Mismatch: morphosyntax: stative~active
There are two sets of subject person-number prefixes, which Gregores and Suarez refer to as 'subject' and 'personal reference' prefixes. The subject prefixes are used for the subject of intransitive verbs, and the personal reference prefixes are used for the subject of stative verbs (they coincide largely with object markers, and also occur as possessives on nouns, as the object of postpositions).
| subject | personal reference | |
| 1SG | a- | še- |
| 2SG | re- | ne- |
| 3 | o- | i- |
| 1INCL | ya- | yane- |
| 1EXCL PL | ro- | ore- |
| 2PL | pe- | pene- |
A few verbs can take both sets of subject markers, in which case there is a contrast in meaning between activity and permanent state, e.g. kaʔú means 'to be drunk' with subject prefixes and 'to be a drunkard' with personal reference prefixes (p. 145).
However, one verb, katú 'be possible', shows the unusual behaviour of inflecting like a stative when positive, but taking either set of prefixes when negated, apparently without a difference in meaning (p. 146). The use of the non-stative subject prefixes in this context is striking because katú belongs to a group of verbs which otherwise always take stative prefixes. This group of verbs (also including 'seems, is likely, is wanted', 'is pleasant', 'is all right') is syntactically distinct in that it can take an unmarked clausal complement:
| i-katú | ya-há |
| 3-be.possible | 1INCL-go |
| 'It is possible for us to go.' | |
Thus, the negated forms of katú that use the non-stative subject prefixes consititute the only instance of a morphologically non-stative verb occuring in such a construction.
References
Gregores, Emma, and Jorge A. Suarez. 1967. A description of Colloquial Guarani. The Hague: Mouton.