Long Ago: -vaʼekue

Level 3

-vaʼekue says it happened in the past: ahavaʼekue “I went”.

How It Works

A Guarani verb does not have to show the past: aha can mean “I go” or “I went”. With -vaʼekue the past is clear, and it often points to a time well back: ahavaʼekue “I went”.

  • -vaʼekue is the full ending.
  • -vaekue and -akue are the short forms that people say.

The Academy grammar uses -akue for an ordinary past and -vaʼekue for an earlier past. Estigarribia treats -akue as the short form of -vaʼekue.

The same ending can also turn a verb into “that did it”: yvoty regueruvaʼekue “the flowers that you brought”. That use belongs to the lesson on -vaʼekue / -vaʼerã.

For something that happened a moment ago, and that you know first-hand, use kuri.

Examples (3)

  1. Ahavaʼekue Chákope.

    I went to the Chaco, some time ago.

    Aha “I go” plus -vaʼekue. The going is over, often long ago. Chákope is “in the Chaco”.

  2. Rohovaʼekue Areguápe.

    We went to Areguá, some time ago.

    Roho is “we go” (you not included). With -vaʼekue it tells about a trip that is over.

  3. Che sy ogueruvaʼekue pakova.

    My mother brought bananas, some time ago.

    Ogueru is “he or she brings”. The Academy shows agueruvaʼekue, ogueruvaʼekue and the other persons in its table.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -vaʼerã for something that already happened.

    Ahavaʼerã Chákope.
    Ahavaʼekue Chákope.

    -vaʼerã means “must”: ahavaʼerã is “I must go to the Chaco”. Use -vaʼekue to look back.

How It Connects

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

Long Ago: -vaʼekueLevel 3

Learn This First

The ending -vaʼekue makes the plain verb clearly past.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

vaʼekue