CHAPTER 6
VARIATION IN THE VERB SYSTEM

6-1] Introduction

The verb system of Aymara consists of verb roots
and verb suffixes, which together form verb stems. A
verbalized noun root or stem is a verb theme. Verb roots,
stems, and themes are usually cited with the nominalizing
suffix -fia, unless the resulting form implies a seman-
tically unacceptable human subject. (See 8-2.25 for
more on -fia semantics.) The verb sa.fia ‘to say' (see
6-4) is set off from all others by its phonological
structure (it is the only monosyllabic root in the lan-
guage) and by its function as a syntactic subordinator.
Most Aymara verbs have two-vowel roots; a few (mostly
Spanish loans) have three-vowel roots. Spanish verbs
enter Aymara freely, e. g. puyri.fia ‘to be able’ from
Spanish poder. There is also a class of ambiguous
noun/verb roots, as noted in 5-2.7.

Verb suffixes are of two types: derivational
and inflectional. Both types are closed classes that

do not admit loans. Verbal derivational suffixes modify

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