1. Ibizo (noun)
is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea.
In a sentence, nouns can play the role of subject, direct object, indirect object, subject
complement, object complement, appositive, or adjective.
Roles
The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is performing the action of the sentence.
The subject represents what or whom the sentence is about.
Abantwana bayadlala. The children are playing.
A direct object is a word or phrase that receives the action of the verb.
Abafana badla isitshwala. The boys are eating sadza.
An indirect object is the word or phrase that receives the direct object.
Umama unike abantwana isitshwala. Mother gave the children sadza.
An object complement is a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective that follows a direct object to rename it or
state what it has become.
Ukudla kwenza abantwana bathabe. Food makes children happy
2. A subject complement is a word or phrase that follows a linking verb and identifies or describes the subject.
Isigqoko lesi yisipho. This dress is a gift.
An appositive noun or noun phrase follows another noun or noun phrase & provides information that further
identifies or defines it.
Umnewethu, ongumlimi, Usebenza eGwanda. My brother, the farmer, works in Gwanda.
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. It "describes" or "modifies" a noun.
Inja emnyama. The black dog.
3. Pronouns and concords
The pronoun is defined by Doke (1930:167) as a word which signifies
anything concrete or abstract without being its name.
In simple terms a pronoun is a word that stands for a noun and is
used instead of that noun as illustrated in the following examples:
Ndebele Shona
Yena usehambile iye aenda s/he has gone
Thina siyadle isu tinodya we eat
Bona bayalima ivo vanorima they plough
Mina ngiyapheka Ini ndinobika I cook
4. Concord in grammar refers to the agreement between words in
gender, number, person, or any other grammatical category which
affects the forms of the words. A concord is a prefix which agrees
with the subject.
Grammatical Person
What Is 'Person' in Grammar?
Person is a category used to distinguish between (1) those
speaking, (2) those being addressed, and (3) those who are neither
speaking nor being addressed (i.e., everybody else).
These three categories are called the first person, the second
5. 1. Personal pronouns and prefixes
These are pronouns we use when in reference to people. Take note
of the differences and please master the subject markers for each
personal pronoun. The lesson is meant to lay a foundation for your
knowledge /skills of constructing Ndebele sentences. By the end of
the lesson you should be able to use various pronouns and to
construct at least 5 Ndebele sentences using the vocabulary
provided in the notes on this particular lesson.
6. a) The pronoun for 1st Person singular (I) is
mina (Shona > ini )
You use mina when you are referring to yourself
The subject marker for 1st person singular is Ngi-
e.g Ngihlala (I stay)
Ngithanda (I like/ I love)
Examples in sentences
Mina ngihlala eHarare (I live/stay in Harare.)
Mina ngithanda ukudla isitshwala lenyama yenkukhu. (I like to eat
sadza and chicken.)
7. b.) The pronoun for 1st person plural (we) is
thina (Shona > isu)
You use thina when you are referring to yourself and others.
The subject marker for 1st person plural is si-
e.g sihlala… (we stay…) , sithanda…
e.g Thina sihlala eHighlands (We stay in Highlands).
Thina sithanda ukudlala ibhola. We like to play soccer.
8. c). The pronoun for 2nd person singular (you) is
wena (Shona > iwe)
You use wena when you are talking to one person.
E.g wena uhlala eBorrowdale.
The subject marker for 2st person singular is u-
e.g uhlala… (you stay…) , uthanda… (you love)
e.g Wena uthanda amankazana. You love girls.
Wena ufunda eyunivesithi. (You are studying at the university.)
9. d.) The pronoun for 2nd person plural (You) is
lina (Shona > imi)
You use lina when you are talking to two people or more.
The subject marker for 2nd person plural is li-
e.g Lina lithanda amankazana. You love girls.
Lina lifunda eyunivesithi. (You are studying at the university.)
10. e) The pronoun for 3rd person singular (He/She) is
yena (Shona > iye)
You use yena when you are talking about someone
In this case you are not talking to someone but talking about them
either in their presence or absence.
The subject marker for 3rd person singular is u-
e.g Yena uhlala KoBulawayo. (He/She stays in Bulawayo).
Yena ufunda eyunivesithi. (He/ She is studying at the university)
11. f.) The pronoun for 3rd person plural (Them) is
bona (Shona > ivo)
You use bona when you are talking about two people or more,
be it in their presence or absence.
The subject marker for 3rd person plural ba-
e.g Bona bahlala eMagwegwe. (They stay in Magwegwe)
Bona bathanda ukudlala ibhola lenyawo. (They like to play
soccer.)
Bona bathanda ukudla isitshwala lenyama yenkukhu. (They like
to eat sadwa and chicken.)
12. Constructing sentences
Pronoun concord
I > mina ngi+verb
Mina ngihlala eGwanda
ngifunda eGwanda Poly,
ngithanda ukudlala ibhola.
Pronoun concord
You (singular)> wena u+verb
Wena uhlala ngaphi?
Wena ufunda eHarare.
Wena ulabantwana yini?
14. Pronoun concord
They> bona ba+verb
Bona bahlala eGokwe.
Bona bafunda eGZU.
Bona bathanda ukudla isitshwala.
Pronoun concord
He/She> yena u+verb
Yena usebenza eParirenyatwa
Yena uleminyaka engamatshumi amabili
Yena ulomntwana oyedwa
15. Absolute pronouns
Absolute pronouns may stand on their own, in contrast to subject
and object concords, which are always attached to a verb.
Please note personal pronouns are also part of absolute pronouns,
its only that absolute pronouns also include various nouns e.g
animal names, body parts and other things.
All absolute pronouns for the noun classes (except ‘yena’ end in-
‘ona’, with the first letter of the concord to begin with, for example,
BA-… bona. Concords U-and A give ‘wona’,; concord I- gives ‘yona’. A
concord is a prefix which agrees with the subject
16. Noun Concord
Absolute pronoun
Umfana (a boy) U- yena (he)
Abafana (boys) BA- bona (them)
Umuthi (medicine) U- wona (it)
Imithi (medicines) I- yona (it)
Ilitshe (a stone) Li- lona (it)
Amatshe (stones) A- wona (they)
Isinkwa (bread) Si- sona (it)
Izinkwa (bread plural) Zi- zona (they)
Inja (a dog) I- yona (it)
Izinja (dogs) Zi- zona (they)
Ufudu (tortoise) Lu- lona (it)
Imfudu (tortoises) Zi- zona (they)
Ubuso (face) Bu- bona (it)
Ukudla (food) Ku- khona (it)
