Chichewa (also but less commonly known as Chinyanja, Chewa or Nyanja) is the main lingua franca of central and southern Malawi and neighbouring regions. Like other Bantu languages it has a wide range of tenses. In terms of time, Chichewa tenses can be divided into present, recent past, remote past, near future, and remote future. The dividing line between near and remote tenses is not exact, however. Remote tenses cannot be used of events of today, but near tenses can be used of events earlier or later than today.
The Chichewa tense system also incorporates aspectual distinctions. Except for the Present Simple, nearly every tense in Chichewa is either perfective (for example, "I went") or imperfective in aspect (for example "I was going", "I used to go"). In the present tense only, there is a distinction between habitual ("I usually go") and progressive ("I am going now").
Another aspectual distinction in Chichewa is that between perfect and past. A perfect tense is one which carries an implication that the result of a past action still holds at the present time, for example "he has come (and is still here)". The past tenses in Chichewa tend to be discontinuous, for example, "he came (but has now gone)". They differ from the English past tense, which is neutral in this regard.
The distinction between one tense and another in Chichewa is made partly by changing the tense-marker, which is an infix such as -ku-, -na-, -ma- etc. added to the verb, and partly by the use of tone. Often two different tenses, such as ndimapíta "I was going" and ndímapíta "I go", have the same tense-marker but are distinguished by their tonal pattern.
Compound tenses are also found in Chichewa to express more complex meanings, such as ndimatí ndipité "I was about to go" or ndakhala ndíkúpíta "I have been going".
In addition to ordinary tenses, Chichewa also has tenses to express obligation ("I should go"), potentiality ("I might go"), and persistence ("I am still going"). There are also tenses with meanings such as "while I am going", "after I had gone", "before I went", as well as a series of conditional-clause tenses meaning "if..." such as "if I go", "if I had gone", "if I were to go" and so on.
The distinction between one tense and another in Chichewa is made partly by varying the tonal pattern (each tense having its own particular tonal melody) and partly by the use of infixes such as -ku-, -ma-, -na-, -a-, -dza-, -ka-, -zi-. These infixes which distinguish the tenses are known as "tense-markers".
Three tenses (the Present Simple, Present Subjunctive, and Present Imperative) have no tense-marker. The Present Simple in most verbs has a near future meaning:
Hyphens and tonal accent marks have been added for clarity, although they are not used in standard Chichewa orthography.
All other tenses have a tense-marker, which is added directly after the subject-marker. For example, the Present Continuous is made by adding the tense-marker -ku-. There are six possible subject-markers mostly referring to persons:[1]
In modern standard Chichewa there is no difference between the 3rd person singular "he/she" and the 3rd person plural "they" except in the Perfect tense, although there are some dialects such as the Town Nyanja spoken in Lusaka, Zambia, where the 3rd person plural is still βa-, and thus differs from the singular.[2] The singular and plural also differ in the Perfect tense (see below).
Freestanding pronouns such as ine "I", iwe "you", iyé "he, she" are available and may be added for emphasis, but are usually omitted: ine ndikuthándiza "I am helping".[3]
In addition to the above subject-markers mostly referring mostly to persons there are also other subject-markers usually referring to things, animals, or the impersonal "it" or "there" of place or time:
The Perfect tense is exceptional in that the subject-marker is shortened when followed by the tense-marker -a-. It is also exceptional in that the 3rd person singular has w- instead of a-, and is thus different from the 3rd person plural:[1]
Other elements can be added between the tense-marker and the verb-stem, such as aspect-markers and object-markers. For example the object-marker -m(u)- "him" or "her" can be added to any of the above verbs: nd-a-mú-thandiza "I have helped him/her".
|
Main article: Chichewa tones |
The second way in which one tense is distinguished from another in Chichewa is in the use of tones, that is, in the rise and fall in pitch of the speaker's voice. Each tense is associated with a particular tonal melody, and in some cases two tenses which share the same tense-marker can be distinguished by tones.
In their book, The Phonology of Chichewa, Downing and Mtenje identify eight different patterns for positive verbs, in addition to further patterns for negative and relative clause verbs.[4]
Often the same tonal pattern is used by more than one tense.[5] For instance, the Present Continuous, Recent Past, and Imperfect all have a high tone on the syllable following the tense-marker:
Another tonal pattern, used in the Present Habitual tense, is to place one high tone on the subject-marker and another on the penultimate syllable:
The Past Simple (Remote Perfect) has a tone on the tense-marker itself, which in some dialects spreads to the following syllable:
Some tenses, such as the Potential, are pronounced with every syllable low:
The same tonal pattern is used in every verb. However, when the verb is a short one of one or two syllables only, certain adjustments may be made. For example, in the Present Habitual, the second tone is heard on the final when the verb stem has only one syllable:
But in certain tenses, a penultimate tone remains penultimate, even if the verb is monosyllabic:
For further details concerning the tonal patterns of verbs of different lengths, see the article Chichewa tones.
In negative tenses different tonal patterns are used.[6] For example, in the negative subjunctive, the tone moves to the penultimate:
Some tenses have two different negative intonations, depending on the meaning. For example, the Simple Past (Remote Perfect) ndi-ná-gula "I bought" has the following negatives with different meanings:[7]
Certain tenses also have a different tonal pattern when used in a positive relative clause. For example, the potential tense is normally toneless, but in a relative clause it acquires a tone on the first and penultimate syllables. The tone of an object-marker such as -tí- below is lost:[8]
Not all tenses change their tonal pattern in a relative clause. Negative tenses do not change, and those positive tenses which already have a tone on the first syllable do not change.
In addition to the tones added to the verb by the tonal pattern of the tense, some verb-stems and certain suffixes have their own tone, which is heard on the final syllable. This tone is not heard, however, in tenses such as the Present Habitual where the tonal pattern places a tone on the penultimate syllable. The distinction is also lost in the subjunctive, where the tonal pattern places a tone on the final even in low-toned stems:
Another factor affecting the tones of a verb is that when a verb is followed by an object or a place-argument, the tone usually spreads:[9]
Following the tense-marker it is possible to add one or more aspect-markers, which are infixes which modify the meaning of the tense. There are four commonly used aspect-markers, which when combined are usually added in the order: -ma-, -ka-, -dza-, -ngo-.[10] A fifth aspect-marker ba(a) is less commonly found.
-Ma- can be used in its own right as a tense-marker to make the imperfect tense:
It can also be added to other tenses or to the infinitive to make the aspect habitual:
It is not combined with the perfect tense, or with any of the tenses with -na-, -naa- or -da-, -daa-, since these tenses are always perfective in aspect.
The meaning of -ka- is usually "go and...".
Sometimes it can mean "go in order to":[13]
In combination with the Present Simple tense it makes the Contingent Future (see below):
The infix -dza- has various meanings.[14] The first meaning is "come and...":
With an Infinitive or Subjunctive after a verb of coming, it can mean "in order to":
The second meaning is or "at a later time, in future":
When combined with the Present Simple tense, it converts it to the Remote Future:
The aspect-marker -ngo- means "just".[15] As it is derived from the Infinitive, the tone, as in the Infinitive itself, goes on the syllable following -ngo-, and the final vowel is always -a, never -e:
Another much less commonly used aspect-marker is -ba- or -baa-, which can be added to the present tense, subjunctive, or imperative. Mchombo gives this example:[17]
Downing and Mtenje call this aspect the "continuative", and write the infix as -báa.[18] The similarity in meaning suggests that it may derive from the idiom ndíyamba ndámálizá "I'll begin by finishing".
For examples of this aspect-marker used with the subjunctive and imperative, see below.
Chichewa makes distinctions which are sometimes not found in other languages, for example, the distinction between near and remote past, or between perfective and imperfect aspect. Some tenses, such as the toneless -ka- tense, are used only to make conditional or temporal clauses.
Certain tenses in Chichewa, such as those with -ná-, -nká- and -dzá-, are used for events remote in time, while others are used mainly for events of today (including last night).[19] However, although the remote tenses are never used for events of today, the opposite is not true. As one scholar Jack Mapanje puts it: "Although traditional and other grammarians have latched on to the idea of immediate, near or remote past or future time, this is not a hard and fast rule for our languages. Usually the decision as to how immediate, near or remote past or future time is from the speech time is dependent on subjective factors."[20]
The Present Simple tense is formed without any tense-marker, but with a tone on the subject-prefix: ndíthandiza "I will help". In a verb of three or more syllables, the first tone often spreads, making ndíthándiza.
The Present Simple of the verb -li ("is") is irregular, in that it has no tone on the subject prefix: ndili "I am".[21] But the tone on the first syllable is heard when the verb is used in a relative clause.
The Present Simple tense can be both perfective and imperfective in aspect. When the Present Simple is perfective, the meaning is usually immediate future (see below):[21]
It can sometimes, however, be used perfectively referring to the present, for example in stage directions in a play:
It is also possible for the Present Simple to have an imperfective meaning. This was common in early Chichewa, but avoided today, as these two versions of the Bible illustrate:
With a non-dynamic verb such as "I love", "I know", "I want", "I believe", "I hope" and so on, the Present Simple can be used even today with present meaning:
However, even with these verbs, it is more common these days to use the Present Continuous or Present Habitual instead.[24]
The Negative Present Simple tense (with tones on the first two syllables) can be used for the negative of a stative verb:
At other times it has a habitual meaning, and some authors consider it as being the negative of the Present Habitual.[25] In the following example, the Present Habitual is used for the positive, but the Present Simple for the negative:
With negative monosyllabic verbs, the present continuous is sometimes used, even though the meaning is habitual:[26]
However, sámwá and sámámwá are also possible here.
When the negative present simple has a future meaning, the tones change, and in common with other future tenses it has a single tone on the penultimate: si-ndi-thandíza "I won't help".
In relative clauses, both negative and positive, the tones are the same as in ordinary statements.
The Present Habitual tense (ndí-ma-thandíza "I help, habitually") is formed by adding -ma- to the Present Simple tense. The tones are on the subject-marker and penultimate; the first tone never spreads.[27] In relative clauses the tones do not change.
The Present Habitual is typically used for situations in the present which are repeated habitually or which are continuous and expected to continue indefinitely:[28]
As noted above, the negative of this tense usually omits -ma-. However, the infix -má- (with a tone) can be added especially if the meaning is emphatic:
The tense-marker -ma- appears to derive from an earlier -mba-.[29] (-mba- is also used as a habitual marker in the Malawian variety of Chisena.)[30] Kanerva (1990) records forms like ndíímaphíika "I cook", showing a long vowel in the first syllable in the Nkhotakota dialect;[31] however, other dialects have a short vowel.
The Present Continuous (or Present Progressive) tense uses the tense-marker -ku-, with the tone on the syllable immediately after -ku-: ndi-ku-thándiza "I am helping". The negative also has a tone in the same place: sí-ndí-ku-thándiza "I am not helping".[32] (Since -ku- can also mean "you (sg.)", these words, with the intonation ndíkúthandiza and sindikuthandíza, can also mean "I will help you" and "I won't help you".)
It is used much like the English present continuous for temporary situations which are not expected to continue for long. It can also be used, as in English, for events which are already planned, e.g. "I'm going to Zambia next week" or which are still incompleted but under way:[33]
This tense is used in a wider range of contexts than the English equivalent, since it is also often used with stative verbs such as "know", "want", "remember", "believe", "expect", "think", "see":[34]
It is also used for performative verbs, such as ndikulónjeza "I promise", although some older speakers use the Present Simple in such contexts.[35]
In some contexts the Present Continuous can be used where English uses the Perfect Continuous:
The longer form of this tense, ndinalí kuthándiza or ndínalí kuthándiza, mentioned in some older books,[36] is not often used nowadays, the simpler form being much more common.
A frequentative version of the Present Continuous tense can be made by combining the tense-marker -ku- with the aspect-marker -má-.[37] It is generally used for situations which the speaker disapproves of. Again, the addition of -ma- is emphatic. The tones are on -ma- and the penultimate:
This tense is formed with the tense-marker -kada-, -kana-, or -daka- and a single tone on the penultimate syllable: ndikadathandíza or ndidakathandíza "I am still helping".[38] (This tone moves to the final in monosyllabic verbs.) It is most often used with the verb -li "be". With other verbs the tendency is to replace this tense with the suffix -be "still": ndikuthándizábe "I am still helping",[39] but this suffix is not available with the verb -li, since ndilíbe has a different meaning, namely "I do not have".[40]
Sometimes the tense-marker -kada- is shortened to -ka-.[41]
Another way of expressing "still" is a form in chi-...-re, but this is used only for a few verbs.[42] The verb has a tone on the penultimate:
For the participial form of the persistive tense, see below.
A perfect tense is usually defined as one which indicates the continuing present relevance of a past situation.[43] Thus the use of the Perfect tense in the sentence "I have lost my penknife" indicates that the penknife is still missing.
Several different typical uses of perfect tenses are distinguished in linguistics textbooks:[44] the Perfect of Result (e.g. "I have lost my penknife"); the Experiential Perfect (e.g. "Bill has been to America (at least once)"); the Perfect of Persistent Situation (e.g. "I've been waiting for hours"); and the Perfect of Recent Past (e.g. "I've seen her this morning"). All of these uses can be found in the Chichewa Perfect.
In English, the use of the Perfect is incompatible with a time adverb referring to a time completely in the past (e.g. "yesterday"). However, this is not necessarily the case in all languages; in Spanish, for example, the Perfect is compatible with an adverb such as ayer "yesterday".[45] As will be seen below, Chichewa may also combine the Perfect with a past time adverb.
The Perfect Simple tense in Chichewa is formed as described above with the tense-marker -a-, e.g. nd-a-gula "I have bought (some)". It is toneless, unless the verb-stem itself has a tone (e.g. nd-a-topá "I am tired"). There is no exact negative, although a particular intonation of the negative past with the tone on the penultimate only is often regarded as the equivalent of a negative Perfect (si-ndi-na-gúle "I haven't bought it yet").[46]
As with the English Perfect, the Perfect tense is often used as a perfect of result, usually referring to very recent events:
Unlike the English Perfect, it is possible to combine it with an adverb of time such as "at ten o'clock":[47]
As in English also it can be used as a Perfect of experience to describe something which has happened once or more and which may happen again:[48]
Adding the suffix -po gives the meaning "at times" or "sometimes":
A usage of the perfect tense unfamiliar in English but common in other Bantu languages such as Swahili[49] is to express a present state resulting from a recent event. For example, "he is wearing a suit" is expressed in Chichewa as "he has put on a suit"; "he is sitting on a chair" is expressed as "he has sat down on a chair"; "I am tired" is expressed as "I have become tired", and so on.[50]
To express the past version of such situations ("he was wearing a suit") the Recent Past or Remote Past is used.
The Perfect tense of the verb -khala ("stay" or "be") either by itself or combined with another verb is used as the equivalent of the English Perfect Continuous to express a situation which began some time ago but which is still continuing now:
The construction using forms such as takhala tíkúgíra is not mentioned in any of the early writers on Chichewa grammar and so is perhaps a recent development in Chichewa.[54]
The relative clause intonation of the Perfect Simple has a tone on the first syllable (which may link or spread) and another on the penultimate (which may shift).
It may be used as an adjective:[55]
It can also be used as a noun, with the noun it describes being understood:
Thirdly it can be used in a construction with any tense of the verb yamba "begin" to mean "begin by doing":[59]
The Remote Perfect (or Past Simple) tense (e.g. ndinábwera or ndidábwera "I came") uses the tense-marker -ná- or -dá-. The difference is partly regional, since -dá- is heard mainly in parts of the Central Region, especially in the area around Lilongwe, while -na- is used in the Southern Region.[60] Since the first President of Malawi, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, wished to standardise the language and to make the Central Region variety the basis of that standard, -da- was chosen as the correct form to be used in written Chichewa for this tense. Banda is said to have declared: "The real Chichewa is what is spoken by the villagers in Dowa, Lilongwe, Dedza, Salima; in the Southern Region, Namkumba's area in Fort Johnston."[61] Thus -da- has come to be used as the standard form in written Chichewa, and books describing the language for Malawian schools allow only -da- as the Remote Perfect tense-marker.[62] Colloquially, however, -ná- seems to be more common, and is the form given for this tense in the majority of publications describing Chichewa grammar.[63] In the older 1922 translation of the Bible, -na- is more commonly used than -da- (although -da- is used occasionally), whereas in the more recent translation of 1998, -da- is the usual past tense marker except for the Recent Past.[64]
The tone is on the tense-marker itself. In longer verbs in some dialects this tone spreads forward one syllable: a-ná-landira / a-ná-lándira "he/she (has) received".[65] In relative clauses, the tones are on the first syllable and penultimate: á-na-landíra or á-ná-landíra "(he who) received".[66]
This tense is sometimes referred to as the "Past"[67] or "Simple Past".[68] However, the descriptions given by several authors make it clear that, except in its use in narrative, it should be classified as one of the perfect tenses, since like the Perfect it usually carries the implication that the effect of the action still holds. Watkins calls it the "Remote Past With Present Influence".[69] It refers to events of yesterday or earlier.
