Talking about the past

A finished action that still matters

Chatelain calls this tense Preterite I. It describes an action that is finished but whose effect still holds, like I have done it in English. He describes other past tenses too, including one for an action that was going on. This unit teaches only Preterite I. Saying what someone does

How to say what someone did

1. Choose who did the action: I, you, he or she, we, you (several people) or they.
2. Take the prefix for that person. It is the same prefix as in the unit on saying what something is, and as in the present. Saying what something is
3. Take the verb stem. The stem is the dictionary form without ku-. The infinitive: ku-
4. Put -a- after the prefix. The prefix ngi- loses its i, so ngi- and -a- make nga-. The prefix a- and -a- make a-.
5. Change the last vowel of the stem. For banga it changes from -a to -e: bange.
6. Write the prefix, -a- and the stem as one word.

You should now be able to say each form in the table below.

The verb make, in the past

This is Chatelain's model paradigm. Each line gives the pronoun, then the verb in the past, then the verb in the present from the last unit. (kubanga)

The last vowel follows the root

The last vowel of the verb follows the vowel inside the root. A root with a or e ends in -e. A root with i ends in -i, with o in -o, and with u in -u. Chatelain gives this rule for verbs of two syllables, and lists a few exceptions on the same page. Verbs of three or more syllables follow another rule, which this unit does not teach.

Points to watch

• You and he or she have the same form, wabange, as in the present. The pronoun, or the situation, tells you which is meant.
• Chatelain translates each form with the English have done, the French j'ai fait and the Portuguese fiz. Take it as a finished action, not as one that is still going on.

Earlier in the course

• Saying what something is
• The infinitive: ku-
• Saying what someone does