unstressed enclitic =*icha* (=*cha* after a morpheme ending in *i*) 'like, as'. Neither the thing compared nor the graded property on which to base the comparison bears any special marking.

#### *upéicha*

upe-icha med.sg-as 'this way, that way' (literally, 'like that')

*ndéicha* nde-icha 2sg.inact-as 'like you'

*Amo yvyra yvate cherógaicha*. amo yvyra yvate che-r-óga-icha dist.sg tree tall 1sg.inact-possm-house-as 'That tree over there is as tall as my house.' (Literally, 'That tree is tall as my house.')

*Oñe'e˜ voi isýicha*. o-ñe'e*˜* voi i-sy-icha 3.act-speak emph 3.inact-mother-as 'S/he talks like his/her mother.'

*Ndaipóri va'ekue mba'evéichagua ñu.* (The original example has the non-standard spelling *vaekue*, reflecting the common pronunciation) ndaipóri va'ekue mba'eve-icha=gua ñu there.is.not past nothing-as=from field 'There weren't any kind of fields.' (Literally, 'there weren't fields of like anything'.)

*Yvágaicha iporã yvy marae'y˜.* yvága-icha i-porã yvy marae'y˜ sky-as 3.inact-beautiful earth spotless 'The land without evil was beautiful like the sky.' (Note: *yvy marae'y˜* 'the land without evil' is an important religious concept for Guarani peoples, a place of perfection to which they aspire by their deeds, somewhat similar to the notion of 'paradise'.)

When the standard of comparison is a not a noun phrase, but an adverb, or a phrase or clause that functions like an adverb, =*guáicha* is used (=*guaréicha* for standards of comparison located in the past, and =*guarãicha* for those located in the future).

#### *tapiaguáicha*

tapia=gua=icha always=from=as 'as always'

#### *kueheguaréicha*

kuehe=guare=icha yesterday=from.past=as 'like yesterday'

*okéramoguáicha hína* o-ke=ramo=gua=icha hína 3.act-sleep=if=from=as prog 'as if he was asleep'

*Reikova'erã remanorõ guarãicha, ha remba'apova'erã remano'y˜rõ guarãicha*.

re-iko-va'erã re-mano=rõ guarã=icha ha re-mba'apo-va'erã 2sg.act-be-must 2sg.act-die=if from.fut=as and 2sg.act-work-must re-mano-'y˜=rõ guarã=icha 2sg.act-die-priv=if from.fut=as

'You must live as if you are going to die, and you must work as if you are not going to die.'

Guarani also has dedicated comparative words of equality such as *ñemo'ã/ ñaimo'ã* (literally, 'it is believed that/we believe that'), *ha'ete* 'it is the same as' (literally, 'be-very') and *ojoja* 'they are equal' (literally, 'they are close to one another'; note that *ojoja* requires the postposition =*ndive*). These all come before the standard of comparison noun phrase.

*. . . omaña hag˜ua opa mba'e ñemo'ã umi tigre ivare'áva.* o-maña=hag˜ua opa mba'e ñemo'ã umi tigre 3.act-look.at=for all thing we.believe.that nprox.pl tiger i-vare'a-va 3.inact-hunger-adjz '. . . to look at all things like those hungry tigers.'

#### *Reñe'e˜ ha'eténte ndesy.*

re-ñe'e˜ ha'e-te-nte nde-sy 2sg.act-speak be-very-only 2sg.inact-mother 'You talk exactly like your mother.'

#### *Umi karai ojoja oñondive.*

umi karai o-jo-ja oñondive nprox.pl gentleman 3.act-recp-get.closer with.each.other 'Those gentlemen are like one another.'27

#### *Ñaimo'ãvaicha kuarahy ha ndaha'éi kuarahy.* ñaimo'ã-va-icha kuarahy ha nda-ha'e-i kuarahy we.believe.that-adjz-as sun and neg-be-neg sun 'He seemed like a sun, but he wasn't the sun.'

Comparisons of similarity use the word *ojogua* 'it resembles' (it requires the postposition =*pe*).

<sup>27</sup> Example from Melià *et al*. (1997, 145)

#### *Ñandeyvy ára ha ára ojogua peteı˜ kure chikérope*.

ñande-yvy ára ha ára o-jogua peteı˜ kure chikéro=pe 1pl.incl.inact-earth day and day 3.act-resemble one pig pigsty=in 'Our Earth day after day resembles a pigsty.'

In comparisons of superiority, the degree word takes the stressed suffix -*ve* 'more', both for absolute comparisons (that is, those with no standard of comparison) and for relative comparisons (that is, those with a standard of comparison). In relative comparisons, the standard of comparison noun phrase is marked with the postposition =*gui* ('from').

*Húpiter ituichave jasy ha'e Ganímedes.* Húpiter i-tuicha-ve jasy ha'e Ganímedes Jupiter 3.inact-big-more moon be Ganimedes 'Jupiter's largest moon is Ganymede.'

#### *Che amba'apove ndehegui*.

che a-mba'apo-ve ndehegui I 1sg.act-work-more from.you 'I work more than you.'

Comparisons of inferiority can be expressed using the stressed suffix -*'ive*. This is in fact not a single morpheme, but rather the diminutive suffix -*'i* followed by the stressed suffix -*ve* 'more', thus deriving the inferiority meaning by composition.

*omba'apo'ive ñande hígado ha pitikiri'i kuéra* o-mba'apo-'i-ve ñande-hígado ha pitikiri'i=kuéra 3.act-work-dim-more 1pl.incl.act-liver and kidney=pl 'our liver and kidneys work less'

However, very often, comparisons of inferiority are obtained by simply substituting a degree adjective with its opposite and using a comparison of superiority.

## 10.2 Superlatives

Guarani has many ways of indicating a very high degree or the highest degree of a property. Most commonly, absolute superlatives (that is, those with no standard of comparison) are marked with the stressed

suffix -ite 'very' (with variants -te, especially when the base ends in a mid front vowel, or -ete, when the base ends in a high vowel).

ivaiete i-vai-ete 3.INACT-ugly-very 's/he/it is very ugly'

Ndaikuaaiete. nd-ai-kuaa-i-ete NEG-1SG.ACT-know-neg-very 'I really don't know.'

. . . ndouietevoi iñakãme mba'eve iporãmíva. nd-o-u-i-ete=voi iñ-akã=me mba'eve NEG-3.ACT-come-NEG-very=EMPH 3.INACT-head=in nothing i-porã-mi-va 3.INACT-beautiful-DIM-ADJZ '. . . and he couldn't really think of anything (that was) beautiful.' (Literally, 'and nothing came at all into his head that is beautiful.')

Oiko peteĩ mba'e ñaha'arõ'ỹ etéva.

o-iko peteĩ mba'e ña-h-a'arõ-'ỹ-ete-va 3.ACT-be one one thing IPL.INCL.ACT-POSSM3-Wait-PRIV-Very-ADJZ 'Something happened that we didn't expect at all.'28

#### Haimete añehundi, haimete añemotĩ

opavave renondépe. háime-te a-ñe-hundi háime-te a a-ñe-mo-tĩ almost-very 1sG.ACT-AGD-sink almost-very 1sG.ACT-AGD-MAKE1-feel.shame

opavave r-enonde=pe all POSSM-front=in

'I am just on the brink of sinking, I am just on the brink of being ashamed in front of everybody."

ko'ãga ha tapiaite guarã ko'ãga ha tapia-ite=guarã now and always-very=for 'now and forever and ever'

<sup>28</sup> Example from de Canese and Acosta Alcaraz (2007, 144).

This suffix is often used with the meaning 'real, true'.

*guaraniete* guarani-ete Guarani-very 'true Guarani' (that is, Guarani as free as Spanish influence as possible)

*Che kuimba'ete voi.* che kuimba'e-te=voi I man-very=emph 'I am a real man.'

*Cheko paraguayoite*. che=ko paraguayo-ite 1sg.inact=verd Paraguayan-very 'I am a real Paraguayan.'

As we can see above, this extremely frequent suffix can modify all kinds of different lexical roots. In the example below, we can see that it can also modify grammatical morphemes, in this case, an affix.

*amba'apopotaite* a-mba'apo-pota-ite 1sg.act-work-about.to-very 'I am just about to work' (note that -*ite* modifies the immediate future -*pota*)

Relative superlatives combine the absolute superlative suffix -*ite/*-*te/*-*ete* with the comparative suffix -*ve*.

*Péro iporãiteve ningo ko Manu ohaiva'ekue.*

péro i-porã-ite-ve ningo ko Manu o-h-ai-va'ekue but 3.inact-good-very-more verd prox.sg Manu 3.act-possm3-write-past 'But in reality what Manú wrote is much better.'

Another possible superlative is the unstressed circumfix *nde*- *. . .* -*va*, which surrounds the adjective.

*MCNOC ombosako'i Paraguaýpe movilización ndekakuaáva*. MCNOC o-mbo-sako'i Paraguay=pe movilización nde-kakuaa-va MCNOC 3.act-make1-prepare Asunción=in demonstration sup-grow.up-sup 'The MCNOC (the National Board of Coordination of Rural Organizations) prepares a very big demonstration in Asunción.'

Tomasa oipota ojuhu peteĩ iñirữrã neporãva. Tomasa ooi-pota o-juhu peteĩ iñ-irữ-rã ne-porã-va Tomasa 3.8CT-want 3.ACT-find one 3.JNACT-friend-DEST sup-beautiful-sup "Tomasa wanted him to find a very beautiful partner."

Elative superlatives indicate a very large degree of a quality. Guarani uses for the expression of elatives the stressed suffix -iterei (with variants -terei, especially when the base ends in a mid front vowel, or -eterei, when the base ends in a high vowel). -Rasa is often considered a superior grade of elative, and there are (presumably) greater, elevated degrees such as -pave, -vete or -vusu, but these are not really productive in the modern language.

#### chekane'õiterei

che-kane'õ-iterei 1SG.INACT-tiredness-very.much 'I am super tired'

aagradeceterei peëme orevisitahaguére ikatuhağuáicha peikuaami la situación a-agradece-terei peëme ore-visita-hague=re

1SG.ACT-thank-very.much to.you.PL 1PL.EXCL.INACT-visit-NMLZ.PAST=at ikatu=hağua-icha pei-kuaa-mi la situación be.able=for-as 2PL.ACT-know-DIM DET.SG situation 'I thank you very much for visiting us so that you will know the situation a little'

#### Hasyeterei piko ndéve che karai.

h-asy-eterei=piko che-karai ndéve POSSM3-pain-very.much=Q to.you.sG 1sG.INACT-gentleman 'Does it hurt you very much, my dear?'

okyhyjerasa o-kyhyje-rasa 3.ACT-fear-extremely 's/he was extremely frightened'

hesaho mba'evairasarehe h-esaho mba'e-vai-rasa=rehe POSSM3-notice thing-ugly-extremely=at 'the sudden sight of a monster' (literally, mba'evairasa 'an extremely ugly thing')

*vy'apave˜* vy'a-pave˜ joy-supreme 'happiness, bliss'

#### *vy'apave˜ nearambotýre*

vy'a-pave˜ ne-ára-mboty=re joy-supreme 2sg.inact-day-conclude=at 'happy birthday' (literally, 'happiness on your birthday'; *aramboty* is the neologism coined for 'birthday')

*mburuvichavete* mburuvicha-vete leader-supreme 'supreme leader' (i.e., 'president', 'king', etc.)

*aguyjevete*

aguyje-vete thanks-supreme 'gratitude' (literally, 'supreme state of grace')

*Ñanderuvusu*

ñande-r-u-vusu 1pl.incl.inact-possm-father-great 'Our Great Father' (a foundational figure in many Guarani creation stories)

The roots *asy* (cf. *t*-*asy* 'pain') and *tuicha* 'big' have been grammaticalized as elative markers, although there seem to be lexical constraints on their use. For example, *tuicha* can co-occur with negative/undesirable degree properties, while *asy* has a positive connotation, and it seems to be used with colours, as well as with properties expressing fragility, purity and so on. When used with an active predicate, *asy* conveys a notion of effort and difficulty, and also a positive valuation of this effort by the speaker.

*ao hovy asýva* ao h-ovy asy-va clothes possm3-blue pain-adjz '(a piece of) intense blue clothing' *Ivevúi asy pe kambuchi.* i-vevúi asy pe kambuchi 3.inact-lightweight pain med.sg clay.jug 'This jug is delicate/fragile.'

*omba'apo asy productor rural ha mba'apohára urbano ohasáva actividad económica* o-mba'apo asy productor rural ha mba'apo-hára urbano 3.act-work pain producer rural and work-nmlz.ag urban o-h-asa-va actividad económica 3.act-possm3-pass-adjz activity economic 'the difficulty with which rural producers and urban workers sustain their economic activity'

*Kóva tuicha ombojorea Mbatovípe*. ko-va tuicha o-mbo-jorea Mbatovi=pe prox.sg-adjz big 3.act-make1-ruin Mbatovi=in 'This greatly ruined Mbatovi.'

Finally, reduplication can also serve a superlative, intensifying function.

#### *mymba iporãporãva*

mymba i-porã~porã-va domesticated.animal 3.inact-beautiful~beautiful-adjz 'very beautiful animals'

## 11 Noun incorporation into the verb

**Noun incorporation** refers to the addition of a noun argument to a verbal root to form a single morphological word. This word still functions as a verb: it can, for example, take further verb prefixes and suffixes, it has further noun arguments like a subject, and so on. English uses this resource in a very limited way: think for example of 'house-hunting' (where 'house' is the object of 'hunt').

Guarani noun incorporation works as in English by attaching the verb's object (without any determiners or modifiers) to the left of the verb itself (as if it was a prefix). Most incorporated nouns are body parts (inalienable possessums), but non-body parts can also be incorporated. Noun incorporation serves to background the incorporated object (making it less important) and to foreground the event itself that involves the object.

Moreover, the incorporated object most often does not designate an actual participant in the event. For example, whereas *omboty ijuru* simply means 's/he closed his/her mouth', *ojurumboty* below with noun incorporation means 's/he kept someone quiet'. Body-part incorporation is used to highlight emotional states, habitual behaviour or permanent characteristics of discourse participants. Non-body-part incorporation, on the other hand, highlights that an activity is of social importance, or is institutionalized in some way. In many cases, the incorporated structures have specific conventionalized non-compositional meanings.

#### *hay'u* ha-y+'u 1sg.act-water+ingest 'I drink water' (from *y* 'water' and *'u* 'to eat something, to ingest')

*Nde katu reajuna jave emona aséite neakãre ha ejovahéi*. nde katu re-ajuna jave e-mona aséite ne-akã=re you.sg just 2sg.act-fast while imp-smear oil 2sg.inact-head=at ha e-j-ova+héi and imp-agd-face+wash 'But you, when you fast, smear oil on your head and wash your face.' (From relational *-ova* 'face' and *(jo)héi* 'to wash'.)

*Ko'ã mba'e hína la omongy'áva yvyporakuérape, ndaha'éi okaruhaguére ojepohei'y˜re.*

ko'ã mba'e hína la o-mo-ngy'a-va prox.pl thing prog det.sg 3.act-make1-dirty-adjz yvypóra=kuéra=pe nda-ha'e-i o-karu-hague=re person=pl=in neg-be-neg 3.act-eat(intransitive)-nmlz.past=at o-je-po+héi='y˜re 3.act-agd-hand+wash=without 'These are the things that befoul people, not eating without washing hands.' (From *po* 'hand' and *(jo)héi* 'to wash'.)

