Word Order and Sentence Building

Quechua follows a default Subject – Object – Verb (SOV) word order.

The verb commonly goes at the very end of a neutral sentence, but this is not an absolute rule.

Unlike English (SVO: "I eat bread"), Quechua says "I bread eat."

Other word orders may be used for emphasis or information structure.

Another key feature is that adjectives always come before the noun they describe (like in English, but unlike in Spanish).

So, you say "Red house," not "House red."

Examples of Word Order:

Ñuqa t'antata mikhuni. (I bread eat. — I eat bread.)

Paykuna yakuta upyanku. (They water drink. — They drink water.)

Maria wasita pichan. (Maria the house cleans. — Maria cleans the house.)

Allqu aychata mikhun. (The dog eats meat.)

Qam qillqa mayt'uta leenki. (You the book read. — You read the book.)

Taytay papata allan. (My father harvests/digs potatoes.)

Sumaq t'ika. (Beautiful flower. — Adjective before noun)

Hatun wasi. (Big house. — Adjective before noun)

Yuraq allqu. (White dog. — Adjective before noun)

Ñuqa Qusquman rini. (I to Cusco go. — I go to Cusco.)

Pay tiyan. (He/She sits. — Simple Subject-Verb)

Wawa puñun. (The baby sleeps.)

Learner Tip: Think of the verb as the "period" at the end of the sentence. Until you hear the verb, the thought isn't finished.

Making Positive Statements (The Validator -mi/-m)

In Quechua, stating a fact often requires a "validator" suffix to show how you know the information.

The most common one for direct knowledge (things you see or know for sure) is -mi (after a consonant) or -m (after a vowel).

While you can sometimes omit it in very simple contexts, using it makes your speech sound natural and assertive.

It usually attaches to the most important word in the sentence (often the object or the focus).

Examples:

Kayqa wasim. (This is a house. — asserting it is a house)

Payqa Mariam. (She is Maria.)

Qusquqa sumaqmi. (Cusco is beautiful.)

Allquqa yana allqum. (The dog is a black dog.)

Ñuqa Pedro kani. (I am Pedro. — Validator optional with "to be" sometimes)

Chayqa t'antam. (That is bread.)

Payqa yachachiqmi. (He/She is a teacher.)

Kayqa allinmi. (This is good.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

Negation and questions in Quechua work like a pair of bookends.

To make a Negative sentence, you use the word Mana (No/Not) at the start and add the suffix -chu to the verb (or the negated element).

Structure: Mana + [Object/Verb] + -chu.

To ask a Yes/No Question, you simply add the suffix -chu to the main word you are asking about. You do not change the word order.

Structure: [Statement] + -chu?

Examples of Negatives:

Mana t'antata mikhunichu. (I do not eat bread.)

Mana Pedrochu kani. (I am not Pedro.)

Mana hatunchu. (It is not big.)

Wasiqa mana yuraqchu. (The house is not white.)

Paykuna mana rimankuchu. (They do not speak.)

Mana allinchu. (It is not good/well.)

Examples of Questions:

Allinllachu? (Are you good? / How are you?)

Pedrochu kanki? (Are you Pedro?)

Kayqa wasichu? (Is this a house?)

T'antata munankichu? (Do you want bread?)

Yachachiqchu pay? (Is he/she a teacher?)

Llamk'ankichu? (Do you work?)

Hatunchu? (Is it big?)

Qusquchu? (Is it Cusco?)

Yakuta munankichu? (Do you want water?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

Gender:

Quechua does not have grammatical gender like Spanish or French (no "el" or "la"). Objects are neutral.

Biological gender (sex) is distinguished by using specific words:

Qhari (Male/Man) for humans.

Warmi (Female/Woman) for humans.

Urqu (Male) for animals.

China (Female) for animals.

Number (Plurals):

To make a noun plural, you simply add the suffix -kuna to the end.

Examples:

Wasi (House) → Wasikuna (Houses)

Runa (Person) → Runakuna (People)

Allqu (Dog) → Allqukuna (Dogs)

T'ika (Flower) → T'ikakuna (Flowers)

Qhari wawa (Son of a female speaker / Male child)

Warmi wawa (Daughter of a female speaker / Female child)

Urqu k'anka (Male rooster — redundant but emphasizes sex)

China allqu (Female dog)

Llaqta (Town) → Llaqtakuna (Towns)

Urqu (Mountain) → Urqukuna (Mountains)

Cultural Tip: In Quechua, sometimes the plural marker -kuna is omitted if the context or a number makes it obvious. For example, Iskay wasi (Two house) is grammatically acceptable, though Iskay wasikuna is also used.

Articles and Determiners

Quechua does not have definite ("the") or indefinite ("a/an") articles. The context usually implies them.

However, Quechua uses Topic Markers (like -qa) and Demonstratives to specify nouns.

Kay (This)

Chay (That - near you)

Haqay (That - over there/far away)

Huk (One / A / An — literally means "one", used as indefinite article)

Examples:

Wasi. (House / A house / The house — depends on context)

Huk wasi. (A house / One house.)

Kay runa. (This person.)

Chay allqu. (That dog.)

Haqay urqu. (That mountain over there.)

Kay t'antata munani. (I want this bread.)

Chayta munani. (I want that.)

Huk qillqa mayt'u. (A book.)

Kayqa ñuqap. (This is mine.)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1- To say "The houses" in Quechua, you add the suffix -____ to the word Wasi.

2- The word for "No" or "Not" in Quechua is ____.

3- Quechua sentence order is Subject - Object - ____.

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1- In Quechua, adjectives come after the noun (e.g., "House Big").

2- The suffix -chu is used for both negative sentences and questions.

3- Quechua has "el" and "la" for grammatical gender.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Quechua.

1- (It) is not a house.

2- I eat bread. (Remember: Object before Verb)

3- This is a dog. (Use the validator -m/-mi)