tekotevẽ

Must: Tekotevẽ

Level 2

Tekotevẽ aha koʼág̃a “I have to go now”.

How It Works

Tekotevẽ works like ikatu “can”. It does not change for person or number. The verb that follows tells you who has to act.

FormMeaning
Tekotevẽ aha.I have to go.
Tekotevẽ rejujevy.You have to come back.
Natekotevẽi reho.You do not have to go.

The stress falls on the nasal vowel ẽ, so the word needs no acute. Because tekotevẽ is a nasal word, its negative uses na-…-i: natekotevẽi “it is not necessary”.

Do not mix it up with the verb kotevẽ “to need”, which takes person prefixes: aikotevẽ nderehe “I need you”.

The ending -vaʼerã, taught next, is the other common way to say “must”.

Examples (4)

  1. Tekotevẽ aha koʼág̃a.

    I have to go now.

    Tekotevẽ stays the same. Aha shows that it is I.

  2. Tekotevẽ rejujevy koʼẽrõ.

    You have to come back tomorrow.

    Rejujevy has re- “you”. Tekotevẽ is unchanged.

  3. Natekotevẽi reho.

    You do not have to go.

    Na-…-i makes the negative: natekotevẽi “it is not necessary”.

  4. Aikotevẽ nderehe.

    I need you.

    This is the verb kotevẽ “need”. It takes ai- and needs rehe for a person.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a person prefix on tekotevẽ.

    Atekotevẽ aha.
    Tekotevẽ aha.

    Tekotevẽ never takes a person prefix. The verb after it shows who must act.

How It Connects

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

tekotevẽLevel 2Must: Tekotevẽ

Learn This First

Tekotevẽ works like ikatu: it stays the same and the main verb shows the person.

Words in This Pattern

tekotevẽ