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Lessons in Ndebele (PDFDrive)
Lessons in Ndebele (PDFDrive)
IN
NDEBELE
James
and
Pamela Felling
...... .....................................lili 441 |||1Т1Ш1|
Lessons in
NDEBELE
JAMES and PAMELA FELLING
Longman Zimbabwe ™
Longman Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited
Tourle Road, Ardbennie, Harare
page
Introduction V
1 Pronunciation I
2 The verb 6
3 The noun: UM/ABA class 8
4 The noun: U /0 class 10
5 The object of the verb 12
6 Requests and commands; the imperative verb 14
7 Interjections and the question 16
8 The greetings 18
9 Interrogative adverbs 20
10 Present tense: use of the short and long forms 22
11 The negative verb: present tense 24
12 The noun: UM/IMI class 25
13 The noun: I LI/AMA class 27
14 The noun: ISl/IZI class 29
15 The noun: IN/IZIN class 31
16 The noun: ULU/IZIN class 33
17 The noun: UBU class 35
18 The noun: UKU class 36
19 Nouns of foreign origin 37
20 The locative demonstrative (here is) 40
21 Adverbs and relative stems 42
22 The verb: past tense 45
23 The verb: perfect tense 47
24 Different forms of the perfect tense 49
25 Stative verbs 51
26 The verb: future tense 54
27 Introducing vowel verbs 56
28 Introducing the subjunctive mood 59
29 Use of -BO (‘must’); the imperative with object concords;
the negative infinitive 63
30 Introducing the potential mood 65
31 The absolute pronoun 67
32 The stem -NKE (‘all’) 69
33 Verbs with two objects 70
34 The connective: LA- (and/with) 71
35 The instrumental NGA- 75
36 The locatives KU-, KO-, E- 77
37 The locative form of the noun 79
38 The possessive with nouns: 1 83
39 The possessive with nouns: II 85
40 Possessive pronouns 87
41 Adverbs with nouns and pronouns 90
42 The demonstrative pronoun 93
43 Adjective stems: I 96
44 Adjective steins: II 100
45 The relative concord 103
46 Relative clauses 107
47 The participial mood of the verb 113
48 Conjunctions with the participial mood 117
49 Conjunctions with the subjunctive mood 119
50 Reported speech and use of ‘ukuthi’ 122
51 The copulative with nouns and pronouns 125
52 The passive form of the verb 129
53 Monosyllabic verbs 132
54 Vowel verbs (continued) 136
55 SA(stiU) 138
56 KA (not yet) 140
57 SE (now, then, already) 141
58 The future continuous tense and the future perfect tense 146
59 The past continuous tense (recent) 148
60 The past continuous tense (remote) 152
61 The past perfect tense (recent and remote) 155
62 The conditional verb and the use of ‘ngabe’ 159
63 The potential mood (continued) and other ways of expressing
ability 162
64 Different forms of the verb stem 164
65 -DWA (alone), -PHI (which?) and the possessive pronoun 169
66 Comparison 173
67 Numbers and adverbs 176
68 The copulatives NGU- and YI- (continued) 181
69 The verb ‘ukuba’ (to be) 185
70 Expressions relating to time 188
71 Auxiliary verbs 192
72 Deficient verbs 194
73 ‘SE’ with the past continuous and past perfect tenses 200
74 Ideophones 204
75 Denoting sex and diminutives 205
General index 208
Introduction
This is not a book for linguists; it is for ordinary people. Its purpose is to
provide a series of lessons for English speaking people who have little
grammatical knowledge, but wish to learn the Ndebele language. I have
tried to make the lessons as clear and easy to read as possible, to build up
step by step an understanding of the structure of the language, and to
give students what they need to begin using it. Several years experience
of teaching Ndebele to English speaking students has helped me to
understand some of the needs and difficulties people experience.
For my husband’s part, many years of study and experience in trans
lation work with African colleagues have given him a thorough and
detailed knowledge and appreciation of the language, thus providing
the material for these lessons. Someone who is studying the language for
the first time can be sure of learning true Ndebele, and a person who
already has some knowledge of the language will also find something
of interest here.
It is not possible to list our many Ndebele friends who have helped
indirectly with this book by discussing their language with us, but we
are very grateful to them. Special thanks go to Mr P. Mpofu of the
Rhodesia Literature Bureau, for his painstaking checking of every word in
this manuscript, and helpful comments. We would also like to thank the
members of the Ndebele Language Committee for their encouragement
and support.
Pamela Pelling
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Lesson 1
Pronunciation
This lesson does not contain a study of the phonetics of the Ndebele
language; it is designed to help the student with pronunciation. Since
the language is written phonetically, once the vowel and consonant
sounds have been learnt, any word can be read.
Equivalents of sounds in Ndebele and English are often given to help
the beginner, but this practice can be misleading, as the way people
articulate English sounds varies greatly. It is essential for the student
to spend time with a Ndebele person, practising the speech sounds, and
imitating intonations of words and sentences.
In this lesson lists of words are given which the student should read
through with his African helper.There are also explanations of the use of
the speech organs (tongue, lips, and so on) for articulating the more
difficult Ndebele sounds.
I THE VOWELS
All the vowels in Ndebele are articulated as one pure sound; there are no
diphthongs as in English.
mama (mother) e : ye (yes)
mfana (boy) ehe (yes, with
hamba (go) approval)
sala (stay) wena (you)
melela (wait for)
yiiu? (what?) 0 : woza (come)
imizi (villages) isigodo (pole)
imini (midday) ogogo (grandmothers)
ilizwi (word) inyoni (bird)
umuntu (person)
umumbu (maize)
umZulu (a Zulu)
uflidu (tortoise)
II THE CONSONANTS
There is little difficulty in using the consonants found in the words listed
above, but some explanation is needed for other consonants.
1 Aspiration
An aspirated consonant is one which is followed by a rush of air. More
air is expelled than is usual when articulating English consonants, other-
1
wise the sound is similar. (You can test whether you are saying the as
pirated consonants properly, by holding your hand in front of your
mouth to feel the air on it.)
Aspirated consonants are written with an ‘h’, to distinguish them from
non-aspirated consonants, which are not followed by this rush of air.
Aspirated Non-aspirated
ph phapha (fly) P impala (impala buck)
phepha! (sorry!) impela (indeed)
phila (live) impilo (life)
th uthango (fence) t intango (fences)
thenga (buy) intengo (price)
ulutho (thing) izinto (things)
kh ikhabe (water melon) k inkabi (ox)
ukhezo (spoon) inkezo (spoons)
ukhuni (piece of inkuni (firewood)
firewood)
2 Voiced consonants
The term ‘voiced’ means that the consonant is articulated with a vibration
of the vocal chords. You will understand what is meant by this if you
compare the following:
Unvoiced: p Voiced: b
t d
k g
f V
Voiced 'k': As used in the examples above, ‘kh’ and ‘k’ are unvoiced.
There is a third way of pronouncing ‘k’, a little farther back in the mouth,
and with a slight voicing, so that it approaches the sound of ‘g’. This is
when ‘k’ is the initial vowel of the word, or comes between two vowels,
kade (long ago)
pheka (cook)
ukufa (to die)
Aspirated Voiced
uchago (milk) gcina (keep)
ichibi (pool) amagcobo (ointment)
chola (grind finely) kugcwele (it is full)
qha (expresses umgqala (crossbar)
dryness) isigqili (slave)
iqhiye (headscarf) isigqoko (dress)
isiqhotho (hail)
xhawula (shake hands) isigxingi (calabash)
ixhegu (old man) gxoza (dribble)
xhuma (graft) gxumeka (transplant)
Nasal
ncinyane (small)
uNcube (a clan name)
ingcebethu (small basket)
ngcono (better)
ilinqe (vulture)
inqola (cart)
ingqamu (knife)
ingqina (hoof)
nxa (when)
inxeba (wound)
ingxabano (quarrel)
ingxenye (part)
IV STRESS
The main stress in the word falls on the next to last syllable, the penul
timate syllable, which is lengthened. If more syllables are added to the
word, the stress will move forward so that it remains on the penultimate
syllable.
e.g. /tomba; haml>ani; hambamni
There are very few exceptions to this rule, and these will be pointed out
as they occur in the lessons.
In a group of words, the stress on individual words is secondary to the
main stress of the whole group,
e.g. Ngiya/ima (I want)
Ngifuna ukuÄomba (I want to go)
Ngifuna ukuhamba /awe (I want to go with you)
V INTONATION
Intonation refers to the way the syllables of the words are spoken: with a
high tone of voice or a low tone of voice. In the main, this has to be
learnt by imitation, but it is important. In some instances the whole
meaning of words may change with a change of tone,
e.g. imizi — kraals (high tone)
imizi — reeds (low tone)
uyafuna — he/she wants (high tone for first two syllables)
uyafuna — you want (low tone for first two syllables)
There are various shades of tone, but it is sufficient to note whether
the tone is high or low.
VI PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE
I THE INFINITIVE
In Ndebele the verb consists of a basic stem, to which various prefixes and
suffixes are attached.
e.g. ‘-sebenza’ is the stem of the verb meaning ‘to work’,
‘-hamba’ is the stem of the verb meaning ‘to go’.
To make the infinitive, that is 'to work’, 'to go’, and so on, the prefix
‘uku-’ is attached to the stem:
ukusebenza — to work
ukuhamba — to go, go away
ukufuna — to want
Note: verbs in a Ndebele/English dictionary are listed under the initial
letter of their stem, e.g. ‘ukusebenza’ under ‘s’; ‘ukuhamba’ under ‘h’.
The verb stem can be used on its own in one instance only, and that is in
the imperative, when making a command to one person. For example
Hamba! — Go away! This will be dealt with fully in a later lesson.
Apart from this, the verb stem is always used with a prefix of some kind.
The present tense of the verb, for example, ‘I am going’, ‘I want’, is made by
prefixing a subject concord to a verb stem. For example, the subject
concord ‘Ngi-’ means ‘I’.
Ngifuna — I want
Ngifuna ukuhamba — I want to go
1 Subject concords
1st person singular: ngi- I
2nd person singular: u- you
3rd person singular: u- he/she
1st person plural: si- we
2nd person plural: li- you (more than one person)
3rd person plural: ba- they
Vocabulary
1 Introduction
In Ndebele the noun has two parts: a stem, and a prefix.
e.g. The word meaning ‘boy’ : umfana;
the stem is ‘-fana’ : the prefix is ‘um-’.
The prefix of the noun changes according to whether it is singular or
plural, but the stem remains the same,
e.g. Singular : «/nfana — boy
Plural : abafana — boys
There are a number of different prefixes for the noun stems:
e.g. stone : ilitshe (iVi-tshe)
stones : amatshe (ama-tshe)
dog : inja (««-ja)
dogs : inzinja (/r/n-ja)
Each of these nouns belongs to a different noun class, and you will learn
the eight different noun classes one by one.
It is essential to learn the noun prefixes thoroughly, for it is on them
that the whole structure of the language depends. The following illustration
will help you to see this:
The little boy who is running is thin.
C/wfana o/micinyane agijimayo ucakile.
The little dog which is running is thin.
/nja encinyane egijimayo /cakile.
2 The article
In English nouns are usually preceded by an article, ‘a’ or ‘the’. There
is no article in Ndebele; the noun stands alone,
e.g. ‘umfana’ means ‘a boy’ or ‘the boy’.
‘abafana’ means ‘boys’ or ‘the boys’.
8
4 Subject concords
The noun may be the subject of the verb, for example: 'The boy wants to
work.’ In Ndebele the verb stem needs a subject concord prefixed to it
always, even when there is a noun subject.
e.g. Umfana «fuña ukusebenza — The boy wants to work
The subject concord comes from the noun prefix:
Prefix UM-/UMU- gives concord U-:
e.g. £/mfana «fuña ukusebenza — The boy wants to work
Umuntu. «yasebenza — The person is working
Prefix ABA- gives concord BA-;
e.g. .diáfana iafuna ukusebenza — The boys want to work
AbaxAxx iayasebenza — The people are working
VOCABULARY
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix U-.
The plural noun has prefix 0-.
e.g. «baba — my/our father obaba our fathers
umama — my/our mother omama our mothers
2 Subject concords
This class of noun is closely related to the UM/ABA class, being also a
class of personal nouns, and it has the same concords.
Singular: U- : Umama uyapheka — Mother is cooking
Plural: B A -: Omama iayapheka — Our mothers are cooking
10
4 Names
Names of people belong in this class, and must have the prefixes U- or 0-.
a) The first name (ibizo), given to a child after birth:
e.g. t/Sipho uyadlala — Sipho is playing
Ngifuna «Sipho — I want Sipho.
Traditionally, the first name is not used after childhood when addressing a
person, but only for identification purposes.
b) The clan name or surname (isibongo), which all children take from
the father.
e.g. i/Khumalo uyahamba — Khumalo is going away
Ngifuna «Khumalo — I want Khu
OKhumalo bayahamba — The Khumalos are going away
Ngithanda oKhumalo — I like the Khumalos
A person will normally be addressed by his clan name. Women also are
addressed by their clan name, that is, the clan name of their father, which
they retain even when married, usually with the prefix ‘Ma-’ (from'umama’).
e.g. t/MaKhumalo uyahamba — MaKhumalo is going away
Ngifuna «MaKhumalo — I want MaKhumalo
c) Use of an ancestral name (isitemo). This is usually the grandfather's
first name, which may be taken and used by the grandson as another
surname, although he still retains his ‘isibongo’ as well.
Through experience you will learn which are the clan names, as they
are limited in number.
11
Lesson 5
The object of the verb
12
e.g. Ubaba uyamtshaya umfana — Father is hitting the boy
Bayaftatshaya abantwana — They are hitting the children
In these last two examples you are talking about a particular boy (and
particular children) to whom you have previously referred, and therefore
the object concord is used.
You may make a general statement:
e.g. Ugogo uthanda ukukhangela abantwana — Grandmother likes to
watch the children
But if you have referred to particular children and you mean those, you
will use the object concord:
e.g. Ugogo uthanda uku^ukhangela abantwana
Similarly compare;
Ngifuna ukubona umama — I want to see my mother
Ngifuna ukuwbona umama — I want to see the woman
Note that the noun object may be placed before the subject sometimes, and
it will then be used with the object concord,
e.g. Ugogo ngiyawbona — I see the grandmother
Umfana ubaba uyamtshaya — Father is beating the boy
13
Lesson 6
Requests and commands; the imperative verb
14
Exception: When using a plural noun with prefix 0-, for example
omama, the initial vowel is not dropped, as this would cause confusion
with the singular form. Instead, the letter ‘b’ is prefixed to the noun:
e.g. Khangelani, fiomama! — Look, mothers!
Wozani, fiobaba ! — Come, fathers !
All other nouns in the language drop the initial vowel when used as a form
of address.
Note: the polite way of addressing adults is to use ‘mama/bomama’ for
women, and ‘baba/bobaba’ for men.
e.g. Ngena baba! Ngenani bobaba!
Woza mama! Wozani bomama!
15
Lesson 7
Interjections and the question
1 Interjections
These are the common ones :
Yebo/Ye — Yes
Yebo-ke — Certainly (‘ke’ is attached to words to give added
emphasis)
Ehe — Yes (with approval) Yes, that’s it
Ayi/Atshi — No (occasionally ‘hayi/hatshi’)
Atshi bo —■Certainly not
A’a — No (with disapproval)
Various exclamations of surprise, disapproving or not, depending on
the tone of voice:
A’!
Hawu!
Bakithi!
Bantu!
Dadewethu!
X! — Expresses annoyance.
C! — Expresses pity, sympathy, scorn, disgust, or disapproval.
Mayel/Mamo! — Expresses pain, dismay, grief, on behalf of oneself or
someone else.
Phepha!— Usually translated ‘Sorry!’, but it is not an apology.
It would be used, for example, if the other person tripped, or knocked
himself. (It comes from the verb ‘ukuphepha’ meaning ‘to escape from
danger.’)
Uxplo! — This is a noun meaning ‘pardon’, and is used to excuse
oneself: ‘Excuse me!’ (The verb ‘ukuxolisa’ may also be used, e.g.
ngiyaxolisa — I apologise.)
Thanking: It would be appropriate to mention this here.
The verb ‘ukubonga’ (to thank, be thankful) may be used with or without
an object concord. For example: Ngiyabonga/Ngiyakubonga mama —
Thank you, mother. If you are giving thanks for something past, for
example at the end of a meeting, for a gift or service previously received,
and so on, use the form: Ngibongile/Sibongile.
The traditional form of thanking is to use the clan name of the person
being thanked, with the prefix ‘e-’:
e.g. ENdlovu! — Thank you, Ndlovu!
EKhumalo! — Thank you, Khumalo!
2 The question
a) NA? To make a question, simply place ‘na’ at the end of the sentence,
e.g. Umama uyahamba — Mother is going away
Umama uyahamba na? — Is mother going away?
Abafana bathanda ukugijima kakhulu — Boys like to run fast
16
Abafana bathanda ukugijima kakhulu na ? — Do boys like to run
fast?
b) YINI? This really means, ‘What is it?’, and may be used on its own,
signifying: ‘What do you want ?’ or ‘What’s the matter?’
It may also be used to make a question in the same way as ‘na’, but it may
be a little more emphatic,
e.g. Uyamthanda — You love him
Uyamthanda yini? — Do you love him?/Do you really love him?
c) ANGITHl? This means literally, ‘Do I not say?’, and is used when
seeking the agreement of the person addressed.
e.g. Abafana bayasebenza kuhle, angithi! — The boys are working well,
aren’t they?
Ufuna ukufunda, angithi ? — You want to learn, don’t you ?
Angithi, ufuna ukufunda? — You want to learn, don’t you?
When answering in agreement, ‘sibili’ is often used, and it means ‘indeed’,
e.g. Abantwana bathanda ukudla — Ye, sibili!
Children like eating — Yes, indeed!
17
Lesson 8
The greetings
2 This is the basic form of greeting, used when addressing more than one
person, or sometimes only one person. The Ndebele is partly corrupt,
but a rough translation is given:
A : SaUbonani — We see you
B: Yebo, salibonani — Yes, we see you
A : Linjani ? — How are you ?
B: Sikhona, singabuza lina? — We are present, may we ask you?
OR Sikhona, singatsho lina?
A: Sikhona — We are present
Note: in the old days the plural form of the greeting, given above, was
used only when addressing more than one person. However, the Shona
custom of using a plural form when addressing one person, to show
respect, has influenced the Ndebele people. Some people now use the
plural form when addressing one person.
3 The singular form of the greeting, used when addressing one person:
A : Sakubona
B: Yebo, sakubona
A: Kunjani?
B: Sikhona, singabuza lina? OR Sikhona, singatsho lina?
A: Sikhona
When addressing a child or a young person, an older person will contract
‘Sakubona’ and say: ‘Sabona mntanami’ (my child).
4 The morning greeting, used to greet someone you have seen the day
before, or whom you see often. The verb ‘ukuvuka’ (to wake up, get up) is
used:
A: Livukile? — Have you woken?
B : Sivukile, singatsho lina/singabuza lina ? — We have woken, and you ?
A : Sivukile — We have woken
Singular form: Uvukile?Ngivukile
Alternative form: Uvuke/Livuke njani ?—How did you wake ?
5 The evening greeting, used to greet someone you have already greeted
that day or whom you see often. The verb ‘ukutshona’ (to go down,
set — of the sun) is used:
A: Litshonile?
B: Sitshonile, singatsho lina/singabuza lina?
A: Sitshonile
18
Singular form: Utshonile ? Ngitshonile
Alternative form: Utshone/Litshone njani?
6 Goodbye. One says either ‘stay well’ or ‘go well’, whichever is appro
priate, using the verbs ‘ukusala’ (to remain) and ‘ukuhamba’ (to go):
Singular: Hamba kuhle — Go well
Sala kuhle — Stay well
Plural: Hambani kuhle — Go well
Salani kuhle — Stay well
Alternative form: Singular: Uhambe kuhle OR Usale kuhle
Plural: Lihambe kuhle OR Lisale kuhle
Someone leaving at midday may say: Kusemini — It is midday
8 Asking after one’s health. Use the adverb ‘njani’, meaning ‘how’, and
put the appropriate subject concord before it:
e.g. Plural: ¿/njani? How are you
Singular: i/njani? How are you? OR Kunjani? (as in the
, greeting)
Unjani umntwana? — How is the child?
Banjani abantwana? — How are the children?
Banjani ekhaya? — How are they at home?
In answer, one may either use the adverb ‘khona’ (present):
e.g. 5/khona — We are present
i7khona — He/She is present
Bakhona — They are present
OR one may use a verb, ‘ukuphila’, meaning ‘to live, be well’:
e.g. Siyaphila — We are well
Uyaphila — He/She is well
Bayaphila — They are well
Note: umkami — my wife OR my husband
umkakho — your wife/husband
umkakhe — his wife/her husband
e.g. Unjani umkakho? — How is your wife/husband?
19
Lesson 9
Interrogative adverbs
20
4 Use of adverbs without a verb
In English we may use the verb ‘to be' and say for example: ‘Where is
mother ?’, ‘How are the children ?'
In such instances there is no verb used in Ndebele; the required concord
is merely placed before the adverb,
e.g. Umama «ngaphi OR Ungaphi «mama ? — Where is mother ?
/46antwana Zxinjani? OR innjani oftantwana? — How are the
children ?
21
Lesson 10
Present tense: use of the short and long forms
One needs to use both the short and long forms of the present tense in
Ndebele, and there are some guidelines to be laid down as to when each
form may be used. It would be difficult to work out strict rules to cover
every use of the present tense in everyday spoken Ndebele, but you will
not go far wrong if you follow these guidelines.
22
e.g. Uhlala ngaphi? — Where do you live?
Umama upheka nini? — When does mother cook?
Upheka lokhu njani ? — How do you cook this ?
Umfana usebenza ngaphi khathesi ? — Where is the boy working
now?
c) The short form is used for a verb which does not involve action
(provided something follows the verb and there is no object concord).
e.g. Ngibona umntwana — I see a child
Ngifuna itiye — I want some tea
Ngicela imali — I request some money
Ngidinga uDube — I want (am looking for) Dube
d) The short form is used for a verb of action when there is no present
action, that is, for a statement of fact, or a general question.
e.g. Abantwana banatha itiye na ? Ye, abantwana banatha itiye
Do children drink tea? Yes, children drink tea
Lidíala lapha na? Ye, sidlala lapha
Do you play here? Yes, we play here
23
Lesson 11
The negative verb; present tense
Formation
There is only one form of the negative present tense, based on the subject
concord and the verb stem; for example, ngibona (I see).
Place the negative KA- before the subject concord, and change the
final vowel of the verb stem to ‘-i’: for example, Arnngibon; — I don’t see.
Negative present tense of ukupheka — to cook:
Kangipheki I don’t cook/I am not cooking
Kawupheki You don’t cook/You are not cooking
Umama kapheki Mother doesn’t cook/Mother isn’t cooking
Kasipheki We don’t cook/We are not cooking
Kalipheki You don’t cook/You are not cooking
Omama kabapheki Our mothers don’t cook/Our mothers are not
cooking
Note:
a) If two vowels come next to each other in Ndebele, one of them may
be dropped, or they may be spoken with a semivowel, ‘w’ or ‘y’, in be
tween.
