 | Chapter 20 - Verbs - The Present Progressive |
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Generalities:
The present progressive in Somali is used to describe actions happening at the moment of speaking or about to happen shortly.
To form this tense, the verbal root (identical to the imperative form) is taken, and the present progressive endings are added.
Example: Waan keen-ay-aa -> Waan keenayaa = I take, I am taking, I will take.
| Formation of the Present Progressive | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Root + | -ay | -aa |
| -ay | -saa | |
| -ay | -aa | |
| -ay | -saa | |
| -ay | -naa | |
| -ay | -saan | |
| -ay | -aan | |
Conjugation of the verb "keenid" (= to bring) in the present progressive:
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waan | keen- | -ay- | -aa | I bring |
| Waad | keen- | -ay- | -saa | you bring |
| Wuu | keen- | -ay- | -aa | he brings |
| Way | keen- | -ay- | -saa | she brings |
| Waynu | keen- | -ay- | -naa | we bring (inclusive) |
| Waannu | keen- | -ay- | -naa | we bring (exclusive) |
| Waydiin | keen- | -ay- | -saan | you bring |
| Way | keen- | -ay- | -aan | they bring |
- Waan / waad / wuu / way / waynuu / waannu / waydiin / way is the subject pronoun for the verb.
- keen- is the root of the verb keenid = to bring;
- -ay- is the progressive time marker;
- -aa / -saa / -naa / -saan / -aan is the ending corresponding to the person.
- Translation.
Conjugation of the verb "arag" (= to see) in the present progressive:
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waan | arag- | -ay- | -aa | I see |
| Waad | arag- | -ay- | -saa | you see |
| Wuu | arag- | -ay- | -aa | he sees |
| Way | arag- | -ay- | -saa | she sees |
| Waynu | arag- | -ay- | -naa | we see (inclusive) |
| Waannu | arag- | -ay- | -naa | we see (exclusive) |
| Waydiin | arag- | -ay- | -saan | you see |
| Way | arag- | -ay- | -aan | they see |
Some examples:
Verb akhris (= to read). Waan akhriyayaa = I am reading.
Verb akhris (= to read). Waynu akhriyaynaa = we are reading.
Verb cunid (= to eat). Maxamed wuu cunayaa = Mohamed is eating.
Verb cunid (= to eat). Maxamed iyo Cali way cunayaan = Mohamed and Ali are eating.
Verb dhisid (= to build). Guriga way dhisayaan = they are building the house.
Verb dhisid (= to build). Guriga waad dhisaysaa = you are building the house.
Verb cabid (= to drink). Galas caano iyo timira waan cabayaa = I am going to drink a glass of milk with dates.
Verb cabid (= to drink). Galas caano iyo timira way cabaysaa = she is going to drink a glass of milk with dates.
Negative Form:
There are 2 ways to express negation in the present progressive.
With the negation Ma and the verb conjugated in the negative present form.
Example: Ma keen-ay-o -> Ma keenayo = I do not bring.
| Formation of the Negative Present Progressive (1) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ma | Verb Root + | -ay | -o |
| -ay | -sid | ||
| -ay | -o | ||
| -ay | -so | ||
| -ay | -no | ||
| -ay | -siin | ||
| -ay | -aan | ||
Conjugation of the verb "keenid" (= to bring) in the negative present progressive (1):
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -o | I do not bring |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -sid | you do not bring |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -o | he/she/it does not bring |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -so | we do not bring (incl.) |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -no | we do not bring (excl.) |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -siin | you do not bring |
| Ma | keen- | -ay- | -aan | they do not bring |
(1) negation Ma ; (2) verb root ; (3) present progressive ; (4) negative person ending ; (5) translation.
Note:
One can also construct the negative form by taking the verb root + i to which we attach -m(a), and then the endings of the negative present progressive.
Example: (anigu) keeni-m(a)-ay-o -> (anigu) keenimayo = I do not bring.
| Formation of Negative Present Progressive (2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb Root + i | -m(a)- | -ay | -o |
| -ay- | -sid | ||
| -ay- | -o | ||
| -ay- | -so | ||
| -ay- | -no | ||
| -ay- | -siin | ||
| -ay- | -aan | ||
Conjugation of the verb "keenid" (= to bring) in the negative present progressive (2):
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -o | I do not bring |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -sid | you do not bring |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -o | he/she/it does not bring |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -so | she does not bring |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -no | we do not bring (incl.) |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -no | we do not bring (excl.) |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -siin | you do not bring |
| Keeni | -ma- | -ay- | -aan | they do not bring |
(1) verb root ; (2) negative infix -ma- ; (3) present progressive ; (4) negative person ending ; (5) translation.
Some examples:
Verb akhris (= read). Ma akhriyayo = I am not reading.
Verb akhris (= read). Ma akhriyayaan = they are not reading.
Verb qor (= write). Ardeydu ma qorayaan = the students are not writing.
Verb cunid (= eat). Ma cuniyano = we are not eating.
Verb dhisid (= build). Guriga ma dhisayaan = they are not building the house. (they are not building the house.)
Verb dhisid (= build). Guriga waad dhisaysid = you are not building the house. (you are not building the house.)
Verb cabid (= drink). Maanta ma cabayo caano iyo timira. = Today I am not drinking a glass of milk with dates.
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