UKUBUYEKEZA (REVISION)
Activity 1: Revise posessives (ubumnini)
In isiZulu the possessive pronoun is very different from English. In English we use the possessive first followed by the noun, but in isiZulu we use the noun first followed by the possessive prefix and possessive stem (e.g. -mi = my, -kho = your, -khe = his/her)
Noun class prefix Noun 1st person possessive -mi = my
u- / umu- umntwana wami o- / aba- abantwana bami
i / ili- idolo lami ama- amazinyo ami isi- isisu sami in- / im- / imi- inja yami izi- / izin- / izim- izimbali zami
UMSEBENZI 1: Extension activity Fill in (Gcwalisa): For example: Ikhanda lami (My head)
1. Ibhola ____________________ (My ball)
2. Amaswidi ____________________ (My sweets)
3. Umama ____________________ (My mother)
4. Abantwana ____________________ (My children)
5. Imoto ____________________ (My car)
6. Isikhwama ____________________ (My bag) Sample
7. Ogogo ____________________ (My grannies)
8. Izicathulo ____________________ (My shoes)
9. Umkhulu ____________________ (My grandfather)
10. Inja ____________________ (My dog)
Activity 2: Revise ‘na’ (‘and / with / have’)
Revise the rule for joining words with ‘na-’ (‘and’):
• na + i ne
• na + u no
• na + a na
• na + o no
How to use ‘na-’, ‘ne-’, ‘no-’:
• Sugar and milk (ushukela + ubisi) ushukela nobisi
• Dog and cat (inja + ikati) inja nekati
• Meat and water (inyama + amanzi) inyama namanzi
UMSEBENZI 2: Extension activity
Translate into isiZulu (Humusha ngesiZulu):
1. I want to buy milk and sweets.
2. Sister and Brother are going to town.
3. Mother likes eating bread and jam.
Activity 3: Revise conjunctions (Izihlanganiso)
Conjunctions
• Futhi (and / and also)
• Noma (or)
• Ngoba (because)
• Kodwa (but)
UMSEBENZI 3: Extension activity
Translate into isiZulu (Humusha ngesiZulu):
1. Do you like playing tennis or cricket?
2. Mark will drink water because he is thirsty. 3. I eat meat but I don’t like vegetables.
4. She is eating food because she is hungry.
5. We go to the movies and then we buy popcorn.
6. I want to play outside but it is raining.
Father drives a car because mother is not able to drive.
7.
Activity 4: Revise colours (imbala)
Colours
Bomvu: red
Mnyama: black
Mhlophe: white
Phinki/ezibomvana: pink
Nsundu: brown
UMSEBENZI 4: Extension activity
Translate into isiZulu (Bhala ngesiZulu):
1. My teacher’s table is brown.
2. My shoes are red.
3. I like the pink dress.
4. My eyes are black.
5. Father likes to eat white bread.
G07 ~ isiZulu First Additional Language
UMSEBENZI 5: Extension activity
Fill in the colours in isiZulu (Gcwalisa):
1. Ikati lami li____________________. (My cat is black.)
2. Izimvemvane zi____________________. (The butterflies are pink.)
3. Irula li____________________. (The ruler is red.)
4. Umnyango u____________________. (The door is brown.)
5. Ibhuku lami li____________________. (My book is white.)
Activity 5: Revise plurals (ubuningi)
Ubunye (singular) Example Ubuningi (plural) Example
um- (people) umuntu umfundi aba- (people) abantu abafundi
u- ugogo ugandaganda o- ogogo ogandaganda
um- (objects) umlomo umshanelo imi- (objects) imilomo imishanelo
i- / ili- ikhekhe ibhasi amaamakhekhe amabhasi
isi- isitimela isigqoko iziizitimela izigqoko
In- / im- inja imoto izi- izinja izimoto
Sample
UMSEBENZI 6: Extension activity
Give the plural of the following (Nikeza ubuningi obulandelayo):
Ubunye (singular) Ubuningi (plural)
1. umntwana (child)
2. imbongolo (donkey)
3. utamatisi (tomato)
Ubunye (singular)
4. ubaba (father)
5. umfana (boy)
6. umkhulu (grandfather)
7. umfula (river)
8. iketela (kettle)
9. unesi (nurse)
10. ingulube (pig)
11. imbuzi (goat)
12. iqanda (egg)
13. umshini (machine)
14. ikhowe (mushroom)
15. isiqgoko (hat)
16. ingubo (dress)
17. ijuba (pigeon)
18. uthisha (teacher)
19. umfundi (student)
20. isikhwama (bag)
Activity 6: Revise adverbs (izandiso)
Ubuningi (plural)
Adverbs
Sample• kahle (well)
• kakhulu (extremely)
• kaningi (often)
• kabi (badly)
UMSEBENZI 7: Extension activity Fill in (Gcwalisa):
1. UMandla unemisebenzi eminingi Usebenza ___________________________. (often) (Mandla has many jobs. He works often.)
2. UThoko uyagula. Usebenza ___________________________. (badly) (Thoko is sick. She works badly.)
3. USifiso ufika ekuseni ngovivi emsebenzini Usebenza ______________________. (well) (Sifiso comes to work early in the morning. He works well.)
4. UDavid unamandla. Usebenza ___________________________. (easily) (David is strong. He works easily.)
5. UMandy uthanda umsebenzi wakhe. Usebenza ___________________________. (a lot) (Mandy loves her job. She works a lot.)
6. UThemba akathandi umsebenzi wakhe Usebenza ________________________. (slowly) (Themba does not like his job. He works slowly.)
Sample
MINA (ME)
In this chapter you will:
• learn how to greet someone in isiZulu.
• learn how to ask questions and give replies about ‘me’ (‘mina’).
• read the story Sanibonani
• answer questions about the story Sanibonani.
• identify verbs, nouns and other parts of speech from the story Sanibonani.
• revise process writing using a mind map.
• deliver an oral presentation about ‘my life’.
• revise questions and how to respond to different types of questions.
• learn how to complete important information about yourself on a form.
• use technology to make a movie about your life.
• complete activities on noun classes and noun class prefixes.
MASIDLALE (LET’S PLAY)
Activity 7: Practise greetings
Refer to the Workbook. Play the game to revise greetings in isiZulu.
Sample
Greeting in isiZulu
Greeting people shows respect in the Zulu culture and it is also important when beginning a conversation. We use ‘sawubona’ to greet one person and ‘sanibona’ to greet many people in Zulu. This greeting can be used at any time of the day because it can mean either ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ or ‘good evening’.
When greeting a person by their name, we drop the first ‘u’ which means ‘he/she’. So, when we speak directly to someone, we will greet the person with, ‘Sawubona Sipho’ and not ‘Sawubona uSipho’. When greeting a family member in isiZulu, we also drop the first letter,
e.g., ‘Sawubona mama’ and not ‘Sawubona umama’. When greeting ‘indoda’ we will greet him with, ‘Sawubona ndoda’ and not ‘Sawubona indoda’. We drop the first letter of the noun, namely the ‘i’.
However, when we greet many people and the plural form of the nouns begins with ‘o’, we do not drop the first letter but rather add a ‘b’ before the ‘ o’. For example, ‘Sanibona bomama’ (‘Hello, mother and others’) – we add the ‘b’ before ‘omama’. Another example is ‘Sanibona bogogo’ (‘Hello, granny and others’) – we add the ‘b’ before ‘ogogo’. When greeting many people such as ‘abafana’ (children) or ‘amadoda’ (men) we will greet them as, ‘Sanibona, bafana!’ or ‘Sanibona madoda!’. The first letter of the noun, namely the ‘a’ will fall away when greeting many people.
