Download AfriGIS_LanguagesInitiative_Episode_7 Structure of simple sentences

AfriGIS Languages Initiative
Episode 7
Structure of simple sentences
Episode 7
Structure of simple sentences
Good day, and welcome to the AfriGIS languages course. My name is Caster Seakamela and I am
Eugene Van Deventer and we will be presenting the AfriGIS languages course. The AfriGIS
languages course is a social responsibility and cultural integration initiative by AfriGIS. Please visit
us at www.afrigis.co.za/languages for more information and learning material.
Coming up today is episode seven of the formal course which consists of twenty-six episodes
published on a bi-weekly basis. Today we will spend around five minutes on the structure of simple
sentences in Setswana.
Simple sentences in Setswana are very similar to English. In basic Setswana, the word order
follows that of English exactly. It is important to note that for the purpose of this activity, verbs will
be learned together with subject concords, to be able to create simple sentences.
Examples of simple sentences in Setswana are:
I learn Setswana
Ke ithuta Setswana
I go to town
Ke ya toropong
You eat food
O ja dijo
They read books
Ba bala dibuka
He teaches Setswana
O ruta Setswana
This structure works fine with pronouns, but with regular nouns, Setswana takes a different view,
and this is where the so called subject concord comes in.
Listen to the following example:
Mosadi o ruta Setswana
The woman teaches Setswana
The “o” connects the noun mosadi to the verb “ruta” and is necessary for the sentence to make
sense in Setswana. However, the “o” is not the same for all nouns, it is a concord. Every noun has
a concord and every sentence uses concords to connect the noun to the verb, therefore, it is
important to be familiar with them.
What is a concord?
A concord is a linking pronoun. When a noun prefix stands alone, it is called the concord.
Concords are used in numerous ways; they are used with nouns, as pronouns and demonstratives,
with possessives, with adjectives - just about any time you use a noun in a sentence, you must
also use its concord.
Now let’s look at a few examples:
Mosimane o a tsamaya
The boy is walking
Basimane ba a siana
The boys are running
Motlhare o a wa
The tree is falling down
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Metlhare e a wa
The trees are falling down
Lesogana le a bua
The young man is talking
Masogana a a ja
The young men are eating
Sefofu se a bina
The blind man is dancing
Nku e a fula
The sheep is grazing
The verb in Setswana normally contains a part which refers to the noun acting as a subject.
In the following sentence:
Mosimane o a tsamaya
The boy is walking
The “o” refers to the noun “the boy”. The boy is the subject that performs the action.
By means of the subject concord or subject marker “o”, one knows the subject refers to a person,
which can be “monna, mosadi, mosimane, mosetsana, mme, ntate, moruti, moporesidente”.
How do we know which subject concord to use?
The subject concord is derived from the class prefixes of the noun it refers to.
In cases where the class prefix begins with ‘Mm” which is M or “Nn” which is N the first letter falls
off, and the remaining vowel serves as the subject concord.
Mosetsana o buisa buka
The girl reads a book
The prefix of the noun Mosetsana is “Mo”, and will take “o” as the concord, the letter “Mm” which is
at the beginning of the noun Mosetsana falls off.
Another example is: Monna o a ja
The man is eating.
This concludes the lesson for today. The next episode will be on Shopping phrases. Please visit
us at www.afrigis.co.za/languages for more topics of interest. Sala sentle.
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