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[ARCHIVE] '-KU-' and Monosyllabic Verbs

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Fnirk1
Sweden

[ARCHIVE] '-KU-' and Monosyllabic Verbs

Post by Fnirk1 »

Originally posted by: machieng https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/37158662


Hi all! This is another installment of extra notes for you! This is a lot of information, and will probably make more sense to learners more advanced in the course; if you're just starting out, this may be a bit difficult to follow. If you're not comfortable with verb tenses and how they change in the negative, I recommend reviewing this post first. I also recommend taking your time when reviewing this

Transitive verbs -nywa (drink), -la (eat), -pa (give)

A prefix/infix is always needed for it to make sense, i.e. they never stand on their own (e.g. 'tumela' or 'tumenywa' do not exist). This prefix/infix will be one of 2 things; either '-ku-' or an object infix.

  • If the object is a person/living being (applies to kupa), the verb prefix/infix will always be the object infix (see example 3 below). For the other transitive verbs (-la, -nywa), object infixes are mostly used to reference a particular object(s), so for general objects, 'ku' is more commonly used
  • if the object is in the 2nd person, singular (wewe), the object infix it's still '-ku-' (see example 4)
  • for imperative commands, the prefix 'Ku-' is retained e.g. \"Kula!\" (\"Eat!\"), \"Kunyweni!\" (\"Drink!\")
SubjectObject (Concord singular/plural)With -ku-With object infixTranslation
SisiChai (I/I)Tunakunywa chaiTunainywa chaiWe are drinking (the) tea
YeyeMayai (Li/Ya)Anakula mayaiAnayala mayaiShe/he is eating (the) eggs
WeweSisi (Ni/Tu)Does not applyUmetupa majiYou have given us water
MimiWewe (Ku/Wa)Does not applyNitakupa zawadiI will give you a gift
NyinyiKeki (I/Zi)Kuleni keki!Does not applyEat (the) cake(s)!

The same rules apply for -mesha, -nge, -singe and the relatives -o and -ye

  • Tumeshakunywa chai: We have already drunk tea (OR Tumeshainywa chai)
  • Tungekunywa chai tungechelewa: If we we were to drink tea we would be late (OR Tungeinywa chai)
  • Tusingekunywa chai tusingechelewa: If we weren't to drink tea we wouldn't be late (OR Tusingeinywa chai tusingechelewa)
  • Chai anayokunywa ni moto: The tea that she/he is drinking is hot (OR Chai anayoinywa ni moto)
  • Anayekunywa chai ni mgeni: The person/one who is drinking tea is a guest (OR Anayeinywa chai ni mgeni)

The -ku- may or may not be dropped for the tenses in the sentences below. It's more common to drop the '-ku-', though, especially for negative past tense in the 3rd person, where ordinarily the 'ku' would show up twice (see example 3)

ConditionSentenceTranslation
Negative presentHatunywi/Hatukunywi chaiWe are not drinking tea
Negative immediate pastHatujanywa/Hatujakunywa chaiWe have not drunk tea
Negative pastHakunywa chai*She/she didn't drink tea
Subjunctive presentTunywe/Tukunywe chaiWe should drink tea
Conditional present -ki-Tukinywa/Tukikunywa chaiIf we drink tea (or while we drink tea)
Habitual present(Sisi) hunywa/hukunywa chaiWe (usually) drink tea
Narrative -ka-Tulikunywa kahawa, kisha tukanywa/tukakunywa chaiWe drank coffee, then we drank tea

the -ku- here is the marker for the negative past. You can say 'hakukunywa, but it's uncommon.

Intransitive verbs: -fa (die), -ja (come), -wa (be)

These verbs typically don't involve objects, and as such will never carry an object prefix/infix.

Things to note that apply to all the monosyllabic verbs:

  • For present tense (-na-), you can exclude 'ku' and only have the subject prefix and the verb stem. Like before, if you choose to exclude 'ku' you must also exclude the present tense infix (see example 1 below); \"wanaja\" does not exist
  • If your sentence is not in present tense and you want to exclude 'ku', an auxiliary verb is needed. In example 4 below, 'alikuwa' is the auxiliary verb. Otherwise, past or future tenses will retain 'ku' (See example 5)
  • Alternatively, you can still retain the infix \u2018-ku-\u2019.
SubjectWith -ku-Without \u2018-ku-\u2019Translation
WaoWageni wanakuja keshoWageni waja keshoThe guests are coming tomorrow
YeyeAtakuja keshoDoes not applyShe/He will come tomorrow
WaoWanyama wanakufa ziziniWanyama wafa ziziniAnimals are dying in the pen
YeyeYesu alikuwa akufe kisha afufukeYesu alikuwa afe kisha afufukeJesus was to die, then resurrect
YeyeJirani yao alikufa mwezi uliopitaDoes not applyTheir neighbour died last month
YeyeMwajiriwa hukuja saa mojaMwajiriwa huja saa mojaThe employee comes (in) at seven o'clock

This is also true for negative present tense:

(these are the above sentences, negated)

With -ku-Without '-ku-'
Wageni hawakuji keshoWageni hawaji kesho
Hatakuja keshoDoes not apply
Wanyama hawakufi ziziniWanyama hawafi zizini
Yesu hakuwa akufe kisha afufukeYesu hakuwa afe kisha afufuke
Jirani yao hakukufa mwezi uliopitaJirani yao hakufa mwezi uliopita
Mwajiriwa hakuji saa mojaMwajiriwa haji saa moja

Again, the 'ku' is the marker for negative past in example 5
The verbs \"kuwa\" (to be) and \"kuwa na\" (to have) are covered in [this post]

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