When you leave someone, you usually bid the person farewell by saying, ‘Sala kahle’, which means ‘stay well’. The person that stays behind will usually respond by saying, ‘Hamba kahle’ which means ‘go well’. The same rule of dropping the first vowel applies as when saying hello.
ABC Use the translated vocabulary to help you get to know someone better:
What is your name?
Who are you?
My name is Sipho
Ngubani igama lakho?
Wena ungubani?
Igama lami nguSipho
I am Ngingu
What is your surname?
My surname is Khoza
What do you like?
Ngubani isibongo sakho?
Isibongo sami nguKhoza
Wena uthandani?
‘Wena uthandani?’ is an open-ended question that can have different replies. Let us look at suitable replies to this question:
Sample
I like eating sweets. Ngithanda ukudla amaswidi
I like drinking water. Ngithanda ukuphuza amanzi.
I like learning Zulu. Ngithanda ukufunda isiZulu.
I like playing soccer. Ngithanda ukudlala ibhola lezinyawo.
I like playing netball. Ngithanda ukudlala ibhola lomnqakiswano
Ngithanda ukudlala ibhola lezinyawo. (I like playing soccer.)
MASIFUNDE (LET’S READ)
ABC Use the translated vocabulary to help you understand the story Sanibonani better:
hlangana: meet
umndeni wami: my family
abangane bami: my friends
Ngiyethemba: I hope
Ngimeninyaka engu-13: I am 13 years old
iSayensi: science
iziBalo: mathematics
udokotela wezilwane: veterinarian
eqenjini lesikole: school team
ukudlala isiginci: playing guitar
IBALAZWE LENQONDO (MIND MAPS)
Activity 8: Write down new words
Refer to the story Sanibonani and write the new words in the correct columns according to the mindmap in the Workbook: izenzo (verbs), amabizo (nouns) and okunye (other words that are neither verbs nor nouns).
Udokotela wezilwane (veterinarian)
Activity 9: Revise verbs and nouns
Let us revise verbs and nouns in order to understand them better.
Isenzo (verbs)
• ‘Isenzo’ is the singular form of the word ‘verb’ and ‘izenzo’ is the plural form of the word ‘verb’.
• Izenzo are words that indicate an action.
• The majority of izenzo words end on an ‘-a’.
• In order for izenzo to make grammatical sense in sentences they have to be prefixed with a subject concord or with ‘uku-’. Most verbs in Zulu end on an ‘-a’, for example ‘bhaka’, ‘funda’ and ‘cula’.
• Izenzo can stand alone when used as a command.
Verbs to remember:
dinga need lalela listen
dla eat phumula rest
dlala play phuza drink
funda read/study sebenza work
geza bath shayela drive
gijima run siza help
hamba travel/go thanda like/love
khala cry thenga buy
khuluma talk thengisa sell
Sample
lala sleep
Verbs used in present tense sentences are indicated by the present tense marker ‘ya’ which means ‘is/am’ or ‘are’. If the verb stands alone and is not followed by a noun, then the ‘ya’ must be placed between the subject concord and the verb. However, if a noun follows the verb, the ‘ya’ is removed.
• Ngiyagima. (I am running.)
The ‘ya’ is placed after the subject concord ‘ngi-’ and before the verb ‘gijima’ because it is not followed by a noun.
• Ngigima esikoleni. (I am running at school.)
In this sentence a noun follows the verb, so there is no need to use the ‘ya’.
Let us look at some examples of using verbs in present tense sentences:
• Siyapheka (We are cooking.)
• Sipheka inyama. (We are cooking meat)
• Ubaba uyasebenza. (Father is working.)
• Ubaba usebenza engadini. (Father is working in the garden)
• Usisi uyaphumula. (Sister is resting.)
• Usisi uphumula ekhaya. (Sister is resting at home.)
Ubaba usebenza engadini. (Father is working in the garden.)
