Verbs That Lose Their First Letter

Level 5

Some verbs lose their first j or ñ after che-, nde-, ñande-, ore- and pende-: Nde cheapi “You threw me”.

How It Works

Take japi “to throw or shoot”. When I am the one who throws, the verb keeps its j: ajapi “I throw”. When someone throws me, you or us, the marker for the receiver takes the place of the j.

Who is thrownFormMeaning
meHaʼe cheapiHe throws me
youHaʼe ndeapiHe throws you
us (you and I)Haʼe ñandeapiHe throws us
us (without you)Haʼe oreapiHe throws us
you allHaʼe pendeapiHe throws you all

On a nasal verb the same thing happens to ñ: ñandu “feel” gives neandu, as in the book’s neandúta. The marker is ne-, the nasal form of nde-.

Other verbs in the group are japo “make”, javy “err”, jaʼo “offend” and ñapĩ “peel”. The Academy grammar lists twelve in all.

The reason is old. The j or ñ was once a small word for “him”, and it dropped away when a marker for the receiver came in. Today speakers no longer feel this, and some keep the letter, as in the book’s cheñandúta.

Examples (3)

  1. Nde cheapi.

    You threw me.

    Japi “throw” loses its j after che-. Nde is the free word for “you”.

  2. Haʼe ndeapi.

    He threw you.

    Japi “throw” loses its j after nde-, the marker for you as the receiver. The Academy prints this form.

  3. Haʼe oreapi.

    He threw us.

    Ore- “us, without you” takes the place of the j of japi.

How It Connects

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

Verbs That Lose Their First LetterLevel 5

Learn This First

These verbs lose their first letter after a marker for me or you, so the person hierarchy comes first.

Words in This Pattern

japiñandu