One common use is as a perfect of result, referring to an event which happened before today, but whose result is still true at the time of speaking:
It can be used with a past time adverb such as "yesterday" or "last year". "When this happens the 'perfect meaning' of the utterance is not lost" (Mapanje).[72]
As Watkins noted,[73] this is the appropriate tense to use to describe the creation of the world, since the result of the creation is still evident:
The Remote Perfect can also be used with adverbs such as masíkú ano "these days" and "pano "at present" to describe a change that has come about, but not recently:
Like the Perfect, it can also be used experientially. In this sense, often -po or -ko is added to the verb.[76]
Another use is in narrative:[80]
The narrative Remote Perfect is typically used for the action in novels and short stories and in narratives such as the 1998 Bible translation. In this usage, it has the meaning of a simple past tense, and the implication that the result of the action still holds does not apply.
The negative of this tense has the final vowel -e. There are two different intonations with different meanings. The second of these, which has a tone on the penultimate syllable only, serves as the negative of the perfect tense:[81]
The second of these intonations is also used when the Remote Perfect is used experientially:
The first of these intonations has tones on both the negative prefix sí- and the subject marker. In the 3rd person singular and plural, the syllables sí-á- usually coalesce to sá-:
In monosyllabic verbs the intonations are as follows:
Since the negative of the Recent Past is rarely used in modern Chichewa, the Remote Perfect negative is used instead. When negative, therefore, this tense can refer to events of today as well as events in the more remote past.
When used in a relative clause, the intonation of the verb changes, with one tone on the first syllable (which may spread) and one on the penultimate, which is shifted to the final when the verb has two syllables or one. An object-marker, if present, loses its tone except if the verb is monosyllabic.[8]
The past tenses in Chichewa differ from the perfect tenses in that they generally describe situations which were true in the past but of which the results no longer apply at the present time. Thus Maxson describes the Recent Past and the Remote Past as both implying that the situation has been "reversed or interrupted by another action".[83] According to Watkins, the Remote Past tense would be appropriate in a sentence such as "Jesus Christ died (but rose again)"; whereas it would not be appropriate in the sentence "God created the world" since it would imply that the creation was cancelled and "a second creator did a more enduring piece of work".[84] Similarly, according to Kulemeka, the Recent Past would be inappropriate in a sentence such as "our cat died", since it would imply that the act of dying was not permanent but would allow the possibility that the cat could come to life again at some future time.[85]
These two tenses, therefore, appear to differ from the English past tense (which is neutral in implication), and would seem to belong to the category of past tenses known in modern linguistics as discontinuous past.[86] Just as the Perfect and the Past Simple both carry the implication that the action had an enduring effect which continues to the present time, so the Recent Past and Remote Past carry the opposite implication, that the action was not permanent but was reversed or cancelled by a later action.
The Recent Past tense can also be used for narrating events that occurred earlier on the day of speaking.[87] (The use of the Perfect tense for narrative as described by Watkins[69] is now apparently obsolete). However, for narrating a series of events of yesterday or earlier, the Remote Perfect tense is used.[80]
The Recent Past is made with the tense-marker -na-. The tone comes on the syllable immediately after -na-: ndinathándiza "I helped (but...)".
For the Recent Past tense, -na- is preferred.[88] -da- is regarded as incorrect by Malawian teachers for events of today,[89] but is sometimes heard colloquially.
The Recent Past is most often used for events of today, but it can also be used of earlier events. Although it can be used for simple narrative of events of earlier today, it usually carries the implication that the result of the action no longer holds true:
With the same verbs in which the Perfect tense describes a state in the present, the Recent Past describes a state in the recent past:
It can also be used, however, as a simple past tense for narrative of events of earlier today:[92]
Although the tenses with -na- are usually perfective, the verb -li "be" is exceptional since the Recent Past and Remote Past in this tense usually have an imperfective meaning:
A negative form of this tense (síndínafótókoza "I didn't explain", with a tone following na, and with the ending -a) is recorded by Mtenje.[94] However, the negative seems to be rarely if ever used in modern standard Chichewa, and it is not mentioned by most other writers. Instead, the negative of the Remote Perfect (síndínafotokóze, with tones on the first and penultimate, and with the ending -e) is generally used.
For the Remote Past tense, some dialects use -naa- and others -daa-. In some books, such as the 1998 Bible translation, Buku Loyera, this tense-marker is always spelled -daa-, but in other publications the spelling -na- or -da- is used, so that only the context makes it clear whether the Past Simple or the Remote Past is intended.[95]
There are tones on the 1st, 2nd, and penultimate syllables. The first tone[96] or the second tone can be omitted: ndi-ná-a-gúla; ndí-na-a-gúla "I (had) bought (but...)". This tense is a remote one, used of events of yesterday or earlier. The a of the tense-marker is always long, even though it is often written with a single vowel.
As might be expected of a tense which combines the past tense marker -na- or -da- and the Perfect tense marker -a-, this tense can have the meaning of a Pluperfect:
It can also be used to describe a situation in the distant past, using the same verbs which are used in the Perfect tense to describe a situation in the present:
The same meaning is often expressed with a compound verb: adáli átávála chitenje (see below for examples.)
Another common use of this tense is as a discontinuous past, expressing a situation in the past which later came to be cancelled or reversed:[99]
The usual Past Imperfective tense, or simply the Imperfect tense, is made with the tense-marker -ma-. The tones are the same as for the Present Continuous and the Recent Past, that is, there is a tone on the syllable immediately after -ma. The negative also has a tone after -ma-: síndímathándiza "I wasn't helping".[102] This tense can refer either to very recent time or to remote time in the past:[103]
The imperfect sometimes has a progressive meaning:[104]
It can also be used for habitual events in the past:[104]
The negative also has a tone on the syllable following the infix -ma-, as well as one on si-:[105]
Remote Imperfect or Remote Past Imperfective is formed with the tense-marker -nka-. There are tones on nká and on the penultimate: ndinkáthandíza "I was helping/ used to help". It refers to events of yesterday or earlier.[103] Since the Past Imperfective with -ma- can be used of both near and remote events, whereas -nka- can be used only for remote ones, the -nka- tense is perhaps less commonly used.
This tense is used for both habitual events in the distant past, and progressive events in the distant past:
The tense-marker -nká-, which is pronounced with two syllables, is possibly derived from the verb muká or mká 'go'.[108]
The Present Simple, as noted above, is often used for events in the near or immediate future:[109]
Usually it refers to events of today, but it can also be used for tomorrow or even later times:[110]
The negative of this tense has a single tone on the penultimate syllable:
For events in a "general or more distant future (not today)"[111] the Future Tense with -dza- is used.[112] Some dialects put a tone on the first two syllables (e.g. ndídzáthándiza "I will help");[113] more frequently authors report a tone on -dzá- only (ndidzáthandiza); Downing & Mtenje (2017), pp. 163–4.[114] In longer verbs the tone of -dza- may spread to the following syllable.
In the negative, as with most negative future tenses, there is a single tone on the penultimate (in monosyllables the tone is heard on -dzá-). All other tones earlier in the word are deleted.[115][116] Often the meaning of this negative tense is "will never":
Adding -nso to this tense gives the meaning "never again":
Another future tense is formed with -ka-, with the same tones as -dza-. It usually refers to events in the near future. Maxson characterises this tense as follows: "The sense sometimes seems to be that the action will take place in relation to or dependent on something else. It might presuppose an unspoken conditional clause."[117] The name "Contingent Future" was suggested by Henry (1891), as opposed to the -dza- Future, which he called the "Indefinite Future".[118]
The future tense-marker -ka- is not to be confused with the aspect-marker -ka- "go and", which can be used combined with various tenses,[119] for example:
Another future tense can be made with the tense-marker -zi-, with tones on the initial syllable and penultimate. This usually refers to a situation in the near future, and has an imperfective meaning:
In the negative, the tones are on -zi- and on the penultimate syllable:
In some dialects, -zi- in this tense and the Imperfect Subjunctive becomes -dzi-.[122]
The -zidza- Future is an imperfective tense referring to events that will regularly take place in the distant future.[123] The tones are on the initial syllable (which may spread) and the penultimate:[124]
The tense-marker -zika- is sometimes used in place of -zidza-, perhaps with the implication that the events will take place elsewhere:[125]
These two tenses, -zidza- and -zika-, can also be used in temporal clauses referring to future time (see below).
Another tense referring to events in the distant future is -madza-, which means "it will usually happen". The tones are on the initial and penultimate syllables:
The Present Potential is made with the tense-marker -nga- and the final vowel -e-. It is toneless, unless the verb-stem itself has a tone.[128]
Although sometimes referring to the present, this tense more often refers to something that might happen in the future. It can be translated "can", "could", "may", or "might":[129]
The negative has tones on the tense-marker and penultimate: sindingáthandíze "I can't help"; there is an alternative pronunciation: síndíngathandíze.[131][132]
The relative clause form of this tense has tones on the first and penultimate syllables:
Frequently this tense is used with the verb -tha "be able":
The aspect-marker -dza- can be added to this tense: angadzáthandize "he might one day help".
In conditional clauses referring to a hypothetical situation in the future, -nga- can mean "would". (See below.)
This tense is made with -kadá-, -kaná-, or -daká-. There is a tone on the second syllable of the tense-marker. The meaning is "I would have done", "I could have done".[133][134]
The negative is síndíkadáthandiza "I would not have helped".
Sometimes the aspect-marker -ma- is added to this tense to make it imperfective. It adds an extra tone on the penultimate:
The aspect markers -ká- and -dzá- may also be added: ndikadádzáthándiza "I would have helped later".
Further information is given under Conditional Clauses below.
The present subjunctive has no tense-marker; the final vowel changes to -e, which has a tone, for example ndithandizé "I should help". When an object-marker is added to the subjunctive, there is another tone following the object-marker, e.g. mundifótokozeré "please explain to me". In shorter verbs the tones are: mundithándízé "please help me", mundipátse "please give me", muzídye "please eat them".[135]
The subjunctive usually expresses "either an order, or a wish, or an invitation to do something."[136] It can be a polite form of the imperative, or be used as the imperative of the 3rd person, or make suggestions for the 1st person:
When the aspect-marker -ká- 'go and' is added, there are tones on -ka- and the penultimate:
The negative, which has the negative-marker -sa- after the subject-marker, has a single tone on the penultimate:[138]
The subjunctive can also be used in various subordinate clause constructions, for example to express purpose or a wish or an indirect command:
Other clauses where the subjunctive can be used are those where the meaning is "such as", and, as an alternative to an infinitive, after m'maló mótí "instead of":
It can also be used with the relative clause intonation, after ngati "if" and when the meaning is "if it should be the case that...":[145]
Another situation where the subjunctive is used is after ngakhálé 'although':
If -dzá- is added to the subjunctive it refers to something that should happen or which may happen later. Sometimes it is used in purpose clauses:
It can express a wish for the future:
It can also be used for an event which might or might not happen in future:
A further use is in certain kinds of temporal clauses referring to the future, for which see below.
The aspect-marker -ká- means "go and...". It is often added to the subjunctive to indicate something which is desired to happen or which may happen at another place. It can be used in a purpose clause:
It can also be an indirect command or a wish:
It can refer to something which might happen at another place:
Another use for this tense is in temporal clauses referring to the future, for which see below.
An imperfective form of the subjunctive is made by adding the tense-marker -zi-. There are tones on -zí- and on the penultimate. It is referred to by Downing and Mtenje as the "necessitative" tense.[147] The final vowel is -a: ndizíthandíza "I should be helping".
