Verbs (Bemba and Nyanja)

Bemba
Creating phrases with verbs in Bemba (and other Bantu languages) is like building structures out of blocks: it can be precarious, putting the right blocks together to indicate an action, its actor, the time in which it occurs, and other aspects. It isn't quite like conjugation, and the final construction is called a verb-form.

All verb-forms consist of a root, commonly mono-syllabic, combined with one or more prefixes and suffixes. (Shoeffer, A Grammar of the Bemba Language)

Let's run this through with an example. Take the verb ukucita (to do/to make). The uku- is the infinitive, and is attached to all verbs. If we take the infinitive off, we're left with:

cita (pronounced chita)

Now comes the personal prefix. For subjects which are found within the noun classes (see previous post), the class prefix can be added. Or, we can use a pronoun, in this case n- (I); as a prefix, it's added to the beginning of the form:

n + cita (I do)

At this point, the form is incomplete because it lacks a tense-sign, and indicator of when the action is happening. We can add -a-, or the present tense-sign, in between the verb and the personal prefix:

n + a + cita = nacita (I do)

Or we can replace it with -le-, the present continual tense-sign, which changes its meaning:

n + le + cita = ndecita (I am doing)

Note the combination of the consonants n and l forms a nd sound.

To turn the form into its negative, the addition of the prefix ta- is used in all cases except for the first person (mufwaya (you want) becomes tamufwaya (you don't want)). In the first person, -sha- is added directly after the personal prefix (I know this sounds confusing, but it adds a nice flourish when it's spoken):

n + sha + le + cita = nshalecita (I am not doing)

In some cases tense-signs become suffixes, most notably in the past tense (-ile and -ine); this is a concept I'm familiar with but still have difficulty with. Because verb forms are constructed, rather than conjugated, it takes some work to decode them as you hear them (because you have to deconstruct the personal prefix, tense, and the verb itself in order to determine its meaning).

Nyanja
How different is this in Nyanja? The structure is the same, but there are considerable differences in vocabulary. In this case, the verb cita is the same (as is the infinitive uku-), but the personal prefix for the first person is ndi-:

ndi + cita = ndicita (I do)

In this case no additions are needed for the present tense. The tense-sign (what Hetherwick calls the "particle of time") is -li- for the continual tense (or incomplete tense) to denote the action has not been completed, and is still in the process:

ndi + li + cita = ndilicita (I am doing)

To negate a verb form, si- is added as a prefix. For example:

si + ndi + li + cita = sindilicita (I am not doing)

Some more examples of verb forms in Nyanja (since I am learning the language and am taking every opportunity to play with it):

ti + na + zengereza = tinazengereza (we were late)

Nyumba si + dza + gwa = Nyumba sidzagwa (the house will not fall)

mu + li + lumba atate wanu = mulilumba atate wanu (you are thanking your father)