Amabizo (nouns)
A noun is a word that represents a person, thing, concept or place. In isiZulu there are different types of nouns:
• Ibizoqho (proper noun)
Proper nouns always refer to a specific member of that group. As well as naming one-of-a-kind items, the other key feature that separates proper nouns from common nouns is that they must always start with a capital letter, regardless of where they are in a sentence.
Examples: uSipho (Sipho is a person), iGateway (Gateway is a shopping centre) and i-Capitec (Capitec is a company).
• Ibizomvama (common noun)
Common nouns refer to general objects, places, people and animals that don’t have specific names.
Examples: umfana (a boy), incwadi (a book) and isikole (school).
• Ibizoqoqa (collective noun)
Collective nouns are used to represent a group of people or animals. They are sometimes called group nouns, as they represent a number or a collection of things. Examples: umndeni (family) and izithelo (fruit).
• Ibizosimo (abstract noun)
Abstract nouns refer to something non-physical – something that you cannot perceive directly with your senses, so you are not able to touch or see it.
Examples: uthando (love) and isikhathi (time).
• Ibizomuntu (personal pronoun)
Personal nouns are formed from verbs. They identify a person. To change a verb to a personal noun, add the prefix ‘um-’ to the beginning of the stem word and add the suffix ‘-i’ to the end.
Examples:
ukufunda (study) umfundi (student)
ukufundisa (teach) umfundisi (teacher)
ukubhaka (bake) umbhaki (baker)
ukudansa (dance) umdansi (dancer)
ukudlala (play) umdlali (player)
ukucula (sing) umculi (singer)
• Ibizonto (impersonal pronoun)
Impersonal pronouns are also formed from verbs. Impersonal pronouns end with the suffix ‘-o’.
Examples:
ukucula (sing) iculo (a song)
kuphuza (to drink) isiphuzo (a drink)
ukudlala (play) umdlalo (a game)
ukufunda (learn) isifundo (a lesson)
• Amabizomfakela (borrowed noun)
Borrowed nouns are not derived from the isiZulu language but have been borrowed from other languages and sound similar to their English or Afrikaans meaning.
Borrowed nouns will fall in the group ‘-u/-o/-i/-ama’ or ‘-isi/-izi’.
Examples:
ibhase (from the English word ‘bus’)
itafula (from the Afrikaans word ‘tafel’)
ifastela (from the Afrikaans word ‘venster’)
ijezi (from the English word ‘jersey’)
isitulo (from the Afrikaans word ‘stoel’)
ibhasi (from the English word ‘bus’)
ushizi (from the English word ‘cheese’)
amavegi (from the English word ‘vegetables’)
isipuni (from the English word ‘spoon’)
ubhanana (from the English word ‘banana’)
In isiZulu every noun consists of a prefix and a root. Nouns are grouped into different noun classes/categories and each noun class has a different class prefix. The class prefix indicates to which noun class a noun belongs and also whether a noun is singular or plural. A noun stem carries the meaning of the word.
Let us look at a few examples of the prefixes and roots of nouns:
Umuntu (a person) umu- ntu (singular)
Abantu (people) aba- ntu (plural)
Isisu (stomach) isi- -su (singular)
Table of noun classes
The noun class refers to how nouns are grouped together. Noun classes are made up of people and objects. The class prefix is what the noun starts with and it is placed before the root. The root is what the noun usually ends with. A concord agreement is usually added to the verb based on its noun class.
The following table is a revision of how nouns are grouped according to their different noun classes. You will notice that all ‘ubuningi’ (plural nouns) take the even numbers and all ‘ubunye’ (singular nouns) take the odd numbers in the table below. It is very important to revise the noun classes.
Noun class (izigaba) Prefix (Isiqalo sebizo) Concord agreement (Isivumelwano senhloko)
Examples
Singular (ubunye) and plural (obuningi)
(boy)
umama (mother) uSipho (Sipho) 2 (a)
omama (mothers) oSipho (Sipho and others)
(bread) isigebengu (thief) izigebengu (thieves)
