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Internet Quechua Lesson 2:
More on the Present Tense, Object Suffix -TA

Bolivian Quechua Version

Soon to be reformatted and edited for better presentation

  • Vocabulary

    t'anta - bread / pan            llant'a - firewood / len~a
lawa   - soup (gruel) / lawa    aycha   - meat / carne
papa   - potato / papa          llaqta  - town, community / pueblo, comunidad
munay  - to want / querer       apay    - to carry, take / llevar
rantiy - to buy / comprar       jayt'ay - to kick / patear

  • The "Present" Tense

    The present tense, as described in Lesson 1, works more like the present tense of English than that of Spanish, but coincides with neither. It either implies a habitual or regular action taken by the subject, or an action that has taken place in the recent past. It is translated as either simple present or present perfect, as follows: 
    jayt'ani             I kick             pateo
		     I have kicked      he pateado
parlanki             you speak          hablas
                     you have spoken    has hablado
puriyku              we walk (excl.)    caminamos (excl.)
                     we have walked     hemos caminado

  • The Object Suffix -ta

    The object of most verbal actions is marked by the suffix -ta.
    Examples:
    T'antaTA mikhuni.    I eat bread.              Como pan.
Pay lawaTA munan.    He wants soup.            El quiere lawa.
AychaTA rantinku.    They have bought meat.    Han comprado carne.
Llant'aTA apayku.    We carry firewood.        Llevamos len~a.
JohnTA jayt'anki.    You have hit John.        Le has pateado al John.
LlaqtaTA rinkicheq.  Y'all have gone to town.  Uds. han ido al pueblo.

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    That's it for lesson two, folks. Three in a day or two. Anyone who wants to try their hand at putting together some basic sentences is welcome to send them to me...
    -Barry Brian Werger