In this post, we will look at the word 'the'.
First of all, forming the word 'the'.
For Class 3, the agreement is w-
For Class 4, the agreement is y-
For Class 5, the agreement is r-
For Class 6, the agreement is g-
The word "the" is just Agreement + "o":
w+o muhi = wo muhi = the tree
First of all, forming the word 'the'.
Agreement
As with everything relating to nouns, the word "the" has to agree with the noun class.For Class 3, the agreement is w-
For Class 4, the agreement is y-
For Class 5, the agreement is r-
For Class 6, the agreement is g-
The word "the" is just Agreement + "o":
w+o muhi = wo muhi = the tree
y+o mihi = yo mihi = the trees
r+o chungwa = ro chungwa = the orange
g+o machungwa = go machungwa = the oranges
Wo muhi ni wangu.
Yo mihi ni yangu.
Ro chungwa ni rangu.
Go machungwa ni gangu.
Wo muhi ni wangu.
Yo mihi ni yangu.
Ro chungwa ni rangu.
Go machungwa ni gangu.
People
As usual, the people class is slightly weird. Here are the words for "the":
ye mut’u
o at’u
ye mungine = the other [person]
ye muvulana = the boy / young man
ye musichana = the girl
ye mwana = the child
o avulana = the boys / young men
o alimu = the teachers
Usage
I've not got any sources, so I'm not sure when you are supposed to use it!
As in English:
For completeness, examples from the noun classes we have not studied yet are included below.
"Ye muvulana a sikulini." = The boy is at school.
"O alimu anaona o avulana" = The teachers see the boys
However, you can also use it with names:
"Ye P'aulo ..."
But you don't always have to! I think this is something to do with emphasis, or contrastive focus; I'm not sure yet.
For completeness, examples from the noun classes we have not studied yet are included below.
cho kithabu (class 7) book
zho vithabu (class 8)
yo nyumba (class 9) house
zo nyumba (class
10)
lo lugwe (class 11) rope
ko kahoho (class 12) child
wo uhoho (class 13)
wo wari (class 14) ugali
ko kushoma (class
15) reading
ho hat’u (class 16) place
ko kut’u (class 17)
mo mut’u (class 18)
ro rikumba (class
22) big fish