Second person singular: pronounce a ‘w’ between ‘ka’ and ‘u’, for
example, kawupheki.
Third person singular: the negative form is just ‘ka-’, for example,
umama kapheki.
b) The negative KA-may be shortened to A -: for example, Angipheki,
Awupheki, and so on.
c) Learn these two negative verbs which are different:
Angazi — I don’t know; Angizwa — I don’t hear, I don’t understand
d) Indefinite object
If there is an indefinite noun object, and no object concord is used, the
initial vowel of the noun object may be dropped:
e.g. Kangiboni muntu (umuntu) — I don’t see anyone
Kangifuni mali (imali) — I don’t want any money
24
Lesson 12
The noun: UM/IMI class
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix UM- or UMU-.
The plural noun has prefix IMI-.
e.g. «wfula — river /m/fula — rivers
ttwlilo — fire //M/Ulo — fires
The longer prefix UMU- is used before a noun stem of only one syllable,
e.g. umuzi — kraal imiz\ — kraals
Note that all the nouns of this class are impersonal; so in this way the
singular nouns can be distinguished from the singular nouns of the
UM/ABA class, which are personal.
In speech, when the plural prefix IMI- comes before noun stems of more
than one syllable, the second ‘i’ is hardly pronounced, so that ‘imifula’
sounds like ‘imfula’ ‘imililo’ like ‘imlilo’, and so on.
2 Concords
a) Subject concords: prefix UM/UMU- gives concord U-
e.g. Umfula Myageleza — The river is flowing
t/yageleza — It is flowing
Umlilo «yavutha — The fire is burning
i/yavutha — It is burning
Prefix IMI- gives concord 1-
e.g. Imifula /yageleza — The rivers are flowing
/yageleza —■ They are flowing
Imililo /yavutha — The fires are burning
/yavutha —■ They are burning
b) Object concords: These are the same as the subject concords, but
as they are vowels, it is necessary to put a semivowel between them and the
preceding vowel ‘a’; so put ‘w’ with ‘u’, ‘y’ with ‘i’.
Singular: -WU-
e.g. Ngiyawttbona umfula — I see the river
Ngiyawabona — I see it
Ngiyawttbona umlilo — I see the fire
Ngiyawnbona — I see it
Plural: -YI-
e.g. Ngiyay/bona imifula — I see the rivers
Ngiyay/bona — I see them
Ngiyay/bona imililo — I see the fires
Ngiyay/bona — I see them
3 The negative
When putting the negative ‘ka’ before the subject concords, it is necessary
once again to keep the vowel apart with ‘w’ and ‘y’-
e.g. Umfula kanoigelezi — The river is not flowing
25
Umlilo kavvuvuthi — The fire is not burning
Imifula kajdgelezi — The rivers are not flowing
Imililo kaj'ivuthi — The fires are not burning
VOCABULARY
26
Lesson 13
The noun: ILI/AMA class
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix ILI- or I-.
The plural noun has prefix AMA-.
The prefix ILl- is used before noun stems of one syllable,
e.g. iV/tshe — stone amatshe — stones
///zwe — country amazwe — countries
The shorter prefix 1- is used before noun stems of more than one syllable
(these constitute the majority),
e.g. /hloka — axe amahloka — axes
ijaha — youth awajaha — youths
2 Concords
a) Subject concords Prefix ILI- gives concord LI-.
e.g. Ilitshe//ngaphi? — Where is the stone?
¿ingaphi? — Where is it?
Ijaha //yasebenza — The youth is working
L/yasebenza — He is working
Prefix AM A- gives concord A-.
Amatshe nngaphi ? - Where are the stones ?
.4ngaphi? - Where are they?
Amajaha ayasebenza - The youths are working
y4yasebenza ~ They are working
b) Object concords
These are the same as the subject concords, but concord A-, being a
vowel, is used with *w’.
Singular; -LI-
e.g. Ngiya/ibona ilitshe — I see the stone
Ngiya/Zbona — I see it
Ngiya/ibona ijaha — I see the youth
Ngiya/ibona — I see him
Plural: -WA-
e.g. Ngiyawabona amatshe — I see the stones
Ngiyatvabona — I see them
Ngiyawabona amajaha — I see the youths
Ngiyatvabona — I see them
3 The negative
e.g. Ijaha kalisebenzi -—The youth is not working
Ilitshe kaliboni — A stone doesn’t see
When placing ‘ka’ before concord A-, insert ‘w’ to keep the vowels apart,
e.g. Amajaha katvasebenzi — The youths are not working
Amatshe kawaboni — Stones don't see
But note that in speech one may combine these two ‘a’s’, and the concord
will be a lengthened ‘ka’. For example, Amajaha Arasebenzi.
27
VOCABULARY
28
Lesson 14
The noun: ISI/IZI class
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix ISI-.
The plural noun has prefix IZI-.
e.g. wmkwa — loaf of bread iz/nkwa loaves
»/hlahla — tree /zihlahla trees
If the noun stem begins with a vowel, the second ‘i’ of the prefix is dropped,
e.g. isalukazi — old woman /zalukazi — old women
/joni — evil doer izoni — evil doers
2 Concords
a) Subject concords: Prefix ISI- gives concord SI-.
e.g. Isinkwa j/ngaphi? — Where is the loaf?
5/ngaphi? — Where is it?
Isalukazi s/yagula — The old woman is ill
5iyagula — She is ill
Prefix IZI- gives concord ZI-.
e.g. Izinkwa z/ngaphi? — Where are the loaves?
Z/ngaphi? — Where are they?
Izalukazi z/yagula — The old women are ill
Z/yagula — They are ill
b) Object concords
Singul^ -SI"
e.g. Ngiyaribona isinkwa — I see the loaf
Ngiyaribona — I see it
Ngiyastbona isalukazi — I see the old woman
Ngiyaj/bona — I see her
Plural: -ZI-
e.g. Ngiyazibona izinkwa — I see the loaves
Ngiyaz/bona — I see them
Ngiyaz/bona izalukazi — I see the old women
Ngiyaz/bona — I see them
The Negative
e.g. Isinkwa kasitshisi — The loaf is not hot
Isalukazi kasiguli — The old woman is not ill
Izinkwa kazitshisi — The loaves are not hot
Izalukazi kaziguli — The old women are not ill
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VOCABULARY
30
Lesson 15
The noun: IN/IZEM class
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix IN- or IM-.
The plural noun has prefix IZIN- or IZIM-.
e.g. /nja — dog tz/>/ja — dogs
wduna — chief ?z/«duna — chiefs
i/nvu — sheep izinmx — sheep
iwbuzi — goat /z/mbuzi — goats
The prefix IM/IZIM is used with noun stems begitming with consonants
b,p,f,v.
e.g. imhuzi
impuphu (mealie meal)
im/e (sweet cane)
imvu
Before all other consonants, the prefix IN/IZIN is used.
2 Concords
fl) Subject concords: Prefix IN-/IM- gives concord I-.
e.g. Ipja lyadla — The dog is eating
/yadla — It is eating
Imbuzi /yadla — The goat is eating
/yadla — It is eating
Prefix IZIN-/IZIM-• gives concord ZI-.
e.g. Izinja z/yadla — The dogs are eating
Z/yadla — They are eating
Izimbuzi z/yadla — The goats are eating
Z/yadla — They are eating
Note: the plural prefix IZIN-/IZIM- is very often shortened to IN-/IM-
provided the plural concord ZI- (or some other part of speech, like an
adjective) is used, and shows that the noun is plural,
e.g. Imbvtii ziyadla — The goats are eating
7/iduna z/yafika — The chiefs are arriving
In speech the vowel sound will be longer in the plural IN-/IM- than it is
in the singular. Do not shorten the plural prefix of nouns with one syllable
steins.
e.g. Always: /zi//ja ziyadla
/zi/nvu ziyadla
b) Object concords: The vowel I- is used with a “y’.
Singular: -YI-
e.g. Ngiyay/bona inja — I see the dog
Ngiyay/bona — I see it
Ngiyay/bona imbuzi — I see the goat
Ngiyay/bona — I see it
Plural: -ZI-
e.g. Ngiyaz/bona izinja — I see the dogs
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Ngiyazibona — I see them
Ngiyaz/bona (iz)imbuzi — I see the goats
Ngiyaz/bona — I see them
3 The negative
Again, use ‘y’ with concord I-.
e.g. Inja kayidli — The dog is not eating
Imbuzi kayidli — The goat is not eating
Izinja kazidli — The dogs are not eating
(Iz)imbuzi kazidli T
“ he goats are not eating
VOCABULARY
Prefix IN-
indlu hut, house; room izindlu
inja dog izinja
indawo place (iz)indawo
indlebe ear (iz)indlebe
indlela path, way (iz)indlela
induku club (knobkerrie) (iz)induku
induna chief (iz)induna
ingalo arm (iz)ingalo
ingqamu knife (iz)ingqamu
ingubo blanket (iz)ingubo
inkomo one of the cattle (iz)inkomo
inkukhu domestic fowl (iz)inkukhu
intaba hill, mountain (iz)intaba
intombi girl (teenage); spinster (iz)intombi
inyama meat
inyanga moon, month; doctor (herbalist) (iz)inyanga
inyoka snake (iz)inyoka
inyoni bird (iz)inyoni
Prefix IM-
imfe sweet cane
imvu sheep izimVu
imbiza pot, pan (iz)imbiza
imbuzi goat (iz)imbuzi
impahla goods, possessions, luggage (iz)impahla
impuphu mealie meal
Note: there are some nouns which have a singular form with prefi
(concord I-), and a plural form with prefix AMA- (concord A-).
e.g. indoda — man, married man
amadoda — men
inkazana — girl (not yet marriageable)
amankazana — girls
intombazana — girl (not yet marriageable)
amantombazana — girls
insimu — field
amasimu — fields
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Lesson 16
The noun: ULU/IZIN class
1 Prefixes
The singular noun has prefix ULU- or U-.
The plural noun has prefix IZIN- or IZIM-.
The prefix ULU- is used before noun stems of one syllable.
e.g. u/«thi — stick izinii — sticks
u/wtho — thing izinXo — things
The shorter prefix U- is used before noun stems of more than one syllable
(these constitute the majority).
e.g. ugwalo — book, letter (iz)ingwalo — letters, books
«phondo — horn (/z)i>wpondo — horns
Plural:
a) Note that the plural prefix IZIN-/IZIM- is usually shortened to
IN-/IM- before noun stems of more than one syllable, as there is no
possibility of confusion with the singular prefix ULU-/U-; noun stems of
one syllable have the full prefix 1Z1N-/1Z1M-.
e.g. /ngwalo
impondo
But: izinti
izinto
b) The plural prefix (IZ)IM- is used before noun stems beginning with
consonants b,p,f,v.
e.g. ubhalu — cave (/z)//nbalu — caves
uphondo — horn (iz)/»ipondo — horns
ufudu — tortoise (/z)//wfudu — tortoises
Mvava — splinter (iz)//wvava — splinters
Before all other consonants the plural prefix is (IZ)IN-.
c) After the ‘n’ or ‘m’ of this prefix consonants are not pronounced with
aspiration (see Lesson 1) and are therefore written without the ‘h’.
e.g. uA:Mini — piece of firewood inAmni — firewood
urAango — fence intango — fences
upAondo — horn uppondo — horns
and explosive ‘bh’ becomes implosive ‘b’:
uAAalu — cave imAalu — caves
Note that all the nouns of this class are impersonal (except for ‘usane —
baby’), so that in this way the singular nouns can be distinguished from the
singular nouns of the U/O class which are personal.
2 Concords
a) Subject concords Prefix ULU-gives concord LU-.
e.g. Uluthi /ungaphi? — Where is the stick?
Lungaphi? — Where is it?
Usane /uyakhala — The baby is crying
¿^Hyakhala — He/She is crying
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Prefix IZIN-/IZIM- gives concord ZI-.
e.g. Izinti zi'ngaphi ? Where are the sticks?
Z/ngaphi? Where are they?
Imbalu z/ngaphi? Where are the caves?
Z/ngaphi? Where are they?
Insane z/yakhala The babies are crying
Z/yakhaia They are crying
b) Object concords
Singular: -LU-
e.g. Ngiya///bona uluthi — I see the stick
Ngiya/i/bona — I see it
Ngiya///bona usane — I see the baby
Ngiya///bona — I see him/her
Plural: -ZI-
e.g. Ngiyaz/bona izinti — I see the sticks
Ngiyaz/bona — I see them
Ngiyaz/bona insane — I see the babies
Ngiyaz/bona — I see them
3 The negative
e.g. Usane kalukhali — The baby is not crying
Ufudu kaludli — The tortoise is not eating
Insane kazikhali - The babies are not crying
Imfudu kazidli — The tortoises are not eating
VOCABULARY
34
Lesson 17
The noun: UBU class
1 Prefix
There is only one prefix for this class of noun: UBU-.
Thus, ‘ubuchakide’ means either one weasel, or more than one;
‘ubunyonyo’ means either one ant, or more than one.
Most of the npuns in this class are abstract in meaning,
e.g. ubukhulu — greatness (from -khulu — great)
ubuhle — beauty (from -hie — beautiful)
Note: there are two nouns in this class which appear to have a prefix U-:
utshani — grass
utshwala — beer
In fact these nouns have developed from ‘ubu-ani’ and ‘ubu-ala’ by a
process called palatalisation, which will be explained later,
2 Concords
Subject concord: BU-.
Object concord: -BU-.
e.g. Ubunyonyo ¿«yaphuma — The ants are coming out
Ngiyaftttbona — I see them
Utshani ¿«ngaphi? — Where is the grass ?
Ngiyaittfuna — I want it
3 Negative
e.g. Ubunyonyo kabuphumi — The ants are not coming out
Utshani kabukhuli kuhle — The grass is not growing well
VOCABULARY
ubuchakide weasel/s
ubunyonyo ant/s (small black variety)
ubuhlungu pain/s; venom, poison/s
ubuthongo sleep
ubusuku night/s
ubuso face/s
utshani grass
utshwala beer
35
Lesson 18
The noun: UKU class
1 Prefix
In this class are found verb infinitives used as nouns; therefore the prefix
is UKU-.
e.g. ukudla — food; eating; to eat
ukuphela — the end; to end
ukuthula — peace; quietness; to be quiet
ukulwa — fighting; to fight
2 Concords
Subject concord: KU-.
Object concord: -KU-.
e.g. Ukudla A:«ngaphi? — Where’s the food?
Ngiya/rttfuna — I want it
Ukulwa A:«yaphela — The fighting is ending
AsiA:«thandi ukulwa — We don’t like fighting
Note: the concord KU- may be used in a general way for the pronoun
‘it’, when it does not refer to any particular noun.
e.g. Kuyini? — What is it?
Kuyaqanda — It is cold
Kuyatshisa — It is hot
Kuhle — It is good/It is nice
Kulungile — It’s all right
It may even sometimes be used when there is a noun subject, instead of that
noun concord.
e.g. Kufika umuntu — There’s someone coming
Kukhala inyoni — There’s a bird crying
3 Negative
e.g. Ukulwa kakupheli — The fighting is not ending
Ukuthula kakufiki — Peace does not come
36
Lesson 19
Nouns of foreign origin
There are some nouns which have been taken into the language from
Enghsh and Afrikaans, their pronunciation adapted to the Ndebele
speech sounds and a prefix attached. This is a process which is going on all
the time, but it will be helpful to sort out some of the well established
nouns of this type.
37
But note that in the plural these nouns are sometimes given prefix AMA-
e.g. /Imatitshala ayafundisa — The teachers are teaching
Ngiyatvflbona a/nadokotela — I see the doctors
VOCABULARY
38
isikolo school izikolo
isitimela train, steam engine izitimela
isitolo shop, store izitolo
isitulo stool, chair izitulo
Concord U- Concord BA- Concord A-
udokotela doctor odokotela amadokotela
unesi nurse onesi amanesi
utitshala schoolteacher otitshala amatitshala
Concord U- Concord I-
umtshina machine imitshina
umbheda bed
39
Lesson 20
The locative demonstrative (here is)
First position: The final vowel will be the same as the vowel of the noun
concord, and the preceding consonant changes according to which class of
noun is used:
e.g. Nangu umntwana — Here’s the child
Nanz/ izinja — Here are the dogs
Nanka amaqanda — Here are the eggs
Third position: This is formed by adding the suffix ‘-ya’ or ‘-yana’ to the
first position:
e.g. Nangu umntwana
Nanguya umntwana/Nanguyaaa umntwana — There’s the child
(over there)
Nanzi izinja
Nanziya/Nanziyawafizinja — There are the dogs (over there)
Nanka amaqanda
Nankaya/Nankayana amaqanda — There are the eggs (over there)
40
Note: if the shorter form, ending in ‘-ya’, is used, the stress in speech
falls on the final syllable, an exception to the rule,
e.g. Nanka;»'aaniaqanda; Izinjananziyo
Any of the locative demonstratives may be placed either before or after
their noun, and they may also be used on their own.
e.g. Ungaphi umganu ? Nanku — Where is the plate? Here it is
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Lesson 21
Adverbs and relative stems
I ADVERBS OF PLACE
1 With verbs
Adverbs may be used after verbs, just as in English:
e.g. Angifuni ukuhlala lapha •— 1 don’t want to stay here
Omama bahamba phambili — The women go in front
Khangela phezulu, mntwana — Look up, child
Abantu bavela phetsheya — The people come from overseas
2 With no verb
Adverbs may be used without a verb, that is, where in English we use the
verb ‘to be’ (e.g. Mother is inside).
In Ndebele, although there is a verb ‘to be’ (ukuba), it is not used in
this construction. Merely place the required concord before the adverb,
e.g. Umama «phakathi — Mother is inside
Abantwana ¿»aphandle — The children are outside
Imbiza /phansi — The pot is on the ground
Ag/lapha — la m here
Note: if the adverb begins with a vowel, insert ‘s’ between concord and
adverb, to separate the vowels.
e.g. Umuzi useduze — The village is near
Inja ijemuva — The dog is behind
♦
Negative: use the negative KA* (or A-) with the concord:
e.g. Umama Araphakathi — Mother is not inside
Abantwana A:aZ>aphandle — The children are not outside
Imbiza /tay/phansi — The pot is not on the ground
Umuzi /raw«seduze — The village is not near
Inja A:ay/semuva — The dog is not behind
3 Khona
a) The adverb ‘khona’ means ‘present’. It does not in itself have any
42
sense of position or distance, as do ‘lapha’ and ‘lapho’, and so on. It may
be used to translate the English ‘here’ or ‘there’, if this only means presence
in a certain place.
e.g. Unyokoukhonana? — Is your mother here?/Isyour mother in?
Uyayazi iGwelo na? Ubaba uhlala khona
Do you know Gwelo? My father lives there
Ngifuna ukuya khona — I want to go there
‘Khona’ is commonly used in the following way:
Amanzi akhona na? — Is there any water?
Impuphu ikhona n a? — Is there any mealie meal?
Izintaba zikhona — There are some mountains
UNkulunkulu ukhona — God exists/God is present
Note: the indefinite ‘ku’ may be used as concord:
e.g. Kukhona amanzi na? — Is there any water?
c) Negative: use the negative KA- with the concord, but note that
‘khona’ is shortened to ‘kho’ in the negative.
e.g. Umama kakho — My mother is not present
Ugogo kakho ekhaya — Grandmother is not at home
Izintaba kazikho lapho — There are no mountains there
Amanzi kawakho — There is no water
Impuphu kayikho — There is no mealie meal
II RELATIVE STEMS
‘Relative stems’ is the name given to certain words which translate some
of the English adjectives,
e.g. -buhlungu — painful
-nmandi — nice
-lula — light
-nzima — heavy
Relative stems may be used in the same way as we have just described
for adverbs, that is, with the required subject concord in front, instead of
the verb ‘to be’.
e.g. Umunwe «buhlungu — The finger is painful
Uraunwe katvttbuhlungu — The finger is not painful
Ukudla kumnandi — The food is nice
Ukudla kakumnandi — The food is not nice
Inkuni zinzima — The firewood is heavy
Inkuni kazinzima — The firewood is not heavy
43
Relative stems will be studied again in a later lesson, and also adjective
stems (Lessons 43-45).
VOCABULARY
44
Lesson 22
The verb: past tense
There are two verb forms used for actions which took place in the past
(completed actions):
a) The perfect tense: this refers to recent time, something which has
happened within the last few days. (It is not possible to give an exact
number of days for this.)
b) The past tense: this refers to more remote time. We shall study the
past tense in this lesson.
45
be brought out in speech by intonation. For example, compare the follow
ing:
He/She saw — Wabona wa- is high
You saw — Wabona wa- is low
They see — Babona ba- is high
They saw — Babona ba- is low
see — Amadoda abona a- is high
saw — Amadoda abona a- is low
3 Narration
Note how this tense is used when narrating a series of events in past time,
e.g. Ngafika ekhaya, ngayibona inyoka lapho, ngayitshaya, yafa
I came home and saw the snake there, I hit it and it died
46
Lesson 23
The verb: perfect tense
The perfect tense is also used for completed actions in past time, but
only if they have happened recently. This tense is sometimes translated
by the English ‘have’, for example: ‘I have seen him this morning,’ or,
‘I saw him this morning.’
Like the present tense, the perfect tense has a long form and a short
form.
47
6) The short form : The short form of the perfect tense is more common
than the long form if something follows the verb:
e.g. Ubaba ubuye ekuseni — Father came back this morning
Ngimbone khathesi — I saw him just now
Ubone uMpofu na? — Have you seen Mpofu?
The short form is always used in the following instances:
(i) With interrogative adverbs:
e.g. Ubeke ngaphi impahla? — Where did you put the goods?
Baqede nini ? — When did they finish ?
Ufundeni lamuhla ? — What have you learnt today ?
(ii) The perfect tense of the verb ‘ukuya’ (go to):
e.g. Ubaba uye ngaphi? — Where has father gone?
UyekoBulawayo — He has gone to Bulawayo
4 Sequence of tenses
In a sequence of verbs in recent past time, verbs which have the same
subject, the pwfect tense is used for the first verb, the past tense for
those which follow:
e.g. Ubaba ufikilena? — Has father come?
Ye, ufike ngo-5 — Yes, he came at 5
Wangena wacela ukudla, wadla — He came in, asked for food,
and ate
48
Lesson 24
Different forms of the perfect tense
There are a number of verbs which form their perfect tense with a different
ending from ‘-ile’.
Ukuthatha — to take
Ukuphatha — to hold, carry (in hands)
These two verbs have the perfect form ‘-thethe’ and ‘-phethe’.
e.g. Umfana uthethe imali na? — Has the boy taken some money ?
