Lesson 13

Class 4 iki- ibi-

Vocabulary

ikintu - thing	igihugu - country
ikijumba - sweet potato	igitabo - book
ikirenge - foot	igiti - tree

20. Class 4.

	Singular	Plural
Noun prefix	iki-	ibi-
Possessive prefix	cya-	bya- (cyanje, byanje)
Verb prefix	ki-	bi- (kiri, biri)
Adjective prefix	ki-	bi- (kibi, bibi)

21. Change-down rule. When the stem of a word begins with certain letters, k in the prefix must change to g, and t in a prefix must change to d. These are the letters which cause this change: C, F, H, K, , S, T. (Maybe you can make up a nonsense sentence using these letters to help yu remember them, such as: Charlie found his kite pulling a string tail.)

So it is not: ikitabo, but igitabo, since the stem -tabo begins with t. Not ikihugh, but igihugh, since the stem begins with h.

This rule is very important and is regularly applied, so learn it well. Note, however, that it does not apply to a k or t preceded by a consonant, e.g. ntukora. And it does not apply if the vowel between the k or t and the succeeding consonant is long, e.g. atihana (not, adihana).

Exercises:

I. Translate into English:

: 1. Umugabo afite ibijumba bike. 2. Ibiti bye ni birebire. 3. Ibirenge bye ni binini. 4. Igihugu cyacu ni gito. 5. Ibintu byanyu biri he? 6. Abigishwa bafite ibitabo bishya. 7. Umwana afite imbwa mu nzu. 8. Hari ibiti binini mu mirima yanyu. 9. Ibitabo byabo biri ku ntebe. 10. Igitabo cy’umwigisha kiri mu nzu.

II. Translate into Kinyarwanda:

1. The girl’s sweet potatoes are dirty. 2. There are tal trees over there at your place. 3. I have a few books in my house. 4. Many hills are in our country. 5. The sweet potatoes are small. 6. Where is your (s.) book? It is at home. 7. The trees over there are not very tall. 8. The women have many sweet potatoes in their gardens. 9. Are there sheep and goats in your country? 10. The pupil’s books are in the teacher’s house.