la Before a -va Clause
La, from Spanish, often begins a clause that ends in -va. It means “what” or “the one that”.
How It Works
The ending -va turns a clause into a describing phrase. When there is no noun in front of it, the phrase means “what…” or “the one that…”.
In everyday speech, people often start such a clause with la. The word comes from Spanish, and in Guarani it shows no gender.
- He la jaʼúva “What we are eating is tasty”.
- Emombeʼumína la rehecháva “Please tell me what you see”.
- Ojapo la chupekuéra ogustávante “They do only what pleases them”.
The same la also appears before the longer ending -vaʼekue: la ojehuvaʼekue “what happened”.
La is optional. A sentence without it is still correct, and school and official texts usually avoid it. It is very common in everyday speech.
Examples (4)
- He la jaʼúva.
What we are eating is tasty.
La opens the clause jaʼúva “what we eat”. He means “tasty”.
- Emombeʼumína la rehecháva.
Please tell me what you see.
La opens rehecháva “what you see”. The endings -mi and -na make the command gentle.
- Ojapo la chupekuéra ogustávante.
They do only what pleases them.
La opens ogustávante “what pleases them”, and -nte adds “only”.
- Amombeʼúta ndéve la ojehuvaʼekue.
I will tell you what happened.
La opens ojehuvaʼekue “what happened”.
How It Connects
Learn This First
In everyday speech la starts a -va clause, so learners need la and -va.
- la / lo Before a NounLa and Lo Before a Noun
Know la and lo, because la is the same Spanish word placed before a -va clause: He la jaʼúva “What we are eating is tasty”.
Level 2 - Who and Which: -va
Know -va “who or which”, because la starts the clause that ends in -va: He la jaʼúva “What we are eating is tasty”.
Level 3
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice la Before a -va Clause in Bubblegum
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