The English verb "have" does two jobs at once. It says that something belongs to someone ("I have a house"), and it says that someone holds, keeps or looks after something ("I have it here in my hand"). Classical Nahuatl splits this work among four tools, and a learner needs all four.
The first is the verb piya (also written pia in Molina's dictionary of 1571). Its oldest meaning is "to keep, to guard, to hold". Molina glosses it guardar alguna cosa, "to keep something". Over the colonial period it came more and more to mean simply "to have", like Spanish tener. Piya is transitive, so it never appears bare: it always carries an object prefix, as in nicpiya "I have it" (ni-c-piya, I-it-have) and quipiya "he or she has it" (qui-piya).
The second tool, and the oldest native one, is the possessed noun. Nahuatl does not say "I have a house" so much as "my-house": nocal. To state that the house exists, it adds oncah "it exists, it is there": Oncah nocal, "There is my house", that is, "I have a house".
The third is the possessor noun in -eh or -huah. Caleh means "house-owner, one who has a house", from cal(li) + -eh. Āxcāhuah means "one who has riches, a wealthy man". With a subject prefix, nicaleh means "I am a householder", or "I have a house".
The fourth is negation: ahmo nicpiya "I do not have it", and ahtle nicpiya "I have nothing".
Orthography: this course uses the traditional spelling with macrons for long vowels (ā ē ī ō) and h for the glottal stop (saltillo). The spellings follow Launey: piya, nicpiya, ahmo.
Q: What does "have" mean in Nahuatl? A: The everyday verb is piya "to have, to keep, to guard", always with an object prefix: nicpiya "I have it", ticpiya "you have it", quipiya "he/she has it". Nahuatl also expresses having through possessed nouns (nocal "my house"), through oncah with a possessed noun (oncah nocal "I have a house"), and through possessor nouns in -eh/-huah (caleh "house-owner").
Q: How do you say "I don't have anything" in Nahuatl? A: Ahtle nicpiya, "Nothing I-have-it."
Q: What is the past tense of piya? A: The preterite is ōnicpix "I kept / I had it", ōquipix "he/she kept it". The imperfect nicpiyaya "I used to have it, I had it" describes a lasting state in the past.
- Piya means "keep, guard, hold" and, increasingly after the Conquest, "have"; it always takes an object prefix (nic-, tic-, qui-). - The native way to say "I have X" is often the possessed noun, alone or with oncah: oncah nocal "I have a house". - The suffixes -eh (after consonants) and -huah (after vowels) make "one who has X": caleh, cihuāhuah, āxcāhuah. - "Not have" is ahmo + verb; "have nothing" is ahtle + verb.
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- piya /ˈpija/: two syllables, stress on the first. The y is the English y of "yes". - nicpiya /nikˈpija/: c before a consonant is /k/. Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable, as in almost every Nahuatl word. - quipiya /kiˈpija/: qu before i or e is /k/, never /kw/. - ahmo /ˈaʔmo/: the h is a glottal stop, the catch in English "uh-oh". - oncah /ˈonkaʔ/: final h is again a glottal stop; it distinguishes quipiyah "they have it" /kiˈpijaʔ/ from quipiya "he has it" /kiˈpija/. - calli /ˈkalːi/: the double ll is a long l, held: cal-li, never Spanish ll. - tl /tɬ/: one sound, a t released through the sides of the tongue, as in tlaxcalli /tɬaʃˈkalːi/ and ahtle /ˈaʔtɬe/. - x /ʃ/: English sh, as in xicpiya /ʃikˈpija/ "keep it!". - hu /w/ and final uh /ʍ/ (a breathy w): nopilhuān /noˈpilwaːn/, nocnīuh /ˈnokniːʍ/. - Long vowels (ā ē ī ō) are held longer; they are marked in IPA with ː.
