7. VERBS
A verb is an action word; it is something that you do.
ONE SOUND
These verbs only have one syllable or one sound.
Some of these verbs have an invisible 'i' in front of them. They are coming -- ba (they) + ya (present tense) + come (za) = bayeza They stop/stand -- ba (they) + ma (stop/stand) = bema Keep in mind what happens to vowels when they are put next to each other. For a reminder, go to the lesson on CHANGES. |
VOWEL VERBS
When a verb starts with a vowel, we must follow the rules for vowel CHANGES.
I am scared -- ngi (I) + esaba (scared) = ngesaba What are you doing? -- u (you) + enza (do) + ni (what) = wenzani? We increased -- si (we) + anda (increase) + ile (past tense) = sandile |
COMMANDS
A command is an instruction. A verb can be used as a command.
If a verb only has one sound, we add YI to the beginning.
If we give a command to more than one person, we add NI to the end.
REFLEXIVE (self)
To show that someone is doing something for themselves, we add ZI before the verb.