Venda 1507 Textbook

© 2018 University of South Africa
Khanḓiso yo sedzuluswaho ri na ndugelo dzoṱhe
Yo ganḓiswa na u anḓadzwa nga

University of South Africa
Muckleneuk, Pretoria
VEN1507/1/2019–2026
70700737
InDesign
HSY_Style
ZWI RE NGOMU
Page
Marangaphanḓa v
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 1: Kha ri ḓivhane 1
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 2: U sumba vhathu na zwithu 12
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 3: Vha/ni khou ita mini? 20
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 4: Vha shuma mini kha maḓuvha a vhege? 26
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 5: Khanedza 39
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 6: Hani, ngafhi, lini? 47
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 7: U ita,...U (vha) na 60
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 8: Mulovha 70
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 9: Aiwa, a tho ngo... 78
Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 10: Matshelo 88

(IV)

MARANGAPHANḒA
Introduction
The South African constitution entrenches 11 official languages. Nine of these

languages are African languages such as isiXhosa, isiZulu, Tshivenḓa, Xit-
songa, Siswati, isiNdebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho and Setswana. These
languages belong to a large family of languages called the Bantu languages
spoken south of the Sahara region.
The most important characteristics of the Bantu languages are the noun class
system, the concordial system and a balanced vowel system. This means
that each noun in these languages is classified into a particular noun class
based on its prefix. The noun class prefixes play a huge role of determining
the concords in the languages. This simply means that each prefix has its
corresponding concords whose functions is to link the nouns on the one hand
with the predicate and the qualificative on the other hand.
The following examples illustrate the noun prefixes with their corresponding
concords. Bear in mind that the noun prefixes and their corresponding con-
cords are underlined.
Munna u shuma ḓoroboni.
A man works in town.
Vhanna vha shuma ḓoroboni.
Men work in town.
Mulambo u ela nga u ṱavhanya.
The river flows fast.
Milambo i ela nga u ṱavhanya.
The rivers flow fast.
Ḽiivha ḽi a fhufha.
The dove flies away.
Maivha a a fhufha.
The doves fly away.
Tshiṋoni tshi kudzela makumba.
The bird lays eggs.
Zwiṋoni zwi kudzela makumba.
The birds lay eggs.
Mmbwa i a huvha.
The dog is barking.
Dzimmbwa dzi a huvha.
The dogs are barking.
Vhulwadze vhu vhulaha vhathu.
The illness kills people.
Malwadze a vhulaha vhathu.
The illnesses kill people.
VEN1507/1 (V)

U shuma hu a netisa
Working is tiring.
The African Languages of South Africa are divided into four main groups, viz.:
(1) NGUNI, which includes isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele and Siswati;
(2) SOTHO, which includes Northern Sotho, Sesotho and Setswana;
(3) XITSONGA and
(4) TSHIVENḒA
What is interesting about the Tshivenḓa language group is that each dialect is
mutually intelligible to the native speakers of the other languages. This means
that their differences are mainly phonological in nature. Tshivenḓa is mainly
spoken in the Limpopo Province, part of Mpumalanga Province, Gauteng Prov-
ince, and even in some parts of Zimbabwe. It comprises of various dialects/
varieties which are classified as follows:
(1) Tshiphani dialect is spoken in the Tshivhase area, some parts of Dzanani
and Mutale districts. People in this area are linguistically less influenced
by non-Vhavenḓa groups. Tshiphani is also known as the standard form
of the Tshivenḓa language.
(2) Tshiilafuri dialect is spoken in the western, north-eastern and northern
areas of Makhado (Louis Trichardt). Speakers of this dialect/variety are
mostly influenced by the Tlokwa and Hananwa which are dialects of the
Northern Sotho language.
(3) Tshironga dialect is spoken in the south-western area of Ṱhohoyanḓou
and south-eastern part of Louis Trichardt. This variety is characterised
by few phonological features which are influences from the Luleke and
the Gwamba dialects of the Xitsonga language.
(4) Tshimanḓa variety is becoming extinct. It used to be spoken in the
south-western area of Ṱhohoyandou in places such as Lwamondo, Gwa-
masenga, Tshimbupfe and east ôf Louis Trichardt (Makhado) in places
such as Luonde and Masia. This variety is characterised by phonological
features which are believed to have been acquired from some Northern
Sotho clans. At the same time, like those Northern Sotho clans, they
omitted the lateral alveolar tap sound [l] in their speech.
(5) Tshimbedzi is spoken in the eastern and northern-eastern areas of
Ṱhohoyan dou. Speakers of this variety used to speak Pfumbi, also known
as Mbedziîn South Africa. Pfumbi is still spoken in in southern Zimbabwe.
Today, there are very few Pfumbi phonological features as well as gram-
matical features which distinguish this variety from other varieties. Although
the Mbedzi in these areas still maintain cultural ties with those in Zimbabwe,
they have lost most linguistic aspects because of Tshiphani influence.
(6) Tshilembetu is spoken in the north-west of Ṱhohoyandou and in the south-
ern part of Zimbabwe. This variety is characterised byˆphonological as well
as grammatical features from Lembetu in Zimbabwe. Although the Vhalem-
betu in these areas still maintain cultural ties with those in Zimbabwe, they
have lost some linguistic aspects through the influence of Tshiphani dialect.
(7) Tshiṱavhatsindi is spoken in the north-east of Ṱhohoyan dou. Although
ˆ
Tshiṱavhatsindi is regarded as Venda variety, it manifests features which
ˆ
occur in Tshimbedzi as well as Tshilembetu. It is also well known for the
extensive use of the absolute pronoun ene (you) for both second and
third personal pronouns. This appears to be the only linguistic difference
between this and the standard variety.
(VI)

(8) Tshiṋia is spoken in the far northern area of Ṱhohoyan dou. Like
ˆ
Tshiṱavhatsindi this variety does not have its own features. Speakers of
this variety use grammatical and lexical features which are found in the
Tshilembetu dialect and to a lesser extent Tshimbedzi dialect.
MIBVUMO YA MUAMBO YA TSHIVENḒA

The speech sounds of Tshivenḓa
LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this learning unit you should be able to:
•• pronounce the various speech sounds;

•• realise the syllabic system of Tshivenḓa;
•• realise that in Tshivenḓa long vowels occur in the penultimate syllable of
a word when it occurs in isolation or when it occurs at the end of a phrase
or sentence;
•• know that there are only a handful tone patterns in Tshivenḓa words.
0.1 THE SPEECH SOUNDS OF TSHIVENḒA

No language can be taught or learned without attention being given to the
speech sounds of that language. It is therefore appropriate to start your study
of Tshivenḓa with an introduction to the speech sounds of the language.
Speech sounds can be broadly divided into three main groups, viz. vowels,
semi-vowels or semi-consonants and consonants.
In Tshivenḓa two main types of speech sounds are differentiated, namely,

vowels and consonants.
0.1.1 Vowels
In Tshivenḓa there are five basic vowels, which are a, e, i, o, u, and two of
them are raised vowels which are, e [e] and o [o]. The vowels of Tshiven da
are voiced, meaning that in their articulation there is no obstruction of the âir
current that occurs. This statement is confirmed by Abercombie (1980:56)
when articulating about vowels when he says:
When a vowel is produced, the airstream will have a relatively free and
unrestricted passage through the vocal tract.
Abercombie, further maintains that during the production of different vowels

the speech organs in the vocal tract are shaped so that a distinctive quality of
sound is produced, but not so that the passage of the air is hindered.
Nasr (1984:181) on the other hand refers vowels as:

Any of the speech sounds in which the breath is let out without any stop
or any closing of the air passage in the mouth or throat that can be heard.
Whilst Meinhof (1932:4) sees the production of vowels as a result of the glottalic
vibration only. In distinguishing one vowel from another, he believes that it is
VEN1507/1 (VII)

partly caused by the different shapes of the cavity of the mouth at each vowel,
the shapes being altered by the movement of the lower jaw and the tongue.
When you practise these sounds, place your fingers lightly on your larynx/
Adam’s apple. You will feel the vibration of your vocal cords when you pro-
nounce these sounds. When vowels are being articulated there are few factors
that must be taken into consideration which are the following:
•• the part of the tongue which is used;
•• the height to which the tongue is raised in the mouth, i.e. whether it is
high or low;
•• the kind of opening made at the lips i.e. the configuration of the lips during
•• articulation, and
•• the tenseness of the speech organs during articulation.
As mentioned above the five basic vowels of Tshivenḓa are all voiced and
there is no obstruction of the air current during their production, and those
vowels are the following:
a [a]
e [ɛ]
i [i]
o [ɔ]
u [u]
You must also take into consideration that when vowels are articulated the
position of the tongue plays a very important part. Below is the description of
various Tshivenḓa vowels together with suitable examples.
a [a] This is regarded as a central vowel because it is the middle part of the
tongue which is raised during its articulation. In other words, the middle
part of the tongue is held so low that a relatively open space is left
between the tongue and the palate. Hence, is called or regarded as a
low vowel. It is also regarded as an open vowel because when articu
lated, the lips are far apart.
Examples: amba [amba] to speak
ala [ala] spread
e [ε] This is a mid-low front vowel, and lies slightly higher than cardinal
vowels. When this vowel is articulated the front part of the tongue is
raised and the lips mid-open.
Examples: rema [rema] chop
ela [ela] flow
This sound “e” is pronounced as in the English “e” in in the word bed.
i [i] This is a high front vowel slightly lower than cardinal vowel. When this
vowel is pronounced/ articulated the front part of the tongue is raised.
This means that the tongue is at its highest position when this vowel
is pronounced, whilst the lips are closed.
Examples: ila [iᶩa] taboo
imba [imba] sing
This sound “i” is pronounced as in the English “i” in the word India.
o [ɔ] This is a mid-low back vowel which lies slightly higher than cardinal
vowel. When this vowel is articulated the back of the tongue is raised
and the lips far apart/mid-open.
(VIII)

Examples: oma [oma] dry

onda [onda] lean
This sound “o” is pronounced as in the English “o” in the word fork.
u [u] This is a high back vowel which is slightly lower than cardinal vowel.
When this vowel is articulated the back portion of the tongue is raised
and the lips are closed.
Examples: tshiḓula [tshiḓula] frog
muthu [muthu] person/human being
This sound “u” is pronounced as the “u” in Uhuru.
0.1.2 Semi-vowels
Nasr (1984:178) defines a semi-vowel or a semi-consonant as:
a sound that is considered partly as a consonant and partly as a vowel.
In Tshivenḓa there are two semi-vowels viz. “y” and “w”. When they are articu-
lated there is a relatively wide opening in the mouth through which air passes.
The airstream which is used in their production originates from the lungs, it
is a pulmonic airstream. During their articulation the tongue moves slightly
upwards but not far enough to cause any real turbulence of the airstream. With
“y”, the centre of the tongue rises slightly in the area of the palate, and this it
is usually referred to as the palatal semi-vowel. On the other hand the semi-
vowel “w”, is produced with the back of the tongue rising slightly towards the
velum, while at the same time there is a considerable amount of lip-rounding.
Because of the involvement of both lips and the velum area in the production
of “w”, this semi-vowel is sometimes referred to as a labiovelar semi-vowel.
Semi-vowels or semi-consonants differ from vowels in that whereas all vow-

els can form syllables on their own, semi-vowels or semi-consonants are not
syllabic. Even the time that is spent during the articulation of semi-vowels or
semi-consonants is shorter than that spent when vowels are articulated.
0.2 CONSONANTS
The consonants are all those speech sounds that are not vowels. A command
of consonants, and their various combinations, is fundamental to the speaking
of Tshivenḓa. Crystal (1980:82) phonetically defined consonants as:
Sounds made by a closure or narrowing in the vocal tract so that the air
flow is either completely blocked, or so restricted that audible friction
is produced.
Supporting the above definition is Westermann and Ward (1957:45) who define
consonants as:
a sound in which the air passage is either stopped entirely at some point,
or narrowed so as to give rise to audible friction.
All the above quoted definitions contain one aspect in common, namely, that
during the production of consonants the air current is restricted in one way or
another. However, when looking closely at consonants, one finds that unlike
vowels which are all voiced, in Tshiven da some consonants are voiced while
others are voiceless. ˆ
VEN1507/1 (IX)

The following are the Tshivenda consonants based on their place of articulation.
ˆ
Bilabials
Of importance during the articulation of bilabial consonants is the position of
the both lips that are brought together.
b [b] is a voiced ejective bilabial plosive.

Examples: buba rise very early
bako cave
Similar to b in the English words baby, book and brush
fh [ɸ] is a voiceless bilabial fricative.

Examples: fhethu place
-fha give
m [m] is a voiced bilabial nasal.

Examples: mme mother
mafhi milk
Similar to m in the English words mother, milk and money.
ph [ph] is a voiceless aspirated bilabial plosive.

Examples: phala impala
phepho cold
Similar to p in the English words point, ponder and police.
vh [β] is a voiced bilabial fricative.

Examples: -vhavha bitter
-vhala read
w [w] is a voiced bilabial semi-vowel.

Examples: -wa fall
watshi clock
Similar to the w in the English words wine, wood and wind.
Denti-labials
Denti-labial consonants when articulated the lower lip touch the upper teeth
or lean against the upper teeth.
f [f] is a voiceless denti-labial fricative.

Examples: -funa love
-fana resemble
Similar to the f in the English words fun, face and false.
v [v] is a voiced denti-labial fricative

Examples: -vala close
vothi door
Similar to the v in the English words van, valve and vale.
pf [ȹf] is a voiceless ejective affricate which begins with a denti-labial

and end with a denti-labial.
Examples: -pfala audible
-pfufha reward
(X)

Similar to the pf in the German (monetary unit of Germany) word

pfenning.
bv [ȸv] is a voiced denti-labial affricate which begins with denti-labial and

ends with denti-labial.
Examples: -bvisa remove
-bvumba guess
mpf [mȹf] is a voiced denti-labial nasal which occurs in nasal compounds

before f and v.
Examples: -mpfuna love me
-mpfela spit on me
Dentals
One interesting aspect which distinguishes Tshivenḓa dental consonants from
other consonants is that all dentals are written with a diacritic sign below them.
ṱ [ṱ] is a voiceless dental plosive.

Examples: -ṱamba wash
-ṱola examine
ṱh [ṱh] is a voiceless aspirated dental plosive.

Examples: ṱharu python
ṱhowa whey
ḓ [ḓ] is a voiced dental plosive.

Examples: -ḓa come
-ḓisa bring
ḽ [ḽ] is a voiced dental lateral liquid.

Examples: -ḽa eat
ḽisala pronoun
ṋ [ṋ] is a voiced dental nasal.

Examples: ṋowa snake
ṋawa beans
Alveolars
t [t] is a voiceless ejective alveolar plosive.
Example: -takala be happy
th [th] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar plosive.

Example: thanga pumpkin pip
d [d] is a voiced alveolar plosive.

Example: -daha smoke
n [n] is a voiced alveolar nasal.

Example: ningo nose
r [r] is a voiced alveolar trill.

Example: -renga buy
s [s] is a voiced alveolar fricative.

Example: -sala remain
VEN1507/1 (XI)

z [z] is a voiced alveolar fricative.

Example: -zazamela itch
ts [ts] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar affricate.

Example: kutsimu small field
tsh [tsh] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar affricate.

Example: tsheṋe weeds
dz [dz] is a voiced alveolar affricate.

Example: -dzula sit down
ᶩ [l] is a voiced alveolar lateral liquid and appears only in loan words.
Example: hosiṱele hostel
Labio-alveolars
sw [ᶊ] is a voiceless labio-alveolar fricative.
Example: swika arrive
zw [ᶎ] is a voiced labio-alveolar fricative

Example: zwino now
tsw [tᶊ] is a voiceless ejective labio-alveolar affricate.

Example: -tswipudza strike with a whip
tsw [tᶊh] is a voiceless aspirated labio-alveolar affricate.

Example: -tswa steal
dzw [dʐ] is a voiced labio-alveolar affricate.

Example: -dzwala giving birth of a cow, goat, etc
Tap sound
l [ᶩ] is a voiced aleveolar tap sound.
Examples: -lala lie down
-lela bring up a child
Prepalatals
sh [ʃ] is a voiceless prepalatal fricative.
Example: -shavha flee
zh [ʒ] is a voiced prepalatal fricative.

Example: -zhaka trample down
tsh [tʃ”] is a voiceless ejective prepalatal affricate.

Example: -tshipa strangle
tsh [tʃh] is a voiceless aspirated prepalatal affricate.

Example: Tshivenḓa Venda language, culture
dzh [dʒ] is a voiced prepalatal affricate.

Example: -dzhena enter
Palatals
ny [ɲ] is a voiced palatal nasal
(XII)

Example: -nyamalala disappear
y [j] is a voiced palatal semi-vowel.

Example: yawe his/hers
ty [tj’] is a voiceless ejective palatal plosive.

Example: tyetyenea laugh loudly
dy [dj] is a voiced palatal plosive

Example: dyelo craw
Velars
k [k] is a voiceless ejective velar plosive.
Examples: kule far
-kala measure
kh [kh] is a voiceless aspirated velar plosive.

Examples: kholomo cattle/cow
khuhu chicken
g [g] is a voiced velar plosive.

Examples: gole cloud
-gaba splash
x [x] is a voiceless fricative velar.

Examples: -xa dry away
-xela lost
ṅ [ᶇ] is a voiced velar nasal.

Examples: ṅwana child
ṅwando dew
Glottal sound
h [ɦ] is a voiced glottal fricative
Example: hu ita hani? how are you?
Labio-palatals and labio-velars

pw [pj] is a voiceless ejective labio-palatal affricate.
Example: -pwasha break
phw [pjh] is a voiceless aspirated labio-palatal affricate.

Example: luphwaphwa unripe mielie-cob
bw [bj] is a voiced labio-palatal affricate

Example: -bwa dig
mw [mj] is a voiced labio-velar nasal.

Example: -limwa ploughed
0.3 THE SYLLABIC SYSTEM

Looking at the syllabic system of Tshivenḓa a speech sound can either be used
alone (usually a vowel = -V-) as a syllable or two speech sounds can combine
VEN1507/1 (XIII)

(usually a consonant plus a vowel = -CV-) to form a syllable. The syllables serve
as a vehicle for the “prosodic features” of length and tone to be recognised in
Tshivenḓa. The V-type of syllable commonly occurs as verbal prefixes.
Example: U-a-u vhasa, mulilo He/She is kindling it, a fire
The CV type is the most common kind of syllable and appears in virtually all
words.
Examples: mu-tu-ka-na boy
mu-si-dza-na girl
The speech sounds l, m, n, ng, ny and r can stand alone as syllables and are
then called syllabic consonants. They are usually used as syllabic consonants
when they are doubled in writing as mm, nn, nng and nny.
Examples: m-me mother
n-nḓa outside
n-ngwa valley, etc.
0.4 LENGTH AND TONE
0.4.1 Length
The term length refers to the length of a syllable in a word. In Tshivenḓa, the
penultimate syllable in a word or a sentence is pronounced slightly longer than
the rest of the syllables in the word or sentence.
Examples: musa:dzi woman
mun:na man
Ndi khou vhona musa:dzi I see a woman.
Ndi khou vhona mun:na I see a man.
Ndi khou ni vho:na I see you.
0.4.2 Tone
The term tone refers to the speed at which the vocal cords vibrate during
speech production. Each syllable of a word in Tshivenḓa has a specific tone.
When the vocal cords vibrate slowly, the syllable will have low \` \ tone. When
the vocal cords are vibrating fast, the tone of the syllable will be high \ ´ \.
Tone is important, since it can differentiate between the meanings of identi-
cally written words. However, it is difficult to distinguish between high and low
tone for the untrained ear and even more difficult to produce it! Therefore, no
emphasis is put on the study of tone in this module. Nonetheless, as you get
conversant with the language, you should try to distinguish between the two
tones–when you are listening to mother tongue-speakers as well as when you
yourselves are speaking.
The following section will be learning unit 1 where you will be learning about
vocabulary that you can use when being acquitted with different people in
different situations.
(XIV)
1 YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 1
1 KHA RI ḒIVHANE
2 LET’S GET ACQUAINTED
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this learning unit you should be able to:
•• use the vocabulary given in this lesson;
•• greet any person in Tshivenḓa (singular/plural/form of respect);
•• ask about the well-being of any person;
•• ask the name of a person;
•• introduce yourself;
•• say goodbye in Tshivenḓa.
1.1 NEW WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

A variety of words and expressions (with their English translations) that you
will come across in this study guide are listed below.
aa! (female greeting) hello dzina name

nndaa! (male greeting) hello ḽotsha greet/
salute
khotsi father guda learn/study
vhokhotsi fathers/father and others
khotsimunene father’s younger brother ḓivha know
vhokhotsimunene father’s younger brother
and others
khotsimuhulu father’s elder brother (uncle) hafhu/ again/
vhokhotsimuhulu father’s elder brothers (un- futhi further-
cles)/ father’s elder brother more
and others
mmawe/mme mother luga kind
vhommawe/ mothers/mother and others
vhomme
mmemuhulu mother’s elder sister or pfesesa understand
vhommemuhulu father’s first wife
mother’s elder sisters or
father’s first wife and others
mmane mother’s younger sister or omelwa thirsty
vhommane father’s younger wife
mother’s younger sisters or
mother’s younger sister and
others or father’s younger
wives
VEN1507/11

makhulu grandmother/grandfather zwino now

vhomakhulu your uncle’s wife
grandmothers/grandfathers/
your uncle’s wives or
grandmothers/grandfathers/
your uncle’s wives and others
khaladzi sister/brother fhedza finish
dzikhaladzi sisters/brothers
mureili driver vuwa got up
mukomana sister/brother bika cook
vhakomana sisters/brothers
mufumakadzi married woman vhoṱhe all
vhafumakadzi married women
munna man iri/awara an hour
vhanna men
musadzi woman goloi car
vhasadzi women
ṅwana child zwiṱuku a little
vhana children
mutukana boy tshelede money
vhatukana boys
musidzana girl mafhi milk
vhasidzana girls
muḓuhulu grandchild mulilo fire
vhaḓuhulu grandchildren
khonani/ṱhama friend funga lit/ignite
dzikhonani friends
muhulwane elderly phanḓa first/front
khosi chief vhuswa porridge
mahosi/dzikhosi chiefs
thovhela king shela pour
vhothovhela kings
haya home vhugai? how much?
ngafhi where hani? how?
piṱirolo/mapfura petrol nnyi? who?
oili oil ndi nga I can
tshifani surname hai no
mathaela tyres ee yes
muya air tshikolo school
muṋo salt zwavhuḓi good/well
tshifhinga time aḓirese address
giratshi garage nṋe I
ngilasi glass/windscreen riṋe we
2
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 1: Let’s get acquainted
musheli garage attendant/petrol ene he/she

attendant
matsheloni morning inwi you
masiari afternoon vhone they
madekwana evening amba talk
lumelisa greet tshimbila walk
phumula wipe humbula think
dzula sit down/ stay bommba pump
sala stay ḓura expensive
vhuya come back tenda agree
ACTIVITY 1.1
Please add any new words and expressions that you come across in this
learning unit in the space provided in the table above.
1.2 NYAMBEDZANO DIALOGUE

When people meet, the very first thing they do, is greet one another.
•• Greeting one person

A B
Aa Tshilidzi! Nndaa Mukonḓeleli!
Hello Tshilidzi! Yes, Hello Mukonḓeleli!
No vuwa hani? Ndi hone, inwi no vuwa hani?
How are you? I am well, and how are you?
Na nṋe ndi hone.
I also, am well
Ni tshimbile zwavhuḓi
Go well/ Goodbye.
Ni sale zwavhuḓi!
Stay well!
•• Greeting more than one person

A B
Ndi matsheloni vhagudi! Ndi matsheloni avhuḓi mudededzi!
Good morning, students! Good morning, teacher!
VEN1507/1 3

No vuwa hani? Ro vuwa, vhone vho vuwa hani?

