To have and there is
Lesson 3 of 12≈ 12 min
Ewa, tsina mpesa
Una mpesa? Ewa, tsina mpesa. « Do you have money? Yes, I do. » For « to have », all you need is -na and a start that says who has it.
To have
It is tsina, not nina.
| Who | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | tsina | Ewa, tsina ntrovi — Yes, I have bananas. |
| you | una | Una mpesa ? — Do you have money? |
| he, she | ana | Mmangu ana wana wararu — My mother has three children. |
| we | rina | Rina mpango mvia — We have a new project. |
| a thing like bahari, nyumba | ina | Bahari ina fi nyengi — The sea has many fish. |
| a thing like mnadzi, mfumo | una | Mfumo una suku saɓa — The week has seven days. |
| a thing like shimasiwa | shina | Shimasiwa shina milaguo minne — The archipelago's language has four varieties. |
What you have
- Ewa, tsina ntrovi — Yes, I have bananas.
- Una wananya ? — Do you have brothers and sisters?
- Mmangu ana wana wararu — My mother has three children.
- Bahari ina fi nyengi — The sea has many fish.
- Hazi ini ina faida — This work is profitable.
- Nyumba yatru ina malili mararu — Our house has three beds.
- Mfumo una suku saɓa — The week has seven days.
- Mnadzi una nadzi — The coconut palm has coconuts.
There is: vwa
To say what there is in a place or at a time, use vwa: Leo vwa jua, « today there is sunshine ». The place or the time comes before or after.
In the negative it is kavwasi: Kavwasi maji, « there is no water ».
There is, there is not
- Lakuruni vwa mpaha — In the yard there's a cat.
- Leo vwa jua — Today it's sunny.
- Bazari vwa wantru wengi — There are a lot of people at the market.
- Klasini vwa wanazoni shirini — There are twenty pupils in the class.
- Kavwasi mpesa — There's no money.
- Kavwasi wantru bazari leo — There's nobody at the market today.
- Leo kavwasi vua — There's no rain today.
- Kavwasi maji — There's no water.
Practice
« Yes, I have bananas. »
Ewa, ___ ntrovi
« Today there is sunshine. »
Leo ___ jua
Mini-quiz
« Do you have money? »
___ mpesa ?
You can say what there is
You can say what you have and what there is. Kavwasi has already shown you the negative: the next lesson takes it up for all verbs.