Guarani/Grammar

Overview

The main grammatical categories of words in Guarani are nouns, adjectives, verbs, pronouns, adverbs, nominal postpositions, verbal postpositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Guarani does not keep track of gender and has no definite article (although lo and la from Spanish are sometimes used). Below is a table of the main tags that will be used:

Class tags

Tag	Meaning	Example	Gloss'
<n>	Noun	kavaju	horse
<v>	Verb	japo	do, make
<adj>	Adjective	michí	small
<prn>	Pronoun	che	I
<adv>	Adverb	porã	well
<conj>	Conjunction	ha	and
<ij>	Interjection	e'a!	expression of surprise

1. Guarani Present Tense

This section will cover the conjugation for Guarani verbs in the present tense. Verbs will be tagged with <v>. There are two main classes for Guarani verb stems: areal, which are active verbs, and chendal, which are stative verbs. There is also a the stem aireal, which is usually considered a subclass of areal. These will all be tagged with <ar>, <air>, and <chen>. We will mark present tense with <pres>. The person tag will be marked with <p1>, <p2> and <p3>. Number will be marked with the tags <sg>, <pl>, and <sp> (singular/plural, as Guarani does not distinguish the two for 3rd person). Additionally, verbs in Guarani distinguish between inclusive and exclusive for the first person plural, which we will mark with <incl> and <excl>, respectively. Verbs will also be marked for transitivity using the tags <tv> and <iv>. For the chendal verbs, person is marked with a separate pronoun, except in the third person, which uses a prefix.

«guata» (walk) is an «areal» verb:

• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><sg> ↔ aguata
• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p2><sg> ↔ reguata
• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p3><sp> ↔ oguata
• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><pl><incl> ↔ jaguata
• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><pl><excl> ↔ roguata
• guata<v><iv><ar><pres><p2><pl> ↔ peguata

«pyvu» (beat) is an «aireal» verb:

• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p1><sg> ↔ aipyvu
• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p2><sg> ↔ reipyvu
• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p3><sp> ↔ oipyvu
• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p1><pl><incl> ↔ jaipyvu
• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p1><pl><excl> ↔ roipyvu
• pyvu<v><tv><air><pres><p2><pl> ↔ peipyvu

«japu» (lie) is an «chendal» verb:

• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p1><sg> ↔ che japu
• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p2><sg> ↔ nde japu
• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p3><sp> ↔ ijapu
• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p1><pl><incl> ↔ ñande japu
• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p1><pl><excl> ↔ ore japu
• japu<v><iv><chen><pres><p2><pl> ↔ pende japu

2. Past Tense Markers

Past Definite

To indicate an action that has happened and finished, Guarani uses the suffix -akue. This is similar to the Preterito Perfecto in Spanish. We will mark this with the tag <ifi>.

«sẽ» (leave):

• sẽ<v><iv><ar><ifi><p1><sg> ↔ asẽ'akue (I have left)

Past Imperfect

To indicate an action in the past that has continued to the present, Guarani uses the suffix -mi. This is similar to the Preterito Imperfecto in Spanish. We will mark this with the tag <pstimp>.

«ha» (go):

• ha<v><iv><ar><pstimp><p1><sg> ↔ ahámi (I was going)

Recent Past

To indicate an action in the very recent past (almost immediate), Guarani uses the suffix -kuri. We will mark this with the tag <pstrec>.

«mandu'a» (~memory):

• mandu'a<v><tv><chen><pstrec><p1><sg> ↔ chemandu'ákuri ('I remember)

Distant Past

To indicate in action the very distant past, Guarani uses the suffix -va'ekue. We will mark this with the tag <pstdis>.

«japo» (do, make):

• japo<v><ar><p1><sg><pstdis> ↔ ajapova'ekue ('I had done it (a long time ago))

3. Future Tense Marker

Guarani uses the suffix -ta to express the future. Dr. Tonhauser argues that this marker is more of a modal or aspectual suffix than a tense marker. [1] She claims that the marker deals with the modal attitudes of intention and prediction.

