Language/Lingala/Grammar/The-subjunctive
Yes, Lingala has a subjunctive form, but it’s a bit limited compared with a lot of other languages.
The subjunctive is commonly restricted to just three main verbs – kolinga (to want or to like or love), kozela (to wait for), and kosengela (to need). And then it is used in conjunction with a second verb whose conjugation is slightly modified.
In many ways, the construction is similar to the future tense construction, with a conjugated first verb and the infinitive form of a second. For example, ‘I am going to buy’. Using the standard form, this would be nakei (I am going) + kosomba (to buy).
But with the subjunctive form, this changes slightly to ‘I want to buy’. To construct this, first conjugate the verb kolinga (to want):
nalingi – I want olingi – you want alingi – he/she wants tolingi – we want bolingi – you want (plural) balingi – they want elingi – it wants
Next, create the subjunctive form you want to use, in this case, kosomba.
To create the subjunctive form, drop the ‘ko-‘ at the beginning, but keep the ‘- a’ at the end. Then add the appropriate subject pronoun. So this becomes:
na+somba – nasomba o+somba – osomba a+somba – asomba to+somba – tosomba bo+somba – bosomba ba+somba – basomba
Now combine the two to make the complete form:
nalingi nasomba – I would like to buy olingi osomba – you would like to buy alingi asomba – he/she would like to buy tolingi tosomba – we would like to buy bolingi bosomba – you would like to buy (plural) balingi basomba – they would like to buy elingi esomba – it would like to buy
And it will be the same for the other verbs. Here’s another example using komona (to see):
nalingi namona – I would like to see
olingi omona – You would like to see
alingi amona – he/she would like to see
tolingi tomona – we would like to see
bolingi bomona – you would like to see (plural)
baling bamona – they would like to see
elingi emona – it would like to see
The same approach is used when using kozela (to take) as the primary verb, in this case paired with kozua (to take)
nazeli nazua – I wait to take ozeli ozua – you wait to take azeli azua – he/she waits to take tozeli tozua – we wait to take bozeli bozua – you wait to take (plural) bazeli bazua – they wait to take ezeli ezua – it waits to take
And for kosengela (to need) as the primary verb, here paired with kosala (to work):
nasengeli nasala – I need to work
osengeli osala – you need to work
asengeli asala – he/she needs to work
tosengeli tosala – we need to work
bosengeli bosala – you need to work (plural)
basengeli basala – they need to work
esengeli esala – it needs to work
Source
https://lobalingala.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/23042014-loba-lingala.pdf