-ne

Maybe: -ne

Level 3

-ne says “maybe”: koʼẽrõ ambaʼapóne “maybe I will work tomorrow”.

How It Works

-ne is the “not sure” future. Use -ta for an ordinary future and -ne when you only think something may happen.

It also works for a guess about now: Amóvane ndereka “that one over there is probably looking for you”. In a question it asks what might be: Mbaʼépa oguerekóne pe jagua iñapytuʼũme? “What might that dog be thinking?”

To say “maybe not”, put chéne after a negative verb: nameʼẽi chéne “maybe I will not give it”.

A verb whose stress is not on the last syllable needs an accent: ambaʼapóne, oguerekóne, oúne.

Examples (5)

  1. Koʼẽrõ ambaʼapóne.

    Maybe I will work tomorrow.

    Ambaʼapo “I work” plus -ne. The accent marks the stress that stays on pó.

  2. Nde rajy oúne koʼẽrõ.

    Your daughter may come tomorrow.

    Ou “he or she comes” plus -ne, with the accent on ú. Nde rajy is “your daughter”, said to a father.

  3. Nameʼẽi chéne.

    Maybe I will not give it.

    Chéne is “maybe not”. It follows the negative verb nameʼẽi.

  4. Mbaʼépa oguerekóne pe jagua iñapytuʼũme?

    What might that dog be thinking?

    Literally, “what does that dog have in its mind?”. The ending -ne makes it a guess.

  5. Amóvane ndereka.

    That one over there is probably looking for you.

    Amóva is “that one over there”, and -ne makes it probable. The book renders it “surely”.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the accent.

    Koʼẽrõ ambaʼapone.
    Koʼẽrõ ambaʼapóne.

    -ne is unstressed, so the accent marks the stress on pó.

How It Connects

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

-neLevel 3Maybe: -ne

Learn This First

The ending -ne looks at something not yet happened, like -ta.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ikatúne