Ycbo uyithethe — Yes, he has taken some
Umfana uphethe ugwalo — The boy is holding a book
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e.g. ukuvala;Ngivalile — I have shut
ukukhala; Umntwanaukhalile — The child cried
ukudlala; Umnt wana udlalile — The child played
5 Irregular forms
These verbs have an irregular perfect form:
e.g. ukuhlala — to sit; Ubaba uhlezi — Father has sat down
ukusutha — to become satisfied (with food)
Ubaba usuthi — Father is satisfied (‘-suthile’ is sometimes used)
50
Lesson 25
Stative verbs
1 ‘Stative’ is the name given to the perfect form of a verb >vhen this is
used to describe a present state.
e.g. Abantwana balele The children have gone to sleep/
The children are asleep (stative)
Inyoka ifile — The snake has died/
The snake is dead (stative)
Ukulwa kuphelile — The fighting has ended/
The fighting isfinished (stative)
Ubaba uhlezi lapho — Father has sat down there/
Father is sitting there (stative)
Ukudla kusele na? Is there any food left 7 (stative)
Note the stative use of the verbs meaning ‘carry’:
ukuphatha — to hold, carry in hands
ukuthwala — to bear, carry
e.g. Umfana uphethe ugwalo — Theboy/j/io/i///i^abook
Omama bathwele impahla — The mothers are carrying luggage
(on their heads)
The present tense of these verbs may be used if they are not expressing
a present state;
e.g. Omama bathwala impahla, obaba kabathwali lutho
The women carry the luggage, the men don’t carry anything
(The form ‘-zithwele’ is used as a polite way of referring to pregnancy:
e.g. Uzithwele — She is pregnant)
3 Some verbs may be used either in the present tense or in the stative.
e.g. Ngiyaphila — I am well
Stative: Ngiphilile — I am well
Ngibongile — I am thankful
Ngithabile — la m happy
51
e.g. ukugada — to ride
Ugade ibhasikili — He is riding a bicycle
But: Uligadile — He is riding it
5 Ukufanela
Meaning: to be necessary, to be right.
This verb is used in stative form ‘-fanele’ to mean ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘ought’.
It is followed by an infinitive,
e.g. Ngifaneleukusebenza — I must work
Ufanele ukusiza — You ought to help
Bafanele ukufunda — They must learn
Note: another verb used similarly is ‘ukumela’.
e.g. Bamele ukulalela — They must obey
6 The negative
The stative verbs may be used in the negative.
e.g. Balele — They are asleep; Kabalalanga — They are not asleep
Ulungile — You are good; Kawulunganga — You are not good/
You are naughty
Inyokaifile — The snake is dead ;Inyokakayifanga — The snake
is not dead
Ubaba uhlezi lapho — Father is sitting there; Ubaba kahlalanga
lapho — Father is not sitting there
Umfula ugcwele — The river is full
Umfula kawugcwalanga — The river is not full
Note: the stative stem ‘-fanele’ is often left unchanged in the negative,
e.g. Kawufanele ukusiza — You must not help
Kabafanele ukusiza — They must not help
VOCABULARY
52
-nona Inkomo zinonile The cattle are fat (used of animals)
-notha Nginothile I am rich
-phatha Ngiphethe ugwalo I am holding a book
-phela Ukudla kuphelile The food is finished
-phuza Ngiphuzile I am late
-qakatheka Lol±u kuqakathekile This is important
-sutha Ngisuthi I am satisfied (with food)
-thukuthela Ngithukuthele I am angry
-thwala Ngithwele uiimtwana I am carrying a child
-zimuka Ngizimukile I am fat (used of people)
Note also: Ngidiniwe I am tired
Ngomile I am thirsty
Ngifanele I must
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Lesson 26
The verb: future tense
The future tense is used for what will happen in the future,
e.g. I shall see him tomorrow; I’m going to see him tomorrow
1 Formation
To form the future tense, another verb, *-za’ (come) is used, with the
infinitive, but there is always a contraction.
e.g. Ngiza ukudXa. becomes Ngizu/cudla
Therefore, to make this tense, use subject concord + ZAKU + verb stem:
e.g. Ngiza^udla I shall eat
Uzakudia You will eat
Umfana uzakudia The boy will eat
Sizakudia We shall eat
Lizakudia You will eat
Bazakudla They will eat
and so on.
Note: this form may undergo a further contraction, -ZAKU- shortened
*o -ZA-, and in fact this is the most common form:
e.g. Ngizahamba — I shall go
Uzahamba — You will go
Umfana uzahamba — The boy will go
and so on.
The long form may be preferred for verbs with stems of one syllable,
like ‘ukudla’ above, but either form is correct.
Object concord: If an object concord is used, it will come immediately
before the verb stem, according to rule:
e.g. Ngiza/nbona kusasa — I shall see him tomorrow
NgizaAatshaya — I shall hit them
2 The negative
There are two alternative forms of the future tense negative.
a) The form in which -ZAKU- changes to -ZUKU- (-ZUKU- is not
contracted): use the negative KA- before the subject concord:
e.g. Kangizu^udla I shall not eat
Kawuzukudla You will not eat
Umfana kazukudia The boy will not eat
Kasizukuhamba We shan’t go
Kalizukuhamba You won’t go
Kabazukuhamba They won’t go
and so on.
b) The form which uses -YIKU- instead of -ZUKU-; -YIKU- is not
contracted.
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e.g. Кап^у1киЛ\л I shall not eat
Kawuyíkudla You will noteat
Umfana kayikudla The boy will not eat
Kasiyikuhamba We shan't go
Kaliyikuhamba You won’t go
Kabayikuhamba They won’t go
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Lesson 27
Introducing vowel verbs
‘Vowel verbs’ is the name given to verbs whose stem begins with a vowel,
for example, ‘-enza’ (do, make).
Some of these verbs are so common that you need to begin using them
now, and the purpose of this lesson is to enable you to do this, although the
verbs will be studied in greater detail later on.
2 Verb forms
The tenses of the verb are formed quite regularly. However, when the
verbal prefixes are placed before the stem, two vowel sounds are brought
next to each other, for example, Ngiya-enza — Ido.
This problem is solved in one of the following ways:
a) Elision o f a vowel
This is the general rule: the vowel which immediately precedes the verb
stem is elided (is dropped),
e.g . Ngiya-enza becomes: Ngiyenza — I do
Uya-enza becomes: Uyenza — He does
Kangi-enzi becomes: Kangenzi — I am not doing
Ka-enzi becomes: Kenzi — He is not
doing
Nga-enza becomes: Ngenza — I did
Wa-enza becomes: Wenza — He did
Kangi-enzanga becomes: Kangenzanga — I did not do
Ka-enzanga becomes: Kenzanga — He did not do
Object concords:
e.g. Ngiyasi-enza isipho becomes: Ngiyasenza isipho—I am making the
gift
Ngiyazi-enza izipho becomes: Ngiyazenza izipho—I am making the
gifts
b) Changing of'u' to ‘h»'
e.g. Infinitive: Uku-enza becomes: Ukwenza — to do
Uku-akha becomes: Ukwakha — to build
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Future: Ngizaku-enza becomes: Ngjzakwenza — I shall do
Kangiyiku-enza becomes: Kangiyikwenza — I
shall not do
Concords: Ngifuna ukuku-enza becomes: Ngifuna ukukwenza
—I want to do it
Ngizalu-enza uphabla becomes: Ngjzalwenza uphahla
— I shall make the roof
Exceptions: (i) No ‘w’ after ‘b’:
e.g. Ngiyabu-esaba ubuchakide becomes: Ngiya-
besaba ubuchakide — I fear the weasel
(ii) N o ‘w’ before‘o’:
e.g. Uku-oma becomes: Ukoma — to get dry
d) Imperative
Prefix Y to the verb stem:
e.g. Yenza Шуе, Sihle — Make some tea, Sihle
Yenzani itiye, mankazana — Make some tea, girls
Note: before an infinitive, the vowel verb is used in the long form, with
‘ya’:
e.g. ukwala — to refuse: Ngiyala ukukwenza — I refuse to do it
Ubaba uyala ukukwenza — Father
refuses to do it
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b) ‘икота' means ‘to get dry/thirsty’, and therefore has a stative perfect,
e.g. Ngomile — la m thirsty
Ubaba womile — Father is thirsty
Inja yomile — The dog is thirsty
Umfula womile — The river is dry
Izigqoko zomile — The clothes are dry
Lokhu komile — This is dry
Kangomanga — la m not thirsty
Ubaba komanga — Father is not thirsty
Inja kayomanga — The dog is not thirsty
Izigqoko kazomanga — The clothes are not dry
and so on.
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Lesson 28
Introducing the subjunctive mood
This verb form is called a mood, not a tense, because the emphasis is not on
the time of the verb, but on the mood expressed; for example, some form of
desire: ‘Let me help you’; ‘Please help me’, ‘So that I may help you’; ‘I
want you to help me’.
The subjunctive mood is used in present or future time.
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h) The first person plural (‘let us’) often has a suffix ‘-ni’, especially
when it stands on its own.
e.g. Asihambe/ii — Let’s go
Asingeneni — Let’s go in
Asiboneni — Let’s see
3 Please!
To express a wish very politely one may use ‘Ake’ in front of a subjunctive
verb; this will be equivalent to the English ‘please’,
e.g. Ake ngidlule — Please may 1 pass
Ake sihambe — Please let’s go
‘Ake’ may be shortened to ‘Ke’:
e.g. (Cengidlule — Please may 1 pass
Kesihambe — Please let’s go
A polite request to another person:
e.g. Ake uthathe lokhu, mama — Please take this, mother
Ake ungisize, mama — Please help me, mother
Ake uthanyele lapha — Please sweep here
But more commonly this is contracted:
e.g. /iA:«thathe lokhu — Please take this
Akungmze, —• Please help me
/l^:«thanyele — Please sweep
In the plural:
e.g. Ake lithathe lokhu, bomama — Please take this, mothers
Ake lingisize, mankazana — Please help me, girls
■\ke lithanyele lapha, mankazana — Please sweep here, girls
OR Relithathe lokhu
4 A series of requests
Sometimes one makes more than one request at a time, for example,
‘Go in and sit down’.
The imperative mood, which you learnt in Lesson 6, will be used for the
first request, but it will not be repeated; for the second and any subsequent
requests, use the subjunctive.
e.g. Mama, ngena uhlale phansi — Mother, go in and sit down
Bomama, ngenani lihlale phansi — Mothers, go in and sit down
Mfana, buya ungisize — Boy, come back and help me
Bafana, buyani lingisize — Boys, come back and help me
Nkazana, hluba amagwili uwagezise uwasike uwafake lapha
Girl, peel some potatoes, wash them, cut them up and put them
in here
You may start with the polite request if you wish:
e.g. Akubuye ungisize — Please come back and help me
Akuhlube amagwili uwagezise uwasike
Please peel some potatoes, wash them and cut them up
Bomama, ake lingene lihlale phansi — Mothers, please go in and
sit down
Note: use of'-hamba'and'-ya'together This is common when you say
‘Go and d o ...’. Use ‘hamba’ in the imperative and -‘ya’ in the subjunctive,
followed by an infinitive.
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e.g. Mfana, hamba uye ukuthatha. . . — Boy, go and get. . . (literally:
‘take’)
But this is contracted to :
Mfana, hamba uyethatha — Boy, go and g et.. . (literally: ‘take’)
Hamba uyethatha umganu — Go and get a plate
Hamba uyedinga uSipho — Go and look for Sipho
Hamba uye/ndinga — Go and look for him
Plural: Bafana, hambani liyethatha imiganu — Boys, go and get
some plates
Hambani liyedinga uSipho — Go and look for Sipho
Hambani liyemdinga — Go and look for him
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The subjunctive mood has many other uses; but these will be discussed
in a later lesson.
62
Lesson 29
Use of ‘-BO’ (must); the imperative with object concords; the negative
infinitive
63
When you wish to use an object concord with an imperative verb, the
final ‘-a’ of the verb stem must change to ‘-e‘:
e.g. Siza, mntwana — Help, child
Msize, mntwana — Help him, child
Basize — Help them
Ngisize — Help me
Nanku umumbu; upheke — Here is a mealie; cook it
Nanti igwili; lipheke — Here is a potato; cook it
Plural: Sizani, bantwana — Help, children
Msizeni, bantwana — Help him, children
Basizeni — Help them
Ngisizeni — Help me
Nansi imibhida; iphekeni — Here are some vegetables; cook
them
Nanka amagwili; aphekeni — Here are some potatoes; cook
them
Note: the object concords for first person singular and plural, NGI- and
SI-, may be used before a singular imperative, without change:
e.g. Ngisiza! — Help me! Sisiza! — Help us!
Intonation will distinguish between this and the present tense:
e.g. Ngisiza umama kanengi (I often help mother): NGI- is low tone;
Ngisiza! (Help me!): NGI-is high tone.
The negative of the infinitive verb is made by using the negative -NGA-,
placed after the prefix UKU-, and changing the final ‘-a’ of the verb to ‘-i’:
e.g. ukuthanda: ukuw^athandi — not to like
ukusebenza: uku^gasebenzi — not working
Ukungasebenzi kuyamhlupha — Not working troubles him
Ukungathandi umsebenzi kakulunganga — Not to like the job
is not good
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Lesson 30
Introducing the potential mood
2 Uses
The potential mood expresses ability, either physical ability, or knowledge,
or being given permission; or it may express possibility,
e.g. Physical: Ngingathwala lokho — I can carry that
Knowledge: Ngingapheka — I can cook
Permission: Ungahamba — You may go
Possibility: Inyoka ingaluma — The snake may bite
The potential may be used for future as well as present time:
e.g. Ungangisiza kusasa na? — Can you help me tomorrow? (Will
you be able?)
Singahamba kusasa — We can go tomorrow
There is a form of this mood used for past time (‘could’), but this will
be studied in a later lesson.
3 Negative: ‘cannot’
There is a negative form of the potential mood, but, as it is not the common
way of saying ‘cannot’, we shall leave it until a later lesson.
One way of saying ‘cannot’ is to use the verb ‘-ehluleka’ meaning
‘fail’. Note that because the verb stem begins with a vowel, the ‘a’ of ‘ya’
is dropped.
e.g. Ngiya-ehluleka becomes; Ngiyehluleka — 1 am failing/I cannot
Ngiyehluleka ukupheka — I am failing to cook/I
cannot cook
Uyehluleka ukupheka — You cannot cook
Umfana uyehluleka ukupheka — The boy cannot cook
Siyehluleka ukupheka — We cannot cook
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Liyehluleka ukupheka You cannot cook
Bayehlukeka ukupheka They cannot cook
Ijaha liyehluleka ukupheka The youth cannot cook
Intombi iyehlukeka ukupheka The girl cannot cook
Note: another form of this verb stem is ‘-ahluleka’; for example, Ngiy-
ahluleka.
66
Lesson 31
The absolute pronoun
2 Noun class
All the absolute pronouns for the noun classes (except ‘yena’) end in ‘-ona’,
with the first letter of the concord to begin with, for example, BA-. . .bona.
Concords U- and A- give ‘wona’; concord I- gives ‘yona’.
Noun Concord Absolute pronoun
umfana U- yena
abafana BA- bona
umfula U- wona
imifula I- yona
ilitshe LI- Iona
amatshe A- wona
isiphofu SI- sona
iziphofu ZI- zona
inja I- yona
izinja ZI- zona
ufudu LU- Iona
imfudu ZI- zona
ubunyonyo BU- bona
ukudia KU- khona
The absolute pronoun emphasizes the subject or object of the verb, and
must be used in addition to the concord,
e.g. Mina n^/thanda ukusebenza kodwa wena «thanda ukudlala
I like to work but you like to play
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OR ^j^ithanda ukusebenza mina, kodwa «thanda ukudlala wena
Angibaboni abafana kodwa amankazana ngiyawabona wona
I don’t see the boys but I see the girls
Angizifuni izicathulo kodwa ilembu ngiya/ifuna Iona
I don’t want the shoes but I do want the material
Learn these pronouns thoroughly, because as you progress with the
language you will need to use them frequently in ways other than those
shown here.
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Lesson 32
The stem -NKE (all)
69
Lesson 33
Verbs with two objects
4 Emphasis
For the sake of greater emphasis, it is possible to reverse the usual order,
e.g. I shall give it to her, not you — Ngizalunika yena, atshi wena
I shall give it to them, not you — Ngizasinika bona, atshi lina
Note:
a) When the object concord ‘m’ is used before a monosyllabic verb stem,
it is better to make it ‘mu’;
e.g. ukupha — to give
Ngizamivpha ugwalo — I shall give her a book
b) The verb ‘ukutshaya’ is sometimes used with two objects, thus:
e.g. Wangitshaya ilihlo — He hit me in the eye (He hit me the eye)
Wamtshaya umfana ilihlo — He hit the boy in the eye
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Lesson 34
The connective: LA- (and/with)
LA- connects nouns and pronouns; it means ‘and’ or ‘with’ (in the sense
of ‘together with’) or ‘also’.
e.g. Umama/abantwana — Mother and the children
Umama uyahamba /obantwana — Mother is walking with the
children
LA- is prefixed to the noun or pronoun.
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To distinguish the plural from the singular, a ‘b’ is inserted between LA-
and the prefix:
e.g. la om am a. .. laAomama — and/with the mothers
labomangoye — and/with the cats
Examples of use;
Ngifuna ukhezo lomganu — 1 want a spoon and a plate
Umfana uyasebenza loyise — The boy is working with his father
Mina lomama siyasebenza — I and mother are working
Ngizabuya lomntWana kusasa — I shall bring the child tomorrow
Ngithanda ukupheka lokuthunga — I like cooking and sewing
Omama labobaba bayasebenza — Our mothers and fathers are working
Ungaphi umama? Ulobaba — Where is mother ? She is with father
Note:
a) Subject concords for nouns of different classes joined by LA-:
If they are personal nouns, use concord BA-:
e.g. Ijaha lezintombi bayahleka — The youth and the girls are laughing
If they are impersonal nouns, either use concord KU-:
e.g. Inja lomangoye kuyanatha — The dog and the cat are drinking
Kungaphi isigelo lelembu? — Where are the scissors and the
material?
OR use the concord agreeing with the noun next to the verb;
e.g. Inja lomangoye uyanatha — The dog and the cat are drinking
Singaphi isigelo lelembu? — Where are the scissors and the
material ?
Avoid having personal and non-personal nouns together as subject;
e.g. The boy and the dog are running
Umfana uyagijima lenja (The boy is running, and the dog/with the
dog)
b) LA- is not used to join verbs: ‘and’ in such instances is not translated
at all, although ‘njalo’ (also) may sometimes be used.
e.g. Abantwana bathanda ukudlala, njalo bathanda ukuhlabela
Children like to play and they also like to sing
Hamba uyedinga uSipho umtshele
Go and took for Siptio and tell him
Ngangena esitolo ngathenga ukudla
I went into the store and bought some food
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e.g. For ‘strong’ use the noun ‘strength’: amandla
Balamandla — They are strong (i.e. they with strength; they
have strength)
Umfana ulamandla — The boy is strong
Here are some nouns used this way:
amandla (ama) — strength; Balamandla — They are strong
umusa (umu) — kindness: Balomusa — They are kind
ulunya (ulu) — cruelty: Balolunya — They are cruel
uzwelo (ulu) — sympathy: Balozwelo — They are sympathetic
usizi(ulu) — sorrow: Silosizi — We are sorry (expressing sympathy)
isizungu (isi) — loneliness: Silesizungu — We are lonely
isibindi (isi)—courage: Balesibindi — They are brave
b) Use ofthe subject concord KU-:
e.g. A'i/lezintaba lapho — There are hills there (i.e. it with hills)
Kulomsebenzi — There is work
Kulengozi — There is danger/It is dangerous
Kulomoya — It is windy
4 Negative of ‘have’
Use the negative KA-/A- before the subject concord.
a) Pronouns:
e.g. Ulomthanyelo na? Ngilawo — Have you the broom? I have it
ATangilawo — I haven’t got it
Balezicathulo na? ATabalazo — Have they any shoes? They haven’t
any
Umfana ulemali na? Ka\ayo — Has the boy any money? He
hasn’t any
b) Nouns:
Coalescence is not used in the negative: keep LA- unchanged, and drop
the initial vowel of the noun:
e.g. Ulomntwanana?Kangilamntwana — Have you a child? I haven’t
a child
Ulemali na? Kangi/amali — Have you any money? I haven’t
any money
Kulomsebenzi na ? Kakulnmsebenzi — Is there any work ? There
is no work
c) Noun and pronoun together: noun and pronoun are both used if
referring to some particular person or thing:
e.g. Kangilamali — I haven’t any money
Kangilayo imali — I haven’t got the money
Kasilangwalo — We haven’t any books
Kasilazo ingwalo — We haven’t got the books
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e.g. ukuhlangana — to meet
Ngahlangana loMhlanga — I met Mhlanga
Ngahlangana laye — I met him
ukufanana — to resemble
Umfana ufanana loyise — The boy looks like his father
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Lesson 35
The instramental NGA-
NGA- is prefixed to nouns and pronouns in the same way as LA-. It has
many uses, but it is called ‘instrumental’ because it is used for the instru
ment.with which something is done, or the manner in which something is
done.:
e.g. He hit me with a stone; We went by train
When NGA- is prefixed to a noun, the rule of coalescence is applied, as
for LA-.
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e.g. Века lokho phansi — Put that down
Века lokho H^ophansi — Put that underneath
Ngibona inyoni phezulu — I see a bird up above
Fnyoni iyaphapha n^aphezulu — The bird is flying directly above
Kulezihlahla phandle — There are trees outside
Kulesihlahla rt^aphandle — There is a tree just outside
VOCABULARY
76
Lesson 36
The locatives KU-, KO-, E-
These three prefixes are used with nouns and pronouns to indicate location,
often after verbs of motion,
e.g. Ngiya kumama — la m going to mother
Ngiya koDube — I am going to Dube's home
Ngiya eGwelo — I am going to Gwelo
[ KU- or KI
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2 KU- or KI- with pronouns
To express motion, or location, with pronouns, K.U- or KI- must be used.
a) With pronouns for all noun classes, except for ‘yena’, either KU- or
KI- may be prefixed to the pronoun.
e.g. abafundisi: Ngivela kubo/kibo — I come from them
umlilo; Faka ukhuni kuwo/kiwo — Put a piece of wooa on it
imibhida: Thela amanzi kuyo/kiyo — Pour water on them
itafula: Imiganu ikhona kulo/kilo — The plates are on it
amatshe: Ngihlezi kuwo/kiwo — I am sitting on them
isalukazi: Cela ukudla kuso/kiso — Ask her for food
izitsha: Faka impuphu kuzo/kizo — Put mealie meal in them
imbiza: Khupha inyama kuyo/kiyo — Take the meat out of it
uchago: Impukane ikhona kulo/kilo — A fly is in it
ubuso: Faka umuthi kubo/kibo — Put medicine on it
ukudla: Faka itshwayi kukho/kikho — Put salt in it
b) With personal pronouns:
‘wena’ and ‘yena’ use KU-;
‘mina’, ‘thina’ and ‘lina’ use KI-.
kimi — to/from me kithi — to/from us
kuwe — to/from you kini — to/from you
kuye — to/from him kibo/kubo — to/from them
II КО
III E-
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Lesson 37
The locative form of the noun
There is a special form of the noun which expresses location, in, on, or at,
and motion to, from, into, onto, out of, and so on. This particular form
applies to all nouns except those of the U/O Class (see previous lesson).
