411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
-go átʼé
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Navajo
Etymology
nv -go while + nv átʼé to be
Frame
nv frame -go átʼé
(With a verb in the future) can, could.
nv Nikʼehdideeshdleełgo átʼé. I could beat you (in a fight).
nv Nahodoołtį́įłgo átʼé. It could certainly rain.
nv ndeeshnołgo átʼé. I can/could lick you.
nv Díí biiʼ sitłʼéʼé tʼáá átʼé deeshį́įłgo átʼé. I could eat this pie whole.
Usage notes
In place of átʼé, one could also say hazʼą́:
nv Díí nástáán ńdideeshtį́įłgo hazʼą́. I could lift this log.
This frame is used for possibility, for negative possibility/incapacity, see nv doo...átʼée da.
See also
nv -go da átʼé
nv -go da
nv doo...átʼée da
References
Robert W. Young and William Morgan, Sr. (1980), The Navajo Language: A Grammar and Colloquial Dictionary, Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, page 370, 266.