Past Tense in the Ndebele Language

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Lamuhla, let us look at the Past Tense in isiNdebele. With the verbs, ukubona (to see) and ukuhamba (to go), we can say in Ndebele:

Ngibona - I see, or Ubona - you see (present tense) or
Ngabona - I saw, or Wabona - You saw (past tense).

For example, umfana wabona - the boy saw.

In the Perfect Tense (for the recent past), we can also say:

Ngibonile - I have seen (recently)
Uhambile - You have gone (recently).

For example, Ubonile'mfana? (Have you seen the boy?). Ye, ubuyile umfana, ngimbonile (Yes, the boy has arrived, I have seen him).

For more on the Past Tense, and also the Perfect Tense, go to Lesson 31 in the Lessons tab.

Hlalani kahle bakithi.