How are you all? We are well, and you, how are you?
Na nṋe ndo vuwa zwavhuḓi.
I also, am well
Na vhone vha tshimbile zwavhuḓi!
Go well / Goodbye
Ni sale zwavhuḓi!
Stay well, all of you!
•• Greeting politely
A B
Ndi masiari muhulisei! Nndaa Mukonḓeleli!

Good day, sir! Yes, Hello Mukonḓeleli!
Vho vuwa hani muhulisei? Ndo vuwa zwavhuḓi, inwi no vuwa hani?
How are you, sir? I am well, and how are you?
Na nṋe ndo vuwa zwavhuḓi.
I also, am well
Na inwi ni tshimbile zwavhuḓi
Mukonḓeleli.
Vha sale zwavhuḓi! Go well/Goodbye, Mukonḓeleli
Stay well!
ACTIVITY 2.1
Complete the Tshivenḓa forms of greeting in the following table:
Good day, Lufuno

Greeting one person
Goodbye, Lufuno
Greeting more than Good day, students

one person Goodbye, students
Good day, Mrs Mulaudzi
Greeting politely
Goodbye, Mrs Mulaudzi
1.3 NḒIVHO/ṰHALUTSHEDZO KNOWLEDGE/EXPLANATION
1.3.1 U LUMELISA NGA TSHIVENḒA TO GREET IN TSHIVENḒA

The most important and effective way to reach out to a person is to greet him/her
in his/her own language. In true Tshivenda tradition greeting is a very important
ˆ it is considered ill-mannered not to
procedure. It is a structural encounter and
greet a friend or a stranger in passing. When greeting someone in Tshiven da,
you must remember the following: ˆ
•• It is important to note that in Tshivenˆda there are two different ways of

greeting and responding. Males and females do not use the same form
of greeting as in other African Languages. When a male person greets
he uses the following form: Nndaa!, and the female person will use the
following form: Aa! These two forms are mostly used as an introduction in
4
each meeting of two or more people. The same forms are also used as a
sign of saying “goodbye” when two or more people are parting. These two
forms, Aa! and Nndaa! are also used when agreeing with an elderly person
speaking, especially when an elderly person is coming with a valid point
in the conversation. In this instance is used as “yes”. In other instances,
these forms are used to mean that the instruction that has been given will
be carried out as directed.
•• A person who arrives somewhere is supposed to greet those present first
– status or seniority does not play a role. Should it happen that two people
arrive at the same place simultaneously, e.g if they meet in town, it does
not matter who greets first. But if they are meeting on the way, according
to Tshivenda tradition, the younger person is supposed to greet the elderly
ˆ When greeting a person the following forms are used: Ri a
person first.
vusa/ Vho vuwa hani? These forms can be preceded by the forms nndaa/
aa! Depending on the sex of the person who is greeting first. An example
to illustrate how these forms follow one another in the conversation will
be given below. The form “Vho vuwa hani?”, although is in the plural is
used to address one person. This is a polite way of greeting person and
shows respect to a person being greeted. It may also be used to address
more than one person. But if one is addressing a person of equal age or
younger than himself/herself, the following form is usually used: No vuwa
hani? This is the singular form of Vho vuwa hani? These forms are
translated as “How are you?”
•• When greeting a person who is older than you, and being a female, the
following words are used “mmemuhulu” (mother’s elder sister/aunt/father’s
elder wife). A woman of your age that you do not know, is addressed as
mmane (mother’s younger sister/aunt/father’s younger wife). For a person of
your grandparents’ age, makhulu or gugu are used as form of address. In
Tshivenda we do not differentiate between male and female grandparents,
they areâll addressed the same regardless of sex. When greeting someone
of your age, one uses the following forms of address, khaladzi, if you are
greeting a female person/male person, and khotsimunene if you are
addressing an equal male person. When these forms of address are used
the addressee feels most welcome. In situation where one is desperately
looking for a help, these forms of address will even make a stranger to
cooperate.
Please remember that this is a formal greeting. There are other greetings
that are not formal that they are sometimes used especially by youth. These
are commonly found across all languages. We will not get involved with those
greetings in this guide.
•• It is also important again to note that when it comes to a person who greets
first it depend on the situation. We will differentiate those situations into
two: namely, social situation and business situation. The greeting that has
been given above is a greeting in a social situation, where the visitor will
start to greet those that they were there before. In a business situation, the
service provider (garage attendant) is the one who is expected to greet the
customer first. Greeting in the business situation like in the garage does
not follow seniority.
•• Having greeted, one then normally enquires about the person’s well-
being by asking the question “how are you?” and then this is done in the
following way:
No/Vho vuwa hani?
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How are you?

No/Vho ṱwa hani?
How was your day?
Hu rini?
How are you?
(No “you” is the singular past tense form, while vho “you – plural past tense”
refers more than one person. In Tshiven da this form can also be used to refer
ˆ as a gesture of respect. It is also
to one person, and in this instance is used
very important to note that this form “vho” is used everywhere where the
younger person is addressing the elderly person or anyone senior to you, it
can be senior by position at work or senior because of age. The form “vho” is
equal to “Sir” or “Mr/ Mrs”. It is regarded as ill mannered if a younger person
addresses a senior person by his/her name without affixing the form “vho”
before that name. One addresses his equals or junior person as “you” “no”.
•• When a person is asked about his/her well-being he often answer “Ndo/Ro
vuwa, ri nga vhudzisa ngeo/vhone/inwi?” I am/We are fine, and you?
•• The plural form that is used to give an answer on the greeting sometimes
it is used also to refer to other family members who are also not there. It
should be understood that the plural form that is used in greeting is also
a sign of respect. You will realize that these plural forms, ri/ro, vha/vho;
present tense/past tense, are commonly used in the greeting. Ro and vho
are past tense forms, but they are also used to refer to the present tense.
There are many expressions which may be used which are related to the
procedure of an encounter and greeting. The more common of these will be
listed below together with their translations.
A zwi thusi u gungula.
It does not help to complain.
Ndo takala u ni vhona.
I am glad to see you.
Ndi khou livhuwa u ni ḓivha.
I am pleased to know you.
Pfarelo.
Excuse me.
Pfarelo, ndi nga ni vhona?
Excuse me, may I see you?
Pfarelo, ndi nga amba na inwi?
Excuse me, may I talk with you?
Pfarelo, ri nga amba?
Excuse me, may we talk?
Ni khou mpfa?
Do you understand me?
The sound recordings that form part of this course will be of great value in
assisting you with the correct pronunciation. Please consult Tutorial Letter 101
for directions to the sound recordings. However, the secret to acquiring this
or any other language is to practise a greeting or a simple phrase each day
with a mother tongue speaker. You will find that with practise (as with every-
thing) comes greater confidence, and you will also find that your willingness
to communicate is so appreciated that your efforts are rewarded.
6
ACTIVITY 1.2
Approach five or more people you think may greet you in Tshivenḓa. Ask each
person to react to your greeting: “No vuwa hani?” or “Vho vuwa hani?” Ask them
to assist you to write the greeting down in a table as given on the previous page.
You can also record the different forms of greeting you encounter on your mobile
phone and use the recording to practise greeting people in Tshivenḓa.
Answer the following questions:
•• Whom did you greet?

•• Did you encounter other forms of greeting than the ones given on the previous page?
•• How did the people react?
1.3.2 GREETINGS IN THE SINGULAR/ INFORMAL FORM

This form of greeting would only be used by people of more or less the same
age.
Example 1: A man and a woman greeting each other.
Munna: Nndaa! khaladzi.
Musadzi: Aa! Khaladzi.
{Munna: Ndi matsheloni/masiari/madekwana.}
{Musadzi: Ndi matsheloni/masiari/madekwana avhuḓi.}
Munna: No vuwa hani khaladzi?
Musadzi: Ndo vuwa, ndi nga vhudzisa ngeo khaladzi?
Munna: Na nṋe ndo vuwa khaladzi. (Conversation)
Munna: Salani zwavhuḓi khaladzi.
Musadzi: Aa! Ni tshimbile zwavhuḓi khaladzi.
•• Note that the forms Nndaa! and Aa! are used at any time of the day. They
are equal to “Hello” in English. These two forms again, where they are
used show respect to the addressee. It is used to call for an attention. The
sentences that are in brackets can be left out, the greeting can still be
accepted as true Tshivenḓa greeting. The sentences in brackets indicate the
time of the day when the two people meet. Matsheloni morning, masiari
afternoon and madekwana evening.
•• Munna means “man”, while musadzi means “woman”. The form khaladzi
refers to sister, if used by the man, and it also refers to brother if used by
a woman.
•• It is also important to note that in Tshivenḓa, an elderly person is not
addressed by his/her first name. There are various ways of avoiding to
address him or her by his/her first name. Where one is meeting a stranger,
one can address that person by saying, mmemuhulu, mmane, makhadzi,
khaladzi. These are forms of address that are directed to the females.
When the stranger is a male person, these forms of address are used;
khotsimuhulu, khotsimunene, mukomana, murathu. In situation where
one is meeting a person that one knows, one can address that as the father
of or mother of or grandmother of or grandfather of. These are forms of
address that are commonly found among the Vhavenḓa. Sometimes they
are used in such a way that the real name of a person disappears from
everyday usage.
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•• The other form that is used in this situation is Vho-. This form is prefixed
to the first name or surname when a person is addressed. In traditional
Tshivenḓa, a woman is not called by a surname. The surname is usually
used when a male person is addressed.
•• Aa! is used by women when they greet or agree, while nndaa! is used by
men in situations as those of women.
1.3.3 GREETINGS IN THE PLURAL AND POLITE FORM

This form would be used by people who are not well acquainted, and also as
an indication of respect when greeting your superiors.
Example: Two men greeting each other at work.

Vho-Thenga: Nndaa!
Vho-Masia: Nndaa!
Vho-Thenga: Vho vuwa hani?
Vho-Masia: Ro vuwa ri nga vhudzisa ngeo?
Vho-Thenga: Na riṋe ri hone. (Conversation)
Vho-Masia: Kha vha sale.
Vho-Thenga: Vha tshimbile zwavhuḓi.
The two men addresses each other as “vho” and “vha”. These forms are equal
to sir or mister in English. The forms “vho” and “vha” do not denote any sex
when used. They can also be used to address a female person. “vha” means
“you”, and “vho” is a past tense of the form “vha”, it also means “you”. These
two forms are only used as an indication of politeness.
Example: A woman and some children

Musadzi: Ndi matsheloni vhana
Vhana: Ndi matsheloni avhuḓi.
Musadzi: No vuwa hani?
Vhana: Ro vuwa zwavhuḓi ri nga vhudzisa vhone?
Musadzi: Ndo vuwa zwavhuḓi/Na ṋne ndo vuwa zwavhuḓi. Salani zwavhuḓi
vhana.
Vhana: Vha tshimbile zwavhuḓi.
Above children use the plural (vha and vhone) as a form of respect and
submission. The form “no” used by the woman to address the children, is
a singular form and it can also be used to address more than one person.
A senior person is allowed to use such a form to address a group of junior
people or children.
Example: An old man and a young man

Muṱhannga: Nndaa! makhulu.
Mukalaha: Nndaa! muḓuhulu.
Muṱhannga: Vha kha ḓi vha vho vuwa na makhulu/mukalaha?
Mukalaha: Ro vuwa ṅwananga. Ri nga vhudzisa inwi?
Muṱhannga: Hai, ri tshe ro vuwa, dinani haho. Vha sale zwavhuḓi
makhulu/mukalaha!
Mukalaha: Ni tshimbile zwavhuḓi ṅwananga! Vha vhe hone hayani.
8
As you are busy learning you must note that terms like makhulu, muḓuhulu
and ṅwananga do not necessarily indicate any relationship, but rather some
kind of affection in the greeting situation. Above all, mutual respect and cour-
tesy are expressed by means of these terms.
•• Muḓuhulu “grandchild” and ṅwananga “my child” can be used to address
anyone who is younger than the speaker.
•• Ri nga vhudzisa inwi means “How about you?”
•• Vha vhe hone hayani means “Send my regards to the people at home”
ACTIVITY 1.3
Now that you are acquainted with all the different ways of greeting in Tshivenḓa,
greet the following people, enquire about their well-being and say goodbye to them:
vhanna (men)
vhafumakadzi (women)
khonani (friend)
musidzana (girl)
vhaṱhannga (young man)
Vho-Maboho (Mr Maboho)
Musandiwa (Musandiwa)
mudededzi (teacher)
1.3.4 U ḒI ḒIVHADZA (TO INTRODUCE ONESELF)

When getting acquainted, you might be asked the following question:
Ndi inwi nnyi/Ni pfi nnyi? Who are you?
You will need to introduce yourself and the response could be a name only,
or a name and a surname:
Ndi pfi Vhonani I am Vhonani
Ndi pfi Vhonani Maboho I am Vhonani Maboho
The following structure is useful in getting acquainted:

Ndi pfi = I am
Ni pfi = you are (sing.)
Ri vho = we are
Ni vho = you are (plural)
A B
Ni pfi nnyi? Ndi pfi Mukonḓeleli.

Who are you? (sing.) I am Mukonḓeleli.
Ni vhonnyi? Ri vha haMaboho.
Who are you? (pl.) We are the Mabohos.
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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1
In the following dialogue, you are the person arriving, and you are greeting John.
Complete the missing words or phrases:
You (insert your name) Ndi John

Aa, ? Nndaa,
Na nṋe . Hai, ndi tshe ndo vuwa, inwi no
Zwavhuḓi. vuwa hani?
Salani/Ni sale zwavhuḓi.
QUESTION 2
Now let’s practise greeting each other formally. Since we don’t know each other,
we will use the plural form and titles to indicate respect.
You (insert your name) Vho-Dokotela Nḓou (Dr Nḓou)

Aa Nndaa,
Vho vuwa hani? Hai, ri tshe ro vuwa, vhone vho vuwa
Na riṋe hani?
zwavhuḓi. Kha vha sale/Vha sale zwavhuḓi!
QUESTION 3
How would you introduce yourself to someone you do not know?
QUESTION 4
Give a short explanation in terms of people meeting each other and greeting each
other in Tshivenḓa:
- Who is supposed to greet first?
- Does status or seniority play a role?
QUESTION 5
Explain the difference between greeting one person and greeting more than one
person.
QUESTION 6
What is the more polite way of greeting a person in Tshivenḓa?
QUESTION 7
Which forms of address would you use when greeting a person older than yourself
(more or less your parents’ age)?
10
QUESTION 8
For greeting people of your grandparents’ age which forms of address would be used?
QUESTION 9
Having greeted, one then normally enquires about the person’s well-being by asking
the question “How are you”? Give the different forms of such enquiries.
QUESTION 10
Give an example of the use of “hai”, “no”, before saying you are well.
QUESTION 11
Explain what the use of the plural form implies when enquiring about another person’s
well-being.
QUESTION 12
When is “aa/ndaa” “yes” used during the process of greeting? Give an example.
QUESTION 13
Give a discussion of when the plural form is used when greeting. Give examples to
illustrate every statement you make in terms of its use.
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3 U SUMBA VHATHU NA ZWITHU
4 IDENTIFYING PEOPLE AND THINGS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completion of this learning unit you should be able to:
•• use the new vocabulary given in this learning unit;
•• ask what objects/persons are called in Tshivenḓa, using ndi mini? and
ndi nnyi?
•• identify people and things, using ndi (I/I am), vha, u, tshi and zwi (it is).
•• negate the above mentioned structures, using a thi, a vha, a ri, a ni, a
vha nga, a nga si and a si.
•• make polite requests, using Ndi humbela.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The previous learning unit 1 was all about being acquitted with one another.
In this learning unit 2 you will be introduced to question such as what and also
how to identify things and people, the use of negation and also how to make
polite requests using ndi humbela, “please”.
2.2 NEW VOCABULARY
muthu person luṱingo phone

vhathu people ṱhingo phones
mufhaṱi builder zwithu things
vhafhaṱi builders mulenzhe foot
mupenndi painter milenzhe feet
vhapenndi painters vothi door
mudededzi teacher thaidzo/vhukonḓi problem/difficulty
vhadededzi teachers tshelede money
mukegulu old woman ḓora thirst
vhakegulu old women phosho noise
mukalaha old man tshimange cat
vhakalaha old men zwimange cats
mulomo mouth forogo fork
milomo mouths dziforogo forks
mufunzi clergyman lufhanga knife
vhafunzi clergymen phanga knives
12
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 2: Identifying people and things
luṱingothendeleki cell phone kofi coffee

ṱhingothendeleki cell phones tie tea
pholisa policeman penisela pencil
mapholisa policemen dzipenisela pencils
mmbwa dog bammbiri paper
dzimmbwa dogs vhurifhi letter
peni/tshauṅwala pen marifhi letters
dzipeni/zwauṅwala pens nḓala hunger
bugu book ita do/make
dzibugu books vula open
goloi car fura become full
dzigoloi cars ḓa come
mashudumavhi misfortune lingana be enough/equal
ṱavhanya in a hurry/ dzula sit down
speed
nga ngomu inside sumba show
tsha vhuṱanu fifth mini? what?
ane a khou amba who is fara catch /hold /treat
speaking
fhedza finish neta be tired
dzhena come in/enter fhasi under/down
vhidza call mu vhudza tell him /he”
fhumulani be quiet nga u ṱavhanya fast/soon
paka to park
ACTIVITY 2.1
Please add any new words and expressions that you come across in this learning
unit in the space provided in the table above.
2.3 DIALOGUE NYAMBEDZANO

RI AMBA NGA LUṰINGO We talk on the phone
Shonisani: Nndaa!
Hello!
Matshele: Aa!
Shonisani: Ndi Shonisani ane a khou amba.
Good day! It is Shonisani speaking.
Matshele: Aa Shonisani! Ni khou ṱo da u amba na nnyi?
ˆ
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Hello, Shonisani! Whom do you want to talk to? (Literally. You

want to talk to whom?)
Shonisani: Ndi khou humbela u amba na Murunˉṅwa.
I’d like to talk to Muruṅwa.
Matshele: Mashudumavhi, Muruṅwa haho.
I’m sorry Muruṅwa is (she’s) not here.
Shonisani: U ḓo vhuya lini?
When will she return? (Literally. She will return when?)
Matshele: U ḓo vhuya nga awara ya vhuṱanu.
She’ll be back at 5.
Shonisani: Ni mu vhudze uri ndi ḓo mu founela nga awara ya vhurathi.
Tell her that I’ll phone her at 6.
Matshele: Zwavhuḓi, ndi ḓo mu vhudza.
Fine, I’ll tell her.
Shonisani: Ndi a livhuwa.
Thank you.
Matshele: Ni sale zwavhuḓi.
You stay well.
2.4 EXPLANATION ṰHALUTSHEDZO
2.4.1 “Who” and “what?”

The interrogative (question) words mini? “what?” and nnyi? “who?” can be
very useful to extend your Tshivenḓa vocabulary. In the previous learning unit,
you learned to ask Ndi inwi nnyi? “Who are you? (sing.)” and Ndi vhone
nnyi? “Who are you (plural)?” Now we are extending this to other persons as
well. For people, we use the interrogative words nnyi? and vhonnyi?, while
for animals or objects we use mini? “what?” For example:
Ndi nnyi? Ndi Mukonḓeleli.
Who is this? This is Mukonḓeleli.
Ndi nnyi? Ndi mudededzi.
Who is this? This is the teacher.
Ndi vhonnyi? Ndi vhadededzi.
Who are they? They are the teachers.
Ndi mini? Ndi mmbwa.
What is this? This is a dog.
Ndi mini nga Tshivenḓa? Ndi bugu.
What is this in Tshivenḓa? It is a book.
Please note that the subject concord of the first person singular (I) is ndi with
low tone, while the identifying copulative ndi has high tone and means “It is…”
2.4.2 Identifying people and things

2.4.2.1 I, we and you
As seen in the previous learning unit, first and second persons (I, we and you)
are identified in the following manner:
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(Nṋe) ndi (Masindi/munna/musadzi/mudededzi/musidzana/mutukana)

I am (Masindi/a man/a woman/a teacher/a girl/a boy)
(Riṋe) ri (Vhomasindi/vhanna/vhasadzi/vhadededzi/vhasidzana/
vhatukana)
We are (Joan and others/men/women/teachers/girls/boys)
(Inwi) ni (Masindi/munna/musadzi/mudededzi/musidzana/mutukana)
You are (Joan/a man/a woman/a teacher/a girl/a boy)
(Vhone)vha. (VhoMasindi/vhanna/vhasadzi/vhadededzi/vhasidzana/vhatukana)
You (plural) are (Masindi and others/men/women/teachers/girls/boys)
To form the negative, a si is used before the concord (nṋe, riṋe, vhone) e.g:
(Nṋe) a si nṋe I am not
(Riṋe) a si riṋe We are not
(Inwi) a si inwi You are not
(Vhone) a si vhone You (plural) are not
2.4.2.2 He, she, it and they

In the case of the third person (he/she/it/they) ndi is used to identify things
or people as long as they are not the speaker or addressee. The difference
between this ndi and the ndi (meaning “I am”), is that the latter has a low
tone, while the former has a high tone.
For example:
Ndi ... musidzana/musadzi/Shonisani/vhafunzi/vhoShonisani/vhathu.
It/this is/these are a girl/a woman/Shonisani/clergymen/Shon-
isani and others/people.
The negative form of ndi is a si. For example:

Ndi musidzana (pos) It’s a girl.
A si musidzana (neg) It’s not a girl.
Ndi mudededzi (pos) This is a teacher.
A si mudededzi (neg) This/he/she is not a teacher.
Ndi vhafunzi (pos) This is a clergymen.
A si vhafunzi (neg) These are not clergymen.
Ndi nnyi? Who is this?
Ndi Shonisani naa? Is this Shonisani?
Hai, a si Shonisani, ndi Kone. No, this is not Shonisani, it is Kone.
ACTIVITY 2.1
Practise the following with a partner:
(1) A: Ndi nnyi? / Ndi vhonnyi? / Nnyi? Mini?

