3.1. Simple Past Tense:
3.1.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndo | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
mulovha (yesterday)
namusi nga matsheloni (this morning) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | no | ||
| 3rd person | John
Mpho Rendani Thato Tshifhiwa Munna (A man) Ene (He, she) |
o |
N.B. You will realise that we always use conjuctives in Tshivenda.
Examples:
Nne ndo la vhurotho - I ate bread
Nne ndo ya tshikoloni - I went to school
Rendani o vhala bugu - Rendani read a book/ Rendani read books
Tshifhiwa o nwa halwa duvha mulovha - Tshifhiwa drank beer yesterday.
Inwi no reila goloi - You drove a car
3.1.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ro | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
mulovha (yester day)
namusi nga matsheloni (this morning) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | no | ||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani, Thato na Tshifhiwa Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vho |
3.2. Past Continuous Tense:
3.2.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndo | vha | 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) |
mulovha (yester day)
namusi nga matsheloni (this morning) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | no | ni | ||||
| 3rd person | John
Mpho Rendani Thato Tshifhiwa Munna (A man) Ene (He , She) |
o | a |
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 ndo vha ndi tshi khou thaipha - I was typing
Inwi no vha ni khou vhala - You were reading
Tshifhiwa o vha a khou nwa halwa - Tshifhiwa was drinking
3.2.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ro | vha | 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) |
mulovha (yester day)
namusi nga matsheloni (this morning) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | no | ni | ||||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani na khonani dzawe (Rendani and his friends) Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vho | vha |