LESSON 67

Subjunctive

Vocabulary

itara (5th) - lamp	itabaza (5th) - lantern, small lamp
igikoni - kitchen	ururabyo - flower
umutego - trap	rwagakoco (3rd) - small trap
icyumba (4th) - room (in house)	kwitonda (nze) - to be careful

134. a) As in other langUages the subjunctive is used in expressions such as “let us”, “let him”, etc. (not “let” in the sense of “permit”, but as we say “let’s go”, etc.) In the 3rd person it has the idea of “have him do”, or “he may do”.

: tugende - let’s go akore - let him work, have him work, he may work
: batangire kuririmba - have them begin to sing
: Bakore iki ubu? Bahinge mu murima wanjye. - What shall they do now? Have them hoe in my garden.

Any of these forms, except the question, may be preceded by ni- without changing the meaning. e.g. nitugende, naze.

b) The negative imperative is:

ntugende - don’t go	ntitugende - let’s not go
ntagende - have him not go	ntimugende - don’t go
ntibagende - have them not go

135. Subjunctive with kugira ngo. In Lesson 50 you learned that kugira ngo may mean “in order that” or “so that”. When so used in the affirmative it must be followed by the subjunctive: e.g. Araza kugira ngo yige - he is coming so that he may learn.

Sometimes kugira ngo is shortened to ngo. When kugira ngo means “to think” or “suppose” it does not take the subjunctive.

When kugira ngo means “so that” and the word following is in the negative, the subjunctive is not usually used, but rather the dependent negative form as taught in par. 186. e.g. Yirutse kugira ngo adafatwa - He ran so he wouldn’t be caught. Yasabye umuti kugira ngo atarwara - he asked for medicine so he wouldn’t get sick. -

Exercises:

I. Translate into English:

: 1. Zana itara uricane. 2. Mwarangije imirimo yose (insert “which”) nabanaye; nimutahe. 3. Simfite amasuka; yashake uyazane. 4. Abigishwa bajye he? Bajye mu murima kugira ngo bahinge. 5. Mesa imyenda uyanike vuba. 6. Ntushyire rwagakoco yo gufata imbeba mu gikoni. 7. Ntutahe ubu kuko mfite indi mirimo yo kuguha. 8. Abana ntibajyane amatafari ku ishuri. 9. Mbese wahamagaye umuntu wo kujya i Kigali? Ntagende ubu, azagende ejo. 10. Witonde kugira ngo rwagakoco itagufata u.rutoke.

II. Translate into Kinyarwanda:

: 1. Let the visitor spend the night here; it is getting dark; he cannot go home now. 2. Let us learn well because we want to get much wisdom. 3. Wash all the dishes and put them away. 4. The pupils are outside; call them; have them come in now. 5. I want a light; look for it and bring it here. 6. Go home (pl.) and find (look for) your francs and bring them. 7. What shall Mary do now? Have her boil water to drink. 8. Don’t take the flowers into the kitchen. Take them into the other room. 9. Let’s not refuse to help our friends, because they have lots of work. 10. Don’t (pl.) bathe in the river because the water is dirty. 11. Don’t put the potatoes out in the sun again. Put them away in the house. 12. Don’t have the workmen tear down the house; it is strong.