B:
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Ndi ... musadzi

vhasadzi
Shumani
VhoShumani
mulomo
milomo
mulenzhe
milenzhe
luṱingothendeleki
ṱhingothendeleki
peni/ tshauṅwala
dzipeni/zwauṅwala
(2)
Hai, a si... baba/khotsi/khotsi, ndi khotsimuhulu

vhobaba/khotsi/vhokhotsi, ndi vhomalume
mufumakadzi, ndi mufumakadzana
vhanna, ndi vhatukana/maswuhana
peni, ndi penisela
dzibugu, ndi maṅwalo
mufhaṱi, ndi mupenndi
vhomme, ndi vhomakhulu
khomba, ndi mukegulu
vhatukana, ndi mukalaha
tshelede, ndi bammbiri
mapholisa, ndi vhafunzi
mmbwa, ndi tshimange
lufhanga, ndi forogo
kofi, ndi tie
Requests
Ndi humbela means I request. This is a useful way of asking for something in
a polite manner. For example:
Ndi humbela zwiḽiwa.
Please give me food. (Literally: I ask for food.)
Ndi humbela tshifhinga.
Please tell me the time. (Literally: I ask for the time.)
Ndi humbela peni/tshauṅwala.
Please give me a pen. (Literally: I ask for a/the pen.)
Take note that if a verb is used in a polite request, it ends in -e. For example:
Ndi humbela uri vha fhedze nga u ṱavhanya.
Please finish soon. (Literally: I request that you finish soon.)
Ndi humbela uri vha/ni dzhene.
Please enter. (Literally: I request that you come in.)
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ACTIVITY 2.2
Practise making polite requests to another person:
Ndi humbela ... (I ask for …….)
Ndi humbela uri... (I ask that ……)
Commands
When you want to give a command rather than just politely request somebody
to do something, you use the verb (without a subject concord) that refers to the
action you want someone to perform, e.g. Tshimbila! Go!
In case you are addressing more than one person, then add -ni to the verb, e.g.
Tshimbilani! (You all) go!
Other examples of (imperative) commands are the following:

Farani hafha! Take here!
Fhumulani! Be quiet (you all)!
Dzulani! Sit down!
ACTIVITY 2.3
Practise the following useful expressions and indicate which ones among them
are commands:
Zwo lingana.
This is enough.
Dzhenani nga ngomu!
Come in!
Ndo dzhaha.
I’m in a hurry.
Ndo neta.
I’m tired.
Vulani vothi!
Open the door!
Ndi na ḓora.
I’m thirsty.
Dzulani fhasi!
Sit down!
Ndi na nḓala.
I’m hungry.
Ndo fura.
I’ve had enough (food).
Mulandu ndi mini?
What’s wrong?
QUESTION 1
Write down the correct answers to the following questions before comparing your
answers with the correct answers given below:
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1.1 Ndi makhulu mukalaha naa? Hai,

Is this grandpa? No, it’s not grandpa, it’s uncle.
1.2 Ndi peni/tshauṅwala naa? Hai,
Is this a pen? No, it’s not a pen, it’s a letter.
1.3 Ndi mudededzi naa? Hai,
Is this a teacher? No, it’s not a teacher, it’s a church minister.
1.4 Ndi vhanna naa? Hai,
Are these men? No, they are not men, they are boys.
1.5 Ndi dzimmbwa naa? Hai,
Are these dogs? No, they are not dogs, they are cats.
Answers
1.1 Ndi makhulu mukalaha naa? Hai, a si makhulu mukalaha, ndi malume.
Is this grandpa? No, it is not grandpa, it is uncle.
1.2 Ndi peni/tshauṅwala naa? Hai, a si peni/tshauṅwala, ndi luṅwalo.
Is this a pen? No, it’s not a pen, it’s a letter.
1.3 Ndi mudededzi naa? Hai, a si mudededzi, ndi mufunzi wa kerekeni.
Is this a teacher? No, it’s not a teacher, it’s a church minister.
1.4 Ndi vhanna naa? Hai, a si vhanna, ndi vhatukana.
Are these men? No, they are not men, they are boys.
1.5 Ndi dzimmbwa naa? Hai, a si dzimmbwa, ndi zwimange.
Are these dogs? No, they are not dogs, they are cats.
QUESTION 2
Practise the following polite requests by completing the sentences. The correct an-
swers appear below:
2.1 Open the door, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.2 Please don’t make a noise. Ndi humbela uri ni songo
2.3 I ask for money. Ndi humbela
2.4 Call him, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.5 Call them, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.6 Park your car, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.7 Treat him (this person) well, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.8 Sit down, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.9 Quieten your voice, please. Ndi humbela uri
2.10 Come here, please. Ndi humbela uri
Answers
2.1 Ndi humbela uri ni vule vothi.
2.2 Ndi humbela uri ni so ngo ita phosho.
2.3 Ndi humbela tshelede.
2.4 Ndi humbela uri ni mu vhidze.
2.5 Ndi humbela uri ni vha vhidze.
2.6 Ndi humbela uri ni pake goloi.
2.7 Ndi humbela uri ni mu fare zwavhuḓi.
2.8 Ndi humbela uri ni dzule fhasi.
2.9 Ndi humbela uri ni ambele fhasi.
2.10 Ndi humbela uri ni ḓe hafha.
18
QUESTION 3
Using your newly acquired vocabulary, how would you give the following commands
in Tshivenḓa? Remember that the form of the verb changes depending on whether
one person or more than one person is addressed.
3.1 (You, plural) Make coffee!
3.2 (You, singular) Call the painters!
3.3 (You, plural) Hold the money!
3.4 (You, singular) Come in quickly!
3.5 (You, plural) Show the paper!
Answers
3.1 Itani kofi!
3.2 Vhidzani vhapenndi!
3.3 Farani tshelede!
3.4 Dzhenani nga u ṱavhanya!
3.5 Sumbani bammbiri!
2.5 CONCLUSION
In this learning unit you learnt how to confirm and negate statements, namely
saying it is or it is not. You completed exercises with reference to the first,
second and third person. The application of question words (interrogatives)
like mini?, nnyi? and vhonnyi? was illustrated. Ample opportunity was given
to practise the formulation of polite requests, introduced by Ndi humbela. The
difference between requests and commands was explained as well.
The next learning unit will focus on questions to which the answers will be ac-
tion words. You will thus be able to add many more verbs to your vocabulary.
VEN1507/119

5 VHA/NI KHOU ITA MINI?
6 WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After working through this learning unit you should be able to:
•• give the meanings of the new vocabulary given in this learning unit;
•• respond to the question: Ni khou ita mini? “What are you doing?
•• be able to respond to the question: Vha khou ita mini? “What are you
(plural) doing?”
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Whereas the focus of our questions in the previous learning unit was to identify
things and people, the questions that are asked in this learning unit will be
aimed at eliciting answers regarding what people are doing.
3.2 NEW VOCABULARY

You will notice that the verbs are preceded by a hyphen to indicate that they
are not independent words on their own, but rather stems that need to be
preceded by a concordial prefix in a sentence.
Verbs
vuwa wake up (yourself)
lindela wait for
shuma work
vhala read
bika cook
ḽa eat
nwa drink
imba sing
ṱamba wash (oneself)
ṱoḓa want
funza teach
ṅwala write
guda learn, study
ṱuwa go
ḓivha know
20
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 3: What are you doing?
Verbs
londa look after/be careful
vhudza tell/recount
hangwa forget
Nouns and adverbs

matsheloni in the morning
ṋamusi today
ḓoroboni to/in town
vhuswa porridge
mafhi milk
tshifhaṱuwo face
kumba/gumba egg
makumba eggs
vhuragane breakfast
ṱhoho head
dziṱhoho heads
vhuṱungu pain
tshithu thing
zwithu things
nga maanḓa much
ACTIVITY 3.1
ACTIVITY 3.2
Study the meanings of the words in 3.2. Cover up the right hand column with
a piece of paper and see if you can remember the meaning of the words in the
left hand column. Reverse the exercise and give the Tshivenḓa equivalent of the
English words. Please add any new words and expressions that you come across
in this learning unit in the spaces provided in the tables above.
3.3 DIALOGUES
NI KHOU ITA MINI? What are you (singular) doing?
MATSHELE: Ni ita mini nga matsheloni?
What do you do in the mornings?
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SHONISANI: Nga matsheloni ndi a vuwa. Nda ṱamba khofheni/

tshifhaṱuwo. Nda ḽa vhuragane. Nda ḽa vhuswa. Nda
nwa kofi. Inwi ni ita mini nga matsheloni?
In the mornings I wake up. I wash my face. I eat break
fast. I eat porridge. I drink coffee. What do you do in the
mornings?
MATSHELE: Na nṋe ndi a vuwa. Nda ḽa kumba/gumba. Nda nwa tie.
I also wake up. I eat an egg. I drink tea.
VHA ITA MINI? What are you (plural) doing?
VHOJOHN: Ni khou ita mini dzikhomba?
JOHN AND FRIENDS: What are you doing, girls?
VHOMURUṄWA: Ri khou shuma. Ri khou vhala bugu. Ri khou guda
Tshivenḓa. Dakalo u khou ri funza zwavhuḓi. Vhoiwe ni
khou ita mini?
MURUṄWA AND FRIENDS: We are working. We read a book. We
learn Tshivenḓa. Dakalo teaches us well. What are you
doing?
VHOJOHN: Ri khou ya ḓoroboni.
JOHN AND FRIENDS: We are on our way to town.
3.4 NOUNS AND PRONOUNS

Most nouns in Tshivenḓa have a class prefix. The class prefixes in
the following nouns are underlined, e.g. Tshivenḓa, musadzi “woman”,
mafhi “milk”, tshifhaṱuwo “face”, etc. However, the whole noun class
system will be dealt with in detail in the learning units that follow.
Besides nouns, we also have personal pronouns ene (inwi) (you), nṋe (I),
vhone (you pl.) and riṋe (we) which we should know in order to communicate
effectively. These pronouns can either be used together with their respective
subject concords, or they can be deleted from the sentence in which case the
subject concord is used together with the verb following it. Let us study the
following structures so that we can ask our own questions in Tshivenḓa and
also respond to questions.
(Inwi) ni khou ita mini? (Nṋe) ndi khou guda nga maanḓa.
What are you doing? I study hard.
(Vhone) vha khou ita mini? (Riṋe) ri khou guda nga maanḓa.
What are you (plural) doing? We are studying hard.
(Ene) u khou ita mini? (Ene) u khou guda nga maanḓa.
What is he/she doing? He/she is studying hard.
(Vhone) vha khou ita mini? (Vhone) vha khou guda nga maanḓa.
What are they doing? They are studying hard.
3.5 THE PRESENT TENSE

The sentences above are all in the present tense, describing actions that
are happening now. We have to use a verb in order to make sentences in
Tshivenḓa. In our vocabulary list we usually give the basic part, i.e. the stem
of such a verb, e.g. -guda.
22
In order to make a proper sentence in Tshivenḓa, the verb must be preceded

by an agreement morpheme, called the subject concord. The subject concord
in the sentence Ndi khou guda nga maanḓa above precedes the verb stem
-guda. The subject riṋe (we) agrees with the verb stem -guda by means of its
subject concord ri. In the same way the subject nṋe “I” agrees with the verb
stem -shuma ‘work’ in ndi khou shuma by means of the subject concord ndi-.
Have you noticed that some sentences like Ndi a guda “I study” contain an
-a-, while others like Ndi guda nga maanḓa do not? This -a- (known as the
present tense -a-) is used only in the present tense (positive), when the verb
stem is the last word in the sentence. The moment the verb stem is followed
by an object or an adverb, this -a- usually falls away. For example:
Ri a ḽa. BUT Ri ḽa vhuswa.
We are eating. We are eating porridge.
Ndi a tshila. BUT Ndi tshila zwavhuḓi.
I am living. I am living well/nicely.
3.6 INTERROGATIVES USED WITH VERBS

In the previous learning unit, you were introduced to the interrogatives mini?
what? and nnyi? who? (singular) and vhonnyi? who? (plural).
These words can also be used together with verbs, for example:
Ni khou ṱoḓa mini?
What do you want?
Ndi khou ṱoḓa kofi.
I want coffee.
Ni khou ṱoḓa nnyi?
Whom do you want?
Ndi khou ṱoḓa Phindulo.
I want Phindulo.
ACTIVITY 3.3
Answer the following questions by using the given words in brackets:
Example: Ni khou ita mini? (... khou ḽa gumba/kumba)

Answer: Ndi khou ḽa gumba/kumba.
Question Answer
Ni khou ita mini? (... khou nwa kofi)
Ni khou ita mini? (... khou ḽa vhuswa)
Vha khou ita mini? (... khou guda)
Vha khou ita mini? (... khou ṱamba tshifhaṱuwo)
Vha khou ita mini? (... khou ya ḓoroboni)
VEN1507/1 23

ACTIVITY 3.4
Practise repeating the following phrases by alternating the verbs given in the last
column.
-imba
-guda
Ni khou ita mini? Ndi khou ..... -tshimbila
Vha khou ita mini? Ri khou ..... -shuma
-amba
-vuwa
ACTIVITY 3.5
Follow the same pattern as in Activity 3.
-ya ḓoroboni
-guda Tshivenḓa
Ni khou ita mini? Ndi- -funza vhana
-nwa tie
Vha khou ita mini? Ri- -vuwa nga matsheloni
-ḽa vhuswa
-ṱamba tshifhaṱuwo/khofheni
ACTIVITY 3.6
Learn and practise to pronounce the following useful expressions:
Ndi khou remwa nga ṱhoho. I have a headache.

Ndo lenga. I am late.
A thi ḓivhi. I don’t know.
Lindelani nyana. Wait a bit.
Ṱhogomelani. Be careful.
Ndo hangwa. I forgot.
A si tshithu. It’s nothing.
Ndi khou ṱoḓa u ni vhudza zwiṅwe. I want to tell you something.
Ṱavhanyani! Be quick!
Nndindeleni! Wait for me!
QUESTION 1
Practise answering the following questions. Try to write the answers down before com-
paring your answers with those we have provided at the end of this activity.
24
1.1 Ni khou ita mini?

What are you doing? I am waking up.
1.2 Inwi ni khou ita mini? .
What are you doing? I am working.
1.3 Vha khou ita mini? .
What are you (plural) doing? We are singing.
1.4 Ni ṱoḓa mini? .
What do you want? I want money.
1.5 Ni ṱoḓa nnyi? .
Whom do you want? I want the clergyman.
1.6 Vhone vha khou ita mini? .
What are you (plural) doing? We are reading a book.
1.7 Vha khou ita mini? .
What are you doing? I am washing my face.
1.8 Vha khou ṱoḓa mini? .
What do you (plural) want? We want breakfast.
1.9 Ni ṱoḓa nnyi? .
Whom do you want? I want Dad.
1.10 Vhone vha khou ṱoḓa nnyi? .
Whom do you (plural) want? We want the teachers.
Answers
1.1 Ni khou ita mini? Ndi khou vuwa.
What are you doing? I am waking up.
1.2 Inwi ni khou ita mini? Ndi khou shuma.
What are you doing? I am working.
1.3 Vha khou ita mini? Ri khou imba.
What are you (plural) doing? We are singing.
1.4 Ni ṱoḓa mini? Ndi khou ṱoḓa tshelede.
What do you want? I want money.
1.5 Ni ṱoḓa nnyi? Ndi khou ṱoḓa vhafunzi.
Whom do you want? I want the clergyman.
1.6 Vhone vha khou ita mini? Ri khou vhala bugu.
What are you (plural) doing? We are reading a book.
1.7 Vha khou ita mini? Ndi khou ṱamba tshifhaṱuwo/khofheni.
What are you doing? I am washing my face.
1.8 Vha khou ṱoḓa mini? Ri khou ṱoḓa vhuragane.
What do you (plural) want? We want breakfast.
1.9 Ni ṱoḓa nnyi? Ndi khou ṱoḓa baba/khotsi.
Whom do you want? I want Dad.
1.10 Vhone vha khou ṱoḓa nnyi? Ri khou ṱoḓa vhadededzi.
Whom do you (plural) want? We want the teachers.
3.7 CONCLUSION
The most effective way of learning a new language is by asking questions and
taking note of the answers. In the next study unit we will embark on a quest to
learn the names of the days of the week and we will introduce you in greater
detail to the system of noun classes to which we have referred in passing in
the previous learning units.
VEN1507/125

7 VHA SHUMA MINI KHA MAḒUVHA A VHEGE?
8 WHAT ARE THEY DOING ON THE DAYS OF THE WEEK?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• use the vocabulary given in this learning unit;
•• explain the basics of the noun class system of Tshivenḓa;
•• demonstrate the correct use of subject concords and pronouns in sentences;
•• use the correct demonstrative with each noun class;
•• express the days of the week (maḓuvha a vhege)
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In this learning unit we will continue to ask questions, this time, amongst others,
with the focus on the days of the week. Furthermore, we will introduce you in
greater detail to the noun class system and show you how nouns determine
the subject concords that are to be used in sentences.
4.2 NEW VOCABULARY

Some of the new words you will encounter in this learning unit are listed below,
but you are expected to amplify the list with other words you come across
which are not on our list.
Verbs
-ambara get dressed
-huvha bark
-pfa hear/feel
-kadzinga/hadzinga fry/braai
-thoma start
-lavhelesa/sedza watch
-fhisa be hot/burn
-renga buy
-awela rest
-tshea/gera cut/mow
-sheledza water
-tamba play
-ya go
26
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 4: What are they doing on the days of the week?
Verbs
-lila cry
-vula open
-ḓiphiṋa enjoy
Nouns and adverbs

vhege week
ṋama meat
ḽiluvha flower
maluvha flowers
Tshiisimane English
theḽevishini television
gurannḓa newspaper
hatsi grass/lawn
mushumo work/job
mitambo games
bola ball
ragibi rugby
thenisi tennis
mavili boxing
ningo nose
dziningo noses
ḓuvha day/sun
maḓuvha days
tshikolo school
zwikolo schools
mubva lazy person
vhabva lazy people
muḓi village
miḓi villages
mafhi milk
vhuria winter
murunzi shadow
mbaḓo axe
dzimbaḓo axes
ḓula frog
maḓula frogs
VEN1507/127

Nouns and adverbs

tshimela seedling
zwimela seedlings
tshanḓa hand
zwanḓa hands
mikhwa manly manners
nḓou elephant
dzinḓou elephants
khosi king
dzikhosi kings
thavha mountain
dzithavha mountains
nguvho blanket
dzinguvho blankets
tshigwevho/ndaṱiso punishment
ṱhoho head
dziṱhoho heads
vhuthu humanity
vhafumbi group of initiates
vhuraru third
vhuswa porridge
vhubvaḓuvha east
tshipembe south
vhukovhela west
devhula north
mulovha yesterday
vhusiku/madekwana evening
mathabama late afternoon
Locatives
basikoponi to the cinema
dokotelani/ṅangani to the doctor
kerekeni to church
lwanzheni/bitshini to the beach/sea
ngadeni in the garden
28
Days of the week Maḓuvha a vhege

Swondaha Sunday
Musumbuluwo Monday
Ḽavhuvhili Tuesday
Ḽavhuraru Wednesday
Ḽavhuṋa Thursday
Ḽavhuṱanu Friday
Mugivhela Saturday
Other useful expressions

vhathu vhaṅwe some people
vhathu vhanzhi many people
mafheloni a vhege over the weekend
bola ya milenzhe soccer
muṱa the family
ngauri because
lini/musi when/if
nga misi always
u swika until
uri that/so that
kanzhi usually
hu a fhisa it is hot
ACTIVITY 4.1
Passage for reading:
(VHATHU) VHA SHUMA MINI KHA MAḒUVHA A VHEGE?

WHAT ARE THEY (THE PEOPLE) DOING ON THE DAYS OF THE WEEK?
Ri ṱoḓa u ḓivha uri vhathu vha shuma mini kha maḓuvha a vhege.
We want to know what people are doing during the week.
Vhathu vhanzhi vha thoma u shuma nga Musumbuluwo u swika nga Ḽavhuṱanu.
Many people start working on Monday, until Friday.
Tshikolo tshi vula nga Musumbuluwo.
The school opens on Monday.
Nga Ḽavhuvhili vhana vha guda Tshiisimane.
On Tuesday the students learn English.
Nga Ḽavhuraru Muofhe u ya dokotelani/ṅangani, ngauri u a lwala.
On Wednesday Muofhe goes to the doctor because she is ill.
Nga Ḽavhuṋa munna u renga gurannḓa.
On Thursday the man buys a newspaper.
VhoTakalani vha ya baisikoponi nga Ḽavhuṱanu.
Takalani and others go to the cinema on Friday.
VEN1507/129

Vhathu vhanzhi vha awela mafheloni a vhege.

