Language/Lingala/Grammar/Verb-to-be

Verb to be (simple present)

• I > Ngai/na: I am strong > Naza(li) makasi

• You > Yo/o: You are short > Oza(li) mukuse

• He/she > Ye/a: He/she is here > Aza(li) awa

• It > ~/e: It is good > Eza(li) malamu

• We > biso/to: We are young > Toza(li) bilenge

• You > bino/bo: You are far > Boza(li) musika

• They > bango/ba: They are nice > Baza(li) kitoko

We use the steem forms of pronouns with the verb.

E.g: 'I' is 'ngai', but we say Nazali for 'I am'

So, we have :

• I > na (steem form)
• You > o (steem form)
• He/she > a (steem form)
• It > e ( steem form)
• We > to (steem form)
• You > bo (steem form)
• They > ba (steem form)

Note: the 'li' verb ending is often omitted in daily talks. Here are some examples.

• I am a man > naza mobali (instead of 'nazali')
• She is a woman > Aza mwasi (instead of 'azali')