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11.1a Nicpiya I-it-have cē one calli house
11.1b Nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES cē /keː/ one calli /ˈkalːi/ house.ABS
11.2a Cuix (question) ticpiya you-it-have tomin money
11.2b Cuix /kwiʃ/ Q.PARTICLE ticpiya /tikˈpija/ 2SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES tomin /ˈtomin/ money (from Spanish tomín)
11.3a Ahmo not nicpiya I-it-have
11.3b Ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES
11.4a Ahtle nothing nicpiya I-it-have
11.4b Ahtle /ˈaʔtɬe/ nothing.NEG.PRON nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES
11.5a Quipiya he-it-has cē one mīlli field
11.5b Quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES cē /keː/ one mīlli /ˈmiːlːi/ cornfield.ABS
11.6a Ahmo not nicpiya I-it-have tomin money zan only oncah it-exists nocal my-house
11.6b Ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES tomin /ˈtomin/ money zan /san/ only oncah /ˈonkaʔ/ there-be.3SG.PRES nocal /ˈnokal/ 1SG.POSS-house-POSSD.SG(Ø)
11.7a Nonān my-mother quipiya she-it-has miyac much tlaxcalli tortilla
11.7b Nonān /ˈnonaːn/ 1SG.POSS-mother-POSSD.SG(Ø) quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES miyac /ˈmijak/ much/many tlaxcalli /tɬaʃˈkalːi/ tortilla.ABS
11.8a Nocnīuh my-friend tlein what ticpiya you-it-have in the momāc your-hand-in
11.8b Nocnīuh /ˈnokniːʍ/ 1SG.POSS-friend-POSSD.SG tlein /ˈtɬein/ what.INTERR ticpiya /tikˈpija/ 2SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES in /in/ DET momāc /ˈmomaːk/ 2SG.POSS-hand-LOC
11.9a Nicpiyaya I-it-was-having cē one itzcuintli dog āxcān now ahmo not nicpiya I-it-have
11.9b Nicpiyaya /nikpiˈjaja/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have-IMPERF cē /keː/ one itzcuintli /itsˈkwintɬi/ dog.ABS āxcān /ˈaːʃkaːn/ now ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES
11.10a In the nopilhuān my-children quipiyah they-it-have cē one huēyi big calli house
11.10b In /in/ DET nopilhuān /noˈpilwaːn/ 1SG.POSS-child-POSSD.PL quipiyah /kiˈpijaʔ/ 3PL.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES-PL cē /keː/ one huēyi /ˈweːji/ big calli /ˈkalːi/ house.ABS
11.11a Cuix (question) ticpiya you-it-have ichtli thread
11.11b Cuix /kwiʃ/ Q.PARTICLE ticpiya /tikˈpija/ 2SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES ichtli /ˈitʃtɬi/ maguey-thread.ABS
11.12a Nicān here nicpiya I-it-have ōntetl two-things tomātl tomato
11.12b Nicān /ˈnikaːn/ here nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES ōntetl /ˈoːntetɬ/ two-(round)-thing.ABS tomātl /ˈtomaːtɬ/ tomato.ABS
11.13a Mā (let) xicpiya you-it-keep inin this ca indeed motlaxcal your-tortilla
11.13b Mā /maː/ OPT.PARTICLE xicpiya /ʃikˈpija/ 2SG.SUBJ.IMP-3SG.OBJ-keep inin /ˈinin/ this.DEM ca /ka/ ASSERT.PARTICLE motlaxcal /moˈtɬaʃkal/ 2SG.POSS-tortilla-POSSD.SG(Ø)
11.14a Quipiya she-it-has caxtōlli fifteen xihuitl year ahmo not quipatia she-it-pays in the tlacalaquilli tribute
11.14b Quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES caxtōlli /kaʃˈtoːlːi/ fifteen xihuitl /ˈʃiwitɬ/ year.ABS ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG quipatia /kipaˈtia/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-pay.PRES in /in/ DET tlacalaquilli /tɬakalaˈkilːi/ tribute.ABS
11.15a Nicaleh I-house-owner auh and in the nonamic my-spouse nō also quipiyaz she-it-will-have in the nocal my-house
11.15b Nicaleh /niˈkaleʔ/ 1SG.SUBJ-house-POSSESSOR auh /aʍ/ CONJ in /in/ DET nonamic /noˈnamik/ 1SG.POSS-spouse-POSSD.SG(Ø) nō /noː/ also quipiyaz /kiˈpijas/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have-FUT in /in/ DET nocal /ˈnokal/ 1SG.POSS-house-POSSD.SG(Ø)
Provenance: 11.11 and 11.12 are Michel Launey's grammar examples (An Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, trans. Christopher MacKay, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 100). 11.14 adapts a formula from a colonial census record, quoted by Rebecca Horn and James Lockhart in "Mundane Documents in Nahuatl": "quipia 15 xihuitl amo quipatia in tlacalaquilli". 11.15 echoes the Tlaxcala testament of 1566 quoted in Section F. All other examples are constructed for teaching from verified vocabulary and patterns.
