Welcome to the 8th lesson about Kongo grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Kongo and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Kongo and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Kongo.
| Prepositions - Kongo |
|---|
| and mpi |
| above na zulu |
| under na nsi |
| before na ntwala |
| after na nima |
| in front of na ntwala |
| behind na nima |
| far from ntama katuka na |
| near mfinama |
| in na |
| inside na kati |
| outside na nganda |
| with ti |
| without kukonda |
| about ya me tala |
| between na kati kati |
| but kansi |
| for sambu na |
| from katuka na |
| to na |
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules - Kongo |
|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] mono ke dia kukonda mbele ya mesa |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] yandi ke vandaka mfina na nzonzambi |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] yandi me luta yandi na nda |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] yandi kwisaka ti mbwa na yandi ya fioti |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] nge lenda kwisa ti mono? |
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules - Kongo |
|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] mono ke bakisa nge |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] mono ke bakisa nge ve |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] yai kele ngogo ya kulungo ve |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] kubika mono ve |
| no problem [negation + noun] diambu kele ve |
| Negative Sentences - Kongo |
|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] mono ke tubaka falanse ve |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] yandi kwendaka kutala allemani ve |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] yandi lenda mona beto ve |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] yandi ke lunga kubula ngolo ve? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] beto ta kuma na letale ve |
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English - Kongo |
|---|
| how? inki mutindu? |
| what? inki? |
| who? nani? |
| why? sambu na inki? |
| where? wapi? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules - Kongo |
|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] nge ke vandaka wapi? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] yandi ke tubaka shinwa? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] yai ke ntalu kwa? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] mono lenda sadisa nge? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] nki kele zina na nge? |
It's time to learn the adverbs in Kongo. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs - Kongo |
|---|
| now ntangu yai |
| yesterday mazono |
| today bubu |
| tonight na nkokila yai |
| tomorrow mbasi |
| soon sisepi yai |
| quickly nswalu |
| slowly malembe malembe |
| together kisika/nzilamosi |
| very kibeni |
| almost mfinama |
| always ntangu yonso |
| usually kaka |
| sometimes mbala ya nkaka |
| rarely na mpasi |
| never ata mbala mosi ve |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules - Kongo |
|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] nge me bakisa mono sesepi yai? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] mono kele na mfunu ya lusadisu nswalu |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] yandi kele na ngangu kibeni |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] mono ta zolaka nge ntango nyonso |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] keti beto lenda kulonguka alemani beto zole? |
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Kongo. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| I mono |
| you nge |
| he yandi |
| she yandi |
| we beto |
| they bo |
| Object Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| me mono |
| you nge |
| him yandi |
| her yandi |
| us beto |
| them bo |
| Possessive Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| my ya mono |
| your ya nge |
| his ya yandi |
| her ya yandi |
| our ya beto |
| their ya bo |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] mono ikele nduku na nge |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] nge ke tuba ntinu ntinu kibeni |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] yandi kele na bambwa tatu |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] yandi lenda tuba alemani |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] beto ta kwisa na nima ve |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] bo sumbaka mabele ti mampa |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] nge lenda songa mono zina na nge? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] mono ata pesa nge mbongo |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] yandi sonikilaka yandi munkanda |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] bo kwendaka kutala yandi mazono |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] yandi lenda kusadisa beto? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] yandi pesaka bo madia |
| Possessive Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] zina na mono kele maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] mpangi na nge ya yakala ke vandaka awa |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] mama na yandi ke lambila beto |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] kisalu na yandi ikele kutanga minkanda |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] mabanza na beto ikele ya kukwenda tala paris |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] nzo na bo ikele ntama ve |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns - Kongo |
|---|
| this is my house yai ikele nzo na mono |
| that restaurant is far restaurant yina ikele ntama |
| these apples are delicious mabamfu yai ikele ntomo |
| those stars are shiny bambwetete yina ikele kusema |
I hope you learned a lot about the Kongo grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |