411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
Kinyarwanda/Verbs
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
Verbs
All Kinyarwanda verb infinitives begin with 'gu-' or 'ku-' (morphed into 'gw-' or 'kw-' before vowels). To conjugate, the infinitive prefix is removed and a prefix agreeing with the subject takes its place. Then a tense infix can be inserted.
Noun Prefix | Subject Prefix
Sing./Pl. | Sing./Pl.
u-mu-/a-ba- | a-/ba-
u-mu-/i-mi- | u-/i-
i-(ri)-/a-ma- | ri-/a-
i-ki- (i-gi-)/i-bi- | ki- (morphs to cy- before vowels)/bi-
i-n-/i-n- | i-/zi-
u-ru-/i-bi- | ru-/bi-
a-ka-/u-tu- | ka-/tu-
u-bu-/u-bu- | bu-/bu-
u-ku-/a-ma- | ku-/a-
a-ha-/a-ha- | ha-/ha-
The prefixes for pronouns are as follows.
I = n-
you (sing.) = mu-
he = y-/a-
she = y-/a-
we = tu-
you (pl.) = u-
they (human) = ba-
Tense markers include the following.
-Ø- | Present
-ra- (morphs to -da- when preceded by 'n' | Present Progressive - to be doing
-za- | Future - will do
-racya- | to still be doing
The past tense can be formed by using the present and present progressive infixes and modifying the aspect marker suffix.