#### *upémarõ aipopete chupe*

upémarõ ai-po+pete chupe finally 1sg.act-hand+slap to.him/her 'finally I slapped his/her hand' (from *po* 'hand' and *pete* 'to slap')

#### *ohovapete chupe*

o-h-ova+pete chupe 3.act-possm3-face+slap to.him/her 'they slapped him/her in the face' (from relational -*ova* 'face' and *pete* 'slap')

#### *chepy***'***ahesaho*

che-py'a+h-esa+ho 1sg.inact-chest+possm3-eye+go 'the eyes of my soul go away from me' (from *py'a* 'chest; soul', relational -*esa* 'eye' and *ho* 'to go')

#### *hetevevuihápeve*

h-ete+vevúi-ha=peve possm3-body-lightweight-nmlz=until 'until their bodies became lighter' (from -*ete* 'body' and *vevúi* 'lightweight')

#### ojepy'amongeta

o-je-py'a+mongeta

3.ACT-AGD-chest+converse 's/he thought to him/herself' / 's/he reflected' (from py'a 'chest; heart' and mongeta 'to converse')

#### Omongakuaa kure, omandi'okyty ha oaramirõapo.

o-mo-ngakuaa kure o o-mandi'o+kyty ha 3.ACT-MAKE1-grow.up pig 3.ACT-manioc+grind and 3.ACT-starch+make 'She raises the pigs, grates (the) manioc, and makes (the) starch.' (From mandi'o 'manioc' and kyty 'to grate', and from aramirõ 'starch' and -apo 'to make'.)

#### Umi yvyra hoguekúiva'ekue . . .

umi yvyra h-ogue+kúi-va'ekue NPROX.PL tree POSSM3-leaf+get.detached-PAST 'The trees that have lost their leaves . . . ' (from -ogue 'leaf' and kúi 'to become detached')

A few examples below show that the predicate with an incorporated object often still takes another direct object like any transitive verb. This means that the incorporated object is not a "real" object (think about how in English one can say 'house-hunting for a mansion').

#### ojurumboty haguã heta periodista

o-juru+mboty=haguã h-eta periodista 3.ACT-mouth+close=for POSSM3-numerous journalist 'to silence many journalists (i.e., their questions)' (from juru 'mouth' and mboty 'to close')

avakuéra opirakutu opaichagua pira ava=kuéra opa-icha=gua pira person=PL 3.ACT-fish+pierce all-as=from fish 'people fish all sorts of fish' (from pira '(a) fish' and kutu 'to pierce')

#### Paraguái ojehetepyso turismo Paraguái o-je-h-ete+pyso Paraguay 3.ACT-AGD-POSSM3-body+extend tourism

'Paraguay expands tourism' (from -ete 'body' and pyso 'to extend, to stretch')

turismo

Of note, noun incorporation has lost much of its original productivity: it survives mostly in lexicalized cases or with specific verbs and verb-object combinations. The verbs *johéi* 'to wash' (with apheresis to -*héi*), *juka* 'to kill', *kutu* 'to pierce' and *pete* 'to slap' are those most frequently occurring with incorporated objects.

## 17 Complex sentences

A complex sentence is a sentence with more than one predicate (and its associated arguments). Each predicate-argument structure is a clause. Some sentences are complex because they coordinate two clauses that are of equal hierarchy, whereas others are complex because they have a main clause and a subordinate clause that depends on the main clause.

## 12.1 Coordinated clauses

Coordinated clauses are clauses that are put together in a complex sentence and that are of equal hierarchy.

By juxtaposition without a coordinator (asyndetic coordination) This happens often with verbs of movement.

Ehóna eñeno mba'e. e-ho-na e-ñeno mba'e IMP-go-REQ IMP-lie.down thing 'Please go (and) lie down to sleep or something.' (This is a common expression meaning that the addressee is saying or doing something stupid or unimportant.)

oimérõ la dueño tou togueraha o-ime=rõ la dueño t-o-u t-o-gueraha 3.ACT-be.located=if DET.SG owner OPT-3.ACT-come OPT-3.ACT-carry 'if (if be that) the owner comes and takes (it)'

#### With a coordinating copulative conjunction

The most common conjunction is the **copulative conjunction** *ha* 'and'. The historical form *ha'e* 'and' is sometimes used in writing instead of *ha*, but it is much less frequent. *Te˜ra* is a simple **disjunctive conjunction**. The copulative *ha* 'and' and the disjunctive *te˜ra* 'or' (also spelled *térã*) are also used for nominal conjunction: *che ha nde* 'myself and you', *che te˜ra nde* 'myself or you'.

*Ojapova'erã peteı˜ purahéi ha ndouetevoi iñakãme mba'eve iporãmíva*. o-japo-va'erã peteı˜ purahéi ha nd-o-u-i-ete=voi 3.act-make-must one song and neg-3.act-come-neg-very=emph iñ-akã=me mba'eve i-porã-mi-va 3.inact-head=in nothing 3.inact-beautiful-dim-adjz 'He had to make a song and nothing beautiful came into his head.'

*Luisa te˜ra José ohóta ñemuhame*. Luisa te˜ra José o-ho-ta ñemu-ha=me Luisa or Jose 3.act-go-fut trade-nmlz.loc=in 'Luisa or José will go to the store.'

*Yrõ* is presumably the combination of privative -*'y˜* with conditional =*rõ*, which is consistent with its interpretation as 'or if not' or 'otherwise'.

#### *Oúta María yrõ oúta Isabel*.

o-u-ta María yrõ o-u-ta Isabel 3.act-come-fut María otherwise 3.act-come-fut Isabel 'María will come or if not Isabel will come.'

#### With an adversative conjunction

**Adversative conjunctions** are often composed of *katu* (roughly meaning 'but' or 'just') preceded by another morpheme that conveys nuances of meaning; for example, *ha* 'and', *te˜ra* 'or' (also spelled *térã*), *ãga* 'now' (variously spelled *á*g*ã*, *ag˜a* or *ág˜a*). (Remember that *katu* is more generally a clitic particle that comes in second position in the sentence because it needs a word on its left to "lean on" for pronunciation.)

*Jajeprováta ha ñañetentáta, ha katu jarresivíta ñeipytyvõ.* ja-je-prova-ta ha ña-ñe-tenta-ta ha katu 1pl.incl.act-agd-test-fut and 1pl.incl.act-agd-tempt-fut and just ja-rresivi-ta ñe-ipytyvõ 1pl.incl.act-receive-fut agd-help 'We will be tested and we will be tempted, but/and yet we will (also) receive help.'

*Oı˜porãningo ko'ã mba'e pyahu jaiporu hakatu ore mbo'eharakuéra romopyendava'erã hekombo'ehápe*.

oı˜-porã=ningo ko'ã mba'e pyahu jai-poru ha=katu there.is-good=verd prox.pl thing new 1pl.incl.act-use and=just ore mbo'e-hára=kuéra ro-mo-py+enda-va'erã we.not.you teach-nmlz.ag=pl 1pl.excl.act-make1-foot+place-must h-eko-mbo'e-ha=pe

possm3-nmlz.qual-teach-nmlz.loc=in

'It is good that we use these new things but we the teachers must apply them properly in the classrooms.'

#### *Chéveguarã tekoteve˜ ñañembokatupyry pya'e porã ko'ã tecnología jepurúpe te˜ra katu japytáta tapykuépe.*

chéve=guarã tekoteve˜ ña-ñe-mbo-katupyry pya'e porã to.me=for be.necessary 1pl.incl.act-agd-make1-skillful fast good ko'ã tecnología je-puru=pe te˜ra katu ja-pyta-ta prox.pl technology agd-use=in or just 1pl.incl.act-stay-fut t-apykue=pe npossm-behind=in 'In my opinion, we must train ourselves quickly in the use of these

technologies otherwise we will remain behind.'

*Araka'evékena ani jajavy ha ñaimo'ã Guarani ikatuha ombyai ñanecastellanope, te˜ra katu castellano upe ñaneguaraníme.* araka'eve-ke-na ani ja-javy ha ña-imo'ã Guarani never-force-req neg.imp 1pl.incl.act-err and 1pl.incl.act-think Guarani ikatu-ha o-mby-ai ñane-castellano=pe te˜ra katu be.able-nmlz 3.act-make1-bad 1pl.incl.inact-Spanish=in or just

castellano upe ñane-guarani=me

Spanish med.sg 1pl.incl.inact-Guarani=in

'Let's never make a mistake and think that Guarani can ruin our Spanish, or vice versa, Spanish (ruin) our Guarani.'

*Oikomo'ãva ha upéi ndoikói.* o-iko-mo'ã-va ha upéi nd-o-iko-i 3.act-be-almost-adjz and then neg-3.act-be-neg 'Something that was going to be but isn't.'

These adversative conjunctions are often used to introduce an adversative follow-up sentence (therefore, they are not strictly for coordination of clauses inside a complex sentence).

*Ñande Paraguaigua ñañemoarandu'y˜ rehe ñañe'e˜voi guaraníme*. *Ág˜a katu ñañe'e˜, ñamoñe'e˜ ha jahaiporãséramo ko ñe'e˜me ñañemoarandumanteva'erã*.

ñande Paraguái=gua ña-ñe-mo-arandu='y˜rehe we&you Paraguay=from 1pl.incl.act-agd-make1-knowledge=without ña-ñe'e˜=voi guarani=me ág˜a katu ña-ñe'e˜ 1pl.incl.act-language=emph Guarani=in now just 1pl.incl.act-language ña-mo-ñe'e˜ ha ja-h-ai+porã-se=ramo 1pl.incl.act-make1-language and 1pl.incl.act-possm3-write+good-want=if ko ñe'e˜=me ña-ñe-mo-arandu-mante-va'erã prox.sg language=in 1pl.incl.act-agd-make1-knowledge-only-must 'We Paraguayans speak Guarani without having studied it. However, if we want to speak, read and write it well we simply must study it.'

*Uvei* has the meaning 'rather' or 'instead'.

```
Ani pejepy'apy mba'evére, pemoı˜ uvei opa mba'e Ñandejára pópe pene 
ñembo'épe.
```
ani pe-je-py'a+py mba'eve=re pe-moı˜ uvei opa neg.imp 2pl.act-agd-chest+press nothing=at 2pl.act-put rather all mba'e ñande-jára po=pe pene-ñembo'e=pe thing 2pl.incl.inact-lord hand=in 2pl.inact-prayer=in 'Do not worry about anything, rather put all things in the hands of Our Lord in your prayers.'

Adversative clauses where a subsequent clause contradicts a previous negative clause have no special marking (cf. Spanish *sino* 'but (rather)'). Speakers may use the suffix -*nte* 'only'.

*Ndaiñate'y˜iri, itavýnteko*. nda-iñ-ate'y˜-iri i-tavy-nte=ko neg-3.inact-laziness-neg 3.inact-stupid-only=verd 'S/he isn't lazy, s/he is just stupid.'

Sometimes the coordinator *ha* 'and' is used and the adversative meaning is understood from the meaning of the sentence:

*Ñaimo'ãvaicha kuarahy ha ndaha'éi kuarahy.* ñaimo'ã-vaicha kuarahy ha nda-ha'e-i kuarahy we.believe.that-seems sun and neg-be-neg sun 'He seemed like a sun, but he wasn't the sun.'

Note that the Spanish borrowings *péro* 'but' or *aunque/áunke* 'even though' are very commonly used as adversative conjunctions. The Spanish correlative conjunction *ni . . . ni* 'neither . . . nor' also occurs in Guarani. All of these are avoided in more formal or academic styles.

## 12.2 Subordinate clauses

Complex sentences with more than one clause (that is, more than one predicate with its arguments) can also be the result of subordination of clauses. **Subordinate clauses** are all the clauses whose morphological and/or syntactic form depends in some way on another clause, which we call the **main clause**. Subordinate clauses fulfil a function with respect to the main clause and this function serves to classify them. There are three types of subordinate clauses: **relative clauses** (also **adjective clauses**), **complement clauses** (also **noun clauses**) and **adverbial clauses**. In Guarani the first two can be considered to be sentences converted into nouns by the addition of a suffix (**sentential nominalizations**). Subordination of a clause is marked in Guarani on the subordinate clause's own predicate, via a specific suffix or postposed particle. There is no other difference between main and subordinate predicates (that is, there is no specific verb form, no specific word order and so on). In some restricted cases, there is no overt marking of subordination (see **12.2.2**).

#### 12.2.1 Relative clauses

**Relative clauses** are clauses that function like adjectives (that is, they describe or modify a noun or pronoun in the main clause) or sometimes like nouns themselves (functioning as the subject or an object of the main clause). In both cases the subordinate predicate is marked with the unstressed suffix -*va*, or in rarer cases -*va'e*, which is the historical form (cf. *ha* and *ha'e* in **12.1**). Because -*va* serves to form adjective clauses, but also to turn words of other classes into adjectives, I have been consistently glossing it as adjz, **adjectivizer** (see **3.2.1.1.3**).

To the historical form -*va'e*, one adds -*kue* to mark past tense in the subordinate (-*va'ekue*), or -*rã* to mark future tense (-*va'erã*). Both *va'ekue* and *va'erã* have phonetically reduced forms without the glottal stop, *vaekue* and *vaerã*, that are very common in speech. The forms *akue* and *arã*, further reduced, are also used, but mostly as markers of past tense or future tense.

Relative clauses that function as adjectives *Pe kuimba'e iporãva che ména.* (Modifies *kuimba'e* 'man'.) pe kuimba'e i-porã-va che-ména med.sg man 3.inact-beautiful-adjz 1sg.inact-husband 'That beautiful man is my husband.' (Literally, 'That man who is beautiful is my husband.')

*¡Ehupi pe ndeao remombova'ekue yvýpe!* (Modifies *ao* 'clothes'.) e-hupi pe nde-ao re-mombo-va'e-kue yvy=pe imp-lift med.sg 2sg.inact-clothes 2sg.act-toss-adjz-post earth=in 'Pick up your clothes that you tossed on the floor!'

When the noun modified by a relative clause is interpreted as the subject of the relative clause, this is called a **subject relative**. If the noun modified by the relative clause is the object of the relative clause, this is called an **object relative**. For this, English uses word order and some optional marking on the relative pronoun: think about the English 'the woman who saw the man' (subject relative) versus 'the woman who(m) the man saw' (object relative). In Guarani the difference between these two interpretations is not explicitly indicated, but it can sometimes be inferred by the meaning of the clause.

*Aheka peteı˜ aranduka ome'e˜va'ekue che ru*. (Modifies *aranduka* 'book', the object of 'gave'.)

a-h-eka peteı˜ aranduka o-me'e˜-va'e-kue che-r-u 1sg.act-possm3-seek one book 3.act-give-adjz-post 1sg.inact-possm-father 'I am looking for a book that my dad gave me.'

*Aheka peteı˜ kuña ome'e˜va'ekue ko aranduka*. (Modifies *kuña* 'woman', the subject of 'gave'.)

a-h-eka peteı˜ kuña o-me'e˜-va'e-kue ko aranduka 1sg.act-possm3-seek one woman 3.act-give-adjz-post prox.sg book 'I am looking for a woman that gave me this book.'

Often the appearance of active or inactive person prefixes on the subordinate verb indicates which interpretation is intended.

#### *peteı˜ kuña nderechava'ekue*

peteı˜ kuña nde-r-echa-va'e-kue one woman 2sg.inact-possm-see-adjz-post 'a woman who saw you' (subject relative)

#### *peteı˜ kuña rehechava'ekue*

peteı˜ kuña re-h-echa-va'e-kue one woman 2sg.act-possm3-see-adjz-post 'a woman who(m) you saw' (object relative)

The marking of a human direct object with =*pe* can also clarify the interpretation intended.

