Language/Shona/Grammar/Plurals

Shona Grammar - Plurals

Hi Shona learners!😊
Learning Shona Grammar can be a challenge, but it's also a great way to improve your language skills. In this lesson, we'll be looking at how to form plurals in Shona.

Overview

In Shona, there are two main ways to form plurals: by adding a suffix or by reduplication. Let's take a look at each of these methods in more detail.

Suffixes

The most common way to form plurals in Shona is by adding a suffix. The suffix used depends on the noun's gender and the last letter of the noun. For example, if the noun ends in a vowel, the suffix -va is added. If the noun ends in a consonant, the suffix -vhu is added.

For example, the plural of mhuka (book) is mhukavhu (books). The plural of nyoka (snake) is nyokava (snakes).

Reduplication

Another way to form plurals in Shona is by reduplication. This means repeating the noun twice. For example, the plural of moto (fire) is motomoto (fires). The plural of mhuka (book) is mhukamhuka (books).

It's important to note that reduplication is only used for certain nouns. It's not used for all nouns.

Examples

Let's look at some examples of plurals formed using suffixes and reduplication.

• moto (fire) → motomoto (fires)
• nyoka (snake) → nyokava (snakes)
• mhuka (book) → mhukamhuka (books)
• mhando (road) → mhandovhu (roads)
• maziso (picture) → mazisova (pictures)

Practice

Now it's time to practice forming plurals in Shona. Try to form the plurals of the following words.

• mupfumi (person)
• mugwagwa (tree)
• muzi (house)
• mucheche (child)
• mupiro (river)

Answers:

• mupfumivhu (people)
• mugwagwagwa (trees)
• muzizi (houses)
• muchechevhu (children)
• mupiropiri (rivers)

To improve your Shona Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Related Lessons

• Questions
• Negation
• Gender
• Adjectives
• Conditional Mood
• Pronouns