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11.1 Nicpiya cē calli. → "I have a house."
11.2 Cuix ticpiya tomin? → "Do you have any money?"
11.3 Ahmo nicpiya. → "I don't have it."
11.4 Ahtle nicpiya. → "I have nothing."
11.5 Quipiya cē mīlli. → "He has a cornfield."
11.6 Ahmo nicpiya tomin, zan oncah nocal. → "I have no money; I only have my house."
11.7 Nonān quipiya miyac tlaxcalli. → "My mother has a lot of tortillas."
11.8 Nocnīuh, tlein ticpiya in momāc? → "My friend, what have you got in your hand?"
11.9 Nicpiyaya cē itzcuintli; āxcān ahmo nicpiya. → "I used to have a dog; now I don't."
11.10 In nopilhuān quipiyah cē huēyi calli. → "My children have a big house."
11.11 Cuix ticpiya ichtli? → "Do you have a thread on you?"
11.12 Nicān nicpiya ōntetl tomātl. → "I have two tomatoes here."
11.13 Mā xicpiya inin, ca motlaxcal. → "Keep this: it is your tortilla."
11.14 Quipiya caxtōlli xihuitl; ahmo quipatia in tlacalaquilli. → "She is fifteen years old; she does not pay tribute."
11.15 Nicaleh, auh in nonamic nō quipiyaz in nocal. → "I am the owner of the house, and my wife too shall have my house."
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11.1 Nicpiya cē calli.
11.2 Cuix ticpiya tomin?
11.3 Ahmo nicpiya.
11.4 Ahtle nicpiya.
11.5 Quipiya cē mīlli.
11.6 Ahmo nicpiya tomin, zan oncah nocal.
11.7 Nonān quipiya miyac tlaxcalli.
11.8 Nocnīuh, tlein ticpiya in momāc?
11.9 Nicpiyaya cē itzcuintli; āxcān ahmo nicpiya.
11.10 In nopilhuān quipiyah cē huēyi calli.
11.11 Cuix ticpiya ichtli?
11.12 Nicān nicpiya ōntetl tomātl.
11.13 Mā xicpiya inin, ca motlaxcal.
11.14 Quipiya caxtōlli xihuitl; ahmo quipatia in tlacalaquilli.
11.15 Nicaleh, auh in nonamic nō quipiyaz in nocal.
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These are the grammar rules for piya and for "have" in Nahuatl:
1. Piya is transitive and always carries an object prefix. The verb cannot appear without an object, even when English leaves "it" unspoken. The third-person singular object prefix has two shapes:
- -c- after a vowel-final subject prefix: ni-c-piya "I have it", ti-c-piya "you have it", xi-c-piya "keep it!" - qui- at the start of the word, where the third-person subject prefix is zero, or after a consonant: qui-piya "he/she has it", an-qui-piyah "you (pl.) have it"
For a plural animate object use quin- / -quin-: quinpiyah "they look after them", tiquinpiyah "we look after them".
2. Paradigm of piya (with a 3rd-person singular object).
Present: nicpiya "I have it" · ticpiya "you have it" · quipiya "he/she has it" · ticpiyah "we have it" · anquipiyah "you (pl.) have it" · quipiyah "they have it"
Imperfect (lasting past state): nicpiyaya · ticpiyaya · quipiyaya · ticpiyayah · anquipiyayah · quipiyayah
Preterite (class 2; the stem drops its final -a and y becomes x): ōnicpix · ōticpix · ōquipix · ōticpixqueh · ōanquipixqueh · ōquipixqueh
Future: nicpiyaz · ticpiyaz · quipiyaz · ticpiyazqueh · anquipiyazqueh · quipiyazqueh
Imperative (with optional mā): xicpiya "keep it!" · xicpiyacān "keep it! (pl.)"
