My, Your and Our
Che, nde, ñande, ore and pende mean “my”, “your” and “our” before a noun.
How It Works
| Owner | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my | che | che ao “my clothes” |
| your (one person) | nde | nde ao “your clothes” |
| our, with you | ñande | ñande ao “our clothes” |
| our, without you | ore | ore ao “our clothes” |
| your (several people) | pende | pende ao “your clothes” |
Use ñande when the person you talk to is part of “we”, and ore when that person is not.
Before a nasal noun, nde, ñande and pende turn into ne, ñane and pene: ne ñeʼẽ “your language”, but nde sy “your mother”.
A name or a noun can be the owner as well, with no extra word: Susána róga “the house of Susana”. For his, her or their, Guarani joins a prefix to the noun instead: ipo “his hand”.
Some nouns change their first letter after an owner word, as in che róga and nde resa. The entry on roots that change their first letter explains this.
Examples (5)
- Mbaʼéichapa nde réra?
What is your name?
Nde is “your”. It stays apart from réra.
- Avave ndoikuaái che réra.
Nobody knows my name.
Che is “my” and stands apart from réra.
- Moõpa nde róga?
Where is your house?
Nde róga is “your house”.
- Jaha ñande rógape.
Let us go to our house.
Ñande is “our”, and it includes the people spoken to.
- Oikéta ore rógape.
He will come into our house.
Ore is “our”, and it leaves out the person spoken to.
Common Mistakes
Keeping nde before a nasal word.
Nde ñeʼẽ iporã.Ne ñeʼẽ iporã.Ñeʼẽ is a nasal word, so careful writing uses ne before it, although some writers keep nde.
How It Connects
Learn This First
These possessors are the inactive markers, so the markers come first.
Related Patterns
- Nasal Forms of Person Markers
Before a nasal word these owner words turn nasal.
Level 1 - Roots With t- / r- / h-Roots That Change Their First Letter
Some nouns change their first letter after an owner word.
Level 1 - i- / ij- / iñ- / hi-His or Her: I-, Ij-, Iñ- and Hi-
For his, her or their, a prefix joins the noun.
Level 2 - chembaʼe / nembaʼe / ñanembaʼeMine and Yours
These one-word forms mean “mine”, “yours” and “ours”.
Level 3 - We With You or Without You
This entry explains when to use each word for “our”.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice My, Your and Our in Bubblegum
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