Classical Nahuatl grammar
The grammar of Classical Nahuatl is agglutinative, head-marking, and makes extensive use of compounding, noun incorporation and derivation. That is, it can add many different prefixes and suffixes to a root until very long words are formed. Very long verbal forms or nouns created by incorporation, and accumulation of prefixes are common in literary works. New words can thus be easily created.
Orthography used in this article
Vowel length was phonologically distinctive in Classical Nahuatl, but vowel length was rarely transcribed in manuscripts, leading to occasional difficulties in discerning whether a given vowel was long or short. In this article, long vowels are indicated with a macron above the vowel letter: <ā, ē, ī, ō>. Another feature which is rarely marked in manuscripts is the saltillo or glottal stop. In this article, the saltillo is indicated with an h following a vowel. The grammarian Horacio Carochi represented saltillo by marking diacritics on the preceding vowel: grave accent on nonfinal vowels <à, ì, è, ò> and circumflex on final vowels <â, î, ê, ô>. Carochi is almost alone among colonial-era grammarians in consistently representing both saltillo and vowel length in transcription, even though they are both essential to a proper understanding of Classical Nahuatl.Morphophonology
The phonological shapes of Nahuatl morphemes may be altered in particular contexts, depending on the shape of the adjacent morphemes or their position in the word.Assimilation
Where a morpheme ending in a consonant is followed by a morpheme beginning in a consonant, one of the two consonants often undergoes assimilation, adopting features of the other consonant.| ch | + | y | → | chch | E.g. oquich- "man" + -yō- "-ness" → oquichchōtl "valor" |
| l | + | tl | → | ll | E.g. cal- "house" + -tli → calli "house" |
| l | + | y | → | ll | E.g. cual- "good" + -yō- "-ness" → cuallōtl "goodness" |
| x | + | y | → | xx | E.g. mix- "cloud" + -yoh "covered in" → mixxoh "cloudy" |
| z | + | y | → | zz | E.g. māhuiz- "fear" + -yō- "-ness" → māhuizzōtl "respect" |
Almost all doubled consonants in Nahuatl are produced by the assimilation of two different consonants from different morphemes. Doubled consonants within a single morpheme are rare, a notable example being the verb -itta "see", and possibly indicates a fossilized double morpheme.
Morphology
The words of Nahuatl can be divided into three basic functional classes: verbs, nouns and particles. Adjectives exist, but they generally behave like nouns and there are very few adjectives that are not derived from either verbal or nominal roots. The few adverbs that can be said to exist fall into the class of particles.Nouns
In Classical Nahuatl, nouns can act as verbs, meaning 'to be X', by simply inflecting it as a verb.Example: ti + amolnamacac 'soap seller', becomes tamolnamacac, meaning 'you are a soap seller'
.
The noun is inflected for two basic contrasting categories:
- possessedness: non-possessed contrasts with possessed
- number: singular contrasts with plural
Nominal morphology is mostly suffixing. Some irregular formations exist.
Possessedness
Non-possessed nouns take a suffix called the absolutive. This suffix takes the form -tl after vowels and -tli after consonants, which assimilates with a final /l/ on the root. Some nouns have an irregular form in -in. These suffixes are dropped in most derived forms: tōch-cal-li, "rabbit-hole", mich-matla-tl, "fishing net". Possessed nouns do not take the absolutive suffix, but do receive a prefix to denote the possessor.Number
- The absolutive singular suffix has three basic forms: -tl/tli, -lin/-in, and some irregular nouns with no suffix.
- The absolutive plural suffix has three basic forms: -tin, -meh, or just a final glottal stop -h. Some plurals are formed also with reduplication of the noun's first or second syllable, with the reduplicated vowel long.
- The possessive singular suffix has two basic forms: -uh or -Ø.
- The possessive plural suffix has the form -huān.
| -h | -tin | -meh | |
| With reduplication | teōtl, tēteoh | tōchtli, tōtōchtin | Never occurs |
| Without reduplication | cihuātl, cihuāh | oquichtli, oquichtin | michin, michmeh |
The plural is not totally stable and in many cases several different forms are attested.
Noun inflection
Possessor prefixes
Example: nocal, 'my house'If a given prefix ends with a vowel, that vowel may be elided depending on the following sound. The vowel will only be elided if the word's stem begins with a "stronger" vowel. Generally, the hierarchy of vowels, from strongest to weakest, is a/e, o, i.
Example: to + amolli, becomes tamol, meaning 'our soap'
Some other categories can be inflected on the noun such as:
Inalienable possession
The suffix -yo — the same suffix as the abstract/collective -yō — may be added to a possessed noun to indicate that it is a part of its possessor, rather than just being owned by it. For example, both nonac and nonacayo mean "my meat", but nonac may refer to meat that one has to eat, while nonacayo refers to the flesh that makes up one's body. This is known as inalienable, integral or organic possession.Derivational morphology
- -tia derives from noun X a verb with an approximate meaning of "to provide with X " or "to become X."
- -huia derives from noun X a verb with an approximate meaning of "to use X " or "to provide with X."
- -yōtl derives from a noun X a noun with an abstract meaning of "X-hood or X-ness."
- -yoh derives from a noun X a noun with a meaning of "thing full of X" or "thing with a lot of X."
Verbs
An example of an intransitive verb, with subject marking: niyōli 'I live,' tiyōli 'you live,' yōli he, she, it lives,' tiyōlih 'we live,' anyōlih 'you live,' yōlih 'they live.'
Subject and object marking
The person prefixes are identical for all tenses and moods, but the plural number suffix varies according to tense or mood. In the table below, Ø- indicates there is no prefix.| Subject | Marking | Notes | Examples |
| 1st person singular | ni-, 'I' | n- before a vowel | nicuīca 'I sing,' nēhua 'I depart' |
| 2nd person singular | ti-, 'you' | t- before a vowel | ticuīca 'you sing,' tēhua 'you depart' |
| 3rd person singular | Ø-, 'he, she, it' | always zero | cuīca 'he/she/it sings,' ēhua 'he/she/it departs' |
| 1st person plural | ti- + plural suffix, 'we' | t- before a vowel | ticuīcah 'we sing,' tēhuah 'we depart' |
| 2nd person plural | an- + plural suffix 'you' | am- before a vowel, m or p | ancuīcah 'you sing,' amēhuah 'you depart' |
| 3rd person plural | Ø- + plural suffix, 'they' | only with animates | cuīcah 'they sing,' ēhuah 'they depart' |
| Imperative singular | xi-, 'you' | x- before a vowel | xicuīca 'sing!' xēhua 'depart!' |
| Imperative plural | xi- + -cān | x- before a vowel | xicuīcacān 'sing!' xēhuacān 'depart!' |
Note that prefix ti- means 'you ' with no number suffix on the verb, but ti- plus the plural suffix means 'we'.
The imperative prefixes can only be used in the second person; for other persons, use the optative mood.
As mentioned previously, verbal subject prefixes can also be used with nouns, to create a nominal predicate: nicihuātl 'I am a woman,' toquichtli 'you are a man,' 'nimēxicah 'we are Mexica.'
Transitive and bitransitive verbs take a distinct set of prefixes, to mark the object:
| Object | Marking | Notes | Examples |
| 1st person singular | -nēch-, 'me' | tinēchitta 'you see me,' nēchitta 'he/she/it sees me' | |
| 2nd person singular | -mitz-, 'you' | nimitzitta 'I see you' mitzitta 'he/she/it sees you' | |
| 3rd person singular | -c-, 'him, her, it' | -qu- before a vowel but qui- before a consonant cluster | niquitta 'I see it,' quitta 'he/she/it sees him/her/it' |
| 1st person plural | -tēch- 'us' | titēchitta 'you see us,' tēchitta 'he/she/it sees us' | |
| 2nd person plural | -amēch- 'you' | namēchitta 'I see you,' amēchitta 'he/she/it sees you' | |
| 3rd person plural | -quin- 'them' | -quim- before a vowel, m or p | niquimitta 'I see them,' quimitta 'he/she/it sees them' |
| Unspecified animate | -tē- 'someone, people' | nitēitta 'I see,' tēitta 'he/she/it sees ' | |
| Unspecified inanimate | -tla- 'something, things' | eclipses a following i- | nitlatta 'I see,' tlatta 'he/she/it sees ' |
| 1st person singular reflexive | -no- 'myself' | Often -n- before a vowel but eclipses a following i- | ninotta 'I see myself,' ninotlazohtla 'I love myself' |
| 1st person plural reflexive | -to- 'ourselves, each other' | Often -t- before a vowel but eclipses a following i- | titottah 'we see ourselves/each other,' titotlazohtlah 'we love ourselves/each other' |
| non-1st person reflexive | -mo- 'yourself, himself, herself, themselves ' | Often -m- before a vowel but eclipses a following i- | motta 'he/she/it sees him/her/itself,' mottah 'they see themselves/each other' |
The object always must be marked on a transitive verb. If the object is unknown or is simply 'things/people in general' the unspecified object prefixes may be used. Compare niccua 'I am eating it ' to nitlacua'' 'I am eating'.
Plural suffixes are never used to mark plural objects, only plural subjects. Unspecified objects are never plural.
A Classical Nahuatl verb thus has the following structure:
SUBJECT PREFIX + OBJECT PREFIX + VERB STEM + SUBJECT NUMBER
Direct arguments of the verb - that is, subject and object - are obligatorily marked on the verb. If there are both direct and indirect objects, only one may be marked on the verb.
Other inflectional categories may be optionally marked, for example direction of motion. Other inflections include the applicative and causative, both valency changing operations; that is, they increase the number of arguments associated with a verb, transforming an intransitive verb into transitive, or a transitive verb into bitransitive.
Tense and mood inflection
The different tenses and moods are formed, somewhat as in Latin or Ancient Greek, by adding the person inflections to the appropriate verbal base or stem.The present tense is formed from base 1, the normal or citation form of the verb, with no special suffixes. The plural subject suffix is -h. Examples: nicochi 'I am sleeping,' tlahtoah 'they are speaking,' nicchīhua 'I am making it.'
The preterite or perfect tense is similar in meaning to the English simple past or present perfect. It is formed using base 2. The singular often ends in -h or -c while the plural suffix is -queh.
The formation of base 2, also known as the perfective stem, depends on the specific verb, but is usually shorter in form than base 1, often dropping a final vowel.
The preterite is often accompanied by the prefix ō-. The function of this prefix is to mark that the action of the verb is complete at the time of speaking. The augment is frequently absent in mythic or historical narratives. Examples: ōnicoch 'I slept,' ōtlatohqueh 'they spoke,' ōnicchīuh 'I made it.' The preterite also can be used to create agentive constructions
The pluperfect is also formed with the use of base 2 and the augment, but with the suffix -ca in the singular and -cah in the plural. The pluperfect roughly corresponds with the English past perfect, although more precisely it indicates that a particular action or state was in effect in the past but that it has been undone or reversed at the time of speaking. Examples: ōnicochca 'I had slept,' ōtlatohcah 'they had spoken,' ōnicchīuhca 'I had made it.'
The imperfect is similar in meaning to the imperfect in the Romance languages. It is formed with base 1, plus -ya or -yah in the plural. Sometimes the final vowel of the stem is lengthened. Examples: nicochiya 'I was sleeping,' tlahtoāyah 'they used to speak,' nicchīhuaya 'I was making it.'
The habitual present or customary present or quotidian tense is formed from base 1. The suffix is -ni, with the stem vowels sometimes lengthened before it. Rather than one specific event this tense expresses the subject's tendency or propensity to repeatedly or habitually perform the same action over time prone to die'. It is frequently translated into English with a noun or noun phrase, for example: cuīcani 'one who sings, singer,' tlahcuiloāni 'scribe,' or 'tlahtoāni' the title for the ruler of a Mexica city. Plural formation of this form is variable. It can be in -nih or -nimeh. In some cases, the plural does not use -ni at all but instead a preterite ending, as with tlahtohqueh, the plural of tlahtoāni, or tlahcuilohqueh, the plural of tlahcuiloāni. These preterite forms are also used to create possessive forms.
The future tense is formed from base 3, with a suffix -z in the singular and -zqueh in the plural.
Base 3 is normally the same as base 1, except for verbs whose stem ending in two vowels, in which case the second vowel is dropped, and the stem vowel is often lengthened in front of a suffix. Examples of the future: nicochiz 'I will sleep,' tlahtōzqueh 'they will speak,' nicchīhuaz 'I will make it.'
The imperative and optative are likewise formed from base 3, but with the plural suffix -cān. The imperative uses the special imperative subject prefixes, available only in the second person; the optative uses the normal subject prefixes. The imperative is used for commands, the optative is used for wishes or desires, both used in conjunction with particles: mā nicchīhua 'let me make it!'
The conditional, irrealis or counterfactual are all names for the same verbal mood formed from base 3. The suffix is -zquiya in the singular and -zquiyah in the plural. The basic meaning is that a state or action that was intended or desired did not come to pass. It can be translated as 'would have,' 'almost,' etc. Examples: nicochizquiya 'I would have slept,' tlahtōzquiyah 'they would have spoken,' nicchīhuazquiya 'I would have made it.'
The final mood is sometimes called as vetitive, or negative imperative but this is not the proper sense. Another way to describe it is admonitive - issuing a warning that something may come to pass, which the speaker does not desire, and by implication steps should be taken to avoid this. The negative of this mood simply warns that something may not happen and this non-occurrence is not desirable. The mood is formed with base 2, the same as the preterite, but with different endings. If the preterite singular ends in -c this is replaced by the glottal stop/saltillo. In the plural the ending is -tin or -tih. The admonitive is used in conjunction with particles mā or nēn. Examples: mā nicoch 'be careful, lest I sleep,' mā tlatohtin 'watch out, they may speak,' mā nicchīuh'' 'don't let me make it.'
Applicative
The applicative construction adds an argument to the verb. The role of the added argument can be benefactive, malefactive, indirect object or similar. It is formed by the suffix -lia.- niquittilia "I see it for him"
Causative
- niquittatia "I make him see it/I show it to him"
Unspecified Subject/Passive
- quitta "he sees it"+ -lo= quittalo "it is seen "
- miqui "he dies" + hua = micohua "there is dying/people are dying"
Directional affixes
- -on- "away from the speaker"
- on+ tlahtoa "to speak" = ontlahtoa "he/she/it speaks towards there"
- -huāl- " towards the speaker"
- huāl+ tlahtoa "to speak" = huāllahtoa "he/she/it speaks towards here"
Imperfective: -qui "comes towards the speaker in order to X"
qui + itta "to see" + qui ="quittaqui "he/she/it will come here to see it"
Perfective: -co "has come towards the speaker in order to X"
qui + itta "to see" + co =quittaco "he/she/it has come here to see it"
Extrovert:
Imperfective: -tīuh "goes away from the speaker in order to X"
qui + itta "to see" + tīuh ="quittatīuh "he/she/it will go there to see it"
Perfective: -to " has gone away from the speaker in order to X"
qui + itta "to see" + to =quittato "he/she/it has gone there to see it"
Derivational
A number of different suffixes exist to derive nouns from verbs:- -lli used to derive passivized nouns from verbs.
tla + ihcuiloa "write/draw" + l - tli = tlahcuilolli "scripture/ a drawing"
- -liztli used to derive abstract nouns from verbs.
tlahcuiloa "to write something" + liztli = tlahcuiloliztli "the concept of writing or being a scribe"
- -qui used to derive agentive nouns from verbs.
tlahuāna "to become drunk" + qui = tlahuānqui "a drunkard"
Verbal compounds
Two verbs can be compounded with the ligature morpheme -ti-.Relational Nouns and Locatives
Spatial and other relations are expressed with relational nouns. Some locative suffixes also exist.Noun Incorporation
Noun incorporation is productive in Classical Nahuatl and different kinds of material can be incorporated.- Body parts
- Instruments
- Objects
Syntax
Non-configurationality
Classical Nahuatl can be classified as a non-configurational language, allowing many different kinds of word orders, even splitting noun phrases.VSO basic word order
The basic word order of Classical Nahuatl is verb initial and often considered to be VSO, but some scholars have argued for it being VOS. However, the language being non-configurational, all word orders are allowed and are used to express different kinds of pragmatic relations, such as thematization and focus.Nouns as predicates
An important feature of Classical Nahuatl is that any noun can function as a standalone predicate. For example, calli is commonly translated "house" but could also be translated " is a house".As predicates, nouns can take the verbal subject prefixes. Thus, nitēuctli means "I am a lord" with the regular first person singular subject ni- attached to the noun tēuctli "lord". Similarly tinocihuāuh means "you are my wife", with the possessive noun nocihuāuh "my wife" attached to the subject prefix ti- "you". This construction is also seen in the name Tītlācahuān meaning "we are his slaves", a name for the god Tezcatlipoca.
Number system
Classical Nahuatl has a vigesimal or base 20 number system. In the pre-Columbian Nahuatl script, the numbers 20, 400 and 8,000 were represented by a flag, a feather, and a bag, respectively.It also makes use of numeral classifiers, similar to languages such as Chinese and Japanese.
Basic numbers
Compound numbers
Multiples of 20, 400 or 8,000 are formed by replacing cēm- or cēn- with another number. E.g. ōmpōhualli "40", mahtlāctzontli "4,000", nāuhxiquipilli "32,000".The numbers in between those above—11 to 14, 16 to 19, 21 to 39, and so forth—are formed by following the larger number with a smaller number which is to be added to the larger one. The smaller number is prefixed with om- or on-, or in the case of larger units, preceded by īpan "on it" or īhuān "with it". E.g. mahtlāctli oncē "11", caxtōlonēyi "18", cēmpōhualmahtlāctli omōme "32" ; cēntzontli caxtōlpōhualpan nāuhpōhualomōme "782".
Classifiers
Depending on the objects being counted, Nahuatl may use a classifier or counter word. These include:- -tetl for small, round objects
- -pāntli for counting rows
- -tlamantli for foldable or stackable things
- -ōlōtl for roundish or oblong-shaped things