LESSON 72

Negative of Far Fast

Vocabulary

impamba - food for a journey	kwiruka (tse) - to run, run away
kera - long ago, long time in future	kuremba (mbye) - to be very ill (almost dying)
gutabara (ye) - to help, go to assistance of	gushira (ze) - to finish (int.), be all gone, end (int.)

Note: gushira is common in expressions like: mu cyumweru gishize - last week; mu kwezi gushize - last month; ifu irashize - the flour is all gone. “Next week” is: mu cyumweru gitaha.

142. For the negative of the far past, -ra- is dropped, making it resemble the ordinary past but the tone remains high: sinagiye, ntiwagiye, etc.

143. Sentence order. You learned that when both an indirect object pronoun and a direct one come in the same verb, the direct precedes the indirect. However, when both a direct and an indirect object follow the verb, the indirect is usually first, unless it is a long phrase; in which case, if the direct object is but one word, it will come first. e.g. Nahaye Petero igitabo - I gave Peter a book. Nahaye igitabo umwana wa Petero - I gave Peter’s child a book.

144. Ejobundi. This means “day before yesterday” or “day after tomorrow”. e.g. Yagiye ejobundi - he went day before yesterday. Azagenda ejobundi - he will go day after tomorrow.

145. The stative of gupfa is often used when a person is not actually dead, but is very ill (sometimes when he is not even very ill). e.g. Arapfuye (lit.) he is dying (but actually “he is very ill”). Sometimes they use ararembye in the same way - “he is about to die”. However, when they say, “Yarapfuye” or “Yapfuye”, they usually mean that he is actually dead. Gupfa is sometimes used of things that no longer function. e.g. Umupira wapfuye - the tin is flat. Imashini yarapfuye - the machine broke down.

Exercises:

I. Translate into English:

: 1. Abantu ntibemeye kudufasha mu mirimo yacu. 2. Nagiye kure gusura umwungeri nyamara sinamubonye kuko yagiye ahandi. 3. Bashatse impamba z’iminsi itatu: ntibashatse gusonza. 4. Ejobundi umusaza yarapfuye. 5. Nahaye umuhungu igitabo n’ikaramu. 6. Mbese imbugita yanjye iri he? Nayiguhaye ejobundi. 7. Nahembye abakozi amafaranga menshi mu kwezi gushize. 8. Umwigisha yigishije byinshi abana t’abakozi. 9. Ntimwirutse vuba cyane, nuko mwaratinze. 10. Mu cyumweru gishize umuganga yavuyei abantu benshi indwara zabo.

II. Translate into Kinyarwanda:

: 1. The boys ran to school; they didn’t want to be late. 2. My food for the journey was all gone and I was hungry. 3. Long ago the people helped us to build the church. 4. Did you (pl.) give the children clothes? Yes, we gave them to them. 5. The woman is very sick (dying); have them take her to a doctor. 6. Day after tomorrow we will go to help (to the assistance of) the poor man. 7. Last month the “fundis” didn’t finish building our new house, but they worked very hard. 8. You have come very late (= you were late to come). Yes, the journey was very difficult for us. 9. The young lady lied to me, but I have forgiven her. 10. On our journey we saw many wild animals, and they didn’t run away.