2.1. Simple Present Tense:
2.1.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndi | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
duvha linwe-na-linwe (everyday)
tshifhinga tshothe |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | ||
| 3rd person | John
Mpho Rendani Thato Tshifhiwa Munna (A man) Ene (He, she) |
u |
N.B. You will realise that we always use conjuctives in Tshivenda.
Examples:
Nne ndi la vhurotho - I eat bread
Nne ndi ya tshikoloni - I go to school
Rendani u vhala bugu - Rendani reads a book/ Rendani reads books
Tshifhiwa u nwa halwa duvha linwe-na-linwe - Tshifhiwa drinks beer everyday.
Inwi ni reila goloi - You drive a car
2.1.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ri | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
duvha linwe- na- linwe (every day)
tshifhinga tshothe |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | ||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani, Thato na Tshifhiwa Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vha |
N.B. You will realise that we always use conjuctives in Tshivenda.
2.2. Present Continuous Tense:
2.2.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndi | khou | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
zwino |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | |||
| 3rd person | John
Mpho Rendani Thato Tshifhiwa Munna (A man) Ene (He , She) |
u |
N.B. In english '-ing' is normally added to the end of the verb. In Tshivenda we normally add the word khou for all the persons doin
Examples:
Nne ndi khou thaipha - I am typing
Inwi ni khou vhala - You are reading
Tshifhiwa u khou nwa halwa - Tshifhiwa is drinking
2.2.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ri | khou | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
zwino |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | |||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani na khonani dzawe (Rendani and his friends) Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vha |