Classical Nahuatl is a "non-configurational" language. This means its word order is extremely flexible.

Unlike English, which relies heavily on Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order (e.g., "The dog eats the food"), Nahuatl can arrange these elements in almost any order.

The most common order seen in formal texts is often Verb-Subject-Object (VSO).

Example: Quicua in tlācatl in nacatl. (Eats the person the meat.)

However, SVO is also very common and often feels more natural for English speakers.

Example: In tlācatl quicua in nacatl. (The person eats the meat.)

This flexibility is possible because the verb itself contains information about the subject (who is doing) and the object (what is being done to).

For example, Nicchīhua means "I make it."

• The ni- prefix means "I."

• The root is -chīhua ("make"),

• and the internal -c- is the third-person singular object prefix (“him/her/it”); c-, qu-, and qui- are context-conditioned forms of the same object marker.

Because the verb carries this information, the "Subject" and "Object" nouns are often just included for clarity or emphasis.

This flexibility is used for emphasis. Bringing a word to the front of the sentence (topicalization) gives it more focus.

For example: Tlaxcalli nicchīhua emphasizes the 'tortillas' (Tortillas, I make.)

Examples:

Tlacua in piltzintli. (The child eats. - V-S)

In piltzintli tlacua. (The child eats. - S-V)

Nicchīhua tlaxcalli. (I make tortillas. - S(implied)-V-O)

Tlaxcalli nicchīhua. (Tortillas, I make. - O-S(implied)-V)

Quitta in cihuātl in tēlpōchtli. (The woman sees the young man. - V-S-O)

In tēlpōchtli quitta in cihuātl. (The young man sees the woman. - S-V-O)

Cuīca in tōtolin. (The turkey sings. - V-S)

In tōtolin cuīca. (The turkey sings. - S-V)

Xōchitl nicnequi. (A flower, I want. - O-S(implied)-V)

Nicnequi xōchitl. (I want a flower. - S(implied)-V-O)

Yehuātl quipia āmoxtli. (He has a book. - S-V-O)

Āmoxtli quipia yehuātl. (A book, he has. - O-V-S)

Making Positive Statements

An affirmative (positive) statement is the default sentence form.

As seen above, a basic sentence only needs a verb, as the verb includes the subject.

Example: Nicochi. (I sleep.)

If you add a noun for clarity (like a subject or object), the sentence remains a simple positive statement.

Examples:

Nimitztlazohtla. (I love you.)

Titequiti. (You work.)

Yehuātl cochticā. (He/She is sleeping.)

Ticuīcah. (We sing.)

Anquichīhuah tlaxcalli. (You (pl.) make tortillas.)

Yehuāntin motlaloah. (They run.)

In cihuātl quipia calli. (The woman has a house.)

In tlācatl quicua nacatl. (The person eats meat.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

To make a sentence negative in Nahuatl, you use the particle ahmō (sometimes written ahmo).

This particle is placed directly before the verb or the word being negated.

Note: The word order in negative sentences can also vary for emphasis.

While Yehuātl ahmō motlaloa (S-Neg-V) is clear, you will also frequently see the negative particle attached to the verb first, e.g., Ahmō motlaloa yehuātl (Neg-V-S).

To form a simple Yes/No question, you add the particle cuix to the beginning of the sentence.

To ask "Wh-" questions (What, Where, How, etc.), you use specific question words, which also usually appear at the start of the sentence.

Common question words:

• Tlein? (What?)

• Cānin? (Where?)

• Quēn? (How?)

• Quēmman? (When?)

• Āquin? (Who?)

Examples (Negatives):

Ahmō nicochi. (I am not sleeping.)

Ahmō titequiti. (You do not work.)

Yehuātl ahmō motlaloa. (He/She does not run.)

Ahmō ticuīcah. (We do not sing.)

Ahmō anquicuah nacatl. (You (pl.) do not eat meat.)

Yehuāntin ahmō quipiah calli. (They do not have a house.)

Examples (Questions):

Cuix ticochi? (Are you sleeping?)

Cuix yehuātl motlaloa? (Is he/she running?)

Cuix anquipiah calli? (Do you (pl.) have a house?)

Tlein ticchīhua? (What are you doing?)

Cānin tiyauh? (Where are you going?)

Quēn tinemi? (How are you?)

Tlein quicua in piltzintli? (What is the child eating?)

Āquin cuīca? (Who is singing?)

Cānin cateh in cihuah? (Where are the women?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

Nahuatl grammar is much simpler than many European languages in one way: it has no grammatical gender.

Nouns are not "masculine" or "feminine." The same word tlācatl (person) or piltzintli (child) can refer to any gender.

Number (singular vs. plural), however, is very important.

Most Nahuatl nouns in their singular form end in an "absolutive suffix." This suffix is part of the noun when it stands alone.

Common suffixes are: -tl, -tli, -li, and -in.

In Classical Nahuatl, ordinary plural inflection primarily applies to animate nouns, especially people and animals. Most inanimate nouns do not normally require plural marking, although some inanimate nouns do have attested plural forms; for example, xōchitl “flower” can form xōchimeh, while culturally personified nouns such as tepētl “mountain” and cītlalin “star” can also have plural forms.

Common plural suffixes:

• -meh (or -h)

• -tin

• Reduplication (repeating the first syllable)

Some animate nouns ending in -tl take -meh, but tlācatl (person) has the plural tlācah (people).

Animate nouns with consonant stems often form the plural with -tin: oquichtli (man) -> oquichtin (men).

Animate nouns (especially animals) sometimes reduplicate: cōātl (snake) -> cōcōah (snakes).

Examples:

tlācatl (person) -> tlācah (people)

xōchitl (flower) -> xōchimeh (flowers)

cihuātl (woman) -> cihuah (women)

cōātl (snake) -> cōcōah (snakes)

michin (fish) -> mīmichtin (fish (plural))

piltzintli (child) -> pīpiltzitzintin (children)

āmoxtli (book) -> āmoxtli (books)

tepētl (hill) -> tepēmeh (hills)

tōtolin (turkey) -> tōtoltin (turkeys)

(Note: Some sources use āmoxtin as a plural form for āmoxtli.)

Articles and Determiners

Classical Nahuatl does not have definite articles ("the") or indefinite articles ("a" / "an") that work exactly like they do in English.

The word in is often translated as "the." However, it functions more as a determiner or a topic marker that points out a specific, known noun.

If you are speaking about something indefinitely or generically, you often use no article at all.

Examples:

Nicnequi tlaxcalli. (I want a tortilla / I want tortilla.)

Nicnequi in tlaxcalli. (I want the tortilla.)

Cihuātl cuīca. (A woman sings.)

In cihuātl cuīca. (The woman sings.)

Quipia calli. (He has a house.)

Quipia in calli. (He has the house.)

In cōātl huēyi. (The snake is big.)

Tōtolin tlacua. (A turkey eats.)

In tōtolin tlacua. (The turkey eats.)

Nicpia āmoxtli. (I have a book.)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

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

1- __________ calli cualli. (The house is good.)

2- Nicpia cē āmoxtli. Ticpia mīec ____. (I have one book. You have many books.)

True/False

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

1- Nahuatl word order is strictly Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) and can never change.

2- All Nahuatl nouns are assigned a grammatical gender (masculine or feminine).

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Nahuatl.

1- I want a flower.

2- The woman sleeps.

3- The people run.