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Grammar 14: Interrogative sentences in Quechua
There are 2 main ways to form interrogative sentences:
- With interrogative pronouns
- With the suffix -chu
Grammar 13: The suffix -chu in negative sentences
To form negative sentences in Quechua we need the suffix -chu which is used to indicate the denied element of the sentence (word or phrase), therefore there is no a fixed word to which it is added. We must also add the word ‘mana‘ (no).
In the lesson about the verb Kay we saw that for the third person the suffix -mi/-n was used, now we will also need this suffix, which has the function of emphasizing the sentence or phrase that accompanies it. So, to form negative sentences we will need to add this suffix to ‘mana’ obtaining: ‘manan‘.
With the following example you will realize that turning a positive sentence into a negative sentence is almost as easy as when in English we add the word ‘not’ or ‘don’t’.
Grammar 12: The suffix -qa for the third person
The suffix -qa is essential in Quechua, it appears everywhere and in all kinds of sentences, so it is vital that you learn it. We will start with the use of this suffix in the third person.
This suffix marks the main topic or topic of the sentence, has an emphatic function, goes to the end of the word that you want to emphasize (we already saw a little of this suffix in the lesson about the verb Kay). It has no equivalent in English.
For example, the sentence: ‘He is helping her’, without -qa would be: ‘Pay payta yanapashan‘, it sounds a bit weird to say in a run way: ‘Pay payta’, but with -qa it would look like this: ‘Payqa payta yanapashan‘.
Grammar 11: Demonstrative pronouns – This, That
The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those; in Quechua there are 3😃:
| Kay | This, these (near me) |
| Chay | That, those (near you) |
| Haqay | That, those (far from you and me) |
The plurals “kaykuna, chaykuna and haqaykuna” aren’t used as demonstrative pronouns (most of the time)
Look at these examples:
Grammar 10: Quechua sentences. Suffix -TA
The English uses the structure: Subject – Verb – Object (SVO), for example in the sentence ‘Maria is listening to music‘, the subject would be ‘Maria‘, the verb ‘is listening‘ and the object ‘music‘. This is the most usual in English, but it is such a flexible language that the order can vary without losing its naturalness.
In Quechua the order is different: Subject – Object – Verb (SOV), for example, the sentence of the previous paragraph in Quechua would be: ‘Maria, music is listening’, in Quechua this is the most usual, although like English It can be flexible in certain circumstances.
Due to this structure, suffixes that denote the object are needed, let’s start with the suffix -ta:
Grammar 9: Imperative sentences in Quechua
Giving orders or instructions is one of the easiest ways to express ourselves.
To make direct commands, requests, orders, instructions, or supplications in Quechua simply use the endings -y, -ychis, -chun, -chunku and -sun.
For example: ¡hamuy! means ¡come!
Wait a minute, didn’t we agree that “hamuy” was an infinitive? 🤨 You’re right. What happens is that the ending “-y” has several functions, including the infinitive and the imperative.😌
Grammar 8: The verb ‘Kay’ (to be), the main Quechua verb
The verb Kay is probably the most important and most used verb of Quechua, as we saw in lesson 3, this verb can have several meanings (to be, to have) how to know what it means? It all depends on the context of the sentence and there are also fixed structures that will help you.
Most commonly, the verb ‘kay‘ means ‘to be‘.
It can be used for:
- Describing someone or something, to indicate identity, qualities, defects, occupation, condition (I am Maria: Noqan kani Maria; you are a teacher: Yachachiq kanki)
- Showing that something exist.
- Giving a fact or your opinion about something.
It can not be used for:
Grammar 7: The plural and the possessive in Quechua
1. Formation of plural in Quechua
In English, the most common formation of plural nouns is by adding an –s suffix to the singular noun, in Quechua you must add the suffix -kuna.
We saw a little of this with the pronouns qankuna (you [guys]) and paykuna (they), which are formed by adding -kuna to qan (you) and pay (he/she).
Let’s look at some examples and increase our vocabulary: