In this lesson, we will learn about plural forms to reference multiple objects and people. There are several ways to pluralize words and sentences in K’iche’.
Nouns
Plural nouns are marked with the suffix –Vb’, where V = Vowel. If the last vowel of the noun is –i or –e, the plural suffix is –ab’:
1. In ajtij. “I am a teacher.”
Oj ajtijab’. “We are teachers.”
2. Are tijoxel. “He/she is a student.”
A’re’ e tijoxelab’. “They are students.”
Note that a’re “they” is the plural of are “he/she”. When appearing as predicates of third person plural subjects, plural nouns require an agreement proclitic e (as in e tijoxelab’ “students” in Ex. 2).
If the last vowel of the noun is –a, -o, -u, the plural suffix is –ib’:
3. At ixoq. “You are a woman.”
Ix ixoqib’. “You all are women.”
4. At ajchak.“You are a worker.”
Ix ajchakib’. “You all are workers.”
If the noun begins with a vowel, the proclitic e that marks plurality becomes a glottal stop inserted after the first vowel of the third person plural noun (a’jchakib’).
There are some exceptions to the vowel rule above. In almost of all of them, however, the meanings of the plural form are somewhat different from the singular:
5. k’ajol “son (of a man)”
k’ajolab’ “young men, male youth”
6. ak’al “child”
ak’alab’ “children”
7. ali “girl, unmarried young woman”
altomab’ “girls”
8. ala “boy, unmarried young man”
alab’om “boys”
9. achi “man”
achijab’ “men”
10. ati’t “grandmother, female animal”
ati’tab’ “female animals”
11. ama’ “male animal”
ama’ib’ “male animals”
Adjectives
Adjectives do not have plural forms except the following (the plural suffix is -aq)
12. ch’uti’n / ch’utiq “small”
13. nim / nimaq “big”
14. chom / chomaq “fat”
15. pim / pimaq “thick”
When the adjective is acting as sentence predicate, a glottal stop is required after the ‘a’ in –aq.
16. Le nimaqa taq ja. “The big houses”
17. Nima’q le ja. “The houses are big”
18. Nima’q taq le ja. “The houses are big”
For a more in-depth explanation of adjectives see lessons 28 and 29.
Proclitic particle ‘taq’
Plural nouns are marked with the proclitic taq.
19. Le nimaq taq ja. “The big houses.”
b) In existential and stative sentences: When the predicate is a plural noun, the particle taq precedes the article. The reader should be aware that in K’iche’ predicates precede subjects unlike Spanish or English.
20. Saq taq le ja. “The houses are white.”
In Ex. 20, the predicate saq “white” precedes the subject taq le ja “the houses”.
21. Rax taq le kotz’i’j. “The flowers are green.”
22. E k’a’n taq le tz’i’. “The dogs are fierce.”
When referencing animate nouns the agreement marker e before the predicate is preferred as in Ex. 22.
23. E k’a’n le tz’i’. “The dogs are fierce.”
In example 23, the proclitic e is the sole plural marker as the proclitic taq does not appear preceding the subject le tz’i’ “the dogs.”
24. E utz le winaq. “The people are good.”
In like fashion, in example 24, the proclitic e before the predicate utz is the only plural marker.
25. E nima’q le altomab’. “The girls are big.”
In Ex. 25 both the predicate nima’q and the subject altomab’ bear plural markers.
26. A’re wa’ le e wal. “These here are my kids” (spoken by a woman).
In example 26, the agreement proclitic e precedes wal “my kids.” Note the plural marking on the pronoun a’re “they.”
27. A’re wa’ le e nuchikop. “These here are my animals.”
28. E tijoxelab’ le a’chijab’. “The men are students.”
Note the agreement proclitics (e and glottal stop) on both plural nouns in the predicate e tijoxelab’ and in the subject le a’chijab’.
29. A’jtijab’ le achijab’. “The men are teachers.”
In contrast to Ex. 28, the subject achijab’ does not show proclitic agreement in Ex. 29.
30. E’laq’omab’ taq le achijab’. “The men are thieves.”
31. E k’o kajib’ uk’ajol le tat Wel. “Don Manuel has four sons.”
32. Jawi’ e k’o wi le awal? “Where are your children?” (addressed to a woman).
In existential sentences the proclitic e precedes the existential k’o as in Ex. 31. The cardinal number kajib’ “four” marks the subject as plural. Possessed nouns such as uk’ajol “his sons” are not pluralized.
Finally, there is an additional proclitic particle with a diminutive, affective connotation that indicates affection or appreciation towards the subject: staq, as in Ex. 33 below. Do not confuse this with taq, which is a distributive/diminutive as well (Ex. 34).
33. Kewar le staq imul. “The cute/little rabbits are sleeping.”
34. Kewar le taq imul. “The cute/little rabbits are sleeping.”
35. K’o taq ab’aj pa le b’e. “There are little rocks on the road.”
| jun | one |
| keb’ | two |
| oxib’ | three |
| kajib’ | four |
| jo’ob’ | five |
| waqib’ | six |
| wuqub’ | seven |
| wajxaqib’ | eight |
| b’elejeb’ | nine |
| lajuj | ten |
| pix | tomato |
| ichaj | herbs |
| kaqa q’oq’ | watermelon |
| q’an (inkine’y, prut) | banana |
| saqwach | potato |
| saqmo’l | egg |
| kinaq’ | bean |
Transform the following sentences into plural, then translate them into English:
- K’o jun ajk’ay prut pa le k’ayb’al.
- K’o jun tz’i’ pa le b’e.
- La k’o le awuj? Je’, k’o nuwuj.
- Ajk’ay pix le wachi’il.
- K’o jun achi pa le k’ayb’al.
Answers
- E k’o ajk’ay taq prut pa le k’ayb’al. (There are banana sellers in the market.)
- E k’o taq le tz’i’ pa le b’e. (There are dogs on the street.)
- La k’o taq le awuj? Je’ k’o taq le nuwuj. (Do you have your books? Yes, I have my books.)
- Ajk’ay taq pix le e wachi’il. (The tomato sellers are my friends.)
- E k’o achijab’ pa le k’ayb’al. (There are men in the market.)