| na | and |
| na gonya | and then |
| hedu | or |
| hedudze | or not |
na, and
na means and. na can also mean with, or having.
It can be used to join sentences:
Ninenda Malindi na unenda Watamu.
Ninenda Malindi na unenda Watamu.
And nouns:
Karisa na Unda manenda Malindi (Karisa and Unda are going to Malindi.)
Mimi na mulume wangu funarya mboga. (Me and my husband are eating vegetables.)
Mimi na mulume wangu funarya mboga. (Me and my husband are eating vegetables.)
saa kumi na mbiri (The twelfth hour. Literally, hour 10 and 2)
And verbs:
At'u manarya na mananena (The people are eating and speaking.)Translate the following sentences into Giriama:
My father is reading and my mother is eating.
My son is at school and my wife is at the shop.
My friend is looking at you and you are looking at him.
My son is at school and my wife is at the shop.
My friend is looking at you and you are looking at him.
Me and my wife are at home.*
My sons and my wife are eating.
My mother-in-law and my father-in-law went to the sea.
My sons and my wife are eating.
My mother-in-law and my father-in-law went to the sea.
*Me is translated mimi. We will look at mimi and other pronouns in a future post.
na gonya, and then
Tunenda Watamu na gonya tunenda Mombasa.We are going to Watamu and then we are going to Mombasa.
Nidzakwenda duk'ani na gonya kenda baharini.
I went to the shops and then I went to the sea.
Translate the following:
I went to work and then I came to the house.
She ate vegetables and then she ate goat.
They left the river and then they came to the village.
She ate vegetables and then she ate goat.
They left the river and then they came to the village.
hedu, or
hedu means orUnadza hedu unenda? Are you coming or going?
Unaricha hedu unatoa? Are you leaving or staying?
Exercise
Write another four "or" sentences, using the verbs we've learned so far:
kugula
kudima
kushoma
kuona
kurya
kuhendza
kulola
kunena
kugonya
kunena
kwandhika
kuandza
hedudza, or not
hedudze means or not, and is put at the end of the verb phrase, as in English:
Unarya hedudze? Are you eating or not?
Munenda hedudze? Are we going or not?
Ananena hedudze? Is he speaking or not?
Unarya maizu hedudze? Are you eating bananas or not?
Munenda Malindi hedudze? Are we going to Malindi or not?
Unadima kunena Kigiryama hedudze? Can you speak Giriama or not?
Exercise
Using the rest of the verbs from the previous exercise, write 4 sentences in Giriama which end in "or not?"
