Zulu Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Zulu 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 Zulu and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Zulu and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Zulu.
| Prepositions | Zulu |
|---|---|
| and | bese  |
| above | ngaphezu |
| under | ngaphansi |
| before | ngaphambi |
| after | ngemuva |
| in front of | ngaphambi |
| behind | ngemuva |
| far from | kude kune- |
| near | eduze |
| in | e- |
| inside | ngaphakathi |
| outside | ngaphandle |
| with | no- |
| without | ngaphandle |
| about | mayelana |
| between | phakathi |
| but | kodwa |
| for | ye- |
| from | kusukela |
| 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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | ngidla ngaphandle kommese |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | uhlala eduze kwesonto |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | mude kunaye |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | ufike nenja yakhe encane |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | ungahamba nami? |
Negation in Zulu
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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | ngiyakuzwa |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | angikuzwa |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | akusilo igama elifanele leli |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | ungangishiyi |
| no problem [negation + noun] | ayikho inkinga |
| Negative Sentences | Zulu |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | angisikhulumi isifrench |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | akavakasheli ejalimani |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | akasiboni |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | akakwazi ukudlala i-chess? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | ngeke sifike emuva kwesikhathi |
Questions in Zulu
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Zulu |
|---|---|
| how? | kanjani? |
| what? | ini? |
| who? | ubani? |
| why? | ngobani? |
| where? | kuphi? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Zulu |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | uhlala kuphi? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | ukhuluma isishayina? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | kuyimalini loku? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | ngingakusiza? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | ubani igama lakho? |
Adverbs in Zulu
It's time to learn the adverbs in Zulu. 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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| now | manje |
| yesterday | izolo |
| today | namuhla |
| tonight | namuhla ebusuku |
| tomorrow | kusasa |
| soon | maduze |
| quickly | ngokushesha |
| slowly | kancane |
| together | ndawonye |
| very | kakhulu |
| almost | cishe |
| always | njalo |
| usually | ngokujwayelekile |
| sometimes | ngesinye isikhathi |
| rarely | ngokungavamile |
| never | soze |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Zulu |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | uyangizwa manje? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | ngidinga usizo ngokushesha |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | ukhaliphe kakhulu |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | ngiyohla ngikuthanda |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | singakwazi ukufunda isijalimani ndawonye? |
Pronouns in Zulu
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Zulu. 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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| I | mina |
| you | wena |
| he | yena |
| she | yena |
| we | thina |
| they | bona |
| Object Pronouns | Zulu |
|---|---|
| me | mina |
| you | wena |
| him | yena |
| her | yena |
| us | thina |
| them | bona |
| Possessive Pronouns | Zulu |
|---|---|
| my | okwami |
| your | okwakho |
| his | okwakhe |
| her | okwakhe |
| our | okwethu |
| their | okwabo |
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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | ngingumngane wakho |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | ukhuluma usheshise |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | unezinja ezintathu |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | ukwazi ukukhuluma isijalimani |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | ngeke sifike emuva kwesikhathi |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | bathenge ubisi nesinkwa |
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 | Zulu |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | ungangitshela igama lakho? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | ngizokunikeza imali |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | umubhalele incwadi |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | bamuvakashele izolo |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | angasisiza? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | ubaninkeze ukudla |
| Possessive Pronouns | Zulu |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | igama lami umaya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | umfowenu uhlala lapha |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | umama wakhe uyasiphekela |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | uthanda ukufunda izincwadi |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | iphupho lethu ukuvakashela eparis |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | umuzi wabo awukho kude |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Zulu |
|---|---|
| this is my house | indlu yami lena |
| that restaurant is far | i-restaurant ayikho kude |
| these apples are delicious | lamahhabhula amunandi |
| those stars are shiny | lezo zinkanyezi ziyabenyezela |
I hope you learned a lot about the Zulu grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Zulu Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |