Language/Tswana/Grammar/Adjectives

Tswana Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Tswana learners! 😊
In this lesson, you will learn about adjectives in Tswana. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They tell us about the quality, size, color, shape, and other attributes of the noun or pronoun they are modifying.

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: How to Use "Be", Gender & Conditional Mood.

Basic Adjectives

Tswana adjectives are usually placed after the noun or pronoun they modify. For example:

Tswana	English
marago mma	mother's legs
motlhabi o tletseng	beautiful land
sebete sa mosadi	woman's dress

In the examples above, the adjective "mma" (mother) describes the "marago" (legs), "tletseng" (beautiful) describes the "motlhabi" (land), and "sa mosadi" (of woman) describes the "sebete" (dress).

One thing to note is that, in Tswana, adjectives do not change to reflect the gender of the noun or pronoun they modify. Therefore, the same adjective can be used to modify nouns of different genders. For example:

Tswana	English
Mosadi o tletseng	Beautiful woman
Moruti o tletseng	Beautiful teacher

In both examples, the same adjective "tletseng" is used to describe the noun "mosadi" (woman) and "moruti" (teacher).

Agreement

Tswana adjectives do however agree with the noun they modify in terms of the singular/plural distinction. For example:

Tswana	English
ngwana o tswang	Child who is from
bana ba tswang	Children who are from

In the examples above, the adjective "tswang" (from) agrees with the noun it modifies, "ngwana" (child), and "bana" (children), which are singular and plural respectively.

Comparatives and Superlatives

In Tswana, comparatives and superlatives are formed using adverbs, rather than adding suffixes to the adjectives. For example:

Tswana	English
setlhare sa tshiamo	A quieter room
setlhare sa matlhare	The quietest room

In the first example, the adverb "tshiamo" (quieter) is used to describe the noun "setlhare" (room). In the second example, the adverb "matlhare" (most quietly) is used to describe the same noun.

It's worth noting that the adverbial form of some Tswana adjectives is different from the adjective form itself. For example:

Tswana	English
tswelopele e eletsweng	A faster car
tswelopele e eletsang	The fastest car

In the examples above, the adverb "eletsweng" (faster) and "eletsang" (fastest) are used to modify the noun "tswelopele" (car).

Dialogue

To see how adjectives are used in context, let's look at a dialogue:

• Person 1: Ke tlhokomelo ya kereke e e tlhokometseng. (I am a dedicated member of the church.)
• Person 2: Ke tla o tlhokomela. O tswang gonne ke mo a kgona. (I will dedicate myself too. I am from there because I know it.)

In the dialogue above, the adjective "tlhokometseng" (dedicated) is used to describe the noun "kereke" (church). The adjective "tswang" (from) is used to describe the pronoun "o" (he/she) in the second sentence.

Practice

Here are some more examples for you to practice with:

Tswana	Pronunciation	English
metsi a mabedi	may-tsee ah mah-bay-dee	Two water (i.e. two glasses of water)
diphologolo tse tsa naga	dee-pho-lo-golo tse tsa naga	Big countries
sa gagwe	sah gah-gweh	Of him/her/them

Translate the Tswana sentences and try to create your own sentences using adjectives. You can practice with a language partner you find on Polyglot Club.

Conclusion

Adjectives are an important part of Tswana grammar and help to give more information about the nouns and pronouns that they modify. Remember that Tswana adjectives usually come after the noun or pronoun they modify, but agree in terms of singular or plural. Adjectives can also be used to create comparatives and superlatives, often through the use of adverbs.

To improve your Tswana 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. 😎

Finished this lesson? Check out these related lessons: Pronouns, How to Use Have & Negation.

Other Lessons

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

Sources

• The 'new adjectives' of Tswana