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(Created page with "thumb <div style="font-size:300%"> The Past Tense: To Be – Learn the Lingala Language</div> The past tense As with all the other...") |
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To create the past tense of kozala, first drop the ‘ko-’ from the infinitive form and replace it with the appropriate subject pronoun – again, na-, o-, a-, to-, bo-, ba-, e- – and then add ‘-ki’ to the end of the infinitive root. | To create the past tense of kozala, first drop the ‘ko-’ from the infinitive form and replace it with the appropriate subject pronoun – again, na-, o-, a-, to-, bo-, ba-, e- – and then add ‘-ki’ to the end of the infinitive root. | ||
na+zala+ki nazalaki (nah-ZAH-lah-kee) I | {| class="wikitable" | ||
o+zala+ki ozalaki (oh-ZAH-lah-kee) you | | colspan="3" |Lingala | ||
a+zala+ki azalaki (ah-ZAH-lah-kee) he/she | |English | ||
to+zala+ki tozalaki (toh-ZAH-lah-kee) we were | |- | ||
bo+zala+ki bozalaki (boh-ZAH-lah-kee) you were (plural) | |na+zala+ki | ||
ba+zala+ki bazalaki (bah-ZAH-lah-kee) they | |nazalaki | ||
e+zala+ki ezalaki (eh-ZAH-lah-kee) it | |(nah-ZAH-lah-kee) | ||
|I was | |||
|- | |||
|o+zala+ki | |||
|ozalaki | |||
|(oh-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|you were | |||
|- | |||
|a+zala+ki | |||
|azalaki | |||
|(ah-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|he/she was | |||
|- | |||
|to+zala+ki | |||
|tozalaki | |||
|(toh-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|we were | |||
|- | |||
|bo+zala+ki | |||
|bozalaki | |||
|(boh-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|you were (plural) | |||
|- | |||
|ba+zala+ki | |||
|bazalaki | |||
|(bah-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|they were | |||
|- | |||
|e+zala+ki | |||
|ezalaki | |||
|(eh-ZAH-lah-kee) | |||
|it was | |||
|} | |||
Somewhat confusingly, Lingala uses the same word for yesterday and tomorrow – lobi (LOH-bee) – so it is important to listen for (or look for, if you’re reading) the distinctive ‘kee’ sound at the end of every past tense verb form. | Somewhat confusingly, Lingala uses the same word for yesterday and tomorrow – lobi (LOH-bee) – so it is important to listen for (or look for, if you’re reading) the distinctive ‘kee’ sound at the end of every past tense verb form. | ||
Revision as of 15:57, 4 October 2021
The Past Tense: To Be – Learn the Lingala Language
The past tense As with all the other tense formations, the past tense is formed with a combination of the subject pronoun, the root stem and a consistent ending that signals that it’s a past tense form.
To create the past tense of kozala, first drop the ‘ko-’ from the infinitive form and replace it with the appropriate subject pronoun – again, na-, o-, a-, to-, bo-, ba-, e- – and then add ‘-ki’ to the end of the infinitive root.
| Lingala | English | ||
| na+zala+ki | nazalaki | (nah-ZAH-lah-kee) | I was |
| o+zala+ki | ozalaki | (oh-ZAH-lah-kee) | you were |
| a+zala+ki | azalaki | (ah-ZAH-lah-kee) | he/she was |
| to+zala+ki | tozalaki | (toh-ZAH-lah-kee) | we were |
| bo+zala+ki | bozalaki | (boh-ZAH-lah-kee) | you were (plural) |
| ba+zala+ki | bazalaki | (bah-ZAH-lah-kee) | they were |
| e+zala+ki | ezalaki | (eh-ZAH-lah-kee) | it was |
Somewhat confusingly, Lingala uses the same word for yesterday and tomorrow – lobi (LOH-bee) – so it is important to listen for (or look for, if you’re reading) the distinctive ‘kee’ sound at the end of every past tense verb form.
Source
https://lobalingala.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/23042014-loba-lingala.pdf