#### *peteı˜ kuña ohechava'ekue peteı˜ arriérope*

peteı˜ kuña o-h-echa-va'e-kue peteı˜ arriéro=pe one woman 3.act-possm3-see-adjz-post one peasant=in 'a woman who saw a man' (subject relative)

When such marking is not used, however, word order can make the subject of the relative clause clear. Noun phrases that come before the subordinate verb tend to be interpreted as subjects (especially if there is a pause at the beginning of the relative clause), those that come after, as objects. In fact, prosody is very important in clarifying the intended interpretation in speech, but it cannot be rendered very accurately in writing.

#### *peteı˜ kuña ohechava'ekue peteı˜ arriéro*.

peteı˜ kuña o-h-echa-va'e-kue peteı˜ arriéro one woman 3.act-possm3-see-adjz-post one peasant 'a woman who saw a man.' (subject relative)

#### *peteı˜ kuña peteı˜ arriéro ohechava'ekue*.

peteı˜ kuña peteı˜ arriéro o-h-echa-va'e-kue one woman one peasant 3.act-possm3-see-adjz-post 'a woman who(m) a man saw.' (object relative)

#### Relative clauses that function as nouns

Instead of modifying a noun or pronoun, it is common for relative clauses to function directly as noun phrases themselves.

#### *Ojejukáguive ako karai Arce, ahendúvo mbokapu aimo'ãjevýma oime ojejukáva*.

o-je-juka=guive ako karai Arce a-h-endu-vo 3.act-agd-kill=since dist.ev lord Arce 1sg.act-possm3-hear-while mbo-kapu a-imo'ã-jevy-ma o-ime o-je-juka-va make1-burst 1sg.act-think-again-already 3.act-be.located 3.act-agd-kill-adjz 'Since that Mr Arce was killed, whenever I hear shots, I already think again there is someone being killed.'

Re'u re'uséva. re-'u re-'11-se-va 2SG.ACT-ingest 2SG.ACT-ingest-want-ADJZ 'You eat what(ever) you want to eat.'

Emombe'umína chéve rejapova'erã ko'ẽro. e-mombe'u-mi-na chéve re-japo-va'e-rã ko'ẽro IMP-tell-plead-req to.me 2SG.ACT-make-adjZ-desT tomorrow 'Please tell me what you will do tomorrow.'

Ndaipóri ouséva plázape. ndaipóri o-u-se-va pláza=pe there.is.not 3.ACT-come-want-ADJZ square=in 'There is no one who wants to come to the square.' (Literally, 'there is not who wants to come to the square.')

Especially in colloquial speech, Guarani relative clauses are very frequently headed by the borrowed determiner la:

#### He la ja'úva.

he la ja-'ú-va tasty DET.SG 1PL.INCL.ACT-ingest-ADJZ 'What we are eating is delicious.'

#### Emombe'umína la rehecháva.

e-mombe'u-mi-na la re-h-echa-va IMP-tell-PLEAD-REQ DET.SG 2SG.ACT-POSSM3-See-ADJZ 'Please tell me what you see.'

Negated relative clauses use the regular negation circumfix n(d)- . . . - (r)i or the stressed privative suffix -'ý, both occurring before the relativizer -va.

 Jukysy ndo'úiva araka'eve ndokakuaái. jukysy nd-o-'u-i-va araka'eve nd-o-kakuaa-i NEG-3.ACT-ingest-NEG-ADJZ never NEG-3.ACT-grow.up-NEG soup "Those who don't eat soup never grow."

vy'a ijojaha'yva vy'a i-joja-ha-'ў-va 3.INACT-equal-NMLZ-PRIV-ADJZ joy 'an unparalleled happiness' (literally, 'a happiness that does not have equal")

*Era espacialpe ndaipóri ojehu'y˜ va*. era espacial=pe ndaipóri o-jehu-'y˜-va era spatial=in there.is.not 3.act-happen-priv-adjz 'In the Space Age nothing is impossible.' (Literally, 'In the Space Age there isn't something that doesn't happen.')

*Pévako aipota'y˜va.* pe-va=ko ai-pota-'y˜-va med.sg-adjz=verd 1sg.act-want-priv-adjz 'That is what I don't want.'29

Lastly, when the subordinate predicate is not a verb, but is instead a noun, adjective or adverb of the phrase with a postposition, the stressed enclitic =*gua* is used instead of -*va*. This occurs commonly when the subordinate clause is a type of clause that does not require a verb in Guarani (these usually require the copula 'to be' in English).

*Egueru chéve pe kyse mesa'árigua*. e-gueru chéve pe kyse mesa='ári=gua imp-bring to.me med.sg knife table=upon=from 'Go bring me the knife that is on the table.'

*ñaneiru˜ ñanderapykuepegua oñekaramava'erã ñandepytarehe*

ñane-iru˜ ñande-r-apykue=pe=gua 1pl.incl.inact-friend 1pl.incl.inact-possm-behind=in=from o-ñe-karama-va'erã ñande-pyta=rehe 3.act-agd-grab-must 1pl.incl.inact-heel=at 'our classmate who is behind us must hold onto our heel'

#### *Francisco de Asís rekoviagua oúta Paraguáipe.*

Francisco de Asís r-ekovia=gua o-u-ta Paraguái=pe Francis of Assisi possm-replacement=from 3.act-come-fut Paraguay=in 'The successor of Francis of Assisi will come to Paraguay.' (Literally, 'S/he who is Francis of Assisi's replacement will come to Paraguay.')

### 12.2.2 Complement clauses

A **complement clause** fulfils the functions of a noun phrase, functioning as the subject, object or other complement of the main verb. The predicate of a subordinate complement clause is most commonly marked with the stressed suffix -*ha* (which is a more general nominalizer; see **3.2.1.1.1**),

<sup>29</sup> Example from Melià *et al*. (1997, 112).

with the variant -*hague* if the subordinate predicate has a past interpretation. Juxtaposition without an explicit subordinator is used in some specific cases. Interrogative and exclamative subordinate clauses are simply marked with the main clause interrogative/exclamative enclitics and therefore can be considered a case of subordination by juxtaposition.

#### With the subordinator *-ha/-hague*

The most frequent kind of complement clause occurs with the stressed nominalizing suffix -*ha* (equivalent to the English complementizer 'that') attached to the subordinate predicate. As we saw in **3.2.1.1.1**, this suffix is more generally used to form nouns from non-noun words. In reality, complement clauses in Guarani are simply clauses that have been made to function like nouns via the addition of -*ha* to their predicate.

#### *Ha'e ndoikomo'ãiha*.

ha'e nd-o-iko-mo'ã-i-ha I.say neg-3.act-be-neg.fut-neg-nmlz 'I say that there will not be (one).'

#### *Aikuaa cherayhuha*.

ai-kuaa che-r-ayhu-ha 1sg.act-know 1sg.inact-possm-love-nmlz 'I know that you/s/he/they love(s) me.'

#### *Peimo'ãpiko che ajuhague aru haguã py'aguapy ko yvyári? Ha'e pee˜me ahaniriha, jejoavy uvei.*

pe-imo'ã=piko che a-ju-hague a-ru haguã 2pl.act-think=q I 1sg.act-come-nmlz.past 1sg.act-bring for py'a+guapy ko yvy=ári ha'e pee˜me ahániri-ha chest+sit prox.sg earth=upon I.say to.you.pl no-nmlz je-jo-avy uvei agd-recp-err rather 'Do you think that I came to bring peace upon this Earth? I tell you that no, but rather division.'

*aagradeceterei pee˜me orevisitahaguére ikatuhag˜uáicha peikuaami la situación*

a-agradece-terei pee˜me ore-visita-hague=re 1sg.act-thank-very.much to.you.pl 1pl.excl.inact-visit-nmlz.past=at ikatu=hag˜ua-icha pei-kuaa-mi la situación be.able=for-as 2pl.act-know-dim det.sg situation 'I thank you very much for visiting us so that you will know the situation a little'

With the subordinator -*ha*, when the subordinate predicate has a future interpretation, this is marked directly on the predicate. This is in contrast with past interpretations that require the subordinator -*hague*.

#### *Aikuaa cheandutaha*.

ai-kuaa che-andu-ta-ha 1sg.act-know 1sg.inact-visit-fut-nmlz 'I know that you/s/he/they will visit me.'

#### *Aipota repromete chéve cherayhutaha.*

ai-pota re-promete chéve che-r-ayhu-ta-ha 1sg.act-want 2sg.act-promise to.me 1sg.inact-possm-love-fut-nmlz 'I want you to promise me that you will love me.'

#### By juxtaposition

This option occurs when the main subordinating predicate is a verb of command, perception, volition or permission, or in **serial verb** type constructions when the main subordinating predicate is a verb of movement.

#### *Emomarandu ichupe tou*.

e-mo-marandu ichupe t-o-u imp-make1-warning to.him/her opt-3.act-come 'Let him/her know to come.'

#### *Aipota reikuaa porã kóva . . .*

ai-pota rei-kuaa porã ko-va 1sg.act-want 2sg.act-know good prox.sg-adjz 'I want you to know this well . . . '

#### *Panambi oñeha'ã oñemomombyry*.

panambi o-ñe-h-a'ã o-ñe-mo-mombyry butterfly 3.act-agd-possm3-attempt 3.act-agd-make1-far 'The butterfly tried to move away.'

#### *Ha nderu piko ndereja rehecha la tele.*

ha nde-r-u=piko nde-r-eja re-h-echa and 2sg.inact-possm-father=q 2sg.inact-possm-leave 2sg.act-possm3-see la tele det.sg TV 'And does your dad let you watch TV?'

Cherejántena tahami. che-r-eja-nte-na t-a-ha-mi 1sg.INACT-POSSM-leave-only-REQ OPT-1SG.ACT-go-PLEAD 'Please just let me go.'

#### Eho egueru chéve peteĩ apyka.

e-gueru chéve peteí apyka e-ho IMP-go IMP-bring to.me one chair 'Go bring me a chair.'

Often, however, verbs of saying take a subordinate clause marked by =haguã 'for':

ojerure ojapo hagua condonación o-japo=haguã condonación o-jerure 3.ACT-petition 3.ACT-make=for pardon 'they beg for a pardon' (literally, 'they beg for that they make a pardon')

Tupã he'i Abrahámpe ojeapi'o haguã. Tupã he'i Abrahám=pe o-je-api-'o=haguã God says Abraham=in 3.ACT-AGD-skin-REMOVE=for 'God said to Abraham to circumcise.' (Literally, 'God said to Abraham for the skin to be removed.')

#### Interrogative/exclamative

These complement clauses express a question or an exclamation. The question/exclamation markers =pa and =piko replace the subordinator -ha. (Note that the same is true in the English translations.)

Nde reikuaápa mba'épa oikóta ndehegui rekakuaa rire. rei-kuaa=pa nde ndehegui you.sg 2sG.ACT-know=Q what=Q 3.ACT-be-FUT from.you.sg re-kakuaa rire 2SG.ACT-grow.up after 'Do you already know what you will be after you grow up?'

#### Oporandu okýpa. o-porandu o-ky=pa 3.ACT-question 3.ACT-rain=Q 'S/he asks whether it is raining.'

## 12.2.3 Adverbial clauses

As their name makes clear, **adverbial clauses** are subordinate clauses that function as an adverb modifying the predicate in the main clause. I will give here a classification in terms of the adverbial meaning they contribute to the verb in the main clause.

#### *12.2.3.1 Purposive*

A **purposive clause** expresses the purpose or reason for the event in the main clause. The predicate of a purposive clause is marked with the stressed complementizer *haguã* 'for', positioned after the verb.

*. . . oguerekova'erã mayma garantía oikoteve˜va oñedefende hag˜ ua*. o-guereko-va'erã mayma garantía oi-koteve˜-va o-ñe-defende=hag˜ua 3.act-have-must every guarantee 3.act-need-adjz 3.act-agd-defend=for ' . . . they shall have every guarantee necessary (in order) to defend themselves.'

*Peimo'ãpiko che ajuhague aru haguã py'aguapy ko yvyári?* pe-imo'ã=piko che a-ju-hague a-ru haguã 2pl.act-think=q I 1sg.act-come-nmlz.past 1sg.act-bring for py'a+guapy ko yvy=ári chest+sit prox.sg earth=upon 'Do you think that I came (in order) to bring peace upon this Earth?'

If the subordinate clause is negative, *ani haguã* 'so as not to' can be used, but preceding the verb. (Another option is to use the privative marker -*'y˜*, suffixed to the subordinate predicate.) *Ani* and *haguã* do not form a single unit and can be separated by other markers.

#### *Oñeha'ãningo ani hag˜ ua ahecha.*

o-ñe-h-a'ã=ningo ani hag˜ua a-h-echa 3.act-agd-possm3-attempt=verd neg.imp for 1sg.act-possm3-see 'He tries not to let me watch (it).' (Literally, 'S/he does make an effort so that I will not see (it).')

```
Panambi oñeha'ã oñemomombyry ani haguã oñeñandu vai.
panambi o-ñe-h-a'ã o-ñe-mo-mombyry ani haguã
butterfly 3.act-agd-possm3-attempt 3.act-agd-make1-far neg.imp for
o-ñe-ñandu vai
3.act-agd-feel bad
'The butterfly tried to move away so as not to feel bad.'
```
anivéma haguã nerasê ani-ve-ma haguã ne-r-asã NEG.IMP-more-already for 2SG.INACT-POSSM-CYY 'so that you don't cry anymore already'

Other possible purposive subordinators are the complex postposition ikatu haguaicha 'in order to be able to', and -vo 'as, while' (generally a marker of simultaneous events), used when the main verb encodes movement.

#### . . . avei avave oikuad'ýre mávarepa revota, ikatu hağuaicha avave nandejopýi upe jeporavo apópe.

avei avave oi-kuaa="ўre máva=re=pa re-vota ikatu also nobody 3.ACT-know=without who=at=Q 2SG.ACT-vote be.able hağua-icha avave na-nde-jopy-i upe je-poravo apo=pe for-as nobody NEG-2SG.INACT-press-NEG MED.SG AGD-choose make=in ' ... and also that nobody knows who you vote for, so that nobody pressures you in the making of that choice.'

#### ovevejoa hembi'u rekávo

o-veve-joa h-embi-'u r-eka-vo 3.ACT-fly-all POSSM3-NMLZ.REL-ingest POSSM-seek-while 'they all flew together to look for their food' (literally, 'they all flew together while searching for their food')

Aju aporombo'évo.

a-poro-mbo'e-vo a-ju 1sg act-come 1SG.ACT-PEOPLE-teach-while 'I came to teach (everyone / the people).'30

The technical legal expression 'to have the right to' can be rendered by reko derécho, which is a calque from Spanish that contains the Spanish loanword derécho 'right'. The purpose complement in this expression is marked by -vo.

mayma yvypóra oguereko derecho hesãivo mayma yvypóra o-guereko derecho h-esãi-vo every person 3.ACT-have right - POSSM3-health-while 'every person has the right to be healthy'.

#### 12.2.3.2 Concessive

A concessive clause expresses a proposition in opposition to the one expressed by the main clause, but one that does not prevent the

<sup>30</sup> Example from Melià et al. (1997, 123).

proposition in the main clause being true. The main concessive subordinator is (ramo) jepe '(even) though', used when the subordinate clause is viewed as an impediment or hindrance to the main clause.

Ndachekatupyrýi ramo jepe cheñe'ẽme, ndaupéichai hína

chemba'ekuaápe. ramo jepe nda-che-katupyry-i che-ñe'ẽ=me NEG-1SG.INACT-skillful-NEG if though 1sG.INACT-language=in hína nda-upe-icha-i NEG-MED.SG-as-NEG PROG ISG.INACT-thing+know=in 'Even though I am not skilled in my speech, it is not so for my knowledge."

