ha + subjunctive

Wishes and Encouragement

Level 3

Compare ha qoro “let him write” with ha qorin “do not write.”

How It Works

Place ha before the full third-person subjunctive. With “write,” use qoro for masculine singular, qorto for feminine singular, and qoraan for plural. The plural optative also frequently uses an -een alternative. Do not insert uu or ay after optative ha. You can use la when someone unspecified should act.

First- and second-person optatives instead use a short subject pronoun: aan qorno means “let us write.” These forms have high tone on the last vowel position of the verb stem. In the third-person construction, high tone falls on ha, and the verb is toneless. Prohibitive ha is toneless and requires different verb morphology. Ordinary spelling does not mark these tones.

Contrast Ha qoro cinwaanka “let him write the address” with Ha qorin cinwaanka “do not write the address,” addressed to one listener.

Examples (3)

  1. Ha qoro cinwaanka.

    Let him write the address.

    Qoro is the masculine singular subjunctive.

  2. Ha qorto jawaabta.

    Let her write the answer.

    Qorto supplies feminine singular agreement.

  3. Ha la keeno kuraasta.

    Have someone bring the chairs.

    La leaves the intended agent unspecified.

How It Connects

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

ha + subjunctiveLevel 3Wishes and Encouragement

Learn This First

Recognize subjunctive forms before using ha to express a wish or positive instruction.

Words in This Pattern

aan