Nerding Out

Kinyarwanda is by far the most complicated language I have studied, which includes Russian and Homeric Greek. Here is an unadulterated presentation of tenses in Kinyarwanda taken from the grammar book I was given during training. Below are only 25 tenses, excluding the subjunctive, imperative and modals.

Simple Present

§  indicate an action that is currently occurring

§  Urarya umugati (You are eating bread)

§  describe a temporary situation

§  Barashaka amata (They want milk/they’re looking for milk)

subject prefix + simple present tense marker + verb root

Note: the simple present tense in Kinyarwanda often translates to the present progressive in English.

Habitual Present

§  indicate an action occurring in the present and continuing indefinitely

§  Akunda umugore wawe (He loves his wife)

subject prefix + verb root

Present Progressive

§  state an action that is currently occurring

§  Ndimo kuvuga (I am speaking)

kuba (to be) conjugated in the present, optionally adding –mo followed by the infinitive

Stative Present

§  express a state or condition in the present, such as to be happy, hot, late, tired, or waiting. Many of these verbs in Kinyarwanda translate in English as adjectives used with the verb “to be”

§  Ndasinze (I am drunk)

present subject prefix + present tense marker + past participle root

Dynamic Present

§  used by verbs which do not conjugate regularly in the present, but instead combine the present subject prefixes with the past participle. Verbs that take the dynamic are slightly random and do not fit a regular pattern

§  Ngiye (I am going)

present subject prefix + past participle

Simple Past

§  indicate an action that took place in the past

§  Ihene zararishije (The goats ate)

§  express a state or condition that occurred in the past

§  Nishimiye (I was happy)

past subject prefix + past participle (with object)

past subject prefix + ra + past participle (without object)

Near Past

§  indicate an action that happened today

§  Nabonye umukobwa (I saw the girl)

It is identical to the simple past in writing, but spoken with a soft stress on the first syllable of the past participle

Very Near Past

§  describe an action that has just been completed

§  Imvura irahise (The rain just stopped)

§  express an ation that is just about to be completed

§  Turariye (We were just about to eat)

Note: this tense is most commonly used with kuza to mean “just now coming” or “just about to come” though it might litereally translate as “have just come”. In practice, the near past of kuza is used whether or not the subject has even started to move, and it may take the subject anywhere from a minute to several hours to actually arrive.

present subject prefix + ra + past participle

Habitual Past (Imperfect)

§  an action that habitually took place in the past

§  Muri America twaryaga ifromagi buri munsi (In America we used to eat cheese very day)

§  a continuous action that occurred in the past and was discontinued

§  Nigaga muri university (I used to study at university)

§  a state that occurred continuously or habitually in the past and was discontinued

§  Warasindaga (You used to be drunk)

past subject prefix + root + tense marker (with object)

past subject prefix + ra + root + tense marker (without object)

Past Progressive

§  describe an action or a situation that was in progress at some point in the past and began before another action in the past

§  Narimo gukora igihe wantelefonnye (I was working when you called me)

kuba in the simple past + (-mo) followed by the infinitive

Past Perfect

§  indicate a past event that occurred before others in a sequence of events

§  Sinashatse kurya kuko nari nariye mbere yo kuza (I didn’t want to eat because I had eaten before coming)

kuba in the past tense followed by the verb conjugated in the simple past

Future-in-the-past

§  describe planned events or actions that did not take place

§  Nari ngiye kurya ariko… (I wasn’t going to eat but…)

kuba conjugated in the simple past + kujya (to go) conjugated in the stative present followed by the infinitive

Simple Future

§  indicate that an action is scheduled to take place in the future

§  Nzagusura ejo (I will visit you tomorrow)

§  predict an action or state that will occur in the future

§  Igi rizameneka (the egg will break)

present subject prefix + za + root

Immediate Future

§  indicate an action that is about to happen in the immediate future

§  Imvura igiye kugwa (It’s going to (about to) rain)

 kujya conjugated in the dynamic present followed by the infinitive

Near Future

§  an action that will happen sometime today, but not in the immediate future

§  Ndaza gutelefona n’ijoro (I am going to call tonight)

There is no precise equivalent to this tense in English and it can be translated either with “going to” or “will”

kuza conjugated in the simple present followed by the infinitive

kuba conjugated in the simple present + bu + root (minus A) + e

Future Habitual

§  an action that will habitually take place in the future

§  Nzaba ntelefona mama wanjye buri cyumweru (I will call my mother every week)

§  an action that will occur continuously in the future

§  Ntituzaba dufite umuriro (We will not have power)

§  a state that will be continuous or habitual

§  Bazaba batinya (They will be afraid)

kuba conjugated in the future followed by habitual present of the verb

Future Progressive

§  an action that will be in progress at some point in the future

§  Nzaba ndimo kuryama (I will be sleeping)

kuba conjugated in the future followed by kuba in the present (optionally adding –mo) followed by the infinitive

Future Perfect

§  an action that will be completed by a certain time in the future

§  Nzaba nariye (I will have eaten)

kuba conjugated in the future followed by verb conjugated in the simple past

Not-Yet Tense

§  describe an action that has not yet been done

§  Ibisi ntirägenda (The bus has not yet left)

negation prefix + present subject prefix + rä + root

Still/No longer Tense

§  convey the meaning “still” or in the negative “no longer”

§  Ndacyakora (I am still working)

subject prefix + racya + root

-ka- connecting tense

§  connect verbs in a sequence of actions when the second action depends on or results from the first

§  Ufata ibishyimbo, ukabirongo, ugabishira ku mashyiga (You take beans, you add them to water, you put it on the stove)

subject prefix + ka + root

gu- verbs: subject + ka => ga + root

kw- verbs: subject + ka => k + root

The first conditional: the possible

§  convey possible situations

§  Uriye cyane, waba munini (If you eat a lot, you will be fat)

1^st verb: present subject prefix + past participle

2^nd verd: past subject prefix + present root

The second conditional: the probably

§  convey probably situations

§  Iyo uryamye, uransinzira (When you go to bed, you fall asleep)

Iyo + 1^st verb: present subject prefix + past participle

2^nd verb: present subject prefix + ra (if no object) + present root

The third conditional: the potential

§  convey a potential occurrence in the future

§  Nindya cyane, nzahaga (If I eat a lot, I will be full)

1^st verb: ni + present subject prefix + present root

2^nd verb: present subject prefix + za (future) / ra (same day) + present root

The fourth conditional: the past impossible

§  discuss an event that would have happened if something else was true

§  Iyaba nari wowe, sinari gutembera n’ijoro (If I were you, I wouldn’t walk in the night)

IIyaba + 1^st verb: past subject prefix + past participle

2^nd verb: kuba conjugated in the past followed by the infinitive