Saying No for Every Person

Level 2

Ndajoguái “I did not buy it”, nderejoguái “you did not buy it”, ndojoguái “he or she did not buy it”.

How It Works

The no in Guarani is a circle around the verb. Its front part changes with the person who acts, so learn one whole form for each person.

WhoOral verb: jogua “buy”Nasal verb: maña “look at”
Indajoguáinamañái
younderejoguáineremañái
he or shendojoguáinomañái
we, with youndajajoguáinañamañái
we, without youndorojoguáinoromañái
you allndapejoguáinapemañái

A nasal verb has a nasal sound, such as ñ or ã. An oral verb has none. The verb itself decides, not the word before it. The end of the no is -i, or -ri after a verb that ends in i or ĩ: ndajopíri “I did not sting”.

This no only says what is not happening. To forbid something, use ani.

Examples (5)

  1. Ndajoguái chipa.

    I did not buy chipa.

    Nda- is the I form, and the oral verb jogua starts the no with nd-.

  2. Nderejoguái mbaʼeve.

    You did not buy anything.

    Nde-re- is the you form, and mbaʼeve needs a negative verb.

  3. Ndojoguái hikuái ao.

    They did not buy clothes.

    Ndo- belongs to he, she or they.

  4. Ndapejoguái kavaju.

    You all did not buy a horse.

    Nda-pe belongs to you all.

  5. Che nañeʼẽi guaraníme.

    I do not speak Guarani.

    Ñeʼẽ is a nasal verb, so the front part is na- and not nda-.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the he-or-she form when you mean “you”.

    Ndojoguái chipa.
    Nderejoguái chipa.

    Ndojoguái means “he or she did not buy”. For “you”, the circle takes nde-re.

  • Starting the no with nd- on a nasal verb.

    Che ndañeʼẽi guaraníme.
    Che nañeʼẽi guaraníme.

    Ñeʼẽ is a nasal verb, so nd- becomes n-.

How It Connects

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

Saying No for Every PersonLevel 2

Learn This First

This row shows how the negative frame changes with each person, so the frame comes first.

Words in This Pattern

nd- -i