Many people rest over the weekend.
Nga Mugivhela vha muṱa vha shuma ngadeni, ngeno ḓuvha ḽi tshi khou fhisa.
On Saturday the family works in the garden when the sun is hot.
Mutukana u gera hatsi.
The boy mows the lawn.
Mme vha khou sheledza maluvha.
Mother waters the flowers.
Vhaṅwe vhathu vha khou tamba mitambo.
Other people play games.
Vha tamba bola ya milenzhe kana ragibi kana thenisi.
They play soccer or rugby or tennis.
Baba/khotsi vha khou vhona mavili kha theḽevishini.
Father watches boxing on television.
Vhaṱhannga vha khou gotsha ṋama.
The young men have a braai.
Vhasidzana vha khou ya bitshini u ḓiphiṋa.
The young women go to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.
Kanzhi vha muṱa vha ya kerekeni nga Swondaha.
The family regularly goes to church on Sunday.
4.3 THE NOUN CLASS SYSTEM

Nouns in Tshivenḓa are grouped into various classes according to their
prefixes. A prefix is the part that is added to the beginning of a word, e.g. mu-
in mutukana boy and mu- in munna man.
Nouns that have the same prefix belong to the same class. Most of the classes
occur in pairs, of which one is the singular and the other the plural, for ex-
ample a noun in class 1 (singular) has its plural in class 2. If you look at the
underlined parts of the nouns in the passage in Activity 1, you will see that
the nouns belong to different noun classes as determined by their prefixes:
Muthu human for instance, belongs to the mu- class (class 1); vhathu people
its plural, belongs to the vha- class (class 2); ḽiluvha flower belongs to the ḽi-
class (class 5) and its plural maluvha flowers to the ma- class (class 6) and
tshimange cat belongs to the tshi- class (class 7) and its plural zwimange to
the zwi-class (class 8). It is thus relatively easy to predict the plural form of
the noun once you know the singular and vice versa.
There are two noun classes that can give you problems, because they do not
have overt class prefixes. These are known as class 1(a) and class 9. The
nouns in class 1(a) generally refer to proper names (i.e. Thina, Tsumbedzo,
Maṱamela, Mukonḓeleli, Thabo, Susan) and also the names of family mem-
bers (i.e. malume, makhulu, khotsi/baba, etc). Although they don’t have class
prefixes in the singular, their plural forms all start with vho-. For example:
Singular Plural
Tsumbedzo Tsumbedzo vhoTsumbedzo Tsumbedzo and
others
Thabo Thabo vhoThabo Thabo and others
30
Singular Plural
makhulu grandmother vhomakhulu grandmothers/grand-
mother and others
khotsi/baba father vhokhotsi/vhobaba fathers/father
and others
mme mother vhomme mothers/mother and others
malume uncle (mother’s vhomalume uncles/uncle and others

brother)
makhadzi aunt/father’s vhomakhadzi aunts/aunt and others

sister
The other noun class which doesn’t have an obvious class prefix, is class 9.
Nouns in this class generally refer to animals, body parts, utility articles, and
even a few people, e.g. khaladzi brother/sister, khomba young woman and
ṅanga/dokotela doctor. Some of these nouns start with n-, and the plural form
of all class 9 nouns starts with dzi-, therefore these classes are also known
as the N-/dzi(N)-classes. Since the nouns in class 9 do not all display their
class prefixes, you need to learn them in order to know in which noun class
they are. Examples of nouns in this class are:
Singular Plural
ningo nose dziningo noses
mmbwa dog dzimmbwa dogs
khuhu chicken dzikhuhu chickens
ṱhoho head dziṱhoho heads
peni pen dzipeni pens
4.4 SUBJECT CONCORDS

The subject noun in a Tshivenḓa sentence agrees with the verb by means of a
concord called the subject concord. The subject concord of a noun class can
be derived by taking the class prefix, but without any nasal sound (m- or n-),
for example the subject concord of nouns in the mu-class is u-; the subject
concord of nouns in the mi-class is i-; and the subject concord of nouns in the
vha-class is vha-. Exceptions to this rule are the nouns of class 1(a) (names
of people and family members) that take o- as a subject concord, their plural
forms in the vho-class which have vha- as subject concord and the N-class
(class 9) of which the subject concord is i-. The subject concord links the noun
with the verb. For example:
mu-class: Mutukana u khou shuma. The boy is working.
vha-class: Vhatukana vha khou tamba ragibi. The boys are playing rugby.
N-class: Kholomo i khou ḽa hatsi. The cow is eating grass.
dzi-class: Dzirokho dzi ḓo rengiwa. The dresses will be bought.
vho-class: vhoThabelo vha shuma tsimuni. Thabelo and others work in the
garden.
VEN1507/1 31

You can now also answer more questions using the verb stem -ita such as:
U khou ita mini? U khou tamba.
What is he/she doing? He/she is playing.
Vha khou ita mini? Vha renga zwiḽiwa.
What do they do? They buy food.
Mmbwa i ita mini? I a luma.
What does the dog do? It bites.
Maswuhana a ita mini? A tamba bola ya milenzhe.
What are the young men doing? They are playing soccer.
You should always try to use the correct subject concord for each noun. A verb
must always be used with its subject concord (except in commands where
the verb is used without a subject concord–see Learning Unit 2). Below is a
table that will help you to familiarise yourself with the concordial system of
Tshivenḓa, namely to recognise the noun class prefixes and to bring the noun
into agreement with the applicable subject concord. Try to put all the nouns
you come across in the following learning units into their specific noun classes.
4.5 DEMONSTRATIVES
Demonstratives are used for pointing to a specific person(s) or object(s) with
the intention of saying this..., that..., these..., etc. In Tshivenḓa each noun class
has its own “pointing words” derived from the class prefix, i.e. the sounds the
words start with. For our purposes, we are only going to look at the Tshivenḓa
pointing word for “this”. You will see that in Tshivenḓa the pointing word ap-
pears after the noun and not before it as in English:
Munna hoyu
This man
Vhasadzi havha
These women
Maswuhana aya
These young men
Mmbwa hey
This dog
(Apart from its function of “pointing”, demonstratives are also used when form-
ing adjective phrases. This will be discussed in a later learning unit).
What follows is a summary of all the noun class prefixes, their subject concords
in the positive. This list also includes the subject concords for the persons.
The noun classes are numbered from 1 to 21. Our list includes only the noun
classes that are still functional in Tshivenḓa. Classes 13, 14 and 19 do not exist
in Tshivenḓa anymore and class 17 is hardly functional. Moreover, fha- (16),
ku- (17) and mu- (18) classes are not actually noun classes any more but are
now mainly used as adverbs.
32
4.6 SUMMARY: CLASS PREFIXES, SUBJECT CONCORDS AND

DEMONSTRATIVES
Class Class Subject Demon- Example noun

number prefix concord strative
Positive
1 mu- u- uyu muthu
2 vhavha- avha vhathu
1a - u- uyu Thabelo/mme
2a vho- vha- avha vhoThabelo/vhomme
3 mu- u- uyu mulomo
4 mi- i- iyi milomo
5 ḽi- ḽi- iḽi ḽinngo
6 ma- a- aya manngo
7 tshi- tshi- itshi tshikolo
8 zwi- zwi- izwi zwikolo
9 N- i- iyi mmbwa
10 dzi(N)- dzi- idzi dzimmbwa
11 lu- lu- ulu lufo
12 vhu- vhu- uhu/uvhu vhukhopfu
15 U- hu- uhu u tshimbila
16 fha- hu- afha fhasi
17 ku- hu- fhaḽa kule
18 mu- hu- fhaḽa murahu
20 ku- ku- uku kuḓi
21 ḓi- ḽi- iḽi ḓithu
The following list indicates the pronouns and subject concords for the persons.
Persons Pronoun Subject

concord
First singular: I nṋe ndi
Second singular: you iwe u
Third singular: he/she ene u
First plural: we riṋe ri
Second plural: you inwi ni
Third plural: they vhone vha
VEN1507/1 33

ACTIVITY 4.2
Practise using the nouns given below with their appropriate subject concords:
Nṋe ndi a shuma..

Riṋe ri ya mushumoni.
Inwi ni ya baisikoponi.
Vhone vha ḽa zwiḽiwa.
Khomba dzi gotsha ṋama.
Mapholisa a ya dokotelani/ṅangani
Musidzana u tamba thenisi.
Vhanna vha ya kerekeni.
Ḽiswuhana ḽi shuma ngadeni
ACTIVITY 4.3
Revisit the vocabulary in this learning unit and then fill in the missing noun class
prefixes in the following singular nouns (if applicable) and also give the plural (if
applicable).
Example: -ḓuvha
ḓuvha > maḓuvha
(1) -fara
(2) -ṱuku
(3) -raha
(4) luvha
(5) -kolo
(6) -rahu
(7) ṱhoho
(8) khotsi
(9) ḽino
(10) pholisa
We hope you realised that in the case of examples (vii) and (viii), the nouns do
not have an overt prefix in the singular form (ṱhoho and khotsi), but only in their
plural form, namely dzi- and vho- respectively (dziṱhoho and vhokhotsi).
ACTIVITY 4.4
Try the following exercises in order to recognise what noun classes the nouns
belong to. See whether you can fill in the correct subject concords according to
noun classes. Do not repeat the subject noun.
Example Sara u ita mini? ... vhidza mutukana.
Answer: U vhidza mutukana.
(1) Ṅanga/dokotela i/u ita mini? ... alafha mulwadze.

(2) Vhatukana vha ita mini? ... tamba ragibi.
(3) Musidzana u ita mini? ... ya baisikoponi.
(4) Vhana vha ita mini? ... lavhelesa theḽevishini.
34
(5) Inwi ni ita mini? ... renga gurannḓa.

(6) Vhagudi vha ita mini? ... guda Tshivenḓa.
(7) Mudededzi u ita mini? ... gudisa vhana.
(8) Maswuhana vha ita mini? ... gotsha ṋama.
Answers
(1) Ṅanga/dokotela i/u ita mini? I alafha mulwadze.
(2) Vhatukana vha ita mini? Vha tamba ragibi.
(3) Musidzana u ita mini? U ya baisikoponi.
(4) Vhana vha ita mini? Vha lavhelesa theḽevishini.
(5) Inwi ni ita mini? Ni renga gurannḓa.
(6) Vhagudi vha ita mini? Vha guda Tshivenḓa.
(7) Mudededzi u ita mini? U gudisa vhana.
(8) Maswuhana vha ita mini? Vha gotsha ṋama.
Have you noticed that the table above is a useful guideline to determine the cor-
rect subject conco
Give the correct demonstrative of each of the following nouns to indicate

this/these ...
(1) musadzi this woman
(2) ṅwana this child
(3) vhatukana these boys
(4) ḽiswuha his young man
(5) mapholisa these policemen
(6) tshikolo this school
(7) ṋama this meat
(8) mushumo this job
(9) mitambo these games
(10) vhuswa this porridge
Answers
(1) musadzi uyu this woman
(2) ṅwana uyu this child
(3) vhatukana avha these boys
(4) ḽiswuhana iḽi this young man
(5) mapholisa aya these policemen
(6) tshikolo itshi this school
(7) ṋama iyi this meat
(8) mushumo uyu this job
(9) mitambo iyi these games
(10) vhuswa uvhu this porridge
4.7 DAYS OF THE WEEK

In the Tshivenḓa culture Monday is seen as the first day of the week and
Saturday the last day.
Tuesday is seen as the second day, Wednesday the third and so forth.
Sunday is not counted as one of the days, but is merely being referred to as
the day of the Lord.
VEN1507/1 35

Sunday: Ḓuvha ḽa Murena the day of the Lord also Swondaha from Afrikaans
‘Sondag’
Monday: Musumbuluwo the beginning of the week (This word is derived from
the verb stem –sumbuluwa/-vhumbuluwa which means “jump out of bed”.)
Tuesday: Ḽavhuvhili the second day of the week
Wednesday: Ḽavhuraru the third day of the week
Thursday: Ḽavhuṋa the fourth day of the week
Friday: Ḽavhuṱanu the fifth day of the week
Saturday: Mugivhela the end of the week (This word is derived from the verb
–givhela which means to make an end to.)
If you want to say on Monday, the instrumental nga is used before the day of
the week, i.e. nga Musumbuluwo.
ACTIVITY 4.5
Complete the following sentences by giving the Tshivenḓa equivalents for the
days of the week.
Example: Sam o ya tshikoloni nga (Monday)
Answer Sam o ya tshikoloni nga Musumbuluwo.
(1) Makhulu vha ya ḓoroboni nga (Tuesday).
(2) Vhatukana vha tamba bola ya milenzhe nga (Thursday).
(3) Mutukana u ya mushumoni nga (Wednesday).
(4) Ḽiswuhana ḽi ya mitamboni ya mavili nga (Saturday).
(5) Musidzana u ya bambeloni nga (Friday).
(6) Vha muṱa vha ya kerekeni nga (Sunday).
Answers
(1) Makhulu vha ya ḓoroboni nga Ḽavhuvhili.
(2) Vhatukana vha tamba bola ya milenzhe nga Ḽavhuṋa.
(3) Mutukana u ya mushumoni nga Ḽavhuraru.
(4) Ḽiswuhana ḽi ya mitamboni ya mavili nga Mugivhela.
(5) Musidzana u ya bambeloni nga Ḽavhuṱanu.
(6) Vha muṱa vha ya kerekeni nga Swondaha.
SELF-ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
QUESTION 1
Practise to ask and answer the following questions. Try to write the answers down
before comparing your answers with those we have provided at the end of this activity.
1.1 Ṅwana u ita mini?

What is the child doing? He/she is playing.
1.2 Munna u ita mini?
What is the man doing? He is watching television.
1.3 Vhasadzi vha ita mini?
What are the women doing? They are talking.
36
1.4 Vhatukana vha ita mini?

What are the boys doing? They are studying.
1.5 Vhasidzana vha ita mini?
What are the girls doing? They are washing themselves.
1.6 Khotsi vha ita mini?
What is Dad doing? He is working.
1.7 Malume vha ita mini?
What is Uncle doing? He is getting dressed.
1.8 Makhulu vha ita mini?
What is Granny doing? She is cooking.
1.9 Vhomme vha ita mini?
What are Mom and others doing? They are singing.
1.10 VhoThabelo vha ita mini?
What are Thabelo and others doing? They are playing rugby.
1.11 Pholisa ḽi ita mini?
What is the policeman doing? He is helping the people.
1.12 Maswuhana/vhaṱhannga vha ita mini?
What are the young men doing? They are playing cricket.
1.13 Mubva u ita mini?
What is the lazy person doing? He/she is asking for money.
1.14 Mmbwa i ita mini?
What is the dog doing? It is barking.
1.15 Mmbwa/dzimmbwa dzi ita mini?
What are the dogs doing? They are eating porridge.
Answers
(1) Ṅwana u ita mini? U a tamba.
What is the child doing? He/she is playing.
(2) Munna u ita mini? U lavhelesa/ṱalela theḽevishini.
What is the man doing? He is watching television.
(3) Vhasadzi vha ita mini? Vha a amba.
What are the women doing? They are talking.
(4) Vhatukana vha ita mini? Vha a guda.
What are the boys doing? They are studying.
(5) Vhasidzana vha ita mini? Vha a ṱamba.
What are the girls doing? They are washing themselves.
(6) Khotsi vha ita mini? Vha a shuma.
What is Dad doing? He is working.
(7) Malume vha ita mini? Vha a ambara.
What is Uncle doing? He is getting dressed.
(8) Makhulu vha ita mini? Vha a bika.
What is Granny doing? She is cooking.
(9) Vhomme vha ita mini? Vha a imba.
What are Mom and others doing? They are singing.
(10) VhoThabelo vha ita mini? Vha tamba ragibi.
What are Thabelo and others doing? They are playing rugby.
(11) Pholisa ḽi ita mini? Ḽi thusa vhathu.
What is the policeman doing? He is helping the people.
(12) Maswuhana/Vhaṱhannga vha ita mini? Vha tamba khirikhethe.
What are the young men doing? They are playing cricket.
VEN1507/1 37

(13) Mubva u ita mini? U humbela tshelede.

What is the lazy person doing? He/she is asking for money.
(14) Mmbwa i ita mini? I a huvha.
What is the dog doing? It is barking.
(15) Mmbwa/Dzimmbwa dzi ita mini? Dzi ḽa vhuswa.
What are the dogs doing? They are eating porridge.
4.8 CONCLUSION
In this learning unit we presented a list of the noun classes in Tshivenḓa and
trust that you will have grasped the importance of the allocation of nouns to
specific classes, based on the form of their prefixes. These noun prefixes
generate agreement (concordial) morphemes, such as subject concords, which
link nouns to verbs. Each of the noun classes also has its own demonstrative
to fulfil a “pointing” function. We also introduced you to the names of the days
of the week.
So far we have only concentrated on statements in the affirmative/positive.

When sentences are changed to express the negative, the verb is modified
in certain ways, as will be expounded in the next learning unit.
38
9 KHANEDZA
10 NEGATIVE
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• pronounce the new vocabulary given in this learning unit;
•• say what persons/things are NOT doing at the moment, i.e. the negative
use of the present tense;
•• form yes/no questions;
•• use the word hai (no) effectively;
•• use expressions referring to the weather.
5.1 INTRODUCTION
This learning unit serves to show you how positive statements are turned into
negative statements in the present tense. The unit is concluded by introducing
you to some useful weather expressions.
5.2 NEW VOCABULARY
Verbs
-hoṱola cough
-vuwa get/wake up
-lala/eḓela to lay down/ go to sleep
-pfa feel
-eḓela sleep/be asleep
-dina bother/be problematic
-na rain
-fhola recover
-vhavha to taste bad/bitter
-raha kick
-vhifha be bad/ugly
-bvuma thunder, rumble
-rothola be cold
-fulufhela hope/trust
a i fhisi is not warm
a si zwavhuḓi it is not good
VEN1507/1 39

Nouns
khirikhethe cricket
tshifhango hail
lupenyo lightning
kole/gole cloud
makole clouds
mutsho the weather
mvula rain
ṋamusi today
mushonga medicine
mushonga waṋu your medicine
mutukana wanga my son
Other expressions
na/hafhu and/furthermore
hone just/but
hangei/hafhaḽa over there
nnḓa outside
-vhuḓi nice/beautiful
vhege iḓaho next week
ACTIVITY 5.1
5.3 DIALOGUE: ṄWANA WANGA HA ḒI PFI ZWAVHUḒI

MY CHILD IS NOT FEELING WELL
THABELO: Nndaa vhomme!
Hello mam!
MURUṄWA: Aa malume. Vho vuwa hani?
Yes, hello uncle. How are you?
THABELO: Ro vuwa. Vhone vho vuwa hani?
I am well. How are you?
MURUṄWA: Ro vuwa vhokhotsi, hone mutukana wanga, Mpho, ha ngo
vuwa zwavhuḓi.
We are all still well, but my son, Mpho, is not feeling well.
THABELO: U a lwala?
Is he ill?
40
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 5: Negative
MURUṄWA: U khou hoṱola, hone ha ṱoḓi u ḽa. Ha vuwi na u vuwa, u sokou

lala/eḓela.
He is coughing and does not want to eat. He does not get up,
and just lies there.
THABELO: Mutsho na wone u a dina; ḓuvha na ḽone a ḽi fhisi ngeno mvula
i tshi khou na vhukuma.
The weather is also problematic; the sun does not shine and it
rains quite hard.
MURUṄWA: Zwino Mpho ha ṱoḓi u bvela nnḓa. Hafhu, ha ṱoḓi u nwa mushonga
wawe, ngauri u a vhavha.
Now Mpho does not want to go outside. Furthermore, he does
not want to drink his medicine because it is bitter.
THABELO: Hei, hozwo vhifha vhomme! Ndi nga vha thusa hani?
Hey, this is not good. How can I help you?
MURUṄWA: Hai, zwo luga. Ratshalingwa u khou mu thusa hangei hayani.
No, it is in order. Ratshalingwa helps him at home.
THABELO: Ri a tenda uri u ḓo fhola vhege iḓaho.
We hope that he will get well by next week.
ACTIVITY 5.2
Make a list of all the negative verbs that you can find in the Tshivenḓa dialogue
above. Write the English translation next to each verb as shown in the first example.
Try to complete this activity without looking at our feedback below:
Negative verb English translation

ha ḓi pfi zwavhuḓi he is not well
Answers
Negative verb English translation

ha ḓi pfi zwavhuḓi he is not well
ha ṱoḓi (u …) he does not want (to …)
ha vuwi he does not get up
a ḽi fhisi it is not hot
VEN1507/1 41

a hu lugi tshithu it is not good
5.4 THE NEGATIVE

In this unit we learn how to say what a person is NOT doing or what people
are NOT doing. To confirm a statement we can use the word ee (yes) and to
negate a statement we can use the word hai (no). One often wants to put a
whole sentence in the negative, in other words change a positive statement
into a negative one.
With the positive form of the sentence (present tense) in mind, remember the
following:
To form the negative you simply add a in front of the subject concord and
change the verb ending -a to -e, for example:
Positive: Vhatukana vha/vho vuwa zwavhuḓi.
The boys are very well.
Negative: Vhatukana a vha vuwi zwavhuḓi.
The boys are not very well.
Positive: Maswuhana a renga mushonga.
The young men are buying medicine.
Negative: Maswuhana a vha rengi mushonga.
The young men are not buying medicine.
The present tense -a- which is used in the positive when the verb is the last
word of the sentence, disappears when you change the sentence to its nega-
tive form, for example:
Positive: Ḓuvha ḽi a fhisa. The sun is hot.
Negative: Ḓuvha a ḽi fhisi. The sun is not hot.
Positive: Vhasidzana vha a tamba. The girls are playing.
Negative: Vhasidzana a vha tambi. The girls are not playing.
Apart from adding a in front of the subject concord, the subject concord of
nouns in class 1, referring to people (the mu-class) as well as class 1(a) (proper
names and family members) changes from u to a in the negative, for example:
Positive: Munna u nwa maḓi. The man drinks water.
Negative: Munna ha nwi maḓi. The man does not drink water.
Positive: Makhulu vha ya ḓoroboni. Grandfather is going to town.
Negative: Makhulu a vha yi ḓoroboni. Grandfather is not going to town.
The negatives of the persons are formed in the same manner, for example:
nṋe I: (Nṋe) a thi pfesesi. I do not understand.
riṋe we: (Riṋe) a ri ḽi We are not eating.
inwi you: (Inwi) a ni nwi. You don’t drink.
vhone you: (Vhone) a vha lwali. You are not sick.
vhone they: (Vhone) a vha gudi. They do not study.
42
If you now add the negative subject concords to your previous summary table
of Learning Unit 4, you will have an even better understanding of concordial
agreement in Tshivenḓa.
5.5 SUMMARY: CLASS PREFIXES AND SUBJECT CONCORDS

(POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PRESENT TENSE)
Class Class Subject Subject Example noun

number prefix concord concord
Pos. Neg.
1 mu- u ha muthu
2 vhavha a vha ha vhathu
1a - u ha Thabelo/mme
2a vho- vha a vha VhoThabelo/vhomme
3 mu- u au mulomo
4 mi- i ai milomo
5 ḽi- ḽi a ḽi ḽiṋo
6 ma- a ha maṋo
7 tshi tshi a tshi tshikolo
8 zwi- zwi a zwi zwikolo
9 N- i ai mmbwa
10 dzi(N)- dzi a dzi- dzimmbwa
11 lu- lu- a lu luswielo
12 vhu- vhu a vhu vhukhopfu
15 U- hu a hu U ḽa
16 fha- hu a hu fhasi
17 ku- hu a hu kule
18 mu- hu a hu murahu
20 ku- ku a ku kuḓu
21 ḓi- ḽi a ḽi ḓithu
Persons: Pronouns, subject concords (positive and negative present tense)
Persons Pronoun Subject Subject

concord concord
Pos. Neg.
First singular: I nṋe thi a thi
Second singular: you inwi ni a ni
Third singular: he/she ene u ha
First plural: we riṋe ri a ri
Second plural: you vhone vha a vha
Third plural: they vhone vha a vha
VEN1507/1 43

ACTIVITY 5.3
See how many meaningful negative sentences you can form by adding verbs that
you are already familiar with to the last column in this table, e.g.
Riṋe a ri ambi
hoṱoli
lwali
Remember to change the verb ending -a to -i in the negative (as in the examples
above).
Dzimmbwa/mmbwa a dzi
Nṋe a thi
VhoThabelo a vha
Pholisa a ḽi
Mutukana ha
Maswuhana a vha/ha
Inwi a ni
Khomba ai
Vhone a vha
Ene ha
ACTIVITY 5.4
Make the following sentences meaningful by making use of the CORRECT subject
concord (positive or negative). To find the correct subject concord, you will first
need to determine to which noun class the noun belongs. Then you can consult
the table in 5.5 for the correct subject concord for that noun class:
Tsumbo (example):
Mutukana – tamba bola (positive) > Mutukana u tamba bola

Ḓuvha–fhisi (negative) > Ḓuvha a ḽi fhisi
Thabelo – renga zwiḽiwa (positive) >
Mutsho–dini (negative) >
Riṋe–aweli (negative) >
Malume – geri hatsi (negative) >
Inwi – sheledza maluvha (positive) >
Vhone – nwi kofi (negative) >
Pholisa–ya ḓoroboni (positive) >
Mutukana–gudi (negative) >
Khomba–ḽa vhuswa (positive) >
Nṋe – tshila zwavhuḓi (positive) >
44
ACTIVITY 5.5
The weather is always a useful topic to start a conversation with. Practise the
following sentences in answer to the question about the weather:
Mutsho u hani ṋamusi? How is the weather today?

