Language/Tswana/Grammar/Verb-Conjugation

Tswana → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Sentence Structure → Verb Conjugation

Tswana is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa. It is the official language of Botswana and is also spoken in South Africa and Namibia. In this lesson, you will learn the basic rules of Tswana verb conjugation, focusing on regular verbs in the present tense. This lesson assumes that you have already learned about subject pronouns and sentence structure in Tswana.

Verb Conjugation

In Tswana, verbs change their form to indicate the tense, mood, and aspect of the sentence. The present tense is used to describe actions that are currently happening. To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, simply add a suffix to the verb stem.

Verb Stem

The verb stem is the base form of the verb, without any suffixes or prefixes. The verb stem can be found by removing the infinitive suffix "-a" from the base form of the verb. For example, the verb "tsoga" (to sleep) has a verb stem of "tsog".

Present Tense Suffixes

To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, add the appropriate suffix to the verb stem, depending on the subject of the sentence. Here are the present tense suffixes for each subject pronoun in Tswana:

Subject Pronoun	Suffix
Ke (I)	-a
O (you singular)	-a
A (he/she)	-a
Re (we)	-ang
Leina (you plural)	-ang
Ba (they)	-ang

Here are some examples:

• "Ke tsoga" (I sleep)
• "O tsoga" (You sleep)
• "A tsoga" (He/she sleeps)
• "Re tsogang" (We sleep)
• "Leina tsogang" (You all sleep)
• "Ba tsogang" (They sleep)

Irregular Verbs

There are some irregular verbs in Tswana that do not follow the regular conjugation rules. Here are some examples:

• "E tsenya" (to go) -> "Ke nna ke tsenye" (I am going)
• "E bona" (to see) -> "Ke nna ke bone" (I see)

Negative Sentences

To form a negative sentence in Tswana, add the negative prefix "ga-" to the present tense suffix. Here are some examples:

• "Ga ke tsoga" (I do not sleep)
• "Ga o tsoga" (You do not sleep)
• "Ga a tsoga" (He/she does not sleep)
• "Ga re tsogang" (We do not sleep)
• "Ga leina tsogang" (You all do not sleep)
• "Ga ba tsogang" (They do not sleep)

Questions

To form a yes/no question in Tswana, simply add the question particle "a" to the beginning of the sentence. Here are some examples:

• "A ke tsoga?" (Do I sleep?)
• "A o tsoga?" (Do you sleep?)
• "A a tsoga?" (Does he/she sleep?)
• "A re tsogang?" (Do we sleep?)
• "A leina tsogang?" (Do you all sleep?)
• "A ba tsogang?" (Do they sleep?)

To form a question with a question word such as "who", "what", "where", "when", or "why", simply add the question word to the beginning of the sentence. Here are some examples:

• "Ke batla eng?" (What do I want?)
• "O kae?" (Where are you?)
• "A ngwana o tla nna kae?" (Where will the child be?)

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have learned the basic rules of Tswana verb conjugation in the present tense. Keep practicing and you will soon be able to use verbs in various tenses and moods. In the next lesson, we will learn about numbers in Tswana. Don't forget to refer back to previous lessons if you need a refresher on any topic.

Table of Contents - Tswana Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Basic Greetings

• Greetings and Introductions
• Polite Expressions

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Sentence Structure

• Subject Pronouns
• Verb Conjugation

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Numbers

• Counting 1-10
• Ordinal Numbers

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Days of the Week and Months

• Days of the Week
• Months of the Year

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Nouns and Articles

• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Plural Nouns

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Common Objects and Places

• Household Items
• Places in Town

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Adjectives and Adverbs

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
• Adverbs

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Food and Drink

• Fruits and Vegetables
• Meals and Dining

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Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Prepositions of Place
• Prepositions of Time
• Conjunctions

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Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

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Possessives and Demonstratives

• Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives
• Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives

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Tswana Traditions and Customs

• Traditional Clothing
• Tswana Cuisine

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Tswana Holidays and Celebrations

• National Holidays
• Traditional Celebrations

Other Lessons

• Plurals
• Plural Nouns
• Negation
• Questions
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Gender
• Prepositions of Time
• Subject Pronouns

Sources

• (PDF) Conjunctive and disjunctive verb forms in Setswana