-a'to

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ato"

Ye'kwana

Alternative forms

• -ka'to, -ya'to (allomorphs)

Etymology

From -a (recent/distant past imperfective suffix) +‎ -kö (distant past imperfective third-person suffix) +‎ -to (plural verb suffix) or -akö (distant past imperfective third-person suffix) +‎ -to (plural verb suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [-aʔto]

Suffix

-a'to

1. Forms the plural of the distant past imperfective tense when both the agent and patient (if there is one) of the verb are third-person.

Usage notes

This suffix can cause syllable reduction. The suffix takes the form -ka'to when the preceding syllable is reducible and has an onset of k, -ya'to when the preceding syllable ends in i, and -a'to in other contexts.

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011) Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[1], Lyon, pages 213–222