Language/Wolof/Grammar/Conjugation

Conjugation in Wolof

Conjugation with respect to aspect instead of tense

In Wolof, tenses like present tense, past tense, and future tense are just of secondary importance, they even play almost no role. Of crucial importance is the aspect of an action from the speaker's point of view. The most important distinction is whether an action is perfective, i.e., finished, or imperfective, i.e., still going on, from the speaker's point of view, regardless whether the action itself takes place in the past, present, or future. Other aspects indicate whether an action takes place regularly, whether an action will take place for sure, and whether an action wants to emphasize the role of the subject, predicate, or object of the sentence. As a result, conjugation is not done by tenses, but by aspects. Nevertheless, the terms “present, past, future, habitual …” will be used in this manual to make it more accessible to volunteers, although aspect pronoun might be a better term.

Example: The verb dem means "to go"; the temporal pronoun naa means "I already/definitely", the temporal pronoun dinaa means "I am soon / I will / I will be soon"; the temporal pronoun damay means "I (am) regularly/usually". Now the following sentences can be constructed: Dem naa. "I go already / I have already gone." - Dinaa dem. "I will go soon / I am just going to go." - Damay dem. "I usually/regularly/normally go."

If the speaker absolutely wants to express that an action took place in the past, this is not done by conjugation, but by adding the suffix -(w)oon to the verb, mainly the static verbs. (Please bear in mind that in a sentence the temporal pronoun is still used in a conjugated form along with the past marker.)

Example: Bëggoon naa dem Ndakaaru. "I wanted to go to Dakar."

Source : http://publish.illinois.edu/wolof201fall14/files/2014/08/NEW_WOLOF_BOOK.pdf

Different types of verb conjugation in Wolof

Verbs in Wolof can be classified into four types, based on the vowel that appears before the last consonant of the verb stem. The four types of verbs are:

-a verbs: These are the most common verbs in Wolof and have the vowel "a" before the last consonant of the verb stem.

For example:

• tudd (to see)
• jang (to say)
• ndox (to hear)

To conjugate -a verbs in the present tense, you simply replace the -a with the appropriate suffix for the subject pronoun.

Example:

• Ma tudd (I see)
• Ya tudd (You see)
• Lu tudd (He/she/it sees)
• La tudd (We see)
• Na tudd (You all see)
• Bu tudd (They see)

-i verbs: These verbs have the vowel "i" before the last consonant of the verb stem.

For example:

• mbir (to carry)
• ci mbir (to help carry)
• mbitt (to know)

To conjugate -i verbs in the present tense, you replace the -i with the appropriate suffix for the subject pronoun.

Example:

• Ma mbir (I carry)
• Ya mbir (You carry)
• Lu mbir (He/she/it carries)
• La mbir (We carry)
• Na mbir (You all carry)
• Bu mbir (They carry)

-u verbs: These verbs have the vowel "u" before the last consonant of the verb stem.

For example:

• tukk (to close)
• muuñ (to drink)
• sukk (to be sweet)

To conjugate -u verbs in the present tense, you replace the -u with the appropriate suffix for the subject pronoun.

Example:

• Ma tukk (I close)
• Ya tukk (You close)
• Lu tukk (He/she/it closes)
• La tukk (We close)
• Na tukk (You all close)
• Bu tukk (They close)

-e verbs: These verbs have the vowel "e" before the last consonant of the verb stem.

For example:

• gëm (to sleep)
• xëy (to come)
• dëgg (to take)

To conjugate -e verbs in the present tense, you replace the -e with the appropriate suffix for the subject pronoun.

Example:

• Ma gëm (I sleep)
• Ya gëm (You sleep)
• Lu gëm (He/she/it sleeps)
• La gëm (We sleep)
• Na gëm (You all sleep)
• Bu gëm (They sleep)

In addition to the present tense, Wolof has past and future tenses, as well as other verbal forms such as the imperative and the subjunctive. Mastering the different verb conjugations in Wolof is essential for effective communication in the language.

Other Lessons

• Pronouns and How to ask questions
• Conditional Mood
• Intensifiers
• Conditional
• Notable characteristics
• Static verbs
• Plural Nouns — Definite articles
• Questions
• Enonciative pronouns
• Pronouns