Making Someone Do It: mbo- / mo-

Making Someone Do It: Mbo-

Level 3

Ambopuka ichupe “I make him or her laugh”.

How It Works

The prefix mbo- (or mo-) adds a doer who makes the action happen.

VerbWith mbo- or mo-Meaning
puka “laugh”ambopukaI make (someone) laugh
guata “walk”ñamboguatawe make (someone) walk
kaneʼõ “tired”amokaneʼõI make (someone) tired
mbaʼapo “work”amombaʼapoI make (someone) work
karu “eat”amongaruI feed (someone)

The person who is made to act is marked like an object: ichupe “him or her”, or -pe on a person word. A few oral verbs, such as karu, still take mo- and change their first k to ng: amongaru, not ambokaru.

Examples (4)

  1. Ambopuka ichupe.

    I make him or her laugh.

    Ambopuka is a-mbo-puka, and ichupe is the one who laughs.

  2. Ñamboguata ñande jagua.

    We make our dog walk.

    The dog is made to walk, and the verb guata is oral, so the prefix is mbo-.

  3. Amokaneʼõ maymávape.

    I make everybody tired.

    Kaneʼõ has a nasal sound, so the prefix is mo-.

  4. Amongaru ichupe.

    I feed him or her.

    Karu takes mo- and changes k to ng: mongaru “make someone eat”.

Common Mistakes

  • Using mbo- on a verb that needs mo- and ng.

    Ambokaru ichupe.
    Amongaru ichupe.

    A few oral verbs, such as karu, take mo- and turn the first k into ng. You learn them one by one.

How It Connects

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

Making Someone Do It: mbo- / mo-Level 3Making Someone Do It: Mbo-

Learn This First

The prefix mbo- adds a new person who makes the action happen, and it turns into mo- on a nasal verb.

Words in This Pattern

mbo-mo-