Xhosa Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Xhosa 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 Xhosa and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Xhosa and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Xhosa.
| Prepositions | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| and | futhi  |
| above | ngaphezulu |
| under | ngaphantsi |
| before | ngaphambi |
| after | emva |
| in front of | phambi kwe |
| behind | emva kwe |
| far from | kude ne |
| near | kufuphi |
| in | phakathi |
| inside | ngaphakathi |
| outside | ngaphandle |
| with | kunye |
| without | ngaphandle |
| about | nge |
| between | phakathi |
| but | kodwa |
| for | ye |
| from | suka |
| to | kuya |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | nditya ngaphandle kwemela |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | uhlala kufuphi necawe |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | mde kunaye |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | uzenenja yakhe encinane |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | ungahamba nam? |
Negation in Xhosa
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 | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | Ndiyakuva |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | Andikuva kakuhla |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | asilogama lichanileyo eli |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | ungandishiyi |
| no problem [negation + noun] | akhongxaki |
| Negative Sentences | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | andithethi isifrench |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | akatyelelanga eJamani |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | akanakusibona |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | angakwazi ukudlala ichess? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | asinakubuya kuhlwile |
Questions in Xhosa
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| how? | njani? |
| what? | intoni? |
| who? | ubani? |
| why? | ngoba? |
| where? | phi? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | uhlalaphi? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | ngaba uthetha isiChina |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | yimalini lento? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | ndingakunceda? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | ungubani igama lakho? |
Adverbs in Xhosa
It's time to learn the adverbs in Xhosa. 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 | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| now | ngoku |
| yesterday | izolo |
| today | namhlanje |
| tonight | ebusuku |
| tomorrow | ngomso |
| soon | kungekudala |
| quickly | ngokukhawuleza |
| slowly | kancinane |
| together | sonke |
| very | kakhulu |
| almost | phantse |
| always | soloko |
| usually | uqhele |
| sometimes | ngamanye amaxesha |
| rarely | hayi rhoqo |
| never | soze |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | uyandiqonda ngoku? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | ndifuna uncedo ngoku |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | unegqondo kakhulu |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | ndosoloko ndikuthanda |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | singafunda isiJamani kunye? |
Pronouns in Xhosa
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Xhosa. 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 | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| I | mna |
| you | wena |
| he | yena |
| she | yena |
| we | thina |
| they | bona |
| Object Pronouns | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| me | mna |
| you | wena |
| him | yena |
| her | yena |
| us | thina |
| them | bona |
| Possessive Pronouns | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| my | eyam |
| your | yakho |
| his | yakhe |
| her | yena |
| our | yethu |
| their | yabo |
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 | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | ndingumhlobo wakho |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | uthetha ngokukhawuleza |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | unezinja ezintathu |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | angasithetha isiJamani |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | asuzubuya kuhlwile |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | bathenge ubisi nesonka |
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 | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | ungandixelela igama lakho? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | ndizakunika imali |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | wambhalela incwadi |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | bamtyelele izolo |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | angasinceda? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | ubaphe ukutya |
| Possessive Pronouns | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | igama lam ndinguMaya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | umtakwenu uhlala apha |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | umamawakhe uyasiphekela |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | uthanda ukufunda iincwadi |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | iphupha lethu kukutyelela ePerisi |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | indlu yabo ayikho kude |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Xhosa |
|---|---|
| this is my house | yindlu yam |
| that restaurant is far | landawo yokutyela ikude |
| these apples are delicious | lama apile amnandi |
| those stars are shiny | ezonkwenkwezi ziyakhazimla |
I hope you learned a lot about the Xhosa grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Xhosa Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |