Chapter 13: Commands, Requests, and Wishes

Starting point#

Ana is staying with ma Kawoq and te Ixk'at in Tecpán. It is early; te Ixk'at is at the fire and xta Ixchel is getting ready to go to the market.

Every verb te Ixk'at uses is a command, and every one of them begins with k- or t-. That prefix is the heart of this chapter.

A list for the market#

Before the two young women leave, te Ixk'at gives Ixchel her instructions. Read the text once for meaning.

Ixchel, tawak'axaj. Nab'ey kab'e pa k'ayb'äl.
Ixchel, listen. First go to the market.
Taloq'o' pe kinäq', ixim, ik chuqa' atz'am.
Buy beans, corn, chiles and salt.
Man taloq'o' ta k'iy ik; xa xe jub'a'.
Don't buy a lot of chile; just a little.
Tak'utuj rajil nab'ey. Wi jotöl rajil, tab'ij apo chre ri k'ayinel: "Tab'ana' utzil, taqasaj jub'a' rajil."
Ask the price first. If the price is high, say to the vendor: "Please, lower the price a little."
K'a ri' kab'e chi rochoch ri ach'itite'. Taya' kan jun wäy chuqa' jub'a' kape chre.
Then go to your aunt's house. Leave her a tortilla and a little coffee.
Tab'ij chre chi yojapon chwa'q.
Tell her that we are arriving tomorrow.
Katzolin pe chanin, roma kojwa' pa nik'aj q'ij.
Come back quickly, because we eat at midday.
Taya' kan ri tz'i' pa jay; man tak'waj ta.
Leave the dog at home; don't take it along.
Ana, kab'e rik'in ri Ixchel. Kixb'e k'a, kixtzolin pe chanin.
Ana, go with Ixchel. Off you go, then, come back quickly.

How it works#

A mood, not a tense#

In Chapters 10 to 12 every verb began with an aspect prefix: incompletive (present) n-/y-, completive (past) x-, potential (future) xt-/xk-. A command has no aspect. Instead it carries a mood prefix. "Mood" is the grammatical name for the speaker's attitude toward what the verb says: a plain statement reports something (the indicative mood), while a command, wish, or hope tries to make something happen. Linguists call the Kaqchikel command mood the imperative or hortative (from a Latin word meaning "urge"); this book says imperative, and uses "hortative" only when talking about "let's" and "let him" forms. There is no past imperative and no future imperative: the prefix simply replaces the aspect slot.

The prefix has two shapes, and they alternate exactly the way the incompletive and potential prefixes do:

Remember the verb template from Chapters 10 and 11: ASPECT + Set B + Set A + stem (+ suffix). "Set B" (absolutive) marks the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive one; "Set A" (ergative) marks the subject of a transitive verb. In a command, the aspect slot holds t- or k-, and everything else stays in place. That is why an intransitive command addressed to "you" begins with ka- (k- plus 2sB a-), while a transitive command telling "you" to do something to "it" begins with ta- (t- plus zero 3sB plus 2sA a-). So the ka-/kix-/koj- pile (kab'e, katz'uye', kixb'e, kixtzolin, kojb'e) is the intransitive pile, and the ta- pile (tatija', taqumu', taloq'o', tak'ama', taya', tamestaj, tab'ij) is the transitive pile. The two look alike, but the a- in katz'uye' "sit down" is Set B (you are the one sitting), and the a- in tab'ana' "do it" is Set A (you are the doer, the zero in between is the "it").

Intransitive commands: k- plus Set B#

With an intransitive verb, the subject is marked by Set B, so the prefix is always k- for "you", "you all", "me", "us" and "them". Only "let him/her/it" takes t-, because 3sB is zero. Here is one command taken fully apart:

k-a-tz'uye'
IMP-2sB-sit
"sit down!"

And a set of the most useful ones:

The Set B prefix keeps its two shapes: a- before a consonant (katz'uye', kab'e), at- before a vowel (katok, katel, katuxlan). To address several people, use ix-: kixtz'uye' "you all sit", kixwa' "you all eat", kixok "you all come in", kixtane' "you all be quiet".

Kixwa' is worth memorizing as a cultural item. A host opens a meal by saying Kixwa' "Eat, everyone" (or Kojwa' "Let's eat"), and the guests answer Matyöx. The source describes this as a fixed routine, and Ana will hear it at every meal.

Transitive commands: the object comes first#

A transitive command has an object, and that object sits in the Set B slot right after the prefix. Most of the time the object is "it" (a thing), which is the zero 3sB, so the prefix is t- and the next thing you hear is the Set A subject marker: a- for "you", i- (before a consonant) or iw- (before a vowel) for "you all".