(1) Ndi wavhuḓi.
It (the weather) is nice.
(2) Mvula i khou na.
It is raining.
(3) Hu a fhisa.
It is hot.
(4) Hu a rothola.
It is cold.
(5) Hu na makole.
It is overcast.
(6) I khou bvuma.
It is thundering.
(7) Hu na dziphenyo.
There is lightning.
(8) I khou na na tshifhango.
It is hailing.
(9) Mutsho wo vhifha.
The weather is bad.
ACTIVITY 5.6
Find a friend, neighbour, colleague or acquaintance who speaks Tshivenḓa and
then ask him/her about the weather on different days. You can use the expres-
sion: Mutsho u hani?
Write down the answers that you get.
QUESTION 1
Answer the following questions by starting with Hai... (Note: na/naa? is a question
word which only occurs either at the beginning or end of a question or at the beginning
and end of a question. It should not be repeated in the answer.) Try to answer the
questions on your own before looking at our answers at the end of this activity.
Example: Vhatukana vha a shuma naa?
Answer: Hai, a vha shumi.
1.1 Vha ya mushumoni naa? Hai,
1.2 Hu a fhisa naa? Hai, .
VEN1507/1 45

1.3 Musidzana u khou lwala naa? Hai,

1.4 Inwi ni khou ṱoḓa mushonga naa? Hai,
1.5 Munna u ya dokotelani/ṅangani naa? Hai,
1.6 Vhone vha bika vhuswa naa? Hai,
1.7 Musidzana u a hoṱola naa? Hai,
1.8 Naa inwi ni a daha naa? Hai,
1.9 Mmbwa i a huvha naa? Hai,
1.10 Maswuhana vha tamba khirikhethe naa? Hai, .
1.11 Khotsi vha lavhelesa/ṱalela yone theḽevishini naa? Hai,
1.12 Vhamuṱa vha ya kerekeni nga Swondaha naa? Hai,
1.13 Khomba i ya bambeloni nga Ḽavhuṱanu naa? Hai,
1.14 Pholisa ḽi thusa vhathu naa? Hai,
1.15 Malume vha imba zwavhuḓi naa? Hai,
Answers
1.1 Vha ya mushumoni naa? Hai, a vha yi mushumoni.
1.2 Hu a fhisa naa? Hai, a hu fhisi.
1.3 Musidzana u khou lwala naa? Hai, ha lwali.
1.4 Inwi ni khou ṱoḓa mushonga naa? Hai, a thi ṱoḓi mushonga.
1.5 Munna u ya dokotelani/ṅangani naa? Hai, ha yi Dokotelani/ṅangani.
1.6 Vhone vha bika vhuswa naa? Hai, a ri biki vhuswa.
1.7 Musidzana u a hoṱola naa? Hai, ha hoṱoli.
1.8 Naa inwi ni a daha naa? Hai, a thi dahi.
1.9 Mmbwa i a huvha naa? Hai, a i huvhi.
1.10 Maswuhana vha tamba khirikhethe naa? Hai, a vha tambi khirikhethe.
1.11 Khotsi vha lavhelesa/ṱalela theḽevishini naa? Hai, a vha lavhelesi/ṱaleli theḽevishini.
1.12 Vhamuṱa vha ya kerekeni nga Swondaha naa? Hai, a vha yi kerekeni nga
Swondaha
1.13 Khomba i ya bambeloni nga Ḽavhuṱanu naa? Hai, a i yi bambeloni.
1.14 Pholisa ḽi thusa vhathu naa? Hai, a ḽi thusi vhathu.
1.15 Malume vha imba zwavhuḓi naa? Hai, a vha imbi zwavhuḓi.
5.6 CONCLUSION
We trust that by this time you have gained some confidence in answering
questions in the affirmative as well as the negative. You have also been pro-
vided with some useful expressions pertaining to weather conditions, since
the weather is always a very likely topic to come up when people meet. In
the next learning unit we shall attend to a few further question words (how?,
where? and when?) and to the formation of place names and adjectives.
46
11 HANI, NGAFHI, LINI?
12 HOW, WHERE, WHEN?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• use the new vocabulary given in this learning unit to form sentences and
questions;
•• form questions by using hani?, ngafhi? and lini?;
•• use nga to say with/by means of;
•• change nouns into locatives to express place (in/at/on);
•• describe nouns by means of adjectives.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Asking questions is the ideal way to learn new vocabulary and to elicit informa-
tion. In this learning unit we therefore give you three further question words
which will help you in your endeavour to learn Tshivenḓa, namely how? (hani?),
where? (ngafhi?) and when? (lini?). Apart from these questions words you
will also learn how to say with/by means of, how to change nouns to express
place (in/at/on) and how to describe nouns by means of adjectives.
6.2 NEW VOCABULARY

hweṱa waiter
zwiṱeki steaks
zwinwiwa drinks
thaidzo problem
dzithaidzo problems
swiri orange
maswiri
tsha u ḽa something to eat
tshokoḽeithi chocolate
bulasi farm
matshipisi chips
ḓabula potato
maḓabula potatoes
khovhe fish
mukhwama bag
mikhwama bags
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mulenzhe foot
milenzhe feet
thekhisi taxi
dzithekhisi taxis
bere horse
dzibere horses
tshithuthuthu motor bike
dzithuthuthu motor bikes
tshikepe boat
zwikepe boats
tshidimela train
zwidimela trains
ṱharabuḽei/bufho aeroplane
dziṱharabuḽei/ mabufho aeroplanes
baisigira bicycle
dzibaisigira bicycles
moḓoro/goloi car
mimoḓoro/dzigoloi cars
nḓila/bada street
dzinḓila/dzibada streets
bisi bus
dzibisi busses
ṱafula table
dziṱafula tables
ṅwana baby
vhana babies
veini wine
rothisa mare make one”s mouth water
boḓelo ḽa ... a bottle of ..
tshidulo chair
-ḓura be expensive
-ḓisela bring (for someone)
-lindela wait for
lini? when?
nga mini? with what?
lungana? how many times?
nṱha ha on top of
phanḓa ha in front of
48
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 6: How, where, when?
vhukati ha between
tsini na next to
ngomu ha inside
nga fhasi ha underneath
nga murahu ha behind
ḓifha nice/sweet/delicious
luraru three times
khathihi na together (with)
nga khumbelo please
-iṅwe another
tshiṅwe tshithu something else
munukho wa zwiḽiwa the smell of the food
zwo luga that’s enough
tsumba zwiḽiwa menu
zwinozwino now
ṋama ya nguluvhe pork
kha ri dzule let’s sit
ṋama ya nngu mutton
ṋama ya khuhu chicken (meat)
ngilasi ya Coke a glass of Coke
vhengeleni to/in/at the shop
poswoni to/in/at the post office
nḓilani/badani in/at the road
muṱanganoni to/at the meeting
banngani to/in/at the bank
vhuria/vhuriha winter/in winter
tshilimo summer/in summer
khonani to/in/at the corner
khishini to/in/at the kitchen
ofisini to/in/at the office
resituarenteni to/in/at the restaurant
Bulugwane (to/in/at) Polokwane
tsimuni in/at the garden
kamarani to/in/at the room
mafhefho!/maḽo! wow!/good grief!
munna wanga my husband
mushumoni to/at work
ndi na ḓora I am thirsty
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khetshi here it is
nga khumbelo please
eṱhe alone
-tala/bambela swim
-takalela/funa like
-lapfa tall
-khulu big
-ṱhukhu small
zwiṱeki zwiṱuku small steaks
ngilasi ṱhukhu small glass
-pfufhi short
-naka beautiful, nice, good
ACTIVITY 6.1
Familiarise yourself with the words in the list, especially terms used in the
restaurant scene so that you may be able to follow the dialogue. Remember
to also add any new words and expressions that you come across in this learning
6.3 DIALOGUE: RESITUARENTENI IN THE RESTAURANT
Baba/khotsi: Ri ḓo dzula ngafhi mufumakadzi wanga?

Dad: Where should we sit, my dear?
Mma/mme: Kha ri dzule hafhaḽa khoneni.
Mother: Let’s sit over there in the corner.
Baba/khotsi: Hweṱa u ngafhi?
Dad: Where is the waiter?
Mma/mme: U hangei khishini.
Mother: He’s over there in the kitchen.
Baba/khotsi: Hweṱa! Hweṱa!
Dad: Waiter! Waiter!
Hweṱa: Nndaa muṋe wanga!
Waiter: Good evening sir!
Baba/khotsi: Nndaa, hu ita hani?
Dad: Good evening sir. How are you?
Hweṱa: Ri hone. Vhone vho vuwa hani?
Waiter: I am fine. How are you?
Baba/khotsi: Riṋe ro vuwa.
Dad: We are fine.
Hweṱa: Ndi nga vha thusa nga mini baba?
Waiter: How can I help you, sir?
Baba/khotsi: Ri humbela tsumbazwiḽiwa (menu).
50
Dad: We ask for the menu. (Could you please bring us the menu?)
Hweṱa: Kheyi baba!
Waiter: Here it is, sir!
Baba/khotsi: Ndi a livhuwa. Boḓelo ḽa Cabernet Sauvignon ndi vhugai?
Dad: Thank you. How much is a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon?
Hweṱa: Ndi R53.30.
Waiter: It is R53.30.
Baba/khotsi: Mmaḽo! Ḽi a ḓura. Mulandu ndi mini Mashudu?
Dad: Good grief! It is expensive. What is the problem, Mashudu?
Mashudu: Ndo farwa nga ḓora, baba! Ndi khou humbela ngilasi ya Coke.
I am thirsty dad! I would like a glass of Coke.
Baba/khotsi: Kha ri ḓisele ngilasi ṱhukhu ya Coke na boḓelo ḽa
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dad: Could you please bring us a small glass of Coke and a bottle
of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Hweṱa: Ho luga baba. A vha ṱoḓi zwa u ḽa naa?
Waiter: All right sir. Do you want something to eat?
Baba/khotsi: Ee. Avha vha ḓo ḽa tshiṱeki tsha Monkey Gland, hone nṋe ndi
khou humbela Pepper Steak tshihulwane.
Dad: Yes. They will eat small Monkey Gland steak, and I would like
a big Pepper Steak.
Hweṱa: Ho luga baba. Vha ḓo ṱoḓa zwinwiwa lini? Zwino, kana khathihi
na zwiḽiwa?
Waiter: All right sir. When do you want your drinks? Right away or
with the food?
Baba/khotsi: Ri nga zwi humbela zwino.
Dad: Right away, please.
Hweṱa: Hu tshe na zwiṅwe naa?
Waiter: Is there anything else?
Baba/khotsi: Hai, zwo luga. Ri a livhuwa, khotsimunene. Mmm, munukho
wa zwiḽiwa u rothisa na mare.
Dad: No, thank you sir. That will be all. . Wow, the smell of the food
is mouth watering.
6.4 CHANGING STATEMENTS INTO QUESTIONS
One can change a statement into a question in one of the following ways:
•• By changing your tone of voice and shortening the last word in the sentence.
•• By adding naa to the beginning or end of the sentence, or by placing one
of these words at the beginning and the end.
U khou guda/vhala. She is studying.

(1) U khou guda/vhala?
(2) Naa u khou guda/vhala?
(3) U khou guda/vhala naa?
(4) Naa u khou guda/vhala?
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All four questions above have the same meaning, namely. Is she studying?
•• By using interrogative (question) words, e.g. hani? how?, ngafhi? where?,

lini? when?, mini? what? or vhugai? how much? to get specific information.
ACTIVITY 6.2
Practise the following questions together with their affirmative as well as negative
answers (preferably with a friend):
A:
tshelede
U a funa vhurotho naa?
dzimmbwa/mmbwa
tshokoḽeithi
makumba
khovhe
ṋama ya nngu
ṋama ya khuhu
ṋama ya nguluvhe
tshilimo
vhuria/vhuriha
B: Ee, ndi a funa..........

Hai, a thi funi...........
ACTIVITY 6.3
Practise all the possible answers (given by speaker B) to the question posed by
speaker A. (If you don’t know the meaning of the words in B, please look again at
the vocabulary list given at the beginning of this learning unit):
A: Peni i ngafhi?
B:
nṱha ha
I nga phanḓa ha ṱafula.
ngomu ha tshidulo.
nga murahu ha dzibugu.
fhasi ha mukhwama.
tsini na
vhukati ha
6.5 SAYING WITH/BY MEANS OF

In Tshivenḓa we use nga to express with or by means of. This is an instrumen-
tal prefix and is usually used to indicate the instrument by means of which an
action is performed, for example:
nga peni with a pen or
nga thekhisi with a taxi.
52
Sometimes it also means on, or in, e.g. nga Ḽavhuvhili on Tuesday or nga
Tshivenḓa in Tshivenḓa. Sometimes it cannot be translated literally, for example
nga ndoṱhe alone.
ACTIVITY 6.4
Practise all the possible answers (given by speaker B) to the question posed by
speaker A.
A: Ni khou ya hayani nga mini?
B:
moḓoro
Ndi khou ya hayani nga thekhisi
milenzhe
tshidimela
bere
ṱharabuḽei/bufho
baisigira
bisi
thuthuthu
tshikepe
6.6 LOCALITY
The following are important facts to remember if you want to refer to the place
where a certain action takes place in Tshivenḓa:
To indicate the place where an action is taking place, the suffix -ni would be
added to the noun. It is then translated with “to”, “at” or “on”, “from” or “in”, for
example:
vothi door > vothini at/on the door
tshikolo school > tshikoloni at/to school
bugu book > buguni at/on/in the book
•• The names of places and seasons do not change in order to indicate at/
in, for example:
Ndi dzula Makhado. I live in Makhado.
Tshilimo ri takalela/funa u bambela. We like to swim in summer.
•• In the case of nouns which refer to people, ha is usually placed before the
word, to express at or with someone in person. To express at the place of
someone, the formative na is used, for example:
Ri khou ya ha makhulu.
We are going to granny.
Dzulani na nṋe.
Sit with me.
Vha khou imba ha vhafunzi.
They are singing at the house/place of the priest.
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Vhasadzi vha dzula ha Thabelo.

The women live at Thabelo’s place.
ACTIVITY 6.5
Practise all the possible answers (given by speaker B) to the question asked by
speaker A.
A: Ni khou ya ngafhi?
B:
ofisini
Ndi khou ya............ resituarenteni
vhengeleni
tshikoloni
ha Sarah
kerekeni
banngani
Bulugwane
poswoni
ha Piṱi
tsimuni
nḓilani
mushumoni
ha baba
ha makhulu
6.7 ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are used to describe nouns. In English, the adjective precedes
the noun it describes, e.g. “the tall man”, while in Tshivenḓa the adjective fol-
lows the noun it describes. In order to understand how adjectives are formed
in Tshivenḓa, we are going to use information presented in Learning Unit 4,
namely par. 4.3 on the noun class system and par. 4.5 on demonstratives.
As mentioned above, the adjective follows the noun in Tshivenḓa, but it is also
connected to the noun with certain devices, namely the demonstrative of the
noun as well as the prefix of the class the noun belongs to. The expression
“that tall man” will thus look like this in Tshivenḓa:
munna uḽa mulapfu and it is formed as follows:
munna (noun) + uḽa (demonstrative) + mu- (class prefix) + -lapfu (adjective
stem meaning tall)
Note that the class prefix and the adjective stem are written as one word.
Other adjective stems which are often used are the following:
-pfufhi short musadzi mupfufhi the short lady
-vhuḓi beautiful, nice maswuhana vhavhuḓi the nice young men
-ṅwe another tshiṅwe tshithu another thing/something else
54
-hulu big moḓoro muhulu the big car

-ṱuku small boḓelo ḽiṱuku the small bottle
ACTIVITY 6.6
Use the adjective stem -ṅwe other/another with each of the following nouns. Re-
member the formula: noun + demonstrative + class prefix + adjective stem.
Muthu
miri -ṅwe
vhatukana
vothi
maḓuvha
tshikolo
QUESTION 1
Try to answer the questions on your own before looking at our answers at the end
of this activity.
1.1 Ni a takalela u ya resituarenteni? .
Do you like to go to the restaurant? Yes, I like to go to the restaurant.
1.2 Naa ni a ḓivha hweṱa? .
Do you know the waiter? No, I don’t know the waiter.
1.3 Vha a takalela veini naa? .
Do you (plural) like wine? No, we don’t like wine.
1.4 Ni a funa matshipisi naa? .
Do you like chips? Yes, I like chips.
1.5 Naa vhoJames vha a funa pizza naa? .
Do James and company like pizza? Yes, they like pizza.
1.6 Ni khou ya ngafhi? .
Where are you going? I am going to the restaurant.
1.7 Ni khou ṱoḓa u ḽa mini? .
What do you want to eat? I want to eat mutton.
1.8 Hambega ndi vhugai? .
How much is a hamburger? It is R5.50.
1.9 Ni khou ya hayani lini? .
When are you going home? I am going just now.
1.10 Ni khou ya resituarenteni na nnyi?
With whom are you going to the restaurant? I am going with Joyce
and company
1.11 VhoJames vha khou ita mini?
What are James and company doing? They are waiting for their food.
1.12 Vha ya resituarenteni lungana nga vhege?
How many times per week do you go to the restaurant? We go there three
times a week.
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1.13 Zwiḽiwa zwi hani?

How is the food? It is very nice.
1.14 Mapholisa vha khou ṱoḓa mini? .
What do the policemen want? They want to eat.
1.15 Naa ni a shuma nga Swondaha? .
Do you work on Sundays? No, I don’t work on Sundays.
1.16 Ni a takalela/funa u ḽa ni noṱhe naa?
Do you like to eat alone? No, I don’t like to eat alone.
1.17 Mutukana u funa ṋama naa?
Does the boy like meat? Yes, he likes meat.
1.18 Mukhwama u ngafhi? .
Where is the bag? It is under the table.
1.19 Zwinwiwa zwi ngafhi? .
Where are the drinks? They are on the table.
1.20 Ṅwana u ngafhi? .
Where is the baby? He/she is behind the tree.
1.21 Ṅwananga u ngafhi? .
Where is my child? He is sitting among those girls.
1.22 Suzi u khou ya ngafhi? .
Where is Suzi going? She is going to Uncle’s place.
1.23 Muṱhannga u khou bva ngafhi?
Where is the young man from? He is from the farm.
1.24 Vhana vha khou bva ngafhi?
Where are the children coming from? They are coming from Polokwane.
1.25 Zwiḽiwa zwi ngafhi?
Where is the food? It is on the table.
1.26 Madokotela vha khou bva ngafhi? .
Where are the doctors coming from? They are coming from the hospital.
1.27 Vhafunzi vha khou ya ngafhi? .
Where are the church ministers going? They are going to church.
1.28 Vhafumakadzi vha khou ya ngafhi?
Where are the women going? They are going to the shops.
1.29 Vhanna vha khou ya ngafhi?
Where are the men going? They are going to a meeting.
1.30 Vhone vha khou ya ngafhi? .
Where are they going? They are going to granny’s place.
Answers
1.1 Ee, ndi takalela/funa u ya resituarenteni.

1.2 Hai, a thi mu ḓivhi hweṱa.
1.3 Hai, a ri takaleli/funi veini.
1.4 Ee, ndi funa matshipisi.
1.5 Ee, vha funa/takalela pizza.
1.6 Ndi khou ya resituranteni.
1.7 Ndi khou ṱoḓa u ḽa ṋama ya nngu.
1.8 Ndi R5.50.
1.9 Ndi khou ya zwinozwino.
1.10 Ndi khou ya na vhoJoyce.
1.11 Vha lindela zwiḽiwa.
56
1.12 Ri ya luraru nga vhege.

1.13 Zwi khou ḓifha nga maanḓa.
1.14 Vha khou ṱoḓa u ḽa.
1.15 Hai, a thi shumi nga Swondaha.
1.16 Hai, a thi takaleli/funi u ḽa ndi ndoṱhe.
1.17 Ee, u takalela/funa ṋama.
1.18 U nga fhasi ha ṱafula.
1.19 Zwi nṱha ha ṱafula.
1.20 U nga murahu ha muri.
1.21 U vhukati ha avho vhasidzana.
1.22 O ya ha malume.
1.23 U khou bva bulasini.
1.24 Vha khou bva Bulugwane.
1.25 Zwi ṱafulani.
1.26 Vha khou bva vhuongeloni/sibadela.
1.27 Vha khou ya kerekeni.
1.28 Vha khou ya mavhengeleni.
1.29 Vha khou ya muṱanganoni.
1.30 Vha khou ya ha makhulu.
QUESTION 2
Give the correct (locative) form of the nouns in brackets (the answers appear below).
2.1 Vho Maboho vho ya (ofisi).
Mr Maboho went to the office.
2.2 Ndi khou humbela uri ni khokhonye (vothi).
Please knock on the door.
2.3 Vhathu vha ḓo shuma vhukuma (tshilimo).
The people will work hard this summer.
2.4 Ri ḓo ya (Bulugwane) kha maḓuvha a vhuawelo a ḓaho.
We will go to Polokwane this coming holiday.
2.5 Vhana vha nga si tshimbile vha tshi ya (makhulu).
The children will not walk to grandma’s place.
Answers
In the case of 1.and 2. -ni is merely added to the noun which describes the locality.
Take note that neither of these nouns (ofisi and vothi) refer to a person.
In 3. and 4. there is no overt locative marker added to the noun which describes the
place name (Polokwane) or the season (Tshilimo).
In 5. note that ha is used before a noun referring to a person (makhulu) to indicate
a locality which is the possession of / belongs to that person.
2.1 Vho Maboho vho ya ofisini.
2.2 Ndi khou humbela uri ni khokhonye vothini.
2.3 Vhathu vha ḓo shuma vhukuma tshino tshilimo.
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2.4 Ri ḓo ya Bulugwane kha maḓuvha a vhuawelo a ḓaho

2.5 Vhana vha nga si tshimbile vha tshi ya hamakhulu.
QUESTION 3
Use each of the adjectives in brackets to complete the following sentences:
3.1 Mukhwama (-ṅwe) u a ḓura.
The other bag is expensive.
3.2 Baba/ khotsi vha ṱoḓa u renga goloi (-hulu).
Dad wants to buy a big car.
3.3 Ro vhona tshikepe (-ṱuku).
We saw a small boat.
3.4 Musadzi u ṱoḓa u ṋea ṅwana dzina (-vhuḓi).
The woman wants to give the child a pretty name.
3.5 Musadzi (-lapfu) ha ṱoḓi munna (-pfufhi).
The tall woman does not want a short man.
Answers
Remember that the correct way to form adjectives is the following: noun + demonstra-
tive + class prefix + adjective stem.
3.1 Mukhwama (-ṅwe) u a ḓura.
The other bag is expensive.
> Mukhwama houḽa muṅwe u a ḓura.
If we apply the rule formulated above, it means that this adjective was formed
as follows:
noun: mukhwama
demonstrative: houḽa
class prefix: mu-
adjective stem: -ṅwe
Note that the class prefix and adjective stem are written as one orthographic
word, in other words without a space between them.
3.2 Baba/ khotsi vha ṱoḓa u renga goloi (-hulu).

