stl’ís kw’es…

Stl’ís kw’es… means ‘(She) wanted to…’. Note that the subject is not explicitly stated, you just undertand it is ‘she‘ from context.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling

Structure

The structure of this phrase is as follows (compare el stl’i kw’es… – I want to/that…):

• stl’í – a want, a need (this is actually a noun; the past tense interpretation is is understood from context).
• -s – here, the –s marks that the want belongs to some third person (not you or me). The third person possessor of the want is the understood ‘she’
• kw’es – to, that

Note: In other contexts this phrase could mean He wanted to…