These examples are all derived transitives, the long stems ending in -Vj (Chapter 11). With derived stems the prefix alone marks the command; nothing is added at the end. The same is true of intransitives. Root transitives behave differently, and that is the one genuinely new piece of morphology in this chapter.

Root transitives add -V' with vowel harmony#

A root transitive is a one-syllable stem of the shape consonant-vowel-consonant, with a lax vowel because that syllable is the last one in the word: -b'än "do", -tz'ët "see", -löq' "buy", -k'üt "show", -tij "eat". In the imperative these roots take a suffix consisting of a vowel plus glottal stop, -V'. The vowel is not arbitrary; it harmonizes with (copies or adapts to) the root vowel. Here is the fully worked example:

t-Ø-a-b'an-a'
IMP-3sB-2sA-do-IMP
"do it! make it!"

Two things happened to the root -b'än: it received the suffix -a', and its own vowel changed from lax ä to tense a. The vowel tensed because of a rule you learned in Chapter 1: lax vowels live only in final syllables. As soon as a suffix is added, the root is no longer final, so its vowel tenses: -b'än becomes b'an- in tab'ana', -löq' becomes loq'- in taloq'o', -k'üt becomes k'ut- in tak'utu'.

Which suffix appears depends on the root vowel, and there are only two rules: back vowels (ä, ö, ü) copy themselves into the suffix; front vowels (i, ë) give -a'. Here is the full rule table:

So back vowels (ä, ö, ü) copy themselves and front vowels (i, ë) give -a'. The rule of thumb "back vowel copies, front vowel gives -a'", plus "root vowel tenses", generates every regular form. A handy table of the root transitives you already know, in the 2nd-person-singular command shape:

Notice tawila' and tak'ama': the Set A marker is aw- before a vowel-initial root (-il), a- before a consonant.

One root you use constantly does not follow the pattern: -b'ij "say, tell". Its command is simply tab'ij (Tab'ij pe chwe "tell me", Man tab'ij ke ri' "don't mention it"), with no harmonic suffix. -k'waj "carry, take" is the same kind of exception: tak'waj "take it". Learn tab'ij and tak'waj as fixed forms. The source also occasionally shows a root transitive without the suffix in a wish (Tiqalöq' ta ... "we should buy ..."), so do not be surprised if you hear the suffix dropped; for your own production, add it.

Glottal-final roots take nothing#

One small group of root transitives ends in a glottal stop: -ya' "give, put", -to' "help", -tzu' "look at", -ti' "bite", -sa' "grill", -su' "wipe". Their vowel is already tense in every form, and they add no harmonic suffix: taya' "give it", tatzu' "look at it", tasu' "wipe it". The reason is simple: the suffix is "a vowel plus glottal stop", and a root that already ends in a glottal stop has nowhere to put a second one. Learn these six as a set.

Putting an object on a command: kinato', kojato', ke'ato'#

When the object is not "it" but "me", "us", "you", or "them", the Set B slot is filled, so the prefix becomes k-, and the Set B marker appears between the prefix and the Set A subject marker:

The 3rd-person-plural Set B is e- before a consonant and e'- before a vowel, and since every Set A marker that follows it here begins with a vowel (a-, aw-, i-, iw-), you will nearly always see ke'-. Compare kinato' "help me" with kinakuyu' "forgive me": the first root ends in a glottal stop and takes no suffix; the second (-kuy) takes harmonic -u'. The rule is the same as with "it" objects.

Third person: "let him", "may she", "would that they"#

Kaqchikel uses the same mood for commands aimed at someone who is not present. English has to reach for "let him go" or "may she forget it"; Kaqchikel simply conjugates the imperative for a third-person subject. These forms are common when dividing up tasks.

Notice the spelling detail in tib'e, tiwär, tib'ixan: when t- lands directly before a consonant-initial intransitive stem with a zero subject, an i is inserted to make it pronounceable, just as n- becomes ni- in nib'e "he goes" (Chapter 10). Before a vowel-initial stem there is no need: tok "let him come in", tel "let him leave".

First person: "let me" and "let's"#

The same prefix with a first-person subject expresses a wish that the speaker (or the speaker's group) be allowed to do something, or a proposal: "let me rest", "let's eat". With transitive verbs, the 1sA marker is in- before a consonant and inw- before a vowel, and the 1pA marker is qa- or q-.