Dad wants to buy a big car.
> Baba/khotsi vha ṱoḓa u renga goloi heiḽa khulu.
This example is a bit different from the rest because the noun goloi belongs
to class 9 with the prefix N- and the adjective stem starts on g- which under-
goes a change when it is preceded by the nasal n-. When we apply the rule
for adjectives, the result is the following: noun goloi + demonstrative heiḽa +class
prefix N- + adjective stem -hulu. As is the case with the object concord of the first
person singular n, the class prefix N- is responsible for the h of -hulu to change
to kh.
3.3 R
o vhona tshikepe (-ṱuku).
We saw a small boat.
> Ro vhona tshikepe tshiṱuku.
3.4 Musadzi u ṱoḓa u ṋea ṅwana dzina (-vhuḓi).

The woman wants to give the child a pretty name.
> Musadzi u ṱoḓa u ṋea ṅwana dzina ḽine ḽa vha ḽavhuḓi.
3.5 Musadzi (-lapfu) ha ṱoḓi munna (-pfufhi).

The tall woman does not want a short man.
> Musadzi mulapfu ha ṱoḓi munna mupfufhi.
58
6.8 CONCLUSION
We hope that you will take courage and make use of your newly acquired
language skills when ordering your food the next time you visit a restaurant.
In this learning unit you have learnt how to ask questions using a few new
question words such as hani? how?, ngafhi? where? and lini? when? The
function of nga to express “with/by means of” was explained as well as the
different ways in which nouns can be changed to indicate locality. We trust that
you found the formula to describe nouns useful, namely noun + demonstrative
+ class prefix + adjective stem.
In the next learning unit we will explain how the concepts “to do” and “to have”
are expressed in Tshivenḓa.
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13 U ITA,...U (VHA) NA
14 TO DO AND TO HAVE
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• express “to do” something in Tshivenḓa (u- verbs/infinitives);
•• say “have/own” in Tshivenḓa by means of u (vha) na.
7.1 INTRODUCTION
This learning unit introduces you to a particular form of the verb, known as the
infinitive form. Verbs in the infinitive form are characterised by a preceding u-.
You will also learn how to express possession using u (vha) na.
7.2 NEW VOCABULARY
kheshia cashier
ṱhanziela/ḽaisentsi licence
dziṱhanziela/dziḽaisentsi licences
tshisiwana poor person
zwisiwana poor people
luvhilo speed/haste
mashudumavhi unfortunately
tshigidi tsha dzirannda a thousand rand
maḽegere sweets
u vha luvhiloni in a hurry
phukha wild animal
dziphukha wild animals
hu na there is/are
-u vha na have
thusothanzi first aid
banngani at the bank
resituarenteni at the café
60
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 7: To do and to have
bungani/thoiḽethe toilet
-dalela visit
u vula akhaunthu to open an account
akhaunthu ya tsheke cheque account
bugu ya tsheke cheque book
bugundaula ID-book
-u tsa go down
-u tsa nga phasedzhi go down the passage
kha tshanḓa tshauḽa on the right hand
kha tshanḓa tshamonde on the left hand
u bvisa tshelede to withdraw money
mutaladzini in/on the line
vhoṱhe all/everybody
tshifhinganyana short while
fanela (u) must
-runga sew
-dzhia take
-ṱanganedza receive
-rengisa sell
-tshinya (tshifhinga) waste (time)
-reila drive
-ṱhogomela/ londa look after/take care of
-vhea put down/transfer
-ḓadza fill out/ cause to become full
-bvisa take out/withdraw
-kona be able
ndi humbela uri ni ḓadze hedzi fomo please fill in these forms
ndi humbela uri ni saine hafha please sign here
kha akhaunthu ya murwa wanga ya u in the savings account of my son
vhulunga
u i kopa to copy it
lwa u thoma first (time)
khumbelo yavho/yaṋu yo ṱanganedzwa your application has been approved
-vhulunga deposit/save/bury/file
murwa wavho your son
fomo form
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ACTIVITY 7.1
Familiarise yourself with the words that are most likely to occur during a conversa-
tion at the bank. You will encounter many of them in the following dialogue. Add
any other new words you come across to the above list in the space provided.
7.3 DIALOGUE: BANNGANI AT THE BANK

JOYCE: Aa, muhulwane wanga!
Good morning, sir!
RABANNGA: Nndaa vhomme!
BANKER: Good morning, mam.
JOYCE: Vho vuwa hani?
How are you?
RABANNGA: Ri hone. Ri vhudzisa ngeo.
I am fine thanks, and you?
JOYCE: Na riṋe ri hone.
I’m well too, thank you.
RABANNGA: Ndi nga vha thusa nga mini?
How can I help you?
JOYCE: Ndi khou ṱoḓa u vula akhaunthu ya tsheke, na u vhulunga
tshigidi tsha dzirannda kha mbulungelo ya murwa wanga.
I would like to open a cheque account, and I want to deposit
a housand rand into my son’s account.
RABANNGA: Ho luga vhomme. Ndi humbela uri vha ḓadze hedzi fomo.
Vha na bugundaula naa?
All right, mam. Please fill in these forms. Do you have an ID
book?
JOYCE: Ee, muṋewanga. Khei.
Yes, sir. Here it is.
RABANNGA: Ndi a livhuwa. Ndi fanela u i kopa/foda. Ndi ḓo vhuya zwinozwino.
Thank you. I need to photocopy it. I will be back just now.
JOYCE: Ndi khou ṱoḓa u ya nḓuni ṱhukhu. I nga ngafhi?
I want to go to the toilet. Where is it?
RABANNGA: Kha vha tse nga phasedzhi, vha dzhene kha vothi ḽa u thoma
ḽine ḽa vha kha tshanḓa tshauḽa.
Go down the passage, it is the first door on the right.
JOYCE: Ndi a livhuwa muṋewanga.
Thank you, sir.
(Nga murahu ha tshifhinganyana) (After a while.)
RABANNGA: Zwo luga vhomme. Ndi humbela uri vha saine hafha. Ndi a
livhuwa/ha. Ndi ḓo vha founela musi khumbelo yavho ya
akhaunthu ya tsheke yo ṱanganedzwa. Ndi hone vha tshi ḓo
ḓa u dzhia bugu ya tsheke. Zwino vha nga isa fomo hei hangei
kha kheshia. Hune vha ḓo kona u vhea tshelede kha mbulun
gelo ya murwa wavho. Hone hu na zwiṅwe?
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There you are, madam. Please sign here. Thank you, madam.
I will phone you as soon as your application for the cheque
account has been approved. Then you can come and pick up
your cheque book. Now you must take this form to the cashier
over there. He will transfer the money into your son”s account.
Is there anything else?
JOYCE: Ee, muṋewanga. Ndi khou ṱoḓa u bvisa R100.
Yes sir. I want to withdraw R100.
RABANNGA: Kha vha humbele kheshia. U ḓo vha thusa.
Ask the cashier. He will help you.
JOYCE: Mafhefho! Hu na vhathu vhanzhi! Ndi dovhe hafhu ndi ime
mudubani naa?
Good grief! There are many people! Do I have to stand in the
queue again?
RABANNGA: Ee, mashudumavhi.
Yes, unfortunately.
JOYCE: Mafhefho! Ndi na fulufhelo uri a vha nga fhedzi tshifhinga! Ndo
dzhaha vhukuma.
Heavens! I hope they won’t waste my time! I am in a hurry.
RABANNGA: Ee, vhomme. Vhathu vhoṱhe vho dzhaha. Vha tshimbile
zwavhuḓi.
Yes, madam. Everybody is in a hurry. Go well.
JOYCE: Aa, muṋewanga. Ndi a livhuwa.
Yes, sir. Thank you.
7.4 “U”- VERBS

This is the simplest form of the verb in Tshivenḓa. u- is used to express “to.....”,
as in to eat, to run, to love, etc. This u- can be used with any verb stem, for
example:
u ḓivha to know
u funa/takalela to like/love
u tamba to play
u bika to cook
u ṱoḓa to look for/want
In sentences these u- verbs are often used immediately after other verbs, for
example:
Ndi funa/takalela u amba Tshivenḓa.
I like to speak Tshivenḓa.
Ri kona u tamba khirikhethe.
We know (how) to play cricket.
Ene u ya u bvisa tshelede.
He is on his way to withdraw money.
Musidzana u thoma u vhulunga tshelede.
The girl is starting to save money.
Inwi ni fanela u guda nga maanḓa.
You must learn hard.
Vha kona u shuma nga maanḓa.
You are able to work hard.
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Since this expression occurs so often in speech, the final vowel -a of the verb
often coalesces with the u- following it.
Ndi fun”u amba Tshivenḓa.
I like to speak Tshivenḓa.
Ri kon”u tamba khirikhethe.
We know (how) to play cricket.
Ene u y”u bvisa tshelede.
He is on his way to withdraw money.
Musidzana u thom”u vhulunga tshelede.
The girl is starting to save money.
Inwi ni fanel”u guda nga maanḓa.
You must learn hard.
Vha kon”u shuma nga maanḓa.
You are able to work hard.
7.5 THE EXPRESSION TO HAVE

In Tshivenḓa the expression u vha na is used to express “have” or “possess”.
This expression is used just like a verb stem, following a subject concord, for
example:
Ndi na goloi.
I have a car.
Ri na tshelede.
We have money.
Thabelo u na ṱhanziela/ḽaisentsi.
Thabelo has a licence.
To negate these sentences, in other words to say do/does not have, we use
ha- in front of the subject concord (just like you would negate a verb) and the
-na is omitted, for example:
A thi na tshelede.
I don’t have a car.
A ri na tshelede.
We don’t have money.
Thabelo ha na ṱhanziela/ḽaisentsi.
Thabelo doesn’t have a licence.
If hu- is used in front of –u vha na, it means there is/are, for example:
Hu na ṱafula.
There is a table.
Hu na vhathu vhanzhi.
There are many people.
Banngani hu na tshelede.
There is money in the bank.
These sentences are negated by placing a- in front of hu na- and deleting the
-na, for example:
A hu na ṱafula.
There isn’t a table.
A hu na vhathu vhanzhi.
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There are not many people.

Banngani a hu na tshelede.
There isn’t money in the bank.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Do activities 2 and 3 by practising them with a friend:
A: U fun’u ita mini?
B:
gudisa vhana.
Ndi fun’u........ ṱanganedza tshelede.
vhala dzibugu.
ṅwala maṅwalo.
ḽa tshokoḽeithi.
nwa halwa.
guda Tshivenḓa.
thusa tsiwana.
awela.
dalela khonani.
lavhelesa theḽevishini.
tamba Lotto.
ACTIVITY 7.3
A: U kona u ita mini?
B:
tamba bola.
Ndi kona u........ imba zwavhuḓi.
gidima nga luvhilo.
bika zwiḽiwa.
ita thuso ya shishi.
amba Tshivhuru.
shuma ngadeni.
rengisa zwiambaro.
runga.
kuvha zwiambaro.
ACTIVITY 7.4
Now formulate your own questions:
A: Naa ni ṱoḓa u bika ..............?
B: Ee, ndi ṱoḓa u bika ..............
Hai, a thi ṱoḓi u bika...........
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ACTIVITY 7.5
Answer each of the possible combinations of questions posed by speaker A by
starting your answer with Ee, ndi na … (Yes, I have …) or Hai, a thi na … (No, I
don’t have …):
A
tshimange?
Naa ni na tshelede?
akhaunthu ya tsheke?
goloi?
vhana?
ṱhanziela/ḽaisintsi?
thuthuthu?
bulasi?
mmbwa?
khonani?
luṱingothendeleki?
bugundaula?
B: Ee, ndi na .......................

Hai, a thi na .....................
ACTIVITY 7.6
Follow the same pattern as in Activity 5, this time starting your answers in the
positive form by using Ee, hu na … (Yes, there is/are…) or in the negative form
by using Hai, a hu na ... (No, there is not/are not …)
A
vhathu vhanzhi banngani
Hu na dzimmbwa/mmbwa kamarani/pherani naa?
maluvha kerekeni
vhana tshikoloni
zwiḽiwa ṱafulani
maḽegere khefini
zwiambaro vhengeleni
tshelede mukhwamani
zwimange nḓuni
mapholisa goloini
madokotela vhuongeloni
vhasidzana resituarenteni
vhafunzi nḓilani
B: Ee, hu na......
Hai, a hu na.........
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QUESTION 1
Try to answer the questions on your own before looking at our answers at the end
of this activity.
1.1 Ndi nga vha thusa nga mini? .
How can I help you? I want to open an account.
1.2 Vha ṱoḓa u ita mini banngani?
What do you want to do at the bank? I want to make a deposit.
1.3 Naa vha na bugundaula naa? .
Do you have an ID book? Yes, I have an ID book.
1.4 Vha khou ya ngafhi?
Where are you going? I want to go to the toilet.
1.5 Nnḓu ṱhukhu i ngafhi?
Where is the toilet? It is the first door on the right.
1.6 Bannga i ngafhi?
Where is the bank? It is the second door on the left.
1.7 Naa ni funa/takalela u dalela dzikhonani?
Do you like to visit friends? Yes, I like to visit friends.
1.8 Naa baba vha kona u shumisa khomphuyutha? .
Does dad know (how) to use a computer? No, he doesn’t know how to use
a computer.
1.9 Mutukana u a kona u gidima nga luvhilo naa?
Is the boy able to run fast? No, he’s not able to run fast.
1.10 Naa vha khou ya u ḽa resituarenteni?
Are you (plural) going to eat in a restaurant? Yes, we are going to eat in a
restaurant.
1.11 Khomba dzi funa u ḽa matshipisi? .
Do the young girls like eating chips? No, they don’t like eating chips.
1.12 Vhaṱhannga vha a kona u reila goloi naa?
Do the young men know how to drive a car? Yes, they know how to drive a car.
1.13 Naa vhadededzi vha a kona u londa/ṱhogomela vhana?
Are the teachers able to look after the children? Yes, they are able to look
after the children.
1.14 Naa ni na vhana? .
Do you have children? No, I don’t have children.
1.15 Vhasadzi vha na mushumo naa? .
Do the women have jobs? No, they don’t have jobs.
1.16 Tsiwana dzi na zwiambaro naa? .
Do the poor have clothes? No, they do not have clothes.
1.17 Vhana vha na bugu naa? .
Do the children have books? Yes, they have books.
1.18 Naa vha na tshelede?
Do you (plural) have money? No, we don’t have money.
1.19 Hu na zwiḽiwa resituarenteni naa?
Is there food in the restaurant? Yes, there is food in the restaurant.
1.20 Hu na phukha banngani naa? .
Are there wild animals in the bank? No, there aren’t wild animals in the bank.
Answers
1.1 Ndi ṱoḓa u vula akhaunthu.

1.2 Ndi ṱoḓa u vhulunga tshelede.
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1.3 Ee, ndi na bugundaula.

1.4 Ndi ṱoḓa u ya nḓuni ṱhukhu.
1.5 I vothini ḽa u thoma kha tshanḓa tshauḽa.
1.6 I vothini ḽa vhuvhili kha tshanḓa tshamonde.
1.7 Ee, ndi takalela u dalela dzikhonani.
1.8 Hai, a vha ḓivhi u shumisa khomphuyutha.
1.9 Hai, a vha koni u gidima nga luvhilo.
1.10 Ee, ri khou ya u ḽa resituarenteni.
1.11 Hai, a vha funi/takaleli u ḽa matshipisi.
1.12 Ee, vha a kona u reila goloi.
1.13 Ee, vha a kona u londa/ṱhogomela vhana.
1.14 Hai, a thi na vhana.
1.15 Hai, a vha na mushumo.
1.16 Hai, a vha na zwiambaro.
1.17 Ee, vha na dzibugu.
1.18 Hai, a ri na tshelede.
1.19 Ee, hu na zwiḽiwa resituarenteni.
1.20 Hai, a hu na phukha banngani.
QUESTION 2
Give the following sentences in Tshivenḓa.
2.1 Ndi humbela uri vha ḓadze hedzi fomo.
2.2 Ndi fanela u i foda/kopa.
2.3 Ndi ḓo vhuya zwinozwino.
2.4 Ndi humbela uri vha saine hafha.
2.5 Khumbelo yavho yo ṱanganedzwa.
2.6 Vha nga ḓa vha dzhia bugu yavho ya tsheke
2.7 Kha vha ise hei fomo kha kheshia.
2.8 Ndi na fulufhelo uri a vha nga fhedzi tshifhinga
2.9 Ndo dzhaha.
2.10 Ndi khou ṱoḓa u bvisa tshelede
Answers
2.1 Ndi humbela vha ḓadze hedzi fomo.

2.2 Ndi fanela u i foda/kopa.
2.3 Ndi ḓo vhuya zwinozwino.
2.4 Ndi humbela vha saine hafha.
2.5 Khumbelo yavho yo ṱanganedzwa.
2.6 Vha nga ḓa vha dzhia bugu ya tsheke.
2.7 Kha vha ise fomo iyi kha kheshia.
2.8 Ndi na fulufhelo uri a vha nga fhedzi tshifhinga.
2.9 Ndo dzhaha.
2.10 Ndi ṱoḓa u bvisa tshelede.
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7.6 CONCLUSION
The expressions “to (do something)” and “to have (something)” or “not to have
(something)” are important constructions that were brought to your attention in
this learning unit. We hope you noticed that we underlined such constructions
in the dialogue at the beginning of this learning unit?
Up to now all actions were given in the present tense. In the next learning unit
we shall have a look at how one expresses actions that took place in the past.
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15 MULOVHA
16 YESTERDAY
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• construct meaningful sentences in the past tense.
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Converting statements from the present tense to the past tense requires a
change in the form of the verb. The presence of adverbs like mulovha yes-
terday or mbamulovha the day before yesterday are clues that the form of
the verb needs to be changed to express past tense.
8.2 NEW VOCABULARY

-shela pour in
-fhumula keep quiet
-shulula pour out
-ṱanganya mix
-tshinya spoil/waste
-posa post
-lisa look after
-vhona see
-sumbedza/vhonisa show
-ṱanzwa wash (dishes/clothes)
-hula/aluwa grow (up)
-lila cry
-awela rest
-ri say(s)
-hana refuse
-mala get married
-hwala carry
-fha/ṋea give
-vhusa govern/rule
70
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 8: Yesterday
-thetshelesa listen
nga pfanelo properly
seli ha malwanzhe overseas
ṋama ya u gotsha braaivleis
vhege yo fhelaho last week
maḽegere sweets
mushumo job
mbamulovha the day before yesterday
mulovha yesterday
luimbo song
-humbula think (of) /remind
-nkhumbudza remind me
-fa die
-ambara get dressed
-fara catch
-khokhonya knock
tshelede ine ya lingana enough money
dokotela wa maṱo to/at the optometrist
dokotela wa maṋo to/at the dentist
ḽaiburari to/at the library
nga murahu ha after
fhaḽa na fhaḽa here and there
ndi khou i tama I am craving for it
mmbudze tell me
vhuongeloni to/at the hospital
mphe give me
zwiambaro zwa vhuria/ha winter clothes
Bela-Bela Warmbaths
Bulugwane Polokwane
uri (so) that
zwiḽiwa food
ACTIVITY 8.1
Make sure you know the meanings of the words in the above list so that you may
follow the conversation below. Add your own new words to the list.
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8.3 DIALOGUE: ḒOROBONI IN TOWN
MASHUDU: Vho vha vhe ngafhi, Baba?

