Language/Tswana/Grammar/Negation

Tswana Grammar - Negation

Hi Tswana learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Tswana. Negation is a crucial aspect of language learning, as it allows us to express negative ideas and concepts. With a good understanding of negation, you can make much more complex sentences!

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: How to Use "Be", Plurals & How to Use Have.

Negation Forms

In Tswana, negation is expressed through a variety of forms. Depending on the context, you'll need to use different forms to express negation. Here are the five negation forms in Tswana, along with their meanings and examples:

Tswana	Pronunciation	English
nnyaa	ɲaː	not
gore	ɣɔrɛ	that...not
ga	xɑ	not
se	sɛ	not
ke	kɛ	not

Let's examine each of these forms in more detail with examples.

Nnyaa

Nnyaa is the most common form of negation in Tswana. It is placed immediately before the verb, adjective, or adverb being negated. Here are some examples:

• Ke batla go ya kaofela. ('I want to go everywhere.') vs. Ke batla ga nnyaa go ya kaofela. ('I don't want to go everywhere.')
• O tsenya ngwana. ('You carry the baby.') vs. O tsenya ga nnyaa ngwana. ('You don't carry the baby.')

Gore

Gore is used to negate an entire clause or a phrase in a sentence. It is similar to the English word "that" used in negative sentences. Here are some examples:

• O re ke itse sentle. ('He said I knew well.') vs. O re gore ke se itse sentle. ('He said that I did not know well.')
• Ke tlabe ke ya go utlwala mmogo. ('I want to listen to the radio longer.') vs. Ke tlabe ke ya gore ke ga go utlwale mmogo. ('I want to that I do not listen to the radio longer.')

Ga

Ga is used to negate a noun or a verb without an object. Here are some examples:

• Ke mo Tswana. ('I am Tswana.') vs. Ke ga Tswana. ('I am not Tswana.')
• O mo ereng? ('Where is he?') vs. O se ko teng. ('He is not there.')

Se

Se is used to negate verbs with an object. Here are some examples:

• Ba itshwaretse bosula. ('They prepared food for the homeless.') vs. Ba se itshwaretse bosula. ('They did not prepare food for the homeless.')
• Ke itse go tlhokomela dithulaganyo tsame. ('I know how to solve our problems.') vs. Ke se itse go tlhokomela dithulaganyo tsame. ('I do not know how to solve our problems.')

Ke

Ke is used to negate a phrase that has no subject. Here are some examples:

• Re kgonne go bona kgang e e ntle. ('We can see a beautiful scenery.') vs. Re tla kgonne ke nnyaa go bona kgang e e ntle. ('We won’t be able to see a beautiful scenery.')
• Fa e le theledi, ga e tle e rata ntwa. ('If it is a snake, it will not love a bird.') 'vs. Fa e le theledi, ke nnyaa gore e tle a rata ntwa. ('If it is a snake, it will not love a bird.')

Examples in Dialogue

To help put these concepts into context, let's look at an example dialogue:

• Person 1: O tla nna? ('Will you come?')
• Person 2: Ga ke tla nna. ('I will not come.')
• Person 1: Ke a go tsenya kgang. ('I will take you to the scenery.')
• Person 2: Ke nna le ntwa, ga ke batle. ('I have a snake, I do not want to go.')

In this dialogue, we see four of the five negation forms in Tswana used: ga, nnyaa, gore, and ke.

Summary

In this lesson, we looked at negation in Tswana, exploring the different forms used and how they are applied in practice. With a good understanding of negation, you can make much more complex sentences.

Remember that you can use the Polyglot Club website to find native speakers and ask them any questions about Tswana. Additionally, there are great resources on Tswana Grammar on the Polyglot Club website.

Sources

• Negation in Setswana - University of Johannesburg
• Peace Corps/ Botswana - An Introduction to the Setswana Language

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• Gender
• Plurals
• Questions
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• How to Use Be
• How to Use Have