This tense can express an obligation that should be carried out regularly or at all times, or as a "habit or general requirement":[148]
Just as with the ordinary subjunctive, it can also be used in purpose clauses after kutí "that":[106]
Another of its uses is to express a "strong obligation equivalent to an order" (Salaun):[106]
As with the imperfective future, in some regions -zí- can be replaced with -dzí-.
The negative of this tense is expressed not with -zí- but by adding -má- to the negative subjunctive:
Another kind of subjunctive, much less common than the two described above, is a tense with the aspect-marker -ba- (pronounced -báa-, with a second tone on the penultimate)[149] which means "let's do it while waiting for something else to happen":[106][150]
It seems possible that -ba- has developed by contraction from the construction yamba "begin" plus the perfect participle described above.
A form of the verb with -ta- can be used to express sentences of the kind "Let me do it" or "May I do it", referring to an action which the speaker would like to see done at once.[106] There is a tone on the syllable after -ta-. Unlike the more common participial -ta-, there is no tone on the first syllable:
These same three prefixes, zi-, ba-, and ta- can also be added to the imperative, with similar meanings (see below).
The imperative is the command form of the verb. In Chichewa its basic form consists of the verb stem and final vowel -a. The suffix -ni is added to make it plural or more respectful.[153] The imperative is toneless unless the verb-stem itself has a tone:
If the verb-stem is monosyllabic, however, such as -dya "eat", a supporting i- is added before it:
An idiom "very widespread" among Bantu languages, according to Meeussen,[154] is that if a series of commands is given, usually only the first is imperative, the second and third being subjunctive. This usually happens in Chichewa too:
If an object-marker is added to the basic imperative, the final vowel changes to -e, and the tones are similar to those in the Subjunctive, that is, the tone of the object-marker goes on the syllable which follows, and there is a second tone on the final -e:[155]
But in verbs of one or two syllables, there is a single tone on the penultimate:
The imperative can be made less direct by adding the suffix -ko,[11] which puts a tone on the syllable before it:
The Imperative can also take the aspect-markers ka- "go and" and dza- "come and". In this case although ka- and dza- are toneless, the final vowel becomes -e with a tone:
These two are derived from the imperative of the auxiliary verbs mka "go" and -dza "come" plus the subjunctive; so that dzaoné is derived from idza uoné "come so that you may see".
The prefix -ngo- "just" can also be added, with the supporting vowel i. In this case the final vowel is always -a and there is a tone on the syllable after -ngo-:
Like the Subjunctive, the Imperative can have the prefixes ta- (derived from the auxiliary verb chita "do" plus the infinitive), ba- "meanwhile", and zi- (imperfective).[106] Ta- is fairly common and is used when the speaker wishes something to be done straightaway[139] or is imploring.[157] It puts a tone on the following syllable:
This imperative with ta- can have an object-prefix added to it (the final vowel remains -a):
Ba- (pronounced baa) and zi- put a tone on the penultimate syllable (not counting the plural suffix -ni). These are less commonly used:
To make a negative command, either the negative subjunctive is used or a form (derived from the negative Infinitive) starting with ósa- (with tones on o- and the penultimate):[11]
Adding the aspect-marker -má- to either of these gives the meaning "don't keep on doing..." or "never do". The final vowel of the negative subjunctive is usually -e:[158]
The Infinitive is formed with the prefix ku-, which is proclitic, that is, it puts a tone on the syllable following itself: kuthándiza "to help". The negative is made by adding -sa- after -ku-, and has a single tone on the penultimate: kusathandíza "not to help".
The Infinitive can be used as the subject of a verb, in which case it is translated as a gerund:
It can also be the object of verbs such as "want", "be able", "like", "know how to" and so on:
With the infix -ka- or -dza- the Infinitive can be used to express purpose, following a verb of going or coming respectively:[160]
But -dza- with the Infinitive can also simply have a future meaning, referring to an event or situation in the distant future:[161]
The infinitive also often has the habitual aspect-marker -má-, which adds an additional tone on the penultimate.
-má- can also be added in sentences like the following that describe an event which takes place gradually:
Another idiomatic use of the Infinitive is to represent the second of two verbs in the same tense which have the same subject. The Infinitive is preceded by ndí "and" (or after a negative koma "but").[162] The word ndí is often shortened to ń:
There was formerly another idiom of using the prefix na-, ni- or nu- (depending on the class concord) to represent the second of two past or perfect tenses; however, it is not much used in modern Chichewa:
Sometimes the Infinitive can be used as a tense in its own right, to create a vivid description:[164]
The Infinitive can also follow the preposition pa "on", which combines with ku to make po- (with a low tone):[167]
The Infinitive is frequently combined with á "of" to make a verbal adjective or adverb. The syllables á and ku usually merge to become a high-toned ó, except when the verb is monosyllabic, when they usually remain separate. Thus ákuthándiza "of helping" is shortened to óthándiza, but ákúbá "of stealing" remains unshortened. Since á "of" changes to wá, yá, chá etc. according to the noun it refers to, the verbal adjective changes similarly.[169]
Frequently this form of the Infinitive is used as an adjective or adjectival participle:
It can also be used as a noun, with the noun it agrees with understood:
Another use is in combination with the prefix mwá-, contracted to mó-, to make an adverb:[172]
The prefix pó- (with a high tone) can also sometimes be used as an adverb.[173] Pósachédwa usually means "soon" or "after a short time" (literally, "(at a time) of not being delayed"):
Whereas the longer form pósachédwapa usually means "a short time ago". It is often used with the perfect or remote perfect tense:
The verb ganiza "think" combined with the zó- form of the Infinitive is a common way of saying "decide to":[175]
The negative Infinitive with ósa- has various uses. It can be a command:
At other times it is an adverb:
It can also be a noun:
The word ósatí (from the irregular verb -ti "say") is frequently used to mean "not":[176]
These tenses occur only in dependent clauses. They generally have relative clause intonation, that is, with a high tone on the subject-marker. In their usage they resemble participles in European languages, but differ from them in that they have a personal subject.[177]
This tense is resembles a present participle in meaning: ndíkúthándiza "while (I am/was) helping". It is formed like the Present Continuous, but with a tone on the first syllable as well as the third (the two tones link into a plateau). It can refer to the subject, object, or another noun in the sentence:[178]
The verb -li is again an exception, since in this tense it has no -ku-, but merely a tone on the first syllable:[179]
A negative of this tense is sometimes found, made with the negative-marker -sa-, which follows the subject-marker:[180]
The negative is often replaced by the negative verbal adjective starting with ósa-: ósazindikíra "without realising".