Nandereta ramo jepe, peteïnte Crístondive.

ñande-r-eta ramo jepe peteï-nte Crísto=ndive 1PL.INCL.INACT-POSSM-numerous if though one-only Christ=with 'Even though we are many, we are one with Christ.'

When the concessive clause expresses a proposition that is not real, but potential, its predicate appears in the optative.

Mayma yvypóra oguereko derecho osevo oimeraẽva tetãgui, taha'e jepe hetatee.

mayma yvypóra o-guereko derecho o-sẽ-vo oimeraãva person 3.ACT-have right 3.ACT-exit-while anyone every t-etã=gui ta-ha'e iepe h-etã-tee NPOSSM-country=from OPT-be though POSSM3-country-one's.own 'Every person has the right to exit from any country, even if it be his/ her own country.'

The particle rangue means 'instead of'.

aharangue, aju a-ha-rãngue a-ju 1SG.ACT-go-instead.of 1SG.ACT-come 'instead of going, I come'

#### 12.2.3.3 Cousal

A causal clause expresses content that is the cause of the proposition expressed by the main clause. The postpositions =gui, =rehe and =rupi, which are locative noun postpositions in their basic use, can all express this causal relation when attached to a predicate.

*Oı˜gui Ysyry guasu Paraguái rembe'ýre avakuéra opirakutu opaichagua pira oı˜va ko ysyrýpe*.

oı˜=gui ysyry guasu Paraguái r-embe'ý=re ava=kuéra there.is=from river big Paraguay possm-edge=at person=pl o-pira+kutu opa-icha=gua pira oı˜-va ko ysyry=pe 3.act-fish+pierce all-as=from fish there.is-adjz prox.sg river=in 'Because it is on the banks of the Paraguay River, people fish all sorts of fish that are in that river.' (Literally, 'From being on the banks . . . ')

#### *Fiscalía oimputa ichupe ha ita'ýrape enriquecimiento ilícito, lavado de dinero ha ijapurehe declaración jave.*

fiscalía o-imputa ichupe ha district.attorney's.office 3.act-bring.charges to.him/her and i-ta'ýra=pe enriquecimiento ilícito lavado de dinero ha 3.inact-son.of.father=in enrichment illicit laundering of money and i-japu=rehe declaración jave 3.inact-falsehood=at statement while 'The District Attorney's Office brought charges against him and his son for illegal enrichment, money laundering, and for having lied in a state-

ment.' (Literally, 'at having lied . . . ')

#### *ha'e imarangatu ha imba'ekuaaiterei rupi*

ha'e i-marangatu ha i-mba'e+kuaa-iterei rupi s/he 3.inact-wise and 3.inact-thing+know-very.much through 'because he was so very divine and wise' (literally, 'through being so very divine and wise')

The Spanish borrowing *porque/pórke* 'because' is often used, especially in the spoken language:

*Cheru ndacherejai, porque che ajapo tapiaite opa mba'e ha'e oipotáva*. che-r-u nda-che-r-eja-i porque 1sg.inact-possm-father neg-1sg.inact-possm-leave-neg because che a-japo tapia-ite opa mba'e ha'e oi-pota-va I 1sg.act-make always-very all thing s/he 3.act-want-adjz 'My father hasn't abandoned me, because I always do all the things that he wants.'

#### 12.2.3.4 Conditional

**Conditional clauses** express some sort of condition for the main clause to become true. The main marker for **hypothetical** conditional clauses (those that talk about hypothetical situations for the main clause to be true) is the unstressed postposition =*rõ/*=*ramo* (both variants mean the same and can be used interchangeably; that is, they are in free variation). Note that these postpositions, when stressed, have the temporal meaning 'when' (see 12.2.3.6). Like negative relative clauses, negative conditional clauses use the regular negation circumfix or the stressed privative suffix -'ý.

Cherendúramo ejúke! che-r-endu=ramo e-ju-ke 1SG.INACT-POSSM-listen=if IMP-come-Force 'If you heard me, come!'

```
Oñorairõ peteĩ delfín ohasárõ, têra peteĩ lobo marino opukavý rõ
ichupekuéra, têra y ho'ysãitereivéramo.
o-ño-rairõ
                  peteĩ delfín
                                 o-h-asa=rõ
                                                      tëra 
                                                           peteĩ
3.ACT-RECP-attack one one dolphin 3.ACT-POSSM3-pass=if or
                                                            one
```
lobo marino o-puka-vy=rõ ichupe=kuéra tera y 3.ACT-laugh-ATT=if to.him/her=PL or or water sea lion h-o'ysã-iterei-ve=ramo POSSM3-cool-very.much-more=if

'They fought if a dolphin passed, or if a sea lion smiled at them, or if the water was colder.'

```
. . . nacherendúirõ ko'ápe, cherendútantevoi rádiore . . .
na-che-r-endu-i=rõ
                                   ko'ápe che-r-endu-ta-nte=voi
NEG-1SG.INACT-POSSM-listen-NEG=if here iSG.INACT-POSSM-listen-FUT-only=EMPH
rádio=re
radio=at
' . . . if you don't listen to me here, you will certainly hear me on the
```
radio . . .'

Counterfactual conditionals (expressing what would have occurred if something that did not happen had happened) take the unstressed postposition =rire 'if' to mark the predicate in the subordinate clause (the contrary-to-fact content). Note that stressed rire has the basic temporal meaning 'after' (see 12.2.3.6). Additionally, both the suffixes -va'erã 'must' (deontic modality) and -mo'a 'almost' (quasi-eventive aspect) must be used to mark the predicate in the main clause.

#### Aikuaárire, ahava'erãmo'ã.

ai-kuaa=rire a-ha-vaˈeɾã-moˈã 1SG.ACT-know=if 1SG.ACT-go-must-ALMOST 'If I had known it, I would have gone.'

*Ndokýirire, ahava'erãmo'ã*. nd-o-ky-i=rire a-ha-va'erã-mo'ã neg-3.act-rain-neg=if 1sg.act-go-must-almost 'If it had not rained, I would have gone.'

#### *Ikatuete porã va'erãmo'ã ndahkrivíri ko novéla nachemokyre'y˜i rire ramo Juan Bautista Rivarola Matto.*

ikatu-ete porã va'erã-mo'ã nd-a-hkrivi-ri ko novéla be.able-very good must-almost neg-1sg.act-write-neg prox.sg novel na-che-mo-kyre'y˜-i rire ramo Juan Bautista Rivarola Matto neg-1sg.inact-make1-up.to.it-neg after if Juan Bautista Rivarola Matto 'It is very likely that I would not have written this novel, if I hadn't been encouraged by Juan Bautista Rivarola Matto.'

#### *12.2.3.5 Manner*

**Manner clauses** express the way in which the event in the main clause unfolds. The predicate in the subordinate clause is marked with the stressed nominalizing suffix -*ha* (-*hague* for expressing the past tense in the subordinate clause), followed by -*icha* 'as'.

#### *ejapo katu reipotaháicha*

e-japo katu rei-pota-ha-icha imp-make just 2sg.act-want-nmlz-as 'do (it) as you want / do whatever you want'

#### *Tojapo erehaguéicha*.

t-o-japo ere-hague-icha opt-3.act-make 2sg.act.say-nmlz.past-as 'Let him/her do it as you said.'

Manner clauses marked with -*'y˜re(he)* 'without' express a kind of conditional result (resultative/conditional meaning).


#### *12.2.3.6 Temporal*

**Temporal clauses** express the relative timing of the events indicated in the main and subordinate clauses. The sequential order of events is important in choosing a subordinating temporal particle.

Simultaneity of main and subordinate event

*Aháramo agueraháta ndeao.* a-ha=ramo a-gueraha-ta nde-ao 1sg.act-go=when 1sg.act-carry-fut 2sg.inact-clothes 'When I go, I will bring your clothes.'

*Oma'e˜ hesekuéra, ohechakuaávo oikuaaporãitereiha.* o-ma'e˜ hese=kuéra o-h-echa+kuaa-vo 3.act-look.at at.him/her=pl 3.act-possm3-see+good-while oi-kuaa+porã-iterei-ha 3.act-know+good-very.much-nmlz 'S/he looked at them, realizing that they knew (it) very well.'

*Oikóvo peteı˜ yvyrarehe, ojejuhu peteı˜ ysóndive.* o-iko-vo peteı˜ yvyra=rehe o-je-juhu peteı˜ yso=ndive

3.act-be-while one tree=at 3.act-agd-find one caterpillar=with 'As it was pacing around a tree, it ran into a caterpillar.'

*Rokaru aja og˜uahe˜ oreru.*

ro-karu aja o-g˜uahe˜ ore-r-u 1pl.excl.act-eat(intransitive) during 3.act-arrive 1pl.excl.inact-possm-father 'While we ate, our father arrived.'

*Peteı˜ mitãñepyru˜ ha'e pe memby okakuaáva 8 arapokõindy peteı˜ha jave*. peteı˜ mitã+ñepyru˜ ha'e pe memby o-kakuaa-va one child+begin be med.sg child.of.woman 3.act-grow.up-adjz 8 ara-po+kõi-ndy peteı˜-ha jave 8 day-five+two-collective one-th during 'An embryo is the child that grows during the first 8 weeks.'

Marking that one event precedes another

*Pohãnohára he'i jakaru mboyve jajepohéiporãva'erãha.* pohãno-hára he'i ja-karu mboyve cure-nmlz.ag says 1pl.incl.act-eat(intransitive) before ja-je-po+héi+porã-va'erã-ha 1pl.incl.act-agd-hand+wash+good-must-nmlz 'Doctors say that we should wash our hands well before we eat.' Napeñangarekóiramo pendejehe, jepe pende rekove opa peve, pemanova'erã.

na-pe-ñangareko-i=ramo pendejehe jepe pende-r-ekove NEG-2PL.ACT-take.care.of-NEG=if at.yourselves though 2PL.INACT-POSSM-life pe-mano-va'erã o-pa=peve 3.ACT-end=until 2PL.ACT-die-must

'If you do not take care of yourselves, even until your life ends, you will perish.'

Marking that one event follows another

```
Mitäkuéraniko, okakuaapa vove, ovevepa.
mitã=kuéra=niko o-kakuaa-pa
                                  vove
                                          o-veve-pa
child=PL=VERD 3.ACT-grow.up-all during 3.ACT-fly-all
'As soon as they are all grown up, children all fly.'31
```
Nde reikuaápa mba'épa oikóta ndehegui rekakuaa rire.

nde rei-kuaa=pa mba'e=pa o-iko-ta ndehegui you.sg 2SG.ACT-know=Q what=Q 3.ACT-be-FUT from.you.sG re-kakuaa rire 2SG.ACT-grow.up after 'Do you already know what you will be after you grow up?'

Mba'éichapa rembo'évaerã mitã onace guive 7 años peve.

mba'éicha=pa re-mbo'e-vaerã mitã o o-nace guive 7 años peve how=0 2SG.ACT-teach-must child 3.ACT-be.born since 7 years until 'How you must teach a child from when s/he is born until 7 years (of age).'

#### 12.2.3.7 Locative

Locative clauses give information about the place where the events expressed by the subordinate and main predicates occur. They use the locative nominalizer -ha, followed by a postposition of place that indicates the exact relation between the location and the predicate.

Kuña guápa oĩ hápe, mba'ekue jepe overajey.

guápa oĩ-ha=pe mba'e-kue jepe kuña o-vera-jevy woman industrious there.is-NMLZ=in thing-POST though 3.ACT-shine-again 'Where there is an industrious woman, even old things shine again.' (This is a common Paraguayan saying.)

<sup>31</sup> Example from Melià et al. (1997, 196).

*Roguerohory guarani jeporu umi ndoikekatuirihápe*. ro-guero-h-ory guarani je-poru umi 1pl.excl.act-make.soc-possm3-joy Guarani agd-use nprox.pl nd-o-ike-katu-iri-ha=pe neg-3.act-enter-be.able-neg-nmlz=in 'We celebrate the use of Guarani in places where it is not (commonly) used.'

*Pe mitã oju isy ojuhágui*.

pe mitã o-ju i-sy o-ju-ha=gui med.sg child 3.act-come 3.inact-mother 3.act-come-nmlz=from 'That child comes from where his/her mother comes.'32

This marker -*ha* can also be used for states of being (note also the appearance of =*guare* to indicate a past state and the fact that it is a relative clause functioning as a noun, not an adverbial clause in this case).

*Ka'uhapeguare ndoikéi.* ka'u-ha=pe=guare nd-o-ike-i get.drunk-nmlz=in=from.past neg-3.act-enter-neg 'What happened in a state of drunkenness does not count.'

<sup>32</sup> Example from Palacios Alcaine (1999, 87). I have kept the forms *oju* and *ojuhágui* as they appear in the original source, even though the verb 'to come' is irregular in Guarani and has the third person form *ou*, not *oju*.

## 13 Information structure

Sentences are organized with respect not only to their syntax; that is, what the verb, subject, object and other arguments or modifiers are. The way a sentence is built also needs to make clear what information is most relevant to the hearer, as well as what in the sentence constitutes background to situate this important information. This is called **information structure**. The group of words that represent the most relevant information conveyed by a sentence are its **focus** (plural **foci**), whereas the group of words that serve as background to this information are its **topic**.

In Guarani the marking of topics and foci is carried out by a combination of different means: prosodic (intonation, pauses), morphological (affixes, clitics, particles in general) and syntactic (word order). Prosodic marking is often the only cue to the information structure of an utterance, and sometimes no cue is present other than the discourse context and/or general extralinguistic knowledge. This makes it hard to illustrate information structure properties with written decontextualized examples. Where possible, I will give a prior utterance to help contextualize the examples.

I will briefly show here some of the various morphosyntactic resources Guarani speakers have at their disposal for this kind of sentence structuring. In what follows, note that the initial position in a sentence is of paramount importance. It is usually the position of privileged elements from an information structure viewpoint, whether foci or topics.

### 13.1 Focus

The **focus** of a sentence carries the information that is most relevant and of primary importance in the current discourse/dialogue context. It is the only part of a sentence that must appear obligatorily so the utterance makes sense in context.

Prosodic marking of focus in Guarani relies on making the stressed syllable of the focused item (word or phrase) longer and on placing the primary intonation peak of the sentence on this very same item. (The syllable on which the primary intonation peak falls is marked in the examples in this section in small caps). Where the focused item appears in first position in the sentence, it is often followed by a second-position clitic.

#### *pévako aipota'y˜ va*.

pe-va=ko ai-pota-'y˜-va med.sg-adjz=verd 1sg.act-want-priv-adjz 'That is what I don't want.'33

#### *kóva ahechaukamanteva'ekue pee˜me opa cherembiapópe*.

ko-va a-h-echa-uka-mante-va'ekue prox.sg-adjz 1sg.act-possm3-see-make2-only-past pee˜me opa che-r-embi-apo=pe to.you.pl all 1sg.inact-possm-nmlz.rel-make=in 'This I have made you see (=have shown to you) in all my work.'

#### *Añetépiko apu'ãva'erã*.

añete=piko a-pu'ã-va'erã true=q 1sg.act-get.up-must 'Do I really have to get up?'

The unstressed clitic =*nte* often co-occurs with items in focus.

#### *Nandévei rohenói, Juanpente*

na-ndéve-i ro-h-enói Juan=pe-nte neg-to.you.sg-neg 1>2sg-possm3-call Juan=in-only 'It wasn't you who I was calling, but Juan.'34

*chénte ajapo chepohãrã*. che-nte a-japo che-pohã-rã I-only 1sg.act-make 1sg.inact-medicine-dest 'I myself/I alone make my remedies.'