The augment ō- marks the preterite. Lockhart notes that the preterite is often written ōnicpīx, with a long i, and that the i of piya was probably long to begin with. This course writes the short form.
3. The possessed noun: "my X". A possessed noun takes a possessor prefix and loses its absolutive ending (-tl, -tli, -li, -in):
no- "my" · mo- "your" · ī- "his/her/its" · to- "our" · amo- "your (pl.)" · īn- "their"
calli → nocal "my house", īcal "his house", tocal "our house" mīlli → nomīl "my field", īmīl "his field" tlaxcalli → motlaxcal "your tortilla" Some nouns add -uh or -hui in the possessed singular: cihuātl → īcihuāuh "his wife"; icnīuhtli → nocnīuh "my friend" (the weak initial i of the stem drops after no-). Possessed plurals of animates take -huān: pilli → nopilhuān "my children".
4. Oncah + possessed noun = "I have (one)". Oncah nocal is literally "my house exists". It is the plainest way to assert possession of something that simply is there. The negative is ahmo oncah or ahtle.
5. Possessor nouns: -eh and -huah, "one who has X". After a consonant-final stem: cal- → caleh "house-owner" (pl. calehqueh). After a vowel-final stem: cihuā- → cihuāhuah "one who has a wife, a married man"; āxcā- → āxcāhuah "one who has property, a rich man". With subject prefixes these are full predicates: nicaleh "I am a householder".
6. Negation. Ahmo goes before the verb: ahmo nicpiya. Ahtle "nothing" and ayac "no one" replace the object or subject and carry the negation themselves: ahtle nicpiya "I have nothing".
- Dropping the object prefix. \Nipiya cē calli* is wrong; say nicpiya cē calli. Piya is transitive even when the object is a full noun. - Choosing -c- or qui- by the wrong rule. The choice depends on what comes before the prefix, not on the verb stem: -c- after a vowel (ni-c-, ti-c-, xi-c-), qui- word-initially or after a consonant (qui-, an-qui-). - Overusing piya. English learners reach for the verb every time. Nahuatl often prefers the possessed noun: Oncah nocal, rather than nicpiya cē calli. - Forgetting the plural glottal stop. quipiya "he has it" and quipiyah "they have it" differ only by the final h; leaving it out changes the subject. - Keeping the absolutive ending on a possessed noun. It is nocal, not \nocalli*. - Calquing "have to". English "I have to go" is not built with piya in Classical Nahuatl. - Ignoring vowel length. nō "also" and no- "my" are different words; keep the macron.
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Before the Conquest, piya belonged to the vocabulary of guarding. Its senses were keeping a thing safe, holding an office, and observing a feast or a rule. Molina's dictionary of 1571 gives it as guardar, "to keep", and its reflexive ninopiya as "to guard oneself from something". In the colonial documents James Lockhart studied, the verb gradually comes to match Spanish tener "to have". The Online Nahuatl Dictionary (Wired Humanities Projects, University of Oregon) collects attestations from census records, confraternity ordinances and testaments. They range from "they guarded their souls" (1552) to "no one had anything" (Toluca Valley, 1741).
The Nahuas of the sixteenth century left thousands of testaments, land records and censuses. In them, having is mostly a matter of possessed nouns: nocal "my house", nomīl "my field", notlal "my land". Piya appears when someone is to hold or keep a property: a widow is to keep the house, an heir is to keep a field as it is. Section F gives an example from Tlaxcala, 1566. The age formula quipiya caxtōlli xihuitl "she has fifteen years", that is, "she is fifteen", is modelled on Spanish tiene quince años. It is a good small example of Spanish shaping Nahuatl idiom.
