Language/Somali/Grammar/Future-Tense

Somali Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Somali learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about the future tense in Somali. We will look at how to form sentences in the future tense and how to use them in everyday conversations.

The future tense is used to talk about events that will happen in the future. In Somali, the future tense is formed by adding the suffix -ayaa to the verb stem. For example, the verb "to write" (qor) becomes qori-ayaa in the future tense.

Let's look at some examples:

Somali	Pronunciation	English Translation
An qori-ayaa	an qor-ee-ayaa	I will write
Ad qori-ayso	ad qor-ee-ay-so	You will write
Wuu qori-ayaa	wuu qor-ee-ayaa	He/She will write
Waxay qori-ayeen	wax-ay qor-ee-ay-een	They will write

The future tense can also be used to make predictions about the future. For example:

Somali	Pronunciation	English Translation
Waxaan qori-ayaa buug	wax-aan qor-ee-ayaa boog	I will write a book
Waxay qori-ayaan buug	wax-ay qor-ee-ay-aan boog	They will write a book
Wuxuu qori-ayaa buug	wux-uu qor-ee-ayaa boog	He/She will write a book

The future tense can also be used to express wishes or hopes for the future. For example:

Somali	Pronunciation	English Translation
Waxaan rajeynayaa inaan qori-ayo buug	wax-aan ra-jay-na-yaa in-aan qor-ee-ay-o boog	I hope I will write a book
Waxay rajeynayaan inay qori-ayaan buug	wax-ay ra-jay-na-yaan in-ay qor-ee-ay-aan boog	They hope they will write a book
Wuxuu rajeynayaa inuu qori-ayo buug	wux-uu ra-jay-na-yaa in-uu qor-ee-ay-o boog	He/She hopes he/she will write a book

It is important to note that the future tense is not used to talk about habits or routines. For example, if you want to say "I usually go to school", you would not use the future tense. Instead, you would use the present tense.

Now that you know how to form sentences in the future tense, let's practice using them in everyday conversations.

Conversation Practice

Here are some common phrases you can use when talking about the future:

Somali	Pronunciation	English Translation
Maalinta berri waan tagi-ayaa	ma-lin-ta ber-ri waan ta-gee-ay-aa	I will go tomorrow
Maalinta berri waad tagi-aysaa	ma-lin-ta ber-ri waad ta-gee-ay-saa	You will go tomorrow
Maalinta berri wuu tagi-ayaa	ma-lin-ta ber-ri wuu ta-gee-ay-aa	He/She will go tomorrow
Maalinta berri way tagi-ayaan	ma-lin-ta ber-ri way ta-gee-ay-aan	They will go tomorrow

Now it's your turn! Try making your own sentences in the future tense.

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Related Lessons

• Negation
• Time
• Adjectives
• Conditional Mood
• Pronouns
• Possession
• Questions
• Nouns
• Gender