chembaʼe / nembaʼe / ñanembaʼe
Mine and Yours
These words say whose something is: chembaʼe “mine”, nembaʼe “yours”, ñanembaʼe “ours”.
How It Works
| Person | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | chembaʼe | mine |
| you | nembaʼe | yours |
| he, she, they | imbaʼe | his, hers, theirs |
| we (you included) | ñanembaʼe | ours |
| we (you not included) | orembaʼe | ours |
| you all | penembaʼe | yours |
Use these words when the noun is already known: Pe kavaju chembaʼe “that horse is mine”. Add -nte for “only”: penembaʼénte “only yours”.
To ask whose something is, use avambaʼe (ava “person” plus mbaʼe “thing”) with the question ending: Avambaʼépa pe ao kyʼa? “Whose are those dirty clothes?”
Do not mix these up with a possessor in front of a noun. There the marker stays a separate word: che róga “my house”.
Examples (4)
- Pe kavaju chembaʼe.
That horse is mine.
Chembaʼe is the whole predicate: che- “my” plus mbaʼe “thing”.
- Ko ñeʼẽ ñanembaʼe.
This language is ours.
Ñanembaʼe is “ours (yours and mine)”. The nasal form ñane- is used because mbaʼe acts like a nasal word.
- Avambaʼépa pe ao kyʼa?
Whose are those dirty clothes?
Avambaʼe is ava “person” plus mbaʼe “thing”, here meaning “whose”. The ending -pa makes the question.
- Jeporavo penembaʼénte ha ndahaʼéi avavembaʼe.
The choice belongs only to you all, not to anyone else.
Penembaʼe is “yours (all of you)”, with -nte “only”. Avavembaʼe is avave “nobody” plus mbaʼe “thing”.
Common Mistakes
Using the oral marker before mbaʼe.
Ko ñeʼẽ ñandembaʼe.Ko ñeʼẽ ñanembaʼe.Mbaʼe acts like a nasal word, so ñande- turns into ñane-. The same goes for nde- and pende-.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Chembaʼe, nembaʼe and ñanembaʼe are a marker plus mbaʼe, with the nasal forms of the markers.
- My, Your and Our
Know che, nde and ñande before a noun, because chembaʼe is che plus mbaʼe: Ko ñeʼẽ ñanembaʼe “This language is ours”.
Level 1 - Nasal Forms of Person Markers
Know the nasal forms of the markers, because nembaʼe and ñanembaʼe use ne- and ñane-: nembaʼe “yours”.
Level 1 - mbaʼeWhat
Know mbaʼe “thing”, because each word is a marker plus mbaʼe: chembaʼe is literally “my thing”.
Level 1
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice chembaʼe / nembaʼe / ñanembaʼe in Bubblegum
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