10. TENSES

To keep it simple, we will look at the following basic tenses:

THE PRESENT IS A GIFT

YA is similar to the English suffix -ING.
It appears after the subject concord and before the object concord and verb.
We can write a complete sentence with YA in it.
If a word comes after the verb, we usually remove YA.

I am thanking (thank you) -- ngiyabonga
We are playing -- siyadlala

SA is similar to the English word STILL.
It appears after the subject concord and before the object concord.
We can write a complete sentence with SA in it.
We never use SA and YA at the same time.

I am still learning -- ngisafunda
We are still well -- sisaphila

THE PAST IS HISTORY

When we want to say something happened, we usually only need to change the verb ending.
There are two ways to change the verb into past tense:

1. Change the A at the end of the verb to E.
2. Change the A at the end of the verb to ILE.

If a verb ends in E, the sentence is incomplete. Something needs to follow the verb.

I studied at Wits -- ngifunde eWits

If a verb ends in ILE, the sentence is complete. Nothing must follow the verb.

We (were) married -- sishadile

THE FUTURE IS A MYSTERY

ZO is similar to the English word WILL.
It appears after the subject concord and before the object concord.
We can write a complete sentence with ZO in it.
If a word comes after the verb, we do not need to remove ZO.

I will study -- ngizofunda
I will study at Wits -- ngizofunda eWits