Grammar: Basic verbs and connectors.

Grammar Points

Connectors:na

Personal pronouns.

Verb: Kuba 'to be' in present tense

Verb: Kugira 'to have'in present tense.

Questions introduced with '-nde?', -he?; iki?

Grammar

Verb “-ri” kuba (to be) in Present Tense

ndi umuntu	ndi	I’m a person/human being
uri umuntu	uri	you are a person/human being
ni umuntu	ni	he/she is a person/human being
turi abantu	turi	we are persons/human beings
muri abantu	muri	you are persons/human beings
ni abantu	ni	they are persons/human beings

Ndi mu nzu	I am in the house
Uri mu nzu	You are in the house
Ari mu nzu	He/she is in the house
Turi mu nzu	We are in the house
Muri mu nzu	You are in the house
Bari mu nzu	They are in the house

Note: In this case, for the first and the second person (singular and plural) the stem of the verb “–ir” is used. However, for the third person (singular and plural) the stem of the verb changes into “ni”. He/she is a person: “ni” umuntu. They are persons:” ni” abantu.

umwana ni umuntu

umuhinzi ni umuntu

umwarimu ni umuntu

umukobwa ni umuntu

umuhungu ni umuntu

abana ni abantu

abahinzi ni abantu

abarimu ni abantu

abakobwa ni abantu

abahungu ni abantu

Note: In the case where the verb “ri” is followed by locatives, “mu, ku, i “ which indicate a place or a location, then the 3^rd person singular & plural are: “ari” and “bari” respectively.

umwana ari mu nzu

umukozi ari ku ishuri

umushyitsi ari i Kigali

umwarimu ari ku isoko

umugabo ari mu murima

abana bari mu nzu

abakozi bari ku ishuri

abashyitsi bari i Kigali

abarimu bari ku isoko

abagabo bari mu murima

Kwimenyereza -Practice :

Ibibazo:

ndi iki?

uri iki?

ni iki?

_________________

turi iki?

muri iki?

ni iki?

Questions

what am I?

what are you?

what is he/she?

_____________________

what are we?

what are you?

what are they?

Ibisubizo:

uri umwarimu

ndi umunyeshuri

ni umunyeshuri

___________________

muri abarimu

turi abanyeshuri

ni abanyeshuri

Responses

you are a teacher

I am a student

he/she is a student

___________________

you are teachers

we are students

they are students

Connector "na" (and):

1. It connects nouns:

Anita na Sonita	Anita and Sonia
Sano an Bugingo	Sano and Bugingo
Umwana na nyina	A child and the mother
Abagabo n'abagore	Men and women
Imbwa n'inka	A dog nd a cow/ dogs and cows
Umugati n'imineke n'icyai	The bread, banana, and tea
Intebe n'ameza	A chair and a table
Igiti n'amashami n'ibibabi	A tree, branches, and leaves
Umunsi n'ijoro	A day and a night
Amadirishya n'inzugi	Windows and doors

2. It connects verbs:

Kwicara no guhaguruka	To sit and stand up
Kuvuga no kwiga	To talk and study
Kurya no kunywa	To eat and drink
Kwinjira no gusohoka	To come in and go aout
Gukina no kwandika	To play and write
Kuririmba no kubyina	To sing and dance

Note:

1. The connector "na" elides before a noun because all nouns in Kinyarwanda have an initial vowel except proper nouns. i.e: umugbo n'umugore.

2. The connector "na" becomes "no" before an infinitive i.e: Kurya no kunywa.

3. Connector “na” + personal pronoun

Na + pronoun	Should read	Meaning
Na + njye	Naâ njye	Me too
Na + we	Naâ we	You too
Na + we	Na we	Him/Her too
Na + twe	Naâ twe	Us too
Na + mwe	Naâ mwe	You too
Na + bo	Na bo	Them too

Ingero 'examples':

Ngamije na Sano na bo baraho.

Sofia na we araho.

Abana bawe na bo baraho.

Mwarimu na we araho.

Njyewe na Sofia na twe turaho.

