Yucatec Maya grammar, step by step

Yucatec Maya is verb-initial: the verb typically opens the sentence. The basic order is Verb–Object–Subject (VOS), the mirror image of English. But Yucatec actually has "split word order": when a sentence names both the doer and the thing acted upon, SVO order is just as common — and in everyday speech, even more frequent. When only the subject is expressed (no separate object), verb-first (VS) dominates. Compare the last two examples: same meaning, both natural, different word order. (Don't worry about the k-u prefix yet — we'll explain that in Steps 3–4.)

The Yucatec Maya definite article is discontinuous: le attaches before the noun phrase and -o' closes it from the right. Together le…-o' means 'the.' The noun (and any adjectives) sit between them.

Yucatec Maya has no tense morphology. Instead, aspect particles signal how an event unfolds. Táan marks an event as in progress right now — similar to English '-ing.' The verb form itself stays the same.

In incompletive (ongoing) contexts, a short prefix on the verb marks who the actor is. These are called Set A prefixes. They come right before the verb stem: in- (I), a- (you), u- (he/she/it), k- (we).

When an event is complete, Yucatec Maya switches systems entirely. The aspect particle táan disappears, and a Set B person suffix marks the subject. Different verb classes use different completive markers: activity verbs like janal (eat) take -naj- (janalnajen = I ate), movement verbs like bin (go) take a j- prefix (j-bin-en = I went), and positional verbs like kul (sit) replace their -tal verbalizer with -laj- (kullaj-en = I sat down). The Set B suffixes are: -en (I), -ech (you), -ij (he/she/it), -o'on (we), -o'ob (they). (Heads-up: in everyday speech you may hear a reduced variant of janalnajen — '(j)janen' — where the same lexeme is inflected as a simple root like bin rather than taking the antipassive -naj- shape. Both are attested; stick to janalnajen when you speak, but don't think you misheard if a native speaker says (j)janen. Yoshida 2009 p.xxii.)

Transitive verbs — those taking a direct object — carry the suffix -ik in the incompletive. Intransitive verbs like janal (eat) have no such suffix. The -ik marks that there is something being acted upon.

Yucatec Maya has split ergativity: the person-marking system changes depending on aspect. In incompletive, Set A (prefix) marks all subjects. In completive, intransitive subjects use Set B (suffix) — but transitive subjects still use Set A (prefix), now with a completive marker t- and the suffix -aj. The doer of a completed intransitive event is marked differently from the doer of a completed transitive event.

Negation is bipartite: ma' opens the scope and the clause closes with the clitic i' (glossed D4, sometimes written -i'). For progressive sentences, ma' goes before táan. For completive sentences, ma' goes before the verb and the verb keeps its completive suffix. The rest of the sentence structure stays intact — no auxiliary verb is needed. (Bohnemeyer 2002 §4.2.1.5; E197a p.231; E239a p.272.)

Ts'o'ok is the terminative aspect particle: it signals that an event is finished and its result is relevant now. It is similar to English 'have already' or 'already finished.' The verb takes its incompletive form after ts'o'ok, with Set A prefixes and -ik for transitive verbs. Ts'o'ok cannot be negated with ma' directly (Bohnemeyer 2002 p.283): the 'not yet' reading is expressed with subjunctive status inside the bipartite ma' … i' frame.

Mukah marks a prospective ('going to') event — an intention about to unfold. Unlike the other aspect markers, mukah takes Set B person suffixes directly on itself (mukah-en 'I'm going to', mukah-ech 'you're going to'). With intransitive verbs, Set A on the verb disappears. With transitive verbs, Set A stays and the verb shifts to subjunctive status (losing -ik). For scheduled or obligatory events ('I have to'), yan is the default future marker in main clauses — it keeps Set A and incompletive status, just like k- (Bohnemeyer 2002: 7, 296–307). In solemn or prophetic speech, biin is used instead. (Note: short-vowel bin is a separate word meaning 'reportedly'.)

Possession is marked by a Set A prefix directly on the possessed noun: in naj (my house), a naj (your house), u naj (his/her house). When the possessor is a noun phrase, it follows the possessed noun with its Set A prefix.

Yucatec Maya uses numeral classifiers: a word between the number and the noun that indicates the noun's category. P'éel marks inanimate objects; túul marks animate beings (people, animals). No classifier means no counting — you must choose the right one.

Attributive adjectives in Yucatec Maya come before the noun: nojoch naj (big house), mejen naj (small house). Both the adjective and noun are wrapped inside le…-o' when definite. If the adjective appears outside le…-o', before the noun phrase, it becomes a predicate: 'Nojoch le najo'' means 'The house is big' — the adjective functions as the main predicate.

Question words in Yucatec Maya move to the front of the sentence — to the pre-verbal focus position. Ba'ax (what), Máax (who), and Tu'ux (where) all precede the verb phrase. Yes/no questions use the particle wáaj, placed right after the first predicate element (like the aspect marker).

Relative clauses in Yucatec Maya are embedded inside the definite article le…o'. The verb inside the relative clause uses normal aspect-agreement marking — ku- is k- (imperfective aspect) + u- (3SG Set A), the same markers used in main clauses. There is no special relativizer; the position inside le…o' after the head noun is what signals a relative clause.

You now know the core skeleton of Yucatec Maya: verb-initial order (VOS for intransitive and event-presentational clauses, with SVO also common when both arguments are overt), aspect markers (táan/ts'o'ok/mukah/yan) that mark ongoing/completed/upcoming/scheduled events, two person-agreement systems (Set A and Set B) that split by aspect and transitivity, the wrapping article le…o', possessive prefixes, numeral classifiers, adjective-first noun phrases, fronted question words, and relative clauses embedded inside the article.