**Contrastive focus** is a special type of focus that contradicts previous or expected information. It can be signalled by various means, but most importantly, it is always accompanied by a strong intonation peak and stress.

<sup>33</sup> Example from Melià *et al*. (1997, 112).

<sup>34</sup> Example from Cadogán (1987, 129).

Overt subject pronoun

Remember that subjects are often omitted from a sentence in Guarani, when it is apparent in the context who is realizing an action (subject drop). Therefore, when a subject noun phrase or an independent subject pronoun appear overtly, this often signals that they are the focus of the sentence, especially in cases of contrastive focus.

*Eremína ichupe nde*.

ere-mi-na ichupe nde 2sg.say-plead-req to.him/her you.sg 'You tell her.' (Not somebody else.)

#### *Ág˜a jasypahápe, nde reñomongetáta hendive*.

ág˜a jasy+pa-ha=pe nde re-ño-mongeta-ta hendive now moon+end-nmlz=in you.sg 2sg.act-recp-converse-fut with.him/her 'But at the end of the month, you (not me) will discuss it with him.'

#### Second-position particle

Because the first item in a sentence occupies this privileged position, the appearance of any second-position particle serves to delimit a possible focus of the sentence. For example, a focused phrase may be marked by the attachment of an evidential particle, since some evidentials may prefer to attach to the focused phrase to clarify what the evidential is referring to.

## -*Pintura ohechauka ñandéve mba'éichapa mitã reko*. *- ¡Chéverõ g˜ uarã,*

*oñomi katu ichupe!* pintura o-h-echa-uka ñandéve mba'éicha=pa mitã painting 3.act-possm3-see-make2 to.us&you how=q child r-eko chéve=rõ g˜uarã o-ñomi katu ichupe possm-essence to.me=if for 3.act-hide just to.him/her *-* 'Painting shows us kids' personality.' - 'In my opinion, it covers it!'

#### *Ko'ã mba'<sup>e</sup> hína la omongy'áva yvyporakuérape, ndaha'éi okaruhaguére ojepohei'y˜ re*.

ko'ã mba'e hína la o-mo-ngy'a-va yvypóra=kuéra=pe prox.pl thing prog det.sg 3.act-make1-dirty-adjz person=pl=in nda-ha'e-i o-karu-hague=re o-je-po+héi='y˜re neg-be-neg 3.act-eat(intransitive)-nmlz.past=at 3.act-agd-hand+wash=without 'These things are the ones that befoul people, (it is) not eating without washing one's hands.'

```
Ndaha'ei ne rãi ahecháva, yvága voi ahecha nde rehe ama'êrõ.
nda-ha'e-i
            ne-r-ãi
                                    a-h-echa-va
                                                             vvága voi
NEG-be-NEG 2SG.INACT-POSSM-tooth 1SG.ACT-POSSM3-see-ADJZ sky
                                                                    EMPH
a-h-echa
                   nde=rehe
                                 a-ma'ẽ=rõ
1SG.ACT-POSSM3-see 2SG.INACT=at 1SG.ACT-look.at=when
'It isn't your teeth that I see, it is the sky that I see when I look at you.'
```
## 13.2 Topic

The topic is the group of words that, intuitively, provides a background for the focus. That is, it tells us what the focus refers to, or what it says something about. Contrary to the focus, the topic can and indeed often is absent from an utterance, because it is understood or recoverable from the discourse or dialogue context. When the topic appears, however, it can be in first position, followed by a second-position clitic, and it often contains a secondary intonation peak (not marked in the examples).

```
¡Akãrapu'ã! Akãrapu'ã ningo umi viajes espaciales kuéra, ndaha'éi
```
nde ru almacen akãrapu'ã akãrapu'ã=ningo umi viajes espaciales=kuéra nda-ha'e-i progress NPROX.PL trips spatial=PL neg-be-neg nde-r-11 almacen 2SG.INACT-POSSM-father grocery.store 'Progress?! Progress is those space trips, not your dad's grocery store.'

Similar to a contrastive focus, a contrastive topic marks a contrast with previous or subsequent topics. This is very similar to using the English expressions 'and as for . . .' or 'and what about . . . '. In the examples that follow, note how something important is going to be said about a new topic each time.

No morphological or syntactic marking

Ha nemembykuña'i moo? ha ne-memby+kuña-'i moõ 2SG.INACT-child.of.woman+woman-DIM where and 'And (as for) your little daughter, where (do we put her)?' Second-position particle

As was mentioned above for focus, note that none of these are dedicated topic markers. Rather, they are more general markers with different functions that prefer to follow the first word or phrase in the sentence.

*Carlos omboguatakuaa kóche, traytor katu nomboguatakuaái*. Carlos o-mbo-guata-kuaa kóche traytor katu Carlos 3.act-make1-walk-know car tractor just n-o-mbo-guata-kuaa-i neg-3.act-make1-walk-know-neg 'Carlos can drive a car, but a tractor, he cannot drive.'

*Tomasa oipota ojuhu peteı˜ iñiru˜rã neporãva*. *Toma katu oipota oiko ichugui ballenakuéra mburuvicha*.

Tomasa oi-pota o-juhu peteı˜ iñ-iru˜-rã Tomasa 3.act-want 3.act-find one 3.inact-friend-dest ne-porã-va Toma katu oi-pota o-iko ichugui sup-beautiful-sup Toma just 3.act-want 3.act-be from.him ballena=kuéra mburuvicha whale=pl leader

'Tomasa wanted him to find a very beautiful partner, whereas Tomás wanted him to be the leader of the whales.'

*Ndaipóri tembiapo ivaíva*. *Pe ivaíva ningo ñamba'apo va'e˜raha*.

ndaipóri t-embi-apo i-vai-va pe there.is.not npossm-nmlz.rel-make 3.inact-bad-adjz med.sg i-vai-va=ningo ña-mba'apo-va'e˜ra-ha 3.inact-bad-adjz=verd 1pl.incl.act-work-must-nmlz 'There is no work that is bad. What is bad is that we have to work.'

## 14 Order of affixes, clitics and other particles in the predicate

Recall that we said in **1.5** that Guarani is an agglutinative language. This means that the meanings that would be expressed in English by separate words are instead expressed by successively adding affixes, clitics or other particles to a root. Because of this, it if very important to know which order these morphemes must follow when added. Although this is a complex issue which can only be cursorily discussed here, some general guidelines can be given. First, we must note that the portion to the left of a predicate (where prefixes go) is smaller and better defined (morphosyntactically and prosodically) than that to the right.

In the left portion, if the optative prefix *t*- or any of its variants is present, it precedes all other prefixes. Active and inactive person/number markers (including the second-person singular imperative *e*-) are always prefixed, and follow the optative (the only person marker that is not prefixed is the third-person subject pronoun *hikuái*, which comes after the verb and is placed outside the predicate proper).

*Topurahéi*.

t-o-purahéi opt-3.act-sing 'May s/he/they sing.'

*Tereg˜uahe˜ porãite*. te-re-g˜uahe˜ porã-ite opt-2sg.act-arrive well-very 'Welcome.' (To one person.) Person markers are themselves followed by voice markers, if any. The antipassive prefixes *poro*- and *mba'e˜*- always come before all other voice prefixes. The relative position of any remaining voice prefixes is determined by the order in which they have to be put together to derive the intended meaning (except for the causative for transitive verbs -*uka*, which comes after the verb). The following pairs of examples illustrate this point:

#### *añemomano*

a-ñe-mo-mano 1sg.act-agd-make1-die 'I feign being dead' (literally, 'I make myself dead')

#### *aporombojeharu*

a-poro-mbo-je-haru 1sg.act-people-make1-agd-spoil 'I make people frustrated'

#### *roñombovy'a*

ro-ño-mbo-vy'a 1pl.excl.act-recp-make1-joy 'we make each other happy'

#### *aporomoñorairõ*

a-poro-mo-ño-rairõ 1sg.act-people-make1-recp-attack 'I make people fight (one another)'

#### *aporombojojuhu*

a-poro-mbo-jo-juhu 1sg.act-people-make1-recp-find 'I make people meet one another.'35

Any nominalizers that may be necessary to turn a verb into a noun or an adjective come next, if the predicate is non-verbal. And last and closest to the root, since they serve to form a complex root, come any incorporated nouns (see **11**). This exhausts all the possibilities for morphemes that precede a verb. The reader must bear in mind, however, that of all these possible logical combinations, only some make sense once the meaning of each added morpheme is taken into consideration.

<sup>35</sup> Examples from de Canese and Acosta Alcaraz (2007, 115).

#### toñembojeroviákena nderéra t-o-ñe-mbo-jerovia-ke-na nde-r-éra OPT-3.ACT-AGD-MAKE1-believe-FORCE-REQ 2SG.INACT-POSSM-name 'hallowed be thy name' (literally, 'be your name made belief')

#### toñombojovahéi

t-o-ño-mbo-j-ova-héi OPT-3.ACT-RECP-MAKE1-AGD-face+wash 'that they/let them make each other wash their faces'

The remaining morphemes follow the predicate root (the suffixes and enclitics, and any other postverbal particles). The portion to the right of the predicate presents many more options. Often, the right edge of an agglutinating predicate may be indicated by the presence of secondposition clitics such as interrogative markers (see 8.5) or evidential markers (see 7). In the example below, the interrogative enclitic =piko signals the right edge of the predicate complex rehekajevýma:

Rehekajevýmapiko chera'y re'uva'era. re-h-eka-jevy-ma=piko che-r-a'y 2SG.ACT-POSSM3-seek-again-already=Q 1SG.INACT-POSSM-son.of.man re-'u-va'erã 2SG.ACT-ingest-must 'You are already looking again for something to eat, my son?'

The negation circumfixes can also mark the left and right edges of the predicate complex (see 4.9).

ndoroguatasevéi ndo-ro-guata-se-ve-i NEG-1PL.EXCL.ACT-walk-want-NEG 'we do not want to walk more'

However, many particles can appear outside of these positions, depending on how much of the predicate they modify. Inside the predicate's right portion, any derivational suffixes, such as the verbalizer -'o, come first. The transitive causative -uka follows. The roots porã 'good, well', vai 'bad(ly)' and kuaa 'to know' can also follow this (possibly derived) root to indicate (in)ability. The totalitive -pa/-mba can appear here (followed

by imperative modalizers if the sentence is in an imperative or optative mood). The stressed volitional -*se* comes next, and degree and comparative markers (except the intensifier -*(e/i)te*) follow. Future tense markers can come next.

*-¡Po'akã'oukapáta! -oñarõ karai Rréi*. po-'akã-'o-uka-pa-ta o-ñarõ karai rréi 1>2pl-head-remove-make2-all-fut 3.act-attack gentleman king '"I will have all your heads chopped off!", yelled the King.'

The remainder of the right portion is not as strictly ordered. At this point, the suffixal negations -*(r)i* or -*'y˜* may be added, followed by the intensifier -*(e/i)te*, the nominalizers/complementizers -*va* and -*ha*, and then the various indicators of tense, aspect, mood, modality and evidentiality. Other subordinators follow at the end.

Note, however, that these regular orders are only approximations, and can be subverted under ill-understood conditions. For example, many morphemes that have been presented here (and in traditional Guarani grammars as well) as suffixes that attach to the end of a predicate can appear detached from the predicate, and even in front of it. Compare the following two equally acceptable examples:

#### *Ikane'õetereímavaicha*.

i-kane'õ-eterei-ma-váicha 3.inact-tiredness-very.much-already-seems 'S/he seems already very tired.'

#### *Etereímavaicha ikane'õ*.

eterei-ma-váicha i-kane'õ very.much-already-seems 3.inact-tiredness 'S/he seems already very tired.'

This is particularly clear with the variable placement of imperative modalizers (see **4.10.3.1.2**):

*Amo kotýpena pemoı˜mi*. amo koty=pe-na pe-moı˜-mi dist.sg room=in-req 2pl.act-put-plead 'Please, put it in that room.'

*Amo kotýpe pemoı˜mína*. amo koty=pe pe-moı˜-mi-na dist.sg room=in 2pl.act-put-plead-req 'Please, put it in that room.'

The reader is well advised to take the ordering and placement rules given here as guidelines, and to remember that exposure to as many texts and dialogues in Guarani as possible is the best way to familiarize oneself with the language.

## 15 Common vocabulary

## 15.1 Food



## 15.2 Body parts




## 15.3 Senses


## 15.4 Numbers

Note: only the numbers from 1 to 4 are from pre-contact Guarani and are the only ones in common use. In general, speakers use Spanish numbers above 4 or 5.


## 15.5 Kinship terms

Note: pre-contact Guarani had an extensive kinship system. Today, except for the most common terms in this list, speakers generally use Spanish kinship words.

*jarýi* 'grandmother' *jaryisy* 'great-grandmother' *kypy'y* 'a woman's younger sister' *kyvy* 'a woman's brother' *kyvyraty* 'a woman's brother's wife' *machu* 'grandmother' *memby* 'a woman's child' *ména* 'husband' *menarã* 'boyfriend, fiancé' *ñembokiha* 'girlfriend' *óga(y)gua* 'relative; family' *sy* 'mother' *ta'ýra/ra'y/ita'ýra* 'a man's son' *taita* 'father' *taitachu* 'great-grandfather' *taita guasu* 'grandfather' *tajýra/rajý/itajýra* 'a man's daughter' *tamói/ramói/hamói* 'grandfather; ancestor' *teindy(ra)/reindy/heindy* 'a man's sister' *tembireko/rembireko/hembireko* 'wife' *tembirekorã/rembirekorã/hembirekorã* 'fiancée' *temiarirõ/remiarirõ/hemiarirõ* 'grandchild' *tovaja/rovaja/hovaja* 'brother-in-law' *túva/ru/itúva* 'father' *tyke'y(ra)/ryke'y/hyke'y* 'a man's older brother' *tyke(ra)/ryke/hyke* 'a woman's older sister' *tyvýra/ryvy/ityvýra* 'a man's younger brother' *tyvyraty/ryvyraty/ityvyraty* 'a younger brother's wife' *uke'i* 'sister-in-law'

## 15.6 Animals



## 15.7 Time

General



Neologisms for the days of the week

These are composed of the word *ára* 'day' plus a cardinal number from one to seven. Note that these forms sometimes delete the first syllable of the number (apheresis).


Neologisms for the months of the year

These are composed of the word *jasy* 'moon' plus a cardinal number from one to twelve. Note that these forms sometimes delete the first syllable of the number (apheresis).


## 15.8 Dwelling


*teko'a* 'hamlet' *tekoha* 'habitat of a Guarani group' *tenimbe/renimbe/henimbe* 'cot' *tupa/rupa/hupa* 'bed'

## 15.9 Colours


## 16 Text samples

This chapter presents five samples from a wide variety of Guaranilanguage sources. We begin with a transcription of an interview conducted with a Guarani speaker. Subsequent sections present extracts from published sources: a novel, a poem, a play and a newspaper article. In these samples, Spanish loanwords and Spanish words and expressions mixed in the Guarani sentences are boldfaced, regardless of their level of integration in the language.

### 16.1 Interview

The following is a transcript of an interview conducted with a Paraguayan Guarani speaker in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2013. The research assistant interviewer (a native speaker) is represented here by A and the interviewee, who shall remain anonymous, by B. The interview was recorded and subsequently transcribed by another native research assistant and translated into English by me. Sounds not clearly heard in the recording but that may have been spoken are enclosed in parentheses in the Guarani. Parentheses are used in the English translation for clarification/explanation. Words and phrases in Spanish are boldfaced.


<sup>36</sup> Pseudonym.