«jeroky» (dance):

• jeroky<v><iv><ar><fut><p1><sg> ↔ ajerokyta (I will dance)

«ky» (rain):

• ky<v><iv><ar><fut><p3><sp> ↔ okyta (It will rain)

«sẽ» (leave):

• sẽ<v><iv><ar><fut><p1><sg> ↔ asẽta (I will leave)

«karu» (eat):

• karu<v><tv><ar><fut><p2><sg> ↔ rekaruta (You will eat, you are going to eat)

There is also a special case when using the future tense with a negated statement. In this scenario, the suffix -ta is replace with the suffix -mo'ã".

«japo» (do, make):

• japo<v><tv><ar><fut><p1><sg><neg> ↔ ndajapomo'ãi

4. Nominal Tense

One fairly unusual aspect of Guarani is the use of nominal tense. Nouns can have suffixes that indicate either past or present tense. For past tense, either «-kue» or «-re» are used and for future tense «-rã» is used. The tags <past> and <fut> will be used to indicate this. Additionally, the suffix «-kue» takes the form «-ngue» when following a nasal.

«pa'i» (priest):

• pa'i<n><sg><fut> ↔ pa'irã (future priest, seminarian)
• pa'i<n><sg><past> ↔ pa'kue (ex-priest, former priest)

«ména» (husband):

• ména<n><sg><fut> ↔ menarã (future husband, fiance)
• ména<n><sg><past> ↔ menare (ex-husband)

«ao» (clothing):

• ao<n><sg><fut> ↔ aorã (clothing to be made in the future? Not too sure what this would express)
• ao<n><sg><past> ↔ aokue (old clothing)

The future and past suffixes can be chained together to express more complex ideas.

«tembireko» (wife):

• tembireko<n><sg><fut> ↔ tembirekorã (future wife, fiance)
• tembireko<n><sg><past> ↔ tembirekokue (ex-wife)
• tembireko<n><sg><fut><past> ↔ tembirekorãngue (ex-future wife)

5. Noun Number

Guarani distinguishes singular and plural nouns using the nominal suffix «-kuera».

«jagua» (dog):

• jagua<n><pl> ↔ jaguakuera

«sapatu» (shoe):

• sapatu<n><pl> ↔ sapatukuera

«haiha» (pencil):

• haiha<n><pl> ↔ haihakuera

There is an alternate form «-nguera» that is used when following a nasal word.

«mitã» (child):

• mitã<n><pl> ↔ mitãnguera

«kuña» (woman):

• kuña<n><pl> ↔ kuñanguera

«okẽ» (door):

• okẽ<n><pl> ↔ okẽnguera

6. Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns of Guarani are essentially the same as the prefixes used with chendal verbs. They include first person singular, second person singular, third person (no distinction between singular and plural), first person plural inclusive, first person plural exclusive, and second person plural. We will tag personal pronouns with the tag <prn>, the tag <pers> and the tag <nom>.

Personal Pronouns

person	form	meaning	morph test
1st person singular <prn><nom><pers><p1><sg>	che	I	che<prn><nom><pers><p1><sg> ↔ che
2nd person singular <prn><nom><pers><p2><sg>	nde	you	nde<prn><nom><pers><p2><sg> ↔ nde
3rd person <prn><nom><pers><p3><sp>	ha'e	he, she, they	ha'e<prn><nom><pers><p3><sp> ↔ ha'e
1st person plural (inclusive) <prn><nom><pers><p1><pl><incl>	ñande	we (inclusive)	ñande<prn><nom><pers><p1><pl><incl> ↔ ñande
1st person plural (exclusive) <prn><nom><pers><p1><pl><excl>	ore	we (exclusive)	ore<prn><nom><pers><p1><pl><excl> ↔ ore
2nd person plural <prn><nom><pers><p2><pl>	peẽ	you (plural)	peẽ<prn><nom><pers><p2><pl> ↔ peẽ

Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns of Guarani are essentially the same as the personal pronouns. They include first person singular, second person singular, third person (no distinction between singular and plural), first person plural inclusive, first person plural exclusive, and second person plural. We will tag them with the additional tag <poss>.

