4.1. Simple Past Tense:
4.1.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndi | do | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
matshelo (tomorrow)
namusi nga masiari (this afternoon) |
| 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 do la vhurotho - I will eat bread
Nne ndi do ya tshikoloni - I will go to school
Rendani u do vhala bugu - Rendani will read a book/ Rendani will read books
Tshifhiwa u do nwa halwa duvha matshelo - Tshifhiwa will drink beer.
Inwi ni do reila goloi - You will drive a car
4.1.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ri | do | la vhuswa (eat pap)
tamba bola (play ball) nwa halwa (drink beer) ya tshikoloni (go to school) vhala bugu (read a book/ read books) |
matshelo (tomorrow)
namusi nga masiari (this afternoon) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | |||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani, Thato na Tshifhiwa Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vha |
4.2. Future Continuous Tense:
4.2.1 For singular
| 1st person | Nne (I) | ndi | do | 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) |
matshelo (tomorrow)
namusi nga masiari (this afternoon) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | ni | |||||
| 3rd person | John
Mpho Rendani Thato Tshifhiwa Munna (A man) Ene (He , She) |
u | 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 ndi khou thaipha - I am typing
Inwi ni khou vhala - You are reading
Tshifhiwa u khou nwa halwa - Tshifhiwa is drinking
3.2.2 For plural
| 1st person | Rine (We) | ri | do | 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) |
matshelo (tomorrow)
namusi nga masiari (this afternoon) |
| 2nd person | Inwi (You) | ni | ni | |||||
| 3rd person | John na Mpho
Rendani na khonani dzawe (Rendani and his friends) Vhanna (Men) Vhone (They) |
vha | vha |