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Nahuatl Tlahtolkalli Lesson 8
| Nahuatl
Lesson 8. |
|
|
| Vocabulary |
Translation |
| Nehhua,
Nehhuatl, Neh |
I
(pronoun) |
| Tehhua,
Tehhuatl, Teh |
you
(pronoun) |
| Yehhua,
Yehhuatl, Yeh |
it,
she, he (pronoun) |
|
| Tehuan,
Tehuantin |
we/us
(pronoun) |
|
Amehhuan, Amehuantin, Nan-mehuan |
you
all (pronoun, plural) |
| Yehhuan,
Yehhuantin |
they
all, them, their (pronoun, plural) |
|
| Quenin
|
like
(adverb) |
| Canin
|
where?
(Interrogative) |
| Nican |
here
(Location Adverb) |
|
| Ca
[preterit-as-present verb; pret: Cah ~ Catqui, pret. pl: Cateh] |
it,
she, he is (to be) |
| Choca |
it,
she, he cries (to cry) |
| |
|
| nehhuatl
ni-choca |
(as
for myself) I cry. |
| tehhuatl
ti-choca |
(as
for yourself) You cry. |
| yehhuatl
choca |
(as
for it, her, him) It/she/he cries |
| tehhuan
ti-chocah |
(as
for us) we cry. |
| nan-mehhuan
nan-chocah |
(as
for you all) You all cry. |
| yehhuan
chocah |
(as
for them) They all cry. |
| |
|
Grammar Rule No. 22
NEH or NEHHUA or NEHHUATL = (as for myself) I
TEH or TEHHUA or TEHHUATL = (as for yourself) you
YEH or YEHHUA or YEHHUATL = (as for it, her, him) it/she/he
TEHHUAN or TEHHUANTIN = (as for us) we/us
ANMEHHUAN or AMEHHUAN or AMEHHUANTIN = (as for you all) you (plural)
YEHHUAN or YEHUHANTIN = (as for them) they
There are some pronouns which are used more than others.
Example:
Nehhua nitlacui = I drink something
Tehhua titetlazohtla = You love someone
Tehhuan ticateh = We are
In upcoming lessons, we will learn to differentiate these pronouns with more
commonly used subject prefixes e.g., (NI- and TI-) for nouns and verbs.
Grammar Rule No. 23
There are no infinitives in the Nahuatl language. Instead, we use a form
which corresponds to the third person form of the verb.
Example:
Choca = it/she/he cries
Tlazohtla = it/she/he wants or loves
Cah = it/she/he is
Some forms of Nahuatl use the ending -LIZTLI to signify an infinitive or the
action of a verb. This ending will not be used in these lessons as it is confusing
and will contradict the other form.
Example:
Nemi = it/she/he lives = ~to live
Nemiliztli = ~the action of living life
Grammar
Rule No. 24
In Nahuatl the verb "to be" does not exist but CAH or KAH can be used
to represent "he/it/she is
In
certain forms, the possessive prefixes (NI-, TI-, AN-) suggest the presence
of the verb "to be:
Example:
Nitlacatl = I am a person
Titlacatl = You are a person
Tlacatl = it/she/he is a person
Titlacah
= we are people
antlacah = you all are people
Tlacah = they are people
In
some cases, the verb CAH (KAH) gives the presence of the verb "it is:"
Example:
In calli cah cualli = the house is good
In coatl cah cualli = the snake is good
The
verb CAH is irregular and another similar, irregular verb YE will be explained
in future lessons.
Exercises:
1.) Formulate the plural forms of the following:
Cipactli = crocodile
Ehecatl = wind
Cuetzpalin = lizard
Mazatl = deer
Atl = water
Teotzin = creative force
Yohuatzinko = morning
Yohualtika = evening
Amoxton = notebook
Tlamatini = elder/scholar/one who knows
2.)
Express the following numbers in Nahuatl:
7950
__________________________________________________________________ 57 __________________________________________________________________
1958 __________________________________________________________________ 798
__________________________________________________________________ 232 __________________________________________________________________
321 __________________________________________________________________ 7001
__________________________________________________________________ 435 __________________________________________________________________
1073 __________________________________________________________________ 999
__________________________________________________________________