In many modern Nahuatl varieties pia (often spelled kipia, nikpia in the new orthographies) is the ordinary verb for "have". The native possessed-noun pattern stays strong beside it. Spellings differ by region and by school. The reformed orthographies write k for c/qu and w for hu. Saltillo and vowel length are often left unmarked.
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From a testament written at Tlaxcala in 1566, published in Beyond the Codices: The Nahua View of Colonial Mexico, ed. Arthur J. O. Anderson, Frances Berdan and James Lockhart (UCLA Latin American Center, 1976), Document 1, pp. 46–47 and 52–53. The two phrases below come from different places in the same document. They are quoted as cited in the Online Nahuatl Dictionary (Wired Humanities Projects), s.v. pia, in the original sixteenth-century spelling:
(i) oquixoxocoque noye quipiaz yn nonamic
(ii) çaniuh quipixtiyez
F.1a oquixoxocoque they-invaded-it noye also quipiaz she-it-will-have yn the nonamic my-spouse
F.1b oquixoxocoque /oːkiʃoʃoˈkokeʔ/ PRET-3SG.OBJ-invade-PRET.PL noye /ˈnoːje/ also quipiaz /kiˈpijas/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have-FUT yn /in/ DET nonamic /noˈnamik/ 1SG.POSS-spouse-POSSD.SG(Ø)
F.2a çaniuh just-thus quipixtiyez he-it-keeping-will-be
F.2b çaniuh /san iːʍ/ only+thus quipixtiyez /kipiʃˈtijes/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-keep-LIG-be.FUT
(i) oquixoxocoque noye quipiaz yn nonamic → "They invaded it, (but) my wife is to have it also."
(ii) çaniuh quipixtiyez → "He is to keep it as it is."
(Translations as given by the editors.)
(i) oquixoxocoque noye quipiaz yn nonamic
(ii) çaniuh quipixtiyez
- The spelling is the scribe's, not the course's. The scribe writes yn for in, ç for z (/s/) in çaniuh = zan iuh, and no macrons or saltillo. Quipiaz is our quipiyaz: the y between i and a was usually left unwritten. - quipiaz is the plain future of piya, qui-piya-z. In a testament the future has the force of a command: "she is to have it". The testator is disposing of a property that others have encroached on. Against them he affirms that his wife, nonamic, will hold it. - nonamic "my spouse" is a possessed noun with zero suffix (namictli → no-namic). Even in a sentence about having, Nahuatl expresses the relationship through possession. - quipixtiyez is a compound of the preterite stem pix- with the ligature -ti- and the future of "to be", yez. "He will be keeping it", that is, "he is to go on holding it". Here piya is still "keep", not "have". The two senses sit side by side in one document. - çaniuh (zan iuh) "just so, as it is" limits the heir: he keeps the property unchanged. - The vowel length and stress of oquixoxocoque are given here only approximately; the verb is not otherwise used in this course.
The testament is the right place to watch "have" grow out of "keep". The man is dying. What he has is exactly what he wants someone else to keep.