The Persistive Present with -kada- etc. can also be used in a dependent form, especially with the verb -li.[181] In this case there is also a tone on the initial syllable:
A frequent use is in the phrase pákádalí pano "at the present time" (lit. "it still being now").[182]
This tense is formed in the same way, but with -ta- instead of -ku-.[183] The meaning is usually "after doing something":
Combined with the aspect-marker -ngo-, it can mean "as soon as":[186]
It can also be combined with the verbs -li and khala "be" to make compound tenses:
The phrase pantháwiyi n'kutí with -ta- means "by this time':[191]
Often this tense is used following a verb of wishing, when the thing wished for is unrealisable:[192]
Another use is in conditional sentences (see below).
It appears from Watkins (1937) that the tense-marker -ta- derives from a compound tense formed with the verb -ti "say" which has fused into a single verb. Thus átákhúta "after his hunger was satisfied" derives from an earlier wátí wákhúta.[193]
The opposite of -ta- is -sana- or -sada-, which means "not yet having done", i.e. "before doing". It can be used of past or future time:
It can be combined with a past tense of -li:
In contexts such as the following it means "since":
As well as the participial verbs above, temporal clauses in Chichewa meaning "when", "since", and "until" can also be made using conjunctions such as paméne, pomwé or m'méne. The tenses used in these clauses are often idiomatic, differing from those used in similar clauses in English. In most cases the verb in the temporal clause takes the relative clause intonation with a tone on the first syllable.
The usual conjunction for "when" is paméne, but m'méne and pomwé are also found.
If the main clause describes a situation in the past which was in progress at the time of an event described by a "when" clause, the verb in the "when" clause usually uses an imperfective tense, as in the examples below:
However, when there are two events, one following the other, the perfect tense is used in the "when" clause:
The phrase apa ndi pomwé means "this is when" or "it was at this point that...":
Other tenses are possible in temporal clauses; for example, the following, which refer to a future time, use the future subjunctive:
The following, also referring to an event in the distant future, use the future continuous subjunctive -zidza-:
The following, describing an event later today, uses the continuous subjunctive -dzika-:
A way of expressing "since" is to use a nominalised form of the verb beginning with chi- and ending in -íre or -íreni (in some verbs -ére or -éreni). There is a single tone on the penultimate syllable (not counting -ni):
The subject of the verb can either be put in front of it or added afterwards with chá:
The same form of the verb with chi...-ire can also mean "still" or "always".[205]
Another way of expressing "since" is to use kuyámbira "to begin from" or kuchókera "to come from", followed by a dependent clause verb:
Kuyámbira pomwé or kuchókera pomwé can also be used:
For a third way of expressing "since", see -sana- above.
A common way of expressing "until" is to use the word mpaka or mpakana. This can be followed by an infinitive. The meaning is "to the extent that", "so much so that". The subject of the infinitive can be included:
In other sentences it is followed by a remote perfect tense with -na- or -da-:
It may also be followed by the -ta- participial tense, when the meaning is "until after":
When referring to an event in future which might or might not happen, a future subjunctive or potential tense is used:
Another common way of expressing "until" is to use the infinitive kufíkira pomwé "to arrive at the point where":
As well as the participial tenses described above, Chichewa also has a series of tenses meaning "if" or "when", which are used as the equivalent of conditional or temporal clauses.
The tense -ka-, when it is toneless, can be translated "if" or "when". It usually refers to future time:[179][133]
There is no negative, but a negative meaning can be expressed with the verb panda "be without":[133]
The same tense with -kadza- refers to a time "far in the future":[207][208]
This tense means "if ever" or "whenever". Unlike -ka- it refers to past or present time according to context. The tones are on -ma- and the penultimate syllable:
Sometimes, however, -ka- is used in the place of -kama- to refer to a habitual situation:[209]
To refer to a situation in the future, the aspect-marker -dza- can be added:
As well as meaning "after", the participial tense -ta- can also have the meaning "if", referring to a hypothetical situation in the future.[191] The main clause will often use -nga- or khoza "be able":
Another possibility is to use ndítátí (lit. "if I were to say") with the subjunctive:
To make a condition about a hypothetical situation in the past, -kada- or -kana- or -daka- is used in both halves of the sentence, with the relative clause intonation in the "if" clause. The main clause has a tone on the second syllable of the infix:[210][211]
A compound expression is also found, using Ndíkadakhála kutí in place of "if":
An "if" clause alone can also mean "should have" or "if only":[133]
The same tense can be used when wishing for some past hypothetical situation:
For a negative condition, the verb -panda ("be without") is used in the "if" clause:
Sometimes, instead of using -kada- in the main clause, the word bwenzi "it would be the case that" or síbwenzi "it would not be the case that" is used, followed by a participial verb:[212]
The following example, instead of -kada-, uses the present participial tense of -li in the "if" clause:
Sentences with -kada- usually refer to the past. However, sometimes if -khala is used, the reference can be to a hypothetical situation in the present:
The main clause in a hypothetical conditional can also be expressed using the word bwenzi "it would be the case that" followed by a participial tense:
The negative is sí bwenzi:
In some varieties of Chichewa the tense-marker -chi- can be used in the "if" clause in hypothetical conditional sentences referring to present time instead of -kada-:[212][214]
The form achikhala (kutí) or chikhala kutí can mean "if" in a hypothetical conditional:
The words bwenzi and síbwenzi followed by a participial tense can be used in the main clause instead of -kada-:
The use of -chi- in a counterfactual conditional is found in Johannes Rebmann's Dictionary of the Kiniassa Language (entry "Pfomera"), written in the 1850s, in the sentence: ine nikidsiwa, sikapfomerera (modern spelling: ine ndichidziwa, si(ndi)ka(da)vomerera), which he translates: "If I had known it, I should not have assented".
