Things Acted On: -py / -mby
Things Acted on: -py
-py turns an action into the thing that receives it: mombeʼu “tell” gives mombeʼupy “legend”, the thing told.
How It Works
The ending -py makes a noun or a describing word for the thing an action is done to. It looks at the object and not at the person who acts.
| Verb | With -py or -mby |
|---|---|
| hecha “see” | hechapy “visible” |
| kañy “hide” | kañymby “hidden” |
| mombeʼu “tell” | mombeʼupy “legend” |
| suʼu “bite” | suʼupy “edible” |
After a nasal word the ending becomes -mby: kañymby. What counts is the end of the word. Mombeʼu has an m early on, but its last sounds are oral, so it keeps -py: mombeʼupy.
The ending can take more endings. -pyre marks something already done, as in haipyre “written”, and -pyrã marks something that will be done, as in suʼupyrã “snack”.
The prefix t-embi- is close in meaning, but it ties the thing to the person who acted. Mombeʼupy “legend” is something told with no storyteller in mind, while rembihai “writings” belong to a writer.
Examples (4)
- Kóva kuatia haipyre.
This is a written text.
Haipyre is hai “write” plus -py and -re: the written thing, already done.
- Ehai haipyre pytyvõrãva.
Write articles that will help.
Haipyre names the things written, and pytyvõrãva means “that will help”.
- Ñane retã rembiapopyrã.
The projects of our country.
Rembiapopyrã is the thing that will be made: -pyrã marks the future.
- Che jarýi oikuaa peteĩ mombeʼupy.
My grandmother knows a legend.
Mombeʼupy is a thing told, so a legend. It is built from mombeʼu “tell” plus -py.
Common Mistakes
Using -py after a nasal word.
Kañypy.Kañymby.Kañy is a nasal word, so the ending turns into -mby.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The ending -py names the thing acted on from the other side of t-embi-, and it turns into -mby after a nasal word.
- t-embi-Things Made or Used: T-embi-
Know t-embi-, because -py names the thing acted on at the end of the word, as t-embi- does at the front: tembiʼu “food”, hechapy “visible”.
Level 4 - Nasal Forms of Endings
Know the nasal forms of endings, since -py becomes -mby after a nasal word: kañymby “hidden”.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Naming a Quality: -kue / -ngueNaming a Quality: -kue
-kue and -ngue also make nouns, but from describing words.
Level 4 - Places and Tools: -ha
-ha makes a noun for the place or the tool.
Level 4 - Nouns With je- and jo-
Je- and jo- name the act itself.
Level 5 - Urging With -py
A different -py urges someone: Eguatápy “Walk, then!”
Level 3
Practice Things Acted On: -py / -mby in Bubblegum
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