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11.16a Oncah there-is cē one tlācatl man ītōcā his-name Cōātl Coatl
11.16b Oncah /ˈonkaʔ/ there-be.3SG.PRES cē /keː/ one tlācatl /ˈtɬaːkatɬ/ person.ABS ītōcā /iːˈtoːkaː/ 3SG.POSS-name Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl (name: "Serpent")
11.17a Cōātl Coatl quipiya he-it-has cē one calli house ītech near in the tepētl mountain
11.17b Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES cē /keː/ one calli /ˈkalːi/ house.ABS ītech /ˈiːtetʃ/ 3SG.POSS-beside in /in/ DET tepētl /ˈtepeːtɬ/ mountain.ABS
11.18a Nō also quipiya he-it-has cē one huēyi big mīlli field
11.18b Nō /noː/ also quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES cē /keː/ one huēyi /ˈweːji/ big mīlli /ˈmiːlːi/ cornfield.ABS
11.19a Cōātl Coatl cihuāhuah wife-haver īcihuāuh his-wife ītōcā her-name Xōchitl Xochitl
11.19b Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl cihuāhuah /siˈwaːwaʔ/ woman-POSSESSOR īcihuāuh /iːˈsiwaːʍ/ 3SG.POSS-woman-POSSD.SG ītōcā /iːˈtoːkaː/ 3SG.POSS-name Xōchitl /ˈʃoːtʃitɬ/ Xochitl (name: "Flower")
11.20a Cōātl Coatl īhuān and Xōchitl Xochitl quinpiyah they-them-keep īnpilhuān their-children
11.20b Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl īhuān /ˈiːwaːn/ 3SG.POSS-with = and Xōchitl /ˈʃoːtʃitɬ/ Xochitl quinpiyah /kinˈpijaʔ/ 3PL.SUBJ(Ø)-3PL.OBJ-keep.PRES-PL īnpilhuān /iːnˈpilwaːn/ 3PL.POSS-child-POSSD.PL
11.21a Mochipa always quipiya he-it-guards in the īmīl his-field ayac no-one quicuāz he-it-will-eat in the tlaōlli maize
11.21b Mochipa /moˈtʃipa/ always quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-guard.PRES in /in/ DET īmīl /ˈiːmiːl/ 3SG.POSS-field-POSSD.SG(Ø) ayac /ˈajak/ no-one.NEG.PRON quicuāz /ˈkikwaːs/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-eat-FUT in /in/ DET tlaōlli /tɬaˈoːlːi/ shelled-maize.ABS
11.22a Cē one tōnalli day ōhuāllah he-came-hither cē one āxcāhuah property-haver
11.22b Cē /keː/ one tōnalli /toːˈnalːi/ day.ABS ōhuāllah /oːˈwaːlːaʔ/ PRET-come.hither.PRET cē /keː/ one āxcāhuah /aːʃˈkaːwaʔ/ property-POSSESSOR
11.23a Ōquilhuih he-said-to-him Nicnequi I-it-want in the momīl your-field miyac much tomin money nicpiya I-it-have
11.23b Ōquilhuih /oːˈkilwiʔ/ PRET-3SG.OBJ-say.to-PRET Nicnequi /nikˈneki/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-want.PRES in /in/ DET momīl /ˈmomiːl/ 2SG.POSS-field-POSSD.SG(Ø) miyac /ˈmijak/ much tomin /ˈtomin/ money nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES
11.24a Cōātl Coatl ōquinanquilih he-answered-him Ahmo not nicnamaca I-it-sell
11.24b Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl ōquinanquilih /oːkinanˈkiliʔ/ PRET-3SG.OBJ-answer-PRET Ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG nicnamaca /niknaˈmaka/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-sell.PRES
11.25a Inin this mīlli field ōquipix he-it-kept notah my-father auh and āxcān now nehhuātl I nicpiya I-it-have
11.25b Inin /ˈinin/ this.DEM mīlli /ˈmiːlːi/ cornfield.ABS ōquipix /oːˈkipiʃ/ PRET-3SG.OBJ-keep.PRET notah /ˈnotaʔ/ 1SG.POSS-father-POSSD.SG(Ø) auh /aʍ/ CONJ āxcān /ˈaːʃkaːn/ now nehhuātl /ˈneʔwaːtɬ/ 1SG.INDEP.PRON nicpiya /nikˈpija/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES
11.26a Intlā if nicnamaca I-it-sell ahtle nothing quipiyazqueh they-it-will-have nopilhuān my-children