Where were you, Dad?
BABA/KHOTSI: Ndo vha ndo ya ḓoroboni na Thabelo.
I went to town with Thabelo.
MASHUDU: Vho vha vho ya u ita mini?
What did you do?
BABA/KHOTSI: Ro ya fhaḽa na fhaḽa.
We went everywhere.
MASHUDU: Mafhefho! Kha vha mmbudze uri vho ya ngafhi!
Wow! Tell me where you went!
BABA/KHOTSI: Ro sedza zwiambaro zwa vhuria/ha.
We looked at the new winter clothes.
MASHUDU: Hafhu?
And?
BABA/KHOTSI: Nga murahu, ra nwa kofi ngei Burgundy’s.
After that, we drank coffee at Burgundy’s.
MASHUDU: Vho dzhia poswo/poso (marifhi) naa?
Did you collect the mail?
BABA/KHOTSI: Ee.
Yes.
MASHUDU: Vho tamba ‘Lotto’ naa?
Did you play the Lotto?
BABA/KHOTSI: Ee, hone yo ri ḽa.
Yes, but we lost.
MASHUDU: Naa vho renga maḽegere?
Did you buy sweets?
BABA/KHOTSI: Ee, ṅwananga.
Yes, my child.
MASHUDU: Kha vha mphe, baba, kha vha mphe!
Give it to me, dad!
BABA/KHOTSI Lindelani nyana. Ndi ḓo ni ṋea nga murahu ha musi no no
ḽa zwiḽiwa.
Wait a bit. I will give it to you after you have eaten your
food.
MASHUDU: Hai baba! Ndi khou a tama!
No, dad! I am craving for it!
8.4 FORMS OF THE PAST TENSE

In Tshivenḓa, there are various ways of expressing actions that have taken
place in the past. In this learning unit, we deal with the “past continuous tense”
in Tshivenḓa.
The ndo vha ndi tshi khou past continuous tense.
This form is used to refer to a continuing action that has occurred in the past.
To construct this past tense, we use the particular subject concord referring
72
to the noun/subject performing the action + the auxiliary verb stem khou, fol-
lowed by the verb in the present tense, for example:
Ndi khou ṱoḓa mushumo. > Ndo vha ndi tshi khou ṱoḓa mushumo.
I am looking for a job. I was looking for a job yesterday.
Vhomme vha khou renga zwiḽiwa. > Vhomme vho vha vha tshi khou renga
zwiḽiwa.
Mother and company are buying food Mother and company were buying
food the day before yesterday.
Vhatukana vha khou tamba bola. > Vhatukana vho vha vha tshi khou tamba
bola.
The young men are playing ball. The young men were playing ball
yesterday.
8.5 STATIVE MEANING

Some verbs indicate a specific state or position that a person or something
assumes, e.g. “to stand up”, “to open your mouth”. “to sleep”, “ to sit down”, etc.
These verbs need to be used in the perfect form to indicate that the person/thing
is already in that specific state or position. To indicate that a person/thing was
in that position (i.e. past tense), we need to use the past tense. For example:
Ndi a eḓela.
I sleep.
Ndo eḓela.
I am asleep.
Ndo vha ndi tshi khou ya u eḓela.
I was going to sleep.
Ndo vha ndo eḓela.
I was asleep.
Lusani o ima.
Lusani is standing up.
Lusani u khou ima.
Lusani is standing.
Lusani o vha a tshi khou ima.
Lusani was standing up.
Lusani o vha o ima.
Lusani was standing.
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ACTIVITY 8.2
Practise the following questions and answers:
A: No vha ni ngafhi mulovha?
B:
kerekeni.
Ndo vha ndi ......... vhuongeloni.
dokotelani.
dokotela wa maṋo.
dokotelani wa maṱo.
hayani.
vhengeleni.
ḽaiburari.
ḓoroboni.
poswoni/posoni.
ACTIVITY 8.3
Tell somebody about actions that you completed yesterday:
A: No ita mini mulovha?
B:
guda Tshivenḓa.
Ndo.......... awela.
kuvha zwiambaro.
ya baisikoponi.
lavhelesa theḽevishini.
tamba lotto.
nwa kofi.
ḽa ṋama yo gotshiwaho.
shuma ngadeni.
ṋea vhana zwiḽiwa.
tamba bola ya milenzhe.
vha ndi khou lwala.
QUESTION 1
Try to answer the following questions before looking at the answers which appear at
the end of this activity:
1.1 No vha no ya ngafhi mulovha?

Where were you yesterday? I was in Gauteng.
1.2 No vha ni tshi khou ṱoḓa u ita mini?
What did you want to do there? I wanted to buy a car.
1.3 No vha ni na tshelede yo linganaho naa? .
Yes, I did have enough money. Did you have enough money?
74
1.4 Johannes o vha e ngafhi mbamulovha? .

Where was Johannes the day before yesterday? He was at home.
1.5 VhoJoyce vho vha vhe ngafhi nga Ḽavhuvhili
They were at Warmbaths. Where were Joyce and company on Tuesday?
1.6 Vhasadzi vho vha vhe ngafhi nga Ḽavhuraru? . .
Where were the women on Wednesday? They were at the shops.
1.7 Vhoiwe no vha ni ngafhi vhege yo fhelaho? .
We were in Venḓa. Where were you last week?
1.8 Ene o vha e ngafhi ṅwedzi wo fhelaho? .
He/she was overseas. Where was he/she last month?
1.9 Naa Vho Mandela vho vha vha tshi khou vhusa zwavhuḓi?
Yes, he was ruling properly. Was Mandela ruling properly?
1.10 Ho vha hu na vhathu vhanzhi vhengeleni?
Were there many people at the shop? Yes, there were many people.
Answers
1.1 Ndo vha ndi Gauteng.

1.2 Ndo vha ndi tshi khou ṱoḓa u renga goloi.
1.3 Ee, ndo vha ndi na tshelede yo linganaho.
1.4 O vha e hayani.
1.5 Vho vha vhe Bela-Bela.
1.6 Vho vha vhe mavhengeleni.
1.7 Ro vha ri Venḓa.
1.8 O vha e seli ha malwanzhe.
1.9 Ee, vho vha a tshi vhusa zwavhuḓi.
1.10 Ee, ho vha hu na vhathu vhanzhi.
QUESTION 2
Change the following present tense sentences into the perfect tense. Attempt to do
this on your own before comparing your answers with ours below:
2.1 Nṋe ndi khou ya ḓoroboni. Mulovha

I go to town. Yesterday I went to town.
2.2 Ndi khou lingedza u renga goloi. Mulovha
I try to buy a car. Yesterday I tried to buy a car.
2.3 Ndi khou renga zwiambaro. Mulovha
I buy clothes. Yesterday I bought clothes.
2.4 Ndi khou vhona vhathu vhanzhi. Mulovha
I see many people. Yesterday I saw many people.
2.5 Riṋe ri tshimbila nga thekhisi. Mulovha
We go by taxi. Yesterday we went by taxi.
2.6 Ri thetshelesa muzika wa. Mbamulovha dzheze
We listen to jazz music. The day before yesterday we listened to jazz music.
2.7 Ri ḽa pizza hangei Panarotti”s. Mbamulovha
We eat pizza at Panarotti”s. The day before yesterday we ate pizza at
Panarotti”s.
2.8 Ri khou pfa luimbo lwa George Michael. Mbamulovha
We hear a song of George Michael. The day before yesterday we heard a
song of George Michael.
2.9 Inwi ni khou shumesa. Mbamulovha
You are working hard. The day before yesterday you worked hard.
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2.10 Vhone vha khou guda Tshivenḓa. Mahoḽa

You are learning Tshivenḓa. Last year you learnt Tshivenḓa.
2.11 Vhone vha tamba Lotto. Mahoḽa
They play the Lotto. Last year they played the Lotto.
2.12 U dzula tsini na riṋe. Mahoḽa
He lives close to us. Last year he lived close to us.
2.13 U vhudza vhana mazwifhi.
You tell lies to the children. You told lies to the children.
2.14 Vhatukana vha thoma u ḽa. .
The boys start to eat. The boys started to eat.
2.15 Ene u nkhumbudza malume.
He reminds me of my uncle. He reminded me of my uncle.
2.16 U shulula maḓi.
She throws out the water. She threw out the water.
2.17 Mutukana u khou aluwa.
The boy is growing. The boy has grown up.
2.18 Mme vha vhofha phasela nga thambo.
Mom ties the parcel with a string. Mom tied the parcel with a string.
2.19 Vhone vha khou khokhonya vothini.
They are knocking on the door. They were knocking on the door.
2.20 VhoThabelo vha gidima Comrades Marathon
Thabelo and friends are running the Comrades marathon. Thabelo and
friends ran the Comrades marathon.
Answers
2.1 Mulovha ndo ya ḓoroboni.

2.2 Mulovha ndo lingedza u renga goloi.
2.3 Mulovha ndo renga zwiambaro.
2.4 Mulovha ndo vhona vhathu vhanzhi.
2.5 Mulovha ro tshimbila nga thekhisi.
2.6 Mulovha ro thetshelesa muzika wa dzheze.
2.7 Mulovha ro ḽa pizza hangei Panarotti”s.
2.8 Mulovha ro pfa luimbo lwa George Michael.
2.9 Mulovha no shumesa.
2.10 Mahoḽa vhone vho guda Tshivenḓa.
2.11 Mahoḽa vhone vho tamba Lotto.
2.12 Mahoḽa o dzula tsini na riṋe.
2.13 O vhudza vhana mazwifhi.
2.14 Vhatukana vho thoma vha ḽa.
2.15 Ene o nkhumbudza malume.
2.16 O shulula maḓi.
2.17 Mutukana o aluwa.
2.18 Mme vho vhofha phasela nga thambo.
2.19 Vhone vho khokhonya vothini.
2.20 VhoThabelo vho gidima Comrades Marathon.
QUESTION 3
The following sentences contain stative verbs. See if you can use ndo correctly to
change them into the past tense. On completion of the exercise you may look at our
answers below:
76
3.1 Ndo dzula kha makhulu

I am sitting on granny”s lap. I was sitting on granny”s lap.
3.2 Khomba yo eḓela zwavhuḓi.
The young girl sleeps well. The young girl slept well.
3.3 Vhavhulai zwino vho lovha.
The murderers are dead now. The murderers were dead last year.
3.4 Vhasidzana vho ima nga fhasi ha muri.
The girls are standing under the tree. The girls were standing under the tree.
Answers
3.1 Ndo vha ndo dzula kha makhulu.

3.2 Khomba yo vha yo eḓela zwavhuḓi.
3.3 Vhavhulahi vho mbo ḓi lovha mahoḽa.
3.4 Vhasidzana vho vha vho ima nga fhasi ha muri.
8.6 CONCLUSION
Apart from two past tense forms (ndo or o-past tense and the perfect tense),
we introduced you to stative meanings of verbs. This learning unit is one to
which you will probably need to return time and again, until you are familiar
with the sound changes required when forming the past tense forms of verbs.
In the next learning unit, we will be looking at the negative form of sentences
in the past tense. We will also indicate how object concords can be used to
avoid repeating nouns that are already known in a conversation.
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17 AIWA, A THO NGO...
18 NO, I DID NOT …
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• give the negative form of sentences in the past tense;
•• use object concords.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
In Learning Unit 8 we introduced you to two forms of the past tense, namely
the ndo past tense and the perfect tense. In this learning unit we shall explain
how sentences in these past tense forms are changed from positive to negative
statements in Tshivenḓa. You will also learn how to refer to items and persons
by means of their object concords.
9.2 NEW VOCABULARY

fothokhophi photocopy
dzifothokhophi photocopies
mushumelwa client
vhashumelwa clients
mukhushwane a cold/flu
luṅwalo/vhurifhi letter
maṅwalo/marifhi letters
ngoho really
ḓirowara drawer
ofisi office
dziofisi offices
tshithu thing
zwithu things
khomphuyutha computer
dzikhomphuyutha computers
muṅwe muṱangano another meeting
-humbula think (of)/remember
minetse minutes
78
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 9: No, i did not …
muvhigo report
adzhenda agenda
mudzulatshidulo chairperson
luṱingothendeleki lwanga my cell phone
ni so ngo you must not
khamusi maybe
matshelo tomorrow
kha fuḽoro ya vhuraru on the third floor
-rumela send for
-ṱoḓa need
-livhala/hangwa forget
-tswa steal
-aravha/fhindula answer
-wana find
-nthusa help me
mbava/fobvu thief
mavhava/mafobvu thieves
ACTIVITY 9.1
Learn the words in the above list – they will come in very handy when you have
to deal with issues in a typical office set-up. Add any new words that you come
across in this learning unit to the list.
9.3 DIALOGUE: OFISINI IN THE OFFICE
THABELO: Mpho, no vhuya na vhona luṱingothendeleki lwanga?

Cathy, have you seen my cell phone?
MPHO: Hai, a tho ngo lu vhona. No vha no lu vhea ngafhi?
No, I haven’t seen it. Where did you put it?
THABELO: A thi ḓivhi.
I don’t know.
Ndo ya hangei fuḽoroni ya vhuraru u ita dzifothokhophi.
I went to the third floor to make photocopies.
Musi ndi tshi vhuya nda wana lu si ho.
When I came back, it wasn’t there.
No fhedza u ṅwala muvhigo naa?
Have you finished writing the report?
MPHO: Hai, a thi athu u fhedza.
No, I haven’t finished.
Mulovha khomphuyutha yanga yo vha i sa shumi.
Yesterday my computer wasn’t working.
Ndo vha ndi sa koni u ita tshithu.
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I wasn’t able to do anything.

Ndi na fulufhelo uri ndi ḓo fhedza ṋamusi.
I hope that I will finish today.
Roger u ngafhi naa?
Where is Roger?
Khamusi a nga nthusa.
Maybe he can help me.
THABELO: Hai, o ya u vhona muthusiwa.
No, he went to see a client.
O vha a sa ḓivhi uri ni ḓo mu ṱoḓa.
He didn’t know that you would need him.
Ni so ngo vhuya na hangwa uri muṅwe muṱangano wo vhidzwa
nga Vho-Malabi.
You must not forget that another meeting has been called by
Mr Malabi.
MPHO: Zwavhukuma?
Really?
THABELO: Ee. Matshelo, nga iri ya vhuraru.
Yes. Tomorrow, at 3 o’ clock.
MPHO: Ee! Ndo vha ndi sa zwi ḓivhi.
Wow! I didn’t know.
Mudzulatshidulo ndi nnyi?
Who is the chairperson?
THABELO: Ndi Vho-Thiambi Mmbengwa.
Thiambi Mmbengwa.
MPHO: A tho ngo wana adzhenda.
I didn’t receive the agenda.
THABELO: Vho rumela nga imeiḽi.
They sent it by e-mail.
MPHO: Ndi zwone. Ndi ḓo sedza kha khomphuyutha.
OK. I will look on the computer.
THABELO: Ee! Luṱingothendeleki lwanga lu khou lila!
Good grief! My cellphone is ringing!
Ndi khou thoma u humbula zwino.
Now I remember.
Ndo lu vhea ḓirowarani.
I put it in the drawer.
Ndo takala ngauri fobvu a ḽo ngo tswa.
I am glad that a thief didn’t steal it.
9.4 NEGATIVE OF THE “NDO” PAST TENSE

To negate a verb in the ndo past tense, we merely place -sa- after the second
subject concord and the verb ends in -i. For example:
Ndo vha ndi khou lwala mulovha. > Ndo vha ndi sa lwali mulovha.
I was (being) ill yesterday. I wasn’t (being) ill yesterday.
Phungo o vha a tshi shuma Venḓa mahoḽa. > Phungo o vha a sa shumi
Venḓa mahoḽa.
80
Phungo was working in Venḓa last year. Phungo wasn’t working in

Venḓa last year.
In the case of verb stems with only one syllable, the i- falls away, e.g.:
Dzikhosi dzo vha dzi tshi khou lwa. > Dzikhosi dzo vha dzi sa khou lwa.
The kings were (busy) fighting. The kings were not (busy) fighting.
9.5 NEGATIVE OF THE PERFECT TENSE

There are two ways in which the perfect tense can be negated. These two
forms can be used interchangeably. They are discussed below:
(1) a thi/ha ngo is placed after the noun, followed by a subject concord and
the verb stem. Note that the subject concord looks slightly different than
the usual one. It ends in an -a instead of the usual -i or -u. We refer to
this form of the subject concord as SC2 while the usual form is called
SC1 (See summary below for a detailed exposition of these concords.)
The verb stem changes back to its present tense form, for example:
Ndo shuma kha khomphuyutha. > A thi ngo shuma kha
khomphuyutha.
I worked on the computer. I didn’t work on the computer.
Mutukana o tswa luṱingothendeleki. > Mutukana ha ngo tswa
luṱingothendeleki.
The young man stole the cell phone. The young man didn’t steal
the cell phone.
(2) ha is used before the subject concord, while the subject concord is
followed by ngo plus the verb stem in its present tense form, for example:
Ndo ya hayani. > A thi ngo ya hayani.
I went home. I didn’t go home.
Vhomakhulu vho ḽa matshipisi. > Vhomakhulu a vho ngo ḽa matshipisi.
Granny and othersothers ate chips. Granny and othersothers didn’t eat
chips.
SUMMARY: NOUN CLASSES

Class prefix, subject concord (positive and negative) in the perfect tense.
What follows is a summary of all the noun classes and their subject concords
both in the positive and negative of the perfect tense.
Number class prefix s/c pos neg example Form1
prefix+s/c noun (s/c2)
1 mu- u ha ngo muthu
2 vha- vh a vho ngo vhathu
1a - u ha ngo Thabelo
2a ɸ- vha a vho ngo vhoThabelo
3 mu- u a wo ngo mulomo
4 mi- i a yo ngo milomo
5 ḽi- ḽi a ḽo ngo pholisa
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6 ma- a ha ngo mapholisa

7 tshi- tshi a tsho ngo tshikolo
8 zwi- zwi a zwo ngo zwikolo
9 N- i a yo ngo mmbwa
10 dziN- dzi a dzo ngo dzimmbwa
11 lu- lu a lwo ngo luselo
14 vhu- vhu a ho ngo vhuswa
15 U- hu a ho ngo u ṱuwa
16 fha- hu a ho ngo fhasi
17 ku- hu a ho ngo kule
18 mu- hu a ho ngo murahu
20 ku- ku a kwo ngo kuḓu
21 ḓi ḽi a ḽo ngo ḓithu
SUMMARY: PERSONS
Pronouns, subject concords (positive and negative) in the perfect tense.
Persons Pronoun s/c pos. neg prefix+s/c
Form1 (s/c2) Form2 (s/c1)

1.p.s. (I) nṋe ndi a tho ngo a thi nga
2.p.s. (you, sing.) Inwi a a no ngo a ni nga
3.p.s. (he/she) ene ha ha ngo ha nga
1.p.p. (we) riṋe ri a ro ngo a ri nga
2.p.p. (you pl.) vhoiwe a a no ngo a ni nga
3.p.p. (they) vhone a a vho ngo a vha nga
ACTIVITY 9.2
Practise the following questions and answers:
(Make sure that you know the meaning of each sentence!) -O past tense:
A:
ṅwala mulingo
O vha a tshi khou vhona vhathusiwa mulovha?
vhala nganea
ita dzifothokhophi
ya muṱanganoni
shuma nga
khomphuyutha
82
O vha a tshi khou fhindula/aravha mulovha?

luṱingothendeleki
lwala
farwa nga ṱhoho
ṅwala vhurifhi
rumela muvhigo
B:
ṅwala mulingo
Hai, ndo vha ndi sa khou vhona vhathusiwa
vhala nganea
ita dzifothokhophi
ya muṱanganoni
shuma nga khomphuyutha
fhindula/aravha luṱingothendeleki
lwala
farwa nga ṱhoho
ṅwala vhurifhi
rumela muvhigo
ACTIVITY 9.3
Practise the following questions and answers, this time in the perfect tense:
Perfect tense
A:
bambela
Naa no gidima mulovha?
ya kerekeni
ḽa ṋama ya nngu
vhala bugu
hangwa u ita dzifothokhophi
thusa makhulu
eḓela hayani
tamba Lotto
wa
nwa mushonga
bvisa tshelede
B:
Hai, a tho ngo/a thi ngo bambela
gidima
ya kerekeni
ḽa ṋama ya nngu
vhala bugu
hangwa u ita dzifothokhophi
thusa makhulu
VEN1507/1 83

eḓela hayani
Hai, a tho ngo/a thi ngo tamba Lotto
wa
nwa mushonga
bvisa tshelede
9.6 OBJECT CONCORDS

When the object of a sentence is known to both the speaker and hearer, it
can be deleted from the sentence in which case the object concord appears
in the sentence. Let’s take for example the English sentence “I liked John”. If
both the speaker and the hearer know who John is, “John” can be replaced
by “him”. The same applies more or less to Tshivenḓa, except that the object
concord does not appear in the same spot as “John” in the sentence. While
“John” appears after the verb in Tshivenḓa, the object concord that refers to
him, appears before the verb. Compare for instance:
Ndi takalela John. > Ndo mu takalela.
I liked John. I liked him.
When the verb is a present tense verb, the morpheme a has to be used when
the object is deleted because the verb is no longer followed by another word.
(Refer to learning unit 3). This a is placed between the subject and the object
concord. Compare:
Ndi takalela John. > Ndi a mu takalela.
I like John. I like him.
The object concord of the first person singular, namely n-, differs from that
of the other persons in that it is written conjunctively with (fixed to) the verb
stem following it and it is furthermore responsible for changing the first sound
of the verb stem. In addition, if the first sound of the verb stem is l, the object
concord of the first person changes to n-:
n + vhona > mmbona see me
n + dzumba > ndzumba hide me
The other sound changes due to n- are illustrated below:

n + l > nd luma > nnduma bite me
n + r > nth raha > nthaha kick me
*V (Vowel) represents any vowel, i.e. a, e, i, o,u .
The subject and object concords of the first, second and third persons are
the following:
PERSONS, PRONOUNS, SUBJECT CONCORDS AND OBJECT

CONCORDS
Person Pronoun Subject concord Object

concord
1.p.s. I nṋe ndi ndi
84
1.p.p. we riṋe ri ri
2.p.s. you (sing) inwi ni u
2.p.p. you (plural) vhoiwe Ni ni
3.p.s. he/she ene U mu
3.p.p. they vhone vha vha
The object concords of the noun classes are very similar in form to subject
concords in that they resemble the class prefixes of the nouns they refer to.
The only class where the subject concord and object concord are not exactly
the same, is class 1 where the subject concord is u (class prefix minus the
nasal sound m-) while the object concord is mu.
ACTIVITY 9.2
Follow the example and replace the person or object with its object concord:
Ndi takalela John > Ndi a mu takalela.