79
a) Points of the compass, and a few other place nouns:
e.g. impumalanga — east empumalanga — in/to the east
intshonalanga — west entshonalanga — in/to the west
ikhaya - home ekhaya -- at home
iziko — hearth eziko — in the hearth
umnyango — doorway emnyango — in the doorway
ulwandle — sea olwandle OR elwandle — in
the sea
Certain nouns of time:
ubusuku — night ebusuku — at night
imini — daytime; midday emini — in the daytime; at
midday
intambama ~ evening ntambama (‘e’ dropped’) — in the
evening
u t: ukusa — morning: has the
full form: ekuseni -- in the morning
c) Certain parts of the body:
ikhanda — head ekhanda — on the head
ihlombe — shoulder ehlombe — on the shoulder
umhlana — back emhlana — on the back
ukunene — right side ekunene — on the right
ikhohlo — left side ekhohlo — on the left
d) Nouns of foreign origin: Whether the short or long form of the
locative is preferred for these nouns depends entirely on usage: there is no
rule.
e.g. esibhedlela — to the hospital
esitolo/esitolweni — to the store
esikolo/esikolweni — to the school
esitimeleni — to the train
edolobheni — to town
emoteni — to the car
and so on.
3 Irregular forms
Learn the locative form of these common nouns, which is slightly irregular:
umuzi: emzini — to the kraal
indlu: endlini — to the hut
insimu: ensimini —• to the field
amasimu: emasimini — to the fields
inkomo: enkomeni — to the cattle
imvu: emvini — to the sheep
izimvu: ezimvini — to the sheep (plural)
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OR Utnama ukhona endlini — Mother is (present) in the hut
Inyoka ikhona endleleni — The snake is on the path
Note: ‘with’ may be translated by a locative, if it indicates position:
e.g. Udokotela ukhona ezigulaneni — The doctor is with the patients
Umelusi ukhona enkomeni — The herdbdy is with the cattle
b) The negative
The adverb 'khona' is used when making the negative of the locative noun:
e.g. Umama kakho endlini — Mother is not in the hut
Abafana kabakho emfuleni — The boys are not in the river
Inyoka kayikho endleleni — The snake is not on the path
Udokotela kakho ezigulaneni — The doctor is not with the
patients
c) Use ofNGA-
The prefix NGA- may be used with locatives, to indicate ‘in the direction
of. . .’
e.g. emfuleni — to/from/in the river
ngasemfuleni — towards/by/from the direction of the river
Woza kimi — Come to me
Woza ngakimi — Come towards me
Learn these: ngakwesokunene — to the right
Hamba uye ngakwesokunene — Go to the right
ngakwesokhohlo — to the left
Hamba uye ngakwesokhohlo — Go to the left
d) With LA-
When LA- (and) joins locative nouns, it is usually prefixed directly onto
the noun:
e.g. ezihlalweni/etafuleni — on the chairs and (on the) table
emachibini /emifuleni — in the pools and rivers
emini /ebusuku — in the day and in the night
But sometimes letter ‘s’ is placed between LA- and the locative:
e.g. ezihlalweni la^etafuleni — on the chairs and on the table
emachibini lasemifuleni — in the pools and rivers
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bh becomes j umbhobho — gun;
embhojeni — on the gun
isigubhu —- drum;
esigujini — on the drum
m becomes ny umlomo — mouth;
emlonyeni ■— in the mouth
ingqamu —- knife;
engqanyini — on the knife
mb becomes nj: umthombo — well;
emthonjeni — in the well
ilembu — cloth;
eleiyini — in the cloth
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Lesson 38
The possessive with nouns: I
2 Coalescence
Coalescence takes place between the vowel of the possessive concord
and the initial vowel of the noun;
e.g. umangoye ivabapheki — the cooks’ cat
umangoye wompheki — the cooks’ cat
umangoye wenkazana — the girl’s cat
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imbiza >'flbapheki the cooks’ pot
imbiza :>'ompheki the cook's pot
imbiza yenkazana the girl’s pot
inkuni zflbapheki the cooks’ firewood
inkuni zompheki the cook’s firewood
inkuni zenkazana the girl’s firewood
a) Exception: Coalescence does not take place when the possessive
concord is prefixed to plural personal nouns with prefix 0 -; instead,
insert letter ‘b’ between concord and noun.
e.g. inkomo zaftobaba — our fathers’ cattle
umhlangano waAomama — the women’s meeting
b) The ‘w’ of 'kwa' and 'Iwa' is not spoken before an ‘o’,
e.g. uchago Iwabapheki — the cooks’ milk
uchago Zompheki — the cook’s milk
ukudla Zrompheki — the cook’s food
3 Uses
a) To translate 'belong'
e.g. inkomo zabobaba — the cattle belonging to our fathers
indlu yomfundisi — the house belonging to the minister
b) Used descriptively
e.g. abantwana besikolo — school children
ukhezo Iwesihlahla — a wooden spoon
impahla zesivande — gardening tools
imali yokudla — money for food
c) With adverbs and locative nouns
e.g. abantu balapha - - the people of this place (here)
abantu bakhona — the people of the place (previously designated)
ukudla kwemini — midday meal
ukudla kwantambama — evening meal
abantu bakoBulawayo — the people of Bulawayo
abantu beAfrika — the people of Africa
OR abantu baseAfrika — the people of Africa
This ‘s’ is inserted when the full form of the locative noun is used:
e.g. ukudla kwa^ekuseni morning meal
abantu basentabeni the people of the mountain
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Lesson 39
The possessive with nouns: II
2 Contractions
The following contracted forms of nouns in this possessive construction
are common:
a) ‘Umntwana’ may be contracted to ‘umnta-’:
e.g. Unmtakabani ? — Whose child ?
umntakaDube — Dube’s child
umntakaMaNyoni — MaNyoni’s child
b) ‘Unina’ may be contracted to ‘una-’:
e.g. unakaSihle — Sihle’s mother
unakaSithembile — Sithembile’s mother
This is often used as a form of address to a woman, or a means of identi
fication, using the name of her eldest child:
e.g. Salibonani, nakaSihle — Good-day, Sihle’s mother
c) ‘Uyise’ may be contracted to ‘use-’:
e.g. usekaSihle — Sihle’s father
usekaSithembile — Sithembile’s father
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This may also be used as a form of address to a man, though it is not so
common as the form for women.
d) When speaking of somebody’s marriage partner, wife or husband, the
prefix ‘umka’ is used: this is the polite way of speaking:
e.g. umkaDube — Dube’s wife
umkaMaNyoni — MaNyoni’s husband
Plural form: omka: omkaDube — Dube’s wives
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Lesson 40
Possessive pronouns
The possessive pronouns (for example, my, your, his, and so on) are made
in Ndebele by using the possessive concord which you studied in Lesson 38,
with a possessive stem.
Possession Possessor
boy my
H/nfana waini (from ‘mina’)
boys my
abatana banú
umuthi wami — my medicine
imithi yami — my medicines
iqanda lami — my egg
amaqanda ami — my eggs
isipho sami — my gift
izipho zami — my gifts
inja yami — my dog
izinja zami — my dogs
uchago Iwami — my milk
ubuso bami — my face
ukudla kwami — my food
1 Possessive steins
d) For ‘my’ the possessive stem is taken from the absolute pronoun ‘mina’
and for ‘their’, from ‘bona’. However, special possessive stems have to
be learnt for ‘your’ (singular and plural), ‘his/her’, and ‘our’.
1st person singular: -mi e.g. abantwana bami — my children
injayami — my dog
2nd person singular: -kho abantwana bakho — your children
inja yakho — your dog
3rd person singular: -khe abantwana bakhe — his/her children
injayakhe — his/her dog
1st person plural: -ithu abantwana bethu (ba + ithu)
— our children
inja yethu (ya -t- ithu)
our dog
2nd person plural: -inu abantwana benu (ba + inu)
your children
inja yenu (ya + inu)
your dog
3rd person plural: -bo abantwana babo — their children
inja yabo — their dr >2
b) For the possessive pronoun of all other noun classes, the absolute
pronoun provides the stem.
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e.g. Noun Pronoun Possessive
umlilo wona e.g. amandla awo — its strength
imililo yona amandla ayo — their strength
ijaha íona amandla alo — his strength
amajaha wona amandla awo — their strength
isalukazi sona amandla aso — her strength
izalukazi zona amandla azo — their strength
inja yona amandla ayo — its strength
izinja zona amandla azo — their strength
ufudu lona amandla alo — its strength
imfudu zona amandla azo — their strength
ubunyonyo bona amandla abo — their strength
ukukhanya khona amandla akho —- its strength
2 Contractions
a) Contraction of ‘umntwana’
umntwana wami becomes; umntanami — my child
umntanakho — your child
umntanakhe — his/her child
umntanethu — our child
umntanenu — your child
umntanabo — their child
Referring to ‘induna’: umntanayo — his child
b) Contraction of ‘umfana’: umfanami -— my boy
umfanakho — your boy
and so on.
c) For the marriage partner, the prefix ‘umka-’ is used before the posses
sive stem:
e.g. umkami — my wife/husband omkanii — my wives
umkakho — your wife/husband omkakho — your wives
umkakhe — his wife/her husband omkakhe — his wives
omkethu — our wives/husbands
omkenu — your wives/husbands
omkabo — their wives/husbands
3 Family relationships
The use of the plural possessive (for example, ‘our sister’ for ‘my sister')
is common with nouns referring to family relationships, in order to show
respect. Therefore it is always used for an elder sister or brother.
a) Sister: udade- (u/o)
e.g. udadewethu my/our sister
udadewenu your sister
udadewabo his/her/their sister
odadewethu our/my sisters
and so on.
b) Elder brother: umne- (um/aba)
e.g. umnewethu — my/our brother
umnewenu — your brother
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umncwabo — his/her/their brother
abanewethu — ray/our brothers
and so on.
c) Younger brother or sister: umna- (um/aba)
e.g. umnawami — my brother/sister
umnawakho — your brother/sister
umnawakhe — his/her brother/sister
abanawami — my brothers/sisters
and so on.
d) Brother or sister: umfo- (um/aba)
e.g. umfowethu — my/our brother/sister
umfowenu — your brother/sister
and so on.
/Vote: it is important to know that in the extended family system which
exists amongst Africans, the words for ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘brother’ and
‘sister’ are also used for ‘aunt’, ‘uncle’ and ‘cousin’.
89
Lesson 41
Adverbs with nouns and pronouns
Adverbs of place may be used before nouns and pronouns, for example: ‘in
front of the house; in front of it.’
1 UseofLA-
In Lesson 34 it was explained that three adverbs are linked to the following
noun or pronoun by LA-:
eduze: e.g. eduze lendlu — near the hut
eduze layo — near it
khatshana: e.g. khatshana lendlu — far from the hut
khatshana layo — far from it
maqondana: e.g. maqondana lendlu — opposite the hut
maqondana layo — opposite it
Note: eduze may also be followed by KWA- (see below).
2 UseofKWA-
Other adverbs are linked to the following noun or pronoun by KWA-,
which is actually a possessive (KU + A).
a) KWA- with nouns
The rule of coalescence must be followed when KWA- is prefixed to a noun.
Note that some of the adverbs are usually shortened when used in this
way.
phakathi — inside: phakathi kwendlu — inside the hut
phakathi kwabantu — among the people
phakathi Aromuzi — inside the kraal
(‘w’ is not pronounced before ‘o’)
phakathi kwaiomama — among the women
(insert ‘b’ with plural nouns of prefix 0-)
phandle — outside: phandle kwendlu — outside the hut
phandle kwamasimu — outside the fields
phandle komuzi — outside the kraal
phambili — in front: phambi kwendlu — in front of the hut
phambi kwabantu — in front of the people
phambi komuzi — in front of the kraal
phambi kwabomama — in front of the women
emuva — behind: emva kwendlu — behind the hut
emva kwabantu — behind the people
emva komuzi — behind the kraal
emva kwabomama — behind the women
phezulu — up: phezu kwendlu — on top of the hut
phezu kwamatafula — on top of the tables
phezu komduli — on top of the wall
phezu kwabomangoye — on top of the cats
phansi — down: phansi kwendlu — down by the hut
90
phansi kwamatafula — down by the tables
phansi komduli — next to the wall
phansi kwabomangoye — beside the cats
phetsheya — across: phetsheya kwendlela — across the way
phetsheya kwamasimu — on the other side of
the fields
phetsheya komfula — across the river
eduze — near: eduze kwendlu — near the hut
Note:
(i) Use of prefix ‘nga-’:
As explained in Lesson 35, ‘nga-’ prefixed to an adverb marks the position
more definitely.
e.g. Compare: Века lokho phansi kwetafula — Put that down by the
table
Века lokho //¿•ophansi kwetafula — Put that under
neath the table
Intambo iphezu kwetafula — The string is on the table
Intambo iyalenga ngaphsTa kwetafula — The string is hanging
directly above the table
Kulezihlahla phandle komuzi — There are trees outside tlje
village
Kulesihlahla esikhulu «^aphandle komuzi — There is a big tree
just outside the village
(il) ‘Ngaphandle’ also means ‘except’:
e.g. ngaphandle kwabantwana — except for the children
ngaphandle kwenja yami — except for my dog
(iii) ‘Eceleni’, the locative form of ‘icele’ (side), is used to mean ‘beside’,
followed by ‘kwa-’.
e.g. eceleni kwendlela — by the side of the road
eceleni komfana — beside the boy
b) KWA- with pronouns
As KWA- is a possessive, the possessive stems must be used with it.
e.g. phambi kwami — in front of me
phambi kwakho — in front of you
phambi kwakhe — in front of him/her
phambi kwethu — in front of us
phambi kwenu — in front of you
phambi kwabo — in front of them
Ondlu) phambi kwayo — in front of it (hut)
(umuzi) phambi kwawo — in front of it (village)
(izihlahla) phambi kwazo — in front of them (trees)
and so on.
3 UseofKUKA-
The possessive KA-, with concord KU-, is used before singular personal
nouns with prefix U-.
e.g. phambi kukababa — in front of father
emva kukanina — behind his mother
phezu kukababamkhulu — on top of grandfather
phansi kukaThemba — next to Themba
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4 Ngenxa YA-
fl) The adverb ‘ngenxa’ (because of, due to) is linked to the noun or
pronoun by the possessive YA-:
e.g. ngenxa yezulu — because of the rain
ngenxa yomsebenzi — because of the work
ngenxa yakho — because of you
ngenxa yakhe — because of him
ngenxa yethu — because of us
and so on.
b) Before singular personal nouns with prefix U-, the possessive KA- is
used:
e.g. ngenxa kababa — because of father
ngenxa kaThemba — because of Themba
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Lesson 42
The demonstrative pronoun
93
isitsha lesi leso lesiyana
izitsha lezi lezo leziyana
inja/imfe le leyo leyana
izinja lezi lezo leziyana
uluthi/ufudu lolu lolo loluyana
izinti lezi lezo leziyana
ubuso lobu lobo lobuyana
ukudla lokhu lokho lokhuyana
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kulumuzi — in this village
And without a noun: kuleyo — to that one
kulo — in this one
(iv) Other prefixes before a demonstrative.
LA- e.g. leyombiza /alimiganu — that pot and these plates
lale — and these
NGA- e.g. Gamula ns-alelihloka — Chop with this axe
ngaleli — with this one
Possessives: isigqoko salinkazana — this girl’s dress
umuthi walesisigulane — this patient’s medicine
phansi kwalelilitshe — under this stone
(v) Pronunciation:
Where one of these prefixes is used before a demonstrative pronoun
of one syllable, the stress will be on the final syllable,
e.g. kulo — to this one (umuzi)
lale — and these (imiganu)
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Lesson 43
Adjective stems: I
2 Adjective concords
When adjective stems qualify a noun (for example, an old person, pretty
dresses, and so on) they are prefixed by a concord which agrees with the
noun they are qualifying, and are placed after the noun,
e.g. abaniu abaisda. — old people
amaluba amahlc — pretty flowers
The adjective concord is formed from the whole of the noun prefix, as in
the examples above, but the initial vowels ‘u’ and ‘i’ change:
u becomes o : e.g. Mwfana o/nkhulu — a big boy
«kudla okwhle — good food
i becomes e : e.g. imizi em/khulu — big villages
inja. e«hle — a fine dog
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TABLE OF ADJECTIVE CONCORDS
97
3 Points on the use of some adjective stems:
a) 'Young'
Care must be taken when translating the adjective ‘young’, to qualify
personal nouns, ‘-tsha’ may be used with ‘urauntu’, otherwise use ‘-ncin-
yane’;
e.g. umuntu omutsha — a young person
abantu abatsha — young people
amankazana amancinyane — young girls
umfazi omncinyane — a young wife
utitshala omncinyane — a young teacher
Also with animals: e.g. imbuzi encinyane — a young goat
With such nouns, ‘-tsha’ means ‘new’;
e.g. umfazi omutsha — a new wife
imbuzi entsha — a new goat
Similarly, ‘younger’ and ‘older’ are translated by ‘-ncinyane’ and ‘-khulu’
respectively:
e.g. inkazana encinyane — the younger girl
amankazana amakhulu — the older girls
b) '-Nye'
When qualifying a noun, ‘-nye’ means ‘other/another/the other’. It is
normally placed before its noun:
e.g. omunye umfana — another/the other boy
esinye isigqoko — another/the other dress
enye impuphu — some more mealie meal
amanye amanzi — some more water
‘-Nye’ also translates the numeral ‘one’, but it is then used diiferently
(see Lesson 44).
c) Adjective stems on their own
Adjective stems may be used on their own, their concords agreeing with
the noun to which they refer but which is omitted,
e.g. abatsha labadala — the young and the old
Angifuni lelilembu elincane; ngifuna elikhulu
I don’t want this little cloth; I want a big one
Nanzi imbiza ezimbili; enye ingcolile, kodwa enye ilungile.
Here are two pots; one is dirty, but the other is all right.
Abanye bathanda ukusebenza; abanye kabathandi.
Some (people) like to work; others don’t.
Ufuna okunye na? — Do you want something else?
Ungafundi okubi; ufunde okuhle — Do not learn what is bad;
learn what is good.
d) KU- before adjective stems
Before an adjective concord, KU- (to/from/in) becomes KW- or K -:
e.g. Cela imali ^wabanye — Ask money from the others
Sizakuya Arwezinye indawo — We shall go to other places
Thela lokhu ¿omunye umganu — Pour this into another dish
e) 'How old?
Use the following construction for people’s ages:
98
e.g. Uleminyaka emingaki? — How old are you? (You have how
many years?)
Ngileminyaka emihlanu — la m five years old (I have five years)
Umntwana ulenyanga ezingaki? — How many months old is
the child?
Ulenyanga ezimbili — He is two months old
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Lesson 44
Adjective stems: 11
As well as qualifying the noun, adjectives may be used after the verb
‘to be’ (that is, in the predicate). For example: ‘the dress is pretty.’ ‘the
people are old,’ and so on.
When relative stems are used in this way, the subject concord for the
noun is prefixed to the relative stem:
e.g. Isigqoko i/bomvu — The dress is red (see Lesson 21)
Adjective stems also have concords prefixed to them.
1 The concords
The concords prefixed to the adjective stems are formed from the whole
of the second syllable of the noun prefix, which means that for some
noun classes the concord will have an additional ‘m’ or ‘n’.
Compare the concords used with relative stems and adjective stems in
these examples:
Relative Adjective
Imifula /banzi — The rivers are wide Iffi/fula «jikhulu — The rivers are
big
Amaluba abomvu — The flowers Awaluba /nahle — the flowers are
are red pretty
Inja /bomvu — The dog is red- /nja /«hie — The dog is beautiful
brown
Izinja zibomvu — The dogs are Iz/nja z/«hle — The dogs are
red-brown beautiful
Umuntu «buthakathaka — The Um/mtu «///hie — The person is
person is weak pretty
Umuntu «/khulu — The person is
big
Note: ‘y’ is often prefixed to ‘in-’ thus Injayinhle — the dog is beautiful
TABLE;
100
ama ma Amatshe makhulu — The stones are big
isi si Isinkwa sihle — The loaf is good
izi zin/zim Izinkwa zinhle — The loaves are good
Izinkwa zimbili — The loaves are two
in/im in/im Inja inkulu — The dog is big
Inja imbi — The dog is bad
izin/izim zin/zim Izimvu zinkulu — The sheep are big
Izimvu zimbi — The sheep are bad
ulu/u lu Uluthi lukhulu — The stick is big
izin/izim zin/zim Izinti zinkulu — The sticks are big
Izinti zimbili — The sticks are two
ubu bu Ubuso buhle — The face is pretty
uku ku Ukudla kuhle — The food is good
3 Numbers
a) ‘Nye’ meaning ‘one’: When ‘nye-’ is used with subject concords in
the manner shown here, it means the number ‘one’:
e.g. iqanda linye — one egg (the egg is one)
isitsha sinye — one container
umfana munye — one boy
inkazana yinye — one girl
Note: with the IN- class of noun, contraction may take place:
e.g. inkazananye — one girl; injanye — one dog; imbizanye — one pot;
and so on.
b) Other numbers may be used in a similar way:
e.g. Abafana bathathu — There are three boys (The boys are three)
Amaqanda mangaki? — How many eggs are there?
Mahlanu — There are five
Also: Imiziminengi — The villages are many
Impuphu yinlutshwana — There is a little mealie meal
4 The negative
a) First and second persons: Prefix the negative KA-/A- to the positive
form:
e.g. Kangimkhulu — I am not big
Kawumkhulu — You are not big
Kangimutsha — I am not young
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Kawumutsha — You are not young
Kasibakhulu — We are not big
Kalibakhulu — You are not big
b) Noun classes: Use the adjective stem with its concord, and in front of
this use the negative form of the normal subject concord:
e.g. kaku + kuhle : Kakukuhle — It is not good
kawa + mahle : Kawamahle — They are not pretty
(amankazana)
kawu + muhle : Kawumuhle — It is not pretty (umganu)
kayi + mihle : Kayimihle — They are not pretty
(imiganu)
kayi 4- inhle : Kayinhle — She is not pretty
(inkazana)
and so on.
Note negative o f concord ''zin-: it is usual to drop a syllable, ‘zi-’,
and lengthen the syllable ‘zin- in speech:
e.g. kazi + zinkulu : KazinksAu — They are not big (izinja)
kazi + zinde : Kazinde — They are not tall
(izihlahla)
TABLE
102
Lesson 45
The relative concord
103
ili eli eli ijaha eligijima kakhulu
the youth who runs fast
ama ama a amajaha agijima kakhulu
youths who run fast
isi esi esi isihambi esigijima kakhulu
the traveller who runs fast
izi ezin/ezim ezi izihambi ezigijima kakhulu
travellers who run fast
in/im cn/em e inja egijima kakhulu
a dog which runs fast
izin/izim ezin/ezim ezi izinja ezigijima kakhulu
dogs which run fast
ulu olu olu usane olukhala kakhulu
a baby which cries very much
izin/izim ezin/ezim ezi insane ezikhala kakhulu
babies which cry very much
ubu obu obu ubunyonyo obugijima kakhulu
ants which run fast
uku oku oku ukudla okutshisa kakhulu
food which is very hot
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placed after the subject concord, and making whatever change is necessary
in the form of the verb for the tense used.
Present tense: change final ‘a’ of the verb stem to ‘i’.
e.g. mina engisebenza kakhulu — 1 who work hard
minaengi/i^asebenzi kakhulu — I who do not work hard
umfana osebenza kakhulu — the boy who works hard
umfana o«j?asebenz/ kakhulu — the boy who doesn’t work hard
isisebenzi esisebenza kakhulu — the worker who works hard
isisebenzi esi«,?asebenzi kakhulu — the worker who doesn’t
work hard
Examples of negative relative verbs in other tenses will be given in the
next lesson.
