Almost: -moʼã

Level 4

-moʼã means “almost”: the action was close, or it was planned, and it did not happen.

How It Works

The ending -moʼã marks an event that nearly happened. Something stopped it, or the plan changed. English says “almost”, “was about to” or “was going to”.

  • Haʼamoʼã “I almost fell”.
  • Ohomoʼã “He was about to go, but did not”.
  • Ajerokymoʼã “I was going to dance, but did not”.

The ending is stressed, so it carries the stress. You do not add nd(a)-…-i, because the idea “did not happen” is already in -moʼã.

The same letters -moʼã appear in the negative future, as in Nambaʼapomoʼãi “I will not work”. There the negative frame n(a)-…-i surrounds the verb, and the meaning looks ahead. Without that frame, -moʼã looks back at something that nearly happened.

Examples (4)

  1. Haʼamoʼã.

    I almost fell.

    Haʼa is “I fall”. The ending -moʼã adds “almost”.

  2. Rohenoimoʼã nde katu reju.

    I was about to call you, but then you came.

    Ro- is the form for “I … you”. The call nearly happened, and then you came.

  3. Ohomoʼã.

    He was about to go, but he did not.

    Oho is “he goes”. The ending -moʼã says the going did not happen.

  4. Ajerokymoʼã.

    I was going to dance, but I did not.

    Ajeroky is “I dance”. The dance was planned, and it did not happen.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -ta for “almost”.

    Haʼáta.
    Haʼamoʼã.

    -ta is the future, so haʼáta means “I will fall”. The unstressed -ta leaves the stress on the root, which is why it carries the accent. Use -moʼã for something that nearly happened.

How It Connects

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

Almost: -moʼãLevel 4

Learn This First

The ending -moʼã gives a new meaning to the one learners know from the negative future.