Language/Lingala/Grammar/The-subjunctive

The subjunctive – Learn the Lingala Language

Yes, Lingala has a subjunctive form, but it’s a bit limited compared with a lot of other languages.   

The subjunctive is commonly restricted to just three main verbs – kolinga (to want or to like or love), kozela (to wait for), and kosengela (to need). And then it is used in conjunction with a second verb whose conjugation is slightly modified.   

In many ways, the construction is similar to the future tense construction, with a conjugated first verb and the infinitive form of a second. For example, ‘I am going to buy’. Using the standard form, this would be nakei (I am going) + kosomba (to buy).   

But with the subjunctive form, this changes slightly to ‘I want to buy’. To construct this, first conjugate the verb kolinga (to want):

• nalingi – I want
• olingi – you want
• alingi – he/she wants
• tolingi – we want
• bolingi – you want (plural)
• balingi – they want
• elingi – it wants   

Next, create the subjunctive form you want to use, in this case, kosomba.   

To create the subjunctive form, drop the ‘ko-‘ at the beginning, but keep the ‘- a’ at the end. Then add the appropriate subject pronoun. So this becomes:

• na+somba – nasomba
• o+somba – osomba
• a+somba – asomba
• to+somba – tosomba
• bo+somba – bosomba
• ba+somba – basomba    

Now combine the two to make the complete form:  

• nalingi nasomba – I would like to buy
• olingi osomba – you would like to buy
• alingi asomba – he/she would like to buy
• tolingi tosomba – we would like to buy
• bolingi bosomba – you would like to buy (plural)
• balingi basomba – they would like to buy
• elingi esomba – it would like to buy   

And it will be the same for the other verbs. Here’s another example using komona (to see):

• nalingi namona – I would like to see
• olingi omona – You would like to see
• alingi amona – he/she would like to see
• tolingi tomona – we would like to see
• bolingi bomona – you would like to see (plural)
• baling bamona – they would like to see
• elingi emona – it would like to see   

The same approach is used when using kozela (to take) as the primary verb, in this case paired with kozua (to take)

• nazeli nazua – I wait to take
• ozeli ozua – you wait to take
• azeli azua – he/she waits to take
• tozeli tozua – we wait to take
• bozeli bozua – you wait to take (plural)
• bazeli bazua – they wait to take
• ezeli ezua – it waits to take   

And for kosengela (to need) as the primary verb, here paired with kosala (to work):

• nasengeli nasala – I need to work
• osengeli osala – you need to work
• asengeli asala – he/she needs to work
• tosengeli tosala – we need to work
• bosengeli bosala – you need to work (plural)
• basengeli basala – they need to work
• esengeli esala – it needs to work

Source

https://lobalingala.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/23042014-loba-lingala.pdf