105
thina esirt^ebadala — we who are not old
lina elirt^ebadala — you who are not old
(This negative form of adjectives is not so important as the positive,
but you should be able to recognise it.)
106
Lesson 46
Relative clauses
Now that you know the relative concords and the basic relative construc
tion, you can learn different verb tenses and different types of relative
clauses.
b) Perfect tense
Note: that the short perfect is preferred where possible,
e.g. umfana othethe imali — the boy who took some money
inja efumene ithambo — the dog which found a bone
mina engibone inyoka — I who saw a snake
abantwana abalele endlini — the children who are asleep in the hut
thina esilambe kakhulu — we who are very hungry
The long perfect, with ending ‘-ile’, is used:
i) when nothing follows the verb in its own clause.
ii) when there is an object concord.
Note also that in these instances a suffix ‘-yo’ is added to the verb. (This
suffix is explained further on page 109.)
e.g. thina esilamb/7eyo — we who are hungry
mina engiyibon;7eyo inyoka — I who saw the snake
umuntu okutshay/7eyo — the person who hit you
Negative: Use the negative -NGA- after the subject concord, and add
the suffix ‘-nga’ to the verb stem.
e.g. mina engingayihomnga inyoka — I who didn’t see the snake
umfana on^athathaw^n imali — the boy who didn’t take any money
inja ew^afumanan^a ithambo ^ the dog which didn’t find a bone
abantwana ?Cb2.nga\z.\!inga — the children who are not asleep
thina esingaX&mhdinga — we who are not hungry
c) Future tense
e.g. mina engizahamba laye — I who will go with him
umfana ozasinceda — the boy who will help us
abantwana abazakudla — the children who will eat
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Negative: Use -NGA- after the subject concord, and change ‘zaku/za’ to
‘yiku/zuku’.
e.g. mina engingayikuhamba — 1 who will not go
mina engingazukuhamba — I who will not go
umfana ongayikusinceda — the boy who will not help us
umfana ongazukusinceda — the boy who will not help us
abantwana abangayikudla — the children who will not eat
abantwana abangazukudla — the children who will not eat
d) Past tense: for remote time
The relative verb in the past tense must retain its past concord with ‘a’,
For example, vragijima — he ran.
To make the relative form, the initial vowel of the relative concord is
prefixed to the past subject concord.
e.g. Relative concord:
‘o' : umfana owagijima kakhulu — the boy who ran fast
‘oku’ ; ukudia okwatshisa kakhulu —- the food which was
very hot
'e' : injaeyagijima kakhulu — the dog which ran fast
‘ezi’ : izinja ezagijima kakhulu — dogs which ran fast
‘aba’ : abafana abagijima kakhulu —- boys who ran fast
TABLE
Past
Relative Past relative
concord concord concord
0 wa owa e.g. umfana owagijima kakhulu
the boy who ran fast
aba ba aba abafana abagijima kakhulu
0 wa owa umfula owageleza kakhulu
e ya eya imifula eyageleza kakhulu
eli la ela ijaha elagijima kakhulu
a a a amajaha agijima kakhulu
esi sa esa isihambi esagijima kakhulu
ezi za eza izihambi ezagijima kakhulu
e ya eya inja eyagijima kakhulu
ezi za eza izinja ezagijima kakhulu
olu Iwa olwa usane olwakhala kakhulu
ezi za eza insane ezakhala kakhulu
obu ba oba ubunyonyo obakhala kakhulu
oku kwa okwa ukudia okwatshisa kakhulu
First and second persons:
engi nga enga mina engagijima kakhulu
I who ran fast
0 wa owa wena owagijima kakhulu
esi sa esa thina esagijima kakhulu
eli la ela lina elagijima kakhulu
Negative: the same as the negative of the perfect tense relative verb.
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e.g. mina engingagijimanga — I who did not run
umfana ongagijimanga — the boy who did not run
inja engagijimanga — the dog which did not run
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abalambileyo — the hungry
abafileyo — the dead
(ii) which has nothing following it in its own clause.
e.g. Umntwana okhalayo ulambile — The child who is crying is hungry
Umntwana ongakhaliyo kalambanga — The child who is not
crying is not hungry
Umntwana oleleyo uzavuka nini? — When will the child who is
sleeping wake up?
Umuntu owafayo kabonanga abantwana bakhe — The person who
died did not see his children
(iii) which has both object concord and noun object.
e.g. umuntu o/wtshayayo umfana — the person who is beating the boy
umuntu ozithetheyo impahla — the person who took the goods
umfana oyibonileyo inyoka — the boy who saw the snake
umfana owabasizayo abantu — the boy who helped the people
Note: perfect tense will be in the long form if object concord and noun
object are both used.
(iv) In other instances the addition of ‘-yo’ is a matter of choice.
e.g. umntwana ongakhali/ongakhaliyo kakhulu — the child who is not
crying much
umntwana olele/oleleyo endlini — the child who is sleeping in the
hut
umntwana owathatha/owathathayo imali — the child who took
some money
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a) Siyabathanda abafana — We love the boys
Abafana ewbathandayo — The boys tve love (whom we...)
Umfana uyitshayile inja - The boy hit the dog
Inja umfana ayitshayileyo - - The dog the boy hit (which the boy...)
Abantu bafuna ukuthenga inkabi le - ■The people want to buy this ox
Inkabi abantu abainna. ukuyithenga ■ - The ox the people want to buy
Amankazana kawathandi lokho — The girls don’t like that
Lokho amankazana angakuthandiyo — What the girls don’t like
(that which. . .)
Inja kayidlanga inyama — The dog did not eat the meat
Inyama inja engayidlanga — The meat the dog did not eat
Umama wathenga izicathulo — Mother bought some shoes
Izicathulo umama azithengayo — The shoes mother bought
Isigulane sizakudla lokhu — The patient will eat this
Lokhu isigulane w/zakudla — What the patient will eat (this which...)
Note: in the above type of clause, the object concord, agreeing with the
antecedent, is always used:
e.g. Abafana esiiathandayo — The boys we love
I ll
e.g. The mother whose child is sick.
Say; the mother who has a child who is sick — umama olomntwana
ogulayo
abantu abalabantwana abafayo — the people whose children died
ijaha elilesandla esilimeleyo — the youth whose hand is wounded
uKhumalo olendodakazi engiyithandayo — Khumalo, whose
daughter I love
inkazana elesigqoko umama asithungayo — the girl whose dress
mother sewed
Sometimes this possessive construction can be used:
e.g. abazali babantwana esibafundisayo — the parents whose children
we teach (the parents of the children we teach)
inkosi yelizwe elikhulu kakhulu — the king whose land is very big
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Lesson 47
The participial mood of the verb
113
izigqoko zinhle
intombi inhle
izintombi zinhle
usane luluhle
ubuso bubuhle
ukudia kukuhle
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Engaqtiunga umsebenzi wakhe. . .
He, not having finished his w ork., .
Singaqedanga. . . — We, not having finished. . .
Lingaqedanga. . . — You, not having finished. . .
Bengaqedanga. . . — They, not having finished. . .
and so on.
c) Non-verbs: -NGA-, changed to -NGE-, is placed after the subject
concord:
e.g. Umama sngekho. .. Mother, not being present...
Umama engekho emasimini. . . Mother, not being in the
fields...
Umama engebuthakathaka. Mother, not being weak.. .
Umama engelamali. . . Mother, not having any
money...
Adjectives:
Mina ngingemuhle. . . I, not being pretty. . .
wena ungemuhle. . . you not being pretty.. .
Umntwana engemuhle. . . the child not being pretty...
thina singebahle
lina lingebahle
bona bengebahle
umfula ungemuhle
imifula ingemihle
ijaha lingelihle
amajaha engemahle
isigqoko singesihle
izigqoko zingenhle
intombi ingenhle
izintombi zingenhle
usane lungeluhle
ubuso bungebuhle
ukudla kungekuhle
Present Perfect
Positive Negative Positive Negative
ngithanda ngingathandi ngiqedile ngingaqedanga
uthanda ungathandi uqedile ungaqedanga
umfana ethanda engathandi eqedile engaqcdanga
sithanda singathandi siqedile singaqedanga
lithanda lingathandi liqedile lingaqedanga
abafana bethanda bengathandi beqcdile bengaqedanga
umfula ugeleza ungagelezi ugelezile ungagelezanga
imifula igeleza ingagelezi igelezile ingagelezanga
ijaha lithanda lingathandi liqedile lingaqedanga
amajaha ethanda engathandi eqedile engaqedanga
isihambi sithanda singathandi siqedile singaqedanga
izihambi zithanda zingathandi ziqedile zingaqedanga
inja ithanda ingathandi iqcdile ingaqedanga
izinja zithanda zingathandi ziqedile zingaqedanga
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usane luthanda iungathandi luqedile lungaqedanga
insane zithanda zingathandi ziqedile zingaqedanga
ubunyonyo buthanda bungathandi buqedile bungaqedanga
ukudia kutshisa kungatshisi kutshisile kungatshisanga
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Lesson 48
Conjunctions with the participial mood
The participial verb, as taught in the last lesson, is more commonly used
with a conjunction.
e.g. Eqedile, uzahamba — Having finished, he will go
is better expressed:
Nxa eqedile, uzahamba — When he has finished, he will go
Ngingathandi inyama, angiyikudla — Not liking meat, I shall
not eat
is better expressed:
Njengoba ngingathandi inyama, angiyikudla — Since I don’t like
meat, I shall not eat
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e.g. nxangimbona — ifl see him (probable)
ubangimbona — ifl see him (uncertain)
c) Where: ‘lapho . . . khona’: this construction is sometimes used
with a participial verb instead of a relative (Lesson 46):
e.g. lapho ngihlala khona — where I live
lapho abantwana bekhona — where the children are
A past tense may also be used:
lapho ngaya khona — where I went
But note that ‘a-’ is preferred for the third person:
lapho ubaba asebenza khona — where father works
2 Tenses used
a) The participial form of the present tense is used for simultaneous
action of a present state:
e.g. Nxa ngimbona ngiyabaleka — When I see him I run away
Nxa esibona uzakhala — When he sees us he will cry
Ngoba umntwana egula kadli — Because the child is ill he does
not eat
Note: the present tense indicative may sometimes be used after ‘ngoba’
if there is emphasis on present action :
e.g. Ungamhluphi ngoba uyasebenza — Don’t worry him, because
he is working
b) The participial form of the perfect tense is used for completed action:
e.g. Nxa ngimbonile ngingahamba na? — When I have seen him,
may I go ?
Nxa ubaba ebuyile sizakudla — When father has come back, we
shall eat
Remember that with certain verbs the perfect expresses a state:
e.g. Lanxa umntwana elambile kadli — Although the child is
hungry, he doesn’t eat
Note: with a perfect participial verb, the use of ‘se’ (now) is preferred,
e.g. nxa iengimbonile — when I have seen him
nxa ubaba esebuyile — when father has come back
The use of ‘se’ will be taught in Lesson 57.
c) The participial form of the future tense is sometimes used:
e.g. lanxa uyise ezabatshaya — although their father will beat them
lanxa bezafika ebusuku — although they will arrive at night
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Lesson 49
Conjunctions with the subjunctive mood
Certain uses of the subjunctive mood are set out in Lesson 28; revise
that lesson before continuing.
In this lesson we shall deal with clauses introduced by conjunctions
which are followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood.
All the clauses express some form of desire.
Conjunctions used with subjunctive mood
ukuze — so that, in order that
ukuba/ukuthi — that
funa — lest
anduba/andubana — before
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('Ukuba' will be used from now on, but remember that ‘ukuthi’ is an
alternative.)
Any verb expressing a desire may be used in such a construction.
a) Ukuthanda (to love, like);
Asithandi ukuba bahambe — We don’t like them to go
Ukulaya (to command, warn);
Ngamlaya umfana ukuba angahambi — I ordered the boy not
to go
Ngamlaya utitshala ukuba abantwana bathule
I warned the teacher that the children should keep quiet
Ukuxwayisa (to caution, warn):
Xwayisa abantwana ukuba bangadli lokho
Warn the children not to eat that
Ukuvuma (to agree):
Utitshala kavumi ukuba abafana bafunde ukupheka
The teacher does not agree that boys should learn to cook
Ukuvumela (to permit, allow, give consent to):
Utitshala kavumeli abantwana ukuba bangene lapho
The teacher does not allow children to go in there
Umama wamvumela umntwana ukuba adíale lapho
Mother allowed the child to play there
Ukuwalela (to forbid):
Ubaba ungalela ukuba ngisebenzise imota yakhe
Father forbids me to use his car
Walela uSihle ukuba aye edolobheni
He forbade Sihle to go to town
Ukuyekela (to leave, leave off, leave alone, let go):
Yekela umpheki ukuba asebenze — Let the cook work
Myekele ukuba adlule — Let him pass
Yekela amanzi ukuba abile — Leave the water to boil
Note: the conjunction is sometimes omitted;
e.g. Myekele adlule — Let him pass
Yekela amanzi abile — Leave the water to boil
Ukucela (to request):
Ngizacela umfundisi ukuba akufundise
I shall ask the minister to teach you
Bacele ukuba bangangeni lapho
Request them not to go in there
Mcele ukuba uSipho ahambe lathi
Ask him if Sipho may go with us
Ngizamcela ukuba sidlale lapha
f shall ask her if we may play here
Note: one may also use a construction with an infinitive after ‘-cela’ in
sentences where one is asking a person to do something himself,
e.g. Mcele ukuhamba lathi — Ask him to go with us
b) Where the indefinite concord ‘ku’ is used in the main clause:
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e.g. Kufanele ukuba abantwana banathe uchago
It is necessary for children to drink milk
ICakufanelanga/Kakufanele ukuba uphumule khathesi
It is not necessary for you to rest now
ICumele ukuba silaleie imithetho
It is necessary for us to obey the laws
Kuqakathekile ukuba umtshele lokho
It is important that you tell him that
Kunzima ukuba siye khona
It is difficult for us to go there
Kuhle ukuba abantu basize abanye
It is good that people help others
Note: one may also use ‘-fanele' thus:
e.g. Sifanele ukuhamba/Sifanele sihambe — We must go
4 Sequence of verbs
It is necessary to include in this lesson a final point about the use of the
subjunctive mood, although it does not involve conjunctions.
You have already learnt that the subjunctive mood is used for repetition
of commands, instead of repeating the imperative verb (see Lesson 28).
e.g. Ngena uhlale phansi udie — Go in and sit down and eat
In fact, the subjunctive is used in any sequence of verbs which are in
present or future time, and which have the same subject. In such instances
the second and any subsequent verbs are in the subjunctive mood,
e.g. NgoMgqibelo umama uya edolobheni athenge ukudla akhangele
izitolo ezinkulu
On Saturday mother goes to town and buys food and looks at the
big stores
Ngizakuya khona ngikhulume laye ngimcele ukukhuluma lawe
I shall go there and talk to him and ask him to talk to you
Umntwana angabala agwale
The child can read and write
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Lesson 50
Reported speech and use of ‘ukuthi’
122
U m n t w a n a u n g its h e le u k u th i u z a h a m b a la b o
T h e c h ild h a s t o ld m e th a t h e w ill g o w ith th e m
Umntwana wangitshela ukuthi uzahamba labo
The child told me he would go with them
b) The conjunction ‘ukuthi’ is used in this way after verbs like the
following:
ukwazi to know e.g. Uyazi yini ukuthi umntwana uyagula ?
Do you know that the child is ill ?
ukubika to announce Wabika ukuthi omama bazahlangana
ngoLwesine
He announced that the women would
meet on Thursday
ukubuza to ask Wangibuza ukuthi ngaya ngaphi
He asked me where I went
ukucabanga to think Ngiyacabanga ukuthi izulu lizakuna
I think it will rain
ukukhumbula to remember Khumbula ukuthi bacele ukuhamba
lawe
Remember that they asked to go
with you
ukukhumbuza to remind Bakhumbuze ukuthi bafanele uku-
bhadala imali
Remind them that they must pay
some money
ukuphendula to reply Waphendula ukuthi abantu kaba-
lamali
He replied that the people haven’t
any money
ukuthemba to trust, hope Ngiyathemba ukuthi Uzahamba kuhle
I hope you will have a good journey
ukutshela to tell Batshele ukuthi ngiyehluleka ukuya
emhlanganweni
Tell them I can’t go to the meeting
ukutsho to say Watsho ukuthi wakubona khona
He said that he saw you there
Note: the verb ‘ukutsho’ is peculiar in that its stem ends in ‘-o’, but
otherwise it is not difficult to use; it will be dealt with fully in Lesson 53.
c) Use o f tenses
It is not normally difficult to see which tense should follow the conjunction,
but if in doubt, it helps to think what the direct statement or question
would be, and use the same tense in your indirect clause,
e.g. ‘Umama uyagula’ — ‘Mother is ill’
Watsho ukuthi umama uyagula — He said mother was ill
‘Umfundisi ufikile’ — ‘The minister has arrived’
Wabatshela ukuthi umfundisi ufikile — He told them the minister
had arrived
Note: the English conjunction may be ‘when/where/if/whether’, and so
on, but the same construction, using ‘ukuthi’, is used in Ndebele.
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e.g. ‘Uzafika nitti? — ‘When will he arrive?'
Wangitshela ukuthi uzafika nini — He told me when he would arrive
‘Wenzani?’ — ‘What are you doing?'
Wangibuza ukuthi ngenzani — He asked me what I was doing
‘Uzabuya lamuhla’ — ‘He will come back today’
Uyazi yini ukuthi uzabuya lamuhla? — Do you know whether he
will come back today ?
‘Waya khona’ — ‘He went there’
Angazi ukuthi waya khona — I don’t know if he went there
Note these phrases:
Lokhu kuthini? Lokhu kuthi. . .
What does this mean? This means. . .
OR Lokhu kutsho ukuthini? Kutsho ukuthi. . .
What does this mean? It means. . .
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Lesson 51
The copulative with nouns and pronouns
125
e.g. ugwalo — book
¿ugwalo — It is a book
ukhezo — spoon
Lukhezo — It is a spoon
(ii) B- or NG- is used with nouns with prefix U-, from UBU-:
e.g. «tshani — grass
fiutshani — It is grass
Ai^utshani — It is grass
(iii) Z- is used with nouns with plural prefix IN/IM, the short form
of IZIN/IZIM;
e.g. Zintombi — They are girls (OR yizintombi)
Zimbuzi — They are goats (OR yizimbuzi)
Zingwalo — They are books (OR yizingwalo)
3 The negative
For the negative, it is common to use pronoun + noun.
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a) Nouns with a copulative are also used descriptively:
e.g. ivila (ili) — a lazy person
Inkazana i/ivila — The girl is lazy (. . . is a lazy person)
inkazana elivila — a lazy girl (. . . who is a lazy person)
Abafana baw^amavila — The boys are lazy ( ... are lazy people)
abafana abangamavila — lazy boys ( . . . who are lazy people)
isiphofu — blind person
umfana oyisiphofu — a blind boy
abantwana abayiziphofu — blind children
b) Numbers: You have learnt the numbers which are adjectival stems:
-nye (1), -bill (2), -thathu (3), -ne (4), -hlanu (5).
Some numbers are nouns, used in the same way as shown above:
ten . . . itshumi (ili)
e.g. abantu aba/itshumi - - ten people
amatshe alitshumi — ten stones
iminwe elitshumi — ten fingers
izinja ezilitshumi — ten dogs
six . . . isithupha (the thumb)
seven . . . isikhombisa (the index finger)
e.g. abantu abayisithupha — six people
amatshe ayisikhombisa — seven stones
iminwe eyisithupha — six fingers
izinja eziyisikhombisa — seven dogs
Note: eig h t. . . isificaminwembili
nine . . . isificamunwemunye
These two are used without their prefix (isi-) as relative stems:
e.g. abantu abaficaminwembili — eight people
amatshe aficamunwemunye — nine stones
iminwe eficaminwembili — eight fingers
izinja ezificamunwemunye — nine dogs
It is possible to count up to any number in Ndebele (see Lesson 67),
but English numerals are commonly used, especially for large numbers.
When using English numbers, prefix to them the copulative NGU-;
e.g. amankazana angu -12 — twelve girls
inkomo ezingu -30 — thirty cattle
abantu abangu -110 — one hundred and ten people
1 The copulative YI- is used with all pronouns except ‘wena’ and ‘yena’,
which have N G U -:
e.g. Nguwe — It’s you; you are the one
Nguye — It’s him; he is the one
Yimi — It’s me; I am the one
Yithi — It’s us; we are the ones
Yini — It’s you, you are the ones
Yibo — It’s them; they are the ones
Yilo (ikhuba) — It’s the one
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Yiwo (amaqanda) — They are the ones
Yiso (isitsha) — It’s the one
Yizo (izinkomo) - They are the ones
and so on.
2 The negative: Change the copulative to SU- or SI-, and use the
negative KA- in front:
e.g. Kasimi — I am not the one
Kasuwe - You are not the one
Kasuye — He is not the one
Kasithi — We are not the ones
Kasini — You are not the ones
Kasibo — They are not the ones
Kangisuye — la m not he
Kawusimi — You are not me
and so on.
