A Noun With No Plural

Level 1

A noun can stay as it is for one or for many.

How It Works

English makes you choose one or many every time you say a noun. Guarani does not. The noun stays the same, and other words show the number.

  • Kuña imbarete means “The woman is strong” or “Women are strong”.
  • A number tells how many: mokõi jyva “two arms”.
  • A pointing word tells too: koʼã óga “these houses”.
  • A word like heta “many” does the same: heta mymba “many farm animals”.

When none of these is there, the listener uses what both of you know about the situation. If it must be clear that there are several, add -kuéra.

The verb does not show the number of a noun either. Oguata can mean “he walks” or “they walk”.

Examples (5)

  1. Kuña imbarete.

    The woman is strong. Women are strong.

    Kuña has no plural ending, so it can mean one woman or many.

  2. Kuña ikatupyry.

    Women are skilful. The woman is skilful.

    The same word kuña works for one or for many.

  3. Mokõi jyva.

    Two arms.

    Mokõi shows the number, so jyva stays as it is.

  4. Heta mymba.

    Many farm animals.

    Heta means “many”, so mymba needs no ending.

  5. Koʼã óga.

    These houses.

    Koʼã shows that there is more than one house, so óga stays as it is.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

A Noun With No PluralLevel 1

Learn This First

Learners see the plural ending, the numbers and the pointing words first, and then learn when the plural can be left out.

Words in This Pattern

-kuéra