[Conjugation] Futur Tense I

In this lesson, we will study future tense. For that, we’ll use some verbs that we’ve seen before:

Kwikale être/to be	Kunwà boire/to drink	Kudyà manger/to eat	Kulààla dormir/to sleep
nengikale je serai I will eat newikale tu seras you will be neìkale il/elle/on sera she/he will be netwikale nous serons We will be nenwikale vous serez you will be nebikale ils/elles seront they will be	nenwè je boirai I will drink newunwè tu boiras you will drink neànwè il/elle/on boira she/he will drink netunwè nous boirons we will drink nenunwè vous boirez you will drink nebanwè ils/elles boiront they will drink	nendyè je mangerai I will eat newudyè tu mangeras you will eat neàdyè il/elle/on mangera She/he will eat netudyè nous mangerons nous will eat nenudyè vous mangerez you will eat nebadyè ils/elles mangeront they will eat	nendalè je dormirai I will sleep newulalè tu dormiras you will sleep neàlalè il/elle/on dormira She/he will sleep netulalè nous dormirons we will sleep nenulalè vous dormirez you will sleep nebalalè ils/elles dormiront they will sleep

See how the verb is built:

KU – IKALE = kwikale

‘KU’ marks the infinitive form of the verb and ‘IKALE’ is the verb stem. When you contract them, the ‘u’ transform into ‘w’.

* NE + NG + IKALE = nengikale

NE marks the future tense of the verb, ‘NG’ is the 1st person pronoun and ‘IKALE’ is the verb stem

It is the same process for the rest

* NE + WU + IKALE = newikale

The ‘u’ in ‘wu’ is dropped because of the contraction.

* NE + À = IKALE = neìkale

Same contraction here but we keep the accent that marks the 3rd person of singular.

* NE + TU + IKALE = netwikale

* NE + NU + IKALE = nenwikale

* NE + BA + IKALE = nebikale

You note in red the pronouns from 1st person of singular to 3rd person of plural that we saw in previous lessons:

ng, wu, ù/à, tu, nu, ba (‘ng’ is another form for ‘nyi’ or ‘n’ that marks the first person of singular).

See, if you understand how the verb is constructed you can easily find and/or remember a specific conjugation. Try to find the construction of the other verbs on your own. You’ll see how easy it is.

Part II | Part III