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Lesson 52
The passive form of the verb
So far you have only used verbs which are in active form, that is, the
subject of the verb is itself performing the action of the verb:
e.g. His father is beating the boy
The passive form of the verb is used for an action which is being done to
the subject e f the verb by another agent:
e.g. The boy is being beaten by his father
1 Formation
To make the passive form of a verb, insert 'w' before the final vowel
of the verb stem:
e.g. ukutshaya — to beat; — ukutshaywa — to be beaten
ukuthanda — to love; — ukuthandwa — to be loved
ukunceda — to help; — ukuncedwa — to be helped
2 Verb tenses
a) Present tense:
e.g. Umfana uyatshayiva — The boy is being beaten
Umfana utshayvra kanengi — The boy is often beaten
Negative: note that the final ‘a’ of the verb stem remains as ‘a’ in the
passive:
e.g. Umfana katshaywa — The boy is not being beaten
Kasincedn^ — We are not helped
b) Future tense:
e.g. Umfana uzatshaytva — The boy will be beaten
Sizancedn^ — We shall be helped
Negative:
Kayikutshaywa — He will not be beaten
Kasizukuncedwa — We shall not be helped
c) Past tense:
e.g. Umfana watshaya^ — The boy was beaten
Sancedtva — We were helped
Negative:
ICatshayH^ga — He was not beaten
Kasincedwanga — We were not helped
d) Perfect tense: note that in the full form of the perfect, the ending
‘-ile’ becomes ‘-iwe’ in the passive:
Full form:
e.g. Umfana utshayiwe — The boy has been beaten
Sincedin« — We have been helped
Short form:
Umfana utshaywe kakhulu — The boy has been beaten hard
Other perfect forms:
e.g. Imali ithethjve — The money has been taken
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Indlu ithanyeltve — The hut has been swept
Impahla zithwelwe — The goods are being carried
Note: the verb ‘-búlala’ (to kill): in the passive form, the second ‘1’ of
the verb stem is replaced by the ‘w’ of the passive:
e.g. Uyabulawa — He is being killed
Uzabulawa — He will be killed
Wabulawa — He was killed
Ubulewe — He has been killed
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ukuthewAisa — to promise: ukuthe«/iswa — to be promised
ukuga/nula — to chop down: ukugan^'ulwa — to be chopped
down
c) Tense o f the verb: palatalisation takes place in all tenses:
e.g. Inja iyabotshwa — The dog is being tied up
Inja izabotshwa — The dog will be tied up
Inja ibotshiwe — The dog has been tied up
Inja yabotshwa — The dog was tied up
Note: the verbs ‘ukubopha’ and ‘ukubamba’ may also mean ‘to arrest’;
e.g. Umuntu ubotshiwe/Umuntu ubanjiwe — The person has been
arrested/is under arrest
131
Lesson 53
Monosyllabic verbs
132
e.g. uba ngitvi/dla umumbu — if I eat the mealie
uba siiflipha imali — if we give them some money
The object concord ‘m’ often becomes ‘mu’ before a monosyllabic stem;
e.g. Sa/M«pha imali — We gave him some money
uba siwMpha imali — if we give him money
133
Imperative:
tshono/tshonini: — say; ungatsho/lingatsho — don’t say
134
This is used as a stative:
e.g. Ngimi lapha — la m standing here
Umntwana umi phandle — The child is standing outside
Obaba bemi phandle — The men are standing outside
Imota imi phandle — The car is standing outside
The form ‘-mile’ is sometimes used;
e.g. Umtshina umile — The machine has stopped
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Lesson 54
Vowel verbs (continued)
In Lesson 27 you were shown how to use verbs with stems beginning
with a vowel, the basic rule being that the vowel immediately preceding
the verb stem is elided;
e.g. Ngiya-ala . . . Ngiyala — I refuse
Ba-enzani ? . . . Benzani ? — What are they doing ?
ukuze si-akhe . . . ukuze sakhe — so that we may build
Exceptions: Where ‘u’ becomes ‘w’:
e.g. uku-enza . . . ukwenza — to do
U-enzani? . . . Wenzani? — What are you doing?
ake u-esule. . . ake wesule — please wipe
‘i’ becomes ‘y’:
e.g. Inja i-enzani? . . . Yenzani? — What is the dog doing?
‘a’ is dropped:
e.g. Amadoda a-enzani? . . . Enzani? — What are the men doing?
ukuze umama a-esule . . . esule — so that mother may wipe
Three further points need to be made.
2 The passive
a) If the stem of the vowel verb has only two syllables, lengthen the stem
in the passive by inserting ‘i’ before the ‘w’ of the passive:
e.g. Izindlu zakhiwa — The houses were built
Imali yeb/wa — The money was stolen
Lokhu kuzakwenziwa — This will be done
(Compare with extra ‘i’ in the passive of monosyllabic verbs.)
b) If the verb stem has three or more syllables, the extra ‘i’ is not needed:
136
e.g. -esula(wipe): Lokhukwesulwa This was wiped
137
Lesson 55
SA (still)
‘SA’ is used with positive verbs to mean ‘still’, and with negative verbs
to mean ‘no longer’. It is placed after the subject concord.
1 Present tense
Use ‘sa’ with the short present tense (without ‘-ya-’).
e.g. Ngiiusebenza — la m still working
Kangijflsebenzi — I am no longer working
Ngij’ambona — I can still see him
Kangiinmboni — I can no longer see him
Ngiifldla — la m still eating
Kangiindli — I am no longer eating
Before another vowel, the ‘a’ of ‘sa’ is elided:
e.g. NgLsesaba — I am still afraid
Kangiiesabi — I am no longer afraid
Before the stems ‘-za/-zwa/-ma/-mba’, ‘sa’ becomes ‘se’:
e.g. Ngijcmba — I am still digging
Kangiicmbi — I am no longer digging
3 Future tense
Change ‘sa’ to ‘se’ before ‘za’ and its negative ‘zu’:
e.g. Ngiiczasebenza khona — I shall still work there
Angiiczukusebenza khona — I shall no longer work there
Angiiuyikusebenza khona — I shall no longer work there
Ngiiczambona — I shall still see him
Kangiiczukumbona — I shall no longer see him
KangLsnyikumbona — I shall no longer see him
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4 With non-verbs
Change ‘sa’ to ‘se’;
e.g. Ubaba uvekhona — Father is still present
Ubaba kajekho — Father is no longer present (This is also
used as a euphemism for ‘he’s dead’)
Amanzi aiekhona — There is still some water
Amanzi kawajekho — There is no longer any water
Bavesemasimini — They are still in the fields
Kabaiekho emasimini — They are no longer in the fields
Bavebuthakathaka — They are still weak
Kabajebuthakathaka — They are no longer weak
Baiebancinyane — They are still small
Kabasebancinyane — They are no longer small
Amanzi avemanengi — There is still plenty of water
Amanzi kawasemanengi — There is no longer plenty of water
Ngivelemali — I still have some money
Angi5elamali — I no longer have any money
Ngiiengumntwana — I am still a child
Angiiengumntwana — I am no longer a child
139
Lesson 56
K A (not yet)
‘KA’ is used with negative verbs to mean ‘not yet’; it is plaœd after the
subject concord.
1 Present tense
In Ndebele ‘ka’ is used with the negative of the present tense, although in
English a perfect tense is used,
e.g. KangiAaqedi — I haven't yet finished
KawuA:aqedi na? — Haven’t you finished yet?
Ubaba ka/:abuyi — Father hasn’t yet come back
Kasi^omboni — We haven’t yet seen him
Kalifcadlina? — Haven’t you eaten yet ?
Kaba/calambi — They are not yet hungry
Kaba/:alali — They are not yet asleep
Isitshwala kasiA:avuthwa — The porridge is not yet cooked
Before another vowel, the ‘a’ of ‘ka’ is elided:
e.g. Kaba^esabi — They are not yet afraid
140
Lesson 57
SE (now, then, already)
‘SE’ is a deficient verb which is not used on its own, but combines with
other verbs to express ‘now/then/already’ according to tense:
e.g. Sengihamba — I am going now
Sengiqedile — I have finished now
Sengizahamba — I shall go now
Nxa sengiqedile — When I have (then) finished
Sengiqedile — I have already finished
Sengambona — I have already seen him (some time ago)
Note: ‘SE’ is not used in the negative.
1 Formation
a) The form which is used now is a contracted form, which has come from
a longer form where the verb ‘se’ is followed by a participial verb,
e.g. ngise ngihamba becomes; Sengihamba — la m going now
base behamba becomes: Sebehamba — They are going now
izinja zise zihamba becomes : Sezihamba — The dogs are going
now
The ‘e’ of ‘se’ is elided in the following:
use uhamba becomes; Usuhamba — You are going now
use ehamba becomes; Usehamba — He is going now
amajaha ase ehamba becomes: Asehamba — The youths are
going now
inja ise ihamba becomes ; Isihamba — The dog is going now
TABLE
Present tense
Sengihamba I am going now
Usuhamba You are going now
Umfana usehamba The boy is going now
Sesihamba We are going now
Selihamba You are going now
Abafana sebehamba The boys are going now
Umfula usugeleza The river is flowing now
Imifula isigeleza The rivers are flowing now
Ijaha selihamba The youth is going now
Amajaha asehamba The youths are going now
Isiphofu sesihamba The blind man is going now
Iziphofu sezihamba The blind men are going now
Inja isihamba The dog is going now
Izinja sezihamba The dogs are going now
141
Ufudu seluhamba The tortoise is going now
Imfudu sezihamba The tortoises are going now
Utshani sebutshiswa The grass is being burnt now
Ukudla sekuphekwa The food is being cooked now
b) Other tenses
The perfect and future tenses begin like the present tense:
e.g. sengibonile — now I have seen
sengizabona — now I shall see
usuthanyele — now you have swept
usuzathanyela — now you will sweep
usethethe — he has taken now
usezathatha — now he will take
Sesithenge imota — We have now bought a car
Sesizathenga imota — We shall buy a car now
The past tense: ‘se’ precedes the past subject concord:
e.g. Sengaqeda I have already finished (long ago)
Sewaqeda You have already finished
(long ago)
Umfana sewaqeda
Sesaqeda
Selaqeda
Sebaqeda
intombi seyaqeda
Izintombi sezaqeda
c) Monosyllabic and vowel verbs
These verbs in participial form, present tense, have an extra ‘si’ or ‘s’
respectively (provided there is nothing else between subject concord
and stem); therefore the ‘si’ or ‘s’ must be used when the verb is formed
with ‘se’.
e.g. Sengisidla — I am eating now
Usus/dla You are eating now
Usesidla He is eating now
Sesisidla We are eating now
Selisidla You are eating now
Sebesidla They are eating now
Inja isisidla The dog is eating now
Izinja sezisidla The dogs are eating now
Sengisesaba I am now afraid
Ususesaba You are now afraid
Usesesaba He is now afraid
Sesisesaba We are now afraid
Amajaha asesesaba The young men are now afraid
Perfect participial form: no extra syllable is needed, therefore take care
with vowel verbs:
e.g. Sengomile I am thirsty now
Usuwomile You are thirsty now
Umfana usomile The boy is thirsty now
Sesomile We are thirsty now
Selomile You are thirsty now
142
Abafana sebomile The boys are thirsty now
Umfula usuwomile The river is dry now
Imifula isomile The rivers are dry now
Ijaha selomile The youth is thirsty now
Amajaha asomile The youths are thirsty now
Inja isomile The dog is thirsty now
Izinja sezomile The dogs are thirsty now
Ukudla sekomile The food is dry now
d) ‘SE ’ with non-verbs
Here the combination of ‘se’ with subject concord is exactly the same:
e.g. Sebekhona — They are now present
Sebelamandla — They are now strong
Sebebuthakathaka — They are now weak
Sebesesikolo — They are now in school
Adjectival stems:
e.g. Sengimuhle — la m now pretty
Usumuhle — You are now pretty
Umntwana usemuhle — The child is now pretty
Sesibahle — We are now pretty
Sellbahle
Abantwana sebebahle
Umfula usumuhle
Imifula isimihle
Ijaha selilihle
Amajaha asemahle
Isigqoko sesisihle
Intombi isinhle
Izintombi sezinhle
Usane seluluhle
Ubuso sebubuhle
Ukudla sekukuhle
2 The relative verb with ‘SE’
The relative form of the verb with ‘se’, any tense, is made by using the
initial vowel of the relative concord, ‘e’, ‘o’ or ‘a’. The suffix ‘-yo’ is not
added.
e.g. mina engigulayo — I who am ill
sengigula — la m now ill
mina esengigula — I who am now ill
umuntu owahambayo — the person who went away
Sewahamba — He has already gone
umuntu osewahamba — the person who has already gone
Where the initial letter of the verb prefix is a vowel, replace this by the
relative concord:
e.g. wenaogulayo — you who are iU
usugula — you are now ill
wena usugula — you who are now ill
inja efileyo — the dog which has died
Inja isifile — The dog has now died
inja esifile — the dog which has now died
143
TABLE
3 Usage
In general it may be said that the use of ‘se’ indicates a change of state.
a) Present time
e.g. Siyadla — We are eating
Sesisidla — We are eating now (we weren’t just now)
Ukhona — He is present
Usekhona — He is present now (he wasn’t before)
Sengidiniwe — I am tired now
Sengiqedile — I’ve finished now
b) Future time
e.g. Sengizaqeda — la m about to finish
nxa sengiqedile — when I have finished (‘se’ is very common in this
type of clause, after ‘nxa/lapho’)
c) Past time
Recent: e.g. Sengimbonile I have seen him now OR I have already
seen him
Sengithengile isigqoko sami — I have bought my dress
now OR I have already bought my dress
Remote: e.g. Sengambona — I have already seen him (some time ago)
Sengabona indawo leyo — I have already seen that place
Sengathenga isigqoko sami — I have already bought my
dress
Note:
(i) In English ‘then/already’ is not always used:
e.g. Ingaphi inja leyana ? Seyafa — 'Where is that other dog ? It died
Ngidinga uNdlovu. Sewahamba — I’m looking for Ndlovu. He
went away/He’s gone
144
(ii) ‘SE’ with a past tense is not used to mean ‘then’ when linking actions
in narrative.
e.g. I finished shopping and then I went home
For this use ‘se’ with a past continuous tense, as shown in Lesson 73.
145
Lesson 58
The future continuous tense and the future perfect tense
146
Izisebenzi zizabe sezikhawule ukusebenza — The workers will
have already stopped work
Stative verbs:
Abantwana bazabe sebelele — The children will already be asleep
Amankazana azabe esehlezi khonapho — The girls will then be
sitting there
Ngizabe sengidiniwe — I shall then be tired
With ‘sa ':
e.g. Abantwana bazabe besalele — The children will still be asleep
Amankazana azabe esahlezi khonapho — The girls will still be
sitting there
Ngizabe ngisadiniwe — I shall still be tired
b) The negative
Put the participial verb into the negative:
e.gi Ngo-12 ngizabe ngingaqedanga — At 12 o’clock I shall not be
finished
Abantwana bazabe bengahambanga — The children will not have
gone
Note: although the above sentences are correct, the construction using
‘ka’ (not yet) is preferred:
e.g. Ngo-12 ngizabe ngingakaqedi — At 12 o’clock I shall not yet
have finished
Abantwana bazabe bengakahambi — The children will not yet
have gone
Bazabe bengakalali — They will not yet be asleep
Ngizabe ngingakadinwa — I shall not yet be tired
With ‘sa’:
e.g. Ngizabe ngingasadinwanga — I shall no longer be tired
Abantwana bazabe bengasalalanga — The children will no longer
be asleep
147
Lesson 59
The past continuous tense (recent)
This tense, as its name implies, is used for an action in past time which was
still going on (not completed) at the time in question ; it is also used for a
state.
e.g. At that time I was working in town
I was running along
I was ill
There are two forms of the past continuous tense, according to how long
ago the events were taking place. Recent time is within the last few days.
Note that in recent time, this tense may translate as :
e.g. I was working OR I have been working
I was working this morning
I have been working all day
TABLE
148
e.g. Bengi/awMe - - I was hungry
Ubulambile — You were hungry
Ubelambile — He was hungry
In form this is a past perfect tense (see Lesson 61
b) Monosyllable and vowel verbs
Insert the extra letters 'si' or ‘s' in the participial verb;
e.g. Bengiiidla I was eating
Ubusidla You were eating
Ubesidla He was eating
Besisidla We were eating
Belisidla You were eating
Bebesidla They were eating
Inja ibisidla The dog was eating
Izinja bezisidla The dogs were eating
Bengi.sesaba I was afraid
Ubusesaba You were afraid
Ubesesaba He was afraid
Besisesaba We were afraid
c) Non-verbs
e.g. Bebekhona They were present
Bebelamandla They were strong
Bebebu thakathaka They were weak
Bebesesikolo They were in school
Bebengamavila They were lazy
Bebelitshumi There were ten of them
Adjective stems: compare with the form with ‘se’ given in the last
lesson:
e.g. Bengimuhle — I was pretty
Ubumuhle — You were pretty
Umntwana ubemuhle — The child was pretty
Besibahle — We were pretty
Belibahle
Abantwana bebebahle
Umfula ubumuhle
Imifula ibimihle
Ijaha belilihle
Amajaha abemahle
Isigqoko besisihle
Intombi ibinhle
Izintombi bezinhle
Usane beluluhle
Ubuso bebubuhle
Ukudla bekukuhle
149
TABLE
150
3 The relative form
Place the relative concord ‘o’, ‘e’, or ‘a’ before the imperfect form of the
verb; the suflBx ‘-yo’ is not added,
e.g. mina ebengigijima — I who was running
mina ebengingagijimi — I who was not running
umfana obegijima — the boy who was running
umfana obengagijimi — the boy who was not running
inja ebigijima — the dog which was running
inja ebingagijimi — the dog which was not running
(Compare with the relative of the verb with ‘se’ in the last lesson.)
TABLE
151
Lesson 60
The past continuous tense (remote)
The remote form of the past continuous tense is used in the same way
as the recent form, but refers to a time more than a few days ago.
e.g. I was ill (last month/last year)
At that time I was working in Bulawayo
I had been working in town (and I fell ill)
b) TABLE
152
Wawui/dla — You were eating
NgangLsesaba — I was afraid
Wawusesaba — You were afraid
d) Non-verbs
e.g. Babekhona — They were present
Babelamandla — They were strong
Babebuthakathaka — They were weak
Babesesikolo — They were in school
Babengamavila — They were lazy
Babelitshumi — There were ten of them
Babebakhulu — They were great
TABLE
153
Babengelamandla — They were not strong
Babengebuthakathaka — They were not weak
Babengekho esikolo - — They were not in school
Babengebakhulu — They were not great
TABLE
154
Lesson 61
The past perfect tense (recent and remote)
1 Formation
The past perfect tense is formed like the past continuous tense, but
using the perfect form of the verb.
Recent time: past continuous : bengiqeda — I was finishing
past perfect : hcngiqedile — I had finished
e.g. Lamuhla bengiqedile ngo-12 — Today I had finished by 12
Remote time: past continuous : ngangiqeda — I was finishing
past perfect: : r\gmgiqedile — I had finished
e.g. U buye ngeviki elidlulileyo wafica ukuthi ngangiqedile ukwakha
He came back last week and found that I had finished building
a) TABLE
Recent Remote
Bengiqedile Ngangiqedile
I had finished
Ubuqedile Wawuqedile
You had finished
Umfana ubeqedile Umfana wayeqedile
The boy had finished
Besiqedile Sasiqedile
We had finished
Beliqedile Laliqedile
You had finished
Abafana bebeqedile Abafana babeqedile
The boys had finished
Umlilo ubutshisUe Umlilo wawutshisile
The fire had burnt
Imililo ibitshisile Imililo yayitshisile
The fires had burnt
Ijaha beliqedile Ijaha laliqedile
The youth had finished
Amajaha abeqedile Amajaha ayeqedile
The youths had finished
Isihambi besiqedile Isihambi sasiqedile
The traveller had finished
155
Izihambi beziqedile Izihambi zaziqedile
The travellers had finished
Intombi ibiqedile Intombi yayiqedile
The girl had finished
Izintombi beziqedile Izintombi zaziqedile
The girls had finished
Usane beluqedile Usane Iwaluqedile
The baby had finished
Insane beziqedile Insane zaziqedile
The babies had finished
Ubunyonyo bebuqedile Ubunyonyo babuqedile
The ants had finished
Ukudla bekuphelile Ukudla kwakuphelile
The food was all gone
b) Short perfect ending: This is common, provided something follows
the verb.
e.g. Bengiqedc umsebenzi wami/Ngangiqedt; umsebenzi wami
I had finished my work
Umlilo ubutshise indlu yonke/Umlilo wawutshise indlu yonke
The fire had burnt the whole hut
Izintombi bezifike esikolo/Izintombi zazifike esikolo
The girls had arrived at the school
c) Other forms o f the perfect ending
e.g. Umfana ubethethe imali/Umfana wayethethe imali
The boy had taken some money
Abantwana bebelifumene ibhola/Abantwana babelifumene ibhola
The children had found the ball
Amankazana abethanyele/Amankazana ayethanyele
The girls had swept
d) Passive
e.g. Imali ibithethwe/Imali yayithethwe — The money had been taken
Ukudla bekudliwe/Ukudla kwakudliwe — The food had been eaten
Umfana ubetshaywe nguyise/Umfana wayetshaywe nguyise
The boy had been beaten by his father
e) Stative verbs: with these verbs the past perfect tense describes a state
in past time.
e.g. Bengilambile/ngangilambile — 1 was hungry
Ubediniwe/wayediniwe — He was tired
Abantwana bebelele/babelele — The children were asleep
Induna ibidakiwe/yayidakiwe — The chief was drunk
/ ) Monosyllabic and vowel verbs: remember that no extra syllable is
required in the participial verb, perfect tense,
e.g. Bengidlile/ngangidlile — I had eaten
Umntvvana ubewile/wayewile —• The child had fallen
For the vowel verb in past perfect tense, recent time, compare the form
of the vowel verb with ‘se’ in the perfect tense (Lesson 58).
e.g. Bengomile — I was thirsty
Ubuwomile — You were thirsty
156
Ubomile — He was thirsty
Sesomile — We were thirsty
Selomile — You were thirsty
Sebomile — They were thirsty
Inja ibomile — The dog was thirsty
For the vowel verb in the past perfect tense, remote time, elide the vowel
of the concord which is next to the verb stem:
e.g. Ngangomile — I was thirsty
Wawomile — You were thirsty
Umfana wayomile
Sasomile
Lalomile
Babomile
Inja yayomile
Izinja zazomile
Note: in most of the examples given it would be better to use ‘se’ (already)
with the past perfect tense.
e.g. Wafica ukuthi ngaicngiqedile ukwakha — He found that I had
already finished building
Abantwana be.5cbelele — The children were already asleep
For ‘se’ with the compound tenses, see Lesson 73.
TABLE
Recent Remote
Bengingaqedanga N gangingaqedanga
I had not finished
Ubungaqedanga Wawungaqedanga
You had not finished
Umfana ubengaqedanga Umfana wayengaqedanga
Besingaqedanga Sasingaqedanga
Belingaqedanga Lalingaqedanga
Abafana bebengaqedanga Abafana babengaqedanga
Umlilo ubungatshisanga Umlilo wawungatshisanga
Imililo ibingatshisanga Imililo yayingatshisanga
Isihambi besingaqedanga Isihambi sasingaqedanga
Izihambi bezingaqedanga Izihambi zazingaqedanga
Intombi ibingaqedanga Intombi yayingaqedanga
Izintombi bezingaqedanga Izintombi zazingaqedanga
157
Usane belungaqedanga Usane Iwalungaqedanga
Insane bezingaqedanga Insane zazingaqedanga
Ubunyonyo bebungaqedanga Ubunyonyo babungaqedanga
Ukudla bekungaphelanga Ukudla kwakungaphelanga
158
Lesson 62
The conditional verb and the use of ‘ngabe’
1 Formation
The conditional is formed like the past continuous tense, but using a
participial verb in the future tense instead of in the present tense. It has
both recent and remote forms, according to the time in question.
