Grammar

Class 1

Class 1 — Animate beings (full form). Persons, human beings. Ex: omu-nu = person; omu-nga = messenger; omu-funu = merchant

Class 1

Class 1b — Animate beings (reduced form). The most common form for persons. Ex: u-lume = man; u-kai = woman; u-pika = slave; u-kongo = hunter; u-lovi = fisherman

Class 2

Class 2 — Inanimates, plants (full form). Ex: omu-kanda = letter; omu-nda = mountain; omu-sambi = sweet potato; omu-enge = sugar cane

Class 2

Class 2b — Inanimates (semi-reduced form). The most common form for inanimates. Ex: u-ti = tree; u-tima = heart; u-songo = arrow; u-pungu = canoe; u-pange = work; u-nhamo = year

Class 3

Class 3a — Large objects, body parts, abstract terms (reduced form). Ex: e-kapa = potato; e-kamba = friend; e-kandu = crime; e-kepa = bone; e-laka = tongue; e-longa = plate. Some abstracts have no plural: e-kavo = weariness.

Class 3

Class 3b — Objects occurring in pairs or great numbers (semi-reduced form). Ex: i-su = eye; i-nakulu = queen; i-nanu = uncle; i-mbo = village; i-mo = belly; i-na = mother (spoken of). Plural adds ova- to singular: i-mbo → ovai-mbo.

Class 4

Class 4 — Instruments, utensils, causes, functions, augmentatives, some loanwords. The largest class in Umbundu. Ex: ochi-pa = skin; ochi-ndele = white man; ochi-mbundu = black person; ochi-hemba = medicine; ochi-kuto = garment; ochi-na = thing; ochi-tungu = building.

Class 5

Class 5 — Animals, words derived from verbs, loanwords. The o- is historically the demonstrative article, functioning as virtual prefix. Nouns begin with a nasal consonant. Ex: o-ngombe = ox; o-njila = bird; o-mbua = dog; o-ndaka = word; o-njevo = hunt; o-mbia = pot; o-moku = knife. Loanwords from Portuguese enter this class: o-ngato (cat), o-pendo (comb), o-sapato (shoe).

Class 6

Class 6 — Extension, length, pairs. Small class. Ex: olu-si = fish; olu-kata = anvil; olu-mbala = chain/band; olu-honji = bowstring; olu-kangola = rainbow; olu-ango = mountain ridge; olu-tima = heart (variant).

Class 7

Class 7 — Diminutives and small objects. Small in original terms; but very productive as a diminutive formation applied to other classes. Ex: oka-ndimba = little hare; oka-mbanda = little slave; oka-pulungu = widower/widow; oka-pamba = eagle (small); oka-situ = a little meat. Diminutive formation: o-ndimba → oka-ndimba; u-kai → oka-kai; e-kapa → oka-kapa.

Class 8

Class 8 — Abstract nouns, mostly without plural. Very small class. Ex: ou-esi = laziness; ou-elema = darkness; ou-angu = grass (collective); ou-ato = canoe; ou-anji = orator. Most nouns in this class have no plural form.

Class 9

Class 9 — Body parts and verbal expressions (infinitives). The primary function of oku- is to form the INFINITIVE of all verbs. As a nominal prefix it marks a small set of body parts. Ex: oku-tui = ear; oku-lu = leg; oku-oko = arm; oku-enju = boy; oku-eve = pit-fall. Verbal nouns: oku-lia = food / the act of eating; oku-nua = drink / the act of drinking.

Alphabet — Number of Letters Vowels — Character and Classes Consonants — Character and Classes Combination of Letters — Syllables and Words Contiguous Vowels — Contraction, Elision, Dropping Vowel Harmony Consonantal Succession and Harmony

Structure of the Sentence — Subject and Predicate Genitive, Agreement, and Attributes Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Subordinate Clauses Noun Phrases Used in Isolation and Sentence Particles Copula and Predicative Nominal

Inflection of Nouns — General Remarks and Preformatives Inflection of Nouns — Gender, Number, Derivative Prefixes Inflection of Nouns — Basis of Classification and Demonstrative o Table of Noun Preformatives and Pronominal Prefixes Inflection of Adjectives — Pronominal Prefixes Comparison of Adjectives Derivation of Nouns Numerals Pronouns — Personal and Possessive Pronouns — Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative Inflection of Verbs — Introduction and Stems Conjugation — Tenses and Moods Negative Forms and Verb Particles