The completed form
Lesson 7 of 12≈ 18 min
Ewa, tsilala fetre
Ulala fetre? Ewa, tsilala fetre. « Did you sleep well? Yes, I slept well. » No -si- here: the person comes straight before the root.
The completed form for each person
| Who | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | tsi- | Ewa, tsiyelewa — Yes, I understood. |
| you | u- | Uyelewa ? — Did you understand? |
| he, she | a- | Mwana alala — The child has fallen asleep. |
| we | ri- | rihasibu — we have counted |
| they | wa- | Wana walemewa — The children are tired. |
| a thing like vua | i- | Vozuzi vua inye swafi — The day before yesterday it rained a lot. |
| a plural in zi- | zi- | Zintrovi ziivu — The bananas are ripe. |
The ending follows the root
The last vowel of the verb takes the colour of the vowel in the root:
- root in o: huona gives tsimono, husoma gives tsisomo;
- root in i: huhima gives tsihimi, huliva gives tsilivi;
- root in u: huvuna gives avunu;
- root in e: hutrendra gives atrendre;
- root in a: the ending stays -a, as in tsilala.
With hwendra « to go », you say tsendre « I went ».
The ending that changes
- Tsimono mwananyaho vojana — I saw your brother (or sister) yesterday.
- Tsisomo shindzuani — I studied shiNdzuani.
- Ewa, tsihimi fetre — Yes, I got up well.
- Avunu mhogo — He harvested cassava.
- Mlozi asiki fi ndribwavu — The fisherman caught a big fish.
- Mwana wangu atrendre — My child has grown.
- Tsendre Mutsamudu na mmangu — I went to Mutsamudu with my mother.
- Ewa, tsilala fetre — Yes, I slept well.
Yesterday, last week
- Tsinunua manga ntraru vojana — I bought three mangoes yesterday.
- Tsika tsendre bazari vojana na koko — I went to the market yesterday with grandmother.
- Mmangu alawa Moya asubuhi — My mother left Moya this morning.
- Mfumo wavira tsendre ngomani Domoni — Last week I went to a party in Domoni.
- Mdjeni awaswili ? — Has the stranger arrived?
- Ulawa havi ? — Where are you coming from?
- Tsilawa Mutsamudu — I come from Mutsamudu.
A state reached
The completed form also tells the state you have reached: alemewa « he is tired », while asilemewa means « he is getting tired ». Marahaɓa, tsikura: « thank you, I am full ».
In the negative, the verb takes ka- without -si-: kasimpara « he doesn't find her », kampara « he didn't find her ».
The state, and the negative
- Wana walemewa — The children are tired.
- Marahaɓa, tsikura — Thank you, I'm full.
- Koko avono — Grandmother has recovered.
- Ɓako aregeya, kampara mtrumshe wahe — The old man came back and didn't find his wife.
- Tsimhiri ɓe kadjibu — I called him, but he didn't answer.
- Wawe kwayelewa ? — Didn't you understand?
Practice
« I studied shiNdzuani. »
___ shindzuani
« Yes, I got up well. »
Ewa, ___ fetre
Mini-quiz
« He harvested cassava. »
___ mhogo
You can talk about yesterday
Present, future, completed form: you have the three everyday tenses. Next: asking questions.