Conjugation — Tenses and Moods
§138–200. CONJUGATION OF THE VERB
MOODS: Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive, Infinitive
TENSES (Indicative): Present, Past Proximate, Past Remote, Future Simple, Future Compound
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INDICATIVE — PRESENT
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Formed by attaching the subject prefix directly to the stem (no tense marker).
Final vowel -a unchanged.
AFFIRMATIVE (oku-feta = to pay):
ndi-feta I pay tu-feta we pay
o-feta thou payest vu-feta ye pay
o-feta he pays va-feta they pay
NEGATIVE (prefix ka- → modified negative prefixes; final -a → -e):
si-fete I do not pay katu-fete we do not pay
ku-fete thou payest not ko-fete ye pay not
ka-fete he pays not kava-fete they pay not
NEGATIVE SUBJECT PREFIXES (derived from ka-):
1sg: si- 2sg: ku- 3sg: ka-
1pl: katu- 2pl: ko- 3pl: kava-
USES OF THE PRESENT:
1. Action in progress: ndi-kevelela endo = I am waiting for the caravan
2. Habitual or general truth: ochimunu chi-sokasoka oku-iva = the thief habitually thinks of stealing
3. Hortatory / exhortative: tu-enda! = let us go!
4. Expressing intention: ndi-enda = I am going (I will go)
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INDICATIVE — PAST PROXIMATE (Recent Past)
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Formed by inserting tense particle -a- between subject prefix and stem.
Final -a unchanged.
AFFIRMATIVE:
nd'-a-feta I paid tu-a-feta we paid
u-a-feta thou paidst vu-a-feta ye paid
u-a-feta he paid v'-a-feta they paid
NEGATIVE:
s'-a-fete I did not pay katu-a-fete we did not pay
ku-a-fete thou paidst not ku-a-fete ye paid not
k'-a-fete he paid not kav'-a-fete they paid not
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INDICATIVE — PAST REMOTE (Perfect / Remote Past)
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Formed by inserting -a- AND changing the final vowel with a perfective suffix.
PERFECTIVE SUFFIX RULE (from Stover, confirmed by Carvalho for Lunda):
If penultimate syllable of stem ends in a, e, or o (OPEN class):
Group 1 (no preceding nasal): suffix -ele e.g. feta → fetele
Group 2 (preceding m or n): suffix -ene e.g. mona → monene
If penultimate syllable ends in i or u (CLOSE class):
Group 1 (no preceding nasal): suffix -ile e.g. tambula → tambulile
Group 2 (preceding m or n): suffix -ine e.g. tuma → tumine
EXAMPLES:
Open class, Group 1: -tala (look) → -talele; -feta (pay) → -fetele
Open class, Group 2: -tama (mix) → -tamene; -mona (see) → -monene
Close class, Group 1: -tambula (receive) → -tambulile; -lila (cry) → -lilile
Close class, Group 2: -tuma (send) → -tumine; -sina (disobey) → -sinine
AFFIRMATIVE:
nd'-a-fetele I paid (long ago) tu-a-fetele we paid
u-a-fetele thou paidst vu-a-fetele ye paid
u-a-fetele he paid v'-a-fetele they paid
NEGATIVE:
s'-a-fetele I did not pay katu-a-fetele we did not pay
ku-a-fetele thou paidst not ku-a-fetele ye paid not
k'-a-fetele he paid not kav'-a-fetele they paid not
PLUPERFECT (past remote + adverbial suffix -ale = long ago/always):
nd'-a-fetele-ale = I had paid / I paid long ago
USES OF THE PAST:
Recent past: simple completed action.
Remote past: action completed some time ago; also used to negate permanent qualities:
u-atema = he is irascible (proximate positive — permanent quality)
k'-atemene = he is not irascible (remote negative — denying the quality)
With -ale: action completed much earlier, or habitual in the past.
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INDICATIVE — FUTURE
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FUTURE SIMPLE: subject prefix + tense particle -ka- + stem (final -a unchanged):
ha-mona / ndi-ka-mona I shall see tu-ka-mona we shall see
o-ka-mona thou shalt see vu-ka-mona ye shall see
o-ka-mona he shall see va-ka-mona they shall see
FUTURE COMPOUND (Future Perfect): subject prefix + -a- + -ka- + stem:
nd'-a-ka-mona = I shall have seen
u-a-ka-mona = thou shalt have seen
v'-a-ka-mona = they shall have seen
NEGATIVE FUTURE:
si-ka-mone / si-fete I shall not see/pay
ku-ka-mone thou shalt not see
ka-ka-mone he shall not see
katu-ka-mone / ko-ka-mone / kava-ka-mone (pl.)
(In negative future the 2nd person forms serve as PROHIBITIVES:
ku-ka-mone = do not see! / thou shalt not see
ko-ka-moni = do not see! / ye shall not see)
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IMPERATIVE
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2nd sg = bare stem (final -a): mona! = see thou!
2nd pl = stem with final -a → -i: moni! = see ye!
When an OBJECT INFIX precedes the stem, the final -a becomes -e:
ndi-mone! = see me! (thou)
chi-tambule! = receive it! (Class 4 object)
NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE (Prohibitive):
ka-mona = do not see (thou) ko-moni = do not see (ye)
(same as negative future 2nd person forms)
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SUBJUNCTIVE
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Formed by changing final -a to -e (same modification as negative present):
ndi-fete = that I may pay o-fete = that thou mayest pay etc.
NEGATIVE: identical to negative present indicative.
The subjunctive is rare; the present indicative substitutes for it in most contexts.
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INFINITIVE
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Prefix oku- + stem: oku-mona = to see oku-feta = to pay
Acts as a Class 9 noun (prefix oku-). Can have a direct object:
oku-lia okulia = to eat food oku-loia onjila = to shoot a bird
NEGATIVE INFINITIVE:
ha-'ku-mona-ko = not to see
ha-'ku-feta-ko = not to pay
PROSPECTIVE INFINITIVE (near future / about to):
oku-ka-feta = to be about to pay / to be going to pay