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Nahuatl Tlahtolkalli Lesson 12

Nahuatl Lesson 12
Verb Functions	Definition
[vt] = transitive verb	"a verb that is accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive can be formed" (Webster's Dictionary 1417)
[vi] = intransitive verb	"a verb that indicates a complete action without being accompanied by a direct object, and that in English does not form a passive" (Webster's Dictionary 708)
Vocabulary	Translation
Ahhua [vt]	it/she/he scolds (someone)
Cemitta [vt]	it/she/he stares (at someone), pays close attention (on something)
Chanti [iv]	it/she/he dwells, resides
Cochi [iv]	it/she/he sleeps
cua [vt]	it/she/he eats (something)
Cuica	it/she/he sings
ehua [vt]	it/she/he raises something to get something up
huitequi [vt]	it/she/he beats, whips (someone or something)
I [vt]	it/she/he drinks (something)
Ihcuiloa [vt]	it/she/he writes (something)
Ilnamiqui [vt, vrefl]	it/she/he remembers, reflects (on something)
Itta [vt, vrefl]	it/she/he looks at oneself, sees (someone or something)
Ixmati [vt]	it/she/he knows, recognizes (someone)
Machtia [vt, vrefl]	it/she/he learns, studies, teaches (someone)
Miqui [vi]	it/she/he dies
Mottitia [vt]	it/she/he sees something in a dream
Nequi [vt]	it/she/he wants, desires (someone)
Notza [vt]	it/she/he calls or talks (to someone)
Paqui [vi]	it/she/he is happy
Patlani [vi]	it/she/he flys
Poloa [vt]	it/she/he mixes grains, earth, etc. with water
Popolotza [vt]	it/she/he speaks unintelligibly, or a foreign language
-tech [postposition]	attached to, in continuity with; Note: (-tech) the postposition should not be confused with (tech-) the direct object
Tlahtoa	it/she/he speaks, announces proclamations
Tzincuetia [vt]	it/she/he lays a foundation (for something)
Xihxili [vt]	it/she/he tramples (something)

REFLEXIVE PREFIXES FOR VERBS
Nahuatl verb prefixes for the reflexive are no- 'myself' and to- 'ourselves' for the first person sing. and pl. For the second and third persons, the reflexive prefixes are as follows: mo- 'yourself', mo- 'yourselves', mo- 'itself, herself, himself', and mo- 'themselves' (Sullivan 34). The "reflexive prefix is positioned after the subject prefix," before the indefinite prefixes te- and tla- when present, and "when combined with other object prefixes, the reflexive prefix comes after the object prefix" as follows: (ni-mitz-no-tlahtohcatia), nimitznotlahtohcatia 'I-you-myself-regard as ruler' i.e., 'I regard you as ruler' (Sullivan 35). Verb prefixes for the reflexive are listed in Table 12a below:

Table 12a. REFLEXIVE PREFIXES FOR VERBS

	Singular	Translation	Plural	Translation
1st Person	no	myself	to	ourselves
2nd Person	mo	yourself	mo	yourselves
3rd Person	mo	it/her/himself	mo	themselves

DIRECTIONAL PREFIXES FOR VERBS
To add elements of direction as well as movement of a verb, Nahuatl uses the directional prefixes hual- and on-. The prefix hual- indicates "hither, in this direction," whereas on- indicates "thither, away from here" (Campbell and Karttunen 1: 143). In the Compendium of Nahuatl Grammar, Sullivan provides further discussion on the use of the particle on-, as quoted directly below (46-7):

The Particle on- is often included in a verb. It is frequently used simply to add elegance in rhetoric, but sometimes it reinforces the meaning and provides greater emphasis and on other occasions it signifies distance in space and duration in time. It is placed most commonly just before the stem, after all the pronominal prefixes, but not always, as described below:

With intransitive verbs, the particle on- follows the subject prefix, and the vowel of the subject prefixes ni- and ti- is lost. Examples with choca 'it/she/he cries':

Table 12b. THE PARTICLE ON-: USE WITH INTRANSITIVE VERB "CHOCA"

	*Singular "choca"*	Translation	*Plural "chocah"*	Translation
1st Person	n-on-choca	I cry	t-on-choca-h	we cry
2nd Person	t-on-choca	you cry	am-on-choca-h	you (pl.) cry
3rd Person	on-choca	it/she/he cries	on-choca-h	they cry

With transitive verbs, the particle on- follows the definite object prefix. Examples with itta 'it/she/he sees':

Table 12c. THE PARTICLE ON-: USE WITH TRANSITIVE VERB "ITTA"

*With Transitive Verb "itta"*	Translation
ni-mitz-on-itta	I see you
ti-nech-on-itta	you see me
ti-mitz-on-ittah	we see you
tech-on-itta	it/she/he sees us
quim-on-itta	it/she/he sees them

With the third person object prefix c-, the subject prefixes ni- and ti- become no- and to-. Examples with ihtoa 'it/she/he speaks':

Table 12d. THE PARTICLE ON-: USE WITH 3rd PERSON OBJECT PREFIX C- and THE VERB "IHTOA"

With 3rd Person Object Prefix c-,	Singular & Plural
no-c-on-ihtoa	I speak to him
to-c-on-ihtoa	you speak to him
to-c-on-ihtoa-h	we speak to him

The placement of the particle on- is before the placement of indefinite object prefixes:

Table 12e. THE PARTICLE ON- PRECEDES THE INDEFINTE OBJECT PREFIXES:

*With Transitive Verb "itta"*	Translation
n-on-te-itta	I see someone
n-on-tla-itta	I see something

The placement of the particle on- is between the subject and reflexive prefixes:

Table 12f. THE PARTICLE ON- IS PLACED BETWEEN THE SUBJECT AND REFLEXIVE PREFIXES.

*With Transitive Verb "caqui"*	Translation
n-on-no-caqui	I hear myself
t-on-mo-caqui	you hear yourself
on-mo-caqui	it/she/he hears itself/herself/himself
t-on-to-caquih	we hear ourselves
am-on-mo-caquih	you all hear yourselves
on-mo-caquih	they hear themselves

When the verb is both reflexive and transitive, the particle -on follows the direct object and precedes the reflexive prefix. Examples with cuitlahuia 'it/she/he takes care of':

*With Transitive Verb "cuitlahuia"*	Translation
ni-mitz-on-no-cuitlahuia	I take care of you
c-on-mo-cuitlahuia	it/she/he takes care of it/her/him
an-quim-on-mo-cuitlahuiah	you all take care of them
tech-on-mo-cuitlahuiah	they take care of us

(Example 12.0) THE PARTICLE ON-: USE WITH TRANSITIVE VERB "PEHUA" 'it/she/he chases' (Campbell and Karttunen 1: 143)
pehua 'it/she/he chases'

n-on-te-pehua 'I chase someone away from here'
t-on-te-pehua 'you chase someone away from here'
on-te-pehua 'it/she/he chases someone away from here'
t-on-te-pehuah 'we chase someone away from here'
am-on-te-pehuah 'y'all chase someone away from here'
on-te-pehuah 'they chase someone away from here'