Verbs With a Fixed Small Word

Level 3

Each of these verbs picks its own small word: rehe, ndive or gui.

How It Works

English does something similar: you “wait for” a person and “agree with” a person. In Guarani, each of these verbs picks one small word to go with the person or thing it acts on.

Small wordMeaningExample
reheataikotevẽ nderehe “I need you”
ndivewithaikoporã hendive “I get along with him or her”
guifromepoi chehegui “let go of me”

Most of these verbs take rehe. The prefixes ro- and po-, which mean “I … you”, are never used with them.

Aikotevẽ takes rehe when the one needed is a person. For a thing, the thing follows the verb directly: pe mbarakaja oikotevẽ tembiʼu “that cat needs food”.

One verb takes -pe or -me: ñeʼẽ when it means “speak a language”, as in reñeʼẽpiko guaraníme? “do you speak Guarani?”. To speak about someone, it takes rehe: oñeʼẽ cherehe “he spoke about me”.

Examples (5)

  1. Aikotevẽ nderehe.

    I need you.

    Aikotevẽ takes rehe when you need a person. Nderehe is one word: nde “you” plus rehe.

  2. Aikoporã hendive.

    I get along with him or her.

    Aikoporã takes ndive. Hendive is “he or she” plus ndive in one word.

  3. Epoi chehegui, heʼi okaʼúva.

    “Let go of me,” said the drunk person.

    Epoi takes gui. Chehegui is che “me” plus gui.

  4. Ani repena cherehe!

    Do not worry about me!

    Repena takes rehe, so cherehe means “about me”.

  5. Okañy chehegui che kyse.

    I lost my knife.

    Literally, “my knife got lost from me”. Okañy takes gui for the person who loses something.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out rehe when the one needed is a person.

    Aikotevẽ nde.
    Aikotevẽ nderehe.

    Estigarribia says aikotevẽ takes rehe when the one needed is a person (p. 180). A thing follows the verb directly: oikotevẽ tembiʼu.

How It Connects

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

Verbs With a Fixed Small WordLevel 3

Learn This First

These verbs need rehe, ndive or gui as their second half, and rehe leads the spelling rule for them.

Words in This Pattern

ikotevẽrehendivegui