11.26b Intlā /ˈintɬaː/ COND nicnamaca /niknaˈmaka/ 1SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-sell.PRES ahtle /ˈaʔtɬe/ nothing.NEG.PRON quipiyazqueh /kipiˈjaskeʔ/ 3PL.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have-FUT-PL nopilhuān /noˈpilwaːn/ 1SG.POSS-child-POSSD.PL
11.27a In the āxcāhuah property-haver ōyah he-went ahmo not quipiyaz he-it-will-have in the mīlli field
11.27b In /in/ DET āxcāhuah /aːʃˈkaːwaʔ/ property-POSSESSOR ōyah /ˈoːjaʔ/ PRET-go.PRET ahmo /ˈaʔmo/ NEG quipiyaz /kiˈpijas/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have-FUT in /in/ DET mīlli /ˈmiːlːi/ cornfield.ABS
11.28a Yohuac at-night Xōchitl Xochitl ōquilhuih she-said-to-him Cualli good huel well ticpiya you-it-keep in the momīl your-field
11.28b Yohuac /ˈjowak/ night-at Xōchitl /ˈʃoːtʃitɬ/ Xochitl ōquilhuih /oːˈkilwiʔ/ PRET-3SG.OBJ-say.to-PRET Cualli /ˈkwalːi/ good huel /wel/ well ticpiya /tikˈpija/ 2SG.SUBJ-3SG.OBJ-keep.PRES in /in/ DET momīl /ˈmomiːl/ 2SG.POSS-field-POSSD.SG(Ø)
11.29a Ca indeed tocal our-house ca indeed tomīl our-field tiquinpiyah we-them-keep topilhuān our-children
11.29b Ca /ka/ ASSERT.PARTICLE tocal /ˈtokal/ 1PL.POSS-house-POSSD.SG(Ø) ca /ka/ ASSERT.PARTICLE tomīl /ˈtomiːl/ 1PL.POSS-field-POSSD.SG(Ø) tiquinpiyah /tikinˈpijaʔ/ 1PL.SUBJ-3PL.OBJ-keep.PRES-PL topilhuān /toˈpilwaːn/ 1PL.POSS-child-POSSD.PL
11.30a Āxcān now oc still quipiya he-it-has Cōātl Coatl in the īmīl his-field auh and īpilhuān his-children quipiyazqueh they-it-will-have
11.30b Āxcān /ˈaːʃkaːn/ now oc /ok/ still quipiya /kiˈpija/ 3SG.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have.PRES Cōātl /ˈkoːaːtɬ/ Coatl in /in/ DET īmīl /ˈiːmiːl/ 3SG.POSS-field-POSSD.SG(Ø) auh /aʍ/ CONJ īpilhuān /iːˈpilwaːn/ 3SG.POSS-child-POSSD.PL quipiyazqueh /kipiˈjaskeʔ/ 3PL.SUBJ(Ø)-3SG.OBJ-have-FUT-PL
Provenance: a narrative constructed for teaching from verified vocabulary and patterns; it is not a quotation.
11.16 Oncah cē tlācatl ītōcā Cōātl. → "There is a man called Cōātl."
11.17 Cōātl quipiya cē calli ītech in tepētl. → "Cōātl has a house near the mountain."
11.18 Nō quipiya cē huēyi mīlli. → "He also has a big cornfield."
11.19 Cōātl cihuāhuah: īcihuāuh ītōcā Xōchitl. → "Cōātl is a married man: his wife is called Xōchitl."
11.20 Cōātl īhuān Xōchitl quinpiyah īnpilhuān. → "Cōātl and Xōchitl look after their children."
11.21 Mochipa quipiya in īmīl; ayac quicuāz in tlaōlli. → "He always guards his field; no one is going to eat the maize."
11.22 Cē tōnalli ōhuāllah cē āxcāhuah. → "One day a rich man came."
11.23 Ōquilhuih: "Nicnequi in momīl; miyac tomin nicpiya." → "He said to him: 'I want your field; I have a lot of money.'"
11.24 Cōātl ōquinanquilih: "Ahmo nicnamaca. → "Cōātl answered him: 'I am not selling it.
11.25 Inin mīlli ōquipix notah, auh āxcān nehhuātl nicpiya. → "This field my father kept, and now I have it.
11.26 Intlā nicnamaca, ahtle quipiyazqueh nopilhuān." → "If I sell it, my children will have nothing.'"
11.27 In āxcāhuah ōyah; ahmo quipiyaz in mīlli. → "The rich man went away; he will not have the field."
11.28 Yohuac Xōchitl ōquilhuih: "Cualli; huel ticpiya in momīl. → "That night Xōchitl said to him: 'Good; you keep your field well.
11.29 Ca tocal, ca tomīl; tiquinpiyah topilhuān." → "It is our house, it is our field; we are raising our children.'"
11.30 Āxcān oc quipiya Cōātl in īmīl, auh īpilhuān quipiyazqueh. → "Cōātl still has his field today, and his children will have it after him."
