Language/Wolof/Grammar/Time-and-Dates

Wolof → Grammar → Time and Dates

As a Wolof teacher, I have seen that learning the past tense is essential to communicate fluently in Wolof. In this lesson, we will focus on the expressions of time and dates in the past tense. We will learn how to talk about the past using days, months, and years.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: How to Use Have & How to Use Be.

Days, Months, and Years in Wolof

Before we dive into the past tense, it is important to learn how to express time and dates in Wolof. Here are some of the basics:

• The word for day is “ñaar”.
• The word for week is “yoonu ñaar”.
• The word for month is “kalo”.
• The word for year is “sapp”.

To talk about specific days, months, and years, we use numbers. Here are the numbers you need to know:

Wolof	Pronunciation	English
1	“benn”	one
2	“ñaar”	two
3	“ñett”	three
4	“ñeent”	four
5	“juróom”	five
6	“juróom ñaar”	six
7	“juróom ñett”	seven
8	“juróom ñeent”	eight
9	“wóor”	nine
10	“fukk”	ten

For example, “ñaar benn” means “day one” and refers to the first day. Similarly, “kalo juróom ñett” means “month seven” and refers to the seventh month.

Regular Past Tense Verbs

To form the past tense in Wolof, we add the suffix “-ay” to the stem of the verb. For example, “kóob” (to buy) becomes “kóobaay” (bought). Here are some more examples:

Wolof	Pronunciation	English
mbañ	“umbañ”	I ate
def	“deff”	you spoke
kóob	“koob”	he/she/it bought

Here are a few common regular verbs in the past tense:

Wolof	Pronunciation	English
sukkali	“sookkali”	I traveled
jëmm	“jëmm”	you drank
nóoy	“noo-y”	he/she/it slept

Remember, the verb stem will change for each person in the sentence. For example, “mangi” (to eat) becomes “mba” for the first person. Once we add the suffix “-ay”, we get “mbañ” (I ate).

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

Just like any other language, Wolof has irregular verbs in the past tense. It is important to memorize these verbs, as they do not follow the regular pattern. Here are some examples:

Wolof	Pronunciation	English
ñàkk	“ñàkk”	I said
lul	“lul”	you came
mel	“mel”	he/she/it went

In the case of “mel”, we can also use the word “wuut” as a past tense. For example, “Am na wuut Ñaari Takku” means “I went to Dakar last year”.

Time Expressions

Now that we know how to form the past tense, let's use it to talk about time. Here are some useful time expressions:

• Yesterday - “teere gi” or “na ñaar gi”
• Last week - “yoonu ñaar yi”
• Last month - “kalo yi”
• Last year - “sapp yi”
• A long time ago - “xaley xaalis”

Here are some examples using these time expressions:

• “Maangi teere gi” - I ate yesterday
• “Mang yoonu ñaar yi” - I ate last week
• “Mangi kalo yi” - I ate last month
• “Mangi sapp yi” - I ate last year
• “Mangi xaley xaalis” - I ate a long time ago

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned how to express time and dates in the past tense in Wolof. We saw how to use numbers to talk about days, months, and years. We also learned how to form the past tense for regular and irregular verbs, and how to use time expressions to talk about the past. With these tools in hand, you will be able to communicate more effectively in Wolof and express yourself fluently in the past tense.

Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Pronouns and How to ask questions & Singular and Plural.

Other Lessons

• Simple negation
• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Future Tense
• Pronouns and How to ask questions
• Conditional Mood
• Notable characteristics
• Indirect Object Pronouns
• Possessive pronouns
• Regular Verbs

Sources

• Wolof Numbers, Time & Dates – Janga Wolof
• Wolof language - Wikipedia
• Class Roster - Fall 2022 - WOLOF 2118