A small but important point: the intransitive 1sB in "let me sleep" is i- (kiwär), not in-. The shape in- appears only before a vowel (kinuxlan, kinok). Do not confuse intransitive kiwär "let me sleep" with transitive kinato' "help me", where in- is the object and a- is the subject.

Softening a command into a request#

A bare imperative is not rude in Kaqchikel the way it can be in English; Katz'uye' "sit down" from a host is warm, not bossy. Still, the language has several ways to cushion an order.

1. Tab'ana' utzil "please", literally "do (a) kindness", itself an imperative of -b'än with the noun utzil "favor, goodness". It goes before or after the request: Tab'ana' utzil, taya' pe chwe jun wäy "Please give me a tortilla"; Katz'uye', tab'ana' utzil "Sit down, please". A fuller form is tab'ana' jun utzil chwe "do me a favor".

2. The particle k'a "then, well" attached to the verb phrase makes an order sound like a natural next step rather than a demand: Kixb'e k'a "Go on, then"; Katz'uye' k'a "Have a seat, then". The same particle appears in replies: Ütz k'a "All right, then", Matyöx k'a ri' "Thanks, then".

3. The particle na "still, for a moment" after the verb asks for a short delay and sounds gentle: Kinawoyob'ej na "Wait for me a moment". The source also shows na combined with a further softener in Kinawoyob'ej na b'a' "Wait for me just a moment"; the element b'a' is a minimizing particle ("just, a bit"); the source does not describe it on its own, but other vocabularies confirm it (b'a' ok "a little bit"), and the authors' newer book puts it on a hortative: K'o nuramaj tiqaq'ij; kojsamäj b'a! "I have time this afternoon; let's work!" (Kik'aslemal ri Kaqchikela', draft, p. 278).

4. Jub'a' "a little" inside the request lowers the stakes: Taqasaj jub'a' "Lower it a little" (the classic bargaining line, asking a seller to drop the price), Taya' pe jub'a' ya' chwe "Give me a little water".

5. Finally, intonation. Commands are spoken with the same falling contour as statements; a high, drawn-out final syllable turns a command into coaxing, especially with children.

Negative commands#

There are three negative patterns, and they differ in force.

Pattern 1: man ... ta around the imperative. This is the ordinary "don't": the negative frame from Chapter 3 wraps the verb word, exactly as it does with indicative verbs.

Pattern 2: man without ta. When the speaker assumes compliance, because the prohibition is routine or a matter of custom, the ta is dropped. The best-known example is the reply to "thank you": Man tab'ij ke ri' "Don't mention it" (literally "don't say it like that"). The source also describes household taboos phrased this way, such as a warning not to leave a griddle on the fire. The authors' newer grammar frames these as the commands that leave no room for non-compliance, its examples running from the commandments (Man takamisaj jun winäq "Thou shalt not kill") to the parting salutation Man katzaq pa b'ey "Take care", literally "don't fall on the road" (Kik'aslemal ri Kaqchikela', draft, p. 279). The contrast is real: man tab'ij ke ri' is a pleasantry, while man tab'ij ta ke ri' (with ta) is a genuine "don't talk like that!".

Pattern 3: mani with the incompletive. The particle mani "no, not" combines not with the imperative but with the ordinary present-tense verb:

The logic is that mani by itself carries the prohibiting force, so the verb can stay in the indicative. Children's speech often shortens mani to ni; you will hear ¡Ni! as a bare "No!".

Directionals on commands#

Commands very often carry one of the little directional particles that Chapter 14 treats in full: pe "toward here", apo "toward there", kan "leaving it behind", el "away, out". They stand right after the verb, before any object.

Katam pe "come here" is a fixed expression: it appears across the sources, spoken and written, but always as a command (Katam pe wik'in "Come with me"), and the stem is not listed on its own, so learn the whole phrase and do not try to conjugate it for other persons. The pattern taya' pe chwe "give it (here) to me" and tab'ij apo chre "say it (there) to her" shows what the particles do: they point the action toward or away from the speaker.

Wishes and indirect commands#

The imperative mood also expresses wishes, which is why grammars call it the hortative or subjunctive. There are three constructions to know now.

"May he / let her" as a wish. The third-person forms above double as wishes: Tiretamaj "may she learn it" (t- plus zero plus 3sA r- before the vowel of -etamaj), Tikila' "may they find it", Tuqasaj rajil "may he lower the price".

