Saying what something is

No verb for “to be”

English says “I am a woman”. Kimbundu leaves out “am”. In the present tense, you name who is speaking and what they are, and the sentence is complete. Chatelain notes that the verb “to be” is generally not expressed.

The pronouns

Each person has two pronouns. The full pronoun names the person. The short prefix pronoun is a small piece that sits in front of the noun. You need both for the first two persons.

One person

Several people

Chatelain also gives mu- as an alternative to nu-. He prints the plural pronouns but no plural sentences, so this unit builds sentences in the singular only.

How to build the sentence

1. For I and you, put the full pronoun first, then its prefix pronoun, then the noun.
2. For he or she, put the full pronoun first and then the noun. Leave out the prefix pronoun.

Chatelain calls this placing the noun in apposition: the two words stand side by side.

Three sentences

These are the three sentences Chatelain prints. Each has no verb. Open a word to see every meaning it has.

• First person

  eme ngi muhatu

  I am a woman

• Second person

  eye u muloji

  you are a wizard

• Third person

  muene mukongo

  he is a hunter

Only in the present

This works in the present tense only. In other tenses, Kimbundu uses the verb -kala. Verbs come later in the course.

Try it

Say the three sentences aloud. Then name the person each one is about and the noun that follows the pronoun. The nouns for people in the unit before this one follow the same pattern.