Buenos Aires, during that time I went back to Paraguay. I was there from 2001 to 2006. And there I found my partner and up until today, more or less, I have been with her.'


## 16.2 Narrative

This is a fragment of the second edition of *Kalaíto Pombéro*, the first novel written entirely in Guarani, by the Paraguayan author and scholar Tadeo Zarratea.37 The English translation is mine. The orthography is as found in the original.

<sup>37</sup> Available at https://mbatovi.blogspot.com/2011/11/kalaito-pombero-novela-en-guarani. html.

#### *Mboja'ore I* **Chapter I**

*Ñasaindy iporãvéva pévagui nda'iporichéne. Aipo Jasyretã mba'e ndapeichaichéne voi. Mbatovípe ñaime ramo aguı˜ve voínte ñaime jasýgui. Tekoha ha'eñomi okañýva Paraguái korapy yképe, pyhare mimbi porãme oguapýva opukavy, ojesareko ára ru'ãre, ha mbyja ijaguaravéva ojeitýva oñani yvagapýre oñandúvo ima'e˜.*

'There is probably no prettier moonlight than this. Not even in Jasyretã, "the country of the moon". When in Mbatovi, we are just closer to the moon. This is a solitary hamlet, lost in a corner of Paraguay, that by beautiful clear nights sits down to observe, smiling, the zenith of the heavens, while the most prideful star runs in the sky feeling its gaze.'

*Yvate ko oı˜hína Mbatovi, yvy kandu rusu ru'ãitépe, ajevérõ niko ndareíri pe mbyja ka'arupy hi'yvy˜iete avei upépe. Remañaha gotyo upégui rehecha yvy ojehykuavo ha iñasãimane katu ñu hovy porã. Mombyry ku ojekuaa yupa guasu mbytépe ramo guáicha ka'aguy avoamimi, ha sevo'i rapéicha ysyry ñuãha, takuarembo ha yvyrahu˜ndy. Yvy pytã porã ojehecha pe tape tujáre, péva jeko aipo Lópe rapekue, ajevérõ ikatuete porãnte oime oreko hemiñongatupy, opa ohechase'y˜ va ohecháva voi hendýrõ.*

'Mbatovi sits high upon a big hill, and because of that it is not strange that the evening star is also close. Looking down from there, you can see the Earth spilling out, and immediately after the beautiful green fields spreading all over. In the distance, one can see tangled woods as if sitting in the middle of a lake, and like a trail of earthworms that bundle up the creeks, willows and guaranina groves. An intense red clay makes up the old roads that are said to have been Marshal López's roads, and that is why it may just well be that they have something hidden, since their gleam can be seen by even those who do not want to see.'

*Mokõi Lópe ra'yre ndaje ouraka'e yvate guio oheka jeývo ivy'aha, opyta upépe opytu'umi ha ipahápe ndohasasevéi. Oiporavóje hikuái hembirekorã Mbya-Ka'yguã iporãvéva mokõi ha oñepyru˜ oñemoña.*

'They say that two of López's former boys (i.e., soldiers) descended from there, looking to regain their old homeland, but they stopped for a bit and never finished crossing. It is said that they chose two of the most beautiful Mbya-Ka'yguã women to marry and began to have children.'

*Areterei peve ndaje avave ndoikuaáiraka'e Mbatovi, ha mbatoviguakuéra ndoikuaái mba'evéichagua táva ambue.*

'They say that for a long time nobody got to know Mbatovi, and neither did the locals know anything about other towns.'

## 16.3 Poem

This is a fragment of the poem *Tataypýpe*, "By the fire", by the famed Paraguayan poet Susy Delgado.38 The English translation is mine. The orthography is as found in the original.


<sup>38</sup> Available at http://www.portalguarani.com/394\_susy\_delgado/16439\_tataypype\_2011\_\_ junto\_al\_fuego\_\_poesias\_de\_susy\_delgado.html.


## 16.4 Theatre

This is a fragment of the first scene of *Techaga'u rei opáma*, "The longing is over", by the Paraguayan author and scholar Félix de Guarania.39 The English translation is mine. The orthography is as found in the original. Spanish words and phrases are boldfaced.

#### **Techaga'u rei opáma**


<sup>39</sup> Available at http://www.portalguarani.com/391\_felix\_de\_guarania/12340\_\_techagau\_ rei\_opama\_acto\_unico\_\_teatro\_en\_guarani\_de\_felix\_de\_guarania.html.

to worry? You are just moping around, sighing and crying. As if one of yours had died . . .


*mbegue mbeguépe ñañakarapu'ã. Ñandejára ome'e˜ jey ñandéve mokõi mitã. Ko'ágã, ha'ekuéra ome'e˜ma ñandéve niéto* . . . *Mba'épo jaipotave!* 'We came with our hands on our heads, remember? After they burnt our house down and tortured us so much. We arrived here not knowing where to go, with our little children behind us. We both took up any kind of work. And that way, little by little, we reared our heads. God gave us two more children. Now they give us two grandchildren. What more can we want!'

SERAFINA: *Ha'éma niko ndéve, Josemariá* . . . *Chéko ndaipotái mba'eve!* 'I already told you, José María . . . I do not want anything!'

JOSE MARIA: *Mba'é katu piko aiporõ!* 'Then what?!'


## 16.5 Newspaper article

This is an article from the online edition of *ABC Remiandu*, published on 15 March 2019.40 Spanish words and phrases appear in boldface.

*Oñepyru˜ periodo pyahu sesión del Congreso-pe Contralor*, *hierro aku agenda parlamentaria-pe*

> *Opytu'u rire hikuái, oñembyaty ko árape mesa directiva ko'ã mokõi cámara orekóva tema pendiente. Noñeakãngetái mba'épa pe ipúva Enrique García-gui, juicio político oñemombytáva Senado-pe. Ose˜ tesape ombohapéva oikévo seriamente contralor enriquecimiento ilícito ha viru johéi rehe. Jepénte omotenonde conexiones políticas, hasýta ichupe oipykúi jesareko ko'ã mba'e ivaietéva ha umi mba'e pyahu opo jeýva.*

A new period in the session of Congress begins The Comptroller, a "red-hot iron" (i.e., a thorny subject) in the legislative agenda

After the break, with unfinished business, the governing boards of both legislative houses meet today. They didn't imagine what would blow up regarding Enrique García, whose impeachment has been stopped in the Senate: clues that seriously point to the Comptroller's involvement in illicit gain and money laundering. In spite of his political connections, it will be hard for them to look the other way faced with these new serious facts that have come to light.

<sup>40</sup> Available at http://www.abc.com.py/especiales/remiandu/onepyr-periodo-pyahu-sesion-delcongreso-pe-1792361.html.

## 17 Paradigms

## 17.1 List of circumfixes

*n(d)(a/e/o)*- *. . .* -*(r)i* negation *n(d)e*- *. . .* -*va* superlative *ja*- *. . .* -*ma* completive aspect

## 17.2 List of prefixes


tt-/h-/r-

## 17.3 List of postpositional particles

As elsewhere in the book, in the following table, a dash (-) identifies a suffix and an equals sign (=) an enclitic. These are used where there is enough evidence to decide on the correct characterization of each particle. Where the status of a particle is unclear, I present the postposition as an independent word (a free morpheme), and no dashes or equals signs are used. Suffixes are presented first, then enclitics, then putative independent words. For each postposition, I indicate whether it attracts stress or not (according to the rules in 2.2.2).





## 17.4 List of morphemes with consonant allomorphs conditioned by nasal harmony

17.4.1 Affixes and clitics

Regressive nasalization on prefixes



Progressive nasalization on suffixes and enclitics


#### 17.4.2 Roots

As mentioned in **2.2.3**, the first voiceless stop /p/, /t/ or /k/ for some oral roots exceptionally becomes a nasal-oral consonant in combination with the nasal variant of the intransitive causative prefix *mo*- or (very rarely) with the nasal variant of the nominalizing (relational) prefix -*emi*-. It is important to know that some of these also have "regular" derivations where the voiceless stop does not change.

Cases with the causative prefix *-m(b)o*



In only one case, an initial bilabial voiceless stop /p/ does not change into a bilabial nasal-oral /™b/ but into the bilabial nasal /m/:

#### porã

Cases with the nominalizing prefix -embi-/-emi-

There are only a couple of examples of nasalization with the nominalizer -embi-, mostly found in older Guarani texts.


## 17.5 List of relational roots and morphemes

Note: this is a non-exhaustive list. The roots are given in their absolute or non-relational form. If no irregularities are noted, the expected inflectional pattern is t-/r-/h-.





'domesticated animal')

Points to note:


## 17.6 List of aireal verbs

Note: this list is not exhaustive.


## 18 Common phrases and expressions

*Hee˜.* 'Yes.' *Nahániri.* 'No.' *Maitei.* 'Hello.' *Mba'éichapa.* 'How are you?' *Mba'éichapa reiko.* 'How are you?' *Iporã.* 'Fine.' *Iporãnte*. 'Just fine.' *Aiko porã.* 'I am fine.' *Iporãiterei.* 'Very well.' *Iporãrasa.* 'Super.' *Ha nde?* 'And you?' *Iporã avei.* 'I am fine too.' *Mbaetekópa.* 'What's up?' *Mbaetépio.* 'What's up?'

*Chepyhareve porã.* 'This morning, fine.'

*Cheasaje porã.* 'This afternoon, fine.'

*Mba'éichapa neko'e˜.* 'How are you this morning?' (That is, 'Good morning', used immediately after getting up.) *Cheko'e˜ porã, ¿ha nde?* 'This morning, fine. And you?' *Mba'éichapa nde pyhareve.* 'How are you this morning?' (That is, 'Good morning', used a little later and throughout the morning.) *Mba'éichapa ndeasaje.* 'How are you this afternoon?' (That is, 'Good afternoon', used between noon and 2 p.m., roughly.) *Mba'éichapa ndeka'aru.* 'How are you this afternoon?' (That is, 'Good afternoon', used a little later and throughout the afternoon.) *Cheka'aru porã.* 'This afternoon, fine.'


this evening?' (That ing'.) , fine.' ery much.' or your help.' / 'Thank ng me.' d.' now.' . , , י orrow.' an.' ing with us?' e?' e back.' o one person.) o more than one ons.' ons on your work.' tter.' , ces.' name?' last name?' .. ' י יי

*Avy'a roikuaahaguére.* 'Pleased to meet you.' *Maitei nderúpe.* 'Say hi to your father.' *Maitei ndesýpe avei.* 'Say hi to your mother too.' *Karai.* 'Sir.' *Kuñakarai.* 'Madam.' *Kuñatai.* 'Miss.' *Ndépa moõgua. / Moõguápa nde.* 'Where are you from?' *Moõpa reiko hína.* 'Where do you live?' *Che aiko . . .* 'I live . . .' *. . . Paraguaýpe* '. . . in Asunción'

*Mbovy arýpa reguereko.* 'How old are you?' *Mboy año ereko?* 'How old are you?' *Aguereko . . . ary.* 'I am . . . years old.' *Areko . . . año.* 'I am . . . years old.' *Ndépa reñe'e˜ . . .* 'Do you speak . . .' *ingléspe.* '. . . English?' *castellánope* '. . . Spanish?' *Che nañe'e˜i guaraníme.* 'I don't speak Guarani.' *Che nañe'e˜porãi guaraníme.* 'I don't speak Guarani well.' *Che nañe'e˜porãi gueteri guaraníme. Astudia hína guarani.* 'I am studying Guarani.' *Mba'éichapa ere. / Mba'e ere?* 'What did you say?' *Nantendéi hína.* 'I don't understand.' *Norontendéi hína.* 'I don't understand you.'

*Mba'épa he'ise . . .* 'What does . . . mean?' *Mba'éichapa oje'e . . . guaraníme?* 'How do you say . . . in Guarani?'

*Cherasy.* 'I am sick.' *Chekane'õ.* 'I am tired.' *Chero'y.* 'I am cold.'

*Moõpa nderóga.* 'Where is your house?' / 'Where do you live?' *Moõpa opyta . . .* 'Where is . . . ?' 'I don't speak Guarani well yet.'

*Ikatúpa reñe'e˜ mbeguemive chéve.* 'Could you speak a little slower to me?' *Ajavýramo, chekorrehimína.* 'If I make a mistake, please correct me.' *Chekaigue.* 'I am feeling lazy.' *Chekangy.* 'I am weak.' *Chekuerái.* 'I am bored' / 'I am fed up.'


## Some sayings (ñe´ẽngo)

These sayings were mostly collected from Aguilera Jiménez (2007) (see Data sources).41

Cherehe jeýnte opẽ, he'i ipo'a'ỹva. che=rehe o-pẽ he'i I=because again-only 3.AcT-break(intransitive) says 3.INACT-luck-PRIV-ADJZ 'It is again my fault that it broke, says the unlucky person.'

<sup>41</sup> These are also freely accessible at http://paraguayway.blogspot.com/.

(This is an expression used by someone complaining about yet another misfortune.)

*Tapeho peho mandi pee˜, he'i ikasõ revi soróva.* ta-pe-ho~pe-ho mandi pee˜ he'i i-kasõ opt-2pl.act-go~2pl.act-go once.and.for.all you.pl says 3.inact-pants r-evi soro-va possm-anus break(intransitive)-adjz 'You all start leaving, says the one with the seat of his pants ripped.'

(This is used by somebody who does not want make others late.)

*Ndokýiramoko ndotykýi, he'i hóga soropáva.* nd-o-ky-i=ramo=ko nd-o-tyky-i he'i h-óga neg-3.act-rain-neg=if=verd neg-3.act-drip-neg says 3.inact-house soro-pa-va break(intransitive)-all-adjz 'If it doesn't rain, it doesn't leak, says one with a house in ruins.' (This is used by somebody who has made peace with an enduring problem.)

*Mbokaja ha mboriahúrenteko aratiri ho'áva.*

mbokaja ha mboriahu=re-nte=ko aratiri ho-'a-va coconut.palm and poverty=at-only=verd lightning 3.act-fall-adjz 'Lightning only strikes coconut palms and the poor.'

(This expression is used to highlight the lack of protection for poor people. It can also be used to comment on a misfortune that is unlikely to happen.)

*Ñaniháme aiko, jagua inambi rasóvaicha.*

ñani-ha=me a-iko jagua i-nambi r-aso-va-icha run-nmlz=in 1sg.act-be dog 3.inact-ear possm-become.full.of.maggots-adjz-as 'I am always running around, like a dog with maggots in its ear.' (This is said by somebody who is very busy and harried.)

*Pytu˜ ha ake, ryguasu kurúicha.* pytu˜ ha a-ke ryguasu kuru-icha dark and 1sg.act-sleep hen broody.hen-as '(As soon as) It gets dark, I go to sleep like a broody hen.' (This is used as an excuse not to go out late.)

*Omanóta ijuru rupi, piráicha.* o-mano-ta i-juru rupi pira-icha 3.act-die-fut 3.inact-mouth through fish-as 'By his/her mouth s/he will die, like a fish.' (This is said of someone who cannot keep their mouth shut.)

*Sambo sambo, ñanduguasu ñanícha.* sambo~sambo ñanduguasu ñani-cha big.stride~big.stride ostrich run-as 'By skips and jumps, like an ostrich's run.' (This expression is used when something was done in a hurried manner.)

*Kururúicha, typychápe oñemose˜.* kururu-icha typycha=pe o-ñe-mo-se˜ frog-as broom=with 3.act-agd-make1-go.out 'He was kicked out with a broom like a frog.' (This is said when somebody was unceremoniously kicked out of a place.)

