LESSON 18

Class 5 i- ama-

Vocabulary

izuba - sun	iryinyo - tooth (pl. amenyo)
igi - egg (pl. amagi)	ifaranga - franc
ivunja - jigger	ishuni - school (some write, ishuri)
ibuye - stone, pebble, rock	izuru - nose, nostril
ijambo - word (pl. amagambo)	iziko - fireplace, stove
ijisho - eye (pl. amaso)

30. Class 5.

	Singular	Plural
Class prefix	i- (or, iri)	ama- (ibuye, amabuye)
Possessive prefix	rya-	ya- (ryanjye, yanjye)
Verb prefix	ri-	a- (riri, ari)
Adjective’ prefix	ri-	ma- (ribi, mabi)

Note 1: The singular adjective prefix here is ri-. This is the only place the adjective prefix differs from the noun prefix (see par. 15). Before a vowel the singular adjective prefix becomes ry- e.g. ryiza.

Note 2: These plural prefixes are the accords used for the nouns given in Lesson 11 which form their plural with ama-.

31. Note and learn the plurals of ijisho, ijambo, and iryinyo, since they seem irregular. Though amenyo looks irregular it actually is not. In par. 16,we saw that sometimes a and i contract into e, thus ama-inyo becomes amenyo.

The singular prefix of Class 5 nouns before a vowel is iry- instead of just i-, as in the word, iryinyo.

32. Mu and ku with 5th class nouns. Nearly all 5th class nouns keep their initial vowel when they follow mu or ku, contrary to the regular rule. However, in speaking it is pronounced as if it were mw and kw. This is also true of the nouns which are 3rd class in the singular, but take a 5th class plural, such as isuka, isaho, isahane, but not inzu.

: mu ishuri(pronounced: mw ishuri) - in school
: ku ibuye (pronounced: kw ibuye) - on a rock
: ku isahane (pronounced: kw isahane) - on a plate

However, a few 5th class nouns follow the regular rule and drop the initial vowel after mu and ku. The important ones are:

mu (or ku) zUba - in the sun	mu (or ku) zuru - in the nose
mu (or ku) jisho - in the eye	mu (or ku) ziko - in the fireplace

The plurals of all 5th class nouns follow the regular rule, dropping the initial vowel: ku mabuye - on the stones, mu maso - in the eyes.

Exercises:

I. Translate into English:

: 1. Amabuye make ari ku musozi. 2. Amenyo y’umuhungu ni meza (Note: ma-iza becomes meza). 3. Ifaranga ryawe riri ku isahane. 4. Umugabo afite amafaranga menshi. 5. Umwana afite ikintu mu jisho rye. 6. Umuhungu afite igi rito. 7. Hari umuriro mu ziko. 8. Hari abana benshi mu ishuii ryanyu. 9. Ku musozi wacu hari amabuye menshi. 10. Amagambo y’Umukiza ni meza cyane.

II. Translate into Kinyarwanda:

: 1. The teacher says many words. 2. Our new school is very nice. J. The sun is large. 4. The Word of God is good: it works in people’s hearts. 5. Do his parents have many francs? .6. John (Yohana) doesn’t like eggs, but (ariko) he likes meat. 7. I have the blessing of the Savior in my heart, and I love His word. 8. The child has a small nose and big eyes, and much hair. 9. The old man has only a few teeth. 10. Women don’t go to (use mu) school. 11. The girl has a little stone in her nose. 12. I have a jigger in my foot.