Word Order and Sentence Building

The standard word order in Navajo is Subject - Object - Verb (SOV).

This is different from the English Subject-Verb-Object order.

For example, in English, you say "The boy (S) kicked (V) the stone (O)."

In Navajo, you would say "The boy (S) the stone (O) kicked (V)."

The verb almost always comes at the very end of the sentence.

Navajo sentences are often flexible because the verb itself contains so much information (including the subject and object pronouns), but the noun phrase order generally follows a hierarchy of animacy (living things come before non-living things).

Examples:

• Ashkii tsé yiztał. (The boy kicked the stone.)

Ashkii (Boy – Subject)

Tsé (Stone – Object)

Yiztał (He kicked it – Verb)

• Bá’ólta’í naaltsoos yinéł’į́. (The teacher is looking at the book.)

Bá’ólta’í (Teacher)

Naaltsoos (Book/Paper)

Yinéł’į́ (He/She is looking at it)

• Shí Diné nishłį́. (I am Navajo.)

• Bimá kingóó deeyá. (His mother is going to town.)

• Hastiin mósí yikéé’ yigááł. (The man is tracking the cat.)

• Łį́į́’ tł’oh yiyą́. (The horse is eating grass.)

• At’ééd hooghangóó deeyá. (The girl is going to the hogan.)

• Chidí yilwoł. (The car is moving.)

Making Positive Statements

To form a basic positive statement, you simply arrange the nouns in the correct order and place the conjugated verb at the end.

Unlike English, you do not always need a separate word for "is" or "are" when using descriptive verbs (neuter verbs).

Examples:

• Díí mósí át’é. (This is a cat.)

• Shimá yidloh. (My mother is laughing.)

• Shizhé’é naalnish. (My father is working.)

• Kin łigai. (The house is white.)

• Nímasii łikan. (The potato is tasty.)

• Shí Bee’eldííldahsinildi kééhasht’į́. (I live in Albuquerque.)

• T’áá ániit’é nideiiʼné. (We are all playing.)

• Diné bizaad bíhoosh’aah. (I am learning the Navajo language.)

Forming Negatives and Questions

Negation in Navajo typically involves wrapping the verb or the phrase in the particles doo ... da.

You place doo before the word you are negating and da after it.

Negative Examples:

• Doo yidloh da. (He/She is not laughing.)

• Doo yá’át’ééh da. (It is not good.)

• Doo shimá át’é da. (She is not my mother.)

• Doo nishłį́ da. (I am not.)

• Doo bíhoosh’aah da. (I am not learning it.)

• Doo łikan da. (It is not tasty.)

Navajo uses different structures for different kinds of questions. Yes/No questions commonly use the enclitic -ísh. Content questions use question words such as ha’át’íí, háí, háadi, and háágóó. The particle daats’í can also appear in conjectural questions, but it adds a meaning such as “maybe,” “perhaps,” or “I wonder whether.”

Question Examples:

• Nímasiísh łikan? (Is the potato tasty?)

• Shimá daats’í yidloh? (I wonder whether my mother is laughing. / Maybe my mother is laughing.)

• Dinéésh nílį́? (Are you Navajo?)

• Díísh mósí át’é? (Is this a cat?)

• Naalnishísh? (Is he working?)

• Yá’át’ééhísh? (Is it good?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

Navajo nouns do not have gender in the way Spanish or French do (masculine/feminine).

However, there is a hierarchy of "animacy" (living vs. non-living).

Most nouns in Navajo do not change form for the plural.

The number is usually understood from context or the verb used.

For example, mósí can mean "cat" or "cats."

Some nouns referring to people have special plural forms, such as ashiiké ("boys"), at’ééké ("girls"), and shik’isóó ("my friends"). These forms should be learned with each noun.

Examples:

• Diné (Person / People / Navajo)

• Ashkii (Boy) – Ashiiké (Boys)

• At’ééd (Girl) – At’ééké (Girls)

• Shik’is (My same-sex sibling / My friend) – Shik’isóó (My same-sex siblings / My friends)

• Bá’ólta’í (Teacher)

• Naaltsoos (Book/Books)

• Tsé (Rock/Rocks)

• Hooghan (Home/Homes)

• Łį́į́’ (Horse/Horses)

• Chidí (Car/Cars)

Articles and Determiners

Navajo does not have strict words for "a" or "the" like English.

The noun stands alone.

However, demonstratives like díí (this) or éí (that) are often used to specify a noun, functioning similarly to "the."

Examples:

• Díí mósí (This cat / The cat)

• Éí ashkii (That boy / The boy)

• Éí hastiin (That man)

• Díí tó (This water)

• Ashkii (A boy / The boy)

• Chidí (A car / The car)

• Éí naaltsoos (That book)

• Díí tł’oh (This grass)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

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

1- The standard word order for Navajo is Subject - Object - _______.

2- The plural of Ashkii (Boy) is _______.

True/False

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

1- Navajo uses the words "the" and "a" before every noun.

2- To make a sentence negative, you use the particles doo ... da.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Navajo.

1- This is a cat.

__________________________________________

2- I am not laughing. (Assume "I am laughing" is yishdloh)

__________________________________________

3- The boy kicked the stone.

__________________________________________