*Che sogueve kurusu léguagui.* che-sogue-ve kurusu légua=gui 1sg.inact-broke-more cross league=from 'I am more broke than a burial cross a mile away.' (This is used to excuse oneself from buying something or spending money on something.)

*Vúrro ha kate ndopiávai.* vúrro ha kate nd-o-pia-va-i donkey and elegant neg-3.act-detour-adjz-neg 'The donkey and the dandy do not change course.' (This is said of somebody who stubbornly persists in an idea.)

*Ojekuaave vúrro rase˜gui.* o-je-kuaa-ve vúrro r-ase˜=gui 3.act-agd-know-more donkey possm-cry=from 'S/he is more famous than the cry of the donkey.' (This is said when somebody is very easy to recognize from their tics or habits.)

## References

## Data sources

In addition to collected fieldwork data and publicly available data (from social media, web pages and so on), the following literary and academic works were consulted as primary sources of examples:

Aguilera Jiménez, Domingo. 2007. *Ñe'e˜nga. Dichos populares paraguayos.*  7th ed*.* Asunción: Servilibro.

Burckett-Picker, Jenifer, and Rosalba Dendia. 1999. *Ka'aguy mba'e mombe'upy. Cuentos de la selva guarani. Stories from the Paraguayan Jungle*. Asunción: Centro Editorial Paraguayo S.R.L.

Correa, Julio. 2012. *Sandía yvyguy*. Asunción: Servilibro.


Martínez Gamba, Carlos. 1971. *Pláta yvyguy*. Asunción: El Lector.


## Suggested resources

Even though Paraguayan Guarani is among the two or three most widely spoken indigenous languages in the Americas, and it is the only one spoken by a non-indigenous majority, no book-length works on the language exist that are accessible to a broad English-speaking audience. For example, currently, there is no book-length general introduction to Guarani language and culture that is accessible to a non-specialist Englishspeaking audience. For that reason, I give below a few resources, some in languages other than English, that readers interested in learning more about Guarani may find useful.

## General introductions


### Phrasebooks

The only phrasebook I know of for Paraguayan Guarani is the following:

Lustig, Wolf, and Michael Blümke. 2013. *Guarani für Paraguay Wort für Wort* (Reise-Know-how Series 34). Bielefeld: Kauderwelsch/Verlagsgruppe Reise Know-How. With Audio CD. [In German].

#### Textbooks and online courses


#### Dictionaries


#### Grammars


Linguistic overviews

Estigarribia, Bruno, and Justin Pinta. 2017. *Guarani Linguistics in the 21st Century*. Leiden: Brill.

Online resources

ABC Remiandu (Newspaper ABC's section on Paraguay). http://www. abc.com.py/especiales/remiandu/.

YouTube channels with content in Guarani:


Online bookshops

Guarani Raity. http://www.guarani-raity.com.py/.

### Academic works consulted


## Glossary


























## Index

*Note: Page numbers in italics indicate figures*

ability, expressing, 178–9 ablative pronouns, 106 academic works consulted, 327 *achegety*, 46–7 active personal markers. *See* active prefixes active prefixes, 13, 127–8, 136–40 active-stative languages, 14. *See also* active/ stative split active/stative split, 2, 130. *See also* activestative languages active verbs, 127–30, 203–4, 207 addressees, 107 adjective clauses, 263. *See also* relative clauses adjective compounds, 85 adjectives, 15 adjectival modifiers of nouns, 87–9 adjective compounds, 85 word order and, 58–9 adjectivizers, 74 adverbial clauses, 263, 271–9 causal clauses, 273–4 concessive clauses, 272–3 conditional clauses, 274–5 locative clauses, 278–9 manner clauses, 276 purposive clauses, 271–2 temporal clauses, 277–8 adverbial proforms, 115 adverbs, 15, 190–2 adversative conjunctions, 260–3 affectees, 215, 220–1 affixes, 10, 25, 58, 128, 285–9, 313–14. *See also* circumfixes agent-demoting prefixes, 140, 210–11 agent-demoting voice, 207–8 agent-oriented nominalizations, 78 agents, 132, 207 agglutinative morphology, 2, 10–11, 24 aireal verbs, 132–5, 211–12, 320 alienable possession, 66–7, 236 allomorphs, 313–16 affixes, 313–14 clitics, 313–14 irregular verbs and, 146–8 nasalization and, 40 roots, 316–19 allophones, 9

alphabet, 46–56 analytic construction, 12 Anchieta, Joseph de, 5 animals, 294–5 animate objects, 140 antipassive voice, 211–15 antipassive voice suffixes, 128 antonyms, 85 apheresis, 100, 152–4 approximants, 33–4 approximation, 87 Aragona, Alonso de, 5 arguments, 13, 126–7 articles, 89–94 aspect, 57, 121–2, 163–70 completive aspect, 163 continuous aspect, 163–5 frequentative aspect, 170 habitual aspect, 167 imperfective aspect, 163 incompletive aspect, 169–70 intermittent aspect, 166 iterative aspect, 168–9 nominal temporal-aspectual inflection, 2 nominal temporal-aspectual markers, 121–5 perfect (perfective) aspect, 163 post-stative aspect, 121–2 progressive aspect, 163–5 prospective aspect, 121–2, 128 protractive aspect, 170 quasi-eventive aspect, 169–70 totalitive aspect, 163 atelic predicates, 158 attenuatives, 86–7

bases, 10, 119–20 basic clauses, 230–40 beneficiaries, 196 body parts, 291–3 bookshops, online, 330 Brasiliano, 1–2 Brasilica, 1–2

cardinal numbers, 100, 102 Castení, 17 causal clauses, 273–4

causative voice, 215–22 intransitive causative, 215–18 sociative causative, 218–20 transitive causative, 220–2 causatives causative affixes, 25 causative voice suffixes, 128 morphological, 2 See also causative voice causees, 220–1 causers, 215, 220–1 circumfixes, 2, 36, 154–5, 178, 309 clauses adverbial clauses, 271–9 basic, 230–40 complement clauses, 267–70 coordinated clauses, 259–63 equative clauses, 231–2 existence clauses, 232–5 location clauses, 232–5 non-verbal possessive sentences, 235–7 predicative clauses, 231–2 questions, 237–40 relative clauses, 263–8 sentences expressing possession, 235–7 simple clauses, 230 subordinate clauses, 263–79 verbal possessive sentences, 236–7 word order in simple, 230–1 clitics, 10, 285–9, 313–14 clusivity, 2, 24 colonization, European, 1–5, 19, 46 colours, 298 comitative verbs, 152 commands, 170–6 common expressions, 321–6 common phrases, 321–6 comparatives, 246–9 complement clauses, 263, 267–70 interrogative/exclamative, 270 by juxtaposition, 269–70 with subordinator *-ha/-hague*, 267–9 complements, 194–6 of postpositions, 70 completive aspect, 163 complex sentences, 259–79 compound words, orthography and, 51–3 comprehension, 21 concatenative languages, 9–11 concessive clauses, 272–3 conditional clauses, 274–5 conjunctions adversative, 260–3 coordinating copulative, 268 disjunctive, 268 consonants, 9, 30–3 approximants, 33–4 consonant allomorphs, 313–16 consonant phonemes, 9 English closest equivalent, 30–2 fricatives, 33 manner of articulation, 30 nasal-oral, 34 place of articulation, 30 postoralized, 9 prenasalized, 9, 34

pronunciation of, 8, 30–3 sibilants, 34 verbs with loss of initial, 152–4 voiced alveolar lateral, 34 voiced labiodental approximant, 33 voiced palatal fricative, 33 voiced velar approximant, 33–4 voiceless glottal fricative, 33 voiceless postalveolar fricative, 33 continuous aspect, 163–5 contrastive focus, 281 contrastive topics, 283–4 conversion, 16 coordinated clauses, 259–63 with adversative conjunctions, 260–3 with coordinating copulative conjunction, 268 co-present demonstratives, 94–6 copulative conjunctions, 268 counterfactual conditionals, 275–6 courses, 21–2 online, 22 data sources, 327 days of the week, neologisms for, 296 deadjectival nominalizations, 75 Decoud Larrosa, Reinaldo, 99 definite articles, 89–94 degree expressions, 246–54 comparatives, 246–9 superlatives, 249–54 deixis, 94, 97–8 Delgado, Susy, 304–5 demonstrative pronouns, 115–16 demonstratives, 89–90, 94–9 co-present, 94–6 denominal nominalizations, 75 deontic modality, 161 dependent-marking, 12 depreciation, 87 desire, expressing, 181–5 determiners, 58, 89–105 articles, 89–93 demonstratives, 89–90, 94–9 determiners, 89–104 numerals, 99–105 quantifiers, 89–90, 99–105 deverbal nominalizing affix, 128 deverbal nouns, 71 diacritic marks, 46 dictionaries, 329 digraphs, 46 diminutives, 86 diphthongs, 29–30 *Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos* (DGEEC), 6 direct evidence, markers of, 226–7 direct-inverse systems, 14–15 direct object pronouns, 106 disjunctive conjunctions, 260 distal events, 94–5 distributives, 102–3 distributivity, over predicative argument, 245 ditransitive verbs, 140–1 double negation, 155–6 dubitative future tense, 163

dubitative particles, 240 durative events, 159–60 dwelling, 297–8 effected object, 121–2 elative superlatives, 252–3 emphatic markers, 110–11, 223–5 enclitics, 42, 57–8 interrogative, 25 orthography and, 50–1 plural marking and, 59–61 stress and, 36 verb enclitics, 25 English language, 19 Enlhet/Maskoy family, 20 epenthesis, 148, 154–5 epenthetic vowels, 154–5 epistemic markers, 160 epistemic modality, 161 equative clauses, 231–2 European colonization, 1–5, 19 events, expressing properties of, 157–8 evidentiality, 223–9 direct evidence, 226 hearsay, 225 reasoned evidence, 227–9 evidentials, 25 exclamation, 239–40 exclamative complement clauses, 270 exclusive prefixes, 129 existence clauses, 232–5 expressions, common, 321–6

fixed stress, 2 focus, 280–2 food vocabulary, 290–1 frequentative aspect, 170 fricatives, 33 frustrative modality, 186–8 future tense, 126, 159–62 dubitative future tense, 160 immediate future tense, 161

gender agreement, 24 general introductions, 328 generic voice, 207–10 German language, 20 glossary of high-frequency vocabulary animals, 294–5 body parts, 291–3 colours, 298 dwelling, 297–8 food, 290–1 kinship terms, 293–4 numbers, 293 senses, 293 thematic, 290–8 time, 294–7 glottal stops, 33, 34 graphemes, 32, 46 Guaicurú family, 20 Guarani, 1–3 agglutinative morphology of, 10 apps for learning, 22–3 coexistence with Spanish, 6 as concatenative language, 9–11

contact with other languages, 16–20 courses in, 20–1 covert prestige of, 8 declared national language, 6–7 as defining Paraguayan language, 6 disadvantageous position relative to Spanish, 7–8 history since European colonization, 3–5 intergenerational transmission of, 7–8 as most widely spoken indigenous language in Americas, 7 official indigenous language of MERCOSUR, 7 overview of the language, 1–3 polysynthesis and, 10–12 resource for learning, 20–5 as second or foreign language, 20–5 sociolinguistic information, 6–8 survival of, 5–6 traits from Tupi-Guarani family, 2–3 typological information, 9–16 word order in, 3 Guarania, Félix de, 305–7 Guaraniete, 16–17 Guarani-Portuguese-Spanish trilinguals, 20 Guarani-Spanish bilinguals, 5–7, 19 Guarañol, 17, 19 habitual aspect, 167

head, 13, 58 heading-marking, 12–13 hearsay, markers of, 226 helping vowels, 154–5 hortative mood, 183–5 hypothetical conditional clauses, 274–6

immediate future tense, 161 imperative modalizers, 172–5, 177 imperative mood, 170–7 imperatives, 170–7 negative imperatives, 176–7 imperfective aspect, 163 impersonal voice, 207–11 inactive prefixes, 13, 136–8 inactive verbs, 127 inactive voice, 204–7 inalienable possession, 66–7 inanimate objects, 140 inclusive/exclusive distinction, 24, 107, 129 inclusive prefixes, 129 incompletive aspect, 169–70 increments, verbs with, 150–1 indefinite articles, 89–94 indefinite pronouns, 113–15 indefinite quantification, 244 indigenous languages, 20 indirect object pronouns, 106 indirect questions, 238 inflection, nominal temporal-aspectual, 2 information structure, 280–2 focus, 280–2 topic, 283–4 instrumental meaning, 77 interfixes, 150–2 intermittent aspect, 166 interrogative complement clauses, 270

interrogative dubative particles, 240 interrogative enclitics, 25 interrogative pronouns, 111–13 interrogative sentences, 55. *See also* questions interrogative words, 112–14 interview, text samples, 299–302 intransitive causative, 215–18 intransitive predicates active voice and, 203–4, 207 inactive voice and, 205–6 intransitive relational predicates, 149 intransitive verbs, 13–14, 126–32 active verbs, 128–30 inactive verbs, 130–2 passive/reflexive/impersonal voice with, 207–10 intransitivity, split, 2, 14, 130 IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols, 9, 26, 30 irregular verbs, 146–8 iterative aspect, 168–9 Jesuits, 5–6, 46

*Jopara*, 16–19, 23 juxtaposition, 269–70

kinship terms, 293–4

lengthening, 45 lexical negation, 85 lexical nominalizations, 71 lexicalized nouns, 78 linguistic overviews, 330 listening, 22 literacy, 21 loanwords, 17–19, 34, 36 integrated, 17 orthography and, 53–5 from Spanish language, 17–18, 34, 36 location clauses, 232–5 locative clauses, 278–9 locatives, 194–5

main clauses, 259, 263 manner clauses, 276 dependent-marking, 12 heading-marking, 12–13 no marking, 12–13 Mataco Mataguayo family, 20 Mayan language, 7 Mbyá Guarani cosmogony and mythology, 65 MERCOSUR, 7 minimal pairs, 27 mirative markers, 227–8 modal deixis, 97–8 modality, 170–87 deontic modality, 161 epistemic modality, 161 modalizers, imperative, 172–5, 177 modifiers, 58–9 months of the year, neologisms for, 297 mood, 170–87 expressing possibility and ability, 178 hortative, 183–5 imperative, 170–5 optative, 184–6

prohibitive, 176–7 volitive, 181–3 mood and modality expressing commands, 172–5 expressing desire and volition, 181–5 expressing negative evaluationisn, 186–8 expressing obligation and permission, 180–1 expressing possibility and ability, 178–9 morphemes, 9, 24, 313–16 relational, 316–19 stress and, 36–8 morphology, 2, 24 agglutinative morphology, 2, 10–11, 24 morphological causatives, 2 morphological typology, 9 nasal spread and, 40 morphosyntactic alignment, 14 multiform verbs. *See* relational (multiform) nominal roots multilingualism, 7, 19–20

narrative, text samples, 302–4 nasal harmony, 2, 9, 39–44, 313–16 nasal-oral segments, 34 nasal-oral stops, 9 nasal spread, 40 nasal tilde, 8 nasal vowels, 2 nasality, orthography and, 48–9, 53 nasalization, 39–44 nasals, 8, 34 negation double negation, 155–6 lexical negation, 85 negative imperatives, 176–7 nominal/adjectival negation, 85–7 six different types, 25 verbal negation, 154–7 negative concord, 155–6 negative evaluations, expressing, 186–8 negative pronouns, 113–15 newspaper article, text samples, 308 no marking, 12–13 nominal/adjectival negation, 85–7 nominal case marking suffixes, 3 nominal temporal-aspectual inflection, 2 nominal temporal-aspectual markers, 121–5 nominalizations, 71–84 abstract *-kue*, 74 adjectival *-va*, 74 agent- *vs.* patient-oriented, 78 deadjectival, 75 denominal nominalizations, 75 general nominalizer *-ha*, 71–2 lexical, 71 passive *-py*, 73 sentential, 71, 263 nominalizers, 209 nominalizing prefixes, 77–82 abstract *mba'e-*, 82 abstract *t-eko-*, 81–2 reciprocal *jo-*, 80–1 reflexive/passive/impersonal *je-*, 79–80 resultative/instrumental *t-embi-*, 77–9 nominalizing suffixes, 71

