32.
(long forms)
singular plural
kea I rea we
Oa you loa you
Oa he/she baa they
examples:
Kea kwala. I am writing. Kea bona. I see. Oa bua. He is speaking. Baa ruta. They are teaching. Oa ema. She is standing.
Practice
List the six English pronouns on the board. Give the class a basic verb construction (eg. Kea kwala I am writing). As you point to one of the English pronouns, have the students substitute the
Setswana equivalent in the given verb construction.
example: (pointing to "we", students should
respond with "Rea koala." We are writing.)
(b) Verbs and Verb tenses
Most Setswana verbs in the PRESENT TENSE end in "-a"
(bala-read, ema-stand, dira-work, etc.).
examples: Ke bala buka. I am reading the book.
Ba rata sejo. They like food.
The PAST TENSE is formed by substituting "-ile"' for "-a"
in the verb root. For example, ruta (educate) becomes
rutile (educated); bua (speak) becomes buile (spoke);
and dira (do) becomes dirile (did).
examples: Ke rutile John. I taught John.
Ke dirile setilo. I made a chair.
The FUTURE TENSE of all verbs is always formed by simply
using "tlaa" plus the present tense:
Ba tlaa kwala. They will write. Ke tlaa tsamaya. I shall go.