Another way of making a condition is to use the conjunction ngati "if", followed by the relative clause intonation. This is in fact the only way conditions can be expressed with the verb -li.
Ngati can also be used to make indirect questions:[133]
Ngati can also be followed by a subjunctive with relative clause intonation:
Ngati can be combined with -kada-:
Ngati can also mean "as if", but in this case it is not followed by the relative clause intonation:
The conditional clause tenses -ta- and -kada- are used after a verb of wishing, if the wish is unfulfilled. -ta- is used for wishes for the future:
Wishes for the future are not always unfulfillable:
The tense -kada- or -daka- is used of unfulfilled wishes for the past. Just as in conditional clauses, the auxiliary verb -panda is used to make the clause negative:
In English, as in some other languages, a verb in an indirect statement usually goes into the past tense when the main verb is in the past tense. However, in Chichewa this rule does not apply and sentences such as the following, in which there is no change of tense in the dependent clause, are common:[218]
In the same way, the participial tenses can refer to a present, past, or future situation according to the tense of the main verb which they are used:[178]
There are several verbs used for expressing different tenses of the verb "to be".
One word for expressing "is" or "are" is ndi (negative sí), used in the present tense only. This word is used for permanent states or identity:[219]
The toneless ndi "is" is to be distinguished from ndí "with", "and", which has a tone.[221] Sometimes ndi is shortened to n':
Ndi can also be combined with w- to make ngw-, and y- to make nj-. The n in these combinations is homorganic, but (unlike in words such as njóka 'snake') syllabic:[222]
The w part of a labialised consonant disappears before o and u:
Ndi can have pronominal endings attached to it, e.g. ndine "I am", ndiwe "you are". The first and second persons are toneless; all the other endings have a tone, e.g. ndiwó "they are":[223]
The verb -li is irregular and has very few tenses.[224] In the present tense is used mainly for temporary states and for location, but other tenses have a more general usage, since ndi has no past tense.[225][226]
In the present simple tense it is irregular, since there is no tone on the subject prefix:[227]
The Recent Past refers to situations of today:
The Remote Past is ndínaalí or ndídaalí. This refers to a time further in the past. It can refer to a situation which later changed:
It is also often used in story-telling:
Often the pronunciation ndináli is heard, apparently with the same meaning as ndí-naa-lí:[231]
The Persistive has a tone on the final syllable: ndikadalí (ndikalí) "I am still".
Negative forms also exist except for the Persistive tense: síndili "I am not", síndínalí "I was not".[232]
The phrase ndili ndí (lit. "I am with") means "I have".[233]
The negative is ndilíbe "I do not have".
The forms kuli, pali, muli mean "there is" or "there are". ku- refers to a general area or place, pa- to a particular spot, mu- to inside a place:
The negative is kulíbe, palíbe, mulíbe "there isn't":[234]
These can also be used in the past tense:
. There are also locative forms ending in -líko, -lípo, -límo. Of these, -lípo is the most common:[235]
When -li is used in a relative clause, it has a tone on the prefix:
There is also an applied form ending in -lili used in phrases of manner, which also has the relative clause intonation:[236]
With the relative clause intonation -li often serves as a participial tense. Thus ndíli means "while I am" or "while I was":
A negative participial form ndisalí exists, although it is rarely used:
The participial form is also found in the common phrase álíyensé "every", literally "it being everyone". It can be singular or plural:
A persistive participial form ndíkádalí (or ndíkalí) also exists meaning "while I am still" or "while I was still":
For the infinitive, imperative, subjunctive, and all other tenses of "to be", the verb -khala ("sit" or "stay") is used:[237]
Imperative:
Infinitive:
Present Subjunctive:
Present Habitual:
Near Future:
Remote Future:
Perfect:
Counterfactual conditional:
Past Potential:
When -khala is used with the infix -dá-, it can mean "happen" or "become":
Compound tenses are also found in Chichewa. Among them are the following:
-li can be followed by an infinitive:
But a participial tense is also sometimes used:
A past tense of -li with the -ta- participial tense is common:
With a verb like vala "dress in", where the perfect tense describes a present situation, this tense describes a past situation:
The participial verb can be -sana- or -sada-, with the meaning "had not" or "had not yet":
-khala is generally combined with one of the participial tenses. It can translate the perfect or pluperfect continuous:
It can also translate the future perfect tense:
The Present Habitual tense of khala with a participial tense can often be translated with the word "usually" or "generally":
The verb -ti "say", followed by one of the subjunctive tenses, makes a future in the past:
The literal meaning of timatí tikádye is "we were saying we should go and eat". Other ways of expressing the future in the past are to add -dza- to the Past Imperfective tense (ndimadzáthandizá "I was about to help") or to use -funa "want" with the Infinitive (ndinkáfuná kuthándiza "I was wanting to help").
The verb -chita "do" can be used in various tenses followed by an Infinitive, e.g.:
The difference in meaning, if any, between this and the simple form of the verb is not clear.
The verb -chita (or sometimes -panga) is also frequently used in colloquial Chichewa in various tenses to make English borrowed words into Chichewa verbs:[245]
A further auxiliary verb, yenda "walk, go", is mentioned by Watkins in the form Present Simple plus Infinitive; it was used in narrative with the meaning "and then" (ayéndopíta "he then went").[246] However, this verb is no longer used as an auxiliary in current standard Chichewa.