Past continuous (recent) : bengilondoloza — I was looking after
Conditional (recent): bengizalondoloza — I would look after OR I would
have looked after
e.g. Uba ubegula, bengizamlondoloza
If he were ill, I would look after him
Uba ubumtshiye umntwana lapha lamhla, bengizamlondoloza
If you had left the child here today, I would have looked after him
Past continuous (remote) : ngangithanda — I liked
Conditional (remote) : ngangizathanda — I would have liked
e.g. Ngangizathanda ukuhamba, kodwa ngehluleka
I would have liked to go, but I couldn’t
Uba wawuhambe ngemota, ngangizathanda ukuhamba lawe
If you had gone by car, I would have liked to go with you
Recent Remote
Bengizakhala — I would cry/would have cried Ngangizakhala
Ubuzakhala — You would cry/would have cried Wawuzakhala
Ubezakhala — He/She would have cried Wayezakhala
Besizakhala — We would have cried Sasizakhala
Belizakhala — You would have cried Lalizakhala
Bebezakhala — They would have cried Babezakhala
Umlilo ubuzatshisa — The fire would burn/
would have burnt umlilo wawuzatshisa
Imililo ibizatshisa — The fires would bum/
would have burnt Imililo yayizatshisa
Ijaha belizakhala — The youth would cry/
would have cried Ijaha lalizakhala
159
Amajaha abezakhala — The youths would cry/
would have cried Amajaha ayezakhala
Isihambi besizakhala — The traveller would cry/
would have cried Isihambi sasizakhala
Izihambi bezizakhala — The travellers would cry/
would have cried Izihambi zazizakhala
Intombi ibizakhala — The girl would cry/
would have cried Intombi yayizakhala
Izintombi bezizakhala — The girls would cry/
would have cried Izintombi zazizakhala
Usane beluzakhala — The baby would cry/
would have cried Usane Iwaluzakhala
Insane bezizakhala — The babies would cry/
would have cried Insane zazizakhala
Ubunyonyo bebuzangena — The ants would come in/
would have come in Ubunyonyo babuzangena
Ukulwa bekuzaphela — The fighting would end/
would have ended Ukulwa kwakuzaphela
b) Monosyllabic and vowel verbs
With these the full future form ‘zaku’ is usually used,
e.g. Bengizakudla/ngangizu^udla — I would eat/would have eaten
Bengizakwesaba/ngangizaAovesaba — I would be afraid/would have
been afraid
c) The negative
Bengin^ay/Arakhala/bengia^ezHki/khala — I would not cry/would
not have cried
Umlilo ubungayikutshisa/ubungazukutshisa — The fire would not
burn/would not have burnt
Usane Iwalungayikukhala/lwalungazukukhala — The baby would
not cry/would not have cried
Ukulwa kwakungayikuphela/kwakungazukuphela — The fighting
would not end/would not have ended
160
If we cut down those trees we should see the river, but not the road
Uba besigamula izihlahia lezo besizabona umfula, kodwa besinga-
zukubona umgwaqo
(ii) the verb in the ‘if’clause is past perfect;
e.g. Recent; Ubabengimbonelamhlabengizamtshela
If I had seen him today 1 would have told him
Remote: Uba ngangimbone ngosuku loluyana ngangizamtshela
If I had seen him that day 1 would have told him
II USE OF ‘NGABE’
a) Conditional meaning
Any indicative tense of the verb may be used after 'ngabe', which is
sometimes shortened to ‘nga’.
e.g. Ngabe umntwana uyagula, ngabe ngiyamusa esibhedlela
If the child were ill, I should take him to the hospital
Ngabe udokotela kaiikanga, nga umntwana uhle
If the doctor had not come, the child would have died
Ngabe udokotela ufike masinyane, nga umntwana kafanga
If the doctor had come sooner, the child would not have died
b) Expressing 'ought', 'should'
e.g. Ngabe siyatshaya ibhola, kodwa liyana kakhulu
We should be playing football, but it’s raining very hard
Ngabe kayithengi imota ngoba kalamali enengi
He should not be buying the car, because he hasn’t much money
Ngabe ngahamba ukuyabona udokotela, kodwa ngesaba (OR
ngangesaba)
I ought to have gone to see the doctor, but I was afraid
c) Expressing 'if onlyV (expressing a strong wish)
e.g. Kungathi ngabe (izulu) liyana! — If only it would rain!
Kungathi ngabe kalinanga! — If only it hadn’t rained!
Kungathi ngabe wangilalela! If only you had listened to me!
161
Lesson 63
The potential mood (continued) and other ways of expressing ability
162
Uba umtshiya umntwana angakhala — If you leave the child he
will cry (he may cry)
Note: the following construction with the potential mood, which ex
presses a wish:
e.g. Kungathi ubaba angafika masinyane! — May father come soon!
Kungathi umntwana angaphila! — May the child get well!
Sometimes ‘angathi’ is used instead of ’kungathi’.
163
Lesson 64
Different forms of the verb stem
164
-baleka (flee). . . -balekela (flee to)
Wabalekela kibo — He fled to them
-fa (die).. . -fela (die in/at)
Wafela esibhedlela — He died in hospital
-wa (fall).. . -wela (fall into)
Wawela emanzini — He fell into the water
Note: ‘from’ is usually expressed by using the verb ‘-suka’:
e.g. Wawela phansi esuka ophahleni — He fell down from the roof
Waphangisa esuka endlini — He hurried from the house
(ii) Used with an object:
e.g. -thuma (send). . . -thumela (send to)
Ngizabathumela ilizwi — I shall send them a message
-letha (bring). . . -lethela (bring to)
Akungilethele isitulo — Please bring me a chair
-thukuthela (get angry). . . -thukuthelela (get angry with)
Ngimthukuthelele — la m angry with him
Note: -baleka (flee). . . -balekela (flee from)
Wabalekela isikolo — He ran away from school
(iii) Used in a possessive construction:
e.g. Compare: indawo yodaka — a place of mud/muddy place
indawo yokuphekela — a place for cooking
ibhokisi lesihlahla — a box of wood/wooden box
ibhokisi lokugcinela izingubo — a box for keeping
blankets
indlu yezitina — a hut of bricks
indlu yokulalela — a hut for sleeping
(iv) Used in a passive construction (which cannot be translated literally);
the passive verb is followed by its agent:
e.g. -lahleka (get lost)... -lahlekelwa
Ngilahlekelwe lugwalo Iwami — 1 have lost my book
Walahlekelwa yimali yakhe — She lost her money
-fika (arrive). . . -flkelwa
Sifikelwe yingozi enkulu — A bad accident has happened to us
Bafikelwa yikuhlupheka okukhulu — They experienced great
trouble
-fa (die). . . -felwa
Abantu laba sebefelwe ngumntanabo — These people have lost
their child (by death)
Umama lo wafelwa ngurakakhe nyakenye — This woman lost her
husband last year
b) The applied form expressing 'to do for. . .’
e.g. -pheka (cook).. . -phekela (cook for)
Ngibaphekele abantwana ilambazi — I have cooked porridge for
the children
-enza (do/make). . . -enzela (do/make for)
Akungenzele itiye — Please make some tea for me
-thenga (buy). . .-thengela (buy for)
Ngizamthengela izicathulo — I shall buy her some shoes
Note:
(i) To express ‘Why?’: The applied form of the verb, with the suffix
165
‘-ni’ (what?) is used to express ‘Why?’, literally: ‘for what?’
e.g. -khala (cry). . . -khalela (cry for)
Umntwana ukhalelani? — Why is the child crying ?
Letha (bring). . . -lethela (bring for)
Bamletheleni umntwana lapha? — Why have they brought the
child here?
-hlutshwa (be troubled). . . -hlutshelwa (be troubled for)
Wahlutshelwani yilowomuntu na ? — Why was he troubled by that
person ?
(ii) ‘Why not?’; The verb ‘-yekela’ (leave off) is used in its applied
form with the suffix ‘-ni’.
e.g. Uyekelelani ukumsiza? — Why aren’t you helping him?
Bayekeleleni ukudlala? — Why have they stopped playing/Why
aren’t they playing?
Uyekeleleni ukugezisa lokhu ? — Why have you neglected to wash
this/Why haven’t you washed this ?
Wayekelelani ukwenza lokho? — Why did you neglect to do that/
Why didn’t you do that?
166
-hlola (inspect). . . -hlolisisa (inspect thoroughly)
Umhloli wahlolisisa isikolo — The inspector inspected the school
thoroughly
167
Lokho kakwezwakali — That is not audible
-enza (do). . . -enzakala (be done/happen)
Kwenzakalani emva kwalokho? — What happened after that?
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Lesson 65
-DWA (alone), -PHI ? (which?) and the possessive pronoun
1 -DWA
‘-DWA’ is a stem which combines with the concords in the same way as
‘-nke’ (all: see Lesson 32); it means: alone, by oneself, on one’s own.
Note that the first three persons have ‘-edwa’ instead of ‘-odwa’.
1 TABLE
2 Uses
a) ‘-Dwa’ may be used with or without a subject concord, and with a
participial or relative concord.
e.g. Ngihlala ngedwa — I live alone
Umfana uhlezi yedwa — The boy is sitting on his own
Abantu badla isitshwala sodwa — The people eat porridge on its
own
Ngizapheka inyama yodwa — I shall cook the meat on its own
Abantwana babodwa — The children are on their own
Abantwana bebebodwa — The children were on their own
Umntwana eyedwa endlini wakhala — Being on his own in the
hut, the child cried
Izalukazi zizodwa ziyehluleka ukulima — Since the old women are
alone, they cannot plough
Abafana babuya bebodwa — The boys came back alone
Ngizakhuluma labomama ababodwa — 1 shall speak to the
women who are on their own
For emphasis, add the absolute pronoun :
e.g. Nguwe wedwa engikuthandayo — It is you alone whom 1 love
Yintombi yona yodwa engiyithandayo — She is the only girl 1 love
Ngumfana yena yedwa osebenzayo — He is the only boy who works
b) The numeral ‘one’ : ‘-dwa’ with a relative concord means ‘one’.
169
e.g. umntwana oyedwa — one child
umganu owodwa — one plate
iqanda elilodwa — one egg
isinkwa esisodwa — one loaf
intombi eyodwa — one girl
ugwalo olulodwa — one book
c) Only, merely: ‘-dwa’ is not used in this sense, except for the form
‘kodwa’, which is sometimes used with a verb:
e.g. Bayadlala kodwa — They are only playing
For ‘only’ in this sense, use the adverb ‘kuphela’;
e.g. Ngizathenga isinkwa kuphela — I shall buy only bread
Bayadlala kuphela — They are only playing
Kwabuya abantu abathathu kuphela — Only three people came
back
Wena ungumntwana kuphela — You are only a child
‘Nje’ may be used in the same way:
e.g. Bayadlala nje — They are only playing
Ungumntwana nje — You are only a child
II -PHI?
1 TABLE
2 Uses
e.g. Nginika imbiza. Iphi imbiza? —• Give me a pot. Which pot?
Ngizathenga isigqoko. Siphi isigqoko? — I shall buy a dress.
Which dress ?
Zingwalo zabantwana baphi? — The books belong to which
children?
Uhlala emzini uphi? — In which village do you live?
OR Uhlala kuwuphi umuzi? — In which village do you live?
Uzisikile ngengqamu iphi ?
With which knife did you cut yourself?
OR Uzisikile ngayiphi ingqamu?
With which knife did you cut yourself?
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Note: a copulative is often used with these,
e.g. y/luphi ugwalo ? — Which book w /t?
A^^-i/wuphi umfana ? — Which bo y /5 (t?
For this, see Lesson 68.
When used with the conjunction ‘loba’, it means ‘whichever’
e.g. Loba nguwuphi umfana okwaziyo lokhu kasitshele
Whichever boy knows this should tell us
Uthanda ukubala zonke ingwalo loba yiziphi
He likes to read any books whatsoever
2 Nouns: The same kind of thing is done: place the relatives, ‘o’,
‘e’, or ‘a’, before the possessive form of the noun.
d) umfana womfundisi — the minister’s boy
owomfundisi — the one belonging to the minister
abantwana besikolo — school children
abesikolo — the ones of the school
imizi yabantu — the people’s villages
eyabantu — the ones belonging to the people
isigqoko senkazana — the girl’s dress
esenkazana — the one belonging to the girl
inyawo zenja — a dog’s feet
ezenja — the ones of a dog, those of a dog
ukudla kwezingulube — the pigs’ food
okwezingulube — that of the pigs
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b) Personal nouns with prefix U-
Umfana kabani ? — Whose boy ?
Okabani? — Whose?
Umfa.ia kaGasela — Gasela’s boy
OkaGasela — Gasela’s
Inja kabani ? — Whose dog ?
Ekababa — Father’s
Ikhuba likabani? — Whose plough?
ElikaMpofu — Mpofu’s
Inkomo zikabani ? —Whose cattle ?
Ezikamama — My mother’s
Abantwana bakabani ? — Whose children ?
AbakaNcube — Ncube’s
Note: a copulative is often used with these:
(inja) A^ekabani? — Whose is iti
Ngeyami — It's mine
For this, see Lesson 68.
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Lesson 66
Comparison
173
2 Use of the verb ‘ukwedlula’, to surpass
a) e.g. Ngiyedlula umfana lowo ngobude
I am taller than that boy (I surpass that boy in height)
Kodwa yena uyangedlula ngamandla
But he is stronger than me
Indlovu iyedlula inyamazana zonke ngobukhulu
The elephant is the biggest animal of all
b) Using the infinitive
e.g. Ngimude ukwedlula umfana lowo
I am taller than that boy
Nglyazi umfana omude ukwedlula lowo
I know a boy who is taller than that one
Mude ukwedlula bonke
He is the tallest of all
Isigqoko lesi sihle ukwedlula esakho
This dress is prettier than yours
Sihle ukwedlula zonke
It is the prettiest of all
Ngizathenga isigqoko esihle ukwedlula esakho
I shall buy a prettier dress than yours
Indlovu ilamandla ukwedlula zonke inyamazana
The elephant is the strongest animal
Ihlosi lingagijima ukwedlula zonke
The cheetah is the fastest of all
4 To express similarity
a) The adverbs ‘njenga’ — like
‘nganga’ — the same size as (pronounce the first
‘ng’ as in ‘finger’)
e.g. Bona hdinjengathi — They are like us
Baziphatha njengat\i\ — They behave like us
Amankazana a/yengabafana na ? — Are girls like boys ?
Kawan/engabafana — They are not like boys
Inja leyo yayi«/e«genja yami — That dog was like my dog
Yayingenyengeyakho ■ — It was not like yours
Bona bmgangathi — They are the same size as us/as big as us
Amankazana kawawga/igabafana — The girls are not the same size
as the boys
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Inja leyó ya.y\ngangen]3. yami — That dog was the same size as my
dog
Yayinge«ga«geyakho — It was not the same size as yours
b) The verbs: ukufana, ukufanana — to resemble
ukulingana — to equal
All are followed by ‘la-’.
e.g. Umntwana lo ufana loyise — This boy is like his father
Bayafanana — They are alike
Izinto lezi kazifanani — These things are not alike
Lokhu kakufanani lalokho — This is not like that
Indondolo lezi ziyalingana — These sticks are the same size
Lolu lulingana lalolo — This one equals that one
But note this usage:
Isigqoko lesi sizamlingana na? — Will this dress fit her?
c) The use o f the causative form o f the verb
This construction is made by using the causative form of the verb followed
by ‘okwa-’ prefixed to the following noun (or ‘okuka-’ before a singular
noun of the U /0 class).
e.g. She is walking like a duck — Uhambisa okwedada
The boy runs like a hare/The boy runs as well as a hare
Umfana ugijimisa okomvundla
This girl cooks like her mother/This girl cooks as well as her mother
Inkazana le iphekisa okukanina
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Lesson 67
Numbers and adverbs
I NUMBERS
1 Cardinal numbers
a) The numbers you have already learnt (one to ten) form the basis of all
the numbers up to a hundred.
Adjective stems: -nye one
-bili two
-thathu three
-ne four
-hlanu five
Nouns: isithupha (isi), -ntandathu six
isikhombisa (isi), -nonye seven
Relative stems: (isi)- ficaminwembili eight
(isi)-ficamunwemunye nine
Noun: itshumi (ili) ten
To count past ten, add numbers on to ten, using
adjectival stems.
itshumi lanye eleven
itshumi lambili twelve
itshumi lantathu thirteen
itshumi lane fourteen
itshumi lanhlanu fifteen
itshumi lesithupha sixteen
itshumi lesikhombisa seventeen
itshumi lesificaminwembili eighteen
itshumi lesificamunwemunye nineteen
To make twenty, thirty, and so on, multiply ten:
amatshumi amabili twenty
amatshumi amathathu thirty
amatshumi amane forty
amatshumi amahlanu fifty
amatshumi ayisithupha sixty
amatshumi ayisikhombisa seventy
amatshumi ahcaminwembili eighty
amatshumi aficamunwemunye ninety
ikhulu (ili) one hundred
ikhulu lanye one hundred and one
and so on.
e.g. two dogs izinja ezimbili
twelve dogs izinja ezilitshumi lambili
twenty-two dogs izinja ezingamatshumi amabili
lambili
three girls amankazana amathathu
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thirteen girls amankazana alitshumi lantathu
thirty-three girls amankazana angamatshumi amatha-
thu lantathu
three hundred girls amankazana angamakhulu amatha-
thu
h) Number \: There are three ways of saying‘one’.
(i) -DWA (Lesson 65) is commonly used:
e.g. Nginika iqanda elilodwa — Give me one egg
Ngilabafana abane lenkazana eyodwa — I have four boys and one
girl
Ngizasebenza lapho umnyaka owodwa — I shall work there
one year
(ii) -NYE (Lesson 44) is used where it can mean ‘there is one. . . .
e.g. Iqanda linye eliseleyo — There is one egg left
Ngilabafana abane lenkazana yinye — I have four boys and
there is one girl
Umfana munye ohiezi phakathi kwamankazana — There is one
boy sitting amongst the girls
(iii) -NYE is also used with the subjunctive mood of the verb ‘ukuba’
(to be), when it is a question of taking one from many:
e.g. Khuphaiqandalibelinye — Takeoutoneegg(lit:thatitbeone)
Sizakhetha umuntu abe munye — We shall choose one person
Bafana, ngifuna umfana abe munye ozahamba lami
Boys, I want one boy to go with me
Manini lapho mankazana; ngizabiza inkazana ibenye (ibe inye)
Stand there, girls; I shall call one girl
(The verb ‘ukuba’ will be studied fully in Lesson 69.)
c) ‘One by one’, ‘two by two’.
To express this, use ‘nga’ before the adjective with its concord:
e.g. Umuntu munye — There is one person
Ngenani ngamunye ngamunye — Go in one by one
Imbiza yinye There is one pot
Susa izimbiza nganye nganye (‘i’ is elided) — Remove the pots one
at a time
Inyamazana zimbili — There are two animals
Inyamazana zangena ngazimbili ngazimbili — The animals went
in two by two
OR ngambili ngambili
Amankazana mathathu — There are three girls
Amankazana ahlezi ngamathathu ngamathathu — The girls are
sitting in groups of three
This construction is not normally used with higher numbers.
2 Ordinal numbers
The ordinal numbers are made by using a possessive construction with
the cardinal number.
a) If the number is not a noun, make it one by using the prefix ISI-:
e.g. -bili . . . isibili : umfana wesibili — the second boy
owesibili — the second one
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umfana wesithathu — the third boy
owesithathu — the third one
umfana wesine — the fourth boy
umfana wesihlanu — the fifth boy
umfana wesithupha — the sixth boy
umfana wesikhombisa — the seventh boy
umfana wesificaminwembili — the eighth boy
umfana wesificamunwemunye — the ninth boy
umfana wetshumi — the tenth boy
indlu yesibili — the second house
eyesibili — the second one
isihlahla sesibili — the second tree
esesibili — the second one
uthango Iwesibili — the second fence
olwesibili — the second one
Note: the prefix UBU- is sometimes used instead of ISI-.
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е) Once, twice and so on.
Prefix ‘ka-’ to the adjective or noun, eliding the initial vowel of the noun
prefix:
e.g. Wamtshaya kangaki? — How many times did you hit him ?
kanye — once
kahili — twice
kathathu — three times
капе — four times
kahlanu — five times
kasithupha — six times
kasikhombisa — seven times
ka/itshumi — ten times (insert the copulative T)
kamatshumi amabili — twenty times
Note:
(i) The use of ‘nga’ with the noun following:
e.g. kanye «^-eviki — once a week
kabili ngomnyaka — twice a year
kathathu ngelanga — three times a day
(ii) Use of the verb ‘-phinda’ (repeat);
e.g. ukudia okuphindwe kabili — twice as much food
OR ukudia okuphindiweyo — twice as much food
abantu abaphindwe kabili — twice as many people
inkomo eziphindwe kathathu — three times as many cattle
3 ‘Both’
A contractioii of the appropriate form of ‘-nke’ (all) combined with
‘-bili’ (two) is used to express ‘both’:
e.g. abantwana bonke — all the children
abantwana babili — there are two children
abantwana bobabili — both the children
TABLE
abantwana bobabili — both children
imizi yomibili — both villages
amankazana womabili •— both girls
izicathulo zombili — both shoes
izintombi zombili — both girls
ubuso bobubili — both faces
ukudia kokubili — both foods
‘-thathu’ is also used in this construction:
e.g. abantwana bobathathu — all three children
imizi yomithathu — all three villages
4 ‘Each’
a) ‘Each’ can sometimes be expressed by the construction shown in Ic
above:
e.g. Ngamunye ngamunye bathatha ingwalo zabo bahamba
Each one took his books and went off
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b) The demonstrative, second position (that) may be used, with a prefix:
e.g. ilowo lalowomuntu — each person (Lit: that and that person)
ilelo lalelojaha — each youth
ileyo laleyonja — each dog
ilolo lalologatsha — each branch
Note: a copulative is commonly used with these:
e.g. yilowo lalowomuntu uzasinceda — Each person will help us
Yileso lalesosihlahla sizaganyulwa — Each tree will be cut down
II ADVERBS
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Lesson 68
The copulatives NGU- and YI- (continued)
The copulatives NGU- and YI-, used with nouns and pronouns, were
introduced in Lesson 51, but in this lesson there are details to be filled in.
181
Negative: Bekungesinyoka/Kwakungesinyoka — It was not a snake
Bekungesimanzi/Kwakungesimanzi — It was not water
Bekungesuye/Kwakungesuye — It wasn’t him
Bekungesithi/Kwakungesithi — It wasn’t us
182
Yiziphi inkomo ? Yilezo — Which are the cattle ? Those are the ones
Yiwuphi umthanyelo? Yilo — Which is the broom? It’s this one
Yiwaphi amaqanda? Yilawo — Which are the eggs? Those are the
ones
Yiyiphi inja? Yile — Which is the dog? This is the one
(‘Yiyiphi’ is pronounced ‘yiphi’ with a long vowel sound.)
Note:
(i) Exception: copulative NGU- is used before the third person
singular concord ‘u-’;
e.g, Afguwuphiumfana? — Which is the boy?
(ii) When YI- is used before demonstratives of one syllable, the demon
strative bears the stress in speech.
e.g. (umfana) Yi/o — It’s this one
(inja) Yi/e — It’s this one
(amaqanda) Yi/a — These are the ones
(iii) One may use the absolute pronoun together with the demonstrative:
e.g. (ilembu) Yilo leli — This is the one
(inkomo) Yizo lezi — These are the ones
(inja) Yiyo leyo — That is the one
(umfana) Nguye lo — This is the one
Yikho lokho — That’s it
b) Negative: use prefix KASI-
e.g. (ilembu) Kasileli — This is not the one
(izinkomo) Kasilezi — These are not the ones
(inja) Kasile — This is not the one
(umfana) Kasilo — This is not the one
OR use the pronoun:
e.g. (ilembu) Kasilo leli — This is not the one
(izinkomo) Kasizo lezi — These are not the ones
(inja) Kasiyo le — This is not the one
(unfana) Kasuye lo — This is not the one
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c) Using the verb ‘ukubiza’ (call) with ‘ngokuthi’:
e.g. Umntwana lo ubizwa ngokuthi nguThandiwe — This child is called
Thandiwe
Isibhedlela sabizwa ngokuthi yiMpilo — The hospital was called
Mpilo
d) Using two verbs, ‘ukubiza’ and ‘ukuthi’:
e.g. Babiza umntwana bathi nguThandiwe.
e) Using the verb ‘ukutha’ (give a name to) with the verb ‘ukuthi’:
e.g. Bamutha umntwana ibizo bathi nguThandiwe — They named the
child Thandiwe
Sizamutha umntwana ibizo sithi nguSipho — We shall call the child
Sipho
184
Lesson 69
The verb ‘ukuba’ (to be)
The verb ‘ukuba’ means ‘to be’ or ‘to become’. Although it is rarely used
in the present or past continuous tenses, it is often used in other tenses and
moods.