John u nwa mushonga. >
Ro thusa makhulu. >
Vhasidzana vha ḽa ṋama. >
Pholisa ḽi vhona muthusiwa. >
Thabelo o ita dzifothokhophi. >
Malume vha ṅwala luṅwalo. >
Mmbwa yo fara tshimange. >
Vhana vha lavhelesa dzibugu hayani. >
Musadzi u aravha luṱingothendeleki. >
Ṅwana u funa vhuswa. >
Answers
John u a u nwa.
Ro vha thusa.
Vhasidzana vha a i ḽa.
Pholisa ḽi a mu vhona.
Thabelo o dzi ita.
Malume vha a lu ṅwala.
Mmbwa yo tshi fara.
Vhana vha a dzi lavhelesa hayani.
Musadzi u a lu aravha.
Ṅwana u a vhu funa.
VEN1507/185

QUESTION 1
Answer the following questions in the negative form. Try to answer them on your own
before looking at the answers that appear at the end of this activity:
1.1 Naa no vha ni tshi khou lwala mulovha? Hai, .
Were you ill yesterday? No, I wasn’t ill.
1.2 Naa no vha ni tshi khou ṱoḓa u renga goloi mulovha? Hai,
Did you want to buy a car yesterday? No, I didn’t want to buy it.
1.3 No vha ni na tshelede yo linganaho naa? Hai, .
Did you have enough money? No I did not have enough money.
1.4 Naa vhoiwe no vha ni tshi khou ya ḓoroboni mulovha? Hai, .
Did you go to town yesterday? No, we didn’t go to town.
1.5 Naa muvhuso wo vha u tshi khou vhusa zwavhuḓi? Hai .
Was the government ruling properly? No, it wasn’t ruling properly.
1.6 Naa ramavhengele o vha a tshi khou rengisa nga Swondaha? Hai,
Was the shop owner selling on Sunday? No, he wasn’t selling on Sunday.
1.7 No ita dzifothokhophi naa? Hai,
Did you make the photocopies? No, I didn’t make them.
1.8 No fhedza u ṅwala muvhigo naa? Hai,
Have you finished (writing) the report? No, I haven’t finished (writing) it.
1.9 Khomphuyutha yo shuma naa? Hai, .
Did the computer work? No, it didn’t work.
1.10 Muhulwane Vho-Maboho vho vhidza muṱangano naa? Hai,
Did Mr Maboho call a meeting? No, he didn’t call a meeting.
1.11 Naa no wana adzhenda? Hai, .
Did you receive the agenda? No, we didn’t receive it.
1.12 Naa no ya ḓoroboni mulovha? Hai,
Did you go to town yesterday? No, I didn’t go to town.
1.13 Naa Suzi o lingedza u renga goloi mulovha? Hai,
Did Suzi try to buy a car yesterday? No, she didn’t try to buy it.
1.14 Naa khomba dzo renga zwiambaro mulovha? Hai,
Did the young girls buy clothes yesterday? No, they didn’t buy them.
1.15 Naa no vhona vhathu vhanzhi? Hai,
Did you see many people? No, we didn’t see them.
1.16 Naa vhana vho ṱuwa nga bisi mulovha? Hai,
Did the children go by bus yesterday? No, they didn’t go by bus.
1.17 Naa vhokhotsi vho thetshelesa muzika wa dzheze? Hai,
Did father and othersothers listen to jazz music? No, they didn’t listen to it.
1.18 Naa vhomalume vho ḽa pizza ngei Little Ceasars? Hai, .
Did Uncle and others eat pizza at Little Ceasars? No, they didn’t eat pizza at
Little Ceasars.
1.19 Naa no pfa luimbo lwa George Michael? Hai,
Did you hear the song of George Michael? No, we didn’t hear it.
1.20 Naa Joyce o ṅwala minetse? Hai,
Did Joyce write the minutes? No, she didn’t write them.
Answers
1.1 Naa no vha ni tshi khou lwala mulovha? Hai, ndo vha ndi sa khou lwala.
Were you ill yesterday? No, I wasn’t ill.
1.2 Naa no vha ni tshi khou ṱoḓa u renga goloi mulovha? Hai, ndo vha ndi sa
khou ṱoḓa u renga goloi.
Did you want to buy a car yesterday? No, I didn’t want to buy it.
86
1.3 No vha ni na tshelede yo linganaho naa? Hai, ndo vha ndi si na tshelede yo
linganaho.
Did you have enough money? No I did not have enough money.
1.4 Naa vhoiwe no vha ni tshi khou ya ḓoroboni mulovha? Hai, ro vha ri sa khou
ya ḓoroboni.
Did you go to town yesterday No, we didn’t go to town.
1.5 Naa muvhuso wo vha u tshi khou vhusa zwavhuḓi? Hai, wo vha u sa khou
vhusa zwavhuḓi.
Was the government ruling properly? No, it wasn’t ruling properly.
1.6 Naa ramavhengele o vha a tshi khou rengisa nga Swondaha? Hai, o vha a
sa khou rengisa nga Swondaha.
Was the shop owner selling on Sunday? No, he wasn’t selling on Sunday.
1.7 No ita dzifothokhophi naa? Hai, a tho ngo dzi ita.
Did you make the photocopies? No, I didn’t make them.
1.8 No fhedza u ṅwala muvhigo naa? Hai, a tho ngo fhedza u u ṅwala.
Have you finished (writing) the report? No, I haven’t finished (writing) it.
1.9 Khomphuyutha yo shuma naa? Hai, a yo ngo shuma.
Did the computer work? No, it didn’t work.
1.10 Muhulwane Vho-Maboho vho vhidza muṱangano naa? Hai, a vho ngo vhidza
muṱangano.
Did Mr Maboho call a meeting? No, he didn’t call a meeting.
1.11 Naa no wana adzhenda? Hai, a ro ngo i wana.
Did you receive the agenda? No, we didn’t receive it.
1.12 Naa no ya ḓoroboni mulovha? Hai, a tho ngo ya ḓoroboni mulovha.
Did you go to town yesterday? No, I didn’t go to town.
1.13 Naa Suzi o lingedza u renga goloi mulovha? Hai, ho ngo lingedza u i Renga
mulovha.
Did Suzi try to buy a car yesterday? No, she didn’t try to buy it.
1.14 Naa khomba dzo renga zwiambaro mulovha? Hai, a dzo ngo renga zwiam-
baro mulovha.
Did the young girls buy clothes yesterday? No, they didn’t buy them.
1.15 Naa no vhona vhathu vhanzhi? Hai, a ro ngo vhona vhathu vhanzhi mulovha.
Did you see many people? No, we didn’t see them.
1.16 Naa vhana vho ṱuwa nga bisi mulovha? Hai, a vho ngo ṱuwa nga Bisi mu-
lovha.
Did the children go by bus yesterday? No, they didn’t go by bus.
1.17 Naa vhokhotsi vha thetshelesa muzika wa dzheze? Hai, a vha u thetshelesi.
Did father and others listen to jazz music? No, they didn’t listen to it.
1.18 Naa Vhomalume vho ḽa pizza ngei Little Ceasars? Hai, a vho ngo ḽa pizza Little Ceasars.
Did Uncle and others eat pizza at Little Ceasars? No, they didn’t eat pizza at
Little Ceasars.
1.19 Naa no pfa luimbo lwa George Michael? Hai, a ro ngo lu pfa.
Did you hear the song of George Michael? No, we didn’t hear it.
1.20 Naa Joyce o ṅwala minetse? Hai, ha ngo dzi ṅwala.
Did Joyce write the minutes? No, she didn’t write them.
9.7 CONCLUSION
You will have realised that the tense forms in Tshivenḓa are not negated in the
same way. The present tense form makes use of different strategies compared
to the -O past tense form and the perfect tense form. The future tense, which
we shall introduce to you in the next learning unit, also has its unique features
in the positive and negative form.
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19 MATSHELO
20 TOMORROW
LEARNING OUTCOMES
•• apply the new vocabulary given in this learning unit;
•• make meaningful sentences in the future tense;
•• negate sentences in the future tense.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
Now that you have learnt how to say things in the present and past tenses
there is one tense that remains, namely the future tense. We shall have a look
at positive and negative statements in the future tense.
10.2 NEW VOCABULARY

khovhe fish
dzikhovhe fishes
mashudu mavhuya (good) luck
mashudu prosperity
disikhoni to/at the disco
maḓuvha a vhuawelo a Khushumusi the Christmas holidays
ṅwaha muswa new year
nnḓu house
maḓuvha a vhuawelo holidays
-ofha/shavha be scared/flee
gurosari groceries
lungano story/tale
lwanzheni in/at the sea
arali if
-ṱuwa leave
-tshina dance
-anea tell (a story)
-bambela swim
-bvafha be lazy
nga ḽa 14 on the 14th
88
YUNITI YA NGUDO YA 10: Tomorrow
halwa beer
-awela relax
hone there
hafhu also, furthermore
ACTIVITY 10.1
Familiarise yourself with the new words in the preceding list and in the space
provided add new words or expressions that you come across in this learn-
ing unit.
10.3 DIALOGUE: MAḒUVHA A VHUAWELO DURING THE HOLIDAYS

THABELO: Vha yafhi nga maḓuvha a vhuawelo a Khushumusi?
Where are you going during the Christmas holidays?
CATHY: Ri khou ya Cape Town.
We are going to Cape Town.
THABELO: Vha ḓo ita mini henengei/hone?
What will you do there?
CATHY: Ri ḓo bambela lwanzheni.
We will swim in the sea.
Ri ḓo rea khovhe.
We will catch fish.
Hafhu ri ḓo tshimbila bitshini.
We will also walk on the beach.
Musi mvula i tshi na, ri ḓo ya dzikiḽabuni kana baisikoponi kana
hone mavhengeleni.
If it rains, we will go to the club or the movies or the shops.
THABELO: Naa ni ḓo ita bungee jumping?
Are you going to bungee jumping?
CATHY: Hai, ndi nga si ite hezwo zwithu.
No, I won’t do that.
Ndi a ofha/shavha.
I am scared.
THABELO: Naa ni ḓo ṱuwa lini?
When will you leave?
CATHY: Nga ḽa 14.
On the 14th.
THABELO: Ni ḓo ṱuwa nga moḓoro naa?
Are you going by car?
CATHY: Hai, ri nga si ṱuwe nga moḓoro.
No, we won’t take the car.
Ri ḓo ṱuwa nga tshidimela.
We will go by train.
THABELO: Ndi zwavhuḓi hezwo, Cathy.
O.K, Cathy.
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Ndi ni tamela mashudu mavhuya a Khushumusi na Ṅwaha

muswa.
I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
CATHY: Ndi a livhuwa/ha, Thabelo.
Thank you, Thabelo.
Na inwi ni ḓiphiṋe nga Khushumusi na ṅwaha muswa.
May you also enjoy Christmas and the new year.
10.4 FUTURE TENSE POSITIVE

To indicate that an action is going to take place in future, we use ḓo or ḓa after
the subject concord and before the verb stem and the present tense formative
a falls away, for example:
Ndi khou bika. > Ndi ḓo bika.
I am cooking. I will cook.
Thabelo u khou ya hayani. > Thabelo u ḓo ya hayani.
Thabelo is going home. Thabelo will go home.
10.5 FUTURE TENSE NEGATIVE

A verb in the future tense is negated by replacing ḓo with ha nga, for example:
TAKE NOTE:
•• The subject concord of nouns in classes 1 and 1a is a- instead of u-, for
example:
Musadzi u ḓo renga gurosari. > Musadzi a nga si renge gurosari.
The woman will buy groceries. The woman won’t buy groceries.
Mukegulu vha ḓo anea zwiambaro. > Mukegulu a vha nga ḓo anea
zwiambaro.
Granny will tell a story. Granny won’t tell a story.”
•• The negative of the first person singular, namely “I”, is ndi nga si, for
example:
Ndi ḓo ṅwala minetse. > A thi nga ḓo ṅwala minetse.
I will write the minutes. I won’t write the minutes.
Ndi ḓo thusa mukegulu. > A thi nga ḓo thusa mukeguluulu.
I will help granny. I won’t help granny.
ACTIVITY 10.2
Practise the following answers to the question about what you are going to do (a)
or not going to do (b) during the holidays:
(a) A: Ni ḓo ita mini nga maḓuvha a u awela?

B:
90
bambela lwanzheni
Ndi ḓo ........ tamba Lotto
ya hangei Margate
ya baisikoponi
rea khovhe
tshimbila bitshini
sala hayani
guda/vhala
shuma ngadeni
ṱalela theḽevishini
awela/ḓigeḓa ḓuvhani
ya mnyanyani
tshina
(b) A: Ni nga si ite mini nga maḓuvha a vhuawelo?

B:
gere mahatsi.
Ndi nga si ..... shume hayani.
ḽe nga maanḓa.
bambele lwanzheni.
ye munyanyani.
ṅwale maṅwalo.
vhale bugu.
gude/vhale.
bvafhe.
nwe halwa.
ṱalele theḽevishini.
dalele dzikhonani.
eḓele nga u ṱavhanya.
ACTIVITY 10.3
Complete the following sentences to express correct negative forms in the future
tense. Attempt the activity on your own before looking at the answers below:
ṅwana
dzimmbwa rea khovhe
vhatukana
pholisa
vhoThabelo
khomba
khotsi/baba
inwi
nṋe
vhana
VEN1507/191

Answers
ṅwana a nga si
dzimmbwa dzi nga si ree khovhe
vhatukana vha nga si
pholisa ḽi nga si
vhoThabelo vha nga si
khomba i nga si
khotsi/baba vha nga si
inwi ni nga si
nṋe ndi nga si
vhana vha nga si
QUESTION 1
Answer the following questions in the positive form (starting with Ee) or in negative
form (starting with Hai), as indicated. Try to answer the questions on your own before
looking at the answers which appear at the end of this activity:
1.1 Naa ni ḓo ya resituarenteni? Hai,

Are you going to the restaurant? No, I am not going to the restaurant.
1.2 Naa ni ḓo ya lwanzheni? Hai,
Are you going to the sea? No, we won’t go to the sea.
1.3 Naa makhulu vha ḓo takalela u bambela? Hai,
Will granny like to swim? No, she won’t like to swim.
1.4 Naa vhoJames vha ḓo ya maḓuvhani a u awela nga Ḽavhuraru?
Hai,
Will James and others go on holiday on Wednesday?
No, they won’t go on Wednesday.
1.5 Naa ri ḓo gotsha ṋama? Hai,
Will we have a braai? No, we won’t have a braai.
1.6 Naa malume vha ḓo ḓa nga bufho? Ee,
Will uncle come by plane? Yes, he will come by plane.
1.7 Naa vhanna vha ḓo kuvhangana ha vhafunzi? Ee,
Will the men meet at the minister’s place. Yes, they will meet at the minister’s
place?
1.8 Naa dzikhomba dzi ḓo ḽa pizza? Ee,
Will the young girls eat pizza? Yes, they will eat pizza.
1.9 Naa mapholisa vha ḓo fara mbava? Ee,
Will the policemen catch the thief? Yes, they will catch the thief.
1.10 Naa ṅwana u ḓo lila? Hai,
Will the baby cry? No, he/she won’t cry.
1.11 Naa ṅanga dzi ḓo alafha vhalwadze? Ee, .
Will the doctors cure the patients? Yes, they will cure the patients.
1.12 Naa mutukana u ḓo rea khovhe? Hai,
Will the young man catch fish? No, he won’t catch fish.
1.13 Naa muhulwane Vho Maboho vha ḓo vhidza muṱangano? Hai,
Will Mr Maboho call a meeting? No, he won’t call a meeting.
92
1.14 Naa mma vha ḓo bvisa tshelede? Hai,

Will Mom withdraw money? No, she won’t withdraw money.
1.15 Naa ni ḓo renga luṱingothendeleki? Hai,
Will you buy a cellphone? No, I won’t buy a cellphone.
1.16 Naa ni ḓo ya baisikoponi? Ee,
Will you go to the movies? Yes, we will go to the movies.
1.17 Naa khomphuyutha i ḓo shuma? Hai,
Will the computer work? No, it won’t work.
1.18 Naa vhafumakadzi vha ḓo tamba bola ya milenzhe? Hai,
Will the women play football? No, they won’t play football.
1.19 Naa vhasidzana vha ḓo ya ḓoroboni? Ee,
Will the girls go to town? Yes, they will go to town.
1.20 Naa ni ḓo eḓela zwavhuḓi? Ee,
Will you sleep well? Yes, I will sleep well.
Answers
1.1 Naa ni ḓo ya resituarenteni? Hai, a thi nga ḓo ya resituarenteni.
Are you going to the restaurant? No, I am not going to the restaurant.
1.2 Naa ni ḓo ya lwanzheni? Hai, a ri nga ḓo ya lwanzheni.
Are you going to the sea? No, we won’t go to the sea.
1.3 Naa makhulu vha ḓo takalela u bambela? Hai, a vha nga ḓo takalela u bambela.
Will granny like to swim? No, she won’t like to swim.
1.4 Naa vhoJames vha ḓo ya maḓuvhani a u awela nga Ḽavhuraru?
Hai, a vha nga ḓo ya maḓuvhani a u awela nga Ḽavhuraru.
Will James and others go on holiday on Wednesday?
No, they won’t go on holiday on Wednesday.
1.5 Naa ri ḓo gotsha ṋama? Hai, a ri nga ḓo gotsha ṋama.
Will we have a braai? No, we won’t have a braai.
1.6 Naa malume vha ḓo ḓa nga bufho? Ee, vha ḓo ḓa nga bufho.
Will Uncle come by plane? Yes, he will come by plane.
1.7 Naa vhanna vha ḓo kuvhangana ha vhafunzi? Ee, vha ḓo ṱangana ha vhafunzi.
Will the men meet at the minister’s place. Yes, they will meet at the
minister’s place?
1.8 Naa dzikhomba dzi ḓo ḽa pizza? Ee, dzi ḓo ḽa pizza.
Will the young girls eat pizza? Yes, they will eat pizza.
1.9 Naa mapholisa vha ḓo fara mbava? Ee, vha ḓo fara mbava.
Will the policemen catch the thief? Yes, they will catch the thief.
1.10 Naa ṅwana u ḓo lila? Hai, ha nga ḓo lila.
Will the baby cry? No, it won’t cry.
1.11 Naa madokotela vha ḓo alafha vhalwadze? Ee, vha ḓo alafha vhalwadze.
Will the doctors cure the patients? Yes, they will cure the patients.
1.12 Naa mutukana u ḓo rea khovhe? Hai, ha nga ḓo rea khovhe.
Will the young man catch fish? No, he won’t catch fish.
1.13 Naa muhulwane Vho-Maboho vha ḓo vhidza muṱangano? Hai, a vha nga ḓo
vhidza muṱangano.
Will Mr Maboho call a meeting? No, he won’t call a meeting.
1.14 Naa mma vha ḓo bvisa tshelede? Hai, a vha nga ḓo bvisa tshelede.
Will mom withdraw money? No, she won’t withdraw money.
1.15 Naa ni ḓo renga luṱingothendeleki? Hai, a thi nga ḓo renga luṱingothendeleki.
Will you buy a cellphone? No, I won’t buy a cellphone.
1.16 Naa ni ḓo ya baisikoponi? Ee, ri ḓo ya baisikoponi.
Will you go to the movies? Yes, we will go to the movies.
1.17 Naa khomphuyutha i ḓo shuma? Hai, i nga si shume.
Will the computer work? No, it won’t work.
VEN1507/1 93

1.18 Naa vhafumakadzi vha ḓo tamba bola ya milenzhe? Hai, a vha nga ḓo tamba
bola ya milenzhe.
Will the women play football? No, they won’t play football.
1.19 Naa vhasidzana vha ḓo ya ḓoroboni? Ee, vha ḓo ya ḓoroboni.
Will the girls go to town? Yes, they will go to town.
1.20 Naa ni ḓo eḓela zwavhuḓi? Ee, ndi ḓo eḓela zwavhuḓi.
Will you sleep well? Yes, I will sleep well.
10.6 CONCLUSION
We trust that you benefited from this module in which we aimed to equip
you with the very basic structure of the African languages, and Tshivenḓa in
particular, for you to be able to communicate in this language. We urge you
to apply the useful expressions that you learnt in your daily circumstances
and to request a mother-tongue speaker of Tshivenḓa to assist you with the
correct pronunciation and to acquire new vocabulary items.
94
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baldwin, BA. 1978. A paradigm for the classification of emotional crisis: im-
plications for crisis intervention. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
48:538–551.
Barker, P. 1981. Basic family therapy. London: Granada.
Barker, P. 1986. Basic family therapy. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Barth, K. 1959. Kirchliche Dogmatik, III, 2. Zürich: Zolikon.
Becvar, DS & Becvar, RJ. 1996. Family therapy: a systemic integration. Bos-
ton: Allyn & Bacon.
Bell, RA, Morris, RR, Holzer & Warheit, GJ. The clergy as a mental health
resource, parts 1 and 2. The Journal of Pastoral Care 30:103–115.
Benner, DG. 1987. Christian counseling and psychotherapy. Grand Rapids
MI: Baker Book House.
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© 2018 University of South Africa

Khanḓiso yo sedzuluswaho ri na ndugelo dzoṱhe

Yo ganḓiswa na u anḓadzwa nga

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 1: Kha ri ḓivhane 1

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 2: U sumba vhathu na zwithu 12

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 3: Vha/ni khou ita mini? 20

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 4: Vha shuma mini kha maḓuvha a vhege? 26

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 5: Khanedza 39

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 6: Hani, ngafhi, lini? 47

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 7: U ita,...U (vha) na 60

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 8: Mulovha 70

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 9: Aiwa, a tho ngo... 78

Yuniti ya Ngudo ya 10: Matshelo 88

The South African constitution entrenches 11 official languages. Nine of these

MIBVUMO YA MUAMBO YA TSHIVENḒA

•• pronounce the various speech sounds;

0.1 THE SPEECH SOUNDS OF TSHIVENḒA

In Tshivenḓa two main types of speech sounds are differentiated, namely,

Abercombie, further maintains that during the production of different vowels

Nasr (1984:181) on the other hand refers vowels as:

Examples: oma [oma] dry

Semi-vowels or semi-consonants differ from vowels in that whereas all vow-

b [b] is a voiced ejective bilabial plosive.

fh [ɸ] is a voiceless bilabial fricative.

m [m] is a voiced bilabial nasal.

ph [ph] is a voiceless aspirated bilabial plosive.

vh [β] is a voiced bilabial fricative.

w [w] is a voiced bilabial semi-vowel.

f [f] is a voiceless denti-labial fricative.

v [v] is a voiced denti-labial fricative

pf [ȹf] is a voiceless ejective affricate which begins with a denti-labial

Similar to the pf in the German (monetary unit of Germany) word

bv [ȸv] is a voiced denti-labial affricate which begins with denti-labial and

mpf [mȹf] is a voiced denti-labial nasal which occurs in nasal compounds

ṱ [ṱ] is a voiceless dental plosive.

ṱh [ṱh] is a voiceless aspirated dental plosive.

ḓ [ḓ] is a voiced dental plosive.

ḽ [ḽ] is a voiced dental lateral liquid.

ṋ [ṋ] is a voiced dental nasal.

th [th] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar plosive.

d [d] is a voiced alveolar plosive.

n [n] is a voiced alveolar nasal.

r [r] is a voiced alveolar trill.

s [s] is a voiced alveolar fricative.

z [z] is a voiced alveolar fricative.

ts [ts] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar affricate.

tsh [tsh] is a voiceless aspirated alveolar affricate.

dz [dz] is a voiced alveolar affricate.

zw [ᶎ] is a voiced labio-alveolar fricative

tsw [tᶊ] is a voiceless ejective labio-alveolar affricate.

tsw [tᶊh] is a voiceless aspirated labio-alveolar affricate.

dzw [dʐ] is a voiced labio-alveolar affricate.

zh [ʒ] is a voiced prepalatal fricative.

tsh [tʃ”] is a voiceless ejective prepalatal affricate.

tsh [tʃh] is a voiceless aspirated prepalatal affricate.

dzh [dʒ] is a voiced prepalatal affricate.

Example: -nyamalala disappear

y [j] is a voiced palatal semi-vowel.

ty [tj’] is a voiceless ejective palatal plosive.

dy [dj] is a voiced palatal plosive

kh [kh] is a voiceless aspirated velar plosive.

g [g] is a voiced velar plosive.

x [x] is a voiceless fricative velar.

ṅ [ᶇ] is a voiced velar nasal.