The irrealis particle ta without man. On its own, ta weakens a sentence to "would, should, I'd like". With a first-person verb of wanting it gives a polite wish, a pattern the source itself uses: Ninwajo' ta yib'e "I'd like to go" (literally "I want-would I go"), Ninwajo' ta yib'ixan "I'd like to sing". With an imperative it gives "should": Tiqab'ana' ta "we should do it"; Tiqatz'eta' ta ri nimaq'ij "we ought to go see the festival". With a completive verb it gives "should have" (the source's examples are of the type "you should have told me", "he should have asked"): Xape ta iwir "you should have come yesterday", Xak'utuj ta chwe "you should have asked me". Chapter 19 returns to ta in detail.

richin (ta) "so that, in order to". The relational noun richin links a purpose clause; adding ta marks the purpose as not yet realized: Xinlöq' jun po't richin ta nakusaj pa nimaq'ij "I bought a blouse so that you could wear it at the festival"; Kab'e pa tijob'äl richin nawetamaj k'iy "Go to school so that you learn a lot". Chapter 21 treats richin and the other relational nouns as clause linkers.

Finally, the verb of wanting takes a plain complement, not an imperative: Ninwajo' yib'e pa k'ayb'äl "I want to go to the market", Ninwajo' ninsik'ij ri wuj "I want to read the book". When the wanter and the doer are the same person, that plain complement is all you need. When they are different, ¿La ütz awäch? itself never shows -ajo' with a chi clause, but the authors' newer book uses the pattern freely: ¿Achike nawajo' chi ninb'än awoma? "What do you want me to do for you?" (Kik'aslemal ri Kaqchikela', draft, p. 160). So Ninwajo' chi yab'e "I want you to go" is good Kaqchikel; a direct command (Tab'ana') or a purpose clause with richin does the same job.

Patterns at a glance#

The imperative prefix#

Intransitive commands by person#

Transitive commands with "it" as object (root -b'än and derived -k'utuj)#

Suffix on root transitives#

Negatives#

Vocabulary#

Usage and dialect notes#

• Commands are normal, not rude. Hosts, parents, teachers and vendors use bare imperatives constantly, and the expected reply is Ütz k'a or Matyöx, not a protest. Ana should not feel she is being ordered about when te Ixk'at says Katz'uye'; she is being welcomed.
• Kixwa' / Kojwa' opens a shared meal; answer Matyöx. In some households Kixwa' is repeated during the meal as "keep eating", the way English hosts say "help yourself".
• Man tab'ij ke ri' is the default reply to matyöx; do not add ta.
• Spelling. The harmonic suffix always ends in a glottal stop: tak'utu', not tak'utu. You will sometimes see the suffix written without it in older or careless printing; the sound is there.
• Dialect leveling. Dialects differ in how many lax vowels they have and how they sound (Chapter 1), but because the imperative suffix pushes the root vowel into a non-final syllable, the vowel tenses everywhere: tab'ana', taloq'o' sound the same in Tecpán, Comalapa and Sololá even where the plain roots -b'än, -löq' do not.
• The source glosses the third-person and first-person forms with English "would that", "may", "let": tiretamaj "would that he learn it", kexajon "may they dance". Pick whichever English fits the moment; the Kaqchikel form is one and the same.

Pitfalls#

1. Do not use the incompletive as a command ("you sit" for "sit"): yatz'uye' is a statement, katz'uye' is the command.
2. Do not forget the object slot: "help me" is kinato', never a form with "me" as a separate word, and never kato' (that would have no object at all).
3. Do not add the harmonic suffix to derived -Vj stems (tak'utuj, not tak'utuja'), to the six glottal-final roots (taya', not taya'a'), or to tab'ij and tak'waj.
4. Do not keep the lax vowel when you add the suffix: tab'ana', not tab'äna'; taloq'o', not talöq'o'.
5. Do not confuse kiwär "let me sleep" (intransitive, i- is the subject) with kinato' "help me" (transitive, in- is the object). Intransitive 1sB is i- before a consonant, in- only before a vowel.
6. Do not put ta into Man tab'ij ke ri'; with ta it stops being "you're welcome" and becomes a scolding.

Looking back and ahead#

The imperative reuses everything from Chapters 10 to 12: the same Set A and Set B markers in the same slots, with t-/k- in place of aspect. The harmonic suffix -V' on root transitives is the one new rule, and it is driven by the lax-vowel principle from Chapter 1. Chapter 14 looks closely at the directionals (pe, el, apo, kan, qa) that you have already seen riding on commands like tak'ama' pe and taya' kan, and Chapter 19 returns to man ... ta, mani, and the irrealis ta in wishes and conditions.