Note:

In the process of greeting someone, you keep on mentioning the names of people you would like to know about their news (amakuru). Then, when you pause, your interlocutor will just say “na bo baraho” which means, “they are fine too”.
In greetings, when the plural form is preferably used for singular, you use the singular “we” instead of “mwe”. However, when your greetings are addressed to more than one person, usually you should use the plural form. See the following examples.
The second and the third person singular have the same spelling. However, they are different only in the tonality. The first syllable in "na we" of the 2nd person is long (naa we). whereas the same syllable of the 3rd person is short. Similarly, the 1st person singular, the 1st and 2nd person plural have long vowel too. See the following tableau:

Naa njye 'me too'

Naa we 'you too'

Nawe ‘him/her too’

Naa twe 'us too'

Naa mwe 'you too'

Na bo ‘them too’

The 3rd person singular and the 3rd person plural have short vowel. Thus, we write : "na we" and "na bo"

Verb "kugira" (to have) in present tense:

mfite igitabo	I have a book
ufite igitabo	you have a book
afite igitabo	he/she has a book
dufite igitabo	we have a book
mufite igitabo	you have a book
bafite igitabo	they have a book

mfite ibitabo	I have books
ufite ibitabo	you have books
afite ibitabo	he/she has books
dufite ibitabo	we have books
mufite ibitabo	you have books
bafite ibitabo	they have books

Kwimenyereza - Practice :

Ibibazo:

mfite iki?

ufite iki?

afite iki?

_________________

dufite iki?

mufite iki?

bafite iki?

Questions:

what do I have?

what do you have?

what does he/she have?

_____________________

what do we have?

what do you have?

what do they have?

Ibisubizo:

ufite igitabo

mfite igitabo

afite igitabo

___________________

mufite ibitabo

dufite ibitabo

bafite ibitabo

Responses:

you have a book

I have a book

he/she has a book

___________________

you have books

we have books

they have books

Subject pronouns:

	Singular	Plural
The first person (person who is talking)	n-	tu-
The second person (person you are talking to)	u-	mu-
The third person (person you are talking about)	a-	ba-

Question with “–te”, “ –he”, ", "ki", "-nde", ? (How, where, what and who).

Singular

meze nte?

umeze ute?

ameze ate?

nkora he?

ukora he?

akora he?

how am I?

how are you ?

how is he/she?

where do I work?

where do you work?

where does he/she work?

Plural

tumeze dute?

mumeze mute?

bameze bate?

dukora he?

mukora he?

bakora he?

how are we?

how are you

how are they?

where do we work?

where do you work?

where do they work?

Verb with the particle (-an-) - This implies reciprocal or shared actions

Verb + an-a	New verb formed	English meaning
kwig –an-a	kwigana	to study together
Kwicar-ar.a	kwicarana	to sit together
kuvug -an-a	kuvugana	to talk to each other
Kugend-an-a	kugendana	to walk together
Kubyin-an-a	kubyinana	to dance together
Gukor-an-a	gukorana	to work together
Gufat-an-a	gufatana	to hold each other
Gusom-an-a	gusomana	to kiss
Gukund-an-a	gukundana	To love one nother

Note: Generally, when you insert “-an-” in the stem of some verbs (as shown in the above examples), the initial action of the verb is shared by two or more nouns or pronouns which are the subjects of that particular verb. Hence, the resulting combination form a new verb which eventually expresses the action of sharing, doing things together or doing things in a reciprocal manner.

Examples:

Yohana na Anita barigana ikinyarwanda	John and Anita study Kinyarwanda together
Abeli na Rehema baricarana mu ishuli	Abel and Rehema sit together in class
Papa na mama baragendana	Dad and mum walk together
Abalimu bacu barakorana	Our teachers work together
Inshuti zacu ziravugana	Our friends talk to each other
Gasana na Matata barabyinana	Gasana and Matata are dancing together

Grammar Introduction

In grammar section, I will primarily deal with Kinyawanda spelling of words in terms of vowels (short & long) and consonant. Then, I'll indicate and explain the use of basic verbs and connectors which are essential for oral and written language. Finally, I'll explain the use of personal pronouns.