abstract *-kue*, 75–6 adjectival *-va*, 74–5 general nominalizer *-ha*, 71–3 passive *-py*, 73–4 nominals, 57–125 adjectival modifiers of nouns, 87–9 determiners, 89–104 forming nouns from other words, 70–86 nouns, 57–85 pronouns, 106–16 non-compositional meaning, 78 notional deixis, 97 noun clauses. *See* complement clauses noun compounds, 82–5 noun incorporation, 11–12 into the verb, 255–8 noun phrases, 58 functions of, 69–70 possessive, 117–21 nouns, 57–85 adjectival modifiers of, 87–9 determiners and, 89–105 deverbal, 71 forming from other words, 70–87 functions of noun phrases, 69 gender agreement and, 24 gender marking, 62 lexicalized, 78 modifiers of, 58–9 noun compounds, 82–5 noun incorporation into the verb, 255–8 noun phrases, 58 number agreement and, 24 plural marking, 59–62 possessive noun phrases, 117–21 relational (multiform) nominal roots, 63–9 *See also* pronouns nucleus, 13, 58 numbers, 99–103, 293 cardinal, 100, 102 number agreement, 24 ordinal, 102 numerals, 99–103 object drop, 15, 230 object incorporation, 11–12 object pronouns, 106 object relative, 264 objects of predicates, 69–70 obligation, expressing, 180–1 oblique object pronouns, 106 Old Guarani, 2, 10 Old Tupi, 1–2, 19 open questions, 239 optative mood, 184–6 oral comprehension, 21 oral vowels, 2 ordinal numbers, 102 orthography, 32, 46–56 compound words and, 51–3 enclitics and, 50–1 history of orthographic conventions, 46 inconsistencies in rendering of, 55–6

interrogative sentences and, 55 loanwords and, 53–5 nasality and, 48–9, 53

postpositions and, 50–1 prefixes and, 49–50 questions and, 55 recommended, 46 reduplications and, 52–3 stress and, 47–8, 53 suffixes and, 50–1 paradigms, 318–20 affixes, 313–14 of aireal verbs, 320 allomorphs, 313–16 circumfixes, 309 clitics, 313–14 common expressions, 321–6 common phrases, 321–6 consonant allomorphs, 313–16 morphemes, 313–19 postpositional particles, 310–13 prefixes, 309–10 relational morphemes, 316–19 of relational roots, 316–19 roots, 314–19 Paraguay 1967 constitution of, 6–7 founding of, 6 multilingualism in, 7, 19–20 other indigenous languages spoken in, 20 vibrancy and viability of, 7 Paraguayan Academy of the Guarani Language, 46 particles order of, 285–9 in the predicate, 285–9 verb particles, 25 parts of speech, 15–16 passive/reflexive/impersonal voice, 207–11 generic meaning, 207–10 impersonal meaning, 207–10 with intransitive verbs, 207–10 with transitive verbs, 209–11 passive voice, 209–11 past tense, 157–9, 163 patient-oriented nominalizations, 78 patients, 132, 207 patrimonial words, 18 perfect (perfective) aspect, 163 permission, expressing, 180–1 person hierarchy, 135–6 personal pronouns, 105–6 phonemes, 27 consonant phonemes, 9 vowel phonemes, 9 phonology, 26–45 phonological contrast, 27 pronunciation, 26–33 segmental phonology, 26–34 sound inventory, 26–33 suprasegmental phonology, 34–45 phrasebooks 328–9 phrases, common, 321–6 pitch rises, 45 place, postpositions of, 197–8 plural marking, 59–62 suffixes and, 61–2 poem, text samples, 304–5

polysynthesis, 2–3, 10–12 portmanteau person prefixes, 2, 138–9 Portuguese colonization, 1–2, 19 Portuguese language, 19–20 possession, 25, 58, 70 alienable possession, 66–7, 236–7 inalienable possession, 66–7 non-verbal possessive sentences, 235–7 possessive noun phrases, 117–21 possessive pronouns, 116–17 possessor-possessum relationship, 58, 68, 70 sentences expressing, 235–7 verbal possessive sentences, 236–7 possibility, expressing, 178–9 postoralized consonants, 9 postpositional complement verbs, 127, 141–6 postpositional particles, list of, 310–13 postpositions, 2, 12, 24, 109, 127, 141–6, 194–202 complements of, 70 locative, 194–5 marking a predicate's complements, 194–7 orthography and, 50–1 of place, 197–8 of time, 199–200 post-stative aspect, 121–2 predicates objects of, 69–70 order of affixes in, 285–9 order of clitics in, 285–9 order of particles in, 285–9 postpositions marking complements of, 194–7 subjects of, 69 predication, 205–6 predicative clauses, 231–2 prefixes active, 13, 136–8 active voice and, 203–4, 207 agent-demoting prefixes, 140, 207–8, 210–11 deverbal nouns and, 71 exclusive prefixes, 129 homophonous, 49 inactive, 13, 136–8 inactive voice and, 205–7 inclusive/exclusive distinction, 24, 129 intransitive predicates and, 203–6 intransitive verbs and, 127–32 irregular verbs and, 146–8 list of, 309–10 nasalization and, 43 as nominalizers, 209 nominalizing, 77–82 orthography and, 49–50 passive/reflexive/impersonal voice and, 207–11 portmanteau person, 2, 138–9 possessive, 118–20 prohibitives and, 176–7 reciprocal voice and, 211–12 relational, 2 stress and, 36 transitive verbs and, 132 verbal negation and, 154–7 verbs and, 25

prenasalized consonants, 9 prenasalized segments, 34 present tense, 157–9 privatives, 85 probability, 161 production, 21 progressive aspect, 163–5 progressive nasalization, 42 prohibitive mood, 176–7 prohibitives, 176–7 pronouns, 105–17 ablative pronouns, 106 addressees and, 107 demonstrative pronouns, 115–16 direct object pronouns, 106 emphatic markers and, 111–13 inclusive/exclusive distinction and, 24, 107 indefinite pronouns, 113–15 indirect object pronouns, 106 interrogative pronouns, 111–13 negative pronouns, 113–15 object pronouns, 106 oblique object pronouns, 106 personal pronouns, 105–6 possessive pronouns, 116–17 postpositions and, 109 reflexive pronouns, 109–10 separative pronouns, 106, 109 subject pronouns, 106 pronunciation, 24, 26–33 consonants, 30–3 diphthongs, 26–9 nasal harmony, 39–44 phonology, 34–45 practical considerations for, 45 pronunciation, 8, 45 prosody sketch, 45 stress, 36–8 suprasegmental phonology, 34–45 syllable structure, 35 vowels, 26–9 *See also* phonology prosody, 34, 45 prospective aspect, 121–2, 126 Proto-Tupian homeland 3, *4* protractive aspect, 170 proximal events, 94–5 purposive clauses, 271–2 quantification, 241–5 indefinite, 244 universal, 244–5 *See also* quantifiers quantifiers, 89–90, 99–105 quasi-eventive aspect, 169–70 Quechua, 7 questions, 247–50 indirect questions, 238 open questions, 239 orthography and, 55 in subordinate clauses, 238 yes/no questions, 237–40

reading, 22 reasoned evidence, markers of, 227–9 recipients, 199

reciprocal verbs, 145, 211–12 reduplications, 102–3 orthography and, 52–3 as superlatives, 253 referents, 90–4 reflexive events, 142 reflexive pronouns, 109–10 reflexive voice, 209–11 regressive nasal assimilation, 42 regressive nasalization, 42 relational (multiform) nominal roots, 63–9 relational (multiform) verbs, 148–9 relational morphemes, 316–19 relational prefixes, 2 relational roots, 25, 63–9 list of, 316–19 relative clauses, 263–8 that function as an adjective, 264–6 that function as a noun, 265–7 resources, suggested, 327–32 academic works consulted, 330–2 dictionaries, 329 general introductions, 328 grammars, 329–30 for learning Guarani, 20–5 linguistic overviews, 330 online bookshops, 330 online courses, 328–9 phrasebooks, 328–9 textbooks, 328–9 Restivo, Paulo, 5 resultative meaning, 77 resyllabification, 34 retroflex, 34 rhythm, 45 roots, 316–19 adjectival use of, 15–16 malleability of, 206 nasal-oral, 44 nasalization and, 43–4 as nouns, 57–8 relational, 25, 63–9, 316–19 stress and, 36 verbal/predicative use of, 16 Ruiz de Montoya, Antonio, 5 schwa, 8 secondary stresses, 39 segmental phonology, 26–34 senses, 293 sentences, complex, 259–79 sentential nominalizations, 71, 263 separative pronouns, 106, 109 serial verb constructions, 169 sibilants, 34 simple clauses, word order in, 230–1 sociative causative, 218–20 verbs, 152 voice suffixes, 126 sociolinguistic information, 6–8 sound inventory, 26–33 sounds. *See* pronunciation, phonology Spanish, contact with, 16–20 Spanish colonization, 1–5, 19, 46 Spanish language, 3–8, 36 loanwords from, 17–18, 34, 36

mixing with, 16–19 words borrowed from Guaraní, 19 speech, 21 split intransitivity, 2, 14, 130 spoken production, 21 standard of comparison, 246–8 stative verbs. *See* inactive verbs stops, 35–6 glottal, 33, 35–6 unaspirated, 32 voiced, 9 voiceless, 32–3 stress, 9, 36–9 acute, 8 fixed, 2 orthography and, 47–8, 53 secondary stresses, 39 students, pointers for, 21–5 subject drop, 15, 230 subject pronouns, 106 subject relative, 264 subjects of predicates, 69 subordinate clauses, 263–79 adverbial clauses, 271–9 causal clauses, 273–4 complement clauses, 263, 267–70 concessive clauses, 272–3 conditional clauses, 274–5 hypothetical conditional clauses, 274–6 locative clauses, 278–9 manner clauses, 276 purposive clauses, 271–2 questions in, 238 relative clauses, 263–8 temporal clauses, 277–8 suffixes antipassive voice suffixes, 126 attenuatives and, 86–7 causative voice suffixes, 126 deverbal nouns and, 71 diminutives and, 86 nasalization and, 40, 43–4 nominal case marking suffixes, 3 nominalizing, 71 orthography and, 50–1 plural marking and, 61–2 prohibitives and, 176–7 sociative causative voice suffixes, 126 stress and, 36 verb suffixes, 25 verbal negation and, 154–7 superlatives, 249–54 elative, 252–3 reduplications as, 253 suprasegmental phonology, 34–45 syllable structure, 35–6 symmetric verbs, 145

talking, 23 targets, 40 telic verbs, 158 temporal clauses, 277–8 tense, 157–62 dubitative future tense, 160 future tense, 126, 159–62 immediate future tense, 161

past tense, 157–9, 163 present tense, 157–9 tense/aspect markers, 57, 121–2 text samples, 299–308 interview, 299–302 narrative, 302–4 newspaper articles, 308 poetry, 304–5 theatre, 305–7 tilde, use of, 8 time, 294–7 postpositions of, 199–200 topic, 283–4 toponyms, 61 totalitive aspect, 163 transitive causative, 152, 220–2 transitive relational predicates, 150 transitive verbs, 126–7, 132–40, 209–11 transparency, 40 triggers, 40, 42 Triple Alliance War, 6 Tupi-Guarani family, 1–3, 20 nasal harmony in, 9 Portuguese language and, 19 spread of, *5* voiced stops in, 9 Tupinambá, 1–2, 19 typological information, 9–16 uncertainty, 161 universal quantification, 244–5 verb compounds, 192–3 verbal negation, 154–7 verbal possessive sentences, 236–7 verbalizations, 188–90 verbs, 126–93 active verbs, 127–30 aireal verbs, 133–5, 211–12, 320 aspect, 163–70 comitative verbs, 152 ditransitive verbs, 140–1 expressing properties of events, 157–8 inactive verbs, 127 with increments, 150–1 intransitive verbs, 13–14, 126–32, 215–17 irregular verbs, 146–8 loss of initial consonant, 152–4 main classes of, *127* modality, 170–87 modifiers of, 190–2 mood, 170–87 noun incorporation into, 255–8 postpositional complement verbs, 127, 141–6 prefixes and, 25 reciprocal verbs, 145 relational (multiform) verbs, 148–9 serial verb constructions, 169 symmetric verbs, 145

tense, 157–62 transitive verbs, 126–7 verbal negation, 154–7 verbalizations, 188–90 veridical markers, 223–5 voice, 203–79 active voice, 132–40, 203–4, 207, 220–2 antipassive voice, 211–15 causative voice, 215–22 impersonal voice, 207–11 inactive voice, 204–7 passive voice, 209–11 reciprocal voice, 211–12 reflexive voice, 209–11 voiced sounds, 32 voiced alveolar lateral, 34 voiced labiodental approximant, 33 voiced palatal fricative, 33 voiced velar approximant, 33–4 voiceless sounds, 32 voiceless glottal fricative, 33 voiceless postalveolar fricative, 33 voiceless stops, 32–3 volition, expressing, 181–5 volitive mood, 181–3 vowels, 9, 26–9 back, 27 central, 27–8 epenthetic, 154–5 front, 27 helping, 154–5 high, 27–8 low, 27–8 mid, 27 nasal, 27–8 open, 28 oral, 2, 27–8 oral *vs.* nasal, 2 pronunciation of, 8, 28 unrounded, 28 vowel harmony, 184, 154–5 vowel phonemes, 9 wants, expressing, 181–3 word classes, 15–16 word order, 3 noun-adjective, 58–9 noun-relative clause, 58 possession and, 58 in simple clauses, 230–1 writing, 22–3 written comprehension, 21 written production, 21 yes/no questions, 237–40

Zamuco family, 20 Zarratea, Tadeo, 302 zero derivation, 16

The history of Guarani is a history of resilience. Paraguayan Guarani is a vibrant, modern language, mother tongue to millions of people in South America. It is the only indigenous language in the Americas spoken by a non-ethnically indigenous majority, and since 1992, it is also an official language of Paraguay alongside Spanish. This book provides the first comprehensive reference grammar of Modern Paraguayan Guarani written for an Englishlanguage audience. It is an accessible yet thorough and carefully substantiated description of the language's phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics. It also includes information about its centuries of documented history and its current sociolinguistic situation.

Examples come from literary sources and film, scholastic grammars, online newspapers, blogs and other publications, publicly accessible social media data, and the author's own fieldwork. They are specifically chosen to reflect the diversity of uses of modern-day Guarani, with the aim of providing a realistic picture of the current state of the language in twenty-first century Paraguay.

This book will benefit researchers and students of Guarani and Paraguay, such as linguists, anthropologists, ethnographers, sociologists, historians, or cultural studies and literature scholars. Typologically-oriented researchers and students of other Tupian and Amerindian languages will have reliable data for comparative purposes. Given the unique sociohistorical profile of Guarani, researchers in fields such as language contact, bilingualism, code-switching, language planning, language education, and literacy will find this book a valuable reference resource.

Bruno Estigarribia is Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics in the Department of Romance Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Affiliated Faculty in UNC's Program in American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Program in Global Studies.

Cover design: www.ironicitalics.con