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:

Kay wayna	This boy	Kay waynakuna	These boys
Chay wayna	That boy	Chay waynakuna	Those boys
Haqay wayna	That boy	Haqay waynakuna	Those boys
Kay sipas	This girl	Kay sipaskuna	These girls
Chay sipas	That girl	Chay sipaskuna	Those girls
Haqay sipas	That girl	Haqay sipaskuna	Those girls
Kay runa	This person	Kay runakuna	This people
Chay runa	That person	Chay runakuna	Those people
Haqay runa	That person	Haqay runakuna	Those people

The plurals “kaykuna” and “chaykuna” are used, but not as demonstratives, since generally in those cases the meaning would be: ‘these things’, or ‘those things’. Haqaykuna is not used.

• Kaykuna: These things
• Chaykuna: Those things

For example:

• Kaykuna yachay: To know these things (in infinitive, not imperative).
• ¡Kaykunata yachay!: Know these things!
• Chaykuna yachay: To know those things (in infinitive, not imperative).
• ¡Chaykunata yachay!: Know those things!
• ¡Ama kaykunata ruwaychu!: Don’t do these things!
• ¡Ama chaykunata ruwaychu!: Don’t do those things!

And if the suffix -ta is added, sentences like the ones we learned in the previous lesson are formed:

Imperative sentences with the suffix -ta

¡Kayta ruway!	Do this!
¡Chayta ruway!	Do that!
¡Haqayta ruway!	Do that!
¡Ama kayta ruwaychu!	Don’t do this!
¡Ama chayta ruwaychu!	Don’t do that!
¡Ama haqayta ruwaychu!	Don’t do that!

¡Kayta ruwaychis!	[You people,] Do this!
¡Chayta ruwaychis!	[You people,] Do that!
¡Haqayta ruwaychis!	[You people,] Do that!
¡Ama kayta ruwaychischu!	[You people,] Don’t do this!
¡Ama chayta ruwaychischu!	[You people,] Don’t do that!
¡Ama haqayta ruwaychischu!	[You people,] Don’t do that!

Let’s raise the level a bit.

New vocabulary:

• Yachachiy: to teach, to make know, to make learn (the suffix -chi was added to the verb yachay [to know, to learn], this suffix means ‘to make’, for example: llank’achiy literally means ‘to make work’).
• Turiyay, turiay: to annoy, to bother, to disturb
• Orqo: hill, mountain
• Rikuy: to see
• Wayna-sipas: young

¡Kay waynata yachachiy!	Teach this young man!
¡Kay wayna-sipaskunata yachachiy!	Teach these young people!
¡Chay runata yachachiy!	Teach that person!
¡Chay runakunata yachachiy!	Teach those people!
¡Haqay orqota rikuychis!	Look at that hill!
¡Haqay orqokunata rikuy!	Look at those hills!
¡Ama kay sipasta turiaychu!	Don’t disturb this young woman!
¡Ama kay sipaskunata turiaychischu!	Don’t disturb these young women!
¡Ama chay warmita turiaychu!	Don’t disturb that woman!
¡Ama chay warmikunata turiaychu!	Don’t disturb those women!

What about the sentences in present, past and future? Well, as all the demonstrative pronouns allude to the third person (pay, paykuna) it is necessary that we learn to use the suffix -qa to be able to express ourselves more correctly, we will see that in the next lesson.