Personal Pronouns

Person	form	morph test
1st person singular <prn><nom><poss><p1><sg>	che	che<prn><nom><poss><p1><sg> ↔ che
2nd person singular <prn><nom><poss><p2><sg>	nde	nde<prn><nom><poss><p2><sg> ↔ nde
3rd person <prn><nom><poss><p3><sp>	ha'e	ha'e<prn><nom><poss><p3><sp> ↔ ha'e
1st person plural (inclusive) <prn><nom><poss><p1><pl><incl>	ñande	ñande<prn><nom><poss><p1><pl><incl> ↔ ñande
1st person plural (exclusive) <prn><nom><poss><p1><pl><excl>	ore	ore<prn><nom><poss><p1><pl><excl> ↔ ore
2nd person plural <prn><nom><poss><p2><pl>	peẽ	peẽ<prn><nom><poss><p2><pl> ↔ peẽ

7. Passive Voice Marker

Guarani uses the prefix je- to mark passive voice on vowels. The alternative form ñe- is used for nasal verb roots. The voice marking tag is usually found after the person marker and before the root verb. We will use the tag <pass> to mark this.

«ohayhu» (he/she/they love):

• ohayhu<v><tv><ar><pres><p3><sp><pass> ↔ ojehayhu (he/she/they is loved)

«oñapytĩ» (He/she/they tie):

• oñapytĩ<v><tv><ar><pres><p3><sp><pass> ↔ oñeñapytĩ (he/she/they are tied)

«rojuka» (We kill):

• rojukaĩ<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><pl><excl><pass> ↔ rojejuka (We are killed)

8. Negation Marker

The negation of vowels in Guarani is achieved through the circumfix n(d)(a)-...-i. The prefix portion of the circumfix varies between n- and nd- depending on whether the verb being negated is oral or nasal. For first person plural inclusive verbs, an epenthetic a is included before the root. For second person verbs, an epenthetic e is inserted instead. To mark this, we will use the tag <neg>.

«japo» (do, make):

• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><sg><neg> ↔ ndajapoi
• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p2><sg><neg> ↔ nderejapoi
• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p3><sp><neg> ↔ ndojapoi
• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><pl><incl><neg> ↔ ndajajapoi
• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><pl><excl><neg> ↔ ndorojapoi
• japo<v><tv><ar><pres><p2><pl><neg> ↔ ndepjapoi

«kororõ» (roar, snore):

• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><sg><neg> ↔ nakororõi
• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p2><sg><neg> ↔ nerekororõi
• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p3><sp><neg> ↔ nokororõi
• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><pl><incl><neg> ↔ nañakororõi
• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><pl><excl><neg> ↔ norokororõi
• kororõ<v><iv><ar><pres><p2><pl><neg> ↔ napekororõi

Additionally, when negating a verb that ends in i, the ending part of the circumfix becomes -ri.

«jupi» (go up, rise):

• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><sg><neg> ↔ ndajupiri
• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p2><sg><neg> ↔ nderejupiri
• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p3><sp><neg> ↔ ndojupiri
• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><pl><incl><neg> ↔ ndajajupiri
• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><pl><excl><neg> ↔ ndorojupiri
• jupi<v><tv><ar><pres><p2><pl><neg> ↔ ndapejupiri

9. Reduplication

In Guarani, verb reduplication signifies either "pluractionality", such as iterative meaning or dispersion in space (ex: "here and there"). [2] Reduplication in Guarani tends to vary between full duplication of the root verb and disyllabic reduplication [3] We will mark reduplication with the tag <redup>.

«saingo» (hang out):

• saingo<v><iv><ar><pres><p3><sp><redup> ↔ osaingosaingo (hang out -> they hang out here and there)

«po» (jump):

• po<v><iv><ar><pres><p1><sg><redup> ↔ apoapo (jump -> I jump over and over)

«sapukái» (He/she/they shouts):

• sapukái<v><iv><ar><pres><p3><sp><redup> ↔ sapukáipukái (He/she/they shout -> He/she/they keep shouting)

10. Reflexive Marker

Guarani uses the prefix -je as a reflexive marker. The reflexive marker appears on verbs after the person marker and before the verb root. We will designate the reflexive marker with the tag <ref>.

«johéi» (wash):

• johéi<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><sg><ref> ↔ ajejohéi (wash -> I wash myself)

«hecha» (look):

• hecha<v><tv><ar><pres><p1><sg><ref> ↔ ajehecha (look -> I look at myself)

There is also an alternative form -ñe for when the root vowel is a nasal. An example of this is below:

«kỹti» (cut):

• kỹti<v><tv><air><pres><p1><sg><ref> ↔ añekỹti (cut -> I cut myself)