Roots With t- / r- / h-
Roots That Change Their First Letter
The first letter of these nouns is t-, r- or h-, depending on whose it is.
How It Works
These nouns start with a small prefix that has three forms.
| Meaning | No owner (t-) | Named owner (r-) | His, her, their (h-) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eye | tesa | nde resa, mboʼehára resa “the eyes of the teacher” | hesa |
| bed | tupa | nde rupa, che sy rupa “the bed of my mother” | hupa |
| leg | tetyma | María retyma “the leg of María” | hetyma |
| face | tova | ore rova “our faces” | hova |
The r- form is used after che, nde, ñande, ore and pende, and after any noun that names the owner.
Nothing in the meaning tells you which nouns do this. Many words that begin with t, h or r never change, for example táva “town”. Learn each noun together with its three forms.
A few nouns have no t- form at all. Óga “house” is one of them, and it is in its own entry.
Examples (5)
- Hesa iporãiterei.
Her eyes are really beautiful.
H- shows that the owner is “he, she or they”.
- Héra haʼe Susána.
Her name is Susana.
Héra is h- plus éra “name”.
- Ndahejaséi che retã.
I do not want to leave my country.
After che, tetã changes to retã.
- Mboʼehára resa.
The eyes of the teacher.
After a named owner, tesa changes to resa.
- Che sy rupa.
The bed of my mother.
Che sy names the owner, so tupa becomes rupa.
Common Mistakes
Keeping t- after an owner.
Nde tesa iporã.Nde resa iporã.After nde the noun begins with r-.
Using t- when the owner is “he” or “she”.
Tesa iporã.Hesa iporã.Without h-, the sentence names no owner. Hesa means “his eyes” or “her eyes”.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Roots change their first letter after a possessor, so possessors come first.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Roots With t- / r- / h- in Bubblegum
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