haʼe as a Verb for Is

Level 4

Haʼe can link two ideas the way “is” does in English. It has the same form for every person.

How It Works

Guarani sentences usually do not need a word for “is”. A noun or a describing word can stand alone as the whole predicate: Iporã “It is good”.

The word haʼe can link two parts when the second part is a phrase that says who or what. In this use it works like “is” in English. It has the same form for every person, so the word in front tells you who is meant.

SentenceMeaning
Che haʼe nderechávaI am the one who saw you.
Ñande haʼe pe jajapóvaWe are what we do.

The second part is often a clause with -va, like nderecháva “the one who saw you”. To say “is not”, put the negative frame around haʼe: ndahaʼéi.

Haʼe also means “he, she, it” and “I say”, and it is rarely used for “and”. The place in the sentence shows which one it is.

Examples (4)

  1. Che haʼe nderecháva.

    I am the one who saw you.

    Haʼe links che “I” with nderecháva “the one who saw you”. It does not change for person.

  2. Ñande haʼe pe jajapóva ñamoambue hag̃ua pe ñande haʼeva.

    We are what we do to change what we are.

    Haʼe links ñande “we” with what we do. In the second part, haʼeva means “what we are”.

  3. Ndahaʼéi ne rãi ahecháva.

    It is not your teeth that I see.

    Ndahaʼéi is the negative of haʼe, “it is not”.

  4. Marta haʼe pe oúva.

    Marta is the one who is coming.

    Haʼe links Marta with pe oúva “the one who comes”.

How It Connects

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

haʼe as a Verb for IsLevel 4

Learn This First

Haʼe can also mean is, so learners need the no-word-for-is idea, the pronoun and the -va phrase that follows it.

Words in This Pattern

haʼe