1 Future tense
Positive: Negative:
e.g Bazakuba khona — They will be present; Kabayikuba khona
Bazakuba lomusa — They will be kind; Kabayikuba lamusa
Bazakuba buthakathaka — They will be Kabayikuba
weak; buthakathaka
Bazakuba bakhulu — They will be great; Kabayikuba bakhulu
Bazakuba zinduna — They will become Kabayikuba
chiefs: zinduna
The short form is also used:
e.g. Bazaba khona — They will be present
3 Past tense
e.g. Ngaba lamandla — I became strong; Kangibanga lamandla
Ngaba muhle — I became pretty; Kangibanga muhle
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Ngaba khona - ■I was present; Kangibanga khona
Waba yinkosi - He became king; Kabanga yinkosi
5 Imperative:
There is a regular form. Singular: bana
Plural: banini
There is also an irregular form which is commonly used:
Singular: e.g. Woba lomusa, mntwana! — Be kind, child!
Plural: e.g. Wobani lomusa, bantu! — Be kind, people!
6 Potential
e.g. Bangaba khona — They may be present
Isihlahla singaba side — The tree may become tall
Umumu angaba ngumfundisi — A person can be a minister
Singaba lamandla — We can be strong
Umama angaba esaphumula — Mother can still be resting
Bangaba besasebenza — They can go on working
7 Subjunctive
e.g. Babize ukuze babe khona lathi — Call them so that they may be
here with us
Ngizanatha lumuthi ukuze ngibe lamandla — I shall drink this
medicine so that I become strong
Nxa umfana ekhula abe mude — When a boy grows (and becomes)
tall
Negative:
Ngizanatha lumuthi ukuze ngingabi buthakathaka
I shall drink this medicine so that 1 don’t become weak
Quma intambo ukuze ingabinde kakhulu
Cut the string so that it is not too long
Ungabi livila! Don’t be lazy!
Lingabi lalunya, bafana! — Don’t be cruel, boys!
186
Note: number one:
As described in Lesson 67, the subjunctive of ‘ukuba’ is used with ‘-nye’
to mean ‘one’ (one out of many):
187
Lesson 70
Expressions relating to time
1 Use of ‘mhla’
a) ‘Mhla’ is used as a conjunction, meaning ‘on the day when’, or ‘at the
time when’. Like other conjunctions it is followed by the participial
form of verb. It has the peculiarity of causing the suffix ‘-yo’ to be added to
the verb.
e.g. Mhla sisukayo ngizathaba — The day we set out I shall be happy
Mhla ubaba ebuyayo ngizathaba — The day father comes back I’ll
be happy
Mhla ubaba ehambayo ngakhala — The day father went away I
cried
Mhla sifikayo lana — The day we arrived it rained
b) Two possessive constructions
(i) ‘mhla wosuku’
e.g. mhla wosuku (loluyana) ubaba abuya ngalo — that day when
father came back
OR mhla wosuku lokubuya kukababa — that day when father came
back
mhla wosuku (loluyana) esahka ngalo — that day we arrived
OR mhla wosuku lokufika kwethu — that day we arrived
(ii) ‘mhla ka’ (used with dates)
e.g. Sizabuya mhla ka-10 — We shall return on the tenth
emhlanganweni mhla ka-20 June — in the meeting on June 20
c) To express ‘next time' or ‘last time'
‘Next time’
e.g. mhla bebuyayo lapha futhi — the next time they come here
mhla umntwana egulayo futhi —• the next time the child gets sick
‘Last time’ is expressed by using the verb ‘ukucina’ (to cease, stop),
e.g. mhla sicina ukukwenza — the last time we did this
mhla licina ukusibona — the last time you saw us
OR mhla sicina ukubonana — the last time we saw one another
mhla umama ecina ukuya khona wathokoza — the last time
mother went there she was happy
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(ii) phambi kwa-:
e.g. ngoMvulo ophambi kwalo odlulileyo ■ - the Monday before last
ngenyanga ephambi kwale edlulileyo - the month before last
b) After
(1) The participial verb:
e.g. u-3 esetshayile — after 3 o’clock (3 o’clock having already struck)
umhla ka-20 esedlulile — after the 20th
(ii) Emva kwa-:
e.g. emva kwensuku ezintathu — after 3 days (in 3 days’ time)
emva kwenyanga eyodwa — after a month (in a month’s time)
(iii) Phambi kwa-, in this construction:
e.g. ngoMvulo ophambi kwalo ozayo — the Monday after next
ngenyanga ephambi kwale ezayo — the month after next
c) During
phakathi kwa-:
e.g. phakathi kweviki — during the week
phakathi kobusuku — during the night
4 To express ‘ago’
a) Using ‘kade’ or ‘kudala’ to express ‘tong ago’
e.g. Kade ngamtshela ukwenza lokho — I told him to do that long ago
Kudala amaNdebele ayehlala lapha — Long ago the Ndebele
people lived here
189
Wafa kudala — He died long ago
b) Using‘kade' as a verb stem
lihe concords of the past continuons tense are prefixed to it, and the
following verb is in participial form.
e.g. Ayekade amaNdebele ehlala lapha — Long ago the Ndebele people
lived here
Ngangikade ngingumpheki — Long ago I was a cook
c) Using ‘seku- with a noun
e.g. Sekuzinsuku ezine sifikile — We arrived four days ago
Sekuyiminyaka emibili ngatshada — I got married two years ago
Sekuyisikhatshana nje lifike lapha — You got here only a little
while ago
5 To express ‘since’
a) Using ‘seku- with a noun and participial verb
e.g. Sekuyisikhathi eside ngingamboni — It’s a long time since I saw him
Sekuzinsuku ezine sifikile — It’s four days since we arrived
b) Using ‘ukudlula’ (to pass)
e.g. Sekudlule insuku ezine ngingamboni — It’s four days since I saw
him
Sekudlule iminyaka eminengi batshada — Many years have passed
since they got married
c) Using ‘kusukela' {starting from. . .)
(i) Using a perfect tense:
e.g. Kusukela ngoJanuary ngimbone kabili
Since January I have seen him twice
Kusukela ekuqaleni kwenyanga angimbonanga
I haven’t seen him since the beginning of the month
OR Angikamboni — I haven’t yet seen him
OR Angisamboni — I no longer see him
Kusukela ekuseni ungitshaye kabili
Since this morning you have hit me twice
Umntwana ulele kusukela ngo-2
The child has been asleep since 2
Ngisebenze lapha kusukela ngo-1971
I have been working here since 1971
Kusukela esikhathini sokuvuna kangisabambekanga
Since harvest time I have not been busy (I am no longer busy)
Kusukela esikhathini sokutshada kwabo kabathabanga
Since the time of their marriage they have not been happy
(ii) Where the emphasis is on the fact that the action is still going on,
use a present tense :
e.g. Kusukela ekufikeni kwabo bayakhwehlela
Since their arrival they have been coughing
In past time, use a past continuous tense:
Kusukela ekufikeni kwabo babekhwehlela
Since their arrival they had been coughing
190
Note: such constructions often use the deficient verb ‘-lokhu’ (still)
(see Lesson 72).
d) jUsing the conjunction 'lokhu'
‘Lokhu’ is a coiyunction meaning ‘since’.
(i) Recent time; use a participial verb in perfect tense after ‘lokhu’:
e.g. Lokhu befikile bayakhwehlela
Since they arrived they have been coughing
Lokhu ugogo edlile uzwa ubuhlungu
Since grandmother ate she has felt pain
(ii) Remote time: a past tense after the conjunction‘lokhu’ requires the
suffix ‘-yo’:
e.g. Lokhu batshadayo kabathabanga
Since they got married they have not been happy
Lokhu batshadayo babengathabi
Since they got married they had not been happy
Lokhu isigqoko leso sadabukayo angisasigqoki
Since that dress got torn I no longer wear it
Lokhu wasigezisayo isigqoko angikasigqoki
Since you washed the dress I haven’t worn it (yet)
Note: in this construction, the concord for the third person is ‘-a’:
e.g. Lokhu uDube afikayo uyasihlupha
Since Dube came he has been troubling us
Lokhu umntwana agulayo uyise kakamboni
Since the child fell ill his father hasn’t seen him (yet)
(iii) Note that ‘lokhu’ can also mean ‘since’ in the sense of ‘because’:
e.g. Lokhu umntwana ekhwehlela kakhulu unina abohlala laye
Since the child is coughing very much his mother must stay with him
Lokhu abantu sebehambile ngiyehluleka ukubatshela
Since the people have gone away I can’t tell them
191
Lesson 71
Auxiliary verbs
The term ‘auxiliary’ is used here to refer to the use of certain verbs in
coiyunction with other verbs to give special meanings.
1 Ukuhlala
‘Ukuhlala’ is used with a verb in participial form to express a continual
or recmring state; it may be translated as ‘always’, or ‘keep on. . . ’
e.g. Umkhokheli uhlala egula
The leader is always ill/keeps on getting ill
uba pmkhokheli ehlala egula — if the leader is always ill
Mntwana, uhlala udlala — Child, you are always playing
unmtwana ohlala edlala — a child who is always playing
Abafana bahlala belambile — Boys are always hungry
Wayehlala esihlupha
He was always troubling us/kept on troubling us
3 Ukwanela
‘Ukwanela’ is used with an infinitive, and ‘nje’ (only) to express the
idea of an action taking place immediately after another,
e.g. Nganele ukungena nje izulu laqala ukuna
I had just gone in when it began to rain
Sánele ukudlala nje umfana wawela phansi
Just as we started playing the boy fell down
Udokotela wanela nje ukuthinta inxeba lakhe wakhala
As soon as the doctor touched her wound she cried
Remote time:
Nganela ukungena nje. . .
Sanela ukungena i\je. . .
4 Ukuthi
The verb ‘ukuthi’ is used like a conjunction, translated as ‘when’, some
times together with ‘nxa’ or ‘lapho’. It is followed by a verb in participial
192
mood, and the verb in the main clause will be either subjunctive mood or
past tense:
a) Present:
e.g. Uthi ekhuluma abantwana bonke bahleke
When he speaks all the children laugh
OR Uthi nxa ekhuluma. . .
OR Kuthi (nxa) ekhuluma. . .
Bathi/Kuthi nxa behleka, abaxotshe
When they laugh, he chases them away
b) Future:
e.g. Sizakuthi/Kuzakuthi nxa sesiqedile sihambe
When we have finished we shall go
Uzakuthi/Kuzakuthi nxa usudiniwe, ukhawule
When you are tired, stop
c) Recent past:
e.g. Bathe/Kuthe lapho besakhangela lokho, utitshala wafika
While they were looking at that, the teacher arrived
Uthe/Kuthe lapho esebonile lokho, wathukuthela
When he had seen that, he became angry
d) Remote Past:
e.g. Wathi/Kwathi lapho umntwana esibona wacatsha endlini
When the child saw us, he hid in the hut
Yathi/Kwathi lapho inkazana isithanyele indlu, sangena
When the girl had swept the hut, we went in
e) A locative construction may sometimes be used after ‘ukuthi’:
e.g. Kuthe ekufikeni kwakhe, baqala ukukhala (recent)
When he arrived, they began to cry
Kwathi ekuphumeni kwethu sabona inyoka (remote)
When we came out we saw a snake
193
Lesson 72
Deficient verbs
194
kusukela ngoMvulo kuze kube ngoMgqibelo
from Monday until Saturday
OR . . . kuze kufike uMgqibelo
kusukela lapha kuze kube laphayana — from here to there
kusukela eWankie kuze kube seDett — from Wankie to Dett
kusukela esihlahleni kuze kube sendlini — from the tree to the house
Note: an alternative construction, using the verb ‘ukuya’ in participial
form;
e.g. kusukela lapha kusiya laphayana — from here to there
kusukela eWankie kusiya eE)ett — from Wankie to Dett
kusukela ekuseni kusiya emini — from morning until midday
kusukela ngo-^ kusiya ku-4 — from 2 until 4
195
Ubaba kazanga abuye ekhaya — Father hasn’t been home
Kasizanga sibone inyoka lapha — We have never seen a snake here
Kabazanga batshele muntu — They never told anyone
The past continuous prefixes are used for remote past time:
e.g. Ngangingazanga ngimbone — I hadn’t seen him
Ubaba wayengazanga abuye ekhaya — Father hadn’t been home
Sasingazanga sibone inyoka lapho — We had never seen a snake
there
196
e.g. Kangizake ngimbone — I have never seen him
Kabazake beze lapha — They have never come here
Kazake akhulume — He has never spoken
Ngangingazake ngimbone — I had never seen him
Babengazake beze lapha — They had never come here
Wayengazake akhulume — He had never spoken
197
15 ‘-ngabe’ with‘sa’ (still): a negative subjunctive
‘-ngabe’ is a negative subjunctive form, followed by a participial verb
with ‘sa’.
e.g. .. .ukuze ngingabe ngisasebenza — .. .so that I may no longer work
. . .ukuze bangabe besalamba — . . .so that they may no longer
hunger
Sifisa ukuba ugogo angabe esasebenza — We hope that grand
mother will work no longer
17 ‘-phose’: meaning‘almost’
The verb which follows ‘-phose’ wiU be a subjunctive mood or a past tense,
e.g. Ngiphose ngizwe — I can almost hear
Umntwana usephose ahambe — The child is almost walking
Sesiphose saqeda — We have almost finished
Usephose wangibulala — He has almost killed me
Ngaphose ngafa — I almost died
Waphose wawa — You almost fell
‘-phosa’ is sometimes used:
Ngaphosa ngafa — I almost died
Waphosa wawa — You almost fell
198
e.g. Musa ukwenza lokhu! — Don’t do this!
Musa ukutshiya impahla lapha — You must not leave things here
Bafana, musani ukutshaya ubabhemi — Boys, you must not beat
the donkey
Musani ukulwa! — Don’t fight!
199
Lesson 73
‘SE’ with past continuous and past perfect tenses
I RECENT TIME
b) TABLE:
200
Besebelamandla — They were then strong
Besebebakhulu — They were then great
Induna ibisikhona — The chief was then present
Ibisilamandia — He was then strong
Ibisinkulu — He was then great
e) Relative form
Prefix the relative 'o’, ‘e’, or ‘a’ to the verb, as shown for the past con
tinuous tense:
e.g. Umuntu obesesebenza — The person who was then working
Thina ebesesisebenza — We who were then working
Inja ebisisifa — The dog which was then dying
Abantu abesebekhona — The people who were then present
201
Impahia besezithethwe — The goods had already been taken
Ukudla besekuvuthiwe — The food was already cooked
b) Relative form
e.g. mina ebesengilambile — I who was then hungry
wena obusuhambile — you who had already gone
yena obesomile — he who was then thirsty
inja ebisidlile — the dog which had already eaten
abantu abesebedlile — the people who had already eaten
and so on.
n REMOTE TIME
b) TABLE
202
d) Non-verbs
e.g. Abantu basebekhona — The people were then present
Induna yayisinkulu — The chief was then great
e) Relative form
e.g. Umuntu owayesesebenza — The person who was then working
Thina esasesisebenza — We who were then working
Abantu abasebekhona — The people who were then present
203
Lesson 74
Ideophones
Ideophones are a most expressive part of the Ndebele language. They are
onomatopaeic words which, by their very sound, convey the sound being
described or intensify the idea being expressed. (Ask an African to read
them to you.)
e.g. Waquma intambo juqu — He slashed through the rope
Wasika ikhabe dazu — He split open the watermelon
Ideophones are also important because from many of them verb stems are
formed.
204
e.g. dazu gives verb stem: -dazuluka — split open
bhe gives verb stem: -bhebha — blaze, bum up
qoqo gives verb stem: -qoqoda — knock
Lesson 75
Denoting sex and diminutives
I DENOTING SEX
205
Note: ‘-kazi’ may also denote extra bigness when added to adjective stem
‘-khulu’.
e.g. intaba enknlukazi — a very big mountain
Uyanatha kakhulukazi — He drinks very heavily
II DIMINUTIVES
3 Consonant changes
a) Palatalisation o f labial consonants
TTiis takes place whatever the final vowel of the noun,
ph becomes: tsh e.g. mhlophe: mhlotshana — whitish
b becomes: tsh impuphu: imputshana — a little mealie meal
intaba: intatshana — a small mountain
ingubo: ingutshana — a small blanket
bh becomes: j igabha: igajana — a small tin
isigubhu: isigujana — a small drum
mb becomes: nj ithambo: ithanjana — a small bone
ilembu: ilenjana — a small cloth
m becomes: ny inkomo: inkonyana — a small beast (cattle)
ingqamu: ingqanyana — a small knife
Exception: -mnyama; -mnyamana — blackish
b) Palatalisation o f dental consonants
IWs takes place whatever the final vowel of the noun. Note that when the
final vowel is ‘o’ or ‘u’, a ‘w’ is used.
206
n becomes: ny e.g. umfana: umfanyana — a small boy
usane: usanyana — a tiny baby
inyoni: inyonyana — a small bird
umganu: umganywana — a small dish
Exception: -fitshane: -fitshazana — rather short
d becomes: j e.g. incwadi: incwtuana — a small book
isigodo: isigojwana — a small pole
ufudu: ufujwana — a small tortoise
nd becomes: i\j iqanda: iqapjana — a small egg
impande: impaqjana — a small root
uphondo: uphoiy wana — a small horn
Exception: indoda: indojelana — a small man
th becomes: tsh e.g. isikhathi: isikhatshana — a short time
umphetho: umphetshwana - a small hem
intuthu: intutshwana - a little smoke
c) 1 becomes: dl e.g. dala: dadlana — rather old
umfiila: lunfiidlana — a small river
umduli: nmdudlana — a small wall
ugwalo: ugwadlwana — a small book
umkulu: umkudlwana — a small kitchen
207
General índex
208
lose : -lahlekelwa L.64, p.l65 one : -dwa L.65, p.l69
-ma : stop L.53, p.l34 one another : L.64, p. 164 and p.l67
may : (subjunctive) L.28, p.59 one by one : L.67, p.l77
may (potential) L.30, p.65 oneself ; L.64, p.l64 and p.l68
mhla : on the day when... other ; -nye L.43, p.98
L.70, p.188 ought ; -fanele L.25, p.52
mine, etc. ; L.65, p.l71 ought : bo L.29, p.63
musa ; must not L.72, p.l98 ought : ngabe L.62, p.l61
must, must not : -fanele L.25, p.52 palatalisation : (locative) L.37, p.81
must, must not : bo L.29, p.63 palatalisation : Q)assive) L.52, p.l30
must not : musa L.72, p.l98 -phinda : again L. 71, p.l92
my, etc. : L.40, p.87 -phase ; almost L.72, p.l98
names : L.4, p .ll please! : L.28, p.60
naming : L.68, p.l83 requests : L.28, p.60 L.49, p.ll9
nangu, etc. : L.20, p.40
never ; -soze, -ngeze, -zanga, -kaze, sa ; still L.55, p.l38 L.58, p.146
-ngeke, -zake, L.72, p.l94 to L.59, p.151 L.60, p.154
p.197 -sanda : just L.72, p.l98
next ; (time) L.70, p.l88 se : now, then, already,
ngabe : should L.62, p.l61 L.57, p.141 L.58, p.146
nganga : as big as. . . L.66, p.l74 L.73, p.200
ngaphi? : where? L.9, p.20 sequence of tenses : L.23, p.48
-ngeke : cannot L.72, p.l97 L.28, p.60 L.49, p.121
-ngeze : carmot L.72, p.l95 since ; (time) L.70, p.l90
-ngoba : because L.48, p .ll7 since ; njengoba L.48, p .ll7
-ni? : what? L.9, p.20 simply ; -sake L.72, p.l99
nini? : when? L.9, p.20 so that ; ukuze, L.49, p .ll9
njani? ; how? L.8, p.l9 some : -nye L.43, p.98
L.9, p.20 sometimes ; -ke L.72, p.l96
njenga : like L.66, p.l74 -soze : will not/never L.72, p.l95
no longer : sa L.55, p.l38 still : sa L.55, p.l38 L.58, p.146
L.58, p.146 L.59, p.151 L.59. p.151 L.60, p.154
L.60, p.154 still : -lokhu LJ2, p.l98
not yet ; ka L.56, p.l40 suddenly : -hie L.72, p.l97
L.58, p.146 L.59, p.l51 -sake : simply L.72, p.l99
L.60, p.154 L.69, p.187 thanking : L.7, p.l6
now : se : L.57, p.l41 to p.l44 that : (conjunction) L.49, p .ll9
numbers : L.43, p.96 L.44, p.lOl L.50, p.122
L.67, p.176 that, those : L.42, p.93
nxa : when L.48, p.ll7 then : se L.57, p.l41 L.58, p.146
-nye : other L.43, p.98 L.73, p.200 to 203
-nye : one L.44, p.lOl there is/are : L.20, p.40
L.67, p.176 -thi : say L.53, p.l33
of : (possessive) L.38, p.83 -thi ; when L.71, p.l92
L.39, p.85 this, these, : L.42, p.93
on : (time) L.35, p.75 to : (locative) L.36, p.77
on : (locative) L.36, p.77 L.37, p.79
L.37, p.79 to : (up to. . .) -ze L.72, p.l94
once, twice, etc. : L.67, p.l79 -tsho : say L.53, p.l33
one ; -nye L.44, p.lOl uba : if L.48, p .ll7
L.67, p.176 ukuba : (conjunction) L.49, p .ll9
209
ukuthi: (coi\junction) L.49, p .ll9 who : (relative) L.45, p.l03
L.50, p.122 L.46, p.107
ukuze : (conjunction) L.49, p .ll9 whom : L.46, p.llO
until : -ze L.72, p.l94 whose : L.46, p .ll l
up t o . . . : -ze L.72, p.l94 why? : ku/igani? l^Ai, p.ll7
-vele : always L.72, p.l99 why? : L.64, p.l65
with : la L.34, p.71
weather : (vocabulary) L.13, p.28 with : t^a L.35, p.75
what? : -«/? L.9, p.20
what : (relative) L.46, p .lll yet : (not yet) ka L.56, p.l40
when? : nini? L.9, p.20 L.58, p.146 L.59, p.151
when : nxa L.48, p .ll7 L.60, p.154 L.69, p.187
when : -thi L.71, p.l92 -za ; come L.53, p.l34
where? : ngaphi? 1^.9, p.20 -zabe : (future continuous)
where : lapho. . . khona L.46, p .lll L.58, p.146
L.48, p.118 -zabe : (future perfect) L.58, p.146
which? : -phi? L.65, p.l70 -zanga : have not/never L.72, p.l95
which : (relative) L.45, p.l03 -ze ; until (and other uses)
L.46, p.107 L.72, p.194 and p.l95
who? : ubani?Tu.5\, p.l25 -zwa : hear, feel L.53, p.l34
210
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HPMI