11.16 Oncah cē tlācatl ītōcā Cōātl.
11.17 Cōātl quipiya cē calli ītech in tepētl.
11.18 Nō quipiya cē huēyi mīlli.
11.19 Cōātl cihuāhuah: īcihuāuh ītōcā Xōchitl.
11.20 Cōātl īhuān Xōchitl quinpiyah īnpilhuān.
11.21 Mochipa quipiya in īmīl; ayac quicuāz in tlaōlli.
11.22 Cē tōnalli ōhuāllah cē āxcāhuah.
11.23 Ōquilhuih: "Nicnequi in momīl; miyac tomin nicpiya."
11.24 Cōātl ōquinanquilih: "Ahmo nicnamaca.
11.25 Inin mīlli ōquipix notah, auh āxcān nehhuātl nicpiya.
11.26 Intlā nicnamaca, ahtle quipiyazqueh nopilhuān."
11.27 In āxcāhuah ōyah; ahmo quipiyaz in mīlli.
11.28 Yohuac Xōchitl ōquilhuih: "Cualli; huel ticpiya in momīl.
11.29 Ca tocal, ca tomīl; tiquinpiyah topilhuān."
11.30 Āxcān oc quipiya Cōātl in īmīl, auh īpilhuān quipiyazqueh.
The story uses every way of saying "have" that this lesson teaches, and it lets piya move between "keep" and "have":
- Existential opening. Oncah cē tlācatl "There is a man" (11.16) is the storyteller's formula, and the same oncah that builds oncah nocal "I have a house". - Piya as "have". quipiya cē calli (11.17), miyac tomin nicpiya (11.23), ahmo quipiyaz in mīlli (11.27): ownership, in present and future. - Piya as "keep, guard". Mochipa quipiya in īmīl (11.21), huel ticpiya in momīl (11.28): watching over a field. With an animate plural object, quinpiyah īnpilhuān (11.20) and tiquinpiyah topilhuān (11.29) mean "they / we look after (raise) their / our children". - The preterite ōquipix (11.25): "my father kept it", a completed holding in the past, against the present nicpiya. - Future plural quipiyazqueh (11.26, 11.30): the inheritance looks forward. - Possessor nouns. cihuāhuah "wife-haver, married man" (11.19) and āxcāhuah "property-haver, rich man" (11.22, 11.27) are nouns built on "having". - Possessed nouns. īmīl, momīl, tomīl "his / your / our field"; īcihuāuh "his wife"; notah "my father"; īnpilhuān, nopilhuān, topilhuān, īpilhuān. - Emphatic pronoun. nehhuātl nicpiya (11.25) "I have it now": the independent pronoun contrasts the speaker with his father. - Negative pronouns. ayac "no one" (11.21) and ahtle "nothing" (11.26) stand in for subject and object and need no ahmo. - Conditional intlā (11.26) with the present in the if-clause and the future in the result.
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- Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable: nic-PI-ya, qui-pi-YAZ-queh, ō-qui-nan-QUI-lih. A final h does not count as a syllable. - Saltillo (h). Pronounce it as a glottal catch. It carries grammar: quipiya (he) / quipiyah (they); ōquilhuih "he said to him" ends in it. - c / qu / z. c before a, o and consonants and qu before e, i are /k/; c before e, i and z are /s/: cē /keː/, quicuāz /ˈkikwaːs/. - Doubled l is long: calli, mīlli, tlaxcalli, caxtōlli. - Spelling variants you will meet in other books: pia (Molina, many colonial texts), piya (Launey, Andrews, Karttunen's analyses), pie/piye in some documents; modern kipia, nikpia. The sixteenth-century scribes wrote ç or z for /s/, y for i, yn for in, and seldom marked length or saltillo. - Possessive prefixes before vowels. Before many vowel-initial stems no-, mo-, to- lose their o (n-oquich-hui "my husband"). Stems with a weak initial i lose the i instead: nocnīuh "my friend" (icnīuhtli). All other noun stems in this lesson begin with a consonant, so the prefixes stand whole.
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