Luganda Lessons › Lesson 9
Lesson 9Absolute Beginner
Luganda Present Tense Verbs (All Pronouns)
Learn how to conjugate common Luganda verbs in the present tense using all the basic pronouns — the subject is built into the verb as a prefix.
1 Subject Prefixes
In Luganda you usually don’t say the pronoun separately — the subject is built into the verb as a prefix.
| Pronoun | Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Nze (I) | N- | I |
| Ggwe (you, sing.) | O- | You |
| Ye (he/she) | A- | He / She |
| Ffe (we) | Tu- | We |
| Mmwe (you, pl.) | Mu- | You (plural) |
| Bbo (they) | Ba- | They |
- Example: Nsoma = ‘I read’ — the ‘N-’ already means ‘I.’ Same with Ndya (I’m eating), Ngenda (I’m going).
2 Verb: -soma (to read)
| Pronoun | Luganda | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | Nsoma ekitabo | I am reading a book |
| You | Osoma ekitabo | You are reading a book |
| He/She | Asoma ekitabo | He/She is reading a book |
| We | Tusoma ekitabo | We are reading a book |
| You (pl.) | Musoma ekitabo | You are reading a book |
| They | Basoma ekitabo | They are reading a book |
3 Verb: -lya (to eat)
| Pronoun | Luganda |
|---|---|
| I | Nndya emmere |
| You | Olya emmere |
| He/She | Alya emmere |
| We | Tulya emmere |
| You (pl.) | Mulya emmere |
| They | Balya emmere |
- “Nndya” doubles the ‘n’ for pronunciation. Literal: ‘I-eat food.’
4 Verb: -nywa (to drink)
| Pronoun | Luganda |
|---|---|
| I | Nnywa amazzi |
| You | Onywa amazzi |
| He/She | Anywa amazzi |
| We | Tunnywa amazzi |
| You (pl.) | Munywa amazzi |
| They | Banywa amazzi |
5 Verb: -genda (to go)
| Pronoun | Luganda |
|---|---|
| I | Ngenda ku ssomero |
| You | Ogenda ku ssomero |
| He/She | Agenda ku ssomero |
| We | Tugenda ku ssomero |
| You (pl.) | Mugenda ku ssomero |
| They | Bagenda ku ssomero |
6 Verb: -kola (to work)
| Pronoun | Luganda |
|---|---|
| I | Nkola |
| You | Okola |
| He/She | Akola |
| We | Tukola |
| You (pl.) | Mukola |
| They | Bakola |
7 Verb: -laba (to see)
| Pronoun | Luganda |
|---|---|
| I | Ndaba omwana |
| You | Olaba omwana |
| He/She | Alaba omwana |
| We | Tulaba omwana |
| You (pl.) | Mulaba omwana |
| They | Balaba omwana |
- Every verb follows: subject prefix + verb root. N- + soma = Nsoma, O- + soma = Osoma, A- + soma = Asoma. Learn the prefixes and you can conjugate almost any verb.
8 Written Exercise
Write these in Luganda
- I read a book
- You eat food
- He goes to school
- We drink water
- They work
Practice: Present Tense Verbs
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